LA Radio Waves

Radio: May 14, 2021 For obvious reasons, the very early broadcasting stations get all the love when it comes to radio trivia. KNX (1070 AM), KFI (640 AM) and KHJ (930 AM), for example, are all either celebrating, or are about to celebrate, a full century of broadcasting. Lost among the crowd, however, are other stations with unique histories. One such station is KTNQ (1020 AM) which actually has its genesis as a station broadcasting out of the port community of San Pedro. That’s right – San Pedro once had its very own radio station. According to radio historian Jim Hilliker — who provided much of this material via a long-ago telephone conversation as well as material available at www.radioheritage.net/Story28.asp — KTNQ is the 9th-oldest continuously operating radio station in the Los Angeles area, and over its 96-year existence has had only four sets of call letters. Hilliker says that it was the McWhinnie Electric Company, then located at 1825 S. Pacific Avenue in San Pedro, that decided to put a radio station on the air. As reported in the March 30, 1925 local newspaper The Daily Pilot (one of the outlets that eventually became part of this newspaper chain), McWhinnie brothers William (Bill) and Charles (Charlie) received permission from the Department of Commerce to build a radio station. The call letters were to be KVFD, and the assigned frequency was to be 1460 AM. It cost $31,000 (about $470,000 today) to get the station on the air, using a 100-watt transmitter and studios located at the company’s retail store. The first on-air test was June 12th, and the signal reached many parts of Southern California including Catalina Island. The station featured a reception area, a large studio at 16×26 feet with a large glass window and soundproof walls, and a control and transmitter room all in the same building. Stories featured in The Pilot told of about 2000 people visiting the station on that Friday, as the studios were open to the public from 1-10 p.m. Hilliker wrote in the story featured by radioheritage.net that the head inspector for the Department of Commerce Radio Division said that “KVFD was one of the finest equipped stations in the country.” The first official broadcast came the following night, Saturday, June 13th, from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. The inaugural broadcast consisted of speeches, congratulatory messages and music and entertainment from both local and regional talent. It may seem odd, given what we know of radio today, but the fact that the station would then broadcast only three nights per week (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday) from 8 to 11 p.m. was not unusual in the early days of broadcasting. Indeed, many stations had to share the same frequency, so they couldn’t broadcast all day. In addition to the evening broadcasts, the station also carried Sunday morning and Sunday evening services of the First Presbyterian Church, which due to the cost of the phone line needed to do the broadcast, was a major expense of the station. Funds to pay for the broadcasts came from individual donations, businesses, and the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored monthly programs to help publicize San Pedro on the radio. Over time, the programming expanded. News and current events were a major part of the broadcasts, and the station made an agreement with the Daily Pilot, allowing it to use the paper’s wire services for its news and sports reports. The Pilot in turn helped promote the station by listing the daily programs in an early version of a radio program log. Local musical talent rounded out the programming along with special features such as a one-act play presented and performed by students from San Pedro High School. Then, abruptly, it was gone. On August 9th, 1926, it was announced that the station would move its studios to the Venice Ballroom in Venice’s then oceanfront amusement park. No reason was given, but the move was quick: the station went off the air for almost a month beginning the day of the announceme

Guest:  Dave Beasing  Radio: May 7, 2021 Months in the making, K-Mozart re-launched itself on May 1st. Did I say months? Actually it was over a year … owner Saul Levine has been planning this since before the start of the Covid pandemic, but put it off due to the problems that came about over the past year. Over time the plan has changed. At one time, it was to be exclusively on the app and on the HD signal that is available with a special tuner on 105.1 HD4. Since that time, the decision was made to put the format on 1260 AM in an attempt to help spread the word. The music itself has been available for a long time. The app, online on HD4 signal have been running classical for a few years; 1260 AM has carried it for the past few months. The re-launch is referring to the addition of hosts and special programs, bringing back the knowledge and passion