Archives

December 2013

Written and compiled by Don Barrett

AvilaBeachdb@gmail.com

Edited by Alan Oda

Sunday Funnies

LARadio Archives, December 2004

Before KTLA’s Audition,
KABC Auditioned for a Sports Woman 

(December 1, 2004) Earlier this week, the LA Times featured a story about KTLA’s November sweeps stunt, The Audition. The station is utilizing a reality show format to “hire” a weathercaster for 30 days and coincidentally the winner will be announced this morning. 

The on-air audition gimmick is hardly new. A couple of decades ago, KABC was looking for a female voice to complement the afternoon drive SportsTalk with Bud Furillo and Tommy Hawkins. I asked the eventual winner of that contest to recall the process. Lisa Bowman, now a cabaret singer, wrote: 

“First of all, let me state that I hate all reality tv. I never watch any of those shows, except for the occasional Fear Factor, but only because it makes my cooking look really good in comparison.  

You wonder what I think of The Audition because 300 years ago I was hired at KABC [at a time when the station’s ratings were much higher, by the way] via a contest held by then general manager George Green. And yes, I’m still 27 and holding. Of course, I was given a contract for a full year. KTLA’s month-long contract clearly indicates their intentions are superficial. 

Thinking back to my experiences, I remember making that original audio tape to send in with my application for the sportscaster’s contest. Our son, Stephen, was six-months-old and I had to wait until he was asleep to read some sports copy I’d written into my little tape cassette recorder. My husband, Chuck, took a photograph of me with a baseball bat and I mailed it all in. I remember being all alone in the house on the day they announced those who had been chosen to move to the next level. It seems to me that they read only a couple of names an hour. The tension grew with each station break. I whooped and hollered all by myself when my name was finally read. 

The final part of the process was an audition at the station, conducted by Tommy Hawkins. Each of us did a mock broadcast that was judged by about a dozen local sportscasters and sportswriters who were kept secluded in a room so as not to be influenced by our physical appearance. We each talked with Hawk, read some copy, conducted an interview with a surprise celebrity [mine was Laker great Elgin Baylor] and blindly picked a topic out of a hat on which we had to expound, off-the-cuff. After my audition I finally got to meet the judges. For some reason, the two who stood out to me in my post-audition stupor were Stu Nahan and John Hall. I’ll always be grateful for their support. 

At that final audition, I only had an opportunity to chat with one other finalist. It was Kitty Felde. She didn't win, but she's the one who made the dream happen. I deeply respect her.

Of course, I went on to come in second. Disappointed? You bet. But four weeks later, I got the call from pd Wally Sherwin that the winner, Merrie Rich, had been fired. He asked if I were still interested in the job. I was. I interviewed once more with George Green and was hired. Actually, I took infant Stephen with me that day and said to George, ‘You have to know that I have this, and it affects my time.’ Luckily for me, he didn’t consider a baby a bad thing to have!  

Getting the position as I did was like instantly lurching from a dead stop to 60 miles per hour. The learning curve was impossibly steep but fascinating. All the training was done on the air. What an incredible experience. 

During those first days in the Dodger press box, many of the writers made a point of being very cold, almost rude to me. Guess who was the first person to graciously welcome me? Who else? The best of the best: Vin Scully. He is a man of solid gold class.

You know, Don, I note the ire in the Times’ article and I’m surprised by their surprise at this turn of events. This stunt is a straight ahead stretch along the evolutionary road of television in this day of…how many networks/channels/cable companies/satellite options is it? With audiences spread so thin the craft of making television was bound to change. And not only prime time dramas and comedies, but sports and news as well.  

Most importantly, an industry-wide calamity occurred in 1988 that led directly to reality shows and such spin-offs like The Audition: the Writers’ Guild went on strike. I doubt even the gloomiest oracle of that day thought television would be forever altered. But here we are. Reality shows, like ugly Alien monsters ripping the life out of innocent bellies have taken over the medium. Furthermore, we have rip-offs of rip-offs. How scary is that? Naturally it’s going to spill over into television news. 

I believe that reality tv provides the viewer with safe voyeurism, the vicarious thrill of ‘being there’ while sitting on the couch popping potato chips. It’s also a subconscious feeling of superiority: either we’d never be caught dead in the situation or we’d handle it better than the poor slob on the screen. And sometimes we just like to pick an underdog for whom to cheer, which is the category under which American Idol and KTLA’s contest fall.    

Now, is this any way hire a weathercaster? No, and from the article, I surmise the station’s not pretending it is. This is a grab for viewers in a vicious market. No highly paid weathercaster in the LA market will be harmed or otherwise put out of work because of it. And how many viewers are looking for hard-hitting journalism in their morning television program anyway? Aren’t those people reading a newspaper? 

 I do deeply regret that the station has added to the ugliness of television by including evaluations from contestants of their peers. Must we automatically attack each other at every turn? There was none of that in KABC Radio’s contest. 

Finally, as a former contestant, I point out that many of the entrants have experience and all are taking the opportunity seriously. Good for them. I took KABC’s contest seriously. I’m proud I did it and proud of my time on the air. To those who scoff at individuals grasping at long odds to follow their dreams, I ask this: Haven’t you gotten at least one break along the way? Wasn’t there one time in your career when you got the nod over the other guy because someone was in a position to help you? No one gets where they are in life without some degree of outside kindness. And gifts come in odd packages. Wasn’t it nice when you got yours? 

Lighten up, guys. Cream rises to the top. If you’re cream, you have nothing to worry about. This won’t hurt your future. A little old publicity stunt may not improve the world of television journalism, but it doesn’t hurt it nearly as much as shoddy reporting.

Now there’s something to talk about!"

Best Training in Television Came from Radio
An Essay by Ken Levine

(December 13, 2013) Some of the best training I got in television I got from radio. I came of age in a long ago distant time when there was a thing called “radio.” Radio stations would play music and provide hosts to introduce it. These hosts were called disc jockeys. And here’s the real amazing thing: people listened. Not just those few who are in too big a hurry to access their Pandora station or itune playlists. Everybody listened. Generally they listened every waking hour of the day.

In every city there were usually two or three stations who all vied for the attention of these eager young ears. Listeners selected their favorite station and bonded with it. Their allegiance was fierce. You could be on the fence as to whether you were a leg or breast man but you damn well preferred KHJ over KRLA.

Back in the ‘50s, rock & roll emerged and radio stations viewed it the way a dog views a pork chop. Top 40 radio was born. Quick history lesson: Why Top 40? The legend goes that a Kansas City station owned Todd Storz was in a bar one night and people were playing the same songs on the juke box. Over and over. And then when they left and the staff was cleaning up they played the same songs, even though they had heard them repeatedly. A light bulb went off. Program only a limited number of records and play them in constant rotation. Since disc jockey shifts were four hours and they generally played ten records an hour, they decided to call the format Top 40 allowing every disc jockey to play every hit.

By the mid ‘60s that became the Top 30, and WABC in New York reduced that further to where the top 5 played every 70 minutes. I know. Just reading that probably sends you screaming for your itunes. When two or more Top 40 stations competed in a market they did so by trying to make the most noise, have the loudest presentation, craziest contests, and wildest disc jockeys. They screamed, talked from echo chambers, rang cow bells, did voices, played wild tracks – anything to get attention. Don’t worry. I’m getting to the comedy.

Then in the mid ‘60s, two radio visionaries – Bill Drake and Ron Jacobs – realized that 80% of the time djs were just spewing nonsense. So they created a format the restricted disc jockey chatter. Music was the key element of the format and disc jockeys had to limit their rap from endless to however much time they had over the intro of a record. How long were song intros back then? Usually between 8 and 15 second. So that’s how long the dj had to talk.

Here’s what might surprise you: 15 seconds is an eternity. A skilled disc jockey can say the call letters, his name, the time, song title, artist, and still get in a one liner – without speaking all that fast.

Funny disc jockeys had to adapt and tailor their humor to this new format. And some became masters of it. Robert W. Morgan, The Real Don Steele, Dale Dorman, Dan Ingram and Gary Burbank, to name just a few. (PHOTO: Morgan and Steele)

By the ‘70s when I joined the ranks of the hit spinners, this restricted format was now the norm. Since I don’t have the typical James Earl Jones voice I felt compelled to compensate by really being funny and entertaining. You talk about “brevity boot camp.”

After a few years of this, and ignoring program director memos saying that I wasn’t funny and should not even try, I did develop a pretty amusing act. (Ironically, once I got out of radio and became a tv writer, limiting my disc jockeying to weekends at TenQ in Los Angeles these same program directors who said I sucked now said they knew all along I was a comic genius.) When you only have ten seconds you must select the right words and the right number of words, and you must put them in the right order. The punch line has to come right before the vocal. And you learn delivery. You can’t rush your one-liner. Yes, you might squeeze it in, but if the audience doesn’t hear it clearly they won’t laugh.

And here’s something else to consider: pauses are effective. Just because you have ten seconds doesn’t necessarily mean you have to talk for all ten seconds. A seven-second joke with a well placed pause might get a bigger laugh. For me, this was an invaluable training ground.

Four-to-six hours a night on the radio talking over record intros for several years greatly prepared for tv comedy writing. There too, time is of the essence. The tighter the joke construction the better. Jokes often have two functions in sitcoms – to get a laugh and move the action forward. Characters rarely just stop to do a joke (at least on good shows). The jokes are woven into conversations and situations as the story barrels on (at a faster pace today than ever before).

Unfortunately, radio in any tangible form no longer exists. There aren’t weekend jobs in Bakersfield for young wannabe broadcasters to cut these teeth. There aren’t Top 30 stations that encourage disc jockeys to talk-up records. But it’s worth keeping the concept in your head. 10 seconds is a long time. 18 seconds is an eternity. When you write a joke, go back. Can you trim it? Is there one word that can replace three? Is there a funnier word or concept? The good news in writing vs. jocking – when you write a joke you don’t have 2:35 to come up with the next one. 10 seconds may be an eternity, but 2:35 goes by in a blink.  

New Music Jock Changes at MY/fm and KIIS/fm

(December 12, 2013) MY/fm, the Clear Channel Hot AC station that has battling sister station KIIS/fm for top spot in the ratings, gets a new afternooners drive host. Dave Styles joins the lineup of MY/fm, effective January 6. Dave has also worked at some of the top radio stations in Seattle and Portland.

For the past 10 years Styles has been working overnights and weekends at KIIS.  He also co-hosts a syndicated music and pop-culture show, The Hot Hits: Live From LA, which airs on over 60 stations across Australia. In addition to radio, Styles is also in the in-stadium Entertainment Host for the LA Dodgers and produces background-score music for tv.

“What can I say, I’m pumped to be doing afternoons on an incredible station that has Los Angeles buzzing,” said Styles.  “The opportunity to continue working amongst friends I've made over my 10 years here, makes it that much sweeter.”

Current afternooner Damien Fahey will continue until January 6. The station teased about Fahey: "More great news to come about him later."
New to KIIS. With Styles moving to sister station 104.3, Alex Gervasi will join KIIS/fm to do overnights and weekends. She joins KIIS from KHFI 96.7 KISS/fm in Austin, where she currently hosts middays.

She began her radio career during college with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, working in the Lexington, Philadelphia and Allentown markets.  

After college Gervasi began hosting on Now 105.3 in Norfolk, Va., and was later added to Kiss 107 in Cincinnati and 105.7 Now in Greensboro, N.C.

“It’s so exciting to be building the KIIS of the future with a young star like Alex,” said John Ivey, KIIS program director. “She is the same type of hard working, aggressive talent looking to get better each day – just like Sisanie and BoyToy Jesse were when I brought them here at the same points in their careers. I look forward to having Alex on the KIIS staff.”

“The evolution of both KIIS and MY/fm continues,” said Andrew Jeffries, vp of programming, CC/LA and pd of MY/fm. “Dave and Alex fit seamlessly into our world, they’re great talents – it’s their time to shine.”

Hear Ache. Is it true that another KFIer is about to join KABC? … WOR-New York tried to hire Don Imus for mornings. “They could have hired us but you know how that goes,” said Imus. WOR instead hired Elliot Segal, a personality in Washington, DC radio ... TMZ recently reported that Rick Dees' home was burglarized and $100,000 in jewelry was taken. Isn't the actual loss close to $500,000? 

Slight of Hand. Milt Larsen, owner of the Magic Castle and former part-owner of an area radio station, will be the key speaker at tonight’s dinner sponsored by Irwin Zucker’s Book Publicists of Southern California organization.

Tickets for the dinner at the Sportsmen’s Lodge are still available at $40. Give Irwin a call at 310.497.4001 if want to attend.

KDAY Hip-Hops to Meruelo Media. KDAY (93.5/fm) has been acquired by Meruelo Media. Executives of Meruelo claim they will keep the old-school hip-hop format, according to a story in the LA Times.  

