Kat Corbett departs the ROQ, plus HearAche
Lots of comments about the departure of Kat Corbett from KROQ. The former
midday host had recently hosting the “Locals Only” show plus weekends and
fill-in. Corbett offered the following on her website:
Sooooo
I quit KROQ.
It’s
all good! I am eternally grateful for my long and crazy KROQ life. I was
leaving the World Famous a while back actually, but Covid hit, deals fell
through, yada yada. Now with things opening up, I’m having exciting
conversations again.
If you
ever listened when I hosted middays, thank you. It was truly an honor to follow
the Kevin & Bean show all those
years. Thanks to the record reps and managers who trusted me with artists in
many delicate situations. I’ll still be bugging you of course, but for now,
thank you for introducing me to my heroes.
Corbett arrived at KROQ via alternative rocker Y-107 (KLYY). In an interview with AllAccess.com, she said she started as an intern, then a part-timer at Boston’s WFNX. “I worked my way up to part time weekend days and stayed until 1997. I quit my job and drove out to Los Angeles with nothing -- no money, no job, no plan. After temping hell, I got hired part time at Y107, which turned into a morning show gig.” She eventually auditioned at KROQ, after leaving many messages with then program director Kevin Weatherly. “I guess I did ok. I think Weatherly hired me to get me off his back” (read the entire AllAccess interview here).
Corbett’s exit is just one of many from the alternative
rock station that has experienced a drop in both ratings and revenue. Variety addressed many of the changes
culminating in the dismissal of Kevin Ryder
and his morning team last year (read it here), while the local Daily News simply asked what’s wrong
with KROQ (read it here).
Part of the issue is trying to define alternative music. “Who’s
the next Green Day, who’s the next Nirvana or Rage Against the Machine, where’s
that…I think rock is in a hard place right now. And the lack of that to mix in,
like, current rock is really the problem.” She said hip-hop and pop are being
pushed as alternative “because those two genres, that’s where the money’s at.”
Corbett told Variety KROQ is struggling to maintain relevancy, but they’re not alone. “Right now, I think alternative radio in general, and not just KROQ, I’m talking across the board, every single outlet is in a state of they don’t know what the hell is going on,” she said.
Long time listeners may complain “KROQ sucks,” or “I haven’t
listened in years,” acknowledged Corbett. “The reality is, it’s because you’ve
gotten older…We’re not programming to you, we’re programming to 18-to-34.
You’ve literally outgrown the demo, so of course it’s not going to resonate
with you. It’s not that the place sucks, it’s just not your thing anymore.”
Still, Corbett is skeptical KROQ can succeed with a younger demographic. “I
think they’re deluding themselves if they think the kids are coming to radio.
Kids don’t know what radio is, and they don’t care,” said Corbett.
She nonetheless leaves the station with fond memories. Led by
“absolute mad geniuses,” Corbett said KROQ “was a beautiful thing, and it was
really exciting and fun and we laughed so much. But little by little, you start
losing pieces of the band, and then it doesn’t have that feel anymore. That’s
just a natural progression, especially if you’re together for such a long time.”
You can read the Variety story here.
Corbett can still be heard afternoons on Lithium, Sirius XM
channel 34.
HearAche:
Bill Handel is
still hospitalized before he’ll return home to continue his recovery from heart
valve replacement surgery, reports KFI colleague Wayne Resnick. It’s noted there is some disappointment the valve,
obtained from pigs, is not being supplied by Boar’s Head…Johnny Magnus has left the K-Jazz (KKJZ) program “Swing Time,” Chuck Southcott is now the host. No
other details have been offered… After 45-plus years, Ronn Owens has left KGO-San Francisco. He'd been offering "The Ronn Owens Report," a ten-minute daily feature after he ended his talk show in 2018. Back in 1997, Owens' program was simulcast on KGO and KABC...Former KBIG personality and current KTLA
Morning News weatherman Mark Kriski
will be returning to channel 5 next Wednesday.
RWM performing magic: Although best known for his morning host duties at KHJ and KMPC, Robert W. Morgan one helmed the AM shift at adult contemporary Magic 106 (KMGG). See a brief aircheck from 1986 here.
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KROQ has such bad ratings now according to Nielsen. They are at a 2.2 as of July 2021, losing to its rival ALT 98.7 (KYSR), even though ALT's ratings in July dropped to a 2.5 (compared to a 3.2 in June 2021). KROQ needs to play new alternative rock music, preferably indie rock, such as XMU plays on XM/SIrius. There is still plenty of younger bands and up and coming bands playing alternative and indie rock music in 2021, but KROQ ignores it.
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