LA Radio Waves

Radio Waves Podcast #382

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 21:46:00 -0700

Radio: September 8, 2023

Trends are funny. Funny in an interesting way, and often caused by forces not necessarily obvious.

Such an example is top-40 radio, represented locally by KIIS (102.7 FM). The station that almost single-handedly brought the format back from its death in the early 1980s while hitting record high ratings for an FM station, is on hard times now. The July Nielsens had the station tied for 8th place with a 3.7 share of the audience … a far cry from the 10+ shares of the 1980s.

But I am not here to bash KIIS. I am merely using it as an example of some trends that have come together, and perhaps help find a way out.

First and foremost, the appeal of oldies cannot be denied. Out of the top-10 stations, fully six are either fully oldies-based or rely heavily on them in the music mix. KRTH (101.1 FM) KTWV (94.7 FM), My FM (KBIG, 104.3), KOST (103.5 FM) Jack (KCBS-FM, 93.1) and KLOS (95.5 FM) all predominantly play songs not released in the last year.

KIIS is definitely not alone. Top-40, or Contemporary Hit Radio as it is called today. has taken a hit nationwide. As the format tends to attract younger listeners, the fact that many younger listeners are getting their music from streaming services and apps like TikTok, it seems to be the natural progression.

Indeed, InsideMusicMedia’s Jerry Del Colliano has extensively covered the migration to and influence of streaming; a recent Billboard.com story spoke of TikTok’s appeal to young listeners; top-40 stations across the country have added more “gold” to their playlists; and the idea of playing music that is old but “new to you” has taken hold as an easy way to attract listeners.

But it doesn’t work to attract younger listeners, thus top-40 as a format suffers.

Yet the answer lies in the appeal of the very things that are supposedly killing radio. TikTok is exposing kids to music, new and old, from multiple genres. Streaming services use curators to find music that listeners may like, based upon the songs they play — and those they skip.

Add in Sean Ross, who writes in RadioInsight.com that most people fondly remember their own top-40 listening days from “when top-40 played it all,” and you have the answer: play it all.

Top-40 has always thrived when it played it all, and has always stagnated when it limited itself. You saw it happen with too much “bubblegum,” too much disco, too much country, too much of “the Miami sound,” too much grunge, and too much Hip-Hop. All of those eras had temporarily success, but ultimately led to ratings declines as listeners left for other stations.

Yet when “they played it all,” such as the 1960s where you could hear The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Jefferson Airplane and Cream all on the same station, it just worked. Same for when Prince, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and Foreigner all shared space on the same station. Today KRTH is leading the ratings doing nothing more than playing the music that once played on KIIS … Naked Eyes, Wham, Soft Cell, Tears for Fears, Madonna, Depeche Mode and Outfield.

That variety of music makes things interesting, and today’s teens especially are, according to research, more willing to listen to different genres right now than any other generation.

Inside Music Media’s Del Colliano suggests that perhaps it is time to hire curators — locally, of course, so you can better match the audience — to find new music and present it. “Young audiences are more eclectic than baby boomers, Gen X or even older millennials - they mix genres,” he explains. They are “spellbound” when they find it, open to fresh musical styles, “and amazingly curious.”

Radio is losing young people, he says in part because, aside from the commercial overload, “radio no longer breaks new music and acts.” Fix it by doing so, and become the influencers you used to be, Del Colliano advises programmers, instead of letting social media do it.

Ross takes it a step further and blames, in part, the record companies for not even trying to promote new musical styles and acts to hit radio stations.

I agree fully with all of the above, which you already know if you’ve read this column very long. Your responses to me tell me that you agree as well. And like the dark days of hit top-40 radio before, all it takes is a KHJ, a Ten-Q, a KIIS-FM, or the like to take up the cause and do it right.

Top-40 is not dead, it’s just dormant. And the time is ripe for a comeback. Hopefully sooner than later.

Rumor Mill

Is Saul Levine ready to test all-digital AM on his K-Mozart (1260 AM)? I’ve been told “maybe.” I hope it happens … I’d love to see how far an all-digital AM signal can carry both during the day and night, and if it helps reduce the interference between stations. If it happens, you’ll be the first to know.

///

Radio: September 15, 2023

Over the air television broadcasts are about to undergo another transition similar to the original transition to digital transmissions over a decade ago. Digital television broadcasts launched a few years prior, but in 2009 most analog television broadcasts were shut down, and digital, using what is called the ATSC 1.0 standard, was the default over-the-air standard.

More recently a new technology called ATSC 3.0 has been developed, offering more efficient signal use, better and easier reception, improved picture quality, and even streaming and on-demand services. One additional benefit: the system would allow for 50 — or more — full-fidelity radio stations to be sent along in the space of just one channel. That is if the industry decides to develop the concept.

According to an article at TechRadar.com, the idea was developed by Fraunhofer, “the company behind the original MP3 audio compression standard that ultimately led to the development of the best MP3 players and paved the way for music and internet radio streaming as well.

(full article at https://www.techradar.com/news/if-atsc-30-broadcasts-pack-50-radio-stations-in-one-tv-channel-im-all-ears)

“Fraunhofer is seeking to have its highly efficient xHE-AAC audio codec, which allows for high-quality voice transmission at a mere seven kilobits per second and stereo music at bit rates from 24 kilobits per second and up, ‘brought into the ATSC for standardization.’ Doing so would let ATSC 3.0 broadcast TV stations deliver a package of local and national radio services using just a small fraction of their spectrum bandwidth.”

What this means is that, if the standards committees agree, we could have an additional way to send and receive radio broadcasts over the air, receivable in cars and homes, … and if done right could be a true competitor to current AM and FM stations dominated by a mere three owners.

I suggest the proposal include limits to ownership, such that only a small handful of stations could be owned and operated by any one company. This would avoid the mess we have now with stale formats and commercial overloads that push people away to other entertainment sources. I’d push for no more than two stations in one market and only seven nationwide … basically the same limits radio had back when it was a super-power listener and ad-wise.

YouTube’s “Antenna Man” has a little video on the concept at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDUotDRS1hs … check it out if you are interested.

Reception Questions

We live in San Juan Capistrano and enjoy listening to 91X. We have radios in the master bath and garage.

“The signal from 91X is highly variable. On some days the reception is great, on others the station barely registers. Any insight into why that’s the case? Thanks!” — Eric Carlson

FM reception can be tricky for two reasons … under certain (usually bad weather) conditions, the signal just doesn’t travel as far, and it always has trouble with hills, since it travels in a straight line. Ironically, the other condition is when it’s REALLY clear, and the signal gets interrupted by neighboring stations on or near the frequency. HD signals make it worse because they add to the sideband interference. In some cases, stations once heard just disappear!

A house FM/TV antenna, if you can connect one, will usually make a huge difference. Just make sure it is designed for the FM band, which is between the old analog television Channel 6 and 7.

Of course the other solution is to use a smart speaker or smartphone app.

“For the past week I have been grumbling over my poor AM reception as I have been driving around the northern part of the San Fernando Valley in my 2006 GMC truck with my factory installed 31-inch stick antenna projecting from my front fender.

“It is nearly impossible to hear clearly 710, 790, and 1020AM broadcasting. The interference and screeching is horrendous. As a result, I thought of you and writing you an email when your column appeared today. Thus, I look to you for a solution. What do I do to receive reception? Do I need to replace my antenna? If so, what do I replace it with? What is the solution? I would appreciate any advice and recommendations.” — The Reverend Greg Frost, Granada Hills

AM is a different animal reception-wise from FM. While FM is relatively statice-free (reference: Steely Dan’s hit song “FM”), AM can pick up interference from almost anything: cheap electrical transformers, ungrounded electric supply wires, light dimmers, cable boxes, LED traffic lights and much more. In fact, it is the response by radio manufacturers in reducing interference that caused AM to get a reputation as a terrible-sounding broadcast system.

AM is actually capable of excellent fidelity. Many radios manufactured before the 1980s sounded good; many in the 1960s were excellent. The AM stereos of the 1980s and ‘90s often were superb. But too many are awful, and there is definitely a price to be paid with so much extra interference around us today.

Add to this the fact that too many station owners gave up their prime broadcast towers or allowed building in and around the transmitter site, and you have another problem - far weaker signals than ever before for many stations.

In this specific case, in order to trace it out, it is important to know - did it come on suddenly? Is the antenna tight? Is there ay corrosion on the mast mount? Is the antenna grounded? Does the interference happen only when the truck is running, or all the time?

Often car radio interference can be traced to a bad ground wire, a loose battery connection, or in one case of my own years ago, a car phone charger that made AM reception almost impossible whenever it was plugged in.

I’d look for corrosion and grounds first, then move on from there.

Radio: September 22, 2023

The August Nielsen ratings were released last week for Los Angeles, and while I will not be covering the entire list — I leave that for quarterly reports so as to not bore you too much — there was definitely a station worth mentioning: KFI (640 AM)

The reason it’s worth mentioning has as much to do with the success the station has enjoyed as it does the dire predictions many made when programmer Robin Bertolucci adjusted the programming and moved a few hosts around in early January.

“They’re doomed,” cried some. No one will listen to John and Ken — who moved from their longtime afternoon drive slot to take on the 1 to 3 p.m. hours — that early. Tim Conway will not attract an audience in afternoons like he had at night. Etcetera, etcetera …

And ‘Mo Kelly? Who’s he?

I even had people write in talking about the steep ratings drop KFI had due to the changes. There was only one problem: it never really happened, in a statistical sense. I looked it up … for most of the last few years, KFI ranged from the mid-high 3s to the low-mid 4s with a few periods even higher. So this year, ranging from 4.1 to 4.3 was normal.

But the ratings for August had KFI at a recent high: 4.8, good for third place over all. Done with little promotion, no marketing (why is that, by the way?) … and all those changes that “killed” it.

Why is KFI so successful? Isn’t conservative talk dead? Yes, it is … and it’s been decades since KFI was considered “conservative talk” even when it wasn’t. There have always been a balance of viewpoints on the station; as it moved away from politically-centered topics to more general topics, it matched the mood of listeners who wanted to be entertained more than they wanted to be angry.

Thus, the idea of shortening the shifts to keep shows fresh and fast-moving, keeping all of the current hosts while allowing for afternoon exposure of the amazing wit on the Conway Show, and the introduction, or perhaps re-introduction of general talk in the evenings with the addition of ‘Mo Kelly every evening at 7:00 … worked out perfectly.

And having a stellar news department helps as well.

“I am super-proud of the KFI team,” said programmer Bertolucci. “In addition to being #3 overall — and the top-rated news or talk station — we are so happy to be the most streamed station on the iHeart app.”

She said that on-demand and podcasts are doing great as well.

“KFI is THE live and local station for Southern California, and I think the key is all the ways people can hear us. From streaming in your car to listening on your smart speaker at home, we’ve got you covered.”

I asked her what she thought was the secret to the success of the station. Consistency? Fun? Yes, she said, to both. “Our hope is that any time you tune in, you are not only informed, but you are also entertained,” she said adding, “Thank you to all our wonderful listeners for their support!”

1110 AM Gets Religion

KRDC (1110 AM) was finally transferred to its new owner on September 8th. On that day it became KWVE, the AM simulcast of Calvary Chapel’s KWVE-FM (107.9). The format is Christian talk, which has been running on the FM signal for many years.

With that strong FM signal, why did the church buy the one-time top-40 powerhouse? Better coverage in the northern and western parts of the city, I am told, and an extended signal reach up and down the coast. Obviously Calvary Chapel believes in AM broadcasting …

And just to show that some things go full circle, 1110 AM, even though the station is not longer using the KRLA call letters it once had, is competing once more against KHJ (930 AM), which now airs Catholic talk programming.

Resting in Radio Peace

Don Barrett announced his cancer diagnosis in mid August; last week the news came that he had passed.

I won’t write a new obituary here; the column honoring him that ran on August 25th will suffice. But I wanted to mention an interview — a rare one, since Barrett even to the end rarely did interviews — done by my podcast partner Mike Stark. It includes some wonderful memories of radio past and present, shows Barrett’s philosophy of always looking to the positive, and even includes some classic airchecks I had not heard before that Barrett critiques. It’s a great listen and can be found at youtube.com/watch?v=SJ6BjY2cwYc.

In an ordinary instant, Don, you will be missed. God bless you.

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com

///

Radio Waves Podcast #381

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 21:55:00 -0700

Radio Waves: September 1, 2023

Antenna Mania

I recently had a chance to try out a really cool looking — at least in the opinion of some — antenna for my truck. The brand itself doesn’t matter much as these are all similar in design: flexible rubber with some sort of spiral wire inside to, as the description says, optimize reception for both AM and FM bands.

Most modern cars and trucks have special antennas that barely stick out of the body, and rely on signal amplifiers to get good reception. And most do quite well, including the one on my son’s Chevy Cruze … that radio gets better reception than almost any car radio I’ve ever used.

But my truck is a 1999 Silverado, with the old school antenna. The factory original sticking up 31 inches from the fender, it is optimized for FM frequencies but does quite well with AM too, including picking up the HD digital stream of KBRT (740 AM) from San Pedro. and occasionally getting the identification from KMZT (1260 AM) even though I can’t get the actual HD sound until I get closer. FM is similarly solid everywhere I drive.

But I couldn’t help wondering if the mini flex antenna — a “new generation” with a carbon-fiber base covering, built-in copper wire, and “optimized AM/FM reception by nearly 40%,” whatever that actually means — could live up to the hype and at least match or even beat my factory install.

Turns out, it couldn’t, and I realized that the 40% optimized reception means the reception is about 40% of what I used to receive with my original.

Most people may not have noticed the difference in FM performance, but I have an HD radio head unit, and it likes a good clear signal. FM stations generally did come in well with little interference similar to the original, though a few stations were just missing, such as KFBG (100.7 FM) and KGB (101.1 FM), which usually come in decently due to the signal shooting straight up the coast from San Diego to San Pedro … at least on a clear day.

But the HDs were hit and miss, with more reception problems than ever. Even Go Country (105.1 FM) had trouble locking in the HD stream, and that is usually one of the most reliable where I like.

AM on the other hand, was an entirely disappointing experience. Static everywhere, even over flamethrower 50,000 watt powerhouse KFI (640 AM). KMZT could not even be heard, and mid-signal stations such as KLAC (570 AM), KABC (790 AM), and KHJ (930 AM) were essentially unlistenable.

To prove it wasn’t just weather or atmospheric conditions on the test day, I put my factory antenna back on and all the reception problems cleared up. Immediately.

I bring this up not to bash the manufacturer of the antenna I evaluated. Instead I want to highlight the fact that antenna design, including length and other aspects, is exceedingly important to good reception. AM likes an antenna as long as possible, FM seems to work well with — on a car at least — that 31 inches preciously mentioned. Something to do with wavelength as I recall — engineers, feel free to confirm or correct me.

Newer cars usually use special small antennas are just that: antennas designed to work with the car’s construction and electronics to optimize reception.

Home radios and stereos can suffer from the same issues, and reception there can often be improved for AM by rotating the radio or moving it away from other electronics to cancel out interference. For FM, if you can connect it to a house antenna just like most televisions used to be, you’ll hear stations from greater distances than ever before.

Of course all of this is moot if you listen via apps. But that’s another column …

Sound Science

Another new toy I recently evaluated is a special little box that turns my normal iPhone’s Car Play wired system into wireless. Not an amazing must-have, mind you, but really a nice thing if you do have it. When I start up the truck, the phone connects automatically and starts playing whatever I was listening to last.

Yesterday I was driving my dog Snoopy back from a check-up at the vet’s office, and Alt 98.7 FM came on. I really wasn’t paying attention, but it turned out it was playing through CarPlay via the iHeart app. How does it compare with the over-the-air signal?

I checked. While it does sound good on the app, over the air is vastly superior on a direct comparison. More open, more dynamic … just better.

This is not an indictment of apps, by the way. Some stations, including both over-the air simulcasts and internet-only stations sound absolutely phenomenal on apps. And Alt does sound fine. But the difference in quality was noticeable, and probably related to reducing bandwidth on the internet stream to allow more connections as well as cut streaming costs. Just a guess … again, engineers can feel free to confirm or correct me.

Where the apps excel, though, are areas of weak reception. As long as the internet signal is good, apps can work where AM and FM cannot.

And while I am on the subject of Alt 98.7 … I mean this with love … The Foo Fighters and Maneskin both made more than one song each … just sayin’.

///

Radio: August 25, 2023

Don Barrett is one of the radio’s biggest supporters. Not only was he in radio — among other accomplishments, he launched KIQQ (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) in the early 1970s — he is and has been a friend even to those radio personalities he never met.

His book, “Los Angeles Radio People,” set out to highlight every radio personality who was ever on the local airwaves between the years of 1957 to 1994 (First Edition) and 1957 to 1997 (Second Edition). As much as possible, many behind the microphone were also featured. There was supposed to be a Third Edition, but a tragic hard drive crash and the lack of suitable backup caused the update to be abandoned.

In order to publicize the book, Barrett created the Los Angeles Radio People website, at laradio.com. At first it was just information about the book, but it soon grew in to a news and information site that quickly became a must-read daily gathering of radio people and radio fans alike. In time the site eclipsed the book in importance, with daily updates of the industry including what people were up to, the state of the industry, and even a call for help for those down on their luck. Kind of the gathering place at the company cooler.

Barrett always made sure that both in his books and the site, he was always positive. Rare was the case when he wasn’t presenting only positive vibes. Even after he decided to retire from the daily updates, he still maintained contact with his thousands of radio friends, updating the “Where Are They Now” listings, and continuing to act as radio’s cheerleader with re-posts of past columns highlighting various achievements, awards, and more.

Last week, Barrett posted something more serious.

“I discovered the writings of Joan Didion late in life,” he wrote. “She coined the phrase, ‘ordinary instant.’ Perhaps the phrase leaped off the page because death comes in such a rushing finality. She wrote: ‘Life changes fast/Life changes in the instant/You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.’ Joan’s husband was robbed of 3,500 days. In an ordinary instant.

“For the past two months, I have been in constant pain. Doctors, hospitals and ERs. Yesterday I was in the San Luis Obispo ER for more tests. And there it was in an ordinary instant – advanced stages of liver cancer that had spread.

“The doctor was sorry to pass on the news and couldn’t hold back tears. Cherie and I looked at each other, burst into tears and almost simultaneously said, ‘I think this is my ordinary instant.’

“I have been blessed with two great loves in my life. I struggled with relationships for the first 70 years. In 2012 the most amazing woman entered my life. Cherie taught me about unconditional love. She is the greatest blessing ever. It is never too late to start over. My three children embraced her from the beginning.

“My second love has been radio. Thank you for supporting my love affair for over a quarter of a century. I will be shutting down LARadio in the coming days.”

I asked Don if it was OK to share the news, and he told me that he keeps no secrets … and immediately thanked me for all I’ve done … typical Don … looking toward the positive. His positivity over time helped me to become more positive in life, a better person overall, and certainly a better supporter of the radio community. I have truly appreciated our friendship.

Barrett supported others as well, writing in that same post, “Another blessing, after 42 years of being clean and sober, I have been so privileged to share my experience, strength and hope with younger men on the path to sobriety.

“If we're lucky we get 28,000 days. Cherish them and don't waste one of them. God bless!”

The site’s front page is still up as I write this, but no content is available except for a mention of the shut down: “In an ordinary instant - cancer has taken LARadio.com”

Don - may your remaining time on earth be without pain and as positive as you deserve. Be with your family. And remember, you will forever and always be radio’s historian.

Condensed Access

AllAccess.Com founder Joel Denver announced in July that mid August would be its shutdown; early August bright some good news, with the following post on line … “The outpouring from the radio and music communities, our clients and partners since our ALL ACCESS closure announcement set for August 15th has been unbelievable. Thank you, so much. Your feedback gave us pause to review what could still be possible despite the financial headwinds we have been facing.

“ALL ACCESS has heard you loud and clear, so beginning AUGUST 16th, a modified/abbreviated ALLACCESS.COM site will be available with some basic services still intact.”

The daily Net News updates have been discontinued, as have much of the original content. But various elements will live on even if just archival form. Of course I hold out hope that over the course of time, more original content will return. For now … it’s good news regardless.

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com.

///

Radio Waves: September 1, 2023

Antenna Mania

Turns out, it couldn’t, and I realized that the 40% optimized reception means the reception is about 40% of what I used to receive with my original.

But the HDs were hit and miss, with more reception problems than ever. Even Go Country (105.1 FM) had trouble locking in the HD stream, and that is usually one of the most reliable where I like.

To prove it wasn’t just weather or atmospheric conditions on the test day, I put my factory antenna back on and all the reception problems cleared up. Immediately.

Newer cars usually use special small antennas are just that: antennas designed to work with the car’s construction and electronics to optimize reception.

Of course all of this is moot if you listen via apps. But that’s another column …

Sound Science

I checked. While it does sound good on the app, over the air is vastly superior on a direct comparison. More open, more dynamic … just better.

Where the apps excel, though, are areas of weak reception. As long as the internet signal is good, apps can work where AM and FM cannot.

And while I am on the subject of Alt 98.7 … I mean this with love … The Foo Fighters and Maneskin both made more than one song each … just sayin’.

///

Radio Waves Podcast #380

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 8 Aug 2023 14:42:00 -0700

Radio: August 11

Hearing Taylor Swift 24/7 wasn’t enough for you? You needed more?

On the heals of Taylor 105.1 HD3, in which one of the HD radio streams tied to Go Country 105 plays nothing but Taylor Swift (you need a special HD radio to hear it; new cars often have them) came word that KIIS-FM joined the trend.

Scheduled for August 3-9 — so depending on when you read this it may already be over — KIIS-FM became “SWFT-FM,” playing at least four Swift songs an hour. Last weekend included classic Taylor hits, Monday was Merch-Monday in which listeners could win official Swift memorabilia, Tuesday was Taylor TWOsday — back to back Swift songs — and much more.

Even morning man Ryan Seacrest got into the act giving way a pair of tickets for the final show on August 9th.

Not to be outdone, Alt 98.7 was doing an “anything but Swift” promotion. Different strokes.

Stunting

While 105.1 HD3 continues to play all Swift through the end of the month, rumors are circulating on what will happen when the stunt is done. I originally assumed that the format would revert to the Adult Standards format that focussed on Frank Sinatra and friends, but there is word on the street that something new night be coming. And you know what happens when one assumes.

