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The most comprehensive listing of 6,000 Los Angeles Radio People,
spanning the last 62 years, is now available just by clicking on
your favorite
personality.
The listings provide a colorful snapshot of where they came from,
where and when they worked, and what they’re doing now. Enjoy!
A\B\C\D\E\F\G\H\I\J\K\L\M\N\O\P\Q\R\S\T-Z/W
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(Dave Gohl, Woody, Taylor Hawkins, Phil Hulett, Sisanie's new twins, John & Ken, and Nautica de la Cruz)
Traffic Reports Won't Be So Rosie
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(September 21, 2018) Traffic
reporter Rosie Wedel is retiring, wrapping
up 28 years on the air, according to a note from colleague Alan
Ross. “OMG! Rosie Wedel IS Airwatch, Total Traffic,
et al.! She’s heard on KFI, KOST, among others during her
time on Airwatch America, Airwatch Traffic, and Total
Traffic+Weather Network. She was also news director for
several stations contracted with AirWatch.” Alan has high praise for Rosie. “What a talent, what a leader. What an organizer. She’s absolutely a teammate and a friend. We’ll never really be the same without her in the building...period!” “We love her, and we will miss her,” wrote colleague Karen Kirkman. “Happy retirement Rosie!! #TrafficQueen #TotalTraffic.” We asked Rosie for highlights during her three decades of getting us through the thick of Southern California traffic. “I think I will just go quietly into the sunset,” she responded. “It’s been a lovely career and I am very blessed.” Kings Stream. Just a few years ago, would anyone think that an LA sports franchise would abandon a terrestrial radio station and opt for a streaming service? Well, that thought has collided with reality as the Los Angeles Kings are leaving KABC for a digital partnership with iHeartMedia/Los Angeles, which will now stream all Kings' games – preseason, regular season and postseason – live on the new official LA Kings Audio Network, a custom iHeartRadio station. The iHeartRadio stream will also include the 30-minute pregame show as well as “Kings Talk,” the club’s post-game call-in radio show. The LA Kings Audio Network will also be the only place to hear the additional online Kings content plus replays of each game, and as part of the agreement, iHeartRadio will feature exclusive Kings audio content for listeners. Don Martin, svp of sports for iHeartMedia/LA commented, "We are also very excited to get back in to the audio game with the LA Kings, and establishing the LA Kings Audio Network on iHeartRadio is the first step.” |
Burt Reynolds Apologized With a Twinkle in His Eye
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(September 20, 2018) Burt Reynolds died earlier this
month. At one point in his illustrious career, he was one of
three enormously popular people in popular culture. He had a
swagger and that twinkle in his eye was a charmer. In the early 1980s to mid-80s, I worked with Burt twice, once as part of the marketing team on Stroker Ace (last gasp in attempting wriggle another dollar out of the Smokey and the Bandit franchise) and Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (yes, that’s me on the left awaiting Burt and Dolly at the Austin premiere). Burt was difficult. It was nice to see his obit on the front page of the LA Times and generally glorious media tributes. He was certainly a survivor, but I got him during a difficult period in his life. It was no fun, but in the movie business you just move on to the next project. At some stage, Burt apparently got some help with a 12-Step program because in the 8th and 9th Steps, making amends for past transgressions is a must. Somewhere in the 90s, Burt appeared on a tv talk show. The interviewer alluded to his past behavior. Burt sat up and looked directly in the camera and said, “If anyone watching worked with me between 1978 and 1985, I’m sorry.” That was it. In one full swoop he made dozens of amends. 8th and 9th Step done. It was great and whatever demons he dealt with during the period I worked with him were gone. Forgiveness is easy and especially when he said what he needed to say with that magical twinkle in his eye. R.I.P., Burt. |
KIEV Co-Owner Dies. Fred Beaton, co-owner of 870/KIEV, died August 29, 2018. He was 84. Fred was involved in the media since 1954, working for CBS in both radio and tv departments from 1953 through 1958. Born October 11, 1933 in Los Angeles, Fred was partner and owner of B&B Financial Atd. LLC. He attended LA City College and UCLA. Fred was assistant manager at KWKW for eight years and was chairman of the Board of KIEV and co-owner with his brother Ron from 1961 until the station was sold to Salem in 1998. He served in the US Army from 1955 to 1957. |
Looney Looks to Add Game Show Host to Eclectic Life
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(September 19, 2018) Los
Angeles based sports anchor and radio talk show host Tomm
Looney, who recently departed KLAC after 15 years,
is hoping to add “game show host” to the next chapter of his
busy life. "We have a game show in development and can only
disclose that I will be the host at this juncture,” Looney
said. The long time nationally syndicated talk host, sports anchor, motivational speaker, voiceover guy, movie producer, and restaurateur is probably best known as the Looney half of The JT The Brick Show with Tomm Looney on FOX Sports Radio, formerly heard locally on KLAC. Looney was upbeat on the phone yesterday about the new game show and Fox Sports Radio. “It was an amazing run with JT and FOX. JT is a remarkable talent and friend, and I could easily do 15 more years. I didn’t like my colleagues at FSR – in most cases, I loved them. And, of course, we couldn’t have done it without the listeners.” Looney was the one and only voice of The Best Damn Sports Show, Period from 2001 to 2009. Tomm is also a diet and exercise buff who sits on the advisory board of “Fit 4 The Cause,” a Southern California based non-profit organization that provides licensed fitness professionals and nutrition educators for low-income communities in response to the present healthcare crisis. He was also the executive producer of the award-winning full-length feature, Avenues, a “gritty film” about choices we make in life. Before tv, radio and voiceover work began to take up all of his time, Looney owned one of the most successful eateries and art galleries on LA’s west side (on Abbot Kinney), “Van Go’s Ear Restaurant & Gallery” from 1991 until 2005. |
| AMP for Cancer.
