Radio Waves Podcast #317

 Radio: October 29, 2021

It’s kind of funny, perhaps a bit sad, and definitely a reality that while some supposedly are working to improve the AM band, others — primarily owners — are doing things that actually hurt it..

I’m not talking programming here, though that is certainly a major cause of the lack of listeners to broadcasting’s oldest and original band. No, I’m talking the economic reality that the land many AM transmitters sit on is often worth more than the radio station itself. To the point where many stations, dominant in the past with monster signals, are now often barely receivable.

The next station to make the move appears to be KSPN (710 AM), as the all-sports station has been approved by the FCC to move to a different transmitter site, and at a lower level of power.

As explained by Doc Searls —  a fellow since 2006 at what is now the Berkman Klein Center who studies technology and related issues including radio — the plan has KSPN moving to the KRDC (1110 AM)  site and sharing the transmitter.  “That plan is in place because the current KSPN site (in use since the 1930s) is the vast spread of land in the Valley on which the station's three towers sit, and that land, surrounded by suburbs, is worth far more than the signal itself.” 

Searls expects that the format and call letters will be transferred to 1110 AM, which is already simulcasting KSPN’s programming, though that is complete conjecture. But the move is not unexpected … as he says,  “AM station owners are doing this everywhere. KHJ (930 AM) and KABC (790 AM)  have already done it — moving to other sites they share with other stations —and unloading the land under their old towers. In both those cases, the signals aren't much different.”

Unlike KHJ and KABC, however, this one appears to be something that will cause signal degradation … lower power on a former landfill in Irwindale — worse land as far as signal propagation — cannot be an improvement. I can barely receive 1110 AM in some rooms of my house near San Pedro.

But the reality is that real estate is indeed more valuable than many AM stations. Sad, but true. Makes you wonder how much longer the cycle can continue.

What’s With Bongino?

Dan Bongino, heard locally on KABC from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, has been “fighting” with Cumulus Media — distributor of his syndicated show as well as owner of  many stations on which his show is carried — threatening to quit over the company’s Covid vaccine mandate.

Interesting especially since Bongino has already been vaccinated. For his part, he claims he is sticking up for his fellow employees who may not wish to get it; like may others it appears that he is pro-vaccine, anti-mandate. And it may indeed be true.

But a few flags were raised when I first heard the story. First off, Bongino is no Limbaugh. Yes, his show is run at the same time, but like all wanna-be Limbaugh’s from both sides of the political isle, Bongino doesn’t get what made Limbaugh tick … what made him popular. Essentially, outside of Cumulus Media management, which would need to find a replacement if Bongino actually did quit, few would care.

Secondly, by protesting, he is breaking the intent of company policy … Cumulus doesn’t want to be part of anything that may be considered anti-vaccine. So you have someone with marginal ratings threatening to leave a company barely hanging on when he probably doesn’t much care if he has a daily radio show or not … he can always go back to podcasts and cable television exclusively.

My hunch? Cumulus wants or at least likes the publicity. We’ll see how this plays out.

War

Almost 85 years ago — October 30, 1938 — War of the Worlds was broadcast on CBS Radio, including KNX (1070 AM) here in Los Angeles. In it, Orson Welles scared the nation into believing that the earth was being taken over by martians through his presentation of a radio adaption of H. G. Wells’ book on his program Mercury Theater on the Air.

Panic ensued as people believed that the program was actually real radio bulletins and news being reported over the network. Or at least that’s what we have all been led to believe.

While there may have been a few who missed the numerous announcements — made at every break — that this was a play, the idea that the entire country panicked has been at best an exaggeration. An urban myth.

As it turns out, the audience for War was small. Most of the nation was tuned to the popular NBC program, Edgar Bergen’s Chase and Sanborn Hour, a comedy and variety show. In fact, the Hooper Ratings service had telephoned households the night of the broadcast for its national ratings survey and determined that only two percent of the potential audience was listening to Welle’s show. This means that 98 percent of America was not.

Slate.com stated it this way, in a report they ran about ten years ago:

"Far fewer people heard the broadcast — and fewer still panicked — than most people believe today. How do we know? The night the program aired, the C.E. Hooper ratings service telephoned 5,000 households for its national ratings survey. 'To what program are you listening?' the service asked respondents. Only 2 percent answered a radio 'play' or 'the Orson Welles program,' or something similar indicating CBS. None said a 'news broadcast,' according to a summary published in Broadcasting. In other words, 98 percent of those surveyed were listening to something else, or nothing at all, on Oct. 30, 1938. This minuscule rating is not surprising. Welles' program was scheduled against one of the most popular national programs at the time — ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's Chase and Sanborn Hour, a comedy-variety show.”