Suits Start. Bryan Suits, former KFI Talker, goes live and local on KABC beginning December 16, according to the KABC listener newsletter. Bryan will work the 9 a.m. to noon shift.  

Suits is a decorated military veteran having served three tours of duty overseas including Desert Storm and in Bosnia. He got his start on KROQ, working with the Kevin & Bean morning show. Suits was awarded a Bronze Star for his service as an infantry officer in Baghdad in 2005. He was awarded a Purple Heart for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, also in Baghdad. He also served in the National Guard during the LA riots.

Overheard.

Ad in Wall Street Journal

Handelisms. Yesterday morning Bill Handel took the listener behind the commercial curtain at KFI.

“The Sleep Number people want to know how many people are coming because of me. So when I do a Sleep Number commercial I tell you to tell them Bill Handel sent you, so I get credit for Sleep Number overpaying for these commercials, which are hideously expensive,” said Bill.

Bill described the advertising agency buyers as “20-somethings who never, ever listen to talk radio. They listen to KIIS/fm or Metallica on whatever radio station. The actual time buying is formulaic and it all depends on how many people are listening and they pay X number of dollars for how many people are listening.”

“The KFI talk radio listeners are very different," Handel continued. "Advertisers are people paying more attention but they don’t know what they’re doing. The buyers just don’t know. After I did one of these commercials, one of these 23-year-old time buyers panicked and sent emails saying I couldn’t say that and we tell her to go pound sand. That’s it. Go screw yourself. And then the emails started. And, of course, we won that one because she has no idea what she’s talking about.”  

Funnie. The 2008 World Submarine Racing Championships (from Cameron Ward)

Email Thursday

We GET Email …

**Forget Politics … Radio Has to be Entertainment  

“Stephanie Miller said, ‘Liberals have to buy radio stations if they want to compete.’  

Actually -- no Stephanie -- if you want to succeed you need to be entertaining, have some talent, some success and a track record of winning.  I can't remember the name of the liberal talk network but they tried for three years and went out of business because they were just not entertaining.” – Jack Hayes

**All That Jazz

“That picture of Zan Stewart brought back memories, as some of his early radio work was at KOVA in Ojai during part of my stay there. In fact, when he succeeded his father, Lyn Stewart, as host of KOVA’s Saturday afternoon jazz program, it allowed me to move to Sunday mornings as much of my Saturday shift had been acting as Lyn’s engineer.  

I remember that I thought Zan actually did a better show than Lyn had. [They both had encyclopedic knowledge of that genre.]  He’s only 12 years older than I but even then he had the on-air presence of someone with many years of experience.  

I believe he also worked for Saul Levine when KKGO had a jazz format. He went on to be a jazz critic at the Los Angeles Times for many years in the 1980s and 1990s. I found a recent picture of him at the Berkeleyside website ( http://www.berkeleyside.com/2012/06/14/zan-stewart/ ). He looks very much like I remember his father looking back then. Nice to see he is still with us.” – K.M. Richards

** Setting KRKD History Straight

“Bob Fox, thank you very much for telling about your group's ownership of KRKD. I did not know about it! Now I do, so thank you for telling that part of the 1150 AM history.  

My research and writing about Los Angeles radio history is fairly narrow and selective, I suppose.  My main goal since about 1982 has been to try and document what L.A. radio was all about in the 1920s and ’30s and I also dig a bit into the 1940-’45 era. Since I haven't done much research into 1950s radio in Southern California, I am more comfortable having people who were around back then and working in L.A. radio at the time to tell their own stories about their own station's histories from the 1950s through today.  

I did not mean to intentionally gloss over Bob's part of the 1150 AM story. When I began to research early Los Angeles radio history, I found that about 80-90% of the first 10-15 years of Los Angeles radio broadcasting was poorly documented or not documented at all, or in some cases, station histories written by certain stations were inaccurate and filled with mistakes. So, I try to get the history right and correct the mistakes.  

So, it was a great pleasure to read about that slice of the 1150 AM history from Bob Fox, a person with first-hand knowledge of what happened before and up to the time KRKD was sold to the Foursquare Church. 

 My goal is to continue to preserve what little is left of the stories from the first two decades of Los Angeles radio, especially since the 100th anniversary of radio in the Southland is coming up in the next decade.” – Jim Hilliker, Monterey    

“Do you want fries with your God?” – Joe Crummey

(December 11, 2013) When Joe Crummey sent his book, Planking on Headstones: Your Future Outside of Time, I was expecting a book filled with radio stories. After all, Joe has been heard across the dial on KFI, KMPC, KABC, KLSX, and KTZN as a Talk show host in L.A., as well as in other cities. Well, there are some radio stories, but the book is oh so much more. He sets out on a journey attempting to wrestle with some very heady questions, like, what happens when we die and where do we stand in this universe? The book is filled with interesting questions and propositions.

He ponders the story of Noah’s Ark, a four-story boat the length of a football field, armed with only a hammer and a hand saw. And the logistics of corralling two of every living thing seems overwhelming. Joe checked with the Smithsonian Museum and discovered they listed 4,629 species of mammals, resulting in 9,258 mammals. Plus all the birds and the insects. And the elephants alone drank 50 gallons of fresh water each day times 40 days. Quite a challenge just to store water for everything and everyone onboard.

What was Joe’s motivation in writing the book that deals more with science and religion than it does with radio? “I was always curious about the physical world and the spiritual one as well. My first home was adjacent to the church and school, so we would play there as kids. By 14 or 15, Christian theology made no sense to me but I always intended on doubling back at a later date for a second look.”

In college, Joe liked astrophysics. “My college roommate was a geek. The nexus of Science & Theology has always interested me,” said Joe. “I was an English major at University of New Hampshire, and I always wanted to be a writer. I would definitely like to do more.”

Joe doesn’t think traditional theology does a particularly good job in the 21st century. He thinks a lot of people could benefit from a fresh look. “Most ‘new’ thinking seems to be psychics doing cold reads, and Physics books are great, but most of them seem to be written for other eggheads,” continued Joe. “The intersection of Science and Philosophy seemed to be wide open.”

Over Joe’s quarter of a century in Talk Radio, he’s worked on some legendary radio stations. How does he size up today’s Talk Radio? “Talk Radio's slightly different, where there are 1,000 guys criticizing Obamacare. Homogenization comes hand in hand with deregulation and corporate consolidation, so if you want my opinion, I suppose my wish is for more diversity, and more people talking about their own lives, and not so much about what some politician is going to do for us.”

Joe believes the success of Talk Radio in particular and communications in general ultimately lies in the strength of the content. “There are so many more platforms to receive entertainment these days. It's up to the radio industry to determine just how much it wants to participate. It's all about content.”  

Joe started his radio career at WAAF-Worcester and moved on to WCOZ-Boston and WNBC-New York. When he first started on KFI, he worked weekends. In the early 1990s Joe worked live tv talk in San Diego.

In 1994 he lost the hearing in his left ear when the removal of a benign brain tumor required severing the auditory nerve. "Sometimes it's like being in the middle of a very bad drunk that won't go away.  I was looking up at one of those kites at Huntington Beach and almost passed out. This totally destroys your notion of invincibility. You think you've got so much time, when in fact every day you're alive you're damn lucky." You can purchase Joe’s book, Planking on Headstones: Your Future Outside of Time, at Amazon.com.

Miller Time. Last week, there was some big news happening with talk radio. Among other changes, Stephanie Miller learned her current L.A. outlet, KTLK, owned by Clear Channel, would be dropping her show as part of the station’s rebranding as “The Patriot,” with an all-conservative host lineup.  The Liberal morning host seemed philosophical on her first day back on the air after learning the fate of her program. Her show is being dropped in L.A., however, Clear Channel will continue to air her show in other markets.  Stephanie added that fans could also listen on the iHeart Radio app, which is owned by Clear Channel.

There are other changes afoot for Stephanie. As KTLK prepares to drop her program, Stephanie learned she would no longer be able to use the station’s facilities located in Burbank. “I have to pay for the studios being built in my house.”

Stephanie seems to be up for the reality of the business today. “Clear Channel is a huge corporation and they own a lot of these right wing shows, like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Rush. They also own this station and they own those shows and that’s how they make money. It has nothing to do with ratings. No offense, but they put Glenn Beck in my timeslot in San Francisco and he has zero ratings. It doesn’t matter. They own the shows. All the radio companies are owned by Conservatives and that’s America. They get to do what they want. Liberals have to buy radio stations if they want to compete.”

Hear Ache. KLAC’s Jay Mohr is launching Jay Mohr Sports, a live digital station on iHeartRadio. Fans will now have 24/7 access to Jay Mohr.

Our Mister Brooks. The Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will honor John Brooks, former reporter and anchor at KNX and KFWB, at its 38th annual awards banquet next spring.

 John is a native of New York, where he first went on the radio at WARC at Allegheny College. He moved to Los Angeles in 1970, with his wife and daughter, and by 1974, he returned to radio at KVEN/KHAY in Ventura. After becoming a news director there, he began a 34-year career in Los Angeles radio at KFWB in 1979. Brooks covered the news either on the scene as a reporter or presented it from the studio as an anchor.  

Some of the notable stories he covered include the first nine space shuttle landings, The Hillside Strangler trial, 1988 Republican Convention, 2008 Democratic Convention, and the L.A. riots. Brooks served as a morning drive anchor at KFWB for eight years and as a reporter at KNX until his retirement in March 2012. He began working for KNX after the two CBS stations moved into the same building in 2005 and finished his career as a morning news reporter for both stations. Since retirement, Brooks helped found and was elected president of a non-profit environmental group, Citizens For Responsible Oil & Gas, in Ventura County.  

Now And Then
Kenny Noble (Cortes) is an anchor/reporter for the K-LOVE and Air1 Radio Networks, owned by the Education Media Foundation, based in Denver. “And you get a lot more respect filling out a loan modification app when your job description is ‘News reporter’ as opposed to ‘disc jockey,’” notes Kenny. Kenny Noble was active in LA radio for two decades (1976-96) as a dj working at KZLA, KFOX, KWST, KHTZ, KFI/KOST, KLSX, and KACD.

 Job Opening. ABC7 Los Angeles is looking for a creative storyteller to cover both news and sports as a multi-media journalist. This job will entail daily reporting and require shooting, editing, writing and producing news and sports content for on-air, on-line and in social media. Must have great writing and strong live presentation skills  Must be technically savvy and able to work independently. Must possess good news judgment and work well under deadline pressure.  Previous experience as a Multi-Media Journalist in news or sports preferred. Previous news or sports anchoring a plus. At least three years experience as a multi-media journalist preferred. Must be able to demonstrate social media fluency.  Please apply online at www.abc7jobs.com.   

Overheard.

Every morning, Carson Daly attempts to be in two places at the same time - morning drive at AMP Radio in Los Angeles and host of the Orange Room on the Today Show in New York.
He did a Today Show segment the other morning while doing his AMP show. Multi-tasking at its high profile best.

Funnie. An older man, not in the best physical condition, asked the trainer in the gym, "I want to impress that beautiful girl over there. Which machine should I use?" 

 The trainer replied, "the ATM machine outside the gym!" (Thanks to Jerry Barber)  

Email Wednesday

We GET Email …

** Appreciate Hilliker’s History

“It was very interesting to read Jim Hilliker’s history of 1150 AM. Jim is the only one I know who can write a detailed, yet succinct, story about something like the convoluted, decades-long sharing of the 1150 AM frequency.  His work is often based upon primary research – hours spent laboriously grinding through old reels of microfilm to uncover L.A. radio’s long-forgotten past. I had completely forgotten about the Temple’s early experiment on 97.1. 

Thanks to Jim for providing us with another interesting chapter of L.A. radio’s history.” – Stan Kelton

** Radio Students

“I found the Ken Levine Radio Today in the classroom of real interest. As a teacher, I really back that up as I did that same format year after year when I was in the classroom. I always walked away with a nod. 

Bottom line is that radio is more than just music, it’s daily life in the times. I recall when I wrote curriculum on ‘How to Program a Station,’ I was sold out in my classroom. It was the hottest course in the high school. The students did airchecks, music, news, sales and commercials. They created their own call letters and format. Then it was presented in an hour long sounds and format. I could go on and on regarding their presentations. Then again, I was a butt on teaching them how to do it. I loved it. They were so creative and live.” – Stan White, Seattle    

The Faces of Successful Organ Transplant

(December 10, 2013) LARadio has followed the amazing kidney transplant story involving two CBS/LA colleagues, Bean (r) of the KROQ Kevin & Bean morning show and Scott Mason (l), head engineer for the West Coast.

It has been a year since the transplant and we recently conducted a follow-up interview with both of them. Outside of a minor set-back in Scott’s recovery a few months ago, they both are doing very well. They recently shared a meal backstage at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas concert over the weekend and the guys smiling in the photo would suggest a very successful transplant.

