Idaho Radio News Etc.

Here are my quick picks for the top seven stories of 2007. In past years, I’ve done a more thorough recap – but we’ll keep it a brief for time’s sake this year.

7 – The Twin/Poky CC mess – Blue Point Media announced it would buy the Clear Channel-owned stations in Pocatello and Twin Falls – as well as a separate deal to snap up KSKI and KECH based in Sun Valley from Chaparral Broadcasting. The Blue Point/CC deal fell apart – leaving the Pocatello and Twin Falls stations still looking for a buyer. GAP Broadcasting stepped in and announced it would buy the Clear Channel stations – but KSKI & KECH will still go to Blue Point.
6 – KXLT goes jockless – Just last month, Peak Broadcasting decided to let Melissa Dawn and Greg Williamson go – and took KXLT/107.9 Lite FM in a new direction – without personalities after morning drive.
5 – KSRV’s emergence – The station that became Bob FM lit up its new Deer Point transmitter in December 2006 with a country format. But before too long, new GM Dave Tester flipped the station to the variety hits Bob FM format, and in the process hosed another upstart – Peak Broadcasting. Peak planned to flip KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM to the Bob format on Sunday April 1, as soon as the new company took control of the station – and even started running teaser liners on Kiss. Instead, Tester beat Peak to the punch by three days – leaving the Peak-ers out in the cold, and Kiss FM alive.
4 – Spanish radio grows up – Spanish-language stations have been around the Treasure Valley for quite a while (KWEI) – but the booming Hispanic population helped boost KDBI, KQTA and KWEI. The ratings started to catch up with the population base this year – and KDBI/La Gran D posted an astonishing 3.8 rating – the highest Spanish-language rating since I started tracking 12+ numbers in 1998.
3 – Peak/Citadel lawsuit – Citadel sued rival Peak Broadcasting, accusing it of raiding the company of top talent (among other things) – including Todd Lawley, Kevin Godwin, Mike Sutton, Mike Owens and Rick Sutherlin. The case is still winding its way through the courts – but barring a settlement should go to trial this year – and that’s when the fun starts.
2 – Tester fires up/Locally Owned restructures – Dave Tester became the manager of a group of stations owned by Wendell Starke of Twin Falls – and began a series of moves to make them his own. 99.1 FM became FM Talk as Man FM, 96.1 became Bob FM, 100.7 became The Boomer (oldies) and the group’s Mountain Home Station got a “Hank” tune up. Tester also put together a brand new studio facility in Nampa by the Idaho Center and started an advertising blitz. Look for another frequency to go online in the next year or so. As part of the move, Starke’s Twin Falls stations were repositioned – with two new transmitters launching to house KTPZ/The Music Monster and KYUN/Canyon Country. The group now owns what are essentially two separate radio groups – one servicing Boise, the other for the Magic Valley.
1 – Peak comes calling – While Tester probably did more in the Boise area, Peak made bigger waves. The group revamped KTMY as KAWO/Wow Country 104.3, revamped KXLT/107.9 Lite FM, saw massive staff changes and turnover, is embroiled in that lawsuit with Citadel, launched KFXD/All Talk 63 and brought back popular morning hosts Jon & Chris and hired new folks at KSAS, KCIX and KIDO. All of its formats look different today than they did in January on Clear Channel.

KSRV/96.1 Bob FM wrapped up its “A to Z” stunt this afternoon just before 2 p.m., with “Your Woman” by White Town. An analysis by Idaho Radio News indicates the station played 1515 songs as part of the stunt (with some repeats.) The station went out of A to Z mode during the overnight hours for several days.

The playlist includes 643 artists (for about 2.32 songs per artist). U2, Van Halen, The Cars, Nickelback, John Mellencamp, Elton John, and Aerosmith are top artists – but Billy Joel takes the top spot with 24 cuts. The only local artist (that I could identify) was a single cut by Paul Revere and the Raiders.

Want to see the hole list? Click below.

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If you got a chance to listen to the H-Bowl national radio broadcast on KTIK/ESPN Radio 1350 KTIK The Ticket toady — you got quite an earful. The game call was handled by Alex Shelton and former Boise State QB Jared Zabransky (the daily paper said there would be another color commentator — but there wasn’t).

I tuned in at the beginning of the second half. Shelton had a bad bad case of mumble mouth – and his play-by-play was downright confusing. I couldn’t figure out why Fresno State was suddenly playing some team named “Geor-da Tech.” His mumbling made some funny moments when Geor-da Tech running back Mike Cox was on the field (seriously). Add that to Zabransky saying – “they got that receiver straight up the “A” hole” — and I thought I was going to drive off the road I was laughing so hard.

