Radio Waves Podcast #83

The IRS is investigating an incident in which a call from a taxpayer to an IRS agent ended up on Sirus/XM Satellite Radio’s Howard Stern Show.

Well, half the call, at least. And only a portion. It seems the agent -- Jimmy from Long Island -- called in to Stern and kept working while he was on hold. During that time, the agent was talking with a woman from Massachusetts regarding a tax bill; when Stern put him on the air the agent didn’t realize it and audio from his end of the conversation was heard on Stern’s show. The woman’s voice could not be heard.

During the call, Stern and sidekick Robyn Quivers tried to get Jimmy’s attention, and for the most part the call was uneventful ... just a bunch of numbers being thrown around. Finally, toward the end of the call, the woman gave Jimmy her phone number and he repeated it, so it made it onto Stern’s show.

The woman, whose name has not been released, has been telling news services such as Forbes, “I just feel terribly violated and I like I’m in jeopardy that my credit information might be out there and I’m just totally devastated.”

BS, in my opinion. I heard the call. You can too, at http://tinyurl.com/RadioWaves3. Yes, her phone number was heard, which was stupid, but it is not devastating. Early reports suggest that the text messages and calls were not prank, but people contacting her to warn of what was happening. Regardless, in my opinion, hardly more than a short-term inconvenience.

But I am sure she will be able to use the incident to slash her tax bill. Being put on the national stage may have just saved her some big bucks ... or facilitated the earning of big bucks through potential lawsuits.

Changes at KLOS

No wholesale changes, but the music is definitely starting to drift away from what it has been under the direction of new programmer Keith Cunningham. More ‘80s hair bands it seems, along with more music on the morning Heidi and Frank Show.

Changing the music is basic survival. While KLOS has been relatively stable music-wise for quite some time (about 30 years...), the competition has changed and has been eating away at the listener base. KRTH (101.1 FM), Jack (93.1 FM), The Sound (100.3 FM), and even KOLA (99.9 FM) all play many of the same songs that have been staples of KLOS, and in doing so have been cutting into the ratings.

But are ‘80s Hair bands (Whitesnake, Skid Row, etc) the right way to go? And while I am most certainly not a fan of Heidi and Frank, is adding music going to help? In both cases I have my doubts. But the fact is Cunningham is finally trying to differentiate KLOS for the first time in many years and programmers.

What I cannot understand, since Heidi and Frank tend to attract a slightly younger audience than many of the songs KLOS plays, why doesn’t KLOS move more current? Play some of the better new rock bands and perhaps spark a rebirth of real album rock radio? Not everyone is as old as I am ... and there are a lot of good bands that only get exposed on Sirius/XM or via other means. I for one would like to see a current AOR station again. Any takers?

Radio Waves Podcast #82

Frazier Smith is a stand-up guy.

 

The man most famously known as the morning guy on KLOS (95.5 FM) from 1979 to 1984 in many ways changed rock radio forever. And he did it through his comedy born out of his standup routines perfected before he even landed in Los Angeles back in 1976, when he worked as part of a weekend program called “The Hollywood Nightshift.”

That program, which ran until 1979, starred the Fraze, Phil Austin, and Michael C. Gwynne doing improvisational comedy based upon a topic that was supposedly chosen spontaneously.

At KLOS he took a station known more for being the dull, corporate alternative to competitor KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM) and made it hip. Eschewing tradition, Smith talked. A lot. And he had lots of ongoing bits that were unusual for album rock radio at the time, which generally focussed on the music itself. 

Of course this was not new to radio; many in the past had done it prior to the arrival of Smith; Lohman and Barkley on KFI (640 AM) being just one example. But they tended to appeal to an older generation, while Smith did it for high school and college-aged kids who ate up his party animal aura and “too hip” image.

Smith left KLOS for KMET in 1984, moved to KLSX (now KAMP, 97.1 FM) when the Mighty Met became The Wave in 1986, and moved back to KLOS for a year in 1987. He even did a little work on KRTH (101.1 FM) in 2002, and was part of both (relatively) recent KMET reunions on The Sound (100.3 FM).

