Radio: September 8, 2023             Trends are funny. Funny in an interesting way, and often caused by forces not necessarily obvious.             Such an example is top-40 radio, represented locally by KIIS (102.7 FM). The station that almost single-handedly brought the format back from its death in the early 1980s while hitting record high ratings for an FM station, is on hard times now. The July Nielsens had the station tied for 8th place with a 3.7 share of the audience … a far cry from the 10+ shares of the 1980s.             But I am not here to bash KIIS. I am merely using it as an example of some trends that have come together, and perhaps help find a way out.             First and foremost, the appeal of oldies cannot be denied. Out of the top-10 stations, fully six are either fully oldies-based or rely heavily on them in the music mix. KRTH (101.1 FM) KTWV (94.7 FM), My FM (KBIG, 104.3), KOST (103.5 FM) Jack (KCBS-FM, 93.1) and KLOS (95.5 FM) all predominantly play songs not released in the last year.             KIIS is definitely not alone. Top-40, or Contemporary Hit Radio as it is called today. has taken a hit nationwide. As the format tends to attract younger listeners, the fact that many younger listeners are getting their music from streaming services and apps like TikTok, it seems to be the natural progression.             Indeed, InsideMusicMedia’s Jerry Del Colliano has extensively covered the migration to and influence of streaming; a recent Billboard.com story spoke of TikTok’s appeal to young listeners; top-40 stations across the country have added more “gold” to their playlists; and the idea of playing music that is old but “new to you” has taken hold as an easy way to attract listeners.             But it doesn’t work to attract younger listeners, thus top-40 as a format suffers.             Yet the answer lies in the appeal of the very things that are supposedly killing radio. TikTok is exposing kids to music, new and old, from multiple genres. Streaming services use curators to find music that listeners may like, based upon the songs they play — and those they skip.              Add in Sean Ross, who writes in RadioInsight.com that most people fondly remember their own top-40 listening days from “when top-40 played it all,” and you have the answer: play it all.             Top-40 has always thrived when it played it all, and has always stagnated when it limited itself. You saw it happen with too much “bubblegum,” too much disco, too much country, too much of “the Miami sound,” too much grunge, and too much Hip-Hop. All of those eras had temporarily success, but ultimately led to ratings declines as listeners left for other stations.             Yet when “they played it all,” such as the 1960s where you could hear The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Jefferson Airplane and Cream all on the same station, it just worked. Same for when Prince, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and Foreigner all shared space on the same station. Today KRTH is leading the ratings doing nothing more than playing the music that once played on KIIS … Naked Eyes, Wham, Soft Cell, Tears for Fears, Madonna, Depeche Mode and Outfield.             That variety of music makes things interesting, and today’s teens especially are, according to research, more willing to listen to different genres right now than any other generation.             Inside Music Media’s Del Colliano suggests that perhaps it is time to hire curators — locally, of course, so you can better match the audience — to find new music and present it. “Young audiences are more eclectic than baby boomers, Gen X or even older millennials - they mix genres,” he explains. They are “spellbound” when they find it, open to fresh musical styles, “and amazingly curious.”             Radio is losing young people, he says in part because, aside from the commercial overload, “radio no longer breaks new music and acts.” Fix it by doing so, and become the influencers you used to be, Del Colliano advises programmers, instead of letting social media do it.             Ross takes it a step further and blames, in part, the record companies for not even trying to promote new musical styles and acts to hit radio stations.             I agree fully with all of the above, which you already know if you’ve read this column very long. Your responses to me tell me that you agree as well. And like the dark days of hit top-40 radio before, all it takes is a KHJ, a Ten-Q, a KIIS-FM, or the like to take up the cause and do it right.              Top-40 is not dead, it’s just dormant. And the time is ripe for a comeback. Hopefully sooner than later.             Rumor Mill             Is Saul Levine ready to test all-digital AM on his K-Mozart (1260 AM)? I’ve been told “maybe.” I hope it happens … I’d love to see how far an all-digital AM signal can carry both during the day and night, and if it helps reduce the interference between stations. If it happens, you’ll be the first to know.             /// Radio: September 15, 2023 Over the air television broadcasts are about to undergo another transition similar to the original transition to digital transmissions over a decade ago. Digital television broadcasts launched a few years prior, but in 2009 most analog television broadcasts were shut down, and digital, using what is called the ATSC 1.0 standard, was the default over-the-air standard. More recently a new technology called ATSC 3.0  has been developed, offering more efficient signal use, better and easier reception, improved picture quality, and even streaming and on-demand services. One additional benefit: the system would allow for 50 — or more — full-fidelity radio stations to be sent along in the space of just one channel. That is if the industry decides to develop the concept.According to an article at TechRadar.com, the idea was developed by Fraunhofer, “the company behind the original MP3 audio compression standard that ultimately led to the development of the best MP3 players and paved the way for music and internet radio streaming as well. (full article at https://www.techradar.com/news/if-atsc-30-broadcasts-pack-50-radio-stations-in-one-tv-channel-im-all-ears) “Fraunhofer is seeking to have its highly efficient xHE-AAC audio codec, which allows for high-quality voice transmission at a mere seven kilobits per second and stereo music at bit rates from 24 kilobits per second and up, ‘brought into the ATSC for standardization.’ Doing so would let ATSC 3.0 broadcast TV stations deliver a package of local and national radio services using just a small fraction of their spectrum bandwidth.” What this means is that, if the standards committees agree, we could have an additional way to send and receive radio broadcasts over the air, receivable in cars and homes, … and if done right could be a true competitor to current AM and FM stations dominated by a mere three owners.  I suggest the proposal include limits to ownership, such that only a small handful of stations could be owned and operated by any one company. This would avoid the mess we have now with stale formats and commercial overloads that push people away to other entertainment sources. I’d push for no more than two stations in one market and only seven nationwide … basically the same limits radio had back when it was a super-power listener and ad-wise. YouTube’s “Antenna Man” has a little video on the concept at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDUotDRS1hs … check it out if you are interested. Reception Questions We live in San Juan Capistrano and enjoy listening to 91X.  We have radios in the master bath and garage.   “The signal from 91X is highly variable. On some days the reception is great, on others the station barely registers. Any insight into why that’s the case? Thanks!” —  Eric Carlson FM reception can be tricky for two reasons … under certain (usually bad weather) conditions, the signal just doesn’t travel as far, and it always has trouble with hills, since it travels in a straight line. Ironically, the other condition is when it’s REALLY clear, and the signal gets interrupted by neighboring stations on or near the frequency. HD signals make it worse because they add to the sideband interference. In some cases, stations once heard just disappear! A house FM/TV antenna, if you can connect one, will usually make a huge difference. Just make sure it is designed for the FM band, which is between the old analog television Channel 6 and 7.Of course the other solution is to use a smart speaker or smartphone app. “For the past week I have been grumbling over my poor AM reception as I have been driving around the northern part of the San Fernando Valley in my 2006 GMC truck with my factory installed 31-inch stick antenna projecting from my front fender.  “It is nearly impossible to hear clearly 710, 790, and 1020AM broadcasting. The interference and screeching is horrendous. As a result, I thought of you and writing you an email when your column appeared today. Thus, I look to you for a solution. What do I do to receive reception? Do I need to replace my antenna? If so, what do I replace it with? What is the solution? I would appreciate any advice and recommendations.” — The Reverend Greg Frost, Granada Hills AM is a different animal reception-wise from FM. While FM is relatively statice-free (reference: Steely Dan’s hit song “FM”), AM can pick up interference from almost anything: cheap electrical transformers, ungrounded electric supply wires, light dimmers, cable boxes, LED traffic lights and much more. In fact, it is the response by radio manufacturers in reducing interference that caused AM to get a reputation as a terrible-sounding broadcast system.  AM is actually capable of excellent fidelity. Many radios manufactured before the 1980s sounded good; many in the 1960s were excellent. The AM stereos of the 1980s and ‘90s often were superb. But too many are awful, and there is definitely a price to be paid with so much extra interference around us today. Add to this the fact that too many station owners gave up their prime broadcast towers or allowed building in and around the transmitter site, and you have another problem - far weaker signals than ever before for many stations.  In this specific case, in order to trace it out, it is important to know - did it come on suddenly? Is the antenna tight? Is there ay corrosion on the mast mount? Is the antenna grounded? Does the interference happen only when the truck is running, or all the time? Often car radio interference can be traced to a bad ground wire, a loose battery connection, or in one case of my own years ago, a car phone charger that made AM reception almost impossible whenever it was plugged in. I’d look for corrosion and grounds first, then move on from there. Radio: September 22, 2023            The August Nielsen ratings were released last week for Los Angeles, and while I will not be covering the entire list — I leave that for quarterly reports so as to not bore you too much — there was definitely a station worth mentioning: KFI (640 AM)            The reason it’s worth mentioning has as much to do with the success the station has enjoyed as it does the dire predictions many made when programmer Robin Bertolucci adjusted the programming and moved a few hosts around in early January.             “They’re doomed,” cried some. No one will listen to John and Ken — who moved from their longtime afternoon drive slot to take on the 1 to 3 p.m. hours —  that early. Tim Conway will not attract an audience in afternoons like he had at night. Etcetera, etcetera …            And ‘Mo Kelly? Who’s he?            I even had people write in talking about the steep ratings drop KFI had due to the changes. There was only one problem: it never really happened, in a statistical sense. I looked it up … for most of the last few years, KFI ranged from the mid-high 3s to the low-mid 4s with a few periods even higher. So this year, ranging from 4.1 to 4.3 was normal.            But the ratings for August had KFI at a recent high: 4.8, good for third place over all. Done with little promotion, no marketing (why is that, by the way?) … and all those changes that “killed” it.            Why is KFI so successful? Isn’t conservative talk dead? Yes, it is … and it’s been decades since KFI was considered “conservative talk” even when it wasn’t. There have always been a balance of viewpoints on the station; as it moved away from politically-centered topics to more general topics, it matched the mood of listeners who wanted to be entertained more than they wanted to be angry.            Thus, the idea of shortening the shifts to keep shows fresh and fast-moving, keeping all of the current hosts while allowing for afternoon exposure of the amazing wit on the Conway Show, and the introduction, or perhaps re-introduction of general talk in the evenings with the addition of  ‘Mo Kelly every evening at 7:00 … worked out perfectly.            And having a stellar news department helps as well.             “I am super-proud of the KFI team,” said programmer Bertolucci. “In addition to being #3 overall — and the top-rated news or talk station — we are so happy to be the most streamed station on the iHeart app.”            She said that on-demand and podcasts are doing great as well.            “KFI is THE live and local station for Southern California, and I think the key is all the ways people can hear us. From streaming in your car to listening on your smart speaker at home, we’ve got you covered.”            I asked her what she thought was the secret to the success of the station. Consistency? Fun? Yes, she said, to both. “Our hope is that any time you tune in, you are not only informed, but you are also entertained,” she said adding, “Thank you to all our wonderful listeners for their support!”            1110 AM Gets Religion            KRDC (1110 AM) was finally transferred to its new owner on September 8th. On that day it became KWVE, the AM simulcast of Calvary Chapel’s KWVE-FM (107.9). The format is Christian talk, which has been running on the FM signal for many years.            With that strong FM signal, why did the church buy the one-time top-40 powerhouse? Better coverage in the northern and western parts of the city, I am told, and an extended signal reach up and down the coast. Obviously Calvary Chapel believes in AM broadcasting …            And just to show that some things go full circle, 1110 AM, even though the station is not longer using the KRLA call letters it once had, is competing once more against KHJ (930 AM), which now airs Catholic talk programming.             Resting in Radio Peace            Don Barrett announced his cancer diagnosis in mid August; last week the news came that he had passed.             I won’t write a new obituary here; the column honoring him that ran on August 25th will suffice. But I wanted to mention an interview — a rare one, since Barrett even to the end rarely did interviews — done by my podcast partner Mike Stark. It includes some wonderful memories of radio past and present, shows Barrett’s philosophy of always looking to the positive, and even includes some classic airchecks I had not heard before that Barrett critiques. It’s a great listen and can be found at youtube.com/watch?v=SJ6BjY2cwYc.            In an ordinary instant, Don, you will be missed. God bless you.            Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email [email protected]            ///                        

