KFCD news, FWIW

[jd]

Chance McClain, from sports/talk KILT Houston has signed up as an on-site consultant with 990 AM. But it's only a temporary thing: www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4989483.html
Considering the history of the beleaguered frequency, one would hope that he signed the deal with the new owners, not the old bunch.

 

[MikeShannon914]

What an easy job for Chance. I got a peek at his notes:

1. Listen to "The Ticket."

2. Do what they do.

And what's the most current story over at 990? Last I heard, some overly-emotional, "talk-the-talk" black guy was leasing airtime from the station for this format, and telling job applicants that he was planning to BUY and "take over" the station "in three months" (that was 8 months ago.) He was wanting to hire salesmen with no base or draw--just flat commission only (yeah, go out there with no ratings in hand,) and was taking in unpaid interns to run the board. If he's struggling that badly, I doubt he can come up with $10-15 mil to buy the thing, IMHO. And what's the incentive to bring in yet another sports talk station? KESN still struggles, even with the Mavs on board. All the other major league teams in town are spoken for, and most of the college teams anyone in DFW cares about are taken by any local small-timer AM that'll have them. Where's the niche that could make such a station compete with KTCK? First, you'd have to have a signal that could compete with 1310...and 990 ain't it, ESPECIALLY at night. And, with the ongoing confusion over ownership (Schum? Schum's backer? Or who? The FCC database still gives it to Schum under a dummy corporate name,) what familiar personalities would take a "chance" at not being paid? And who's bought spots on the station so far? (And I don't mean the ones they "lift" from Frisco Roughriders games [as the team's occasional backup flagship] and play during non-game times.)

All I see is a lot of smoke and mirrors. Correct me if I'm wrong. ChipK, you're good at deciphering the REAL meaning of FCC filings and such...what do you see going on here?

Daytime is all they've got, signal-wise...and what a great place it'd be for BizRadio to move to (6AM-6PM is their normal schedule,) instead of wasting all that $$$ in engineering costs and time to try to force 940 into DFW from Belton. Otherwise, they should try a roster of moderate talkers, or maybe a fresher version of KAAM, or peddle the time to preachers (KSKY made a MINT doing that for 42 years...all cash, all up front.) There's much better choices here than going broke with an upstart sports talker that will never, ever show up in the Arb's.

 

[gordontalk]

How about all of us Radio-info users get together and buy the station. Then we can give it to Robert Bass and simply have him play all of the songs over there that KEOM can't play. That would definitely bring in more listeners than this cheap excuse for a sports talker. Then we could bring back the hi-fi club as well.
Any other suggestions as far as other things that we could do with it?

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

Well first off I would report Tom over there to the Texas Workforce Commission,and US Labor Department. Have you ever listened to his "morning sports show"? The sound of a toilet flush is more informative. The "NEW"Owners? need to kick his butt out of there and point him to an old Elkins studio,and force him to clean turn tables. Not paying employees,is callous. The "kids'working there needto bail. I understand they want a market number 5 on their resume',but the station is more like market 350. The imagery of the station is not what you want on your resume' guys. Bizradio would do fine there, BUTyou forget we are talking about Dan Frishberg another programming radio wizard,and his faux trophy wife Elisea(who wears the pants and briefs in the family).

 

[adguy]

You wonder if wizzard Dan Frishberg will be shopping for a new signal when his lease with 1360 is up at the end of this year or beginning of 2008. I can't imagine him having the money to buy from Multicultural in the way he supposedly structured his lease-to-buy arrangement. Dan "the radio wizzard" Frishberg is also probably shopping for a new signal in Houston if he can't keep 1320 under the current terms he has with Multicultural. The owner of Multicultural is one of the greediest radio owners in the country and will milk anyone that wants to buy any of his stations across the country. God knows what Frishberg was thinking when he cut a deal with them, but then again Frishberg, according to Frishberg, IS the smartest and richest radio personality of them all.

 

[gordontalk]

Does anyone know what he's paying for the air-time over there right now? The last time that I listened they had expanded one hour until 7:00. I'm surprised that he didn't go after 1190 since Clear Channel hasn't ever really done anything with it besides Fox Sports.

