Radio Waves Podcast #128

http://socalradiowaves.com/

Radio Waves May 20, 2016

    This is the weekend Long Beach State student-run radio station K-Beach (kbeach.org and 88.1 HD3) is holding its 88.1 hour fundraiser, raising money for operations and equipment. Last year’s theme was “we want more,” and they got it ... $9000, almost doubling the very modest goal of $5000.

    This year the special programming runs begins Thursday May 19th at 8 a.m. and runs through Sunday May 22nd at 12 midnight.Rumor has it that I am a guest with LA Radio Studio’s Mike Stark Sunday at 7 p.m., but neither I, Stark nor station advisor Danny Lemos have confirmed this at press time ... I guess I’ll find out when you do.

    No More Oldies

    I have to admit this caught me by surprise. It was just recently that I wrote of the great music that was once found on KRTH’s (101.1 FM) digital HD2 radio stream ...

    “I was shocked this week to tune into KRTH HD2 on May 11th and find the great classic 50’s and 60’s oldies gone and the kiddie pop crap of Radio Disney defiling it’s place on my HD radio dial! KRTH HD2 had been my favorite local broadcast radio music station in LA for the last few years and I can’t believe it’s just gone and probably for good.

    “Couldn’t the station owner have found some other LA market station they own to attach Radio Disney to and leave the KRTH Classic oldies format alone, or at least move the rock oldies to an HD channel on a sister station in LA? It’s a crying shame to think a great rock oldies format like that will never again grace LA’s airwaves. It now seems that LA’s last radio broadcast link to the “Boss Rock” glory days of 93 KHJ AM in the 1960’s is gone for good” -- Rick Koenig

    Or this:

    “I'm PISSED KRTH HD 2 IS RADIO DISNEY! We have 1110 AM (KDIS) for that ... and what kid has access to an HD radio anyway? Main KRTH plays stuff I can't handle; KRTH HD2 played what I call KHJ music. I was 9-1/2 when KHJ started in 1965 and listened since day two of Boss Radio. Disney parked on KRTH HD2 -- think 1110 AM is for sale?” -- Joe Costanzo

    It’s a bit of a strange move, considering that KDIS is the sole remaining station in the Radio Disney chain -- the mouse sold 23 of 24 stations it previously owned by mid 2015, holding on to flagship KDIS for its studios and distribution network. It was well-known that Disney Radio would replace those stations with HD streams -- a horrendously bad idea in my opinion, due to reader Koenig’s observation that few kids own HD radios. But to run HD in a city with a full-power AM? Why have both?

    An email to KRTH manager Dan Kearney has gone unanswered so far, but my assumption on KRTH side is that the decision is purely financial. KRTH made little money on the K-EARTH Classics format due to limited commercials, and it is certain that Disney is paying for the ability to run the format on the KRTH HD stream. The big followup question is -- why didn’t KRTH at least put the Classics format on an HD3 stream? KKGO runs three streams and the sound quality on all is excellent. KRTH should do that and then sell the format ... there is no reason for a lack of advertising on a format the station has exclusively.

    KDIS once had an HD signal as well, which made the station sound much better than traditional narrowband AM. I’ve heard rumblings that the station is back to broadcasting in analog AM stereo, but I have not gotten my Carver AM stereo tuner out of the attic to confirm. Regardless, is there any reason to hold on to 1110 if the stream is already available on HD? As well as iPhone, Android, and online?

    As to alternatives, there are few, at least on air. The focus of KRTH Classics was 1950s and ‘60s pop and rock. If you don’t mind going older, the HD3 stream on KKGO (105.1 FM) is a wonderful adult standards format. But that’s it -- nothing else locally. Perhaps 1110 could resurrect the oldies format and put the KRLA call letters back where they belong, rather than using them for a talk(?!?) format on 870 AM.

    The best bet for now? Get a membership ($10 donation) to ReelRadio.Com and download -- for personal use only, please! -- actual airchecks from such stations as KHJ, playing those same oldies when they were new. Presented the DJs that made them hits: Robert W. Morgan, The Real Don Steele, Charlie Tuna, and more. You’ll drive your family crazy as I often do, but it’s so much fun to hear KHJ playing top-40 music circa 1965-1980 in your car, just as you heard it originally. Or your parents heard it originally, as the case may be.