 Radio Waves: September 1, 2023 Antenna Mania I recently had a chance to try out a really cool looking — at least in the opinion of some — antenna for my truck. The brand itself doesn’t matter much as these are all similar in design: flexible rubber with some sort of spiral wire inside to, as the description says, optimize reception for both AM and FM bands. Most modern cars and trucks have special antennas that barely stick out of the body, and rely on signal amplifiers to get good reception. And most do quite well, including the one on my son’s Chevy Cruze … that radio gets better reception than almost any car radio I’ve ever used.  But my truck is a 1999 Silverado, with the old school antenna. The factory original sticking up 31 inches from the fender, it is optimized for FM frequencies but does quite well with AM too, including picking up the HD digital stream of KBRT (740 AM) from San Pedro. and occasionally getting the identification from KMZT (1260 AM) even though I can’t get the actual HD sound until I get closer. FM is similarly solid everywhere I drive. But I couldn’t help wondering if the mini flex antenna — a “new generation” with a carbon-fiber base covering, built-in copper wire, and “optimized AM/FM reception by nearly 40%,” whatever that actually means — could live up to the hype and at least match or even beat my factory install. Turns out, it couldn’t, and I realized that the 40% optimized reception means the reception is about 40% of what I used to receive with my original.  Most people may not have noticed the difference in FM performance, but I have an HD radio head unit, and it likes a good clear signal. FM stations generally did come in well with little interference similar to the original, though a few stations were just missing, such as KFBG (100.7 FM) and KGB (101.1 FM), which usually come in decently due to the signal shooting straight up the coast from San Diego to San Pedro … at least on a clear day. But the HDs were hit and miss, with more reception problems than ever. Even Go Country (105.1 FM) had trouble locking in the HD stream, and that is usually one of the most reliable where I like. AM on the other hand, was an entirely disappointing experience. Static everywhere, even over flamethrower 50,000 watt powerhouse KFI (640 AM). KMZT could not even be heard, and mid-signal stations such as KLAC (570 AM), KABC (790 AM), and KHJ (930 AM) were essentially unlistenable. To prove it wasn’t just weather or atmospheric conditions on the test day, I put my factory antenna back on and all the reception problems cleared up. Immediately. I bring this up not to bash the manufacturer of the antenna I evaluated. Instead I want to highlight the fact that antenna design, including length and other aspects, is exceedingly important to good reception. AM likes an antenna as long as possible, FM seems to work well with — on a car at least — that 31 inches preciously mentioned. Something to do with wavelength as I recall — engineers, feel free to confirm or correct me. Newer cars usually use special small antennas are just that: antennas designed to work with the car’s construction and electronics to optimize reception. Home radios and stereos can suffer from the same issues, and reception there can often be improved for AM by rotating the radio or moving it away from other electronics to cancel out interference. For FM, if you can connect it to a house antenna just like most televisions used to be, you’ll hear stations from greater distances than ever before. Of course all of this is moot if you listen via apps. But that’s another column … Sound Science Another new toy I recently evaluated is a special little box that turns my normal iPhone’s Car Play wired system into wireless. Not an amazing must-have, mind you, but really a nice thing if you do have it. When I start up the truck, the phone connects automatically and starts playing whatever I was listening to last. Yesterday I was driving my dog Snoopy back from a check-up at the vet’s office, and Alt 98.7 FM came on. I really wasn’t paying attention, but it turned out it was playing through CarPlay via the iHeart app. How does it compare with the over-the-air signal? I checked. While it does sound good on the app, over the air is vastly superior on a direct comparison. More open, more dynamic … just better. This is not an indictment of apps, by the way. Some stations, including both over-the air simulcasts and internet-only stations sound absolutely phenomenal on apps. And Alt does sound fine. But the difference in quality was noticeable, and probably related to reducing bandwidth on the internet stream to allow more connections as well as cut streaming costs. Just a guess … again, engineers can feel free to confirm or correct me. Where the apps excel, though, are areas of weak reception. As long as the internet signal is good, apps can work where AM and FM cannot.  And while I am on the subject of Alt 98.7 … I mean this with love … The Foo Fighters and Maneskin both made more than one song each … just sayin’. /// Radio: August 25, 2023 Don Barrett is one of the radio’s biggest supporters. Not only was he in radio — among other accomplishments, he launched KIQQ (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) in the early 1970s — he is and has been a friend even to those radio personalities he never met. His book, “Los Angeles Radio People,” set out to highlight every radio personality who was ever on the local airwaves between the years of 1957 to 1994 (First Edition) and 1957 to 1997 (Second Edition). As much as possible, many behind the microphone were also featured.  There was supposed to be a Third Edition, but a tragic hard drive crash and the lack of suitable backup caused the update to be abandoned. In order to publicize the book, Barrett created the Los Angeles Radio People website, at laradio.com. At first it was just information about the book, but it soon grew in to a news and information site that quickly became a must-read daily gathering of radio people and radio fans alike. In time the site eclipsed the book in importance, with daily updates of the industry including what people were up to, the state of the industry, and even a call for help for those down on their luck. Kind of the gathering place at the company cooler. Barrett always made sure that both in his books and the site, he was always positive. Rare was the case when he wasn’t presenting only positive vibes. Even after he decided to retire from the daily updates, he still maintained contact with his thousands of radio friends, updating the “Where Are They Now” listings, and continuing to act as radio’s cheerleader with re-posts of past columns highlighting various achievements, awards, and more. Last week, Barrett posted something more serious. “I discovered the writings of Joan Didion late in life,” he wrote. “She coined the phrase, ‘ordinary instant.’ Perhaps the phrase leaped off the page because death comes in such a rushing finality. She wrote: ‘Life changes fast/Life changes in the instant/You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.’ Joan’s husband was robbed of 3,500 days. In an ordinary instant. “For the past two months, I have been in constant pain. Doctors, hospitals and ERs. Yesterday I was in the San Luis Obispo ER for more tests. And there it was in an ordinary instant – advanced stages of liver cancer that had spread. “The doctor was sorry to pass on the news and couldn’t hold back tears. Cherie and I looked at each other, burst into tears and almost simultaneously said, ‘I think this is my ordinary instant.’ “I have been blessed with two great loves in my life. I struggled with relationships for the first 70 years. In 2012 the most amazing woman entered my life. Cherie taught me about unconditional love. She is the greatest blessing ever. It is never too late to start over. My three children embraced her from the beginning. “My second love has been radio. Thank you for supporting my love affair for over a quarter of a century. I will be shutting down LARadio in the coming days.” I asked Don if it was OK to share the news, and he told me that he keeps no secrets … and immediately thanked me for all I’ve done … typical Don … looking toward the positive. His positivity over time helped me to become more positive in life, a better person overall, and certainly a better supporter of the radio community. I have truly appreciated our friendship. Barrett supported others as well, writing in that same post, “Another blessing, after 42 years of being clean and sober, I have been so privileged to share my experience, strength and hope with younger men on the path to sobriety. “If we're lucky we get 28,000 days. Cherish them and don't waste one of them. God bless!” The site’s front page is still up as I write this, but no content is available except for a mention of the shut down: “In an ordinary instant - cancer has taken LARadio.com” Don - may your remaining time on earth be without pain and as positive as you deserve. Be with your family. And remember, you will forever and always be radio’s historian. Condensed Access AllAccess.Com founder Joel Denver announced in July that mid August would be its shutdown; early August bright some good news, with the following post on line … “The outpouring from the radio and music communities, our clients and partners since our ALL ACCESS closure announcement set for August 15th has been unbelievable. Thank you, so much. Your feedback gave us pause to review what could still be possible despite the financial headwinds we have been facing. “ALL ACCESS has heard you loud and clear, so beginning AUGUST 16th, a modified/abbreviated ALLACCESS.COM site will be available with some basic services still intact.”  The daily Net News updates have been discontinued, as have much of the original content. But various elements will live on even if just archival form. Of course I hold out hope that over the course of time, more original content will return. For now … it’s good news regardless. Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email [email protected]. ///  Radio Waves: September 1, 2023 Antenna Mania I recently had a chance to try out a really cool looking — at least in the opinion of some — antenna for my truck. The brand itself doesn’t matter much as these are all similar in design: flexible rubber with some sort of spiral wire inside to, as the description says, optimize reception for both AM and FM bands. Most modern cars and trucks have special antennas that barely stick out of the body, and rely on signal amplifiers to get good reception. And most do quite well, including the one on my son’s Chevy Cruze … that radio gets better reception than almost any car radio I’ve ever used.  But my truck is a 1999 Silverado, with the old school antenna. The factory original sticking up 31 inches from the fender, it is optimized for FM frequencies but does quite well with AM too, including picking up the HD digital stream of KBRT (740 AM) from San Pedro. and occasionally getting the identification from KMZT (1260 AM) even though I can’t get the actual HD sound until I get closer. FM is similarly solid everywhere I drive. But I couldn’t help wondering if the mini flex antenna — a “new generation” with a carbon-fiber base covering, built-in copper wire, and “optimized AM/FM reception by nearly 40%,” whatever that actually means — could live up to the hype and at least match or even beat my factory install. Turns out, it couldn’t, and I realized that the 40% optimized reception means the reception is about 40% of what I used to receive with my original.  Most people may not have noticed the difference in FM performance, but I have an HD radio head unit, and it likes a good clear signal. FM stations generally did come in well with little interference similar to the original, though a few stations were just missing, such as KFBG (100.7 FM) and KGB (101.1 FM), which usually come in decently due to the signal shooting straight up the coast from San Diego to San Pedro … at least on a clear day. But the HDs were hit and miss, with more reception problems than ever. Even Go Country (105.1 FM) had trouble locking in the HD stream, and that is usually one of the most reliable where I like. AM on the other hand, was an entirely disappointing experience. Static everywhere, even over flamethrower 50,000 watt powerhouse KFI (640 AM). KMZT could not even be heard, and mid-signal stations such as KLAC (570 AM), KABC (790 AM), and KHJ (930 AM) were essentially unlistenable. To prove it wasn’t just weather or atmospheric conditions on the test day, I put my factory antenna back on and all the reception problems cleared up. Immediately. I bring this up not to bash the manufacturer of the antenna I evaluated. Instead I want to highlight the fact that antenna design, including length and other aspects, is exceedingly important to good reception. AM likes an antenna as long as possible, FM seems to work well with — on a car at least — that 31 inches preciously mentioned. Something to do with wavelength as I recall — engineers, feel free to confirm or correct me. Newer cars usually use special small antennas are just that: antennas designed to work with the car’s construction and electronics to optimize reception. Home radios and stereos can suffer from the same issues, and reception there can often be improved for AM by rotating the radio or moving it away from other electronics to cancel out interference. For FM, if you can connect it to a house antenna just like most televisions used to be, you’ll hear stations from greater distances than ever before. Of course all of this is moot if you listen via apps. But that’s another column … Sound Science Another new toy I recently evaluated is a special little box that turns my normal iPhone’s Car Play wired system into wireless. Not an amazing must-have, mind you, but really a nice thing if you do have it. When I start up the truck, the phone connects automatically and starts playing whatever I was listening to last. Yesterday I was driving my dog Snoopy back from a check-up at the vet’s office, and Alt 98.7 FM came on. I really wasn’t paying attention, but it turned out it was playing through CarPlay via the iHeart app. How does it compare with the over-the-air signal? I checked. While it does sound good on the app, over the air is vastly superior on a direct comparison. More open, more dynamic … just better. This is not an indictment of apps, by the way. Some stations, including both over-the air simulcasts and internet-only stations sound absolutely phenomenal on apps. And Alt does sound fine. But the difference in quality was noticeable, and probably related to reducing bandwidth on the internet stream to allow more connections as well as cut streaming costs. Just a guess … again, engineers can feel free to confirm or correct me. Where the apps excel, though, are areas of weak reception. As long as the internet signal is good, apps can work where AM and FM cannot.  And while I am on the subject of Alt 98.7 … I mean this with love … The Foo Fighters and Maneskin both made more than one song each … just sayin’. ///