that was once a regular part of the format as it was heard when it originally launched by Levine as KBCA (now KKGO, 105.1 FM) in 1959. To clarify - the analog signal and the 1st HD digital signal on 105.1 plays country music. To hear the classical music on the radio you need a special HD Radio tuned to the 105.1 HD4 channel, or an AM radio tuned to 1260, which also runs HD radio and sounds fabulous if you are near Glendale. The station can also be heard on-line at Mozart.com, or using smart phone apps and smart speakers. Joining the on-air staff of the station is veteran Nick Tyler, Russ Maloney, David Benoit, Chuck Southcott, and LA Opera diva Suzanna Guzman. The iconic Evening Concert — a program with a local history dating back 75 years — is back on the air Monday through Friday nights at 7 p.m. with Tyler as host. Guzman presents At the Opera Sundays at 12 Noon. Benoit, well known composer and piano artist, hosts Ovations on Sunday afternoons. The smooth-voiced Southcott hosts  Curtain Call — highlighting familiar Broadway Show Stoppers — on Saturday mornings. And Maloney, formerly with Public Radio in the Midwest, hosts K-Mozart Morning Classics at 7 a.m. Mondays through Fridays. Why classical? Why now? Mainly because Levine loves the music and wants to present an alternative to KUSC (91.5 FM). I respect his devotion. We want Mo(re) Kelly KFI (640 AM) weekend host Mo’Kelly (Morris O’Kelly) — heard Saturdays and Sundays 6-8 p.m. along with other shifts as one of the station’s official fill-in hosts — was the guest of honor on last week’s radio-oriented podcast Radio Waves, hosted by Michael Stark and Yours Truly. In the roughly 30-minute discussion, Mo hit on many topics including how his show isn’t necessarily political, though it is definitely topical whether it is referencing politics,  — “I hope you’re not  just talking about politics all day,” he explained,  “that would be a horrible existence!” His plan - talk about life. “As the day goes on, I’m thinking about my Dodgers … my Lakers … or what may be on TV  because that’s how life works.” Indeed. And on his show you can hear almost anything about life, with recent shows running the gamut from James Bond, the Oscars, the FBI, and theaters. It harkens back to what talk radio once was: an opportunity to get together with friends and just shoot the breeze. No preconceived notions. His life is as varied as his show. A graduate of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Mo has been involved in music (classical to hip-hop), entertainment,  records, print journalism, and of course radio. On radio, he’s worked with Jim Rome, Ryan Seacrest, Tavis Smiley, and of course the many people at KFI itself. And that helped him develop  a show that isn’t predictable, and often just plain fun. “I’m like beer … I’m an acquired taste,” he quips. I like beer … I can go with that. It’s a fun discussion that like his show covers many topics. Hear it at LARadioWaves.Com. Still Recovering Speaking of the Radio Waves podcast: The special guest the first week of every month is former program d

This week's episode of the show features an interview with KFI's Mo Kelly. Radio: April 30             It was all supposed to happen May 5, 1965.             One of LA’s oldest radio stations — dating back to 1922 — KHJ (930 AM) had a long history of great programming. But the decade prior to 1965 was not kind. It had gotten so bad that most employees inside the building at 5515 Melrose in Hollywood didn’t think the new team would last any longer than the previous few programming teams. Especially when it was about to enter the tough top-40 competition dominated until then by KFWB (980 AM) and the original KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM).              Primary figures included station manager Ken DeVaney, programmer Ron Jacobs, and consultants Bill Drake and Gene Chenault; Jacobs Drake and Chenault had battled it out at previous stations in smaller cities, honing their craft. New DJs included morning man Robert W. Morgan and afternoon legend “The Real” Don Steele, who I am told once captured a full 40% of the afternoon listening audience.             But about a week before the planned launch, new morning man Robert W. Morgan happened to tune into KFWB and heard things he should not have been hearing … like the term “Boss Radio,” a slogan invented by and for KHJ, along with other stolen KHJ ideas. It seems one of the newsmen thought he was going to be fired from KHJ and went to KFWB with the inside information in order to land a job there.             There is much more to the story, which you can find by searching “KHJ Sneak Preview” on socalradiowaves.com, as well as numerous other places. The short version: the staff decided to launch a week early with a “sneak preview” on what is my best guess, April 27, 1965. The rest is radio history.             