San Diego Radio Wires 11-16-02

It was nothing short of a success, the radiothon with Roger Hedgecock and Dr. Laura Schlessinger. From KOGO: "More than 150-thousand dollars in cash and pledges and another 150-thousand dollars worth of donated items, including hundreds of blankets, were collected during the day-long radiothon" The event was lively and festive and included the raffle of an anniversary Harley-Davidson motorcycle from NY Myke.

Is this going to be a dark-day for radio workers in San Diego? Cut-backs have been the street buzz .... for some time .....

Meanwhile ... the two-hour tape delay of Bill O'Reilly is somewhat a factor at the station. The Fox News host show has been extended to the end of 2003, according to industry sources ... and afternoon host Sean Hannity is the second-most listened to talk show host in the nation. Both Bill and Sean are heard of 760 KFMB.

From the Flashfax: *WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN CHRISTMAS ON THE PRADO.ROGER still plans a major event on November 30th as the Nativity Scene and CHRISTMAS tree are opened to the public.December Nights our butt!!

National Radio Wires (11-16-02)

In a stunning victory for webcasting, both the Senate and the House of Representatives unanimously passed a revised version of H.R. 5469 late Thursday night that clears the way for copyright owners to offer webcasters a percentage-of-revenues royalty rate, essentially allowing the parties to mutually agree to override the CARP decision of last spring.

The Senate passed the bill at 10:32PM ET and the House passed it at 2:44AM. It now goes to President Bush for his signature.

The bill was actively supported by virtually all players on both sides of the debate this year, including the record industry, artist representatives, large webcasters, small webcasters, college radio representatives, and religious broadcasters.

In what was viewed as a surprise by some observers, the legislative staff in the office of retiring Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) (pictured) apparently played an active and valuable role in crafting what the parties concluded was a much better piece of legislation than the one Helms blocked at the last moment late last month (here).

The key difference between the bill that the House passed in October and the revised bill, renamed the "Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002," is that Congress did not establish any definition of "small webcaster" or set any royalty rates in the final version of the legislation.

Rather, the bill grants both sides the right to enter into a voluntary agreement "without fear of liability for deviating from the fees andLink: SoundExchange terms of the July 8 order" (i.e., the Librarian of Congress's modified CARP decision).

Specifically, the bill does so by permitting the receiving agent of royalty payments (i.e., SoundExchange) to negotiate on behalf of all copyright owners, whether they are members of SoundExchange or not, for the period beginning October 28, 1998 (i.e., the passage of the DMCA) and ending December 31, 2004.

Under the new mechanism established by this act, the voluntary agreement envisioned would be submitted to the Copyright Office, published in the Federal Register, and subsequently made available to all qualifying webcasters.

However, the bill grants the receiving agent that authority to make a settlement with the small commercial webcasters only until December 15th -- so the clock is ticking for both sides to "paper the deal."

The version of the bill passed last night also suspends ALL royalty payments due from noncommercial webcasters until June 30, 2003, giving both sides time to work out a new voluntary royalty structure.

Furthermore, the bill adds a new definition of "noncommercial" that permits webcasters who are currently for-profit entities to file for nonprofit status and take advantage of this option as long as they have a "commercially reasonable expectation that such exemption shall be granted."

This provision seems to permit any "hobbyist" webcaster to make a choice of whether they would like to be a for-profit business or a nonprofit. The bill gives the parties involved until May 31, 2003 to negotiate their voluntary license.

More reactions and analysis are at kurthanson.com.

San Diego Radio Wires 11-16-02

So the fate of XTRA's Loose Cannons (Steve Hartman and Bill Werndl), The Vast Morning Wasteland (Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith) and Fox's Kiley and Booms rests on the opinions of folks like you and me. Maybe.

One ---- or maybe two ---- of those three teams will join the merged lineup of Tony Bruno, Jim Rome and Lee Hamilton.

The merged stations will have a definite Los Angeles feel. Forget San Diego traffic and news updates. And be prepared to get only the barest news on San Diego teams.

With one more year on its contract with Clear Channel, it appears KOGO (600 AM) would be the likely alternative for the Aztecs.