HD radio signals are a tough sell, as the reach is limited compared with regular FM signals, due to a far lower number of HD radios in the hands of consumers as well as reception problems — dropouts — when the signal isn’t pristine. That can often be made up by the use of smartphone apps and smart speakers … unfortunately adding more costs, such as music streaming license fees and costs associated with computers. As most HD signals have few to no commercials or sponsorships, it is most definitely a labor of love for owners who truly try to make a go of it.

Could the right format combined with the right promotion make an HD stream at least break even, if not profitable? That’s your question of the week: If you could program an HD stream, such as 105.1 HD3, what would you put on it and why? For extra credit, how might you promote the station to not only attract listeners, but advertisers?

In the meantime, I’ll keep an ear to the ground to see if a new format will indeed be replacing All-Taylor.

Not Quite

“In a significant change for Los Angeles radio listeners, KNX has stopped simulcasting its broadcasts on 1070 AM, a frequency it had occupied for over a century,” read the story posted at newsbreak.com. “The shift comes about a year and a half after KNX moved its main broadcast to 97.1 FM.” The story — no longer available on line — went on to state that listeners were shocked when they tuned in to 1070 AM and didn’t hear the normal news format.

A reader of this very column sent me the posting; at first I just assumed that management made a decision that was, um, questionable. Most people I know still tune to KNX on the AM band due to its significantly stronger signal, even if the fidelity on most radios is not quite as good. “Stupid,” I responded.

But then I tuned in to hear it for myself. Same news as always, an exact simulcast as has been happening for the past year. That’s odd…

Soon KNX management responded directly to the story: “Hi there, Alex Silverman here, Director of News & Programming at KNX News,” said the social media post. “Just want to clarify: we have not ended the simulcast. KNX News is still on both 97.1 FM and 1070 AM in all hours except weekend mornings (Sat 6-11a and Sun 6-8a), when 1070 AM airs some paid and specialty programming.

“This has been the case for more than a year, and there has been no change recently. During those hours the news is available on 97.1 FM as well as the Audacy app and by asking your smart speaker to 'play KNX News.’”

So what happened? AI, or artificial intelligence that can be used to wrote stories. According to sources close to the subject, it was a story written primarily by artificial intelligence, and I will go out on a limb and state that the AI system involved probably just picked up a discussion by people related to the weekend morning paid programming. In the beginning of the simulcast, I am sure there were listeners surprised/shocked/etc. to hear something other than news in those time blocks. But weekend mornings does not translate to all the time.

Luckily for you, we don’t use AI here. In fact, I try to avoid all intelligence, not just artificial. Just ask my editor - he’ll agree completely.

Future Series

I am planning to start a feature in stations that don’t exist any more. But not just the big boys, or even the big-boys’ big formats. Stations like the original KDAY when it played top-40 and rock. Magic Oldies Radio K-WOW. KBLA. Stations you loved, but were not necessarily the stations that made it big.

I can use your help on this … if you have ideas for stations — and the personalities involved — to cover, send them my way.

Radio: August 4, 2023

If you tuned in lately to digital HD Radio station 105.1 HD3 to hear Frank Sinatra and friends, you might have been shocked to find … Taylor Swift!

In a nod to the format stunts of the past, station owner Saul Levine has changed the format of Unforgettable LA to Unforgettable Taylor Swift. I would have called it K-SWIFT, but I digress. In addition to the digital stream that requires a special HD tuner to receive, if you live in San Fernando, you can listen on a regular FM radio via the local low-powered transmitter that simulcasts the format.

Originally scheduled to begin July 29th — my wife Jean’s birthday, by the way — it started two days early and is planned to run for 30 days.

Says Levine: “Due to the extreme interest in the coming tour of Taylor Swift, we are playing “All Taylor All the Time.” He added that the KKGO HD signals (there are four) have a potential reach of 12 million people, and that many new cars include HD radios as standard or optional equipment, depending on the manufacturer.

Discovering Radio

Something wrong with the software or a module in my wife’s car causes her radio to “forget” four of the preset pages, which also leads to the radio tuning in the last AM or FM station heard no matter what other setting you had. For example, you might have been tuned into SiriusXM’s Coffeehouse when you were driving … next time you start up, you’re back listening to the radio.

I don’t think it’s a feature pushed by broadcasters in order to get people listening to traditional radio. But it is working … Jean has spent the last month listening to Alt 98.7 and KRTH 101. “It’s too much trouble to switch back,” she says, adding that she’s enjoyed the music.

AM for All

Though automaker Ford agreed to keep AM radio in its cars for at least one more model year, there are others that already removed it from the dashboard and the threat is there regardless. So work continues in the legislative arena.

Last week the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed the “AM for Every Vehicle Act,” sending it to the full Senate for debate.

According to industry newspaper Radio World (radioworld.com), The act “would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a rule requiring automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their vehicles without a separate or additional payment, fee or surcharge. It says AM should be clearly visible on the vehicle’s dashboard; and until the new standard would take effect, cars lacking AM radio receivers would have to be labeled as such for buyers.”

Interestingly, the act was opposed by Senate Democrat Gary Peters (Michigan), who stated that the act is not only unnecessary, but that “Congress has never mandated radio features in vehicles ever before.”

Ah, but while Congress may not have, the FCC required something similar in the 1960s when it mandated all televisions include UHF tuners (covering channels 14-83) in the days when most homes watched VHF (channels 2-13). So it’s not exactly unprecedented. In fact, had the FCC mandated AM stereo or selected a single stereo system for the band, we may not be in the position we are in right now.

Some observers are concerned, however, that mandating AM without minimum quality standards for reception may make things worse.

Radio Waves: July 28, 2023

Ken and Dave talk radio!

If you have not already subscribed to Ken Levine’s podcast — available on multiple sources including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, or even links at his blog page, kenlevine.blogspot.com — you owe it to yourself to start listening. Right now.

Go ahead … I’ll wait.

Levine is a multi-talented man, having worked in radio (aka Beaver Cleaver on Ten-Q and B-100 among others), written for television and movies, written books and cartoons, and even written plays. His intelligence, humor, and humble attitude shine through his writings, and his “Hollywood and Levine” podcast is superb.

Recently he interviewed former programmer of The Sound, Dave Beasing —now a podcast creator and developer himself, regarding all things radio: programming, music, competition, commercials and more. I won’t give away the content, but suffice to say that he talks about much of what is discussed right here … or when he guests on my own podcast I co-cost with Mike Stark (Radio Waves, also available on numerous platforms). Great minds think alike, apparently.

Beasing, or for that matter Levine, Stark, and myself, is a huge fan of radio and the potential it has still. Not that he would want to necessarily be directly involved in day to day programming right now. But his insight and knowledge of radio and podcasting is tremendous. Look for episodes 333 and 334.

Career-Spanning Interviews

Speaking of Stark and myself – over the years we have done numerous career-spanning interviews with people both in front of and behind the radio microphone who made huge contributions to our favorite medium.

The series actually goes back many years and includes some greats, including:

Los Angeles and surrounding city air personalities: Ace Young (KMET), Jeff Gonzer (KMET), Cynthia Fox (KMET), Dr. Demento (KMET), Elliot Mintz (KABC), Mo Kelly (KFI), Geno Michellini,(KLOS) , Shotgun Tom Kelly (KRTH), Dave “Hullabalooer” Hull, (KRLA), JJ Johnson (KDAY), Ken Levine (KTNQ, KABC), Poorman (KROQ), Thrasher (KNAC), Phil Hulett (KFWB), the “Insane” Darrell Wayne (KROQ), Lee Marshall (KHJ, KABC) and a tribute to newswoman Liz Fulton (KIIS-FM).

Program Directors: Chuck Martin (KHJ) and Dave Beasing (The Sound).

Radio executives: Jeff Smulyan and Rick Cummings (Emmis Communications)

Radio historian: Don Barrett (LARadio.com)

Listen day or night – 24/7 on TuneIn at: https://tunein.com/radio/LA-Radio-Studio-s196975/ or tell your smart device to “Play LA Radio Studio”.

The shows will run continuously — and randomly — through mid-August, and will be a regular part of the stream’s programming after that.

We definitely need to do some more of them as well!

Where’s Kaplan

Where is Leon Kaplan, the longtime “Motorman” as heard weekends on KABC (790 AM) for, well, seemingly forever?

Retired, says KPFK (90.7 FM) “The Car Show” host Dave Kunz. Kunz posted on social media, “Congratulations to my friend Leon ‘Motorman’ Kaplan, retiring after an incredible 43 years on the air at ONE radio station.

No word on if it was his decision or not, but with new management coming in, perhaps he just decided to hang it up.

State of the Industry

The news broke with an announcement on its own website July 14th: radio and music industry news site AllAccess.Com will be shutting down.

“It is with much sadness that we announce that in our 28th year of operation, ALLACCESS.COM will cease publishing at the close of business at 6p (PT), TUESDAY, AUGUST 15th, 2023 due to a marked decrease in revenues that makes moving forward impossible. The site will remain online for an undetermined amount of time.

“This was not a decision that was reached lightly nor without earnest tries to find a path forward. It comes on the heels of major changes in the music industry announced in JANUARY of this year. These strong financial headwinds also extend to our non-music partners as well. Both downturns have greatly affected how ALL ACCESS operates. The dollars are just not there to support our operation and staff any longer. “

The changes in the music industry mentioned reflect changes in promotions … and the budgets spent on said promotions, which are in decline. With the radio industry itself already having done that years ago, I can see why publisher and site founder Joel Denver is pulling the plug.

But it is a huge loss for both music and radio fans … All Access has been a source of information and research since its founding in 1995. And a class act the entire time. I will miss it a lot.

///

Radio Waves Podcast #379

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:47:00 -0700

Radio July 21, 2023

Billboard Magazine announced last week that — with her song “Karma” making it to #1 on the Pop Airplay chart — Taylor Swift has tied the record for the most number one songs by an artist in the history of the chart.

“Karma” is her 11th #1 hit, and that record puts her in good company, tying with Maroon 5, Katy Perry, and Rihanna who all also had 11 Number 1s. Right below them is Justin Bieber with ten Number 1s. No other artists are in the double digits.

Now, you may be asking how can that be? What about The Beatles? The Bee Gees? Michael Jackson? Elvis? Well, it’s not really a technicality, but it has to do with what the list actually measures and how old the list goes back. In this case it is a measure not of sales, but how many times the song has been played by major stations across the country … and it only goes back as far as October, 1992.

If you investigate the actual number of times an artist hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the leader in indeed The Beatles, with 20 Number 1 hits; Mariah Carey is second on that list with 19. Where’s Elvis? Third, with 18.

Small Town Radio

Brian Winnekins is the owner of WRDN/Durand Wisconsin, one of the handful of AM AM stations across the country still utilizing the Motorola C-Quam stereo system, which means that most current radios can’t decode the stereo signal, but many from the 1980s and ‘90s still can. With the improvements and investments in equipment he (and those in similar situations) have made, his stations sounds remarkable on any decent radio — stereo or not.

Durand is a small farming town, with a population of only about 1900 residents in the 2020 Census. But unlike some small town stations, Winnekins doesn’t take the easy way out by just putting on syndicated programming or political talk. Instead he takes his community service roll seriously, and presents extensive agricultural news and information, local high school athletic games, local news, local events, and local weather. Oh, and country music.

Note the word local. Back to that soon.

Recently, Winnekins posted information on Facebook regarding the station’s Summer programming special: “Doing the community service thing from our first fair of season,” he wrote. “Yes we do live video streams of livestock shows. Don't laugh, we have 17 sponsors.”

Seventeen sponsors, in a town of fewer than 2000 residents, not counting the cattle. On a station that is on the band that some say is dead. How can that be?

Back to the word “local.” It is so key to connecting with your audience — and advertisers. That focus on the local audience is what makes the difference. An active audience that can then be reached by local advertisers who have no other easy way to reach their target customers.

But certainly you could not do that in Southern California. Really? Why not? There used to be local stations … in fact all the stations used to be local in some sense. But the move to become “bigger” can hurt when you can’t compete against the big boys with, for example, a limited signal. Or even just a limited budget. The solution? Program local.

The original setup of many stations was designed to be locally-focussed. As some stations grew, they became dominant, of course. But there was still room for stations serving a local audience. KGIL (now KMZT, 1260 AM) was designed and originally programmed for the San Fernando Valley. KEZY (now KGBN, 1190 AM) was for Anaheim. KFOX (now KDAY, 93.1 FM) was for Redondo Beach. How about a station actually programming to the local community, whatever that community may be? San Pedro … Wilmington … Huntington Park … Hermosa Beach… Fountain Valley… You get the idea.

If I was a local business owner, I could probably never afford to buy advertising time on KIIS-FM (102.7), and it would probably not be worth it even if I could. But if I could advertise on a station targeting my local community, it might be the best marketing investment I could make.

So as we continue the talk of helping improve radio, programmers must remember that local trumps all, even for the larger stations. KHJ (930 AM) wasn’t the most influential station of its time when it played top-40 because it syndicated its programming or used out of town DJs… it was so because it was Los Angeles… there were stations similar, but there was only on KHJ. Only one KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM). Only one KROQ (106.7 FM).

Be the best you can be, program locally, and there is no stopping you.

Wheel of Reaction

Not everyone was happy with the news that KIIS morning man Ryan Seacrest was chosen as the replacement host for “Wheel of Fortune” when Pat Sajak retires. Posts on social media were not all positive, and letters from you were not necessarily supportive either

…

“Seacrest sucks! He's going to drive that show off a cliff faster than Dick Clark in a van getting away from Michael Moore in ‘Bowling for Columbine.’” says reader Eric Peterson.

In case you don’t know the reference, as explained on documentarychannel.tumblr.com, in the movie “the former American Bandstand host is ambushed outside his production office and made to look insensitive because he shuts a minivan door in the filmmaker’s face.”

I’m still reserving judgement. You never know who will make a good host … I thought Snoop Dogg was going to be awful on the relaunch of television game show “Joker’s Wild.” Instead he proved to be quite good at it. Who knew?

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com.

///

RadioWaves: July 14, 2023

McIntyre’s Musings

“About 15-years ago, I did one air shift at KFI (640 AM) radio, wrote (former) longtime KABC (790 AM) morning talker Doug McIntyre on a social media post. “I so impressed management that, after only a decade and a half, they have invited me back. I will be filling in for John & Ken on Thursday, June 29th and Friday, June 30th from 1-4pm. Nobody is more surprised than me.”

He did fill in, and it most certainly did not go unnoticed by you … I received numerous emails asking if, just perhaps, McIntyre might come back permanently to radio via KFI. So I asked; his response will disappoint somewhat. But there is some good news too.

“I’m just happy to have had the opportunity to fill-in for John and Ken, McIntyre explained, adding, “I am not looking for work. They called and asked if I’d do it and the timing was good, especially with my book coming out July 18th, so I said yes.

“It was a ton of fun, but after 4-1/2 years off the air, I was as nervous as I was the first time I ever hosted a show. I’d be happy to do more fill-in work if they ask. I have a lot of old friends in the building.”

Any possibility of a permanent position? Not interested.

But the book? What’s up with that? I have not read it, have not seen an advanced copy, nor do I have any real information as to its content. But I do know it is being released (as stated) on July 18th. And it is his first full-length novel, entitled “Frank’s Shadow.”

You can read the synopsis by searching out the title, but this part of the description jumped out when I read it on various bookseller sites: “Frank’s Shadow is a deeply (sometimes darkly) human story wrapped in the trappings of a delightfully gritty love letter to New York City’s less glamorous neighborhoods.” Sounds intriguing!

McIntyre will be out promoting the book in person Tuesday July 18th from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at The Grove at Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles; July 22nd from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Gatsby’s in Long Beach; and July 26th from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Pages: A Book Store in Manhattan Beach. More signing events will be held in August as well … you can see a calendar of events for the book and other aspects of his life at dougmcintyre.com/upcoming-appearances.

More Oldies … on Hit Radio?

Well, I guess it figured to happen. Considering that even the supposed new music stations like Alt 98.7 FM and KROQ (106.7 FM) are essentially alternative oldies stations, perhaps it was just a matter of time before top-40 stations became oldies stations as well.

I mean, why attract young people to radio when you can play the same songs you played 20 years ago? Simple. Easy. Mindless. Lazy.

I am referring to a trend highlighted in a recent RadioInsight.Com report by Lance Venta, who writes that “WKFS Milford/Cincinnati Ohio has joined the growing number of CHR stations shifting to a gold-heavy presentation.

“WKFS is still playing 3-4 currents per hour, but has removed all of its re-currents and recent golds replacing them with golds mostly from 2000 to 2010,” he says.

To translate that into normal-speak, what they have done is limited new releases — within the past year or so — to three or four songs per hour, cut back on music over a year old (re-currents) along with those just slightly older (recent golds). In their place are what we used to call oldies – songs over ten years old. Note that the station is not going back too far, though it is the modern equivalent of when stations like KHJ (930 AM) or K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) would drop back into the 1960s era when they played top-40 in the 1980s … or when KHJ played songs from the ‘50s in the 1960s and ‘70s.

The difference, though, is that stations like KHJ and K-WEST maintained playing a LOT of new music, and the oldies added spice to the mix, maybe twice an hour at most. And they were carefully selected to make you go “wow – I haven’t heard that in years.” Usually the songs were part of a flashback specially highlighted as “Yesterday,” “Number One then…” or the “time machine.”

The modern version, by contrast, places the oldies at the top-tier. Which would be OK if the stations sold themselves as the oldies stations that they are, much like KRTH (101.1 FM) did in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Perhaps it will work, and radio can continue to shun younger listeners, forcing them to other entertainment sources. But I find the entire movement kind of sad when formats that are supposed to play new music … don’t. If this continues, the only people who will listen to radio will be older than me.

Sure it could bring in some listeners from other stations. But it won’t bring in new listeners to radio, and it is basically the easy way to temporarily make a buck. Like other make-a-buck schemes of the past — satellite formats, “Jack” formats, cloned stations in every market, little promotion, nationwide contests, one DJ for multiple stations — it will do nothing to make radio competitive long term against the industry’s numerous competitors, from streaming services to TikTok.

Sometimes it really does seem that the radio industry wants to fail.

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com.

Radio Waves: July 7, 2023

Seacrest Takes the Wheel

Radio has a long history of sending many of its top personalities to host television game shows. Among the most famous include Wink Martindale, Jim Lange, Bob Eubanks, Gene Rayburn, and Pat Sajak, among many more.

To that list, add KIIS (102.7 FM) morning man Ryan Seacrest, who will replace Sajak on “Wheel of Fortune” at the end of the 2024 season. When Sajak leaves, he will end more than four decades with the show, after taking over for original host Chuck Woolery who left the show in a salary dispute in December, 1981.

Seacrest got his start in Los Angeles radio in 2004 at Star 98.7 FM (now known as Alt 98.7, KYSR). But he was only 16 when started in the profession by winning an internship at his hometown radio station WSTR/Atlanta where he learned all aspects of radio … including filling in for ill or vacationing air personalities and eventually getting a regular weekend shift … while still in high school.

His show on Star was during afternoon drive, and he was definitely a “star” (pardon the pun) on the station paired with Lisa Fox. He left for San Francisco’s K-101 in 2003, returning to Los Angeles less than a year later to replace Rick Dees in February, 2004, a position he still holds and has held all the while taking on numerous other radio and television gigs including hosting syndicated radio program “American Top 40” and television shows such as “American Idol,” “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” and the legendary “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” which he inherited from another radio personality, Dick Clark.

Many have compared Seacrest with Clark, primarily due to his boyish looks and on-air charm. He has always been able to engage his audiences, and Seacrest has often said that he idolized Clark growing up.

Interestingly and somewhat humorously, there was some pushback on the internet boards over the announcement of the Wheel replacement. One comment on twitter asked “how many jobs do you need?” with another pleading him to reconsider, writing “We don’t want you! Go away lol! You’re just going to ruin this amazing show.”

“Wheel” producers obviously feel differently, and are paying Seacrest a reported $28 million per season, $13 million more than Sajak reportedly earned from the show. Sajak, by the way, will stay on as a consultant for three years. For historical reference, Woolery was let go when he was asking $500,000 per season.

Salary issues aside, I do think Seacrest will be a good host. His radio duties including hosting KIIS mornings will continue at least through 2025, the end of his current contract. My hunch is that he will remain at KIIS far longer. Radio stations often benefit from television exposure of their personalities, and you can’t get much more exposure than Seacrest.

Cardinal Rule

A wise programmer and consultant once told me that a general interest morning show should shun discussion or presentation of political viewpoints in order to avoid ticking off half of your potential audience.

Which is why I was so surprised when I tuned in to KROQ’s (106.7 FM) morning Klein and Ally show last Friday. During a segment that was presented as news, co-host Ally Johnson launched into a short rant condemning a recent Supreme Court decision and lamenting how bad the country has become.

Remember, this was supposedly news, though the segment also devolved to include conjecture as to how couples can “hook up” behind the rows of port-a-potties at festival concerts. KROQ does not run editorials.

Personally, I don’t care what her opinion is, on any subject. She can think whatever she wants. But if I was the program director of KROQ, trying to build an audience for a dying station against competition that has been killing the morning show in the ratings for years? I’d be livid.

If I were in management for the ownership, Audacy, which just instituted a reverse 1-for-30 stock split in order to try to shore up finances … I’d be questioning my choice of program director. There’s just too much at stake.

Radio Waves Podcast #378

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 16:22:00 -0700

Radio Waves: June 30, 2023

Remembering John Felz

John Felz began his radio career in 1971, working in the mail room of KMPC (now KSPN, 710 AM). In the small-world department, one of his colleagues in the mail room was future KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) newscaster and personality Pat “Paraquat” Kelley, whose father Bob Kelley was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Rams.

After a time, Felz was moved to the newsroom as an assistant, supporting the newsroom staff by sorting and compiling stories that came across the teletype machines from the various news services of the time, including the Associated Press and United Press International. His duties also included writing sports and weather reports for the news anchors and station personalities such as Dick Whittinghill, Ira Cook, Johnny Grant, Gary Owens, Geoff Edwards, Johnny Magnus, Wink Martindale and Robert W. Morgan.

