Airwaves: March 19, 2010
CBS Moves
Stryker, who was instrumental in getting top-40 Amp Radio (KAMP,
97.1 FM) off the ground, returned to his alternative KROQ (106.7 FM)
roots earlier this month, taking on the afternoon drive/early evening time
slot on the legendary alternative station.
KROQ is one of the shining stars among the CBS-owned radio properties. While
it has fallen a bit as of late the station has one of the longest-running formats
in town. Perhaps one of the reasons can be identified with a closer look at
the station’s lineup:
Kevin and Bean, 5:30 to 10 AM; Kat Corbett, 10 AM to 1 PM; Sluggo;
1-4 PM, Stryker, 4-8 PM; Nicole Alvarez, 8 PM-12 midnight; and Loveline,
midnight to 2 AM. Noteworthy are the 3-hour shifts -- almost unheard of in
music radio formats of any genre in this era of cost-cutting, along with the
maximum of four hours outside of morning drive.
Why is that important? Simple: it keeps your personalities fresh and makes
the station sound that much better. It was the default in the 1960s and ‘70s
for most popular stations. I use 3-hour shifts on the radio stations in my
mind, but that’s an entirely different column ...
Replacing Stryker on Amp is Michelle Boros in the 10 AM to 3 PM slot.
Boros follows Carson Daly (6 to 10 AM) and precedes Booker (3
to 7 PM) and Casey McCabe (7 PM to 12 midnight).
Abandoned Presets
An interesting topic came up on the discussion boards of Radio-Info.Com.
Interestingly, I had just been thinking of the very same topic last weekend
as I ran through my presets looking for a decent song.
The topic? Why is this station on my presets?
For example, in scanning my own, I still have Indie 103.1 as a preset
in my truck, even though I haven’t listened to it since, well, it went
away. And it went away a long time ago. I suppose I could listen to the current
Spanish format; problem is I had to cheat my way through Spanish in high school
and now I find myself too stupid to learn any foreign language.
Some of my presets are on there only because I have so many available, so I
set them to stations -- any stations I might kind-of like -- even though
I either rarely tune in or feel ill when I do. Like Jack (KCBS-FM, 93.1), KOST (103.5
FM) or My FM (KBIG, 104.3).
So what’s your radio like? Do you have any presets that are just there,
waiting for you to change them ... but like me you’re too lazy to actually
do so?
Better Mornings
Last week was like Russian Roulette when it came to the Bill Handel morning
show on KFI (640 AM). You either heard the regular banter of the regulars,
or you heard the awful voice of the thoroughly-annoying Petros Papadakis,
who was filling in for sports reporter Rich Marotta. Pleasure versus
torture, you might say.
Exactly why Papadakis leaves his island of KLAC (570 AM) to annoy the
heck out of people who usually avoid him is beyond me. Does Handel not notice
how he drags the show down every time he is on? Or am I just not understanding
his appeal?
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Copyright © 2010 Richard Wagoner and Los Angeles Newspaper Group.
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