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Archives June 2015
Compiled and written by Don Barrett Edited by Alan Oda |
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Archives June 2015
Compiled and written by Don Barrett Edited by Alan Oda |
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(June 30,
2015) One is the current radio voice of the Los Angeles Lakers. The
other is seen on KTTV’s Good Day L.A., Time-Warner’s SportsNet L.A.,
and other televised venues. You would think neither man would want to bother
with a daily radio gig, yet Steve Mason
and John Ireland maintain a
two-decade-plus partnership on ESPN / L.A. 710 (KSPN).
In the early 90s, Mason
was finishing his contract doing nights at all-sports XTRA in San Diego, while
Ireland was doing weekend sports anchor duties at KUSI/tv. XTRA decided to team
up the duo, with the team landing the morning spot in 1994. “When Ireland and I
worked together for the first time, I knew it was going to work,” said Mason. “I
was really trying to blow up my deal and go somewhere else, Ireland was intent
on making it work. Somehow, he won me over and here we are now.”
“I think what sustains
the show is that we’re friends – we like each other – but we naturally disagree
about everything,” said Ireland. “It’s two guys who want to be there, but who
come at things from different side. Most sports talk is angry…we’re not. We
don’t yell at the audience, and very rarely yell at each other. When we do, it’s
usually a bit to make fun of ourselves. It’s the ‘odd couple’ dynamic that makes
it work.” Mason said “it’s always fun. We don’t like argumentative radio, unless
it’s for fun. We complement each other in so many ways, and we have a policy. If
there’s ever an issue either of us is truly sensitive about, we always agree to
drop it.”
Though the team is
mired towards the bottom of the NBA standings, the Lakers continue to be the
hottest topic on the midday show. Mason said “how the Lakers use (their) draft
pick and how they deliver their plan,” dominates their topics. “We used to have
a running joke that still applies today…you could walk in, open the microphones,
and simply say ‘Kobe or Shaq – who was right?’ Every phone would light up,” said
Ireland. “When those two split up, it was like the ultimate Hollywood celebrity
divorce. People are still passionate about it, even today.” Mason said “in Los
Angeles, (local) teams are like soap operas – the rise and fall (and hopefully
the rise again) of the Lakers, the post-Sterling Clippers, the new Dodgers – all
of these things are like episodes of Dynasty.”
At one time, Mason and
Ireland’s morning show were simulcast on an all-sports cable channel. The
X-Games were in town, and BMX bikers demonstrated their craft jumping over a
high bar. Mason decided he could high jump himself over the bar in his bare
feet. The result was him shattering his heel live on the air. “Mason breaking
his foot was actually a lot scarier than we’ve ever let on,” said Ireland. “I
actually said, ‘you just sprained your ankle.’ Ray Allen, the great basketball
player, was in studio that day promoting a movie, and he said, ‘I do that all of
the time, it's no big deal.’” But it was a big deal. Said Mason: “Let’s face it.
I can be very dumb. It was really scary. I had a coronary embolism on the
(operating) table,” leading to his parents being notified that he might not make
it. “I had Bell’s Palsy in 1998. Half my face stopped working. I did the show
anyway. I’m sure a smarter guy would have sat it out. But I like living my life
on the air.”
The duo had been
separated twice, once when Mason was lured to WNEW/fm in New York before being
reunited in 2003. “Sadly and stupidly, the station (later) fired Ireland in
2006…they put me on a solo show for six months. I hated it and it was awful. We
still joke about that. But that transparency is what I love about the show. The
bosses get uncomfortable with us talking about things like this, but I like
getting real with stuff like this.”
There’s now four
stations in Los Angeles programming all-sports radio. Though none of the
stations are in the top ten of the overall (6+) audiences measured, KSPN is
doing very well in the Men 25-54 category. “Our ratings in L.A. are actually
better than the ESPN station in New York,” said Ireland. Mason said “truthfully,
it’s a great lie that sports talk isn’t in the mainstream in Los Angeles…And the
ratings show that what we do is not just sports radio. It’s talk radio with
numbers comparable to KFI. Our whole station is something special right now.”
Both men value the
importance of their support staff. “A huge part of our success has nothing to do
with us. We have a team of people behind us that really makes this easy. Amanda
Brown produces our show now, Dave
Singer did it before her. They’re at the station long before us, and leave
long after we're gone. And I’m mentioning just a few. There are people in sales,
traffic, promotions and a lot of other departments that make the show work,”
said Ireland. Mason added “we have a great team. What all of us are attempting
is a great big lab experiment. This station is old school. Cross talk. Free form
talk. And Amanda Brown is a big part of it. Jay Corrales, our board op. is part
of it. Michael Funches and Jared Diglio and all of our talent. Despite the
joking, we are all rooting for each other. And our program director
Mike Thompson is an eccentric
genius. He loves radio. The history of it. He is the best program director I
have ever worked with. Period.” Ireland also credits the engineering team to
help keep the show going. “At KSPN, I'm doing a lot of shows from the road.
Our engineering staff, led by Mike Tosch
and Tim Ahern, is the best I’ve ever
worked with. These guys can get me on the air from a hotel, and arena, a
restaurant – you name it.”
But as to why the
two busy men continue their midafternoon shift on ESPN radio, Ireland said,
“we
kind of go to where the work is. None of these jobs ever last, and for
some reason, this one has for awhile. I think we’re both thankful to have
the gig, and we want to ride the wave until it crashes. But we’re both
smart enough to know it won’t last forever. Plus, it’s not a bad way to
make a living.” Mason was more philosophical.
“This business, really this art, is
underappreciated…the truth is, I love radio. It is my first and true love…it
gives me a real freedom that you just don’t get on tv. Radio is where I fully
express myself and all my eccentricities are fully on display. It is intimate,
personal, and is the backbone of my career.”
| #8 |
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| KSPN's John Ireland & Steve Mason |
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Morrison Celebration of Life.
The news and
radio personalities talked about Bob Morrison at his Celebration of Life
in Texas last weekend and how knowing him changed their
lives. The chapel was full, according to his sister, and many got up and told stories of how he
was such a great person. "He helped, encouraged, believed in, supported,
shared his love of Jesus and touched so many lives. He was a man well
respected and loved by many. Makes you realize again every life you
touch is important. Bob was a veteran of KHJ in the mid-70s and KIIS in the late 70s. |
LARadio Rewind:
June 30, 2009. KLSX changes call letters to KAMP. The 97.1 frequency was home to
KKLA, 1947-51. In 1954, the frequency was reactivated as KFMU. In 1968, the
station was purchased by George B. Storer, owner of dawn-to-dusk
KGBS-1020, and became KGBS/fm. The fm became KHTZ in 1979 and KBZT "K-Best 97"
in 1985. A year later, the station switched to classic rock as KLSX. Their
slogan was "Our name spells classics." In 1995, KLSX switched to a talk format
but continued to play music on Saturdays and Sundays. On February 20, 2009, KLSX
switched to the AMP contemporary hits format which had been created by KROQ
program director Kevin Weatherly and was previously heard on KCBS/fm's
HD2 channel. KLSX changed call letters to KAMP on June 30, 2009. A week later,
the station became KAMP/fm to avoid confusion with KAMP/am, a student-run
station at University of Arizona, Tucson. The airstaff of AMP Radio 97.1
includes Carson Daly, Michelle Boros, Chris Booker,
Casey McCabe, Seena Akita and Kevin Schatz.
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Michael Benner Broadcaster Philosopher Teacher |
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Who
made me the person I am today? Hmmm. Probably my mother, Mary. Her
emphasis on education, perseverance and integrity drives me to this day.
Most of the other people I look up to are rebel poets, lyricists &
outlaw writers. John Lennon & George Harrison -- that they even knew
each other, much less played in the same band is amazing to me. Of the
popular musicians I’ve come to know personally, Willie Nelson, Jackson
Browne, Graham Nash, and Bonnie Raitt impress me as some of the most
genuine and sincere people I’ve ever met. I admire courageous people like Muhammed Ali, Richard Pryor and Oprah Winfrey. I love the writing of the “transcendentalists” -- Emerson, Thoreau and John Muir. But most of all, my heros are Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., St. Francis of Assisi and of course, Christ and Buddha ... men who dedicated their lives to teaching peace and justice through love and kindness. |
Funnie. (This morning's funnie from Leon Kaplan)
She was outside pulling weeds on a hot summer day when her husband walked up and asked her what they were having for dinner.
Irritated by the thought of him sitting in the air conditioned house while she laboured away on the weeds, she snapped, "I can't believe you're asking me about supper right now! Pretend I'm out of town, go inside and make dinner yourself!"
So he went back in the house and fixed himself a big steak, potatoes, garlic bread, and a tall beer.
His wife walked in just about the time he was finishing up and asked, "Where's my dinner?"
"Huh? I thought you were out of town," he replied
Email Tuesday
We GET Email …
** Survey Says
"Seeing that picture of Robert W. Morgan on the KHJ Boss 30 survey reminds me of the many ones that I have. I collected them every week. I have kept the ones I have acquired over the years.” - Scott Matthews
Fred Roggin in the Middle of Carson Stadium
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(June 29, 2015) Local sports talk is usually about local teams – the Dodgers, the Lakers, the Clippers, the Kings, the Ducks, the Bruins, the Trojans, et cetera. Yet for two decades, there hasn’t been anything said about a Los Angeles NFL team – that’s because there’s been no pro football team in L.A. for two decades since the 1995 departure of the Rams and the Raiders to St. Louis and Oakland respectively. Several proposals to overhaul the Coliseum have gone nowhere, and plans to build a stadium in Downtown L.A. have been all but abandoned. Callers to local sports shows express their skepticism of professional football ever returning to Los Angeles. But earlier this year, two projects have offered something more tangible than in the past. St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke already owns land in Inglewood and stated he’s committed to building a stadium there. Meanwhile, the Chargers and Raiders are proposing a joint venture to build a facility in Carson. Fred Roggin, longtime sports anchor at KNBC/tv, is also the midday sports at the relatively new all-sports KFWB, now known as “The Beast 980.” He’s been providing daily updates on the NFL’s possible return to Los Angeles. Roggin has featured many interviews with individuals involved in stadium negotiations, including Mayor James T. Butts of Inglewood, and Mayor Albert Robles of Carson. Back on April 23, Roggin served as the invited special guest host for the Inglewood “State of the City” meeting, where the proposed stadium was presented and discussed. Then last Tuesday, Roggin was asked to emcee a Town Hall meeting in Carson, billed as the opportunity for the Chargers and the Raiders to present to the community what was happening for their stadium proposal. The latter didn’t go as planned. For one thing, there were no representatives from the Raiders organization. Mark Fabiani, Special Counsel to the President of the San Diego Chargers was present, but declined to address the gathering from the stage. Additionally, a video presentation – previously shown to NFL owners – was supposed to be shown at the meeting, but it didn’t happen. |
The next
day, Roggin had an on-air conversation with Carson Mayor Robles. In posting the
podcast, KFWB described the interview as “highly contentious,” adding “Roggin
took the Mayor to task for not playing the video presentation of the stadium
plan at the Town Hall meeting last night. Mayor Robles had promoted the
never-before-seen-video on The Beast 980 leading up to Monday night’s event and
even told NBC 4 in Los Angeles that video would highlight the evening — despite
knowing that it would never be shown.” Here’s the link to the interview:
http://thebeast980.com/2015/06/23/fred-roggin-calls-carson-mayors-excuse-for-not-playing-stadium-presentation-video-b-s/
But there was more to be said.
Former San Francisco 49ers executive Carmen Policy is now working for the
Raiders and Chargers to spearhead the building of the Carson stadium. KNX sports
anchor Randy Kerdoon interviewed Policy on Wednesday to find
out more about what had transpired on Tuesday night on Carson, though Policy
himself was not in attendance.
When contacted by
LARadio.com, Kerdoon summarized his conversation with Policy. “The conversation
live on KNX 1070 was pretty much run of the mill when I asked him to explain
what went wrong with the Carson Town Hall meeting on Monday,” said Kerdoon.
“Then, live on KNX 1070, Mr. Policy brought up concerns that a ‘proponent of
another project … a proponent of another situation that was not ... of the
partnership of the Raiders or the Chargers was going to be present and actually
was going to serve as the MC’ (insert sound of needle scratch on record here).
Wait, what?” Kerdoon said, “I knew Fred Roggin had mentioned he was asked to
emcee on his Beast 980 show, so I followed up with Mr. Policy, asking if he was
saying that if Roggin wasn’t there, would the event would have gone on as
originally planned. (Policy) said it would…and he (Policy) would have probably
have been there. And the rest is radio is history.” The interview with Policy is
also posted online:
http://thebeast980.com/2015/06/24/whoa-reason-carmen-policy-didnt-show-at-carson-meeting-we-should-not-be-engaged-in-a-beauty-contest/
When contacted by LARadio.com,
Roggin disagreed with Policy’s comments. “It’s inaccurate. The only statement I
ever made is the developer in Inglewood said on our show that we’re building the
stadium, no matter what. anyone at the Carson site said. I have no vested
interest in this, I only report on what I’m told. Anyone who confuses that to
state I have a preference is inaccurate,” said Roggin.
“Carmen Policy wouldn’t know me if he was standing next to me. He receives his talking points from Mark Fabiani. Mark is a political strategist. His job is to create chaos and divert from the facts. For whatever reason, they haven’t been able to deliver on what they had promised. They’ve made me the villain.” Roggin said he is unsure the Chargers have any true interest to stay in San Diego. “The Chargers walked out of negotiations with (San Diego Mayor) Kevin Falcouner, stating he wasn’t competent enough to handle negotiations…this is Standard Operating Procedure for the group from Carson.”
“It’s comical to think that
the story would become about me. I am not the story, I have never been the
story, I report the facts. In no way is this about me, and I won’t let it become
about me.” After a day on his show talking about Policy’s comments, Roggin’s
next show was dominated by conversations about the draft pick for the Lakers.
“The story (about me) went away quickly. It was interesting to have it.”
Who Helped Make You The Person You Are Today?
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K.M. Richards Broadcaster Consultant |
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I
think anyone in this business who didn't learn from listening to the
pros who went before them probably didn't last long.
Three such professionals stand out in my memory. I've told all
three personally of their influence on my work so this shouldn't
embarrass any of them:
1. Wink Martindale. Listening to him on
KMPC in the 1970s (sorry, Sir Winston, but I was born too late to hear
you before then) taught me the value of show prep, especially being
knowledgeable about the artists on your playlist. A quick snippet
of an artist bio worked into a frontsell or backsell is relatively easy
if you're prepared, and sounds so much better than the stock
title/artist announcement.
2. Charlie Tuna. I've lost track of the
number of stations I've heard Charlie on, but the one thing that stands
out is his quick-wittedness. The unplanned and unpredictable
events during a shift are what take a mediocre air talent down (at least
for the moment) but I have yet to hear Charlie be unable to react to
them. If I learned show prep from Wink, I learned there's more
than just show prep from Charlie.
3. Don Elliot. The best production guy on the
planet, in my not-so-humble opinion. He was doing things with a
splicing block and razor blade (remember those, kids?) in the 1970s that
rival what we do with Adobe Audition and the like today. I also
learned from Don that striving for perfection means that when you get so
close you can't really improve what you have, you've still done a much
better spot than an "it's good enough" philosophy would have created. Three great talents, to whom I am forever grateful for teaching me just by doing their jobs well. |
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Jeff Baugh Airborne Reporter |
The one name that will always, without any thought or effort come tumbling out of my mouth when it comes to saying thank you .... is Jeff Wyatt. Being offered a job at Metro Traffic at a crucial time in my life and later in life than most I might add, really was a blessing and didn't come easy. It was Jeff that started me off in the correct direction. Learn from someone that knows what they're doing and you've got a shot at succeeding. Like any great coach he'd always ask me what I thought about it all instead of telling me, say this or that. "Who do you think is listening to you, what are they doing?" "Don't you think someone stopped on the 405 at Sunset knows that traffic's stopped at Sunset!" "Tell them something that can help them!!" Learn your audience!!! It goes on and on, I could talk about it for hours. I had the incredible good luck to meet and know Jeff Wyatt at the beginning of my third act career. There are a few others: Ken Beck, Tammy Trujillo, Chris Claus, Bill Yeager, Carol Breshears, Don Fair, David G. Hall and you Mr. Barrett...who actually taught me what the word grateful really means. By the way...get off the 405, use Sawtelle!! |
LARadio Rewind: June 29, 1960. KPOP
changes call letters to KGBS, after owner George B. Storer.
The station had gone on the air in 1925 as KFVD, licensed to the McWhinnie
Electric Company in San Pedro and broadcasting with 100 watts of power at
1450 kHz. KFVD moved to a succession of different frequencies before
settling in at 1020 kHz in 1941. In 1955, KFVD became KPOP, "The Popular
Station." The airstaff included Art Laboe, Hunter Hancock and
Earl McDaniel. After becoming KGBS in 1960, the station aired a
country music format and later aired talk and top-40 before switching back
to country. In 1976, KGBS became top-40 KTNQ with John Driscoll
hosting mornings and The Real Don Steele hosting afternoons. KTNQ is
now 50,000 watts and has been Spanish language since 1979. On July 4, 2012,
Univision launched a Spanish-language news/talk network, Univision América,
on KTNQ and eight other stations (in Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas and Texas).
WQBU/fm in Garden City, New York, joined the network in 2014.
| #8 |
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| Claudia Rubio |
"Claudia is the glue that keeps it all together at both K-EARTH and KTWV. Without Claudia, the cogs in the wheels would not turn properly. Plus, she makes the mundane fun, too. Is also very funny when doing on-air bits on K-EARTH."
"This is a lady who works for two radio stations, K-EARTH and The WAVE. She is so very helpful to the on-air staff. Don't know what we would do without her."
"She runs the WAVE and K-EARTH like a well-oiled machine. She juggles SO many responsibilities and is truly a sweet, talented, organized, hard-working and compassionate person."
"The woman who holds the 2nd floor of the CBS Radio building together."
"As coordinator for K-EARTH and the WAVE, Claudia has her platter more than full every single day. She caters to the many personalities and tasks at hand with aplomb and never lets things fall through the cracks. She's also produced flawless live broadcasts from Hawaii and hopped right on the air at K-EARTH when asked, and did a hilarious segment with the morning show that people are still talking about. Hail Claudia!"
