^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Board: RADIO BB ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Topic: BEHIND THE MIC ^^^^^^^^^^^^ To: ALL Date: 02/20 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 3:12 PM Ron Stone is the new GM at KJJO-AM/AM. He's formerly of WDCG/WZZU in Raleigh-Durham, NC (both are FM.) I think WDCG is CHR and I'm a little more sure that WZZU is Classic Rock. There won't be three country stations in this market forever... Tom Tucker quit/was fired/whatever late last year. Possibly The Edge's success played a part in that since he dumped the format just two years before The Edge made it soar. But KJ104 would have never seen ratings like Edge because of many reasons we all know. Doesn't make him look good, though. Jon in The Twin Cities To: ALL Date: 03/24 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 9:23 PM By now everybody's heard that KJJO is supposed to be changing format on 3/30 (first day of spring arbs). Tim Russell (morning guy at Classic Country 104) has been on vacation or "vacation" this week and they say he'll be back Monday. No media coverage so far. KS95 got itself in hot water this week with a contest I'll call "Hootie and the Goldfish." The contest was that whoever finished eating five goldfish first got an all-expense paid trip to Chicago for the Hootie and the Blowfish concert. The four runner-ups got tickets to the Toad the Wet Sprocket concert, which was on Thursday night (the contest was held Thurs at Noon live on KS95). The reason they are in hot water is because the MN Humane Society complained that the contest was a violation of animal rights statutes. The contest was to be held at the Twin Cities Diner in the Sprawl (Mall) of America, but M of A officials backed out when the Humane Society complained. A St. Paul police investigator took a statement from GM John Rohm after the contest and then Rohm told the press "I hope to he!! they arrest me!" Rohm has a criminal attorney on alert in case he is arrested. This one got plenty of media coverage. Over at KSTP(AM), GM Ginny Morris is close to an agreement with Minnesota American Indian tribes to resume advertising on Hubbard's properties (KSTP AM-FM-TV, KSAX Alexandria/KRWF Redwood Falls, and WDIO Duluth/WIRT Hibbing). All of the Indian-owned casinos stopped their advertising on HBI properties after a controversial segment on KSTP in January. In the agreement: *Matt Michalski ("The Rookie"), who was the producer/board op when the incident occured, will visit an Indian reservation and co-produce a series of news reports on Indian issues for several months. *HBI will sponsor a scholarship at the U of MN school of Journalism for an American Indian student *Provide internships to American Indian students *Air TV news shorts similar to those on radio *offer increased access to the EOE director regarding employment In TV: KARE/11 (NBC) is finally starting to construct translators in the "greater MN" part of the market, which goes all the way over to the SD border, all the way up to Bemidji, and down to the IA border with indents where the Fargo, Sioux Falls, Mankato, Rochester, and Duluth markets are. 4, 5, and 9 have been setting up their own systems of satellites and translators for almost ten years since WCCO bought out chs 7/12 in 1987 and multiplied the geographic market size by about 3. Anyway, KARE put a translator on the air in Breezy Point on Ch 14. I suspect they did it not to expand their coverage, but so that management can Kare while they're up north. To: ALL Date: 03/30 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 1:31 PM On Monday, April 3, KJJO-FM becomes "Smooth Jazz 104.1, music that's easy to listen to but's not Easy Listening." Can NAC be more successful than 70's or Classic Rock or even CHR in this market? I doubt it, especially with competition from KCFE-105.7, which is run by the Moore family. The Moores are dedicated to the format and have run WAYL-FM and KTWN in the past. No word on whether KJJO-950 will continue to simulcast FM. Meanwhile, K102 will add Classic Country to its playlist. KJJO-FM is running promos to get listeners to tune to K102 and not other "plastic" country stations. Jon in The Twin Cities To: ALL Date: 04/07 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 10:10 PM I've come across a fact concerning K102 and 104.1 that