Radio Waves Podcast #350

 Homework assignment:  A great commentary by Ken Levine "RIP Terrestrial Radio.....and good riddance"

Radio Waves: August 26, 2022

Naming a great format … poorly

What do you do when you have critical acclaim, devoted listeners, a lousy signal and little marketing? You change your name, from a rather forgettable “Independent 88.5 FM” to the even more forgettable “88.5 FM, The SoCal Sound.”.

OK, I am teasing … a bit. But I am old school – I like call letters, or variations of call letters. KHJ? KEZY? Ten-Q? KIIS-FM? K-WEST? KMET? KFI? KRLA? KOST 103? K-Earth? KROQ? Love them all. 

The Sound? Alt 98.7? Tolerated because the formats were/are great. Very listenable. And The Sound at least tried to match the name to the calls, though KSWD would hardly make someone think of “the sound,” so maybe they could have tried just a little bit harder.

My FM? Hate it … hate it. The format just can’t make up for such a lame name, which has nothing to do with the KBIG call letters. I have a similar issue with Jack-FM. And of course now there is the new “88.5 FM, The SoCal Sound.” It just doesn’t work for me. 

What’s my problem with it? No passion. Sounds weird. Too long. And yet, they actually have great call letters, though it is complicated with a two-station simulcast that tries to increase signal coverage. Personally, I’d just use KCSN (the simulcast station from Saddleback college, KSBR, is “OK” but definitely not as strong a brand. Maybe combine the two with the K and S that appear in both ad call it KS88, The SoCal Sound.” Much better overall, at least in my opinion. Less clutter.

By now you’re asking – why do I like real call letters? Simple …  like sports franchises, they belong to the city in which they live. There’s only one Dodgers. One Lakers. One KHJ. And one KIIS-FM. On the other hand, you can have an “alt” or a “my” in every city. And there are.

But this is not meant to take away from the 88.5 format – it’s an excellent adult album alternative (AAA) format that, like much of commercial LA radio skews too much into the oldies, but is immensely satisfying and can’t be found locally anywhere else on the dial. In spite of the name, go listen, either over the air, via an app, or at the website https://www.885fm.org. You’ll be glad you did.

Just ignore the name. Or maybe just tolerate it.

Wake-Up Call

I did an early semester lesson at San Pedro High recently, using sone geometry and statistics classes to demonstrate how surveys work and how data can be collected. Off the cuff, I asked six classes of students, all in grades 10 through 12, to write down their favorite radio station or favorite way to hear music.

There were 112 responses. Want to know how many radio stations were chosen? Four, with a total of six votes: KIIS-FM (102.7) garnered three, with KRRL (Real 92.3 FM), KKLA (99.5 FM), and K-Jazz (88.1 FM) earning one vote each.

On the other hand, 66 choose Spotify, 29 chose Apple Music, and the remaining votes were split among other online streaming services or apps.

That’s frightening, if you are a station owner or manager. Less than four percent of those surveyed chose a radio station as their favorite way to listen to music. In years past it would have been closer to 90.

But because the question regarded their “favorite” way to listen to music, a followup question became necessary to truly determine of their is an issue. That question is: What percentage of your music listening time is spent on streaming (Spotify, Apple, YouTube, etc), what percent on SiriusXM, and what percent on AM or FM radio?  Certainly streaming may be big as a first choice, but traditional radio has to be a close second, right?

Um … no. Just slightly more than 21 percent of the students surveyed listen to radio at all, and, and of those, over half said they listen to radio only about 10% of the time. On the other hand, fewer than 2.6 percent said that of streaming services, and fully 36 percent of respondents said they listen to streaming services at least 90% of the time.

I realize this is in no way a scientific, peer-reviewed, fully vetted survey using random sampling. But it surprised me, coming from a generation that grew up with the radio as one of our closest friends. Whether it was the top-40 days listening to Robert W. Morgan, Charlie Tuna, or Bobby Ocean, or the later days of Shana, Rita Wilde, Joe Benson, Jeff Gonzer, Jim Ladd or even Dr. Demento, radio was such a huge part of my life that I cannot imagine life without it. Yet many teens do just fine without AM or FM.

The trick is: can it be reversed? I think so. But I think it’s going to come from the small-time owners. The idea is so simple even a child could figure it out: play what kids want to hear, cut the commercials down to make each spot worth more and not drive away listeners, and get into their lives through promotions, live broadcasts, sponsored events and concerts. 

Kind of like radio used to do. You know, when it as an industry was successful.

Radio Waves: August 19, 2022

The Mellow Sound: A tribute

After some disagreements among current and former partners were finally settled, the original domain for the online tribute to 1970s and ‘80s Mellow Rock station  KNX-FM (now KCBS-FM, 93.1 FM) is back. 

This means that online listeners using a computer can find the tribute station at both TheMellowSound.Net and its original home of KNXFM93.com. Not that it’s a big deal — either one is pretty easy to remember — but it’s nice that the disagreements were settled and things are, um, mellow again.

In case this is the first time you’re hearing of this – the tribute station is an accurate recreation of the original, with music and features such as The Odyssey File (interesting and sometimes twisted news/features of the day). Some of the original in-depth interviews and concerts of artists that aired on 93 FM are periodically available on the tribute station as well. There are truly thousands of songs in the playlist!

All that’s missing are the personalties and commercials. Personalities — yes some of the originals — got sidelined due to the pandemic but are promised in the future, and commercials? You’ll just have to do without. As a tribute station, they run no commercials, though donations are appreciated to help offset the cost of licensing and streaming, and a swag store is in the works as well.