USO
Comedy Festival. More than a dozen celebrity comedians are set to
support the men, women and families of the U.S. Armed Forces during the 2nd
Annual Radiothon and Comedy Festival for America’s Troops on Wednesday, July
1st from 6 a.m.-10 a.m. The event will be hosted by K-EARTH 101’s
Gary
Bryan and broadcast live on K-EARTH from the Laugh Factory, with cut-ins on
KNX. It will also be streamed live on LaughFactory.com. Many of the comedians who have supported Bob Hope USO and our troops over
the years, such as Paul Rodriguez, Dom Irrera, Tom Arnold, Kevin Nealon,
Gabriel Iglesias, Richard Lewis and Tom Dreesen will receive awards from Bob
Hope USO to honor their support.
An audience full of service members will be on
hand at the Laugh Factory Hollywood to enjoy the event that will feature a
special live comedy show with more than a dozen top comedians as well as
surprise celebrity guests. In addition, Laugh Factory will hold a benefit
comedy show to support Bob Hope USO and the troops on Wednesday, July 1 at 8
p.m.
Bob Hope USO supporters and Radiothon listeners
can make secure credit card donations online any time at www.bobhopeuso.org,
$10 donations by texting “BOB” to 27722 or by sending checks made out to Bob
Hope USO at 203 World Way, Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Donations
to Bob Hope USO can also be made by calling in during the Radiothon at
1-844-876-0101.
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Frazer Smith
Hosts New Podcast. PodcastOne is launching
The Fraze & Bentley Podcast, hosted by radio
personality, actor and comedian Frazer Smith, and actor, magician and
comedian Jim Bentley. The duo is serious about comedy, but it's all fun and
games as they invite podcast regular and burlesque dancer Harper Rose to the
mic each week, in addition to a myriad of their famous friends. Smith and Bentley stated, “We view being part of
the PodcastOne network as a very big deal. The quality of their
lineup, the audience they reach and the gazillion dollars that they’ve
promised to make us is very exciting.”
Overheard.
"When I was a goofy little kid growing up in
Maumee, Ohio, I could have never imagined that I would wind up on tv in Los
Angeles. God has been really good to me.” (Steve Mason
Funnie.
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We GET Email …
** Memories of
Bob Morrison
“I was thinking about
Bob Morrison, and reading all
the tributes to him. At KHJ, in the all-about-me days, he was one of the
good guys. Solid, a real eye for news, and a gentle spirit. He was
faith-driven, and I bet he's up there at the Pearly Gates, microphone in
hand, talking about clear skies, and the latest in angel news. RIP Bob.” -
Eva Kilgore
** Talk Radio
Hysteria
“We found
Michael Benner’s statement on ‘Talk Radio Hysteria,’ to be brilliantly
perceptive.” – Don Graham
Doug McIntyre
Voted #9 Best On-Air LARP of 2015
(June 26, 2015) Doug McIntyre has
boomeranged between mornings and overnights for the last few years on KABC. He
seemed to hit his stride with a sleepy, eclectic and tasty mixture of pop
culture, current events and jazz leanings at “Red Eye Radio.” But a need to
bolster faltering mornings led KABC to bring Doug back to wake-up drive a couple
of years ago, this time paired with
Terri-Rae Elmer, news anchor for many years with
John & Ken at KFI.
Doug was
voted #9 Best On-Air LARP of 2015. This year’s survey again solicited active LA
radio people from all areas of L.A. radio voting in the annual poll, a survey of
peers commending their peers.
Yet
Doug’s talents are not just limited to his radio work. He’s a tv writer by
trade, having worked for all four major networks. Doug has written for Married
With Children, Sherman Oaks, Mike
Hammer, and WKRP in Cincinnati. A
student of American history, Doug is also a jazz aficionado and a self-described
“irrational Mets fan.”
Seven
years ago, Doug and his wife Penny
Peyser wrote, produced and directed the feature length documentary film, Trying
to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon, which won top prizes at a
number of film festivals around the country. And Doug has also written a book
titled Cheap Advice. He writes a twice-a-week column for the Los
Angeles Daily News.
Born and
raised in New York, Doug has lived in L.A. since 1985. He started his career as
an advertising writer and producer.
Doug first started locally at 710/KMPC in 1996, which became KTZN (‘The ZONE’), before landing at KABC. When morning drive veteran Ken Minyard retired in the fall of 2004, Doug was promoted to morning drive.
| #9 Best On-Air LARP |
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| Doug McIntyre |
Some of the
comments from those who voted for Doug:
"Intelligent and funny but very humble. Articulate. He can make you interested in almost any topic or story. He's extremely well-informed, doesn't take guff or jive from anyone and deftly and regularly puts the clowns in their place."
"Well read and a thoughtful speaker."
"I like everything about his show these days except for 'traffic on the fours,' which roadblocks several interesting conversations every hour."
"The best morning man on LA Radio. Too bad nobody hears him. KABC should let people know he's on the air."
"Somehow Doug brings the weight and knowledge of an era past into the 21st century."
"Cumulus was retarded for moving him from overnights. That show could have been the top rated show in the country and lasted 20 years."
"Smartest Talker in the room."
"He remembers everything I forgot in history class."
"Doug makes me laugh more than anyone else on the radio."
"Doug is an independent thinker and a breath of fresh air in analyzing the political maze."
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LARadio Rewind: June 26, 1967. Wink Martindale, veteran of KHJ, KRLA and KFWB, replaces Dick Stewart as host of ABC's daytime tv series Dream Girl Of '67. Female contestants are judged by a panel of celebrities on their poise, personality and fashion awareness. Each week's daily winners compete on Friday to become "Dream Girl of the Week." In December, the weekly winners will vie for "Dream Girl of the Year." Wink would leave in September 1967 to become host of Chuck Barris's comedy game show How's Your Mother-In-Law? On each episode, a panel of ten unmarried people picked which of three women they would most want to have as a mother-in-law, with the winner receiving $100. Wink's successor on Dream Girl Of '67 was actor/singer Paul Petersen. Wink hosted many other game shows, including Gambit, Debt, Trivial Pursuit and Tic Tac Dough. He also worked at KGIL, KMPC, KJQI and the Music Of Your Life network and had a Top Ten hit in 1959 with a spoken-word recording, Deck Of Cards. The opening of Dream Girl Of '67 can be seen by clicking Wink's photo. |
Overheard.
“New female Viagra out there. It’s an American Express
black card.” (Gary Bryan,
K-EARTH)
“Arnold Schwarzenegger should get help, not screw the
help.” (John Phillips, KABC, on
Arnold revealing that marriage counseling didn’t help while on the
Howard Stern Show)
“Who makes an old wrinkled robot?” (Doug McIntyre, KABC, on newest Terminator)
Chain Reaction. The newest iteration of
Chain Reaction on GSN will be hosted
by KABC’s Mike Catherwood. He has
appeared on Dancing with the Stars,
Undateable and guest hosted on
Live! With Regis and Kelly.
Catherwood is also the co-host of, Loveline with Dr. Drew Pinsky on KROQ.
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Mo’Kelly Live at Comic-Com. KFI’s
Mo’Kelly Show to broadcast live from
Comic-Con on July 11th. Mo’Kelly airs Saturdays and Sundays from 6-8
p.m. on KFI and iHeartRadio will be broadcasting live from Comic-Con at the FOX
Sports Grill San Diego, July 11th.
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We GET Email…
** 710 Traffic
Reporter
“Could you please tell me who was the KMPC traffic reporter
who used the phrase ‘TMC’ meaning too many cars in his reporting?” – Barbara
Wesselmann
** Talk Radio
Hysteria
“The panic and hysteria in the right-wing media's reaction
to the Confederate Flag debate exposes the bigotry hidden within what remains of
Talk Radio. Support for slavery and segregation in 2015 is NOT a politically
viable issue, though it obviously has political repercussions.
The once lofty ratings of reactionaries like
Rush Limbaugh,
Gordon Liddy,
Michael Savage and
Laura Ingraham were less a
reflection of agreement and support than the country’s fascination with the
freak-show of hate speech that replaced the well-reasoned discussions in Talk
Radio’s Golden Era. Thoughtful hosts like KABC’s
Michael Jackson and
Ray Briem were blown-out to make
room for the Romper Room antics of whichever wing-nut could yell the loudest and
offend the most people – ‘red meat’ for those who blame others for their own
hateful lives.
If the defenders of hate-speech radio are correct about
giving America what it wants, then how do we explain the election and
re-election of our Kenyan socialist President, the rapid shift to support gay
marriage, and the broad consensus that the military invasion of Iraq and policy
of torture and rendering was a perverse travesty?
The 10+ shares at KABC in the ’70’s and ’80’s were not a
reflection of liberal politics over conservative ideals, but rather due to an
emphasis on harmonious diversity and mutual respect. The belief that dividing
your audience will increase ratings is a fool’s errand, but until radio
ownership is decentralized and localized, there’s little hope that such basic
wisdom can be restored.” - Michael
Benner, Personal Development Strategies, Verdugo City
** Space Between Same Category in Commercial Pod
“Yes, Randy West, it seems that even television stop sets run different auto manufactures at the same time. When I worked at KRLA back in the early 80's we had a continuity and traffic department to make sure that didn't happen. I am sure that those departments don't exist anymore in either radio or tv.” - John Newton
Allan Chlowitz Has Died, according to numerous sources
(June 25, 2015)
Allan Chlowitz has died, according to multiple sources. He had a
distinguished career in the agency business and became vp/general manager at
KRTH (1974-85); KTWV (1987-92); and KRLA/KLSX (1993-95). He had recently
returned to Kentucky.
Born in Newark, Allan started his career at Compton
Advertising in New York in 1966 followed by two years at Ogilvy & Mather. His
radio career began in 1968 with CBS Radio Sales in New York. In 1972, Allan
joined KNX/fm Allan where he was the director of sales.
In the fall of 1995 he was named vp/gm of KNEW/KSAN-San
Francisco, and in April 1995, KABL and KBGG-San Francisco were added
to his responsibilities and he left in the summer of 1997.
 |
Davis Celebrates
25 Years. Michael Davis once got some challenging
news, which he turned into a gig that lasted for a quarter of a century.
In fact, longevity is his middle name, working four radio gigs that
cover 33 years. “I've been very fortunate,” said Michael, who spent time
at KNAC-Long Beach in the late 1980s as Jack the Ripper. “I owe it all to my parents,
grandparents and my family.” Michael grew up in Minnesota water skiing on the
Mississippi River and playing basketball. “We lost the Minnesota State
Championship game in double OT in my senior year at Winona Cotter High
1981.” Brown College in Minneapolis was where he went to
school and Rocker KAWY-Casper, Wyoming was his first radio job. He was
music director and morning drive. In 1984, he joined KFMG-Albuquerque. “It was a
ratings monster, consistently in the Top 3 overall out of 40+ stations
in the market,” remembered Davis. “I was working evenings and I was
music director. It was big time fun with Rock stars coming to our
studio, endless concerts and numerous record company junkets out of
town.” In early 1989, KNAC was Hard Rock station. “KNAC
had a talented staff. On the air and on the Sunset Strip we had a great
time. A year later Michael was diagnosed with
Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). “My appreciation to Johns Hopkins and the
University of Minnesota for their research into this difficult disease.” Michael left KNAC for a three-station group in South Monterey Country and North San Luis Obispo County. “On air fun is the key,” said Michael. “This group is independently owned. We are broadcasters and sell through relationships and that's been our successful mantra for 25 years.” |
He works afternoons at Hot AC station, KC102. Other
stations in the cluster are Sports 1490 and Country 104.9. “Thank you KRKC owner
Bill Gittler, general manager Matthew Arnett, Lola Berlin, Jim Barker and staff.
“These are professionals who love what they do. Special acknowledgement to my
30-year buddy Paul Druhan and his wife Peggy. They live on the Monterey
Peninsula. Paul worked at Nepenthe Restaurant for many years and I've become a
Big Sur local over the decades. With our media credentials and relationships,
it's been an outstanding 25 years of quality living, sports and rock concerts
locally and in the Bay Area.”
Michael concluded with: “Work hard every day and make sure
your word is good 100% of the time. And remember entertainment is not a dying
industry.”
Hear Ache. LA Clippers radio and tv voice Ralph Lawler will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year … The True Don Bleu worked at KHJ in the late 1970s before going to San Francisco to spend a great run with K101 (22 years) and then KKSF beginning in 2012. Friday will be his last day on the radio. Bleu’s final program will feature a look back on his 30 years in the market, according to Radio Insight ... Bill Handel is featured in Palisades News.
 |
Cosgrove Terminated. Joe Cosgrove is
the ultimate Disney fan. The former KPOL personality from 1957-63, is the author
of the book Walt Dreamers Me. Joe is
suing the Walt Disney Co., alleging his lifetime membership in Disneyland’s
exclusive and little-known Club 33 was wrongfully terminated after more than
four decades. Cosgrove, a club member for 47 years, filed the lawsuit
alleging breach of contract, fraud, negligence and defamation. He also wants a
court order allowing him to continue receiving his membership benefits with the
club. The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Disneyland’s Club 33 is a private facility in the New
Orleans Square section of the famed park. Disneyland is now celebrating its 60th
anniversary. The club’s entrance is next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant. The
entrance has an ornate address plate with the number 33 engraved on it.
Thousands of unknowing regular park visitors pass the site every day, but only
Club 33 members and their guests have exclusive access. It’s long been described
as the only place one may legally obtain alcohol on the grounds of Disneyland. The lawsuit states that unknown to the plaintiff, a woman
to whom he provided unaccompanied guest access tickets auctioned them at a
charity, the suit states. |
After Disney found out about the auction, Cosgrove’s
membership was cancelled immediately. “Gone with the Club 33 membership was a
lifetime of hard-earned respect and friendships as well as the very continuity
itself in Joseph Cosgrove’s life,” the suit states.
LARadio Rewind: June 25, 1966. KRLA presents
the second annual Beach Boys Summer Spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl. Also on
the bill are Percy Sledge, Chad & Jeremy, Love, the Byrds, the Leaves, the
Outsiders and the Sir Douglas Quintet. Tickets are $2.75, $3.75, $4.75 and
$5.75. In 1962-63, the Beach Boys had often performed at the Cinnamon Cinder, a
teen nightclub in Studio City owned by Bob Eubanks, who was then KRLA’s
evening host. At the 1965 Summer Spectacular concert, the Beach Boys were joined
by Ian Whitcomb, Donna Loren, the Kinks, the Byrds, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs,
the Righteous Brothers and Dino Desi & Billy. The Beach Boys would return to the
Hollywood Bowl in 2012 during their 70-venue 50th Anniversary Tour in support of
their new CD, That’s Why God Made The Radio.
Funnie. (Thanks to Timmy Manocheo for this morning's funnie)
 |
Email Thursday
We GET Email …
** Car Jam at JACK/fm
“Not a rant. In fact, I'm not sure I even have a point.
Because my hands were otherwise occupied, I just sat
through an entire JACK/fm stop set for the very first time. I'm much older now
than before it started, but I'm no wiser about any of the advertisers. Do any
listeners really hang in for these marathons? I was surprised that we heard from
Chevy, Mercedes, BMW and Lexus among advertisers from other categories in this
one set. I even think two auto spots were back-to-back. Chevy gets points for
strategy, having bought the very first and the very last positions for what
sounded like :15s to motivate listeners to hit their website for the fun
solution to an emoji promotion I knew nothing of.
BMW also had two spots in the set, one I think was focused
on price, the other on features. Fletcher Jones tugged at my emotions for the
thrill of driving a Mercedes for the first time. I have zero recollection of
what Lexus was pitching about halfway through the set. Did I absorb anything on
an unconscious level for Lexus, or for that matter AT&T and whoever else I also
heard from? Let's bring back the 1970s galvanic skin response research we used
back then for music research. I doubt even an oracle on the level of Kent
Burkhardt could demonstrate that most of these spots did anything but help CBS
service the debt. But I guess that's all that radio owners are looking to do at
this point.” – Randy West
** Brian Wilson Story in Rolling Stone
“I LOVE receiving these articles, Don. It made everything about Brian
Wilson so real.
Thank you.” – Jeanne Sims
** Ziggy in Vegas
“I never knew Ted Ziegenbusch programmed a station in Las Vegas. I wouldn’t have guessed that even in a $1 million trivia bet. It's just one of those places where I could never picture him. Image, Schmimadge.” – Don Elliot
Bob Morrison,
Veteran of KHJ and KIIS in the 70s, Dies
 |
(June
24, 2015) Bob Morrison, veteran of KHJ in the mid-70s and KIIS
in the late 70s, has died. He had been in increasingly poor health. Bob
was 65. Bob’s medical
issues included two recent stays in rehab caused by back surgery and a
fall. His inability to get around started with back problems and severe
pain, followed by back surgery and two other procedures on his back.
“Add to those problems the two recent 4 month (each) stays in rehab for
his back and then checked in again for a broken upper leg bone caused by
a fall,’ emailed Bob’s sister, Sydney. “Added together with other health
conditions, it was more than he could overcome. He was in constant pain
and the cane and walker were little relief. True to his nature, he spent
his last week doing what he wanted to do and loved most to do – he spent
several days that week helping a needy friend who had just had an
operation for a hip replacement. Yes, that is how he was.” |
Born Robert E. Morrison
II on December 30, 1949, he was one of the newsmen at a time when KHJ was
de-emphasizing news. In the late 1960s he worked his way up at KLIF-Dallas from
request line operator to news anchor in only two short years. He went on to work
for ABC/FM Radio and RKO Radio Network. After KHJ and KIIS, Bob left the
Southland and returned to Dallas and worked for KVIL-Dallas for fifteen years.
He earned “best major market newscast in Texas” award from UPI four out of the
last five years. He became a weekend anchor at all-News KRLD-Dallas.
Bob was a graduate of
SMU in Dallas. While at SMU, he began his radio career by driving a ‘headliner
cruiser’ for KLIF with Ron Chapman.
During his years in
radio, his peers described him as having a “quality of character.” He wanted
news to be the truth. During these years he found his personal faith in the Man
from Galilee who stated, “He was the Truth.” A peer added that he was “always
being true to what he believed and a friend of Israel” to his accolades.
Bob was an adjunct
professor at Criswell College and news director at KCBI, a Christian format
station. While there, he won several awards for his political and election
coverage. He also served on the Board of the Press Club of Dallas. He spent a
few years broadcasting a bible study on the Internet. At the same time, he was
producing a show for military personnel with a Christian overtone.
At the time of his death
Bob was news director for the Leading Edge Radio Network in Dallas. He also was
helping an old friend by producing morning drive time news for a station in
Aspen.
Bob was inducted into
the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2008. Learning of his death, peers, friends and
colleagues have described him on Facebook as “amazing,” “brilliant,” “awesome,”
“great guy,” “good people,” “kind,” “wonderful friend to all,” “ patient,”
great character,” “hard worker,” “ loved Jesus,” “boss,” “with passion for
truth,” “encouraged me,” “ his spirit and compassion captivated people,”
“integrity and faith,” and “a colleague of mine.”
