Mutterings (Nov 5, 2011)

KOGO To Expand to FM (Nov 5, 2011)

On Monday morning, New Country 95.7 bids farewell after over 12 years (going back to 1999 as Hot Country 99.3, Bob 99.3, and US 95.7) to make room for the simulcast. KUSS PD Cindy Spicer, who just happened to be the only local and live on-air talent, will leave. Reach her at cindyspicer@costaricavaca.com, or (760) 884-7656.

KOGO's new slogan is "FM News and Talk 95.7 and AM 600 KOGO. We are San Diego." Good golly, Miss Molly. What a mouthful!

Bryan Suits will take over the NOON-2pm time slot. LaDona Harvey will move to the 2-6pm time slot.

Bob "Sully" Sullivan, who was heard Wednesday nighs, is getting a new five-day-a-week gig weeknights from 6-8pm.

Roger Hedgecock disappears from the local airwaves for the first time since he joined KFMB in 1985. Roger later went to KSDO-AM, then was shifted to KOGO in a series of corporate radio ownership mergers in the mid 1990s.

Roger's show, however, is offered via syndication. He can be heard on XM Satellite channel 166 weekdays 3-6pm Pacific time, or listen to his podcasts at rogerhedgecock.com

Rumor has it that Roger and crosstown talk rival Rick Roberts will be swapping jobs between KOGO and KFMB. No word if, when, and where Rick will appear on KOGO.

Roger was doing his show at 3pm coming live from the nation's capitol. Then in the 4pm hour, he vanished. Producer Brett Winterble took over for the final two hours. That was strange. Did he find out that he was no longer on KOGO's schedule prior to the 4pm hour?

Jimmy Valentine, Roger's former producer, says Roger is going to KFMB-AM.

Also gone is Chris Reed, who hosted Top Story from 6-8pm.

KOGO will be all local from 12pm-8pm beginning with Bryan Suits, then LaDona Harvey, then Bob Sullivan.

Technically, Clear Channel San Diego will be offering only six stations on its seven local frequencies. New Country was tolerable, but I wish they would retire that unlistenable dinosaur rock KGB 101.5 for good. Put punk alternative country on 101.5 there.

Daylight Saving Ends. Merge Left (Nov 5, 2011)

I got a question. It's dark at 6am. There's no sun at 6pm. Why are we saving daylight for 5pm at this date instead of for 6am?

Northern latitudes have it worse when it comes to early morning daylight. Sun don't get up until 8am in some places.

All this gets solved when Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday morning.

The second after 1:59:59 am Daylight Time, it becomes 1:00:00 am Standard Time.

People are advised to set their clocks Saturday night if their clocks don't automatically set themselves.

People in Mexico have already set their clocks back one hour this previous Sunday the 30th.

Wiremania (Nov 5, 2011)

Sports Wires

John Maffei TV/Radio Sports: TV COLUMN: CBS deals its way to No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Trades are a big part of sports.

Misc Wires

The bestselling cars and trucks of 2011

Daylight Saving Time Ends This Weekend, and It's Healthy

Flock of starlings' dazzling aerial ballet captured on video

Close encounter of an asteroid kind

Wiremania (Nov 4, 2011)

Radio Wires

Gary Lycan: Will Jim Ladd find a new home on classic rock KSWD/100.3 FM "The Sound"? KFWB on Oct. 31 was placed into the KFWB Asset Trust. Why? Because CBS Radio in Los Angeles needed to come into compliance with FCC cross-ownership rules that say a company that has two television stations in a market û in this case, KCAL/9 and KCBS/2 û can only have six radio stations in the market. CBS Radio had seven û KFWB, KNX, K-EARTH, JACK FM, KTWV "The Wave," KROQ, and KAMP.

TV Wires

Ratings: All Soaps Up in Women 18-49 Demo

Sports Wires

ESPN Longhorn Network Cash Tips College Sports Into Disarray

Detroit Lions Only NFL Team To Lose Money

Sports on TV from USA Today

Tech Wires

ZD Net: New House of Representatives bill may strangle the Internet or nerf the First Amendment. If you love your Internet, you must read this article. Congress is once again mucking around with our rights, and it ain't good.

