Radio Waves Podcast #50

KNBC Channel 4 sportscaster Fred Roggin has been added to the roster at “The Beast” KFWB (980 AM). He will handle the 12 noon to 3 PM shift which follows Jim Rome’s 9 AM to 12 noon time slot.

“I’m ready to go Beast mode,” Roggin said through a KFWB press release.

Roggin actually started in radio before moving to television over 30 years ago. Longtime viewers of Channel 4 News may remember him as the young buck who played second fiddle to top dog Stu Nahan for a few years before taking over when Nahan’s contract with the station was not renewed in 1986.

Hard to believe it was that long ago.

Roggin does bring some credibility to The Beast 980, with 30 local Emmys, 22 Golden Mikes, three Associated Press Awards, and a lifetime achievement award from the Los Angeles Press Club. He’s known for good reporting and good humor, often intertwined ... Roggins Heroes, anyone? Though I always wondered who ripped off whom, since I recall similar silly sports segments from a New York-based show. Regardless, no one can deny that Roggin is a popular and highly respected sports reporter.

Won’t matter, though. Sports stations don’t work in Los Angeles.

Living in the Past

Greg Wood of West Hills wrote to tell me of a website that runs airchecks -- recordings of radio stations -- of KFRC/San Francisco, one of the all-time best top-40 radio stations in America. Tune into www.KFRCSanFrancisco.com on your computer or smart phone and its like living in the 1970s or 1980s.

 

I love airchecks like these. It gives you a chance to experience radio like it was in the past ... when top-40 was competitive, creative, and demanding of everyone involved. To the listener, it was magic.

I like to drive my wife and kids crazy by playing airchecks in the car as I drive. This is a a fun way to do that, as well as hear songs I haven’t heard for a while. I’ve bought quite a few songs via iTunes after hearing them on old airchecks ... you’d be surprised how many once popular songs never make it to the oldies or Classic Rock stations of today. Allowing websites to play airchecks can help sell music (are you listening, RIAA?)

 

Anyway, just when I was about to mention this to you, I noticed that the audio was not working. Well, not working fully ... it worked on my iPhone, just not on my computer. To the rescue? Greg Wood again ...

“I e-mailed you a short time ago regarding a web site streaming air checks from KFRC at kfrcsanfrancisco.com,” he wrote. “The audio from that site may not be working, I found it can be accessed at Streema.Com via http://tinyurl.com/KFRCaudio.

“There's also a Facebook page set up: http://tinyurl.com/KFRCfacebook, and from there is a link that plays a audio CD recording that was issued in '91 for the 25 year anniversary. It's really amazing and put together well, narrated by Bobby Ocean: http://tinyurl.com/KFRCoceantribute.

 

“I'm still playing the Lotto in hopes of winning something big and find that station to buy to bring back good radio.”

That’s my reason for playing the lotto too ...