June 24.cwk

Airwaves: June 24, 2011

In this corner ...

KFWB (980 AM) is launching a new series of broadcasts focussing on local cities. Called KFWB on Your Corner, the series debuts June 24th with a spotlight on Long Beach.

As with this and all future broadcasts, the public is invited to attend the live broadcasts and interact with some of the KFWB personalities. This time the broadcasts will be from two locations: 5-11 AM from the Legends Sports Bar at 5236 East 2nd Street (including an amazing 98 cent breakfast) and 2-7 PM from the Long Beach Airport - Legends of Aviation Restaurant (2nd floor), 4100 Donald Douglas Drive.

The station plans to examine some of Long Beach’s major political issues, improvement projects, tourism, transportation and education. Scheduled to appear: Mayor Bob Foster, Dr. Jerry Schubel, director of the Aquarium of the Pacific, and F. King Alexander, president of Cal State Long Beach.

At the morning broadcast from Legends, Penny Griego Phil Hulett -- who cut his radio teeth at CSULB’s former student-run radio station KSUL -- will be on the air from 5 to 9 AM, followed by Bob McCormick and Money 101 from 9 to 11. Legends will open early for the 98 cent breakfast buffet and offer drink specials as well.

Les Brown will handle the 2-4 PM broadcast from Legends of Aviation, followed by Maggie McKay and Michael Shappe from 4-7.

This, in my opinion, is what KFWB -- and many other radio stations -- need to do, and I commend the station for doing it. They are getting out into the community and interacting with people.

The last time I can remember this happening on a consistent basis for a commercial station was back in the 1980s when KIIS-FM (102.7) hosted their Weekend Warmups every Thursday night, as well as sending people out to the streets to interact with the general public.

In the distant past, stations were “on the streets” constantly, with live broadcasts, concerts, prize patrols ... giving the station a presence both on and off the air. More recently as stations retrenched into the consolidated mother ship -- and with FCC-aproved format monopolies -- you’ve seen this less and less, and the public is poorer for it.

If you happen to attend one of the broadcasts, let me know what you think. For more information, go to www.cbsla.org

Carlin Lives On

Normally I detest the special stations that Sirius and XM satellite radio put on their systems. Generally they take a good channel and hijack it for a time to feature some lame artists that you really don’t want to hear. Or an artists that you used to like to hear but got burned out on due to the 24-7 playing of their music.

This is different: on the 40th anniversary of the recording of the album “FM & AM,” SiriusXM is giving Channel 104 to the comedy of George Carlin. It starts Saturday June 25th at 3 AM and ends Sunday, June 26th at 9 PM

Why they don’t give a better idea more time, I don’t know, but I’ll be listening to George Carlin Radio all weekend ...

Jealous?

Former KCRW (89.9 FM) personality Nic Harcourt said last Friday that his decision to leave the station had nothing to do with his new job at cable television’s MTV. Nor, as it turns out was it his decision. The public station had reported both statements as true.

Not so fast, says Harcourt. It appears to be a little public station jealousy, as the move was prompted -- according to Harcourt in an interview with the Los Angeles Times -- by his decision to host a show on KCSN (88.5 FM).

For their part, KCRW did not refute the charges, claiming that “we didn’t say anything that’s not true. He is leaving and he is at MTV.”

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