The procedure has captured the attention of many who had no idea they could do something similar. “I have heard from several listeners – no kidding- who have donated kidneys to friends in part because of following my experience,” emailed Bean.

“I made it a lot less scary for them.  Now I just get mad when I see people dying needing one when virtually everyone they know has two.”

Here is a link for more information about organ transplants: www.organdonor.gov

Frosty News. In the shifting of Rush Limbaugh’s radio station in the Bay Area this week, Frosty Stilwell (formerly part of Frosty/Heidi & Frank) is also moving. “As of January 1st my show on Talk 910-San Francisco moves from noon to 3 p.m.  to its new slot from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., replacing the Rush Limbaugh show at 10 a.m. Rush has been moved over to a sister station KNEW that will be where the conservatives can now go for their right-wing fix with Rush, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity. KKSF Talk 910 has evolved into a much more ‘entertaining’ news and issues talk format without any particular agenda, definitely not a right wing political station [where Rush really belongs].”

Tyrone is Timeless. Tyrone DuBose is one of those tireless young men who seem to be defying all odds in making it in the entertainment business.

He grew up in Cincinnati and was fascinated with Casey Kasem’s unique countdown show, American Top 40. It wasn’t only about the music, but Tyrone loved music trivia.

He started out in Barstow at the Highway Stations, KHWY. You probably remember that tedious drive across the desert to Las Vegas. The two stations on the fm dial would provide timely info about Vegas and the road conditions to get there during the lonely all-night hours. It would have been one of the Highway Stations keeping you company.

When the Highway Stations closed down live programming, Tyrone decided it was a perfect time to pursue his original dream – an original countdown show. Timeless Traxx is a one hour syndicated radio program that counts down singles that peaked in the top 30 on the national r&b singles chart over the last six decades, with some history about the artists.

As a one-man entrepreneur writing and producing the show, he is also the syndicator. Starting modestly with some stations in very small markets, Tyrone is ready for primetime in Los Angeles. The show is carried in Sacramento, Palmdale, Atlanta and Sweden, among two dozen markets.

Tyrone has one of the largest African American shows on tv, Unsung, seen on TV One Network. “It’s the biography of r&b groups of the past and I’m a music contributor on the show, seen by over 10 million each week,” said Tyrone.

His star continues to shine bright and he figures out how to overcome the obstacles placed in his path. Tyrone DuBose can be reached at timelesstraxx@gmail.com.

Pope Knows Way to San Jose. Jeff Pope, a 24-year veteran of Inland Empire radio, is headed for mornings at KEZR-San Jose "Mix 106.5."

He says, “I will still look forward to reading all about LARadio, even though I will now be a SJRP.”

“After an extensive six month search to fill the void left from the passing of Bay Area legend, Bill Kelly, former Clear Channel, KGGI, Riverside/San Bernardino morning host, Jeff Pope, will join the Mix 106.5 morning show,” announced Mix 106.5 brand manager, Dana Jang. The new Mix 106.5 morning team, Pope and Marla Davies, is set to debut Monday, December 30th.

"Jeff Pope possesses all the attributes we were looking for to pair with Marla Davies. His track record of a winning morning show in the Inland Empire makes him the perfect morning host to entertain listeners in the Silicon Valley," said Jang. 

Hear Ache. With the format change at KTLK, Stephanie Miller not only lost her Los Angeles outlet, but she lost her broadcast studio. Apparently, her syndicator will build a studio in her home. "All I know there are a lot of boxes at my house. I don't know what they are, but there are a lot of friggin' boxes," Stephanie said this morning ... As New York juggles talk hosts and talk stations, KFI’s John & Ken two-hour rebroadcast (9 p.m. - 11 p.m.) on WOR-New York will come to an end. "We agreed to do it for one year to help out," emailed John Kobylt … Steve Harvey, mornings at KJLH, television host and best-selling author, will be inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in April … Power 106 is taking its sold-out Cali Christmas concert this weekend to the people, via the Internet at; power106.com/calichristmas/livestream.

Dees Robbed. From TMZ.com: “Famed radio dj and Disco Duck singer Rick Dees just got taken to the cleaners -- TMZ has learned someone allegedly broke into his L.A. home and stole roughly $100,000 worth of jewelry.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the burglary went down recently while Dees was out of town.

We're told RD's window was smashed in when he got back home ... and his large jewelry collection was missing.

So far, no arrests have been made, but the LAPD is poring over surveillance tapes for leads.

Do your thing, Duck.”

Sales Training a Success. The SCBA announced a record number of Radio Sales graduates from its fall 2013 Sales Training Classes. SCBA Certification Awards were presented to 31 new or newer sales professionals, sales assistants, and individuals seeking a sales career in Southern California Radio.

“The SCBA is firmly committed to helping our members train the next generation of professional Radio Sales Executives,” said SCBA president Thom Callahan. “Our complete 10-week training curriculum covered the most essential programs including New Business Development, Strategic Selling, Building Client Relationships, Interactive Selling, Cold Calling Techniques, and much more.”

Funnie. This is the most important part of the respected Mayo Clinic psychometric test. 
 
 In the following pictures you see women with a range of facial expressions. 
 
Study the expressions, and try to imagine what is taking place? Any idea? 

They all are about to sneeze. 

Email Tuesday

We GET Email …

** Voice Suggestion for KFI

“I'm in agreement that a strong, local L.A. voice and someone who can attract Women demos, is what is needed to fill the 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. vacancy on KFI beginning in January. I believe that person is KFI weekender, Lisa Ann Walter.

Many have been the time that I've heard her fill-in for Bill Carroll during vacations and long holiday stretches. Much as I enjoy Bill, I never want to get out of my car when I'm driving and listening to Lisa. She is very topical and engaging, with a riveting ability to be funny one minute, and serious the next. If anyone has been a trooper and truly paid their weekend dues on that station, and deserves full-time status, it's Lisa Ann Walter.” - Vince Daniels , former weekend host, KCAA/San Bernardino

** KRKD History

“Regarding KRKD and Jim Hilliker's article. there is something missing.

In 1959, Jack Feldmann, Frank Oxarart [the father of Frank Oxarart who managed KFWB and KCBS-San Francisco], and Al Zugsmith owned KRKD and the fm counterpart. Zugsmith put together a leveraged buy-out and they were financed by the Bank of New York.

I was asked to join the new company as general sales manager with a 10% ownership [it cost me $10,000] as the new company was capitalized with a base of $100,000]. Bob Yeakel , the car dealer had 20% and there were some additional parties with ownership that added up to 51% and Feldmann, Oxarart and Zugsmith owned 49% in the new corporation.

I joined the company and decided to reposition the station and came up with the name of ‘The Album Station - KRKD 1150.’ The station shared the nighttime frequency with KFSG, which was operated by the church [Four Square Gospel]. However, playing cuts from MOR albums gained some audience and the station began showing up in Pulse - which was the radio rating service along with Nielsen. During that time, I traveled to Chicago and met with Nielsen and asked why KRKD did not show up in their rating service. They told me that the station did show up above the minimum audience necessary but they always waited six months to determine if the audience would stay at the necessary level. I told them what they were doing wasn't right and they were not reporting properly the listening audience. Not long after that, Nielsen got out of the radio rating business [now, after their recent purchase of Arbitron, they are back in that business].

After we had some success, the church decided to purchase the share time frequency and the fm frequency from us. Morrie Buchen, a minister with the church, came over as the general manager. He was a very decent person and very supportive. About six months later, I received an offer from RKO General and I left KRKD. It was an interesting and challenging time and I learned a great deal from the experience with KRKD. I wonder why Jim Hilliker did not include our ownership of KRKD in his article? By the way we sold the station at a profit to the church and all of the investors came out whole.” - Bob Fox

** Loss Of Progressive Voices

“What a disgrace about the upcoming programming changes at KTLK. This is Los Angeles.

In our last election, we replaced a Democratic mayor with - guess what? Another Democratic mayor. The only two candidates who even got enough votes to matter in the run-off were - Democrats. We are, thankfully, a blue state led by a Democratic governor [guess what, Pope Francis-haters - Jerry Brown is Jesuit-educated] and Democratic state legislature [blessedly devoid of any ‘effective’ GOP blockages, obstructions, and other assorted constipations-of-progress] which has helped lead us out of a tidal wave of red ink at long last.

WHY then is this HUGE listening block no longer being served by ANY progressive talk? WHY is there this much disrespect for and neglect of the liberal/progressive listener here? WHY are we an audience segment that deserves to be totally ignored, under-served, left out, and therefore muzzled? WHY must the only commercial progressive outlet here in L.A. move over to all-Limbaugh/limbots-all-the-time? WHY is there no effort whatsoever to respond to the wishes and preferences of listeners like me?

Could it be that they think if they force-feed nonstop conservative crap to listeners like me, we'll somehow see the light [and somehow magically be converted to the Dark Side - hint: don't bet on it]?

Do they think we have no money to spend so we're not worth pursuing or presenting to advertisers [hint: wrong there, too]?

I've been a regular and loyal listener to KTLK, but as soon as it's turned into what is laughably being called ‘the Patriot,’ I'm outta there. I learned during the Watergate era not to buy books by crooks. In the same spirit I will never listen to or support wrong-wing talk radio! I guess the only satisfaction I have in this, and it's rather miniscule, is that it is KTLK with its lousy signal and coverage and rather embarrassing lack of commitment to consistent programming where the conservative talkers will soon all be corralled.

It takes me back to California Primary night in 2008 - which was a HUGE news night with not only statewide but national implications, what with its one big final Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama Clash-of-the-Titans, basically concluding primary season. And mind you, it was the California Primary - that of the largest state, with the largest population, the largest fast-growing demographic [the Latino population], the largest Congressional delegation, and the largest mother lode of electoral votes, no less.

California's size and demographics make us, more than any other, the state most profoundly affected by ANYTHING that goes on in Washington DC. And on that night, when I switched to KTLK to hear progressive talk and coverage of the California Primary, what were they airing? A hockey game. Seriously? And this was on the second-biggest political news night of the year, after the November elections themselves? Seriously?

NOBODY in programming could have seen this coming and made accommodations for it? Seriously? NOBODY in programming, locally or in syndication, knew when the California Primary was set - or had been following the accelerating political drama between the two campaigns? I realize there were contracts and commitments in place to carry sports - but seriously? Even just that one particular game on that one particular night could not have been tape-delayed? So if Limbaugh and friends are relegated to a station like that, I guess I can take some small comfort. In my opinion, a fitting place for that nauseating a lineup is on a station with a lousy signal and spotty coverage of its broadcast area. Hopefully it'll just turn off more of their audience in frustration.

Frankly, in my opinion, someone as willfully hate-mongering, dishonest, and divisive as Limbaugh [not to mention all his fun little clones] deserves not to be heard on any station at any time. Perhaps this, then, would constitute a small step in the TRULY ‘right’ direction.” – Mary Lyon

** Too Many Commercials

“Much of the discussion in this Facebook group is the usual memories of radio stations, management, and listeners. 

Today, someone brought up the subject of too many commercials, so I thought I would pass this along. The Facebook page is: I WAS A DJ WHEN DJs JOCKIED DISCS... AND I DON'T MEAN CDs Someone came up with the topic of excessive spot load on the air:

The Set Up:  Hey, since we have on air types, programmers and an occasional manager or two in here, here's a general question. I ask it because a letter writer to our local newspaper today suggested we are all 'enriching' ourselves by the large number of spot loads the FCC is 'allowing us' to air. His suggestion was that the FCC was in collusion with the station groups to allow we on the air to get rich at the expense of 'the enjoyment of the people' who listen to us.

Now, that's crap and you and I know that. But, let's ask: How many minutes of commercials an hour do you think a station has to play to make a profit? Hmmm? Let's state for the record that in terms of 'minutes per hour' the commercial loads of today are actually smaller, in some cases quite a bit smaller than they were in the 60's and 70's when stations generally aired 18-21 minutes per hour.

What is bigger is the number of spots per hour [or units per hour]. But that's because advertisers these days are demanding shorter...and cheaper...commercials!

Answer 1: .. 20-21 min an hour in drive [particularly AM] 'cause it was an "average" of 18 min [don't remember if NAB or FCC limits] and management crossed fingers and took a chance during Christmas. The biggest job a jock had was trying to make the load SOUND lighter than it really was.

Answer 2: I remember when 5AM-Midnight changed to 24 hours temporarily just to be able to keep the average to 18 minutes per hour during Christmas and political times. Those Christmas Greetings got recorded in 2 ½ to 3 min lengths and an awful lot of 'em aired after midnight. The scheduling department spent a huge amount of time trying to figure out how to rotate 'em to follow contract requirements. Kind of interesting.” - Mike Femyer, Phoenix

** Trinity Founder

“I know that much of the national media has ignored the passing of Paul Crouch, but I thank you and the LA Times for your coverage. I don’t want to get into the religious aspect of his empire or other legal issues, but focus on what I think was a great American story. This man came from nothing and built one of the largest media empires on record.  He did not rob or murder anyone or take government handouts but instead he built his business on his own tireless work and his brain.

