Johnson and Johnson OUT at K-Bull 93

Trade magazine site Radio-Info reports the 13-year-running duo, Joe Johnson and Tommy Johnson have lost building access to 434 Bearcat Drive.  Which I suspect will make hosting mornings on KUBL (93.3 FM) a tad difficult tomorrow morning.  Details coming ...

U92: Station of the Year, 2010

Trade magazine FMQB (Friday Morning Quarterback) is picking Millcreek/Simmons' little KUUU (92.5 FM) as its Rhythmic Station of the Year.

The station's program director, Kevin Cruise, also takes Rhythmic Program Director of the Year --- an almost nerdly-looking white face among pictures of influential industry executives and radio programmers who are traditionally back or Hispanic.

Cruise admitted to the magazine in 2008 that Salt Lake City's ad dollars market is extremely competitive.  He says it's not easy trying to take a stab at the whitest market in the nation with a format that typically does well with minority groups.

"Hip-Hop is mainstream now," Cruise said.  "We have a wide range of listeners from the white kids who love Hip-Hop to the Hispanics who identify with the Chicano rappers. Salt Lake City may not be the most diverse city in the country, but Hip-Hop culture and Hip-Hop music doesn’t live in just the most diverse cities. We’re really proving that with the level of passion our audience shows for this format."

Read more: http://fmqbinsider.com/Article.asp?id=2046090
Read the 2008 interview: http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=557589

News notes:  Citadel has revived The End (101.9 FM).  Their run with 90s-based "Gen-X Music" barely made it half-a-year, and the 6+ numbers were dropping below a 1.0-share.  The sweepers blatantly say "We made a mistake," etc.  An interesting (and refreshingly honest) marketing tactic.

Some may compare it to Clear Channel's run with KISN (97.1) as an 80s-based "The 80s and More" format about a decade ago.  That station lasted over two years, but to be fair Clear Channel also threw more resources at it.  KISN continued it's morning show, "Fisher, Todd, and Erin" for most of the station's run, along with afternoon host Brian Foxx (DeGauss).  Whereas "The End" had Scott Shannon on sweepers, and that's about all.

Rumors swirling that Chunga may return to mornings, but there's no leaks out of 434 Bearcat Drive to pin that down.

KSL Features Robert Lund

I spotted a nice feature on KSL this evening, featuring one of Salt Lake's most-famous/unknown radio voices. As I understand, Robert Lund worked with Citadel for a time, creating parodies for KUBL and KBEE. He and Pat Gray even released a hilarious Christmas CD that I've sadly misplaced.

Today Lundy has meandered into the commercial jingle biz, creating horribly catchy melodies for Low Book Sales and making song parodies to sell botox.

Half Effort, No Result

Sell the helicopter. Close up shop at Airwatch. The traffic report is dead.

That's what a new report claims. It simply says younger audiences, like myself, don't want to hear them anymore. Must have something to do with the fact Americans are giving up driving, forever riding unicycles to their destinations instead.

The report says:

"The region's top-rated pop station, KIIS-FM, recently dropped afternoon traffic reports after AMP-FM, a new Top 40 station received higher ratings without traffic updates."

Probably since most people in their 20s are unemployed, still live with mom and dad, and don't have a driver's license. But that's beside the point.

Radio is once again listening to the worst possible place: A consultant who can promise them a quick way to reduce capital expenses:

"Metro Traffic, a division of Westwood One Inc., began consolidating its 60 traffic reporting operations around the nation last year to just 13. "

GPS, cell phones, and in-car Wi-Fi mean fewer people needing to listen to the radio, they say. But that's okay. "Airwatch has a growing service providing traffic updates directly to navigational units in vehicles."

Let me level with you as a 25 year old: A white flag ain't a great business plan.

I am more than willing to shift permanently away from radio for news and traffic information if that's the industry's desire. But let me warn you, once I and my fellow Gen Y'ers break our radio habit, we will never come back.

Translation: Your business will be dead. Over. Gone. Sell the spectrum (like you did the helicopter) and go into the Wi-Fi business.

