Local (and other) radio news

[Big Fingers McGee]

So I've been playing my new game, "60s watch," checking in more frequently (but not necessarily
staying) with K-Fox (KUFX) and The Bone (KSAN) just to see if they're playing a '60s song.  More
so in the car, when I might otherwise have left the radio off.  (I have a short list that I anticipate
hearing.)

I guess you could say I did a double take today when both stations were playing Queen's
Another One Bites the Dust at the same time.  Thought I screwed up the radio presets
at first.  Amusing and sad.

I've had that happen with a couple of the classic rock stations here - although it's usually AC/DC or Zeppelin.

I noted  4 or 5 months ago that I was in the car one day and Live 105 and The Bone were simultaneously playing "When I Come Around" by Green Day.

In a similar vein, in about a thirty minute span today between the gym and Trader Joe's, I heard Hall-n-Oates' "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" twice.

[RGMike]

January ratings are out today -- KFOG dipped to a 1.4 (from a 1.7). That's the lowest they've been since the aftermath of the "purge" in 2016.

[Lightnin' Rod]

I was on a fairly long road trip yesterday (you can't get anywhere fast from Santa Rosa) and listened to the Bone for much of it.  Playing the 60's game...

At one point (I was on Highway 37), the dj talks about how "Ruby Tuesday" was a number one hit on this day back in '67 for the Stones.  But then he plays Shattered from '78.  I don't know, maybe '67 is too far back.

Anyway, a bit later, he plays "Dazed and Confused", so that's one.  And then, after a ballad from LA Guns (!), he plays Cream, "White Room".  So there's two.

[dischead]

So I've been playing my new game, "60s watch," checking in more frequently (but not necessarily
staying) with K-Fox (KUFX) and The Bone (KSAN) just to see if they're playing a '60s song.  More
so in the car, when I might otherwise have left the radio off.  (I have a short list that I anticipate
hearing.)

I guess you could say I did a double take today when both stations were playing Queen's
Another One Bites the Dust at the same time.  Thought I screwed up the radio presets
at first.  Amusing and sad.

Another simultaneous play on KUFX & KSAN this afternoon -- U2's New Year's Day.

[dischead]

Are there sources/web sites that list the songs spun on a particular station,
either in downloadable or easy-to-screen-scrape format?  It's amusing to
play '60s Watch, but if there's a way to get the last 24 hours (or more) in
one swell foop...  Or do stations consider that information their competitive
advantage?

[RGMike]

Are there sources/web sites that list the songs spun on a particular station,
either in downloadable or easy-to-screen-scrape format?  It's amusing to
play '60s Watch, but if there's a way to get the last 24 hours (or more) in
one swell foop...  Or do stations consider that information their competitive
advantage?

Well, there's TuneGenie -- here's the link for The Bone: http://ksan.tunegenie.com/

There's also the Mediabase page for KFOG, which shows the songs they played in the past week (but not how many times each one aired): http://www.mediabase.com/mmrweb/7/stationplaylistrequest.asp?c_let=KFOG-FM  I couldn't generate a Mediabase page for the Bone, possibly because they don't play currents.

[dischead]

Are there sources/web sites that list the songs spun on a particular station,
either in downloadable or easy-to-screen-scrape format?  It's amusing to
play '60s Watch, but if there's a way to get the last 24 hours (or more) in
one swell foop...  Or do stations consider that information their competitive
advantage?

Well, there's TuneGenie -- here's the link for The Bone: http://ksan.tunegenie.com/

Ah yes, that works.  It does take a little of the fun out of playing '60s Watch, but it
makes it easier to compile a more comprehensive report.  Both KSAN and KUFX
appear to play at least a half dozen '60s songs every day.  Under My Thumb (1966)
is still the earliest so far, but there are several from 1967.  Conspicuously absent
despite their '60s stature:  the Beatles.  The Beatles could certainly rock, but I'd say
their best-known hits are more pop than rock.  I have heard Revolution on KUFX.

[urth]

iHeartMedia (aka ClearChannel) files for Chapter 11:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/15/iheartmedia-files-for-bankruptcy.html

[urth]

Are there sources/web sites that list the songs spun on a particular station,
either in downloadable or easy-to-screen-scrape format?  It's amusing to
play '60s Watch, but if there's a way to get the last 24 hours (or more) in
one swell foop...  Or do stations consider that information their competitive
advantage?

Well, there's TuneGenie -- here's the link for The Bone: http://ksan.tunegenie.com/

Ah yes, that works.  It does take a little of the fun out of playing '60s Watch, but it
makes it easier to compile a more comprehensive report.  Both KSAN and KUFX
appear to play at least a half dozen '60s songs every day.  Under My Thumb (1966)
is still the earliest so far, but there are several from 1967.  Conspicuously absent
despite their '60s stature:  the Beatles.  The Beatles could certainly rock, but I'd say
their best-known hits are more pop than rock.  I have heard Revolution on KUFX.

IIRC, KFOG went thru a period a number of years ago when the Beatles were rarely heard on its playlist. No idea why.

[Lightnin' Rod]

60's Watch - The Bone played "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" Sunday afternoon.  They probably don't go back to '65 too often, but it does happen.

[RGMike]

January ratings are out today -- KFOG dipped to a 1.4 (from a 1.7). That's the lowest they've been since the aftermath of the "purge" in 2016.

another month, another ratings book: for Feb KFOG remains at a 1.4.

