Idaho Radio News Etc.

Citadel Communications announced today it will sell its Spokane cluster of stations to Mapleton Communications. AllAccess has the slim details on the sale – with no sale price and no other details than that the sale happened.

Mapleton has a smattering of stations in California – and four in Medford/Ashland Oregon. It owns a single station in the San Francisco market.

A litigation plan has been filed in the lawsuit against Peak Broadcasting et al by Citadel Broadcasting.

Under the plan, the parties will take a whack at a settlement with a conference in December (this is a normal part of the process – as courts try and get the parties to shake out their differences to avoid a trial).

The two sides have until February for discovery – and a trial could begin after that, though a date has not yet been set.

Here’s the full litigation plan (PDF)

Peak Broadcasting is banging the bushes around town right now – hiring, getting shows in place – and launching new stations and formats. In the past three days, I’ve heard from three separate individuals looking for Peak-related information or advice.

We’ve got two dynamic new players (Peak and Tester) in this market – and two established players (Journal and Citadel). How will the four radio groups match up in a year’s time?

The former Music Monster is now KTMB. The station has already dumped the CHR format – and in the 20 minute or so that I listener between 7:45 and just after 8, I heard a number of local vignettes – including a Lloyd Lumber paid program, two of Dave Tester’s “Two Minute Drill” features, and Wayne Dzbuack hosting a home/how-to segment.

In this morning’s press release, Tester Broadcasting also noted the new sports/FM talk station would feature high school and college football games.

Tester Broadcasting announced today it will flip KTPD/Music Monster 99.1 KTPZ to a new format Monday morning at 6am. “99.1 The Man” will feature Adam Corrolla mornings, Don & Mike, Tom Leykis and Phil Hendrie. The station will put an emphasis on sports – with a new local afternoon sports talk show with former KBCI/KIVI sports director Wayne Dzuback.

“It’s been a dream of mine to bring this format to the FM dial,” CEO Dave Tester said in a prepared statement. “It’s like GQ or Esquire radio. The scope is larger than sports talk – it’s sports, comedy and current events. It’s man talk radio.”

Tester also indicated his interest in going after the BSU athletics contract – which would give “fans the quality only an FM signal can provide.”

99.1 The Man will be just one of three talk radio stations to launch Monday. Peak Broadcasting will flip the switch on All Talk 63 KFXD, and Boise State Radio will revamp KBSU-AM to focus on NPR programming. The trio of new stations join KBOI, KBSX-FM, KIDO and KTIK in the new/talk/sports realm.

Peak Broadcasting of Boise LLC will launch All Talk 63 KFXD Monday. As Idaho Radio News exclusively reported earlier this month, Jon & Chris will anchor the station’s morning show.

Read the story I wrote for the day job here

WGN-AM morning host Spike O’Dell suddenly found his voice booming across more than just the powerhouse signal he usually originates on. A strange glitch in the Emergency Alert System triggered the Emergency Action Notification. The EAN is the highest level alert – indicating a message is incoming from the White House. The EAS readout told stations not to cut away under penalty of law. “The system is set up so that if there is an emergency, the president or the governor or someone else in authority can take control of the airwaves. And no one did,” Patti Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency told the Chicago Tribune. Instead, O’Dell’s mic was hot all over the dial, since WGN is the hub for EAS in the area. A VP for CBS Radio in the market joked that if this happened next year, when Portable People Meters will be in place in the market – WGN would have seen quite the ratings spike.

KBCI-TV now produces its news broadcast using the Ignite newscast automation system. The system allows stations to consolidate a number of job functions (audio operator, TelePrompTer operator, studio camera crew, floor director, technical director, graphics operator and tape operator) down to just two people: the director and producer (and talent of course). The system launched on-air Monday after months of practice – but the 10pm news didn’t go so well. The station did exactly three minutes of news, before the audio cut-out, and the “bug” started dancing across the screen. Roughly six minutes of commercials rolled, followed by an encore of that night’s Jeopardy episode. Remember your first day with automation?

Update: Remember this? It was caused by Ignite.

A Memorial Service for Victor Pacania is set for Monday, July 2, from 7-9pm at Edwards Greenhouse.

He requested that it be a casual affair. Bring blankets to sit on if one wants. It’ll be a celebration of his life.