Eventually he expanded into more programming elements both within the station and as part of the Golden West Broadcasters Radio Network — Golden West owned KMPC and the station was its flagship — which carried games for the California Angels, the Rams, and UCLA football and basketball. Felz was in charge of producing in-studio and in-stadium broadcasts for the network affiliates.

He moved on — and up — to hold positions in management, including Operations Director, Assistant Programmer, and producer for the morning show.

He left KMPC in 1995 and worked at a few stations, notably KRTH (101.1 FM), KIEV (now KRLA, 870 AM), and the Music of Your Life Radio Network.

Felz passed away on June 11th at the age of 78; no details on the cause of his death were released but friends say he had been having a series of health complications that most likely played a role. Friends and family will gather for a remembrance of his life on July 1st in Sherman Oaks.

Bebop Deluxe

No, not the band. After a year of preparations, KKJZ (88.1 FM) has launched a full-time bebop jazz sub-station, which can be heard online (look for the special button at jazzandblues.org) or on a digital HD radio tuner on 88.1 HD2.

While I am certainly not an expert, I do know that bebop is a style of jazz music that is generally fast-tempo, uses many chord changes and even key changes … and a lot of improvisation. This came about due to a younger generation of jazz musicians pushing the creative boundaries of the genre in the early to mid 1940s. Unlike much of the music of the time, bebop was not intended as being danceable; instead it was to be heard. Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis are among the influential bebop artists and composers.

Station consultant Saul Levine says that the music is being compiled by the KKJZ staff, directed by Jose Rizo. “We are fulfilling a need for jazz lovers, and we thank the California State University, Long Beach — owner of the station — for its support of our efforts.”

“We are doing this in honor if Chuck Miles and the great bebop music of the past.” he said.

Hayes Out

The rumors proved to be true … I had heard rumors from absolutely reliable sources that KABC (790 AM) programmer and market manager Drew Hayes had parted ways with the station and owner Cumulus Media, but I could not get confirmation from any of the players involved.

Turns out the rumors were true. AllAccess.Com confirmed that Hayes left the station in earlier June after many years with the station … this being his second stint.

Hayes has extensive experience in the format and in radio, having worked at WLS/Chicago, ESPN Radio, and KABC itself the last ten years in addition to his first time at the helm back in the late 1990s.

Where this takes the station is unknown. It has been years since KABC has been any type of force in the market, and conditions have gotten worse as owner Cumulus continues to shed costs .. and stations. I cannot even remember the last time I saw an ad for KABC … the last one I can remember featured Ken (Minyard) and Bob (Arthur) … meaning it was decades ago.

With all the choices for stations and non-radio entertainment, a marketing plan is imperative. KABC has had none, and the results speak for themselves.

And rumors continue to swirl regarding Cumulus simply selling the station, so perhaps Hayes dodged a proverbial bullet.

Radio Waves: June 23, 2023

Where’s My Oldies?

I received more than a few emails regarding the loss of the LA Oldies (aka K-SURF) stream. While the station can still be heard over the airwaves if you have an HD radio and are able to clearly tune in 105.1 HD4, many listeners used the internet or smartphone apps to listen, and that’s what had been turned off due to the costs involved. The financial burden for streaming rights has been an issue for many stations, especially in smaller markets and niche formats.

Station owner Saul Levine knew that people liked the station and listened through the stream, but he didn’t realize just how many. And it caught him somewhat off guard when he started receiving calls and emails from around the world asking what happened.

“I was amazed at the response and the size of the audience,” he told me in early June. “We are reviewing the potential to bring it back, especially if we can cover the costs to stream it.”

Then, last week, the good news: “K-SURF is making its way back on the air,” Levine told me. “The outpouring of excitement for the format surprised me. K-SURF is truly America’s Oldies station.”

It is taking time to get things going, but it will be back, he says, with an even better experience on the apps. That’s music to many ears.

Legend Sold

The original KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM) has been sold. Unfortunately not to anyone who will play top-40 or oldies as I would have done. Perhaps bring back some of the magic that once propelled the station to the top of the ratings in the 1960s or even as HitRadio 11 in the 1970s.

Disney sold its last remaining radio property to Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa for $5 million. Calvary also owns KWVE/San Clemente (107.9 FM) … Southern California’s other Wave (K-Wave), not to be confused with KTWV (94.7 FM – The Wave).

Not that I expect anyone to confuse K-Wave with The Wave, but it is interesting that both stations serve much of the same area.

I am a little surprised that Calvary bought KRDC as they already own a very powerful FM station, while KRDC’s signal is hampered with an odd transmitting pattern that seems to send much of the signal over the ocean. Perhaps they have plans to put some money into refurbishing the transmitter site.

Nominating Class of ’23

The Museum of Broadcast Communications — part of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago — received over 2500 suggestions for new inductees into the Radio Hall of Fame. In the end they whittled the list down to 24 candidates.

Among the nominees is our own John and Ken (currently heard 1-4 p.m. on KFI 640 AM), former local talk host Larry Elder, and Shadoe Stevens (KRLA, KMET, KROQ). You may also remember Stevens as Fred Rated, the “spokesman” for the now defunct Federated Group, and the voice of also defunct University Stereo among his popular voiceover work.

The full list, in alphabetical order by first name — for whatever reason — as presented on the website radiohalloffame.com/2023-nominees:

Bert Weiss, Bob Rivers, Charles Laquidara, Dyana Williams, Gerry House, Jaime Jarrin, John & Ken, John DeBella, Johnny Magic, Kevin Matthews, Kid Leo (Lawrence Travagliante), Larry Elder, Laurie DeYoung, Lee Harris, Rev. Louise Williams Bishop, Mark Simone, Mary McCoy, Matt Siegel, Mojo in the Morning, Monica May, Nina Totenberg, Pat St. John, Shadoe Stevens, and Shelley “The Playboy” Stewart.

Voting among 800 specially selected industry insiders will run through the end of the month; this year’s inductees will be announced on July 24th.

Playback

Just a few comments from recent columns …

“I read your column this morning and I sure agree with you regarding KABC. The station could be so much, but it has just become plain awful lately. The presentation is just terrible.

“I would hate to see one of the last stations to leave talk radio. I disagree with you in that it should be converted to music. Don’t we have enough music stations already?” — Mike Skibba

Not on AM … and that is a concern for me. Some owners are turning in licenses because the land they sit on is worth more than the station itself. Not enough listeners (and those that do listen are old like me or older, so advertisers don’t want them) because there is too much political talk, sports, etc. … there needs ti be something that attracts younger listeners before the band disappears completely, perhaps as soon as one more generation.

“I used to listen to KABC all day but not anymore. It is all politics and especially LA politics and I live in the OC. I would LOVE to find an oldies station (50’s 60’s 70’s) and see John Phillips on TV or on another stronger station. He is the only one I listen to now. — Lin Akins

///

Radio Waves: June 16, 2023

Goodbye, Jeff Baugh

These are getting difficult to write: we lost another good one last week.

Jeff Baugh, who reported on traffic conditions and major news stories from the air for almost 40 years, passed away June 6th due to lung cancer. He was 81.

Baugh was with only three stations his entire Los Angeles radio career: KFWB (980 AM) starting in 1986, followed by KNX (1070 AM … the FM simulcast did not exist at the time) in 2008, and KFI from 2017 until his death. His approach to traffic reporting was listener-driven – he didn’t believe it was enough to report on an incident, he understood the importance of making the reports relevant and useful by explaining, whenever possible, how to get around the problem.

LARadio.Com’s Don Barrett was a friend of Baugh’s; he says that Baugh’s smile was contagious … one “that you would never forget – a smile that would light up the dreariest of skies.”

Born in Brooklyn on November 15, 1942, Baugh was a Marine who served two tours in Vietnam. After the war he eventually found himself in Los Angeles where he became a DJ at Carlos and Charlie’s on the Sunset Strip until he landed at KFWB. As an airborne reporter, he was the recipient of numerous awards including multiple Golden Mikes, the award of awards for local news reporting.

Back Live

Live 105 (KITS/San Francisco) was the Bay Area’s alternative music source for over 30 years before first switching its name to “Alt 105.3” in 2017 and then changing its name and format to the soul-less adult hits Jack-FM clone called “Dave FM” just under two years ago.

Well, that didn’t work, so Live 105 is back. The switch happened on June 2nd and included a fairly creative pre-recorded promo announcing the change, including a short portion of the classic Cheech and Chong routine stating that “Dave’s not here!”

The change back has caused quite a buzz throughout the area, including coverage from local newspapers and television stations, as well as posts all over social media and studies from industry observers. Headlines such as “Listeners rejoice as Live 105 returns to the airwaves” are common.

Currently the station is running jockless; DJs are expected on the air in the coming weeks. As I tuned in on the internet stream, though, one thing stuck out … in its current form — like our own KROQ (106.7 FM) — it is basically an oldies station. I listened for an hour earlier in the day before writing this and heard only a few songs released in the pasts three years.

Perhaps it is by design; Live 105 and KROQ are both owned by the same company — Audacy — so perhaps copying KROQ is policy. Or it could be that the play list was still filled by many of the former Dave-FM songs … as so many semi-alternative songs can also be found on Jack-FM right here … also owned by Audacy.

My hope, though, is that new songs will become more prevalent and help make the format a success, which may help spread the idea to here.

Overall, I’d say this is a tremendously positive move. Now we just need to get the big 610 KFRC back on the air … Live trivia: Alt 98.7’s “The Woody Show” originated at Live 105 and was heard there until it was removed from the air for reasons that still are not totally clear. Their loss is our gain, of course.

Changes at KABC

Host Leo Terrell and programmer Drew Hayes are both out at KABC (790 AM). It appears that Hayes was let go and that Terrell left on his own terms in response. Left unsaid is what will happen with the rest of the station. For now, no one is talking.

But something does need to be done. It has been decades since KABC was truly relevant; too many syndicated programs and a woeful lack of promotion left the station so low in the ratings that many industry watchers were wondering when, not if, a change would come.

Personally, if I owned the station, I’d switch it to music. Perhaps a full service format backed by the oldies — or mellow rock — that you no longer hear on the radio.

But if management wants to keep it talk, start with the strengths, primarily mid-day son John Phillips. Phillips has a way of making politics and local issues entertaining and informative without preaching to the choir, and is definitely, by far, the best show on the station.

Once the hosts are chosen, it is imperative to clean up the on-air presentation. Too many programs sound like a bad college or high-school station, with volume levels uneven, unclear sound, music played too loud over the host making it difficult to hear, and an overall sound that screams low-budget. Additionally, promotional announcements sound too much like they are talking at listeners not to listeners.

Strange that the station that launched full-time talk in Los Angeles does it so badly today.

It could work, though. Once mostly live and local hosts are in place — you can keep a few of the syndicated podcast shows — then it’s time to clean up the sound by dumping all pre-recorded promos and make them all read by the hosts themselves. I don’t need to hear the deep-voice guy say “Dan – Bon – Gino” exactly the same way multiple times each day, every day.

Just a thought, anyway. Let me ask you this – what would you do with KABC?

///

Radio Waves: June 9, 2023

No Surf?

For a station with little exposure, LA Oldies — also known as K-SURF — has quite a following. At one time available on the AM band at 1260 kHZ, it moved off the band to make way for K-Mozart, relegating it to the HD4 digital radio stream tied to KKGO (105.1 FM) but still available world-wide on the internet, smart phone apps and smart speakers.

No longer. Station owner Saul Levine confirmed that the station stoped streaming as of May 22nd, a victim of increased streaming and licensing costs.

It’s not necessarily gone forever, and is still available on the HD stream if you own an HD Radio-capable receiver. Many cars have them as standard or available equipment, and aftermarket radios often include HD standard as well.

Keep in mind, Levine is a radio guy at heart and indicated that if he could figure out a way to at least cover the costs — via a new marketing plan, for example — it could very well return. In that vein, if you or someone you know wants to become an LA Oldies sponsor, you might consider contacting him. Just sayin’ …

But that doesn’t help now … where can former LA Oldies listeners find the music they like? Luckily, there are some alternatives that might not be exactly like the old K-Surf, but are quite good in their own approach. Some initial suggestions:

• Big 8 Radio, a tribute to CKLW, which still broadcasts from Windsor/Ontario but basically serves The Motor City Detroit. The broadcast station runs talk now, but was a Boss Radio station in the 1960s, and that is the focus of this tribute. You can tune in on various apps (I recommend StreamS HiFi Audio and MyTunerRadio) or at the website big8radio.com. It’s the Detroit version of Boss Radio, and noncommercial as well.

The station plays primarily hits of the 1960s but dips into the ‘50s and ‘70s as well. As I write this, they are presenting a Million Dollar Weekend, which fans of RKO top-40 and Boss Radio stations (KHJ, KGB, KFRC, CKLW, and more) will remember well.

• The Eagle, playing non-stop ‘70s music. I wouldn’t call it a station tribute; more like an era-tribute, but remarkably well-produced. The Eagle, like Big 8 Radio, has stunning sound quality (especially using StreamS) and has a format that runs the full decade of 1970-1979 (or is it 1971-1980?) give or take a year or so. Find it on the apps as well as TheEagle.FM

• Top 40 Hit Clock, which plays clusters of songs by year, and covers the 1950s through the ‘70s. It’s a tough find and doesn’t always show on the app searches; the best way to hear it is to use the online stream link, which is https://la2.indexcom.com/player/6. Fidelity of this is also remarkably good, and can be configured on the apps … I just can’t remember how. It definitely took some experimentation.

You can also find a ton of streaming internet-only as well as broadcast stations using the apps; just search by genre and decade. The good news for LA Oldies fans? Levine told me that he was “amazed at the national response and national audience.” He has been receiving emails from fans around the country. As we speak, he is reviewing ways to make it work.

Feedback Loop

“The main thing I don’t like about local radio is there are just too many commercials. Once when I was in my car, all the radio stations I had on my presets had commercials … at the same time! The other issue I have is the repetition of the music that is being played, especially on the classic hits and classic rock stations I listen to.

“The main thing I really enjoy about local radio is the DJs I listen to. It is so good to actually hear a live voice talking to you. I like DJs that announce the songs, tell you the time, and the weather. I also enjoy hearing people winning contests on the radio and the voice of the DJs showing how happy they are for the listener who won. You just don’t get that same feeling when you listen to a radio station that is automated, with no one there. The best part is you are truly never really alone, it is like having a dear friend over to your place to visit with you. — Russ, Glendale

“I usually find your takes spot on, but as a former Woody listener, I am now back on KROQ (106.7 FM) with Kline and Ally. Show is so much more So Cal, and actually find myself laughing a lot more without all the old sounding ‘radio bits.’

“I get an authentic early Stern vibe but with modern humor from Kline. Ally has grown on me a lot. I hear a lot of people talking about that ‘morning show on KROQ’ and talking about what they heard. I always think good radio (and TV) does that. Make people think and tell others. I think they are doing it better than most right now.” — Troy Grasso

You definitely hit the nail … word of mouth and a positive “vibe” are definitely the ways to go. Definitely.

Radio Waves Podcast #377

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Wed, 31 May 2023 21:15:00 -0700

Radio: June 2, 2023

Whether it was the threat of legislative action that would require it, or just a reaction to simple lobbying by government officials, listeners and buyers alike, Ford announced that it has reversed its decision to remove AM radio capabilities from some gas-powered vehicles in 2024 and through a software update will add the ability to receive AM in its 2023 electric vehicles.

One of the arguments for maintaining the ability to receive AM signals has to do with safety - the Emergency Alert System often relies on AM stations to spread news and information in the case of an emergency — KFI (640 AM) is the key link locally, for example — and the long-distance reception that AM transmissions offer can get news to distant rural areas with ease.

It is honestly a compelling argument; while cell-phone notifications can also be used in emergencies, the cellular network relies on cell towers and internet connections, which are not nearly as universal or robust as AM transmissions.

The notice was made by Ford CEO Jim Farley via social media posts, writing in Twitter, “After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we've decided to include it on all 2024 Ford & LincolnMotorCo vehicles. For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software update.”

Notice the year: 2024. Nothing is stated on any year further ahead, so the battle may not necessarily be over. And obviously Ford’s decision doesn’t affect the operations of other companies with what I consider bad engineering departments — those that can’t figure out how to eliminate interference from their electric vehicles even though it doesn’t seem to be an issue with the likes of General Motors, Toyota, and now, of course Ford. Yes, BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen, Tesla, Rivian and Mazda — all of which have already or plan to remove AM from the dashboard — I just outed your lack of basic engineering expertise. Convince me otherwise.

So the legislative action continues and may indeed require AM reception in all vehicles in the future, similar to how television sets were required to offer UHF tuners starting in the 1960s.

Yet I can’t shake the feeling that if more AM stations offered compelling programming and maintained their signals better, we wouldn’t be having this discussion at all. But you already know my position on that. Perhaps the renewed focus on AM will help start some programming momentum.

Cheers and Jeers

Radio Waves Podcast #376

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Wed, 10 May 2023 15:28:00 -0700

Guest: Dave Beasing

Radio Waves: May 12, 2023

Who do you love?

Last week I spoke of an article from Inside Music Media’s Jerry Del Colliano in which he made a list of easily-fixed programming elements that turn listeners off. In case you missed it and want to take part, I am asking for your “things” … what would cause you to tune to another station or even turn off the radio completely.

Before I follow up, though, I wanted to put together a list of things I like about radio. Scratch that – things I love. What keeps me going back to the radio every day? You can join in this as well.

Without further ado:

I love The Woody Show. Airing on Alt 98.7 FM weekday mornings from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. (kind of … they definitely repeat segments), the program has been a huge hit for the station … and for good reason.

Starring Jeff “Woody” Fife, (Renae) Ravey, Sebastian “SeaBass” Davis, Greg Gory, Jason “Menace” McMurry, and Sammi Moreno, the show bills itself as “insensitivity training for a politically correct world.” I’d call it more of a gathering place to hang out with friends.

Yes, at times, they get a little raunchy. But usually it’s good clean fun. They make fun of bad behavior, call people on their stupidity, and in general bring listeners in on their party every morning.

I appreciate that, unlike some shows of the past, they are professional broadcasters as well, intelligent, quick-witted and extraordinary funny and entertaining. Ravey’s laugh is infectious. Bits and contests are well-designed, and include DUIQ, wherein listeners try to guess if a drunk partier can answer a simple trivia question, stories on stupid criminals, “redneck” news and occasional interviews. I include The Woody Show in the list of all-time best morning shows; the program has aired locally since April 21, 2014.

I love Booker and Stryker, also on Alt 98.7 FM. Chris Booker and Ted Stryker got together just over a year ago — February, 2022 — but the flow of the show and the chemistry between the two makes it seem like they have been together forever. Like Woody mornings, they quickly become your friends and make the afternoon drive pass much faster … to the point where you don’t even want to get out of the car. Or leave work. Or whatever. As long as the show is on the air, I don’t care what I am doing; I even listen on my bike ride home from work.

The two wouldn’t hurt a fly; this is one program where all ages can listen.

I love Go Country 105 FM. Country music purists will disagree, but I really like modern country music … it reminds me of top-40 music of the past – songs you can sing along with in which the artists (or the country version of The Wrecking Crew, if one exists) still play real instruments. DJs are good, the commercial load is not ridiculous, and the station is locally owned by a guy who loves dogs and helps facilitate pet adoptions. What more do you want in a music station?

I love KFI (640 AM). I don’t necessarily listen to every show, but they tend to be entertaining with a variety of topics. But what I really like is the news department – KFI news has always been top-notch, and the long history of good reporting continues today. Without question, KFI produces the best local newscast heard on the local commercial airwaves. Yes, better than KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM).

I love the stations that go the extra mile to produce content for niche audiences. For example, you do have to use streaming or an HD radio, but the fact that Saul Levine uses Go Country’s signal to digitally send out classical music, 50s, ‘60s and ‘70s oldies, and adult standards focussing on Frank Sinatra and his friends — commercial-free, no less — does not go unnoticed. He does it because he wants to serve an audience that others ignore, and knows that it will never bring in much in the form of revenue. Levine just loves the art of radio. Local ownership at its best.

And finally, I love that so many stations both locally and nationally stream their programming on apps I can use with my smart speakers phones. Being able to tune stations far and wide wherever I am is much appreciated by me and so many others. I’d mention the distant stations I like, but the focus of this column is local, so I won’t.

So now you have a choice … you can still let me know what bugs you, but besides that … what do you love? Let me know!

///

Radio Waves: May 5, 2023

March Nielsens show some changes

What’s happening with KIIS-FM (102.7)? Since December, the hit music station has been on an upward trajectory in the Nielsen ratings; the March results released in late April have the station at second place overall with a 5.0 share of the audience … a full 2 points higher than it earned in December. If memory serves right, this is the highest finish KIIS has had in years … is pop music on the radio making a comeback?

Perhaps. But it was oldies that won the day, with KRTH (101.1 FM) taking the top spot overall, beating KIIS by almost a full point at 5.8. That’s an increase of just over a point since December, when it had a 4.7 share, and is the highest rating the station has had this year. Oddly, KRTH’s online stream, which led all streams before, was not present in the ratings list this month

The big — and truly surprising — drop came from KOST (103.5 FM), which found itself out of the first place position it has held for much of the past year … tied with KFI (640 AM) and KLVE (107.5 FM) at 5th at a 4.1 share. What makes this surprising is that KOST truly has led for most of the past year.

Another surprising drop came from Go Country 105 (KKGO, 105.1 FM), coming in with a 1.8 share of the audience compared with 2.1 in February and 2.5 back in December. I doubt this is a long-term trend, though … perhaps the excitement of the Stagecoach festival held last week will help out. Or perhaps it’s one of those anomalies that happen when the ratings meters are distributed to new listeners.

KFI led the talk wars as per usual, it’s 5th place tie dominating the rest, including KRLA (870 AM)’s 0.7 and KEIB’s (1150 AM) 0.6. Where’s KABC? Nowhere to be found, but it doesn’t mean they have no listeners. I confirmed that the area’s talk format originator no longer subscribes to Nielsen and thus does not show in the ratings list. I also noticed that KSPN (710 AM) isn’t on the Nielsen list either, for the same reason. My hunch is that many stations will begin to consider such a move due primarily to monetary savings; I’ll have a story on that in an upcoming column.

