Idaho Radio News Etc.

Taken a gander at JBG’s EEO report?

Couple of interesting notes: the PD job at KQXR had a total of 7 applicants. The morning show co-host job that eventually went to Ken Bass had 8 people vying for the spot. Three of those came from RiverInteractive.com.

How about Clear Channel?

The report lists the job of KSAS morning show host five different times (in the year from June of 03 to July of 04). The spot was filled the first four times — and we know what happened on unlucky number 5.

Finally, Citadel’s report:

The only thing that stands out is the note that Nate at KZMG was referred to the station by the Idaho Job Service. Why would a Floridian be looking for radio jobs in Idaho via the Idaho Job Service.

Oh, and it is interesting that several area sites don’t have their EEO files linked.

The website with the short, snappy writing and the ellipses placed in unexpected places for emphasis has a new look.

RiverInteractive.com went back to its roots as a clean, simple website. The last look (with it’s dark tone) didn’t fit the stations vibe. The latest look does.

Nice.

OK, so there are thousands of political blogs. And yes, there’s only one blog about Idaho Radio. But there’s a couple of fun little tidbits to share:
Read the rest of this entry »

KKGL’s year to date playlist on MediaBase proves just how strictly the station sticks to the classic tag.

The most played current (the acoustic version of Roundabout by Yes) garnered only 56 spins for the entire year to date. And for the Eagle, that’s a lot.

Witness: #2 (Road Runner by Aerosmith) had only 18 airings so far this year.

For years I’ve been typing in “rronline.com” to get to Radio and Records.

That little URL doesn’t work anymore. Now I have to remember it’s ‘radioandrecords.com,’ which by the way, is more letters to type. And for what?

Annoyed.

IRN has been on the new WordPress platform for a week. While it has many more features than Blogger — it’s WAY more complicated. Blogger is kinda like buying a car… WordPress is more like building a car.

New features

• Archive pages show the full post, not just a weird truncated version with no links or images
• Reworked the right hand column: added a weather function (cheap thrill); cut Google ads from 5 down to 1; fixed a few links
• Categorized all posts from August 1 to present. I might get around to sorting the other 300 posts, but it won’t be soon

No, not that community radio.

Radio Free Moscow (aka KRFP) launched in Moscow this month. Radioites in the ‘Scow scraped some money together and launched the low power FM at 92.5 to bring some localism to the UI-centric community.

KLEW-TV picks up the story from here.

Oh, and you have to love KRFP’s studio:

KQXR’s Work Force Pay Roll is a nice little stunt. Each hour the station calls a name — listener has 10 minutes to call back… you know the drill.

I like the creative hook: If the person whose name is called the next hour doesn’t call back — you get another $50… and so on until someone does call.

The station is using its website to sign people up. Interactive and targeted perfectly at the work audience.

What a little firestorm Ashlee Simpson created last week.

Now 60 Minutes (yes, that 60 Minutes) will feature a profile of SNL and show exclusive video of what happened off stage.

Watch a clip now in Windows Media format

Sitting in traffic today, I noticed an Idaho Centennial license plate.

Uhhh… that was in 1990. It’s 2004. Why do people pay 25 extra clams every year for a plate that looks identical to the normal plate?

Really.

Sean Hannity is coming to Idaho on October 20th. I’m sure he’ll plug his book… and KBOI.

Update:Brain fade — it’s November 20 of course.

Zell Miller would be proud.

KBOI and KIDO both look ready for a serious cage match (one that doesn’t involve IanBambi and pimply faced teens). KIDO has begun their attack with a well-produced new :30 airing in decent slots on local TV outlets. The CC newser also put its online audio stream on the front burner. 580KIDO.com is even featured in the spot. More on that move in a moment.

KBOI has made some pretty big changes in the last few months, as you are aware. Afternoons went from being a strong suit to a place the station may be soft. Listeners are now more likely to find traffic information on any of the FMs than on the AM side. One tipster points out that the wheels for Beck (KIDO) and Savage (KBOI) seem to alternate — but traffic drops are clearly not a priority any longer. The tipster said he had to plow through a whopping 7 spots before the Boise Traffic drop. Is that wise? Maybe traffic first, then the 7 cash downloads?

Now back to Kiddo: The audio stream push makes great sense. KIDO seems to be targeting the at-work audience. I would guess that more people have a high-speed connection and a pair of speakers than have a radio at their desk. If KIDO plays it right, they could build a large online audience. The time for streaming audio finally feels right. The station is even running bumpers encouraging listeners to tell their out of town family to listen online. Not sure how they are dodging AFTRA & RIAA.

IdahoRadioNews.com has made the leap from Blogger to WordPress.

What does that mean to you? Nothing.

What does it mean to me? More flexibility.

You’ll notice we have a slightly new look.

Oh: all the old comments are gone (for now). But the new comment system is much easier to use, and your pop-up blocker won’t kill them.

Update: I copied over comments for the last ten posts or so. Also, you’ll notice a new categorization system. Each station, ownership group & several topics will have their own bin — making it easy to find news on a specific topic.

In the past 24 hours, I’ve seen billboards for KSAS & KLTB, TV spots for KQXR, KSAS & KCIX.

The X spots have been running durin the AL&NLCS games. They use that station’s new tag (New Rock & 90s), and promote the new work day stunt (more on that later).

KSAS’s radio spots focus on music — with a quick mention of KK. KCIX’s spot does not seem to be new, but I only saw it in passing.

Webstats are an interesting thing.

Did a little poking around to figure out who in their right mind looks at this site.

Citadel employees grab first, followed by Journal & CC.

It’s interesting that there was a little traffic spike from Microsoft today. Not from MSN — but MS corporate.

Anyone know the deal with KDJQ – the new station set to appear at 890AM with 50kw?

Licensed to Robert E. Combs of Boise.

Creepy.

Microsoft’s Windows Media Player features 1014 local stations that you can listen to online.

‘But wait’ you say… are there really still more than a thousand stations broadcasting online?

Nope.

WMP uses the stations’ monitoring profile and creates a similar format. Except no DJs… or liners… and fewer ads. No Idaho stations available (yet), but I can listen to KZHT-FM in Salt Lake. Or any of the other 1013 stations.

Frightening.

• You have to love KIZN’s frog wearing a Broncos jersey!

KQFC’s Cory & Debi are also running for something.

KKGL is using it’s own talent to entice people to sign up for it’s e-mail newsletter. Once a week they pick a name to have dinner with a DJ at Macaroni Grill. Novel.

KLTB’s website still has Brian Gregory, Big Jack and Melissa doing mornings on the staff page.

• It’s Rocktober time for the 19th year in a row. Like I said last year — I think this is the longest running radio promotion in the market. Heck, these days J105 is about the longest running station. Anyone remember the KJOT country days? OK, I don’t… I’ve just seen old stickers. I’m also having a strange Q104 flashback all of a sudden here. Steady… steadddddy.
• Am I the only one who counts the spots in KJOT’s breaks? I guess I just want to be the one to nab them for play four whole spots. Alas, I haven’t been able to. Sad.

KZMG’s “Big Boy for President” spots are impressive. Well done — and the voice work has an interesting impact. I don’t recognize the pipes.

KRVB’s staff was very helpful helping me track down a song for a friend this week. All returned phone calls or e-mails — and we actually figured out what it was (despite the fact the friend couldn’t remember any lyric). This is why this station has such a loyal audience.

Aarron Traylor is back on KSAS. No word where he went to last week.

And yes… I know I’ve made the Traylor/trailer joke twice.