This was posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 by Rodney Ho on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Michael Baisden is returning to radio after nearly four years off the air.
The Chicago native and Miami resident is starting a syndicated show January 16, 2017 on 30 to 40 stations, including Atlanta R&B station Kiss 104.1 He will be heard live from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, working out of Atlanta's Kiss studios.
From 2005 to 2013, Baisden was a popular nationally syndicated afternoon host in the afternoons on more than 70 R&B stations nationwide at his peak, including Majic 107.5/97.5 locally. Based in Dallas, he combined social activism with relationship talk.
Then in 2013, he and his syndicator (Atlanta-based Cumulus Media) got into a conflict over a new contract and he was gone, no explanation given by either side. He later sued Cumulus for breach of contract but the two sides settled.
The 53-year-old author, speaker and activist declined to comment about that settlement.
He said during his time away from radio, he said he focused his energy on mentoring high school students in Orlando. He also built his social media presence, with 4.2 million likes on his Facebook page, up from 200,000 when he left radio.
Getting back on air with a syndication deal "is a long process," Baisden said in an interview. "There are a lot of moving parts."
He said the show will be very much like his old one, with subject matter such as economic empowerment, mentorship, education, politics and relationships. (He was very involved in Jena Six and the Trayvon Martin case, as well as Barack Obama's presidential campaigns.)
Baisden said he's excited to move over to Kiss after spending four years at rival Majic and before then, four years at the now defunct 102.5/Grown Folks Radio. "Kiss is a great place to be," he said. "Years ago, they helped me promote my seminars and my books and my stage plays. They are part of my family."
Interestingly, Kiss has done so well financially the past couple of years, CMG Atlanta Radio's VP of Programming Tony Kidd said he was able to add Baisden without cutting anybody.
Instead, he just moved the schedule around. Sasha the Diva will work from 9 to noon and Art Terrell and Roy Wood Jr. are moved earlier to noon to 3 p.m.
Baisden, Kidd said, "is an extraordinary talent providing humor, relationship advice and social awareness and solutions for change to the adult audience."
Kiss was No. 4 in Nielsen Audio's most recent four-week period covering October, behind only News 95.5 and AM 750, V-103 and Hot 107.9.
Atlanta is home to several other syndicated radio shows, including Rickey Smiley (Hot 107.9), Ed Lover (Boom 102.9), Clark Howard (WSB) and the Bert Show (Q100). Herman Cain on WSB is ending his syndication deal at the end of the year but will remain on four stations owned by CMG in Dayton, Ohio; Tulsa, Okl., Orlando and Jacksonville, Fla.
Baisden over the years has also produced films and hosted a couple of TV shows.
Kiss and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group.
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