Once again the year in review, 2021 edition
I tried many times to come up with a
clever / profound / astute / philosophical / adroit opening for this edition of
the year in review. No luck. Let’s take a look at the year that was and proceed
from there.
KNX making news…of their own: The Audacy all-news outlet (more on Audacy forthcoming) continued to report the headlines and stories day-in and day-out while generating its own narrative.
The departures
of Frank Mottek (29 years) and Randy Kerdoon (17 years) was the most
read story on the blog, effectively closing the station’s local business and
sports departments (Mottek is now at KABC, Kerdoon continues his podcast about cars). Just a few weeks ago, NOW 97.1 (KNOU) was flipped to offer an all-news AM-FM
simulcast and a rebranding, now known as “KNX News 97-1 FM.” Speaking of NOW…
Not at the top of the charts: Granted, NOW 97.1 was what was known as an “Urban CHR,” nonetheless the station was one of many CHR stations nationwide not doing particularly well. One opinion is there hasn’t been a true “breakout star” since Brittany Spears (personally, I’m a fan of Taylor Swift, don’t judge me – but again I digress) which fuels the CHR format.
iHeart promoted long time KIIS PD John Ivey to oversee the company’s CHR properties, with the new title of “President of CHR Content Development and Strategy” (Beata Murphy moves up from KIIS’ Assistant PD/Music Director to become the station’s new Program Director). Does streaming allow listeners to tailor and maintain their own musical niche, or is there still a desire for the mass appeal and variety offered by CHR?
Good morning again:
Another popular story
on the blog was the whereabouts of KFI morning host Bill Handel. For a couple of months, it was explained he was gone
because of reoccurring back pain. What was interesting was the speculation on
social media about his disappearance, from family issues to legal concerns
about his brother to pursuing a Las Vegas cookware business to the belief he
was going to announce his retirement after nearly three decades in morning
drive. Eventually it was revealed there was a need to clear up an infection
related to his 2011 heart valve surgery, he’s now back at the talk station. The
70-year old attorney doesn’t sound as if he’s ready to sign off.
One more KFI story: When Tim Conway Jr. offered a mock interview
supposedly with the Japanese American wife of KLAC’s Vic “the Brick” Jacob, it led to both Conway and his producer Sharon Bellio being suspended for a
couple of weeks. I didn’t particularly find it funny, though my sons will be
happy to question their dad’s sense of humor. But I digress. Conway’s skit was
particularly questionable after the shooting at a massage spa in Atlanta. I
accept Conway’s apology as sincere, nevertheless he may want to consider the
counsel of my younger son who constantly reminds me how important it is to “read the
room.”
ROQ on, for now: Back in March 2020, Variety published a story entitled “It’s the End of the World Famous KROQ as We Know It,” when the reconstituted morning show headed by Kevin Ryder and featuring Allie MacKay and Jensen Karp was dropped after only 2.5 months, which itself was created after Gene “Bean” Baxter moved to London, which ended the 30-plus years of Kevin & Bean.
A new PD, Mike Kaplan, moved
down the dial from ALT 98.7 (KYSR), adding new music to the playlist and
reshuffling mornings, eventually settling with Kevin Klein and Ally Johnson
after the earlier departure of Ted
Stryker. Yeah, that’s a lot of names. So what’s the 2021 update? KROQ was
in 27th place in the most recent ratings, with a cume of 948,000 listeners
(competitor ALT 98.7 was in 14th place). Plus, Kat Corbett quit after 22 years. To be fair, the numbers were
better during the summer. It appears Audacy isn’t planning to make any changes.
Not yet, anyway.
A new radio Audacy:
Speaking of the
aforementioned company, Entercom rebranded their company as Audacy (pronounced“odyssey”), stating the company had “outgrown” their old moniker. We’ve covered
what’s happening at KNX and KROQ, K-EARTH (KRTH) is a top five and sometimes
number one station, The WAVE (KTWV) and JACK/FM (KCBS-FM) are always in the top
ten and higher. But if the now terminated NOW 97.1 FM and what’s now heard in
the neighboring Inland Empire is any indication, more and more Audacy stations
will be programmed from “centralized programming” hubs with their “influential
on-air personalities serving (Audacy’s) local communities.” I guess I have a
different definition of local radio. Or should I stick to chasing kids off my
lawn?
Rushing off the airwaves:
It’s argued the current
political climate is as polarized as its ever been. The passing of Rush Limbaugh personified that
polarization. When he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, many
considered the honor was long overdue, others believed the award was “forever”
denigrated. Even so, when Limbaugh died at age 70, there was still significant
division about his influence on American politics, but little argument about
his influence on talk radio. An oft-cited opinion was Limbaugh single-handedly
kept AM radio relevant over the past few decades. It’s worth noting no one
individual emerged in 2021 as the heir apparent to Limbaugh.
Not quite an Elder Governor: Larry Elder, former KABC and now Salem talk show host (heard locally on The Answer 870 / KRLA), quickly emerged as the leading candidate to replace California Governor Gavin Newsom, the latter being subject to a recall vote. Interviewed by Tavis Smiley on his progressive talk KBLA, Elder promised to be drastically different from the Democratic Governor. The recall was unsuccessful, Newsom remains Governor, and Elder returned to syndication. His supporters believe the run for Governor was just the beginning of future campaigns for state and national offices. Whatever one’s political opinion, you knew exactly what he’s thinking.
