Kevin & Sluggo Cut At KLOS

[yeoldeschool]

I know Steve and he would never do something like that. Secondly, KCJJ does direct sales to local businesses and the PI spots generally only run after CBS News at the top of the hour. Thirdly, anyone who did what you're imagining would probably get sued at the very least, and might even get their license contested or lost under the character qualifications the FCC uses to approve or deny licenses. Still think it's a funny idea?

Yes, I do, because I reasoned that the sheer absurdity of it would make clear it could only have been a facetiously imagined farcical scenario.

Can you imagine an ad agency accepting results like those at face value and blindly throwing a fortune in billing at a small hometown AM without investigating?

Adding to what radiofan said: The PI/DR agencies don't do direct buys. Nor do they share results with the direct buy agencies. That is the fatal flaw in your mildly humorous scenario.

Of that (sharing) I had no clue. Which was another reason why I was able to enjoy that silly notion playing out.

 

[ILOVERADIO]

Okay, IF he can find a place to live within an hour of the KLOS studios for triple the rent he pays now.

I don't think that bit of pedantry changes a whole lot in this equation.

Michael, Coukd the jock live in Barstow or Cl

Triple my current rent would be $2,550 a month. Perhaps I'm playing the roommate game.

I get a personal exemption on the tax, don't I?

I don't purchase health insurance. I'd imagine that an LA station is union, but the ad doesn't make it clear that it is.

Michael, Coild the jock live in Cleveland or Barstow and work from a home studio?

 

[K.M. Richards]

Michael, Coild the jock live in Cleveland or Barstow and work from a home studio?

Until my friend Mr. Hagerty shows up to answer, I will put in my two cents' worth (or should that be five dollars if adjusted for inflation?):

While that has become more and more of an option in recent years, when KTWV was still Smooth Jazz, Don Burns (considered by most to be the "signature voice" of the station) was let go in 2010 because PD Jhani Kaye didn't want to continue the arrangement between CBS and Burns for him to track from his home studio in Palm Springs; that arrangement had been in place for over a year at that point and -- I am told -- was a concession to avoid a repeat of his one-year absence in 2002-03 over a contract dispute.

And now, just under 15 years later, that scenario probably wouldn't have happened. I wonder if Don would have stayed through the format transition, though...

 

[ILOVERADIO]

Until my friend Mr. Hagerty shows up to answer, I will put in my two cents' worth (or should that be five dollars if adjusted for inflation?):

While that has become more and more of an option in recent years, when KTWV was still Smooth Jazz, Don Burns (considered by most to be the "signature voice" of the station) was let go in 2010 because PD Jhani Kaye didn't want to continue the arrangement between CBS and Burns for him to track from his home studio in Palm Springs; that arrangement had been in place for over a year at that point and -- I am told -- was a concession to avoid a repeat of his one-year absence in 2002-03 over a contract dispute.

And now, just under 15 years later, that scenario probably wouldn't have happened. I wonder if Don would have stayed through the format transition, though...

Thanks, K.M.

 

[michael hagerty]

Michael, Coukd the jock live in Barstow or Cl

Michael, Coild the jock live in Cleveland or Barstow and work from a home studio?

See what K.M. said above.

In fact, I know a major morning drive personality for whom an L.A. radio station constructed a home studio and a year later decided he needed to live in L.A. or else. He said no, and that was the end of that. I think he kept the studio, but I have no idea if that was part of the severance agreement or what.

The question you need to ask yourself beyond the logistics of a home studio is:

Is there a difference between a Cleveland jock and a Los Angeles afternoon drive air talent?

There damn well better be a difference between a Barstow jock and an L.A. afternoon drive air talent. If there isn't, then AI is absolutely the best solution and we can stop talking about this stuff.

 

[Identnut]

See what K.M. said above.

In fact, I know a major morning drive personality for whom an L.A. radio station constructed a home studio and a year later decided he needed to live in L.A. or else. He said no, and that was the end of that. I think he kept the studio, but I have no idea if that was part of the severance agreement or what.

The question you need to ask yourself beyond the logistics of a home studio is:

Is there a difference between a Cleveland jock and a Los Angeles afternoon drive air talent?