AMP Radio revealed the lineup for its 6th annual We Can
Survive benefit show, which features Shawn Mendes,
Charlie Puth, Ella Mai, G-Eazy, Khalid, Marshmello, Meghan
Trainor, NF and Tyga. In honor of National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month, $2 from every ticket sold will benefit
Young Survival Coalition (YSC), the premier organization
dedicated to the critical issues unique to young women
diagnosed with breast cancer. Big Jay Dies. Lane Quigley has acknowledged the passing of legendary tenor saxophonist Big Jay McNeely. “I had the pleasure of seeing him perform on multiple occasions and meeting him a couple of times. He was the last of the legendary honking sax men of the 40’s and 50’s,” wrote Lane. “He was demonized by the jazz community, who found his rhythmic style to be unmusical, but he was one of the primary contributors to the early sound that morphed into rock ‘n roll. Big Jay was a fixture at El Monte Legion Stadium. Thank you for the music Big Jay – Rest in Peace.” Hear Ache. Nathan Fast, most recently weekends at KIIS, is the new morning man at Cumulus Country KPLX (99.5 The Wolf) in Dallas … Ted Sobel, longtime sports broadcasting guru is celebrating his 13th year with Larry Kahn’s Sports USA Network. Ted is writing a book called Touching Greatness. “The book will include a lot of fun stories about growing up in LA and how radio affected my life along with my many experiences in and out of radio,” emailed Ted. His tome is expected early next year … Christopher Lance posted a KKHR aircheck from 1983. Fun listen ... Bernard Pendergrass is celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary today with his wife in Florence, Italy ... Thank you for your kindness in remembering my birthday last weekend. It was special because my daughter and her new husband joined us in Avila Beach for the weekend. |
You Won’t Believe How Much the Highest-Paid Radio Show Hosts Make Every Year
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(September 18, 2018) The
headline certainly was titillating because Americans have
always been fascinated with what other people make.
Cheatsheet.com put together its list of radio personalities
and what they earn from a variety of sources. All salary
figures courtesy of CelebrityNetWorth.com and Forbes. Almost all personalities on the list are currently on LARadio or have been. From Rush Limbaugh to Ryan Seacrest, these are the highest-paid radio show hosts in the U.S. today. Commentary originated at Cheatsheet.com. |
| 15. Harry Shearer -
$300,000 Harry is probably more famous for his voices on The Simpsons or as the bassist for hard-rocking fictional band Spinal Tap. But he’s also the longtime host of Le Show, which is syndicated on NPR. 14. George Noory - Salary: $500,000 George Noory isn’t a household name, at least not in the same way as the folks we’ll meet a little further down the list, but he’s still one of the highest-paid radio personalities. Being on the radio is good for Noory’s bank account. He makes $500,000 a year and is worth about $2 million. 12. Colin Cowherd (TIE) - $2 million Colin’s syndicated radio show reaches every corner of the country. Like a lot of the people we’ll discuss on our list, Colin Cowherd has a variety of broadcasting jobs, including radio. He’s appeared on ESPN tv in the past, but his nationally syndicated radio show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, is how he makes most of his money. He earns about $2 million each year. 9. Mike Golic (TIE) - $5 million Even if it’s not quite as dramatic as athletes transitioning to multiple movie roles, Mike went from NFL pro to one of the highest-paid people on the radio. He’s co-hosted ESPN’s nationally-broadcast morning sports talk show since 1998, first with Mike Greenberg and then with Trey Wingo. 9. Dan Patrick (TIE) - $5 million Dan used to host SportsCenter on ESPN for years, and he also hosted The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN radio. He left ESPN but kept the radio show, which is nationally syndicated and tv simulcast and makes him one of the richest and highest-paid radio personalities in the U.S. 8. Tom Joyner - $9 million You might not know Tom’s name, but he’s on the air seven days a week and reaches 70% of the U.S. population via Reach Media, the company he started. He has a net worth of $40 million and earns $9 million a year from hosting, which definitely makes him one of the highest-paid radio hosts in the country. 7. Michael Savage - $10 million Conservative pundit Michael is one of the highest-rated and highest-paid radio show hosts in the United States. Westwood One broadcasts The Savage Nation across the country and pays Savage $10 million a year for his efforts. 6. Laura Ingraham - $15 million Fox News Channel host Laura Ingraham makes some controversial comments — such as attacking the NFL for donating money to social justice causes — and she’s well-paid for it. Between writing books and hosting her tv and radio shows, she makes $15 million per year. 5. Glenn Beck - $16.5 million Glenn used to be all over Fox News Channel, but he left and went his own direction, and it’s paying off big time. He founded Mercury Radio Arts, which includes the website The Blaze, a publishing wing, and Beck’s radio program. All told, he makes $16.5 million per year, according to Forbes, making him one of the highest-paid radio show hosts in the United States. 4. Sean Hannity - $29 million Fox News Channel host. Author. Radio personality. Sean’s resume is very similar to Glenn Beck, the man we just discussed. The only difference is Hannity is still with Fox. Between his tv and radio talk show duties, he makes $29 million per year. 3. Ryan Seacrest - $65 million Is he hated? It depends on who you ask. Is he prone to awkward moments on camera? Sometimes. Is he among the highest-paid radio show hosts? There’s no doubt. Even though he’s famous for his tv gigs, Seacrest’s iHeartRadio show accounts for the lion’s share of the $65 million he makes every year. 2. Rush Limbaugh - $77 million Rush is a bit of a Renaissance Man. Sure, he’s the star of the highest-rated radio talk show, per Talk Stream Live, which accounts for the bulk of the $77 million Forbes says he earns every year. But he’s also an author, including children’s books, and sometimes appears on tv, too. 1. Howard Stern - $95 million The man who knows how to get Donald Trump to open up about his shocking behavior is the richest radio show host we’ve ever seen. Even if you count only his $80 million Sirius XM radio salary, he’d still be No. 1, but he’s also a co-host on America’s Got Talent, where he makes $15 million a year. |
Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom!
