San Diego Radio Twitterings (Apr 10, 2010)

San Diego Jack JACK_fm: JM showed up in a Playboy Bunny outfit to celebrate Hef's birthday today

BobbieHill: IF hollywood can cast Robert Pattinson to play Kurt Cobain why not use Lyndsey Lohan as Courtney Love - she wouldn't need makeup!

Berger_Prescott: The latest podcast is now available on Facebook! Listen, join the group and help Berger with his bees! http://cot.ag/dBEchv

Chris - SDRadio SDRadio: RT @shannatrenholm American Midol #badtvshowideas

RogerHedgecock: SF #MEATLESS monday another wacko idea or do you back it? Wouldn't we be better if government went meetless thus not taxing us anymore?

Tom Taylor radio-info.com (Apr 10, 2010)

"The Internet dominates how younger consumers discover music." The age 12+ graphs on page 15 show radio still #1, though down from the 63% figure in 2002 (doesn't that seem like ages ago?) to 39% today. The numbers reflect people in the national study of 1,753 Americans who talked about which media they "turn to first to learn about new music." Back in 2002, the Internet was cited by 9%. Today it's 31%. But looking at the tastemaking generation of 12-34s (page 16 of the pdf), the picture's different. Arbitron's Bill Rose says "the Internet has now passed radio for discovering new music among 18-34s." Over half (52%) cite the Internet, versus 32% for radio.

Letters (Apr 10, 2010)

From Paul: We are Orange County's only community radio station, www.OCTalkRadio.net providing local businesses and community groups a forum for "stimulating conversations".

From James: Where's the comedy on the radio? No more Tom Leykis, DSC, etc. on the radio. Nothing but boring right wingers complaining about entitlements for the poor and sports jocks for talk. F--king boring radio.

The Wires (Apr 10, 2010)

Jay Posner TV/Radio Sports: Big ratings for Tiger's return. As expected, Tiger Woods' return to golf Thursday at the Masters provided a ratings boost for ESPN, with the telecast drawing 4.93 million viewers, the most ever for a golf telecast on cable, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released Friday.

Jay Posner TV/Radio Sports: Masters' broadcast mutes talk of sex scandal. For the record, the first picture on ESPN's telecast of the Masters at 1 p.m. PDT yesterday was Tiger Woods walking up the eighth fairway at Augusta National.

TV/Radio World: For Some AMs, an Earlier (Pre-)Sunrise?

Just In at 1am PDT: Tom Leykis Update (Apr 9, 2010)

At least once (and maybe more than once), you wrote to me about my radio show. Many people like you wrote to me after our show left the air to ask what happened to me. Not just a few. Over FOURTEEN THOUSAND PEOPLE took the time to write.

The full answer is coming. But in the meantime, I wanted you to know where you can find out about what I am currently up to.

. You can find me on Twitter @tomleykisshow or, if you ever followed "The Tasting Room", @tastingwithtom.

. You can find me on Facebook on the fan page called "The Tom Leykis Show".

. Although MySpace feels like an abandoned shopping mall sometimes, we are still there at www.myspace.com/tomleykis

. "The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis" can be heard in LA on AM 1260 KGIL Thursday nights from 8-10 PM or at our website, www.tastingwithtom.com

. I blog now and then at thetomleykisshow.blogspot.com

. blowmeuptom.com for now directs you to the website of my new audio content distribution company, The New Normal. There you will find our office number and updates on where I am and what I'm doing.

Finally, as you can see, we have overhauled our email system and I am actively reading mail from tom@blowmeuptom.com, so you can be assured that I will see what you're writing. This is our preferred email address, so don't be surprised if I don't see your email on Facebook or MySpace.

As you know, Adam Carolla, Frosty, Heidi & Frank and Tim Conway Jr. have all re-emerged doing whatever they are now going to be doing. I have kept a lower profile because I believe that you want me to do something bigger. And that is what I am working on.

Keep in touch with me through Twitter, through our websites and, directly by email so you will be among the first to know what I will do next. Pass this email along to a friend if you like so that they can be added to the mailing list.

I hate spam as much as anyone, so write me if you don't want to know anything about me at all. I will take you off the list if that's what you'd like. But then again, when I go to Nigeria, you won't get a piece of the $127 million that I will be receiving in my US bank account.

Thanks for your interest and for ever having been interested enough to sit down and write to me. You have no idea what is about to come.