As described on the tribute station website, “In what was then a sea of typical Pop, Rock, Top 40 and MOR radio stations, KNX-FM 93 provided a very different listening experience and the vibe of the emerging musical genre of Mellow Rock. These were the glory days of Laurel Canyon and The West Coast Music Scene. Singer-Songwriters like James Taylor, Judy Collins, Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, Janis Ian, Al Stewart, Jennifer Warnes, and Carly Simon were there, and are HERE, actually on board this journey with us and can be heard personally introducing their many songs we play with a nod to our mission.” 

The station also helped launch many iconic bands including Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, Little River Band and Steely Dan, as well as other then-trendsetting bans such as Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Pages, Little Feat, Sad Cafe’ and many others. The website continues:

“Most of these artists and bands owe a great deal of their success to KNX-FM 93 whose format was driven less by ratings and popular demand than it was by an understanding of how LA SHOULD sound. And it worked! Most importantly, The Mellow Sound was considered by the music and radio industries as simply the finest-programmed radio station in the US, and possibly the world. And it has been missed by these industries and listeners since it left the airwaves in 1983. “

I have to check details, but my memory is that — like so many stations that helped shape radio — the original KNX-FM was not supposed to have existed. Something about having to tell then-owner CBS’s management that they were doing something else. I’ll have that story, if my memory is correct, in a future column.

Celebration

Happy Birthday wishes to Art Laboe, who celebrated his 57th anniversary of his 39th birthday (can you tell I am a Jack Benny fan?) on August 7th.

Laboe is an absolute legend in both radio and records. He would often broadcast live from remote locations in his early days of radio, later going on to basically save KRLA (1110 AM) with his HitRadio 11 format in the mid 1970s. 

His record company, Original Sound Records, first promoted new and upcoming talent to the market, but later brought oldies but goodies into the hands of listeners and fans with original versions of music from the early days of rock and roll. One of my own early record purchases was an Oldies But Goodies album from Original Sound. I think it was volume two.

He is beloved by multiple generations of listers going back to his work that began in 1943 at San Francisco’s KSAN; he made his Los Angeles debut on KPOP (now KTNQ, 1020 AM). And he’s still working today, with a special syndicated show The Art Laboe Connection that runs locally on KDAY (93.5 FM) Sundays from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight and The Art Laboe Love Zone on Old School 104.3 FM (KOCP/Ventura and KQIE/San Bernardino) Mondays through Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 12 midnight and Sundays 6 p.m. to 12 midnight.

Happy birthday, Art!

Radio Waves: August 12, 2022

The great tuner shootout …

I spoke of doing a tuner comparison previously when I acquired a Denon TU680NAB tuner, at one time considered by some as the holy grail of home component tuners. At least the National Association of Broadcasters thought so — they commissioned Denon to build it and take advantage of the latest technology and designs in order to showcase AM and FM broadcasts in all their glory.

That was back in 1993 or so. Since that time a lot has changed in radio itself, but in general, tuners have not changed all that much. Sure digital HD radio is available, and some HD tuners, namely those from Sangean and a long discontinued Sony, do a spectacular job receiving stations clearly with the added benefit of decoding digital HD streams that are sent along with the analog stations.

But for pure sonic performance on analog signals, the Denon is a tremendous tuner. One of my favorites. I wanted to compare it against a couple other tuners from around the same era, all of which are capable of receiving analog AM stereo, among other features. I finally got around to doing so.

The contenders: the Denon, also known as “the Super Tuner,” a Carver TX11b, and a Modular Component System (MCS) 3050, a tuner once sold by JC Penny when it offered a line of component stereos under their house brand, much like Sears did with its LXI and Proformance brands.

I had previously compared the Denon and Carver head to head back in the early 1990s, and decided to keep the Carver because, at the time, I felt it performed a bit better. Plus I liked the rugged appearance that included a full aluminum front panel that reminded me in quality of the early superb Harman Kardon Citation tube series we once owned.

The MCS tuner has a solid build quality … metal front panel like the Carver, though not as substantial. The tuner is one of the earlier designs and did not include the expanded AM band that was proposed in 1988 and added in 1995, those stations from 1620 to 1700 kHz.

Reception on both AM and FM was fine, but the fidelity of the AM side left a lot to be desired. It is better than a typical AM tuner from that era or now, but it just didn’t sparkle like the others in this comparison. FM sounded fine, though not remarkable. I’d rate it a 6 out of 10.

I tried the Denon for a few weeks to get a good feel, and it performed admirably. It wasn’t perfect: age took its toll on some internal components so the FM side needed some time to stabilize after being off for a while. But AM reminded me of why the NAB commissioned this tuner in the first place … it sounded amazing. Not in stereo, unfortunately, as there are no local AM stations broadcasting in stereo. But the nice open-sounding wideband circuitry made AM stations sound great. Noise-blanking, a system to minimize interference, worked, though not perfect. If all tuners sounded like this one on AM, KHJ would still be playing top-40. 

FM reception was likewise excellent. Stations that my reference Marantz 2215B struggled with came in clean, and tightly-spaced stations including those from San Diego and Santa Barbara were able to be received when I made a few setting changes. Final rating: 8 out of 10.

But just like I remember, the true holy grail was the Carver. AM was even cleaner sounding, with a special sparkle in the high end that made stations on America’s oldest band sound better than any other tuner I have ever tried. KFI (640 AM), for example, sounded as good as if it were on FM … and I used the FM version of KNX (97.1) for comparison. I thought KFI sounded better.

Like the Denon, the Carver includes selectable bandwidth on both AM and FM (on both tuners the effect is different but definitely helpful with reception and sound quality), as well as special noise reduction circuitry that worked better for me than did the Denon. What I found interesting was that on FM, due to some special circuitry, very weak and close-spaced stations were able to be received even better than on the Denon. One station was clean and clear in stereo on the Carver, weak and mono on the Denon and MCS, and totally missing on the Marantz. Let’s call it 9.5 out of 10.