(See it for yourself at https://slate.com/culture/2013/10/orson-welles-war-of-the-worlds-panic-myth-the-infamous-radio-broadcast-did-not-cause-a-nationwide-hysteria.html”)

It must also be added that some CBS affiliate stations had preempted the Mercury Theater program in favor of local programming, further limiting the audience.

So how did a non-panic become a known panic? Blame newspapers. As Slate explains, “Radio had siphoned off advertising revenue from print during the Depression, badly damaging the newspaper industry. So the papers seized the opportunity presented by Welles’ program to discredit radio as a source of news. “ Kind of sounds like television news today … but I digress.

Regardless, the show is considered a classic. While KNX no longer airs the Drama Hour that once ran War annually at Halloween, you can still find it on-line. Do a search or just go to one of the Old Time Radio sites, such as otr.net, which has a download available at http://www.otr.net/?p=merc.

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Radio Waves Podcast #316

 Southern California radio’s latest ratings offer surprises and a new No. 1

As recently as July, KOST (103.5) was getting beaten by KRTH (101.1 FM) in the local Nielsen ratings. But with just a few weeks to go before its annual switch to holiday music (and the annual ratings bonanza), KOST pushed ahead to become the No. 1 station in town a bit early, edging out KRTH by a whisker: 5.5 vs 5.3 in the September ratings.

The two dominant stations were almost a full point ahead of third-place KTWV’s (94.7 FM) 4.6, and the 4th place tie of My FM (KBIG, 104.3 FM) and KLVE (107.5 FM) at 4.5.

Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged 6 and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight. For the most part, with just a few exceptions, things are generally the same as they were when I last reported the ratings back in July.

As usual, KFI was the No. 1 AM station in town, tying KIIS-FM (102.7) for 7th place at 3.8. This made KIIS-FM the top “top-40” station, though there is so much overlap between it and My FM that the lines of top-40 vs. My FM’s “hot adult contemporary” format are certainly blurring. Stations that might be considered true direct competition to KIIS are Power 106 (KPWR, 105.9 FM) at 1.9, and Now (KNOU, 97.1 FM) at 1.5.

Both Power and Now beg the question: What are they doing to address this? Both stations have signals that are among the best in the city; to be rated so relatively low makes one wonder why the owners are staying with the formats they currently run. Both stations changed formats in the past with ratings that at the time were higher than they both earn now. Heck, most AM stations abandoned music with ratings higher than that back in the last 1970s and early ‘80s.

It was not a good month for alternative rock, with both Alt 98.7 (KYSR) and KROQ (106.7 FM) down compared with the last quarter. For September, Alt was at 2.3; KROQ at 2.0. Back in June, the stations had shares of 3.2 and 2.3, respectively. In San Francisco, the former alternative leader once known as Live 105 just changed to a Jack (KCBS-FM, 93.1) clone called Dave. That won’t happen here as we already have Jack, but it does make you wonder how much longer KROQ’s ratings in particular will be tolerated.

As mentioned, KFI was the top AM station in town, and therefore has the top talk ratings in town as well. KFI’s competition? KRLA (870 AM) earned a 2.0 share, KABC (790 AM) had 1.1, and KEIB (1150 AM) had a 1.0. That means KFI had just slightly less than the total of its competition … not bad, not bad at all.

On the strength of the Dodgers, KLAC (570 AM)  took top sports honors, with a solid 2.1 share. KSPN (710 AM) — which simulcasts its programming on KRDC (1110 AM) — was at 0.5. Repeat: 0.5. On two signals. Wow. Perhaps oldies on 1110 AM would work better? And perhaps some middle-of-the-road music combined with sports on 710? Just thinking out loud.

People are listening to online streams … KLOS (95.5 FM), which earned a 2.6 share on FM, earned another 0.2 on its stream. KPWR earned a 0.1 share with its stream. And a couple of HD Radio signals showed up as well, with LA Oldies on 105.1 HD2 and ‘80s alternative on 106.7 HD2 both earning 0.1 shares. Interestingly, while you’d think that Mose people would listen to classical music on HD or online, it was KMZT’s AM signal (at 1260) that earned the rating … also at 0.1.