His is a great American story who achieved great success through hard work. For that I will always respect him.

Rest in Peace.” - Steve Chang, Venice  

Twilight Zone Gives Saturday Nights the Jitters

(December 9, 2013) We were back in Los Angeles on a recent Saturday night for a holiday party. On the way home to Santa Barbara, we came upon a radio drama at KFWB. Huh? It was an updated version of Twilight Zone, running between 10 p.m. and midnight on Saturday nights. Is this a new addition to the eclectic programming at KFWB?

Turns out KFWB has been broadcasting the Twilight Zone radio dramas for a little over three years. “We thought it would be fun to offer KFWB listeners something a little different late Saturday night and radio drama seemed like the answer,” emailed Andy Ludlum, program director KFWB and KNX. “This is a nationally syndicated radio series. Many of the stories are adaptations of Rod Serling’s scripts from his 1960s television show. They’ve been updated with contemporary references and are recorded with modern digital technology. The shows feature a full cast, music and sound effects and certainly have the spirit of the classic radio dramas.

Some of the big names who have been in the updated Twilight Zone since Stacy Keach (plays Rod Serling) began the project include: Stan Freberg, Jason Alexander, Blair Underwood, Jane Seymour, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kate Jackson, Luke Perry, and Fred Willard.

Does CBS/LA market the show like the old nightly Drama Hour at KNX? “I wouldn’t say we promote the Twilight Zone like the KNX Drama Hour which was a nightly appointment to relive the classic dramas of the 30’s and 40’s,” responded Andy. “Since these are all dramas recorded since 2002, we promote the Twilight Zone experience and whole the late-night radio vibe.” Ludlum concluded: “I’ve always tried to support modern applications of drama on the radio. Nothing beats the theater of the mind!”

Rush Move By Clear Channel. Much of the response to moving Rush Limbaugh off of KFI after a quarter of a century to the subordinate signal and newly rebranded KTLK 1150 AM seemed to follow political lines. Chuck Collins of Yorba Linda poses an interesting question. “Is this change really a heavy weight move by the current administration in Washington to silence these guys? KFI is a clear channel broadcast and reaches more people than KTLK could ever hope for. The move smells to me.”

A conspiracy theory is not an idea that I had entertained, but it is one thought. I’m more on the wavelength that most decisions are money-driven. The follow-the-money approach seems to drive most decisions.

Consider that there is an eroding cume with Rush’s cume declining from 541,800 to 338,400 year to year. Additionally, the station has been losing Women in droves since Dr. Laura left in 2010. Not quite recovered from Dr. Laura’s departure, the Sandra Fluke story pretty much put the nail on the coffin for Rush and Women, though KFI remains strong with Men 35-64.

Perhaps KFI management is looking far down the road, as opposed to holding on to the rich present. Rush does have a loyal following, and that will be good for KTLK. They were in last place cume in the last book – under 150,000 cume total week. One has to make the assumption that whatever Clear Channel does at 1150 AM, it has to be better than what the station – running Progressive Talkers for the most part – has done.

Something else worth noting, Clear Channel has come under heat for not having progressive voices on KFI. They seemed to mollify the latest controversy initiated by the Hispanic Media Coalition by putting black and brown voices on KTLK. No more. Clear Channel seems to have wiped the slate clean of liberal voices on commercial radio in L.A., and created a new bastion of conservative voices at 1150 AM.

Where will the liberal listener go? Perhaps they will go away from terrestrial radio. Maybe they will go to NPR stations. With L.A. county as one of the most liberal in the country, it seems there should be at least one commercial radio station offering the progressive POV.

The most interesting anticipatory part of the story is who KFI will bring into the vacant 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. slot. Management has not shared their vision for the future, but there is much emphasis in its press release that the station will be LIVE and LOCAL from 5 a.m. – 10 p.m. A strong, local L.A. voice seems to be needed and someone who can attract Women demos. Perhaps it is a woman. Doh! No woman as a co-host but as the main host. The person hired should be a likeable, smart, endearing, informative, engaging and funny woman.

Now And Then
The main reason Jhani Kaye quit CBS/LA (besides the business not being fun anymore) was to spend some quality time with his dog. “And, once again, my timing was right. Sammy was diagnosed with diabetes Thanksgiving evening and now I'm his caregiver. We've got him stabilized and are enjoying our days together.”  Jhani Kaye was one of the most successful program directors in L.A. history leading KOST to a two-decade winning streak and turning around K-EARTH.

Overheard.

You Herd Me. KSPN morning Colin Cowherd has the right idea about being more than just being a host, he’s a brand. Colin talks about all things Colin on Larry Gifford’s podcast, Radio Stuff. “Colin talks about the importance of extending his brand, the danger of too many spots, why he wrote the book You Herd Me! and what he thinks of some of his peers,” said Gifford, former program director at KSPN.

ON HIS BRAND:  “If I can get you to think about me once-a-day when I'm off-the-air that's not a bad thing. I've got a book now, you'll think about me during the holidays. I've got a twitter account. I've got a radio show. I've got podcasts. I do a tv show on Sunday.”

ON TOO MANY SPONSORS AND COMMERCIALS: “I have said Mike & Mike isn't a radio show, it's an obstacle course. Radio is visceral, it’s real, and it’s very human. It's not a piece of paper. It's not somebody in a box. You know you're talking about a bunch of stuff that is very personal and laughing, no teleprompter. BUT, if you create too many spots and ads you force hosts into abrupt change of direction. It can kill really lively topics and conversations, so it's a delicate balance of commerce and commentary.”

WHY WRITE A BOOK? “There were things I wanted to burrow in on and topics I wanted to go deeper on and sort of prove that I am more than a bloviating radio guy.” You can check out Larry’s podcast at: www.radiostuffpodcast.com

Busy as a Fox. When Bob Fox is not writing poignant essays on LARadio, he volunteers as a speaker. Last week he spoke for the 7th consecutive year at his grammar school, Horace Mann in Beverly Hills. “I talked to them about Pearl Harbor Day and my recollections of that event and our lives during WWII as students. The kids are great - no cell phones, etc. and very attentive and well mannered. They ask good questions and as in the past quite a few of them come up to meet me and talk to me when my talk has ended. There were about 90 of them in the eighth grade class who will graduate to high school in Spring. We have a four-year high school in Beverly Hills. I am glad I can do it.”

Hear Ache. Sources inside Premiere Radio Networks report there were "significant" lay-offs last week. The number of those losing their jobs range between 3 and 17. Many of the show prep services are being eliminated ... Condolences to KTWV afternooners Deborah Howell on the passing of her father. Over the weekend, she visited her dad one last time in sub-zero Minnesota. “He was kind enough to wait until I got there so I could say a true goodbye.” …  After close to 2 ½ years heading up promotion with the WAVE and K-EARTH, Patty Pastor sent an email saying “I am moving on to the next adventure!” Her last day was Friday. “My husband and I have re-located to the Inland Empire … and well … quite frankly that 4+ hour daily commute from Rancho Cucamonga to L.A. and back every day would eventually drive me nuts." … Michael Jackson is killing it in the graveyard, reports TMZ.com. The King of Pop made $160 million in the past year – more than any other celebrity, dead or alive. Can a theme park be far behind?

Funnie. Thanks to Lyn Fisher for this morning's funnie.

Email Monday

We GET Email …

** Phillips Ready for Prime Time

“Good idea for Rush and the other Neanderthals to be put on the far right station where soon they will fall off the spectrum. Finally, talk radio has a shot at regaining listeners who like general interest shows. John Phillips is ready for a huge bump - there's no one smarter and funnier. He captivates his audience!” - Dawna Kaufmann, Los Angeles

** Where is Savage?

“I enjoy your site LARadio.com. I haven't seen any announcements of it anywhere and I’m wondering if you know if Michael Savage will be carried on KABC in January 2014?” – J Jenkins, Los Angeles

**Wanted:  Real Sports Talk

“I don't listen to KFI or 1150 AM. I wish we had sports talk like Geoff Witcher, Stu Nahan and Bud Furillo.” – Jack Naimo

** KTLK Resembles a Nut House

“’The Patriot’? It looks more like the ‘Nut House.’ Glenn Beck is certifiable. He reminds me of the late televangelist, Dr. Gene Scott [who was crazy like a fox]. He put the fear of God into you and confused every one with lots of gobbledygook. 

Sean Hannity is nothing more than a talking dummy for the RNC. Rush, as I have stated before, has turned into a noxious gas bag and is losing credibility. Can't wait to see how this all turns out.” – Tom Bernstein

** KFI Making Huge Mistake

“KFI giving up Rush is a huge mistake. Hidden agenda: could it be KFI hoping to return to number 1 with liberal listeners? KTLK signal is not a rating builder.” – Roger Carroll

** KFI Vacancy

“Not sure who Robin Bertolucci is going to put in that 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. spot on KFI, but if I had to guess, I think she might put in Neil Saavedra. As you know, he currently hosts the Jesus Christ Show and The Fork Report. I think he’s an excellent jock. He’s got great mechanics, witty, smart and knows how to keep listeners engaged.” – Damien Lewis

** Conservatives as Only Patriots

“I can't seem to suppress my laughter whenever I think of Clear Channel's decision to call Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity ‘The Patriots’ in their new iteration of KTLK-AM. Of course, the implication is that if you do NOT think Sandra Fluke is a slut, that feminists are Nazi's, that Muslims worship Satan, that all gay men are pedophiles, that immigrants come to America primarily for food stamps, that Obama is a Kenyan Socialist, that more guns are always better, and perpetual war is best ... then you just don't love your country. 

I can't wait to hear the new KTLK's bumpers, cross-plugs, and on-air promos. Bet they'll claim the flag as theirs, too.” - Michael Benner, The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School, Verdugo City

** Where is Bill Wade?

“Finally something came up on Bill Wade, who holds a special place in my heart. It would be so nice to know where to continue to look, if he is still alive. In the late 60's I was a teenage beauty queen in San Diego and Bill was irresistible, a womanizer and an amazing lover. Those brown Irish eyes knocked 'em dead. Molti grazie.” - Ann De Benedetti, aromannoble@gmail.com

** History of 1150 AM

“I saw your Friday piece on Rush Limbaugh moving from KFI-640 to KTLK-1150 on the AM dial. I would like to send along a minor correction for the part where you wrote, ‘1150-AM has always struggled with success, going back to when radio preacher Aimee Semple McPherson owned the station as KRKD.’

Aimee Semple McPherson never owned KRKD-1150. She owned KFSG [Kall Four Square Gospel], the radio station she put on the air in February 1924 from Angelus Temple at 1100 Glendale Blvd. in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles.   Sister Aimee died in 1944 at the age of 54. Her son, Dr. Rolf K. McPherson [1913-2009], took over as leader of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and was also President of KFSG radio.  In 1961, the church Aimee Semple McPherson founded, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, bought KRKD-AM 1150 and KRKD/fm on 96.3 Mhz. for $1,500,000 [$11.8 million in 2013 dollars].

I believe the confusion as to whether Mrs. McPherson owned KRKD was because of the close relationship KRKD had with KFSG. KFSG was broadcasting with unlimited time 6 days a week on 1080, 1090 and 1190 kilocycles/kilohertz. from 1924 to 1928. KRKD [now known as KTLK-1150] went on the air in 1927 as KMIC-Inglewood, call letters chosen because James Fouch, KMIC's owner, also owned the Universal Microphone Company. The call letters changed to KMCS for Christie Metropolitan Studios in 1930.  In 1932, new owners moved the station to the Arcade Building in downtown Los Angeles and chose the call letters KRKD. 

But, since 1928, KFSG had been forced by the Federal Radio Commission to divide its air time with KMIC/KMCS/KRKD on 1120 and after March 29, 1941, on 1150-AM. This gave KRKD most of the broadcast hours each day, with KFSG on the air only 3 times on Sundays and from roughly 7 or 7:45 p.m. until midnight Monday through Friday nights. Also, KRKD decided it would save them money to share KFSG's transmitter and antenna at Angelus Temple after both stations were granted power increases to 2,500 watts day and 500 watts at night, later 1,000 watts at night. This started in the mid-1930s and lasted until KRKD built a new transmitter and tower site in Montecito Heights, when KRKD was granted 5,000 watts day power by the FCC in the late-1940s.

