Idaho Radio News Etc.

The KQFC Q’ Wakin’ Crew hit up some Halloween haunts – here’s the video.

KWYD/Wild 101.1 is up and running. Yesterday I tuned in and heard silence (can you hear silence?) – today the station is looping Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” on the eve of All Hallow’s Eve.

A single bumper says “It’s coming” tomorrow morning at 10am.  So peel your ears and get ready for a rare station sign-on.

The station that once served the McCall area is now largely gone for those listeners. FM KDZY/98.3 stands alone as the only commercial FM with roots in Idaho’s heartland.

UPDATE: After the Thriller stun, the station debuted as “Virus 101″ at 10am – but changed AGAIN to Wild 101/Idaho’s Party Station at about noon today.  The music was more Alt. Rock for the first two hours, but now sounds thematically similar to KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM – and is probably as urban as Boise will ever get (but still pretty poppy).

This isn’t Impact’s first shot at pop  – after several attempts with KTPZ/Music Monster 99.1.

The station is running promos ala the “I’m a Mac & I’m a a PC” making fun of “Whose House.” VERY reminiscent of Kiss signing on and targeting KZMG with lots of promos mentioning the cross-town comp.

So the All Access note posted in comments here isn’t correct… :) (Unless they decide to change formats for a third time today…)

UPDATE 2: The station is pumping 15,000 songs in a row – which at an average of 4 minutes per song works out to about 40 days, taking us into December commercial free.

So I thought quitting would be simple – turns out I’m nuts.  I’ve changed comments to strict moderation – meaning the comment doesn’t show up until I OK it.  Also, I’ll probably post 15-20 times per month instead of the old 30-40. Thank you for all your really kind notes, e-mails etc. – it truly means a lot.

- DanTooker.com reverted to its old self – a pitch for a new job for Dan.

- Matt Johnson (MJ) is now joined by Melissa Dawn for the morning shift. She had been doing mid-days at the station, and news for KBOI.  It is a return to mornings on KZMG for Melissa – she used to host with Steve Shannon.

As we reported last week, Dan Tooker isn’t alone after being cut from KZMG/Magic 93.1.

KTIK’s J Bates tells Idaho Radio News he will no longer handle anchoring duties for the station, but he’ll continue to be part of Bronco game day coverage on KBOI.

KZMG morning producer Casey Acevedo left the station – but was not let go.  She’s tells me she has moved to a producer job with Entercomm in Austin, TX.  She’ll work for the evening “Your Time with Kim Iverson” show.

PJ Stover tells Idaho Radio News that she’s also looking for a gig, after being let go from KQFC.

Rattlesnake Jake moves from KIZN nights to KQFC mid-days as “Jake Austin.”

It’s not just Dan Tooker – a total of five employees were cut today I’m told.  Still working to confirm some of the names – but at least one other on-air person was let go.

Anyone feel like we just got over the first hump of the roller coaster and more loops are coming at us?

KZMG/Magic 93.1 and Dan Tooker have parted ways according to a memo sent to staff. The circumstances aren’t known, and the memo doesn’t make it clear if the parting of ways was amicable.  His bio and picture are still all over KZMG.com and DanTooker.com is still active.

The move is blamed on the economy – and the need to scale back.

(Yes, I’m erratic… it’s like an addicition to smoking. You know it’s bad for you but want to take a drag when you smell secondhand smoke.  Radio news is my secondhand smoke.)

So I haven’t gotten around to that “last post” yet.  It’s coming I promise.

I’m working on a couple things and there may be a life after death for this site. If you have an idea or would like to be involved, hit me at the idahoradio@gmail.com address.

That’s a wrap.  After five years and nearly 2,500 posts, I’m shuttering IdahoRadioNews.com.  I’ve become increasingly busy and don’t have the time to dedicate to this project. I’m certainly going to miss bringing you the scoop – but I won’t miss trying to wrangle the comments.

I want to thank the people who fed me tips over the years – you know who you are, and I really appreciate it.

UPDATE: I’m going to put together one more post with a final review of the past few years. I probably should have done that today but I had to put out the word before I changed my mind. I’ll work on it this weekend.  Thanks again for all your kind words – it means a lot!

KFXD/630 KIDO announced its new schedule today – and it features a major overhaul of the programming day.

5:30am-7am will feature a simulcast of AM Idaho from KIDO/580 AM

7am-10am – Dan Patrick Show – live. The show was last heard mid-days on KTMB/99.1 The Man.

10am-2pm – The Jon and Chris Show – live.  The local talk show moves from mornings to mid-days.

2pm-5pm – Todd Schnitt Show

5pm-8pm – Lars Larson. The evening program moves to an earlier time slot

8pm-11pm – Tony Bruno, new to 630.

PS: This new lineup starts Monday

Impact Radio Group officials confirmed to Idaho Radio News that the group’s newest Boise-valley station will carry the call letters KWYD.  GM Darrell Calton confirms that they have applied for the new calls, but will say little else.

Someone told AllAccess (which used its usual coy writing style) the station will be branded “Wild” and carry a rhytmic format.  Impact currently runs the former KMCL-FM in the McCall area at 101.1, but Calton tells me it will finish its move to Boise in coming weeks.

This would give Impact 4 stations, including KPDA/La Pderosa 100.7 (Spanish language), KSRV/96.1 Bob FM (variety hits), KQLZ/Idaho’s True Oldies 99.1 (oldies) and now KWYD/Wild 101.1 (rhytmic). Impact also has two AM stations on the fringes – KMHI in Mountain Home and KSRV-AM in Ontario.

KBOI/670 AM is excited about its new acquisition: Rush Limbaugh.