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(September 17, 2018)
Neil Ross has written a book, a big book (575
pages), that is chockablock with delicious stories, not only
about radio, but the world of voiceovers. He needs a big
book because his career has been, well, BIG. His LARadio
resume includes KPOL/fm, KZLA, KHTZ, KNX/gm, and KMPC. His
voiceover career includes tv (programs on Discovery, PBS and
A&E), cartoons (Voltron, G.I. Joe and
Transformers), video games, and movies (Robert
Redford’s movie Quiz Show, Being John Malkovich,
and Dick Tracy). He’s been the announcer on the
Annual Academy Awards Telecast and the Emmy Awards Telecast.
The much in demand voice artist now adds writing to his distinguished resume, authoring the book Vocal Recall: A Life in Radio and Voiceovers and publishing to his amazing life. Neil was born in London, then raised in Montreal. He arrived in Long Beach when he was 11, just as Channel 98/KFWB began blasting rock ‘n roll all day and all night. If you are interested in learning about the early days of Top 40, Neil has it. Chuck Blore was the creator of KFWB/Channel 98, a boss who insisted on preparation. “Kids carried transistor radios around so they wouldn’t miss anything. I was in hog heaven,” writes Neil. Neil takes us along with him on his radio journey to neighboring states before getting back to the Southland. He takes us to Honolulu and his time working with my mentor, Earl McDaniel. Neil writes about Don MacKinnon, who he calls ‘perhaps the greatest Top 40 dj who ever lived,’ along with his tragic death. Neil provides tales about the versatile owner of 710/KMPC, Gene Autry. |
How Neil made the transition from radio to voiceovers while he remembered an earlier admonition, “There is nothing sadder than a forty-year old disc-jockey.”
It is all here in Vocal Recall.
What process did Neil use to write his book? “Unlike most writers, who I gather carve out a specific time period, then have the discipline to sit down a write at that same time every day, I was hideously undisciplined. I would let a chapter ‘marinate’ in my mind, turning over ideas and phrases as I went about my daily business. This process might last from several days to over a week or more. Then, when I reached ‘critical mass,’ I would lunge for the keyboard and bang it out in one mad dash. Once that was done, I’d start thinking about the next chapter. Using this method, it took about a year to complete the first draft.”
| It must have been hard to capsulate
an amazing career into 575 pages, but Neil was humble about
the experience. “If you’d have asked me if I’d had an
interesting life before I wrote the book, I probably would
have said ‘not really.’ But as I began to think about
particular incidents, other stories would come flooding back
and when I look at the overall sweep of the thing, I did
have quite a few amazing adventures. Like everyone else, the
reality was long periods of boredom punctuated by occasional
highs and lows. Maybe I had a few more highs and lows than
most. Actually, I ended up leaving out quite a few things.