More interesting items from the ratings list: Alt (98.7 FM) beat KROQ (106.7 FM), but the two remain fairly close: 2.4 vs. 2.1. KKJZ (88.1 FM) was the top-rated public station with a 2.3 share. Regional Mexican music station KFWB (980 AM) has been moving up, almost doubling its 0.9 December rating with a March finish of 1.6. And the stream for Mega 96.3 (KXOL -FM) came from nowhere to earn a 0.9 share in March. Added to the station’s regular signal 2.6 share, the station would total 3.5 … and would have placed 8th overall in the city!

Overall, two companies have almost half of all listeners tuned into their stations. iHeart has a combined 25.1 rating for its roster that includes KIIS-FM, KOST, Alt, and KFI, among others, while Audacy has a 19.0 total for its stations including KRTH, The Wave (KTWV 94.7 FM), KROQ, and KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM).

The full story: Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged six and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight.

1. KRTH (5.8) 2. KIIS-FM (5.0) 3. KBIG (4.5) 4. KTWV (4.4) 5. KFI, KLVE, KOST (4.1) 8. KBUE (4.0) 9. KRRL (3.4) 10. KNX (3.3)

11. KCBS-FM “Jack” (3.2) 12. KRCD (3.0) 13. KLOS, KXOL (2.6) 15. KLAX, KYSR “Alt” (2.4) 17. KKJZ (2.3) 18. KLYY, KPCC (2.2) 20. KROQ (2.1)

21. KUSC (2.0) 22. KDAY, KKGO, KLLI, KPWR “Power” (1.8) 26. KSCA (1.7) 27. KFWB, KJLH (1.6) 29. KCRW (1.3) 30. KLAC (1.0)

31. KXOL Stream (0.9) 32. KDLD, KFSH (0.8) 34. KCSN, KRLA (0.7) 36. KEIB (0.6) 37. KKLA (0.3) 38. KWKW (0.2) 39. KHJ, KNX Stream, KROQ HD2, KROQ Stream, KTNQ (0.1)

Listener Gripes

You already know my opinion of what makes for good radio. Inside Music Media’s Jerry Del Colliano recently put together a list of easily-fixed programming elements that turn listeners off. Before I report on his research, I’d like to hear from you. But I want to expand the list to not just what turns you off, but what turns you on. What is it you cannot stand about the radio you hear, and what is it you you truly enjoy?

Send your thoughts to me and I’ll start compiling our own list to be presented later. it will be interesting to see how your “bad” list compares with Del Colliano’s, and it will be fun to recognize the great things about local radio.

///

Radio Waves Podcast #375

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 22:47:00 -0700

All Day, Every Day: American Top 40

I’ve never been a fan of the iHeart Radio app you can download to your smartphone. I always thought it too cumbersome to use compared to alternatives, and I don’t like the way iHeart restricts its own stations to its own app rather than allowing them to be available on other apps as well. If iHeart really believed in the app, why do they not let it compete on an even playing field?

But I broke down and started using it recently. Keep in mind I still don’t actually like it, but there is a reason to use it … American Top 40.

Yes, the very same AT40 you can find on SiriusXM channels 7 — for the 1970s version — Saturdays at 3 a.m. and 9 a.m., Sundays at 6 a.m.; or our own semi-local KOLA (99.9 FM) which airs the ‘80s version Saturdays at 5 a.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m.

But what if you want to totally live in the past and listen to nothing but AT40, the countdown show hosted by former original KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM) personality Casey Kasem, launched on July 4th, 1970 on but a handful of stations, and eventually heard on stations around the globe as the most popular countdown show … ever? If that’s you, the iHeart Radio app — or iHeart.com on a computer — has you covered.

A special channel called Classic American Top 40 plays old AT40 countdowns continuously. The ‘70s followed by the ‘80s followed by the ‘70s, etc. 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As I write this they are just starting a replay from 1983 after the completion of a week from 1973. Audio heaven, for those who grew up listening to the classic program … and a major reason to use the iHeart app.

Ryan Seacrest, by the way, hosts the current version of AT40 heard locally on KIIS-FM (102.7), starting at 6 a.m. Saturdays, 8 a.m. Sundays.

Billboard Controversy

Was the top song for at least one week of mid-July, 1978 not really the top song? Was there behind the scenes shenanigans? It wasn’t a problem with AT40 directly, but what AT40 used as the basis for the countdown list: Billboard Magazine. I read about this first on (I believe) the AT40 fan page of Facebook.

The story goes that Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street should have been the number one song on the Billboard charts in the second half of July, 1978, but that pressure to keep Andy Gibb’s Shadow Dancing at the top spot won out. Here’s what I found at https://djrobblog.com/archives/6222:

“Among the many tales of “Baker Street’s” undying legacy is the one involving a bit of chart shenanigans that may have robbed Rafferty of ascending to that coveted No. 1 spot.

“As reported in several publications since, legend has it that in one of its final weeks at No. 2 in July 1978, Billboard had actually calculated “Baker Street” to be No. 1. At the time, Billboard’s charts were based on phoned-in radio station lists and record store reports, which staffers or computers would then compile, before the advent of more modern and accurate airplay and sales tracking technology in the early 1990s.

Apparently, Gibb threatened to back out of a show being sponsored by Billboard if his song didn’t remain number one, said show being the pet project of then-chart manager Bill Wardlow. “It was alleged that Wardlow had a change of heart about the No. 1 position after having dined with Andy Gibb’s management on the night the chart was compiled. The story goes that Wardlow casually mentioned over dinner that Gibb’s tune had been displaced by Rafferty’s – much to RSO Records’ displeasure.”

So Billboard issued a “correction,” apparently forcing American Top-40 to re-record the ending of the how, without the new number one song. Baker Street remained stalled at the number two slot on Billboard, though other sources did indeed put it at the top, such as including Cash Box which had it there on July 15, 1978.

It is said that Baker Street is one of the all-time most beloved number two hits; the incident proves the power that top-40 radio once held over American culture. And as former newsman Paul Harvey used to say, now you know … the restof the story.

No Static Here

This is an old story, but but comes from former KHJ (930 AM) Production Director (among other stations) Douglas Brown. When FM by Steely Dan was released in 1978, may top-40 stations were still on the AM band, including in Los Angeles area, KHJ, Ten Q (KTNQ, 1020 AM), KFI (640 AM), and KEZY (1190 AM).

Many of the stations across the country didn’t want to play a song that hyped the FM band, so a few figured out that the “A’ in Steely Dan’s Aja matched the note well, and simply changed the song so that it played as “A-M, no static at all.” Which, of course, is somewhat absurd.

The more powerful and influential stations, such as KHJ, convinced the musical band’s record company at the time to produce a special version of the song, one in which the the radio band is not mentioned at all. The resulting song simply refrains “no static at all.”

A testament to the power that AM radio once held over American culture.

Letters for April 28 Radio

Some email reaction from recent column topics …

“WABC has come back from the radio graveyard twice: first when Rick Sklar created the legendary MusicRadio77 and now. In ratings released today the station is #9 with a 3.7, the first AM rated in NYC. They gotta be doing something right!” — Steve Moravec

“To paraphrase a movie line: If you play it (great local content) they will listen.

“Local : News. Weather. SPORTS (high school and college). Talk with and by local leaders and personalities. City and county government. One station doing this and while still learning is doing it well is KYCA-AM in Prescott, AZ.

“AM will not die in spite of Detroit.” — Dusty Baker

“I agree w/ every word u wrote. Hate Google, and all this ‘new’ approach to radio … for auto manufacturers to go along with this travesty is unconscionable. Keep up the good work and clear writing on this subject. — Beverly Riggs, La Habra (who describes herself as “a devoted sincere Radio junkie for 40+ years” and says that “radio has always been my ‘preferred passenger’ since I first learned how to drive”

“I wanted you to know how much I enjoy your articles about radio in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune … always informative, interesting and your passion for radio come thru loud & clear.

“Yes, my wife & I are with you…keep AM radio in our autos!

“I grew up in the ‘40s and ‘50s with radio; we listened to music and live shows in the evening on a Farnsworth that become mine at about 8 years old when we finally got a TV and Pop setup he own ‘stereo’ system in the living room. But I still used my home made crystal set with a surplus store military ear-phone.

I remember driving Van Nuys Blvd between Bob’s Big-Boy and A&W Root beer with my radio blazing away was a real treat. Work/home/yard/shop, the radio was always on – and still is much of the time, albeit much lower and slower music these days. In the car, my wife is addicted to AM talk-show radio.

“Again, thank you for sharing your passion about a media that was most impactful during most of the 20th century — Drexel Smith

Radio Waves Podcast #374

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 15:26:00 -0700

Radio: April 21, 2023

InsideMusicMedia.Com’s Jerry Del Colliano posted a column on March 31 that — like many of his columns — could have been written by me. Great minds think alike, you know. Entitled The AM Station That Defies Failure, it tells the story of WABC/New York and the success it has had since being bought by a local owner from Cumulus.

WABC is much like numerous AM stations across the country. Powerhouse top-40 format leaders in the 1960s and ‘70s, they lost their way when large corporate owners couldn’t figure out what to do with them. They dropped music, sometimes found temporary success with political talk, and then floundered once programmers focused more on their FMs.

Weird how a neglected station would lose listeners.

Anyway, for all intents and purposes, WABC was a failure in 2019 when Cumulus Media, owner of KABC (790 AM) here in Los Angeles, sold the station to a 74-year-old New York businessman named John Catsimatidis, Jr. — a guy with no radio experience other than being a radio fan.

Catsimatidis then did what some think is impossible: brought a dead radio station back to life. How? He made it local. He served his local audience. He wasn’t afraid to embrace older listeners, and he started super-serving those willing to tune in.

And tune in they did. The station has been above a 3.0 share for at least the last six months, and has had a 3.9 share the last two months. It is the top-rated AM station in New York. Under previous ownership, it had fallen to the mid to upper 1s. Could other stations learn from the recent success?

Yes … more than that: the entire industry could learn from its success. The formula is so simple, it’s almost as if stations of the past could help with the lesson. In fact, that’s pretty much all Catsimatidis did … look at what made previous stations “tick,” and applied it to his new toy.

WABC found an audience that was being underserved, then designed a format that would appeal to that audience, in this case an eclectic mix of talk, news, and music. Yes, music … on AM. Weird.

Cousin Brucie, a legendary WABC disc jockey, plays oldies on weekends. The station runs its old iconic jingles. News coverage focusses on the local area. The talk hosts are mostly local, including former mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Rush Limbaugh producer Bo Snerdley, and a founding member of the Guardian Angels, Curtis Sliwa.

Catsimatidis even has his own show, hosted by himself and local broadcaster Rita Cosby.

While it is impressive that Catsimatidis took a failing station and made it successful, he is not alone. I’ve written about the success of stations such as WION/Ionia, Michigan and WRDN/Durand, Wisconsin. What all three and others like them have in common is local owners who care enough to program to their local audience and not rely on cheap syndicated programming.

This approach benefits not only the stations and listeners, but local businesses that can advertise to reach an audience otherwise hard to find. That Catsimatidis does it in New York City, arguably one of the toughest markets in the United States, makes it even more impressive …. and in my opinion, frankly, embarrassing to owners like Audacy that has gone so far as to just shut down some of its AM stations.

This lesson isn’t just for AM, though. FM stations definitely can use more local content , and in the cases in which the local audience is super-served, the results are impressive. Local content is the one thing that Spotify, Apple Music, or any other streaming service simply can’t match.

Fight for the Dashboard

On the heal of the news that engineers at Ford are as lazy or incompetent as those at BMW, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo due to the decision to remove AM radio from their future automobile offerings — because unlike every other company they are unable to deal with interference — comes news that GM has decided to drop Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support from future EVs.

While I hate that AM is being dropped, and I believe it to be a bad decision, at least you can — usually, at least — use apps to replace the tuner and in some ways have better reception and better sound.

But dropping CarPlay? That’s a non-starter for me. My family, starting with my grandfather, my father and now me, has owned GM almost exclusively since 1926. If CarPlay is not offered, I will not buy one.

I want the choice to use the mapping software I want to use. I want the ability to use the apps I want to use, for example StreamsHiFi Audio and MyTuner Radio for online radio streams. I can connect my phone to any of my current car stereos and have all of my apps and preferences ready to go; without CarPlay I’d have to set all my preferences individually in every car.

And I certainly don’t want my life controlled by Google, which GM plans to use as the basis for its dashboard infotainment system. I am not a Google fan by any means, and I certainly don’t want their intrusive anti-privacy ad-based system in my car.

In my opinion, GM is making a tremendously bad decision in dropping CarPlay and Android Auto. In doing so, though, you can now understand what is in store for the future … the ability to charge for being part of and using the dash. It is anti-competitive and anti-consumer.

I hope that the move is met with consumer resistance similar to my own - as I said, I will never buy a car without CarPlay ability. Even if I have to keep my current truck forever.

///

Radio Waves: April 14, 2023

KIQQ entertainment reporter Francesca Capucci passes

I was a huge fan of KIQQ (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) during the station’s new-wave top-40 days of the early 1980s. It wasn’t necessarily the most polished station; indeed, the station could at times sound very low-budget. But it had a playlist that overlapped the best of KROQ (106.7 FM) and was often the first station in town to break new music and new bands with an emphasis on British acts along with homegrown artists.

Often KIQQ was so far ahead of its competition, primarily KIIS-FM (102.7), that it seemed like a song was at the top of the charts forever. The reality was that KIQQ would break the song and then it would later hit the charts and other stations. KIQQ was where I first heard Eddie Grant, The Style Council, Rick Springfield and more. I don’t think I ever heard the wonderful “She Means Nothing to Me” by Phil Everly and Cliff Richard on any other station, with the one exception of UCLA’s student station KLA … because I played it there.

Personalities included Bruce Chandler, Tony Saint James, GW McCoy, and a few others who stayed with the station until it gave up on the format and went light rock in mid-1985. One personality left early and went right to television, to become KABC-TV Channel 7’s entertainment reporter. That was Francesca Capucci, who started at KIQQ in the public affairs department, later moving up to report entertainment and celebrity gossip news, as well as features on and interviews with many of the bands and artists played on the station.

For a time, in addition to her other duties, she worked with Jay Coffee in morning drive, but her best-known work was her features. If you were a faithful listeners as I was, you may remember her extended sign-off: “I’m Francesca Capucci on K ……….I ………..Q ………………………………….Q.”

I never knew why they had — or allowed — her to do that; it was actually kind of cheesy. I was told later that it was designed to make her sound a bit sexy. True or not, she was definitely distinctive, and her features added a lot to the station’s on-air presence.

After leaving KIQQ in 1984, she moved over to Channel 7, reporting on entertainment news for ten years. Other television work included acting on such shows as Columbo, 7th Heaven, The Practice, and Charmed, usually playing, of course, a reporter.

Last week, I got the bad news from KPFK (90.7 FM) Car Show host (and column reader) David Kunz that Capucci had passed away; she died at the age of 64 due to cancer.

If her name sounds familiar, it may also be because it was used in the recent movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. There is no connection between her and the character in the movie; I am told that Quentin Tarantino just liked the name.

Her friend Kim Fitzgerald Kelly wrote on Capucci’s Facebook page on March 30, “It is with profound sadness that I share the passing of Francesca Cappucci. As those of you on this page know, Francesca was a force of nature, a source of true joy, a devoted mother to sons Ian and Will, and a great lover of music.

“Francesca’s name was itself a melody and it played throughout Los Angeles radio and TV stations for decades beginning in the early 80s. A celebration of life, love, and music is currently being planned and details will be announced. Until then, every time you hear a song by Foo Fighters or Crowded House, let it remind you of this beautiful icon.”

You can read tributes on that same page: facebook.com/francesca.cappucci

Commercial Breaks

For years, I have felt that it was a huge mistake for stations to run large blocks of commercial-free music. I am referring to the hour or two — sometimes longer — periods of nothing but music. The problem, of course, is that it shifts the commercials that have to be run to other hours and makes the commercial breaks longer during those hours, as well as making each advertisement of less value to the advertiser.

Seems like a lose-lose to me — the station earns less per advertisement because they are worth less as a longer block than they would otherwise be, the advertiser loses potential exposure due to listener tune-out, and listeners have to endure up to ten minutes of commercials when the breaks do come.

But I recently found out why they do this, from an expert on the industry. It seems the stations sell the advertisements based upon the entire shift a DJ is on. For example, perhaps 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If the station can get a ton of listeners by playing no commercials the first two hours, it doesn’t care what happens during the rest of the show. The station can still sell the ad based upon the average rating over the entire four hours.

No wonder radio is suffering…

Nothing is Sacred

Ford announced it is removing AM radio reception not only from future EVs, it is also removing it from future gas-powered vehicles. On the heals of that news came General Motors announcement that it is removing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on its future EVs.

The reason? GM wants subscription income from the dashboard.

I don’t know about you, but I love CarPlay. I won’t buy a car without it. Seems like a bad idea to me … what are your thoughts? More on this topic next week.

///

Damion Passes

He may be retired, but it was Don Barrett of LARadio.Com who broke the news: Damion — last name: Bragdon, though he rarely used his last name on the air — formerly heard on KLOS (95.5 FM), KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) and KLSX (now KNX-FM, 97.1) has passed away from complications related to cancer.

Immediately prior to landing in Los Angeles to be part of the KLOS air staff in 1971, Damion was at WDAI/Chicago as the station evolved from its “free-form” progressive rock format to the more traditional album-oriented “Rock ’n Stereo” … in essence repeating exactly what he did in Chicago here in Los Angeles.

Those changes were not coincidence … the two stations were both owned by ABC, and in 1971 ABC decided to have all of its owned and operated FM stations nationwide take on the same format, as well as take on new call letters to distinguish the FMs from the co-owned AMs.

In the case of KLOS, Damion joined Jeff Gonzer, J.J. Jackson, Jim Ladd, and programmer Tom Yates to launch the new format here. By the late 1970s, he would work up to the position of station programmer himself, a position he would give up when he left to work at then-competitor KMET.

In 1986, he found himself at brand-new classic rocker KLSX, where he stayed through 1994. After that he moved on to satellite-delivered formats with Unistar and Westwood One/Dial Global, between times doing a stint in Hawaii including programming an AM/FM combo. He finally retired in 2008 but kept busy producing a one-hour program called Rock and Roll Cowboy — modern country music mixed with classic rock — that aired on a few stations across the country.

In an interview with Barrett back in 1994, Damion spoke of some of the highlights of his career, which included partnering with Ladd to produce early “InnerView” programs; interviewing Led Zeppelin, being part of the California Jam in 1973, and more.

“The end was terrible,” his wife Joy Hall told Barrett in an email. He was put on life support against his directive, and as they took him off some of his medications, he suffered multiple strokes. He passed away March 26th at the age of 79.

Friends and colleagues always spoke highly of Damion, describing him using such words as kind, sweet, friendly, and considerate. “He was truly one o’ the good guys — a sweet man with virtually no ego,” wrote Michael Benner in an email to Barrett, as but one example.

All of that was something you heard over the airwaves as he did his shows, no matter what station he was on. His delivery was always - always - smooth: the perfect album-rock DJ, and someone who like many of his contemporaries loved the music he played.

You can hear airchecks for yourself searching YouTube.com for Damion KLOS and KMET.

February Ratings

The February Nielsens showed a narrowing of the gap between 1st place KOST (103.5 FM) and 2nd place KRTH (101.1 FM), with only 0.1 separating the two: 5.5 to 5.4. The rest of the top-10 included KTWV (4.6), KBIG (4.5), KFI (4.1), KLVE (4.1), KIIS-FM (3.9), KRRL (3.9), KBUE (3.2) and KCBS-FM (3.1)

That Real 92.3 tied with KIIS-FM would in the past be a wake-up call to KIIS-FM … but now that both stations are owned by the same company, in this case the beleaguered iHeart Media, it won’t be. Just shy of the top-10 tied with KRCD at 11th was KNX … still no better than it was as a standalone AM station. Now using both the 1070 AM and 97.1 FM frequencies, it earned a 2.9.

Cutting the B.S.

Bo Snerdley was conservative talker Rush Limbaugh’s longtime producer; he helped line up guests, screened calls, and most importantly helped put together the day’s news for Limbaugh to expound upon.

Since Limbaugh’s death, Snerdley stayed busy producing shows for the replacement hosts, produced the Limbaugh Letter, started a podcast, and launched his own program on WABC/New York entitled Bo Snerdley’s Rush Hour.

He also produces a twice-daily conservative-leaning news headline email called Bo Snerdley’s Daily BS - Bo Cuts Through It. If you’re interested, subscribe at http://eepurl.com/hKLLg9

Snerdley’s on-air name was inspired by Bo Jackson; his given name is James Golden. He spent 30 years working with Limbaugh, right until the very end.

///

Radio Waves Podcast - Special Edition - Ken Levine

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 10:16:00 -0700

SPECIAL Podcast: We are re-publishing our career spanning interview with the multi-talented Ken Levine - who is featured in Richard's column this week.

The Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters/Hollywood Media Professionals played host to a special “Coffee With …” interview as Master of Ceremonies and interviewer Chuck Street spent two hours talking with Ken Levine.

You may not know the name Ken Levine when it comes to radio, though he did use his real name on KFI (640 AM) in the 1980s. But he was a young, up-and-coming top-40 radio star known as Beaver Cleaver on Ten Q (KTNQ, 1020 AM) here in Los Angeles and on the great B-100 (KFMB-FM — now KFBG, 100.7 FM) in San Diego, among other stations.

Why Beaver Cleaver, the name of the character on the old “Leave It to Beaver” TV series? It was catchy and helped him stand out much more than the name he used previously, Ken Stevens.

Outside of radio, Levine is a highly-respected writer, producer, and director in the television and film industries, an accomplished playwright, and even a play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball. His numerous credits include television programs “M*A*S*H,” “Cheers,” “Frasier,” “Wings,” “The Simpsons,” “Almost Perfect,” “Everybody Loves Raymond” and more; he has co-written feature films, and more recently has written and produced short plays acted live over Zoom.

His baseball work includes stints with the Baltimore Orioles, the Seattle Mariners, and the San Diego Padres, and he spent a few years as co-host of Dodger Talk, the call-in program that followed every Dodger Game on the radio.

