Radio: December 2, 2022
Leo
Laporte — The Tech Guy — heard locally on KFI (640 AM) Saturdays and
Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., announced his retirement from radio effective
in December. His last live show will air December 18th.
Technically
it wasn’t Laporte who announced the retirement … comedian Steve Martin called
in to make the announcement for him, during the November 19th edition of the
program. Laporte retires after nearly 50 years on the air, the last 19 of which
were spent as The Tech Guy, giving advice and troubleshooting support to
listeners on all things tech.
Replacing
Laporte will be Rich DeMuro, who will bring his podcast and KTLA-TV Morning
News segment to the radio airwaves. Rich on Tech will replace The
Tech Guy starting January 7th; Best of Tech Guy programs will air until
then.
Farm
Radio
At
the recent convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, someone
— finally — spoke in support of AM radio. That someone was none other than
commissioner Nathan Simington of the Federal Communications Commission, the
organization that purports to help advance the broadcast industry, even though
in my opinion they normally do the opposite.
So
many bad FCC initiatives have hurt radio: lifting station ownership limits,
dropping news and public affairs requirements, allowing college “public”
stations to be staffed by professionals, the AM stereo debacle, the HD Radio
debacle, allowing low-powered translators on FM as a way to “save” AM, random
enforcement of indecency rules … the list goes on and on.
Sometimes
it’s not just the direct rules they make. Not enforcing existing interference
rules have had a tremendously negative effect on radio reception affecting both
bands, but truly hurting AM. If any product negatively affects radio reception,
it is illegal according to FCC rules and regulations. Yet dimmers, some energy
efficient light bulbs, cable boxes, cheap “wall-wart” power supplies, and even
computers can make AM reception not only difficult, but darn-near impossible.
The FCC on these issues? Crickets.
But
finally, after years of silence, one Commissioner of the impotent Commission is
at least trying. Speaking at the convention, Simington emphasized the
importance of AM radio due to the popularity of the band among farmers, many of
which are not necessarily near an FM station, the fact that AM radio operates
as an essential part of the emergency alert system, and more.
He
called on automakers to keep AM reception available on cars and trucks as more
and more electric vehicles are developed. EVs by nature cause interference, and
many automakers take the easy way out by simply deleting AM from the in-car
radio. Problem is, that interference can affect reception to any radio nearby
as well, which would appear to make them illegal if they do so, from my
understanding of the law. But again, it has been years since the FCC actually
did anything benefiting broadcasters.
Regardless,
it is refreshing that at least one Commissioner is doing (or saying) something.
The trick is getting the rest of the Commission — and Congress — on board.
More
Christmas Music
Fred
Travalena was an impressionist and entertainer; starting in the 1970s he became
known as “The Man of a Thousand Faces” with appearances across the country,
including headlining in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Reno, appearances on talk
shows including The Tonight Show, and starring in his own television specials
such as “The Many Faces of Fred Travalena.”
His
wife, singer Lois Travalena, and Fred appeared together at Andrews Air Force
Base in the early days of his singing career. It was at this show where he
started doing his impressions — developed while in grade school — in public.
He
also made a Christmas album. Called The Manhattan Christmas Suite, it is an
album of songs dedicated to memories of his New York childhood; he was born in
the Bronx and grew up on Long Island. But you probably haven’t heard it … wife
Lois says that getting her late-husband’s music on the radio has been extremely
difficult.
In
this era of streaming music, perhaps it doesn’t matter. And for that matter, if
it did pick up popularity streaming, perhaps stations would consider adding it
to their playlist. If you’d like to hear it, search on Apple Music, Spotify,
YouTube, Deezer, or even iHeart Music.
Give
it a listen and let me know your thoughts.
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