All the tuners used the same antennas, by the way.

For fun, I compared a Sangean HDT-1 … I’d put that toward the Denon and Carver overall. Reception was excellent on AM, though fidelity-wise no better than a typical modern tuner as this one focusses on receiving HD signals … and there are none in the area. FM was a little better, but the Sangean — when it receives weak FM analog signals — tends to sound a bit hollow, due to it tending to blend into mono fairly fast. They do sound clean, though.

So what did I do after all was said and done? Frankly, if I had the space, I’d use the Carver in my home. But it’s just too large to fit on the shelf I have set up, and the Denon currently needs a bit of work before it can be used daily. So my main tuner is another Sangean —  an HDT-1X. 

Yet all of this is somewhat moot, as my main home listening is on a smart speaker listening via apps over the internet. That, indeed, may be the future of radio.

Radio Waves: August 5, 2022

Radio Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

The Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago announced this week the final selection of nine new inductees into the Radio Hall of Fame. Of the nine, three have a direct connection to our local radio scene and one is a a favorite current morning jock.

Our big local winner: Ellen K, heard mornings on KOST (103.5 FM). If you listen you already know – Ellen exudes positive vibes on her show, one of the reasons she is consistently among the top-rated morning personalities in town among varying demographic groups. What you may not know is that she is an active volunteer in local community work, and — prior to her arrival at KIIS-FM (102.7 FM), she worked in San Diego, including at the legendary KFMB-FM (B-100) when she was known as Ellen Thomas … making her a Goddess in the radio world.

I have never heard a negative word from her nor her competitors … including those who competed directly against her. Perhaps the saying is true: the best “morning man” in town is a woman.

Walt “Baby” Love did not win for his work on KHJ (930 AM) in the early-mid 1970s, but that’s how I originally heard of him. Instead, he is being recognized for his work in creating and hosting the syndicated program celebrating Gospel music, Gospel Traxx. 

Love is an ordained Deacon and Elder in The African Methodist Episcopal Church, and is currently an associate pastor at the First African Methodist Church Los Angeles, also known as FAME. No local stations carry his program, but you can catch it online.

Jeff Smulyan’s connection to local radio is from the time his Emmis Communications owned KMGG (105.9 FM), which became KPWR Power 106 and the most popular music station in town for a while in the late 1980s. I was there as an intern for the switch – it was quite a fun time. When Power was at its peak as a rhythmic top-40 station, Emmis owned the top-rated stations in the two largest markets at the same time: Los Angeles and New York. That’s quite a feat.

Emmis is no longer involved in local radio, and owns just a handful of stations — all in Indianapolis, Indiana and New York, New York. The company currently focusses on sales and marketing, and in that way still has a connection to Los Angeles via Sound That Brands, a podcast marketing company developed by former Sound programmer Dave Beasing that was purchased by Emmis in 2019; Beasing acts as the CEO of the division.

Other inductees include Mark Dyson, a radio executive; Lon Helton, for his Country Music Countdown; “Broadway” Bill Lee for his work at WCBS-FM/New York; Carol Miller for her work at WAXQ-FM/New York; Chris “Mad Dog” Russo” from SiriusXM; and Suzyn Waldman from the New York Yankees Radio Network, part of WFAN/New York.

Too many New York people there … have to work on that next year. Or perhaps the Hall of Fame being put together by our own Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters/Hollywood Media Professionals will take care of the void.

Pointless Contest

Radio stations used to run contests in order to generate a buzz … excitement for listeners and a reason to tune in. That was the old days. Apparently current owners and managers forgot why contests exist at all, and have turned an old, effective tune-in to a modern tune-out.

I am thinking specifically of the current word game being pushed by iHeart Radio’s cluster of stations, including Alt 98.7, KIIS-FM, KFI (640 AM) and the rest. The concept itself is almost somewhat sound – DJs give a word of the hour, which listeners can then enter into a special box on each station’s web site. Which leads to problem number one: no excitement. Because it’s not a call in, nor winners apparently ever announced — at least I have not heard one yet — it becomes just more clutter. No one cares.

Then you add in the fact that it’s not even specific to the station you’re listening to. Nor the cluster of stations owned locally. In actuality, you’re competing against listeners from every iHeart station in every city. That’s 860 stations in 160 markets. Think you have a very good chance of winning? Hint: no.

And finally you find out it’s only a $1000 prize. Sounds great, except that KHJ once gave away $1000 a day for a month. all to local listeners of just one station. Another time they gave away a car a day for a month, and those contests were in the 1970s and ‘80s. KIIS-FM in the 1980s likewise had blockbuster contests with trips, cars, and a Daily Cash Payoff … Kind of typical of contests of the era. Even stations with small promotional budgets gave away albums and such to listeners. $1000 spread among 860 stations? That’s barely over $1 per station. No wonder they never announce winners. I’d be embarrassed if I worked for iHeart, too.

Radio Waves Podcast #349

 Radio: July 29, 2022

            With very few exceptions, the order of popularity for our local radio stations remains pretty much unchanged since I reported on the March ratings released in April. That lack of change is why I still report on them — usually — quarterly, rather than monthly as they are released by Nielsen. If I did it monthly, you’d think you were reading the same column every month. Now you only have that feeling every three months. But I digress.