Here’s one I can’t figure out: What happened to KKLQ (100.3 FM)? They seemed to be doing fairly well just a short time ago. Did something happen? Or is this a case of one or two ratings meters making a huge difference in the ratings calculations? Or are people not liking a canned syndicated format?

The full story:1. KOST (5.5) 2. KRTH (5.3) 3. KTWV (4.6) 4. KBIG “My FM”, KLVE (4.5) 6. KCBS-FM “Jack” (4.2) 7. KFI, KIIS-FM (3.8) 9. KLAX (3.5) 10. KNX, KPCC (3.0)12. KLYY (2.7) 13. KLOS, KRCD (2.6) 15. KRRL (2.5) 16. KSCA, KYSR (2.3) 18. KKGO, KLAC (2.1) 20. KRLA, KROQ (2.0)22. KLLI, KPWR, KXOL  (1.9) 25. KCRW, KUSC (1.7) 27. KBUE, KJLH (1.6) 29. KNOU (1.5) 30. KDAY, KKJZ (1.2)32. KABC (1.1) 33. KEIB (1.0) 34. KDLD (0.9) 35. KFWB (0.8) 36. KFSH (0.6) 37. KCSN, KSPN, KWIZ (0.5) 40. KKLA (0.3)42. KLOS Online Stream, KTNQ (0.2) 44. KHJ, KIRN, KKGO-HD2, KMZT, KPWR Online Stream, KROQ-HD2, KWKW (0.1)

Kelly honored

KFI’s Mo’ Kelly says he is “honored … and humbled” by his being named radio’s Journalist of the Year, 2020 and having radio’s Best Personality/Profile Interview according to the Los Angeles Press Club at the organization’s 63rd Annual Journalism Awards Dinner held on October 16th. Will this recognition lead to more time on the air? One can hope …

New name

Ted Stryker left KROQ’s morning show and reporter Kelli Skye Fadroski talked to the DJ about his new podcast “Tuna on Toast.” KROQ’s morning show, now called Klein and Ally, also airs in Kansas City and Dallas and was heard on Klein’s former station in San Francisco until that station changed formats from alternative to “Dave.”

Radio Waves Podcast #315

 Radio: October 15, 2021

By now — especially if you’ve read this column very long — you’ve probably heard of HD Radio, the broadcasting system authorized by the FCC where digital broadcasts are sent along with regular analog signals, giving supposed better sound quality (promised in last advertising as “like FM on AM, like CDs on FM”) and for now only on FM, extra channels. All of which available over the air only if you have an HD Radio tuner.

But what are those extra channels, and is it worth upgrading to an HD Radio at home or in your car? Those are the big questions, and today I will try to answer them. First the extra channels you can hear broadcast along with your favorite FM station; the following is a list of the available extra HD stations in Los Angeles, and the format they run.