    On Line Homework

    Try this out. http://thelegendsofrockandroll.com. Essay due next week.

    Honoring Clark

    Former KIIS-FM (102.7) General Manager Wally Clark-- who was part of the team that helped propel the station to the top of the ratings in Los Angeles -- will be honored by the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters June 29th at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City. For information, go to ppbwebsite.org.

Radio Waves Podcast #127

http://socalradiowaves.com/

Airwaves: May 13, 2016

    Last October I wrote of a segment on The Sound’s “Mark in the Morning” program in which actors portrayed callers in an an absurd scenario that mocked “candid phone” type segments popular on morning shows throughout the country.

    These are segments in which people try to to trap others, such as when a girlfriend has the DJ call her boyfriend to get them to admit on the air to infidelity. As the story unfolds, hilarity ensues as the boyfriend digs a deeper hold until he finally admits his cheating.

    Why did The Sound’s Mark Thompson use actors? To make a point: they are all actors. All of them. Everywhere. On every station in America that runs such segments. There is even a service from Premiere Networks that provides said actors, as does the United Stations Radio Network.

    The problem is that these calls, if they used “real” people, have always been illegal. The station has to get permission for the participants to be recorded before the recording begins. It’s not enough to get permission later ... it must be explicitly given prior to the start of the recording, and no jilted lover or cheating partner would dare give permission to be embarrassed beforehand. Failure to do so can result in huge fines from the FCC, or even cause license renewal problems (apparently one of the new times the FCC actually does much of anything).  This has always been the rule, though it was rarely enforced until the 1990s (meaning yes, Rick Dees far more creative Candid Phones were most likely real).

    So imagine my surprise when I tuned into KIIS-FM (102.7) the other morning and heard an episode of morning man Ryan Seacrest’s Ryan’s Roses ... exactly the type of segment that Thompson mocked. And Roses was almost as absurd as Thompson’s: Seacrest calls girls’s boyfriend, boyfriend claims he has no knowledge of the jewelry found under the couple’s bed, Seacrest pushes, boyfriend admits cheating, girl starts crying, hilarity ensues.
    Perhaps in these days of reality television, in which the reality presented is the furthest thing from the truth, all of this is to be expected. Still, I’m surprised that anyone falls for it. Maybe they don’t and I’m the only one who doesn’t “get it.” But like the fake reality cable shows including Bar Rescue and Mystery Diners, I think it’s time to expose the deceit.

    Love Lost

    After 30 years, KROQ’s (106.7 FM) Loveline has left the air. The final show aired April 28th; the news broke on the station’s Kevin and Bean Show when co-host Dr. Drew Pinsky made an appearance on a recent morning.

    The program was launched by Jim “Poorman” Trenton along with “Swedish” Egil Aalvik and “Spacin’” Scott Mason in 1983 as a dating and relationship-advice show. Pinsky was added in 1984 to give medical advice ... before he was even a doctor; eventually Poorman was forced out of the program he created, to be hosted by Pinsky and a series of co-hosts, most recently Mike Catherwood.

    Losses

    Revenue at Cumulus -- owner of KLOS (95.5 FM) and KABC (790 AM) along with 452 other stations across the country -- was down and losses increased in the first quarter financial results released earlier this month. For the quarter, revenue fell 0.9 percent to $268.5 million, losses increased 20 percent to $14.4 million. Debt remains at roughly $2.5 billion, and as of closing last Monday, the stock price stood at 38.2 cents per share.

    And that was the good news. Apparently revenue was down less than expected.

    On the other side, the company still has yet to have a stock value greater than $1 per share since it was warned by NASDAQ, and it risks being delisted on the stock exchange. In response to that problem, the company pulled a fast one and was able to get approval from NASDAQ to move the listing from the exchange’s Global Select Market to the Capital Market, giving it an extra 180 days to reach that $1 mark at least ten days in a row. The move was made May 3rd ... the day the stock was supposed to be delisted. If it cannot make the $1 mark in the next 180 days the company will try other charades, including a possible reverse split.