Shelton – of the Nevada Sports Network – even said “Here in Fresno” on at least two occasions. Somehow that was better than the continual “boy-zee.”

While trying to make small talk with Zabransky, Shelton talked about the Fiesta Bowl win last year, and said “after that pick six, some people were just like ‘well, that’s just Zabransky,’ what’s it like to be able to come back from that?” Long pause… pause… pause — then Z answered the question.

Idaho Daily Statesman columnist Mike Deeds dredged up the strength to write one of those rare columns-on-a-local-topic this week – and looks back at entertainment in the Treasure Valley.

Best Rumor: That Britney Spears was lurking in the Treasure Valley. Sure, I had just written a column with the headline “Britney Spears should take refuge in Idaho,” but I had nothing to do with a September rash of Bigfoot-like Britney sightings. Deejays [sic] had a field day with listeners calling in with details about Britney being at hot spots such as Jack in the Box in Nampa. Some fans reportedly even chased limos in Downtown Boise. I finally got a three-word e-mail denial from Spears’ publicist: “Not in Idaho.”

He didn’t name-check KSAS in the story, but of course the Britney stunt was made out of whole cloth by the gang at 103.3 Kiss FM. And how great is it that he had to ask the publicist if it was true or not. Also, I’m not sure what a “deejay” is… but I think he means “DJ.”

And then there’s KSRV/96.1 Bob FM:

Best New Radio Station: 96.1 Bob FM. I’ve listened to the iPod shuffle-like Bob more than any other station this year while driving. Sad, I know.

Worst New Radio Station: 96.1 Bob FM. No matter where you go, you can’t escape the between-song dolt blabbing, “Bob does this!” and “Bob loves that!” As I listened to that same dude blabbing that same garbage on a Bob station in Austin, Texas, over Christmas, it occurred to me how much I hate that guy.

I’d like to take this chance to thank the Statesman folks for the 1,000+ times they visited ol’ Idaho Radio News in 2007.

Journal Communications saw November revenue fall by 13.4%, the Associated Press reports – a drop of 13.4%.

The biggest percentage drop wasn’t in the newspaper segment – but the TV business. Since last year was filled with political revenue and this year wasn’t – TV helped drive the company down. TV fell 26.3%, radio revenue dropped 9.6% and the newspaper group fell 5.6%. However, because Journal sees more cash-flow from the newspaper side of the ledger than it does from the JBG side, the newspaper group saw the largest actual (not percentage) drop.

It’s that time of the year – when local stations crack out the ol’ calculators and start counting things. KTHI/107.1 K-Hits is counting down the top 500 Billboard hits from 1964-1979 – KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM is doing a bunch of top tens – and of course KSRV/96.1 Bob FM is going A to Z through its playlist (they’ve made it to the letter R today).

You’ve probably noticed the new-ish “tags” feature. If you click on a tag, you get bad results. I’m still working out the kinks – so for now it’s a “known issue.”

Someone posted this on a local classifieds site – hoping to land a gig as a Boise-area talk radio host.

If you understand the talk radio business, you will know that syndicated programs fill the day at most stations around the country. Local talent is few and far between. I am trying to become one of those local talents, and will pay 1,000 dollars to anyone who can find me a lead that leads to a full time on air job.

Only serious replies please. Thanks to all who have already responded. Happy Holidays. Thanks..

I’ve heard from two different people in the last few months trying to do something along these lines – and I’m sure there are dozens of other individuals who would love to do a local talk radio show. But for now, the group is very exclusive.

(Thanks for the tip, RadioActive)

Next Tuesday I’ll do the thing I hate the most: roll out a “top” list. I already wrote the “top stories” story for the day job website (to debut Monday on KTVB.COM), and there is something to be said for a quick recap. I can pick the best seven radio-related stories of the year – but you should have some say too. Leave your thoughts, and I’ll mix in mine and roll it out next week. I’ve already identified one E. Idaho story and one Magic Valley story – so pitch in those ideas as well.

PS: I got some great “Idaho’s Best” nominees – and I’ll roll those out in January. I didn’t forget.

Mix 106, KCIX, is accepting applications and resumes for the position of Radio Assistant Program Director. The ideal candidate posses skills to assist in multiple areas such as promotions, new media and website, on air and on the streets, music sheduling [sic] and problem solving. Great production and imaging skills a must!

Mix 106 has a huge following and needs someone to join the team to add to the momentum and help push forward through 2008!

This is a highly competitive market with enthusiastic and passionate players.

Pay is depending on experience.