There damn well better be a difference between a Barstow jock and an L.A. afternoon drive air talent. If there isn't, then AI is absolutely the best solution and we can stop talking about this stuff.

Because you can't simulcast the LA jock (or hell, the whole station) in Barstow or anything...

French stations simulcast from Calais to Marseilles. Peruvian Stations simulcast from Tumbes to Puno.

If it's too much to build a coast to cost network in the USA, why not regional stations, like the old KIIS FM that could be heard from Malibu to Vegas?

 

[TheBigA]

If it's too much to build a coast to cost network in the USA

It's not. KIIS can be heard worldwide on the iHeart app. There was a time when KIIS was also on Sirius.

Simulcasting an entire station sort of defeats the purpose of local radio. That's what EMF does. They're a coast to coast network and you hear the same station everywhere. However, they are non-profit and non-commercial, so no local sales. What keeps radio stations local is local sales. Local talent is there to drive local sales. Eliminate that, and radio stations become repeaters for a national network, just like they were in the 1930s.

 

[michael hagerty]

Because you can't simulcast the LA jock (or hell, the whole station) in Barstow or anything...

French stations simulcast from Calais to Marseilles. Peruvian Stations simulcast from Tumbes to Puno.

If it's too much to build a coast to cost network in the USA, why not regional stations, like the old KIIS FM that could be heard from Malibu to Vegas?

Okay. Not the point. After 12 pages, you can be excused (I guess) for not reading it all, so:

• KLOS fires Kevin and Sluggo.
• KLOS lists their job for a salary of $70,000-$90,000 a year. That's inadequate to live any kind of life in Los Angeles.
• The fact that it's L.A. (Market #2) should matter, and should require a certain level of talent and experience commensurate with the market size and the revenue at stake.
• ILOVERADIO asks if someone can just do it from a remote studio in Cleveland or Barstow (show me THAT Venn diagram).

And my point is that if we're now down to the level where if you're good enough for Barstow, you can do afternoon drive on a heritage full-power FM in market #2, then it's pretty much game over.

 

[TheBigA]

And my point is that if we're now down to the level where if you're good enough for Barstow, you can do afternoon drive on a heritage full-power FM in market #2, then it's pretty much game over.

Just because you happen to live in Barstow shouldn't be a statement on your talent. We're currently at a point where DJs in smaller markets are in fact VTing shifts in larger markets. There's a morning show in Grand Rapids called Free Beer & Hot Wings that's being run on Townsquare rock stations around the country. That's just one example that comes to mind. EMF was running its network from studios outside Sacramento. They've since moved to Nashville. So the size of the originating market doesn't matter. Whoever gets this job at KLOS still has to pass the audition, and the talent will be judged by the person doing the hiring. If that applicant is good enough for market #2, then that's what will happen.

At one time, DJs moved up the talent/salary level by moving from small markets to larger markets. That system really went away in the late 90s, when it was possible for DJs to make large market salaries in medium markets and raise their families there. That's when the lifestyle became more important than career moves. When I talk with millennials about work, the main thing they talk about is lifestyle, and staying close to family. They're not as concerned with moving up the corporate ladder if it also means leaving their home area. That's a change from how it used to be.

Technically it's possible to do afternoon drive in market #2 from anywhere. Especially if all you do is stay in a studio and don't directly engage with listeners at events or concerts. At one time, DJs were part of the local community. Now they seem to want to remain isolated. Meruelo is offering incentives and other ways to make money if the 90K isn't enough. But that might mean being local to LA, and working outside the studio. I always say: Must be present to win. But if you want to do major market radio from Montana, it's already being done.

 

[michael hagerty]

Just because you happen to live in Barstow shouldn't be a statement on your talent. We're currently at a point where DJs in smaller markets are in fact VTing shifts in larger markets. There's a morning show in Grand Rapids called Free Beer & Hot Wings that's being run on Townsquare rock stations around the country. That's just one example that comes to mind. EMF was running its network from studios outside Sacramento. They've since moved to Nashville. So the size of the originating market doesn't matter.