    May’s Mornings

    The addition of Lisa May to KLOS’s morning Heidi and Frank Show has been a tremendous success, making for a far more interesting and intelligent program, I like the fact that the program pays at least a little respect to informed listeners ... and May does a great job adding her voice to the broadcast, taking the show to far greater heights.

    She joined the program just over a year ago -- May 11, 2015 -- after many years with Kevin and Bean on KROQ.

Radio Waves Podcast #126

http://socalradiowaves.com/

Airwaves: May 6, 2016

 

Incomplete

 

KCBS-TV Channel 2’s Rick Garcia sat down with former longtime morning man Rick Dees to “share past and present memories.” You can see it online at http://tinyurl.com/DeesCBS

 

Interesting, though incomplete and incorrect.

 

“When did you start to conquer the radio world in the morning?” asked Garcia.

 

“Well, I remember getting a call and it was a ... kind of a disco station. They called it KIIS,” explains Dees.

 

Don’t get me wrong - I love Rick Dees. I can’t figure out why a talent like him is not on the air somewhere here in town with the freedom to do a show like he once did, not the shell they allowed when he was last waking Los Angeles at Movin’ 92.3 a few years ago. But Dees is wrong, and he knows it.

 

He really got “the call” from RKO’s KHJ (930 AM), as part of master programmer Chuck Martin’s plan to revitalize and restore KHJ’s glory. This was in 1979. Dees -- and an entire airstaff of excellent DJs led by the expertise of Martin -- actually propelled KHJ up in the ratings, at a rate that caught owner RKO by surprise. Unfortunately, it was so much of a surprise that RKO heads in New York had (unbeknownst to Martin) already committed to change the format from top-40 to country. Dees left after the change in November, 1980 but did not start on KIIS-FM (102.7) until July of 1981. By then, KIIS had already dropped disco.

 

Not that this really means anything. But it does give me a chance to mention KHJ, Martin and Dees in one story. I like that.

Old KRTH

 

Airchexx.Com has an amazing recording of KRTH (101.1 FM) from the era that I particularly like, running a format I would like to hear today. Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/KRTHPast.

 

This was a time when KRTH was playing a lot of current music, mixed with the occasional “gold,” or what we used to call oldies. In some ways, as it says in the description, it is the “KHJ on FM” that many wish was still on the air ... and that was tried on K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) at roughly the same time. Interestingly, this aircheck from 1981 features Pat Evans playing “more music in the morning” due to the former morning team of John London and Ron Engelman moving to K-WEST. Also featured: Brian Bierne, “Mr. Rock and Roll.”

 

What made the station great? First off ... the jingles: I love the old KRTH jingles from the era. Current music was the majority of the mix but with plenty of oldies as flavor. This allowed weekends to be particularly good because weekends could be something different than the weekday format. You could hear the “runners up of rock” one weekend, a “souvenir of the seventies” the next. It was great radio, a format I think would still work today.

 

Fundraiser

 

Cal State Long Beach is gearing up for their annual K-Beach fundraiser, which will take place the weekend of May 20, 21 and 22. More details will come as the weekend approaches.

 

K-Beach is a student-run station on the campus and broadcasts using the digital HD stream of KJAZ (88.1 FM). So you need either an HD Radio tuner or online access to hear it, but just having a student-run station at Cal State Long Beach is wonderful.

Radio Waves Podcast #125

http://socalradiowaves.com/

Airwaves: April 29, 2016

Friends, former colleagues, and fans of gathered at Le Petit Chateau restaurant in North Hollywood last Saturday to pay tribute to radio legend Ron Jacobs, who passed away last month in his native Hawaii.

Organized by Kevin Gershan, who grew up with the Boss Radio format originated by Jacobs and others at KHJ (930 AM) in 1965 -- and who eventually produced the (post- KHJ) Robert W. Morgan Show -- the gathering was a way for those living on the West Coast to get together and remember the man known as one of the architects of modern music radio broadcasting.