As for KBLA, I do hear ads for both
local and national businesses, what I don’t know is why I don’t see the
progressive talker in the ratings. Do they not subscribe to Nielsen? I was a
fan of Alonzo Boden’s afternoon
program, he’s left the station to return to touring his stand-up work. There is
definitely some other interesting hosts there, I simply don’t know what’s the
listenership of the still-new talker.
Boss Radio forever: An injustice was finally corrected when
The Real Don Steele and Bill Drake were inducted into the Radio
Hall of Fame, based in Chicago. We also had to say farewell to Mark Elliot and Sam Riddle.
I admit a personal bias. Mark Elliot was
a real favorite. I admired his incredibly smooth delivery with his unique
pipes, which later became reconstituted as “the” voice of Disney for so many
years. And I always thought the fun and upbeat “Sam Riddle” was an inventive
signature until I found out it was his legal name! So grateful I was able to
hear all of these talented gentlemen on the L.A. airwaves, so sad to see more
of the Boss Jocks sign off for the very last time.
When radio was colorful: Before there was KHJ, there was KFWB. Chuck Blore was a pioneer of top 40
radio in L.A. and throughout the country. Renowned rock’n’roll and radio
journalist Ben Fong-Torres offered this about Blore:
He also left his mark on the KIIS call letters before it was known as an FM powerhouse, then produced hundreds of award-winning ads. Radio’s best TV producer, Ken Levine, wrote Blore was “a true gentleman. Very kind, very supportive, and one of those few people in your life who actually inspires you. Chuck had this infectious energy — he made you feel good about whatever his latest idea was, and he made you feel good about yourself.” Blore was 92 when he passed.
Un cambio en la mañana: They had to squash rumors their marriage
was on the rocks, nonetheless Omar
Velasco and Angelina Atilano
left their highly rated morning show on K-LOVE 107.5 (KLVE, once again not to
be confused with 100.3 FM). Ysaac Álvarez
moved from afternoons to AM drive, with co-host Fernanda Kelly.
The 107.5 frequency has been the model
of consistency. After switching from a soft rock format in the late 70s, K-LOVE
is considered the nation’s second most listened-to Spanish station (New York’s
Mega 97.9 [WSKQ-FM] is number one), with a weekly cume of about 1.4 million. Before
Álvarez and Kelly, Velasco and Atilano helmed mornings for nearly two decades.
It’s been argued Spanish programming is now the only potential growth area for
radio.
Short takes (the year-end edition): KIIS-FM was fortunate to be able to present this year’s Jingle Ball concert locally before the rest of the national tour was cancelled due to Omicron…I’m still concerned about what will happen to 710 ESPN (KSPN) when the transmitter is moved to Irwindale, though the new Good Karma ownership is considered a positive for the all-sports outlet. Just leave Mason & Ireland alone…Gotta give my annual plug for “Peace, Love and Sundays” hosted by Mimi Chen on 88.5 FM (KCSN / KSBR)…
Condolences to Power 106 (KPWR) host Nick
Cannon who lost his five month old son Zen to cancer…Another story from the
recall effort: Governor Newsom was described as becoming “testy” when
interviewed by KFI’s John & Ken.
Larry Elder tweeted the Governor was “unhinged during interview…morphs into Captain Queeg”…
Allowing for some statistical error, The
Patriot 1150 (KEIB) and KABC have been in a virtual tie for months, with The
Answer 870 leading both…I’ve complained about stations airing ten (10) spots in
a row, did I recently hear twelve (12) consecutive spots? I realize it was a
long time ago and a different era, even so when Ten-Q (KTNQ) debuted 45 years
ago as a top 40 station, they pledged to limit themselves to eight spots per hour…One reason K-EARTH is successful
was their transition to playing 70s, 80s and 90s, dropping anything recorded before
that era. Perhaps not coincidentally, Sirius XM moved their “50s on 5” and “60s
on 6,” rebranding both stations and moving the formats to seemingly less
accessible channels up the dial. Of note: My 17-year-old’s favorite station
remains The Beatles Channel (Channel 18). And he likes 60s music on vinyl…One
more K-EARTH note: Gary Bryan is
about to celebrate 20 years at 101 FM…A Martinez has made a smooth transition from KPCC to NPR's "Morning Edition"...
Ellen K owns mornings at KOST. And Valentine owns mornings at sister station MyFM (KBIG)…There may be room for only one all-Christmas station in town. GO Country 105 (KKGO) saw its ratings slip during December, the same as it did last year. By comparison, KOST nearly doubled their ratings with their holiday offering, with a cume of over 3 million(!) listeners…
They do well with their radio partners Rodney Peete and Matt “Money” Smith respectively, yet whenever I watch Fred Roggin and Petros Papadakis on TV, I wonder what it would be like to hear them together on a three- or four-hour talk show…
I look forward to seeing what original programming KLOS has planned for their HD-2 signal...Maggie McKay may currently be the most versatile talent on the local dial...Continuing to send healing thoughts to Eric Tracy and Andy Chanley.
Back to the thesis:
OK, I have none. A
crazy year deserves a fitful farewell. An apology that I haven't been as consistent as I like when updating the blog, will hope to do better next year. And breaking news as soon as possible. I do offer what I frequently
state, and it’s not offered trivially: Stay safe and sane!
Wishing you well in 2022! I reiterate the insightful counsel of Gary Owens: It was a wise man or gastroenterologist who said this too, shall pass.
Excellent
ReplyDeleteWell done, young man!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all of the hard work! Good, no, GREAT JOB!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. (Earl C. Festoon couldn't have done it any better.)
ReplyDelete