Idaho Radio News Etc.

The Journal stations are going all out this year for Toys for Tots – the annual program of the US Marine Corps.  The two television and four radio outlets are all helping get the word out and bring in toy donations.

Also:

KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River is hosting the annual “Concert for Cause” concert at the Knitting Factory tonight. John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting is performing to benefit the Canyon County Community Clinic. A live & silent auction is also being held

KJOT/J-105 hosted a Hell’s Belles show on the 11th, and a portion of proceeds went to Boise Rock School

KTHI/107.1 K-Hits is auctioning off a Fiesta Bowl football to benefit Make-A-Wish.

- Coy promo for KRVB/94.9 The River’s morning show – specifically… its hosts

The Best of Weekly rolled out its annual Best of Boise reader’s picks this week. This summer, we got the chain newspaper’s chain survey (mmm…. McDonald’s french fries!) – and now we get the local newspaper’s local survey!

See, Boise Weekly (mostly) limits its winners to locally-established businesses and people.

Just like last year, we’re honoring only locally owned and operated businesses that meet our local-business criteria because, let’s face it, this is about honoring the best of Boise, not the best of (insert random U.S. city here)

So. Um. Most media companies aren’t locally owned (shh, don’t tell anyone). In fact, other than the Boise Weekly itself and Impact Radio – Boise has no major commercial media outlets that are actually… local.

Editor Rachel Daigle told me the media carousel presents a unique challenge.

“It’s the one category we have such an issue with year after year,” she said by e-mail. “There are so few of we media people who work for truly independent companies in town.”

But a local DID win the “best radio station” category – albeit one owned by the State of Idaho. KBSX/Boise State Radio News 91 grabbed the top honor.

We like to think BW’s audience is NPR/Boise State Radio’s audience. Why? Plain and simple: Professionally, we respect the hell out of what 91.5 delivers; personally, we’re big listeners ourselves.

Second place was KRVB/94.9 The River – with KSRV/96.1 Bob FM snagging third.

The best DJ category went to a pair of familiar names: Ken & Tim:

Rock test! Name the reigning champions of Best of Boise’s best DJ category. Here’s a hint: There are two of them. Is it A: Bill and Ted, B: Amos and Andy or C: Ken and Tim? Here’s another hint: Their names are in bold nine lines above. Ken Bass and Tim Johnstone, The River’s dynamic morning duo, have been claiming numero uno in this category for so long that we can appropriately refer to them as “The Reigning Champions”

The dynamic river duo also won this award in 2008. And 2007. And ought-six. They didn’t win waaaay back in 2005… but that might be because they didn’t work together then. Just a hunch.

KCIX/Mix 106 morning hosts Mike & Kate got second place this year – with KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM host KeKe Luve grabbing third.

Congrats to all the winners!

What goes around…. usually comes around. In this case, it’s the KF-95 boombox – which has found another life in the hands of a completely different radio station.

This once-blue trailer dressed up like a boombox started life at KFXD/KF-95, at a time in its life when pop music was all the rage, and KZMG/Magic 93.1 hadn’t yet gone pop. The mobile studio allowed talent to broadcast live, and had working speakers mounted in the side. (I used it as a place to change into the KF-95 dragon costume a time or two. I still haven’t wiped off all the germs.)

But now the boombox is in the hands of KWYD/Wild 101. Journal acquired the trailer along with the other KFXJ assets. After sitting behind the old Cassia building for a while – it was painted red and retooled for KQXR/100.3 The X.

So did Journal sell it to Impact? Not really. I’m told the Impact folks purchased it from a guy who bought it from JBG. They then went about making it a little big more modern (really, when was the last time you even saw a good ghettoblaster?). A fresh coat of paint and graphics – as well as an iPod center piece help launch the boombox into its third decade.

Party on Wayne.

This doesn’t happen every day – Boise radio competitors mixing it up in the battlefield – er… airwaves. (No tridents anywhere to be found)

Sunday night on KRVB/94.9 The River’s “The Other Studio” – hosts Tim Johnston and Idaho Statesman Scene Editor Michael Deeds were joined by a surprise guest. A guest who works at another radio station. And no – this wasn’t an employee of KQXR or KJOT or KTHI. It was… KeKe Luv of KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM.

Say… what?

This week’s show focused on trying to identify “the song of summer.” Each year, Deeds writes a column that focuses on the song that has that certain… something. Past examples include Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s and the Beyonce/Jay Z Crazy in Love.

But this summer… that song has been elusive. Candidates, in the eyes of Johnstone and Deeds include Taylor Swift’s You Belong To Me, Kings of Leon’s Use Somebody and others.