 

And did they talk. About the manic phone calls that might last hours at a time, including incoherent yelling. About the many times he threatened to sue someone ... or everyone in the room. And about the genius that he was when it came to radio and marketing, along with the care he took of people he respected and considered friends.

Best known for his work at KHJ, launching the format that took the station to the top of the ratings with a fast-paced bigger-than-life music format, Jacobs was also behind the creation in 1972 of album-oriented KGB (now KLSD, 1360 AM) complete with the Homegrown series of albums featuring music from local artists as well as the hugely popular KGB Chicken. 

He was the man behind the 1969 48-hour radio documentary “History of Rock and Roll” that aired on KHJ just prior to his leaving the station. He then went on to co-found Watermark and launch American Top-40, the long-running countdown show starring Casey Kasem. Jacobs also produced the Elvis Presley Story narrated by Wink Martindale ... the first American radio production to be purchased by the BBC for airing in England.

You can get a taste of his crazy-genius and energy level by reading KHJ Inside Boss Radio, available as a Kindle book at Amazon for $9.30. When I read the book I found it fascinating ... and tiring: the energy that pours out of the memos written by Jacobs is simply astounding.

The celebration of life was just that -- upbeat, happy, positive. As “crazy” as Jacobs could be at times, he touched so many people in so many positive ways, and he did indeed help change radio forever. 

Interview

Michael Stark -- who runs the LA Radio Studio in San Pedro -- and I interviewed Jacobs almost a year before his death, back in March of 2015. We spent three hours on the telephone discussing radio in general, letting him tell stories about his early radio life, the top-40 wars of Fresno and San Bernardino, KHJ and more. Unfortunately, it ended up being only part one of what was supposed to be at least two -- and probably more -- volumes.

The project was put on the backburner due to in part to Jacobs being involved in other projects as well as some of his health issues. Regardless, We are currently editing the interview and eventually we will have this ready for release and available as an audio recording or podcast.

Radio Waves Podcast #124

Airwaves: April 22, 2016

It may not be Christmas now, but KOST (103.5 FM) -- the perennial holiday season winner -- is still the top station in town. And in the March ratings just released last week, the light-rock station actually increased its win over second-place KIIS-FM (102.7) to almost a full point, with a 5.9 share of the audience for KOSt compared with 5.1 for KIIS.

KBIG (104.3 FM) was just behind in third at 4.8, meaning that iHeartMedia owns the top-three stations in Los Angeles -- at least until the company goes bankrupt as many industry observers predict. I suppose that could be the definition of irony, though I am not quite sure.

The next three on the list are owned by CBS, rumored to be selling its stations or spinning them off into a separate company as the radio holdings keep the company stock from reaching its potential. more irony? Regardless, KRTH (101.1 FM), KTWV (94.7 FM) and Jack (KCBS-FM, 93.1) were 4th through 6th at 4.5, 4.4 and 3.7, respectively.

With its continuing evolution into less political and more entertainment, KFI (640 AM) still dominates the talk format, coming in tied with KLVE (107.5 FM) at 7th place with a 3.6 rating share. In comparison, the next highest commercial talk station was KRLA (870 AM) way down the list at 1.0, KABC (790 AM) was a little lower at 0.7, and KEIB (1150 AM) below that at 0.6.

KNX (1070 AM) has been doing quite well with news lately, with a 9th place 3.3 share. KLOS (95.5 FM) and The Sound (KSWD, 100.3 FM) are tied for the second month in a row at 2.6, Real 92.3 (KRRL) is still beating Power 106 (KPWR) but only by 0.2 (Real’s 3.0 to Power’s 2.8), and the top-rated public station in town is KCRW (89.9 FM), which earns a solid 2.0 share of the Los Angeles metro audience.

For the Los Angeles metro area, iHeart Media earned a total of 26.6 percent of the listening audience among all if its stations, according to Nielsen, followed by CBS with a total of 21.8 percent. That’s almost 50 percent just among two companies. I’ll leave the implications of that statistic to you.

Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged six and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight, as determined by Nielsen.