            Adult contemporary music station KOST (103.5 FM) led the pack again in the June Nielsens released this month, with a solid 6.0 share of the audience. Oldies KRTH (101.1 FM) was the runner-up with a 5.5. KBIG (104.3 FM) — basically KOST but farther up the dial — was third at 4.2, followed by Spanish contemporary music station KLVE (107.5 FM) at 4.4, and “old school” KTWV (The Wave, 94.7 FM) which tied KFI for 5th at 4.3.

            KLOS (95.5 FM) saw its best ratings since at least January - a 10th place finish with a 3.3 share of the audience. That’s up almost a full point compared with May’s 2.5, and a full point above January. This puts KLOS within striking distance of arguably its closest competitor —  Jack-FM (KCBS-FM, 93.1) — which was 8th at 3.6.

            Call me underwhelmed, but I am not impressed with KNX’s (1070 AM, 93.1 FM) 3.1 finish. With great fanfare, owner Audacy decided to simulcast the longtime popular AM station’s programming on FM (and stop mentioning the AM station at all) last November. Tons of publicity brought a temporary jump in listenership, though still lower than the total the two signals formerly earned separately. Now, over six months later, the combined rating is 3.1 … just 0.1 above what it earned as a standalone AM last September (the last full report I ran before the simulcast began) and 1.4 under the old total for the two frequencies.

            I’d call that a failure, especially since the old format on 97.1 — KNOU — was underperforming as it was. But it does bring up a good point - since KNX did as well when it was AM only, if you put good programming on AM, people will listen. Someday, perhaps, owners will figure that out. I stand by my convictions: AM is dead because owners killed it. Resurrect it by improving the content. I digress again.

            Alt 98.7’s (KYSR) 2.5 share beat KROQ’s (106.7 FM) 1.8. BUT, and this is a big but, this is the best rating KROQ has seen in at least the past six months, and it came with an increase in the popularity of both stations, 0.2 and 0.4 for the stations, respectively. 

            An oddity - KCRW (89.9 FM) dropping, a lot. I can’t figure out why, as the station has made no major changes. I can;’t even think of any minor changes made in fact. So why the decline to a 1.0 share after earning a 2.1 just three months ago? Any thoughts?

            Surprise of the month? Stevie Wonder’s KJLH (102.3 FM) is on a roll with its best rating in my memory: 2.7. This puts the station is a tie with Go Country 105.1 FM for 12th, and represents a half point increase in a month, and a full point since February’s 1.7. This may be the best rating KJLH has earned since I’ve been writing this column … and is worthy of a huge “congratulations” to all involved.

            Several online streams and secondary HD stations made the list: KROQ HD2, which plays ‘80s KROQ hits, earned a 0.1 share … as did LA Oldies on KKGO HD2 and the online simulcast of Jack-FM. KRTH’s online simulcast of it’s main signal earned a 0.2. None of these huge, and it definitely shows that over the air reception of AM and FM still dominates listening.

            Each rating is an estimate of listeners, aged 6 and over, tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight. The full story:

            1. KOST (6.0) 2. KRTH (5.5) 3. KBIG “My FM” (5.2) 4. KLVE (4.4) 5. KTWV “The Wave,” KFI (4.3) 7. KIIS-FM (3.9) 8. KCBS-FM “Jack” (3.6) 9. KRRL “Real” (3.4) 10. KLOS (3.3)

            11. KNX (3.1) 12. KKGO “Go Country,” KJLH (2.7) 14. KRCD, KPCC (2.6) 16. KYSR “Alt,” KXOL (2.5) 18. KLAX (2.4) 19. KSCA, KLLI (2.2)

            21. KLYY (2.1) 22. KROQ, KPWR “Power,” KBUE (1.8) 25. KUSC, KLAC (1.5) 27. KDAY, KABC (1.1) 29. KFWB, KCRW (1.0)

            31. KEIB, KDLD (0.9) 33. KRLA “The Answer,” KKJZ (0.8) 35. KCSN (0.7) 36. KFSH “The Fish” (0.6) 37. KSPN (0.5) 38. KWIZ, KKLA (0.4) 40. KWKW, KTNQ, KHJ, KRTH Stream (0.2)

            44. KTWV Stream, KROQ HD2, KPFK, KMZT, KKGO HD2, KIRN, KCBS-FM Stream (0.1)

            © 2021 Nielsen. May not be quoted or reproduced without prior written permission from Nielsen.

Radio Waves Podcast #348

Radio: July 22, 2022 

            I didn’t get one, but perhaps you did: SiriusXM sent a mass promotional email extolling the virtues of  its subscription satellite radio service, with the basic point being the headline: why waste your time with AM/FM radio?

            Obviously directed toward listeners, the ad caused quite a reaction … on the part of radio observers. Radio Ink (radioink.com) featured a column on July 13th asking the question - “Are you just going to take this?” And Fred Jacobs penned a column the same day in a blog at Jacobs Media’s website (jacobsmedia.com) with the headline “Memo to Radio: The Gloves Are Off.”

            But while the gloves are indeed off, they are off only at SiriusXM. The huge major players in radio today — iHeart, Cumulus, and Audacy — are definitely going to do nothing but take it. Which is precisely the problem: radio, in and of itself a marketing device if there ever was one, sucks at marketing. Sorry for the bad language.

            It wasn’t always this way. At one time, stations would place station music charts in retail and record stores, publish newsletters and mini-magazines of interest to listeners, place ads in newspapers, on billboards and on buses and bus benches, host free or low-cost concerts, run live broadcasts at local venues, and even give station swag away as prizes. I still have my KIIS-FM (102.7) travel brush from at least 20 years ago. The idea was that station promotions would hopefully get you to sample the station. For the most part, it worked.

            When was the last time you saw an ad — or anything else — for any station in town? Considering the prevalence of pushbuttons on the radios working against the idea of just tuning around, how does any station expect listeners to find them?