KBSU-AM host Victor Pacania died Saturday. Pacania’s voice and musical selections flowed over the airwaves and in to listener’s ears for nearly three decades. He is as much a part of the Idaho radio industry as anyone could be. He started in college – when KBSU was a true student-run station

From Boise State Radio’s tribute page:

It’s impossible to categorize Victor’s show; it defies any stereotypical radio format labels. His show featured a wide variety of music including modern and vintage rock and roll, folk, jazz, and blues. Last year in an interview with BSU staff, Victor said, “I don’t know what to call my show. It’s just four hours of whatever seems to fit.”

Pacania died of pancreatic cancer, after nearly 18 months battling the disease. He was 53.

You can send memorials in his honor to the Boise State University foundation (208-426-3276 or 2225 W. University Drive, Boise, ID 83706). Funds raised will go toward School of Communication scholarships.

No, this isn’t turning in to IdahoKenBassNews.com — but one of our frequent commenters has a new venture: an Internet podcast. Ken teams with Ilene Dundunake from a New Vintage Wine Shop for a new weekly video podcast. The pair spend 5-10 minutes talking about different types of wines. The series is produced by local firm Indiplex media, and is taped at the New Vintage shop on Eagle Rd. The podcast is on iTunes, and for download at the Indiplex site.

The Associated Press reports that Journal Broadcast Group parent company Journal Communications is dumping newspapers in Ohio and New England. The move will plow $30 million toward the bottom line. Last week the company nuked its papers in Louisiana, leaving only two clusters of print products – in Florida and Wisconsin.

In coming weeks, this site will be available as a daily or weekly e-mail. You can have a digest of the latest posts and comments sent straight to your personal e-mail address. I’ll keep you posted.

Mat Diablo is leaving his post as program director/morning show host at KQXR/100.3 The X. Journal Broadcast Group has already posted his job on its website. Mat came to the station last February – and teamed up with (The Reverend) Ian for mornings in September of last year.

Diablo will join Slacker.com – an Internet radio company based in San Diego – which the Los Angeles Times called ” a pioneering effort to bring customized radio programming to the car, the gym, or anywhere else you might go.” I’ll skip the longer review here – but its one of the most impressive online audio efforts I’ve seen. The company will soon debut a satellite receiver that will store the songs it receives.

KTMY/WOW Country 104.3 posted its TV spot online – check it out.

This is from a Seattle web talk show. A telemarketer for the local paper just happened to call during the show… hilarity ensued:

Boise State Radio today announced it is shaking up the programming lineup on KBSU-AM/Idaho’s Jazz Station. Listeners will now find news/talk during the day – with jazz programming in the evenings and overnight. The station will be rebranded “AM 730 News and Jazz,” and will make the flip July 2nd. The program shifts also effect KEZJ/1450 AM in Twin Falls

“The AM side of the dial is where many people look for news and talk radio,” said John Hess, general manager, ” and because of that, we have decided to make the conversion from a music format to one of news and talk.”

The lineup will feature NPR Morning Edition, On Point, The Story, Here and Now, Fresh Air, All Things Considered and other programs. Jazz will run from 8pm to 6am. Weekends will continue to feature Spanish language programming on Saturday, and the University Pulse service on Sunday afternoon.

KBSU-FM/News 91 will continue to feature talk programming – with many of the same shows on a staggered schedule from the AM service.

This move and Peak Broadcasting’s impending launch of the Jon & Chris-anchored KFXD-AM will double the number of Boise-area AM talk stations from two (KBOI and KIDO) to four (KBOI, KIDO, KFXD and KBSU).

Effective immediately, users must have their first comment approved. After I’ve approved that comment, you’ll be able to comment without moderation in the future. Since I just turned this feature on, I may have to approve a “first comment” for everyone – so I encourage frequent posters to use this thread to get that little annoyance out of the way.

The why: I’m seeing an increase in spam, and malicious comments – and this should help bring that under control. Also, one of the rules of the road is that you don’t repeatedly change your username, so this ends the ability to do that (without being sent back to the moderation queue).

EXCLUSIVE

Jon & Chris with the old KIDO team last year

Jon Duane and Chris Kelly will return to the Idaho airwaves in coming weeks, Idaho Radio News has confirmed.