And just to show that he can do just about anything, he is also an accomplished cartoonist, with his work appearing in the prestigious New Yorker magazine. In his spare time(?), he writes a blog and produces a thoroughly entertaining podcast … go to kenlevine.blogspot.com and hollywoodandlevine.libsyn.com/

Honestly, I have no idea how he manages to find time for all of his interests, let alone all the differing careers all the while being a loyal husband and family man. But the two-hour coffee interview just wasn’t enough … as many in the audience could attest, it was among the fastest two hours on record.

Levine tends to downplay his accomplishments in radio, stating that his voice is “too squeaky” compared to his many heroes and contemporaries. I disagree, but regardless, he more than made up for any perceived personal deficiency with a quick wit, biting sarcasm, creative double entendres, and much more.

This all came out anew during his interview, with such radio-related stories as:

• Trying to get fired at KMEN/San Bernardino (now KKDD, 1290 AM).

Management wanted him back in the overnight shift; he asked to be fired instead. They refused, so he stopped by the record store to buy a special album to play.

“Radio stations were getting hip and playing album cuts more and more, so this idea was perfect.” The album he purchased to play in its entirety? “Fiddler on the Roof,” he said. “In Yiddish … I was fired before ‘Anatevka’ finished playing.”

• Convincing the General Manager of WLS/Chicago — at the time one of the most popular radio stations in the country — to put him on the air during the overnight shift leading into Thanksgiving Day.

Who was the GM? His father. “My Dad,” Levine explains, “left a memo stating that ‘My son will be doing the all-night show.’ No word on who I was or my experience on the air.”

The guy on the air immediately before Levine’s shift had no idea who he was, so Levine pretended to be entirely clueless. “Wow, what are all these buttons,” he remembers asking the other DJ. By the time his shift was up, the other DJ was convinced this was going to be bad and was scared to leave the station in the hands of an amateur. “He was just freaking out,” Levine says.

Finally, when the time came, the DJ watched as Levine leaned into the microphone, played the top-of-the-hour jingle, and opened his show with “This is Ken Levine; I’ve been on the air in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Bakersfield, San Bernardino … but never at the same time! This is W-L-S!”

When Levine shut off the microphone, he remembers, “The DJ says, ‘You’ve done this before!’ I said, ‘Yes, of course; my father’s not going to put someone on the air at a 50,000-watt clear channel station in Chicago who’s never done it before!’”

• The time that a program director at K-100 (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) worried they might get sued over his on-air name.

Levine told the program director not to worry: “If we get sued, we’ll get a ton of free publicity, and the worst that will happen is they’ll make me change my name.”

The program director called the station co-owner for direction, and Levine describes the response this way: “What’s the problem?” Levine says was the response. “The worst that would happen is that we’d get some free publicity and they’d make him change his name.”

You can hear recordings of some of Levine’s on-air work by searching YouTube.Com using the keywords Beaver Cleaver, Ken Levine, Ten-Q and B-100. Mike Stark and I did a full career-spanning interview with Levine, which can be found at http://la-radiowaves.blogspot.com/2020/08/radio-waves-extra-ken-levine.html

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com

Radio Waves Podcast #373

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 22:46:00 -0700

Radio: March 24, 2023

It is time to admit: executives of the major radio corporations - Audacy, iHeart, and Cumulus, primarily - have no faith in the future of the industry they control.

There is no fighting from them against automakers who are removing AM from the dashboard of new cars, and the potential future removal of FM. There is no marketing plan to attract listeners to their stations, and hasn’t been for years. And they don’t even pretend to try to attract younger listeners, the lifeblood of the future.

You need proof? Remember KROQ (106.7 FM)? You know, the station that knocked KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) totally out of the album rock format by beating it to the punch playing new bands and new artists, just as KMET had done years before … before they got too successful and, one might argue, lazy.

KROQ became the “Roq of the ‘80s,” and earned a reputation of being the place to go for new music. That was a long time ago, though. Now KROQ is basically an oldies outlet playing music primarily from decades back.

Need proof? Here are two sample hours taken from the 3-5 p.m. shift on a random day about a week ago. Now remember, this is afternoon drive, which is one of the dayparts that would in the past have been programmed to young people just getting out of high school or college classes for the day, not the mid-day hours where more oldies might be found:

3-4 p.m.: Toxicity (System of a Down), from 2001; Bad Dreams (Cannons), 2001; Basket Case (Green Day), 1994; Somebody Told Me (Killers), 2004; Time to Pretend (MGMT), 2007; Welcome to the Black Parade (My Chemical Romance), 2006; Landslide (Smashing Pumpkins); 2001; Bones (Imagine Dragons), 2022; Kryptonite (3 Doors Down), 2000; Africa (Weezer), 2018

4-5 p.m.: Tighten Up (Black Keys), 2010; Personal Jesus (Depeche Mode), 1989; Uprising (Muse), 2009; Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz), 2001; The Boys of Summer (The Ataris), 2022; Black Summer (Red Hot Chili Peppers), 2022; Friday I’m in Love (The Cure), 1992; Sex, Drugs, Etc. (Beach Weather), re-released but originally from 2016; In Bloom (Nirvana ); 1992, Jumper (Third Eye Blind), 1997

There was a time that KROQ would not even go back more than a year or two, all music being new and current. In fact, most stations popular with young adults did so, including KHJ (930 AM) when they played top-40, KIIS-FM (102.7) of the 1980s, and even, yes, KMET. That in two hours, KROQ only played five songs released or re-released in the past two-three years is, frankly, surprising even to me. But there it is.

There’s hope, though, right? LA’s New Alternative (using that slogan for the past decade at least) Alt 98.7 must be playing new music, right? Think again. Another recent afternoon:

3-4 p.m.: Fat Lip (Sum 41), 2001; Dissolve (Absofacto), 2017; Wake Me Up When September Ends (Green Day), 2004; Lovefool (The Cardigans), 1996; Just Like Heaven (The Cure), 1987; The Kill (Thirty Seconds to Mars), 2005

4-5 p.m. Lost (Linkin Park), re-released but originally from 2003; Doin’ Time (Lana Del Rey), 2019; Dreams (The Cranberries), 1993; I write Sins Not Tragedies (Panic! At the Disco), 2005; Friday I’m in Love (The Cure), 1992; Bad Dreams (Cannons), 2021; Come as You Are (Nirvana), 1991.

That’s two songs from the past three years or so. Any wonder why young people use Spotify for “radio” and in fact call it “radio?” That’s where they find new music.

Now keep in mind that I am most definitely not commenting on the music itself, most of which I personally like. That’s not my point. My point is that if you can’t rely on KROQ or Alt to play new music, what station can you count on? KRTH (101.1 FM)? I didn’t check, but I’d bet they aren’t that much different year-wise … and at least they admit it! What to do?

Legend has it that FM progressive rock radio got its start when Tom Donahue made telephone calls to local stations. Those that had disconnected phones due to non-payment — remember that everyone listened to AM at the time, and few people even owned FM radios — got pitched his new format. As the new format caught on and spread, people started buying FM radios. Eventually the band took over to the point that roughly 75% of radio listening is on FM.

Which brings me back to my broken-record point: if you want to attract young listeners back to radio - real radio - you have to play what they want to hear. And I argue that it doesn’t matter if it’s on AM or FM, weak signal or strong.

I see kids listening to music on their phones or via cheap bluetooth speakers all the time … hardly the epitome of high fidelity. AM stations playing modern rock/pop/progressive/whatever would compete just fine. … certainly better than with political talk or sports. And they have less to lose … it is likely the stations are already losing money, just like the stations contacted by Donahue over fifty years ago.

It is long past the time to do this. It can be done. It will take effort, time, and marketing, but the rewards will be great … I have faith in radio. But if the industry wants to let Spotify take over as the “radio”of choice, it won’t happen … unless a small company wants to take a chance.

What are your thoughts?

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com

Radio: March 17

KLOS (95.5 FM) broke a fundraising record - its own - by raising more than $1.27 million in just 26 broadcast hours last month during the 6th annual KLOS St. Jude Rocks radiothon. That beat the stations previous recored of $1.24 million earned in a previous year.

During the event, listeners making donations became eligible to go on adventures with station personalities in addition to receiving specially-designed attire … mainly t-shirts commemorating the drive: The T-Shirt that Saves Lives.

KLOS programmer Keith Cunningham was ecstatic over the results off the drive, telling me how proud he is of both his staff and loyal listeners and humbly stating that “it is very rewarding to be able to help.”

“For many of us, it is the most rewarding two days of the year,” he said.

The money raised benefited St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, and will help kids at St. Jude to fight cancer. Also supporting the drive were station sponsors and artists. In a press release, KLOS owner Meruelo Media’s Otto Padron said “(this) is a fierce reminder that live and local radio compels, and deeply connects with the community to make a positive difference.”

Emmis Podcast

My podcast partner Michael Stark and I recently sat down and spoke with Emmis Chairman/CEO Jeff Smulyan and President of Radio Programming Rick Cummings for an open discussion of Emmis, radio in general, marketing, and more. It was supposed to last about a half hour but ended up going almost 60 minutes … and in reality, there is so much more to talk about we hope to have them back at a future date.

Emmis is the former owner of Power 106, which was known as Magic 106 at the timethey bought it; later creating Power and for a time dominating local radio. The company is what I consider one of the “good ones” in radio, running their stations like they actually like radio. In fact, the love of radio oozes out from both Smulyan and Cummings as they speak.

I realized in speaking with them that my own ideas on how to save radio - especially AM - evolved form my time interning at Magic and Power. Apparently their corporate structure stuck in my head without me realizing it.

Hear the interview and subscribe to the podcast at https://apple.co/3T8g1ny.

New Morning Show

Speaking of Power 106 - now owned by Meruelo Media and thus a sister to KLOS, by the way - the station has a new morning show.

Called the Brown Bag Morning Show, it airs from 6 to 10 a.m. and is a former podcast of a similar name hosted by Letty Paniche with co-hosts Rosecrans Vic and DoKnow.

You may remember Paniche as “Rikki Martinez” when she worked with Big Boy on Power mornings from 2011 to 2014; she left to work at KRRL and returned to Power in 2021.

The Brown Bag Podcast also debuted in 2021; the show moved to the Power airwaves on February 16. I’ll have a full review in a future column; in the meantime if you have heard it, let me know your thoughts

Top-10

In the past I covered ratings quarterly, primarily because that is when the full “books” were released. But it’s been years since Nielsen (formerly Arbitron) moved to a new system allowing monthly results to be released, perhaps it is time to update may thinking.

I’ll still do a more in-depth look quarterly, but give the top-10 monthly. This way we are all current without getting too predictable. Here’s the first top-10 of the year for the month of January, recognizing listeners aged 6 and over tuned to a station between 6 a.m. and 12 midnight:

1. KOST (6.8) 2. KRTH (4.9) 3. KTWV (4.7) 4. KBIG (4.6) 5. KLVE (4.3) 6. KFI (4.1) 7. KIIS-FM (3.6) 8. KCBS Jack-FM (2.9) 9. KLAX, KLOS, KNX, KRRL (2.8)

I’m a little late covering the January ratings, released by Nielsen at the end of February; the February ratings will be out in just a couple weeks.

///

Radio Waves Podcast #372

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 7 Mar 2023 12:31:00 -0800

A VERY SPECIAL "Radio Waves": Join Richard and Mike for an interview with two of Emmis Communications' top execs - CEO and founder Jeff Smulyan and President of Programming Rick Cummings. In the full podcast, we discuss a variety of "radio" topics, Jeff's new book titled "Never Ride A Roller Coaster Upside Down: The Ups, Downs and Reinvention of an Entrepreneur" and they give us their thoughts on the future of the radio business.

Radio Waves: March 10, 2023

Austin’s SXSW Radio Day Concert on The SoCal Sound

There is a huge music, film and television festival happening March 10 through the 19th in Austin, Texas: SXSW 2023. Festival organizers describe it as “an essential destination for global professionals,” featuring “conference sessions, film and TV festival screenings, music festival showcases … and much more.”

Music festivals are held with various themes Monday through Saturday; Thursday March 16th is dedicated as Radio Day, and our own “So Cal Sound” (88.5 FM) will carry that day’s concerts live beginning at 10 a.m.

Each artist will perform for an hour, beginning with Bailen at 10:00, followed by Blondshell, Sunny War, Ron Gallo, Girl Scout, and Katie Toupin.

Can’t get the station clearly on your radio? It’s on smart speakers, all the smartphone apps as well as online, at thesocalsound.org.

Fighting Back

Radio in the dashboard of cars has become a battle ground between auto manufacturers and radio station owners. Not just for AM, which is being pushed out due supposedly to interference from electric car internal electronics, but potentially FM as well as carmakers look to push subscription services that allow radio apps receiving stations over the internet rather than the traditional airwaves. The thinking is that if AM can easily be pushed out and replaced by apps, then by extension FM can be removed easily as the same apps can receive FM station streams as easily as they receive AM streams.

The problem for radio stations is two-fold: people may not bother getting the apps, especially if they are difficult to use or the access to use them costs extra, and there are extra costs to stations running streams, including music licensing fees.

So some station owners are beginning to fight back. A recent article in industry engineering newspaper Radio World highlighted the perspectives of Tom King, of Kintronics Labs — an expert on AM transmission and noise interference, Saul Levine, owner of K-Mozart (1260 AM) and Go Country (105.1 FM), Don Elliot, owner of Schwab Multimedia.

Essentially the consensus among the three is that interference concerns are overblown, that there are easy fixes including special antenna setups, and that many electric cars do indeed have reliable AM radio reception without issue. Who benefits from the removal of AM from cars, Elliot asks? Certainly not listeners.

In a related move, broadcaster Neal Ardman has announced an initiative to force electric vehicle manufacturers to stop causing interference to the AM band, a problem I eluded to in a previous column. In a nutshell, if EVs cause enough interference to cause in-car reception problems, they are potentially creating interference outside the car as well … which is illegal.

Broadcasting stations, including radio and television, is a protected medium in part because of its use in emergency situations. And AM stations in particular are often the hub of the emergency alert system. And that brings up an important issue, as Ardman stated in a press release announcing his initiative: “EVs don’t just cause noise to the radios built into the EV they also cause harmful interference to the cars that are nearby.”

Adrian told Radio World that he hopes to work out an agreement without going to court, but that if a lawsuit is needed to protect the AM band from this interference, “we will do just that.”

Mail Bag

“I liked your article today where you mention ‘The Woody Show.’

“Another fun morning show is on KRTH 101 with Gary Bryan, Lisa Stanley and

Brandon. They have listeners call in for various things and is so fun to hear. I’ve even called in a few times and have been on the radio with Gary Bryan! They do such a fun show and crack me up a lot!

“Always enjoy your column – especially when you talk about old-time radio from the 60s and 70s – my fun era of radio!” — Michele

Absolutely! There are actually a few who still take advantage of phones when allowed, including those and afternoon drive hosts such as Kevin and Sluggo on KLOS (95.5 FM) and Booker and Stryker on Alt 98.7. It seems that some stations have finally rediscovered that entertainment between the records is often what makes a station win.

“I look forward to your Friday columns in the Daily Breeze and today’s was a good one. I’m a longtime listener of KPFK and enjoy The Car Show while running errands on Saturdays.

“If I wake up and don’t want to get out of bed I listen to the radio with headphones and check in to The Woody Show. It’s so much better than the (competition)” — Richard Graling, Redondo Beach

Here’s a little trivia regarding The Car Show … did you know that host Mark Vaughn graduated from San Pedro High? Yes, he is a local boy!

Radio Waves: March 3, 2023

Car Show celebrates a half century on the air

My first car — and the car I learned to drive in — was a 1974 Chevrolet Vega GT Hatchback, bought new by my sister’s college roommate, Roxanne. Roxanne taught me to drive it when I was 12, in the back parking lot of Food King in San Pedro. In 1979, she gave it to me, and it became my cherished first car to drive in high school, while my Dad and I worked on rebuilding his 1967 Camaro RS that would eventually be my second car.

The Vega got passed over to my Mom, sold to my friend, then another friend. Eventually I saw it in one of one of junkyards where you pull parts off of cars yourself … it still had the back window sticker I had put on it years before. I have to admit, it was a bit sad seeing my old car there… I learned a lot about cars from it and had fond memories of it.

I use that story for perspective … the Vega would have been 49 years old now, and it long ago bit the dust. (The Camaro was stolen, so keep an eye out for it). On the other hand, a radio program about cars the year before is still on the air: KPFK’s (90.7 FM) The Car Show just celebrated its 50th birthday in February.

It all started in the Fall of 1972 when John Retsek and Jack Kirkpatrick were asked to talk about cars on KPFK’s Helpful Hints consumer-oriented program. The two had so much fun with their occasional appearances that then-station programmer Ruth Hirschmann proposed that Retsek host a car-oriented show weekly. So, in February of 1973, The Car Show was born.

Much has changed since then … Hirschmann became Ruth Seymour, moving on to become general manager of KCRW (89.9 FM) in 1978 and creating one of the most prestigious public radio stations in the country. Carburetors became obsolete, replaced by fuel injection of various forms. Steel belted radials replaced bias ply tires. Unleaded gas became the norm. FM radios started showing up more and more, as did in-dash tape players, then CDs, then smart phone connections and bluetooth. Fuel mileage increased. Maintenance needs decreased. Safety and cost went way up.

But the Car Show has held on, and is now the longest-running automotive program in history, predating National Public Radio’s Car Talk by four years “and obviously outlasting it,” says current co-host Dave Kunz. Now, in addition to hearing it live over the KPFK airwaves Saturdays from 1-2 p.m., you can also find it in podcast form on various apps and sites including Spotify and TuneIn.

Described as “everything about the automotive world including listener call-ins, event calender, industry news, racing news, new products, vehicle road tests, classic and collector vehicles, in-studio and call-in guests on all automotive and related subjects,” the program is now hosted by Kunz and Autoweek magazine journalist Mark Vaughn.

Explains Kunz: “The show has been through numerous hosts over the years. Retsek was at the helm until 2010, when he retired. Art Gould took over with me moving from fill-in to regular co-host. When Gould passed away in 2019, I sort of inherited the program, and that is when I was joined by Vaughn.”

Through the years the program has remained true to its purpose: talking about cars, the technology involved , new and exciting trends in the industry … and fun. That translates to some long time listeners, according to Kunz. “I have heard from listeners who’ve been fans for decades,” he says. “One listener recently called to tell he he’s been listening since the beginning!” That’s dedication.

So raise a glass to the show that originated on a station that, when the show first debuted, couldn’t even be heard in most of the cars on the road due to the then-dominance of AM radio. Happy birthday, The Car Show!

Old Tech

As I was driving into work this week — due to the rain I couldn’t ride my bike — and listening to Alt 98.7’s The Woody Show as I usually do, it struck me: Here is a show that embraces old technology, at least to an extent. Many of the contests, bits, and listener participation segments on the popular program involved listeners calling in on the telephone.

Yes, the telephone, something that so many seem to have forgotten exists in the era of text messaging and Instagram posts. Yet that banter with listeners is one of thew things that makes The Woody Show so entertaining.

It also creates a conduit for personalization, as callers who participate and win contests can be promoted on the air, unlike generic “text this number to win” contests that not only don’t really do anything to drive listenership, they don’t give the rest of us a chance to hear someone else win.

Something to think about … maybe Woody proves the past is the future. Perhaps these are the Days of Future Passed. Or like sand through an hourglass, these are the Days of Our Lives. Showing my age again …

Radio Waves: February 24, 2023

Riding the Emmis rollercoaster

Never ride a roller coaster upside down. Good advice, and also the title of a new book by Emmis Broadcasting founder and CEO Jeff Smulyan. The subtitle perhaps better describes the technical content: “the ups, downs and reinvention of an entrepreneur,” but the roller coaster imagery is fitting, as I am sure many entrepreneurs will attest.

It’s certainly not always smooth sailing.

This is not a radio book in the traditional sense, nor is it a book on broadcasting. It definitely stays true to its title and focusses on the trials and tribulations experienced by Smulyan as he built his radio empire, branched into professional athletics team ownership, and in many ways tried to help keep an industry he loves on track and profitable … unfortunately to no avail.

In its pages, the book explores all aspects of his multi-faceted career, and at times is brutally honest toward himself and others. He gives accolades when appropriate; derision when necessary. And while it is not a tough read, it is a long read solely due to the details presented and the passion behind his words.

Not that I always agree fully with him … As you know, I have long held that AM station owners and programmers pushed listeners to FM through bad programming — and other — decisions. Yes, FM can sound better, but doesn’t have to, and had programmers presented something people value, they would have stayed with the band. Smulyan actually proves my point with the initial failure of WFAN — a formerly successful country music station before he changed it to all-sports, which took years to catch on and like conservative talk radio became a popular format to present — if not listen —on the AM band … to the band’s ultimate demise.

Also demonstrated by Smulyan, the current decline of FM is due to the same type of forces … content not appealing to listeners, and a commercial load approaching 25 minutes per hour on some stations. But I digress.

In reading the book you get a feeling that you are there. In. My case, in one example, I was there … I was an intern at Magic 106 (now Power 106, 105.9 FM), working with on-air personalities such as Sonny Melendrez, Brian Roberts, Laurie Allen, and the great Robert W. Morgan. Emmis had spent a lot of money on Magic, but it was never the force they had hoped for … mainly due, in my opinion (and something I sensed even as a college intern) … a music mix that was too limiting. Magic never wanted to break songs, and instead relied on KIIS-FM (102.7) to do so … to its ultimate decline.

Smulyan and his executives including Rick Cummings, who I believe at the time oversaw programming for the entire company, let me listen in and even take part on some of their evening strategy meetings, which was a tremendous opportunity for a radio nut like me. I never forgot the experience, and it helped me not only understand the inner workings of radio, but develop a periphery understanding of Emmis itself. Indeed, my experience with Emmis matches what Smulyan describes as the corporate attitude within the company – a company that values people; they treated me — unpaid intern radio nut — as a valuable employee. No wonder the same executives I sat with in the mid 1980s are for the most part still with the company.