For its brief life as a top-40 station, KHJ was huge. It started big in 1965 — copied at stations from coast to coast — and ended big — the last true top-40 programmer, Chuck Martin, brought back much of the station’s glory, and ratings, right before RKO made a horrendous decision to take the station Country in November, 1980. Between those times, some the world’s best DJs worked behind the microphone, and some of the best programming ever produced came from the little 5000-watt transmitter at Fairfax and Venice Boulevards.             Last week I asked for your memories of the station. In no particular order, here are a few:             “ If 56 years ago was 1965 I would be a sophomore in high school and listening to KRLA.  KHJ came on STRONG with the line:  KHJ PLAYS MORE MUSIC.  And I think they did.  At least fewer commercials than we were accustomed to.  And of course…’Tina Delgado is alive, ALIVE’.  Loved the Real Don Steele, he was my favorite. — Mark Edwards, Huntington Beach             “I have many fond memories of 93/KHJ Boss Radio … They were my go-to radio station to hear all the latest hits.  They had the best music mix — on one radio station you could hear music from artists like Dean Martin and the Rolling Stones played back-to-back; the wide variety of popular music they featured was the greatest.  My sister’s favorite personality was the Real Don Steele, mine was Sam Riddle.  I especially enjoyed tuning in every Wednesday from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to hear him do the Boss 30 countdown, years before Casey Kasem started doing American Top 40.  My sister was once the correct caller to win the Tiny Tim album they wer

 Radio: April 23, 2021 I’ve been a big fan of The Woody Show on Alt 98.7 since soon after it made its debut in April of 2014. Led by Jeff “Woody” Fife, the show is what you get when you put the cynical Woody in charge of a cast of intelligent and fun friends who see life in much the same was I do. Not sure if that’s good, but I like it. Unfortunately it’s syndicated now, but still a damn good show. Last week, we found out that the show will be around for at least a few more years, as Fife and friends signed a new contract to take the show through April of 2028. Obviously the station and syndicator like the show as well.  Considering that it consistently ranks among the highest-rated programs among its target demographics, and you can understand why. Woody airs on Alt from 5 to 10 a.m. weekdays, with “best of” segments airing Saturday mornings from 4 to 10. Amp is now Now! There was a time when Amp Radio (KAMP, 97.1 FM) was in striking distance of top-40 leader KIIS-FM (102.7). In the past year or so, however, while KIIS-FM itself has underperformed compared with itself in a historical sense — February had the station tied for 9th with a 3.3 share … a far cry from the dominant position it had for so many years — Amp has just about become irrelevant. There was a time when even AM music stations totally abandoned music formats when ratings dropped below 2.0. Amp hasn’t been as high as, or even close to a 2.0 share in at least six months, and February had it at 1.2. This is the lowest rating I can recall — correct me if I am wrong — for the station in about five formats and four decades … talk, classic rock, adult contemporary, adult top-40, and even country. Frankly that rating surprises me, but perhaps it should not. Top-40 radio isn’t being done right, as shown by even KIIS-FM’s problems, and the lifeblood of the format — young people — are simply not as interested in radio as are you or I. I personally think it can be fixed easily, and have stated how right here in the past. The main problem with Amp is that it doesn’t set itself apart from KIIS-FM. Musically? Similar. Personalities? Nothing special. Morning show? Syndicated from out of town and generally lackluster (which pains me to say as they truly seem to be a nice group).  So how do you fix the station? Pump up the music mix. Find out what kids and young adults want to hear. Either replace the Morning Mess or work with them to connect with the local audience. Get a vibe going with promotions that the target audience wants, and don’t rely on national contests because your owners is too broke or cheap to do something local. What does the management of Amp do? Change the station name. Same music. Same personalties. Same dull programming and promotions. But now it’s called 97.1 Now! Yeah that’ll fix it. Bad on-air IDs always fix bad programming. This has to be a joke. Launch date for the new name was April 15th, and 97.1 Now! Is “LA’s Party Station.” In a press release, Audacy Regional President Jeff Federman explained, “As more and more Americans receive their COVID-19 vaccine, now is the time for us to safely get back on our feet and get moving with the daily habits we love and miss. “This rebrand not only embodies the spirit of our return to normalcy, but also the dynamic state of today’s music industry and we’re excited to usher in this new era with our consumers. As LA’s party station, our programming will spotlight the biggest stars in music and deliver a fresh listening experience to our audience no matter the time of day.” I like the sentiment, but seriously … “Now!” ????? That’s the best they could do? One on One I have no clue where I obtained the recording, but on a recent late-night walk, what came up in my iPhone playlist was a recording from August of 1986, featuring the final hours of KFRC/San Francisco as a top-40 station. For the uninitiated, KFRC was the Bay Area’s version of KHJ (930 AM). Some feel it may have been even better than co-owned