Looking back, I can’t complain.” There was some pain in writing the book. Neil recalled the period between getting fired at KCBQ in 1971 and getting hired at KPOL in Los Angeles in 1978. “It was a particularly tough slog for me. I didn’t much enjoy thinking about that time. Although I had a hell of a lot of fun at XHIS & XHERS FM in ’72-73, come to think of it.” Some will tell you that writing the book is the easy part, the difficulty comes in finding a publisher. Neil was no different. “I approached about forty literary agents,” said Neil. “No interest. Not even a nibble. Most didn’t even bother to send a rejection. So, I self-published. I was lucky enough to stumble across a guy named Mike Rounds [no relation to Tom – I asked]. He describes himself as, among other things, a ‘book shepherd.’ There is simply no way I could have pulled this off without Mike. He was invaluable. He can be found at www.roundsmiller.com. I highly recommend him.” Does Neil have a favorite story in his book? “Lawdy! That’s like being asked who is your favorite child. Which in my case is easy, because I only have one. But I’m very fond of the story about the slow running cassette machine at XHIS which is in chapter 24 beginning on page 216. I have told this story many times at parties and it usually cracks everyone up. It’s a classic, in my opinion and every word is true. One of the better, more serious stories is the Bill Ogden / Kennedy assassination tale in chapter 15. There’s also meeting and hanging out backstage with Jim Morrison and the rest of the Doors in chapter 22. That’s just the radio section. Lots of great VO stories in the book too. I guarantee my favorite story will turn out to be the one I get the most comments on from readers.” Order the book at: www.NeilBook.com |
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Nostalgia Sunday - 7 Years Ago Today
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Never Promote a
Promotion,
I got into an argument with my counterpart at 20th Century Fox over this mantra. She maintained that any publicity was good publicity. She cited how she gave instructions to her field people to come up with creative promotions for the Tom Hanks movie, Bachelor Party. Her Texas field person put something together with the Houston Astrodome people - the largest bachelor party for half-time at a AFL Houston Gamblers televised game the Monday night before the film opened. Perfect. Then things went astray. The Astrodome rep then suggested that a bachelor party is only the opening party for a wedding. Let’s stage the largest wedding in Texas history. Let me get KKBQ to do a promotion to find couples who would like to get married that night. And then let’s get George Foreman, a local ordained minister, to perform the ceremony. Guess what? It turned out to be a major promotion with local tv and national press covering it, resulting in a photo in People Magazine. But guess what was missing? Any mention of the movie Bachelor Party. It became a wedding promotion. At any stage if the 20th rep had asked, ‘Am I promoting a promotion or promoting Bachelor Party’ she would have known how to get the promotion back on track to promote the movie. The radio parallels to this movie mantra are spot on. Never promote a promotion, always promote your radio station. If you were Clear Channel putting together a massive music event in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks and asked the same question, wonder how it would be answered? Hey, Clear Channel, execs, what are we promoting here? A promotion? Or will this benefit the eight stations in the LA cluster? Or at least the five music stations. Perhaps you could make an argument that interested listeners will listen longer to participate in the call-in contest to win tickets, but it is a national contest – chances of winning become very slim. And did you read the rules? Eight pages of legal conditions to wade through, if indeed one wanted to read about their chances. How does iHeart Radio help the local Clear Channel stations? To encourage listenership to Clear Channel stations around the country only takes away from listening locally. I am at a loss to figure this one out. Yes, you could listen to the LA music streams on your digital platforms, but you can do that now. I was also struck by another contest currently running on one of the major music stations – “The hunt for the hottest LA television anchor.” Wonder why radio is promoting television? Wonder how you would answer the question, is this station promoting a promotion or are they promoting themselves.” In two weeks these perplexing questions will have to be asked by another inquiring mind, if anyone cares. Local marketing managers could do themselves a favor by at least asking the question when putting a promotion together – am I promoting a promotion or am I promoting my radio station? |
Email Saturday, 9.15.18
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** Chevy to the Levee “Recently a friend of mine told me that a friend of HIS just bought the Chevy, I've attached very recent photos. This car was won by a now senior citizen woman, who has had it mostly in her garage for the past 43 years or so since she won it from KRTH [we figure 1975]. The new owner is wondering if anyone can supply some history about his new ‘baby.’ He would appreciate it if anyone reading LARadio.com knows about the car, i.e., where KRTH got it and anything else that may be interesting in its family tree during the first 19 years of its existence. It’s a ’56! I’ve tried reaching out to any KRTH alumni that may have been at the station in 1975 to no avail. If anyone knows, you can email me at djbrucechandler@gmail.com and I’ll pass any info about it along to the new owner!” – Bruce Chandler |
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| ** Surfin’ With Saul