            Which is a shame, as many stations, as much as even I can complain, do indeed put out a good product. KIIS-FM, as but one example, sounds better today than it has in years. Much of it has to do with an abundance of good new music, but the station itself does sound good even in the important part: between the records. Likewise, content on Alt 98.7 is superb, with the best morning show in town (The Woody Show) and a great afternoon show (Booker and Stryker). 

            KROQ (106.7 FM) finally seems to be getting on the right track and sounds great right now as well, as does My FM (KBIG, 104.3 FM) and KOST (103.5 FM). Go Country (KKGO, 105.1 FM) always sounds good, and these are just a few.

            Not that everything is perfect. The commercial loads are still too large and commercial breaks too long. Some stations still make the mistake of running commercial-free hours, which just adds even more commercials to the load in other hours. That needs to be fixed, and owners need to realize that an ad would be more effective as one of a short break than one of many. As KHJ (930 AM) management understood in the early days of Boss Radio top-40, it is better to run fewer ads and charge more, than to run more ads and discount too much. 

            But getting back to the point: if you didn’t already listen to the stations you listen to, would you even know about them? What they play? The personalities? The hosts on talk stations? Of course not. Radio has done a terrible job of promoting itself, and it has only gotten worse under the large corporate ownership model that began years ago.

            Ironically, it is the small stations across the country that still do it right. The large corporate owners seem to have forgotten what marketing is all about. And having a nationwide contest with a key word of the day to enter on a website is not going to change things. It’s dull, and it doesn’t bring in new listeners. For me, competing against listeners from 700 stations around the country is a turn-off.

            So will radio fix this? I doubt it. At least not until the big corporate clusters are broken up. It doesn’t matter what content you have if no one knows it’s there. 

            Reality Radio

            If you’ve ever watched “reality TV” you know that the word “reality” is more of a joke than anything else. The same goes “Ryan’s Roses” that still runs on the KIIS-FM morning Ryan Seacrest program in spite of it being exposed as a fraud right here at least twice. Perhaps like the television reality programs, it’s “just entertainment,” so no one really cares. But I think on the radio, many people actually believe it's happening.

            I’ve covered this before: it is absolutely, totally, 100% illegal to record or air a telephone conversation without the permission of all involved. So when you hear people caught in a love triangle fighting on the air, you’re hearing a script read by actors. There is nothing real about Ryan’s Roses; if there was, the station would lose its license and the owner would have to pay a huge fine.

            There are services that provide the scripts and actors for stations across the country, if you want to run something similar on your own station. Which makes it even more surprising that Seacrest thought it a good idea to air a recent edition, in which a man supposedly cheated on his wife … after the couple was divorced. “I knew you wouldn’t call him if I told the truth” the actress playing the ex-wife said to Seacrest. 

            So not only was my time wasted with a fake “problem,” it wasn’t even a good one. I want my five minutes back.

Radio Waves Podcast #347

Link to full "Radio Waves" interview with Dr. Demento:  https://bit.ly/3NTWfba

Radio July 15

            If you grew up in Southern California in the 1970s, you likely listened to the legendary KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM). And if you listened to KMET, you likely listened to one of the most famous programs to ever originate from album-rock radio, Dr. Demento.

            Born Barret Eugene “Barry” Hansen, Dr. Demento wasn’t heard only on KMET. In fact, his show launched on KPPC (now KROQ, 106.7 FM) after a time in 1970 playing some of his personal record recollection as a guest on Steven Segal, known on the air as The Obscene Steven Clean, on KMET and later KPPC (now KROQ, 106.7 FM).  Those personal records included unusual recordings, novelty songs and just strange and unusual songs dating back to the earliest 78 RPM records.

            It was Segal who gave Hansen the name "Dr. Demento.”

            “I had no warning of this,” Hansen says, explaining that it came about roughly the third time he was a guest in hour-long expanded segments that began in October. “He just decided he’d start calling me Dr. Demento.” And the rest, as they say, is history.

            He got his own two-hour shift on KPPC at the end on 1970; He moved to KMET in 1971, where for four hours he’d play his version of hits … from artists such as Spike Jones, Jimmy Durante, Ray Stevens, Stan Freberg, Tom Lehrer, Nervous Norvus, and of course “Weird Al” Yankovic.

            He remained at KMET until the station changed formats in early 1987. After that he could be heard on KLSX (now KNX-FM, 97.1 FM) and later KSCA (101.9 FM), where it remained until 1997. The show was also syndicated nationally in a two-hour format from 1974 to about 2010, when it became available only on the internet.

            But it was at KMET where he truly shined. The first three hours of the program included various records, not always funny but always interesting, the last hour devoted to the “top-10” where you’d hear such classic recordings as “Star Drek,” “Pencil-Neck Geek,” “Dead Puppies,” “Shaving Cream,” “Fish Heads,” and many more. 

            Hansen was instrumental in bringing teen-ager Yankovic to a national audience when he played “Belvedere Crusin” on his show in 1976.

            As mentioned, Hansen still makes his show available on the internet with new programs weekly at https://www.drdemento.com. He participates in the official Facebook fan page for the show at https://www.facebook.com/groups/drdemento. It is on Facebook where I asked his legions of fans for their memories of the show and the good Doctor himself.

            “Found the good Dr. late at night by accident when I was about 12/13 years old. Right around the time Weird All came out with My Bologna. Was hooked on both of them immediately (my local radio station played Ray Stevens, so I was big into the comedy stuff with nothing on other than that)” — Ginger Boyles

            “When I was 7 or 8 years old, I had an uncle that sent my family a few cassette tapes of the Dr. Demento Show that he had taped for us (it wasn't on any of the stations in our area at the time). No one else in my family was interested, so they quickly became mine. The first tape I listened to was the show that first aired Weird Al's 'Another Rides the Bus'. I was instantly hooked. Those tapes quickly became what I listened to whenever I could. 