Since that big summer song is usually driven by top 40 radio, they put KeKe on the air at KRVB to talk about his thoughts (he’s kindofabigdeal) . As I’ve said before, The Other Studio does things that are out of the ordinary and “break the rules” – which is what makes it great radio.

Here’s an IdahoRadioNews.com bonus… listen to the interview in MP3 format (recorded from my iPhone voice memo… so the quality isn’t perfect. And if you listen realllly closely, you might hear me folding laundry).

You stay classy Boise Idaho.

A former Boise radio operations manager once told me the story of a morning host who walked into a meeting, threw a fork down on the table and said “stick a fork in me, I’m done.”  That was his classy way of announcing his resignation.

In the days leading up to the spring book’s release, there had been lots of chatter about a station finally throwing down the fork and flipping formats.

The suspects: KAWO/Wow Country 104.3, KXLT/107.9 Lite FM, KZMG/Magic 93.1 and KJOT/J-105.

But all of those stations seemed to have done just well enough to earn them a reprieve.

KJOT pulled up its numbers substantially. It is still the #2 pure-play classic rock station (behind KKGL), but among adults 25-54, it is beating stablemate KQXR (to say nothing of KRVB).

KZMG continued to see audience erosion just about everywhere – but as I noted here, it looks like Citadel is giving the station one more shot before making a drastic change. Also of note – Citadel has not flipped one single station in the Boise market since it acquired these properties.  The most drastic “makeover” was the rebranding of KTIK to add “The Ticket” to its name upon acuisition, and some slight changes to KQFC’s branding.

KAWO/Wow Country 104.3 is still the #3 country station in the market – but saw improvement in all the timeslots and most key demos. While it is not the station’s best book (that was spring of 2008) – it did show signs of life after a very poor fall 2008 book).

KXLT/107.9 Lite FM may be the closest to the guilatine – its numbers fell from the fall book in many places.  When you take the 12+ view however, KXLT is tied with KCIX/Mix 106 at the moment.  But when you dig into the demos, Mix has a clear advantage.  The one upside at the moment for Lite: zero personell costs.  The station is now completely jock-free — and the only “talent” on the station right now is Delilah.  Peak’s running the frequency cheaply – and always sees a boost from its Christmas music stunt in the fall.

So what does that leave us? KRVB? KQLZ? Journal has indicated that it likes what is happening on KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River – and the station seems to be able to deliver for advertisers, despite its continually low ratings. The station in its previous incarnation – as KFXJ/KF-95 had a similar problem – but The River has been at the bottom of the ratings heap for quite some time now.

KQLZ/99.1 Idaho’s True Oldies Channel is probably safe for now – since Impact has some success in KWYD and KSRV to talk about.

This is in the Idaho Shakespeare Festival 2009 season program

Journal Broadcast Group once streamed four of its six Boise stations on the Interwebs – but now the only station to provide its audio over the Internet is KRVB/94.9 The River. KJOT, KQXR and KTHI are now only available for those people with one of those old-school radios.

-Idaho Statesman entertainment critic Michael Deeds to Tim Johnstone during Sunday’s The Other Studio after Johnstone explained that KRVB/94.9 The River likely won’t play the latest single from Rob Thomas because it “has those girly vocals that build into a big crescendo like that”

KRVB/94.9 The River just wrapped up three nights of U2 live shows. The special broadcasts aired Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights live across the country– and featured performances, interviews and more. I listened earlier tonight and one person asked Bono what song by someone else he wished he’d written. The answer was Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen — which he then proceeded to hum a few bars of.

Pretty cool.

OK. Not really. Not at all.  But I kinda enjoy folding laundry and listening to The Other Studio with Deeds and Johnstone. Two weeks ago they played all local acts for an hour… and this week they’re recapping some top ‘08 single picks. Right now they’re playing Christina Aguilera’s techno remix of Genie in a Bottle.  The River has become more mainstream over they years (remember the launch promise of genres like “blues”and  “reggae”? Yeah… not much anymore).  BUT: The Other Studio has no rules – and makes for exceptional radio.

Random fun fact from this week: Tim Johnstone “kinda likes” Put A Ring On It by Beyonce.

Again this year, KIZN/Kissin 92.3 brings listeners an “all holiday” channel online – here.  KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River did this in years past – but I can’t find it this year!

Here’s our annual roundup of some of the great things stations are doing for the community.