Death to Keyboards & Monitors: the OmniTouch

Biggest jump ever seen in global warming gases

Weekend Sports on TV (Nov 4, 2011)

Canadian Football League: Saskatchewan at Edmonton, delayed tape, NFL Network, 12 a.m.

College football:Central Michigan at Kent State, ESPN2, 5; Southern California at Colorado, ESPN, 6

Golf: Champions Tour, Charles Schwab Cup Championship, second round, in San Francisco, Golf Channel, 1:30; PGA Tour-World Golf Championship, HSBC Champions, third round, in Shanghai, Golf Channel, 8

Horse racing: NTRA, Breeders' Cup World Championships, in Louisville, ESPN2, 1

NHL: Chicago at Tampa Bay, NHL Network, 4:30

Saturday, Nov. 5

Boxing: Lucian Bute vs. Glen Johnson, for IBF super middleweight title, in Quebec City, Showtime, 6; middleweights, Peter Quillin vs. Craig McEwan; junior middleweights, Alfredo Angulo vs. James Kirkland, in Cancun, Mexico, HBO, 7:15

Canadian Football League: Winnipeg at Calgary, NFL Network, 1

College football: Michigan at Iowa, ESPN, 9am; Syracuse at Connecticut, ESPNU, 9am; Texas Tech at Texas, FX, 9am; Regional coverage, Purdue at Wisconsin or Texas A&M at Oklahoma, ABC or ESPN2, 12:30; or Stanford at Oregon State, ABC, 12:30; Mississippi at Kentucky, ESPNU, 12:30; Army at Air Force, CBS, 12:30; Texas-El Paso at Rice, Fox Sports Net, 12:30; Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, ESPNU, 4; Missouri at Baylor, Fox Sports Net, 4; South Carolina at Arkansas, ESPN, 4:15; Arizona State at UCLA, Versus, 4:30; LSU at Alabama, CBS, 5; Regional coverage, Notre Dame at Wake Forest or Kansas State at Oklahoma State, ABC, 5; Oregon at Washington, Fox Sports Net, 7:30; Louisiana Tech at Fresno State, ESPNU, 7:30

Golf: Champions Tour, Charles Schwab Cup Championship, third round, Golf Channel, 1:30; PGA Tour-WGC, HSBC Champions, final round, Golf Channel, 8

Horse racing: NTRA, Breeders' Cup World Championships, ABC, 11am, ESPN, 12:30 and 3:15

NHL: Montreal at New York Rangers, NHL Network, 4

Soccer: Premier League, Everton at Newcastle, ESPN2, 5:30

Sunday, Nov. 6

Golf: Champions Tour, Charles Schwab Cup Championship, final round, Golf Channel, 1:30

NFL: Regional coverage, CBS, 10am; KFMB and KCBS: New York Jets at Buffalo Bills from Ralph Wilson Stadium
NFL: Regional coverage, Fox, 10am; KSWB and KTTV: San Francisco 49ers at Washington Redskins from FedEx Field
Regional coverage, CBS, 1; Not seen on KFMB
Regional coverage, doubleheader game. Fox, 1:15; KSWB: Green Bay Packers at San Diego Chargers from Qualcomm Stadium, KTTV: TBA
Baltimore at Pittsburgh, NBC, 5

Soccer: MLS, playoffs, conference final, teams TBD, ESPN, 6

re: Indie/Alternative Dance Rock (Nov 3, 2011)

C89.5 in Seattle has been running a new show Database heard Tuesday nights from 11pm-1am, and it features new dance recordings from indie and similar formats.

The old Flash 92.5's Saturday night Flash Zone in the mid 90s had featured remixes of modern and alternative rock songs.

Tijuana's More-FM 98.9 has resurrected a 12-inch mix show called, well, "12 Inch Mix Show", featuring remixes of 80s and 90s rock songs from groups like Nirvana, Depeche Mode, Erasure, and others. Sirius XM's channel 33 runs a Saturday night 80s remixed rock zone weekly.