May I propose a contrary option: Expand traffic reports into explanations of the problem, rather than raw data. My Garmin can tell me there is "a crash southbound I-15 at 90th South." Only a radio station can tell me that "a Walmart truck swerved to avoid a stalled car and tipped over just before the Sandy construction zone, blocking the three left lanes." A traffic jam is much more bearable if a listener knows why they have to wait.

That requires hiring people who can call U.H.P., talk with listeners on the phone, and (ideally) fly overhead and look. GPS will never replace that.

The decision is yours. Invest in your product now and keep the business alive awhile, or wave the white flag now. Don't worry. We Gen Y'ers will one day be happy to chop up the FM spectrum for cheap internet access.

Delilah Disallusionment

An acquaintance of mine writes on her Facebook:

"I was listening to Delilah the other night and this lady was talking about her divorce & how she had these incredible girlfriends that were there for her through the whole dreadful process. She asked Delilah to pick a song for those she was most thankful for ... Delilah chose to play 'Mele Kalikmaka' ... I would be ticked!"

Let's face it. Cost-cutting programming like "Delilah" can fall horrifically short on its mission to convince listeners that the show is live and local. In this case, Delilah's local music-insert system (a strong point P.D.'s might say) backfired terribly in context of the programming.

A bit scarier to consider: "Delilah" is one of syndicated radio's better-implemented shows. So many others are much, much worse. Yet, the show's execution is excellent, and it pulls a loyal audience base.

Another friend:

"My wife and I were listening in the car one night, and a woman called in talking about how happy/grateful she was about her upcoming 60th wedding anniversary and how much she loves her husband, and asked for a song. Delilah picked 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers' by Neil Diamond, which conveys pretty much the exact opposite emotions."

In the end, the lack of local investment will one day end with a lack of local listeners.

Swallowing My Pride

Well, I've had a number of reasons for not updating the old radio guide site.

I'm ashamed to admit that technological snobbery has been a big part of it. I owned 100% of my code on the old site. Every single page you see there was hand-crafted with some help from Microsoft Frontpage '98.

But that meant any change to the dial involved having to re-code dozens of pages. Life got busier.

I'm now happy to embrace blogger for news and my thoughts. Wikipedia will soon take over the job of AM and FM dial pages. And YouTube will help me upload more airchecks than ever before.

Cheers!

And now, for no apparent reason:



Here's an aircheck from Boston, twenty-five years ago.

Clear Channel to Shannon(s): Out!

CLEAR CHANNEL SALT FIRES DICKIE AND ANGEL SHANNON, MORNINGS ON KODJ, AFTER 10 YEARS ON THE AIR! SHANNON TELLS THE DESERET MORNING NEWS "We didn't have a chance to say goodbye to our listeners." ARTICLE HERE

Rocky v. Hannity Coverage

For better or worse....the Rocky v. Hannity debate is tonight!

Those of you who want to cheer, heckle, or just watch two guys who are very.... mmm, opinionated .... shout at each other at the University of Utah's Kingbury Hall can set your TVs, radios, and TiVos to the following:

KSTU "Fox 13" ..... 8:00 P.M.
KSL 1160/102.7 ..... 8:30 P.M.
(Web) KSL.com .... 8:30 P.M.

There will be no coverage on KSL TV-5.

Justin Riley to KKOB

Is this Salt Lake reunion week in the news or what?

Former Star 102.7 afternoon man Justin "J.J." Riley has been named program director of KKOB-FM "93.3 KOB" in Albuquerque by none other than .... former KKAT afternoon man Eddie Haskell. Haskell is now the operations manager of Citadel Albuquerque, according to All Access.

The move brings the two former crosstown competitors into the same building.

Danny Ryan to Boise?

Word on the street: Eagle afternoon jock Danny Ryan has taken a position in Boise. His last day may be Friday.

Justin Taylor is expected to fill in Ryan's spot until a permanent replacement can be found. Good luck Danny!