So I was there when the decision to drop the adult contemporary music and move to a rhythmic top-40/dance format was announced. At the time I remember thinking that it would be a tough move; KIIS-FM was firmly entrenched as the top-rated music station in the United States, setting records for listenership and revenues. Emmis executives came up with a format designed to appeal to young, hip listeners cutting across cultural barriers (sound familiar? Chuck Martin did the same at KHJ 930 AM). Ultimately, Power was the only station ever able to knock unstoppable KIIS-FM out of the top spot, at least for a while.

Smulyan later describes the purchase of the Seattle Mariners … what went right and what went terribly wrong, including a reflective analysis of how he totally misread the market for professional baseball in Seattle. That chapter in the book may change a few opinions on Smulyan being a “terrible owner” of the team, even though that is not the intent.

He speaks of his competitors both good and bad, talks about initiatives he was part of that may have indeed helped extend the reach of radio, and discusses the problems — including in particular one short-sighted competitor — that led to Emmis ultimately becoming less of a “radio” company and more of a media company … a move that you correctly sense makes him somewhat sad. Smulyan is, indeed, a radio guy, and it is his first love.

As I mentioned, one thing I found interesting in reading the book was that the attitude of Smulyan and the corporate culture he claims to have encouraged at Emmis matches that of my limited experience way back in my intern days, which were only a few years after Emmis was founded. Over time I watched the company’s successes and declines, and was impressed when — unlike so many other companies — Emmis actually worked to pay down debt by selling stations, including one that Smulyan loved, Power 106.

As I said, it’s not truly a radio book, but well worth the read for both radio fans as well as anyone interested in starting a business. Smulyan imparts knowledge that successful business owners learn by experience; perhaps his experience will help others avoid mistakes … or at least help others understand what entrepreneurs often go through …

Radio Waves Podcast #371

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 17:24:00 -0800

Radio: February 17, 2023

Last October, Adult Album rocker 88-5 … aka The SoCal Sound (KCSN/KSBR, 88.5 FM) … ruffled a few feathers by moving specialty programming out of “prime” hours, described as Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 7p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

General Manager Patrick Osburn stated emphatically at the time that all hosts were offered new slots and no shows were outright canceled, but that not everyone wanted to make the move and some hosts decoded to hang it up.

This prompted numerous emails and letters at the time, and some observers wondered if it made a difference in support and donations to the stations, with the thinking being that listeners of specialty programming are more likely financially support a public radio station.

So I reached out to Osburn and asked directly … was there any fallout? His response is that it was basically a wash:

“For several weeks I got a lot of hate mail and resentful notes that missed the Beatles show, and others,” he explained. “I made a big effort to explain, placate them, and even compromise. In the end, I generally stuck to the plan for the good of the future of the station.

“Over a few weeks, the number of letters decreased. Nothing for a few weeks, then back to notes and donations”

Osburn insists that the move was needed to help ensure the longterm visibility of the station, explaining, “our goal to evolve for the next 10 years is working, and the previous donations are being replaced by the new. In short, it’s a push, but we are well set up for the future.”

The Real Threat

Radio engineering newspaper Radio World recently ran a story on what the writer feels is the real threat to radio longterm: subscriptions. Not to the stations or content providers, but to auto manufacturers who want to expand monthly payments to include in-dash entertainment services.

A couple throwaway lines in the story written by InsideMusicMedia.Com’s Jerry Del Colianno, namely that electromagnetic fields in electric cars make AM radio virtually unlistenable and that manufacturers claim that AM radio drains batteries in electric vehicles prompted letter reply from a Radio World reader that succinctly states what I have been saying for years: Those companies using interference as an excuse for removing AM are basically lazy … or worse, just bad.

Writes Broadcast Engineer Jeremy Burnham (bit.ly/3HSHkgu), “The article states, 'Fact: electromagnetic fields generated in non-gasoline engines make AM virtually unlistenable.’ Apparently Chrysler found a way around this issue because my 2021 Pacifica EV has a radio that receives AM just fine. I can even do some DXing (long distance listening) with it at night. If Chrysler can build a necessary filter, so could other automakers.

“The article goes on saying that manufacturers claim: ‘AM radio drains the batteries of their electric vehicles.’ Really? Quick, get me an ammeter; I need to see for myself that the radio draws excessive current while tuned to 570 AM but not for 102.7 FM or Willy’s Roadhouse on satellite radio.”

Could they both be right? Yes, absolutely. It would not surprise me one bit if automakers wanted to expand a subscription base launched with in-car internet services, or going back further, services like On-Star. And if the companies can use the excuse that it is “too hard” for regular radio reception as a way to remove AM and/or FM from the dash of future models, then subscriptions will — perhaps — increase.

But it is true that with correct shielding and a good antenna, reception of both AM and FM in electric vehicles is absolutely possible. GM, Toyota, Chrysler and others have proven it. And if the electronics and motors produced so much interference that it negatively affected reception in the car, it is likely that the cars themselves are interfering with others on the road, or even at homes and businesses nearby. Which means, basically, the cars themselves are operating illegally. It is up to the manufacturer to eliminate the interference of the products they build. Has been that way for decades.

Oh, and the claim about draining the battery? That is just bull.

Radio Waves Podcast #370

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Thu, 9 Feb 2023 22:20:00 -0800

Radio: February 10, 2023

The holiday ratings period - representing roughly the last four weeks of the year - were kind once again to KOST (103.5 FM), which dominated the local ratings by playing holiday music. Earning a 13.1 share of the audience , KOST earned almost three times the rating (2.79 times actually, rounded off) held by second place KRTH’s (101.1 FM) 4.7 share.

Interestingly, though, the rating was a little lower than last year at the same time, when KOST earned a 13.4 share, and down even more from 2020’s 13.9. I wouldn’t read anything into that … many things are at work, not the least of which is the fact that people were allowed to leave their homes more freely, unlike the past two years. Still - interesting.

Also interesting: Go Country’s switch to holiday music didn’t seem to make a dent one way or another, with the station earning a 2.5 … about what it earns normally.

KFI (640 AM) was 3rd with a 4.4, followed by KLVE (107.5 FM) at 4.2 and My FM KBIG (104.3) at 3.9.

Moving down the list a bit, the competition of Alt 98.7 and KROQ (106.7 FM) found the stations closer together than they have been in a while, which Alt earning a 15th place 2.3 share and KROQ tied with KPCC (89.3 FM) for 19th at 2.0

KLOS (95.5 FM) fell a little, to 2.5 from December’s 2.9 and the 3.0 share it held in September, October and November. This gave Jack-FM KCBS (93.1) a chance to take back the classic rock lead even though it was flat from December’s 2.8. The problem for Jack is that back in August, it had a 3.9 share, and other than in November, the trend has been down. It should be interesting to see what happens the first half of this year.

KLOS sister station Power 106 (KPWR, 105.9 FM) is still struggling. In spite of an excellent signal, it continues to languish far below closest competitor KIIS-FM (102.7), with a 23rd place 1.6 share against KIIS’s 7th place 3.0. There was a time when Power beat KIIS, and it wasn’t that long after KIIS set records for FM ratings — as high as 10.0 — in the mid 1980s. Kind of makes you wonder why either station doesn’t try harder.

And from the files of “I Told You So,” KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM) earned a 2.5 share of the ratings, tying KLOS and Go Country at 11th place. For historical comparison, KNX earned a combined AM-FM 2.8 share in Holiday 2021, and an AM-only 3.2 share in Holiday 2020. Clearly the simulcast on FM has not helped, and owner Audacy lost the approximately 1.5 share it had with the old KNOU format it ran on 97.1 before the simulcast, even as bad as that format was. In the meantime, KFI has increased its ratings over the same period. Weird.

Honestly, Audacy should drop the simulcast, move the call letters back to 93.1 FM and play mellow rock on the FM. But they won’t.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the Holiday ratings? KRTH’s online stream earned a 0.7 share … higher than 15 rated stations on the list and just below KABC’s (790 AM) 0.8 share of the audience.

Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners, age 6 and over, tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight, as determined by Nielsen.

1. KOST (13.1) 2. KRTH (4.7) 3. KFI (4.4) 4. KLVE (4.2) 5. KBIG (3.9) 6. KTWV The Wave (3.4) 7. KIIS-FM (3.0) 8. KCBS-FM (2.8) 9. KRRL (2.7) 10. KLAX, KXOL (2.6)

12. KKGO, KLOS, KNX (2.5) 15. KYSR Alt (2.3) 16. KBUE, KLYY, KRCD (2.1) 19. KPCC, KROQ (2.0)

21. KUSC (1.9) 22. KSCA (1.7) 23. KPWR (1.6) 24. KLLI (1.5) 25. KJLH (1.4) 26. KKJZ (1.3) 27. KDAY, KFWB (1.2) 29. KCRW, KLAC (0.9)

31. KABC (0.8) 32. KDLD, KRTH Stream (0.7) 34. KCSN, KEIB, KRLA (0.5) 37. KFSH, KWIZ (0.4) 39. KKLA, KPFK (0.2)

40. KCBS-FM Stream, KHJ, KIRN, KNX-FM Stream, KROQ Stream, KTNQ, KTWV Stream, KWKW (0.1)

///

Radio Waves Podcast #369

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 20:55:00 -0800

Radio: February 3

I got into a minor disagreement with my podcast partner and friend Michael Stark over a recent column in which I was trying to clarify something and perhaps ended up making things murkier. It all had to do with the the word “stale” and radio station KABC (790 AM).

Going back a couple weeks, I had mentioned that KFI’s (640 AM) recent changes had a lot to do with not becoming stale, as KABC had become. What I meant to reference was the mid 1980s, when KFI was moving to the talk format, and was able to overtake KABC relatively quickly due to sounding young, hip, and modern … while KABC was holding on to the old guard and had become somewhat stale in comparison.

It was not a direct judgement of KABC’s programming then or now, and often sounding fresh isn’t so much the talk programs themselves, but how they present themselves. What music they use coming out of breaks, and more. A station that doesn’t evolve is likely to die due to a lack of new listeners. Done right, and a station thrives.

A perfect example of that is KRTH (101.1 FM) … diehard oldies fans lament that they no longer play songs from the 1950s and ‘60s, but as KRTH has moved into the ‘80s and even the 1990s — still a longer period back than when it launched in 1972 and played music from 1955 and up — it has gained new listeners and remained one of the areas top-rated stations.

My partner Stark believes I was too easy on the current KABC program lineup. It is stale, he says. I’m not sure that is the correct word, but I understand where he is coming from. Indeed, if KABC was playing something people wanted to hear, they would not be among the lowest-rated full-power stations in town. My choice of word to describe KABC: irrelevant.

I think that the real problem with KABC is that it isn’t offering much to attract listeners, and they aren’t really even trying. The station is mostly repetitive conservative programming, basically preaching to the choir, with no promotion at all. Two of the shows are essentially replays of podcasts, and outside of midday host John Phillips and (another disagreement with my friend Stark) Ben Shapiro, the shows are not even really fun nor all that informative. Just kind of a rehash of negative political news.

So what to do? The way I see it there are two choices. Either build around Philips and go live/local all day with people who can relate to local audiences and get out of the political gutter, or drop talk altogether and play music. Find a format for an audience that isn’t served by existing stations … such as oldies (new or old) that KRTH or KOLA (99.9 FM) doesn’t play, metal, or progressive rock. I guarantee any of those moves would do better than now, and may even bring a few younger listeners back to the band.

You Know That …

It’s funny how certain stories get told, and I suppose when they get told often enough they become “fact.” But many “facts” about radio are more legend than reality. Here are but a few examples:

You always heard that KHJ (930 AM) used a cappella jingles when they launched the Boss Radio format in 1965 because there was a musicians strike. Sound reasonable, except that it’s not true. Oh, there may have been a strike — I didn’t check — but station consultant Bill Drake had already been using similar jingles at previous stations he consulted or programmed, including KGB in San Diego (now KLSD, 1360 AM) among others.

Speaking of KHJ and KGB, it was actually KGB that launched “the Drake format” roughly one year before KHJ. They didn’t call it Boss Radio, but the elements were all there - quick jungles, fast moving format elements, and the top-30 records. The success of KGB helped pave the way for its implementation on KHJ.

You know that Rick Dees came to Los Angeles to work at KIIS-FM (102.7), right? It must be true, as I even read it in an LA Times retrospective of Dees’ career and how his arrival at KIIS led immediately to the rise of the station to the top of the ratings.

Except it wasn’t that way at all. Dees arrived with his “Cast of Idiots” to work at a revitalized KHJ (can’t get away from that station today) in 1979; he didn’t move to KIIS until 1981. And KIIS didn’t switch to a true top-40 format until a while after Dees’ arrival. Had they kept playing the sleepy “adult contemporary” format they ran when Dees first arrived, KIIS-FM would never have set records for ratings earned in the mid 1980s.

Of course you know that AM radio broadcasts always sound awful and it is due to the AM transmission system. The only way to get good sound on the radio to listen to FM.

Wrong again. While Edwin Armstrong, a key developer of AM, hated the sound or AM broadcasts so much that he invented FM, it wasn’t due to what we consider AM’s lack of fidelity. It was the interference. AM radio, due to the frequencies it uses, is prone to interference from natural and man-made sources: lightening, automotive ignition systems, computers, dimmers, and more. But Amplitude Modulation itself is not inherently bad — it was used for the video portion of television broadcasts prior to the switch to digital … which is why you could sometimes get a picture before the sound on distant stations in the old days — AM travels further than FM.

Radio manufacturers handled interference by reducing the audio bandwidth on AM radio broadcasts. Made it easier to listen to, but it cut sound quality dramatically. From a technical standpoint, analog AM broadcasts can actually have a greater bandwidth — the frequency response spread from the lowest notes to the highest — than FM stereo (20 Hz to 20KHz vs 20 Hz - 15KHz).

With modern circuits, it is relatively easy to design a great-sounding AM receiver; Carver, Denon, and a few others made great AM stereo receivers as far back as the 1980s. It just costs a little more, and the companies want to keep costs down. Too bad, actually … some AM stereo stations sounded better than their FM competitors, but few people had the right radios.

Have any similar stories? Send them over - I’d love to hear them.

Radio Waves Podcast #368

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 19:54:00 -0800

Radio: January 27, 2023

I have always had a pipe dream of buying a radio station or two … primarily AM — because I want to prove you can get listeners when you program and promote a station correctly — or maybe an AM-FM combo in a major market. I’d probably run top-40 or progressive rock on the AM and something to complement it on the FM … such as Big Band.

But as I write this, something dramatic is happening in radio: mega-owner Audacy — owner of six stations in Los Angeles, a handful more in the Inland Empire, and a total of 235 nationwide — has seen its stock decline by almost 90 percent over the past year, closing January 19th at just over 26 cents per share. With about 141 million shares outstanding, that puts its total market value at about $37 million.

I think it’s time to buy the whole company. Anyone want to invest?

Here’s my plan: offer a premium to buy the entire company at, say, $50 million. Then sell off most of the stations to others. You truly don’t have to get much for them … the selling price would only need to average a little under $213,000 to break even, and even stations in smaller markets would be worth more than that.

Considering that KBLA (1580 AM) sold for $7 million in 2020, KLOS for $43 million in 2019 and KFWB fetched over $11 million in 2012, as but three examples, I figure I could sell just four of the six LA properties (KROQ 106.7 FM, KNX-FM 97.1, KTWV 94.7 FM, KRTH 101.1 FM, KCBS-FM 93.1, and KNX 1070 AM) and pay off the debt; the rest of the stations nationwide would give me a lot of operating income. Keep about 10 stations total and I’m set.

Why ten? That’s about as many as any one company should be allowed to own. More than that and you have what you have today — failing companies creating a declining industry.

Of course in purchasing the company you’d have to deal with staggering debt, for which there may be no way out short of bankruptcy . Something that some observers say is inevitable. A search revealed that as of last September, Audacy had over $2 billion in total debt, with liabilities totaling $2.73 billion. That would bring the average station selling price quite a bit higher to break even: almost $12 million. But … and this is a big but - it seems do-able, given the right management. The trick is, the company cannot remain in its current form: it must sell assets in order to get down to the handful of successful stations and remain debt-free.

Any financial wizards reading this want to tell me why the plan doesn’t work? Seems a no brainer … I haven’t seen a bargain like this since Cumulus stock was selling for under $1 a few years ago.

Stale?

I received a few letters regarding my recent column on KFI’s (640 AM) programming changes, one particularly good one from reader Alan Wolfe.

“I disagree that KABC (790 AM) programing is stale.

“Armstrong and Getty: I give this show a thumbs down. I don't know what the show is about the constant laughing of one of the hosts is totally annoying. New hosts.

“Dan Bongino: Two thumps up for this excellent show. Great show

“John Phillips: One of the best interviewers on either the radio or TV. Great show

“Ben Shapiro: Also a good show if Ben did not talk so fast. Ben, slow down

“Leo 2.0: During the 60 minutes Leo covers more information than some of the other stations cover in four hours. Great show

“Frank Motek: One of the best financial shows on the air and he is not selling anything.

“Susan Shelley with John Coupal: In one hour you know so much about what the city, county and the state are doing to rip you off.”

That is an excellent analysis.

Which made me realize I was unclear. I didn’t mean that KABC was stale; what I meant was that KFI changed this month because it didn’t want to become what KABC HAD become back in 1984. KABC being old and stale is what KFI — with a young, popular Rush Limbaugh and a few others such as Tom Leykis — used to surpass them in the ratings.

What KABC has now is an image problem that they refuse to do anything about. And their technical sound is occasionally abysmal: the audio often sounds like high school quality … Leo Terrell could not even be heard talking the other night coming out of a commercial because the music level was so high. There are also too many syndicated programs, and they refuse to promote ANY of them.

Which is too bad - Shapiro is considered by some as genius and even fun, and Phillips is a definitely a wasted talent waiting for someone to notice how good he really is. I like Bongino, but you can only say something sucks so many times before it gets dull. He needs to listen to early Limbaugh shows to see how it’s done. And why is Dr. Kelly Victory still not on the air here? She was a highlight of the day on The Doctor Hour of Phillips’ program.

KABC should be a competitor … they invented the format! But they just won’t go the extra mile to make it work. There is no reason for a major market station, even on AM, to be rated as low as is KABC, shares running between 0.6 and 0.9 for the past six months.

KABC is probably a station that purists wouldn’t want me to own: I’d take it to top-40.

Radio Waves: January 20, 2023

Benny Martinez, the young kid and relative newcomer to Los Angeles when he was picked in 1981 for the early evening shift on program director Chuck Martin’s top-40 K-WEST 106 (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) has passed away on January 3rd from complications related to diabetes. He was 66.

I remember listening to Martinez on K-WEST, the little station that should have dominated radio in Los Angeles, a true version of KHJ (930 AM) on FM, launched about six months after KHJ went country. Unfortunately, upper management didn’t give it enough time and dropped the format just as KIIS-FM was moving in; KIIS would eventually become the top-rated station in America due in part to K-WEST leaving the format to them.

I asked Martin to talk about Martinez. “I first heard of Benny while I was programming KHJ. We would receive a lot of air checks from DJs around the country … so many people wanted to work at KHJ. One day my assistant, “Hurricane” Heron, came to me and said ‘you want to listen to this one.’ It was Benny Martinez, which was working at a little station in El Centro called KXO.”

“Benny had a decent voice, but there was something more to it. He had a vibe, something in his attitude, that stuck out. He had excellent delivery, with a great pace and momentum. He was not ready for KHJ yet, but he was close to the type of personality I wanted for the station: someone with an ethnic feel … who can talk with Southern California in a general sense, but relate to listeners in the inner city as well.

“One day, he showed up in my office. My secretary said he was in the lobby, had sent me a tape and was hoping we could go over it together. So I brought him to my office, we sat down and listened; I gave him suggestions, such as to start speaking both Spanish and English on the air, moving between the two as effortlessly as he could. He was quite talented in this. After the meeting, we agreed to stay in touch while I continued to offer suggestions… which we did for many months”

It was the Spanish-English announcing that made Martinez fun to listen to for me, even though I am still most definitely not a Spanish speaker. Long before it was trendy at some stations, Martinez would through in a few Spanish words as he spoke, often culminating with “on K-WEST, uno cero seis.” But I am getting ahead of the story.

Fast forward a bit … KHJ has gone country, Martin is up in San Francisco consulting with KHJ sister station KFRC, when he gets the opportunity to program K-WEST. “We had most of the staff set … Bobby Ocean, Pat Garrett, London and Engelman, and the one holdover from the old format, China Smith. But I still needed an evening jock. Hurricane brought up Benny.”

After thinking about it for a while, “he was at the top of my list” for potential candidates, he explained. But Martin had lost track of Martinez when the young DJ left KXO. “I had no clue where he was,” said Martin. “I finally found him … working at a bank! He had given up radio because he needed a more stable job as he started a family.”

Would he be interested in working the evening shift on K-WEST? “Yes,” came the immediate reply from Martinez. And he didn’t let Martinez down. “He was exactly what I wanted for the format, for that time slot especially. He did really well for me,” he said.

Unfortunately, as I said, it didn’t last. Just as the format was building momentum, and immediately prior to KIIS-FM starting its ascension, Martin realized the station was not being supported correctly, and promises were being broken. So he reluctantly left the station, the last station he ever programmed. Martinez went on to work at other stations in town, including the KIIS-AM (now KEIB, 1150 AM) “shadow cast” of KIIS-FM, B-100 (KIBB, now KKLQ, 100.3 FM), and KRTH (101.1 FM).

Martinez also worked on Westwood One’s syndicated 70s format but ultimately realized what he already knew: radio is not the most stable of industries. So he left and sold cars at Ed Butts Ford in La Puente.

I realize this is a long tribute for Martinez, who certainly would not be considered a “legend” in the vein of Charlie Tuna, Robert W. Morgan, or “the Real” Don Steele. But he represents the last gasps of personality-oriented top-40 radio, and for that matter made his mark in an increasingly tough industry. I remember him so well because my radio was glued to K-WEST in that era, whether I was driving to Long Beach State or working at the Sears Surplus Store warehouse. It was fun; Martinez will be missed.

Radio Waves Podcast #367

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 22:49:00 -0800

Radio: January 13, 2023

To borrow a slogan from ABC-television in the 1970s - unfortunately when they cancelled my favorite game show, Split Second - It’s a brand new day on KFI (640 AM), and it all started January 3rd. Tim Conway made the announcement of the change on the last day of his told time slot, January 2nd at 7:00.