may be very revealing or just a coincidence: Smooth Jazz 104.1's new info line number (not studio line) is 820-6888. K102's business number is 820-4200. Is it just a coincidence that the info line is in the same exchange as KFAN/K102's executive offices?? (104.1's studios are in the 941/942/943/944 exchange.) Smooth Jazz 104.1's lineup is as follows: 5:30-10am Glen Hanson (Pam Reed does nx/wx/trf at top and bottom of hour) 10am-3pm Joanelle 3-7pm Tom Sleeker 7pm-Mid Richard Currell (aka Al Casey) Mid-5:30 Don Brooner (sp?) (aka Don Williams?) The Studio phone changes to 989-1041. As mentioned before, the new info line is 820-6888. unLegal ID's are "KJJO St. Louis Park-Mpls-St. Paul" in a break near the top of the hour. Thor Tolo is no longer morning host at The Fan. KLGT-TV is moving the WB network lineup from Weds to Sat because ratings improved on one week in Feb when a sports event was on Weds. Does anybody know anything about the CP for 107.5 in Faribault? It's for class C2, so it'll swoop across the south metro. Jon in The Twin Cities To: ALL Date: 04/10 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 7:40 PM K242AI/96.3 is now on the air translating WNCB/89.3 Duluth. They decided not to wait for the FCC to approve the application to move to 97.7. The transmitter was powered up on March 30, but it failed right away and they operated at 2w until it was replaced. At my location in Maple Grove, the signal is weak but clear in mono mode and recievable in stereo using a component reciever with rabbit ears. They ID as "89.3 Metro/96.3 Twin Cities WNCB" and the legal ID "WNCB Duluth-Minneapolis-St. Paul." The format is Contemporary Christian and WNCB also operates translators in Ashland (WI), Moose Lake (MN), and Sandstone (MN) in addition to WNCB's C3 signal. This is the third CCM station in the Twin Cities. KYCR/1570 has had the format since the `80s and has good daytime coverage throughout the market and nighttime coverage in the west central area. WLKX/95.9 ("Sprit 95-9") picked up the format in January and has a Class A signal that is strong in the northeastern suburbs and limited to the south by KQCL in Faribault. K242AI is strong downtown and recieveable in the "first ring" suburbs. All three stations carry USA News, KYCR and WLKX at :00 and K242AI at :55. KYCR is locally produced, while WLKX is mostly Morningstar's satellite feed and K242AI is locally produced in Duluth. KYCR and WLKX are commercial outlets while K242AI is noncommercial. Probably all three can survive, but the question with WLKX is "Could it survive without any competition in the format anyway?" KSTP-TV will not be affiliating with Fox. Management figured out that the only strong thing Fox had to offer was NFL football, while ABC has a more popular lineup and the #1 TV news department (and Monday Night Football, if Football is all they care about.) Jon in The Twin Cities To: ALL Date: 04/17 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 6:49 PM Managerial Corner: (ie things you've already heard) Jim Gustafson-new GM at WCCO, most recently at KLBJ AM-FM (AM Talk/FM Rock) and KHTT (70s having changed from Modern Country) in Austin, TX. Takes over 4/24. Rumor has it the Big Axe will fall right away. Don Daniels-new PD at KQQL, most recently of KXOA AM-FM/KQCT Sacramento. Application Corner: I hear that KARP/96.1 in Glencoe has applied to increase from class C3 to C2. This will give them a better signal in the west metro. Their PSA won't cover hardly any of the metro, though (assuming they keep their present TX location). This might force K242AI off the air (how handy that they applied to move to 97.7). Jon in The Twin Cities To: ALL Date: 04/19 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 2:06 PM St. Louis Park High School station KDXL is back on the air at 106.5 after being forced off of 106.7 by KFAI's translator. (KDXL only runs 10 watts, so that's why KFAI was allowed to take over.) According to a report on KSTP-TV, the teacher running the station seems to think it was a mistake by the FCC, even though they notified KDXL a while back that they'd either have to increase to 100w or their frequency could be reallocated. To: ALL Date: 05/02 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 3:22 PM KS95 General Manager John Rohm has resigned after Virginia Hubbard Morris, GM of KSTP(AM), was been named president