            “Looking back, I've realized that I had been listening to a radio show that showed me that I wasn't the only weird person around. It was okay to not fit into the normal mold of society. Shortly after, a local station started airing the show. Not only did his show entertain with it's rich history of parody and novelty music, but I know it influenced my sense of humor in my formative years. A large amount of credit (or blame) is due to Dr. Demento and his efforts in shaping me into who I am today, someone who is comfortable with being a little off kilter.” — Joshua Hesselgrave

            “Sunday nights at midnight….difficult for a jr high girl sometimes…but the desire to possibly hear ‘Fish Heads’ or ‘Dead Puppies!’”  — Holly Hammond

            “I helped run a coffee house in Allendale, NJ called The Grotto in the mid to late 1970s. We had live music, but when the Doctor came on the radio, that stopped and it was time to get demented!” — Seth Bogdanove

            “Before Dr. Dememto would get to the Top Ten Countdown, he would play records and songs that had a theme running thru them.  I remember once he played several versions of  ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’ … he pointed out words and lines were changed in the different versions. And even played a song that could have been the genesis of the song.” — Robert Stone II

            “I did a fake stupid hillbilly voice to request a song because I thought it would improve my chances - it did and I got a t-shirt” — Beaux Peterson

            “I have a hand written letter from Dr. D. I'm sure a lot of other fans on here still have theirs as well.” — Cindy Lee

            “A few of my San Pedro High friends recorded a song to the tune of ‘Rocket Cathedrals’ by Be Bop Deluxe. Their group name was ITZ… The song was called "Vinnie the Hippo" and it was about portly SPHS language teacher. They circulated a petition, and it ended up being played on the air!” — Jeff Steybe

            “I remember seeing him at the Capital Records swap meet. Dr Demento would be going through bins and bins of records looking for cool stuff for his show.” — Dean Case

            “Sunday night was a thing. My older brother and I would listen; we had this really old FM tube receiver that kinda glowed in the dark from the tubes and a couple of speakers hooked up to it. Sometimes with friends over, sometimes not. It was appointment radio in those days.” — Bob Orabona

            “I remember listening to him on the radio, I enjoyed his Christmas shows the most, I really miss those! I joined the fan club, and I have all of his CDs.” — Russell Cinque, Jr.

            I, too, have many memories, including the jingle used for the top song of the night: “It’s time for number o-n-e! This is it, here it comes NUMBER ONE!” 

            If you’d like to get up-close and personal with the good doctor, head over to https://bit.ly/3NTWfba where you’ll find a long-form career-spanning interview Mike Stark and I did for LA Radio Sessions. You can get a lot of inside information on his record collection, his radio career, and much more.

Radio Waves Podcast #346

 Radio Waves: July 8. 2022

Will electric cars kill terrestrial radio?

That’s the question posed in a article posted at consumer guide.com (read it at https://bit.ly/3nuTrGK), which talks about a very real problem affecting radio in general, AM in particular. 

The problem is that the motors and electronics in electric cars create interference that is very close in frequency to that of stations in the AM band. And in some cases, most notably more expensive models from high-end manufacturers, the “fix” is to leave AM out of the radio altogether.

And as electric cars get more popular — or mandated as in California — it could lead to the demise of America’s oldest broadcasting band, at least while traveling. In most of the country, in-car listening is a huge portion of overall  listening to radio. 

As explained in the story, “Electromagnetic frequencies generated by EV motors happen to be comparable in wavelength to AM radio signals. The competing signals clash, effectively cancelling each other, as if they were opposing forces. As EV motors grow more powerful, AM static tends to increase.”

It’s not a new problem. Indeed, many cars and trucks have fought radio interference for decades, even in cars with gasoline engines.. Ignition systems, electric motors driving cooling fans, windows and even the heating system can cause interference. But in the past, manufacturers were able to add shielding, ground systems, or even noise suppressors.

In reality, this can be done today, and perhaps might be a legal requirement: FCC rules require that no consumer component cause interference to radio reception, and must accept interference from broadcast radio transmission. But to my knowledge, the rule has not been enforced with any regularity in years. Indeed, LED lights, cable boxes, fluorescent lights, and computers and more all cause interference, and I haven’t heard of any product being pulled off the market for doing so.

Manufacturers have tried to find solutions, but those solutions add cost and weight to the cars …. Something the manufacturers are loathe to do. In the end, it’s easier just to leave it out.

FM is not totally immune either, as it too has challenges being received in a moving car. For now it’s primarily AM, though, and the manufacturers removing it from the dashboards of at least some of their all-electric cars include BMW, Tesla, Porsche, Volvo, and Audi. Interestingly, models from more common brands such as those from Toyota, Ford, and General Motors have kept AM in their electric models. This may change when Cadillac releases new models in the future.

One solution is to put everything on the web, but that creates its own issues: not every station streams their signals on the internet, it costs stations to do so, and it costs consumers when they have to subscribe to either an in-car internet service or use their cell phones to provide a signal. Once internet access is universal, however, some say this may be the future and put AM and FM stations on par for sound quality and distance reception. (I’ll have a story on this in the future).

But in the meantime, I can’t help but think that much of this has to do with programming. If AM listening was more popular, consumers would demand that AM not only be included, but would sound good. Like the early days of automobiles and broadcasting, solutions would be found. That they are not, and people are still buying Teslas proves there is a problem.