“I received a lot of press this weekend from LARadio. Thank you. Our early morning news program on KSURF is delayed one hour from its NYC presentation. We did that to reach more people who might not be up at 3 a.m. But it’s still the first radio news program in the LA market. Our ABC News on the hour runs between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. It is not delayed. Douglas, who used to work for me, has a great sense of humor alleging there are only three HD receivers in the Market, and one of those units is tuned into KSURF. When I started KKGO-105.1/fm, penetration was less than 30% of the LA Market. Actually, I believe the number of HD radios in the Southern California Market is very substantial.” – Saul Levine, KSURF/KKGO ** Where Is He Now? “I knew Bill Jenkins back in his KWK-St. Louis days [early 60's] when I was a college student at St. Louis Institute of Music and Washington University. He helped direct me to get a third-class license. During college I served as a summer replacement at WMRI-Marion, Indiana and WTCM-Traverse City, Michigan. I went onto a non-for-profit career with the Met Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY City Center Joffrey Ballet, Guthrie Theater and development consultant for La Jolla Playhouse and the Shakespeare Theater Co of DC. I have thanked so many folks for the parts they played in my early development, but until a recent visit to St Louis failed to play good wishes forward to Bill. Wondering if you have recent information and any way to contact, other than KABC, requesting they forward?” – Henry A. Young, Tampa, Florida reverence1944@gmail.com ** Know Everyone “Wow, almost every day there’s something on someone I’ve known or worked with. Like old home week recently. Thanks for reading my mind! Keep an eye and ear on Alex Faust. I think he will be the next L.A. sports announcing superstar.” – Larry Boxer ** Beachin’ Beach “WOW! So, your piece of paradise in Avila Beach has been LEAKED. Great seeing you live in such a great place- we know about being invaded by summer tourists here on the Cape :)” – Mike Butts ** Michael Spears Magic “I loved the 15-minutes with Michael Spears. He taught me what a jock should sound like, ‘just be yourself and prep and prep some more.’ He taught me what a station should be. First, they should be a member in good standing with the community, and second, the station must sound like a party, NOT WORK. If you tune out, you miss a piece of the party until you come back. Pure and simple, ya gotta make a noise.” – Howard Lapides ** Winking at Tic-Tac-Dough “If you do Facebook and enjoy game shows, I invite you to take a fun, ‘over-the-shoulder’ glance at Tic-Tac-Dough. My business associate John Ricci, Jr and his ‘enablers’ are producing a ‘new home grown’ STREAMING LIVE episode of the show [just for old-times-sake], and for some reason they’ve invited me to host it! [John has even digitally reproduced the original set.] Should be fun, or, the late Gary Owens might describe it as ‘a memory flogger.’ if you’re home and near your computer Saturday, turn back the clock with us at 3 p.m. at www.facebook.com/winkmartindalegames. Thanks.” – Wink Martindale ** Time Tone “I thought longtime LARP might be interested in the accompanying article.” – Brad Cramer ** I-Man’s Early Beginnings “Maybe Don Imus scratched it from his resume, but his first dj job was at KUTY in Palmdale. He had been working for the railroad and then [per his own voice] attended the Martin School of Broadcasting. From there he got a gig at KUTY where he began to show his genius doing short sketches and comedy characters. I worked at the record store in town and would occasionally run into Don at The White Spot, one of the old all-night cafes on Sierra Hwy. We’d bullshit over coffee. This was around 1968, maybe into 1969. He was at KUTY for about a year. I believe he was fired. I lost track of him until while looking at magazines in a drug store, I saw him on the cover of either Life or (probably) Look magazine. That was when he had gone to WNBC in NY. I occasionally surf your website. I am 68 and listened to all the great AM radio out of L.A. in the late ‘50s through most of the 60s … KRLA, KFWB and KHJ. Really enjoy all your bios of radio people I am familiar with.” – Don Sloan ** Commercial Overload “I know there’s been complaints before about too many commercials on KNX and other stations, but have you ever heard of a teaser for a Sigalert, then over 6 minutes of commercials? I was on the 210 west during KRTH morning drive time, and the traffic guy came on and said there was a Sigalert 6 minutes of commercials? It seemed to go on and on until the traffic guy finally said where the Sigalert was, then threw it back to Gary Bryant for more commercials! It was absolutely frustrating because the 210 east was what I was taking home after dropping my sister off at work! Fortunately, the accident was further east then Arcadia, but why would you put on such a dumb teaser and leave commuters hanging? Sad thing is KNX does the same thing 2-4 minutes before ‘traffic on the 5s’ but at least they then spend about 2 minutes giving a heads up on traffic. I have a feeling the days of KOLA and other stations running timely traffic reports are soon to be a thing of the past, if today's ‘traffic report’ is any indication! On the other hand, thanks for the fun look at what makes Avila Beach a hidden secret. I've never been there but it looks like a cute place.” – Julie T. Byers
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Mt. Rushmore of Sports Broadcasters?
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(September 14, 2018) Where
have all the legendary sports voices gone? Think of Chick
Hearn, then Vinny, Bob
Miller, and Dick Enberg. In an era
of mediocre sports voices, these four not only had longevity
but had distinctive voices. They told stories around their
sports and made the players and personalities come alive.