(Key: 88.1-2 refers to the second audio channel for KKJZ, found at 88.1 FM; all -1 channels duplicate the regular analog station and are therefore omitted).
88.1-2 Jazz vocals
88.1-3 Cal State Long Beach student run station; various programs from oldies to hip-hop; the home of Mornings on the Beach, an award-winning morning program covering various lifestyle issues
88.5-2 Contemporary Jazz, local news, and entertainment from Saddleback College
88.5-3 The Latin Alternative: Alternative music, electronic dance music, indie pop, Sal Soul and classic rock … en espanol
89.3-2 The Current: Contemporary alternative music from Minnesota Public Radio
89.9-2 Eclectic 24: a continuous stream of eclectic music curated by KCRW’s own Chris Douridas
92.3-2 News/Information from the Black Information Network
93.1-2 Simulcast of K-Frog’s (KFRG/Riverside) country music programming
93.1-3 The Bet: Sports gambling information and CBS Sportsradio programming
93.9-2 Spanish adult contemporary music
94.7-2 Rhythmic contemporary music
94.7-3 Radio Hamrah: News, information and talk programming for the global Persian community
95.1-2 Owner Audacy lists KFRG-HD2 as Next Country, supposedly playing the next country hits before they are hits. But when I tuned in, the station was playing light rock in Spanish.
95.5-2 Southern California’s FM Talk Station… 24/7 repeats of KLOS (95.5 FM) morning show, Heidi and Frank. Other shows were/are promised, but for now that’s it.
95.5-3 News, information and talk in Armenian from SoCalArmenian.com
97.1-2 Channel Q: Electronic Dance Music and other programming designed to appeal to LA’s LGBTQ residents
97.1-3 Firelane: non-stop dance music
98.7-2 Simulcast of KLAC ’s (570 AM) sports programming
100.3-2 Air 1 Radio: contemporary Christian religious/worship music (essentially a simulcast of KYLA/Fountain Valley 92.7 FM and a handful of other stations in areas surrounding Los Angeles)
100.3-3 Radio Nueva Vida: Christian music and talk in Spanish
101.1-2 Simulcast of KNX (1070 AM) newsradio
101.9-2 Simulcast of KTNQ (1020 AM) Spanish-language news/talk
101.9-3 Armenian Music Radio
103.5-2 Simulcast of KFI (640 AM) talk radio
103.5-3 The Breeze: Soft Rock similar to what KOST (103.5 FM) itself used to play
103.9-2 El Sembrador: Spanish-language Catholic radio programming from El Sembrador Ministries’ ESNE Radio network.
103.9-3 Another simulcast of KTNQ
104.3-2 Pride Radio: “The Pulse of LGBTQ+ America” - iHeart’s version of Audacy’s Channel Q. Electronic Dance Music and a little top-40.
105.1-2 LA Oldies, as formerly heard on the old KSUR (now KMZT, 1260 AM). Oldies from the 1950s through the early 1980s with an emphasis on the late ‘60s and ’70
105.1-3 Unforgettable FM: all Frank Sinatra, all the time
105.1-4 Simulcast of K-Mozart (KMZT): classical music with a few related specialty programs
105.9-2 Simulcast of KDAY (93.5 FM) old school Hip-Hop
106.3-2 AAX Radio: Not really sure here. Supposedly Vietnamese programming, but when I tuned in I heard an english-language discussion on weddings and masks.
106.3-3 Simulcast of KYPA’s (1230 AM) Korean-language programming of music (including english-language oldies) and information. Interestingly, it wasn’t an exact simulcast … background music that played on the online stream and on the AM signal was absent on this version. I assume the processing was different and something got nulled-out as it made its way here.
106.7-2 Roq of the ‘80s: The music that made KROQ (106.7 FM) famous; pop and alternative music from the 1980s
107.5-2 Radio Jan: “the best Armenian radio station in the USA.” Launched first in Armenia in 2012 and in Los Angeles in 2017, the station plays Armenian popular music
107.5-3 Radio ITN: 24-hour news and entertainment serving the Persian-speaking community

Currently, only FM stations can broadcast the extra channels, though the HD system would allow AM stations to do so if they went all-digital. There is not enough space in the AM band to allow extra channels using the current hybrid (analog and digital) system; unfortunately going all-digital means a station would lose traditional radio listeners. A few stations nationwide have done so, but none locally.

So you can see that there are many “secret” stations that can be heard using an HD Radio tuner. Should you go out and buy one? Chances are you already have one in your car if you own one bought in the last ten years … many models come as a stepped-up audio option. And ten years ago, I would have said “yes” to buying one.

But there is a problem with the extra channels on FM: unlike the main station, there is no buffering. This means if you don’t have a clean signal, the extra station just drops out. Maybe for a half second, maybe for a minute. This is not a problem at home, but while driving, the signal can pop in and out constantly. VERY annoying.

Combine this with the improvement in internet accessibility, apps you can use via modern stereos and your smart phone in your car, along with smart speakers and bluetooth connections at home and today, I’d say pass. This doesn’t mean avoid the stations listed above, just listen through your phone app and your smart speakers.

My recommendation: Skip the HD, and use an app. Of course if you do already own HD Radios, by all means use them … I have four. But the apps are actually better now in use, and they also stream AM stations, most of which no longer broadcast in HD anyway.

Radio Waves Podcast #314

 Radio: October 8, 2021

It was more than 56 years ago when Boss Radio launched in 1965 on KHJ (930 AM). I was just two years old when the format debuted in town with a young but experienced on-air staff, but I’ve had a connection to the station and the format long enough to understand its significance. KHJ literally changed Los Angeles top-40 radio forever.

So while perhaps it should not be surprising to lose another, it is still sad when an original Boss Jock passes away.

It happened this past week as news came out that Sam Riddle passed away at the age of 85 on September 27th. Riddle’s passing leaves only two remaining original Boss Jocks still living, Gary Mack and Johnny Williams.