At one time, DJs moved up the talent/salary level by moving from small markets to larger markets. That system really went away in the late 90s, when it was possible for DJs to make large market salaries in medium markets and raise their families there. That's when the lifestyle became more important than career moves. When I talk with millennials about work, the main thing they talk about is lifestyle, and staying close to family. They're not as concerned with moving up the corporate ladder if it also means leaving their home area. That's a change from how it used to be.

Technically it's possible to do afternoon drive in market #2 from anywhere. Especially if all you do is stay in a studio and don't engage directly engage with listeners at events or concerts. At one time, DJs were part of the local community. Now they seem to want to remain isolated. Meruelo is offering incentives and other ways to make money if the 90K isn't enough. But that might mean being local to LA, and working outside the studio. I always say: Must be present to win. But if you want to do major market radio from Montana, it's already being done.

Townsquare is a small and medium market company. They’re not clearing their Grand Rapids show in major markets.

EMF puts the same products into multiple markets without regard for market size. New York on down all get the same stuff.

Sacramento and Nashville (and for that matter, Cleveland) are at least Top 40 markets (Sacramento #29, Cleveland #36, Nashville #39). Talent moves from those markets to NY, LA and Chicago are not unheard of.

Barstow is a town of 25,000 people and an unrated radio market.

You can make all the “maybe you need a second job in addition to afternoon drive in market #2” arguments you want, but you’ll end up sounding like a small-market GM nobody wants to work for.

If that IS the reality in L.A. (as opposed to just Mueurelo), then the inevitable got here a few years ahead of schedule.

 

[TheBigA]

If that IS the reality in L.A. (as opposed to just Mueurelo), then the inevitable got here a few years ahead of schedule.

Once again, talent is talent. It has nothing to do with where you live. Bobby Bones was discovered doing afternoons in Arkansas. Someone saw the talent in him, and he's now a national radio star. Everybody starts somewhere. The challenge is what you do with what you've got. I always said that I didn't want my career to be restricted by geography. So I moved around a lot. But now, I don't have to. I remember talking to a morning drive guy in Orlando, and asked if he thought about moving to a larger marker. He said, "I've thought about it, talked to my wife, and she said 'If you move to Atlanta, you're going without me." So he stayed in Orlando. Fortunately he was making six figures, so he didn't have to leave just for money.

Here's the reality: Radio revenues are way down right now. One can argue all day about why. But they're down. The reason why Meruelo has already fired all of its mid-day people at their four stations is because those stations can't afford to pay them. So what do you do when the revenues aren't enough to pay the staff? You pay what you can afford, and leave the enterprise work to the talent. What's so bad if THEY can supplement their radio money by doing a shift at SiriusXM, or doing booth announcing for an LA production company, or maybe hosting a syndicated show for somebody. I don't understand your concern.

Take a look at Matt Pinfield. He does Sunday nights at KLOS. He does afternoons at KCSN. He does a syndicated show for Cumulus. How is that bad for him or KLOS?

 

[Kent]

If it's too much to build a coast to cost network in the USA, why not regional stations, like the old KIIS FM that could be heard from Malibu to Vegas?

Elaborating a little on the Big A's point, spot radio has never been bought regionally. Jacor made a big effort to change that in the late-90’s before Zell sold the company to Clear Channel. It flopped. That's one of the reasons the old KIIS FM network isn’t around anymore.

 

[ILOVERADIO]

Elaborating a little on the Big A's point, spot radio has never been bought regionally. Jacor made a big effort to change that in the late-90’s before Zell sold the company to Clear Channel. It flopped. That's one of the reasons the old KIIS FM network isn’t around anymore

 

[ILOVERADIO]

Aside from unintentionally disparaging the large takent pool of Barstow, I wonder as a former Angeleno if Michael knows about the world’s best junk food train in Batstow with the famous McDomakds and a ton of other great restaurants. I could eat there every day if I lived there.

Perhaps more realistically, a star like David Eduardo in the DJ world might retire to Indio or Palm Springs but have big city talent. Sometimes retired djs move to small towns.

 

[michael hagerty]

Aside from unintentionally disparaging the large takent pool of Barstow, I wonder as a former Angeleno if Michael knows about the world’s best junk food train in Batstow with the famous McDomakds and a ton of other great restaurants.