Radio: April 16 My column on KROQ’s new(er) morning show and there station’s “two minute pledge” didn’t necessarily settle any arguments, but brought in some good responses from you. Witness: "I agree with you 100% on this. I would be far more likely to stay with a station that announced how long the ads would last (esp. 1-2 minutes!) with a promise of another set of music to come. “And speaking of insufferable ‘tune outs,’ KRTH's ill-conceived and heinous promo featuring listeners repeating ‘KRTH101’ as fast as possible for a minute (?) to win a prize is like fingernails on a blackboard to me. Even the ads for the promo cause my tune out finger to move like lightning and punch up another station - ANY other station! And I don't go back until the next day.” — Joe Lanning I know the feeling. Sometimes I do wonder if programmers actually listen to their own stations. My hunch these days … rarely. No time. “I can't agree with you more. I either turn the volume down or change the station when the ads come on.  Another thing I do is listen to Sirius Radio where the commercials are minimal.” — Oliver Grani “I'm on board with you regarding commercial breaks. The longer they go the more frustrated I get. It truly ruins the flow of a show/broadcast. It’s not unlike TV. I find myself recording a vast majority of programs simply so I can fast forward thru the litany of commercials. Less is more.” — Frank Rizzo That’s a major problem. As stations added commercials to each hour in order the raise revenue, advertisers realized that their ads were not being heard and caused a lowering of ad rates … the net effect being lowered revenue overall and listeners tuning out the long breaks. Not a good move, and what KROQ is trying to fix. As I said before, I think the plan can be made to work but it will take time to get listeners to change their habits. Does any station have the time and patience?Is there an alternative? “I enjoyed your column on KROQ. What used to make KROQ so good was the music and the concerts they put on. The music was alternative, new, and rocking! Devo, Clash, Specials, Echo and the Bunnymen. And in the 90's,  Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice n Chains...and Lollapalooza's. “Today, rock music is practically dead, and the music on KROQ is terrible with a couple exceptions. Commercials mean switch the channel.  “The Woody Show...is a bunch of 50 and 60 somethings trying to be funny. Fake laughs, predictable gags, and that crappy music to fuel them.   “I prefer Sirius, Pandora, Records, and YouTube.” — Joe Nevis Before they were news David Schwartz, currently with cable television’s Game Show Network; formerly with the originally KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM) sent along a real gem. It’s five minutes short of an hour of programming from our own KNX (1070 AM) beginning just before 10:30 a.m. on November 22, 1963.  This was prior to the station’s move to all-news. Back then it was a variety format, with many different shows, many of which were recorded. As it explained in the description, President Kennedy was shot at exactly 10:30 a.m. Pacific time in Dallas Texas, adding “The first KNX bulletins interrupt Arthur Godfrey's show, which had been pre-recorded just a few hours before.” You can listen via YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR17uOVMDhI The Mighty 690 “In your Friday Column you wrote about XEPRS, a 50K watt station from a suburb of Tijuana.  What ever happened to XETRA the 50K radio station from Tijuana.  I remember listening to it as a kid in the 50s in Blythe along with other 50K watt stations.  Their station ID breaks were distinctive, being pronounced in Spanish.” — Leslie Venable That’s a good question, and it has a nice connection due to 1090’s use of the “Mightier” handle, an obvious reference to The Mighty 690 name that XETRA used under numerous formats. 690 AM is still around, and they still broadcast from Tijuana. What is perhaps a sign of the various ethnic groups that make