Another brilliant sports voice retires soon. Bill Plaschke in the LA Times pays tribute to the soon-to-retire Ralph Lawler, about to start his 40th season with the Clippers. “The voice of the underdog will soon be silent, the narrator of bottomless hope is going till, the greatest narrator of losing in the history of basketball is finally at the end of his uphill journey,” wrote Plaschke. Tom Hoffarth had his own perspective on the top sports broadcasters using a game of “Mt. Rushmore.” He wrote at TheDrillla.com: “If the baseline was Los Angeles sports play-by-play men since the beginning of time – and L.A. really ain’t that old – the obvious first three in lineup are Vin Scully, Chick Hearn and Bob Miller. All are in their respective sports’ Hall of Fame broadcast wing. They have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They introduced their sports to an L.A. market that hadn’t seen it before, and then fell in love with it.” But Tom wondered who might finish up this foursome. “Without Dick Enberg, it seems imperfect. Without Tom Kelly, it seems inadequate. Without Ralph Lawler, it sorta seems incomplete.” With Lawler’s retirement, Plaschke wrote: “He has missed three games in 40 years. He has worked through flu, strep throat, kidney stones and, on one difficult night, a variety of ailments so debilitating he was slurring his WORDS. He has seen more losing than one man should bear. Yet, as an entertainer who brought fans out of the shadows to create an unlikely Clippers Nation. Lawler should be in basketball’s Hall of Fame because he helped stoke interest in the Clippers despite all that losing.” Which sports broadcasters belong on your personal “Mt. Rushmore” and why? Hear Ache. KFI is looking for a weekend anchor/reporter. Interested? More details from news director Chris Little here ...Meanwhile, Julie Slater is leaving the anchor/reporter position at KFI … The RAMP newsletter had a wonderful headline after CBS head Les Moonves resigned: “CBS - Now with Less Les.”Creativity from Kevin Carter and Steve Resnick. |
Paxton Quigley Armed and Female ... With a New Gig
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(September 13, 2018) When
a friend was accosted and viciously raped in her own home, Paxton
Quigley decided she wouldn’t let the same tragedy
happen to her. A corporate communications executive with a
Masters in Anthropology from the University of Chicago,
Paxton began a quest for personal security that transformed
her into America’s foremost female personal safety awareness
expert. The self-defense guru to 15 million women hosted a
weekly show on KTZN (710AM) in the mid-1990s. "The Paxton
Quigley Empowerment Hour" dealt with personal reliance and
responsibility for women of all ages and the men in their
lives who really and truly care. Her book Armed & Female is
known as the "bible of women's gun self-defense." Born in Chicago, Paxton earned a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago. Paxton checked in recently to say she has a new radio talk show on KLAA (830AM), “Cannabis Healing with Paxton Quigley.” Her resume is impressive. Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News called her “guru” to millions of women. Morley Safer on 60 Minutes saw her as “the great persuader.” Oprah Winfrey described her as “an expert on women, on home intrusions and rape.” Paxton was also the “cover woman” for a New York City ad Working Woman magazine. Her photo appeared on the side of MTA busses, phone booths and bus stops. The slogan was “I Didn’t Get to Where I’m Going by Reading Good Housekeeping.” Underneath was the following: “Paxton Quigley, president of the most successful company in America teaching self-defense to women. She knows how to handle herself on the street.” She was briefly a bodyguard for Yoko Ono and other high-profile people. Paxton also taught self-defense to numerous celebrities, including actresses Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Geena Davis and Judith Light. Prior to her work in personal safety, Paxton Quigley was Director, Community Relations for Playboy Enterprises. Additionally, she worked with actor, Robert Wagner, as the promotional director for two years for the Jimmy Stewart National Relay Marathon, St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica and was also the editor of of The Valley Magazine, based in the San Fernando Valley. |
Jo Jo and a Kiis from Beijing
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(September 12, 2018) Longtime
KIIS night-timer Jo Jo Wright experienced a
trip of a lifetime. He travelled to China, where Jo Jo
participated in the second-annual Radio Renaissance
broadcast. Hosted by Metro FM 94.5 in Beijing, the 24-hour
radio extravaganza treated millions of listeners on air and
online to a full day of live programming hosted by a wide
array of music radio djs, as well as creative and
influential figures in the fields of culture, art, sound and
film from across the globe. We asked Jo Jo to share this experience with LARadio readers: "I shared my radio stories [cake fight with Michael Jackson, tattoos with Jason DeRulo, interview with Chester Bennington, getting pranked by Justin Bieber, etc.] with the audience in China. Broadcasting all night in the desert from a spaceship in Dunhuang, which was aproximately a 3-hour flight from Beijing." |
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| Hear Ache. Tony
Bruno, heard on a number of LA Sports stations over
the years, is being honored by Barrett Sports Media. The
group will now be presenting an annual award named in honor
of Bruno at the 2019 Barrett (no relation) Sports Media
Summit in Los Angeles. BSM president Jason Barrett says the
annual Tony Bruno Award will be given to a current member of
the sports radio industry who is “unique, unafraid, and
cutting thru on a national level.” … Blogger George Johns
has some advice for Talk radio: “If you don’t have anything
special to say, please don’t say it on the radio.” … Jim
Hilliker, LARadio historian, and Rita Wilde,
Classic Rock icon, went to Katella High School in 1973. They
didn't know each other then, but they
were recently reunited and caught up at their 45-year at the Ayres Hotel in
Costa Mesa … Fox Sports Radio has made no official
announcement but JT The Brick, a.k.a. John
Tournour, issued a farewell message via Twitter. He’d been
with the network since 2001 and was teamed with Tomm
Looney at KLAC for many years … Those who worked
with Michael Spears (a.k.a. Hal
Martin) have high praise for him. Check out a
quarter-hour with Michael
here
… Fascinating read from the late Dave Zorn: http://www.drzorn.com/
Shingles. Lindy Thurrell, former dj at KHTZ, KWIZ and KNOB, has been struggling with Shingles. “To be blunt, it sucks big time! I've always had sympathy for those with chronic illnesses and pain,” she revealed on Facebook. “Now it's total empathy. Yes, I have less pain and am taking fewer meds, but I’m still taking them every 4 to 6 hrs. My eyesight is almost back to normal, but there is still a tiny creature in my skull trying to squeeze my eyeball out of its socket. No prognosis as to when this will end. Good news: After only being able to sit on the couch for the first 3 months, my physical strength has returned. Paddle boarding and short hikes have been great! There’s nothing like being completely alone in nature – it’s the best therapy ever!” |
