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Mornings with A part one and a few short takes

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It’s always fun to do a story on local talent that’s heading for a national engagement. A Martinez is about to leave Pasadena’s public radio outlet KPCC and head to NPR’s signature program “Morning Edition.” We were interested in exploring Martinez’s Southern California roots as he prepares for his new gig. Martinez is a born-and-raised Angeleno, claiming downtown as his birthplace and being raised in Koreatown, near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue. “My family moved from Ecuador in 1969 and I was born in 70.” He attended local schools, including Daniel Murphy High School. “The thing I remember most about my school years back then is being so glad that I was growing up in a big city and getting to know so many different kinds of people.” mediamoves.com The future sportscaster played high school baseball while at Murphy High School. “I was really terrible at concentrating in any class aside from English or history so I seemed to be drawn to storytelling.”
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Updates and short takes

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  Let me start off with some good news. How’s about a hometown “kid” off to the big time? A Martinez is leaving KPCC and his midday “Take Two” program for the big time. The L.A. native is joining NPR’s signature program “Morning Edition” starting this summer. We’re working on an interview, but for the moment, it’s worth noting he’s officially departed the KPCC studios. He did post a before-and-after pic of his desk as he departed the Pasadena studios of Southern California Public Radio. Evidently he’s a major  fan of The Flash: As of Tuesday (June 1), Tim Conway Jr. nor his producer Sheron Bellio returned back on the air, with  Mark Thompson still sitting in.  Photos courtesy allaccess.com We received some more responses from the May 27 blog posting (read it here ), including one reader who said “if you heard (the skit) in the proper context, it wasn’t so bad” to another reader declaring “Conway should be gone, now!” A veteran consultant offered the following observation: Someth
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So what happened at KFI?

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  My mailbox has been full over the past few days. I first became aware of the controversy involving evening host Tim Conway Jr. and executive producer Sheron Bellio  via a May 14 article in AsAmNews , a publication that offers both original stories and aggregates news about the Asian American community (read it here ). Louis Chan, their national correspondent, wrote about a skit done during Conway’s May 3 program. Among the highlights from the story:   ·        When (listener) Keith Kawamoto heard a bit by Tim Conway Jr on KFI-AM 640 imitating a Japanese American woman, Kawamoto “couldn’t believe” they were doing that. The sketch on May 3 involved the long time Los Angeles radio host supposedly interviewing the wife of (KLAC-AM 570 LA Sports) sportscaster  Vic “the Brick” Jacobs , Yuko Sakamoto.   ·       “The imitation was so stereotypical with the character saying “Moshi-moshi” & “Ah-so” type comments in a sing-song voice interspersed with karate screams with gongs gonging
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Short takes and speculations

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We speculated earlier about a local AM station simulcasting on FM. It’s something you see in a lot of major markets, LA may be the only market – with the notable exception of public radio – currently without an all-news, talk or sports station on FM. That being said, what current station on the FM dial could be “sacrificed” for a simulcast? I can’t think of one.   Which leads me to my next observation – LA has an amazing diversity of Spanish radio. As I mentioned previously, the battle for reggaeton listeners between KXOL (Mega 96.3) and KLLI (Cali 93.9) made it to the front page of the Los Angeles Times (read it here ). Plus KLVE (K-Love 107.9), KLAX (La Raza 97.9) and KSCA (LA 101.9) are frequently listed in, or just bubbling under, the top ten of the local ratings. So again I ask the question – where is there room on the Southern California dial for an FM simulcast of an AM station? A side note: I recently reconnected with Eduardo Quezada , the legendary news anchor of KMEX-TV
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John Ireland: Remembering Kobe Bryant

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While we were still writing for LARadio.com last year, John Ireland  was kind enough to share his memories of Kobe Bryant just days after the tragic accident. In honor of Kobe's induction into the 2020 Naismith Hall of Fame tomorrow (May 15), we reprint the interview with the Lakers play-by-play announcer: Photo courtesy Andy Bernstein John Ireland is the radio voice of the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as half of the afternoon duo of ( Steve ) Mason and Ireland on KSPN (710 / ESPN). He has also covered the Lakers for many years on both radio and tv. Interviewed by LARadio.com, Ireland offers an insider’s perspective on the passing of Kobe Bryant:   The Lakers were flying from Philadelphia on Sunday morning. News about the crash was first reported by TMZ before a number of different news outlets could confirm and report on the tragedy. It’s reported many of the Lakers received the shocking news in-flight. Los Angeles Times “The Lakers have survived the loss of (Laker announcer) C
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Short takes: The finals week edition

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  One thing I can get my students to agree on (besides a disdain for my dad jokes) is the universal disgust of finals week. As I take a break from grading, here's this week's look at what's going on. Good news from Eric Tracy , who had surgery last week for esophageal cancer. He posted on social media that his cancer has not spread, so this is good news indeed. Or as Eric said himself: “PRAISE GOD!   I wrote to my kids ‘It looks like I'm going to be around awhile longer to continue to drive you crazy.’” It appears Bill Handel will need a bit more time to recover. Gary Hoffman and Shannon Farren continue to sit in during KFI mornings, with Wayne Resnick and Mo Kelly taking care of middays for the remainder of the week. While we’re visiting the iHeart Pinnacle building, Jill Kempton has been named the new program director at ratings leading KOST. She succeeds John Peake , recently promoted to Senior VP of Programming for iHeart Media Los Angeles. Kempton arrives fro
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