Thank you for the helpful information ! Wow, I thought that KHJ was associated with RKO and therefore 50,000 watt clear channel.
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Radio Names
- Thread starter John FL
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Okay, I should explain how this works.
The FCC----way back in the 1920s/30s, came up with frequency assignments for cities and towns all across America.
Forty of those frequencies were designated as "clear channel", meaning that they would be the only station in the country operating on that frequency at night. This was to provide service to large portions of the country that did not have radio stations of their own. Here's a good background piece on that:
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/mayjune/feature/in-the-1930s-radio-station-wlw-in-ohio-was-americas-one-and-only-su
All clear channel stations were 50,000 watts, but not all 50,000 watt stations were clear channel.
Because radio stations were bought and sold, ownership had nothing to do with whether a station was a clear channel station, unless an owner deliberately sought to buy nothing but clear channel stations.
KRLA had a feature segment for teens, whereby they appointed one teen from each school in the L.A. to write reports about their school's activities and favorite records. If a teen wanted to represent their school on KRLA, then the teen filled out an application with a writing sample, which was reviewed by the KRLA staff, then the teen was awarded status as a reporter. So, I was able to write reports about my school and the d.j.'s read them online. The kids at school heard their names over the air & thought that was cool. So the station made that a lot of fun.
Sorry to be so long-winded, and monopolize this thread - but I do need to explain why I am just a senior citizen with nostalgia and not a dangerous or pathological stalker type.
Sorry to be so long-winded, and monopolize this thread - but I do need to explain why I am just a senior citizen with nostalgia and not a dangerous or pathological stalker type.
Thank you !! I understand about clear channel stations now ! I thought all 50,000 watts were clear channel.
As a follow-up, here's what AM stations RKO owned in the 60s:
KHJ: 5,000 watts
KFRC: 5,000 watts
WOR: 50,000 watts
WRKO: 50,000 watts
WHBQ: 5,000 watts
WGMS: 5,000 watts
No, and in fact, power is enhanced by a lower frequency. So 50,000 watts at 1580 (for example, what was KDAY and is now KBLA) has nowhere near the reach of 50,000 watts at 640 (KFI). So not only aren't all 50,000 watt stations clear channel, all 50,000 watt stations are not equal.
5,000 watts at a low frequency (for example KFRC at 610) could outperform many 50,000 watt stations higher up the dial.
So, at KRLA, because listeners could walk directly into the station and chat with the guys if they came out of the booth to say hi, then teens felt that they had kind of a social relationship with the d.j.'s. The guys who read my school reports over the air were the d.j.'s who worked the early evening shift, when kids did their homework and had the radio on.
Those KRLA d.j.' were at that time: Sam Riddle ( who later went to KHJ), Jimmy O'Neill ( who later went to KFWB, then ABC network tv to host "Shindig), then Bob Eubanks ( who went to network tv to host Newlywed Game).
When I went into the station to visit them, they would come out of the booth during the 5 minute news break and stand and make small talk with me - just general stuff about records, or maybe an artist who had dropped by the station, or maybe which hits they thought were going to # 1 status, or things like that. So, as a shy teenager, I saw that they were very extroverted, very high-powered personalities, with very strong "people skills." I wanted to be like that, because I admired them for their talent.
This is why it was hard to me to understand why a teen listener would not care who the on-air personality was at the moment. In my little teen world, if a big personality like for example: Wink Martindale, Sam Riddle, Jim O'Neill, Bob Eubanks, etc. was on, then I wanted to hear everything they had to say.
Those KRLA d.j.' were at that time: Sam Riddle ( who later went to KHJ), Jimmy O'Neill ( who later went to KFWB, then ABC network tv to host "Shindig), then Bob Eubanks ( who went to network tv to host Newlywed Game).
When I went into the station to visit them, they would come out of the booth during the 5 minute news break and stand and make small talk with me - just general stuff about records, or maybe an artist who had dropped by the station, or maybe which hits they thought were going to # 1 status, or things like that. So, as a shy teenager, I saw that they were very extroverted, very high-powered personalities, with very strong "people skills." I wanted to be like that, because I admired them for their talent.
This is why it was hard to me to understand why a teen listener would not care who the on-air personality was at the moment. In my little teen world, if a big personality like for example: Wink Martindale, Sam Riddle, Jim O'Neill, Bob Eubanks, etc. was on, then I wanted to hear everything they had to say.
