Hosts announced for The Fan
The lineup of hosts for The Fan (KNX-FM, 97.1) was announced last week, and they will hit the air next week. The station will make the switch to all sports at 6 a.m. May 18th after simulcasting news with sister station KNX (1070 AM) for the past few years. The new stars are:
• Derek and Decker — Derek Fisher and Cody Decker — every weekday morning from 6 – 10. Fisher is a five-time NBA champion with an 18-year career spanning over 1200 games, while Decker is a former major league baseball player and well-known prankster. In his minor league baseball days, Decker was a regular on the Mark & Brian Show (KLOS, 95.5 FM) and later on The Sound’s (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) Mark In The Morning. On those segments, he proved himself to be very colorful and fun.
• Brock and Alex — Brock Vereen and Alex Curry — weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vereen is an NFL veteran and analyst, while Curry is an accomplished sports reporter who gained national recognition originally with the LA Kings..
• D-Mac and Reiter — Doug McKain and Bill Reiter — weekday afternoons from 2 – 6. McKain is a longtime local sports journalist and broadcaster, primarily with the Dodgers and the Rams, while Reiter is a writer and broadcaster with CBS Sports. In the past, he’s been with Sports Illustrated and Fox Sports.
All three shows are described by The Fan owner Audacy essentially the same way … bringing “insight, energy, access and perspective” to listeners.
Reader and Broadcaster David Grudt posted on Facebook that he’s happy more people are being employed in radio. “You always hear about the cuts; here are six people plus all the support staff and management being brought in to a brand-new station,” he told me. “That’s something to celebrate!”
I agree. I’m not convinced, but I won’t stand in the way. At press time, no weekend or evening hosts were announced.
That Sound
It’s almost gone now, but the AM-FM simulcast for all-news KNX made for an interesting experiment. Does FM always sound better than AM? Does AM have to sound bad?
Certainly most radios make it seem that way. FM is considered high fidelity and AM sounds through some radios like a telephone. And a bad one at that.
But outside of interference issues, AM does not by design have to sound bad. To prove it, I recorded some segments from the KNX News feed — using a good tuner known for both AM and FM reception — before the FM changed to sports. You can access the sound files at socalradiowaves.com/wp/knx.
I purposely didn’t mark the files as AM or FM, giving you the ability to determine for yourself what sounds better – sample 1, sample 2 or neither? Can you tell which one is AM or FM? I am betting yes, but more importantly, did you know that AM can actually sound good?
Extension
KABC (790 AM) noontime son John Phillips, heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m., has been given a three-year contract extension, keeping him at KABC and sister station KFSO/San Francisco until at least 2029. This news comes on the heals of a new program director for the two stations, Art Webb. Webb was formerly with Broadcast Services of Disneyland Resorts, and was once with New Normal Music and the Tom Leykis Show. It will be interesting to see if Webb expands on Phillips’ energy.
Hall of Fame
Twenty-four nominees (including three teams) have been selected for the Radio Hall of Fame run by the Chicago Museum of Broadcast Communications. Included in the list are some local favorites, including Charlie Van Dyke (KHJ, KRTH), John and Ken (KFI) Larry Elder (KABC) and Shotgun Tom Kelly (KRTH).
Voting for inductees began on April 24th and continues through Friday, May 8th, at 11:59 p.m. PST. A total of eight individuals or teams will be inducted; the top six vote recipients will gain induction, while two more inductees will be selected by the Radio Hall of Fame Nominating Committee directly.
Roughly 1,000 industry members are involved in the voting; the confidential ballot is being conducted by Votem.com and overseen by Miller Kaplan‘s Andrew Rosen.
The official Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will be announced on Monday, May 18th, and will be honored at a special ceremony on Thursday, October 8th, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.