New Format for LARadio
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(September 11, 2018) The
headline in an LA Times story yesterday screamed out an
opportunity to cater to the baby boomers. If you watch
morning tv, daytime tv, CBS Sunday Morning News,
or 60 Minutes, we are bombarded with ads offering
medication to fix what ails us. For some reason, tv has
embraced a population that is growing older, but still with
spending money for cruises, cars and other items. One marketing exec in the Times story stated: “It’s become a gold rush. Whether you’re a hairbrush-maker or a technology company, you’re thinking about how you can meet the needs of an aging population.” Baby boomers still control 70% of the country’s disposable income. Radio seems to shun away from the older demographics, making a concerted effort to attract 25-54-year-old. But what about the 55+ who no longer can claim a radio station of its own? John Sebastian to the rescue. John is no stranger to LARadio. He was program director at KHJ in the late 70s, guided the early stages of the WAVE, and served as music consultant for MTV, Country KZLA and Nostalgia KLAC. He claims he orchestrated the “fastest turnaround” for a number of stations including KTWV, WCOZ-Boston, and KSLX-Phoenix. “Fortune has smiled on me with historic success in Top 40, Rock, New Age/Smooth Jazz, Classic Rock and Country...in major markets across this nation...Los Angeles (three different decades) Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, Minneapolis, Phoenix (multiple times) Nashville and more.” After a health scare, John has a new lease on life, physically, mentally and spiritually. “I’m in the best shape I’ve experienced for years. My mind is racing with ideas for today’s radio!” He’s put together his years of experience into a long and overdue radio format for 55+. |
| “It is the most undervalued,
under-appreciated, under exploited, if you will, demographic
in American life right now. I’ve done my due diligence. This
new format, an amalgam of the music of my life...all the
formats with which I’ve excelled, has the potential to rank
#1 6+ in many, if not most radio markets in the United
States. This demo, these people, still like radio, have
grown up with it and would listen to a station ‘for them’
with extreme loyalty combined with a powerful cume.” In an age when consolidation of ownership has created an environment of safety, John would like to find an owner or group that would dedicate their station to this format aimed at the 55+ population. “I made my mark in Top 40 when 12-24 was the key demo for success. In Rock it was 18-34. For Classic Rock 25-54. Country 35-54. And, Smooth Jazz/New Age 35-64. Notably, through the years, these were all the very same individuals! My experience and success with all these different demos have provided me with the knowledge and expertise to create a radio station format that will dominate 55+ Men and Women.” Will someone step up to tap into this growing, baby boomer marketplace? “This demo is the wealthiest in the United States. Amazing info considering there is “literally” no major radio format geared towards this huge throng. If you have ideas how John can bring this idea to fruition, you can contact him at: johnsebvoice@gmail.com |
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Avila is a Beachin' Beach
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(September 10, 2018) What
happened to the summer? For that matter, September is almost
half over. Cherie and I have lived in Avila Beach for two
years now. It is California’s newest beach and only one of
three with a microclimate (along with Santa Cruz and Santa
Barbara, because all are a south facing beach). When friends come to visit, most are amazed they never heard of Avila Beach before. It’s not for everyone. It’s a small village that swells during the summertime with visitors from Fresno and Bakersfield who come to beat the heat. As our visitors prepare to leave, we politely ask them to keep the secret, a treasure you can’t see from the 101 (between Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo). Well, Trip Advisor has spoiled everything with a story that of all the beaches in the United States, Avila Beach was named best beach town for a getaway. |
| Help Me Rhonda. Rhonda
Kramer is one of the nicest and most talented LARP.
She’s been doing traffic reporting for decades, most
recently at KABC through United States Traffic Network
(USTN). USTN and Cumulus (owners of KABC) had a dust-up
recently. With approximately a five-day notice, USTN
announced they would be folding their radio division after
Cumulus switched their traffic service to a competitor. “I was blessed to have the support of Drew Hayes (KABC operations manager) who went to bat for his news and traffic team,” emailed Rhonda. “I and many others will remain on the air with no interruption. I was welcomed back to Total Traffic & Weather Network owned by iHeartMedia. I will now be working for TTWN and will remain on the air at KABC. When there are people that care about you and their team, you feel blessed and very lucky.” Rhonda’s daughter will be getting married in November. “He’s a wonderful man who treats her like a queen. Our entire family is elated. I have a beautiful beachfront apartment in Redondo beach and I spend lots of time in the fresh air. I spent my Saturday morning chopping off 14 inches of hair to send off to Wigs for Kids who will be so happy to receive it. So, I guess there's been a lot going on in my life lately and I couldn't be happier.” Born and raised in New York, Rhonda moved to Palos Verdes Estates for her last two years of high school. She started doing overnights at KFOX, where by the time she got to afternoon drive she was offered the airborne traffic job at KHJ. Rhonda started LA Traffic Network in 1982 after a traffic-reporting career that included a few months at Metro Traffic. The Real Don Steele used to introduce Rhonda's traffic report with “Help me Rhonnnnnda, Rhonnnnnnda, Rhonnnnnnnda.” Rhonda loved starting her afternoon