Before the church bought KRKD-1150 and 96.3/fm in 1961, KFSG had been a non-commercial religious station.  Some of the cost of running KFSG was funded by donations from the Angelus Temple congregation and KFSG listeners. With the purchase of KRKD-1150, the church took KFSG off the air and its call letters and AM station license were deleted by the FCC. This made KRKD-1150 a full-time station with unlimited hours for the first time in 32 years. The church also decided to operate KRKD AM and FM as commercial music stations. So, the daytime KRKD hours were combined with the old KFSG nighttime hours, and 1150-AM continued to air religious programs from Angelus Temples each evening from 7 p.m. to midnight and on Sundays.   

In 1970, Rolf McPherson sold KRKD-1150 for $4,525,000 ($27 million in 2013 dollars). The new owners of 1150-AM changed the call letters to KIIS. Meanwhile, Dr. McPherson decided the church should keep KRKD/fm, and he changed the 96.3 fm call letters to KFSG, the same call letters his mother requested in 1924, after the government assigned the calls KFNC to the Angelus Temple station. KFSG-96.3/fm was a commercial Christian music station, which also programmed Bible teaching programs. In November 2000, Spanish Broadcasting bought KFSG 96.3 FM for $250 million. KFSG moved its signal to 93.5/fm in Redondo Beach and Ontario, which the church leased from Spanish Broadcasting. The lease eventually ran out and Spanish Broadcasting took the 93.5 frequency back, with KFSG's last broadcast at midnight on February 28, 2003. KFSG was off the air after 79 years broadcasting on two different AM station licenses from 1924 to 1970 and on the fm band on two frequencies between 1970 and 2003. The church had also tried fm broadcasting from 1948-51 with KKLA/fm on 97.1 Mhz., not related to today's KKLA/fm on 99.5.

Dr. McPherson was head of the ICFSG until 1988.  While he lacked the charisma of his mother, he brought stability and growth to the church and KFSG and later KRKD and again with KFSG/fm. Yes, Aimee Semple McPherson did not own KRKD, but her church did between 1961 and 1970. I can't prove it, but I'll bet Sister Aimee helped sell a lot of radios in the 1920s when KFSG first went on the air. She was only the second woman to own a radio station in the United States and just one of six women to own a U.S. radio station during her lifetime. She also belongs in the Radio Hall of Fame; another reason we need a Los Angeles Radio Hall of Fame.” - Jim Hilliker, Monterey

Sunday Funnies

   

LARadio Archives from June 2006

                                                                     Don't Clear Cut Your Forest:  Replenish News-Talk Resources

by Valerie Geller and Turi Ryder

(June 29, 2006) Do you remember the era of clear cutting timber? Not much of it goes on in America these days, but for years, lumber companies built roads through virgin forests, helped themselves to the timber, and left nature to clean up the mess.

The lumber industry will be the first to tell you that they've had to change their methods.

The old way of cutting and running with the profits failed. Not only was it evident that soon there would be nothing left to cut, but many other resources suffered - the land, the water, vegetation, animals, and most importantly, there wasn't any way for the remaining soil to replace what had been taken. It's gone that way for radio and tv too.

Stockholders have demanded lean, mean, and profitable companies, and to give them what they want, station managers have clear cut some of their most valuable resources.

For a while, it seemed to be working. Listeners stayed with their favorite stations while valuable service elements like local news, weather, airborne traffic and sports disappeared like giant redwood trees against a chainsaw.

In their place came syndicated programming, second hand copy ripped from the daily newspapers, and traffic generated from the ground by computer sensors and remote cameras. It took the audience a while to catch on. After all, one of the things radio does well when it serves its audience is build trust. It takes a while for that to break down, but it's happening everywhere. 

Why did this happen, how did the trust erode? Just like the old growth forest: the loyalty that many managers inherited was built over generations by full service radio stations. Cities and towns understood that while their favorite talk show host was entertaining them, or their favorite music was playing, there was also a news department talking to their police, city council, and covering the important events of the day, a sports director checking out the winning team, or a traffic plane scanning the horizon for signs of trouble. When those things disappeared, the immediate impact was - nothing. Actually, the immediate impact was a tremendous profit for the company. After all, if you chopped up all your furniture and burned it in the fireplace one winter, you'd save a bundle on your heating bill, THAT winter.

So, here we are, a few years later, and the news, sports, local personalities and traffic have mostly been stripped from everything but drive time. And now, something happens. Maybe it's a storm like the series of tornados that hit Tennessee this year. At least seventeen people died, homes were destroyed, and some local citizens were forced to huddle in their basements and bathtubs, listening to police band radio if they were lucky enough to have it, to see whether the disaster was heading their way. The providers of local weather coverage became, by default for many talk stations, AccuWeather in State College Pennsylvania or audio simulcasts out sourced from the Weather Channel. One talk station in Nashville was off the air through the night. When its power failed, the backup transmitter proved useless - somebody had neglected to re-fill the generator's gas tank. Does your audience notice this time? You bet they do.

Stations spend a fortune on advertising, marketing and promotion. What's an ad, a promo, or a marketing campaign? It's a promise of what your station will deliver. When your station promotes itself as "Your news, traffic, and weather authority," then drops the ball in a spectacular, and entirely preventable way, audiences feel betrayed. In the final analysis, your audience consists of people who give you their time and their trust. Break your promise to them, and they feel personally cheated. Will they give you a chance to learn from your mistakes? Not for a very long time - especially not if they have other options. That's how public radio, which has consistently expanded local service elements for news and talk programming has grown its audience, and how Canadian and European radio and tv stations have kept theirs.

Managers hate to hear this, but we're now at a point where the reforestation must begin or radio will truly become, in the words of a former FCC chairman, "a vast wasteland."

How much does this cost? It's not cheap. And the cost is not just financial. To re-create the services offered and support old-growth stations, people will need to be found, trained, hired and coached to greatness. That takes time and experience as well as money. And where will our industry find these people? We've made that harder as well, by failing to plant "tree nurseries" in smaller markets or off-prime-time dayparts that can serve as farm teams for the major market big leagues.

When a station realizes it's in need of "reforestation," one solution is to call in an experienced broadcast consultant. Consultants are like tools that can be used in a variety of ways. The fastest and easiest way is simply to hire someone who knows how to spot, coach, and develop good on air talent and personalities, but one of the best uses for consultants is to train managers so that they can take on these tasks for themselves. Either way you use them, consultants can be a valuable tool to get, keep, and grow the audience you need.

You're seeing resources being funneled into new, personality-intensive radio formats like FREE/fm. In Washington DC, WTOP is using the Washington Post's reporters as well as their news staff to generate audio stories for air, along with print. The money is all going into content, and that takes people. Having, "boots on the ground" is the way, we're told, to win a war. And we're fighting to get our listeners back. Some managers have already figured this out. If you ask Jon Stewart about the raging success of his tv comedy talk program The Daily Show with the highly sought after younger demos, Jon will be the first to give credit to his staff of writers.  He has a lot of them. An offshoot of the Daily Show tree is writer Stephen Colbert, who now has his own program, The Colbert Report.

One interesting feature of all these shows and formats is that they are not serving their audience in the same way as the full service stations once did. They aren't promising everything to everybody, but are electing instead to make specific commitments and pour their resources into super-serving their audiences in highly focused areas. The FREE/fm formats promise entertainment, but have not made a major news commitment, and WTOP's mainstay is harder breaking news and interviews, with less focus on personality and light entertainment. Both formats are relatively new, of course, and bound to evolve.

The losers in this battle continue to be the old-line traditional talk stations who keep cut, cut, cutting in the face of shrinking audiences.  Listeners in markets from Detroit to Sacramento say they miss features they formerly counted on like airborne traffic and local news. We've all heard about the battle we face from the internet, I-pods, and Sirius/XM Radio. But we may be our own worst enemy.  As one thirty-six year old former radio listener said, "There's nothing on my radio for me to listen to."

Contrast this scenario with that of the winners, like small market Miller Media Group- owned WLPO in La Salle, Illinois, which continues to spend on local personalities and a news department to super-serve their agricultural community. They're reaping the rewards of being number one.

Old clichés are often true: it takes money to make money. For a while it really seemed to be a good business model when the lumber companies cut and hauled away some of the most valuable timber in America. But they learned, and we've learned, that in the long run, the costs are higher when you harvest with no plan to re-plant.

Valerie Geller ( Vgeller@aol.com ), president of Geller Media International, is a broadcast consultant working with news and talk stations throughout the world training, coaching and working with managers to grow audiences. Turi Ryder ( turi@shebopsproductions.com ), a former Talker at KMPC and KFI, is an air personality at FREE/fm in San Francisco and the editor of both of Geller's books.

Rush Limbaugh Moves to the Right – 640 AM to 1150 AM

(December 6, 2013) With just days remaining in 2013, Clear Channel made some major – and rather momentous – moves that will certainly propel yesterday’s changes into the top spot for radio story of 2013. Let’s see if we can sort this out.

At first, moving Rush Limbaugh from 50,000 watt clear channel (the signal, not the company) KFI to an inferior signal at 1150 AM is a real head scratcher. Still, there have been rumblings that for some time management has been wanting to dump Rush from KFI since Dr. Laura left in 2010. One issue has always been that Rush was syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, which is owned by Clear Channel. KFI, as well as KTLK (1150AM) are also owned by Clear Channel.

The move of Rush from KFI to KTLK – the latter to be rebranded as “The Patriot” – not only seems like a demotion but a real problem for Premiere. What kind of signal does this move trigger for the hundreds of stations across the country that have Rush on their stations? If the program is not good enough for the big anchor talk station in Southern California (KFI), is there something else going on?

Recently, Rush was displaced in New York from WABC to the less prominent WOR-AM.

One concern is that Limbaugh’s audience, though still substantial, appeals to a narrowing demographic. Additionally, it is no secret that Rush appears on several ad agency “no-buy” lists because of past on-air controversies, most recently the Sandra Fluke fiasco that still reverberates in the Premiere hallway and at many stations struggling to get every dollar they can. Yet Greg Ashlock, Clear Channel/LA market manager, looks at the bigger picture. “This move provides a distinct position and identity for 1150 in the market,” emailed Greg. “And we’re lucky to have Rush anchoring it, complemented by Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. It doesn’t hurt that Rush will be taking 40,000 average quarter-hour listeners with him.”

So by moving Rush, will this hurt KFI? Ashlock revealed that Bill Handel and Rush are comparable 12+ if you include Bill’s 5 a.m. hour. “If not, then Handel has about 27% more AQH listeners,” emailed Greg. 

Handel’s show will be extended to 10 a.m., currently Rush’s first hour.

From a background of being the middling “grey suit” MOR conduit, compared to the “tuxedo” known as 710 / KMPC during the 60s and 70s, to a foray as a moderately successful Top 40 outlet during the 80s, KFI switched to talk radio in 1988, trying to unseat heritage talker KABC. At first, Tom Leykis, Geoff Edwards, Stephanie Miller, and other hosts nudged their competition, but hardly dominated. In 1989, Rush replaced Edwards which started the emergence of the talk powerhouse, leaving KABC in the dust. 

As recently as a year ago, KFI sat atop of the ratings, no mean feat for an AM station in the country’s number two market.  The station dropped to 13th place earlier in 2013, though recently KFI has returned to the top ten.

1150 AM has always struggled with success, going back to when radio preacher Aimee Semple McPherson owned the station as KRKD. As KIIS-AM (and subsequently KPRZ  / KXTA  / KTLK), the station featured soft hits, religion, r&b, an fm simulcast, Music of Your Life, talk, sports, Dodgers, and most recently Progressive talk programming. Though 1150 AM increased its power from 5,000 to 50,000 watts in 1997, the strongly directional signal emanating from the City of Industry leaves holes in the Los Angeles and Orange County markets (as well as the Inland Empire) and presents one of the station’s biggest challenges.

Further, will Clear Channel spend money to re-brand 1150AM with the aforementioned moniker “The Patriot?” Ashlock claims there are plans to promote the new station, but he didn’t elaborate.

KFI will continue to offer Bill Handel, Bill Carroll, John & Ken, and Tim Conway, all familiar to their current audience, and can now boast of being almost completely live-and-local.  “The Patriot” will offer the well-known conservative voices of Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck.  Optimistically, the two stations combined could extend Clear Channel’s success in the L.A. marketplace, particularly on the AM dial.  On the other hand, the loss of Rush could damage the ratings of KFI’s remaining talk programming, while Rush’s listeners are lost in the move to 1150 AM. And what about the loss of the Progressive voice at 1150AM? Will another station see an opporunity to fill that void as another election looms around the corner?

Stay tuned, indeed.  

Overheard.

Kelli Gates on The Sound. Kelli Gates, longtime sidekick to KLOS’ Mark & Brian will appear on 100.3/The Sound this Sunday night at 6 p.m. hosting the "My Turn" show along with Taylor Hawkins, the drummer for the Foo Fighters. “He was a real sweetheart to do that for me,” emailed Kelli. “Usually it's just one person featured on that show, so I really appreciate Dave Beasing allowing me to alter that concept a little and be able to make my first appearance back on LA airwaves with one of the biggest, coolest rock stars around.”