Tom Leykis

Cookie ôChainsawö Randolph Comes To 619 Sports (Apr 9, 2010)

ôWe couldnÆt be happier to welcome Chainsaw to 619 Sports,ö said company co-founder and president Craig Elsten, ôCookieÆs wit and wisdom will be a tremendous addition to our website. We look at the addition of Chainsaw to our team as another step toward 619 Sports becoming the premier online destination for San Diego sports talk and sports writing.ö

Randolph spent 20 years as part of the ôDave, Shelley and Chainsawö program on 101.5 KGB-FM, the top-rated and wildly popular morning radio show. While the DSC is currently in between radio gigs, Randolph has been itching to continue to contribute to the San Diego sports scene.

ôThank you, President Obama!ö said Chainsaw, ôThanks to an obscure clause in æCash for ClunkersÆ, Craig and Chris get a tax credit for donating a portion of their website to the unemployed. IÆm happy to take advantage of this sports welfare.ö

ôChainsaw is one of the funniest, most entertaining sports personalities IÆve ever listened to in San Diego,ö said company co-founder and vice president Chris Ello, ôItÆs going to be a lot of fun to work with him and I canÆt wait!ö

Cookie ôChainsawö Randolph will be officially introduced as a member of the 619 Sports team on Tuesday night, April 13th, at the Tilted Kilt downtown in San Diego. 619 Sports will be hosting a ôtweetupö from 6:30-8:30pm, open to the public. Chainsaw will record his debut podcast with 619 Sports in a live show at the Tilted Kilt.

Tom Taylor radio-info.com (Apr 9, 2010)

The Wires (Apr 9, 2010)

Mediaroom: The percentage of Americans age 12 and older who have a profile on one or more social networking Web sites has reached almost half (48 percent) of the population in 2010 û double the level from two years ago (24 percent in 2008), according to the new national survey from Arbitron and Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2010: Digital Platforms and the Future of Radio

John Maffei TV/Radio Sports: Masters coverage is all Tiger, all the time

Tom Taylor radio-info.com (Apr 8, 2010)

In the second quarter of 2009, the Commission logged 12,940 such complaints against radio and TV, compared to twice as many (25,058) the previous year. And in the third quarter of 2009, there were 1,827. Those are the most recent numbers, just issued Friday. They may indicate a period of relative quiescence by the Parents Television Council, the decency group that has periodically inundated the FCC with website-filed complaints. The PTC certainly objects to some things on television. It suggests you "file an FCC complaint about multiple unedited `s-words' on NBC" and says that "American Music Awards assaults viewers with simulated sex acts, S&M themes and non-stop expletives." That would be former Idol contestant Adam Lambert, last November. And since we haven't seen the fourth quarter listing of complaints from the FCC - maybe that produced a new flood. But the FCC hasn't issued any new indecency fines against TV for several years, since the contentious cases against CBS (Janet Jackson at the 2004 Super Bowl) and Fox (for Cher and Nicole Richie on the two Billboard award shows). And despite all the rumors, it's been even longer since radio has seen an indecency fine.

Cherry Creek Radio's remaining station in California's Imperial Valley goes dark - and may have been sold. The station is KROP, Brawley at 1300, and it was orphaned by Cherry Creek's recent move-in of its FM sister KSIQ (96.1) over the mountains and into the San Diego market. The FM is also reportedly for sale, now that it's a Class B1 licensed to Campo with an on-channel booster in Santee. A former Cherry Creek Radio manager Tony Driskill tells the Imperial Valley Press he's not sure why classic country KROP-AM has just been turned off - "I don't know if it was a function of the sale or if it was just turning it off until was sold." No buyer identified for KROP, and there's nothing filed at the FCC about a sale. It's authorized for 1-kw daytime and 500 watts at night in the El Centro-Mexicali market where agriculture is so prominent - thus the call letters "KROP." The San Diego Board of Radio-Info is talking about the Cherry Creek moves now - including the fact that local fans are Dodger-less, since KROP has carried the L.A. team since 1958.

The Wires (Apr 8, 2010)

Survey: Americans listening less. An explosion of entertainment options has resulted in Americans listening to FM and AM radio for an average 18 hours a week, down 18% compared to five years ago. The biggest attrition of listening has been among 12-24 year olds, who are spending five hours less with AM-FM radio each week.

Mornings may come earlier for AMs. Radio can't get Mother Nature to put the sun in the sky an hour earlier, but the FCC may change its rules in a way that has the same impact. Pre-sunrise power rules currently begin at 6am regardless of local sunrise. It may soon be pushed back to 5am.