• KTSY’s Christmas Wish program is underway. From home repair to a new pair of glasses, the station is looking to find people who need a hand – and will connect as many of them as possible to help.
• KIZN/Kissin 92.3 rolls into another year of the outstanding Keep Kids Warm.  The program started 12 years ago with a call to “Rivers and Valley” – the station’s morning show at the time. A young girl called and asked if there was any way her family could get some heating oil for the holiday – because the wanted to be warm for Christmas.  That year, listeners chipped in $17,000 for that girl and many others – and overall the program has racked up a stunning $650,000. This year’s on-air auction will be held December 15-19.
• KRVB/94.9 The River will hold its previously mentioned Concert for Cause later this month, and is also helping collect items for Toys for Tots.
• KSRV/96.1 Bob FM is directing people to the Boise Rescue Mission to make donations for the season.
• KKGL/96.9 The Eagle is also running a Christmas Wish program, this time in connection with the Idaho Youth Ranch. The station is helping collect a wide range of items for teens who are staying at the ranch – everything from cowboy boots to the Twilight book series.
• Starting Monday, the KQFC/Idaho Country 98 will travel the Treasure Valley stopping at five different Walmart locations – each day focusing on a different family that listeners can adopt. Each family has a different story and a different set of needs – and morning hosts Cory and Debi will introduce listeners to the family in need, and provide them with ways to help.
• KQLZ/99.1 Idaho’s True Oldies Channel just wrapped up a turkey drive – and raised $1380 in cash, plus 118 turkeys for the Idaho Food Bank. They are also pointing people to the Boise Rescue Mission.
• KQXR/100.3 The X is collecting toys for Toys for Tots.
• KAWO/Wow Country 104.3 is collecting toys for Toys for Tots.
• KJOT/J-105 is collecting toys for Toys for Tots.
• KCIX/Mix 106 is stuffing the semi for the Idaho Foodbank
• KTHI/107.1 K-Hits is collecting toys for Toys for Tots.
• KXLT/107.9 Lite FM continues its long Christmas Wish program with Home Federal – which has granted hundreds of wishes over the years and continues to find creative ways to help pepole out. You can nominate someone deserving at liteonline.com.
• KBOI/News Talk 670 is giving a boost to the Make a Wish Stories of Light campaign – helping fund wishes for several local kids with severe medical conditions.

KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River is celebrating the sixth edition of the Concert for a Cause. Instead of the traditional “suggest charities/vote for your favorite” routine, the station cut to the chase and named Terry Reilly Health Services as the concert’s sole benefactor.

Ingrid Michaelson will make her third Treasure Valley appearance for the concert – this time as headliner. I saw Michaelson on one of her earlier appearances and became a fan. She was engaging and put on a great show. Tickets are $19.50 for the Knitting Factor show.

The Boise Weekly’s annual poll of all the things that are known as the “best” around these parts is out.

In the media categories, KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River snagged the top spot for both best personality and best radio station.  Tim Johnstone and Ken Bass took top honors and got a nice big pic of themselves in the local alt-weekly.  KCIX/Mix 106 hosts Mike Kasper and Kate McGwire took second place, with Big J from KQXR/100.3 The X in third.

Back to the station category, KBSU-FM/NPR News 91 took second place, and KSRV/96.1 Bob FM took third place (too bad my headline couldn’t have been Bob wins BOB!…)

Oddly enough, Boise State Radio took out a nice full apge ad thanking folks for “voting Boise State Radio for Best of Boise.”  I suppose the ad still works – since it is technically thanking those who voted… not for the act of voting them tops…

Elsewhere, KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM program director KeKe Luv took an editor’s pick honor for “Best Breaking a World Record for a Good Cause.”  The props came after Luv’s “Live for 175″ stay-awake-athon last spring.

The love for Kiss continues in the Arts and Entertainment section, as morning host “Hooker” is named “Best Hooker.”  There’s a nice little bit of irony in this: “If you’ve ever been to a function sponsored by KISS 103.3 FM, then you know they have a buttload of promotional material.  If they ever change their point on the dial, they’ll have to spend a fortune on Sharpies.”  Of course, KSAS is moving – to 103.5. It’s part of that weird station swap that will take place… eventually.  Maybe we should start a Sharpie fund for the Kiss kids.

Jon & Chris were named editor’s pick for “Best Talk Soup.” The veteran pair are called “insightful, often irascible, somtimes irritating and occasionally incredible.”

Journal Broadcast Group’s stations had a tough book. The group has one station in the top 10 – perennial winner 107.1 K-Hits with a strong 6.7.

The rest of the stations are in the doldrums.