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

Adguy for the most part is correct. Frishberg is in love with himself and feels HE is the brains of Biz Radio. The truth be told Brent Clanton is.without Brent Bizradio would have crumbled a long time ago. Elisea is the brains behind Dan ,literally . That is not saying much at all,because she barely understands what radio is,only that there is a microphone and a computer. She has gotten rid of more TALENT and brought in yes babys. She herself is like an audio saturday cartoon wit her "fame show" Her voice is reminiscent of that bad parody record in 1976 record by either Buchanan or Goodman of "Mr. Jaws". If you are a history buff listen to an old WW2 recording of "Tokyo Rose" .The voices are errily similar. The NEw Bizradio is the old KTON that was in Belton. The towers are now in Royce city. Perhaps TOM at 990 should get in contact with Dan and Perhaps he and Elisea could do a show together called "Shyster and Fraud".

 

[MikeShannon914]

Interesting article...this should explain (and validate) a few comments already made here. From The Dallas Observer, 1/18/07. Edited to try to keep within the copyright compliance regulations of the Board. Link is http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2007/01/radio_experiment_failed.php#more

"Radio Experiment = Failed," by Richie Whitt
Thu Jan 18, 2007 at 03:10:48 PM
Well, that didn't take long.

I started last week's announcement of a new all-sports radio station by cautiously warning that the Sports Fan 990 experiment was either "hopelessly pitching pebbles at the castle walls...or perhaps the latest, greatest idea in local sports radio." Three days into its first week, we know the answer -- and it ain't the latter.

During 990's month-long incubation, station founder Thom Bailey repeatedly pounded his fist onto tables, shook hands, looked into eyes, made heartfelt promises and shouted, "Failure isn't an option!" As of today, however, promises have been broken, concrete plans have been shattered and, indeed, failure isn't only an option, but an inevitable reality.

Bailey talked of grand plans. Of hiring homeless to tag radio fliers on cars at Stars games. Of producing contracts penned by lawyers, not third-graders. Of ridiculously renting an airplane, dragging behind it a 990 banner and flying it over next month's Ticketstock. Of "letting the genie out of the bottle."

There are no fliers. No contracts. No airplanes. No banners. No genies. No bottles. And, before his venture turned one week old, no future. Pressed for answers on how so absurdly his actions failed to live up to his words, Bailey mumbled, "I don't have any answers."

 

[MikeShannon914]

And another interesting article: http://www.dallasblack.com/site.aspx/community/baileybattersradio

So Dallas Cowboys Radio Network sideliner Kristi Scales is in on this? And erstwhile traffic gal Nikki Granville? And, hardest to believe, Dave Burrell, who came up on the short end of KMSR's and KFCD's payroll problems time and time again, is still there? Talk about a glutton for punishment.

Take it or leave it, just my 2 cents. I'm just thankful that I didn't get sucked into the Cafe 990 debacle...I was only a couple of days away from being hired there in 2002.

Oh yeah, another format suggestion for 990, speaking of...WOMEN'S TALK. It would still work, just not under the terms that Schum and Savage wanted to do it.

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

Very humorous article. Bailey is self-delusional. I love the line "People said we would be out of business in one month" How many months has it been since he paid anyone? His "press box" is more like "depressed Box".I said it before, a toilet flush is more informative". He wants to brag he has a sports station in the number 5 market. Let me rephrase"an alleged sports station". Prediction, he will lose the Frisco Rough Rider contract next year. Some staff members will have enough and be replaced by KNON interns. Government agencies will look at his finances,and Some former employees make claims. Bailey should should seek an attorney soon.

 

[born2run]

Well.....I can give my 2 cents worth on this so-called Station.....hell, that's more then anyone got paid over there. First off, nobody is left from the first two months. The only one I know that did get paid what was owed is Kristi Scales.....and that was after two bounced checks. The rest....NOTTA!!!! ....and yes, to the best of my knowledge everyone has filed their claims with the Workforce Commision, most were filed in April. As for myself, I have a lawyer that's standing by if the Workforce Commision is not enough.