Winning applicant will need to know how to spell “scheduling” as well.

Peak Broadcasting is looking for motivated people to join our sales team. We have six great radio stations in Boise and the potential to earn a lot of money is incredible. If you’re organized and self-motivated, then the sky is the limit with Peak. If you’re willing to work hard to make a lot of money, this is the job for you.

This isn’t the world’s newest idea – but KSRV/96.1 Bob FM is running through its playlist from A to Z (by song title). On the way back from McCall today, my fellow car-dwellers and I had fun trying to ID the song as it came on. We listened from It’s Not Unusual by Tom Jones (one of 15 songs that start with It) to Jump by the Pointer Sisters.

KXLT/107.9 Lite FM returned to regular programming today – cutting (most of) the Christmas music in favor of its regular mainstream AC lineup early this morning. The station is still mixing in a few holiday cuts per hour today – in case folks just didn’t get enough in the last month.

There’s something missing of course: on-air talent. The station lite-ened its payroll by cutting Melissa Dawn and Greg Williamson the day before Thanksgiving. Now, the format has picked up song tags – with each song ID’ed at the end by a neutral female voice. Kevin & Claire still hold down the morning fort.

Who needs jocks anymore? With automation performing the job function of a DJ – and now song tags taking care of the personality (that’s a joke) – what’s left for a human being to do?

The station rolled out new liners that attempt to back up their no-personality format: “We think sometimes the best company is just some really good songs.”

So they’ve stripped away the only thing that differentiates them from a hard drive full of MP3s or Internet radio – and that’s a positive?

Remember when Peak Broadcasting launched, execs planned to turn KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM into a Bob FM format station – but Tester Broadcasting outmaneuvered them and got on the air first with KSRV/96.1 Bob FM.

Now, the company has basically launched a “Bob FM” station for women. Variety hits aimed at females with no jocks.

The radio dial is sounding quite festive this Christmas eve. As I headed to services this evening – I was pleasantly surprised at the number of stations that dropped their normal formats to get in the spirit – with 100% Christmas music:

KTSY/89.5 FM
KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3
KZMG/Magic 93.1
KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River
KAYN/Boomer 100.7
KAWO/WOW Country 104.3
KBOI/News-Talk 670
KTHI/107.1 K-Hits

These stations join KXLT/107.9 Lite FM which went all-Holiday on Thanksgiving, and KDJQ-AM which went all Christmas last week.

KKGL, KCIX, KJOT, KQFC, KWEI, KDBI, KSAS are all playing some Christmas cuts along with their normal format. That’s 17 total stations from ‘AWO to ‘ZMG. They should all conspire to play Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer at the same time. Now THAT would be funny.

About the only stations I could find that hadn’t adjusted formats were KSRV/96.1 Bob FM and The X.

EXCLUSIVE
After the two parties previously looked like they might be close to settling – the Peak/Citadel lawsuit is heating up – with Citadel charging that Peak is holding back on the discovery phase of the proceedings. Discovery is the process that allows two sides in case to size each other up and inspect any potential evidence in the case.

One filing notes the case was “dormant for a few months” while the parties tried to settle. It now appears the lawsuit is back in action after the judge in the case told the two sides to put up or shut up last month.

Citadel’s attorneys say the made requests for discovery was made in July – and that Peak is holding back on a number of fronts.

- Info on Peak’s customers
- Details of Peak’s financial standing in Boise and Fresno
- Info on payments made to several of the co-defendants in the case (likely Kevin Godwin, Mike Sutton, Todd Lawley, Rick Stewart et al)
- Citadel wants to inspect computers owned by Peak accessed by those defendants
- Information on the recruitment of the defendants by Peak
- Other information that is incomplete

The document filed by Citadel says Peak objected to all but two of its requests – with more than 200 objections by Peak to Citadel’s 68 requests.

In August, Peak agreed to provide additional material, and Citadel said it would cut down its overall request. By December, Citadel still wasn’t happy with Peak’s responses – and is now asking for an appearance in front of the court to hammer out the issues – and has filed a Motion to Compel, and is additionally requesting Peak pay for fees connected with that motion.

Citadel says its requests for things like inspection of the computers and the inspection of the employee’s personell files was deemed “irrelevant” by Peak.

One request was for Citadel to be informed of any person that Peak tried to hire in Boise for a specified amount of time. Peak’s response? They sent over a phone list. As Citadel said in its motion “this response appears incomplete.” Idaho Radio News has obtained the phone list – it is dated August 6 of 2007.