Radio: August 11             Hearing Taylor Swift 24/7 wasn’t enough for you? You needed more?             On the heals of Taylor 105.1 HD3, in which one of the HD radio streams tied to Go Country 105 plays nothing but Taylor Swift (you need a special HD radio to hear it; new cars often have them) came word that KIIS-FM joined the trend.             Scheduled for August 3-9 — so depending on when you read this it may already be over — KIIS-FM became “SWFT-FM,” playing at least four Swift songs an hour. Last weekend included classic Taylor hits, Monday was Merch-Monday in which listeners could win official Swift memorabilia, Tuesday was Taylor TWOsday — back to back Swift songs — and much more.             Even morning man Ryan Seacrest got into the act giving way a pair of tickets for the final show on August 9th.             Not to be outdone, Alt 98.7 was doing an “anything but Swift” promotion. Different strokes.             Stunting             While 105.1 HD3 continues to play all Swift through the end of the month, rumors are circulating on what will happen when the stunt is done. I originally assumed that the format would revert to the Adult Standards format that focussed on Frank Sinatra and friends, but there is word on the street that something new night be coming. And you know what happens when one assumes.             HD radio signals are a tough sell, as the reach is limited compared with regular FM signals, due to a far lower number of HD radios in the hands of consumers as well as reception problems  — dropouts — when the signal isn’t pristine. That can often be made up by the use of smartphone apps and smart speakers … unfortunately adding more costs, such as music streaming license fees and costs associated with computers. As most HD signals have few to no commercials or sponsorships, it is most definitely a labor of love for owners who truly try to make a go of it.             Could the right format combined with the right promotion make an HD stream at least break even, if not profitable? That’s your question of the week: If you could program an HD stream, such as 105.1 HD3, what would you put on it and why? For extra credit, how might you promote the station to not only attract listeners, but advertisers?              In the meantime, I’ll keep an ear to the ground to see if a new format will indeed be replacing All-Taylor.             Not Quite             “In a significant change for Los Angeles radio listeners, KNX has stopped simulcasting its broadcasts on 1070 AM, a frequency it had occupied for over a century,” read the story posted at newsbreak.com.  “The shift comes about a year and a half after KNX moved its main broadcast to 97.1 FM.” The story — no longer available on line — went on to state that listeners were shocked when they tuned in to 1070 AM and didn’t hear the normal news format.             A reader of this very column sent me the posting; at first I just assumed that management made a decision that was, um, questionable. Most people I know still tune to KNX on the AM band due to its significantly stronger signal, even if the fidelity on most radios is not quite as good. “Stupid,” I responded.             But then I tuned in to hear it for myself. Same news as always, an exact simulcast as has been happening for the past year. That’s odd…             Soon KNX management responded directly to the story: “Hi there, Alex Silverman here, Director of News & Programming at KNX News,” said the social media post. “Just want to clarify: we have not ended the simulcast. KNX News is still on both 97.1 FM and 1070 AM in all hours except weekend mornings (Sat 6-11a and Sun 6-8a), when 1070 AM airs some paid and specialty programming.              “This has been the case for more than a year, and there has been no change recently. During those hours the news is available on 97.1 FM as well as the Audacy app and by asking your smart speaker to 'play KNX News.’”             So what happened? AI, or artificial intelligence that can be used to wrote stories. According to sources close to the subject, it was a story written primarily by artificial intelligence, and I will go out on a limb and state that the AI system involved probably just picked up a discussion by people related to the weekend morning paid programming. In the beginning of the simulcast, I am sure there were listeners surprised/shocked/etc. to hear something other than news in those time blocks. But weekend mornings does not translate to all the time.             Luckily for you, we don’t use AI here. In fact, I try to avoid all intelligence, not just artificial. Just ask my editor - he’ll agree completely.             Future Series             I am planning to start a feature in stations that don’t exist any more. But not just the big boys, or even the big-boys’ big formats. Stations like the original KDAY when it played top-40 and rock. Magic Oldies Radio K-WOW. KBLA. Stations you loved, but were not necessarily the stations that made it big.              I can use your help on this … if you have ideas for stations — and the personalities involved — to cover, send them my way.  Radio: August 4, 2023  If you tuned in lately to digital HD Radio station 105.1 HD3 to hear Frank Sinatra and friends, you might have been shocked to find … Taylor Swift!             In a nod to the format stunts of the past, station owner Saul Levine has changed the format of Unforgettable LA to Unforgettable Taylor Swift. I would have called it K-SWIFT, but I digress. In addition to the digital stream that requires a special HD tuner to receive, if you live in San Fernando, you can listen on a regular FM radio via the local low-powered transmitter that simulcasts the format.             Originally scheduled to begin July 29th — my wife Jean’s birthday, by the way — it started two days early and is planned to run for 30 days.              Says Levine: “Due to the extreme interest in the coming tour of Taylor Swift, we are playing “All Taylor All the Time.” He added that the KKGO HD signals (there are four) have a potential reach of 12 million people, and that many new cars include HD radios as standard or optional equipment, depending on the manufacturer.             Discovering Radio             Something wrong with the software or a module in my wife’s car causes her radio to “forget” four of the preset pages, which also leads to the radio tuning in the last AM or FM station heard no matter what other setting you had. For example, you might have been tuned into SiriusXM’s Coffeehouse when you were driving … next time you start up, you’re back listening to the radio.             I don’t think it’s a feature pushed by broadcasters in order to get people listening to traditional radio. But it is working … Jean has spent the last month listening to Alt 98.7 and KRTH 101. “It’s too much trouble to switch back,” she says, adding that she’s enjoyed the music.             AM for All             Though automaker Ford agreed to keep AM radio in its cars for at least one more model year, there are others that already removed it from the dashboard and the threat is there regardless. So work continues in the legislative arena.             Last week the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed the “AM for Every Vehicle Act,” sending it to the full Senate for debate.             According to industry newspaper Radio World (radioworld.com), The act “would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a rule requiring automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their vehicles without a separate or additional payment, fee or surcharge. It says AM should be clearly visible on the vehicle’s dashboard; and until the new standard would take effect, cars lacking AM radio receivers would have to be labeled as such for buyers.”             Interestingly, the act was opposed by Senate Democrat Gary Peters (Michigan), who stated that the act is not only unnecessary, but that “Congress has never mandated radio features in vehicles ever before.”             Ah, but while Congress may not have, the FCC required something similar in the 1960s when it mandated all televisions include UHF tuners (covering channels 14-83) in the days when most homes watched VHF (channels 2-13). So it’s not exactly unprecedented. In fact, had the FCC mandated AM stereo or selected a single stereo system for the band, we may not be in the position we are in right now.             Some observers are concerned, however, that mandating AM without minimum quality standards for reception may make things worse.  Radio Waves: July 28, 2023 Ken and Dave talk radio! If you have not already subscribed to Ken Levine’s podcast — available on multiple sources including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, or even links at his blog page, kenlevine.blogspot.com — you owe it to yourself to start listening. Right now. Go ahead … I’ll wait. Levine is a multi-talented man, having worked in radio (aka Beaver Cleaver on Ten-Q and B-100 among others), written for television and movies, written books and cartoons, and even written plays. His intelligence, humor, and humble attitude shine through his writings, and his “Hollywood and Levine” podcast is superb. Recently he interviewed former programmer of The Sound, Dave Beasing —now a podcast creator and developer himself, regarding all things radio: programming, music, competition, commercials and more. I won’t give away the content, but suffice to say that he talks about much of what is discussed right here … or when he guests on my own podcast I co-cost with Mike Stark (Radio Waves, also available on numerous platforms). Great minds think alike, apparently. Beasing, or for that matter Levine, Stark, and myself, is a huge fan of radio and the potential it has still. Not that he would want to necessarily be directly involved in day to day programming right now. But his insight and knowledge of radio and podcasting is tremendous. Look for episodes 333 and 334. Career-Spanning Interviews Speaking of Stark and myself – over the years we have done numerous career-spanning interviews with people both in front of and behind the radio microphone who made huge contributions to our favorite medium. The series actually goes back many years and includes some greats, including: Los Angeles and surrounding city air personalities: Ace Young (KMET), Jeff Gonzer (KMET), Cynthia Fox (KMET), Dr. Demento (KMET), Elliot Mintz (KABC), Mo Kelly (KFI), Geno Michellini,(KLOS) , Shotgun Tom Kelly (KRTH), Dave “Hullabalooer” Hull, (KRLA), JJ Johnson (KDAY), Ken Levine (KTNQ, KABC), Poorman (KROQ), Thrasher (KNAC), Phil Hulett (KFWB), the “Insane” Darrell Wayne (KROQ), Lee Marshall (KHJ, KABC) and a tribute to newswoman  Liz Fulton (KIIS-FM). Program Directors: Chuck Martin (KHJ) and Dave Beasing (The Sound). Radio executives: Jeff Smulyan and Rick Cummings (Emmis Communications) Radio historian: Don Barrett (LARadio.com) Listen day or night – 24/7 on TuneIn at:  https://tunein.com/radio/LA-Radio-Studio-s196975/ or tell your smart device to “Play LA Radio Studio”. The shows will run continuously — and randomly — through mid-August, and will be a regular part of the stream’s programming after that.  We definitely need to do some more of them as well! Where’s Kaplan Where is Leon Kaplan, the longtime “Motorman” as heard weekends on KABC (790 AM) for, well, seemingly forever? Retired, says KPFK (90.7 FM) “The Car Show” host Dave Kunz. Kunz posted on social media, “Congratulations to my friend Leon ‘Motorman’ Kaplan, retiring after an incredible 43 years on the air at ONE radio station. No word on if it was his decision or not, but with new management coming in, perhaps he just decided to hang it up.  State of the Industry The news broke with an announcement on its own website July 14th: radio and music industry news site AllAccess.Com will be shutting down. “It is with much sadness that we announce that in our 28th year of operation, ALLACCESS.COM will cease publishing at the close of business at 6p (PT), TUESDAY, AUGUST 15th, 2023 due to a marked decrease in revenues that makes moving forward impossible. The site will remain online for an undetermined amount of time. “This was not a decision that was reached lightly nor without earnest tries to find a path forward. It comes on the heels of major changes in the music industry announced in JANUARY of this year. These strong financial headwinds also extend to our non-music partners as well. Both downturns have greatly affected how ALL ACCESS operates. The dollars are just not there to support our operation and staff any longer. “ The changes in the music industry mentioned reflect changes in promotions … and the budgets spent on said promotions, which are in decline. With the radio industry itself already having done that years ago, I can see why publisher  and site founder Joel Denver is pulling the plug. But it is a huge loss for both music and radio fans … All Access has been a source of information and research since its founding in 1995. And a class act the entire time. I will miss it a lot.  ///

 Radio July 21, 2023             Billboard Magazine announced last week that — with her song “Karma” making it to #1 on the Pop Airplay chart — Taylor Swift has tied the record for the most number one songs by an artist in the history of the chart.             “Karma” is her 11th #1 hit, and that record puts her in good company, tying with Maroon 5, Katy Perry, and Rihanna who all also had 11 Number 1s. Right below them is Justin Bieber with ten Number 1s. No other artists are in the double digits.             Now, you may be asking how can that be? What about The Beatles? The Bee Gees? Michael Jackson? Elvis? Well, it’s not really a technicality, but it has to do with what the list actually measures and how old the list goes back. In this case it is a measure not of sales, but how many times the song has been played by major stations across the country … and it only goes back as far as October, 1992.             If you investigate the actual number of times an artist hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the leader in indeed The Beatles, with 20 Number 1 hits; Mariah Carey is second on that list with 19. Where’s Elvis? Third, with 18.             Small Town Radio             Brian Winnekins is the owner of WRDN/Durand Wisconsin, one of the handful of AM AM stations across the country still utilizing the Motorola C-Quam stereo system, which means that most current radios can’t decode the stereo signal, but many from the 1980s and ‘90s still can. With the improvements and investments in equipment he (and those in similar situations) have made, his stations sounds remarkable on any decent radio — stereo or not.             Durand is a small farming town, with a population of only about 1900 residents in the 2020 Census. But unlike some small town stations, Winnekins doesn’t take the easy way out by just putting on syndicated programming or political talk. Instead he takes his community service roll seriously, and presents extensive agricultural news and information, local high school athletic games, local news, local events, and local weather. Oh, and country music.             Note the word local. Back to that soon.             Recently, Winnekins posted information on Facebook regarding the station’s Summer programming special: “Doing the community service thing from our first fair of season,” he wrote. “Yes we do live video streams of livestock shows. Don't laugh, we have 17 sponsors.”             Seventeen sponsors, in a town of fewer than 2000 residents, not counting the cattle. On a station that is on the band that some say is dead. How can that be?             Back to the word “local.” It is so key to connecting with your audience — and advertisers. That focus on the local audience is what makes the difference. An active audience that can then be reached by local advertisers who have no other easy way to reach their target customers.             