Radio: April 9, 2021 The King is dead. Long live the King. Just as when the former Clear Channel radio group changed its name to iHeart in order to solve all of its self-created problems, Entercom has decided to become Audacy. Audacy: audio, audacious, and an odyssey, according to company CEO David Field. Sure. Whatever you say, David. The name change was not unexpected, as Entercom pretty much destroyed itself — just as iHeart did — by overextending itself through buying too many stations, then trying to handle crushing debt by cutting talent, promotions, and salespeople. Kind of the exact opposite of what they should have done, which was to build up stations through better programming, better promotions, and a focus on what local listeners want to hear. Instead, they changed the name. The radio equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The new Audacy has no more chance of surviving longterm than did Entercom. I won’t be shedding any tears. Mark Elliot Passes Former KHJ (930 AM) morning man and former voice of KRTH (101.1 FM) Charlie Van Dyke posted on Facebook April 4th that his good friend Mark Elliot passed away. No other details were available. If you grew up in Southern California in the early to mid 1970s, you know Mark Elliot. His smooth delivery and amazing “pipes” made him one of the best DJs on the station at the time. He could do anything. But he got tired of radio, and he decided to move into doing VoiceOver work, in which he was tremendously successful. Ken Levine wrote about Elliot’s career change in his blog; read it at http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-break-into-voice-overs-without.html. Prior to landing at KHJ, Elliot was a jock on KFRC/San Francisco, which was KHJ’s sister station in the Bay Area. While still in radio, Elliot hoisted the Weekly Top-30, an alternative to American Top-40 (that Elliot filled in as host for Casey Kasem at times), that aired — as I recall — on KHJ and later K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) when that station was top-40. The Weekly Top-30 was produced from 1979 - 1982. The primary voice for Disney productions from 1983 - 2008, Elliot also did voiceover work for CBS Television and Fox, numerous movie trailers even outside of Disney, and commercials. In other words, you probably heard him without realizing it, no matter where you were. But I will always remember him as a super-nice guy who had arguably one of the best deliveries ever to be heard on KHJ. Here’s a short sample: https://airchexx.com/charlie-van-dyke-mark-elliot-93khj-los-angeles-june-18-1976. Elliot begins at about 5:25. Kaplan and Crew TV The border-blaster that was once the home of Wolfman Jack and is currently sports-formatted The Mightier 1090 (XEPRS, 1090 AM) is venturing into television. OK, I’m stretching it a bit, as the station itself is not moving to television. But 3 - 6 p.m. afternoon show Kaplan and Crew — hosted by Scott Kaplan and featuring Alex Padilla and John Browner — is making the move, with a nightly Kaplan and Crew Tonight show, which can be found from 7-8 p.m. on Cox Cable Television’s Channel 4 and 1004 in San Diego and Santa Barbara, along with Channel 118 on Cox systems in Orange County and Palos Verdes. The television edition made its debut on March 29th, and features two “best of” segments from each day’s radio broadcast with other elements added as time permits. I have not seen it myself, as I am not a Cox cable subscriber, but the XEPRS signal, 50,000 watts from a suburb of Tijuana, Mexico, reaches much of Los Angeles County as clearly as a local … so I — and you — can tune in to the radio show easily.  Veteran talk host Bill Moran, formerly heard on KABC (790 AM), KFI (640 AM) and KGIL (now KMZT, 1260 AM), called to tell me about a podcast series he recently launched. Called “The Golden Mic Experience,” the program features residents of The Village at Northridge — a senior living community in Northridge, California — talking with Moran about their most intimate

 Radio: April 2, 2021 It’s been a while since I wrote about (Ted) Stryker and (Kevin) Klein, who made a name for themselves working together in the afternoon on KROQ (106.7 FM) only to be thrown into the hyper-competitive morning slot … replacing the remnants of the Kevin and Bean Show that ran for over a quarter century. Not only were they replacing a legendary show, though an injured version since Gene “Bean” Baxter had left Kevin Ryder to do it alone until he and the rest of the team was let go. They also had to launch the morning version of the show during a pandemic in which they had to do it from their individual homes in individual studios - hardly the easiest way to get a vibe going. The early days of Stryker and Klein mornings were not good. In spite of having a chemistry built up over time in the afternoon, the combined pressure of mornings and the challenges of the pandemic made for a show that sounded overly rehearsed. For all I know it was rehearsed with segments pre-recorded. But over time, they have settled into once again being the great team they are. The chemistry between the two is perfect. They sound like — and I