In other words, and to repeat what I have been saying for years, if AM stations gave a reason to listen, people would, and demand that their station could be heard while driving.

Related: if AM can be removed from the dash, is FM at risk as well? Absolutely. As the mobile dashboard becomes more of  an all-encompassing entertainment system with access to various online music and podcast services, some observers do indeed see a day when cars don’t have a radio at all.

I don’t see it that way, and in fact, I think solutions will be found to allow both AM and FM to continue to be found in the dash, especially as more manufacturers market electric cars. I may be wrong, but I think there are some simple solutions — or at least solutions that, once found, can be spread as a common design feature.

///

Radio Waves Podcast #345

 Radio Waves: July 1, 2022

Can consumers help improve radio’s success?

Brian Winnekins knows radio. AM radio in particular, with special knowledge of analog AM stereo. He should … as owner of  “Reel Country” WRDN/Durand, Wisconsin, he bought a former has-been AM station that was often off the air or operating at reduced power, upgraded the transmitter site, added an AM stereo (C-QUAM) system and provided programming of interest to the local community.

Now he’s the owner of a successful (though admittedly small-town) AM radio station, and has become one of a small but growing number of small station owners acting as a united voice promoting AM, AM stereo, and highlighting the struggles felt by such owners such as the tremendous burden placed on music stations by the various music licensing companies.

Winnekins programs WRDN like the old days, with programming of help to local farmers in the area. Besides the requisite country music, listeners can tune in to information on agriculture trends, farm reports, local sports, and of course news. It is the only station providing programming specifically targeted to Durand.

I suppose in some ways, the purchase was an extension of his own interests – prior to buying WRDN, Winnekins was a farm reporter for another station in a neighboring town. Now as an owner, he doesn’t mind sticking his neck out in an attempt to attract attention to ideas that can help AM stations better compete.

Recently Winnekins attended a Wisconsin Broadcasters Association conference session on “The Connected Car – What Does it Mean for Radio?” and included a representative from Xperi, the company behind numerous audio and video technologies including HD Radio, Connected Car technologies, DTS and more.

“During his presentation, he talked about how Apple and Google are trying to use their operating systems not only for the ‘infotainment center’ but even the dashboard,” Winnekins told me. “He also mentioned how it gets harder and harder to keep radio as part of car entertainment systems as manufacturers focus on newer technologies. He said convinced one company to keep AM by showing them the number of AM affiliates for sports teams.

“I was able to talk with him after the session and I brought up the idea that we need to end the ‘analog vs digital AM’ war – such that radios should be able to receive both analog stereo and digital HD –  and have receivers just tune up the dial from 540 AM to 108 FM with no ‘band button.’”

Winnekins says that the representative from Xperi said he is open to both ideas. But … automotive companies will only put options in their products that they believe their customers want. That means for AM to truly have good receivers, customers need to demand it.

“The car companies will NEVER do anything unless people who are upset that their radios sound awful actually complain,” he explains.  And it needs to go straight to the manufacturers, not the dealers. And certainly not social media. “If people are just going to continue to complain on Facebook …  or the ‘radio experts’ (some of whom are owners!) continue to say that radio is dying, IT WILL DIE,” he says.  

“Frankly, this ‘woe is me’ crap or this ‘well the consumers don’t care about radio and want internet garbage’ is a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Winnekins says, adding that his own experience proves people will listen given the right programming and that consumers do indeed like the sound that better radios can provide.

“I’ve had farmers stop at the station with their old work trucks, and they are impressed with the way the station sounds on those radios … but then ask why their new $70,000 truck doesn’t sound as good,” he explained. “So here we have people who like the sound of  our signal on a good radio … shouldn’t we find a way to help them complain to the car companies about their new lousy radios rather than constantly lamenting that ‘radio is dead?’”

Want to hear it for yourself? Like WION/Ionia, Michigan (i1430.com), WRDN streams their signal as received over the Am airwaves by an actual AM stereo tuner, in this case a Carver TX11a. “Tune in” from the station web page at reelcountry1430.com.

New KROQ

The effect of Kevin Weatherly’s return to the programming position at KROQ (106.7 FM) is already having a positive effect. The station suddenly has a sound more in keeping with its history … a vibe, of sorts, that I have not heard in years. It’s as if everyone is suddenly proud to be there, rather than just “being there.” More oldies than I prefer, but at least some new music. So far I am liking it.

Radio Waves Podcast #344

 MBC Radio Hall of Fame 2022 Candidates Announced

The Chicago-based Museum of Broadcast Communications recently announced the nominations class of 2022 for the Radio Hall of Fame Twenty-four people were chosen by the nominating committee, including four of our own: two individuals and one set of two.

They are: KOST (103.5 FM) morning star Ellen K, KFI (640 AM) afternoon drive duo John and Ken, and former KABC (790 AM) and KRLA (870 AM) host Larry Elder. Actually there’s one more from LA radio’s past: Walt “Baby” Love, formerly heard on KHJ (930 AM), KFI (640 AM), and KMPC (now KSPN, 710 AM). He was nominated for his syndicated Gospel Traxx program.

While 24 are being considered for induction, more than 2500 names were suggested by industry veterans and listeners; the 25 members of the nominating committee took those suggestions and their own thoughts to pare down the list. Now more than 600 Museum members will vote for up to six of their favorites through the end of the voting cycle on July 8th, with the top-six vote recipients being inducted.

Two more inductees — for a total of eight — will be selected by the nominating committee itself. The winners will be announced on July 25th and honored at the official 2022 Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony on November 1st in Chicago.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications’ Radio Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the development of the radio medium throughout its history in the United States.