But certainly you could not do that in Southern California. Really? Why not? There used to be local stations … in fact all the stations used to be local in some sense. But the move to become “bigger” can hurt when you can’t compete against the big boys with, for example, a limited signal. Or even just a limited budget. The solution? Program local.             The original setup of many stations was designed to be locally-focussed. As some stations grew, they became dominant, of course. But there was still room for stations serving a local audience. KGIL (now KMZT, 1260 AM) was designed and originally programmed for the San Fernando Valley. KEZY (now KGBN, 1190 AM) was for Anaheim. KFOX (now KDAY, 93.1 FM) was for Redondo Beach. How about a station actually programming to the local community, whatever that community may be? San Pedro … Wilmington … Huntington Park … Hermosa Beach… Fountain Valley… You get the idea.             If I was a local business owner, I could probably never afford to buy advertising time on KIIS-FM (102.7), and it would probably not be worth it even if I could. But if I could advertise on a station targeting my local community, it might be the best marketing investment I could make.             So as we continue the talk of helping improve radio, programmers must remember that local trumps all, even for the larger stations. KHJ (930 AM) wasn’t the most influential station of its time when it played top-40 because it syndicated its programming or used out of town DJs… it was so because it was Los Angeles… there were stations similar, but there was only on KHJ.  Only one KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM). Only one KROQ (106.7 FM).              Be the best you can be, program locally, and there is no stopping you.             Wheel of Reaction             Not everyone was happy with the news that KIIS morning man Ryan Seacrest was chosen as the replacement host for “Wheel of Fortune” when Pat Sajak retires. Posts on social media were not all positive, and letters from you were not necessarily supportive either …             “Seacrest sucks! He's going to drive that show off a cliff faster than Dick Clark in a van getting away from Michael Moore in ‘Bowling for Columbine.’” says reader Eric Peterson.             In case you don’t know the reference, as explained on documentarychannel.tumblr.com, in the movie “the former American Bandstand host is ambushed outside his production office and made to look insensitive because he shuts a minivan door in the filmmaker’s face.”             I’m still reserving judgement. You never know who will make a good host … I thought Snoop Dogg was going to be awful on the relaunch of television game show “Joker’s Wild.” Instead he proved to be quite good at it. Who knew?             Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email [email protected].             ///RadioWaves: July 14, 2023 McIntyre’s Musings “About 15-years ago, I did one air shift at KFI (640 AM) radio, wrote (former) longtime KABC (790 AM) morning talker Doug McIntyre on a social media post. “I so impressed management that, after only a decade and a half, they have invited me back. I will be filling in for John & Ken on Thursday, June 29th and Friday, June 30th from 1-4pm. Nobody is more surprised than me.” He did fill in, and it most certainly did not go unnoticed by you … I received numerous emails asking if, just perhaps, McIntyre might come back permanently to radio via KFI. So I asked; his response will disappoint somewhat. But there is some good news too. “I’m just happy to have had the opportunity to fill-in for John and Ken, McIntyre explained, adding, “I am not looking for work. They called and asked if I’d do it and the timing was good, especially with my book coming out July 18th, so I said yes.  “It was a ton of fun, but after 4-1/2 years off the air, I was as nervous as I was the first time I ever hosted a show. I’d be happy to do more fill-in work if they ask. I have a lot of old friends in the building.” Any possibility of a permanent position? Not interested. But the book? What’s up with that? I have not read it, have not seen an advanced copy, nor do I have any real information as to its content. But I do know it is being released (as stated) on July 18th. And it is his first full-length novel, entitled “Frank’s Shadow.” You can read the synopsis by searching out the title, but this part of the description jumped out when I read it on various bookseller sites: “Frank’s Shadow is a deeply (sometimes darkly) human story wrapped in the trappings of a delightfully gritty love letter to New York City’s less glamorous neighborhoods.” Sounds intriguing! McIntyre will be out promoting the book in person Tuesday July 18th from 7 to 8:30 p.m.  at The Grove at Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles; July 22nd from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Gatsby’s in Long Beach; and July 26th from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Pages: A Book Store in Manhattan Beach. More signing events will be held in August as well … you can see a calendar of events for the book and other aspects of his life at dougmcintyre.com/upcoming-appearances. More Oldies … on Hit Radio? Well, I guess it figured to happen. Considering that even the supposed new music stations like Alt 98.7 FM and KROQ (106.7 FM) are essentially alternative oldies stations, perhaps it was just a matter of time before top-40 stations became oldies stations as well. I mean, why attract young people to radio when you can play the same songs you played 20 years ago? Simple. Easy. Mindless. Lazy. I am referring to a trend highlighted in a recent RadioInsight.Com report by Lance Venta, who writes that “WKFS Milford/Cincinnati Ohio has joined the growing number of CHR stations shifting to a gold-heavy presentation. “WKFS is still playing 3-4 currents per hour, but has removed all of its re-currents and recent golds replacing them with golds mostly from 2000 to 2010,” he says. To translate that into normal-speak, what they have done is limited new releases — within the past year or so — to three or four songs per hour, cut back on music over a year old (re-currents) along with those just slightly older (recent golds). In their place are what we used to call oldies – songs over ten years old. Note that the station is not going back too far, though it is the modern equivalent of when stations like KHJ (930 AM) or K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) would drop back into the 1960s era when they played top-40 in the 1980s … or when KHJ played songs from the ‘50s in the 1960s and ‘70s. The difference, though, is that stations like KHJ and K-WEST maintained playing a LOT of new music, and the oldies added spice to the mix, maybe twice an hour at most. And they were carefully selected to make you go “wow – I haven’t heard that in years.” Usually the songs were part of a flashback specially highlighted as “Yesterday,” “Number One then…” or the “time machine.” The modern version, by contrast, places the oldies at the top-tier. Which would be OK if the stations sold themselves as the oldies stations that they are, much like KRTH (101.1 FM) did in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Perhaps it will work, and radio can continue to shun younger listeners, forcing them to other entertainment sources. But I find the entire movement kind of sad when formats that are supposed to play new music … don’t. If this continues, the only people who will listen to radio will be older than me. Sure it could bring in some listeners from other stations. But it won’t bring in new listeners to radio, and it is basically the easy way to temporarily make a buck. Like other make-a-buck schemes of the past — satellite formats, “Jack” formats, cloned stations in every market, little promotion, nationwide contests, one DJ for multiple stations — it will do nothing to make radio competitive long term against the industry’s numerous competitors, from streaming services to TikTok. Sometimes it really does seem that the radio industry wants to fail. Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email [email protected]. Radio Waves: July 7, 2023 Seacrest Takes the Wheel Radio has a long history of sending many of its top personalities to host television game shows. Among the most famous include Wink Martindale, Jim Lange, Bob Eubanks, Gene Rayburn, and Pat Sajak, among many more. To that list, add KIIS (102.7 FM) morning man Ryan Seacrest, who will replace Sajak on “Wheel of Fortune” at the end of the 2024 season. When Sajak leaves, he will end more than four decades with the show, after taking over for original host Chuck Woolery who left the show in a salary dispute in December, 1981. Seacrest got his start in Los Angeles radio in 2004 at Star 98.7 FM (now known as Alt 98.7, KYSR). But he was only 16 when started in the profession by winning an internship at his hometown radio station WSTR/Atlanta where he learned all aspects of radio … including filling in for ill or vacationing air personalities and eventually getting a regular weekend shift … while still in high school. His show on Star was during afternoon drive, and he was definitely a “star” (pardon the pun) on the station paired with Lisa Fox. He left for San Francisco’s K-101 in 2003, returning to Los Angeles less than a year later to replace Rick Dees in February, 2004, a position he still holds and has held all the while taking on numerous other radio and television gigs including hosting syndicated radio program “American Top 40” and television shows such as “American Idol,” “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” and the legendary “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” which he inherited from another radio personality, Dick Clark. Many have compared Seacrest with Clark, primarily due to his boyish looks and on-air  charm. He has always been able to engage his audiences, and Seacrest has often said that he idolized Clark growing up. Interestingly and somewhat humorously, there was some pushback on the internet boards over the announcement of the Wheel replacement. One comment on twitter asked “how many jobs do you need?” with another pleading him to reconsider, writing “We don’t want you! Go away lol! You’re just going to ruin this amazing show.” “Wheel” producers obviously feel differently, and are paying Seacrest a reported $28 million per season, $13 million more than Sajak reportedly earned from the show. Sajak, by the way, will stay on as a consultant for three years. For historical reference, Woolery was let go when he was asking $500,000 per season. Salary issues aside, I do think Seacrest will be a good host. His radio duties including hosting KIIS mornings will continue at least through 2025, the end of his current contract. My hunch is that he will remain at KIIS far longer. Radio stations often benefit from television exposure of their personalities, and you can’t get much more exposure than Seacrest. Cardinal Rule A wise programmer and consultant once told me that a general interest morning show should shun discussion or presentation of political viewpoints in order to avoid ticking off half of your potential audience. Which is why I was so surprised when I tuned in to KROQ’s (106.7 FM)  morning Klein and Ally show last Friday. During a segment that was presented as news, co-host Ally Johnson launched into a short rant condemning a recent Supreme Court decision and lamenting how bad the country has become. Remember, this was supposedly news, though the segment also devolved to include conjecture as to how couples can “hook up” behind the rows of port-a-potties at festival concerts. KROQ does not run editorials. Personally, I don’t care what her opinion is, on any subject. She can think whatever she wants. But if I was the program director of KROQ, trying to build an audience for a dying station against competition that has been killing the morning show in the ratings for years? I’d be livid. If I were in management for the ownership, Audacy, which just instituted a reverse 1-for-30 stock split in order to try to shore up finances … I’d be questioning my choice of program director. There’s just too much at stake.

Radio Waves: June 30, 2023 Remembering John Felz John Felz began his radio career in 1971, working in the mail room of KMPC (now KSPN, 710 AM). In the small-world department, one of his colleagues in the mail room was future KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) newscaster and personality Pat “Paraquat” Kelley, whose father Bob Kelley was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Rams. After a time, Felz was moved to the newsroom as an assistant, supporting the newsroom staff by sorting and compiling stories that came across the teletype machines from the various news services of the time, including the Associated Press and United Press International. His duties also included writing sports and weather reports for the news anchors and station personalities such as Dick Whittinghill, Ira Cook, Johnny Grant, Gary Owens, Geoff Edwards, Johnny Magnus, Wink Martindale and Robert W. Morgan. Eventually he expanded into more programming elements both within the station and as part of the Golden West Broadcasters Radio Network — Golden West owned KMPC and the station was its flagship — which carried games for the California Angels, the Rams, and UCLA football and basketball. Felz was in charge of producing in-studio and in-stadium broadcasts for the network affiliates. He moved on — and up — to hold positions in management, including Operations Director, Assistant Programmer, and producer for the morning show. He left KMPC in 1995 and worked at a few stations, notably KRTH (101.1 FM), KIEV (now KRLA, 870 AM), and the Music of Your Life Radio Network.  Felz passed away on June 11th at the age of 78; no details on the cause of his death were released but friends say he had been having a series of health complications that most likely played a role. Friends and family will gather for a remembrance of his life on July 1st in Sherman Oaks. Bebop Deluxe No, not the band. After a year of preparations, KKJZ (88.1 FM) has launched a full-time bebop jazz sub-station, which can be heard online (look for the special button at jazzandblues.org) or on a digital HD radio tuner on 88.1 HD2. While I am certainly not an expert, I do know that bebop is a style of jazz music that is generally fast-tempo, uses many chord changes and even key changes … and a lot of improvisation. This came about due to a younger generation of jazz musicians pushing the creative boundaries of the genre in the early to mid 1940s. Unlike much of the music of the time, bebop was not intended as being danceable; instead it was to be heard. Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis are among the influential bebop artists and composers. Station consultant Saul Levine says that the music is being compiled by the KKJZ staff, directed by Jose Rizo. “We are fulfilling a need for jazz lovers, and we thank the California State University, Long Beach — owner of the station — for its support of our efforts.” “We are doing this in honor if Chuck Miles and the great bebop music of the past.” he said. Hayes Out The rumors proved to be true … I had heard rumors from absolutely reliable sources that KABC (790 AM) programmer and market manager Drew Hayes had parted ways with the station and owner Cumulus Media, but I could not get confirmation from any of the players involved.  