Peak also denied a number of requests, based on the grounds that the company did not exist prior to November 9, 2006. While that is technically true – IdahoRadioNews.com previously reported that the company began a series of activities before the November 9th date. Citadel charges that Peak is trying to “hide behind” the formation date to conceal information.

Talk about breaking news. A van crashed into the streetside studio of WLS/Chicago during the 10pm news last night. While you couldn’t see the impact on camera – you could certainly hear it.

Witnesses and WLS’ GM says the “accident” may have been intentional. CNN.com has a longer version.

KAWO/Wow Country 104.3 made one more adjustment to its schedule after the firing of morning co-host “Panama Jack” AKA Brett Connelly earlier this month. Robin Scott has been moved from evenings to middays. Scott held down that same shift on the station before it flipped from KTMY/My Country 104.3 to the WOW name.

Tooker in the Morning will launch January 8th on KZMG. Miggy Santos and Matty are holding down the morning fort in the meantime.

Also, Casey Acevedo announced she will join Tooker for the morning shift. Acevedo produced her parent’s radio show – Dave & Geri in the Morning — last heard on WHTS/Grand Rapids, MI. If you’re ridiculously curious – you can hear Casey say her name about :30 into this aircheck from her parent’s show.

AllAccess notes that KZMG plans to add one more member to the team. The site also said that Tooker picked Boise because he fell in love with the city after a weekend visit. That never happens.

Pardon the shilling here – but with all the uncertainty in the Boise radio job market – I wanted to point out some job openings with the KTVB News Group. News Producer (2) – Meteorologist – AM photographer – Photographer – Sports reporter- Morning Show Editor.

- The awful, disgusting Chia Pit ad for Ideal Image was a nice effort – but why rip off and ad that is already annoying and make it worse? The spot features the otherwise-great Jody Stewart riffing “Chia Pit – it’s the pit that’s gross.” Thanks for the imagery.
- Lee Read has bought a nice schedule of “blinks” from Peak Boise. The feature the trademark “ding” – and the phrase “Lee Read, Idaho’s Diamond Jeweler.” Problem is, on dozens of occasions, the “Lee Read” part has been obscured by the trailing audio on the prior song/spot/promo – meaning all the listener hears is “…jeweler.” Effective.
- The Hyundai “duh” ads are offensive. Replacing Christmas carols with a chorus of “duh” isn’t exactly what I want to hear during my holiday season. I get that the local Hyundai dealer will take whatever it can in terms of co-op dollars – but this is a lame way to try and sell a car. Duh.

In the “uhh… now you tell me” category – KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River again offered its online-only holiday channel – which features the Christmas songs sprinkled throughout the River broadcast day in a 24-hour format. Check it out at riverinteractive.com

Former KXLT/107.9 Lite FM host and Peak Broadcasting employee Greg Williamson was back on the air with Peak last week. Robin Scott anchored morning traffic while GW anchored the afternoon reports for the group’s six stations.

GW was subbing in for Tobin Jeffries.

Several folks wrote to let me know of some of the other great things going on in honor of the Christmas season.

- KQTA & KDBI have been collecting toys for an in-house toy drive for families around the area.
- The Locally Owned stations in the Magic Valley held a Stuff the Bus event earlier this season, collecting toys, food and clothing for beneficaries of the Magic Valley Salvation Army. KIKX, KIRQ, KYUN and KTPZ participated.

It is of note that the Locally Owned staffer that let me know of his group’s activities also wrote to say that the competing Lee Family Group of stations had a “very successful toy/food/clothing drive.”

Remember when I complained about the awful, cluttered messy Citadel Boise websites? The wheels were clearly already in motion to reboot the sites on the Mediaspan platform. KBOI.com is the first to launch – though it is very light on local content, and still pales in comparison to the Peak sites – and even the JBG sites.

KZMG.com launched late this week – and is a vast improvement over the site’s prior look – however the site is certainly NOT ready for prime time – and whoever gave the “go” sign should be embarrassed. The DJ page is complete, none of the main content areas have any… content. Also, clicking on “Listen Live” (which Magic promotes at least four times an hour) takes you to a page that allows you to listen to 92 PRO FM. Unless Magic is moving to Providence, RI – changing dial position and positioner – this is the wrong station. Also, for Mac users, a popup offering an audio file called “silence.wav” comes up. Not a single talent on the station has a bio – but a link to dantokerinthemorning.com is offered – complete with all sorts of information on how to hire him.

All the other Citadel sites are still on the old platform… and I can’t believe I’m saying this… they might be better of staying there.

KDJQ is currently again on the air, playing Christmas music — and little else.

There are some interesting developments in the KDJQ story to be shared soon.