 

But ... did you know he’s still on the air? At KLOS, no less, Sunday nights from 10 p.m. to 12 midnight. And it’s not a rehash of what he did years ago ... Fraze is still “too hip,” but the content is current. Too Hip News last Sunday poked fun at Tom Brady ... 

using wording that was quite funny and, unfortunately, not able to be printed here.

Rodney on the Roq

There’s something comforting about the idea that Rodney Bingenheimer is still on the air, even if the legendary DJ is stuck in the awful Monday morning 12 midnight to 3 a.m. slot on the station he helped put on the map: KROQ.

During the station’s glory days of the 1980s and 1990s, Rodney on the Roq was found much earlier ... Sunday’s before midnight at least. 

But he still plays an eclectic set of songs -- it is said he is and has been the last DJ in town to have full control over what he plays. Recent songs ran the gamut from the Summer Cannibals “Don’t Make Me Beg” to the Beatles “Your Mother Should Know.” He even played a Flamin’ Groovies track recently: “I Can’t Hide.”

Bingenheimer has always been on the cutting edge of music, and his show brought a lot of street cred to KROQ in the early days of the station’s New Wave format. My friend Frank Pereyda was a weekly listener in those days; I still have an audio recording Frank made for me circa 1980 when Bingenheimer did a program featuring songs from the ‘60s psychedelic/garage era ... bands like Love (My Little Red Book) and The Standells (Dirty Water) ... songs that were not at the time and still are not played on the radio.

A shame that Bingenheimer is not heard earlier ... such as when people are actually awake. But at least he’s still there. That’s something.

Radio Waves Podcast #81

Good news for fans of Lisa May, formerly heard as part of the Kevin and Bean morning show on KROQ (106.7 FM) throughout much of its history. You may recall that traffic reporter/sidekick May -- and newsman Doc -- were unceremoniously dumped from the program they helped build back in February.

May has landed on her feet, with the help of KLOS (95.5 FM). Station owner Cumulus Media announced late last week that May would join the program as a traffic reporter and “contributor” beginning May 11.

Contributor? Kind of a catch-all, since May did, and does, mush more. Explains KLOS programmer Keith Cunningham: “May isn’t just a traffic reporter or female sidekick, she’s a radio brand and she’s beloved by Southern California radio listeners. She’ll be doing a lot more than traffic and we can’t wait to get her in the building.”

This is not the first time May has been on with the morning duo. In March, she was on with Heidi and Frank to do the sendoff she was not allowed to do before being let go from KROQ. It appears that this accidental audition got things in motion that led to her being added to the show permanently.

If you happened to hear the program this week (which airs weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m.), let me know what you think. Personally I think she can only add to the program.

Problems at Neilsen

When Arbitron Ratings initially released the Portable People Meter, the claim was that radio station ratings would be far more accurate than ever before.

Unlike the old days which used a diary system in which people would write their listening habits down in a diary, often much later than the listening actually took place, PPM would measure actual listening as it happened. People agreeing to wear a meter would wear it all day, the meter would pick up audio in the environment, and as long as the station encodes their audio with a special signal, the PPM can decode listening habits. Instant ratings, accurate down to the minute. Or so they say.

Problems started surfacing even before Arbitron was bought by the Nielsen Company. Were there enough PPMs in the field? Probably not, as one meter counts for as many as 2500 listeners ... or more. I don’t recall the total number of PPMs in the field for Los Angeles, but I do recall being shocked at how low it is.

Worse, Arbitron still “weights” particular demographics because it seems some age groups or ethnicities have an aversion to wearing the PPM. So an already small number of PPMs becomes even smaller when split up into demographics, so suddenly one person can make a huge difference in ratings calculations This was seen last year when Nielsen recalled the entire Los Angeles ratings report to recalculate it after it was determined that someone manipulated a PPM.

Now it turns out that the PPM itself may have issues. It appears that certain formats may have trouble being picked up consistently, and that external forces -- wind through a window while driving, for example -- may prevent the PPM from accurately crediting listening. Likewise, a station heard but with static as in long-distance listening or listening to a weak signal may not be credited at all.

A company called Telos can install something at a station called Voltair, a technology that allows a station to be better “heard” and decoded by a PPM. Think about that ... without Voltair, a PPM could miss actual listening, and this has been proven in computer studies of PPM. With Voltair the system works better, at least in theory.

