Radio Waves Podcast #305

 Kevin Ryder responds to KROQ column, talks connection to listeners of the World Famous 106.7

The mail was almost 100% in agreement with my commentary last week on KROQ’s (106.7 FM) has-been status. Only one letter disagreed, and it pointed to a website of supposed radio insiders who disagreed. I am absolutely wrong, they all said.

I know them well. I call them the corporate radio apologists. They will defend to the death what iHeart, Audacy and Cumulus have done to radio, which is to send listeners to alternative sources such as Apple Music and Spotify, make radio a background entertainment service minimizing ad rates and station value, and, in general, make radio less important in the lives of people.

You, on the other hand, said this:

“Unfortunately the state of radio is more concerned with the bottom line instead of evolving a brand into the tech era. “ — Don A

“You nailed it. Good job. It's about time.” — Max Tolkoff

“Been listening to KROQ since their AM days. Regarding your brief article, they let go of all their talent. I could list them but you know who they are starting with Ralph and Lisa. I finally cut the cord and now listen to KLOS. Feels like the old days with Kevin Ryder and other familiar voices. I love Heidi and Frank. Feels like the old days just with (expletive deleted) music, but that's what my music library is for.” — Scott W

Kevin Ryder, who spent 30 years waking up Los Angeles on the Kevin and Bean morning show on KROQ — and currently heard doing afternoons on KLOS (95.5 FM) as half of Kevin and Sluggo — agreed with my analysis.

“I didn’t understand the level of connection that you can have with listeners. I had no idea,” Ryder told me recently on the LARadiowaves podcast. “Until probably 12 or 13 years into doing the morning show on KROQ, did I realize, people are really invested in this, and invested in me as a person,” later explaining that “the problem I think is there are so few huge corporations that own so many radio stations … and I just think that they have miscalculated that connection, many different times.

“It’s a real connection … and it’s the connection that they don’t understand.” Ryder's former partner, Gene "Bean" Baxter chimed in on Twitter as well, saying "I'm sad to see what it's become."

There were more letters (and more of the interview with Ryder at LARadiowaves.com where he talks about KROQ, radio people and his new gig at KLOS), but the idea is there. I just don’t see any real progress until KROQ is either independent again, or Audacy let’s the local creative juices flow. National and regional programming just doesn’t cut it.

No Rush

There was always a bit of mystery surrounding the success of radio talk host Rush Limbaugh, who passed away this past February 17th. Not that there should have been, but there most definitely was: to this day, few seem to understand what made him successful.

Yes, I know there are those who will analyze the show and say that it was his conservative views presented in a liberal-dominated media world. I've said it before but this absolutely misses the real reason he was popular. And the lesson not learned is the reason that so many competitors on all sides of the political spectrum have missed the boat … few conservatives ever matched his success, and liberal Air America failed miserably.

What made Limbaugh tick was that he was an entertainer first, political talker second. There were times his show segment didn’t even feature politics at all, with football being his main diversion. The point is that he was fun. And while I am sure to get a ton of hate mail (mostly from those who never heard his show), it is an absolute fact. Especially in his early days, it was not just conservatives who listened. He didn’t insult listeners who disagreed; he embraced them. In the political arena, he was friends from the full spectrum of politics.

I bring this up now because I’ve been sampling his supposed replacements, Dan Bongino — heard locally from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on KABC (790 AM) — and (Clay) Travis and (Buck) Sexton — heard locally on KEIB (1150 AM).

Both shows are fine, for what they are: political commentary mixed in with interviews of political leaders. But they are not Limbaugh … they are the equivalent to the shows that ran on many stations that carried Limbaugh, and were just there to fill space on the hours Limbaugh was not broadcasting himself.

That doesn’t mean they are bad, and it doesn’t mean they can’t become something better. But when I listen, I cannot get past the preaching to the choir feeling that was never there with Limbaugh. They are informative, and of course similarly biased … but lacking the fun.

Part of that fun came from Limbaugh’s first jobs in radio: playing top-40 music. He honed his craft making the most of his limited time in between the records, and as my RadioWaves podcast partner Mike Stark always says, it is what is between the records that counts.

Limbaugh didn’t bring people back to the AM band and launch a talk-radio revolution by sounding like everyone else, and he never did sound like everyone else. Bongino, Travis and Sexton need to think about what they are doing and make their shows not only more entertaining, but present their views in such a way that they, too, can attract those who may disagree but are willing to listen to views other than their own.

I just don’t see that right now. But they can do it. And should.