As we noted first here Monday, KBOI will pick up the show from KIDO starting January 1, 2009.  The station is already promoting the move and doing a twice-daily cash giveaway tied to the upcoming debut.

The most confusing station switcharoo in the market’s history… is about to get more confusing.

KIDO was long heard at 630 AM – until a switch earlier this decade that flipped call letters with KFXD at 580 AM.

KIDO became 580, and KFXD became 630.  KIDO – news/talk. KFXD – country.

Then Peak Broadcasting purchased the station and decided to ditch the classic country sound and launch a second talk station on KFXD with a local morning show and syndicated shows.  The station kept the KFXD call letters and now goes by “All Talk 63 KFXD.”

But that’s about to end.

“All Talk 63 KFXD” will cease to exist as a brand – instead the station will be called “KIDO AM 630″ according to yesterday’s release. The switch happens Monday.

Programming for the two stations is the big question at the moment. A new “live and local” show is promised on 580 – and more news, weather and traffic will appear on 630. The release makes an allusion to being “only radio stations in Boise to feature live and local news, talk, and sports programming throughout the day.”  Could that mean a PM drive show on one of the stations?

Peak SVP Kevin Godwin said the station would retain the KFXD call letters – but take the KIDO brand. He also said that Boise State programming would now simulcast on 630, adding another station to the Boise State Radio Network anchored by 580 AM.

Here’s the news release… I’ll dissect it this evening:

Boise, ID – October, 10, 2008 – Peak Broadcasting and 580 KIDO Radio announced today a series of significant programming changes designed to further strengthen the local commitment to the Treasure Valley and Idaho. National radio host Rush Limbaugh’s contract on 580 KIDO will not be renewed when it expires on December 31st 2008. In its place, beginning January 1st, 2009, 580 KIDO will debut a new LIVE and LOCAL radio show aimed directly at residents of Idaho and the growing Treasure Valley. Also, beginning Monday morning October 13th at 5am, additional KIDO branded radio programming will be heard on AM 630 and kidoam.com. KIDO AM 630 will continue to feature long time popular local hosts Jon Duane and Chris Kelly along with a significant increase in local news, sports, traffic, weather, and BSU programming all produced in house by the KIDO news and sports departments. Additional programming under the KIDO umbrella along with specific show times will be announced this Friday, October 10th. KIDO AM 580 or AM 630 will be the only radio stations in Boise to feature live and local news, talk, and sports programming throughout the day.

In making the announcement, Kevin Godwin, SVP/Market Manager of Peak Broadcasting/Boise said, “Although Rush has demonstrated his ability to attract a listening audience over the years for KIDO; we believe the future of local radio is local radio programming and services.” “Peak Broadcasting’s commitment to Idaho and the Treasure Valley has been demonstrated over the past 18 months by our dedication to provide only the best local personalities on all of our AM and FM stations.” He continued, “The KIDO project is a continuation of the initiative we started earlier this year with the acquisition of the radio broadcasting rights to Boise State University athletics, the successful launch of the Peak/Boise State University Sports Radio Network and the fast growing on line brand, www.kidoam.com.”

“The significant financial and political events of the past few months have clearly demonstrated the need for more timely, accurate, and credible local, regional and national radio information. We see an incredible opportunity to extend KIDO’s lead in quality branded news and personality content to more listeners and advertisers throughout the Treasure Valley and Idaho.”

You win some. You lose some.

KIDO/580 AM picked up Bronco Sports from long-time home KBOI this summer, and subsequently launched an ad campaign touting how “it’s all here.” News. Broncos. Rush.

Sources tell Idaho Radio News that Rush Limbaugh will not be heard on KIDO after the first of the year – moving instead to rival KBOI. Such a move would blow a hole in KIDO’s mid-day lineup and boost the fortunes of KBOI.

An e-mail to Peak Boise SVP Kevin Godwin for comment went unanswered. I’m told KBOI is not yet able to promote the move and that it will happen after the first of the year.

Limbaugh is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks and just signed a new $600 million deal. His show is heard on roughly 600 stations nationwide.

KIDO lost some bargaining power when it was sold from Clear Channel to Peak Broadcasting in 2007. Premiere is a Clear Channel subsidiary – which generally gives CC stations a leg up in negotiations.

An Idaho Radio News reader sent this photo along. Can you identify all three people?

No hints for now!

Friend, colleague and KJOT/J-105 night guy Cale led me to a funny discovery a few weeks ago: a KTVB trash can covered with stickers out back by the satellite dishes.  It featured a trio of stickers from Citadel stations that throw back to the old days:

So you’d think that a month out from a Wednesday night concert in little old B-town… you’d be able to buy tickets. Not if you want to see Jason Mraz at the Knitting Factor! The show is sold out… already. Anyone have any great ideas (other than the $300/each at StubHub)? idahoradio@gmail.com

Conservative writer Bill Croke wrote about his current stint living in Salmon – and the unique media situation. No Internet at his home. No TV. Just one radio station (no Rush Limbaugh!) – KSRA.

One thing KSRA does well is accounting for the whereabouts of missing livestock. Wandering cows, horses, dogs, etc. “We’ve received a report that four goats are walking down 9th St. So, if you’ve lost your goats, they’re on 9th St.” When horses stray, the report is accompanied by a taped whinnying sound.

Salt & Light Radio has a new blog post that reinforces what we already know: its purchase of KDJQ has been delayed.  Keith Pettyjohn says they will continue to pursue the station – or another.

Pettyjohn says owner Rob Combs is ” in breach of the agreement and threatening bankruptcy.”  As you know, Zions Bak sued Combs and his companies after they stopped paying on a line of debt, and sources tell Idaho Radio News that proceeding has not been resolved.