- KJOT/J-105 down 12% from last year to 3.3
- KQXR/100.3 The X lost a third of its audience for a 3.1
- KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River went up slightly from spring ‘07, but only notched at 2.6

And as a commenter noted, Impact’s automated, unstaffed KSRV/96.1 Bob FM outranked those three stations – despite management upheaval and a fairly weak overall presentation.

Here’s that KF95 logo I was hoping someone would send. If you have an old Idaho station logo floating around – send it to me! I’ll post it here, and share it with Art Gregory and the History of Idaho Broadcasting Foundation guys for their archives.

Journal Communications acquired all sorts of stuff when it bought KFXJ nearly a decade ago. Equipment, a transmitter, the frequency and a small handful of employees.

Two of those folks – Rochelle Smith and Rockwell Smith (no relation) are still with the company, and each has proved themselves to be among the best things to come along with the purchase of KF-95. While The River bears little resemblance to the old KF-95, both Rochelle and Rocky continue to keep that independent, listener-focused spirit alive.

I was reminded of why Journal is so lucky by Rocky’s comment on the KGEM audio problem. He explains all the things he and Journal do for customers that are unhappy with hearing original hits (or more recently – oldies). As is noted with the recent KIGO example – the station could easily say “it is Qwest’s problem” and clam up, but instead they jump through hoops to make people happy.

As for the “other” R. Smith – Rochelle is often hailed for her extra work. Much of the station’s online effort, including the MySpace page with all the audio goodies is her doing.

You can buy a frequency, dump everything and try to rebuild it from the ground – but finding good people and hanging on to them (no matter if you hire them from the Internet or get them in a multi-million dollar acquisition) is what makes a radio company unique.

(PS: I wanted to put an old KF95 logo on this entry [the one with the music staff and the quarter notes], but I can’t find one. If you can send me a digital version of the logo, I’d appreciate it!)

Blogs blogs everywhere. Check out all the (mostly active) blogs from local radio folks:

• KRVB’s Morning blog
• KJOT’s Aftershow blog
• KCIX’s Mike & Kate blog
• Casey Acevedo’s “Master Cleanse” blog at DanTooker.com… proceed with caution.
• Brenda Mee’s Mrs. Idaho International blog
• KTHI’s Road to Recovery blog by Margo Vaughn on her fight against breast cancer
• Jerry & Michelle Radio Show blog from KTSY
• KAWO’s Tarzan Dan blog

- KIZN/Kissin 92.3 is doing a flyaway to Chicago to see Rascal Flatts
- KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River is putting two folks on a plane to Denver to see the Mile High Music Festival with Tom Petty, DMB, Jason Mraz and a bunch of others
- KKGL/96.9 The Eagle is giving away a “Tricked Out Truck” – a 2001 Silverado with all sorts of bells and whistles
- KQFC/98 FM will send two people to see Brooks & Dunn in Seattle
- KQXR/100.3 The X has another free show lined up with Safety Suit
- KJOT/J-105 is loading up a bus with listeners for a Mötley Crüe show in SLC.
- KCIX/Mix 106 is doing a $25,000 home makeover contest. 106 people qualify for a whole list of home-related stuff. Yes, one person will actually win.

Patty Griffin Allie Sudol from A Fine Frenzy performs at a recent River session at KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River.

Original here

Not really much of a local radio tie here (except that Johnstone and Deeds played it last night on KRVB/94.9 The River’s “The Other Studio”) – but this is… something else.

It’s Scarlett Johansson’s “Falling Down” from her forthcoming album. Really.

Filled out your bracket yet? KRVB/94.9 The River has a hot, topical poll on its website looking for your opinion:

Local radio groups are jumping on the expo bandwagon in a bigger way – either by putting them on or partnering up.

- KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River and Boise State Radio are the radio sponsors of the “Idaho Green Expo” set for May 17th & 18th. The first-time event will gather together green experts and exhibitors for the two day event
- The Citadel stations are building on the success of decade-old Kid’s Fair with the Today’s Women’s Expo. The May 31st event will follow the Kid’s Fair blueprint with exhibits and demonstrations for women – as well as a number of keynote speakers.
- Peak is dipping its toe in the water with Idaho’s Largest Garage Sale – which will bring together countless folks with stuff to sell and (they hope) lots of buyers as well. The first-time event launches May 17th & 18th at Expo Idaho.
- KWEI Spanish Radio put on the Hispanic Health Fair at the Hispanic Cultural Center earlier this month. It’s another new event that targeted the Valley’s Hispanic population with health information and resources.