Now, most of us did have contracts and since the majority of us had our other jobs we were honestly doing this for the love of it. Speaking for myself, I have my syndicated show I've been doing for some 10 plus years so money was not that big of a deal.....however, with that said, I don't work for free thus, it's a matter of principle. There are too many wanna-be's like Thom Bailey in this business, I just hope what goes around comes around......but it's beyond me how this guy still can show his face in public and act like nothing he is doing in wrong.

Also....I've read in the past where a few of you were a little hard on some of the people working there......and not getting paid. "If your working for free you must be desperate or an idiot". Well, just remember what some of us were like when we were fresh out of college or high school wanting to break into the business. I don't know about you but I would do anything and most of all, believe anyone who claims to be a Programming Genius (Thom Bailey).......For myself, that was some 25 years ago and although times have changed, the manipulation of young hungry minds will always be easy game.

Anyway.....that is my couple cents worth. Again, more than I ever saw, or probably ever will see from my one month of working there.

 

[MikeShannon914]

That is a very sad and disappointing story, and my heart goes out to you. I know a little (very little) about doing this for the love of the industry (anyone remember last year's "Hi Fi Club"?) but it'd sure be nice to be thrown a dog biscuit every once in a while to know that you're appreciated. (BTW, you are NOT desperate or an idiot!) But what is it about that damn frequency that invites the worst-of-the-worst to run or own it? Several of my friends and acquaintances have been hurt over there (Doc Bryce, Bob Crowley, Kevin McCarthy, Katie Pruitt and Liz Balon, to name a very few) and I just don't get it. Many of us talk about radio being better in the hands of mom-and-pops and private owners, but 990 is sure a big argument against it. I've talked to Dave Schum at length and know the first foray (Cafe) was not all his fault...but the second one (KMSR/KFCD)--sheesh, that's a pretty obvious call. But, wow, Bailey is like a carbon copy of Schum, with the same fallout and broken promises and unpaid paychecks and lawsuits and claims with the TWC. How guys like that are not run out of town, I don't know. Maybe it's just my nature, but when I ran my own biz, I worked 80-100 hours a week to keep up, and took the extra money I was saving from doing that and paid it to the employees instead (commissioned contractors, in this case) so they'd have a regular, dependable paycheck. Maybe I was a fool for doing that, but it kept my employees working for me and kept the operation going. I sold it for a profit and went home with a clear conscience afterwards.

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

That just it.Thom Bailey doesnt have a conscience. Its all about him. You should hear him speak to others about his morning sports show. You'd think he was giving Hal Jay a run for his money. Thom in fact is running after anyones money and pocketing it. Running the Frisco Rough Rider spots outside of the roughrider game IS a violation of contract with them.
I am sure Channel 8 or 11 perhaps 4 will be doing an investigative story on him soon.

 

[Top Cat]

The "newest" owners of 990 were headed by the late Otto Miller. Otto's business plan was to buy a station and sell all of the program time to brokers (like the sports guys.) Otto didn't care what the programming sounded like as long as the brokers paid the bill every month. If the sports guys fail they will just selling the program time to someone else. Could be Spanish religion (which Otto tried first) or Polka music....just as long as the brokers pays on time. That group also owns 700 over east where they have the time leased to Indiana/Pakastini programmer Rajan Sediki.

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

"That group also owns 700 over east where they have the time leased to Indiana/Pakastini programmer Rajan Sediki."

There is an "Indiana" format????.. What a small niche! Just kidding

 

[jd]

How many formats, and how "owners" of record have there been for this station? I'm starting to lose count. You've got to wonder about the original game plan, or if in fact there was one, when the old 990 in Wichita Falls was sold to "The Watch."

Although it had several sets of call letters from the mid-80's through the mid-90's, 990 AM was best remembered for their successful run as a top-40 station, KNIN. The signal was good, too, and with 10,000 watts it could be heard all the way into Fort Worth. 990's complicated, costly move into the crowded Dallas-Fort Worth market, where the signal is marginal at best during the day and pitiful at night was a monumental blunder. Wichita Falls, once home to three successful AM stations, now has just one: Clear Channel's news talk KWFS 1290.