KHJ was not Riddle’s first local station. He actually came to Los Angeles from the former KDEO (now KECR, 910 AM) in San Diego to work at the original KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM) in 1960 to take on former top-40 leader KFWB (980 AM). Riddle stayed at KRLA a few years, leaving in 1963 for a spot on KFWB, and then in 1965 for KHJ, where he stayed until 1970.

Sam Riddle passed away at the age of 85 on September 27, 2021. (Image courtesy of KHJ)

It was during those Boss Radio years that Riddle’s broadcasting career truly took off. In addition to his work on-air at KHJ, he became a television star via the programs “9th Street West” and “Boss City,” both airing on the then-KHJ sister television station, KHJ-TV Channel 9. Other television shows included “Hollywood A Go Go,” “Sounds of Now” and perhaps his most famous work, the syndicated “Star Search,” which he produced throughout its run. (He’s even listed as providing voice work on an episode of “Gilligan’s Island”, “Don’t Bug The Mosquitoes.”)

But radio was his first love and he stayed with it for quite some time. After leaving KHJ in 1970, he found himself up the dial at KDAY (now KBLA, 1580 AM), the top-40 version of KROQ (1500 AM, no longer on the air)  in 1972, and once more on KHJ in 1974. His famous opening line to his shows was, “Hello music lovers,” a line he used for many years.

Friends of Riddle were posting remembrances of him on Facebook recently, with one in particular from Beach Rogers (KNX 1070 AM Newsradio fame) that described Riddle succinctly: “Got to know Sam during his two years at KFWB, and it was one of the best of times. Such a good guy to be around and not surprising he went on to be a success at whatever he tried. A Good Man now lost.”

I was supposed to do a career-spanning interview with Riddle on the podcast series I do with Mike Stark, but due to the pandemic and Riddle’s health issues, it never happened. That is a shame, but Riddle will be remembered as one of radio (and television’s) best. Alas, another good one gone. He is survived by his wife Adrienne, children Scott and Courtney, and grandchildren Miracle and Garin.

Morning Shows

The emails started arriving almost immediately after the column hit the street: Who do you like in the morning and why? Please keep the emails and letters coming; here are a few of the initial responses…

“I am very old school and still enjoy radio. I grew up in New York City listening to lots of AM stations. I even got to see the Beatles live in concert twice! In the morning, I listen to KOST 103.5 the Ellen K Morning Show. I enjoy the banter and the contests. However, I don’t agree with Christmas music starting in November. In fact, the station loses me as a listener until right before Christmas.” — Phyllis Metzger, Long Beach

Don’t get me started on that Christmas music. Apparently, you and I are the only ones who feel that way, since KOST dominates the ratings when they do it. But Ellen is fabulous as the morning host on KOST, exhibiting a great talent that solidified when she got out on her own after playing second fiddle on the KIIS-FM (102.7) morning show for many years.

“My favorite morning show is Poorman’s Morning Rush on KOCI (101.5 FM) out of Newport Beach. You probably remember him from the ’80s KROQ. He does what you have been preaching … he has no playlist. He has a musical theme every day (for example “fun”) and the listeners call in with their song requests that contain the theme in the name of the song, in the lyrics or in the artist. He plays any era, any genre of music. He fields as many calls on air as possible.  He also has segments from local businesses. It’s so much fun; you get to know the regular fans and you feel like part of a family in no time.” — Cindy Curti (Cee Cee)

I will check this out. Thanks for the tip.

“I too listen to The Woody Show and have been since their LA debut. I like the easy flow of Woody’s conversations and really enjoy all of the team. I really like the getting to know….segments when we get a deep dive of each person’s likes and dislikes. Woody and Greg Gory are probably my favorite; Ravey is hilarious – I  love her fondness for Harry Potter and all the nerdy stuff. The best part of the show is when Woody and team are recapping their regular life shenanigans and when Menace is trying to pronounce something.“Sometimes I can do without the raunch talk. As sensible as Greg seems, once he starts talking his gibberish about ‘your mom’ jokes, I feel like maybe we really don’t know him as well as he appears to be.” — Lynn Romero

I agree … it’s kind of funny, as the show, in general, is pretty clean. But every once in a while they get stuck on a subject that you have to tune out… luckily it’s not too often.

“I love the Klein and Ally show on KROQ (106.7 FM) after listening to Kevin and Bean for 30 years and before that the Raymondo and Evans show. …I go to Woody during the commercials, and from 5-6 a.m. since Klein doesn’t start until 6:00.” — Daniel Klatte

That’s a lot of dedication to KROQ! All are great shows indeed.