Previous inductees include such legendary broadcasters as Abbot and Costello, Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Dr. Demento, Tom Donahue, Bill Drake, Rick Dees, Paul Harvey, Bob Hope, Kevin and Bean, Casey Kasem, Art Laboe, Robert W. Morgan, “The Real” Don Steele, Charlie Tuna, Dick Whittinghill, and Wolfman Jack, among many others, meaning that the current candidates are among really good company.

Ellen K, who has a long history in San Diego and Los Angeles radio including being a sidekick and news reporter for Rick Dees and Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM (102.7) before getting her own show on KOST and proving that she has not only the ability to shine on her own, she also has the ability to be among the most popular personalities in town. Indeed, Ellen is one of the reasons KOST so often dominates the LA radio ratings. Her show is usually at the top of the ratings in numerous demographics including all listeners aged 6 and over, adults aged 25-54, and women aged 25-54.

Likewise, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou are a major reason for the continued success of KFI even as the station has tried to become less political overall. John and Ken, of course, are as political as ever, injecting themselves into local and state issues, and acting as the voice for things you want to say but can’t when it comes to local politics and political correctness. Sometimes they are off-base, but almost always entertaining. 

Elder is no longer on the air, having left KRLA and other affiliates nationwide in April, but continues as a contributor to Fox News and still has his own podcast. He spent many years on KABC as The Sage from South Central and giving a unique perspective on local and national issues. More recently, he was a candidate to replace Gavin Newsom had the recall of Newsom been successful.

Love, also known as Reverend Walter Shaw, was a popular DJ on the most popular station in the United States at the time he was on the air at KHJ in the mid 1970s. He became an ordained minister in 1997; his Gospel Traxx is an extension of his work in spreading the Gospel, and has won awards including Best Syndicated Urban/R&B/Gospel Show of the Year from Billboard Magazine in 2002.

“Life is all about how it feels and this nomination feels really great!!!” Ellen told me last week. “Being included amongst so many well deserving candidates is humbling, and I’m reminded of the incredible people and moments that have led to this. Most of all, I’m grateful to be surrounded by the best!”

I imagine all of the nominees feel something very similar. This is truly a big deal, and a big congratulations goes to all the nominees. For a full list, go to https://www.radiohalloffame.com/2022-nominees. 

While you’re there, take note of the fact that the photo used for John and Ken is the one I used to keep on my own website years ago just to tease the team… It has to be over 30 years old, as demonstrated by the cool 80s sweaters they don.

The Crummey Evil Side Show …

Toward the earlier days of KFI’s (640 AM) talk format, the station tended to lean political, even more than it does today. And while it tended to be on the conservative side of things, there was a semblance of balance … morning host Rush Limbaugh countered with afternoon drive’ s Tom Leykis. And in the evening was a little of both combined with a lot of levity in the form of Joe Crummey. I liked the show.

Crummey was a bit of an anomaly on KFI … at first his show seems to lean liberal, then shifted toward the middle and middle-right. But it was always a fun listen, and I was disappointed when he left the station for KABC (790 AM) — it never seemed quite the same as far as the fun factor went — and eventually he left for other cities: Phoenix and New York in particular.

While at KFI, he had a certain bit in which he would debate himself – “regular” Joe vs “evil” Joe. Logical and moral Joe vs. illogical and immoral Joe. When he went to KABC, KFI became the “evil” station.

Apparently Crummey has evil in his blood. At least part of it.

As of late, Crummey is hosting a conservative podcast, called, of course, Evil Thoughts with Joe Crummey, in which he takes issues of the day and breaks them down using quotes and soundbites from the politicians and supporters involved.

It’s a short program – usually about 15 minutes or so – but quite entertaining especially if you agree with his analysis. If you lean liberal, it is still entertaining, but I would assume you’d disagree with many of his thoughts, but truth be told, he’s hard on Republicans as well as Democrats.

Recent topics have mirrored current events: inflation, shortages, the Supreme Court, abortion, energy and more. Soundbites come from from politicians, The View, and news programs, interspersed with commentary from Crummey. But it’s not just skin-deep … a recent show on baby formula went into the why of the shortage, not just spinning blame.

In fact, that’s the premise behind most of his shows – having some fun with the soundbites as you learn a little more about the issues in a way that other sources tend to avoid.

Find it at http://joecrummey.com.

Golden

KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM) and KFI (640 AM) took top honors for radio … as per usual … in the recent Golden Mike awards held in late May.

KNX won for Best Radio Newscast Over 15 Minutes, while KFI won for Best Radio Newscast Under 15 minutes

But wait, you ask, aren’t these the only real news stations in Southern California … wouldn’t they win anyway? Not exactly. The awards cover all of Southern California, so there are stations from San Diego to Santa Barbara that compete. 

That’s a lot of stations!

Each year the Radio and Television News Association (RTNA) presents the Golden Mike Awards to radio and television stations, programs, and people involved in the production of quality newscasts, reporting, and features. This year, in addition to the regular awards, the RTNA presented its 2022 Broadcast Legend Award to Jaime Jarrin, longtime Spanish play by play broadcaster for the Dodgers. Jarrin is the longest tenured active announcer in Major League Baseball, and is currently in his 64th (and final) season as the Spanish-language voice of the Dodgers.

Other radio awards locally included:

Best Traffic Report: KNX

Best Individual Writing: KOGO’s (600 AM) Remembering the Day

Best Long Form Program or Documentary: KFI’s The Death and Life of Kobe Bryant

Best Hard News Series Reporting: KPCC’s (89.3 FM) Unpermitted Housing

Best Feature News Series Reporting: KCRW’s (89.9 FM) Wasted

There are many more, and you can access the full list at rtnasocal.org.