Turns out the rumors were true. AllAccess.Com confirmed that Hayes left the station in earlier June after many years with the station … this being his second stint. Hayes has extensive experience in the format and in radio, having worked at WLS/Chicago, ESPN Radio, and KABC itself the last ten years in addition to his first time at the helm back in the late 1990s. Where this takes the station is unknown. It has been years since KABC has been any type of force in the market, and conditions have gotten worse as owner Cumulus continues to shed costs .. and stations. I cannot even remember the last time I saw an ad for KABC … the last one I can remember featured Ken (Minyard) and Bob (Arthur) … meaning it was decades ago. With all the choices for stations and non-radio entertainment, a marketing plan is imperative. KABC has had none, and the results speak for themselves. And rumors continue to swirl regarding Cumulus simply selling the station, so perhaps Hayes dodged a proverbial bullet.Radio Waves: June 23, 2023Where’s My Oldies?I received more than a few emails regarding the loss of the LA Oldies (aka K-SURF) stream. While the station can still be heard over the airwaves if you have an HD radio and are able to clearly tune in 105.1 HD4, many listeners used the internet or smartphone apps to listen, and that’s what had been turned off due to the costs involved. The financial burden for streaming rights has been an issue for many stations, especially in smaller markets and niche formats.Station owner Saul Levine knew that people liked the station and listened through the stream, but he didn’t realize just how many. And it caught him somewhat off guard when he started receiving calls and emails from around the world asking what happened.“I was amazed at the response and the size of the audience,” he told me in early June. “We are reviewing the potential to bring it back, especially if we can cover the costs to stream it.”Then, last week, the good news: “K-SURF is making its way back on the air,” Levine told me. “The outpouring of excitement for the format surprised me. K-SURF is truly America’s Oldies station.”It is taking time to get things going, but it will be back, he says, with an even better experience on the apps. That’s music to many ears.Legend SoldThe original KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM) has been sold. Unfortunately not to anyone who will play top-40 or oldies as I would have done. Perhaps bring back some of the magic that once propelled the station to the top of the ratings in the 1960s or even as HitRadio 11 in the 1970s.Disney sold its last remaining radio property to Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa for $5 million. Calvary also owns KWVE/San Clemente (107.9 FM) … Southern California’s other Wave (K-Wave), not to be confused with KTWV (94.7 FM – The Wave).Not that I expect anyone to confuse K-Wave with The Wave, but it is interesting that both stations serve much of the same area. I am a little surprised that Calvary bought KRDC as they already own a very powerful FM station, while KRDC’s signal is hampered with an odd transmitting pattern that seems to send much of the signal over the ocean. Perhaps they have plans to put some money into refurbishing the transmitter site. Nominating Class of ’23The Museum of Broadcast Communications — part of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago — received over 2500 suggestions for new inductees into the Radio Hall of Fame. In the end they whittled the list down to 24 candidates.Among the nominees is our own John and Ken (currently heard 1-4 p.m. on KFI 640 AM), former local talk host Larry Elder, and Shadoe Stevens (KRLA, KMET, KROQ). You may also remember Stevens as Fred Rated, the “spokesman” for the now defunct Federated Group, and the voice of also defunct University Stereo among his popular voiceover work.The full list, in alphabetical order by first name — for whatever reason — as presented on the website radiohalloffame.com/2023-nominees: Bert Weiss, Bob Rivers, Charles Laquidara, Dyana Williams, Gerry House, Jaime Jarrin, John & Ken, John DeBella, Johnny Magic, Kevin Matthews, Kid Leo (Lawrence Travagliante), Larry Elder, Laurie DeYoung, Lee Harris, Rev. Louise Williams Bishop, Mark Simone, Mary McCoy, Matt Siegel, Mojo in the Morning, Monica May, Nina Totenberg, Pat St. John, Shadoe Stevens, and Shelley “The Playboy” Stewart.Voting among 800 specially selected industry insiders will run through the end of the month; this year’s inductees will be announced on July 24th.PlaybackJust a few comments from recent columns …“I read your column this morning and I sure agree with you regarding KABC. The station could be so much, but it has just become plain awful lately. The presentation is just terrible.“I would hate to see one of the last stations to leave talk radio. I disagree with you in that it should be converted to music. Don’t we have enough music stations already?” — Mike SkibbaNot on AM … and that is a concern for me. Some owners are turning in licenses because the land they sit on is worth more than the station itself. Not enough listeners (and those that do listen are old like me or older, so advertisers don’t want them) because there is too much political talk, sports, etc. … there needs ti be something that attracts younger listeners before the band disappears completely, perhaps as soon as one more generation.“I used to listen to KABC all day but not anymore.  It is all politics and especially LA politics and I live in the OC. I would LOVE to find an oldies station (50’s 60’s 70’s) and see John Phillips on TV or on another stronger station. He is the only one I listen to now. — Lin Akins ///Radio Waves: June 16, 2023Goodbye, Jeff BaughThese are getting difficult to write: we lost another good one last week.Jeff Baugh, who reported on traffic conditions and major news stories from the air for almost 40 years, passed away June 6th due to lung cancer. He was 81.Baugh was with only three stations his entire Los Angeles radio career: KFWB (980 AM) starting in 1986, followed by KNX (1070 AM … the FM simulcast did not exist at the time) in 2008, and KFI from 2017 until his death. His approach to traffic reporting was listener-driven – he didn’t believe it was enough to report on an incident, he understood the importance of making the reports relevant and useful by explaining, whenever possible, how to get around the problem.LARadio.Com’s Don Barrett was a friend of Baugh’s; he says that Baugh’s smile was contagious … one “that you would never forget – a smile that would light up the dreariest of skies.” Born in Brooklyn on November 15, 1942, Baugh was a Marine who served two tours in Vietnam. After the war he eventually found himself in Los Angeles where he became a DJ at Carlos and Charlie’s on the Sunset Strip until he landed at KFWB. As an airborne reporter, he was the recipient of numerous awards including multiple Golden Mikes, the award of awards for local news reporting.Back LiveLive 105 (KITS/San Francisco) was the Bay Area’s alternative music source for over 30 years before first switching its name to “Alt 105.3” in 2017 and then changing its name and format to the soul-less adult hits Jack-FM clone called “Dave FM” just under two years ago.Well, that didn’t work, so Live 105 is back. The switch happened on June 2nd and included a fairly creative pre-recorded promo announcing the change, including a short portion of the classic Cheech and Chong routine stating that “Dave’s not here!” The change back has caused quite a buzz throughout the area, including coverage from local newspapers and television stations, as well as posts all over social media and studies from industry observers. Headlines such as “Listeners rejoice as Live 105 returns to the airwaves” are common.Currently the station is running jockless; DJs are expected on the air in the coming weeks. As I tuned in on the internet stream, though, one thing stuck out … in its current form — like our own KROQ (106.7 FM) — it is basically an oldies station. I listened for an hour earlier in the day before writing this and heard only a few songs released in the pasts three years.Perhaps it is by design; Live 105 and KROQ are both owned by the same company — Audacy — so perhaps copying KROQ is policy. Or it could be that the play list was still filled by many of the former Dave-FM songs … as so many semi-alternative songs can also be found on Jack-FM right here … also owned by Audacy.My hope, though, is that new songs will become more prevalent and help make the format a success, which may help spread the idea to here.Overall, I’d say this is a tremendously positive move. Now we just need to get the big 610 KFRC back on the air … Live trivia: Alt 98.7’s “The Woody Show” originated at Live 105 and was heard there until it was removed from the air for reasons that still are not totally clear. Their loss is our gain, of course.Changes at KABCHost Leo Terrell and programmer Drew Hayes are both out at KABC (790 AM). It appears that Hayes was let go and that Terrell left on his own terms in response. Left unsaid is what will happen with the rest of the station. For now, no one is talking.But something does need to be done. It has been decades since KABC was truly relevant; too many syndicated programs and a woeful lack of promotion left the station so low in the ratings that many industry watchers were wondering when, not if, a change would come.Personally, if I owned the station, I’d switch it to music. Perhaps a full service format backed by the oldies — or mellow rock — that you no longer hear on the radio.But if management wants to keep it talk, start with the strengths, primarily mid-day son John Phillips. Phillips has a way of making politics and local issues entertaining and informative without preaching to the choir, and is definitely, by far, the best show on the station. Once the hosts are chosen, it is imperative to clean up the on-air presentation. Too many programs sound like a bad college or high-school station, with volume levels uneven, unclear sound, music played too loud over the host making it difficult to hear, and an overall sound that screams low-budget. Additionally, promotional announcements sound too much like they are talking at listeners not to listeners.Strange that the station that launched full-time talk in Los Angeles does it so badly today.It could work, though. Once mostly live and local hosts are in place — you can keep a few of the syndicated podcast shows  — then it’s time to clean up the sound by dumping all pre-recorded promos and make them all read by the hosts themselves. I don’t need to hear the deep-voice guy say “Dan – Bon – Gino” exactly the same way multiple times each day, every day.Just a thought, anyway. Let me ask you this – what would you do with KABC? ///Radio Waves: June 9, 2023No Surf?For a station with little exposure, LA Oldies — also known as K-SURF —  has quite a following. At one time available on the AM band at 1260 kHZ, it moved off the band to make way for K-Mozart, relegating it to the HD4 digital radio stream tied to KKGO (105.1 FM) but still available world-wide on the internet, smart phone apps and smart speakers.No longer. Station owner Saul Levine confirmed that the station stoped streaming as of May 22nd, a victim of increased streaming and licensing costs.It’s not necessarily gone forever, and is still available on the HD stream if you own an HD Radio-capable receiver. Many cars have them as standard or available equipment, and aftermarket radios often include HD standard as well.Keep in mind, Levine is a radio guy at heart and indicated that if he could figure out a way to at least cover the costs — via a new marketing plan, for example — it could very well return. In that vein, if you or someone you know wants to become an LA Oldies sponsor, you might consider contacting him. Just sayin’ …But that doesn’t help now … where can former LA Oldies listeners find the music they like? Luckily, there are some alternatives that might not be exactly like the old K-Surf, but are quite good in their own approach. Some initial suggestions:• Big 8 Radio, a tribute to CKLW, which still broadcasts from Windsor/Ontario but basically serves The Motor City Detroit. The broadcast station runs talk now, but was a Boss Radio station in the 1960s, and that is the focus of this tribute. You can tune in on various apps (I recommend StreamS HiFi Audio and MyTunerRadio) or at the website big8radio.com. It’s the Detroit version of Boss Radio, and noncommercial as well. The station plays primarily hits of the 1960s but dips into the ‘50s and ‘70s as well. As I write this, they are presenting a Million Dollar Weekend, which fans of RKO top-40 and Boss Radio stations (KHJ, KGB, KFRC, CKLW, and more) will remember well. • The Eagle, playing non-stop ‘70s music. I wouldn’t call it a station tribute; more like an era-tribute, but remarkably well-produced. The Eagle, like Big 8 Radio, has stunning sound quality (especially using StreamS) and has a format that runs the full decade of 1970-1979 (or is it 1971-1980?) give or take a year or so. Find it on the apps as well as TheEagle.FM• Top 40 Hit Clock, which plays clusters of songs by year, and covers the 1950s through the ‘70s. It’s a tough find and doesn’t always show on the app searches; the best way to hear it is to use the online stream link, which is https://la2.indexcom.com/player/6. Fidelity of this is also remarkably good, and can be configured on the apps … I just can’t remember how. It definitely took some experimentation.You can also find a ton of streaming internet-only as well as broadcast stations using the apps; just search by genre and decade. The good news for LA Oldies fans? Levine told me that he was “amazed at the national response and national audience.” He has been receiving emails from fans around the country. As we speak, he is reviewing ways to make it work.Feedback Loop“The main thing I don’t like about local radio is there are just too many commercials. Once when I was in my car, all the radio stations I had on my presets had commercials … at the same time! The other issue I have is the repetition of the music that is being played, especially on the classic hits and classic rock stations I listen to.“The main thing I really enjoy about local radio is the DJs I listen to. It is so good to actually hear a live voice talking to you. I like DJs that announce the songs, tell you the time, and the weather. I also enjoy hearing people winning contests on the radio and the voice of the DJs showing how happy they are for the listener who won. You just don’t get that same feeling when you listen to a radio station that is automated, with no one there. The best part is you are truly never really alone, it is like having a dear friend over to your place to visit with you.  — Russ, Glendale“I usually find your takes spot on, but as a former Woody listener, I am now back on KROQ (106.7 FM) with Kline and Ally. Show is so much more So Cal, and actually find myself laughing a lot more without all the old sounding ‘radio bits.’“I get an authentic early Stern vibe but with modern humor from Kline. Ally has grown on me a lot. I hear a lot of people talking about that ‘morning show on KROQ’ and talking about what they heard. I always think good radio (and TV) does that. Make people think and tell others. I think they are doing it better than most right now.” — Troy Grasso You definitely hit the nail … word of mouth and a positive “vibe” are definitely the ways to go. Definitely.