Kelli provides the back story on how she met Taylor Hawkins:

I met a friend for lunch in Manhattan Beach, and we started talking about radio and I told her that I was meeting with Dave Beasing, Program Director of 100.3/The Sound the next day to talk about a couple of ideas I had. That's when a very unassuming but certainly rock and roll looking guy sitting next to us turned around and said ‘I love that station!’ Turns out to be Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins! We had met once before backstage at Aerosmith, and he used to listen to me with Mark & Brian, saying that he missed the show and is a now a big fan of The Sound, especially the vinyl album sides feature. Well, we must have talked radio for the next 30 minutes, and I joked that he should join me for my lunch with Dave the next day. He said he couldn't do that, but that I could call him during it so he could express that he was a fan of the station. So, the next day during the meeting, after hyping it up a little bit to Dave, I called Taylor at the agreed upon time. And got his voicemail! Embarrassing! But then Taylor called back within a minute, which was even cooler! He and Dave talked for a while, and then Dave suggested that Taylor and I do a “My Turn” show together. It took a while to arrange a date to get together since Taylor was in the middle of recording a new Foo Fighters album, but we eventually got it done. It’s a little different twist on the way the show normally sounds, with only one person hosting. In this case, Taylor has chosen the tunes, a very eclectic mix, and we converse about why he loves those songs so much. We had a blast! I really thank the station for the freedom they allowed us to have. Rare these days! (Photo: Gates with Steven Tyler)

Funnie. JACK/fm has a daily feature saluting the "Ordinary Person of the Day." One caller called: "I'd like to nominate my wife. She's so ordinary she still has sex on her back." 

Email Friday

We GET Email …

** Bob Fox Essay

“Re the current Clear Channel financial meltdown: After my Tucson ownership debacle back in the late 80s having been sunk by debt issues, it was instantly obvious [to me at least] that one day the massive debts the new consolidated companies were undertaking would one day sink them too. Alas, it appears like that day has indeed arrived, with Cumulus soon to follow Clear right down the drain.” – Rich Brother Robbin

** More Fox

“Although there was nothing new or surprising in the recent Bob Fox essay regarding the current state of radio under the multiple owners, Mr. Fox is to be commended for his logical and informative piece. It was comprehensive and well stated in all respects.” – Chuck Southcott

** Pittman’s Charmed Career

“OK -- where the hell do I get a gig like Bob Pittman's?” – Jack Hayes

** The Patriot Act

“With the inception of ‘The Patriot’ [an ironic title for a bunch of hypocrite hate spewers], all KFI has done is move all of its programming down the dial to 1150 AM with a worse signal. Once again, any voice the liberal side of the political spectrum might have is gone. Maybe KFI’s new programming will lean a little more towards reality. I’m sure they will continue to air their 10 minute commercial breaks 2 – 3 times an hour. But, according to SCBA, all is well in radioland. Yeah, right. No wonder I refuse to listen to the radio anymore.” – Jeffrey Leonard

** Conservative Radio at 1150AM

“Well, we need more right wing talk.” – Ken Levine

** New Conservative Radio

“Perfect. Put ‘em all on a station with a lousy signal. If they [eventually] get decent numbers, they will be applauded.” – Scott St. James

** Revamped KFI/KTLK Programming

“If Clear Channel really wanted to be local, then 1150 is the perfect dial setting as KFI @ 640 is more of a regional station with a far greater reach from Santa Barbara to San Diego, whereas KTLK has limited signal reach mainly to LA. For years KTLK has struggled to get ratings. I bet today they are down at the bottom of the ratings. It would make more sense if they really wanted to serve the local community to put the local talks on KTLK and the national talkers on KFI. My thought is they are trying turn about KTLK which has had no significant market share for years.” – Joe  Cosgrove

** Loss of Rush

“The changes will have the same effect on KFI as when the plane hit their tower!” – Cam Currier

** Filling Empty Slots

“OK, programmers, here’s the perfect [and oh so obvious] answer to filling 1p – 3p at KFI or 3p – 7p at KABC. [drum roll please, ta da!! ] John Phillips. He’s soooo good! AND soooo overdue to get the full-time gig he’s more than earned and certainly deserves. Stop thinking of him as ‘that fill-in guy’ and think of him as ‘that full-time guy.’ Over ’n Out.” – Alan F. Ross

** Salem Signal

“Can you explain why Salem radio doesn't increase the signal of 870 AM? I really like their content but at times can’t listen as the reception is so bad. I live in southern Orange County.” – Chris Kelly, Liberty Capital Management, Inc., Santa Ana

** Levine’s Math

“I like radio, comedy, and Ken Levine’s work. But please, let’s think about this sample of 100 USC 19 – 20 year-olds taking a credit/no credit course.  

They are English-speaking, in the 27% of the population that gets a 4-year degree, and live in LA. By his own metric, NPR should be the dominant station in the market. Each student is paying about $5,000 in tuition and fees for this one class, so Levine is looking out at $500,000 worth of people paying for a course on Comedy.

Much as radio advertising salespeople would love to present this group as the target-market, these kids are not buying Mercedes-Benz, numismatic investments, mortgage refinancing, hair restoration, attorney services, etc. But they are USC students, so in 25 years they will be.” – John Crowley  

CLEAR CHANNEL MEDIA AND
ENTERTAINMENT

LOS ANGELES ANNOUNCES
THE DEBUT OF "THE PATRIOT" WITH AN ALL-NEW LINE-UP ON AM 1150

KFI-AM Introduces New
Programming Line-Up With An Even Greater Focus On Local News, Talk And The Community  

Clear Channel Press Release – December 5, 2013 – Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Los Angeles announced today changes to its successful AM talk radio stations – KTLK- AM will become "The Patriot," featuring all new programming on AM 1150, and a new programming lineup featuring even more local news and stimulating talk radio on KFI-AM 640.  Changes are effective January 2, 2014. 

“Los Angeles is one of the most dynamic radio markets in the United States and we want to present the best of talk radio from across the spectrum,” said Robin Bertolucci, Program Director for KFI & KTLK. “These changes are designed to give our current and future programming a home where listeners can find and enjoy their favorite
talk show hosts.” 

KTLK:  The Patriot AM 1150 

The Patriot AM 1150 will become the home of Los Angeles conservative talk radio, featuring the top talk radio personalities in the country including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and more.  

The Patriot AM 1150 Weekday Programming Lineup:

Glenn Beck                 6 a.m. – 9 a.m.

Rush Limbaugh        9 a.m. – noon

Sean Hannity             Noon – 3 p.m.

TBA                                3 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Clark Howard            7 p.m. – 10 p.m.

In addition, David Cruz will be taking local issues in the community head on with a new weekend community show on Saturdays from noon-2 p.m. on AM 1150. 

KFI-AM:  Live and
Local Radio at AM 640 

KFI-AM will now be live and local from 5 a.m. – 10 p.m. every weekday. 

Mo' Kelly will bring another night of insights regarding politics and culture to KFI-AM, hosting his show twice a week on Saturdays and Sundays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.  

David Cruz, an award winning journalist best known for his work at NBC Los Angeles, will also join KFI-AM news team, reporting local news for the station in addition to his weekend community show on The Patriot AM 1150. 

KFI-AM Weekday Programming Lineup:

Gary Hoffman            5 a.m. – 6 a.m.

Bill Handel                 6 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Bill Carroll                  10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

TBA                                   1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

John & Ken                 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Tim Conway Jr.         7 p.m. – 10 p.m.

"The Patriot and KFI will provide listeners with access to a broad range of talk programming, opinions and commentary," said Greg Ashlock, Market President for Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Los Angeles. “The Patriot will be home to well-known hosts sharing the same conservative philosophical views and values, while KFI will be live and local all day long focusing mainly on the issues that affect Southern Californians.” 

Clear Channel Financial Challenges

Essay by Bob Fox, former radio stations owner and past chairman of the SCBA

(December 5, 2013) On Monday, there appeared in the LA Times and other media an article regarding Clear Channel and their debt. The fact is that they are operating with negative cash flow in the amount of $69 million this year, so their long term debt is increasing. In order to put off note payments due in the next couple of years or so, Clear Channel wants to refinance in order to make those note payments payable in the future and they are willing to pay about double the amount of interest they are currently paying on those notes. Their interest expenses will increase considerably to over $1.7 billion per year. Clear Channel’s interest expenses have surpassed its operating income in every quarter since the end of 2008, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.

Let's start at the beginning. Radio is an art form as well as a business. Programming should be compelling to include news, information and entertainment. And localism and the other ingredients have always been the key to successful stations. When consolidation became the law, investment banks convinced owners to take on debt in order to purchase more stations.

The investment bankers were getting huge fees and they convinced owners and their corporate entities not to worry about debt as they could always refinance. Unfortunately, their plans for growth did not include a worst case scenario. And the worst case scenario became a perfect storm. Home prices were in a bubble and the mortgages backing many homes became worthless, leaving the home market, banks and lenders in a precarious financial position. The deterioration of the housing market nearly caused governmental bankruptcy at the state and local levels.

With the job losses and terrible economy, plus the growth of advertising revenues shifting to the Internet, traditional media suffered and revenues for newspapers, radio, etc. dropped considerably. Also, as it worked out, three of the largest companies that had incurred debt were being managed by persons who had no experience running radio stations.

Bad management and lack of proper financing are the major causes of business failure. With consolidation came the input from number crunchers that consolidation would provide economies of scale. The idea was to combine back office expenses in order to become more efficient. However, soon those in charge and the investment banks determined that other efficiencies should take place. Those efficiencies included getting rid of general managers and having a cluster manager for their stations in each market. Soon, multiple station operations had no general manager overlooking individual stations. This was another blueprint for failure.

Then there were determinations made to gut programming and bring syndicated shows into various markets – goodbye localism. There are also discussions that would allow buyers to purchase schedules via the Internet and bypassing sales executives. This would lower sales expenses.

All of this cost cutting takes place because there is no way that corporations such as Clear Channel and Cumulus can meet future debt. Also, revenues are not really increasing.  It is of interest to note that the chairman/ceo of Clear Channel has made tens of millions of dollars working for other companies. However, his tenure never lasts too long. He has an unusual arrangement with Clear Channel in that at his request for some $20 million was spent on new headquarters for Pittman in New York. Also, Pittman has a private jet and Clear Channel has leased it from Pittman and Pittman has full use of the aircraft.

At the Cannes Film Festival, Clear Channel provided a yacht for Pittman in order that he could entertain while there. By the way has anyone ever heard of the head of a radio company attending the Cannes Film Festival in order to drum up business? So Pittman is being provided with millions of dollars while the company burned through close to $70 million in the last year. Also, Pittman has introduced iHeart Radio which has been offered to many stations, yet iHeart Radio still has not generated any income. Pittman says that they will figure that out.

If you wonder why a company such as Clear Channel faces such a dim future, consider the tremendous debt incurred by Bain-Lee, the investment bankers who purchased Clear Channel. That debt is now approaching $21 billion. In my estimation they will never recover their investment.

Also, prior to selling the company to Bain-Lee, the Mays family was operating the company. Lowry Mays, the founder, had turned over the operation of the company to his two sons. Both nice people and intelligent, but neither had been in the broadcasting business and they were ill equipped to run the company. While they did, the company overpaid a great deal for stations that they purchased and they purchased over 500 stations in markets that were small and unrated, and providing not much in the way of revenues. (Photo: Fox, Gary Owens, Chuck Southcott)

Later, Bain-Lee sold off many of those stations and took a loss on a number of them. The Mays family was lucky to sell to Bain-Lee as they would have lost just about all of their equity if they had not done so. It's a different business now. Radio has an audience but the owners treat their audience as numbers. They attempt to generate revenue by negotiating numbers with buyers and the buyers have the upper hand. That world in which many of us of my generation grew up and spent our careers no longer exists. (You can reach Bob Fox at: robertlfox@earthlink.net)

Hear Ache. The gossip in the hallways at Premiere Radio Network and KFI gets louder and louder every day that Rush Limbaugh will come to an end at KFI in a few weeks and move over to KTLK ... Over at KABC, apparently Sean Hannity will be leaving at the end of the year. If all of this is true, this will be one of the first times for programmers to make a significant impact. We have already reported that Bryan Suits is replacing Geraldo at KABC ... Saul Levine, owner of KKGO, “Go Country,” sent a note that he is pleased to report that the latest Nielson Audio Report for the Period starting November 7th shows that after the departure of Shawn Parr from the 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. slot, the rating went from a 1.9 to a 2.2. “The time has been covered by Tonya Campos pending the hiring of a new air host,” wrote Saul ... KABC's John Phillips will be on Good Day LA on Fox 11 this morning around 7:40 a.m.