With 94/9 putting listeners to sleep with relaxing rock, it's time they wake up to a format that people are digging.

To hear the latest episode of C89.5's Database Radio, head on over here each week:
http://soundcloud.com/databaseradio

Follow DatabaseRadio on twitter https://twitter.com/#!/databaseradio

Roger Hedgecock Out at KOGO? (Nov 3, 2011)

HEDGECOCK OUT AT KOGO?

( rumor has it )

It appears that Roger Hedgecock's run at KOGO is over. Info we get is that Hedgecock's ad endorsement clients have been notified that he will depart KOGO in January (unless taken off the air sooner?) and re-surface at KFMB. Word further that Rick Roberts will be gone at KFMB opening the 3p-6p slot for Hedgecock.

Hedgecock has been a fixture at KOGO (formerly KSDO) since 1985 when he was forced to resign as Mayor of San Diego. Radio legend Jim Price ran KSDO at the time and wisely decided that Hedgecock needed a job, that public interest in Hedgecock and his scandal at city hall was a commodity and hired Hedgecock to do a radio talk show. It was a very creative decision by Jim Price, one that gave Hedgecock a new lease on life both professionally and financially. He has done well.

As memories dim Hedgecock is viewed less as a defrocked former Mayor and more as a stalwart conservative talk show host who at times has had great influence on the radio industry and his audience.

Details of Hedgecock's departure from KOGO are still sketchy. He has always been a difficult and demanding employee and has scuffled with management since the departure of Jim Price many years ago. His salvation has been his generally good audience ratings and his ability to lure advertisers who buy radio time and pay him for his product endorsements.

Complicating a clear picture of events is Hedgecock's nationally syndicated radio show which he launched in January 2009 under the banner of the Radio America Network. My understanding of that deal is that he left the payroll at KOGO and was compensated by Radio America (to the tune of about $300-Thousand a year). KOGO provided radio studios for his national broadcast and cleared his national show to air in the San Diego market. While Hedgecock was required to focus on national topics by his syndicator KOGO continued to sell spots with Roger's endorsement for air in the San Diego market. Hedgecock thus supplemented his wage with lucrative endorsement fees paid by local advertisers. The radio station benefited as well.

What prompted a departure from KOGO? Not sure, but details will surely surface shortly. If KOGO was not on the hook for Hedgecock's wage and he is paid by Radio America then there would seem to be no financial incentive for KOGO to boot Hedgecock?

Ratings however do matter and it may well be that ratings for his national show in the San Diego market were not good given that his topics and opinions almost exclusively mirror those of Rush Limbaugh and Shaun Hannity (and others) who air before 3pm. By the time a listener gets to Hedgecock at 3p most of the news cycle conservative topics have been hashed and re-hashed. Add to that the fact that Hedgecock's basic appeal in this market has been his focus and impact on local issues. Over the years (I was his producer for 15 years) we defended the Boy Scouts of America at Balboa Park, fought successfully to keep The Cross on Mt. Soledad, supported charter school education, led the fight to defend traditional marriage in California, labored to secure our local border with Mexico and support our Border Patrol, spearheaded the ouster of former Governor Gray Davis and more.

Hedgecock's rejection of localism likely diminished his attractiveness to San Diego listeners.

A plausible scenario for the station switch..his national show is in trouble? His syndication has been third tier at best. I often joke that he is carried in places like Lonesome Nut, Oklahoma and Parched Butt, Arkansas but the truth is his show failed to crack top markets and he remains little quoted or noted by national media. He is not Glenn Beck or Mark Levin and shows no signs of carving a unique place on the national stage. If his syndicated show is in trouble then it makes great sense for Hedgecock to seek to return to the local airwaves with an exclusively local show.

I speculate but it's fun..if Hedgecock were to approach KOGO (read Clear Channel) about the prospects of a local show and CC paying him and his staff once more, the response likely to be lukewarm, tepid or downright chilly. Clear Channel is in process of throwing out employees by the score all across the nation. KOGO has been downsized to the point that local newscasts are being anchored out of KFI in Los Angeles and the news department is reliant on listeners rather than professional reporters for coverage of news. ( see SDG&E blackout ) Add to that Hedgecock's temperament as a permanently disgruntled employee and you have nearly legal grounds for divorce.

