Editor: David Tanny
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When Does 2000 Arrive Around the Globe?When will the year 2000 arrive when it's midnight at their time zone while you are in California?As 1999 gives way to the year 2000, the Eastern-most time zone will be going to the next millenium first, then time zones West of that will be going to 2000, one by one, one year at a time, until it cycles back to the International Date Line where 2000 started and the last time zone having 1999 bites the dust. Here is the order of when the year 2000 will arrive. Times are given in Eastern and Pacific Times Standard Time.
Networks Are Doing the Mid-Season ShuffleTime for the networks to shuffle some of the TV shows around just as you have gotten used to watching them at certain times.Here's a rundown of what is moving where (and when):
Fox 6 News DebutSame stories, Fox attitude. If you watched the new Fox 6 news out of San Diego this past week, you got more than just the stories.Special effects aside, Fox 6 News has a fast-paced production as promised by news director Alberto E. Pando. The newscast is visual with the use of audio effects in a way never before seen on any local newscast. It's more than just radio with pictures. Check out all the camera angles of the set, filmed reporter segments, animated segueuing between stories. Pretty much Y2K compliant effects. What's next, Kevin Garcia the sports reporter "being built Fox style" on the set with special interlocking sound effects while another anchor is introducing him? How about the yuppie weatherman John Elliot "beamed" Star Trek style into the foreground? Introducing the Fox 6 Glowing Teleprompter! Whatever it takes to get viewers is ok with me. TV Guide lists the news as a 30-minute show, but it lasts 35 minutes. XETV's corporate owners, Grupo Televisa of Mexico City and its San Diego entity Bay City Television, which operates and markets the station, spent $13 million for a spanking-new 25,000 square-foot building to hold a news studio, to the left of the XETV building. The news anchors are Esthan Trouw and Shelley Harrell on weekdays, Lynda Martin and Greg Phillips on weekends, reporters Karen D. Rostodha, Darren Lyn, and Cindy Cesare, sports anchor Kevin Garcia and sports reporter Katy Temple, weather reporters John Elliot on weekdays and Chris Salcedo on weekends, and special projects reporter Pete Fuentes. The headlines on Fox 6 News on 12-27-99:
Who Wants to Watch Millionaire in the New Millioneum?So, now ABC has decided to reintroduce "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" in an eight-day marathon beginning Sunday Jan 9 in order to throw a wrench in the other networks' efforts to get their own game shows going.``Millionaire'' was initially scheduled to premiere Tuesday, Jan. 11, at 8 pm and then continue only in its normal time slots: Sundays at 9 pm, Tuesdays at 8 pm and Thursdays at 9 pm But ABC announced Monday it would move the game show's start date up to Jan. 9, and then also air one-time-only hour-long episodes on Jan. 10 at 8 pm; Jan. 12 at 8 pm; Jan. 14 at 9 pm; and Jan. 15 at 8 pm That means ``Millionaire'' will go head to head with the second episode of NBC's ``Twenty-One'' revival on Jan. 12 and the second episode of CBS' ``Winning Lines'' on Jan. 15. ''Millionaire'' will also go directly against the second week of Fox's returning entry, ``Greed,'' on Jan. 14. With ABC's ``Millionaire'' announcement, the Big 4 networks will air an unprecedented 14 hours of game shows between Jan. 5 and Jan. 15 -- unheard of since the days when TV broadcast in black and white and the networks grabbed more than 90 percent of the viewing audience. Here we clone again. Everybody's trying to get into the act! Meanwhile, ABC also decided that, contrary to an earlier announcement, ``Sports Night'' will remain in its current post-''Dharma & Greg'' time slot, Tuesdays at 9:30 pm ``Spin City,'' which was bumped from 8 pm on Tuesdays to make way for ``Millionaire,'' will settle behind ``Drew Carey'' on Wednesdays at 9:30 pm beginning Jan. 12. ``Norm'' will return to Wednesdays at 8:30 pm, where it began the season. ``Spin City'' had originally been slated to move into the slot behind ``Dharma.'' In other ABC scheduling news, it appears ABC will win the race to get a Muhammad Ali biopicture on the air first. ``Muhammad Ali: King of the World,'' starring Terrence Howard, will air Monday, Jan. 10, at 9 pm Fox's ``Ali: The Greatest of All Time,'' originally slated for a February airdate, will likely be pushed back to later in the year. Mark your calendars folks. Buy a cheap VCR if you need to catch them all! The 1990's in Review: Adult MusicThe 1990's brought a change to how the programmers perceive adult comtemporary music.At the beginning of the 1990's we thought of adult contemporary as Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bolton (ugh!), Lionel Richie, and Diana Ross. At the beginning of the 2000's (or the 201st decade), the programmers have made adjustments and now we hear Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguliera, Hootie and the Blowfish, Sarah McLachlin, Madonna, and George Michael. Meanwhile, soft hits KYXY 96.5 in San Diego