Overheard.

Piolin Slot Filled. Piolin left his top-rated KSCA show last summer under a cloak of questions about his relationships with the staff. While people were whispering, lawsuits started flying. Univision, owners of KSCA has got a new morning team, “El Bueno, La Mala, y El Feo,” (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), a music- intensive Regional Mexican radio show with a blend of humor, social sarcasm, and exclusive interviews.

 The show, hosted by Raul Molinar “El Bueno,” Sylvia del Valle “La Mala” and Andres Maldonado “El Feo,” will also be heard in Houston, San Antonio, El Paso and Mc Allen. “As our audiences’ preferences continue to evolve, we need to find new and creative ways to entertain and engage them,” said Evan Harrison, executive vice president, Content and Entertainment, Univision Radio. “El Bueno, La Mala, y el Feo is the answer — this incredibly dynamic team will really resonate with regional Mexican music lovers who also enjoy real people they can relate to.” Raul Molinar “El Bueno,” was most recently the fun and energetic on-air personality of Univision Radio’s KLNO in Dallas. Sylvia del Valle “La Mala,” was the on-air personality known as “La Bronca” on “La Número Uno” radio station in Los Angeles. Andres “El Feo” Maldonado, was the recognized LA radio voice for KSCA in California.

Parr Progress. Shawn Parr is preparing for his move to Nashville to handle nights on the syndicated NASH/fm. “I found an amazing house and have plenty of room for guests,” Shawn wrote on his Facebook page.

“It looks like I will be flying out on Christmas Day and we launch the show on January 6th. I have never been MORE excited to start something than I am now! [and I have done A LOT] Wait until you see the studio. It's AMAZING and still under construction.”

PODS Xmas. KFWB’s Maggie McKay, Phil Hulett and Penny Griego will be at the Toys"R"Us in Torrance, located at 22035 Hawthorne Boulevard, just north of Sepulveda, this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to fill a PODS with unwrapped toys. This is all part of the U.S. Marines’ Toys for Tots campaign.

Steppin’ Out Radio. Artie Lange, actor, comedian, and talk show host, who is best known for his escapades on the Howard Stern Show, reveals how he came back from rock bottom on Steppin' Out Radio. He was one of the most successful comedians in the country at one time, selling out theaters and reaching millions of listeners a day as Howard Stern's sidekick. But a little a year after his book, Too Fat To Fish, came out, Lange stabbed himself in the stomach nine times while deep in the throes of heroin addiction. He wouldn't appear on a comedy stage for the next year and a half, and to this day he hasn't stepped foot back inside Howard Stern's studio. Hear Artie's terrifying and fascinating story straight from his new book, Crash and Burn, about how he finally found peace in his life, and what he does on a daily basis to stay sober. Click here to listen

Funnie.

Email Thursday

We GET Email …

** Is Radio Rock Solid?

 “I wish Thom Callahan would debate me on the issue of whether Southern California Radio is really ‘rock solid’ or just mortgaging its future.

The reality is he continues to fiddle while Rome burns. Meanwhile, let me present some numbers of my own. I teach a lecture course on comedy at USC. I have over a hundred students. I asked them ‘how many of you listen to the radio?’ Maybe 20 hands went up. Of those I asked ‘how many listen for seven or eight hours a week?’ About half.

 Then I asked, ‘how many have favorite stations?’ Three hands went up. I asked what they were. Two were NPR and one was a Chicago rock station.

Finally, I said, ‘if someone took away your fm radio how many would be really upset?’ Answer: NONE. Let me repeat that. NONE.

So you can crunch the sales numbers all you want. But even in an informal survey, when 100% of a large group of 19 and 20 year-olds say the loss of fm radio would have no major impact on their lives I say the medium is anything but ‘rock solid.’" - Ken Levine

** Shindig Mic

“The mic ID in the Shindig photo is possibly this EV 652 with the plastic sound baffle attached. Glad you're publishing again.” - Jim Doller

 		  

** Now and Then

Thank you for catching us up on Dara Welles. 

As a young sales guy at KNX/fm in the late 70's I was the luckiest guy in the world. It was a very cool place to work and the perks of being at CBS at the time were legendary. You had a parking place with your name on it and the coveted CBS American Express card [no limit].  Dan Kearney eat your heart out.

 Well, of all the questions about the station and the music and the artists and the personalities, the most common question I got from my friends was, 'What does Dara Welles look like?'

  I would always leave it at this, 'she looks just like she sounds.' Those of your readers who remember, she sounded great.

 Keeping it mellow." - Keith Samuels   

“Southern California Radio is Rock Solid” - SCBA

 (December 4, 2013) The Southern California Broadcast Association sent the following press release. After you read it, I posed a follow-up question to prexy Thom Callahan. First the press release:

“Southern California Radio is rock solid,” said SCBA president, Thom Callahan. “We have new revenue categories growing at exceptional rates on an YTD basis through October,” said Callahan. Big YTD category growth includes: Publications up 145.4%, Lawn and Garden up 65.5%, Education up 50.9%, Transportation up 41.0%, Appliances/Electronics up 40.8%, Real Estate/Retirement up 21.2%, and Financial Services up 19.0%.

“We don’t know any business that can point to such YTD category growth as can Southern California Radio,” said Callahan.

“Moreover, our members’ expanding digital platforms resulted in a surging YTD growth rate of 26.1%. Adding to that great news is the fact that Southern California Radio sold $36,620,879 in new business YTD with 540 new clients,” said Callahan.

Callahan continues, “With substantial YTD category growth, both new and established, 26.1% in Digital growth, explosive new business revenue of $36.6 million with 540 new clients and total market revenue growth of 1.3% through October, it’s easy to see why Southern California Radio continues to be the market to watch for our dynamic business.”

With so many categories up substantially, it prompted a question to Callahan about what categories were down to be up only 1.3% in October. Callahan responded:

“LA’s total market revenue through October is up 1.3% over the same period in 2012.

It should be much higher but the market is working against 2012 political revenue which was over $11 million in October 2012. Since there was little to no political revenue in 2013, we are naturally down from last year. That is not a reflection on the health of our business, just a comparison to a heavy 2012 political spending period.

The real good news is we are ahead of the rest of the country. USA Radio is 1.0% and LA Radio is 1.3%.”

New Beatles Book. Casey Piotrowski, veteran of several Orange County radio stations in the 70s and 80s, has penned a new book, The Beatles 50 Most Memorable Moments, a telling of The Beatles story from one episode to another, rather than chronologically. Casey has taken what he feels are the 50 ‘most memorable’ events, achievements and people during the course of The Beatles’ lives ... professionally and personally, beginning in 1957.

“Not everything they did was perfect. Not everything they did was great. They did some dumb, ill considered, self-indulgent things through the years,” said Casey. 

Overheard.

High School Basketball Broadcasts. Ryan Polomski is a documentary filmmaker researching a story concerning Los Angeles high school and college basketball from 1969-71. “Do you know if high school games were broadcast on radio during this era, and if so, by who?” asks Ryan. “Also, would it be uncommon for a radio station to have archives of announced games - particularly CIF Championship games?” You can reach Ryan at: ryan.polomski@gmail.com  

Now And Then
Dara Welles is a self-proclaimed radio nerd. She knows lyrics to every Beatles song. She has been with Cablevision in New York for the past almost 8 years. She was a news anchor at WOR-New York for almost a decade. In the mid-70s, Dara Welles moved to L.A. after graduation to be with her boyfriend. They eventually broke up, but not before getting her first radio job at KNX/fm and then to be news director at K-EARTH."

Funnie. Today’s list is from scientist Steven Wright: 

1.  I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
2.  99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
3.  82.7% of all statistics are made up.
4.  A clear conscience is generally the sign of a bad memory.
5.  All those who believe in psycho kenosis, raise my hand.
6.  OK, so what's the speed of dark?
7.  How do you tell when you’re out of invisible ink?
8.  Depression is just anger without enthusiasm.
9.  I intend to live forever...so far, so good.
10. Hard work pays off in the future, laziness pays off now.
11. If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
12. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
13. Why do psychics ask you your name?
14. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal ideas from many people is research.
15. The problem with the gene pool is there is no lifeguard.
16.  The colder the X-ray table the more of your body is required to be on it.
17.  Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don’t have film.
18. If your car could travel at the speed of light would your headlights work?  

Email Wednesday

We GET Email …

** Mic ID

“Here is a picture from The Turtles on Shindig. The mic looks like a little clear disc. I remember seeing it quite a bit on tv in the 60s. I wonder if it's a mic or weird prop. There is no cable attached.” – Don Elliot

** Crouch Not to Be Admired

“Regarding the passing of Paul Crouch, I worked with him at KREL-Corona in the late 60’s. He was not a man I admired. Most people who worked for him and had regular contact with him have much the same feeling. He was very successful in broadcasting, but someone not to be admired.” - Jim Shannon

** Mystery Surrounds Missing El Mandril From KLAX

“Ratings tampering? Really? I thought all Hispanic ratings were tampered.” – Mike Horn  

A Los Angeles Radio Kidney Transplant – a One-Year Update

(December 3, 2013) A year ago, KROQ’s morning co-host Bean [Gene Baxter] demonstrated an amazing act of selflessness by donating a kidney to CBS/LA colleague Scott Mason, the West Coast head of engineering for the CBS stations. Scott had a dialysis machine he used in his home. He had a kidney transplant a decade ago but when cadaver kidneys from a deceased donor are placed in the pelvis, apparently they have a shorter life than from a living donor; in Scott’s case he had a cadaver kidney in 1999 that started to go bad in 2010.

Traveling is part of Scott’s job. Once a year he visits an island off Seattle where Bean lives and broadcasts his daily morning show. Scott calibrates the equipment in Bean's studio and tends to any engineering issues. On Scott’s yearly visit, Bean thought Scott had slowed down quite a bit and wasn’t looking well. Scott decided to tell Bean what was going on. His kidney was going bad. He told him he was on a transplant list but it was difficult to find an organ donor. He had exhausted his immediate family as possible donors.

“This is crazy,” said Bean. “I have two working kidneys. You can have one of mine.”

That night over dinner, Bean and his wife Donna discussed the issue. She readily agreed and in the morning Bean confirmed to Scott that he would like to begin the procedure. “It was absurd that Scott was so sick with no working kidney and I had two that were working great.”

The kidney transplant happened last November. How are they doing a year later?

 “It has been a year since Bean gave me the most awesome gift that is imaginable,” emailed Mason. “He is in my thoughts and I thank him every day. My life is truly better today than it was a little over a year ago.”

Mason said the healing from the kidney transplant was not an easy task. “Recovery took a few months, and that was trying on my entire family, especially since I was living at my parents’ home a good deal of that time.  Lots and lots of hospital and clinic visits, and it seemed they all started at 6 in the morning.”

Has it been clear sailing as far as recovery? “I had a number of good months after that, feeling good, getting back to work, and even doing a lot with Boy Scouts, such as weekend camp-outs.  After 7 or 8 months I felt myself getting weak and around June I noticed my legs swelling up.  I went to Cedars, where I had my transplant and had numerous different treatments. None really seemed to be working and my kidney numbers started looking bad.  Finally at some point after numerous different [and expensive] treatments, the team of transplant doctors thought that I may have become allergic to one of the main anti-rejection transplant medications, which I took twice a day.”

They took Scott off medications and went in a different direction. “This approach required I get a 30 minute IV of medication every month and stop the suspect medication,” Scott continued. “I'm four months into this treatment now and believe they figured out the problem as I feel really good and I am at a really good point physically and mentally.”

If he had to do it all over again, Scott said 100% yes, he would. “I'm actually back doing the things I had done while I was feeling good years back, such as traveling.  Now I just always need to remember that I have a gift that's really special, from a really special person, who will never admit that because he's much too modest about his great gift to me.

Bean, the angel in this story, claims he is good as new. “My life is 99.9% the same as before with two kidneys,” said Bean. “I can't take anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen anymore but otherwise nothing's changed.”  

Bean was back to work at KROQ after missing only eight days for the procedure. His scars are fading. “Soon, no one will even believe it happened,” said Bean. “Seriously, I've had more traumatic haircuts than what giving up a kidney caused.”

When Bean was asked if he had any regrets, he was quick to say that Scott should have let people know about his need sooner. “It might have saved him a couple of years of that awful dialysis.” (Photo: Scott Mason, Bean, Lisa May)

Bean says he is grateful to have been in the right place at the right time to help. “I have been blessed with excellent health my whole life and it was the very least I could do for a friend. I learned in the time leading up to the surgery how beloved Scott is in his own circle of friends and family and in the broadcast industry too, so my kidney really couldn't have asked for a better new home.”

The need for life-saving organs is staggering. Eighteen people will die each day waiting for an organ. Bean asks those who read this story to visit www.organdonor.gov for more information on how to help.

