Idaho Radio News Etc.

KQXR/100.3 The X launched a new Sunday night show featuring a mix of new music and local bands – called “Xclusive.” The hour-long show airs at 10pm, and is hosted by night guy (and parody song-master) Josh.

Peak Broadcasting employees can no longer access this site at work. The cutoff happened on October 1. October 5th was this site’s biggest traffic day in seven months. Funny how that works.

“What begins in fear usually ends in folly.”
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The integration between Journal Broadcast Group’s Boise radio properties and Nampa TV station continues. Dan McColly will add the operations manager title for KIVI/Chanel 6 Nampa and KSAW/Channel 51 Twin Falls to his business card.

“It’s a great opportunity for Dan to infuse more of his creativity across multiple platforms,” JBG Boise GM Bob Rosenthal said in a prepared statement. “He has a great knowledge of the Boise market and will be able to advance our strategy with station promotions, customer promotions and marketing. His experience and talent in strategic thinking, creative writing and award-winning production is unmatched in the market.”

McColly started in the OM post for JBG radio in 1995. Instead of a quote from the press release, I’m going to highlight something Dan said during an interview he did here on IdahoRadioNews.com last year. It’s actually something I think about a lot:

The truth is, since not all of our stations are #1 – yet – and since most are not yet sold out for six months in advance at enviably high rates, then there’s still something to shoot for, something to figure out, conjure up, polish, re-do, freshen, abandon or unscrew.

We now have a Twin Falls station sidebar ladies and gents. There’s a toggle between “Boise” and “Twin Falls” — and as a bonus, the tab will remember your preference in future visits.

This guy’s got teeth!

KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM and KTPZ/Music Monster 94.3 both reallllly like the picture below. On the KSAS Hooker in the Morning page, he’s Alowishis… on the KTPZ staff page he’s Johnny Midnight.

Update: KTPZ yanked “Johnny Midnight” – thank goodness for screen caps!

Former KZMG/Magic 93.1 night dude slash morning show host “Big Boy” Evan Rose wound up in Detroit – where he’s stirring up a media frenzy. Tuesday, Rose did a “When will Britney die” stunt on his WKQI/Channel 95-5 night show. The Detroit News reports the stunt involved a pool for the time and date of Britney’s death. The winner would get $1,000.

Ironically, the station’s morning co-host is set to host a fundraiser for suicide prevention this week – and was very vocal about his displeasure at the stunt and station management:

“I was personally embarrassed. For months I’ve been working on this walk, and it’s going to be difficult to get up in front of (suicide) survivors and their families representing the radio station that allowed this to happen,” morning host “Spike” told the News.

Rose hangs on to his gig, for now at least.

Detroit Free Press columnist John Smyntek has a cynical take on the whole affair .

WKQI (a Clear Channel station) put up this website during the Tuesday stunt… but yanked it Wednesday morning.

Edit: I got rid of that ugly Britney screencap because it made my eyes hurt. You can now find it here.

Story at KTVB.COM.

Update: Boise Engineer has a great post that was stuck in my spam bin for two weeks on this topic. It’s a must read.

Via New York Newsday:

Citadel Broadcasting is close to finalizing a contract with Don Imus that would bring the controversial radio host back to the airwaves, a person familiar with the discussions said Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear from where Imus would be heard, but Citadel owns WABC in New York, making its morning slot a logical destination. It also owns WPLJ-FM.

I’ve got a great radio story brewing. So great that I’m holding it for the day job website for tomorrow. Stand by for news…

Update: Because the standard of news for KTVB is a little higher then this ol’ place… I’m waiting for one last confirmation before I post. Thursday. Promise.

My photographer father has put together a really cool 2008 calendar. You can buy it using the widget below.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the flagship asset for Journal Communications is cutting staff. Cuts announced today will trim 3.5-5% of the paper’s staff – or somewhere from 35-50 folks It’ll be voluntary… unless they can’t get enough volunteers – in which case there will be layoffs.

The latest legal filings in the case of “Citadel Broadcasting et al versus Peak Broadcasting et al” show that a settlement could be on the horizon.

In a stipulation filed late last month, the parties jointly asked for deadlines in the case to be moved back, because “the parties have recently begun settlement discussion” and the deadline changes will “facilitate those discussions and allow the parties and the Court to avoid costs and expenses…”

The next legal deadline is October 19th.

Here’s the synopsis of the lawsuit.

The latest Peak Broadcasting website has launched – this time the online home of KXLT/107.9 Lite FM. These Stationality-powered websites actually feature some content – including a custom/news/weather/sports page from KTVB.COM, and more.

KQFC/Idaho Country 97.9 FM has teamed with the latest phone book to hit the streets to give away cash. Look inside your PDC phone book for a serial number. Hear it on the air on KQFC and call within ten minutes and win cash. Serial numbers announced every day at 7:30am, 9:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm and 5:30pm.

(Related but off-topic note: how many phone books are going to land on my stoop? Dex, Impact, PDC… others. Its a completely unneeded waste of paper when I have The Google. At least the newspaper kids ASK before dropping useless trash on my door).

KTHI/107.1 K-Hits is doing its version of Beat the Bomb. Sign up online or by fax, and listen for your name. If you’re picked, call in within ten minutes and play. Listen to the big cashmoney amounts tick of – and yell stop when yer ready. Say stop before the clock gongs and you win the money… wait too long and you get nothing. And like it.

The people change – but the contest stays the same. For the 22nd straight year, KJOT/J-105 is counting down the top 31 albums of all time each day this month. Keep track on one of those spiffy calendars from Napa Auto Parts stores and you could see Van Halen/David Lee Roth in Portland.

KQXR/100.3 The X launched its “X Rock Murder Mystery” today. Clues roll out each day 7:30am, 12:30pm and 5:30pm. The X listener who puts it all together and figures out the weapon, perpetrator and location scores tix to see Linkin Park in concert.