[RGMike]

I didn't get around to posting about the KCSM situation last week. It was suddenly announced last Sunday nite that they would be eliminating all their live evening programming -- in addition to the 10pm "Evening Jazz" shows disappearing (replaced by pre-recorded voicetracked stuff), they were also cancelling Harry Duncan's Sunday nite "In the Soul Kitchen" as well as the Thursday "In the Moment", which features music recorded live at local venues.

This was happening because the Community College Board of San Mateo (CCBSM), which owns the station's license, had, out of the blue (and one month after the station's latest pledge drive), ordered KCSM to drastically slash their budget. The Chron wrote about it midweek:

http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/KCSM-jazz-station-cuts-programming-10966603.php

It didn't seem to make sense: KCSM is a listener-supported station that not only consistently meets its pledge goals, but has a MILLION DOLLAR "rainy day fund" in the bank -- money that has accumulated over the years from all the times they exceeded their pledge goals.  Meanwhile the CCBSM is about to sell KCSM-TV for which they will net TEN MILLION. So neither side is anywhere near broke.

The outcry over the cuts, particularly about the loss of "Soul Kitchen" (arguably the station's most-popular program) was loud, and by the end of the week, Duncan's show had been reinstated, at least temporarily. The conspiracy-theorist in me wonders if that cancellation/reinstatement thing was pre-planned as a way of attracting attention. But the question remains what the CCBSM is really up to. The part-time jocks at KCSM are unionized and the CCBSM would love to replace them with unpaid students, apparently.

It occurs to me I didn't really write any follow-up posts about KCSM since this one last year, but I meant to mention that their winter Pledge Drive in Feb came up 40K short of their goal of 300K. That's an unheard-of amount, as they almost always meet their target or come fairly close. Was this an outlier, or had the problems of last year finally caught up with them (in other words, did their more casual listeners finally realize that a bunch of live DJs had been replaced by canned programming from Chicago? and that what had been presented as an "emergency" budget deficit was really the College of San Mateo trying to get rid of some folks who belonged to a union?).

Well, they are now at Day 18 of a 20-day Spring Pledge Drive and they are 100K shy of another 300K goal. Whether they can raise that much money in the next 48 hours seems doubtful, and they're acting rather blase about it. Curious.

[RGMike]

In her farewell "Acoustic Sunrise" this morning, Rosalie did shout-outs to her former KFOG colleagues. She said Dave Morey is on a station in Palm Springs ( KWIR/Palm Springs http://bit.ly/KWIRFM ) which was news to me. Per Dred Scott on FB, Dave's on that station "whenever he feels like it."

Also news to me: on Dave's Michigan station ( Wxtf-Lp 97.9 Harrisville www.979 harrisville ), there's a show called "Barry's Dynamite Show" and it turns out Barry is Rosalie's husband. Also, John Grappone is still doing weekends on KINK in Portland.

[RGMike]

I didn't get around to posting about the KCSM situation last week. It was suddenly announced last Sunday nite that they would be eliminating all their live evening programming -- in addition to the 10pm "Evening Jazz" shows disappearing (replaced by pre-recorded voicetracked stuff), they were also cancelling Harry Duncan's Sunday nite "In the Soul Kitchen" as well as the Thursday "In the Moment", which features music recorded live at local venues.

This was happening because the Community College Board of San Mateo (CCBSM), which owns the station's license, had, out of the blue (and one month after the station's latest pledge drive), ordered KCSM to drastically slash their budget. The Chron wrote about it midweek:

http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/KCSM-jazz-station-cuts-programming-10966603.php

It didn't seem to make sense: KCSM is a listener-supported station that not only consistently meets its pledge goals, but has a MILLION DOLLAR "rainy day fund" in the bank -- money that has accumulated over the years from all the times they exceeded their pledge goals.  Meanwhile the CCBSM is about to sell KCSM-TV for which they will net TEN MILLION. So neither side is anywhere near broke.

The outcry over the cuts, particularly about the loss of "Soul Kitchen" (arguably the station's most-popular program) was loud, and by the end of the week, Duncan's show had been reinstated, at least temporarily. The conspiracy-theorist in me wonders if that cancellation/reinstatement thing was pre-planned as a way of attracting attention. But the question remains what the CCBSM is really up to. The part-time jocks at KCSM are unionized and the CCBSM would love to replace them with unpaid students, apparently.

It occurs to me I didn't really write any follow-up posts about KCSM since this one last year, but I meant to mention that their winter Pledge Drive in Feb came up 40K short of their goal of 300K. That's an unheard-of amount, as they almost always meet their target or come fairly close. Was this an outlier, or had the problems of last year finally caught up with them (in other words, did their more casual listeners finally realize that a bunch of live DJs had been replaced by canned programming from Chicago? and that what had been presented as an "emergency" budget deficit was really the College of San Mateo trying to get rid of some folks who belonged to a union?).

Well, they are now at Day 18 of a 20-day Spring Pledge Drive and they are 100K shy of another 300K goal. Whether they can raise that much money in the next 48 hours seems doubtful, and they're acting rather blase about it. Curious.

Amazingly, they managed to make 85K in 3 days, so they finished $15,000 short of the goal. Which ain't great but is much better than the 40K shortfall they had in their Winter Drive. Of course, if they can raise 85K in 3 days, why have a 20 day Drive, with 2/3 of that being "quiet pledge" days on which they hardly make anything? Time to rethink that concept, it seems.

[RGMike]

new ratings are out: KFOG stuck at a 1.3; Woody Show hasn't had much effect so far, it would seem. Alt 105.3 up a bit from 1.6 to 1.9, and that was without a morning show, which they now have.  Next book will be interesting as KFOG is now full-blown Alternative (which I still see as a dumb idea but whatevs).