Some of the shows remain the same: Wake Up Call with Jennifer Jones Lee still starts the day at 5 a.m.; Coast to Coast with George Noory still ends the day at 10 p.m. But between the two some shows were shortened and times adjusted in order to launch the all new Later with Mo’ Kelly. More on that, um, later.

It could be said that the changes reflect a reality: in talk radio, longer shifts can be tough. I think even in music radio, four hours can be too long, especially if the show is entertainment-based. Perhaps that explains why so many morning shows repeat segments or even full hours rather than having new content throughout the morning. Three hours in my opinion is a much better program length, but I digress.

Bill Handel loses an hour and will be heard from 6-9 a.m. Gary and Shannon keep the same length but move up an hour, taking on 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Next is John and Ken 1-4 p.m., followed by Tim Conway 4-7 p.m; both also sans one hour each shift. And then … Later, 4-7 p.m.

I had a chance to talk with Mo’Kelly, and he explains his new show this way: “Think the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, but on the radio rather than television.” Rather than being issues-oriented like his old weekend show, he says this one will be entertaining. “Sure, a guest may want to talk about something political, and I’ll let them. But it’s not going to be a political show. It will be fun, joyous … hopefully magical.”

It’s definitely a gamble for the station, which just saw it’s ratings high enough to be tied for the number two station in the city. But it’s also been a while since any real changes have been made … by my count, no major changes have been made since 2013, the year Rush Limbaugh moved over to then-new KEIB (1150 AM), also in early January.

I have yet to reach KFI programmer Robin Bertolucci, but I can surmise a major reason for the changes was making sure the station didn’t get stale, along with trying to make sure that its audience didn’t get “too old.” Just as KRTH (101.1 FM) has remained at the top of the ratings by constantly evolving to continually attract new listeners, KFI wants to make sure it doesn’t become what KABC (790 AM) had become: old and stale.

But to do it at the almost top of the ratings? There has to be information Bertolucci has that I am not privy too. Yet I can guess: Most of the shows have not changed in years. John and Ken have been doing essentially the same show for about 30 years, for example, and moving earlier in the day may actually expose them to a newer audience. Conway seems an odd fit at his new time, but again: new audience, new potential. And Kelly? He’s been a wasted talent on the station for years; his new show gives him the chance to shine … and bring a whole new crop of listeners to talk radio.

So why didn’t KFI promote the heck out of these changes? They never do. KFI has always been run as a top-40 station that plays talk instead of music. It’s the station experience rather than any one host that has always gotten top-billing. As it continues to evolve away from issues and politics and toward general entertainment — ironically the format that KABC ran when KFI did it it — I can see it helping to keep talk radio viable. Certainly KABC — and KFI sister station KEIB — constantly prove one simple fact: that political talk as a full format is dead … both stations are consistently toward the bottom of the ratings lists.

The Greatest Ninths

K-Mozart (1260 AM, 105.1 HD2) will present what station owner Saul Levine calls the greatest Ninth Symphonies — the Schubert, the Mahler, and the Beethoven — beginning at 12 noon on January 22nd.

Listeners have a chance to voice their opinion on the subject matter as well; during the presentations, votes will be taken via email for their own thoughts on the best of the three.

And as I visited the K-Mozart website - Mozart.com - I was reminded of Levine’s dedication to shelter animals … on the top of the page, as on all of his station websites, is a link for information on pet adoptions. Levine has been a proponent of shelter pet adoptions for many years, and that definitely continues into the new year. I like that.

Radio Waves Podcast #366

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 3 Jan 2023 15:56:00 -0800

Special Guest: KFI's Mo Kelly who discusses his new weekday show.

Radio: January 6, 2022

Wasn’t that you who told me you always wanted to own your own radio-related internet domain, so that you could direct your friends and family to your chain of online radio stations that you program out of your spare bedroom?

You’re in luck. Audacy, owner of stations nationwide including eight here in Los Angeles (seven if you count the failure of the KNX Newsradio simulcast (1070 AM, 97.1 FM) that earns roughly the same combined ratings as it did as a standalone AM signal, but I digress) is auctioning off the radio.com domain it once used for its online presence. The company dropped radio.com in favor of audacy.com when it changed its corporate name from Entercom to Audacy a couple years ago.

Available through GoDaddy.Com, the auction ends March 28, 2023. Starting bid: $2.5 million. That’s right - $2.5 million. Minimum.

On a serious note and just for reference, Audacy couldn’t really do anything major with either radio.com or audacy.com. It is a decent little domain name, though … I just can’t see anyone or any company finding it worth that much. Generally speaking, online radio doesn’t make a lot (read: none) of money, so paying off that $2.5 million may take a while.

So if that’s too rich for your blood, I’ll sell you socalradiowaves.com for much less. Maybe half a million. Send me your offer …

Also on a serious note: I’m kidding about selling socalradiowaves..

The Radio.Com domain itself goes back to at least 1996. It was once owned by CNET networks — which paid $30,000 for both Radio.Com and TV.Com — and became part of CBS Radio when CBS bought CNET. In 2010, CBS launched Radio.Com as a clearinghouse of all CBS radio station streams. When Entercom bought CBS, the domain became its own.

AllAccess.Com, which broke the news of the auction, reports that similar domains such as Radio.Cloud, Radio.Co, and Radio.IM recently sold for anywhere from $2500 - just over $25,000.

American’s Samoa’s Best Music

Ever wonder what the legendary KHJ (930 AM) might sound like, musically at least, if the station still played top-40? Wonder no more … South Seas Broadcasting has you covered.

Using the call-letters KKHJ and broadcasting at 93.1 FM out of Pago Pago in American Samoa, the station brands itself as 93/KHJ in a tribute to the original. The music is considered an adult top-40, which is probably what I would program on the station if I were running it here in Los Angeles.

According to the station website at southseasbroadcasting.com/93khj, “the idea for KHJ Radio came about in 1994 when Larry Fuss (now President of South Seas Broadcasting, Inc., the parent company of 93KHJ) was looking out the window of his radio station in Mississippi following a big ice storm. The streets were littered with fallen trees, broken branches and tons of ice, and the electricity had been out for over a week. Fuss thought to himself, ‘wouldn’t it be nice to have a radio station on a tropical island in the South Pacific?’

“On somewhat of a whim, Fuss immediately began researching the possibility and ran across an available frequency for a new FM Radio Station in Pago Pago, American Samoa. The FCC application was filed on November 20, 1995, and finally granted on February 13, 1998.”

Regular programming began in May of 2000 — almost exactly 35 years after the late April, 1965 “sneak preview” of the “Boss Radio” top-40 launch that helped change radio forever. Like the original, the format was an instant hit.

The station features a two-man morning team, a three-person news department, and runs public affairs programming benefiting the local community. And modern “93/KHJ” jingles … so cool. Hear it yourself on the various smartphone apps or online at the website.

Ratings

The December ratings (which due to the four-week cycles actually includes more of November than December) had KOST (103.5 FM) at the top, as usual, with their Christmas music format earning a whopping 12.1 share of the audience. You can expect that to be even higher when the “holiday” ratings period is released in January.

But what caught my eye is the stellar performance of KFI (640 AM), which tied with KRTH (101.1 FM) for second place at 4.7. That’s right: an AM station tying for second place. It is truly amazing what happens when you program something people want to hear on the AM band: you get ratings. Just like so many stations did before they sent listeners to FM … such as KLAC (570 AM), XETRA (690 AM), KPRZ (now KEIB, 1150 AM), KEZY (now KGBN, 1190 AM) , KABC (790 AM) and even KHJ itself, most of which have never had ratings as high as they had when they played music (country, top-40, or even adult standards). KABC is a special case because they stopped trying to compete in talk in spite of inventing the format.

KFI does have an advantage of being a signal blowtorch, covering most of Southern California during the day and much of Western America at night. But they compete by having a good programming, good promotion, and a local presence that is missing from so many stations, both AM and FM. One could learn a lot by studying these successes past and present, especially now that so many competing stations don’t really try.

Radio Waves: December 30, 2022

Poorman rings in the new year with his 3rd annual marathon

What would the new year be like without family, friends, food, fun, and The Poorman?

You don’t have to wonder, as Jim “Poorman” Trenton is once again ringing in the new year with a 30-hour marathon on-air party you can be a part of. Just tune into KOCI (101.5 FM) in or near Costa Mesa, or via kociradio.com, poorman.net, your favorite smartphone app, or your smart speaker.

There will even be a live video stream of the event at facebook.com/jim.p.trenton

It starts at 7 a.m. on New Year’s Eve and runs until 1 p.m. New Year’s Day; the idea is to showcase local community members as they take to the airwaves with Poorman as the official Master of Ceremonies.

Each segment features a different host, and can be a station sponsor, local business owner, listener, or even a surprise celebrity guest. Each hour spotlights a different charity, and Poorman will offer live public service announcements directing marathon listeners to the charity web site as a part of the festivities.

The first four hours will be his normal show … as I wrote last year, the word “normal” being a strange description for what is one of the most unusual shows on the radio. “We – either me or listeners – choose a theme, and then listeners call in to suggest songs that match the theme.” It could be any theme: food, cars, dance moves, drinks … after the theme is chosen, Poorman tries to play as many of the suggested related songs as possible. “It’s an all-instant request morning,” he explains.

For the marathon, at 11 a.m., Poorman turns the program over to his guests, who are allowed to do basically anything they want, as long as it is FCC-legal. Poorman stays on hand to handle any issues or technical problems that crop up.

Of course this means he has to start sharp and ready to go if the guest hosts run a little too loose … I see lots of coffee being brewed at Poorman’s control center during those 30 hours.

This is the third year for the event, and it truly is a lot of fun.

Predictions for 2023

With radio stations possibly being forced to pay new royalties to the artists of the music they play, there are many expecting more radio stations to shift toward talk. Not necessarily talk formats — though I would not be surprised to see a commercial FM talker within the year. I am looking to see fewer songs being played on some stations and the ability of those in front of the microphone to have a but more personality. Think Booker and Stryker on Alt 98.7 or Kevin and Sluggo on KLOS (95.5 FM).

This stems from the possibility that radio stations may have to pay these new royalties if a deal is struck between artists and the various organizations working on it. In the past, radio stations were able to avoid artist fees due to the argument that they expose listeners to new artists and new music, driving sales of records. Since radio became a thing if the past by playing mostly oldies and shunning most new music, they can’t hide behind that any more.

Will it actually happen? And will such an agreement actually mean more talking on the radio? I don’t think it will be a dramatic shift, but I do believe a subtle change will happen in the new year.

What else? I can see at least one of the major owner groups going bankrupt this year, especially if the economy declines at all; my bet would be on Audacy but honestly all three of the largest and most of the smallest are in trouble due to over leveraging their properties and the lack of content development on the part of most. Hopefully this will lead to a resurgence of independent owners, but I’ve been saying that for years … and remaining disappointed that it never seems to happen.

Expect a few talk programs to show up on KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM). Where? Overnights is the rumor. Probably cheap syndicated fare.

At least one major talk station will have some changes. Will it be KABC switching to sports betting? KFI making some adjustments? KEIB (1150 AM) dropping talk altogether? I’ve heard nothing in particular about any of the stations, but KABC and KEIB are still in obvious ratings trouble and KFI seems due in spite of quite excellent ratings — the last major change KFI made was years ago when they sent Dr. Laura to satellite and Rush Limbaugh to a different dial position. I don’t expect wholesale changes, but perhaps a few tweaks.

Would it surprise me if KFI started simulcasting on FM? Actually yes, even though I know programmer Robin Bertolucci would love that chance. KFI does so well on AM (and KNX does so poorly on FM) that the move requires a low-rated FM to make the risk acceptable. Owner iHeart has no low-rated or unsuccessful FMs in town.

Other than that, I don’t see many changes. Regardless, you’ll read it here first. And if you hear anything, or just want to know something that I can help with, please drop me a line.

Happy new year!

Radio Waves Podcast #365

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 12:05:00 -0800

Radio Waves: December 23, 2022

Holiday Treats

More Christmas/holiday programming is on tap for you, if you’re willing to listen via apps or online … one of which has not been heard locally in years, if ever.

In the early 1980s, Drake-Chenault produced a show called Christmas At Our House. It was very well received, since it was quite different from the usual repetition of 50 common Christmas songs. The syndicated show hasn’t been aired anywhere for over 20 years, and I don’t recall it ever airing in Los Angeles.

The program was hosted by Sonny Melendrez, who I met while he was at Magic 106 (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) circa 1984. It features lots of holiday music, along with interesting vignettes about how Christmas is celebrated in various countries around the world. There are also celebrity interviews, holiday stories, and some very unique music.

It will air commercial-free on Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. and repeat on Christmas Day December 25, from 7 a.m. to 10pm

How do you listen? The stream URL is https://la2.indexcom.com/player/6. Just copy and paste the link into your web browser and a player will launch. If you have the technical know-how you can add it to your favorite phone app, but it will also play using the online player on your phone, so you can listen on the go or in your car.

The second program is a holiday tradition. Sounds of the Season will air as usual beginning at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and running through 12 midnight on Christmas Day. The 36-hour show includes some excellent jazz instrumental and vocal interpretations of holiday music favorites from Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Marcus Roberts, Ramsey Lewis, Wynton Marsalis, Vince Guaraldi and many more.

LA Jazz DJ legend, Chuck Niles, provides a dramatic reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas at noon, and 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and midnight, 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. on Christmas Day.

“I have plenty of newer tracks this year, exclaims show producer David Grudt. “About 27 percent of the music comes from albums released in the last three years. Roughly 60 percent of the playlist this year is comprised of music in our 1,300 plus track library that are new songs, tracks that I haven’t used ever before or tracks that weren’t played in 2021.”

In the San Diego you can hear it over the air on KSDS (88.3 FM); in Longview, Texas you can tune to KFRO (1370 AM) — Longview’s oldest radio station owned by Scott Rice, former Chief Engineer of KSDS. But you’ll probably find it easier to “tune in” online at https://jazzknob.com or https://www.jazz88.org

Music Comparison

Sean Ross confirmed my own observations: KOST (103.5 FM) and Go Country (105.1 FM) do have a lot of overlap, but there are enough differences that might make your choice easier.

In a sample hour, Ross reported on RadioInsight.com that KOST played holiday music from The Eagles, Michael Bublé, Bing Cosby, Lindsey Stirling, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, Amy Grant, Meghan Trainor, Frank Sinatra & Cyndi Lauper, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Dolly Parton & Michael Bublé, and Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme.

Meanwhile, Go Country’s sample hour included songs from Bing Crosby, Darlene Love, Taylor Swift, Elvis Presley, Faith Hill, Johnny Mathis, Kelly Clarkson, Nat “King’ Cole, Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, Frank Sinatra, Idina Menzel, Lady Antebellum (Lady A), and Kenny Loggins.

I note that neither station had any songs from Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, among my favorite Christmas songs due most likely to my listening constantly to the reel to reel tape every season on my parent’s Akai M8 when I was growing up. But I digress.

What the Ross sample hours did show is that there is indeed a difference. KOST is marginally more contemporary in the pop arena; Go Country is marginally more traditional but includes a lot of more recent songs from country artists, including a superb version of Baby It’s Cold Outside from Lady A.

But again, no Fred Waring. Such a shame.

Radio pioneer Norm Pattiz passes

You may not necessarily know the name Norm Pattiz, but you probably have heard programs created or distributed by the company he founded. Indeed, Pattiz is considered by many as the father of modern radio syndication via his Westwood One company.

Pattiz passed away December 4th at the age of 79.

A graduate of Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, he worked sales for KCOP-TV Channel 13 from 1970 to 1974. He launched Westwood One in 1976, which grew to be a dominant player in syndicated radio programming by the 1980s, featuring concerts and programming including “Off the Record,” the national edition of Dr. Demento’s show.

Eventually, the company acquired other syndicators including Mutual Broadcasting and the NBC Radio Network, and even lured Casey Kasem away from Watermark to host a new countdown show … then later got the rights to the American Top-40 program name under its umbrella.

In the late 1980s, Westwood One started buying its own stations, including the former KIQQ (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) and launched Pirate Radio under the program direction of Scott Shannon. Those purchases started to undermine the finances of the company, which soon found itself having to deal with an industry in decline brought on, ironically, by large companies buying radio stations at inflated prices, leading to an over leveraged financial situation.

Infinity Broadcasting purchased Westwood One in 1994; Pattiz stayed on until 2010 when Cumulus Media took control.

Pattiz didn’t retire, though, Instead he launched Launchpad in 2012, changing the name to PodcastOne in 2013, once again putting him at the forefront of technology. PodcastOne.Com is a clearinghouse of hundreds of professionally-produced podcasts covering all interests, with such shows as Cold Case Files, Reasonable Doubt, and one of the company’s first featured programs, The Adam Carolla Show.

In addition to commercial radio projects, Pattiz was on the Board of Regents for the University of California; served under two Presidents on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees non-military U. S. Broadcasting services such as the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe; and helped fund many radio charity events.

Pattiz was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2009 and was a recipient of the Giants of Broadcasting Award from the Liberty of American Broadcasting. His big claim to fame: he was married to former KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) air personality Mary Turner, original host of Off the Record and who serves as Chairman of the Board of the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage.

Fraudulent Advertising 101

Ever think some radio testimonials from some of your favorite personalities are, for lack of a better word, fake? Your instinct may be right.

The Federal Trade Commission is accusing iHeart radio stations and Google of airing 29,000 ads on stations across the country that purported to have air personalities speak of their use of Pixel 4 mobile phones, including scripted testimonials, even though the personalities never used — nor even had — the phones.

As stated on ftc.gov (https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/11/ftc-states-sue-google-iheartmedia-deceptive-ads-promoting-pixel-4-smartphone ) “in 2019, Google hired iHeartMedia and 11 other radio networks in ten major markets to have on-air personalities record and broadcast endorsements of the Pixel 4 phone. Google provided iHeartMedia with scripts that included lines about the Pixel 4 phone like, ‘It’s my favorite phone camera out there, especially in low light, thanks to Night Sight Mode,’ ‘I’ve been taking studio-like photos of everything,’ and ‘It’s also great at helping me get stuff done, thanks to the new voice activated Google Assistant that can handle multiple tasks at once.’ However, the on-air personalities were not provided with Pixel 4s before recording and airing the majority of the ads and therefore did not own or regularly use the phones.”

This all happened in 2019-2020; one of the reasons the phones were not available for the endorsements: they were not even available for sale at the time.

A proposed settlement puts iHeart under “probation” for ten years, Google for three. Attorneys General from six states including California joined in the action.

Let’s see what the corporate radio apologists say about this … Didn’t RKO lose their licenses over something not nearly as serious?

Radio Waves Podcast #364

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Thu, 8 Dec 2022 21:33:00 -0800

Radio Waves: December 9, 2022

Country Christmas

In keeping with my desire to discuss holiday music in every column every week of the year I bring you more holiday music news: as expected, Go Country 105 has temporarily become Your Christmas Destination once more.

A rundown of the music played just prior to my writing this includes music from The Ronettes, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Andy Williams, and Elvis Presley, so its definitely not a country-oriented Christmas format. That being said, it did also include Blake Shelton, Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen, and Lady A … so there is a nice mix there. Generally speaking, while I hate to “lose” the country format, I tend to like the variety of holiday music that Go Country plays this time of year.

I used quotes around the word “lose” because the country music is not totally gone; it is still available on the digital radio HD stream (105.1 HD3), as well as online, through various apps, and via smart speakers. The HD stream temporarily replaces the “unforgettable” Sinatra and standards format normally found there.

And don’t worry … I have more holiday music information in the wait …

Feeding Kids

The 12th Annual KFI (640 AM) Pastathon has raised over $450,000 and almost 10,000 pounds of pasta and sauce through press time, though the numbers are most certainly higher once the final tallies are in.

The PastaThon benefits Caterina’s Club, a charity named after Chef Bruno Serato’s mother. In 2005, the charity began serving hot meals to children living in low-income motels; since that time the project has expanded to 100 locations in 30 cities across Southern California, serving more than 25,000 meals per week. Since inception, that makes for over eight million meals served

In addition, help is given to get families into stable homes and job training in the hospitality industry is provided, all in an attempt to break the cycle of poverty, directly benefiting 260 families and 600 teens who have graduated from the Hospitality Academy.

This year, KFI partnered with Smart and Final, Wendy’s, and Barilla — yes the pasta company, of course — to help with the 2022 drive. Water heater manufacturer Bradford White donated $5000 as well.

Since KFI got involved in 2010, listeners and partners of the station have raised over $4.6 million and 700,000 pounds of pasta and sauce. That’s a lotta pasta!

Streaming Along

The vast majority of radio listening is still over the regular airwaves, of course. But streaming has picked ups over the past few years, according to Edison Research. The company recently reported that about 12 percent of listeners to AM and FM radio listen via online streams, which includes web browsers, apps, and smart speakers.

Modern apps and smart speakers especially make it extremely easy to hear your favorite station, and there are some who feel that streaming radio is the real future of radio … putting stations on an even playing field with good reception and fidelity non matter your location.

That, of course, will take wifi universal internet access to become a reality for all.

Car Radio

Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey is hopping on the “Saving AM” train. He recently sent a letter to 20 automakers asking them too make sure they continue to provide AM radio reception in their vehicles

As reported by AllAccess.Com, in the letter Markey wrote, “Despite innovations such as the smartphone and social media, AM/FM broadcast radio remains the most dependable, cost-free, and accessible communication mechanism for public officials to communicate with the public during times of emergency. As a result, any phase-out of broadcast AM radio could pose a significant communication problem during emergencies. Although the auto industry’s investments in electric vehicles are critical to addressing the climate crisis and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, automakers need not sacrifice the benefits of radio in the process.”

The Senator asked for replies from the companies by December 22nd to the questions of whether they have decided to drop AM and why, what are the future plans for AM reception in their vehicles, and if they currently offer digital (HD) radio.

Radio Waves Podcast #363

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 20:55:00 -0800

Radio: December 2, 2022

Leo Laporte — The Tech Guy — heard locally on KFI (640 AM) Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., announced his retirement from radio effective in December. His last live show will air December 18th.

Technically it wasn’t Laporte who announced the retirement … comedian Steve Martin called in to make the announcement for him, during the November 19th edition of the program. Laporte retires after nearly 50 years on the air, the last 19 of which were spent as The Tech Guy, giving advice and troubleshooting support to listeners on all things tech.