The popular morning pair left KIDO/580 NewsRadio on their own accord in April 2006, after escalating tension with Clear Channel Boise management.

Now the team will return to that same cluster of stations – now under the control of Peak Broadcasting, which has seen changes in key management positions since the company took over this spring.

Jon and Chris will not be returning to KIDO, however. As we hinted last month, the pair will be the anchor of a new “non-political” talk radio format being prepared for KFXD/630 AM, according to multiple sources.

AM Idaho will remain in place on KIDO, with Dave Burnett and Brian Holmes.

This move will give Peak Broadcasting a local show on every one of its stations. Also, with this hire, Peak will have announced or added seven live shifts to the former Clear Channel stations (three on KTMY, two on KSAS, one on KCIX and Jon & Chris at KFXD).

The Idaho Business Review has an interview with Record Exchange owner Michael Bunnell about 30 years in the business. One passage caught my eye:

IBR: What else has changed in that time about how music stores do business? Record labels? Artists? Radio stations?
Bunnell: The other thing that really hurt this industry was the consolidation of radio stations in this industry. There was an act I think signed by Clinton that deregulated radio stations … So what happened was you had groups like Clear Channel buying up all the stations. And it was the same playlists – they only had about four or five formats – and it was the same music played across the country.
And it wasn’t just Clear Channel – it was other big companies. We had the same bland, homogenized playlists. It used to be radio was how you found out about new groups and got excited about new music … People don’t trust radio to find new music any more. They have cut off access.
There is still good radio in this country but it’s few and far between.

Yesterday came news of a new PD and jock at KSAS – now it is top-rated KCIX’s turn.

KCIX/Mix 106 hired Brent Casey to take on the title of program director. He will also scoop up the afternoon shift currently helmed by Clear Channel voicetracker Joe Boxer.

Here’s the Carey quote to AllAccess:

“I couldn’t be happier. The Peak family here is fantastic, and Boise is a great city.”

According to AA, Carey last had the PD title at WTWR – a top 40 station in Toledo.

During most ratings periods, radio stations put out cash to advertise. TV, billboards, bus benches.

But I’ve never seen local station advertise online. Now, granted – my livelihood comes from TV and Internet advertising, so take that at face value. But doesn’t it make sense? Stations want to capture folks who are listening during prime hours: morning and afternoon drive – and in the office during the work day. How can you reach people in their office during the work day? Not on TV… not with a billboard… not with a bus bench… not with the newspaper.

Short of buying a competing radio station – the only way to reach the at-work audience is with online advertising. Where do you find the largest collection of local folks during the work day? Local media websites. Combined, the two main players in the market – IdahoStatesman.com and KTVB.COM – reach huge portions of the market – with a large portion of those audiences sitting in front of a work computer screen.

Our sister station KGW is running a campaign for KINK/Portland that includes a roll-down ad with the station’s video spot (it’s pretty slick – and, shameless plug: is the kind of thing KTVB.COM does in house all the time).

KRVB/94.9 The River morning co-host Ken Bass and his wife Michelle are expecting a baby this winter! Congratulations!

A coalition of musical acts and music industry organizations will launch an effort today to push for compensation by AM and FM radio stations. Under current rules, radio broadcasters only pay a royalty to songwriters — the actual performer sees no cash (the idea being that radio stations help fuel sales of songs through airplay). That fact has come under fire in the heated debate over Internet radio royalties, as recent rulings could force net-casters to pay royalties on songs. According to radio industry site AllAcces, a wide variety of artists are on board for the musicFIRST campaign, including Christina Aguilera, Jimmy Buffett, Toby Keith, Patti Labelle, Jennifer Lopez and others.

KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM has a new program director: Steve Kicklighter is leaving his PD post at KQQB in Spokane to make the oh-so-fun drive down Idaho 55 to Boise. Peak Broadcasting also hired another KQQB jock: “Dick on the Radio” (note to self: never Google “Dick on the Radio” again).

Kicklighter goes by “Keke Luv” on the air, and replaces former PD Aaron Traylor – who exited in early May for a PD job in Montana. Traylor continues to voicetrack afternoons for KSAS.

Photo: Steve Kicklighter, left - and pal Dick on the Radio. Pic take from MySpace