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com

Radio Waves Podcast #304

Special guest Kevin Ryder formerly of "Kevin & Bean" on KROQ - now "Kevin & Sluggo" on KLOS

Radio: June 25, 2021

By now you probably know that KROQ (106.7 FM) is in trouble. The once trend-setting station that helped put New Wave on the map and helped create the eventual “alternative” format in radio has seen better days, to say the least. Most recently, while ratings edged up slightly in May to 2.2 from April’s 2.0, the fact is that since the beginning of the year KROQ has been beaten in the ratings every month by Alt 98.7 … in two months by a full point.

There are numerous reasons for this, not the least of which is that the station is owned by Audacy, a company so desperately trying to stay afloat under massive debt that it no longer has local personalities or local programming for numerous formats they run nationwide … including alternative, which means KROQ is hobbled by upper management.

Oh, sure, you could make the station perhaps slightly more successful than it is now if you get the music mix just right, have the right promotions, and maybe do something to knock Alt off the air. But the fact remains that KROQ was KROQ precisely because it was Los Angeles. You can’t do KROQ unless you make it its own.

Students of local radio history have seen this exact thing before. No one outside of former programmer Sam Bellamy, former General Manager David Moorhead, and a handful of others understood what made KMET tick in the late 1970s when they dominated their format. When Bellamy was let go and management got lazy, it was KROQ itself that did the Mighty Met in. And they did it by beating KMET at its own game - playing the right music for Los Angeles, finding the right attitude in the personalities, and being a part of a new wave (no pun intended) of music and listeners … made for Southern California.

KROQ today? Meh.

The music is programmed nationally. Most of the personalities are broadcasting from here, but are syndicated as well. The remaining come from other cities. This is just a national version of an alternative format, sounding exactly like you would hear in Portland. Or New York. Or wherever. 

Definitely not Los Angeles. Nor Southern California. And no one cares any more, including listeners who at one time were among radio’s most passionate.

So excuse my lack of enthusiasm for the search currently in progress for the “solid, strong anchor for the morning show on this legendary radio station” as was posted on consultant Steve Reynolds’ Facebook page. Reynolds is helping with the search from his home base in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Know how to build a great culture and do spectacular radio?” He continued. “You super talented, have a great attitude, and ready to do the work that'll make you an even bigger superstar in the industry?  DM me any names (yours or others, even if they're working).  This is freakin' KROQ, folks.”

Except that it isn’t. For all intents and purposes, KROQ is dead, and will remain so as long as it is part of Audacy. It isn’t the morning show that is the problem — the station had great talent there with Ted Stryker … at least until they removed him from mornings. But a replacement won’t make a bit of difference until KROQ is freed from the restraints given by overpaid, useless upper managers and a CEO who don’t “get” radio. KROQ cannot be KROQ when it has to play everywhere. It just sounds canned. Predictable.

When was the last time you listened to KROQ? See my point?

New Talker

After months of anticipation, KBLA (1580 AM) has launched its new talk format with an all-new lineup of hosts.

Weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m., it’s First Things First with Dominique Diprima, described as news and commentary from a uniquely different perspective. Following DiPrima at 9:00 is station owner Tavis Smiley with “insightful conversations with thought leaders, opinion makers, celebrities, authors and artists.”

At 12 noon Middays with Danny Morrison presents a community-centered program from “a politically astute, socially conscious, unapologetically opinionated, call to action warrior.” D.L. Hughley lightens afternoons somewhat from 2-4 with a “no hold barred ride of reality and humor.” At 4:00 every weekday afternoon, Alonzo Boded asks “Who’s Paying Attention?” As he attempts to root out the truth in an entertaining fashion.

At 7 p.m., Dr. Jeshana Johnson gets to the heart of relationships on Let’s Get Intimate … something particularly important as we re-enter life after the pandemic. Finally at 9:00, Don Amiche Vs. Everybody + Crysta and Kiara bringing “the other side of news, politics, pop culture, and life.” Repeats and best-of segments will air on the station between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.

Using the branding of “unapologetically progressive,” the station launched on Saturday June 19th — Juneteenth — with a sort of sneak preview; the official format began this past Monday June 21st. Give it a listen and tell me what you think.

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Radio Waves Podcast #303

 Radio: June 18, 2021

Last week I asked two questions: do you enjoy radio, and more importantly why?

I didn’t really give much thought to it, but a related question is do you still enjoy radio, but as it turns out, that comes out in your emails over the past few days. Obviously, you do (did) enjoy it, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this column. But your response are important, I believe, to move the industry forward such that it will still be relevant in the years ahead.