shift with such energy. “He woke me up.” Sheena of the Radio Jungle. Twenty-four years ago, Sheena Metal took a radio fill-in gig at KLSX, for one night, to help out a friend. “I fully expected to be let go the next day, but was excited to have a new skill to put on my acting resume. What I couldn’t have imagined, in my wildest dreams, was that night was just the beginning of a career, behind the microphone, that has lasted nearly a quarter of a century. All artists are natural storytellers and the opportunity to use that ability, inside of me, to help others share their life’s passions, projects, accomplishments and adventures, on the air, is the most beautiful gift of all.” To celebrate this milestone, Sheena will be broadcasting live from the Hollywood Improv. “This wonderful night will feature awesome celebrity guests, an audience interactive, live radio broadcast of my daily LA Talk Radio show, “The Sheena Metal Experience,” the launch of my new fragrance, Ascend, by CBT Candle LA, a cool red carpet before, a fun meet-and-greet afterward and many more surprises.” You are invited to participate. More information from Sheena at: sheena@sheenametalexperience.com. |
Email Saturday, 9.8.18
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** Johnny Morris Passing
“I am so sorry to read of the passing of Johnny Morris. I got to know him while I was babysitting overnight-KFI, and he was in a side-room studio as the overnight voice of the late, lamented KACE. I was told Johnny was the one responsible for spiriting KGFJ’s legendary CD-collection over to KACE, when 1230 went to ‘motivational talk’ as KYPA – and still he remained as 1230’s chief engineer after the format change. Only Johnny had a good handle on the old rooftop-long wire antenna setup that KGFJ / KYPA had used since the 1920s! Johnny kept a collection of classic r&b and soul cuts rattling around in the trunk of his car. Sometimes he’d go there to pull out something so rare for KACE-airplay at 3 in the morning. And what a set of pipes Johnny Morris had! I used to tell him I wanted to sound just like him when I grew up! At only 70, I know Johnny still had plenty of life left in him. We have lost a truly classic LARP.” – Greg Hardison |
| ** Bloomberg Reports “So glad to see the dialog concerning KNX’s Bloomberg business reports. How can an afternoon report on business not include even a five-second mention of the day’s Wall Street results? It’s the number-one indicator of the day's business health. The sounder that precedes the report is that of the stock market bell ringing, but the stock market / Dow Jones close seemingly remains a big secret. If the syndicated Bloomberg reports can’t provide that information, at least the anchor can intro the report with the headline, ‘The Dow was up 20 today. Here’s the KNX business report.’ I can’t be the only person who survived the big crash with a share or two. Thanks!” – Randy West |
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** Sweet Dick
“A million years ago, for a short period of time, I was a casting director at Twentieth Century Fox (now Twenty First Century Mouse). Anyway, I had the pleasure of casting Dick Whittington in a role. Wasn’t a big role, and I don’t remember the show, and I’d met a lot of fancy-shmancy actors, but I remember being thrilled to meet ‘Sweet Dick Whittington.’ He was very nice, even shy when he came into the office, but that was over a million years ago, and I remember my excitement to this moment. He was talent.” – Jeff Maxwell |
| ** Go Country
“Re the shares for August, Country KKGO was the number one Country station in the USA, based on cume. Beating out Dallas at No. 2, NYC at No. 3, and Chicago at No. 4. I wonder about the experts who said Los Angeles could not support a Country station. We are now in our 11th years as Country, of course, we did take a gamble. As we approach the 60th anniversary of 105.1, I am proud of this and also that my son Michael as program director.” – Saul Levine |
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** K-SURF Changes “The new K-SURF morning music show is not a live show. Gary Campbell is pre-recorded like Fred Missman’s morning show was. Fred continues the afternoon 4-6 p.m. pre-recorded show. Also, this morning, I caught the new K-SURF morning news show from 4 to 6 a.m. It is a tape delay broadcast of the same day live broadcast elsewhere [East Coast?]. Oddly, when the show breaks to a commercial, the time is given, for example, as ‘it’s twenty past the hour’ but it’s actually it’s many minutes earlier than :20 past. The local broadcast apparently is edited so that the times given live on the east are not correct in LA. Seems pretty cheesy at best [embarrassing for K-SURF for sure, and hardly credible], BUT the upside to this process is that the Oldies come back on around 5:40 a.m. instead of at 6 a.m.” – Steve Nieto, Yorba Linda ** KSUR versus KABC “Ha!! Saul Levine's Oldies station beats KABC two months in a row by a tad. And what are the chances that a PPM landed with one of the three people who have an HD tuner?” – Douglas Brown |
| ** High Priest “KGFJ was probably the station Alan Merrill is looking for. I don’t remember the ‘High Priest,’ but do remember Hunter Hancock (HH the Clown), Larry McCormick, and Johnny Otis (r), among others. Johnny Magnus [The Prince of Darkness] may also have been on then too. The KNX stuff has to be from the mid 50’s, before 1957 when I started there.” – Tom Bernstein ** Zorn Memorial “I will be driving from LA to Phoenix for Dave Zorn’s remembrance, and would welcome other LARP to join me in one or both directions. I have business interests in Phoenix and will either go early in the week prior to, or return late in the week following September 29. Anyone interested in sharing the drive is welcome to contact me at rick@baseballdogs.com." – Rick Sietsema |
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** Where Are They Now? "Richard Blade, who was dj'ing on KROQ for almost twenty years, and those being the most influential years, gets only ONE line?!?! That aint right. This dude was important. KROQ in the 80s and 90s was VERY important." - Gregory McIntosh |
| ** Funnie Resolve
“Thanks, you helped me get rid of this today.” – Don Elliot |
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