Radio: February 23, 2018
Talk personality and semi shock-jock Don Imus -- whose nationally syndicated program Imus in the Morning
was once heard locally at various times on such stations as KLAC (570
AM), the original KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM), and KABC (790 AM) announced
recently that he would retire from radio next month; his last show will
air on March 29th.
Not
by choice, mind you. Due in part to the financial problems at Cumulus
and declining ratings for the program, Cumulus asked to end his contract
early rather than letting it run through December 2018.
Imus
was a huge for a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s as his program
grew in popularity. He was heard locally on WNBC from 1971 to 1977; he
was fired from the station in 1977 as the station tried to go in a new
direction. Two years later he was rehired and stayed there through the
station’s switch from top-40 to sports-talk as WFAN. The program is
currently based at WABC/New York.
Syndication
began in 1993 and he was even on MSNBC cable television for a time. In
Los Angeles, however, his syndicated program was only marginally
successful, leading to the change in stations and the eventual dropping
of the program. According to the KCAA/Inland Empire website, Imus can be
heard Thursdays from 9 to 11 a.m. KCAA is the closest affiliate to Los
Angeles.
His
show became more political when it became syndicated; his early days
were focussed more on stunts and gags, such as when he once tried to
order 1200 hamburgers form a local New Your restaurant. I once heard an
imitation he did of local Los Angeles legend Robert W. Morgan that was
spot on.
Will
he actually retire? I’m betting no. At 77 he certainly can, but my
hunch is he will find a local station somewhere and stay with radio a
few more years.
Age Discrimination
While
Imus has certainly had his problems over the years including being
removed from the air when he called the Rutgers University women’s
basketball players “nappy headed hos,” this time he’s being taken to
court.
Warner
Wolf, who was the sports guy at WABC until 2016, is suing Imus and
three executives of Cumulus for age discrimination. Wolf, currently
three years older than Imus at 80, claims he was replaced by someone 30
years younger and was the subject of negative comments regarding his age
on Imus’ show. He is seeking severance pay of about $96,000 plus
damages.
Short Takes
KDAY
(103.5 FM) personality Cece moves up the dial to sister station Power
106, to work mornings with J. Cruz. Crystal Bee, formerly with the
morning show, moves to mid-days.
Fans
of The Morning After with Skippy and Drew love the KFRR/Fresno morning
show so much that they set up a GoFundMe page to buy a billboard
promoting the program. Listeners then votes for the best billboard,
which was scheduled to be unveiled on February 23rd.
Mimi
Chen noted on Facebook last weekend that this is the Chinese Year of
the Dog, so she asked listeners for good songs about dogs. I suggested
“Shannon,” the song by Henry Gross about the dog that drifts out to sea.
“Maybe she’s find an island with a shady tree, just like the one in our
back yard,” the lyrics say. For those too young: yes, that was a hit. A
big hit.
Why
can (seemingly) I hear more songs I like on SiriusXM’s Hits One channel
than I can on KIIS-FM (102.7 FM)? Is it actually the music or the
comparative lack of clutter that makes Hits One sound better?
No comments:
Post a Comment