Radio Waves Podcast #333

Radio Waves: March 25, 2022

Changes Coming to KROQ?

Kaplan leaves the PD post

Are the winds of change circling around KROQ (106.7 FM) once more? Perhaps. Mike Kaplan has stepped down as programmer of the once-popular station, deciding to focus on his duties in New York where he will remain Audacy’s “Brand Manager” for their alternative Alt 92.3 and vice-president of national programming for all of Audacy’s alternative stations, including KROQ.

Prior to joining Audacy, Kaplan was programmer of our own Alt 98.7 (KYSR, 98.7 FM) which is owned by iHeart.

According to RAMP – Radio and Music Professionals (ramp247.com) – which broke the story, “Mike has come to the conclusion, personally and professionally, that this is best for him. He also believes KROQ deserves a Brand Manager solely dedicated to the brand and one that lives in Los Angeles 24/7.” This, apparently, made in a statement to RAMP by an Audacy spokesperson.

Reading between the lines is important here. KROQ was being programmed from out of town, as are many of Audacy’s stations, in this case New York. The very idea that the company that owns KROQ thought it could be programmed from New York shows that few in Audacy understand KROQ … or radio, for that matter. No wonder KROQ is faring so poorly as of late in the ratings.

That’s the Audacy way, of course, as determined by leader David Field. Run it on the cheap. Time and time again, Audacy proves you get what you pay for. But I digress.

“Audacy Los Angeles has a once in a lifetime opening for a creative genius to lead the World Famous KROQ” reads the announcement for Kaplan’s replacement. “This person has a passion for music, entertainment and culture. They are immersed in the latest social media trends and marketing shifts. Most importantly, this person is a big thinker, highly detail oriented and a dynamic leader.”

Supposedly the duties include overseeing day to day music, which would be nice. With the reboot of 91X in San Diego causing such a buzz, will KROQ follow suit? More importantly, Will the new programmer, er, Brand Manager be allowed to truly control the sound of KROQ? 

That’s the critical question, and in my mind more important than anything else. Los Angeles is not New York. KROQ is not like anything else, or at least should not be. KROQ has a long history of setting trends, not following them, and the new PD must be given the ability to control it. Fully. If that happens, the future of KROQ is bright. Hopefully Field understands this now. 

That the resignation announcement made the point that KROQ deserves its own says a lot about Kaplan. Count me impressed. I look forward to seeing where KROQ ends up.

Cart Narcs

One of the great bits on Alt 98.7’s 5-10 a.m. morning Woody Show is Cart Narcs, in which people who don’t put their shopping carts back in the collection stall are publicly shamed in an attempt to get them to better behave.

It’s been a part of the Woody Show as long as I can remember; the audio of encounters of the Cart Narcs with the cart violators being quite entertaining. What I did not realize until I accidentally stumbled upon them while watching my latest online video vice – car repairs from Rainman Ray (https://www.youtube.com/c/RainmanRaysRepairs)  – was that Cart Narc videos are on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/CartNarcs). And as it turns out, Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/cartnarcs/?hl=en), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@.cart_narcs?lang=en) and the Woody Show website (thewoodyshow.com) itself as well.

If you’ve never heard it, the Narcs will directly confront people who put their carts around parking lots, risking damage to other cars as well as taking up parking spaces. Normally, the encounters are fairly benign, but there are times when the violators get a bit, well, angry. On Woody’s show, the content is cleaned up… I never knew how dangerous some of the encounters can be until I watched the videos.

And if you haven’t heard the Woody Show on Alt … what are you waiting for?

App Radio

I listen a lot to radio via my iPhone apps, myTunerRadio and StreamS HiFi Radio, and my plan over the next few months is to highlight great stations you can hear over these apps and others.

But it occurred to me that I am just one person … combined with your knowledge and your experience, perhaps I can compile a list of great stations from all across the world that I can let everyone know about.

So send me your favorite online stations, whether they be online only or a stream of an existing AM or FM signal. Podcasts too, for a separate edition … if you like it, let me know what it is and preferably how to receive it.