A memorial service is
this Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Chapel of Sparkman Funeral Home in Richardson,
Texas.
 |
Austin Powers.
Phil Austin, a founding member of the Firesign Theatre satirical
comedy troupe, died June 19, 2015, of cardiac arrest following a lengthy
battle with cancer. He was 75. His most popular character was Nick
Danger, a zany detective with the mysterious power of a third eye.
Born in
Denver, Austin grew up in Fresno and studied drama at Fresno State and
UCLA. He began performing in plays and in 1966 appeared with fellow
actor Philip Proctor and documentary filmmaker David Ossman on
Radio Free Oz, Peter Bergman’s late-night talk program on KPFK.
The four began doing improvisational comedy. After
several more radio appearances, they became the Firesign Theatre and
started performing at local clubs such as the Ash Grove and the Magic
Mushroom. They landed a recording contract with Columbia and eventually
released more than 20 albums for various labels. Eight of those albums
appeared on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. The biggest was I Think
We’re All Bozos On This Bus, which reached #50 in 1971. In 1967,
Radio Free Oz moved to KRLA, where it aired on Sunday nights in 1967 and
to KMET in 1968. The troupe starred in The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour
on KPPC in 1969. They returned to KPFK in 1970 with a short-lived weekly
comedy program titled Dear Friends. The best segments were released on
an album. During the 1980 Presidential race, the troupe’s satirical
political commentaries were heard on NPR. The Firesign Theatre
also released four books and starred in 16 films. (Written by Steve
Thompson, LARadio Rewind) |
Radlovic Back to SBS.
Marko Radlovic ran KLOS and KABC as market manager for Cumulus Media for
four years. Earlier this month he announced he was leaving. When we broke the
story, we speculated that he was returning to the Spanish Broadcasting System.
Speculation correct. Marko is back as svp/West Coast regional manager. He had
previously been there as general manager, market manager, chief revenue officer
and chief operating officer.
Marko will remain in
L.A., supervising operations for regional Mexican “La Raza” KLAX/fm (97.9) and
Spanish CHR “Mega 96.3” KXOL/fm in Los Angeles and regional Mexican “La Raza
KRZZ” in San Francisco.
“He knows the market, he
knows the company and its people and he's intimately familiar with our West
Coast stations,” said SBS chairman/ceo Raul Alarcon. “No one is more qualified
to take over the reins.”
McKean at Lunch.
“Musso & Frank is an amazing place,” recalled Michael McKean, former KPPC
personality, in a LA Times interview. “Years ago whenever Harry
Shearer and I would have business in Hollywood, we’d go there for lunch, and
we’d always go through the same routing. I’d ask if it was too late for flannel
cakes, and it always was, so I’d have to order something else. Then harry would
ask for a spinach omelet and the waiter would always ask, ‘A Spanish omelet?’
And occasionally they’d end up sending him the Spanish omelet anyway.”
Booty Call.
Sean Penn apparently tried hooking up with Charlize Theron after their split,
emailed Magic Matt Alan from Outlaw Radio. “A few weeks back, Penn was
partying with U2 after their concert at the Roxy Nightclub in Los Angeles. Penn
supposedly drunk-dialed Charlize to see if he could come over, but she turned
him down, refusing to be his booty call … Yet, she didn’t turn down that Seth
McFarland movie?”
 |
Hear Ache. Kerri Kasem will be the featured speaker at The Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio Group session “The Importance of Finding Your Voice” during the upcoming Radio Show in Atlanta. She will share her personal story and her impassioned journey from becoming a television and radio personality to using her voice, through a family tragedy; to empower change in ways she could not before imagine … Jay Thomas, former morning man at Power 106, has a very nice cameo role in the second season of Ray Donovan ... Fun to hear JoJo Wright subbing for Ryan Seacrest this morning at KIIS.
Lifetime Achievement Award. CBS Radio News VP Harvey Nagler was honored with TALKERS magazine’s 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. “Harvey is the face of and force behind one of the finest operations in all of radio. At a time when the very reputation of journalism is in jeopardy and its role as a distinguished, vital institution in a great nation is in flux, CBS Radio News has stood proudly and strong as a bastion of consistency, quality and dependability,” said Michael Harrison, publisher of TALKERS.
 |
Funnie.
A man races into a bar, sweating and visibly shaken. He turns to all the
patrons and starts yelling, “Does anyone own a six-foot penguin? Does
anyone own a six-foot penguin?” All the patrons
shake their head. The guys says,
“Damn, I hit a nun.” (Funnie from
the Esquire series, ‘Funny joke from a Beautiful Woman. Eliza Coupe
was
part of ABC’s Happy Endings) |
Email
Wednesday
** Mason’s
Pledge Breaks
“For what it's
worth Dave Mason’s really good on those PBS fundraisers down here in San
Diego, one of the few radio guys around who DOES have a face for television.” –
Rich Brother Robbin
** My Trip to
Las Vegas
“Thanks for the
Claude Hall memories. Yep, as soon as Billboard came in I was
flipping pages like lightning to get to Vox Jox.” – Howard Lapides
** Claude Hall
Was Good to Me
“Good to see that you’re
still having fun with your trip to Las Vegas.
Claude Hall
was very kind to me during my early radio days at K/men. I will always be
thankful for the encouragement and the positive comments that he posted about me
in his column. He seems like a real genuine guy.
And Marc
Germain was one of my favorite co-workers over at the old KFI/KOST on
Ardmore. You picked a couple of great dining partners, despite the scorching hot
weather. When I was living there and programming a radio station in Las Vegas,
the winter weather was so bitterly cold that my two oldest sons could actually
ice skate on the sidewalks on their way to school [seriously]. With our large
family, the big plus to living in Las Vegas was the $1.99 buffets. I guess those
days are all gone now, too.” - Ted Ziegenbusch
** Mr. KABC’s
Return
“Is there a slight chance Marc Germain could return to KABC? I loved his show on both stations at KFI and KABC. He would be welcomed back by so many listeners, in my opinion.” – Jeanne Sims
Lynn Duke Voted #9 Best Off-Air
LARP of 2015
(June 17, 2015) Lynn Duke
is one of the most popular and
best liked radio engineers in
Los Angeles. This is not the
first time that Lynn Duke has been
voted one of the Top 10 Best
Off-Air LARP. This year, Lynn
was voted #9 by a group of his
peers currently working in Los
Angeles radio.
Born in
Pendleton, Oregon, he grew up in
Oregon and Northern California.
While going to college in
Klamath Falls, Oregon, in the
late 1960s, Lynn got involved
with radio. By 1972, he joined
KFRC-San Francisco as a staff
engineer. Five years later he
was sent to K-EARTH and 93/KHJ
as engineering supervisor.
On June 2, he was named Chief Engineer for CBS Radio/LA, overseeing the technical operations of KROQ, AMP Radio, JACK/fm, The WAVE, KNX and K-EARTH 101. “I’m one of the luckiest people I know,” emailed Lynn. “I love my job and have been doing it quite a while. I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the best talent in the business both on and off the air. I manage engineering for one of the finest groups of radio stations anywhere and have a very strong and talented staff of engineers to help get it done.”
| #9 |
 |
|
Lynn Duke, CBS/LA Chief Engineer |
Comments from some who voted for
Lynn:
"Do I really have to say anything about this engineering giant? He wrote the book on how to innovate while keeping the whole ball of wax working perfectly. The engineer's engineer. We love him and thank our lucky stars he's leading our team."
"This man is audio perfection. He keeps his radio stations sounding clear and powerful."
"One of the finest engineers and a man with great ears. His stations always sound great."
"Don’t cross him and for the love of God don’t let him catch you with ANYTHING in the studio. But truth be told – there is no better engineer anywhere."
"Lynn created a monster at 5670 Wilshire Blvd. CBS has much to be thankful for to have him guiding the sound of the cluster."
"Anyone who wouldn’t vote for Lynn being the best engineer in the history of mankind hasn’t toured the new Wilshire property that he made happen."
"Lynn should lead the new generation of engineers on how to do it."
 |
KABC Changes. Marko
Radlovic, general manager at KABC/KLOS, left the two iconic stations. He is
expected to
re-join Spanish Broadcasting System. Marko had been with the Cumulus stations
since 2011. Replacing him as interim general manager will be Tom Schurr,
Cumulus’ senior vice president of operation. Tom’s been with the Atlanta-based
company since March. Schurr exited iHeartMedia a year and a half ago, where in
his final position he was president of operations for the company’s major
markets. He earlier held regional operational duties in the East and Southeast
regions. Sources inside Cumulus suggest that Radlovic had failed to
make budget during the past 12 months, which leads to speculation that the move
was good for both Radlovic and Cumulus. |
Leggett Dies.
Milan Leggett was the chief engineer at KWST and KMGC. He died March 31,
2015.
Born in Dallas on October 19, 1925, he served in the Navy
in the Philippines during World War II and was honorably discharged. He worked
as a radio engineer his entire life. After he left at KLIF-Dallas, he was one of
those engineers who set up Pirate radio stations off the Atlantic coast,
according to his colleague Bob Hughes.
 |
Mason Fund Raiser.
If you’ve ever seen some of the special fund raisers featuring music programs on
PBS stations, chances are you’ve seen
Dave Mason (center with B52s) as one of the hosts during pledge breaks. He worked at K-EARTH
recently as fill-in host and assistant program director. He has since moved back
to his longtime home in San Diego. Dave has been doing tv since 1975. “I had a kids’ show in
Rochester for 3 months but my boss (Radio) exercised an AFTRA clause that put me
on PM drive,” emailed Mason. “I’ve helped with Action Auctions –Telethons in
Cincinnati for MDA and Easter Seals, Humane Society Telethons in Cincinnati and
San Diego.” How did he become a local PBS pledge host? “One day while I was at KOGO-San Diego, a board op who was taking classes at UCSD and interning at KPBS/TV suggested they were looking for ‘pledge hosts.’ I called, auditioned and was asked to join. I think that was 2005. Maura Dailey Phinney became manager of Pledge at KPBS during that time – and then at the same time I picked up the K-EARTH gig, she was moved to PBS SoCal as Vice-President of Pledge. I [obviously] agreed to help her out there – and continue to do so.” |
Mason said it’s a great group of people to serve with. “I
met Laura Savini who told me halfway through our show that her husband was song
writer Jimmy Webb [MacArthur Park, Up, Up and Away, By
the Time I Get to Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, Galveston, and
The Worst That Could Happen].
Dave has done a couple of national shows for them over the
years including one last year that Nick Clooney was part of. “We did our
parts in separate places, but it was ironic in that we worked together 1997-99
in Cincinnati.”
 |
Car Radio. KKGO morning co-host Debra Mark was involved in a freeway accident. "Two cars crashed then shoved my car up against the center divider on the freeway," Debra wrote on her Facebook page. "I am grateful that I got banged up some but nothing life threatening! Car totaled. Good Samaritans pulled me out of the car. Thankful." |  |
Overheard.
“A new version of Fifty Shades of Grey from
Christian Grey’s point of view will be out just in time for Father’s Day. Now
dad can come up with new ways to use those ties you give him every year!” (Jimmy
Kimmel)
“I just love when a radio station stops the music to tell
you that they don’t stop the music, no wonder the accountants don’t wanna pay
us.” (George Johns, radio consultant)
“The escaped prisoners were having sex with that woman that
looked like Wade Phillips? They should be locked up for doing that.” (Don
Imus, KCAA)
“Trump is running. There’s no room in the clown car. They
have to get a second clown car. They’ve got about a dozen of these kooks now
running on the Republican side.” (John Kobylt, KFI)
Hear Ache.
Did you know that Al Pacino cast KABC’s Jillian Barberie as one of the
drug lords’ bitches in the Scarface video game?
 |
Email Wednesday
We GET Email …
** Country Righting a Wrong
“For my part, Saul Levine, I thought Emmis made a
mistake doing that [and look what ultimately happened] ... they ended up selling
it to a Mexico-based company with an American officer who could act as the
‘front person’ for the ownership rules] and I thought you were very smart to
realize the opportunity and switch 105.1 to fill a gap.
But what do I know: I've ‘only’ been in radio since
1973!” – K.M. Richards
** KFI’s Done Great Job
“I don,t write too many comments about remarks made in your
column. But, although I am a friend and a fan of Roger Carroll, I must
tell him that his KFI getting stale remark was unfair to KFI. KFI is one of the
few AM stations in the country that is still making it in revenue, ratings and
reputation. It is hard to stay the line if you are running an AM station.
Robin (Bertolucci,
KFI pd) has done a great job doing just that. Their promotional look has
not changed in more than 20 years. They still have a good 35 -64 story to
tell and it looks like they will be one of the few AM stations that will survive
this ever changing radio market. I had the best of times when I was at
KABC. As for me the happiest days come one at a time.” –
George Green
** Timothy Leary, LARP
“I was at KEZY when Timothy Leary was hired and
fired. I had heard that the owner, Tommy Thompson, received a lot of
grief from his friends over the hiring of Leary. Thompson came in on a Saturday
and ripped down a bunch of rock posters and told the general manager, who was
his nephew, to fire Leary.” – Bob Koontz
|
** Funnie Turntables “Regarding the Funnie picture of the groupie, you know
you’re a radio freak if, in the context of the picture, you wonder what kind of
control console that is.” – Al Gordon, San Diego |
 |
** Open Email to Jim Hilliker, LARadio Historian
“Thank you for your bio essay of Al Jarvis, the
forgotten dj in LA radio history.
From about 1949/50 until I went away to college in 1957 he,
along w/ sidekick Joe Yocam, was my favorite radio guy. He played
original r&b, white covers of same, and popular music of all kinds. During some
summer vacations I would watch his marathon tv afternoon show with a sidekick, a
young Betty White. Friends of mine went to his dance show.
Also, I was a member of his Committee of 500 picking new
songs. I’m not sure he had anything like that number of correspondents, judging
by the frequency that I was cited on the show.
One last anecdote. In 1955 or ’56, Jarvis was giving away records to kids making a donation at the Hollywood Blvd. studio to some charity. My brother and I went. I got a non-r&b platter which I listened to once and put away; he got an r&b record which neither of us ever heard of again. My under-appreciated record became a mega hit just a few months later, Perez Prado’s Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White.” – John Hindsill, Glendale
Adam Carolla Has
#1 Summer Read
 |
(June
16, 2015)
Parade Magazine last weekend featured the “Top10 Sizzling Summer
Reads.” Adam Carolla’s, Daddy, Stop Talking! And Other Things
My Kids Want but won’t be Getting was ranked #1. Parade promoted
these books as “great gifts for dad, or treats for anyone looking for a
book for a lazy summer day.” The
review: Adam Carolla, comedian, co-creator and star of tv’s The Man
Show and bestselling author, shares stories of his ‘own crappy
childhood’ and takes helicopter parenting to task. |
KLOS Disrupter.
Mark Thompson from “Mark In The Morning” on KSWD (100.3/The Sound)
along with strong management, is stirring it up again, picking on KLOS and its
commercial load. Mark has pledged to give $1 for every commercial on KLOS this
week to SPCALA. He insists that the money only go to rescuing dogs, not other
pets – especially cats. This will certainly put a spotlight on the number of
spots that KLOS airs this week.
 |
Wolf Pack.
For the past two years, John Wolf (LaVine)
has worked the midday news/traffic shift at KABC. Not only does he
report on the busy traffic but in 2002, while in the air over Dallas
reporting for KRLD, his helicopter crash landed. John got started
on his radio journey doing promotions at KNX in the 1980s. He went on to
KGOE-Thousand Oaks, where he did play-by-play, sales and production.
Before the 1980s were over, John worked at KCAQ-Oxnard-Ventura-Santa
Barbara, KBLU-Yuma, Arizona (which he called the Ashtray of the
Southwest), Bryan-College Station, Sarasota, and Tampa Bay. By 1994, John
was morning drive co-host and news director at KKRW-Houston, followed by
sports talk host at Prime Sports Radio. For a decade he was a news and
traffic reporter at KRLD. Click
John’s photo for tv coverage of the crash.
https://vimeo.com/6437618 |
How Did Michael McKean (KPPC, early 70s)
Get to LA?
“I got out here in 1970,” Michael told the
LA Times. “David Lander was my best friend since college at NYU,
and he moved out to Los Angeles in 1967 and soon after that he called and told
me, ‘It’s great here – and warm in the winter.’ And he was right of course. It
was 11 degrees the day I left New York, and I got out there and it was 68. And I
said to myself, ‘This is where I live now.’”
 |
Ginger Chan Traffic reporter extraordinaire |
 |
I guess it’s easy to
say a supportive parent, a critical but honest sister, or a high school
coach helped me to be the person I am today. And while those people did
help me in all parts of making me who I am, the person who has been a
professional mentor to me was Commander Chuck Street.
I wouldn't be where I am today if not for the help of this great man, father, and radio icon. Chuck is a man of integrity, honesty, and kindness. He wants the best for everyone, and anytime I mention his name to someone the same thing happens, a big smile and then they ask – how IS Commander Chuck Street? I may not have met my husband Mark if it were not for the guiding hand of Chuck. So you can see why I hold him in such high regard. Maybe Alan Oda is a close second as being a great mentor/agent |
Hear Ache.
Remember Michaela Pereira from the KTLA/Channel 5 Morning News? She is
now part of CNN’s New Day, one of
only two morning programs to show growth this year. She just received an
Honorary Doctorate from Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia … When
Jhani Kaye launched KOST, he encouraged his talent to use their real names.
He had some doozy radio names on his staff: Ted Ziegenbush, Mike
Sakellarides, and Mark Wallengren … KCRW’s Anne Litt has
picked Chicano Batman for her not-to-miss band this summer. The quartet plays
the Twilight Concerts series at the Santa Monica Pier on July 24 ... Listen to
another Ask the Mayor program this morning for an hour beginning at 10
a.m. with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. Program is hosted by KNX anchor Tom Haule
and chief investigative reporter Charles Feldman.
 |
Los Angeles Radio People, Volume 2.
LSD guru Timothy Leary was fired as a KEZY (Orange County) disc jockey in
1980 after reporting the “disappearance of the San Diego Freeway” and ending a
commercial with the words, “Hey, you can get that dreamy, hallucinogenic, new
Toyota truck.”
Funnie.
|
|
Every groupie who called on the studio hot line was always as hot as this young lady when she showed up
Email Tuesday
We GET Email …
** Al Jarvis
“Betty White
started her tv career on camera with Al Jarvis. He had a tv show on
Channel 13 a long time ago. She was Al’s co-host.
Radio could be exciting
once again but the problem with the station owners and program directors just do
not know how to do it. KFI should be back in the Top 5. They have the talent, an
outstanding program director and their news is better than the local news
stations.