As for KFMB? Rick Roberts has been in the bulls eye there for a while now. Word I get is that he was not happy with his forced move from AM drive to the 3pm slot. ( He was replaced by Mike Slater ) His longtime producer was ousted and there is speculation his own wage was reduced? For a while he took to doing his radio show out of his home in Oklahoma. Still he remains a strong lure for personal advertising endorsements. I don't know what Rick Roberts audience ratings look like today but according to Wikipedia his numbers for 2009 were very good (they quote an LA Times article). But all has not been well between KFMB and Rick Roberts for some time.

KFMB has long been an "out card," for Hedgecock. We used KFMB several years ago to upscale a new contract with KOGO. During negotiations we met with KFMB and worked out a deal to do a radio show and also appear on their sister TV station. We then used that potential deal to seal a deal with KOGO. A similar scenario possible today? Given Clear Channel's current challenges KOGO may not have been able to meet a better deal. Or perhaps had no such interest?

So what next? KOGO puts Jon & Ken into the 3pm slot? This duo already deals with state and regional topics and could easily modify format to include items of interest to San Diego. This plan would also fit the Clear Channel model of clustering programming. Just a guess.

Hate to end by saying "only time will tell," but that would be the case. We'll learn more in the days to come..(keep an eye on sdradio.net.if anyone can ferret this out it will be Chris Carmichael) ..but it is significant in the history of local broadcasting that the Hedgecock era at KOGO is over, if rumor is correct.

Were I to make a wish it would be that Hedgecock returns to his local roots with KFMB. On balance he has been a force for good in the local community and long provided a place for the community to gather daily and often to organize and act in the manner of responsible citizens with common interests. Given the near total destruction of local radio programming across America..Having Hedgecock back local would be refreshing.but given my luck.his syndicated show will continue and so will his parroting of top tier talkers. Say it ain't so.

Wiremania (Nov 3, 2011)

Sports Wires

Dodgers sale: Would Fox Sports or Time Warner consider bidding?

PSA: Hire a Vet (Nov 2, 2011)

Making sure that job availability increases so Californians may get back to work is important to me, but I am even further concerned for our service members who return from war with few opportunities presented to them back home. That's why I want to inform you of an job fair coming up that you, or someone you know, may be interested in:

Hire a Hero - Hire a Vet
Job and Resource Fair

Thursday, November 3, 10am - 2pm

Doubletree Hotel
7450 Hazard Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92108

The Hire a Hero - Hire a Vet Job and Resource Fair is focused on connecting Veterans, National Guard, and Reservists returning from active duty to companies currently hiring. The event is free and open to the public. Members of my staff will be available at the event to answer any state-related questions or concerns you may have.

Please feel free to share this information with your neighbors. If I can be of assistance to you in any way, do not hesitate to contact me at (619) 462-7878 or visit my website, www.assembly.ca.gov/block

Wiremania (Nov 2, 2011)

Radio Wires

Los Angeles Times: Sirius XM Radio Inc.'s subscriber growth received a cool reception on Wall Street as investors became worried that the satellite radio company might lose customers early next year when its 12% price hike takes effect.

radio-info: At long last, L.A.'s news/talk KFWB (980) goes into a trust, under new GM Valerie Blackburn. Nine years after CBS first needed to formally move KFWB out of the cluster, because it bought a second TV station in L.A., KFWB is formally placed into a trust. That occurred yesterday. Former Shamrock exec Bill Clark (who worked with the Disney family) is the trustee, through Clark Radio LLC. He's recruited veteran Diane Sutter to oversee the license, and Valerie Blackburn will serve as the GM. That might be enough to satisfy competitor Saul Levine at Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters. He's been agitating for the Commission to push CBS to finish putting KFWB into a trust, followed by a sale. But then again, Saul might have a question or two - because Valerie Blackburn happens to be the market controller for the six CBS Radio stations in L.A.

Sports Wires

Halloween horror: Rivers botches snap to set up game-winning FG

Is ESPN the main force behind realignment in college sports?