KOST-FM 5.9
KIIS-FM 5.1
KBIG-FM 4.8
KRTH-FM 4.5
KTWV-FM 4.4
KCBS-FM 3.7
KFI-AM 3.5
KLVE-FM 3.5
KNX-AM 3.3
KYSR-FM 3.2
KAMP-FM 3.0
KRCD-FM 3.0
KRRL-FM 3.0
KROQ-FM 2.9
KPWR-FM 2.8
KLAX-FM 2.6
KLOS-FM 2.6
KSWD-FM 2.6
KSCA-FM 2.3
KKGO-FM 2.1
KCRW-FM 2.0
KLYY-FM 2.0
KXOS-FM 2.0
KPCC-FM 1.9
KXOL-FM 1.6
KBUE-FM 1.5
KUSC-FM 1.5
KDAY-FM 1.2
KWIZ-FM 1.2
KJLH-FM 1.1
KRLA-AM 1.0
KSPN-AM 0.9
KFSH-FM 0.8
KABC-AM 0.7
KSSE-FM 0.7
KEIB-AM 0.6
KKJZ-FM 0.6
KLAC-AM 0.5
KLAA-AM 0.3
KKLA-FM 0.2
KTNQ-AM 0.2

Radio Waves Podcast #123

Radio: April; 15 

 

At Least it’s Not Here

 

KLIF/Dallas-Fort Worth temporarily changed its name last weekend to Bieber 93.3 in celebration of Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour arriving for a concert at Dallas’ American Airlines Center on April 10th. The branding was both on-air and on the station’s website all weekend long.

 

“We’re huge Beliebers!" KLIF programmer Dustin Kross told industry website AllAccess.Com. "Changing to BIEBER93.3 is the perfect way to connect to our audience and other Beliebers while Justin Bieber is in town.”

 

Music and Food

 

KCRW (89.9 FM) will be heading to downtown Long Beach in September for a special music and food event called, appropriately enough, Music Tastes Good.

 

The three-day event will be held September 23rd through the 25th; each day will feature its own theme and the focus will be on local vendors, craft beers and local musicians. Tickets will go on sale in May, while a special free concert highlighting the bands scheduled to perform at the event will take place May 7th at Long Beach’s Packard Building.

 

Cloudy Future?

 

A story on Slate.Com regarding the future of National Public Radio is a fascinating read (http://tinyurl.com/SlateNPR). The basic idea being presented: can NPR survive online entertainment alternatives if current listeners are getting older and potential youngsters are more interested in podcasts?

 

The evidence presented is fairly strong and to the point. Younger people are not tuning into NPR, which itself was once a bastion of young “left-wingers and hippies.” and was formed out of a desire to see what could be done by experimenting with radio and recording equipment.

 

The problem now, according to the premise of the story, is that the fun, freewheeling attitude of early NPR that attracted today’s listeners is not attracting those listener’s kids. The kids instead like podcasts, which are usually more fun and outlandish than the material broadcast by NPR affiliates such as KCRW and KPCC (89.3 FM).

 

Now, keeping in mind my bias against NPR -- primarily due to so many NPR affiliates taking over radio stations on college campuses which in my opinion should be run by students, not by NPR professionals -- I think the entire article misses the point. 

 

Also keep in mind that I love podcasts ... I do one weekly myself with Michael Stark at the LA Radio Studios in San Pedro. But podcasts are an inefficient way to reach people; broadcasting is still king when it comes to market reach. 

 

NPR would be shooting itself in the foot if it focused on podcasts, even if it primarily ran podcasts of its popular programs such as All Things Considered. The reason is simple economics: podcasts -- with rare exceptions -- don’t make money. And the more NPR relies on podcasts for listening, the fewer listen live to the radio. And the few listeners to live radio, the fewer donations to member stations, along with decreased program underwriting.

 

But like so many of today’s commercial stations essentially forcing listeners to online, iPod or satellite entertainment, the solution is to attack the real problem: launch programs that take the spirit of the popular podcasts and put them on NPR. Bring back the freewheeling days of early NPR (which I don’t remember but will take on face value from the Slate story). In other words, give people a reason to tune in. If you build it, they will come.