 Radio: June 2, 2023             Whether it was the threat of legislative action that would require it, or just a reaction to simple lobbying by government officials, listeners and buyers alike, Ford announced that it has reversed its decision to remove AM radio capabilities from some gas-powered vehicles in 2024 and through a software update will add the ability to receive AM in its 2023 electric vehicles.             One of the arguments for maintaining the ability to receive AM signals has to do with safety - the Emergency Alert System often relies on AM stations to spread news and information in the case of an emergency — KFI (640 AM) is the key link locally, for example — and the long-distance reception that AM transmissions offer can get news to distant rural areas with ease.             It is honestly a compelling argument; while cell-phone notifications can also be used in emergencies, the cellular network relies on cell towers and internet connections, which are not nearly as universal or robust as AM transmissions.             The notice was made by Ford CEO Jim Farley via social media posts, writing in Twitter, “After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we've decided to include it on all 2024 Ford & LincolnMotorCo vehicles. For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software update.”             Notice the year: 2024. Nothing is stated on any year further ahead, so the battle may not necessarily be over. And obviously Ford’s decision doesn’t affect the operations of other companies with what I consider bad engineering departments — those that can’t figure out how to eliminate interference from their electric vehicles even though it doesn’t seem to be an issue with the likes of General Motors, Toyota, and now, of course Ford. Yes, BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen, Tesla, Rivian and Mazda — all of which have already or plan to remove AM from the dashboard —  I just outed your lack of basic engineering expertise. Convince me otherwise.             So the legislative action continues and may indeed require AM reception in all vehicles in the future, similar to how television sets were required to offer UHF tuners starting in the 1960s.             Yet I can’t shake the feeling that if more AM stations offered compelling programming and maintained their signals better, we wouldn’t be having this discussion at all. But you already know my position on that. Perhaps the renewed focus on AM will help start some programming momentum.             Cheers and Jeers             More on your radio loves and tune-outs:             “My wife and I enjoy listening to the radio during the day. What we dislike is hearing the same five songs (on every channel) over and over every day and usually at the exact same times, when there is such a wealth of good oldies music available from the 50's, 60s, and 70s. Thank you for asking” — Tony Elia, Mission Viejo             “My comment on news radio stations, particularly morning KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM), is that they read the news too fast and don't use proper nouns much. They usually say the proper noun of a city or person at the beginning of the story but from then on it's just: city or he or she. Sometimes I miss the proper name and don't know the location or who the story is referring to. Also, an introductory phrase between stories would help - sometimes I'm still trying to digest a story when they quickly read the next one without warning.             “What I like: the three minutes of CBS news on the hour on KNX as well as the in-depth reporting, the Jerry Sharell show on KJAZZ (88.1 FM), and Rich on Tech on KFI (640 AM).” — Clive Soden             “I love the Kevin and Sluggo Show on KLOS (95.5 FM) 3-7 PM. There are different daily segments like a funny or weird current news event, including audio, usually a human fail story. They have listeners call in with their responses to the daily topic; ie what is a tattoo you regret getting? There is a daily top ten list such as top-10 Easter candy sold. Then Kevin tries to guess at least five correctly and if he does, Sluggo gives him a dollar. It is very funny & entertaining for the afternoon commute.” — Cee Cee Curti             “I love K-SURF (105.1 HD4) oldies. I hate the fact that when I listen to it on my car’s HD radio setting it is constantly cutting on and off all the time. Where I live, reception is always spotty. Would I tune in to a different station? Absolutely, if only they would play the 60s rock like K-SURF.  There are plenty of us old boomers still around who would love to hear the 60 music being played on the radio.              “Why cant one of the regular FM oldies stations play the stuff from the 60? At least with the regular FM stations I don’t have any reception issues and they all come in nice and clear. I have the KKGO app on my cell phone but really who wants to listen to music on their cell phone while driving.  It sounds so much better on the car radio than on your cell phone.” — Dan Schary              (The trick is to get your phone connected to your car stereo!)             “I love KFI.  I listen to Gary and Shannon, John and Ken, and Tim Conway.  I was crushed when John and Ken changed their time from 1-4, because I liked to listen to them after work. Dislikes? The monotonous KARS-FOR-KIDS jingle. I will slam the OFF button the second I hear it start. How about they just SAY that you can donate your car to them. FACT: I NEVER will!                 “I also love The Patriot (KEIB, 1150 AM), especially the Joe Escalante show on Sundays, country and classic rock stations, and Sirius Satellite Radio.” — Bonnie Hoy             Still more to come …Radio: May 26, 2023            You probably already heard that longtime UCLA Bruins men’s football, basketball, and baseball announcer Chris Roberts passed away May 12th at the age of 74 due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease.             This paper had one of the best looks back on his career that I’ve seen, focussing not only on his work with the Bruins but also his radio career beginnings start in Victorville, as well as his stops in San Bernardino where he worked with Jhani Kaye among others … I mention Kaye because the two would work together again from 1981 - 1992 at KFI (640 AM) and KOST (103.5 FM) when Kaye was the program director of the stations.            During the KFI/KOST days, Roberts eventually became sports director, but it didn’t start that way, exactly. He was actually first working the overnight shift on KOST, and would prepare a sports report for the KFI morning show. You may remember the tagline: every sportscast ended with “Chris Roberts, Athletic Briefs.”            I first heard of Roberts’ death from a Facebook post by Kaye. “My best friend in broadcasting, Chris Roberts, Passed away this morning,” Kaye wrote. “He was my pal. I admired him for the way he rose to become one of the most respected voices of UCLA sports broadcasters.” I have never heard an unkind word about Roberts; this is a huge loss to both the radio industry and the sports world.             Likes and Dislikes            It actually started as a response to a column by InsideMusicMedia.Com’s Jerry Del Colliano, who wrote of Top Listener Gripes on April 28th. I still haven’t written of his gripes because I wanted to hear of yours first. But I also wanted to know what you live about radio as well. Here’s what you think, positive and negative, in no particular order … Jerry can wait.            “I listen to Mottek On Money from KABC.com as a podcast. I don’t know if this would fall under your question, but hey interject commercial ads mid-sentence during the podcast. I find this very annoying … I don’t know if this is a Mottek or Cumulus thing.  No other podcasts I listen to does this mid-sentence advertising. — Steve Lui            “The morning DJs turn me off. It’s the same format almost everywhere you turn. I like some introductions but not the stupid banter now. But, I am not in their market group being 58 as of a short time ago.” — Erik Hassold            (Program note: Happy birthday!)            “I hate the annoying ‘this has been previously recorded’ preamble before an ad for a radio show, as if the general listener isn’t smart enough to realize it’s an ad. I’m sure it’s an FCC thing, but annoying nonetheless.” — Cody Lyons            “The playlists are all the same songs OVER AND OVER AND OVER. There's no creativity or imagination. And it doesn't matter if the station is ‘alt’ or ‘oldies’ ... it's all the same stuff. It's actually dumb that 98.7 and 106.7 categorize themselves as alternative. Those stations don't know what that means anymore. What do I enjoy? Klein and Ally in the morning on KROQ; very talented and underrated show that deserves more listeners. I was a huge Kevin and Bean fan for years and this show is different, but equally as entertaining. “ — Marc Levine            “BAD: Same songs over and over.  Ok, so your research says it's best to stick to the superstars - I get it.  But Journey, Elton John, Rolling Stones, Heart etc. have more than a half dozen hits in their catalog.  By just doubling the number of songs played by the popular artists the stations would increase their interest from me.            “If you're a political-leaning talk show, fine.  If you're not, please don't say anything political.  I have even heard political issues discussed on local 88.5 fm - disguised as songwriting information from local artists.            “GOOD: Variety.  Stations can stick to their format and still have more variety.  Like my point above, include more songs from the favored artists.  Include more artists, and that doesn't mean they have to gamble with ‘lesser’ names - there are enough established artists in each category to expand.  And what about including some live tracks of the hits?  I love when stations do that.            “Disc jockeys. There's a place for music-only stations with no DJs, but a few more DJ-led stations would provide more personal connection to us listeners.  And it doesn't have to include long comedy segments or listener calls - just some connection.            “Don't know how to title this - DJ emotions. This might seem hokey. These days it seems like most DJs and their interaction with listeners is either distant or factual. In my day — I’m your age — they seemed a lot more emotional - you know, like hey it's Friday - school's out - party time (cut directly to party anthem song) or "hump day" ...   Contrived?  Maybe … maybe not. But they and the music helped steer our emotions, usually for the better.  They talked to us and with us and took our thoughts away from everyday life. I don't think life's just a party, but I think radio - like sports, entertainment, the movies - are to help us temporarily escape from things like work and other responsibilities. — Darren            To be continued …  Radio: May 19, 2023             If you were a listener to KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) during the station’s earlier days and rise to dominance in the 1970s, you remember “The Burner” Mary Turner, one of the early female pioneers of progressive and album rock radio. On the KMET airwaves from June of 1972 until August of 1982, she in many ways represented exactly what KMET was to its listeners: intelligent, passionate … and human.             Details are unusually lacking, but Turner passed away May 9th. The news was announced by Turner’s KMET colleague Ace Young, who posted the news and a tribute on social media.             Speaking to LARadio.Com’s Don Barrett  years ago regarding her career and the early days of progressive rock radio, Turner reflected on the times."It was an exciting time back then, because you didn't operate under any rules. You could play anything you wanted, say anything you wanted and who cared? FM at that time was a joke, especially to Top 40 people. We were the hippies, and they were the stars.”             Did the fact that she was a woman in an industry dominated, especially back then, by men? Turner told Barrett,”I think being a woman helped more than anything else. The time was right for it, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”             Just a short time after her arrival at KMET, the station hired a female program director, Sam Bellamy, who also spoke with Barrett, saying “When I arrived at KMET in 1974, Mary was already there paving the way for women in radio. We became fast friends and partners in crime, based a lot on our shared sense of humor and intense desire to succeed.             “I learned very quickly that Mary would set the bar high for aspiring air personalities and radio executives alike, especially in the highly competitive L.A. market. Before Oprah and others started preaching it, Mary was living the purpose-driven life. Back in the early 70's, Mary had set goals for herself and she kept building on, and and reaching for, those goals - always mindful of inspiring and teaching others along the way.”             She produced short interview and music information segments for KMET that evolved into nationally syndicated special programs called Off the Record; these specials reached an estimated 25 million listeners and are highly respected to this day. She was among the first to ever interview a young Bruce Springsteen for her regular evening air shift.             After leaving KMET, she continued with Off the Record, did a daily show for Armed Forces Radio, did a stint for a Canadian broadcast group, and even worked on “Music in the Air,” an entertainment service used on the now defunct TWA Airlines. She returned to the local airwaves on KLSX (now KNX-FM, 97.1) for a time in 1993.             More recently she was the chairwoman of the Betty Ford Center at Eisenhower Hospital in Rancho Mirage … the first chair to not be a member of the Ford family since the Center’s inception. Her expertise in this area came from her own life and determination to overcome her problems - in the early 1990s, she fought back a substance abuse problem, went on to become a UCLA-certified drug and alcohol counselor, and then earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.             Turner is preceded in death by her husband Norm Pattiz, who she met through her radio shows. Pattiz, founder and former chairman of Westwood One radio networks, passed away just this past December.             As if to prove the importance of Turner and her career, The Paley Center for Media in New York City includes in its collection recordings of her last show on KMET, dated August 6, 1982.  The collection also includes a portion of Jim Ladd’s program that followed immediately after, which on this night became a tribute show to Turner’s career.             Hear Turner’s interview with Springsteen from July 4th of 1978 at bit.ly/TurnerSpringsteen. Find other airchecks by searching YouTube and others for Mary Turner KMET.              The passing of turner hit many hard … as Ace Young said in his Facebook post, it hit him “like a ton of bricks             “Mary & I worked together for many years at KMET, Young wrote. “In fact, our friendship dates back to San Francisco. We both came to the Mighty Met in the Spring of 1972. Mary was the best. So much can be said of her career; her success; her life with husband, and recently passed, Norm Pattiz. I’ll, for the moment, leave that for others.              “I am grief stricken!” he concludes.             Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email [email protected].             ///                                     

