Airwaves: May 24, 2013
KRTH and KTWV Get a New PD
CBS Radio announced last week that Rick Thomas will be taking over programming duties at KRTH (101.1 FM) and KTWV (94.7 FM) when Jhani Kaye leaves for Ònew opportunitiesÓ in June.
DonÕt know the name? Neither did I. So I looked him up. It seems he has extensive on-air, consulting and programming experience from San Diego to Honolulu, from where Thomas is moving.
According to Howard Freshman of CBS Radio, Los Angeles, past successes of Thomas include KYLD/San Francisco, KSFM/Sacramento and XHTZ/San Diego. In Honolulu he was in charge of an entire cluster of stations.
Interestingly, though, I can find no instance of programming stations like The Wave or K-Earth. Maybe I just missed it, and it certainly means nothing, but it seems his greatest successes came from programming what is known as Òrhythmic oldiesÓ or Òrhythmic contemporaryÓ stations.
For instance, XHTZ was once an album rock station until Thomas changed it to Òrhythmic top 40, sort of like San DiegoÕs version of the original Power 106 format that played dance-oriented hits. The same format could be found on KYLD under ThomasÕ control. Ditto, KSFM.
In Honolulu the cluster is almost entirely variations of the format, with only one of the three breaking away to play Òthe rock you live on.Ó
Again, I might have missed it and it might mean nothing. But something tells me that CBS Los Angeles didnÕt hire a guy who programmed Beyonce, Heavy D, Rebel Souljas, Prince and Alicia Keys in my favorite vacation spot to just leave things alone.
My guess? While KRTH is safe for now and may just evolve a bit, the days of The Wave are numbered. DonÕt be too surprised if 94.7 becomes LAÕs Old School station. Sooner than later.
Mail Bag
ÒHaving recently read your article 'Radio is doomedÉ' in the Long Beach Press-Telegram, I just wanted to add a comment from a listeners points of view mainly about KRTH (101.1 FM). There several stations I listen to and KRTH is generally one of them. Except on Sunday mornings ... Every Sunday its all, the entire, the complete, the whole nothing but Beatles; why they do this is I do not understand. The Beatles were good but not that good.Ó -- Chuck KG6SYX, Long Beach
I think it was the now defunct magazine Trouser Press that claimed The Monkeys were more influential than The Beatles, though IÕm not sure if it was satire or IÕm remembering wrong. Regardless, it seems itÕs only you and me that thinks this way. If it didnÕt get ratings, you can bet KRTH, KLOS (95.5 FM) and probably a few more wouldnÕt run the Beatles programming every week.
ÒI have been listening to AM radio since the late 1940s, and have beenÊreading your column for several years in the Daily Breeze.ÊBecause of my long commutes,ÊI mostly listen to various local AM talk radio showsÊas theyÊprovide traffic reports more often than FM stations.ÊI got into AM DXing in the 1950s,Êusing a long wire antenna strung between the TV antenna on my parents roof and the utility pole inÊour back yard.ÊTheÊbest AM reception, as I recall, was on a Westinghouse clock radio I wish I still had.Ó -- Gregg Perkins, Rancho Palos Verdes
AM DXing, or long distance AM listening, is a dying art, I am afraid. So much interference and so many syndicated programs at night when such reception is possible make it almost impossible to find anything interesting to hear. But it still can be fun to find that needle in a haystack!
Ê ///
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