The best word I
can use to describe KFI is the station is getting stale.” – Roger Carroll
** Moore
Mentoring
“I forgot one
mentor, Bill Sommers, general manager of KLOS. When I moved to LA from
Wisconsin, I offered to sell for KLOS on a straight commission basis. If I
wasn’t the #1 salesperson in 90 days he could fire me. He didn’t hire me. Twenty
years later I told that story at a general manager meeting for the SCBA. Bill
said, ‘I didn’t hire you then and I wouldn’t hire you now.’ That was a big part
of my motivation to succeed in LA Radio.” – Bob Moore
** Country
Status
“Is
Saul Levine satisfied with being
No.16 in the LA Market? The answer is a very resounding NO.
Tonya Campos,
Michael Levine, and I have made
adjustments to our programming on Go Country.
Today’s Nielsen reflects
one of the most amazing turnarounds in LA radio. In 6+, Go Country tied for #9,
ahead of KAMP, POWER, KNX, KROQ, and KYSR. Go Country Cume went to 1, 330,000,
which perhaps is No.1 in the USA for Country). And certainly the highest in our
history.
Our 25 / 54 numbers skyrocketed.
This is a format that Emmis and KZLA abandoned in Los Angeles stating the market would not support the format.” – Saul Levine
Los Angeles’ First
Disc Jockey
 |
(June
15, 2015) I
wanted to add my thoughts to what Lane Quigley had to say about
Al Jarvis. After I sent in my email about Hunter Hancock,
I later thought that I should have mentioned that Al Jarvis likely had
played black artists and their music on his 1930s record shows. I also
agree that Jarvis is often overlooked or not covered completely in
discussions of early disc jockeys. The only trouble is, Jarvis and other
announcers who began doing programs of only phonograph records, were not
called disc jockeys yet. The term was not used until the early-1940s.
So, what did they call a radio announcer in the '30s who played records
on a radio station that normally did not play records, but featured a
variety of live music, dramatic and comedy shows, sports, news,
educational programs, etc.? In the
Los Angeles Times, radio columnist Carroll Nye was a big fan of
Jarvis and gave him plenty of ink. In his columns between 1933 and 1936,
he described Al Jarvis’ job on the radio by calling him “The Record Man”
or a “record commentator.” He even praised Al in one column by calling
him “The Rajah of Records.” Sometimes, he was called a “record spinner,”
with Nye telling readers he liked the way Jarvis handled dance records
on KFWB during his World’s Largest Make Believe Ballroom.
In a 1956
Billboard article on early djs, Jarvis said when he started,
“records were being played by a sparse group, but in general, the disc
jockey was looked down upon.” When Jarvis got his first radio job in
1932 at 500-watt KELW-780 in Burbank, he “worked with a hillbilly group
(as emcee) for six months and then started playing records.” A 1954
article in Billboard said Al Jarvis had played his one-millionth
record on the radio at KFWB on April 17, 1954. To celebrate the
occasion, Jarvis played the first record he put on a turntable at
KELW-780 some 21 years earlier. The record was Louis Armstrong and his
Orchestra’s 1929 recording of I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.
So right from the start of his career playing and describing records on
radio, Jarvis played a black musician’s record. He was a pioneer in that
regard, but he may not have been the first radio announcer to play black
music. Radio
announcers had been playing records on the radio on and off during the
1920s, although most stations tried to play live music at first.
Sometimes a blues record by Bessie Smith or others was played, not
often, but it did occur. KGFJ started playing records on its all-night
show from midnight to 6 a.m. in November of 1927, but we have no record
of who the announcer was or what was said. And in a 1947 newspaper
story, Los Angeles pioneer sportscaster Frank Bull said he was a
“pioneer disc jockey” starting in 1928 at KMIC-Inglewood, where he was
station manager, with a show called Jig Time. Bull later had a
regular dj show on KFWB between 1939 and 1956 called America Dances
and hosted yearly Dixieland music festivals in Los Angeles during the
1940s and ’50s with fellow dj Gene Norman. |
From share-time
station KELW-780 in 1932-33 (KELW went off the air in 1937; the other station on
780, KTM, is now KABC-790), Al Jarvis played records in 1933 and 1934 on
KMTR-570, KFAC-1300, KFVD-1000 and KMPC-710, then a 500-watt daytimer. Jarvis
had been buying his own records to play on the air, since most records then said
they could not be played on the radio. He also was very conversational,
describing each record he played as if the singer and the band were in the
studio playing the music live from a ballroom bandstand. So, it was this idea
that Jarvis had used on the air during 1932, ’33 and ’34 and perfected when he
was given a one-hour record show each day at KFWB-950 starting in August of
1934. (His Make Believe Ballroom show was NOT on six hours a day, as
several stories in books and on the Internet incorrectly stated. In 1934, a
station such as KFWB was not ready yet to allow only records to play on the air
for six hours straight). By 1943, his show was on 3 hours a day, 11 a.m. to 2
p.m., six days a week.
|
Jarvis got
information on records and the artists from Billboard and
Variety, while his warm, friendly style on the air won listeners.
So, I agree that his Make Believe Ballroom program can be
considered the forerunner of modern disc jockey radio shows, and helped
the disc jockey format of radio programming gradually evolve into what
it became during the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. I’m also
not sure why Al Jarvis was not on that particular KFWB record survey,
but I did not see the date of the survey. We know that Jarvis was at
KFWB from 1934-37, then moved to KMTR-570 from 1937 to 1939. He then
returned to KFWB from 1939 to 1946, but he took Make Believe Ballroom
to KLAC-570 from 1946 until January 1952. There was a brief stop at
KECA-790 in 1952, but Jarvis came back to KFWB from February 1953 until
March of 1960. Next, Jarvis did a Sunday only show on KLAC, and then
moved to KHJ in October of ’61. |
 |
Jarvis made one more
stop at KFWB in April of 1962, then was at KEZY-Anaheim in 1963 for a 3-hour
daily show and was part of the KEZY management team. In 1967, he was reportedly
on KNOB and was a part owner of KOCM-Newport Beach for a short time. He
also owned his own public relations company. This pioneer disc jockey died May
6, 1970 at the age of 60.
 |
Jhani
Kaye in Hell’s Kitchen.
Jhani Kaye (r) and his partner, publicist Ken Phillips, recently
dined in Hell’s Kitchen. “It’s a very interesting production,”
emailed Jhani, former pd at KOST, KRTH, and KTWV. “The set is totally
more like a restaurant than a sound stage. And the production assistants
are some of the nicest folks in town. It truly is a once-in-a-lifetime
experience to watch the finale unfold in real time!” |
Fuddrucker's in Burbank was the home for a radio reunion this weekend
 |
 |
 |
 |
(1. Humble Harve, Lorie
Lerner, Paul Freeman, Brother Bill McKinney, Rochelle Staub, Mike Wagner, Jane
Platt; 2. Don Elliot and Sam Riddle
3. Greg Golden, Chris Hays, Doug Brown,
Bob Turner, Steve Newman; 4. Paul Freeman, Bruce Chandler, and Mike Wagner)
Who Helped Make You Who You Are Today?
 |
Jimmy Kimmel Ex-KROQ Host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! |
 |
Gerry Wall was the vice-president
of a radio company called Edens Broadcasting. He was my boss, and a great lesson he gave me. He said, “I don’t care what you do as long as you can give me a good reason why you did it afterwards. And that emboldened and freed me to try things. Because I always have a good explanation. It was usually ‘I thought it was funny.’" |
Hear Ache.
Maroon Five’s new song was the biggest jumper on American Top 40, hosted
by KIIS’ Ryan Seacrest … It wasn’t too long ago that have an all-70s
weekend at K-EARTH was a big deal. Last Friday night the Classic Hits station
played all-eighties music.
 |
Funnie.
A guy is telling his friend that he is scheduled to be operated on
tomorrow. “Oh, what type
of operation is it?” the friend asks. “This sounds a
little odd at my age, but I’m going to be circumcised.” The friend,
trying to be reassuring replies, “Well, I had that done a week after I
was born.” The guy asks,
“Did it hurt?” “Hurt? I
couldn’t walk for a year.” (Esquire’s series on Funnie Joke from a Beautiful Woman. Katie Lowes is in Scandal) |
“We
GET Email …
** Southland
Blues
“Doug McIntyre’s
comment about the use of the term ‘Southland’ on the air is almost entirely
accurate, but didn’t Doug know that Mar Vista ‘Gave birth to the blues?’" –
Chuck Southcott
** Should
Country Rank Higher?
“I always enjoy
Saul Levine’s posts.
IMHO Saul's interests
seem to be on the technical side of broadcasting. He is successful being the
only private owner of a radio station in the LA market that is not owned by a
big group owner. Maybe Saul is happy with KKGO being 16th rated in the LA
market. The sales are probably fine, earning good money and perhaps he is not
interested being one of the top ten rated LA stations. Saul makes air talent
changes suggesting he must be interested getting better numbers.
KKGO should be in
the Top Ten. If Country is done well with the correct talent it will happen. The
air talent must be as important as the music. What the hell do I know? I have
been in this market for over 50 years not interested looking for a gig. I had I
successful career at ABC and KMPC announcing many network tv shows, as well as
syndicated radio shows featuring Robert W. Morgan, Gene Price
[outstanding Country music jock], Billy Pearl, Don Drysdale, and
Lawrence Welk, just to name a few shows.
My point of this
post is I love radio and not some old fart living in the past. I was always
successful doing new ideas.” – Roger Carroll
** What Are the
Dodgers?
“What the hell
were the Brooklyn Dodgers? I never heard of that team. When I was a little boy
growing up in Brooklyn playing stoop ball, I remember the Yankees, the Giants
and Dem Bums. I do not remember them being call the Dodgers until they left
Brooklyn and went to Los Angeles. As it was a long time ago and my memory gets
fuzzy, I think I remember Vin Scully at Ebbets Field calling them Dem
Bums.” – Bill Mann, South Pasadena
** Death of
Radio
“I'm not quite old
enough to remember in real time the retooling of radio when television took over
prime-time, but I'm old enough to have spent my childhood growing up as radio
was growing into its second golden age. Plus, I'm now one of those that
‘brandish all the latest phone apps’ and realize something about them that Matt
Cundill doesn't appear to have grasped.
There's a fundamental
difference in the way the expensive ‘you can only afford one’ television pushed
radios into the kitchens and bedrooms of 50s and 60s America, and the way truly
portable personal connected on-demand technology has now pushed radios into the
garage. The increase is logarithmic, and it is not just making radio obsolete,
it’s doing the same to television. Inside of a year, tv news operations often
have more people watching their stories on connected devices than off those
transmitters crackling in Cundill’s imagination.
And radio didn't
stay alive by avoiding competition from television; it complimented it. The best
example is the 1955 closed circuit broadcast to NBC radio affiliates by Pat
Weaver announcing the launch of Monitor. Weaver warned against acting
like television didn’t exist, which is exactly what Mel Karmazin tried to
do to the Internet when running CBS radio in the 90s.
Radio could have
saved itself by embracing the new technology, and using the net to build a true
two-way relationship with its audience, the same way it had adopted spot radio
and used the immediacy of its technology when television was hamstrung by its
own complexity in 1955. Monitor made a fortune for NBC by retooling radio to
find a new niche. This time however, with Luddites like Karmazin in places where
innovators like Weaver should have been, radio tried to ignore the future. The
result appears to be that the future is ignoring radio.” – Jerry Trowbridge
** Mentoring
“I don’t have a
single mentor, but have always been able to count on my network of friends and
colleagues when seeking advice or guidance. By always being willing to
help a friend [or friend of a friend]), I’ve found that when I’m in need of a
contact, referral or information to help me get to the next step, I can usually
find someone who has been there/done that, or knows someone who has, and is
willing to help.” - Lisa Osborn, www.Lisa.FM
** Did you See
What Netflix and Pandora Did Last Night?
“This is really an interesting article. Especially seeing how well AM/FM stacks up against digital platforms. I wonder how much digital is actually just replacing time once spent listening to CDs and cassettes.” – Sandy Wells
Bill
Handel Voted #10 Best On-Air LARP of 2015
(June 12, 2015) Bill Handel started on KFI weekends
in 1993 providing what he called “marginal legal advice.” Bill seemed to relish
informing callers, “you have absolutely no case.” Yet a case could be made for
his obvious talent. A few years later, Attorney Handel became the morning host
on the powerful news/talk outlet.
In 2005, Bill won the Marconi Award for Personality of the
Year. In 2006, he was voted #1 Best On-Air LARP. Later, for three years in a
row, Bill was voted #2 Best On-Air LARP. In 2009, he was awarded a Star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. This year, Bill’s peer group voted him #10 as the Best
On-Air LARP of 2015.
The results of the LARP survey reflect the scores of working Los Angeles Radio People who are big-time admirers of Bill Handel. The “Best” is loosely defined as those individuals making a difference in the day-to-day operation of entertaining Southland radio listeners.
| #10 |
 |
| KFI's Bill Handel |
Some of the
comments from those who voted
for Bill:
"22 years on the air in morning drive is a big feat. Handel cuts through and makes you laugh, cringe or roll your eyes. Love him or hate him, you're listening and sometimes screaming at the radio because he's being a moron."
"Bill is the person to whom I listen the most, but don't really have any desire to meet. He puts on a consistently great show but frequently has incorrect information. Still humorous and I do learn things from him."
"His ability to present and analyze a complicated situation still puts him above all other talk show hosts."
"Easy to see why he is one of the most popular morning hosts. Wicked sense of humor along with some excellent interviewing skills."
“OK, so he has a whiney voice and sometimes says
outrageous things but he has such a strong personality it almost forces you
to listen. He’s one of the best morning guys in the USA.”
“Bill gives insight and in depth detail and opinion to
current topics. He keeps listeners engaged.”
“You may disagree with either his politics or his
abrasive style, but he’ll leave you with something to laugh about and
something to think about the time the morning’s done.”
“I’ve enjoyed listening to Bill for more years than I
remember. Always compelling and sometimes enthralling when talking about
current events.”
"A must listen to radio voice – the morning equivalent
to Vin Scully."
"The master of morning shows. Pure entertainment on the
drive to work each day."
“Can only imagine what his ratings would be if he were
on the fm dial.”
 |
All Access Co-Founder Dies.
LARadio sends massive condolences to Joel Denver of All Access.com on the
passing of his wife and co-founder Ria Denver yesterday morning.
With a very heavy heart and profound sadness, All
Access reports the passing of the company's beloved Co-Founder and vp/ceo, Ria
Denver at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, following a heart attack at the
age of 60.
From the moment that she and All Access’
president/publisher, Joel Denver created the company together out of an office
in their home in 1995, Ria not only worked tirelessly to help turn it into the
wide-ranging enterprise that it is today, but also served as a friend, mentor
and confidant to everyone who has ever worked here.
It was in this capacity as a one-woman support system
for each member of her All Access family that Ria found her greatest joy at the
company, and it is in this capacity that everyone here at All Access will miss
her the most.
 |
Hamilton Blend
at 100. Hollywood Hamilton’s trio of programs –
The Remix Top 30 with Hollywood Hamilton, Weekend Top 30 with
Hollywood Hamilton and Weekend Top 30 with Ramiro – have
reached a broadcasting milestone of 100 affiliates. It’s also available
on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music and
streaming radio service. “It’s truly an honor to reach this milestone,”
stated Hamilton. “Much love to the team at Premiere Networks,
super-agent Eric Weiss and all the program directors and sponsors
who support the programs. I can’t thank you enough.”
|
Overheard.
“Yuppies and hipsters equal yuccies?” (Elizabeth
Espinosa, KFI)
“I was so excited about spring, I wet my plants.”
"Everybody can play the same music on the radio but
nobody can talk like you do between the tunes.” (George Johns, radio
consultant)
LARadio Rewind:
June 12, 2009. Haagan Higgins dies at 59 following a lengthy battle with
diabetes. Born in Patuxent, Maryland, Higgins grew up in Los Angeles listening
to KHJ morning man Robert W. Morgan. With dreams of becoming a disc
jockey, Higgins attended the Don Martin School of Broadcasting in 1968. After
working at KMYE and KFRE in Fresno, KMBY in Monterey and KASH in Eugene, he
began jocking at Magic 106 KMGG in 1985. His idol, Robert W. Morgan, was then
KMGG’s morning man. They both exited the station in January 1986 when it became
Power 106 / KPWR. Higgins then spent a year hosting a weekday show for Transtar
Radio Networks. Following a two-year stint as a waiter at a private club in
Beverly Hills, Higgins worked weekends at KLAC, 1989-90, and at KZLA, 1990-97.
 |
Hear Ache. Jeff Gonzer plays dj Sunday night on 100.3/The Sound at 6 p.m. He’s hosting My Turn. “My theme is great rock of Southern California, California the State and the state of mind,” emailed Jeff. “As host, I will be spotlighting bands, sounds, concerts, and regions, while being able to tell stories and go deeper into the rich history of rock that is Southern California. I'm excited!” … KJLH will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer ... KNX anchors will slog down the soggy 5 or 105 or 710 or 605 to do their all-day On Your Corner broadcast from Downey ... Jane Wells (l) of CNBC has been filling in for John & Ken at KFI. |
Ross For More.
“For the 6th year in a row it was my pleasure to do the announcing chores on the
AFI Life Achievement Award telecast,” emailed
Neil Ross. “This year’s show, A
Tribute to Steve Martin, happened on the evening of June 4th at the Dolby
Theatre in Hollywood and featured Dan Aykroyd, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Diane
Keaton, Conan O’Brien, Amy Poehler, Queen Latifah, Sarah Silverman, Lily Tomlin,
Jack Black, Martin Short, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. The show airs tomorrow
night at 10 p.m. on TBS. There will be an encore presentation on TCM on July 30.
Too many hilarious moments to count. Hope you get a chance to watch!”
LARPs and Their Dog
 |
John Leader and his Portuguese Water Dog, Wizard. |
Funnie. Two cannibals are eating a clown, and one looks at the other and says, Does this taste funny to you? (Joe Mande)
Email Friday
We GET Email …
** Grew Up in Flatbush
“Really no surprise seeing Jackie Robinson near the top of
this list, 20 Greatest Dodgers of All-Time. Growing up in the Flatbush
and Coney Island sections of Brooklyn, we had choices when it came to rooting
for the home team – Yankees, Giants and of course my beloved Brooklyn Dodgers.
When we couldn’t get on an actual ball field, stick ball
was the game. Stick ball, what wonderful memories! Played on a side street
without too much traffic, the manhole cover was home, possibly the ’49 Ford was
first. Another manhole cover was second, perhaps a ’51 Olds was third.