of Hubbard's Radio Division. She replaced John Mayasich, who is now VP of Public Affairs. Morris is now acting GM at KS95. She says there was a "lack of comfort" and "I would probably want to be a little more involved in the day-to-day operation of the station." Inevitably also involved was the goldfish eating disaster and the most recent ratings. Morris won't make any changes but whoever takes over as the new GM surely will. Something has to change at KOOL 108 soon. The new PD most recently worked in Sacramento, where he started up an ARROW station. KOOL took a huge blow in the winter ratings. So is 104.1 being sold and who's buying it? If it's true that a station currently on The Tower was going to du-op with 104.1, we're down to two stations: K102 and Lite 103 (unless KTIS or MPR are adding new outlets, please God no!). Smooth Jazz is way too close to Lite 103, so as far as I can tell, it must be K102. Plus, everything Drew said and the fact that one of Smooth Jazz 104.1's new phone lines is closer to K102 than it is to Smooth Jazz 104.1 itself. Tim Russell could do mornings at The Fan. WMIN/740 has recieved a Construction Permit to increase their daytime power to 850W and relocate their transmitter site. I'm surprised that they didn't apply for better night power (now licensed for 7.7 watts) with a different pattern as long as they're moving anyway. The automated nostalgia format is very, very poorly produced, but somehow they still manage to sell ads. K262AI/96.3 (the WNCB translator) has already received an interference complaint from somebody, either WJMC-FM or KARP. They are planning to move to 97.7 as soon as they recieve a CP. But then will KNXR complain? I notice that on 96.5 I can just barely hear KRUE/92.1 from Waseca. No doubt this is because K242AI actually rebroadcasts the signal from their downlink transmitter in Bloomington on 91.9. The Star Tribune's broadcast "critic," Noel Holston, has called the stations format "CHR," short for "Christian Hit Radio." So all those stations like KDWB are Christian Hit Radio, huh Noel? WCCO-TV has is continuing to experiment with "News of Your Choice" on KLGT-TV. The first segment used to be simulcast on both 4 and 23. Now on 23 they put 4's feed up in the corner and run a stock/weather/headlines ticker on the bottom of the screen. Not a bad idea, but I doubt it'll help. REV 105 is celebrating its 1 year anniversary today. WDGY has been silent for more than a year now. And the KLBB/WLOL simulcast is also a year old. I hear The Edge is now broadcasting from expanded facilities at KQRS in Golden Valley. How long does the Cliff Rd facility have? KEGE(AM) is still on the air. To: ALL Date: 05/11 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 7:01 PM KCFE will be adding Imus in the Morning starting Monday, June 5 (the day after I graduate, so I don't think I'll be hearing the first show on The Cafe) To: ALL Date: 05/12 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 3:04 PM KS95 is now all 80s on Friday nights with the KS95 Time Machine. So what's next, all Phil Collins Tuesday nights? 104.1 is now KMJZ, and they're using it in all the liners ("Smooth Jazz 104.1, KMJZ") The format sounds pretty good, but wouldn't you know it, NO PROMOTION! Maybe they're waiting until they upgrade to Shoreview, but somehow I doubt that. WDGY-FM? You'll have to buy the calls from Midcontinent first! Format Change Scenario Theater!: 1-KCFE changes to Classic Rock/Imus in the face of competition from KMJZ 2-Ginny Morris decides to flip AM and FM, moving the Talk Station to 94.5 and bringing back 15 KSTP on AM 3-K102 really is buying 104.1 and 950, and they move KFAN to 950 and bring All 70's Ouija to 1130 after buying the calls from Midcontinent 4-KNOW(AM) falls off the air, and nobody notices, not even the engineer! 