Short takes: The (sorta) National Radio Day edition
(OK, I'm a day late, we can celebrate all weekend!)
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Ouch!: Seems Dodger reporter David Vassegh is now nationally (in)famous. He's always got the inside about what's going on with the local baseball team, but it was his ride down a slide at American Family Field in Milwaukee that's now trending on YouTube.
The details are available online, suffice to say he was back at work by the fifth inning (the accident occurred before the game) displaying a soft cast for a fractured hand and wrist and noting he also had six broken ribs.
A "tribute" to Vassegh at the end of Bernie's Slide, American Family Field
Big Joe, you're missed!
Speaking of sportstalk, there's been reaction to Bill Shaikin's article entitled "No one listens to sports talk radio in L.A., why the people in charge aren’t worried." There's a long diatribe I could offer whenever the monthly ratings are posted (occasionally referred to disparagingly as "beauty contest numbers"), suffice to say depending on demographics, lower-rated stations can still make decent money.
"The Dean"
"I think Bill is a terrific writer and was surprised that he tried to draw the comparison he did," said Fred Roggin. "(Shaikin) offered little insight and tried to compare apples to oranges." Roggin co-hosts the midday show on AM 570 L.A. Sports with Rodney Peete while continuing as Sports Director at NBC4 Los Angeles (KNBC-TV).
A new "Sound": I admit to being a fan of 88.5 FM, I guess I'm not alone as the station recently received an award as "Non-Comm Music Station of the Year." I'm particularly loyal to "Peace, Love and Sundays," hosted by the Flower Child a.k.a. Mimi Chen starting at 1 p.m. As of Friday, Mimi and her colleagues will now need to adapt to a new station moniker. The former "Independent 88.5 FM" will now be known as "The SoCal Sound."
The name change coincides with the fifth anniversary of the simulcast between KSCN, based at California State University, Northridge, and KSBR located on the Saddleback College, Mission Viejo. The station states they're committed to terrestrial radio, and is continuing to work on improving the station's signal throughout more of Los Angeles and Orange County. The station is also available via an internet stream, where their jazz and Latin Alt HD offerings can also be heard.
Back home again, sort of: When Ken Charles left KNX as their VP of News and Programming, he said he wanted to return to the Southeast to be closer to family. It appears he was successful with his pursuit, as Cox Media has announced Charles is their new Director of Branding and Programming for News / Talk WSB-Atlanta. Charles spent seven years in Los Angeles, where he participated in transitioning the all-news outlet from the AM to the FM dial,
As for his former employer, we noted the layoff of traffic anchor Denise Fondo and production director Bill Nesbitt last week. There were apparently four total "reductions in force" locally, including production staff for their music stations. The parent company appears to be spending more resources on developing their online programming. One suggestion -- consider changing the company name. If I didn't follow radio, I don't think I'd know how to spell "Audacy."
Real radio: It's been 25 years this month since the passing of The Real Don Steele. There's never been anyone like him, it wasn't until last year when he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, something long overdue. His last gig was at then-oldies K-EARTH 101 (KRTH), where he still sounded amazing. Enjoy this aircheck from 1994, still sounding like one of L.A.'s best of all time.
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