We played with the sawed off broom handle and the iconic
pink Spalding. Crushing a Spalding, flush, sending it high into the sky, way
above the kid standing maybe short center, there is nothing more awesomely
excellent on this planet. I am smiling ear to ear as I write this.
Then of course there was Jackie Robinson, wow!! We
all tried to run like Jackie Robinson and of course none of us could but that
didn’t stop us. Arms hanging straight down, crouched over, dancing around on the
balls of our feet as we took a lead off first base, eyes fixed like lasers at
the pitcher, hah. To borrow a line from tennis champion Maria Sharapova,
I’m sure we looked like ‘Giraffes wearing ice skates.’
Oh what fun we had in Brooklyn those warm summer days,
thanks Jackie!! Another great for us anyway, was right fielder Carl
Furillo. To see Carl catch a line drive grounder in right field and throw
the runner out at first base was the stuff of legend. What an arm. I’m certain
it’s where the expression, ‘Did you see THAT,’ was first said.
To the Dodger greats...Semper Fi.” – Jeff Baugh
PS 99. Brooklyn, New York
** History of the
Death of Radio
“I have not been able to download on my Mac the entire
article about the demise of radio you sent out Thursday. So, I don’t have the
conclusion of the article, but yesterday there was a caller to my office with
the same name as the writer of this article. The caller told my assistant he was
writing an article about the death of AM Radio.
I disagree with so many assumptions made in the article
that I will just summarize my opinion. And I do have opinions after more than 50
years of ownership/management of radio stations in both major and small markets.
Radio is not going away. The streaming folks would give anything to be radio.
I do remember the debut of tv in the 1950s and yes, we were
concerned about its impact. But tv did not win, radio just changed its
programming to fill the void that tv could not fill. I have owned and operated
tv stations and I am so glad to be back entirely in radio.
The major issue radio has is the influence of management
and programmers focused on radio as a means to make ‘big bucks.’ Radio is still
about content. If we provide the public the content it craves, the streaming
radio wannabes don’t have a chance to dislodge the decades of public
satisfaction and service contributed by the broadcast industry. Radio needs to
return to ‘live and local’ programming, along with creative programming. And,
radio needs to rehire the thousands of talented radio employees who were cast
off to make more money for a few on Wall Street.
As to AM, it can thrive with new and exciting content that
will eventually (I hope) be broadcast with digital stereo technology.” – Saul
Levine, President, Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters
** Beatles for $6
“I was looking at the poster for the Beatles 1966 concert
in Thursday’s column. I noticed the price of a ticket was $6, so I looked it up
in the government’s CPI calculator. What cost $6 in 1966 costs $43.81 today.
Can you imagine seeing any currently popular act for
$43.81? Would probably cost you more than that just to park at the venue.” –
Bruce Harris, West Covina
** Rush to Judgment
“I cannot believe the vitriol surrounding the recent
Rush Limbaugh stories commenting on his loss of relevance and near-future
demise. Here is a man who single-handedly breathed life into a faltering AM talk
radio scene decades ago. A man who made the Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame. A man
who need never work another minute in his life, sitting on multi-millions in
that senior tax haven we call Florida. And, most of all, a man who is totally
deaf and pulls of a three-hour daily show with cochlear implants and other
assistive advices.
As for the labels, Limbaugh is first a broadcaster mindful
of the business of pulling ratings; charging premium pricing and working the
business of broadcasting. While his audience is aging out of the prime
demographic, many of his stations changing format, and his ego-driven ‘shtick’
is becoming repetitive and a little shop-worn, you still would be hard-pressed
to debate him head-to-head on American politics. Perhaps those who took a moment
to share in the schadenfreude of the Progressives, should instead consider what
he has done for the industry.” – Stephen Richard Levine, Westlake Village
Twitter Has Been the
Best Thing for Radio – iHeart’s Dennis Clark
 |
(June 11, 2015) Dennis Clark is the vice
president of Talent Development at iHeartMedia. “To have the title of
vice president of Talent Development goes to show there’s a tremendous
commitment within the structure of a company that owns a substantial
amount of radio stations,” Clark told Mark Ramsey at the recent Hivio 15
confab. “Talent is the difference maker of what radio is today and what
radio could be in the future. We realize that the difference maker is
the talent we have on these radio stations.” So many LARP have lost their on-air jobs in recent
years, Dennis Clark gave us some insight on how the biggest radio
company looks at Talent. Ramsey asked Clark what is it that Talent gets
wrong. “Part of me thinks Talent needs to start first by their own
personal drive. They’ve got to come to you and then at some stage just
put your hand up if you want to come with us. They can become very
annoying and irritating with their hand up all the time, but we love it.
We see they have the drive, the spirit, and the energy,” said Dennis. He
hopes the new Talent has researched the station they want to work for
and what their act could be. “I really want them to know the branding of the
radio station first and what that overall 24-hour mission of the radio
is and where they fit inside that package,” said Dennis when asked about
training Talent for radio work. “And that’s not an easy thing to teach
because they think they know KIIS but they don’t know the nuances of the
station. They love the station but they don’t understand what that
branding and style really is. As coach and trainer to Talent, you have
to coach the vision, almost like coaching a football player along the
way.” Clark said he was a fan of podcasting, particularly
for the supporting cast members of a successful show. He used the
analogy of the tv spin-offs like All in the Family. “Bravo has
completely sliced and diced up all the Housewives and new
versions of that kind of thing,’” continued Dennis. “The truth is The
Breakfast Club, Bobby Bones, Ryan Seacrest and Elvis Duran have a
fantastic base now and spin-offs grow the passion. These people get more
experience to become more interesting to fortify their brand.”
Part of the farm team for iHeartMedia comes from
podcasts, according to Clark. “If you play dj or you play personality in
your bedroom via a podcast and you have the guts to post it and you
think it’s interesting, I’m all about listening to it. Our antennae is
always up for interesting people. Storytelling is vital and being able
to keep a conversation going with another human being is very
important.” Ramsey asked Clark about the challenges of coaching
Ryan Seacrest, who is such an institution across platforms. “Ryan says.
‘I am so glad to see you. Sit down. What do you think?’ I think that
goes a long way to show his drive. Ryan really seizes the opportunity to
have the conversation at the right time.” |
Dennis thinks that Twitter has been the best thing for
radio. “It is now. It is in the moment. It is interactive. It really feeds the
personalities of what’s really happening in their market. It is a nice feedback
of what listeners are hearing. They like it. They are laughing. They are
retweeting. I think Twitter is the perfect culture of the excellent radio show
when that rolls out.”
Ramsey wondered where the great, original ideas come from
as you grow with these talents. “The ideas come from them. The great part about
an original personality is that they have a lot of ideas. They also know when
something is not working and they bale on it. But the ideas have to come from
them.”
Clark said he doesn’t go into a radio show with a
prescription pad. “I never say, ‘Hey, this worked with Elvis Duran, try it’ and
then you force it. Each show is its unique own thing and the ideas have to come
from them. If they care about that idea or if they care about that promotion, or
feature, or content, that’s what connects with listeners, nothing contrived or
fake.”
 |
Sports 20.
The LA Times recently ran a front-page feature on the 20
Greatest Dodgers of All-Time and you’ll find a number of LARP on
the list. More than 14,000 LATimes.com readers voted for their
favorite men in blue: 1. Sandy Koufax – the clear winner 2. Jackie Robinson – broke the color barrier, but
what is often overlooked is he was a great player too. 3. Vin Scully – would have been higher if he
hadn’t been left off of many ballots. Masterful voice, great storyteller
the Dodgers hood ornament for decades 4. Don Drysdale – overshadowed by Koufax,
but was the backbone of the 1960s Dodgers. Worked in the Angels booth
for many years. 5. Duke Snider – the Duke of Flatbush is still the
Dodgers’ all-time home run leader with 389 6. Roy Campanella; 7. Clayton Kershaw; 8. Tom
Lasorda; 9. Fernando Valenzuela; 10. Maury Wills; 11.
Pee Wee Reese; 12. Steve Garvey; 13. Orel Hershiser; 14. Branch Rickey;
15. Walter O’Malley; 16. Walter Alston; 17. Don Newcombe; 18. Gil
Hodges; 19. Don Sutton; and 20. Kirk Gibson |
LARadio Rewind: June 11, 1989. Dave Thomas
appears on John Candy’s Sunday-morning KLSX program, Radio Kandy.
Candy, born in 1950 in Newmarket, Ontario, was a comedic actor and impressionist
who had been a regular performer on the 1976-84 sketch comedy tv series SCTV
(Second City Television) along with Thomas, Martin Short, Eugene Levy,
Joe Flaherty, Valerie Bromfield and others. Candy launched the weekly two-hour
music/comedy program Radio Kandy on KNX/fm in January 1989 and moved the
show to KLSX after KNX/fm switched to an Oldies format as KODJ in March 1989.
Radio Kandy was syndicated by Transtar Radio Network and heard on more than
150 stations nationwide. Most of the SCTV alumni would appear as guests.
In 1987, Candy had hosted a similar program, That Radio Show, which aired
on 47 stations in Canada. Candy died of a heart attack in 1994.
 |
Morning Dew.
In the just-released May ’15 Nielsen survey, the breakout of morning drive
personalities is:
|
Persons
12+ 1. Bill Handel (KFI) 2. Gary Bryan (KRTH) 3. Ryan Seacrest (KIIS) Omar y Argelia (KLVE) 5. Valentine (MY/fm) |
Persons 18-34 1. Ryan Seacrest (KIIS) 2. Omar y
Argelia (KLVE) 3. Valentine (MY/fm) 4. Carson Daly (AMP Radio) Big Boy (KRRL) |
Persons 25-54 1. Ryan Seacrest (KIIS) 2. Omar &
Argelia (KLVE) 3. Valentine (MY/fm) 4. Kevin & Bean (KROQ) 5. Mark Thompson (100.3/The Sound) |
Who Helped Make You Who You Are Today?
 |
Mike Ambrosini KNX (1980 - 2006) |
I've been thinking about this a lot, and I’d have
to say the one person who really was crucial to me in setting me off on a path
toward broadcasting was my wonderful speech teacher in high school, Joe
Marcinko. He was a real advocate for me when I had no confidence at all, the
fellow who saw much more in me than I did. He praised my voice (“God-given,” he
said) and urged me to use it. He positively insisted that I try out for the
school play my senior year (You Can’t Take It With You) and although he
almost had to drag me to my first regional speech contest, I did go. And the
experience bolstered my confidence something tremendous. He beamed with pride
when I took second place, my first time out. I got other lucky
breaks and had other advocates, but he was the first. |
 |
Funnie.
 |
Email Thursday
We GET Email …
** Car 98 … Out
“Nice photo of Gary Franklin’s mobile unit, Car 98.
I remember when that AMC Matador finally gave up the ghost and was towed off the
lot. Of course that Car 98 was replaced by a new one; a ’78 Dodge Aries, or
perhaps it was a Plymouth Aspen. Whatever, it was a Chrysler ‘K’ car variant. It
seemed that whenever I used one of them the thing would stall.” – Mitch
Waldow, KFWB, 1977-83
** Liberal Progressive Radio
“So, Media Matters, ‘A non-profit progressive research and
information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and
correcting conservative misinformation’ is dancing on the alleged imminent grave
of an ‘angry’ [read: they disagree with him but can’t rebut him…which means they
also find him ‘hateful’] conservative talk show host? Is this news? [nothing
personal, Don].
Rush Limbaugh could probably purchase any and all of
the stations that are dropping him.
The liberal Michael Jackson, once considered the
Vin Scully of talk radio hosts in America, couldn’t hold a national audience
and was dropped by his only station, his flagship station, over 20 years ago.
Meanwhile, Mark Levin, [whom most LARP find revolting – because they’re
Liberal] continues to add stations…
Air America, the ‘angry’ and ‘progressive’ attempt to
counter conservative talk radio died of lower ratings than public radio and
classical stations.
That’s alright. Let’s let Media Matters have their moment
and enjoy whatever orgasm they can extract from the apparent demise of someone
that they hated. Very progressive.” – Andrew Schermerhorn
** Depository of Ideas
“Thanks for keeping all those interested in LA Radio in the
loop with timely articles on all subjects. I’ve been a reader and supporter
since LARadio.com started in 1997, and have no idea what your politics are [and
I’m not asking].
So sorry to read some of the personal agendas that attack
the messenger, please know your work and you are appreciated. Thanks for all
your hard work.” – John Crowley
|
** Trophy Shaped Like a Towel “Thanks again for your great coverage of everything under
the sun [nothing but the sky covers LA Radio like Don Barrett]. But
please, no more props from the Edith Ann movie or I’ll have to get new glasses.
At least that’s what I thought was happening with this picture. So for a moment, purposely blur your vision or if you wear
glasses, just for fun, take them off and look at this on an iPhone or similar
small screen. When I first saw this picture, which was admittedly before coffee,
I wondered why you were displaying a close-up of a showerhead. Then I zoomed in
and giggled at myself even more. And the more I think about it, the more appropriate it
might be. So now, I guess we’ll just wait for an award that's in the shape of a
towel. I can think of various candidates, in for whom we could throw one. This
could be a great shtick for Fred Roggin.” – Don Elliot |
 |
** Ratings Decline
“Cumulus is terrible. Look at what they’ve done with KGO,
KABC and KLOS. They don’t ‘get’ California.” – Dennis Lorimer, Laguna Woods
** Leader for KABC
“I wonder what George Green would do if he was once
again in charge of KABC and its on-air sound and line-up?” – Alan F. Ross
** Answer for KABC?
“And if there were any brains in play at KABC, they’d bring
George Green back with a blank check.” – Greg Hardison
** The Fall of KGO-San Francisco
“I always want to know more about people when I don’t
recognize their name. The link for Deb Monroe that went to her Linkedin page has
this wonderful quote from her:
"There’s nothing more powerful than a well-told story
that appeals to both the mind and the heart I love finding unique and compelling
ways to engage, inform and motivate an audience.”
Having read the criticism of her on the blog post, I wonder
about the disconnect between what she writes and what she accomplishes. Talk
about comments coming back to bite someone where they sit.” – Lynda Gabriele
** Madsen’s 35 Years
“I read with great interest the article on my good friend
Chris Madsen. I’ve worked with a lot of sports guys [started in radio
myself because of sports] and over the years I can say I’ve never met anyone
quite like Chris. As you may know we work on the air together every Sunday
morning and I know whatever it is, and no matter how quickly I throw it at him,
he’s always prepared to take on the challenge.
Someone told us recently ‘you two have great chemistry’ and
to be honest, working with Chris it is easy to have great chemistry. He is the
consummate professional. If I tell him :30 seconds before we go into a
sportscast, things are tight and I need a minute :22, he locks out at a minute
:22.
His timing is impeccable and he is truly a joy to work
with. We have great sports guys at KNX and each and every one of them is
different. They each bring something different to the table. The thing I look
forward to the most working Sunday mornings however, is my time with Chris. And
the fact he knows my sports passions and isn’t afraid to tackle them, is a
bonus.
Celebrating 35 years? There is another 35 in there for sure. Thanx pal.” – Bob Brill, KNX
Meet Ken Charles – New
KNX Program Director
 |
(LARadio Exclusive - June 10, 2015) Ken Charles
is charged with a hefty task of taking the bulky all-News KNX station
and giving it a new coat of paint, retaining the P1 base that supports
the legendary news operation and at the same time implementing features
and programming approaches that attract a younger crowd. Ken joins the
CBS/LA cluster from a lengthy journey with iHeartMedia (Clear Channel).
He’s living in Ft. Lauderdale preparing for the move. When we introduced
ourselves to each other yesterday, it was raining here and he was
experiencing thunderstorms. Dan Kearney is the cluster chief of the
CBS/LA group. How did Ken get the job? “Dan and I have worked in the
same market together in Atlanta when he was at WSB and I was at WGST and
then here in Miami when I was with Clear Channel, and he was with Cox,”
said Ken. “But we never met until a few months ago. I have known
Harvey Nagler, who is president of the CBS news radio network, for a million
years, but I heard about the opening and the timing just sort of worked
out. I reached out to Dan and we started building a relationship.” Ken was here a couple of weeks ago looking for a place to live and settled on an apartment in Studio City. “When we were there I made sure to drive down Laurel Canyon and I just love that drive.” I told Ken that I would mark June 9 and ask him in one year if he still loves the drive over Laurel Canyon each day. We laughed. “I grew up in Tampa and moved around to Houston, Miami and Atlanta and all the areas were pretty flat, so driving through canyons and hills and mountains is a whole new thing for me.” |
How will KNX broaden the demographics and attract the
younger listener? When a current listener dies, there isn’t a younger one to
replace him. “The young people don’t trust anyone over 27,” said Ken. “I get it.
They’ve been bombarded with so much stuff their entire lives that it’s hard to
know who to trust and who to believe in. Just look at the news. When guys like
Dennis Hastert was positioned as ‘the most moral and the most this’ and now look
what he’s been accused of who do you trust? It’s a different time, that’s for
sure.”
Ken believes that stations like KNX have real futures
beyond just radio, whatever that delivery system is. “We just have to figure out
the secret sauce and make sure we deliver it. We can’t blow off the existing
audience. You can’t destroy the station’s heritage and what it is but we’ve got
to bring it into a position to attract new people to grow and be successful.”
His philosophy: “When you look at what news was
in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, we thought, as news people, that our judgment was
right and we knew what to tell the audience. We believed that we knew better
than them and that the stories we thought were important would also be important
to the audience. It’s not about us anymore. It’s about them. And we have to
provide them with stories that they think are relevant. We have to stop thinking
like news people and start thinking like normal people. We need to present
stories that are relevant to everyone. I believe this will make the station
grow.”
He doesn’t know anyone on the staff. “When you walk into a
new building, you’ve got to have a clean slate, a fresh perspective. Everyone’s
scorecard starts with a zero and you build relationships and build trust. And
then you build your plan with the people you’ve got.”
Watching a story on the NFL filmmakers – the Ed and Steve
Sabol family – had a profound effect on Ken Charles. “When NFL Films started,
they stated their mantra, it was like a lightning bolt went off for me. It was,
‘tell me a fact and I will learn it. Tell me a truth and I will believe it. But
tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.’ That’s the essence and we
just have to find the secret sauce to do that.”
Ken Charles will begin at KNX on July 6.
 |
Sound Additions.
Classic Rocker KSWD (100.3/The Sound) has announced two additions
to their staff of iconic Southern California Rock djs – Mary Price
and Andy Geller. They will be heard frequently, especially
on weekends. Mary Price is probably most remembered for a key
role at LA’s former “Arrow 93” (KCBS/fm) and as a dj on KRTH. Andy
Geller’s deep voice is familiar from his stints on the legendary KNAC
and on KLOS. More recently, he’s become the “voice of god” on
network tv promos and movie trailers. “Mary fits The Sound perfectly. She
has a lot of fun playing Classic Rock, and listeners can hear that.