Jay Posner - TV/Radio Sports - The San Diego Union
KFMB Said to be Honing Ax for Leitner http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/fri/sports/news_1s15media.html

Brief Sports TV Notes

The next two Sundays will give San Diegans a chance to compare the top broadcast teams on Fox and CBS. Fox's No. 1 team of Joe Buck, Cris Collinsworth and Troy Aikman will call this week's game against San Francisco, while Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms of CBS will be in Miami for next week's game against the Dolphins.

Not much to report on the XTRA 690/1150 merger this week, other than a rumor (denied, of course) that the launch date for the "new" station is Dec. 9

Chargers fans should note that Sunday's game with the 49ers is on Fox this week, not CBS. Joe Buck, Cris Collinsworth and Troy Aikman call the game.

ABC will carry the USC-UCLA Pac-10 showdown on Nov. 23 live at 12:30 p.m. ESPN will carry the San Diego State-Air Force game at 9 a.m. the same day.

ABC has named Keith Jackson to call the Jan. 3 Bowl Championship Series title game from the Fiesta Bowl. Brent Musburger will work the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl, as well as a Jan. 4 NFL wild-card playoff game. Musburger and partner Gary Danielson replace the ESPN team of Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire on the NFL game.

The Raiders-Broncos "Monday Night Football" game on ABC was seen by 19.6 million viewers, the largest audience for an MNF game since Sept. 10 last year.

Former UCLA standout Don MacLean will join play-by-play announcer Chris Roberts on UCLA basketball radio broadcasts on KXTA (1150 AM) this season.

San Diego Radio Wires 11-15-02

Editor: this subject is beyond the scope of my news section, but does any mainstream news such as the Buffoon wish to take on this subject?

RIAA, Net Radio, B'Casters, Helms, Reportedly Agree on new 5469 (11-15-02)

A press release from the office of Rep. Jay Inslee indicates that the Congressman "supports this afternoon's working meetings to modify the original Small Webcaster Amendments Act (HR 5469) by Senators and Members of Congress, RIAA/SoundExchange, small webcasters and the National Religious Broadcasters."

Any proposed measure would naturally be subject to a vote in both chambers of Congress.

Tomorrow (11/15), we'll have more details and analysis of this story, and other industry news in the Friday edition of RAIN.

Through industry sources, RAIN has learned that webcasters and representatives of broadcast industry groups, the recording industry, and members of Sen. Jesse Helms's staff were busy today hammering out an agreement more acceptable to a wider segment of the industry than the controversial HR 5469.

The "lame-duck" session of Congress, following elections but before newly-elected members begin their terms, began yesterday.

Now, a third version of a bill called HR 5469 would remove all actual specific rates and percentages from the law, and would give the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and SoundExchange the authority to cut individual private deals with webcasters on the "retroactive" royalties (those royalties based on sound recording performances made between October of 1998 -- the passing of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act -- and September 1, 2002), a power they don't currently have.

While we couldn't report on all the terms yet, RAIN sources familiar with the specifics of the bill have said this deal is significantly more agreeable to all webcasters.

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA), in a press release, indicated his support of today's "working meetings to modify the original Small Webcaster Amendments Act (HR 5469) [see RAIN here] by Senators and Members of Congress, RIAA/SoundExchange, small webcasters and the National Religious Broadcasters."

Inslee, along with Congressmen Rick Boucher (D-VA) and George Nethercutt (R-WA), introduced the Internet Radio Fairness Act (HR 5285) in July (see RAIN here). That proposal was largely abandoned by the involved parties when House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner introduced the original version of HR 5469, a six-month moratorium on webcasting sound recording royalty fees. It was intended to save small webcasters from the impending "retroactive" royalties, which were due October 20th.

After objection by the Committee's ranking Democrat John Conyers (D-MI), at the behest of musicians unions, HR 5469 was shelved. Sensenbrenner called webcasters and the RIAA to his office and demanded a deal be worked out. That deal, which changed HR 5469 to a "small webcaster" deal, sparked a divisive controversy in the webcasting industry.

HR 5469 -- before today -- set special royalty rates and minimum payments for defined "small webcasters" and "noncommercial, non-FCC webcasters." Additionally, record keeping requirements were amended, and a report to Congress on the effect of third-party relationships and the possible detriment of percentage-of-revenue based royalties.