“You mentioned  having a transistor radio at an early age. I can do one better...my first was a crystal set that my brothers made in their hobby room upstairs in our house. It couldn't reach much except for the local station in our small town in northwest Washington, but it was great to listen to underneath the covers when I was supposed to be sleeping at night.

“Later when doing homework in high school, disc jockeys from Seattle at KIRO kept me focused (?) on the work. The Hit Parade countdown to the  # 1 hit was a favorite which we teens waited for each week. Our family listened faithfully to such programs as Fibber McGee and Molly and always laughed heartily when he opened the closet door and the contents came crashing out. Bob and Ray, in later years and their subtle humor was a favorite of mine, and a bit of relief from other  madcap humor of the day.

“Now, FM Classical programming is my choice now and the extensive play list of KUSC continues to fill my home and car.” — June Russell, Laguna Woods

“As an only child living in Southern California I didn’t have siblings or a lot of friends around especially in the evenings, so it was easy to build a “friendship” in my mind with the people in the box. Sports were the source of my first connection.  Vin Scully could have been part of the family … I can still recite parts of some of the Farmer John and Union 76 ads from the games. Scully was so important to the team that almost everyone would bring a transistor radio to the games and you could hear his voice throughout the stadium during the game.

“It didn’t take long for me to find out there were other things on the radio. I made it a point to listen to Lohman and Barkley when I could in the mornings. I loved those crazy characters Lohman made up like Ted and Eva Baloney, etc. As I grew older, the radio became a gateway to new music for me. 

“ I will say that the fragmentation of media can be disappointing and even a little dangerous. We all have different playlists and they have all diverged and have less and less in common.  It kind of makes me pine for the innocent days in high school when punk rock fans like me listened to KROQ while the stoners listened to KMET.  “ — John Standiford, Cypress 

“Back in the fifties, I’d lie in bed, in Venice,  listening to Lucky Lager Dance Time on, I think, KFWB.  The sweet-sounding tunes lulled me to sleep.  I can still remember the theme song for that show: “Dream…” And talking about skip: I was stationed in Panama during the early sixties, and remember that, on certain nights, we’d pick up a SoCal station or two.  Good music and back-home news.  Now, that was exciting.” — Mike Levitt

“I was a 40 year long haul truck driver, the radio was essential to keeping me awake and not bored. I love talk radio … missing RUSH more than words can express. For music it was country or classical.” — Pete Fitzek

“My earliest recollections are KMPC with Dick Whitinghill. ‘Around the corner and up your street, now its time for As the Stomach Turns, brought to you by Kers…the last word in crackers.’  And the serial ‘lost’ … tell your mother to go to the market and get lost.

“We listened at breakfast and at 8:25 a.m. or so, it was the business report: a female voice would say: ‘E.F. Hutton & Company, the market, just a moment please.’ When that was over it was time for school. At night it was KMPC and Gary Owens with the ‘teenage underground.’ Then KFWB: Bill Balance and the rest. And oh how I miss Jim Healy’s sports on KLAC.” — Joe Davis, Laguna Niguel

“LOVED your article today about the radio stations of long ago; they were the BEST!!  Everything you said about them was true. I loved KHJ back in the day; Charlie Tuna was my fave!  So glad he ended up on KRTH years ago, and I was lucky enough to get to meet him when he did a couple of outdoor gigs at a Stater Bros. near me – and even had my picture taken with him …  Something I treasure to this day.

  “I loved looking forward to going to the record store and getting the latest program with the top songs of the week listed. So fun to see just who was up and coming, and listening to the new songs.  And it was fun to call in and request songs, as well as participate in their contests. I think of our old radio often, as I listen while I drive – so not what it used to be!

  “I’m saving your article from today, and putting it in with my old record albums that I still have. It was so much fun to listen to radio back then – and be a part of it.

I miss that. Oh, and don’t forget Jeff Gonzer of KLOS – what a show he had!” — Michele Cruz

“I will spell it out:

“Right here -- We can listen to radio anywhere in our home, and just about anywhere outside of home. Activity-oriented -- Radio can entertain and lift us while we are doing just about any activity -- as it did for you when you worked in the back warehouse at Sears Surplus. Dramatic  -- As Jack Benny said, on radio, the screen is as wide as your imagination. For sports fans, a big game is even more epic on radio than on TV, because you are hanging on the announcer's words and because you become more aware of the crowd noise. Information and intimacy -- All-news radio is still the best place for reliable, immediate information on breaking news. No matter how good GPS is, it's still comforting when driving to hear the traffic problems from a real person (WHY is there such a back-up?). . . . As for intimacy, on TV, you feel the announcer is talking to "everyone." On radio, you can feel the announcer is talking only to you -- it's just the two of you. Over distance -- We can pull in stations from other cities and, at night, other parts of the country. There are few pleasures better than cruising on a highway at night while listening to a terrific interview or game.