Oh, I see !! So RKO owned a bunch of stations with smaller wattage. Thank you, Michael -- this is very helpful.
I promise to wind this up - but I need to explain why I'm not a stalker -- just a listener.
At KRLA, the evening jocks were not a whole lot older than I was. Jim O'Neill was 21 at the time, and Sam Riddle was maybe 23. They were extremely kind about giving their time and attention to teen visitors who dropped by. Wink at the time was maybe 27. Dave Hull was still quite young. When I retired and had some extra time, I looked on the internet to see what happened to these guys -- and several of them, sadly, were deceased. They retired from broadcasting, then they kind of disappeared, and then their health failed, and sadly, they passed away. I could never find any social media of theirs - no website, no Facebook, no Twitter page to even drop them a short impersonal message and thank them for their kindness and for being great role models.
At KRLA, the evening jocks were not a whole lot older than I was. Jim O'Neill was 21 at the time, and Sam Riddle was maybe 23. They were extremely kind about giving their time and attention to teen visitors who dropped by. Wink at the time was maybe 27. Dave Hull was still quite young. When I retired and had some extra time, I looked on the internet to see what happened to these guys -- and several of them, sadly, were deceased. They retired from broadcasting, then they kind of disappeared, and then their health failed, and sadly, they passed away. I could never find any social media of theirs - no website, no Facebook, no Twitter page to even drop them a short impersonal message and thank them for their kindness and for being great role models.
Most station groups had a mix.
For example, while ABC owned WABC, WLS and KGO, all 50,000 watt stations, they also owned KABC (5,000 watts) and KQV (5,000 watts at 1410 on the dial).
So in conclusion ( finally) -- when Michael Hagerty was chatting with me yesterday, I thought he might have been a d.j. that I knew - or had dropped by to visit in person -- who worked under another name. I never had a chance to say thank-you to Jimmy, Sam, Dave ( who all sadly passed away), but I dropped a note on Wink's social media to say thank-you, and while Bob Eubanks is still alive, he doesn't have any social media presence, I don't think.
So I wanted to say thank-you to Michael Hagerty, in case I had met him in Los Angeles. But, I wrote all this to let everyone know tht I am not a stalker, just a listener who really liked radio as a teen. I don't want to be cancelled from this message board, which is so fun and interesting. I'm just a retired schoolteacher, senior citizen. Long story short --- If you are an air talent, everything you do for a listener is always appreciated. Thank you to all the air talent here and everywhere, who generously give of their time to chat with listeners and explain the intricacies of radio. Thank you to Michael Hagerty and everyone. Please know that you are greatly appreciated for your talent -- you truly make a difference in the lives of listeners. Daryl Lynn L.A.
So I wanted to say thank-you to Michael Hagerty, in case I had met him in Los Angeles. But, I wrote all this to let everyone know tht I am not a stalker, just a listener who really liked radio as a teen. I don't want to be cancelled from this message board, which is so fun and interesting. I'm just a retired schoolteacher, senior citizen. Long story short --- If you are an air talent, everything you do for a listener is always appreciated. Thank you to all the air talent here and everywhere, who generously give of their time to chat with listeners and explain the intricacies of radio. Thank you to Michael Hagerty and everyone. Please know that you are greatly appreciated for your talent -- you truly make a difference in the lives of listeners. Daryl Lynn L.A.
Daryl---it's okay. Take a breath. You're taking CTListener's joke too seriously.
This board is dominated by pros, but where would we have been without listeners?
And we pros have people who we looked up to. I've been fortunate enough to meet or correspond with a lot of the programmers and air talents I grew up with, and even work with a couple of them over the years.
On Charlie Tuna's first day at KKDJ, I grabbed the phone and called after he got off the air to tell him it was nice to be able to hear him in Bishop again (L.A. FM stations came up on the TV cable). Tuna was very gracious, and when he found out I was 17 and in the business, spent an hour on the phone with me, asking and answering questions and giving advice. From then on, my attitude was that if Charlie Tuna had an hour for me, I had time for whoever made time to call me on the request line.
Following Tuna's example wound up getting me a fan club when I was in Ukiah. And 36 years later (a long story), I married the president of that club and have re-connected with a lot of the now-nearly-60-year-old members over the decade since.
I never met any of the KRLA guys from that era (although I did communicate with Sam when he was producing TV shows that the independent station I was programming in Phoenix carried). I'm glad to hear they appreciated their listeners.