 

If this does not prove that PPM is flawed -- possibly fatally -- I don’t know what does. It will be interesting to see how the industry responds to this development. Will PPM be improved? Will it be changed? Dropped? or will another company come around and show Nielsen the door?

No Seventies

American Top-40: the Seventies has been removed from the schedule at KOLA (99.9 FM). Programmer Gary Springfield says it came down to ratings. “The show has had consistently bad ratings for over a year,” he told me.

Since I live in the seventies, it makes me sad. Must be the damn PPM ...

Radio Waves Podcast #80

It’s been a while since Larry Elder has been heard on the local airwaves -- the Sage from South Central was shown the door at KABC (790 AM) last December -- but that didn’t stop him from being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He’s in rare company. Only a handful of political talk hosts have a star: Bill Cunningham (awarded in 1960), Ray Briem (1992), Dan Avey (2006) and Bill Handel (2009), according to the Hollywood Reporter.

I actually have little information on Bill Cunningham, and his inclusion on this list may be a mistake. It seems there are two, and even the Hollywood Walk of Fame info page has it incorrectly listed as the current conservative talk host. The current syndicated host is named after the radio pioneer who earned the star as host of “Meet the Boss” from 1944 to 1952 ... hardly a political-sounding show.

Regardless, Elder was the recipient of the 2,548th star on April 27th -- Larry Elder Day in Hollywood, according to Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Leron Gubler. The star can be found near Hollywood and Vine, across the street from the famous Pantages Theater. On hand for the celebration were Jon Voight and Dean Cain.

You can still hear Larry via podcast -- live from 3-6 PM locally as well as on demand -- at www.LarryElder.Com

Boss Followup

Last week’s column on the 50th birthday of KHJ’s top-40 “Boss Radio” format brought out quite a few responses. One caught an error ... it was not Bill Drake who voiced the promo asking listeners to check out the competition for examples of “pre-Boss radio,” it was station morning man and official voice Robert W. Morgan. Hear it at about the 3 minute mark at tinyurl.com/WagBoss.

One of the more interesting emails received came from Mary Cahill, who asked why I didn’t mention KHJ’s current format, religious talk with programming from Immaculate Heart Radio, a Catholic broadcasting group.

When I explained that it just wasn’t the focus of my story but that I was personally excited to hear one of the current hosts mention “new affiliate, 93/KHJ”, she wrote back: “I also like to hear ‘93 KHJ’ - I've been listening to that station for 50 years! I arrived in the U.S. on April 29, 1965.”

Few stations can claim listenership that long. That’s impressive.

Would it Work?

The question does come up ... would a station like KHJ work today? Or is today’s radio audience so fractured that it would be doomed?

Let’s think this through. The major elements of Boss Radio were:

• Play the currently popular music.

• Limit DJ chatter, but encourage personality.

• Interesting and innovative contests to lure listeners, especially teens.

• Limited commercials so the focus is on music.

• An award-winning news department that made news entertaining.

• Quick jingles to eliminate on-air clutter

• Focus on being bigger than life, entertaining, fun and accessible.

In a word: yes. I believe successful would be an understatement.

Today’s top-40 radio -- as well as many other formats -- is as cluttered as the popular stations were prior to April, 1965. Sound beds under any talk, 10 minute commercial breaks (or longer). Worse: DJs not allowed to do much more than read cards, yet the messages on the cards themselves are part of the clutter. Quick jingles are gone, replaced by long promos.

No matter the music, a station that adopted the philosophies of original programmer Ron Jacobs, last programmer Chick Martin, or many of those in between would clean up ... just like KIIS-FM when they did exactly that in the early 1980s and set ratings records for the era. 

I dare say that KRTH (101.1 FM) and Go Country (105.1 FM) do much of that now, and that is why those two stations are among the most popular of their type in the country. Even KFI (640 AM) has elements ... their “more stimulating talk” has much in common with Boss Radio.

Good radio is good radio, and good radio would keep people from seeking alternatives such as iPods ... at least that’s my opinion. What are your thoughts?