 Guest:  Dave Beasing Radio Waves: May 12, 2023 Who do you love? Last week I spoke of an article from Inside Music Media’s Jerry Del Colliano in which he made a list of easily-fixed programming elements that turn listeners off. In case you missed it and want to take part, I am asking for your “things” … what would cause you to tune to another station or even turn off the radio completely. Before I follow up, though, I wanted to put together a list of things I like about radio. Scratch that – things I love. What keeps me going back to the radio every day? You can join in this as well. Without further ado: I love The Woody Show. Airing on Alt 98.7 FM weekday mornings from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. (kind of … they definitely repeat segments), the program has been a huge hit for the station … and for good reason. Starring Jeff “Woody” Fife, (Renae) Ravey, Sebastian “SeaBass” Davis, Greg Gory, Jason “Menace” McMurry, and Sammi Moreno, the show bills itself as “insensitivity training for a politically correct world.” I’d call it more of a gathering place to hang out with friends. Yes, at times, they get a little raunchy. But usually it’s good clean fun. They make fun of bad behavior, call people on their stupidity, and in general bring listeners in on their party every morning. I appreciate that, unlike some shows of the past, they are professional broadcasters as well, intelligent, quick-witted and extraordinary funny and entertaining. Ravey’s laugh is infectious. Bits and contests are well-designed, and include DUIQ, wherein listeners try to guess if a drunk partier can answer a simple trivia question, stories on stupid criminals, “redneck” news and occasional interviews. I include The Woody Show in the list of all-time best morning shows; the program has aired locally since April 21, 2014. I love Booker and Stryker, also on Alt 98.7 FM.  Chris Booker and Ted Stryker got together just over a year ago — February, 2022 — but the flow of the show and the chemistry between the two makes it seem like they have been together forever. Like Woody mornings, they quickly become your friends and make the afternoon drive pass much faster … to the point where you don’t even want to get out of the car. Or leave work. Or whatever. As long as the show is on the air, I don’t care what I am doing; I even listen on my bike ride home from work. The two wouldn’t hurt a fly; this is one program where all ages can listen.  I love Go Country 105 FM. Country music purists will disagree, but I really like modern country music … it reminds me of top-40 music of the past – songs you can sing along with in which the artists (or the country version of The Wrecking Crew, if one exists) still play real instruments. DJs are good, the commercial load is not ridiculous, and the station is locally owned by a guy who loves dogs and helps facilitate pet adoptions. What more do you want in a music station? I love KFI (640 AM). I don’t necessarily listen to every show, but they tend to be entertaining with a variety of topics. But what I really like is the news department – KFI news has always been top-notch, and the long history of good reporting continues today. Without question, KFI produces the best local newscast heard on the local commercial airwaves. Yes, better than KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM). I love the stations that go the extra mile to produce content for niche audiences. For example, you do have to use streaming or an HD radio, but the fact that Saul Levine uses Go Country’s signal to digitally send out classical music, 50s, ‘60s and ‘70s oldies, and adult standards focussing on Frank Sinatra and his friends — commercial-free, no less — does not go unnoticed. He does it because he wants to serve an audience that others ignore, and knows that it will never bring in much in the form of revenue. Levine just loves the art of radio. Local ownership at its best. And finally, I love that so many stations both locally and nationally stream their programming on apps I can use with my smart speakers phones. Being able to tune stations far and wide wherever I am is much appreciated by me and so many others. I’d mention the distant stations I like, but the focus of this column is local, so I won’t. So now you have a choice … you can still let me know what bugs you, but besides that … what do you love? Let me know! ///Radio Waves: May 5, 2023 March Nielsens show some changes What’s happening with KIIS-FM (102.7)? Since December, the hit music station has been on an upward trajectory in the Nielsen ratings; the March results released in late April have the station at second place overall with a 5.0 share of the audience … a full 2 points higher than it earned in December. If memory serves right, this is the highest finish KIIS has had in years … is pop music on the radio making a comeback? Perhaps. But it was oldies that won the day, with KRTH (101.1 FM) taking the top spot overall, beating KIIS by almost a full point at 5.8. That’s an increase of just over a point since December, when it had a 4.7 share, and is the highest rating the station has had this year. Oddly, KRTH’s online stream, which led all streams before, was not present in the ratings list this month The big — and truly surprising — drop came from KOST (103.5 FM), which found itself out of the first place position it has held for much of the past year … tied with KFI (640 AM) and KLVE (107.5 FM) at 5th at a 4.1 share. What makes this surprising is that KOST truly has led for most of the past year.  Another surprising drop came from Go Country 105 (KKGO, 105.1 FM), coming in with a 1.8 share of the audience compared with 2.1 in February and 2.5 back in December. I doubt this is a long-term trend, though … perhaps the excitement of the Stagecoach festival held last week will help out. Or perhaps it’s one of those anomalies that happen when the ratings meters are distributed to new listeners. KFI led the talk wars as per usual, it’s 5th place tie dominating the rest, including KRLA (870 AM)’s 0.7 and KEIB’s (1150 AM) 0.6. Where’s KABC? Nowhere to be found, but it doesn’t mean they have no listeners. I confirmed that the area’s talk format originator no longer subscribes to Nielsen and thus does not show in the ratings list. I also noticed that KSPN (710 AM) isn’t on the Nielsen list either, for the same reason. My hunch is that many stations will begin to consider such a move due primarily to monetary savings; I’ll have a story on that in an upcoming column. More interesting items from the ratings list: Alt (98.7 FM) beat KROQ (106.7 FM), but the two remain fairly close: 2.4 vs. 2.1. KKJZ (88.1 FM) was the top-rated public station with a 2.3 share. Regional Mexican music station KFWB (980 AM) has been moving up, almost doubling its 0.9 December rating with a March finish of 1.6. And the stream for Mega 96.3 (KXOL -FM) came from nowhere to earn a 0.9 share in March. Added to the station’s regular signal 2.6 share, the station would total 3.5 … and would have placed 8th overall in the city! Overall, two companies have almost half of all listeners tuned into their stations. iHeart has a combined 25.1 rating for its roster that includes KIIS-FM, KOST, Alt, and KFI, among others, while Audacy has a 19.0 total for its stations including KRTH, The Wave (KTWV 94.7 FM), KROQ, and KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM).  The full story: Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged six and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight. 1. KRTH (5.8) 2. KIIS-FM (5.0) 3. KBIG (4.5) 4. KTWV (4.4) 5. KFI, KLVE, KOST (4.1) 8. KBUE (4.0) 9. KRRL (3.4) 10. KNX (3.3) 11. KCBS-FM “Jack” (3.2) 12. KRCD (3.0) 13. KLOS, KXOL (2.6) 15. KLAX, KYSR “Alt” (2.4) 17. KKJZ (2.3) 18. KLYY, KPCC (2.2) 20. KROQ (2.1) 21. KUSC (2.0) 22. KDAY, KKGO, KLLI, KPWR “Power” (1.8) 26. KSCA (1.7) 27. KFWB, KJLH (1.6) 29. KCRW (1.3) 30. KLAC (1.0) 31. KXOL Stream (0.9) 32. KDLD, KFSH (0.8) 34. KCSN, KRLA (0.7) 36. KEIB (0.6) 37. KKLA (0.3) 38. KWKW (0.2) 39. KHJ, KNX Stream, KROQ HD2, KROQ Stream, KTNQ (0.1) Listener Gripes You already know my opinion of what makes for good radio. Inside Music Media’s Jerry Del Colliano recently put together a list of easily-fixed programming elements that turn listeners off. Before I report on his research, I’d like to hear from you. But I want to expand the list to not just what turns you off, but what turns you on. What is it you cannot stand about the radio you hear, and what is it you you truly enjoy? Send your thoughts to me and I’ll start compiling our own list to be presented later. it will be interesting to see how your “bad” list compares with Del Colliano’s, and it will be fun to recognize the great things about local radio.  ///

 All Day, Every Day: American Top 40 I’ve never been a fan of the iHeart Radio app you can download to your smartphone. I always thought it too cumbersome to use compared to alternatives, and I don’t like the way iHeart restricts its own stations to its own app rather than allowing them to be available on other apps as well. If iHeart really believed in the app, why do they not let it compete on an even playing field? But I broke down and started using it recently. Keep in mind I still don’t actually like it, but there is a reason to use it … American Top 40. Yes, the very same AT40 you can find on SiriusXM channels 7 — for the 1970s version — Saturdays at 3 a.m. and 9 a.m., Sundays at 6 a.m.; or our own semi-local KOLA (99.9 FM) which airs the ‘80s version Saturdays at 5 a.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. But what if you want to totally live in the past and listen to nothing but AT40, the countdown show hosted by former original KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM) personality Casey Kasem, launched on July 4th, 1970 on but a handful of stations, and eventually heard on stations around the globe as the most popular countdown show … ever? If that’s you, the iHeart Radio app — or iHeart.com on a computer — has you covered. A special channel called Classic American Top 40 plays old AT40 countdowns continuously. The ‘70s followed by the ‘80s followed by the ‘70s, etc. 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As I write this they are just starting a replay from 1983 after the completion of a week from 1973.  Audio heaven, for those who grew up listening to the classic program … and a major reason to use the iHeart app. Ryan Seacrest, by the way, hosts the current version of AT40 heard locally on KIIS-FM (102.7), starting at 6 a.m. Saturdays, 8 a.m. Sundays. Billboard Controversy Was the top song for at least one week of mid-July, 1978 not really the top song? Was there behind the scenes shenanigans? It wasn’t a problem with AT40 directly, but what AT40 used as the basis for the countdown list: Billboard Magazine. I read about this first on (I believe) the AT40 fan page of Facebook.  The story goes that Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street should have been the number one song on the Billboard charts in the second half of July, 1978, but that pressure to keep Andy Gibb’s Shadow Dancing at the top spot won out. Here’s what I found at https://djrobblog.com/archives/6222: “Among the many tales of “Baker Street’s” undying legacy is the one involving a bit of chart shenanigans that may have robbed Rafferty of ascending to that coveted No. 1 spot. “As reported in several publications since, legend has it that in one of its final weeks at No. 2 in July 1978, Billboard had actually calculated “Baker Street” to be No. 1.  At the time, Billboard’s charts were based on phoned-in radio station lists and record store reports, which staffers or computers would then compile, before the advent of more modern and accurate airplay and sales tracking technology in the early 1990s. Apparently, Gibb threatened to back out of a show being sponsored by Billboard if his song didn’t remain number one, said show being the pet project of then-chart manager Bill Wardlow. “It was alleged that Wardlow had a change of heart about the No. 1 position after having dined with Andy Gibb’s management on the night the chart was compiled. The story goes that Wardlow casually mentioned over dinner that Gibb’s tune had been displaced by Rafferty’s – much to RSO Records’ displeasure.” So Billboard issued a “correction,” apparently forcing American Top-40 to re-record the ending of the how, without the new number one song. Baker Street remained stalled at the number two slot on Billboard, though other sources did indeed put it at the top, such as including Cash Box which had it there on July 15, 1978. It is said that Baker Street is one of the all-time most beloved number two hits; the incident proves the power that top-40 radio once held over American culture. And as former newsman Paul Harvey used to say, now you know … the restof the story. No Static Here This is an old story, but but comes from former KHJ (930 AM) Production Director (among other stations) Douglas Brown. When FM by Steely Dan was released in 1978, may top-40 stations were still on the AM band, including in Los Angeles area, KHJ, Ten Q (KTNQ, 1020 AM), KFI (640 AM), and KEZY (1190 AM).  Many of the stations across the country didn’t want to play a song that hyped the FM band, so a few figured out that the “A’ in Steely Dan’s Aja matched the note well, and simply changed the song so that it played as “A-M, no static at all.” Which, of course, is somewhat absurd. The more powerful and influential stations, such as KHJ, convinced the musical band’s record company at the time to produce a special version of the song, one in which the the radio band is not mentioned at all. The resulting song simply refrains “no static at all.” A testament to the power that AM radio once held over American culture.Letters for April 28 Radio            Some email reaction from recent column topics …            “WABC has come back from the radio graveyard twice:  first when Rick Sklar created the legendary MusicRadio77 and now. In ratings released today the station is #9 with a 3.7, the first AM rated in NYC.  They gotta be doing something right!” — Steve Moravec            “To paraphrase a movie line: If you play it (great local content) they will listen.            “Local : News. Weather. SPORTS (high school and college). Talk with and by local leaders and personalities. City and  county government. One station doing this and while still learning is doing it well is KYCA-AM in Prescott, AZ.            “AM will not die in spite of Detroit.” — Dusty Baker            “I agree w/ every word u wrote. Hate Google, and all this ‘new’ approach to radio … for auto manufacturers to go along with this travesty is unconscionable. Keep up the good work and clear writing on this subject. — Beverly Riggs, La Habra (who describes herself as “a devoted sincere Radio junkie for 40+ years” and says that “radio has always been my ‘preferred passenger’ since I first learned how to drive”            “I wanted you to know how much I enjoy your articles about radio in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune … always informative, interesting and your passion for radio come thru loud & clear.            “Yes, my wife & I are with you…keep AM radio in our autos!            “I grew up in the ‘40s and ‘50s with radio; we listened to music and live shows in the evening on a Farnsworth that become mine at about 8 years old when we finally got a TV and Pop setup he own ‘stereo’ system in the living room. But I still used my home made crystal set with a surplus store military ear-phone.            I remember driving Van Nuys Blvd between Bob’s Big-Boy and  A&W Root beer with my radio blazing away was a real treat. Work/home/yard/shop, the radio was always on – and still is much of the time, albeit much lower and slower music these days. In the car, my wife is addicted to AM talk-show radio.            “Again, thank you for sharing your passion about a media that was most impactful during most of the 20th century — Drexel Smith  

 Radio: April 21, 2023                 InsideMusicMedia.Com’s Jerry Del Colliano posted a column on March 31 that — like many of his columns — could have been written by me. Great minds think alike, you know. Entitled The AM Station That Defies Failure, it tells the story of WABC/New York and the success it has had since being bought by a local owner from Cumulus.                 WABC is much like numerous AM stations across the country. Powerhouse top-40 format leaders in the 1960s and ‘70s, they lost their way when large corporate owners couldn’t figure out what to do with them. They dropped music, sometimes found temporary success with political talk, and then floundered once programmers focused more on their FMs.                 Weird how a neglected station would lose listeners.                 Anyway, for all intents and purposes, WABC was a failure in 2019 when Cumulus Media, owner of KABC (790 AM) here in Los Angeles, sold the station to a 74-year-old New York businessman named John Catsimatidis, Jr. — a guy with no radio experience other than being a radio fan.                 Catsimatidis then did what some think is impossible: brought a dead radio station back to life. How? He made it local. He served his local audience. He wasn’t afraid to embrace older listeners, and he started super-serving those willing to tune in.                 And tune in they did. The station has been above a 3.0 share for at least the last six months, and has had a 3.9 share the last two months. It is the top-rated AM station in New York. Under previous ownership, it had fallen to the mid to upper 1s. Could other stations learn from the recent success?                 Yes … more than that: the entire industry could learn from its success. The formula is so simple, it’s almost as if stations of the past could help with the lesson. In fact, that’s pretty much all Catsimatidis did … look at what made previous stations “tick,” and applied it to his new toy.                 WABC found an audience that was being underserved, then designed a format that would appeal to that audience, in this case an eclectic mix of talk, news, and music. Yes, music … on AM. Weird.                 Cousin Brucie, a legendary WABC disc jockey, plays oldies on weekends. The station runs its old iconic jingles. News coverage focusses on the local area. The talk hosts are mostly local, including former mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Rush Limbaugh producer Bo Snerdley, and a founding member of the Guardian Angels, Curtis Sliwa.                 Catsimatidis even has his own show, hosted by himself and local broadcaster Rita Cosby.                 While it is impressive that Catsimatidis took a failing station and made it successful, he is not alone. I’ve written about the success of stations such as WION/Ionia, Michigan and WRDN/Durand, Wisconsin. What all three and others like them have in common is local owners who care enough to program to their local audience and not rely on cheap syndicated programming.                 This approach benefits not only the stations and listeners, but local businesses that can advertise to reach an audience otherwise hard to find. That Catsimatidis does it in New York City, arguably one of the toughest markets in the United States, makes it even more impressive …. and in my opinion, frankly, embarrassing to owners like Audacy that has gone so far as to just shut down some of its AM stations.                 