The Washington Times and Salem Communications announced Tuesday that radio host Andy Parks’ daily show is moving to middays next week on WRC 1260 AM, Salem’s flagship news talk radio station in the nation’s capital.
Mr. Parks, one of Washington’s most recognizable and successful talk show hosts over the last three decades, launched his new show two years ago from inside The Times’ newsroom, integrating reporters and breaking news from the newspaper with his well-known commentaries and newsmaker interviews.
“Andy Parks Live from The Washington Times” launched in the 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. afternoon drive slot on WTNT 730 AM and quickly attracted a following across the city.
Next Monday, the show will move into the 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. midday slot on WRC, extending its audience reach. Salem recently announced it is upgrading WRC’s daytime signal to 35,000 watts and has struck rebroadcast deals with smaller stations, amplifying its range beyond the Washington, D.C., metro area and into central and southern Virginia and northern Maryland.
“The combination of the resources of The Washington Times and WRC 1260 provides a great opportunity to explore the news of the day, examine the big issues and break stories. I look forward to bringing those elements of the show to the listeners at WRC,” Mr. Parks said.
Washington Times executives said the new partnership with Salem and WRC 1260 was a perfect fit with the newspaper’s efforts to continue expanding its audience.
The Washington Times’ Web traffic has grown to more than 10 million monthly visitors and the newspaper announced in March it has struck a deal to serve as the Washington bureau for a new national cable TV news network called One America News that launches in July on cable systems nationwide.
“Andy’s show created the perfect marriage between a newspaper newsroom with breaking-news capabilities and deep policy expertise with one of talk radio’s most entertaining intellectual thought leaders,” Washington Times President and CEO Larry Beasley said. “It was an instant hit and the move to WRC now allows Andy to reach even larger audiences right in the middle of the day.”
“Andy packs a lot into his show and his show will be a distinctive yet complementary addition to Salem’s great lineup of talents that includes Bill Bennett, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Michael Gallagher and Hugh Hewitt. We’re thrilled to be in such great company,” Mr. Beasley said.
Mr. Parks’ show will slide into a slot between Mr. Gallagher’s and Mr. Prager’s shows, continuing a recent push by Salem to inject local talk radio talents into its nationally syndicated lineup of shows. New Salem hosts in Houston, Dallas and Chicago have proved to be instant successes in those local markets.
“We are thrilled to bring the ’Andy Parks Live from The Washington Times’ show to WRC 1260 AM,” said Thomas Moyer, the manager for Salem’s three flagship stations in Washington, D.C., the Christian-formatted WAVA FM and AM and the news talk-formatted WRC AM.
“The Washington Times is the only Washington-based newspaper that is committed to conservative American values. WRC 1260 AM is the only Washington-area talk radio station committed to similar conservative American values. This is a partnership that makes sense,” Mr. Moyer added. “This is a unique opportunity coming to our lineup.
“Listeners can expect an informative show covering the most topical issues of the day backed by deep research by The Washington Times’ arsenal of accomplished journalists who are positioned worldwide.”
Both listeners and advertisers will enjoy the added value of Mr. Parks’ show streamed on The Washington Times and WRC websites and available as a downloadable podcast from both locations, tapping into the growing market of on-demand digital listeners around the globe.
Mr. Parks has dominated the talk radio scene in Washington, D.C., for three decades. He is perhaps best known for his award-winning morning drive show on WMAL with former Congressman Fred Grandy that commanded big ratings for years.
Mr. Parks joined The Times in 2011 along with veteran producer Ann Wog, crafting a unique format that integrated the news, sports and opinion talents of The Times with insightful commentaries and exclusive interviews with global, national, and local political leaders. The move to mid-days and WRC’s bigger signal will enable even more newsmakers to appear on the show.
“Afternoon drive was a great time slot, but it’s also a time of day when lawmakers are running to late votes on Capitol Hill and reporters are on deadline for tomorrow morning’s newspaper stories. This new slot only enhances the choices we have to make the most compelling show each day,” Ms. Wog said.
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