What grandiose designs did the buyers have for 990 ten years ago? I'm guessing that "brokered time ethnic" wasn't on the list. With one of several sets of call letters assigned to the frequency while it was dormant before the move, we could have seen a cheap "Ticket" rip-off known as KTUB "The Stub." With the exception of the ill-fated "Cafe 990" format and some bright spots on Mainstreet Radio, what we got didn't get any prettier. Almost everything went wrong in a decade long disaster, a bad dream that isn't over yet. If ever there were a case for going back home, this is it.

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

AMEN TO THAT JD

 

[txchipk]

How many formats, and how "owners" of record have there been for this station? I'm starting to lose count. You've got to wonder about the original game plan, or if in fact there was one, when the old 990 in Wichita Falls was sold to "The Watch."

Although it had several sets of call letters from the mid-80's through the mid-90's, 990 AM was best remembered for their successful run as a top-40 station, KNIN. The signal was good, too, and with 10,000 watts it could be heard all the way into Fort Worth. 990's complicated, costly move into the crowded Dallas-Fort Worth market, where the signal is marginal at best during the day and pitiful at night was a monumental blunder. Wichita Falls, once home to three successful AM stations, now has just one: Clear Channel's news talk KWFS 1290.

What grandiose designs did the buyers have for 990 ten years ago? I'm guessing that "brokered time ethnic" wasn't on the list. With one of several sets of call letters assigned to the frequency while it was dormant before the move, we could have seen a cheap "Ticket" rip-off known as KTUB "The Stub." With the exception of the ill-fated "Cafe 990" format and some bright spots on Mainstreet Radio, what we got didn't get any prettier. Almost everything went wrong in a decade long disaster, a bad dream that isn't over yet. If ever there were a case for going back home, this is it.

I can only go back to the mid-80s when it was KGTM Wichita Falls. It changed from easy listening to country in 1988. In 1990, it became classic rock KKCR. In 1991, it became KNIN and simulcast of KNIN-FM 92.9's CHR "Power 92-9" format. It ran that for several years, then went dark if I recall. It picked up the KWFT calls formally used on 620 Wichita Falls (now KMKI Plano) in 1995. It returned to the air in 1998 as sports KTUB (running One On One...now Sporting News Radio). That went silent in 1999. It returned to the air again, again with One On One, as sports KXXL "Sports Radio 990" in 2000. That lasted briefly as it went dark again soon after. KXXL finally made the move to Farmersville and came on with talk in the summer of 2002. The call change to KCAF occured 9/25/2002 and the local "Cafe 990" talk format debuted 10/21/2002. That, of course, died three days later when it switched back to a feed of Radio America's talk line-up.

Let's see, since then, it's been more talk as KMSR "990 Main Street Radio"; brokered; the current brokered sports/talk as KFCD...

As for pre-mid '80s, the station obviously had a long history in Wichita Falls. I have an old aircheck from 2/4/1959 when they were KYSD (tribute to Buddy Holly after his death). At that time, it would have been co-owned with then-KYSD-TV 6 (now KAUZ) there.

 

[jd]

As for pre-mid '80s, the station obviously had a long history in Wichita Falls. I have an old aircheck from 2/4/1959 when they were KYSD (tribute to Buddy Holly after his death). At that time, it would have been co-owned with then-KYSD-TV 6 (now KAUZ) there.

There was quite a battle in the Top 40 days between KNIN and "Mighty 1290" KTRN. And of course 620 KWFT had a loyal following, largely due to Joe Tom White. (A minor correction: prior to KNIN 990 was KSYD. Before it was sold in the mid-1950's, channel 6 was KWFT-TV.)

It's interesting that years after 620 and 990 moved to D/FW, there's an out-of-market signal that gets a significant amount of listening in Wichita Falls. WBAP shows up consistently, and KAAM is there, too, although I'd imagine they had a lot more long-distance listeners back in the 90's when they were on 620.