Idaho Radio News Etc.

Former KQXR/100.3 The X mid-day host is undertaking a massive new venture – launching a music festival. The Promenade Music Festival is set for October 7, 8 and 9, 2010 – and will take place all over downtown Boise – and it’s the brainchild and project of Jaclyn Brandt and her Underground Uncovered Productions.

The idea is to set up a walkabout-style festival with great bands – both from in and out of Boise. You can learn all about the festival at PromenadeBoise.com (a DayPower Media site… by way of disclosure).

I JUST found out my old station in Spokane got fined 4000 by the FCC for a stunt I did in 2006 ! What do they say about carma ??

That’s @LuckyThaDJ on Twitter earlier this month. Sure enough, ‘Lucky’ – then known as Dick on the Radio – caused former employer KQQB some trouble, after annoying a prominent Spokane hotel.

Lucky told listeners that 50 Cent was staying at the Davenport Hotel, and asked them to call the hotel and get him on the line. The Spokesman-Review reported that about 40 people jammed the phone lines, and another 20-or-so people showed up in the lobby looking for the rap star.

Nothing so far is illegal. But the Davenport found a way to get KQQB on a bit of a technicality with what happened next:

A Davenport representative called the DJ and asked him to stop – and had no idea the call was being recorded. The DJ then played the call over the air, which is a no-no.

Of course, anyone who calls up a top 40 radio station and later claims they “had no idea the call was being recorded” is at best naive – but that doesn’t mean the FCC rules are any different. That manager – Matt S. Jensen – complained to the government, and won: The FCC strapped the station with a whopping $4,000 fine.

Station managers say they didn’t condone Lucky’s actions.

KQQB has had a bit of trouble since Lucky and cohort Keke Luv left town. They used to broadcast from a local coffee shop as “Live 104.5,” but on top of the big fine, KQQB went silent in June 2008, telling the FCC that they had equipment problems. The station was off the air for quite some time before being sold off, and later relaunched this fall as Cube 104.5.

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.

Nathaniel Hoffman wrote up a story on a poll that the Idaho Statesman ran this week. I’ll let you read the story here.

I don’t have an opinion on the reporting one way or the other — except that I’m glad to see someone reporting on the paper. Statesman opinion editor Kevin Richert DOES have an opinion on the piece. But he pulled out one of his favorite tricks — calling out Hoffman by name, then saying this:

In pursuit of one of his journalistic habits — jabbing at the Statesman — the Boise Weekly writer accuses us of push polling, because of a survey question we asked about the Boise Downtown streetcar project.

Sound familiar?

Day… took to his Idaho Radio News blog Sunday to blast the Statesman. No big news there.

This is a device Richert seems to use when he is emotionally tied to the subject. He tries to discredit the source by pointing out that they dared criticize the newspaper in the past.

Kevin’s a smart guy and a great writer. His output is simply amazing. I think you could ask him to defend the merits of a round coffee table vs. a square one and he could give you 500 compelling and convincing words. The bottom line: he can argue anything. It’s the route he takes to get there that leaves me stymied at times.

All I can say is… welcome to the club Nathaniel!

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

This is about a month old (you know, back when it was summer, instead of winter) – but interesting to see the Shelman (KBOI) to Miller (KIDO) handoff here:

Peak SVP Kevin Godwin helped shed a little light on Lisa Adams and her new duties with Peak – and what it will mean for other stations in the cluster.

Adams will take on on-air shift at KXLT/107.9 Lite FM – but they have not decided where she will land quite yet. She interviewed for the KAWO/WOW Country 104.3 job when it was posted, and Godwin says it made sense to give her oversight for Lite too.

Jason Wilmot will still be in the mix for Lite – and keep his other duties.

“This gives Jason more time to concentrate on the KIDO and KCIX brands and work with the talent on each station,” Godwin said. “Jason will work with Lisa more as an OM on KXLT, and focus on the KIDO, KCIX, the BSU brand and our talent, which he is terrific at.”

Does this mean Lite will be movin’ toward Movin’ – or something else? No.

“Lisa was hired because she is a talented broadcaster that has a winning track record,” he said. “Great PD’s can win in any format. We have no plans to change formats.”

The flurry of news releases from Peak Broadcasting lately continues – with today’s news of the pickup of Lisa Adams.