They had a mix -- that's interesting to know ! I know KABC in L.A., because of the Ken and Bob Show. I know KQV in Pittsburgh, because Jimmy O'Neill used to talk about starting in broadcasting there when he was 17. I always enjoyed hearing about radio stations all over the U.S.A. Thank you, Michael.
The thing that mattered at the time they bought the stations was whether the signal could cover the city adequately. In the 1960s, 5,000 watts at 1410 got the job done in Pittsburgh. Today, with growth, it couldn't---just as KABC is today inadequate to cover Los Angeles.They had a mix -- that's interesting to know ! I know KABC in L.A., because of the Ken and Bob Show. I know KQV in Pittsburgh, because Jimmy O'Neill used to talk about starting in broadcasting there when he was 17. I always enjoyed hearing about radio stations all over the U.S.A. Thank you, Michael.
Very cool ! Charlie Tuna was KRLA's morning guy in the late 1980's, when they returned to an all-oldies format. I always enjoyed his show. His real name was Arthur Ferguson, I think. That's great that he spent time answering your questions. And it's great that you express appreciation for that. Thank you for that fun story.
And WRKO (680) was one of four 50,000-watt stations in Boston, but among them, only WBZ (1030) was a clear channel station. The others were WHDH (850) and WMEX (1510), both of which, like WRKO, were regional stations and had to put most their RF over the Atlantic Ocean to avoid interfering with other 680s, 850s and 1510s to the north, west and south.
Incidentally, Charlie Tuna was a jock at WMEX before moving out west.
What a great discussion this has been. Have to admit, I've learned lots here. Great stories so far. Just a casual observation. It appears a large majority of radio surnames had two syllables. I'm thinking this is a throwback to a time before the PPM. One of the options way back when and today in diary markets is to give credit to a specific individual. Obviously, complicated names wouldn't do.
But for non-music formats, perhaps that kind of thinking mattered less. Earlier in the string, Italian surnames for sports broadcasters was mentioned. 4 syllables could be the norm there. The same could be true for those in news/talk formats. There's a lot of listener impressions made given the nature of the format making even difficult names easier to know and recall.
But for non-music formats, perhaps that kind of thinking mattered less. Earlier in the string, Italian surnames for sports broadcasters was mentioned. 4 syllables could be the norm there. The same could be true for those in news/talk formats. There's a lot of listener impressions made given the nature of the format making even difficult names easier to know and recall.
Except that KHJ was 5,000 watts as Michael pointed out.
And KFWB was 5,000 watts. But, of course, it was "Color Radio Channel 98".
And in 1960, KRLA was 10,000 watts but with a permit to go 50 kw day and 10 kw night. The daytime power increase as well as the night signal was with a directional antenna system, so it was not comparable with KFI or KNX in coverage.
When KHJ went on the air, both KFWB and KRLA were more "talkative" bordering on kind of chatty. The music sometimes stopped down for the talk, but we have to remember that there were commercials every two or three songs and the music sweep had not really come into practice yet.
KHJ did a much better job at "hitting the post" but they did not talk over the vocal, of course. The other two did the same, but it was not as consistently and artfully done if you listen to the online airchecks.
When KHJ launched, it got lots of press coverage in the trades. Shortly after, I flew the 3,500 miles up to LA and sat in a motel near the airport and listened for several days to all three. KFWB sounded a bit tired and procedural, KRLA was looser and it seemed that they sometimes opened the mike without knowing when they were going to close it. KHJ was very tight, making it seem much more fast paced and energetic.
When I got home, I did not change my Top 40 station radically. I thought that KHJ was a reaction to "the same jocks and the same style and the same jingles" for many years, and what it did was create a new alternative to stations that had been in the format for some time. My station was just 2 years old, and modeled more after WABC and WQAM, so the most that I did was start emphasizing "before you open the mike, know how your are going to finish".
I was watching a college hockey game on ESPN+ a few nights ago and the play-by-play man was someone who's been a Connecticut sportscaster for many years -- Joe D'Ambrosio. This thread came to mind immediately. And the radio voice of the Boston Red Sox since 1982 has been Hamden, Conn.'s Joe Castiglione.
No, RKO did not have "clear channels" in many markets, starting with DC, LA, Memphis and San Francisco. Boston, Windsor and New York were 50 kw, but significantly directional ones. But even the lower power stations were good signals for the urban areas of that era.
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