As for Andy, he’s good enough for the Academy Awards, so he can be an
announcer here, too,” said Dave
Beasing, pd at The Sound. KSWD vp/gm Peter Burton added, “We continue
to build an all-star line-up on The Sound. Why do pros like
Andy, Mary, Joe Benson, Cynthia Fox, Rita Wilde and
Mark Thompson even become available? Our competitors are making
this way too easy.” |
 |
Lakers Extended.
KSPN and the Los Angeles Lakers have extended their radio play-by-play
relationship for two additional seasons, keeping the iconic NBA team on ESPNLA
through the 2021-2022 season. KSPN will carry all 82 regular-season games as
well as the entire preseason and every playoff game. ESPN / LA has served
as the official radio broadcast home of the Lakers for the last six seasons,
since 2009.
The announcement was made by Jeanie Buss, part owner and
president of the Lakers, when she appeared as a guest with Mason & Ireland.
“We at ESPNLA have enjoyed a terrific and
mutually-beneficial relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers since 2009, and
could not be more excited to extend our agreement through mid-2022,” said
Scott McCarthy, vp/gm of KSPN. “We are very proud to be associated
with one of the premier franchises in all of sports.”
John Ireland will continue as the play-by-play
commentator for the Lakers radio broadcasts, with Laker great Mychal Thompson
remaining as the color analyst.
 |
LARadio Rewind:
June 10, 1926. B. Mitchel Reed is born Burton Mitchel Goldberg in
Brooklyn. Reed earned degrees in journalism and political science at University
of Illinois and had planned to become a teacher before deciding that a career in
broadcasting would be more glamorous. He hosted an overnight jazz show at
WOV-New York in 1956 before coming to KFWB, where he was one of the original
“Seven Swingin’ Gentlemen” when the station became Color Radio Channel 98 in
1958. Reed returned to New York to host evenings at WMCA from 1963 to 1965 before returning to KFWB. His theme song was Red Prysock’s Hand Clappin’ (click photo). In 1967, Reed and Tom Donahue launched a progressive rock format at KPPC/fm. Reed moved to KMET in 1968 and later worked at KRLA and KLOS. In the 1970s, former KHJ program director Ron Jacobs produced a series of Cruisin’ albums for Increase Records. Each album featured a re-creation of a legendary top-40 station with an original dj, music, jingles and commercials. The 1963 volume featured Reed re-creating the sound of WMCA. Reed died of heart failure in 1983. Twelve years later, Ryko released a CD, The Golden Age Of Underground Radio, Volume 2, featuring classic hits and airchecks of Reed. The first volume in 1989 had featured Tom Donahue. |
Bob Hamilton Celebrates.
Fifty-five years ago this week, Bob Hamilton did his first radio show. “If I had
it to do all over again I’d do it all over again, but, I'm not done. I’m
shooting for the 100th anniversary,” said Bob on his Facebook page. “What a
miracle and joy New Radio is on the Net. Where am I on the air today? All over
the world.”
 |
Madsen Turns 35.
KNX’s Chris Madsen is celebrating his 35th year in
professional broadcasting this week (he joined KNX in 2005). He wrote on his Facebook page: As a junior at Lewis University I was encouraged by substitute teacher JD Vercett (and now, long-time friend) to drive down to SportsPhone and interview. I was hired on the spot. I am privileged and humbled to say that I have been able to apply my passion in two of the most sought-after markets in the country – Chicago and LA ever since. And as an added bonus – and best of all – it was through my work and a sweepstakes involving the Cubs & Padres in the 1984 NLCS , that I met the love of life, Lori. As a testament to
my upbringing, I take tremendous pride in my longevity in a business that
demands high performance, along with the fact that in my 35-years I never missed
a game, assignment or shift due to illness, injury or personal matter (knock on
wood). I offer a blanket THANK YOU to the wonderful people I have met along the
way, and I can honestly say that I still get the same ‘kick’ today that I did
when I began this journey on June 8, 1980. So, “until the next time we lace ’em
up and hit the ice...” |
Funnie. Passing through the Internet joke lines: Life is sexually transmitted.
Email Wednesday
We GET Email …
** Story that Rush is Cooked
“The even bigger
news that seems never to be printed is simply how many powerfully signaled
sports stations in major markets are doormats.” – Chuck Southcott
** Source of Rush Story
“Media Matters – Progressive ‘journalism’ – ‘non-profit’
organization funded by George Soros, long supported by Hillary Clinton. What'd
you expect them to say?” - Susan Burke
 |
** Sandra Fluke Update “While stations and advertisers are running away from
Rush Limbaugh, the young woman he called a slut is doing very well and
living in LA. Sandra Fluke, who is now a lawyer, ran for the California
state legislature and lost. But she is still in great demand as a speaker and I
had the pleasure of meeting her recently in Thousand Oaks.” – John Brooks,
KNX-KFWB retired |
** Rush Story
“You have no idea how this warms my heart . Enough of the
hate-mongering already.” – Rich Brother Robbin
** Happy About Rush’s Future
“I am delighted that Rush Limbaugh is on his way to
obscurity, but I am especially happy to see that he has been properly tarred,
feathered and run out of several towns on a rail, with his tail between his
legs. –Steve Liddick, former K-Earth News Director
** Don’t Count Rush Out
“I read with amusement the story under
the banner Rush Is Cooked. I’m not surprised you forwarded this because
of your constant searching to try and find anything that can be spun to assault
the conservative movement.
This report, which is a patchwork of fragmented and barely
correct statements, has been issued in the hope that the low information readers
(usually liberal) will drink this Kool-Aid and fall into line.
In spite of the hopes and dreams of you and this writer,
Rush isn't going anywhere soon. And, if he does it will be at a point he
chooses. When he does, there will be many other qualified conservative hosts to
fill his shoes.
This reminds me of the famous quote, ‘The reports of my
demise were greatly exaggerated.’” – John Rich
** KABC Woes
“Yikes! Sad to see KABC also headed for extinction. It is a
far cry from my days when we were clawing our way back up to a 3 share.” –
John Davison
** Did it Start with Farid?
“It is amazing how far the legendary stations KGO-San
Francisco and KABC have fallen!” – Bob Koontz
** Answer for KGO?
“If Cumulus was smart, they would re hire Mickey Luckoff as a consultant. I doubt that he would do it, but they could try.” – George Green
MY/fm and K-EARTH
at the Top of the Charts
 |
(June 9, 2015)
The May ’15 Monthly PPM from Nielsen Audio have been released. In the overall 6+
numbers, KBIG (MY/fm) and KRTH (K-EARTH) are tied for #1. Highlighting the
consistency of the station, K-EARTH was rated #1 a year ago this month,
according to CBS/LA cluster president
Dan Kearney. The big story in
the May Top 10 is KTWV’s continuing surge since incorporating the former HOT
92.3’s r&b music since February. The WAVE comes in 5th place. The
station had a 2.6 in the February book. Since then, the station jumped to a 3.5,
then 3.9 and this month 4.4. Heritage rocker
KLOS, under new program director Keith Cunningham, came in with a 2.4
after four months with a 2.0, though still bested by rival KSWD (100.3
/ The Sound) with a 3.9 rating, good for 6th place. The Clippers helped KFWB
get out of the cellar doubling its ratings from 0.2 – 0.4 Local ESPN station KSPN
claims the “finest monthly in the history of the station.” |
Top Nielsen Audio May
'15 Monthly PPM 6+ Mon-Sunday, 6a-12mid:
1. KBIG (MY/fm) 5.4 -
5.1
KRTH
(tie) 5.2 - 5.1
3. KIIS (Top 40/M) 5.4
-5.0
4. KOST (AC) 4.9 - 4.5
5. KTWV (Urban AC) 3.9 -
4.4
6. KSWD (Classic Rock)
3.9 - 3.9
7. KAMP (Top 40/M) 3.6 -
3.6
KCBS
(tie) 3.9 - 3.6
9. KFI (Talk) 3.4 - 3.5
10. KLVE (Spanish
contemporary) 3.6 - 3.4
KLAA (Sports) 0.3 - 0.4
41. KTNQ (Spanish Talk) 0.3 - 0.3
42. KPFK (Variety) 0.2 - 0.2
 |
Sports Perspective. KSPN pd Michael
Thompson sent an internal memo to the staff:
Congratulations to
everyone for your planning and execution resulting in the finest PPM monthly
report in the history of the station – ergo the format in LA!
Your hard work, not
happenstance, has made the difference. Our planning, and
strategic focus, not happenstance has made the difference.
Highlights,
and there are many, include another terrific performance in the younger cells of
M18-34 that clearly enjoy YOU as much as any topic.
Driving the
M18-34 was specifically the 25-34 year olds – there we rule at #1
In PERSONS
25-54 we are tied with KFI with a 2.3 share and a 2.3 rating 6a-7pm – and
handily beat KNX.
In P1 Men
18-34 6a-7p we are the number one station!
More research to
come – but we know what makes the difference with your fans.
1)
Intelligence
2)
Humor
3)
Telling them something they DIDN’T know
4)
Fraternity – selling back to the brand and each other
And of course
unpredictability – you never know what’s going to happen on ESPNLA 710.
Award for Kings
Announcer. Nick
Nickson, longtime LA Kings radio voice, has been named the winner of the
2015 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame. Locally,
KABC carries the Kings broadcast. Nickson has been the voice of the Kings on
radio since 1981. “Nick has been one of
the most popular radio and tv personalities in Southern California for over
three decades,” said NHL Broadcasters’ Association president and Carolina
Hurricanes voice Chuck Kalton. “He is extremely worthy of this award and we from
the NHL Broadcasters' Association congratulate him on this distinct honor.”
Hear Ache. KABC program director Drew Hayes is still looking to fill KABC’s Courtroom 790. Meanwhile, Doug McIntyre’s morning show has been extended to 10 a.m. and Leo Terrell hosts the 10 a.m. – noon slot ... Today marks 20 years since KYMS went off-the-air, according to Brian Perez ... KFI's Mark Thompson is on an European vacation.
LARPs and Their Dog(s)
 |
Jhani Kaye, former program director at KOST, K-EARTH and KTWV
"Here are the two new additions to my family. Summer, the Golden Retriever, and
Keanu, the Samoyed."
LARadio Rewind: June 9, 2006. KROQ launches an HD sub-carrier, KROQ HD-2. Known as KROQ-2, the channel plays the songs which were heard on 106.7 KROQ in the 1980s. When Rick Carroll became program director of KROQ in 1979, the station had a 0.6 audience share. Carroll changed the format from freeform rock to a mix of punk, new wave and alternative and called it “Rock of the ’80s.” The ratings steadily climbed, and by 1983 KROQ was among the top ten stations in Los Angeles. Carroll formed a consultancy group and took the format to other stations, including KQAK in Sacramento and 91X (XETRA/fm) in Tijuana/San Diego. The playlist included such artists as Iggy Pop, Adam Ant, Elvis Costello, INXS, REM, U2, Duran Duran, Violent Femmes, Clash, Devo, Pretenders, Police, Ramones, Go-Go’s, Madness, Stray Cats, Thompson Twins, Psychedelic Furs, Oingo Boingo, Depeche Mode, the Cure and Siouxsie & the Banshees. Those artists are now heard on KROQ-2. The channel’s slogan is – not surprisingly – “Roq of the '80s.”
 |
Emmy Ad. At one point in the marketing for The Voice, only the judges were ever shown in ads for the successful voice competition. In this recent Emmy trade ad, host Carson Daly, AMP morning man and part of the Today Show, is included. Nice tribute to a personality making solid branding moves. |
Overheard.
“Most of the hits
on the hit charts were never hits.” (George Johns, radio consultant)
“Notice in the washroom at Reno Aces AAA Ballpark last night: ‘Water rationing: Wash only 9 fingers to conserve 10%.’” (Bill Kingman, Lake Tahoe)
Funnie.
 |
Email
Tuesday
We GET Email …
** A word about Art
Laboe
“I grew up in
1950s Southern California with an old flip top RCA portable radio listening to
Borgward commercials on KFI,
Huntin’ with Hunter on KGFJ
and Art Laboe on KPOP and KDAY. I had always wanted to get down to
Scrivener’s Drive-in and check things out, but was way too young to drive.
Back in those days, when
life was much simpler, Art was, I think, performing the true intended service.
Radio was purely all about in his direct connection and entertainment of his
audience and citizenry. Radio station licenses are grated to ‘serve the
public as a public trustee.’ The ‘trustee’ part is now long gone from 99%
of the original purpose of radio, unless the atomic levee breaks.
Art actually
formed and fostered a real culture of local romance with the music and was (is)
a special part of radio and growing up in L.A. and Southern California. Words
like legend, creative, innovative and inspired all apply. If anyone has ever
fulfilled the tenets of earning a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it's got
to be Art.” – Jerry Longden
|
** Car 98 … Out “I LOVE the image
of the KFWB parking lot and Car 98! That was an AMC Matador Coupe, arguably one
of the most outlandishly-styled cars of the 1970s. It looks like it’s already a
bit battle-scarred with the big dent in the quarter panel. Based on it and the
other cars in the image, I’d peg the time frame around 1977-78.” – Dave Kunz,
Automotive Reporter, KABC/TV, Co-Host, “The Car Show,” KPFK/fm |
 |
** Art Laboe is a
Treasure
“Hooray! Art
Laboe is truly a unique artist whose fans will find him on the air wherever
he is. Bravo to KDAY!” – Mary Beth Garber
** More Art
“So good to have
Art Laboe back on the REAL Radio. I grew up listening to him on various stations
in L.A. Loved the shows. I went to Scrivener’s Drive-In a couple of times to hang
out. Also went to see him at his Oldies But Goodies Record Store in
Hollywood...kind, gracious, helpful, and generous when I told him I was off to
Mexico City to do English language programs on a powerhouse station there with
three transmitters spread around the country. He gave me a whole set of LPs.
Remember them? Have a great time in your new incarnation Art. God Bless.” –
Alan F. Ross
Hivio 15 Buzzes
With a Hive of Sound Ideas
 |
(June 8,
2015) There are two competing candy stores. Same candy. All the
kids go to the good candy store. Researchers are hired and they don’t
get it. Same friendly service. Same pricing. Same selection. Everything. The marketer
goes out and talks to the kids. He asks the kids, how come you love that
store and hate the other one? They said the lady in the good store gives
us extra candy. The lady in the bad store takes candy away from us. The researchers
went with the kids so they could see what was going on. They walked into
the bad store and they ordered a pound of candy. The friendly lady takes
some candy and scoops it onto the scale. Brushes some off. Brushes some
off. Brushes some off. She gets down to a pound, puts it into the bag
and tells the kids to have a good day. They go across
the street to the good store. They order a pound of candy. The friendly
lady sprinkles some onto the scale. Sprinkles more. Sprinkles more. She
gets to a pound, puts it into a bag. The kids say,
“See, she gives us extra candy and the bad store takes it away.” |
The story was told by
Tom Asacker, an author and brand advisor, who was one of 16 guests who spoke at
the recent Hivio 15 two-day event hosted by Mark Ramsey, the guru of everything
audio.
“Everything in the
marketplace is like this,” said Asacker. “It’s what we think we’re buying.” He
said the Kimpton Hotels see that you are checking in alone, they give you a
goldfish to take to your room and keep you company. “Where’s the value in that?
It’s all aesthetics. Emotion leads to action. Reason leads to conclusions.
This was Ramsey’s third
Hivio and our first. I’m sorry I missed the first two. Ramsey runs the two-day
event with the precision of a Swiss watch. He sat on the stage at the Improv in
West Los Angeles with each guest for 20-30 minutes. He asked penetrating
questions, stayed on topic and is very respectful to each guest.
The thread weaving
through the two-day event was branding, how to corral all the audio, present it
to the consumer, and then monetize it. “The audio space is not growing,” said
Mike Agovino, executive vice president of Podcast One, the
company founded by Norm Pattiz. “I don’t listen to audio in the
car as much as I used to because I’m on the phone. There doesn’t seem to be time
to listen in the office.”
|
Agovino talked
about the new stresses. “When radio folks get together, we just laugh
and enjoy what we went through back then and how much fun the business
was. More times than not, when you get in a discussion with someone
you’ve known in the business for 20-30 years in the audio business, the
closer you get to the present moment in the discussion, the less fun
we’re having because of all the stress in our lives. And that sucks,”
said Agovino. In the days
ahead, there will be more revelations from those who are looking for the
next tier in audio, whether it be radio, podcasting, Internet,
streaming, music services or instrument panel availabilities in new
cars. Agovino was especially specific on how Podcast One is approaching
the world of podcasting and how they are monetizing that. Dennis
Clark rarely
does interviews. Ramsey calls him the “secret weapon” at iHeartMedia.
Dennis is the vp of Talent for iHeart. The likes of Ryan Seacrest,
Elvis Duran, The Breakfast Club and a dozen other personalities call on
Dennis to be sure their shows are engaging, relevant and as absolutely
can’t-miss as possible. Dennis is very revealing about how he works with
Ryan and how important new talent is. How to get Dennis’ attention if
you want to join iHeartMedia. This will be revealed in days to come. |
 |
We will also report on
the talks by Jaclyn Johnson from No Subject, Slacker Radio’s Duncan
Orrell-Jones, Pat Higbie from XAPPMedia, Spotify’s Brian Benedik, Starcom Media
Best Group’s Kirsten Wolf on how the agency buys audio, Michael Schneider from
TV Guide on why Kevin & Bean show is appointment
listening, Jake Shaprio from PRX, James Derby from Federated Media, RLM PR’s
Richard Laermer, Bill Freund and Sara Sisenwein from Clip Interactive and
actor/author/radio host Marilu Henner.
 |
New to
KSPN/710.
KSPN has added Mike Trudell as a new co-host for Mychal
Thompson. The program airs 10 a.m. to noon. Thompson was a
member of the Los Angeles Lakers championship teams in 1987 and 1988 and
enters his 13th season as the radio color commentator for the Lakers on
ESPNLA 710. A standout at the University of Minnesota, Thompson averaged
20.8 ppg throughout his four-year collegiate career and was an
All-American for two years. Thompson was the first overall selection in
the 1978 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers. Thompson also serves as
Sports Ambassador for his native Bahamas. A Minnesota
native, Trudell also serves as the Los Angeles Lakers sideline reporter
for Time Warner Cable SportsNet TV and ESPNLA 710 and covers the Lakers
as the beat reporter for Lakers.com. A graduate of Northwestern
University’s Medill School of Journalism, Trudell played Division 1
soccer for the Wildcats. |
Scott McCarthy, vp/gm of ESPNLA said, "We are thrilled to have Mike join our team as Mychal’s daily on-air partner. The duo of Thompson and Trudell will provide fans with an insightful and entertaining take on everything that matters to the LA sports fan.”
 |
The LA Times previewed new summer tv shows and up popped Ryan Seacrest's name:
July 21: Knock Knock Live - Ryan Seacrest shows up unannounced at your (or somebody's) door to play games or put on a show. Seen another way, it's the summer's most terrifying thriller.