• Adams has been looking for work for the last year – something she chronicled on her Twitter page: “Got to keep the faith…it will all workout soon!” and “It’s been a nice 365 day vacation but I’m ready to get back to work! I hate moving….”
• Her last gig was a two year stop at CBS Radio in Portland. She appears to be the Northwest’s “Movin’” expert – she oversaw KQMV/Movin’ 92.5 in Seattle before she landed at KVMX/Movin’ 107.5 in the Rose City.
• Adams’ gig seems to be a fusion of two announced positions. Peak posted a KAWO PD job – then a KXLT/KCIX program director spot. Does this leave Jason Wilmot in charge of KCIX? I’ve got some questions out on this looking for answers.
• What does Peak plan to do with Lite? The station has been jockless for a while now – and its ratings haven’t been lighting up the charts. I’m guessing nothing would change before the end of the Christmas music season… but is there change in the wind?
• Kevin Godwin at Peak has been very good about sending out news releases of late. This makes my journalist heart happy – but it’s smart. I can’t think of the last time I saw a news release from another group. KTVB picked up the Austin Hill/Glenn Beck story – and I happened to notice that it was at the top of KTVB.COM’s most read stories box that day (wink wink). People seem interested in radio stories. (In case I’m being too coy: Bob Rosenthal, Don Morin and Darrell Calton should send out more news releases… hint hint).

Peak has hired Lisa Adams to helm KXLT/107.9 Lite FM and KAWO/Wow Country 104.3. More on this later – find the Peak news release after the jump
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Jim Garchow died this week. He was 72.

Garchow could easily be called a broadcast pioneer: he helmed KUPI country radio for three decades. He could be called a sports icon: he was the voice of the Idaho Falls Chukars for as long as anyone could remember. He could be called a medical miracle: he was one of the first people ever to receive a heart transplant. You might even call him the world’s oldest high schooler: he did play-by-play for Skyline high school… football and basketball.

Whatever label you hang on Garchow, he’s been a big part of Idaho radio for a long time. He died Sunday of complications of leukemia after a long battle.

Jim got a couple of bonus decades — after a heart attack twenty years ago, he got one of the first heart transplants ever performed.

He kept going right until the end. He called the Cukars game on September 7th – 13 days before his death. He had the longest affiliation with any minor league baseball team in the country, according to KIFI.

One of his daughters talked to KIFI Local News 8:

KIDO/580 AM is adding a new afternoon drive talk show. Starting Thursday, Austin Hill will join the station for a 3pm-6pm local talk show — and is doubling down on syndicated personality Glenn Beck.

More on Hill in a second — but first, KIDO said in a news release today that it plans to revamp its daytime lineup, and will move Glenn Beck to the 9am-noon timeslot. That change will put Beck’s popular show up against Rush Limbaugh on KBOI from 10am-noon.

Dennis Miller, which is currently heard from 9am-noon on KIDO/580 will move the KFXD/63 KIDO. “First Team with Steve Czaban” finds itself without a Boise home in the moves.

Hill has worked in DC, Chicago, LA — and comes to Boise from Phoenix where he was last heard in the afternoon on KTAR-FM.

“KIDO will continue to lead in the acquisition and development of premium LOCAL programming to our area,” Peak SVP Kevin Godwin said in a prepared statement (which you can red in full after the jump).

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Longtime former KIDO/580 AM producer Ray Amaya pulled a “Tom Collins.”

Tom Collins (to’m kol’enz)
1) adjective – To be unceremoniously dumped by Peak Broadcasting for reasons only clear to management – only to quickly snag a job with rival Citadel Communications days later
2) noun – A tall iced drink made with liquor, such as gin, and lemon or lime juice

No, he didn’t morph into a nice summer drink — he quickly transitioned to KBOI after KIDO let him go just a few weeks ago. Amaya is being heard all over the airwaves doing news and more for Boise’s only remaining news radio station.

And, in a modified-reverse Collins, Melissa Dawn is back at Peak. “Modified,” because she left Citadel on her own accord, and “reverse” because she went from Citadel to Peak. Dawn took over Claire Day’s morning traffic duties for the cluster more than a month ago.

One other side-note – am I the only that finds LiteOnline.com’s blank staff lineup page ironic — or maybe just appropriate?

Big Jack Armstrong is hanging up the microphone after 36 years in the business. Read his retirement letter after the jump:
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New (Boise-based) radio host Kevin Miller has made his share of cable news talking-head-style appearances.

On Michael Savage’s comments calling autistic kids “brats:”

On a billboard saying “Don’t vote for a democrat” with a picture of the WTC on fire:

Getting Chris Matthews’ ire on Hardball:

On illegal immigration:

On race in the 2008 general presidential election:

UPDATE: I screwed this up. Big time. Kevin Miller – new morning host on KIDO is NOT a syndicated personality. I was a little too quick to scan his online bio. He is helming a new locally based show.