Radio Waves Podcast #79

If your radio seems a little happier this week, perhaps it is celebrating... this is the week -- 50 years ago -- that KHJ (930 AM) set the radio world on fire with a top-40 format called Boss Radio.

I could write this story every year. And I probably do.

 

KHJ was a has-been station for many years, offering up five different formats in five years. That is not to say that the station was always unsuccessful.

As the West Coast affiliate for Mutual Broadcasting, KHJ in its early years actually had much success, and many network shows originated from the studios of KHJ. But the 1950s and early ‘60s were not kind to Radio 93. The big money came from sister television station KHJ-TV Channel 9. KHJ Radio was a bad joke.

When consultants Bill Drake and Gene Chanault were brought in to change KHJ, they hired Ron Jacobs as programmer; Jacobs had previously competed against Drake in Fresno. In early April, 1965, the staff around the station figured these new managers were simply the latest of the format of the day ... and would be gone soon enough.

Even the LA Times had doubts. In “The Radio Beat,” columnist Don Page wrote:

“Requiem for a lightweight. It’s too depressing to to recount the long unhappy life of radio KHJ. By now most of you know that 40 years of programming will hear the referee say ’10” on Monday. Mercifully it will be a clean knockout. Whether KHJ moves into the hallowed rating circle is unimportant. It remains that quality, purposeful programming has lost at KHJ.”

This was published on May 2, 1965, during the “Sneak Preview” KHJ launched to counter competitor KFWB (980 AM) trying to steal KHJ’s thunder. The format change was supposed to happen May 5, but a newsman from KHJ thought he was going to be fired and jumped ship, taking some of the secrets with him.

Suddenly KFWB was calling themselves Boss Radio, playing Boss Hits and 20/20 News. Jacobs decided to transition earlier, and The Real Don Steele launched the sneak preview at 3 PM on April 27th. To show the quick thinking inside the KHJ building, a promo was voiced by Drake in which he put KFWB on the defensive, stating “some stations may try to copy KHJ’s boss sound and we cordially invite them to try.” He invited listeners to sample KFWB and KRLA as example of pre-Boss Radio, then return to KHJ - ”originators of Boss Radio.”

The format was simple: no long jingles, no DJ chatter, and a strict commercial limit. Build excitement with promotions on a clean, uncluttered sound and make the station larger than life.

That commercial limit actually accomplished two things: It allowed KHJ to always be back to music faster than the competition, and it allowed the commercials time to be sold for a higher amount since it would be more valuable to advertisers.

Jacobs was the man to put all of these ideas into action. He was and still is a radio programming genius. Even in his advanced years, I am convinced he could take a station today and decimate the competition, especially since so many stations today have the same problem as the leaders of yesterday: they are burned out, boring, and predicable.

I caught up with Jacobs by telephone; he returned to his longtime home of Hawaii years ago. Some of the more interesting facts I discovered:

• There really was very little time from the conception of the ideas of Boss Radio to its ultimate launch. Jacobs wasn’t even hired until early April. That’s less than a month to develop a format that changed radio forever.

• Those rumors you may have heard regarding Jacobs calling the jock on duty over a special telephone line to ream them over perceived mistakes? Totally true. But it may have not been anything they actually did. “I would drive around town and listen to jazz on the radio,” he told me. “Then I’d call and yell ‘What was that?’ The DJ would say ‘you mean ...’ I’d say ‘yeah that. Don’t do that again.’ Then I’d return to listening to jazz. That worked as well as monitoring the station.”

• After he left KHJ in late 1969 to start Watermark and American Top-40, he never listened to KHJ again.

I’ll have more from that interview another time. Back to Don Page:

“One thing you’ve got to say for RKO-General (the owners). By eliminating personalities such as Michael Jackson, Joe Dolan, Red McIlvaine, Paul Compton, Army Archerd, Steve Allen (plus good music and news) and replacing them with rock ‘n’ roll, it showed class. All third.”

I wonder if KHJ ever grew on Page. In less than six months, the station was number one in Los Angeles. Stations around the country emulated it, some successfully, others not. KFWB changed to a news format three years later, and KRLA (now KDIS, 1110 AM) by 1970 was sounding more album-oriented.