Hear Ache.
KRLA’s middayer Michael Medved has been declared cancer free by his
doctors. Medved took leave from his syndicated program from February through
April to undergo treatment for stage three throat cancer, which was diagnosed
last December. He’s back on KRLA from noon to 3 p.m.
New KNX PD.
Ken Charles has been appointed the new program director for KNX. He
posted on his Facebook page this weekend:
As most of you know
by now I am heading to CBS and KNX in LA. Thank you to everyone who reached out
these past few days and throughout the last few months. When change like this
happens you really learn who your friends are. I've learned how lucky I am to be
blessed with so many friends.
Miriam and I are
looking forward to this new adventure in our lives as we trade Hollywood Florida
for Hollywood California.
Many of you have
known me a very long time. Despite the move there will be no going Hollywood for
me. No green juices. No designer clothes. No shoes just sneakers. And no
entourage. Although everyone does need an E and a Turtle I don't need any extra
drama.
Thank you all for
your kind words, good thoughts and most of all your friendship.
See you at the
movies. (Not in the movies)
 |
Laboe Back.
Radio legend and Southland radio icon Art Laboe makes a return to L.A. airwaves
on 93.5 KDAY every Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight. The Sunday LA Times
devoted a full-page story to the amazing recipient of the LARadio Lifetime
Achievement Award.
His syndicated
radio show, The Art Laboe Connection, lost its L.A. home after the
February 2015 format change on KHHT Hot 92.3, which had been his flagship
station for over 15 years. The National Radio Hall of Famer’s long resume
includes KDAY 1580 AM in 1960-1961 and now reunites him with the KDAY call
letters.
 |
Now at
93.5/fm, the station referred to as “SoCal’s home of original hip-hop
and r&b” and the leading media brand under Meruelo Media. “I’ve come
full circle with the KDAY call letters. I was there back in the day,
playing the music, interacting with the fans, doing their dedications
and here we are again on KDAY. We are excited to bring The Art Laboe
Connection to 93.5 KDAY, it feels like home. Thank you to Meruelo
Media for welcoming us into their family. I love LA, I love music and
our dedicated fans! We thank them for their patience while we searched
for a new L.A. radio station. Well, now I’m back and time to make more
KDAY memories,” said Laboe. “Art Laboe
is an LA legend like Vin Scully and Chick Hearn. His work
and brand are truly synonymous with LA’s music history and culture. He’s
the perfect fit for 93.5 KDAY,” said Otto Padron, president of Meruelo
Media. “We welcome Art into our Meruelo Media family and know his fans
and LA will welcome him back this Sunday and every Sunday after that!”
|
LARadio
Rewind:
June 7-8, 2006. Jimmy Kimmel fills in for Adam Carolla on the KLSX
morning show. On June 7, Carolla’s wife Lynette had given birth to twins, a girl
named Natalia and a boy named Santino, nicknamed Sonny. Carolla jokingly told
People magazine, “Lynette is not Viking stock. She didn’t take childbirth
like a man.” Carolla had launched his program in January 2006 with Teresa
Strasser and Bryan Bishop. Kimmel served as creative consultant for
the first year. Syndicated by CBS Radio, the Adam Carolla Show was offered to
stations which had previously carried Howard Stern’s syndicated morning
show. (Stern had moved to Sirius XM Satellite Radio in January 2006.) Carolla
was heard on several stations in the western United States, including KUFO in
Portland, KNDD in Seattle, KWOD in Sacramento, KSCF in San Diego and KMRJ in
Rancho Mirage. The program was canceled in February 2009 when KLSX switched from
a talk format to Top 40 as AMP Radio. The station is now KAMP/fm. Carolla hosts
a daily 90-minute podcast.
|
|
KFWB cruiser thanks to Kevin Gershan
Overheard.
“I am
absolutely stunned beyond words. My life is upside down. Are you telling
me....Vanity FAIR.....put a Republican on the cover!!??” (Bryan
Suits, KFI, from his FB page)
 |
Email Monday
We GET Email …
** Robert W.
Morgan Tough?
“My brother is the
Beverly Hills attorney that wrote Robert W Morgan’s contract when he went
to Chicago. He and others told me Morgan could be tough to get along with but I
didn’t find him that way. I hired Robert to syndicate his show. When we made the
deal I did not know him. I heard he could be a real pain in the ass. I told him
when we met that if he gave us any problems, the deal would be over.
Robert W. Morgan was a
pussy cat. Everyone loved him. We lost him too early in his life.
Robert W, R.I.P.”
– Roger Carroll
** Talk
Suggestions
“If I were
programming KABC, I’d slide Peter Tilden into that early evening slot and
bring back Bryan Suits for the 9 to midnight slot, and let him get all
Dark Secret Placey, and junk. And he would still talk about local stuff too. And
if KABC’s Cumulus overlords were smart, they’d get rid of those trucker boobs
that took over Red Eye Radio and nationally syndicate Bryan Suits instead, so he
could go head-to-head against ‘Coast to Coast’ and provide a Dark Secret Placey
kind of alternative to the fictional BS that's always on Coast to Coast.” –
Miguel Fernandez, Oxnard
** Laboe Fan
“Thanks for the
story about Art Laboe returning to the LA airwaves. I can still remember
Art making the dedications and playing the then-hits over 1580/KDAY for me and
some of my girlfriends. This was the KDAY with its transmitter just a mile or
southwest of Palms Junior High on the corner of Palms Blvd. and McLaughlin Ave.,
near Mar Vista. Those were the days.
KDAY, back then, was
doing its thing only during the daytime.
Lucky Pierre
also did some dedications for me and others on KHJ AM & FM. Lucky was doing the
evenings. This was the pre-Boss KHJ circa 1961-62. That type of radio was great
and apparently is still great today.” – Dave Paulson
 |
Ken Charles New PD at KNX (June 4, 2015) LARadio has
learned that Ken Charles
will be named head of programming for KNX. He is currently waiting out a
non-compete period from his previous position as National Brand Manager,
News-Talk-Sports, for iHeartMedia in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale. For two years in 2013-14, Ken was head of
programming in Sacramento for Talk KSTE and all-News KFBK On Ken’s Linked In page he writes about his
goal: “To create entertaining innovative spoken word talk and news
programming every day. To work with the best local personalities and
hope to be personalities, in sports, talk and news, to help grow and
nurture their talents to create entertaining and informative radio.”
|
 |
Hivio 15 (June 4, 2015) LARadio will be attending hivio 15 today and Friday. You can watch hivio Stream LIVE on Thursday. Hivio is the audio future festival, and it begins today! You can watch it LIVE for FREE! Radio, online radio, podcasting, agencies, social media, brands, talent, voices from transmedia brands like TV Guide and TheBlaze, and a special appearance from Marilu Henner. Mark Ramsey is one of those future thinkers and he has an extraordinary line-up of presenters. He begins the stream at 1 p.m. this afternoon from the legendary Hollywood Improv. |
Live From the '60s
Comes Alive
 |
(June 3,
2015) Nostalgia comes in waves. Sometimes a song will trigger
it. Other times just the mere mention of an event will stop someone in
their tracks, remembering where they were when they first heard that
song. As baby boomers
age and the sixties become an ancient half-century away, another
generation reflects on that decade, the one with a split personality.
The sixties were partly made up of the innocence of surfin’ and being
happy together, then came the turn-turn-turning to a nasty war. What was
it good for? Most would say, absolutely nothing. The sixties brought
with them a world of revolution in thought, in politics, and in love. Music
mirrored the changes, from the beaches of Southern California to the
British Invasion. M.G. Kelly (on left with Don) is resurrecting the groundbreaking
radio series, Live from the
’60s with The Real Don Steele,
which ran from 1987-93 nationally on over 200 radio stations across
America. “I worked
with Don and M.G. on Live from the ’60s, and I have to say it was
magic when they were in the studio together,” said Don’s widow,
Shaune McNamara Steele, co-producer with M.G. on the 2015 relaunch
of the show. “The two had great respect for each other’s talents and
were wonderful collaborators,” continued Shaune. “I think that's a big
part of what made the show so fresh and different - they were two pros
working together to create the best show possible, with no egos on
display that I ever noticed. I'll admit they did have some very funny
verbal exchanges when trying to work out a ‘bit.’” |
The launch date
for the program is set for August 1st. The clearance team has already
reported real excitement from the stations they've contacted. Compass Media
Networks will be bringing in the national advertisers. To sample Live from
the '60s with The Real Don Steele, click on the link below. It’s a scoped
first hour of the first show that will be aired!
www.mgkelly.com/RealDon
 |
Hear
Ache. Over
the weekend a Stand in the Sand rally took place in oily Santa
Barbara coastline. John Brooks, now retired from his years in LA
Radio, and Lisa Osborn ran into each other. “John was cycling
around SB [yellow shirt to support the rally],” emailed Lisa. Details of
the Stand in the Sand rally on Lisa’s Website. Click the photo. -
traffic411.com …
This will be the last column this week. I will be in West Los Angeles
attending Mark Ramsey’s two-day hivio 2015 event. |
Overheard.
“Being on the Left
means never having to say you’re sorry. More government. More subsidies. More
regulations.” (Larry Elder, CRN)
 |
Bob Moore President, Sports USA |
 |
My
Mother for telling me to always go for it.
John C. Severino (my
general manager
at KABC/TV) for showing me how to be a great manager and still knowing how to
motivate and have fun with your employee’s. Also, how important talent is to the
programming.
Tim Sullivan (my
general manager at
K-HITS, the man that brought me over) for showing me this is a business of fun
and making money. He helped simplify the business.
Herb McCord (former
president of Greater Media) for giving me a chance to become general manager of K-HITS at 35. Herb always said,
'I don’t know what you’re doing, but keep doing it cause it’s
really working.' He knew.
Tom Milewski
(president of Greater Media), he is the one that brought me back to KLSX and let
me hire Howard Stern and flip the
format to FM Talk. No other president or owner would have allowed me to
make that move and lose millions of revenue the first year. We went on to
build a monster.
Mel Karmazan
(President of Infinity/CBS Radio), Mel let me build 97.1 FM Talk into the
powerhouse it was, which was internationally known and a complete cash-cow. Great talent
and great people, a combination that always wins.
All of them believed in
one very important statement: WORK HARD AND PLAY HARDER!!!!!!!!!!
 |
LARadio Rewind:
June 3, 1996. Leo Terrell and Burton Katz begin hosting a weekday
talk show on KMPC. Terrell, a liberal and a civil rights attorney, holds a BA
degree from Cal State University Dominguez Hills and a JD degree from UCLA
School of Law. Katz, a conservative and a former trial lawyer and Los Angeles
Superior Court judge, holds a JD degree from Loyola University. After four
months at KMPC, Terrell and Katz moved to Saturday afternoons at KABC. Katz also
hosted a Sunday program with Susan Estrich. Katz left KABC in 1997 and
began anchoring Judge & Jury on MSNBC. Terrell stayed at KABC and now
hosts a daily three-hour podcast, The KABC Courtroom.
 |
Email
Wednesday
We GET Email …
 |
** KFWB Story “Thanks for
showing the photo from the 1937 Warner Brothers movie with musical singing star
Dick Powell, who later became a dramatic actor and television producer.
While doing some research on an article I’m writing about KFWB’s 90th
anniversary, mostly on the Warner Brothers years of ownership, I found this ad
with Dick Powell promoting KFWB. During KFWB’s 10th anniversary year in 1935,
Broadcasting magazine showed several ads for KFWB with testimonials from
various Warner Brothers stars, such as Powell, Pat O’Brien, Joan Blondell, etc.”
– Jim Hilliker |
** Morganized
“As program
director at KRLA, I relished the morning phone calls from Robert W. Morgan.
When I launched Long Play Weekend adding LPs to our playlist, RW loved
it. What a bright, courteous man he was.
Thanks for a great
magazine, Don.” – Doug Cox
** A Shearer Morgan
Fan
“I was not a big
fan of the restricted playlist or repetition of the Boss Radio format, but that
didn’t keep me from listening to, and enjoying, Robert W. Morgan. His wit
shone through the narrow talk windows of the format brilliantly. I got to work
with him later on, when he appeared in my first Cinemax special, It’s Just TV,
and he was just as much fun to work with as to listen to.” – Harry Shearer
 |
** Station of the Stars "This is a
Turner Classic Movie shot from
the 1958 film, I Want to Live! with Susan Hayward. Check out the ad on the
rear of the bus.” - Tim Ahern, Staff Engineer / I.T. Support, KSPN Radio 710
|
** Engineering
History
“It was a surprise
today to read LARadio Rewind and see my name mentioned in regard to KCBH. I still have fond memories of working at KCBH back when nobody knew what fm was.
I was 19 years old when I started working at KCBH in 1954. KCBH was a
wonderful training ground for a teenager. I am reminded of a funny story
when one evening a woman and her son came to KCBH for a visit at the mountain
top studio transmitter site. After looking around and realizing I was the
only person on duty she asked me who fixes the equipment if something breaks
down. I remember the incredulous look on her face when I told her I did
the repairs. I have to admit I did not tell her that if the breakdown was
real serious, help would come from Art Crawford and John Davis.
I am also reminded that
we did have a serious breakdown of the 10 KW GE FM transmitter. I remember Art
Crawford was working in the back side of the transmitter. I was at the front
side. I heard a big thump and Art uttering a profanity. He had let a column
holding an expensive and hard to get driver tube drop. The drop knocked out the
filament in the tube. This further delayed our getting back on the air. We had
no backup transmitter back in those days. I remember being glad that it was Art
Crawford that let that tube drop and not me.
I have old photos of
myself and my sister taken at the former KHJ transmitter site in about 1943. We
had a cousin who was in the Army and assigned to guard the KHJ transmitter site.
I remember the big acoustical ‘ears’ that were used to track aircraft. Linked to the ‘ears’ via selsyn motors were searchlights and anti-aircraft guns.
These were located out in the antenna field. I remember, as a child,
having fun sitting in the seat of the big ears operator and turning the cranks
that would rotate the ears horizontally and vertically. As I did this, I could
see the searchlights [not on] and the anti-aircraft guns rotating at my command.
I also remember an Army truck arriving with food for the soldiers on guard duty
at KHJ. I got in line with my cousin and was given one of those military metal
food trays and enjoying dinner with my cousin. At the time of this visit I
certainly never imagined I would later be taking care of the KHJ transmitter
site now co-located with KBLA and KYPA.
At about this same time there were guards at KFI also. After going to work at KFI, I learned that one of the guards accidentally fired his rifle making a hole in the ceiling of the shop at the KFI transmitter site. I also found mention of this in an old KFI transmitter log. I looked at the shop ceiling and could not say for sure where the hole was. Once while in the attic I looked to see if I could see anything but did not find anything definitive. But I do have a digital copy of the log listing the event.” – Marvin Collins, retired Chief Engineer KFI - KOST - KACE
Zap, You’re Morganized
 |
(June 2, 2015) Last month marked
the 17th anniversary of the passing of the legendary Robert W. Morgan.
“For over three decades, Robert W. Morgan entertained Los Angeles radio
audiences,” emailed Kevin Gershan, longtime producer who worked with
Morgan. “Robert’s unique sense of timing, wit and charm earned him a place of
honor in the entertainment industry. He won almost every major award the
industry has to offer, including Charter membership in the National Broadcasters
Hall Of Fame, along with Larry King, Ted Turner, Art Linkletter
and Gary Owens. He received Billboard Magazine’s Air Personality
of The Year Award, and a Star on the World Famous Hollywood Walk Of Fame.” On January 9th, 1998, Robert W. Morgan was honored
with a star-studded retirement tribute at the Museum of Television & Radio in
Beverly Hills hosted by K-EARTH 101. They aired a three-hour broadcast live from
the museum’s theatre, ending with a special retrospective narrated by another
broadcasting legend and personal friend, Dick Clark. Less than six months
later, on May 22, 1998, Robert W. Morgan lost his battle with lung cancer. The
Boss-Ography, available at www.reelradio.com,
offers the story of his life. |
Gershan sent along “The Robert W. Morgan
Boss-Ography” (click Robert’s photo to view the documentary). “It was only seen
by those who attended his 1998 retirement or who visited his tribute site at
www.robertwmorgan.com
(hosted by ReelRadio). This version is a higher quality than the previous
web-based version and should be suitable to show on your big screen TV.
Please note this was produced in standard definition 4:3 format, rather than the
high-definition 16:9 format of today.”
GOOD MORGAN!
 |
The Sound's Mark Thompson appeared with Sam Rubin on the KTLA/Channel 5 morning show yesterday
Overheard.
“She [Bruce Jenner] will look like a Kardashian.” (Heidi
Hamilton, KLOS)
“If you don’t demand excellence, I guarantee it won’t
show up.” (George Johns, radio consultant)
“Remember when Tom Cruise was flying over the
Neverland Ranch in a helicopter checking it out to see if he wanted to make it a
Scientology Ranch?” (Gary Bryan, K-EARTH)
 |
Magic Matt Alan Outlaw Radio |
 |
Working with Kevin Weatherly in San Diego.
My daughter inspires me.
My late great friend Bert Randolph Sugar (we had wild
times in NYC) The last time I saw Bert was a highly lubricated night at Musso
and Franks in Hollywood, where he taught me the “Travelling Time Step!!”
And a book that I have kept close to me since the age
of 15 that was written by W. Clement Stone, The Success System That Never
Fails.
....Oh, and the Find the Fish sketch from
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.
 |
Top 40 Battles. In the
mid-1960s, there was a Top 40 battle between 1110/KRLA, KFWB and 93/KHJ. KRLA
distributed a newspaper called, The KRLA Beat. In October 1965, The
Rolling Stones were in town for a recording session at RCA and staged a reunion
with the KRLA djs. From left: Bob Eubanks, Bill Slater,
Charlie O’Donnell, Bill Wyman, Keith Richard, Dick Biondi, Brian
Jones, Charlie Watts, Dave Hull, and Mick Jagger |
Please, Pass the Jack Daniels.
What’s in a radio name? At one time or another we probably all had one. Floyd
Thackrey worked at KGFJ in 1965. He died February 1, 2009, of cancer, at the
age of 69.