Mel Phillips: Terrestrial radio isn't being crushed like a grape but it is being squeezed like an orange and that orange is producing less juice. Add your own analogy, I think you get the point. Time spent listening to Terrestrial radio is melting like the wicked witch. The most telling stat from the new Bridge Ratings is the 5-year loss in listening to AM/FM radio

Inside Music Media: The radio lobby (National Association of Broadcasters) and the record industry lobby (MusicFIRST Coalition) are being childish. The record label interests try to make it appear that the radio industry is trying to hurt starving artists by opposing the proposed repeal of the performance royalty exemption. It's not like the radio industry doesn't already pay ASCAP, BMI and SESAC licensing fees. You've got a polarization developing (does this surprise you in today's political climate?) that you're either for artists or against them. The radio lobby is just as bad

FMQB: Jeff & Jer Announce Syndicated Weekend Show

Randy Dotinga: Shake, rattle and on the air

The Wires (Apr 7, 2010)

Wired: The runaway success of the iPhone is one of the main reasons the FCC wants to switch some of the television broadcasters' wireless spectrum to cellphone companies - so they can improve or maintain their service as more people stream video and other data to their portable devices.

Wall Street Journal: A federal appeals court ruled today - Tuesday - that the Federal Communications Commission exceeded its authority when it issued a 2008 citation against Comcast Corp. for throttling Internet traffic from high-bandwidth file-sharing services.

Bridge Ratings: Consumers of audio over the last five years have changed the way they use audio-listening devices whether it is an AM/FM radio or their cellphone or smartphone. Technology is rapidly and continually impacting all of these devices. Bridge Ratings has updated it's 2007 study which showed usage trending among the top five most-used devices among our sample of 1956 persons ages 12+.

Radio Ink: FCC Loses 'Net Neutrality' Decision. The DC Circuit Court has vacated a 2008 FCC order to Comcast that required the company to treat all Internet traffic equally, ruling that the FCC doesn't have the authority to regulate an Internet provider's network management. The order was issued after advocacy groups complained that Comcast was interfering with its customers' use of peer-to-peer networks.

Fast Company: How Adam Carolla Became a Podcast Superstar

Tom Taylor of radio-info.com (Apr 7, 2010)

In L.A., KFWB's revenues were down to $14 million in 2009. There's some stuff in the "Pulling the Plug" story from the L.A. Business Journal that you already know - CBS placing KFWB (980) into a trust run by former Shamrock exec Bill Clark, to comply with a long-ago FCC order because CBS bought a second TV station in L.A. What we didn't know was the BIA/Kelsey-estimated revenues for KFWB and its all-news sibling, KNX (1070). The Business Journal says KFWB "had $36 million in revenue in 2005, but brought in just under $14 million in 2008." Twice last year, CBS took a shot a re-imagining all-news KFWB. First with a "company-town" approach focused on the entertainment industry. Then as a station that still carries drivetime news blocks, but relies on talkers Dave Ramsey (9am-noon), Dr. Laura (noon-4pm), Michael Smerconish (7-10pm), Laura Ingraham (10pm-1am) and Todd Schnitt (overnights). The other revenue statistic from the Journal is about KNX. It stayed true to the all-news faith, and did $25.4 million in revenue last year - down from $40.4 million in 2005. Speculation is that if CBS does finally sell KFWB - as competitor Saul Levine desires - 980 may wind up speaking in a different tongue. Southern California Broadcasters Association boss Mary Beth Garber says "there are a number of foreign language programmers who are quite interested in expanding their holdings in this market, or coming into this market." In the highly-diverse L.A. market, that could be Korean or Spanish or Persian language programming on KFWB.

Start the car, crank up the iPod. Direct Port Music InjectionIn-car use of MP3 players has grown to 1-in-4. That's one of the many findings from the new Infinite Dial 2010 study from Arbitron and Edison Research - and it's a high number. 24% of those in the national study of 1,753 persons 12+ say they've listened to an iPod, iPhone or other MP3 player while connected to a car stereo. Edison principal Larry Rosin says "the car is clearly a crucial battleground for people's attention." And it's not just an occasional thing, for those who do plug in while belted into the seat - "our study shows that most of those who listen in this fashion do so more than once a week." It's certainly added competition in the cockpit for radio, especially music radio. Arbitron and Edison are putting out some interesting factoids ahead of next week's release of their 18th collaboration devoted to new media, now called "Infinite Dial."

Internet-only WOXY.com might have yet another resurrection. Its owner pulled the plug last week, shockingly, just after the Austin-based webcaster had taped a bunch of material at this year's South By Southwest music-and-culture bash. No details, but the word floating around the new media universe is that somebody is working on yet another revival. The brand's been dealing with bandwidth and other costs after recreating its former terrestrial radio adult alternative identity as an online (shall we say it?) avatar. So the underlying radio station is gone, sold off, but the station kept the call letters going online for years, under a couple of different owners. Now, maybe there's hope for yet another comeback.