Denny Schaffer, who had a brief run earlier this decade on WGST-AM, has found a new home doing a night show at WGKA-AM this week. He airs from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
"It came out of nowhere," Schaffer said in an interview Tuesday before his second show. About the time Joel Aaron left, general manager Mike Moran offered him the job.
While Schaffer wouldn’t talk dollars (and presumably, they’re not ample), he said it’s more the opportunity to get back on the air and not have to leave Atlanta. “The door has opened,” he said. “Who knows where this could lead. I’m doing it because it’s a lot of fun. I enjoyed my first night. Again, it gives me a voice back on the air.”
To market him on the other shows, which are syndicated, WGKA is airing 90-second snippets of Schaffer’s talks seven to nine times a day.
In the fall of 2005, Schaffer left Toledo, Ohio and a long-established fan base to come to the stumbling WGST-AM station. The station placed him on at 9 a.m., dumping a syndicated show by a man named Glenn Beck.
Schaffer was given zippo marketing support and within 13 months, he was ousted. Eventually, WGST brought back Beck.
The conservative talker stayed in Atlanta and did an online show. I’m not sure how he managed his finances but he said he was about to leave town and possibly return to Ohio. Yet, he said: “I have no regrets about coming down here. I love Atlanta.”
This past summer, WGKA called and he accepted last month. Schaffer said all the off time has made him humbler and a better listener. “I don’t shove my opinion down your throat. I reserve the right to change my opinion based on more information. It’s not right vs. left. It’s right vs. wrong.”
Jeff Carter, WGKA operations manager, said the station was seeking someone local and Schaffer "was available. He has a track record in Atlanta. He really connects with our audience." When I said he was on for only 13 months, hardly enough time to create a track record, he said "he made a lot of head room in 13 months."
Schaffer is one of only a handful of local political talkers, including WSB-AM's Herman Cain. He will mix local and national topics.
The first caller last night, however, thought he was Chris Krok, who had a show on WSB-AM for two years but is now doing mornings in Macon.
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