assume are — good friends. In fact, listening to them is like listening to your own friends talk. Crude? No. Well, usually no. Fun? Yes. And with music thrown in as well. How does it differ from Alt 98.7 FM’s Woody Show? Much like the days when Kevin and Bean on KROQ were compared with Mark and Brian on KLOS (95.5 FM) , they are very similar. Perhaps fewer regular bits. Slightly different music. Both are tremendously entertaining, and choosing the best can perhaps best be decided by the topics of conversation for the day. Not that everything is perfect. One bit they do run weekly (Fridays)  is The Stryker Awards, in which they highlight the bloopers of the week as made by the team. What should be one of the best bits of the show turns out to be as grating as fingernails on a chalkboard due to a sound bite played about 100 times too often, ending with “Strikeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.” It is an absolute tune-out; the program director truly should destroy the recording and forbid it from ever being played on the station again. It is that annoying. That awful. And it plays about every five seconds during the segment. That being said, outside of the segment that should be good, it’s among the best morning shows in town right now, one that for the most part you wouldn’t mind your kids overhearing. Give it a shot. Speaking of KROQ I want your opinion. For years, I have railed against long commercial breaks. My thinking is that long sets of commercials are a huge tune-out, running long sets lowers the value to advertisers as their ads are lost in a cluster, and if done right, short breaks with well-produced ads won’t (necessarily) be a tune-out. As commercials get more notice, ad rates can go up, bringing in more revenue due to the ads being more effective. Essentially, a win-win-win for the station, advertisers and listeners alike. KROQ is basically trying my plan. Commercial breaks are no more than two minutes (still 30 seconds to one minute longer than my ideal, but better than the 5-7 minutes often run elsewhere). But one observer told me that the two-minute promise, as it is called, is actually hurting the station. Why? People are just used to long breaks, so they tune out as soon as ads start. Essentially, listeners need to be retrained, and KROQ is wasting valuable air time promoting the commercial promise rather than other elements of the station: music, personalities, whatever. While they may be using too much time promoting the promise (you could go with a simple announcement like “now up to 56 minutes of music an hour” or “back to the music faster” as done by stations of the past) but I still believe the idea to be sound. When I listen to KROQ lately, I am not included to hit the button any more … by the time I think of it, the break is over. What do you think? Do you like longer breaks

 Radio: March 26, 2021 Is it fair to compare podcasting with broadcast radio? In a word, no. The two are totally different animals, with broadcasting by definition attempting to reach a broad audience and the podcast designed to appeal — at least as is usually done currently — to a very narrow, specialized audience. There are exceptions, and sometimes the lines do blur. Ben Shapiro’s radio show heard from 3-5 p.m. on KABC (790 AM)? That’s actually a rebroadcast of his podcast you can hear every morning on line. And that is but one example. But in general, as radio has abandoned much of its local focus, and with so many stations not even running public affairs programming at all any more, podcasting has come in to fill the gap. You can listen to podcasts produced by Trader Joes, talking about products the store carries. Mike Stark and I do a weekly podcast talking about radio, usually promoting this very column. There are podcasts about music, concerts, business … just about anything. Paul Roberts saw the potential of podcasting years ago. Struck by the fact that Orange County no longer has a local mass appeal radio station, he launched OC Talk Radio in 2010, available at octalkradio.biz. At its launch, it was basically an experiment in a new form of media. Indeed, the term podcasting had only been in use for about six years, and podcasts were often far from professional. Roberts wanted to change that, and he realized that he could provide — via his network — a voice for Orange County. He calls it a community radio station, though it is not “on” the radio. Or at least regular radio. But many feel the future of radio is on the internet, and podcasting may drive the move. More on that a little later. Unlike other podcast distributors, not only does OC Talk Radio stream programming on demand, but Tuesdays through Fridays the online station broadcasts programming live from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Shows range from business, to religion to Women in Electronics. And everything in between and around, such as Impact OC, hosted