Hollywood Hamilton Out at K-Earth

[Oodlesofpoodles]

Hollywood Hamilton's morning show was a huge mistake from the getgo. Spanish word of the day with his wife??? Dr. Zodiac??? Unprofessional and unpolished from day one.Glad to hear Gary Bryan will be back. He's a class act. The station has certainly been promoting his return to mornings in the past few days.Must say Dave Randall has been a pleasure to listen to in the meantime...he gets the job done... after the embarassing debacle of HH.

 

[calguy]

Hollywood Hamilton's morning show was a huge mistake from the getgo. Spanish word of the day with his wife??? Dr. Zodiac??? Unprofessional and unpolished from day one.Glad to hear Gary Bryan will be back. He's a class act. The station has certainly been promoting his return to mornings in the past few days.Must say Dave Randall has been a pleasure to listen to in the meantime...he gets the job done... after the embarassing debacle of HH.

Yeah no argument about Gary Bryan, he's a pro and always sounds prepared. The real question is, why isn't a K-Earth vet like Dave Randall the new 1-4pm talent? He's put in the time and sounds very good! Very different from the guy who got the job. Everyone I know is scratching their heads over that decision. Guess no one is infallible when it comes to the choices they make...

 

[nativeangelino]

For all I know, Hollywood Hamilton could be the nicest guy in the world. But, he wasn't a good fit for K-Earth. Who wants to hear someone talking to their wife about the Spanish word of the day? "The word she chooses depends on how she feels about whatever might have happened the night before". Who cares! And I lost count of how many times he would cut into a song before the song was over. It's almost as if he couldn't wait to start talking. And when he did talk, there was no warmth and no depth. Just fast talking. I've been listening to K-earth since day one. For a long while their playlist was repetitive and boring. But as of late, their play list is once again enjoyable. L.A. is the 2nd largest market in the USA. We shouldn't have to put up with a boring oldies station. I'm glad things are different now. Bravo to K-earth's recent makeover.

 

[nativeangelino]

I must disagree with MOSTB1's comments regarding K-earth's recent changes. I don't know what liner cards are, so I can't comment on that topic. But, I will say that K-earth's playlist and general "atmosphere" has improved in recent months. How would I know? I've been a regular listener for 30 years. For the previous 8 or 10 years, K-earth's playlist was painfully boring. Play three songs, then 5 play minutes of commercials. Play three more songs and so on. But, they were the only game in town so I listened anyway. Their ratings are fairly stable. The "problem" is that the demographics in L.A. are changing. The people who grew up with the music from the 60's and 70's are listening to other types of music besides oldies. And, those same listeners comprise a smaller percentage of the general population than, say, 20 years ago. A large percentage of current radio listeners weren't brought up in our culture during those decades. The fact that K-earth has been able to hang in there and maintain a respectable rating is commendable.

 

[davideduardo]

Liner cards are pre-written scripts that the jock reads. This is opposed to "talking points" which indicate what to say at each break, leaving it to the jock to do it in his or her own words. "Liner card jocks" means totally rehearsed talent... no improvisation or personalization.Your point on many people in LA not having grown up on US Top 40 is very valid. About 60% of the market is ethnic now, with another 10% being immigrants form Russia, Persia, etc., who would probably not be oldies users. The real issue is that the KRTH ratings are way down. In the ages advertisers seek, it is like 14th in the market. It is 16th in sales demos 25-54. In other words, not a "must buy" format. Spanish "oldies" station KRCD beats it 25-54 by about 60%, which further points out the declining relevancy of the format in LA.