continued to play the softer side of the popular hits, although the listeners seem to be waking up to adult music on other stations after years of being put to sleep. B100 played adult-contemporary music on the more upbeat side through May 1994 when it switched formats to Star the following month, playing adult modern rock and popular hits aimed at the former 91X listener. Q106 had an adult pop format playing the upbeat R&B and pop hits withouth the rap or sleepy elevator music from 1993 through Aug 1998. Y95, then Mix 94.9 played adult contemporary music in the first two years of the 90's, after which, they switched back to K-Best 95 playing golden oldies, and forcing KCBQ-FM to change its oldies format in 1993. Jeff and Jer, the highly popular morning show duo, started out here on Y95, then they moved to B100 c. 1991, then to Q106 in 1994, then back to 100.7 two years into its "Star" handle in 1997. Meanwhile, Dave Smiley had shifts on Q106 in the early 90's, then on Star in late afternoons in 1994, moved to mornings later and stayed there through early 1997 when Star hired Jeff and Jer. Smiley moved his morning show to Q106 where it stayed until Jacor sold the station in Aug 1998 to Heftel while Smiley hang around in limbo until Jacor programmed Mix 95.7, aimed at the adults but slightly rockier than the older Mix was, for him to do mornings the following month. Now, Smiley is doing weekend shifts on KIIS 102.7. Newest adult-contemporary competetion 91.7 XGLX, Galaxy, moved its Ranchero format to 97.7 in August while it programmed a new mix of hits from the 60's through today, a wider selection than heard on Mix. Adult contemporary music had a history in Los Angeles in the 1990's as well. KOST 103.5 seems to be playing a more upbeat selection of adult hits nowadays compared to ten years ago, while K-BIG 104.3, a longtime major competetor, played its own selection of adult-aimed hits, nowadays throwing in Backstreet and Britney Spears into the mix, while programming Disco music blocks at noon and on weekends. Other adult music stations include 92.7 from Avalon since about 1997, K-LITE 101.9, just coming off the edge of its former Edge format, played soft music through July 1994 when it flipped to KSCA Adult Album Alternative; it's now a Spanish Regional Mexicana format. When Pirate Radio left 100.3 in c. 1992, it became another station playing light music, then picked up the K-Lite moniker in 1994, and held on to it until 1996 when it became B100.3 playing popular dance music; it is now Mega 100.3 playing Jammin' Oldies. One other soft hits station of note: KRUZ 103.3 out of Santa Barbara played the soft and easy music through 1995 when it "woke up" and started playing the kind of music heard on nearby "Star 98.7" in Los Angeles, which was playing adult modern rock music since about 1992. As long as there are adults, there will always be adult contemporary music to be programmed on the radio. The 1990's in Review: Country MusicOur final installment takes a brief look at country music radio in Southern California.In San Diego, KSON 97.3 has been ropin' in the audeince with its rural lasso for many years (since Dec 1974) and has been a consistent Top 5 station. During the 1990's, the small KOWF 92.1 out of Escondido has been playing a country format for its North County audience until it changed formats, adopting the former KFSD classical music format from 94.1, which dropped classical for classic rock in Jan 1997. A third country station on KUPR 95.7 lasted only three months as it played 10,000 in a row without commercials. In Feb 1997, it switched to Magic 95.7, which moved to 92.5 in August of next year. In June 1999, XHCR 99.3 exchanged Ranchero for Country and launched its promotion with a design-a-logo contest. XHCR plays a wider span of country music from the 1960's era on to the present. In Los Angeles, not much except for longtime country stations KZLA 93.9 and KIK 94.3 (Orange) duking it out. For a brief while, KIF was simulcast on a 94.3 in San Fernando/Simi Valley, but has since switched to beaming KBUE 105.5's Spanish format in the valley. Nearby Riverside has the long-standing K-Frog at 95.1 (now simulcast on 92.9 in Temecula listenable by North San Diego County listeners), 97.5 was playing country music as KHTX until they flipped to Spanish some three years ago as KSSE. For a brief spell in 1991, there were two country stations on 92.7 and 93.5 in the Inland Empire. If you listen to Star 100.7 in San Diego, you probably figured out the mystery of K-HAY. When Star goes off the air, you can probably get KHAY 100.7 just out of Ventura playing country music. There may be room for two or three country stations in one market depending on where you live, and if the variety is right, listeners will keep coming back for more. The Top 25 Radio/TV Stories of 1999OK, as promised, after sorting through dozens of e-mails, I have the list right here!The ranking of the most important radio and television stories for the year of 1999 with a local angle on San Diego and Los Angeles. In order of ranking, here they are:
Other Notable Top TV/Radio Events/Stories of 1999 Mentioned:
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