by Dawn Kamber, which highlights people, businesses and organizations making a positive impact on the County. In some ways it is like the very early days of radio in which programs were sponsored by individuals or companies trying to promote their ideas or products. You can hear the programs online at the website, or through such apps and services as iTunes, and you can subscribe so that you’re notified when a new show you’re interested in becomes available. Check it out and tell me what you think. The Next Limbaugh He’s not really a replacement, as you can’t truly find a new host for The Rush Limbaugh Show. But with stations facing a hole in programming following Limbaugh’s death last month, and his former distributor lacking a clear plan moving forward, the rush is on, so to speak, to find programming that will fill the void. With that in mind, podcaster and Fox News contributor Dan Bongino, who’s podcast has been carried on KABC (790 AM) from 5-6 p.m. weekdays, has been selected to host a show in Limbaugh;s time slot of 9 a.m. to 12 noon weekdays.  To be clear, the program is not a replacement for Limbaugh’s. It’s actually a competing show designed to strike while opportunity is knocking. It will launch on May 24th, and will be carried in a handful of markets including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington D.C. In Los Angeles, the good money is that it will be carried on KABC, seeing that the show is being distributed by Westwood One … which is owned by Cumulus Media, the same company that owns KABC. In the meantime, Limbaugh’s show is still airing with guest hosts and “best of” recordings of “Rushbo” himself. This will continue while distributor Premiere Networks figures out a plan. Online Rocks I mentioned earlier that some people think online radio may just be the future of radio. And they may be right. Considering that it is almost impossible to find new rock music

 Radio: March 19, 2021 Several local radio stations were big winners in the annual Golden Mike competition, presented by the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California. This includes Best Newscast awards for KNX (1070 AM) and KFI (640 AM), with the former winning in the category for newscasts over 15 Minutes in length, and the latter winning the award for newscasts under 15 Minutes. But that’s not all for the two popular stations. KNX also won in the categories of Best Traffic Report, Best Live Coverage of a News Story (Division A), Best Business and Consumer Reporting, KFI, meanwhile, won for Best Continuing News Coverage, Best Documentary, Best News Reporting (Division A), Best Light Feature Reporting (Less than One Minute), Best News Special, Best Internet News Reporting, and Best Podcast. KLAC (570 AM) took two awards in Best Sports Segment and Best Sports Reporting; KCRW (89.9 FM) claimed two in Best Hard News Series Reporting and Best Use of Sound (Division A); KPCC (89.3 FM) also won two in Best News Public Affairs Program and Best Government and Political Reporting (Division A). KCLU (88.3 FM) in Thousand Oaks took three awards: Best Live Coverage of a News Story (Division B) , Best News Reporting (Division B), Best Light Feature Reporting (One Minute or Longer), Best Entertainment Reporting, Best Government and Political Reporting (Division B), and Best Use of Sound (Division B). The two divisions, A and B, relate to the size of the station, with Division B referring to stations or podcasts with five or fewer full-time news staff members. The category of Best Medical and Science Reporting (Division A) was won by a podcast, inewsource. Golden Mikes are the longest-running broadcast news awards in the country, and are quite distinguished as judges include some of the top journalists in the country. Due to the pandemic, the awards were presented in a live-stream show on March 13th; you can watch the presentation ceremony and get more information on the awards and categories by visiting RTNA.org. Helping Hand KLOS (95.5 FM) and the station’s loyal listeners united to raise money benefiting St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital during a two-day on-air radiation held March 11th and 12th. In its 4th Annual St. Jude Rocks radiation, the station raised more than $880,000. The two-day radio broadcast featured the participation of rock celebrities like Gene Simmons, Metallica, Dirty Honey and Daughtry. Sister stations to KLOS even got involved, with  Power 106 FM, KDAY (93.5 FM), and the new KALI (93.9 FM) rallying their listeners for the radiothon. “Everyone stepped up in a huge way,” KLOS programmer Keith Cunningham told me, including the entire Meruelo Media stations in Los Angeles. Personalities encouraged fans to make a monthly commitment to St. Jude as a Partner in Hope to receive a “We Won’t Stop” t-shirt, a custom KLOS “St. Jude Rocks” t-shirt, and then snap photos wearing them using #StJudeWontStop on social media.  