Carl Wolfson Launching Internet Radio Show

 Former KPOJ-AM 620 progressive talk host Carl Wolfson is preparing to revive his radio show—this time on the Internet.

KPOJ’s owner, Clear Channel Communications, canceled Wolfson’s three-hour morning drive-time show right after Election Day and flipped the station’s format to Fox Sports Radio, igniting a furor among Wolfson’s listeners who suspected a vast right-wing conspiracy.

Wolfson has begun raising funds to bring back his show, "Carl in the Morning," for a 90-minute Internet program that will stream live at 7 am weekdays. The show will stream on computers, tablets and phones. It will also be downloadable as a podcast.

If the show reaches its funding goals, it will debut Jan. 21, the day of President Obama’s public swearing-in for his second term.

“The president was elected to a second term,” Wolfson tells WW. “I think we deserve one, too.”

Many of Wolfson's biggest advertisers—including Tom Dwyer Automotive and Morel Ink—have already pledged to follow him to a new format.

Wolfson is inviting listeners to do the same: He's started a Kickstarter page to raise $40,000 by Jan. 16. The longtime comedian is offering a ticket to a 2013 stand-up show for every $75 donation. For $750, he'll have dinner with you.

More than 15,000 people signed a petition to return KPOJ to the airwaves, and Oregon's entire Democratic delegation to U.S. Congress called for the restoration of progressive talk.

Wolfson's hoping those supporters will also pledge money to revive his show online.

"Kickstarter funding is all-or-nothing," the fundraising page explains. "Falling just a dollar short of our goal means we don't get a cent (you'll only be charged if we reach our goal). Together, lets exceed this goal to make sure that 'Carl in the Morning' has a home for years to come."

WWeek 2015