KHJ really was the station that changed radio. Airchecks as heard on ReelRadio.com easily show what the typical station sounded like pre- and post- 1965, and it is dramatic. That influence is the reason people fondly remember the station’s top-40 format 50 years after its launch and 35 years after the format was dropped. Too bad so many programmers have forgotten the lessons learned, but that influence does still hold today even if so many stations have gotten lazy again.

Happy 50th, Boss Radio.

Radio Waves Podcast #78

I Heart Media -- a name chosen primarily to make you forget that they are the evil empire formerly known as Clear Channel Communications -- had a top-three sweep and four stations in the top-10 in the Nielsen ratings released last week.

First was KIIS-FM, which other than during the Christmas music season in which sister KOST takes over tends to live in that top spot ... and has for much of the time I have been writing this column. For the month of March, the most recent ratings available, KIIS earned a 5.3 attracted 5.3 percent of the Los Angeles radio audience. Right behind was KOST at 5.1 and KBIG at 5.0, tied with CBS-owned KRTH.

The fourth I Heart station was KFI tied at 9th place with a 3.5 share.

The Sound KSWD continued its Rocket to Stardom with its own ratings record, earning a 3.9 share (tied with KLVE). This is the third up month for the classic rock station and almost a full point higher than it stood in December when it had a 3.0. Is the difference the new morning show, Mark on the Morning? Hard to say since I don’t have the breakdowns ... yet ... but it is probably a bit of that and a bit of the station sounding a bit fresher as all personalities seem to be opening up a bit more.

The first ratings period for the new Real 92.3 was quite impressive compared to February, up 0.7 to 3.2. However that isn’t saying much yet ... Hot 92.3 had a 3 share in December and the sample may have been skewed as the station ran no commercials during its first month using the class-less slogan “10,000 joints in a row.” There is no question the station hurt competitor Power 106, as Power was down to 2.8 from February’s 3.6 and January’s 4.0. We’ll see if the trend continues and I get my wish granted for the return of top-40 K-WEST 106 under the direction of programmer Chuck Martin ...

Sports? Killin’ it. KSPN leads the pack at 29th place with a 1.1 share of the audience. Closest competitor KLAC right there at 37th place and 0.6. The Beast 980 (KFWB) and KLAA tied for absolute last place in the ratings list, 41st with a 0.1 share. Add all those ratings together and you end up at 1.9, which would still only make for 29th place in the city. KFWB and KLAA are so low that even the Communist KPFK beats them both with a 0.2 ... 

Not that long ago, KFWB was beating KNX with a news format and KLAC was in the 2 shares with either Country music or more recently Standards. Yes, Martha, music does work on AM.

The full story: 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 12 midnight.

1. KIIS-FM (5.3); 2. KOST (5.1); 3. KBIG, KRTH (5.0); 5. KAMP (4.0); 6. KLVE, KSWD (3.9); 8. KCBS-FM (3.7); 9. KFI, KTWV (3.5)

11. KRRL (3.2); 12. KNX (3.1); 13. KROQ (2.9); 14. KPWR (2.8); 15. KPCC (2.6); 16. KLYY (2.5); 17. KYSR (2.4); 18. KKGO, KLAX, KSCA (2.3)

21. KBUE (2.2); 23. KLOS (2.0); 24. KXOL (1.7); 25. KUSC, KCRW (1.5); 27. KJLH (1.3); 28. KSSE (1.2); 29. KSPN (1.1); 30. KDAY, KWIZ (1.0)

32. KKJZ (0.9); 33. KEIB (0.8); 34. KFSH, KKLA, KRLA (0.7); 37. KLAC (0.6); 38. KABC (0.5); 39. KTNQ (0.4) 40. KPFK (0.2); 41. KFWB, KLAA (0.1).

Spacin’ Mason Passes

Scott Mason once worked at UCLA’s student station KLA, before my time there. More recently he has been an integral part of the CBS Los Angeles radio stations. Mason passed away last Sunday; here is the letter sent to employees of the Los Angeles CBS station group from Dan Kearny, local market manager:

“The entire CBS Radio family is grieving today over the passing of Scott Mason, who has been part of CBS since 1979.    With his spirited passion for radio and unwavering dedication to his work, Scott’s accomplishments were numerous, from being an on-air personality at KROQ to hosting diverse programs like the popular “Loveline” and “OpenLine,” a long-running public affairs show, to overseeing the design and construction of CBS Radio L.A.’s state-of-the art facilities on the Miracle Mile. Our thoughts today are with his family and all those who knew and worked alongside Scott during his amazing life and career.