This lesson isn’t just for AM, though. FM stations definitely can use more local content , and in the cases in which the local audience is super-served, the results are impressive. Local content is the one thing that Spotify, Apple Music, or any other streaming service simply can’t match.                 Fight for the Dashboard                 On the heal of the news that engineers at Ford are as lazy or incompetent as those at BMW, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo due to the decision to remove AM radio from their future automobile offerings — because unlike every other company they are unable to deal with interference — comes news that GM has decided to drop Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support from future EVs.                 While I hate that AM is being dropped, and I believe it to be a bad decision, at least you can — usually, at least — use apps to replace the tuner and in some ways have better reception and better sound.                 But dropping CarPlay? That’s a non-starter for me. My family, starting with my grandfather, my father and now me, has owned GM almost exclusively since 1926. If CarPlay is not offered, I will not buy one.                 I want the choice to use the mapping software I want to use. I want the ability to use the apps I want to use, for example StreamsHiFi Audio and MyTuner Radio for online radio streams.  I can connect my phone to any of my current car stereos and have all of my apps and preferences ready to go; without CarPlay I’d have to set all my preferences individually in every car.                 And I certainly don’t want my life controlled by Google, which GM plans to use as the basis for its dashboard infotainment system. I am not a Google fan by any means, and I certainly don’t want their intrusive anti-privacy ad-based system in my car.                 In my opinion, GM is making a tremendously bad decision in dropping CarPlay and Android Auto. In doing so, though, you can now understand what is in store for the future … the ability to charge for being part of and using the dash. It is anti-competitive and anti-consumer.                 I hope that the move is met with consumer resistance similar to my own - as I said, I will never buy a car without CarPlay ability. Even if I have to keep my current truck forever.                 /// Radio Waves: April 14, 2023 KIQQ entertainment reporter Francesca Capucci passes I was a huge fan of KIQQ (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) during the station’s new-wave top-40 days of the early 1980s. It wasn’t necessarily the most polished station; indeed, the station could at times sound very low-budget. But it had a playlist that overlapped the best of KROQ (106.7 FM) and was often the first station in town to break new music and new bands with an emphasis on British acts along with homegrown artists. Often KIQQ was so far ahead of its competition, primarily KIIS-FM (102.7), that it seemed like a song was at the top of the charts forever. The reality was that KIQQ would break the song and then it would later hit the charts and other stations. KIQQ was where I first heard Eddie Grant, The Style Council, Rick Springfield and more. I don’t think I ever heard the wonderful “She Means Nothing to Me” by Phil Everly and Cliff Richard on any other station, with the one exception of UCLA’s student station KLA … because I played it there. Personalities included Bruce Chandler, Tony Saint James, GW McCoy, and a few others who stayed with the station until it gave up on the format and went light rock in mid-1985. One personality left early and went right to television, to become KABC-TV Channel 7’s entertainment reporter. That was Francesca Capucci, who started at KIQQ in the public affairs department, later moving up to report entertainment and celebrity gossip news, as well as features on and interviews with many of the bands and artists played on the station. For a time, in addition to her other duties, she worked with Jay Coffee in morning drive, but her best-known work was her features. If you were a faithful listeners as I was, you may remember her extended sign-off: “I’m Francesca Capucci on K ……….I ………..Q ………………………………….Q.” I never knew why they had — or allowed — her to do that; it was actually kind of cheesy. I was told later that it was designed to make her sound a bit sexy. True or not, she was definitely distinctive, and her features added a lot to the station’s on-air presence. After leaving KIQQ in 1984, she moved over to Channel 7, reporting on entertainment news for ten years. Other television work included acting on such shows as Columbo, 7th Heaven, The Practice, and Charmed, usually playing, of course, a reporter. Last week, I got the bad news from KPFK (90.7 FM)  Car Show host (and column reader) David Kunz that Capucci had passed away; she died at the age of 64 due to cancer. If her name sounds familiar, it may also be because it was used in the recent movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. There is no connection between her and the character in the movie; I am told that Quentin Tarantino just liked the name.  Her friend Kim Fitzgerald Kelly wrote on Capucci’s Facebook page on March 30,  “It is with profound sadness that I share the passing of Francesca Cappucci. As those of you on this page know, Francesca was a force of nature, a source of true joy, a devoted mother to sons Ian and Will, and a great lover of music. “Francesca’s name was itself a melody and it played throughout Los Angeles radio and TV stations for decades beginning in the early 80s. A celebration of life, love, and music is currently being planned and details will be announced. Until then, every time you hear a song by Foo Fighters or Crowded House, let it remind you of this beautiful icon.” You can read tributes on that same page: facebook.com/francesca.cappucci Commercial Breaks For years, I have felt that it was a huge mistake for stations to run large blocks of commercial-free music. I am referring to the hour or two — sometimes longer — periods of nothing but music. The problem, of course, is that it shifts the commercials that have to be run to other hours and makes the commercial breaks longer during those hours, as well as making each advertisement of less value to the advertiser. Seems like a lose-lose to me — the station earns less per advertisement because they are worth less as a longer block than they would otherwise be, the advertiser loses potential exposure due to listener tune-out, and listeners have to endure up to ten minutes of commercials when the breaks do come. But I recently found out why they do this, from an expert on the industry. It seems the stations sell the advertisements based upon the entire shift a DJ is on. For example, perhaps 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If the station can get a ton of listeners by playing no commercials the first two hours, it doesn’t care what happens during the rest of the show. The station can still sell the ad based upon the average rating over the entire four hours. No wonder radio is suffering… Nothing is Sacred Ford announced it is removing AM radio reception not only from future EVs, it is also removing it from future gas-powered vehicles. On the heals of that news came General Motors announcement that it is removing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on its future EVs. The reason? GM wants subscription income from the dashboard. I don’t know about you, but I love CarPlay. I won’t buy a car without it. Seems like a bad idea to me … what are your thoughts? More on this topic next week. ///   Damion Passes                 He may be retired, but it was Don Barrett of LARadio.Com who broke the news: Damion — last name: Bragdon, though he rarely used his last name on the air — formerly heard on KLOS (95.5 FM), KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) and KLSX (now KNX-FM, 97.1) has passed away from complications related to cancer.                 Immediately prior to landing in Los Angeles to be part of the KLOS air staff in 1971, Damion was at WDAI/Chicago as the station evolved from its “free-form” progressive rock format to the more traditional album-oriented “Rock ’n Stereo” … in essence repeating exactly what he did in Chicago here in Los Angeles.                 Those changes were not coincidence … the two stations were both owned by ABC, and in 1971 ABC decided to have all of its owned and operated FM stations nationwide take on the same format, as well as take on new call letters to distinguish the FMs from the co-owned AMs.                 In the case of KLOS, Damion joined Jeff Gonzer, J.J. Jackson, Jim Ladd, and programmer Tom Yates to launch the new format here. By the late 1970s, he would work up to the position of station programmer himself, a position he would give up when he left to work at then-competitor KMET.                 In 1986, he found himself at brand-new classic rocker KLSX, where he stayed through 1994. After that he moved on to satellite-delivered formats with Unistar and Westwood One/Dial Global, between times doing a stint in Hawaii including programming an AM/FM combo. He finally retired in 2008 but kept busy producing a one-hour program called Rock and Roll Cowboy — modern country music mixed with classic rock — that aired on a few stations across the country.                 In an interview with Barrett back in 1994, Damion spoke of some of the highlights of his career, which included partnering with Ladd to produce early “InnerView” programs; interviewing Led Zeppelin, being part of the California Jam in 1973, and more.                 “The end was terrible,” his wife Joy Hall told Barrett in an email. He was put on life support against his directive, and as they took him off some of his medications, he suffered multiple strokes. He passed away March 26th at the age of 79.                 Friends and colleagues always spoke highly of Damion, describing him using such words as kind, sweet, friendly, and considerate. “He was truly one o’ the good guys — a sweet man with virtually no ego,” wrote Michael Benner in an email to Barrett, as but one example.                 All of that was something you heard over the airwaves as he did his shows, no matter what station he was on. His delivery was always - always - smooth: the perfect album-rock DJ, and someone who like many of his contemporaries loved the music he played.                 You can hear airchecks for yourself searching YouTube.com for Damion KLOS and KMET.                 February Ratings                 The February Nielsens showed a narrowing of the gap between 1st place KOST (103.5 FM) and 2nd place KRTH (101.1 FM), with only 0.1 separating the two: 5.5 to 5.4. The rest of the top-10 included KTWV (4.6), KBIG (4.5), KFI (4.1), KLVE (4.1), KIIS-FM (3.9), KRRL (3.9), KBUE (3.2) and KCBS-FM (3.1)                 That Real 92.3 tied with KIIS-FM would in the past be a wake-up call to KIIS-FM … but now that both stations are owned by the same company, in this case the beleaguered iHeart Media, it won’t be. Just shy of the top-10 tied with KRCD at 11th was KNX … still no better than it was as a standalone AM station. Now using both the 1070 AM and 97.1 FM frequencies, it earned a 2.9.                 Cutting the B.S.                 Bo Snerdley was conservative talker Rush Limbaugh’s longtime producer; he helped line up guests, screened calls, and most importantly helped put together the day’s news for Limbaugh to expound upon.                 Since Limbaugh’s death, Snerdley stayed busy producing shows for the replacement hosts, produced the Limbaugh Letter, started a podcast, and launched his own program on WABC/New York entitled Bo Snerdley’s Rush Hour.                 He also produces a twice-daily conservative-leaning news headline email called Bo Snerdley’s Daily BS - Bo Cuts Through It. If you’re interested, subscribe at http://eepurl.com/hKLLg9                 Snerdley’s on-air name was inspired by Bo Jackson; his given name is James Golden. He spent 30 years working with Limbaugh, right until the very end.                 ///

SPECIAL Podcast:  We are re-publishing our career spanning interview with the multi-talented Ken Levine - who is featured in Richard's column this week. The Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters/Hollywood Media Professionals played host to a special “Coffee With …” interview as Master of Ceremonies and interviewer Chuck Street spent two hours talking with Ken Levine. You may not know the name Ken Levine when it comes to radio, though he did use his real name on KFI (640 AM) in the 1980s. But he was a young, up-and-coming top-40 radio star known as Beaver Cleaver on Ten Q (KTNQ, 1020 AM) here in Los Angeles and on the great B-100 (KFMB-FM — now KFBG, 100.7 FM) in San Diego, among other stations. Why Beaver Cleaver, the name of the character on the old “Leave It to Beaver” TV series? It was catchy and helped him stand out much more than the name he used previously, Ken Stevens. Outside of radio, Levine is a highly-respected writer, producer, and director in the television and film industries, an accomplished playwright, and even a play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball. His numerous credits include television programs “M*A*S*H,” “Cheers,” “Frasier,” “Wings,” “The Simpsons,” “Almost Perfect,” “Everybody Loves Raymond” and more; he has co-written feature films, and more recently has written and produced short plays acted live over Zoom. His baseball work includes stints with the Baltimore Orioles, the Seattle Mariners, and the San Diego Padres, and he spent a few years as co-host of Dodger Talk, the call-in program that followed every Dodger Game on the radio. And just to show that he can do just about anything, he is also an accomplished cartoonist, with his work appearing in the prestigious New Yorker magazine. In his spare time(?), he writes a blog and produces a thoroughly entertaining podcast … go to kenlevine.blogspot.com and hollywoodandlevine.libsyn.com/ Honestly, I have no idea how he manages to find time for all of his interests, let alone all the differing careers all the while being a loyal husband and family man. But the two-hour coffee interview just wasn’t enough … as many in the audience could attest, it was among the fastest two hours on record. Levine tends to downplay his accomplishments in radio, stating that his voice is “too squeaky” compared to his many heroes and contemporaries. I disagree, but regardless, he more than made up for any perceived personal deficiency with a quick wit, biting sarcasm, creative double entendres, and much more. This all came out anew during his interview, with such radio-related stories as: • Trying to get fired at KMEN/San Bernardino (now KKDD, 1290 AM). Management wanted him back in the overnight shift; he asked to be fired instead. They refused, so he stopped by the record store to buy a special album to play. “Radio stations were getting hip and playing album cuts more and more, so this idea was perfect.” The album he purchased to play in its entirety? “Fiddler on the Roof,” he said. “In Yiddish … I was fired before ‘Anatevka’ finished playing.” • Convincing the General Manager of WLS/Chicago — at the time one of the most popular radio stations in the country — to put him on the air during the overnight shift leading into Thanksgiving Day. Who was the GM? His father. “My Dad,” Levine explains, “left a memo stating that ‘My son will be doing the all-night show.’ No word on who I was or my experience on the air.” The guy on the air immediately before Levine’s shift had no idea who he was, so Levine pretended to be entirely clueless. “Wow, what are all these buttons,” he remembers asking the other DJ. By the time his shift was up, the other DJ was convinced this was going to be bad and was scared to leave the station in the hands of an amateur. “He was just freaking out,” Levine says. Finally, when the time came, the DJ watched as Levine leaned into the microphone, played the top-of-the-hour jingle, and opened his show with “This is Ken Levine; I’ve been on the air in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Bakersfield, San Bernardino … but never at the same time! This is W-L-S!” When Levine shut off the microphone, he remembers, “The DJ says, ‘You’ve done this before!’ I said, ‘Yes, of course; my father’s not going to put someone on the air at a 50,000-watt clear channel station in Chicago who’s never done it before!’” • The time that a program director at K-100 (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) worried they might get sued over his on-air name. Levine told the program director not to worry: “If we get sued, we’ll get a ton of free publicity, and the worst that will happen is they’ll make me change my name.” The program director called the station co-owner for direction, and Levine describes the response this way: “What’s the problem?” Levine says was the response. “The worst that would happen is that we’d get some free publicity and they’d make him change his name.” You can hear recordings of some of Levine’s on-air work by searching YouTube.Com using the keywords Beaver Cleaver, Ken Levine, Ten-Q and B-100. Mike Stark and I did a full career-spanning interview with Levine, which can be found at http://la-radiowaves.blogspot.com/2020/08/radio-waves-extra-ken-levine.html Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist. Email [email protected]