Please see RAIN Friday for more details on this developing story.

http://www.100000watts.com/ - see how many radio stations are going all-Christmas this year!

Los Angeles Radio Wires (November 15, 2002)

That's right ... it seems Adult Standards music is returning to KLAC. Not yet, as today's event is just an official announcement of the upcoming format change, which has been on the rumor sites for the past two weeks or so. The official on-air launch is scheduled for December 12th, and if the rumor proves to be true, holiday music will be involved.

Last year sister station KOST (103.5 FM) got a huge boost from playing holiday music between Thanksgiving and Christmas; it seems this year KLAC may try the same thing.

It's a smart move on the part of Clear Channel, which owns a very successful standards station in San Diego, KPOP (1360 AM). The market is ripe for a strong-signal well-programmed standards station in Los Angeles, and KLAC itself was successful with the format until last year when the decision was made to drop music for talk. Ratings under the new talk format were less than half of what they were with music.

More on this story as it develops ... In the meantime, if you have suggestions for personalities or other ideas for the station, send 'em in. It will be interesting how your version of The Fabulous 570 compares with the real thing. Maybe KLAC management will even take your ideas to heart.

Sell Off... Viacom/Infinity is still trying to hold onto all of its current radio stations, asking for another waiver extension so that it can keep them all until the FCC ups or removes the ownership cap. The company went one over when it purchased KCAL-TV Channel 9; current FCC rules allow a company that owns two television stations to own only six radio stations, and Infinity owns seven.

Don Barrett - Los Angeles Radio People
Headlines: Are Clear Channel getting stoopid? XM Satellite tops 200,000 subs.

Radio Wires 11-14-02

"For those of you who knew Greg Faulkner and his history with San Diego as an air personality (KPRI, as "Adrian Bolt" and many years at KGB and KIFM), he was considered the best! Greg has been out on disability and passed away yesterday (11/12) at sunset. He was a quiet but funny person and kept his humor to the very end. There will be no service, no flowers, and no charity for he likes things quiet and simple. Instead, his family will have a celebration of his life at Thanksgiving. Remember him in your prayers this Thanksgiving. His voice will truly be missed!"

Former talkshow host Dave Dawson has died at his home in Kansas City. He was with KSDO and KOGO in San Diego and at KCMO Kansas City.

Radio Wires 11-14-02

The San Diego Union TV/Radio
Radiothon for kids... Radio talk show hosts Roger Hedgecock and Laura Schlessinger are teaming up to help abused, abandoned and neglected children by co-hosting a radiothon from 3 to 6 p.m. tomorrow on KOGO/AM 600 - the station that airs their regular weekday shows. The live broadcast will emanate from the San Diego Center for Children, 3002 Armstrong St. in Kearny Mesa. The center is a nonprofit treatment facility that turns around the lives of troubled children and teens. The radiothon aims to raise donations of blankets and cash for the "Dr. Laura Schlessinger Foundation," which plans to distribute "My Stuff Bags" to San Diego children who are rescued from abusive homes. The duffel bags are filled with things kids need and love, and are designed to help children adapt to new surroundings.

Happy Hour with The Parkers (November 14, 2002)

http://www.happyhourwiththeparkers.com/indexmain.htm

Finally... a live and local radio show with real fun and entertainment news for everyone! Every week Steve and Carey Parker, popular Valley radio hosts and newspaper/magazine columnists, answer the entertainment questions which really matter.

Happy Hour with The Parkers... broadcast live every Saturday afternoon from 3-4 p.m. at La Casita Restaurant on the corner of Indian Canyon and Tahquitz Canyon in beautiful Downtown Palm Springs! It's the newest hippest place on local radio for all the news about Valley entertainment and nightlife, happy hours, casino action, restaurants, community news and entertainment news and much, much more!

Happy Hour with The Parkers... a live and local radio show with real fun and entertainment news for everyone! We're giving prizes away every week, so call us and join in on the fun. La Casita Restaurant gift certificates, lunch and dinner certificates other great restaurants, car wash certificates, passes to the Desert IMAX Theatre and much more!

Call the Happy Hour hotline at (760) 360-7138 for news about the show, our "Car Nut Road Trips," and our weekly upcoming Live Remote Broadcasts with The Parkers, including special promotions, giveaways and much more!