“Yours shopping for a new transistor radio” — John Lowe, Seal beach

One response perhaps brought out the real reason we all love radio: the human connection you can’t get from an online jukebox. “Yes, I listen to radio, happily. Simple, easy, interesting, no user name, password … no instructions needed … Sam Riddle, Wink Martindale, Wolfman Jack … I embrace print, radio and human interaction.” — L.T. Karg

Radio Waves Podcast #302

 Radio: June 11, 2021

Do you enjoy radio?

It’s a simple question … most likely since you are reading this column, the easy answer is “yes.” Here’s where it gets harder: why? Depending on your level of “enjoyment,” the answer to “why” could be akin to explaining what is love … and that is more than just a Haddaway song.

Sorry … couldn’t resist.

In my case, it truly is love. My love of radio began at a very early age, when (as I’ve written many times before) my Aunt Ina gave me a Realtone 10-transistor radio sometime when I was about eight years old. I spend my time listening to “KHJ,” though I was tuned to the wrong station and was actually listening to KGBS. Go figure. Eventually I was tuning up and down the AM dial, using the Realtone and an old tube radio, finding new adventures and new stations.

I didn’t understand the issue at the time, but I was fascinated with the stations that appeared at night and then went away during daylight … the long distance stations that “skipped” through the atmosphere to reach my radio from cities far away. The annoyance of interference whenever my Dad turned on the fluorescent light in the den.

I finally found the realm KHJ and was hooked, but I also tuned in to San Diego powerhouse KCBQ … and later KGB, which at the time called itself “The KGB,” perhaps making light of the cold war.

I loved the personalities. I loved the excitement. I loved being part of something that was bigger than life itself.  The contests that I never won  (though I do have a friend who won cash from Ten-Q twice … My friend Jeff is thus one of my brushes with greatness). The requests that were never really played, the song just always came up in regular rotation on the station’s playlist.

The jocks who were truly stars. The Real Don Steele. Robert W. Morgan. Shotgun Tom. Bobby Ocean. Jim Ladd. Dr. Demento. These guys were all my friends. And many of my radio friends I was fortunate enough to eventually meet.

And the drama … who can forget the CBS Radio Mystery Theater on KNX, a program I found by tuning around at night. It was me getting my parents hooked on the program, not the other way around. I listened almost every night … and always in the car on family vacations.

I’d tune into stations whenever I’d go to another city, which is how I found the late-great KFRC/San Francisco. After graduating college I took a trip to Hawaii and found KSSK … and used my radio to see if I could pick up stations from the mainland. My memory is that I was able to hear KEX out of Portland, among others.

None of this explains the “why,” however. And I am not sure I really can. I loved the personalities, and that is a primary reason behind the bond. Radio was one of my friends. It entertained me in a way that no music stream could ever do. The personalities and the music lifted me when I was down, and kept me going when I needed the encouragement. 

To show just how much of a radio geek I am, I still remember working in the back warehouse of the old Sears Surplus Store in San Pedro when the all-new K-West played a “jock logo” for the first time. That’s a jingle in which the DJ’s name is sung, followed by the station call-letters. “Bobby Ocean …. K-West 106!” I was in heaven and was almost giddy, especially as the format was essentially KHJ resurrected … but on FM.

Now, I know I am unusual, but I do believe that the same things that attracted me to radio are the same things that attracted others, even if they didn’t really know who/what/why or how. And that is part of the reason I believe radio suffers today, in the sense that the audience is aging and young people tend to shy away from radio totally. Not just AM, but FM as well.

Can my type of radio still succeed? Quite a few say I am totally off-base. And yet here we have SiriusXM soon launching TikTok Radio that is basically taking my longstanding plan to save AM radio and putting it on satellite: super-serve a younger audience with “influencers” who will entertain with new music, and fun programming designed to attract people to a medium that so many have written off. Sad that it’s satellite, but the plan is solid. A dying AM station would do well to get a jump on the idea so they can make a go of it.

Or even one on FM.

