Airwaves: November 9, 2007
Perspective
Without getting into the specifics of the writers strike, I find it interesting
that KFI's (640 AM) John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou were so
friendly and supportive to the Writers Guild representative they had on their
afternoon show last Monday, with Chiampou even stating "I hope they get
what they want" on Tuesday.
Interesting, considering how much they railed against the supermarket workers
a few years ago when those employees were on strike and asking for far less.
Industry friendships, or plain hypocrisy? I'll leave that for you to decide.
Older Oldies
KRTH (101.1 FM) has finally added a second channel to their digital HD
Radio broadcasts. Called K-EARTH Classics, the format consists of pop
hits from the 1950s and 1960s, taking KRTH almost back to the format it debuted
in 1972.
While it may be hard to believe that hits from Rock and Roll's early days are
now over 50 years old, my reader mail indicates that there is indeed still a
demand for those classic hits. A big demand.
You need an HD Radio to hear the station which even has its own special jingle
... (and as of right now, no commercials). My favorites are Sangean's component
tuners that you can add to your regular stereo system, the HDT-1 and HDT-1X,
about $180 and $249, respectively. But numerous others are available, including
table model radios, clock radios, and car stereos at various price points. Good
sources include Amazon.com and Crutchfield.com on line; Radio Shack and Best
Buy locally.
But be warned: the power level of HD broadcasts is a fraction (1/100) of the
power of a station's regular analog power. So HD can't reach as far as analog.
At my house I can get all the LA stations and a a couple from San Diego, but
numerous readers have told me they are unable to receive the HD stations. In
other words, make sure you can return the radio if it doesn't work for you.
Great News
Every year, Don Barrett sets aside some time to reflect ... to decide
if he should continue his subscription website, laradio.com.
It's not an amazingly lucrative site; people still believe the web should be
free. But Barrett puts his all into the site, originally conceived to be a marketing
tool for his book, Los Angeles Radio People. Over the years the site became
less marketing and more information, culminating with what it is today: the source
of record for anything connected with Los Angeles radio and its people.
Thankfully, Barrett is doing it again. if you're a radio junkie, do yourself
a favor and check it out. $40 per year for daily news; $60 per year or $10 per
month for everything on the site including over a decade of archival material.
Makes a great gift ...
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Copyright © 2007 Richard Wagoner and Los Angeles Newspaper Group.
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