5-WQPM-FM Princeton flips to All 70s after not showing up in the St. Cloud book 6-Children's Broadcasting flips KYCR from CCM to (you guessed it) All 70s! 7-KOOL 108 flips to All 70s and 950 flips to SMN Oldies 8- " " " " " " " 690 " " " " 9- " " " " " " " 980 " " " " 10- " " " " " " " 1570 " " " " 11-690 begins simulcasting KDWB rather than KTCZ 15-KS95 flips to All 70's 16-KOOL 108 flips to AC 17-WCCO becomes Full Service Oldies 18-WCCO becomes Full Service EZL 19-WMIN falls off the air and nobody notices because it sounds like one of their long "Willie-Lags" (10 bonus points to anyone who knows what a Willie Lag is) To: ALL Date: 05/18 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 2:58 PM Hmmm... I was calling around for bumper stickers a few days ago, and guess what? KS95 doesn't have any and THEY WON'T BE GETTING ANY MORE EVER. What will happen to the Sunspot Weekends?? Is this simply a change in promotion style, or something bigger??? The Bumper Sticker Queen has no bumper stickers. To: ALL Date: 05/22 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 2:15 PM MPR fired 13% of its employees Friday. All of the employees were called into a large studio and MPR Prez Bill Kling gave a speech about how Greenspring Corps' contribution to MPR would fall from $5 to $3 million this year because of rising paper and mailing costs. (Greenspring Corp is MPR's commercial subsidiary that makes money through mail order catalogs.) He said that 36 of them would be fired and then turned them loose to hope they wouldn't get a tap on the shoulder from their boss. MPR's two networks are broadcast on 27 stations in MN, SD, IA, and ID. KCFE is running promos about the I-Man coming June 5. Doesn't sound like any format change will come with him. I rant about TV: KXLI(TV) from St. Cloud (really Big Lake) is still using the slogan "TV Heaven 41," which is supposed to mean `The Home of Old TV Shows.' But lately, old TV shows make up only 5% of their broadcast schedule (and those are better-left-forgotten shows from the `50s, some of them in very bad shape). In the typical weekday, KXLI airs 12 hours of home shopping programming. The next most plentiful types of programming are Religion, Paid Programming, and movies (public domain or more recent B-movies). However, they still manage to sell quite a few national spots. Their rates must be very low. KXLI has satellite station KXLT in Rochester, a market with only three other commercial TV stations and no full-time Fox, UPN, or WB affiliates. Why don't they spin off KXLT as a fourth station for Rochester-Austin-Mason City? And as for Ch 41, how do they expect to get any Twin Cities viewers to attempt to pull in their weak signal to watch them with this programming? To: ALL Date: 05/31 From: JSPT27B JON ELLIS Time: 2:21 PM From the 1995 [Osseo Sr High] Oriole: Who Said... Tune In and Turn It Up? From cavemen having pet rocks to mystical operas in Paris, many forms of entertainment have come and gone. Nowadays, it's difficult to decide how to spend your free time. Television, movies, and sports all provide adequate entertainment, but probably the most essential source is radio. Osseo students had a wide variety of stations to choose from. The EDGE...KQRS...WCCO...KDWB...WBOB...KDWB...WBOB ...KS95...KOOL108...and Rev. Each station had a variety in what they played. The EDGE played modern rock, or "alternative" music. "I like the EDGE because their songs are so meaningful," said sophomore Katie Maas. KQRS played classic rock, while KDWB featured "pop" music, or top 40 tracks. "I like to listen to KDWB because Tony Fly has a hot, sexy voice and he turns me on," said an anonymous junior. WBOB was the country station most students chose to listen to. "I listen to country because it's easy to listen to and you can understand the words. Plus, it's fun to dance to," said senior Michelle Karajala. KS95 played all types of music, mainly "soft" rock or "80's hits." Then there was KSJN which, for those people that don't know, played Classical music. The EDGE was the most popular station, attracting 30% of Osseo's students. KQRS and KDWB each had 15% of student's votes. And 10% supported KS95, while another 10% turned their knob to BOB. While everyone had their own taste, most agreed that everyone enjoyed listening to music. "I even listen to the radio while I'm in the bathroom," said sophomore Stacey Savitt. Students used the radio for various reasons. Radio was a source of information like weather, happenings, and news. But more importantly, it supplied music. Radio had a big impact on students. The music made Orioles unique and diverse. Sometimes people got stereotyped for their musical tastes or favorite radio station, while some groups of friends were centered around a specific type of music. From Green Day to Bryan Adams, Mozart to Reba, every Oriole had an opinion and found their own private listening niche. By Ben Maas