 

[nativeangelino]

Thanks for the liner notes information, David. I do not have a radio background, although I once had a dream of becoming a PD. It appears that stations such as K-Earth 101; KOLA 99.9; 95.5 KLOS; and even 94.7 "The Wave", are fighting a losing battle in the ratings wars. With California's demographics changing as drastically as they are, I can't see how an oldies station can hope to retain, let alone reGAIN, their listener shares at this time. Perhaps in about 10 or 15 years from now, all the newer residents in So Cal will want to hear "oldies" from the 90's. But, at this point, it seems that those of us who can relate to the songs of the 60's & 70's are becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of the audience. Some of the people I grew up with, who used to listen to 60's and 70's music religiously, have moved away from Southern California. And some of my friends who are still in the area are now listening to AM talk radio. Even though I see it every day with my own eyes, I am in shock over how drastically the demographics have changed in the past 10 years or so. BTW: I am Asian-American. I have a sentimental connection with K-Earth, simply because I've been listening to that station for decades. And it's sad to see that KLOS (classic rock) has such low ratings. That says a lot. It will be interesting to see what transpires in the next 5 or 10 years. I won't be too surprised if some of the stations I mentioned above have changed their format by then.

 

[calguy]

Re: The Future of KRTH & KLOS

As a native Californian and someone who loves rock music and the AOR-Classic Rock and the old Top 40 formats I find it disheartening that there are fewer and fewer choices to hear these formats. I've traveled out of state a few times in the last few years and was truly blown away at what I Heard in cities many states away. Cleveland for example has several rock stations. But LA, where so many great bands came of age from the mid-60's through the 80's is down to KLOS and KROQ. But KROQ doesn't truly count as it's a different kind of radio altogether from KLOS and what used to be the standard for rock radio. But it's a fact of life that the population has changed with such a high influx of foreign born Latino's and those from the Middle East, Armenia and so on. If you're not raised on Rock & Top 40, KLOS and KRTH will only have limited appeal if any. But English stations do get listener-ship from foreign born people. I can't tell you how many people I hear on stations that are contest winners who have thick accents with origins from all over the world. It's not scientific, but it is proof to a degree that they are embracing some of the English speaking formats. Again though I find it truly sad that a city that spawned so many great Rock acts has so few radio choices to hear them. By the way, if Rock is in such a bad place in LA, why do you see so many young teens embracing acts like AC-DC and Led Zeppelin? Weird...

 

[davideduardo]

English stations definitely have listening by Hispanics and other immigrant groups. Stations like Power, Kiss and such have second generation immmigrant listeners... they are the kids of immigrants who are growing up here and start very young listeng to what the other kids in school and the neighborhood listen to. Thse born here 40 or 50 years ago will listen to KRTH or KOST, too. With first generation, the listeners are generally those who liked American pop or rock in the home country. Othewise, Americna music is gnerally not liked by first generation immigrants. Music taste is formed in early adolescence, and hard to change after that. Using myself as an example, I find very little enjoyable on English radio because I grew up with Spanish pop, cumbias, salsa, and such. I go bonkers over classic rock and metal and any hard rock, as it sounds like nose to me... because I never had any contact with it when younger. But, since I played 60's stuff on my station in Ecuador, I can listen to CCR and Brian Highland and the Supremes easily!

 

[nativeangelino]

Well, we've kind of strayed from the topic of Hollywood Hamilton, haven't we? That's ok. I don't miss him at all.I agree with David. As adults, most people end up listening to the same type of music they were exposed to when they were young. I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley during the 60's, listening to the Beatles, Stones, Creedance, Yardbirds, CSNY, and all of those one-hit wonders. I'm in my early 50's now, and I still listen to that music. I also listen to harder rock and smooth jazz. But, when I hear younger people blasting their radios, all I seem to hear from them is hip-hop, dance music, rap, etc. So, this makes we wonder if younger people truly are listening to the Beatles, Stones, etc. Maybe they are, but they keep it to themselves? And, since most younger people seem to be listening to rap, hip-hop, etc., I don't see how the "anglo" music from the 60's & 70's will ever make a significant resurgence in the near future, at least not in California (I used the term "anglo" for lack of a better one). Another person metioned that other cities have two or three oldies stations. That is true. Las Vegas has at least 2 oldies stations and at least two classic rock stations. And they play great stuff! It's hard to believe that K-Earth & KLOS don't have a larger following in Southern CA.