Check out the Happy Hour Special Offers and Secret Deals pages for some great savings and free offers including restaurant gift certificates, dining discounts, 2-for-1's on entertainment and dinners and much more!

Los Angeles Radio 11-10-02

Posted by Glenn on 11/9/2002, 17:52:20

"Top rumor, which I believe, Charlie Tuna is being pushed back to KLAC as morning show host, the only live shift that KLAC will have. Second rumor, KBIG personel better not buy expensive XMAS gifts...some will be out after the first of the year - that's a guarantee. Third, Clear Channel is deciding now if a change to active rock for KBIG is feasable. Star would also be modified into more of a"My 94.1" type format if this occurs. This would happen after the first of the year or possibly later if a Iraq war has or is about to happen. I'm posting this as they are hot rumors in the halls of Clear Channel L.A. stations so don't slam me on it...if you have friends who work at C.C., they'll tell ya the same (bleep)...

Response by hmmmm: "You know that would be funny if CCU launched an active rock station in LA, because they just launched one in North Dakota, ie the Dam. Also, hearing rumbles that Emmis is considering Active Rock in Chicago at their Modern Rocker!"

Source: Gary Lycan - Orange County Register
KLAC's 'standards' a topic of talk

Excerpts:

Will talk KLAC/570 AM switch to adult standards? That's the buzz in the radio industry...the speculation is it will happen in December or January.

This year, the thinking goes, KLAC could get a boost with Christmas music leading into a switch to some variation on adult standards, a format in which it frequently enjoyed an average 2 percent audience share.

If that happens, the news would certainly please Chuck Southcott, whose "Music of Your Life" format with Gary Owens, Wink Martindale and others enjoys considerable national success, but not in Los Angeles.

The format - a mix of popular artists such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney and big bands, and, often, contemporary versions of standard hits - think Tony Bennett and k.d. lang - would have wide audience appeal, if longtime reader reaction here is any indication.

The only choices are KSUR (K-Surf) at 540 AM, operated by Saul Levine, and, in the Ontario area, KSPA AM, a sister station of Art Astor's 94.3 FM in Orange County.

Officially, Clear Channel's Greg Ashlock, KLAC station manager, said "nothing has been confirmed yet."

INFINITY NEWS... No word on which Los Angeles station Infinity might sell to meet FCC requirements brought about by the company's purchase of KCAL/9 - the announcement on whether there will be a sale or an extension may not happen until the end of this week.

The Infinity stations are KRTH-FM 101.1, KCBS-FM 93.1, KTWV-FM 94.7, KLSX-FM 97.1, KROQ-FM 106.7, KNX-AM 1070 and KFWB-AM 980. We'd rule out KFWB and KNX - the two all-news stations...

We'd also rule out KRTH - the popular oldies station just announced it is to begin celebrating its 30th anniversary and, effective next week, it will relocate to Paramount Studios from near the Santa Monica (I-10) Freeway.

Source: Don Barrett - Los Angeles Radio People
Premiere Hot 100: In the aftermath of Premiere Radio Networks' elimination of 15 programs, 100 staffers lost their jobs. Among the programming to be dropped are "Rockline," Jim Cramer's "Real Money," and "Rhythm Top 30 Countdown" with Ellen K (of Rick Dees morning show on KIIS-FM).

Cramer's money show was heard on KLAC, and with the impending change of 570 AM to a pop standards-type format, his show would not have had a home. A similar fate is expected for Suze Orman. Editor's note: Cramer's syndicator has since said the show will stay in production.

LA Radio Wires 11-9-02

CCU is "web stunting": if you go to KLAC's website, you're connected to CCU's Adult Standards station in Boston WXKS (AM). action central. http://www.570klac.com

The website is back to normal as of now.

Top Ten (November 4-10, 2002)

1. South Park (COM)
2. The Simpsons (FOX)
3. Sabrina the Teenage Witch (WB)
4. Bernie Mac (FOX)
5. Futurama (FOX)
6. Malcolm in the Middle (9pm) (FOX)
7. Drew Carey (9:30) (ABC)
8. King of the Hill (FOX)
9. Charmed (WB)
10. Late Show with David Letterman (average for the week) (CBS)