Replacing Laporte will be Rich DeMuro, who will bring his podcast and KTLA-TV Morning News segment to the radio airwaves. Rich on Tech will replace The Tech Guy starting January 7th; Best of Tech Guy programs will air until then.

Farm Radio

At the recent convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, someone — finally — spoke in support of AM radio. That someone was none other than commissioner Nathan Simington of the Federal Communications Commission, the organization that purports to help advance the broadcast industry, even though in my opinion they normally do the opposite.

So many bad FCC initiatives have hurt radio: lifting station ownership limits, dropping news and public affairs requirements, allowing college “public” stations to be staffed by professionals, the AM stereo debacle, the HD Radio debacle, allowing low-powered translators on FM as a way to “save” AM, random enforcement of indecency rules … the list goes on and on.

Sometimes it’s not just the direct rules they make. Not enforcing existing interference rules have had a tremendously negative effect on radio reception affecting both bands, but truly hurting AM. If any product negatively affects radio reception, it is illegal according to FCC rules and regulations. Yet dimmers, some energy efficient light bulbs, cable boxes, cheap “wall-wart” power supplies, and even computers can make AM reception not only difficult, but darn-near impossible. The FCC on these issues? Crickets.

But finally, after years of silence, one Commissioner of the impotent Commission is at least trying. Speaking at the convention, Simington emphasized the importance of AM radio due to the popularity of the band among farmers, many of which are not necessarily near an FM station, the fact that AM radio operates as an essential part of the emergency alert system, and more.

He called on automakers to keep AM reception available on cars and trucks as more and more electric vehicles are developed. EVs by nature cause interference, and many automakers take the easy way out by simply deleting AM from the in-car radio. Problem is, that interference can affect reception to any radio nearby as well, which would appear to make them illegal if they do so, from my understanding of the law. But again, it has been years since the FCC actually did anything benefiting broadcasters.

Regardless, it is refreshing that at least one Commissioner is doing (or saying) something. The trick is getting the rest of the Commission — and Congress — on board.

More Christmas Music

Fred Travalena was an impressionist and entertainer; starting in the 1970s he became known as “The Man of a Thousand Faces” with appearances across the country, including headlining in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Reno, appearances on talk shows including The Tonight Show, and starring in his own television specials such as “The Many Faces of Fred Travalena.”

His wife, singer Lois Travalena, and Fred appeared together at Andrews Air Force Base in the early days of his singing career. It was at this show where he started doing his impressions — developed while in grade school — in public.

He also made a Christmas album. Called The Manhattan Christmas Suite, it is an album of songs dedicated to memories of his New York childhood; he was born in the Bronx and grew up on Long Island. But you probably haven’t heard it … wife Lois says that getting her late-husband’s music on the radio has been extremely difficult.

In this era of streaming music, perhaps it doesn’t matter. And for that matter, if it did pick up popularity streaming, perhaps stations would consider adding it to their playlist. If you’d like to hear it, search on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Deezer, or even iHeart Music.

Give it a listen and let me know your thoughts.

Radio Waves Podcast #362

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 20:33:00 -0800

Radio: November 25, 2022

One of thew absolute greats of radio — Wally Clark — passed away November 14th at the age of 84.

Clark is one of the crew that brought KIIS-FM (102.7 FM) to prominence starting in 1982 when he was named General Manager of the station, then-owned by Gannett. Teamed up with programmer Gerry DeFrancisco, a tremendously talented on-air staff including Rick Dees, who had recently moved over from KHJ (930 AM), “Big” Ron O’Brien, Bruce Vidal, Paul Freeman and more, a strong music playlist, and a can-do attitude that brought excitement back to radio.

It almost didn’t happen. KIIS-FM was all-disco for time before Dees’ arrival, and when Dees first arrived at KIIS, it was a sleepy (honestly pretty awful) adult contemporary station that barely registered among listeners. Had management at K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) given master programmer Chuck Martin more support, K-WEST would have dominated and KIIS may never have moved to top-40.

But K-WEST didn’t support Martin; management apparently felt that top-40 was a dead format, and moved to adult contemporary as Magic 106. Meanwhile, Gannett sensed that they could make a mark and put into place a powerhouse staff, re-launched KIIS-FM as top-40, and not only saved the station, they saved top-40 radio itself.

Clark was absolutely a major reason for the station’s success. Through his tenure, he supported his staff, protected them from corporate managers, figured ways to appease the bean counters when he blew the promotional budget, and allowed creativity to thrive.

In an era marked by stations that thought being “good” was good enough, Clark and his team believed that they could do better. A goal was set to not only make KIIS-FM number one on the ratings locally, he wanted them number one nationally. Under his leadership, the station increased its ratings into and past 10 shares, and the station soon set a record for commercial advertising rates in much the same way KHJ had done more than ten years prior.

He once told me that it was fairly easy to hold back corporate suits from causing problems. “When you’re the number one station in the nation, they tend to leave you alone, even when you’re way over budget,” he explained a few years ago.

And they went over budget a lot. Again, much like KHJ, they were the king of contests … daily cash payoffs, cars, trips. They paid their talent handsomely, in recognition of the work they did. They got out into the community with “weekend warmups,” getting to know listeners directly and personally. They did charity work, had community events and concerts, and a top-notch news and public affairs staff. They hired the best engineers, and had the best jingle package. In essence, they were unstoppable.

Until they weren’t. When Clark left in 1986, things started declining. Power 106 launched and started taking listeners with their “fresh new music mix” highlighting new dance tracks. KIIS-FM at the time over-reacted and starting losing its way. Was it a loss of leadership, or just the first direct competition KIIS had seen since it launched as top-40? Probably a bit of both.

Clark left to start a consultancy and production company, and he consulted KIIS for many years after he left. He helped launch Rick Dees Weekly Top-30, which still airs nationally today. I met him years after he left KIIS, when he happened to be among a group who were part of a radio and records reunion; I happened to sit next to him during lunch and we hit it off right away. He was one of the good guys in radio, with a genuinely positive outlook on things and an uncanny ability to see and develop talent among those he worked with. I don’t think I would be exaggerating to state that without Clark, KIIS-FM probably wouldn’t exist today. And if they followed his examples, they’d be far better than they are today, even though they are still a great station.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Clark also saw the talent in Howard Stern; he directly hired Stern at WWWW/Detroit for one of Stern’s first radio jobs and later was instrumental in getting him hired at WWDC-FM/Washington, DC, the station that helped garner the attention of WNBC, where Stern would move later.

One of the nicest radio people I have met, Clark’s passing is a huge loss for radio.

More Holiday Music

KUSC announced that their Holiday Spirit Channel is back and now has a new name. “A Classical California Christmas” is filled with your holiday favorites and a unique mix of carols, choirs and classical arrangements. “It’s a festive choice to bring you comfort and joy throughout the holiday season,” the station said in a promotional email.

You can stream on the station website or on their free smartphone apps… go to KUSC.org for more information.

Radio Waves Podcast #361

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 21:36:00 -0800

Radio: November 18, 2022

KOSTing into the holidays

I was just thinking that it is about time for KOST (103.5 FM) to start playing holiday music when I noticed: they are already playing holiday music. It began this year last Friday, November 11th at 8 a.m.

Being that it is not even Thanksgiving yet, it would be easy to make fun of the switch being so early again this year. But the results speak for themselves - as soon as the holiday music starts, the ratings jump upwards. Besides, when I do make fun of the early move, I get emails chastising me for knocking what many consider one of the highlights of season. So this year, I won’t.

And of course timeline-wise, it could be considered late … stores like Costco are probably sold out of Christmas items already. Unfortunately for me, between that and the fact that the local Sears store is gone, I can’t do all my shopping on the late evening of December 23rd any more. But I digress.

The station is also offering a chance to win four-packs of tickets to a private holiday party at Disneyland to be held December 7th. You can win tickets by listening, shopping at Smart and Final, following KOST on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and watching KTLA Channel 5… see the station website for more details: https://kost1035.iheart.com/

KOST has been making this switch yearly since 1999, and it is always a ratings winner.

More Holidays

One holiday station just not enough for you? Good thing we have SiriusXM available, Between the satellite and streaming, the service offers 19 holiday choices, most of which started on November 1st.

Choices on the bird include:

• Holiday Traditions - Channel 71 - “traditional” holiday music

• Holly - Channel 104 - Contemporary

• Holiday Soul - Channel 49 - Soul, Rhythm and Blues, Motown

• Country Christmas - Channel 55 - Country (obviously)

• Acoustic Christmas - Channel 6 - acoustic holiday tunes

• Jolly Christmas - Channel 14 - “upbeat feel-good holiday hits”

• and a few more

Streaming channels include classical carols, smooth jazz, kid-friendly tunes, Latin music, “rockin’” music, Jingle Jams (hip-hop), instrumentals, all Mannheim Steamroller, and more.

You can get the full lineup of channels including the start and end dates at siriusxm.com.

But There’s More…

Nineteen holiday music channels not enough for you? Accuradio’s got you covered. The free streaming service has over 100 holiday music channels - 111 to be exact - which I believe breaks the record they set last year when they hit 100.

Acoustic, Reggae, Brazilian, Celtic, Channel O (songs that being with the letter “O”), Christmas Oldies, Christmas Party, Country, Standards, Classica, Choral, Easy Listening, Latin, Holiday Spice, mixed channels, decades, wide playlists, Hungry for Christmas (songs that mention food), K-pop, Old-fashioned, and even one station dedicated to playing dozens and dozens of artists performing Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You.” Or a channel dedicated to nothing but “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Even jingles and music you’d hear on TV are available.

I think you get the idea.

If you’ve never tried AccuRadio, you owe it to yourself to check it out at AccuRadio.Com. The service features music for just about every taste, and even allows you to combine different formats into one. All formats are curated by a real person, and not just an algorithm … that and the personalization set it apart from most - if not all - other streaming services.

Other Choices

I know that Saul Levine’s Mount Wilson Broadcasting station group will be presenting holiday music as well; I’ve reached out to Levine and will have the information once it is available. If the past is any indication, expect Go Country 105 to start playing holiday tunes sometime just before or after December 1st, and I expect he’ll offer some online streams or HD Radio sub channels as well.

Radio Waves: November 11, 2022

Remembering Steven Clean

If you were around Los Angeles for the early days of “freeform” album rock radio — before it became “Album Oriented Rock” as an official format name — you probably remember Steven Segal, known on the air as the “Obscene” Steven Clean, as heard on legendary stations as KPPC (now KROQ, 106.7 FM), KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM), K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM), and KROQ during the era of the AM -FM simulcast.

He is the man who gave Dr. Demento — aka Barry Hansen — his name when they both worked at KPPC. Described by some as “brilliant” and a “genius” on the air, Clean passed away in his sleep on October 29th, at the age of 76.

In a tribute by his friend Paul Rappaport (https://bit.ly/3FF9exb), Rappaport writes that Clean “is a bit of an unsung hero. You see, Steven is one of the most important figures in the creation of FM Rock Radio.”

Rappaport explained that Clean “was a true genius on the air, imparting important thoughtful cultural messages via spoken word intertwined with just the right music to help bring his points to life,” and adding that “beyond the music, disc jockeys imparted their own powerful messages. No one was more skillful in this regard than Steven. Like Bob Dylan, this expertise didn’t come from years of practice, it was a gift from above.

“Kids would literally cut out of school early to listen to Steven just to make sure they didn’t miss anything important. They exchanged cassettes of his radio shows which were like mini works of performance art,” Rappaport wrote.

That’s the connection with radio that I remember, a connection often lacking in today’s McRadio version of the industry.

Admittedly, you have to be of a certain age to have heard him on the air. He’s just slightly ahead of my time, as I was still listening to top-40 by the time he left town to return to WBCN-FM/Boston in 1977. But various airchecks offer proof that he absolutely embodied the idea of freeform FM rock radio.

PastDaily.Com has a full unscoped hour (music and commercials) of Clean on KMET from 1975 at https://bit.ly/3sUiypr; the tribute referenced above has a scoped (edited) ’check from his arrival at K-WEST in 1976 … and includes, by the way, a mention of Be-Bop Deluxe, giving a reminder of the huge variety of music you could once find on the radio. If you’d like to hear more, there are a few other air checks showing up on places like YouTube and MixCloud.com, which has eight recordings from his time on KMET that you can find by searching his name.

More Airchecks!

Speaking of MixCloud and YouTube, one of my favorite Mixcloud accounts, Retro Radio Joe, has a new YouTube page, and both are filled with absolutely delightful recordings. The big finds for me include three hours unscoped of Mark Elliot playing part of the countdown of The Big 93 hits for the year 1972 on KHJ (930 AM), and on YouTube he has a television commercial reminding viewers of the connection that legendary top-40 station KFRC/San Francisco had with the Bay Area Links are at https://bit.ly/3U3Mtal and https://youtu.be/pCs5e0y95TY.

SoCal Sound Web Update

The changes referenced here last week regarding the moving of SoCal Sound 88.5 FM specialty shows to new time slots should be at least slightly more palatable to fans very soon.

The station will be creating a new page on their website that will feature “SoCal Sound Specialty Show archives- on demand.” All the shows that are airing late and that were moved, will be there for listening whenever its convenient … with one exception: “The Dylan Hours” can’t be posted on demand due to copyright laws that prohibit the posting of content that includes the playing of three or more songs in a row by the same artist.

Readers Respond

Regarding new music on the radio, this email says exactly what I feel: “I just turned 59 and agree with you completely. The last 10 years and maybe longer than that, I find myself just listening to mainly college radio. particularly 88.3 KUCR and 88.7 Claremeont. Best thing ever happened to me.

“I’ve gone to the last 3 Joshua Tree Music Fests. Think very miniature Coachella. It’s great. I still appreciate the classic rock. But try to delve into the songs that are never played.” — Dan Reich

And in relation to KGO/San Francisco’s change: “I think you missed the boat when stating sports betting radio will fail. The success of this format is definitely NOT tied to the success of the two sports gambling initiatives on the California ballot. Most sports betting is done online either offshore or with local sport books.

“As you stated, the programming will be very inexpensive with the sports touts paying for 30-60 minute segments. The only true thing about sports betting … there is a sucker born every minute. This is the audience. I predict it will do very well. I sincerely hope it does not come to KABC as they have great programming!” — James Powell

Radio Waves Podcast #360

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Wed, 2 Nov 2022 06:00:00 -0700

Radio Waves: November 4, 2022

SoCal Sound Changes

Apparently SoCal Sound (88.5 FM) General Manager Patrick Osburn has received an email or two … or 100, maybe 1000 … due to the decision to drop many of the station’s weekend programs, move others to new time slots, and expand the regular format to more hours each week.

It all happened the weekend of October 22nd-23rd, when a plan that Osburn says has been in the making for the past year came to pass. Sunday marked the end of weekend full-day blocks of specialty shows running the gamut from the Beatles to Peace and Love.

In the case of the Beatles, though, it was not the decision of station management to let Saturday Morning with the Beatles host Les Perry go. “That was his decision,” said Osburn. “We offered him Sunday mornings from 8 to 10 a.m., and he chose not to stay.” That Sunday time slot then went to Lisa Finnie’s The Dylan Hours instead.

In fact, most of the shows were not outright cancelled. Explains Osburn: “Most every show was offered a different time slot, granted some midnight to 2 a.m.” And some hosts took the move in stride. “Long time LA Times music columnist and biographer, Robert Hilburn, embraced his opportunity to move to ‘late night.’ He commented that late night radio is when FM was cool, and he immediately dug into his library and found 25-ish songs with the word ‘midnight’ in the title or lyrics. He’s a smart guy, determined to make the most of it and have some fun … which is what it’s suppose to be!”

I asked Osburn why the change. “Consistency,” he explained. We were basically three stations: One that played our regular AAA (Adult Album Alternative) format weekdays, another different station on Saturdays and still a third on Sundays. We felt that to better compete, we needed more consistency, more discipline. We’ll still run the classics and specialty stuff, but not during our ‘prime’ hours of Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 7p.m. or Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.”

The evolution is not limited to weekends. A close analysis of the regular format reveals that the SoCal Sound is opening its playlist to newer artists, not just those that were popular in the past and happen to have released new albums.

At the risk of getting the same emails Osborne has received — to which he says he personally replies, by the way — I am going to agree with the decision. Here is my logic:

• KROQ (106.7 FM) pretends to play new music, but is 2/3 gold

• Alt (98.7 FM) is also 2/3 gold with different songs selected

• Jack (93.1 FM) is almost all gold

• KRTH (101.1 FM) is all gold

• KLOS (95.5 FM) is all gold

• The old weekend shows on SoCal Sound, just canceled, tended to be gold, or perhaps more accurately “gold-ish.”

Basically, gold — oldies, classic rock, or whatever the current term being used — is everywhere. What can’t you find anywhere? New music. I am 59. I am tired of hearing the same music I heard in high school. I don’t want to know every song I hear. I DO like radio air checks from the ‘70s due to the excitement of the stations and formats, but that is often the only time I listen to oldies.

My son happens to be in a progressive metal band. Going to his concerts and understanding his philosophy of musical evolution, I rediscovered new music. I had been listening to new country (Go Country 105, after the demise of KZLA (93.9 FM) and SiriusXM’s new country channel) along with Alt 98.7 and a few others already, but recently discovered a ton of new pop and alternative that I really enjoy. So I like the idea of giving new artists and new music more exposure.

As I have said for years: there’s a lot of good music being produced these days. It’s just hard to find. Osburn agrees.

“I am over 60, and people around my age and older are very much into both ‘music discovery’ (new releases) as well as the classics.” I’d personally say that applies to every age group, but I digress.

Osburn continued, “We are trying to attract our target audience by straddling the fine line of maximizing the primetime hours we play our core format, while honoring the artists and DJ’s that the station has featured for decades.”

Osburn says that 88-5 has over 1400 songs on their playlist, as opposed to normal commercial stations that run about 400 … or less.

“We work hard to curate well thought-out programming that fits together. In a perfect world, we would please everyone, he told me, “but you know that’s not possible. Programming is an imperfect, messy science.

“We endeavor to be intelligent, disciplined programmers, while having no fear to play anything we think might be fun for the audience,” he concluded.

Hard to argue with that.

To check out the broadcast schedule and see what special programs are still available, go to TheSoCalSound.org/programs/

(And if you’re interested in hearing my son’s band, Death of the Author, go to facebook.com/dota.band.official or dotaband.bandcamp.com)

///

Radio Waves Podcast #359

mike@laradiostudio.com (LA Radio Studio) — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 22:07:00 -0700

Radio October 28, 2022

Longtime KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM) anchor Dick Helton recently left the station to start his official retirement after 24 years at the all-news station. His last broadcast was October 14th, wrapping up a career that spanned over a half century — 53 years, to be exact — including many 29 years at sister all news station WBBM/Chicago, where he reported news and was found just prior to joining KNX in 1998. He worked for one company, or at least one company and the remnants of the company that took it over, his entire career. First known as CBS, it is now Audacy, which bought CBS Radio a few years ago.

In case that didn’t sink in, Helton’s 53 year career was spent at just two stations … that is impressive, to say the least . Almost unheard of. You can hear his last 15 minutes on the air (or so … commercials take up a substantial portion of the quarter hour … it IS Audacy, you know) — including a few tributes — at https://bit.ly/3Ddxu7Z.

His most memorable moment? Hard to say. But he did mention on the air that one of his highlights included reading over the wire services in 1970 that The Beatles were breaking up. Helton called Apple Records in London, and was able to get through to George Harrison, who gave him details.

He met his wife (Carol Ramos) at WBBM, got married in 1995, and moved out to Los Angeles when she landed at former Los Angeles talk radio leader KABC (790 AM) in 1997. Helton, on the air at KNX, competed against Ramos for a time.

In signing off, he said “I can’t imagine having done anything else in my life. Every day, behind the microphone, well it’s felt like the right place to be. One of my colleagues at WBBM ended his broadcasts by saying ‘may all the news in your life be good!’ … I wish that for each and every one of you. Thanks for listening.”

Helton’s replacement is afternoon drive reporter Mike Simpson, who joins Helton’s former morning team-mates Jennifer York and Vicki Moore. Moore has worked morning drive on KNX since 2004 and had been paired with Helton since 2008

You Better You Bet

KGO/San Francisco — sister station to KABC — recently dropped its formerly respected and longtime — 80 years — talk format in favor of … sports betting.

Really. Sports betting. Yeah, there’s a winner. Sure.

Let’s see what it brings to the table. Money, maybe, from online betting companies., assuming California ever legalizes gambling for the masses. Cheap syndicated programming, to keep costs down as owner Cumulus Media likes to do. And no waste of actual listener time, as no one actually cares about betting information on the radio and it is pretty much a guarantee that few, if any, listeners will ever tune in.

Online entertainment and podcast services gave Cumulus Media executives awards of Employee of the Month for helping push listeners away from radio and toward their own pay services.

Will the format fail? You can bet on it. Sports radio itself rarely succeeds in the ratings; sports betting has an even lower appeal. When your “best” and most appealing program is the awful syndicated Jim Rome Show, and your filler is the even worse CBS SportsRadio, there is no way up.

Will it come to KABC? The odds are that it will. Executives at Cumulus are that stupid.

New Programs

K-Mozart (1260 AM, 105.1 HD2) has added some new programs to the lineup, including Broadway to Hollywood and The New Opera House. Both programs are hosted by opera performer Audrey Yoder.

Broadway to Hollywood debuted with a presentation of Fiddler on the Roof — including a portion in Yiddish — on October 15th; the program airs every Saturday at 9 a.m. with repeats Sunday nights at 6 p.m. The primary emphasis is musicals from, well, anywhere from Broadway to Hollywood and all places in between … hence the name.

The New Opera House launched October 16th at airs every Sunday night at 8:00. The first program featured an airing of West Side Story including the original cast. Future programs will run the gamut from “old school” to modern progressive; the intention is to expose music that is rarely heard on the radio in Los Angeles.

Yoder is a local opera performer featured in performances in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. K-Mozart owner Saul Levine is extremely proud of the new programs, as well as the ability to add Yoder to the station roster. “At a time when the big shots are degrading radio, I am proud that a little family owned station is still creating interesting programming to serve the public and not Wall Street,” Levine said.

///