Biz Wires

R.I.P. to 14 cars and trucks for 2012. It's the end of the road for the Ford Crown Victoria, Ford Ranger, Honda Element, and others.

Under pressure, Bank of America drops $5 debit card fee

Mutterings (Nov 1, 2011)

Could Josh Lehan just shut up whenever the official on the field talks?

If you're at work and you have Pandora, don't settle for top 40 teen pop when there's something like old time rock and roll available.

To KCR Radio: your website is infected with a virus attack which my Norton 360 blocked. Check into it.

Do you want some San Diego radio-related news posted? Send them in via the e-mail link.

Wiremania (Nov 1, 2011)

Radio Wires

Entertainment Weekly: Clear Channel is cutting more on-air talent across the country -- is this the end of local radio? -- You could fill hundreds of terrible stand-up comedy routines with the complaints about local radio DJs -- especially the borderline-psychotic morning show zoo crews -- but the charm of those personalities was often rooted in the fact that they belonged to the area they were broadcasting to. They hung out at the same bars, reacted to the same news, drove on the same roads in the traffic reports, listened to the same bands who came around to play the station's festival at the local raceway. It wasn't always charming, but it was distinct, and those shows were often a comforting entry point in the entertainment world of any given city

Mark Anthony Green: Sean Hannity is the Alex Rodriguez of television hosts -- wildly successful and vehemently hated - The self-described "loser" let GQ into his office to talk politics, Obama's failures, movies, and fashion: GQ: Herman Cain? Sean Hannity: "I've known Herman...we've been friends for ten years. People ask me about Herman all the time: "You've known Herman a long time, does [his success] surprise you?" And I'm like, "Nope." You want to be in the room with him, you want to be next to him, you want to hear him speak. He is as nice and genuine and sincere and passionate any person we've seen out there"

Los Angeles Times: "I should say something about why were doing this," the 61-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Tom Petty told onlookers who had pledged support to KCSN for the chance to see him and the Heartbreakers in the university's intimate 500-seat theater. "Jim Ladd was fired this week," Petty said, referring to the man he has cited as an inspiration for the title character in his 2002 concept album "The Last DJ" and who was slated to appear at Petty's second KCSN benefit Sunday night at the campus' Performing Arts Theater. "What is so tragic about what is going on is that we're seeing acts breeded by record companies to go on game shows and win

Gary Lycan: Legendary radio personality Jim Ladd, dismissed from Classic Rock KLOS-FM Oct. 26, will be back on the air Saturday (Nov. 5) when he hosts a 4-7 p.m. program on News-Talk KFI 640 AM

All Access: Jim Ladd to Fill In on KFI Saturday.

Laid-off L.A. Cumulus jock Jim Ladd to fill in on talk KFI (640) this Saturday. Tom Petty crowned Ladd "The Last DJ" on his 2002 album, and Ladd's termination last week at Cumulus classic rocker KLOS (95.5) was definitely noticed around the market. Clear Channel's talk KFI alertly offers him a 4-7pm substitute gig, as Lisa Ann Walter is off for a week. On Jim's Facebook page is a note suggesting that a few "famous musicians" will drift by - and he knows plenty of them. Cumulus zapped KLOS PD/afternoon host Bob Buchmann, among other folks at the cluster - and on the Los Angeles Board of Radio-Info.com, there's still a lot of speculation about where KLOS is headed, format-wise

Buzzing on the Los Angles radio-info boards: The Los Angeles Board realizes that KFWB (980) no longer appears on the "CBS Local" website, and says "almost every reference to KFWB is gone from the website." Indeed, if you surf to the former KFWB page on the CBS consolidated radio/TV page for the market, you get "Page not found." You may recall a story from the September 12 TRI titled "More teeth-grinding from L.A. owner Saul Levine - the FCC allows CBS to keep KFWB in a trust." That was when the Commission denied independent owner Levine's petition for reconsideration of an FCC decision about KFWB staying in a trust - and the situation's been going on for nine years, in various ways. Now KFWB's apparently been pulled from the CBS local site. The Los Angeles Board is talking about it now.