Airwaves: July 16, 2010
Another direction for KABC?
It has been years since anyone truly took KABC (790 AM) seriously. KFI (640
AM) overtook it in the ratings in the 1990s, and ever since the station has
been adrift, management unaware of how to keep the station relevant. Right
now it isnt relevant, with hodgepodge of shows, some local, some syndicated;
some decent, most tacky.
More than once I have written that KABC might consider just jettisoning the
talk altogether in favor of, perhaps, adult standards.
It is quite astonishing how bad KABC is as a station right now, and Im
not talking ratings, but format. No continuity (not that there needs to be,
mind you, but there should be a sort of flow). Syndicated fare that has only
one thing going for it: its cheap, maybe free. And then theres Frosty,
Heidi and Frank -- not my style but liked by people I respect -- dangling
in the wind with an audience that cannot possibly relate to any other host
on the station.
To the rescue: Jack Silver. Silver, as you may recall, was the programmer
in charge of KLSX (97.1 FM) before that station left talk for top-40.
He worked under the direction of general manager Bob Moore, who just
happens to be the general manager of KABC. Now the two are back together again,
as the station announced Silver has replaced David G. Hall as programmer
and operations director. Hall left to concentrate on his consultancy business
(read: shown the door).
So what does this mean for KABC? Will, as some have predicted, KABC become
an AM clone of KLSX?
According to the press release distributed by KABC, Silvers responsibilities
are to build a very focussed, produced and executed adult radio station that
complements the success of Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
KABC is fortunate to have Peter Tilden, Frosty, Heidi and Frank, and John
Phillips on staff, along with Doug McIntyre, Don Imus and John
Batchelor.
In other words, if you believe the press release, nothing will change. The
station will be as bad tomorrow as it is today. Owner Citadel may not
have the guts to do what needs ot be done, since it wants programming cheap
and the syndicated fare, while earning no ratings, is essentially free.
But I dont believe the press release. I dont think Silver would
get back together with his old boss to just leave things alone. How much power
he will truly have is unknown; it certainly seems as if departing programmer
Hall had no real power. Yet for KABC to accomplish anything it must consider
all options, including blowing up the station and starting over.
Silver is smart. Not as smart as he thinks, but smart. I would expect that
he wouldnt take the position if he couldnt do anything, and I think
hes smart enough to know Los Angeles well enough to understand that a
KLSX clone on AM wont cut it. Heck, KLSX itself couldnt cut it.
But he knows Los Angeles, and it will be interesting to watch what he does do.
And what he cant. Working for Citadel, he may find that cant is
a word he hears a lot.
And if the pair of Moore/Silver are even considering messing with sister rocker KLOS (95.5
FM), I will be sorely disappointed.
Followup
Regarding the inquiry about Michael Savage and Dennis Miller:
Savage is also on KSPA (1510 AM) live from 3-6 pm daily. He is also
on CRN Digital Talk on Time Warner and Cox Cable locally
live, from 3-6 pm on channel 974.
Dennis Miller is also carried LIVE by CRN Digital Talk Radio
(Dennis does the show live from 7 am to 10 am daily) on Time Warner and Cox Cable,
also on channel 974.
That information comes from Michael Horn, who runs CRN Digital Talk.
The cable mentions must be localized, though, as I dont get CRN on my
cable system.
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Copyright © 2010 Richard Wagoner and Los Angeles Newspaper Group.
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