Idaho Radio News Etc.

Have an old MP3 or photo laying around that showcases a funny or interesting moment in Idaho radio history? I want to share it here.  We’re shutting down on December 31st – so if you have a few spare moments, send me that file! idahoradio@gmail.com

I’m noticing a new trend: dropping the obiligatory “Boise” from the FCC-required hourly call-letter shout outs.  Both KZMG/93.1 Hit Music Now and KCIX/Mix 106 have shortened their legal IDs to “KZMG New Plymouth” and “KCIX Garden City” respectively — both dropping the long-heard Boise.

KQXR/100.3 The X will hit the road for the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, featuring undefeated teams TCU and Boise State.  Nic & Big J will set up shop a full week before the January 4th game.

“As Bronco Nation prepares to invade the Valley of The Sun, The Morning After will be Idaho’s Recon team,” the station said in a news release.  The team plans to have player and coach interviews, plus tips on where to go and what to do in Phoenix.

This isn’t Big J’s first Fiesta rodeo — he was part of the JBG crew the last time the Broncos hit Phoenix. I seem to remember something about a big hat with pink feathers on it.

Impact Radio Group GM Darrell Calton has been named one of Radio Ink magazine’s “Best Managers in Radio” for 2009.  The list managers from across the spectrum — and Calton shared a few of his big areas of focus in building the cluster. See the PDF here.

Chowder spotted this in comments – and after a quick listen and scan of the website, it appears KQLZ/99.1 The Virus is changing up its imaging.

Liners are now refering to the station as “The All New V-99.1 Alternative Music Now” – but the “Virus” name is still in at least equal rotation.

When the station launched earlier this year, some noted the similarity to the Opie & Anthony-helmed XM talk station “The Virus.”

The other “alternative” station in the market uses mono-letter name – KQXR/100.3 The X.

Here’s the story from WSJ:

The Wall Street Journal reports that radio giant Citadel Broadcasting Corp. is planning to file for bankruptcy.

A judge Thursday approved a settlement worth nearly $2 billion that marks the final stage in the transfer of more than 110,000 accounts out of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s brokerage unit following the investment bank’s collapse last year. Read the Daily Bankruptcy Review story here.

Here’s the release on the story you read here first:

Read the rest of this entry »

EXCLUSIVE

A well-placed source tells Idaho Radio News that radio broadcasts of Boise State Broncos athletics will once again be heard on KBOI-AM. The games will be broadcast on the station as part of a deal with Learfield Sports, which has picked up the broadcast rights to all Boise State sports starting with the 2010-2011 season.

Currently, rival KIDO-AM airs the game, as part of a two-year contract with the University. KIDO snagged the rights after what turned out to be a contentious battle with KBOI – which previously carried the games for 35 years.

Who will be the “voice” of the Broncos? Current KBOI morning host Paul J. Schneider called games for the station for decades – but the source says Learfield/KBOI is expected to hire Bob Behler from Peak Broadcasting, where he currently handles play-by-play on KIDO.

E-mails to representatives at both Learfield and KBOI were not immediately returned. A news release is expected tomorrow.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

• Boise State lines up rights bundling partner
• Behler named voice of the Broncos
• Citadel tries to fight Peak pick as Broncos station
• Peak announces radio network affils
• Peak gets Bronco Sports rights
• In-depth exclusive: How Peak got the radio rights to BSU
  

All -

I will no longer publish IdahoRadioNews.com after December 31st.  I am moving into a new role at KTVB, and on January 1 will become Internet Sales & Product Manager.  I’m very excited about the new challenge.

But it means that I will have to put aside this site.  This will not be my last post here — in fact, I’m hoping to empty the notebook over the next few weeks.  I’m out of town presently, but have a bunch of time off coming my way, and want to end things here right.

We’ll do our annual holiday goodwill post, we’ll look at our 2009 predictions polls, go through some fun history-type e-mails, etc.

Here’s where you come in: Got something you want to see here? An old photo, or juciy bit of news… or something your station is doing really well? I want to know.  I will miss this endeavour – and hopefully you’ll find me on Twitter (@donlday) where I’ll probably still talk about radio news and notes from time to time.

Why now? This job is a change in focus, and because I’m not just a rabel-rousing newsie anymore – I need to align things like this to that new role.  You might say: why not turn this site over to someone else? I wouldn’t say I’ve ruled that out, and if you or someone you know makes an extremely strong case for it – I’m all ears.  However this is a brand pretty closely tied to me – and I will probably hold onto the domain name, archive and “assets” such as they are.

I’ve covered Idaho Radio for nearly seven years – and the connections and personal satisufcation I’ve derived from this hobby will be something I will miss.  Thank you for reading and being part of the IRN community.

Now… about that notebook emptying (see above!)

KWEI/1260 AM is now full-time sports, with ESPN Deportes radio. The station already carries Spanish-language broadcasts of Boise State sports on 99.5 FM as part of a partnership agreement with Peak Broadcasting – and has expanded ESPN programming to all dayparts on its AM station. The FM signal continues to pump out its “La Ley” format of Mexican Regional music.