“Due to Scott's wishes, no funeral services will be held. A memorial will be planned in the weeks to come.”

Among his numerous radio duties, Mason worked twice for legendary programmer Rick Carroll: first at the age of 14 answering phones at KKDJ (now KIIS-FM), then again as a personality and engineer in 1979 when he was still in his teens and Carroll was launching new-rock KROQ. He stayed with KROQ (and later the CBS cluster) until his death. He will be missed.

Radio Waves Podcast #77

The first low-powered FM station in the Los Angeles area is now on the air. KBUU (97.5 FM) launched full time in early March and can be heard along the coast near Malibu, broadcasting with a 50-watt transmitter from a hilltop overlooking Paradise Cove from studios located in a spare bedroom of station founder Hans Laetz.

Venture far from its signal area and you’ll pick up a 72,000-watt Spanish station out of Riverside or a 50,000 religious station in Santa Barbara. But along Pacific Coast Highway from Tracas to Escondido Beach and a few other spots, 97.5 KBU, as it is called, comes in loud and clear.

As well, you can stream it on your computer at www.kbu.fm; soon to be available on the smartphone TuneIn app.

Right now its not much to speak of. Continuous music when I tune in, with a few announcements; Laetz says that hosted shows -- prerecorded at first, unfortunately -- will be the bulk of the broadcast day with NPR shows “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition” set to begin later this month.

“Malibu is one of the few areas of Los Angeles County that does not receive NPR affiliates cleanly, due to the mountains blocking the signals of NPR affiliates KCRW (89.9 FM), KPCC (89.3 FM), and KCLU (88.3 FM),” explained Laetz. “I believe we are the first low powered FM station in the nation to win NPR licensing rights,” he said.

About 8000 people live in the station’s broadcast area, which includes Trancas, Zuma Beach, Point Dume and the Paradise Cove area. That makes KBU truly local. 

The Rock of Torrance

Low Powered FM stations are actually nothing new. In the old days when the FCC actually did something useful rather than  to let three media companies control over 75 percent of the nation’s radio stations, licenses were issued to local community organizations -- mostly colleges and universities -- in the educational part of the band.

One such station was KNHS, licensed to the Torrance Unified School District in 1967 and that broadcast from the campus of North High School utilizing at first a one-watt transmitter and later a full 10-watts on 89.7 FM. That 10-watts covered an area extending from approximately Palos Verdes Drive North at the border of San Pedro all the way up into Redondo Beach.

Unlike educational licenses today, in which professionals staff the stations and little education is involved, KNHS was truly student-run and driven. They played the music. They covered local athletics. They kept the logs. They did the transmitter readings. All on a shoestring budget.

Unfortunately, short-sighted thinking (or downright stupidity) on the part of the Torrance school district allowed the license to expire during an era in which such licenses were not allowed to be returned after expiration. Some reports have it expiring in December of 1983, just one year after an unnamed television news segment brought some great publicity about the amazing radio program at North High (see http://tinyurl.com/KNHSRadio). Other reports have it on the air possibly as a pirate until as late as 1991 ... records are a bit hard to find.

But KNHS -- and others such as also defunct KSUL at Cal State Long Beach -- are exactly what educational licenses were designed to provide ... student experience in radio. That the FCC stopped issuing the licenses (or allowing renewal when accidentally expired) showed the new era of the FCC in which money is everything and public airwaves are not public at all. Indeed, there are no students allowed at KUSC (91.5 FM), KJAZ (88.1 FM), KCRW, KPCC, KCLU, KCSN (88.5 FM). Locally, that leaves KXLU (88.9 FM) as the only “educational” station broadcasting under the spirit and intent of their educational license.

In my opinion, that is criminal and the “professional” broadcasters on the educational band should lose their licenses. Unfortunately the impotent and corrupt FCC has proven it will do nothing.

 

Meanwhile, stations such as KNHS and KSUL remain but memories.