Overheard.

Hear Ache. Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton, mornings at San Diego’s “Mighty 1090” is adding writing duties as he joins the San Diego Union-Tribune as a sports columnist. He was the longtime voice of the San Diego Chargers … Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning pop icon Britney Spears will guest host Ryan Seacrest’s American Top 40 this weekend, December 7 and 8. In addition to counting down the Top 40 songs, Spears will answer questions directly from fans.  

Now And Then
Robin Abcarian is a writer at the LA Times. She is an online columnist for the newspaper's online edition. Her primary mission, according to a LA Times editor, is driving the digital conversation. In 1996, Robin Abcarian was a regular columnist for the LA Times column. That year she joined KTZN (710)/’The Zone’ for a talk show with the late Tracey Miller. It ended within a year.

 Cumulus Patriarch Dies. Broadcaster Lew Dickey, Sr. passed away over the Thanksgiving weekend at age 86. His son, Lew Dickey, Jr., ceo of Cumulus Media said:  “My dad was an enormously talented broadcaster and, more importantly, a deeply devoted husband, father, and mentor. He touched the lives of many people and will be dearly missed.”  Dickey, Sr. got his start in radio at Storer Broadcasting’s WWVA- Wheeling, West Virginia and quickly rose through the ranks at the company. He was promoted within Storer to leadership positions at KDKA/TV-Pittsburgh followed by WAGA/TV-Atlanta. 

Art, Jewelry & Jazz. Talaya Trigueros, middays at KTWV is set for her fifth annual "Art, Jewelry & Jazz Holiday Party." Bettie Grace Miner & Talaya will be hosts for an afternoon of art exhibits, one-of-a kind jewelry pieces by Talaya, wine tasting, jazzy holiday music, appetizers and even some magic.

The Open House is at Miner Works of Art Studio/Loft on Sunday, December 8 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. The loft studio is at 639 South Spring Street, Penthouse 14-B, Los Angeles. More information at 213.891.9116.

Funnie.

Email Tuesday

We GET Email …

** Trinity Founder

“Excellent feature on Paul Crouch, who truly was a trail blazer. Because of his vision, courage and determination TBN has a worldwide presence with a family of channels. A smart businessman, Paul his legacy debt free. Lots of tv engineers and executives I have met over the years who work at network affiliates got their start at TBN.” – Joe Cosgrove

** More Crouch

"I read your story about Paul Crouch and just a minor thing. When I was at KHOF/fm in 1961, I was told by Pastor Schoch that KHOF stood for 'King’s Herald Of Faith.' It may have changed after I left. At the time KHOF was owned by a small Assembly of God church called 'Maple Chapel' at the corner of Maple and Adams in Glendale, of which Ray Schoch was Pastor. I was at KGBS by the time Crouch joined KHOF.  When I was there, the studio was at a place called 'Adams Square' at 1120 South Adams." - Bob Morgan

** Clear Channel Burning Through Cash (Bloomberg.com)

“Clear Channel seems to be defying the laws of gravity! The government should step in and disassemble the company before it's too late.” – Sandy Welles

** Oswald’s Lawyer

“I was watching a documentary last week called JFK -3 Shots That Changed America. During one of Oswald’s perp walks through the reporters he was asked if he had someone in mind who he wanted to represent him. He said he wanted John Abt to represent him. Abt was a leftist lawyer who at one time represented the Communist Party.

I am not questioning Geoff Edwards’ memory since he was there. Oswald on several occasions in the documentary said he wanted legal representation. He could easily have mentioned different lawyers at different times.  But on this particular occasion on film Oswald did mention John Abt’s name.” - Craig Daniger, Granada Hills

** New programmer Brings Smooth R&B to the Wave

“The story you sent from the Daily Breeze was pretty right on.  Hopefully, listeners can hear a more than subtle difference from HOT 92.3. 

We are still playing some ‘smooth Jazz’ tracks, have more current songs as well as a different variety of r&b than HOT. 

I like our formula and the efforts of Rick Thomas and his team.” – Dan Kearney, CBS/LA market manager    

Paul Crouch, the Face of Trinity Broadcasting, Dies

(December 2, 2013) Paul Crouch and his wife Jan were the founders and face of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. They were called the “First couple of the Christian Network.” Paul died November 30, at the age of 79. Though many of the obituaries cite his work in establishing one of the largest religious tv networks, Paul first spent time working on the local radio airwaves.

Born On March 30, 1934, in St. Joseph, Missouri, he spent part of his early childhood in Egypt. His father was a missionary with the Assemblies of God. Paul was 7 when his father died.

While a student at Central Bible College and Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, he built a small campus radio station. Apparently it was this early experience with the campus station that gave him the idea about spreading the gospel electronically. In 1962, he and his wife Jan moved to Southern California.

In 1962, Paul and his wife Jan moved to Southern California. He was the manager of KREL from 1965-71. During that time, Paul helped complete the application to increase the power of the Corona radio station to 5,000 watts, and he would eventually become a minority owner of the station. He then moved to KHOF/fm (“House of Faith”) and became the station’s general manager. During his tenure at the radio station, Paul helped fortify KHOF/fm and helped establish KHOF/tv  Channel 30 on the air from San Bernardino, reaching many parts of the Los Angeles market. In the beginning, it was back to back tapes of preachers before local programming was added. After a brief partnership with Jim Bakker, Paul and Jan leased time on KLXA/tv for the newly founded Trinity Broadcasting Network. Eventually, TBN purchased the station and changed the call letters of Channel 40 to KTBN, the station serving as the flagship for the network. His goal was to build the most-watched religious network by purchasing more stations and utilizing satellite technology. Despite the numerous bumps in the road, he will be remembered for being an early pioneer in using radio and television to spread the Word.

Huckabee Out of Syndication Business. Mike Huckabee, former Republican Presidential candidate, became one of the early syndication voices for Cumulus Media (owners of KLOS and KABC locally). The show never got traction. Huckabee announced on his Facebook page that the syndication show would end December 12. Two hundred stations will have to find a replacement. 

 “I have loved doing the Mike Huckabee Show, and its success of going from launch to over 200 stations in less than two years is significant, but the contract was at a decision point for both Cumulus Media and me, and we mutually agreed to conclude,” he wrote on Facebook.

Huckabee continued: “I have opportunities in other areas that cannot be accomplished given the eight to nine hours a day I was devoting to the daily long form show. In the original development of the show, I set out to develop a talk radio show that focused on civil discourse on complicated topics as well as human events and stories from the entertainment world, I feel we have done that and done it well.”

 
Hear Ache. “KNX On Your Corner,” the award-winning series profiling Southern California communities, will venture into West Hollywood on Friday, December 13 from 5 a.m. – 7 p.m. Broadcast anchors will be working out of The Abbey Food & Bar. Fans of the station are welcome to come and watch the proceedings … It was fun to hear Melody Rogers and Paraquat Kelley being interviewed on KFWB’s Money 101, with guest host Ken Jeffries. Pat and Melody got to tell stories and promote their tasty book, And There Will Always Be Termites … Richard Kimball, former KMET pd, is the senior vp/producer of The Road for United Stations radio Networks. He moves from his long-time home in Palm Springs to the Channel Islands ... Condolences to long-time 710/KMPC producer Bob Maryon on the passing of his mother, Mary. “I was at her bedside at the nursing home when she passed. We had just celebrated her 103rd birthday a week and a half ago. She lived a full life and I am sure that she is now in Heaven with all of her family. She was a wonderful lady and a special Mom.” ... Freddy Rivera has been with KGGI in the Inland Empire since 2006. He moves to KIIS/fm full-time ... KABC has been doing a lot of auditioning lately. Besides Mark Thompson and Kevin Pollock recently, this weekend John & Jeff (former KLSX) got a try-out.

 
Artwork courtesy of Time Magazine

Overheard.

“Oh, yeah, well JACK/fm is going to hook up Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and have them battle it out, rock ‘em sock ‘em style.” (JACK/fm liner)

“I prefer ‘Cyber Monday’ to ‘Black Friday’ because you have the opportunity to do research. On ‘Black Friday’ you can’t be sure what you are getting in a store is actually a deal. With ‘Cyber Monday’ you actually have the opportunity to check prices, both current and historic.” (Christian Wheel, Let’s Talk Tech, KFWB)

“The reason that we have a delay in broadcasting is because of the FCC indecency regulations, which, by the way, are largely misunderstood. If you look at the regulations you would understand that the FCC does not have the authority to regulate mere profanity.” (Wayne Resnick, KFI)

“Barack Obama does more fundraisers than a PBS cfo with a hidden cocaine problem.” (Dennis Miller, KRLA)

“Nowadays there are only two types of people left in radio. Those afraid they are gonna be fired and those that want to be.” (George Johns, radio consultant)

“Tim Conway, Jr. here, sitting in for John & Ken. They’re on the A-list at KFI. They get to take off Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, day after Thanksgiving. Then the B-list rolls in.” (Tim Conway, Jr., KFI)

“Around 1997 I went to a big radio party in Malibu. I was supposed to be taken home by one of the guys at the radio station. I just had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. A girl at the radio station said she would take me home. We’re in Malibu, hit a patch of water and slam into a cement wall and I go through the windshield. I get 20 stitches in my face.” (Heidi Hamilton, KLOS)

Belli For Lawyer. Allen Wilkinson, a Laguna Woods attorney, used to work with famed lawyer Melvin Belli. He had never heard Geoff Edwards’ story about Lee Harvey Oswald asking for Belli to represent him.

 Edwards responded to Wilkinson:   

“I was standing with other press against the wall of the passageway as Oswald was escorted by. Someone shouted, ‘Do you have a lawyer?’ Oswald in soft voice, ‘No, I want Melvin Belli.’ I was next to him, but not many others heard him or even cared. I’m sure, given the circumstances, the request never made it to Mr. Belli’s office. Since that was 50 years ago, the quote should be filed under ‘alleged.’”
Laguna Beach Radio. KX 93.5/fm is a community–supported radio station that transmits to the 24,000 residents of Laguna Beach. Scott Hays co-hosts a radio show titled The Friendship Show, which is an hour-long discussion with thought-provoking individuals and musicians about issues that impact the community. “Recently, for example, we did a one-hour show on Teen Cancer America with Roger Daltrey,” said Hays.

“We’ve also interviewed jazz great Boney James, marine-life artist Wyland on his Blues Planet CDs, singer-songwriter Henry Kapono from the Islands, blues-jazz virtuoso Rabbi Blue, and Paola Porrini Bisson, producer/director of the award-winning film The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars.”

The Friendship Show is sponsored in part by Friendship Shelter, Laguna’s oldest and most respected homeless shelter.

 
Now And Then
Bobby Blue is the national media director of New Life Ad Agency, which produces and places 30 minute block programming and placing time buys nationally. Bobby Blue is a veteran of AOR era as a dj at KNAC and KMET in the 1970s.

Funnie. An elderly couple, who were both widowed, had been going out with each other for a long time. Urged on by their friends, they decided it was finally time to get married. Before the wedding, they went out to dinner and had a long conversation regarding how their marriage might work. They discussed finances, living arrangements and so on. Finally, the old gentleman decided it was time to broach the subject of their physical relationship. "How do you feel about sex?" he asked, rather tentatively. "I would like it infrequently," she replied. The old gentleman sat quietly for a moment, leaned over towards her and whispered - "Is that one word or two?"

Email Monday

We GET Email …

#3 Most Listened to in Afternoon Drive

“Putting my usual Groucho Marx-ist feelings aside, it's truly an honor to be part of your latest LARadio.com polling ‘club.’

A big, heartfelt THANK YOU to all who voted.  I'm perpetually grateful and humbled.” – Gary Moore

** #1 in Morning Drive

“Who are the geniuses programming those Hispanic stations making their meteoric rise into the top 10 locally? Oh wait, I forgot, they are weighing the results of Hispanic station listeners over the other stations.

Just when we thought we had accurate ratings. It’s all about the sample and politics. Maybe Pulse rating services will make a comeback.” - Michael J. Horn

** Did She Cry Wolf?

“Geraldo is a wolf in … , in my opinion.” – Sally Twombly

** What the World Needs Now is Tom Clay

“Gary Lane’s memories of Tom Clay really rolled back the times of time. Tom was one of my favorites as he introduced to me tucking in the 45’s for the night. His rendition of What The World Needs Now, really took me into another world. What a production. I noticed that Gary did not bring up Tom’s stint in LA. I recall doing my part- time job having my radio tuned to Tom Clay. 

One last thought regarding Tom Clay is that he could intro and back intro a song like no other dj of that time.  Songs were #2, Tom’s words were #1.” – Stan White, Seattle  

Sunday Funnies

Send mail to AvilaBeachdb@gmail.com with questions or comments about this website.
Copyright © 1997-2020
Last modified: November 11, 2020