We knew him at KGFJ as Jack Daniels. From the
WAKY-Louisville tribute site, where Jack wrote, “I was hired [at
WAKY-Louisville] by Jim Brand, who was program director and morning jock at the
time. In fact it was Jim who gave me the name ‘Jack Daniels.’ He was driving me
around town on my first night, giving me a quick tour of the city. As we drove
along the freeway, we'’ pass a Jack Daniels whiskey billboard about every
quarter of a mile it seemed. I remember him asking if I was a teetotaler. After
telling him ‘no,’ he asked what I thought about using Jack Daniels as an air
name. He reminded me that since the Kentucky bourbon was owned by Early Times,
whih was headquartered in Louisville, the name would be easily and quickly
recognizable for ratings purposes. Done deal..."
 |
Last Thursday night,
U2 performed a KROQ show at the Roxy prior to an evening at the Forum.
“Tickets were not sold, only given away on the air,” emailed
Bean.
“U2 is the
biggest band in the world and this was the smallest venue they had played in
nearly 40 years.”
Bono (singer), Kevin Ryder, Larry Mullen, Jr.
(drummer), Adam Clayton (bass player), Bean, The Edge (guitarist)
 |
Hear Ache. Douglas
Brown snapped this shot off Turner Classic Movies. “It is Dick Powell in a
1937 Warner Bros movie called The Singing Marine. Check out the KFWB mic
flag … Mike Callaghan, former longtime engineer for KIIS and other Clear
Channel (iHeartMedia) stations, checked in recently to say he’s been doing a lot
of reading and some consulting for San Diego Gas and Electric. “It relates to
rooftop solar systems,” emailed Mike. “It gets kind of stressful now and then,
but I’m happy for the most part.” |
LARadio Rewind: June 2,
2008. Andy Chanley becomes the first dj at KSWD “The Sound” and Steve
Mason and John Ireland reunite at ESPN 710 (KSPN). Chanley had hosted
middays at modern rock Y107(KLYY), 1997-99, and then spent a year as morning man
at KACD / KBCD before focusing on a career as a voiceover artist. KSWD, the
former KRBV, had switched to an adult album alternative format in April 2008 and
had been running jockless until Chanley took over the 3-to-8 p.m. slot. As for
the duo on the local ESPN outlet, Mason had hosted mornings at WRQN in Toledo
before taking over the morning show at XTRA Sports 690 in 1992. From 1994 to
1996, he was teamed with John Ireland, a former sportscaster at KUSI-Channel 51
in San Diego. Mason and Ireland were teamed again at KSPN from 2003 to 2007 and
from 2008 to the present. Their show airs weekdays from noon to 3 pm. Ireland
also does radio play-by-play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
 |
Radio Antique Show. KNX
afternooners Diane Thompson and her husband Chris Taylor, former
Arrow 93, KODJ and KNX/fm jock from 1988-2005, were at the Antiques Roadshow in
Tucson last weekend. “We made lots of new friends while waiting in line, but not
much $ haha,” wrote Diane on her Facebook page. “But it was fun to learn
something about mom's ‘Franken-lamp’ as I like to call it. I’m not going to
worry anymore if the cat knocks it over smile emoticon and yes, there was
someone in line with huge velvet Elvis painting! Btw the day started with a fire
on the set, causing a 3+ hour delay.” |
Funnie. MAD WIFE DISEASE from Bill Kingman:
He was sitting quietly reading his paper when his wife walked up behind him and whacked him on the head with a rolled up magazine.
"Ouch!! What was that for?" he asked.
"That was for the piece of paper in your pants pocket with the name Mary Lou written on it," she replied.
"Oh, that! Two weeks ago when I went to the races, Mary Lou was the name of one of the horses I bet on," he explained.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry," she said. "I should have known there was a good explanation."
Three days later he was watching a ball game on tv when she walked up and hit him in the head again, this time with an iron skillet, which knocked him out cold.
When he came to, he asked, "Now what was that for?" She replied, "Your horse called."
Email Tuesday
We GET Email …
** SAG-AFTRA Merger
“Recently, I read Michael Benner’s comment
bemusedly, then I read K.M. Richards partial clarification and
speculation.
Some facts:
In 2012 the merged union name SAG-AFTRA was adopted
with the approval of more than 80% of voters in both unions for a number of good
reasons including:
Heritage SAG had more members.
Heritage SAG was the older of the two unions.
Heritage SAG was known better around the world.
Heritage SAG held the signature ‘SAG Awards’ annually
by agreement with Turner Broadcasting.
And, SAG-AFTRA trips off the tongue more easily than
AFTRA-SAG!
Both partners merged as equals signified by the
hyphen, just as the AFL-CIO and other merged labor organizations do.
The name change of the credit union simply falls in
line with other recent developments.
Our national headquarters building at 5757 Wilshire
Blvd., formerly Museum Square, has been renamed SAG-AFTRA Plaza with appropriate
signage.
Support organizations including the Actors Fund and
the SAG Foundation continue to reside there.
The AFTRA-SAG Federal Credit Union chose this time to
change names for consistency as they remodel and relocate to the more convenient
first floor for the 80% of members who hold a SAG-AFTRA card.
What’s been lost in this conversation is the value
that the new SAG-AFTRA Credit Union holds for its members!
Perhaps, LARadio.com readers will check out their services at the current https://www.aftrasagfcu.org/ ” – Mike Sakellarides, Los Angeles Board Member, SAG-AFTRA
John Ivey Voted
#10 Best Off-Air LARP of 2015
(June 1, 2015)
The results of the 17th edition of naming the best of Los Angeles
radio have been tabulated. Our annual poll for the Best On- and Off-Air LARP of
the year kicks off with #10 Best Off-Air of 2015 with John Ivey, program
director at KIIS/fm. He celebrates his 14 year anniversary at the Los Angeles
station. “It’s just bizarre that I’ve more than doubled the time any previous
KIIS pd has spent in the job,” reflected John. “I just assumed they were here
for a long time. Before I got here there was a lot of fluidity in the industry
and people just seemed to move around much more than they do today. It was good
for me.”
John worked
smaller markets before taking over the programming reins at “KISS 108” in
Boston, where he successfully ran the Top 40 station for seven years. “I was
talking with Bob Pittman recently and realized that Bob was programming
WNBC-New York when he was 22. When I was 22, I was in Owensboro, Kentucky. Bob
was good to go.”
How did John get
the KIIS job? “The first person to approach me was Randy Michaels. We had
some programming meetings in L.A., and it was a weekend of Wango Tango the year
they did the two-day Dodger Stadium event. Dan Kieley was pd of KIIS at
the time and it was really apparent at the meetings that Dan was having health
issues. That night Randy came up to me and said, ‘What do you think about it?’”
“I asked, ‘Think
about what?’ Randy asked if I had talked with Steve Smith. At the time
there were two Steve Smiths in the company – one was head of programming for the
company and the other was with the concert division. I barely knew the
programming guy. It was not like he was calling me on a regular basis.”
Ivey told Michaels that
he was really happy working in Boston. “‘I’m not looking for unhappy people,’
Randy told me.”
The next morning, Ivey
flew back to Boston. A day later, on a Sunday, he got a call from Steve Smith –
the programmer – asking Ivey if he could get on the next plane back to Los
Angeles and be prepared for some personal meetings on Monday. There was a cloak
of secrecy to everything. The company quietly put John up in the Beverly Garland
Holiday Inn on Lankershim.
“The room was like a
cement cinder-block prison,” remembered John. “I thought this was very
clandestine now but looking around the room I wondered, ‘Is this really how they
do it in Hollywood?’”
His first call
Monday was from KIIS general manager, Roy Laughlin, who planned to pick
Ivey up for lunch and Smith would be joining them. “Roy picked me up in his
little Porsche. The first thing he said was, ‘Hey man, I’m a little unfocused so
I don’t drive very well.’ He said they were going to a very private lunch so no
one in the industry would see them. He took me to La Loggia on Ventura Boulevard
and we got a table in the back. Within four minutes, people from the labels and
trades came in for lunch. Roy commented, ‘Well, I guess that blows that,’ which
was typical Roy.”
John thought it was a
great meeting and Tuesday morning flew back to Boston. The next day was John’s
birthday and Steve Smith called offering him the programming job at KIIS. “I
accepted on the spot,” said John. He gave his Boston people almost a month’s
notice. “It is hard to believe I’ve been at KIIS for over ten years.”
With a
partly-functioning program director at KIIS and a changing demographic
marketplace, John was greeted with a number of challenges. “It felt like KIIS
was long in the tooth,” John recalled during those embryonic days on the job.
“It just felt like it was on the down end of a cycle. The Britney –’N Sync era
was going by the wayside and Hip-Hop was starting to emerge and Power 106
overtook us in a second. It was difficult to wrangle that.”
John described Boston as
the most lily-white market in American, so he was definitely feeling the
challenge of coming to a market where within the target audience of 18-24, half
the potential demographic was Hispanic.”
“My initial problem was
learning the market, which always takes time,” confided John. “When a station is
not lighting it up, every ass is under the hood, as well, because of the high
image of the station. I had so many people in the building, everyone in the
company, programmers that aren’t with us anymore, every consultant, and senior
vp thinking they knew more than me. I was still trying to figure out what I was
going to do.”
Adding to Ivey’s
challenges, he had a number of obstacles with existing contracts for programming
people and services that the company was unwilling to buy-out. “I wouldn’t have
made any major knee-jerk reactions anyway, but I realized some of the things I
wanted to do, I couldn’t do.”
Ivey claims it took him
a year and a half to figure it all out and get his bearings. He feels it was
worth the trouble.
Music was a challenge
because records that tested well for major Top 40 stations, like Z-100 in New
York, wouldn’t play as well in Los Angeles. Ivey admits that he did play Three
Doors Down, Creed, and Evanescence because they were really popular, but in
retrospect he shouldn’t have.
And then the
perfect storm, as Ivey described it. “I got Julie Pilat to come in and
handle the music. She grew up with Hip-Hop and Rock. Then I changed the morning
show and brought in Ryan Seacrest. There comes a point when you have to
make a decision so bold that there’s one of two outcomes – either you’re looked
on as doing something smart or you get fired. You can tinker and tinker but that
doesn’t do you any good, but once you make one of these decisions that has one
of those two outcomes, to me that’s always the defining moment. Adding the right
music and changing the morning show, changed the feel of the radio station. It
was like a perfect storm with Julie, Ryan Seacrest, and a new imaging voice,
Kelly Doherty.”
“We’ve missed records
that are national hits because they’re not L.A. records,” John said. “That’s the
beauty of being in the market as long as I have. I figured out what works and
what doesn’t work here.”
And KIIS has enjoyed the
#1 position most months for a number of years.
| #10 Best Off-Air LARP |
 |
| John Ivey |
Some of those who voted
for John, added the following comments:
“Ivey, KIIS/fm, and #1.
They always seem to be next to each other.”
“A real gent and a great
programmer.”
"He has my total respect
being able to fend off competition from AMP, KBIG, KOST, and keep KIIS/fm near
or mostly at the top of the L.A. ratings heap."
"Consistently programs
the #1 radio station in the market. He books artists for Jingle Ball, Wango
Tango, pool parties and countless other shows. He lives and breathes CHR and has
a no bullsh*t way of handling business."
"You have to give props
to someone who helps keep KIIS/fm somewhere within the top three month after
month after month. Go out of town, and you’ll hear KIIS/fm ‘wannabe’ stations.
After all, they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
"He’s legendary, humble
and easy going. With decades of success, he still owns L.A.”
 |
Osborn Stringing.
Lisa Osborn departed KCRW-Santa Barbara to explore being a stringer for
radio and tv stations up and down the Central California Coast. The timing
couldn’t have been more perfect because she was an active reporter for the oil
spill in Goleta. Lisa is available for
full-time or part-time in Los Angeles, especially if there is a station that
wants to cover Santa Barbara stories, such as KNX or KPCC. If you need a
stringer between Ventura/Oxnard and Santa Maria, contact Lisa at: lisa@lisa.fm.
She has been a reporter and news anchor at KFI and KFWB. |
LARadio Rewind:
June 1, 1987. KFI debuts “L.A.’s Morning Show” with Gary Owens and Al
Lohman. Assistant program director Chuck Tyler says the weekday
program will feature news, weather, traffic, music and “a healthy dose of humor
and features.”
Owens began in
radio in 1952 as a news reporter at KORN in his home town of Mitchell, South
Dakota, and had worked in Los Angeles since 1961. For 19 years he was heard on
KMPC. Lohman, born in 1933 in Iowa, had worked at several stations, including
Armed Forces Radio and WABC, before teaming with Roger Barkley in 1963 on
the KLAC morning show.
Lohman and Barkley moved
to KFWB in 1967 and to KFI in 1968 and remained together until 1986 when Barkley
broke up the duo and began hosting mornings at KJOI. Owens and Lohman had first
met in 1957 when they were both working in Omaha. Their KFI morning show lasted
until June of 1989. The station had switched to a news/talk format the previous
year and Lohman explained: “We didn’t fit the direction they wanted to go. You
can call it shock radio or schlock radio, whichever you prefer.”
 |
Elder Returns to Daily Show.
Just last month, Larry Elder received a Star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. Tomorrow, he returns to radio on CRN
Digital Talk Radio for a daily show that will air live on the network's
CRN 1 channel from noon to 3 p.m. and it will replay on CRN 5 from
3 p.m. to 6
p.m.
"The Larry Elder Show" will also stream on CRN's website ( www.CRNTalk.com/LarryElder )and mobile app, as well as its channels on Nobex, TuneIn Radio, iHeartRadio, Aha Radio, TikiLive and many others.
This marks Elder's debut as a nationally syndicated radio talk show host. He has been hosting the program as a live stream on his website, LarryElder.com and for download as a podcast. Prior to that, he was at KABC.
The Los Angeles native - christened the "Sage From South Central" - invites his audience to join him because, as he states to begin his show, "We've got a country to save, so let's get 'er teed up!" Asked to describe his show, Elder says, "I de-program victicrats--so they can think for themselves."
Elder is a NewsmaxTV analyst, and regularly appears as a guest on Fox News and CNN. He was profiled by both 60 Minutes and 20/20, appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and has authored four books - including the best seller The 10 Things You Can't Say in America.
"People around the country know Larry Elder and deserve to hear him every day," said CRN Digital Talk Radio president/ceo Michael J. Horn. "CRN is proud and thrilled to present listeners that opportunity." |
Overheard.
“When someone
corrects my grammar, I remind them those rules were made up by a person, nothing
means anything and we’re all gonna die soon.” (Damien Fahey, from his
Twitter page)
|
Art of Drive-Ins.
Art Laboe was the pioneer in Southern California for a number of reasons,
not the least of which was broadcasting every afternoon at Scrivener’s Drive-In
in Hollywood. He would go from car to car taking on-air requests. Tom Bernstein’s sister
was Art’s assistant for his High Fi Club. “One of her jobs was
chauffeuring guests to Art’s remote broadcasts from Scrivener’s,” emailed Tom.
“While I was in the Army, stationed in Korea, she used my ’55 Chevy Bel
Air convertible to pick up Rickie Nelson at home and drive him to the broadcast. It’s there, buried under Art, Rickie and a sea of screaming girls. It was
all dinged up when I got back.” |
 |
 |
Hear Ache.
Neil Cavuto, senior vp at the Fox Business News channel, is going to
miss Don
Imus’ simulcast. And he says so in an amazing tribute to Imus. Click the
artwork to see the |
|
Book ‘em Dano.
Jeffrey Leonard posted on Facebook this photo from October 10, 1997. It
was at our book signing for the second edition of Los Angeles Radio People
at the Golden Apple on Melrose. Pictured (front): Alan Harvey, Jeffrey
Leonard, Gary Owens, Don Barrett, Mimi Novak and
Mikki. (Back row) - Jim Pewter, Frazer Smith, Scott Keene,
Al Archuleta, Rich Buhler, Mark Denis, Shotgun Tom Kelly,
Charlie Tuna, Bill Earl and Jim Melendez. It was a fun
event with a huge turnout of on- and off-air people. |
 |
Funnie. An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen.
The two gentlemen were talking and one said, “Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great... I would recommend it very highly.”
The other man said, “What is the name of the restaurant?”
The first man thought and thought and finally said, “What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know, the one that's red and has thorns.”
“Do you mean a rose?”
“Yes, that's the one,” replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, “Hey Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?” (thanks to Jerry Lewine)
Email
Monday
We GET Email …
** Al Jarvis May Have
Been the Pioneer White DJ to Play Black Music
“It is true that
’Ol HH Hunter Hancock was the first dj [white or black] to feature
exclusively music by black artists, beginning in 1947. However, the dj who first
included black artists on a mainstream station was undoubtedly Al Jarvis.
His ‘Make Believe Ballroom’ [the first regular dj program ever] began during the
swing era, and Jarvis regularly included black bands such as those led by Count
Basie, Jimmy Lunceford and Lionel Hampton [who expressed his appreciation by
recording Jiving With Jarvis in 1942]. During the early 50s, when
r&b was being birthed and had not yet crossed over into the mainstream, Jarvis
was not afraid to play artists such as Billy Ward & The Dominos, Clyde McPhatter
& The Drifters, Ruth Brown, The Crows, and others.
Unfortunately, Al
Jarvis seems to be overlooked in discussions of early groundbreaking disc
jockeys. Chuck Blore has said that among the original KFWB djs, he
attracted the largest audience. I found it curious that he was missing
from the KFWB survey that you posted on Friday.” – Lane Quigley,
“The Memory Lane Show,” RockitRadio.net, ex-KUSC
** Hancock Park
“I believe Greg
Hardison had the correct answer that Hunter Hancock was the first
white disc jockey to play music by African-American artists on Los Angeles
radio. But he started playing such music several years before KPOP-1020. The bio
listed in ‘Where are They Now’ on this website shows that Hancock started on
L.A. radio in 1947 on the old KFVD-1020 and worked there until 1951. Next, he
was on the air at KFOX-1280 in Long Beach between 1951 and 1954, then moved back
to KFVD/KPOP-1020 [calls changed to KPOP in 1955] from 1954 to 1957, and
finally, he was on KGFJ 1957-1966. Don’s bio on Hunter gives interesting details
on how Hunter started playing rhythm and blues on KFVD in the late-1940s.
It’s possible that one or more disc jockeys in Los Angeles could have played Black music on white stations prior to 1947, but I have not researched the archives of Billboard, Broadcasting or the Los Angeles newspapers to find an answer. But we do know that Hunter Hancock was likely the first one to do so for any length of time on L.A. radio, playing r&b records attracting a Black listening audience in the years just after World War II.” – Jim Hilliker, Monterey