 

And I can’t believe I actually wrote a story supporting NPR...

Radio Waves Podcast #122

Radio: April 8, 2016

My wife would never believe me, but I actually get tired of hearing old songs. The reason for her doubt is the amount of time listening to old songs, either on radio (via The Sound, 100.3 FM) or “aircheck” recordings of classic top-40 radio stations such as what can be found at www.reelradio.com.

So I suppose I’m not helping the situation by listening -- a lot lately -- to KRTH Classics on KRTH 101.1 HD2, a station that can be picked up using a special HD radio tuner. I happen to have one in my truck.

Here’s where you hear songs from 1955 through the 1960s similar to what KRTH used to play on its main channel. The Everly Brothers. Early Elvis. The Box Tops. All with very few commercials: the only commercials that run -- very occasionally -- are for HD radios. I am frankly surprised that owner CBS doesn’t push to monetize this HD channel. or even promote it.

Perfect? Hardly. There’s a repetition of some songs, most definitely. Blood, Sweat and Tears’ “Spinning Wheel “ seems to pop up at least once a day. But then there are the songs you have not heard in years ... or decades. The Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Be Loved” played today. Overall, it’s a treat to hear some of these songs, which made me realize: it’s not the actual oldies I tire of. It’s hearing the same oldies I’ve heard for the last 20 years to which I grow weary.

To be honest, I lean toward the stye of radio championed by such programmers as Ron Jacobs and Chuck Martin, who happen to have been the first and last programmers of top-40 KHJ (930 AM). Focus on current music but play oldies -- now called classic rock or classic hits -- two or three times an hour as audio seasoning. But until I am hired as a programmer locally, that type of radio will be missing. And the special seasoning will have to come from this hidden digital extra stream that comes from KRTH and is also available on line and through smartphone apps.

What would make it better? I’d bring in DJs. KRTH’s own Shotgun Tom Kelly could be on the KRTH Classics stream. As could any number of talented DJs that are not heard enough if at all. What a treat it would be to hear Bobby Ocean playing the hits again. Basically, make it a real, viable station. Get more advertising -- but limit the number of commercials in total so you won’t push people away -- as a way to keep the station going.

KRTH is of course not the only good HD station stream around. Fans of the Smooth Jazz version of The Wave (KTWV, 94.7 FM) can still hear the music they love via KTWV HD2. LA’s only commercial classical station can be found as a secondary channel to Go Country, KKGO 105.1 FM HD2. Love the Big Bands and old standards? They’re playing right now on KKGO HD3. And of course the songs that made KROQ (106.7 FM) “world famous” are on Roq of the 80s, KROQ HD2.

Wango Tango

KIIS-FM (102.7) has announced the lineup for Wango Tango 2016 to be held at the StubHub Center in Carson on May 14th. Tickets went on sale April 1st to station VIP members, and everyone else April 2nd. Cost runs $35 to $265 per ticket plus fees.

Remember when stations held free concerts? I digress.

Scheduled to perform are Ariana Grande, Zayn, Demi Lovato, Meghan Trainor, Fifth Harmony, Iggy Azalea, DNCE, Alessia Cara, The Chainsmokers, Kygo, Mike Posner, Zendaya, and Gwen Stefani.

Power Circle

Rumor on the street has Power 106 -- still stinging from the competition of Real 92.3 FM -- making a move back toward the rhythmic dance music the station played when it made its debut in 1986.

This is something I’ve considered for a quite some time. There is currently no competition in the format and some of the original architects of the station are still with owner Emmis. I’d personally rather have the return of top-40 K-WEST (or even AOR K-WEST),  but that would once again require me  -- or Chuck Martin -- to take over programming directly. Again I digress.

Actually, while I am not familiar with what is being played in any of the Hollywood and surrounding dance clubs -- or if dance clubs even still exist -- I do believe a fun, uncluttered, upbeat current music station would bring some fun back into the Los Angeles radio scene. And the first few few years of Power 106 were hugely successful. Perhaps it’s time to take the station full-circle.