Still At It For over 30 years, Royal Oakes has provided commentary on America's most talked about legal cases to national and local broadcast media. He's appeared nationally on the syndicated programs "Inside Edition," "Extra" and "Access Hollywood." He’s also served as Legal Analyst for Los Angeles television station KNBC Channel 4, KABC (790 AM) and KFWB  (980 AM) All-News Radio. As an ABC News Legal Analyst, he contributes to network radio news broadcasts, and to ABC's Good Morning America. Now he’s doing a new feature, and can be heard on affiliates to Benztown, a radio imaging and production company. Called "It's the Law," the one-minute short form feature provides Oakes' topical daily legal analysis and insights about laws -- controversial and otherwise -- that affect Americans. The feature presents Oakes' legal analysis and updates in an information-packed format, and is available to all Benztown News Library users for airing Monday through Friday. This new seg

 Radio: March 12, 2021 Remember when KLSX (now KAMP, 97.1 FM) was running a talk format? AKA The FM Talk Station? Well, it’s back …kind of… Coming to you via the magic of digital HD Radio on KLOS (95.5 FM) HD2, various phone apps, smart speakers and online at KLOS2.com is … KLOS-2, Southern California’s Talk Station. KLOS programmer Keith Cunningham broke the news last week, though he is not the programmer of this new venture. Instead, Frank Kramer of Heidi and Frank fame will run the talk station. Kramer will continue to wake KLOS listeners along with Heidi Hamilton on the main channel, while curating and cultivating talent for the talk channel. At its launch March 4th, the new talk station is nothing more than a 24-hour Best Of Heidi and Frank station. But Cunningham explained that this is only the beginning. “Frank has big plans for the the station, and in he next few months new programming will be added,” he told me. In a press release, Kramer confirmed by explaining, “The 24-hour loop (of Heidi and Frank) is just phase one. In the coming months my team and I will be adding original programming, special features and even more surprises. KLOS-2 will ultimately become a full-fledged talk radio station, courting new advertisers and personalities.”  His team? Yes, didn’t you know? Kramer is the man behind Toad Hop Entertainment, which is the parent company of the Toad Hop Podcast network. Kramer had launched it after KLSX dropped the talk format in 2009, allowing the Heidi and Frank show to continue as a podcast itself until being picked up by KLOS shortly later. I would assume that podcasts could easily become program material as the station evolves. In a sense, having Heidi and Frank 24-hours per day is a smart launch. It brings in dedicated listeners who may be willing to listen to other hosts as they are added. And it keeps costs down until the programs find their grooves. Will it be successful? Don’t be silly… KLSX wasn’t even successful as a talk station. You think a station that can only be heard on a special radio, an app or online will do better? But this misses the point. But that misses the point. In the end, it doesn’t have to be successful in the traditional sense. KLOS is already sending the signal out anyway … running the extra HD channel costs essentially nothing, and the online streams are not that expensive either; in total it is far less money-wise than a full-power standalone station. If it can just cover the costs, and potentially bring in new listeners (and maybe sell a few HD Radios along the way), it’s done its job. I commend KLOS owner Meruelo Media for giving this a shot, and I wish Kramer the best in getting compelling content on the air. Outside of Saul Levine — owner of Go Country 105 and his various HD signals —  this is one of the very few cases  locally of trying to really market and sell HD Radio. I wonder who will be the first new host to join? Engineered Problems Jerry Del Colliano reported in his Inside Music Media column last week that just three days after iHeart Radio’s nationwide cutback of engineers, eight stations went off the air. It happened in the Savannah-Hilton area of Georgia, where two AM stations, four FMs and two translators  — all in the same head studio complex — were cut off for over two hours due to the failure of a universal supply. Engineers from a neighboring area were sent to repair the UPC … from 700 miles away. iHeart — owner of eight stations locally including KFI (640 AM), KIIS-FM (102.7), KOST (103.5 FM) and My FM (104.3) cut the engineers after running out of other things to cut. They already cut talent, advertising executives, promotions, and more. The fact that they cannot even afford engineers seems to indicate they are unfit to own even one station, let alone the 860 that it does. It is time to put iHeart, and the other large group owners, out of their misery.  As documented here and elsewhere, the large group model has been a f