Chanley fills in at 88.5

Another alumnus of The Sound (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) is joining The New 88.5 FM, at least temporarily.

From January 22nd through February 9th, Andy Chanley fills in for the vacationing Sky Daniels weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. as a Special Guest Host.

Chanley was the first and last voice heard on The Sound. Daniels did weekends on The Sound in the early days, which at the time was an adult album alternative (AAA) station as is 88.5 …so there is something cosmic here. Former host of the Sound’s Peace, Love and Sunday Mornings, Mimi Chen, was permanently added to 88.5’s staff two weeks ago.

“I’ve been a fan of 88.5 FM for years,” Chanley wrote on the 88.5 website. “It reminds me so much of the great rock stations I’ve been fortunate to be a part of in Southern California. In fact, 88.5 FM sounds a lot like The Sound first set out to be.”

New Alternative PD

Mike Kaplan, who has been an instrumental part of making Alt 98.7 FM the success it is today, has left the alternative rock station as of last week. Replacing him is Lisa Worden, who joined Alt just last November to work with Kaplan as VP of programming for Alt as well as serving as owner iHeart Radio’s alternative format brand manager, a position in which she will continue.

It is unknown if Kaplan left of his own accord; my hunch is yes. No word on where he is going; no major changes are planned for Alt.

Shutdown

As this is being written the Federal Government is undergoing a shutdown. If it continues, the shutdown may affect the Federal Communications Commission, the governing body of radio and television stations, though the agency claims it will be open at least a week regardless of the general shutdown.

Of course, being that the FCC hasn’t actually done anything meaningful or positive in the past three decades, a total shutdown of the Commission would have no effect on the basic operations of broadcast stations … or even the Do Not Call list that everyone ignores.

I’d put the FCC, its commissioners and staff in the “non-essential” category. Time to gut it, as it serves no purpose.

Real Radio

WKRP in Cincinnati may have been a fictional radio station, but as personalities, programmers, sales staff or anyone else connected with radio will tell you, it was the most realistic radio station ever to appear on television.

It is said that every character on WKRP came, in some way, from a real person known by show creator Hugh Wilson. And that the show, some characters, and many of the antics came from WQXI/Atlanta — Quixie in Dixie. Wilson was close to WQXI through his work writing ad copy for an advertising agency that provided WQXI with material.

Wilson passed away on January 14th at the age of 74. But like so many in radio who believed he was showcasing their own colleagues in radio, his influence will live on.

Chicago Fun

If you haven’t had a chance to listen to Ken Levine’s “Hollywood and Levine” — available as an iTunes podcast — you are missing out. Levine’s experience in radio, television, movies and more  — he wrote for M*A*S*H and was a DJ on Ten-Q as but two examples — gives him an interesting perspective on all things entertainment. 

One of the funnier segments is a story told of when he was given a chance to do a show on WLS/Chicago, a one-time powerful top-40 AM station. I’ll keep it brief, but the story is that, while he had many years of experience on radio, he convinced the DJ on duty just prior to his shift that he had no clue what to do, and that his only connection to radio was that his father (really) happened to be the WLS general manager. The DJ was sweating bullets before he revealed his experience by “hitting the post” of the song played at the top of the hour … check it out in episode five. And then listen weekly; it is definitely well worth your time.

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