But enough about me. Am I totally off-base, or do you have similar thoughts on what attracted you to radio, no matter the format? The great stations over the years were not only those I tuned in. And some were not necessarily popular but had a fiercely loyal audience limited perhaps by signal or a marketing budget. 

Whatever your favorite - KHJ, Ten-Q, KRLA, KFWB, KMPC, KBLA, KWKW, KGFJ, KDAY, KCBQ, KEZY, KBLA, KLAC, WCFL, KFRC … the list is endless…  what made it your favorite? 

In other words: Do you enjoy radio? Why?

Radio Waves Podcast #301

 Our monthly visit from Dave Beasing

Radio: June 4, 2021

Who’s replacing Rush Limbaugh, who passed away from cancer earlier this year? It all depends on who you ask.

Keeping in mind that no one truly “replaces” the popular host, there are two major attempts developing right now to take grab the large, fiercely loyal audience that Limbaugh cultivated over his few decades on the air. The field is effectively wide-open, however, as without Limbaugh himself at the microphone, his old time slot on his former stations throughout the country is most definitely not guaranteed to garner the ratings he once commanded.

Already on the air is Dan Bonjino, heard locally 9 a.m. to 12 noon on KABC (790 AM) and distributed by KABC’s owner, Cumulus. Bonjino has a bit of street red, having been a contributor to Fox News and host of his own podcast — formerly carried by KABC as well — for many years. In many ways, his way of thinking is very Limbaigh-ish, and he is among a few who I thought might be a contender as his “replacement.”

But he’s not perfect. One thing that set Limbaugh apart from the crowd is that he wasn’t really a talk host. Instead, he was a top-40 DJ who didn’t play records. Limbaugh’s appeal, especially in his younger years when he began to attract an audience back to the AM band, was his essence of humor and fun. Yes, he spoke of politics. Yes, he got his point across. But he delivered his message in such a way that even those who disagreed could listen; often he put liberal callers at the front of the line when it came to discussions.

Bonjino has many of the same attributes when it comes to the basic though-process, but he’s doing a talk show. How he evolves will make or break his ultimate success, as the more entertaining he can make the show the greater the chance that his audience will consist of more than just aging conservatives. As with Limbaugh, if he can make his show not just politics, not just preaching to the choir, he can make a huge impact. Time will tell how this plays out.

Coming to the air on many of Limbaugh’s former stations — and distributed by Limbaugh’s former distributor Premiere — is a new team, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. The Wall Street Journal says that the program is expected to “serve up similar right-wing fare, tackling news stories of the day, politics and current events, peppered with call-ins from listeners and humor.” The show will launch July 21st nationwide … and locally on KEIB (1150 AM), which is expected to maintain the 9 a.m. to 12 noon time slot.

Travis is the host of Fox Sports Radio’s “Outkick the Coverage” and is founder of outback.com. Sexton is host of “The Buck Sexton Show” currently heard via tape-delay on KEIB from 6-9 p.m.

`Travis and Sexton have the same issue as Bonjino … they must capture an audience that wants to hear their version of of the issues — or at least learn of that side — with a strong sense of humor. This is not as easy as it seems.

Limbaugh made it seem easy, and much of that had to do with his early radio training as already mentioned. He was trained as an entertainer. He knew how to grab attention, and how to keep it. Few others on either side of the political isle could duplicate his success; indeed an entire network of liberal talk didn’t get it right when Air America made a big splash years ago, only to die a deserved death with hosts that were essentially just angry.

On the conservative side, numerous hosts have found an audience, but it is often just preaching to the choir with ultimately little impact in ratings.

Can either show do it? As I said, time will tell. They at least have a playbook to work from. Will the head start of Bongino give him a boost over the stable set of stations that Travis and Sexton are inheriting? If I were Bonjino, I would make sure that these early shows are as good as they can be, and hope that the stations running the show will actually promote it. The race itself should get interesting.

New Radio Station

While traditional media groups that control the majority of the radio stations in the United States are busy shinning the very idea of “radio,” others apparently don’t see radio as the dead-end media that Entercom/Audacy, iHeart and Cumulus do.

Case in point: this summer, SiriusXM will launch a new TikTok Radio channel, dedicated to exposing new artists and new music using DJs who are popular video producers on TikTok known as influencers. It seems that everyone likes radio except the largest radio station group owners.

Weird.

TikTok radio as is currently described appears to be doing what I have tried to get broadcast radio to do - bring young listeners back into the fold by finding out what they want to hear. Find out what drives them. What they want in entertainment.

Like what radio used to do.

Weird.