Three notes: First, this leaves the two KIDOs without any regularly scheduled local programming. Let that soak in for a moment. KIDO-AM does not have a local morning show any longer. This leaves Boise AM radio with just one local morning show – and three shows overall (all airing on Citadel stations – two on KBOI and one on KTIK).

The morning slot is being filled by syndicated conservative host Kevin Miller, who will be heard on KIDO from 5am-9am, and on KFXD from 5:30am-7am – the timeslots formerly held by AM Idaho.

Second, all three of these guys have been noted for their work ethic and dedication. I don’t know Sean or Ray personally – but have always heard such great things about them. I worked with Brian for years at KTVB – and he is not only one of the nicest guys in the media game, but his work as a journalist was always exceptional (his story years ago on a local kid who had 867-5309 as his phone number is still one of my favorites).

Third, it makes you wonder what becomes of these job postings…

KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3 host Spencer Burke is up for a big honor: induction into the Country Radio Broadcaster’s Country Music DJ Hall of Fame in Nashville.

A panel will now evaluate his work and make a final decision on induction. If he makes it through the process, he’ll be a part of the DJ section of the overall Country Music Hall of Fame.

The honor is only open to radio talent that have been working in the industry for 20 years – with at least 15 of those spent at a country-format station.

Congrats!

KWYD/Wild 101 host Chris Hall – aka CK – is off the air and no longer with the station. His picture and bio have been wiped from the station’s website. IRN has learned the change is not a layoff.

As has been noted in comments – and confirmed by Peak Boise SVP Kevin Godwin – Peak Broadcasting has hired Dave Tester in the role of account executive.

Citadel Boise has a new sales executive – one with a long history in the market. Blair Crook, who has stayed in one job as his bosses have changed over and over (independent, Jacor, CC, Peak…). Crook was one of the original AEs for KCIX/K-106 and was a founder of the popular annual Mix 106 Easter Egg Scramble.

He is now on the beat for Citadel…

You might have noticed the job posting below – for a KCIX/KXLT program director.

This is the latest in a series of moves at Peak involving its AC stations.

• Earlier this year, immediately after Peak announced it would be slashing employee paychecks, Mix/Lite program director Brent Carey decided to hit the road, along with Mix APD/night guy Lucas.
• In March, Peak consolidated responsibility for the stations with KIDO OM Jason Wilmot.
• Earlier this month, Peak parted ways with long-time Mix host Tom Collins — saying the layoff was dictated by the economy.
• Separately – but related – Peak laid off Rick Stewart in March – he was program director at KAWO. Then earlier this month, they decided to hire a new KAWO program director.

You also might want to take a moment to read the job posting.

Following up. From the AP:

A former northern Idaho radio personality has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. U.S. Attorney Jim Peters says 27-year-old Ryan Chambers was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene on Monday.

Story

This will surprise no one: Tom Collins is back in the ranks of the employed.

Tommy was on the air this morning at KZMG/Magic 93.1 – acting as local anchor for Kidd Kraddick in the morning – as well as host of the station’s mid-day shift.

Let’s raise a glass to Tommy — and to some smart managers at Citadel.

And then there were… none. KXLT/107.9 Lite FM morning host (and sole personality) Claire Day is leaving Peak Broadcasting.

Day is finishing her second tour of duty with the Peak/Clear Channel cluster of stations — having previously left in 2003. This time she’s leaving radio for a gig with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office as a dispatcher.

Peak has already posted a PT traffic job (see below), but it is unclear what the plan is for her KXLT shift.

Claire Day’s last day is this Friday.

Figured this was worth some home page love. From Tom Collins:

Dave Arthur called and said something about how he likes to give a eulogy while people are still alive to enjoy it. I can’t thank you all enough for the kind words and encouragement. It means the world to me. When I was let go from KF95, the best thing that could have happened was Stephanie Kelly calling the very next day to ask if I wanted to work for K-106. Hopefully this will also turn out well. Some mentioned the helicopter dream, however I have a lot of hours to rack up….and probably should have a job to pay for them first! Now, before I start getting all verklempt…thank you all again. Hey, Google says it’s Nikola Tesla’s birthday today!

Syndicated radio personality and Fox News host Glenn Beck will once again bring his comedy tour to the Gem State — this time as a benefit for the Tri-County Sheriff’s Association – a group of 17 sheriff’s offices across Eastern Idaho. Beck will perform at the Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium, according to the Standard-Journal. The show is set for this Saturday at 2pm.