Radio Waves: April 1, 2022
Cold Cases with Steve Gregory
Saturday, April 2 marks the start of the second season for KFI’s (640 AM) Unsolved series hosted by Steve Gregory. The program runs every Saturday from 8 to 10 p.m.
Unsolved tells the story of major crimes that went cold, ran out of leads, or just lacked evidence. They remain on the books of local and federal police agencies — LA County Sheriffs, Los Angeles Police, Riverside Sheriffs, the FBI and more — waiting for that last bit of evidence or a new witness to finally be solved … and the exposure of someone like Gregory.
The show also covers crimes that Gregory calls “challenging,” giving behind-the-scenes looks at how they were solved and what techniques detectives used to gain information and insight.
It was actually an accidental show, or perhaps the better word would be unintentional. “I had done a segment on the Gary and Shannon Show (heard 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.),” explained Gregory, “and listeners responded very positively. (KFI Programmer) Robin Bertolucci liked it as well, and when I passed her in the hallway I joked about doing a weekly show. She stopped and thought about it… we talked over the next few weeks … and eventually, it happened.”
After figuring a way to work it into his already busy schedule, that is. He’s still a prime reporter for the KFI news team. This explains a bit about why there were only eleven episodes in season one – ten shows involving cases and one show with a recap of the ten recorded live in front of a studio audience and featuring detectives and investigators involved in the cases. Hopefully there will be more in season two.
“There are more than 10,000 unsolved homicides in Southern California,” says Gregory … so he has a lot of material to work with. “At first some of the agencies were reluctant to talk openly about many of the cases; now they contact me regarding cases they want to expose more!”
If you can’t already tell, I love shows like this … think of Cable TV’s former Homicide Hunter and you can see my TV binge viewing habits. Gregory — seven-time recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award for journalism as well as awards from the Associated Press and more — is a fantastic host. His background in news includes investigative reporting; that, along with his interest in mysteries and police work makes him the perfect host for this show.
You can hear the entire first season at https://kfiam640.iheart.com/featured/unsolved-with-steve-gregory/.
Coming Home
Raph (Raphael) Opida, once heard on KIIS-FM (102.7) until he left Los Angeles in 2021 to serve in the New York Army National Guard, has come home to take on the assistant programmer/afternoon-drive personality positions at sister My FM (KBIG, 104.3 FM). He can be heard on the air from 3 to 7 p.m starting March 28.
Sounds Good
Is it my imagination, or is KIIS-FM sounding a bit better as of late? Musically more balanced, a bit less clutter in presentation. Ratings edging back up. Could top-40 radio be on an upward swing as of late?
Realignment
Just in time for April Fool’s Day, and due to mobile phone popularity and a shortage of available frequencies for mobile service, the FCC has decided to just shut down the AM band as of April 1st. The entire AM band will soon be used by mobile services, which need the extra bandwidth due to the popularity of hard-hitting internet news and information services such as TikTok and Instagram.
Nothing as drastic is expected for now on the FM band, though current stations will move to the old Armstrong band between 42 and 50 MHz on the FM dial and cease broadcasting in stereo. Asked for comment, the FCC could not be found. Weird.
Happy April fools Day! …
No comments:
Post a Comment