I used to have to drive through Barstow when I was living in Las Vegas in the mid-80s and my girlfriends' parents were living on Balboa Island. I don't think I've passed through there since.

It seems like the train has McDonalds, Subway, Panda Express, Wetzel's Pretzels, Dunkin' Donuts, and Popeye's Chicken.

I could eat there every day if I lived there.

The upside of which is that it would certainly shorten the amount of time you had to live in Barstow.

Perhaps more realistically, a star like David Eduardo in the DJ world might retire to Indio or Palm Springs but have big city talent. Sometimes retired djs move to small towns.

A lot of big talent like David Eduardo retires to smaller places.

Barstow ain't Palm Springs.

 

[michael hagerty]

Take a look at Matt Pinfield. He does Sunday nights at KLOS. He does afternoons at KCSN. He does a syndicated show for Cumulus. How is that bad for him or KLOS?

Fairly or not, it comes off as:

"We have a well-known former MTV DJ and morning man at KFOG in San Francisco who does weekends for us, and a syndicated show for our parent company. We can't compensate him adequately, so he also has a five-day a week job for a noncomm owned by CSU Northridge.

He's sixty-three, working a six-day on-air week, but if he shows some initiative and hustle, he'll do okay in radio."

 

[TheBigA]

Fairly or not, it comes off as:

"We have a well-known former MTV DJ and morning man at KFOG in San Francisco who does weekends for us, and a syndicated show for our parent company. We can't compensate him adequately, so he also has a five-day a week job for a noncomm owned by CSU Northridge.

He's sixty-three, working a six-day on-air week, but if he shows some initiative and hustle, he'll do okay in radio."

Who cares? It's Matt's decision. He could just as easily say no, and do something else. Who benefits from that? The other side of your narrative is he's in charge of his life, not his employer. He has multiple revenue sources, not just one. So if one disappears, as often happens in radio, he's not financially strapped. I also doubt very much that he's live on the air all six days. By the way, Cumulus no longer owns KLOS. So it's not Meruelo's parent company.

Applicants for the KLOS job shouldn't let the public job listing dissuade them from applying. If they do, they have only themselves to blame. They should wait until a job offer is made before deciding if it's the right place to work. If they decide at that point that the owner is being cheap or undervaluing their talent, that's when they should pass. Until then, everything is open to negotiation.

 

[tbolt909]

He's sixty-three, working a six-day on-air week, but if he shows some initiative and hustle, he'll do okay in radio."

He's old enough to know the score. As Hyman Roth said in the "Godfather Part 2" --
"This is the business we have chosen".

Many people who got into Radio weren't motivated solely by money. Other jobs are more lucrative and stable. Radio is no longer a viable career path for most people...

 

[davideduardo]

Simulcasting an entire station sort of defeats the purpose of local radio.

And the legislative purpose of local radio as set up in the late 1920's and early 1930's in the U.S. was to prevent national radio in most forms by limiting station power and the number that could be owned. That was the goal of politicians who wanted radio to be limited in influence; they feared regional newspapers and did not want to see any radio owner have greater influence.

That's what EMF does. They're a coast to coast network and you hear the same station everywhere. However, they are non-profit and non-commercial, so no local sales. What keeps radio stations local is local sales.

And what makes radio more profitable and better programmed in other nations is the ability of advertisers to make just a few buys and cover the whole country with a few different formats.

Local talent is there to drive local sales.

Yet the more successful "talent" driven shows are regional and national syndicated ones, ranging from Bobby Bones to Charlemagne. The rest of the day on a growing majority of stations is done by voice tracking and syndicated/networked shows.

Eliminate that, and radio stations become repeaters for a national network, just like they were in the 1930s.

Or like what they are, much more successfully, in countries around the world, ranging from France to Peru.

 

[davideduardo]

Barstow ain't Palm Springs.

Too many words.

Corrected version: "Barstow ain't."

Note: on a long drive to northern AZ one time, we stayed at a Holiday In Express in Barstow and the room overlooked the BNSF rail yard. It was several hour's worth of fun watching huge groups of freight cars be disassembled, moved around and reassembled and sent on their way. This was almost like watching a symphony orchestra play because of the synchronized movements of dozens of engines and thousands of cars.