Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2008 > December > 22 > Entry
12/22: Biggest radio stories of the year
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m on vacation so it’s a good time to review the biggest stories of the year in Atlanta radio:
In general, risks did not pay off in Atlanta radio this year as listeners preferred the tried and true.
Two new morning shows came —Â and went - in a matter of months while other fresh faces struggled to find fans.
But veteran morning shows the Regular Guys and Steve & Vikki found new lives on new stations.
Two long-time stations —Â 99X and Eagle 106.7 — disappeared from the airwaves, while oldies made a modest comeback.
And cost cutting was rampant as dozens of radio people on air and off lost their jobs.
Here are major stories from the year in radio:
— Into the sunset. On Leap Day, new owners Citadel killed country station Eagle 106.7 and canned a good portion of Kicks 101.5 staff. Eagle been the older cousin of Kicks for many years, but Citadel decided to bring back oldies, which had been absent from Atlanta’s airwaves for three years. This also gave Spiff Carner (right), half of the old Randy & Spiff team, a chance to crack jokes again for a living.
— Is three times a charm? Atlanta-based Cumulus Media took aging rock station 99X off the FM dial in January after 15-plus years, replacing it with a broader rock format (Rock 100.5) anchored by the testosterone-laden Regular Guys featuring Larry Wachs, Eric Von Haessler and “Southside” Steve Rickman. The team lost its job twice at the now-defuncct 96rock. So far, they remain happily employed, with most of their old audience to boot.
—Â Comfort food never gets old. After six months off the air, family-frienldy Steve & Vikki segued seamlessly from Star 94 to B98.5 in July with strong ratings to boot.
— What would Mr. T say? R&B/hip-hop station Hot 107.9 in October dumped its four-year-old “A Team” in favor of a lower-cost syndicated alternative starring comic Rickey Smiley.
— Zakk who? Cledus T dud. Zakk Tyler and Cledus T. Judd (right), we hardly knew ya. Zakk arrived from Chicago in January and proceeded to leave so little impact, hardly anybody cared when he was canned eight months later. 94.9/The Bull had high hopes for local boy Judd, giving the parody singer plenty of TV and billboard ads, but most country fans stuck with Kicks and he was out in November.
— Q100’s the underdog no more. With the move to the stronger 99.7 signal, Q100 solidified its dominance over Star 94 in ratings, thanks primarily to its award-winning Bert Show. Star, in the meantime, has found no footing with the Morning Mess, the much younger sounding replacement for Steve & Vikki.
— Whither Porsche? Porsche Foxx (right), whose most famous line is “let your haters be your motivators,” lost her mid-day gig at V-103 right before Thanksgiving. That was less than 18 months after being given a second chance by V-103 management. She first lost her job in 2005 after a DUI. It’s unclear what happened this time around.
— Zoned out. The Fan plucked two former mainstay talk show hosts from the Zone — Matt Chernoff and Chuck Oliver. The Zone, in the meantime, banked on a new afternoon show starring Mike Bell and David Pollack.
— Charity continues. Kicks in February raised $752K for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, up slightly from 2007. WSB-AM pulled in $1.2 million for the AFLAC Cancer Center, about the same as the previous two years. Star 94 raised $825,000 for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, down from $1.2 million in 2007.
— The future is not here. Satellite radio went from being the Next Big Thing in 2002-03 to the Next Big Thud in 2008 as XM and Sirius merged amid increasing debt, a low stock price and slowing growth in subscribers. The next bet is wireless Internet radio — in the car.
— Rest in Peace: Hugh “Baby” Jarrett, former Elvis backup singer and long-time Atlanta radio DJ, passed in June; Fred Powers (right), WGCL-TV reporter, died of cancer in June; Mike Kavanagh, former WSB-AM news reporter, passed suddenly in December.
Comments
By Najeh Davenpoop
December 22, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this
Miss Foxx got canned due to drug & alcohol abuse. What goes around comes around you old skank!
By Deirdre
December 22, 2008 11:30 AM | Link to this
Rodney…you can’t call it a vacation if you keep working. :-)
By STYLE NETWORK
December 22, 2008 11:43 AM | Link to this
NOW SEEKING THE MESSIEST HOUSE!
STYLE NETWORK’S “CLEAN HOUSE” IS LOOKING IN THE ATLANTA AREA FOR THE MESSIEST HOME IN THE COUNTRY TO FEATURE IN AN UPCOMING SPECIAL SERIES.
Do you, or someone you know, need help ridding your home of clutter? Are you having a hard time letting go of stuff you don’t need but just can’t seem to part with? Are ALL THE ROOMS IN YOUR HOUSE in dire need of a makeover? Then you need CLEAN HOUSE!!!
If you are chosen, the CLEAN HOUSE crew will get rid of your clutter, clean, paint, and transform your home into a beautiful living space with the help of an interior designer.
You will stay in a luxury hotel while the work is being done, and reap the benefits, but you must participate as the owners of the house in the filming of the show.
If you OWN a SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE (sorry, no apartments, condos, or townhouses) and at least 2 adults live in your home, then please email the following info to us and we’ll be in touch with more details:
Email us at mcolford@mindspring.com
Do You Have the Country’s Messiest Home?
Apply at mcolford@mindspring.com to be considered for upcoming episodes in the Atlanta area. Submit photos now and you could be in the running for Messiest Home 3!
By Ny Nick
December 22, 2008 3:43 PM | Link to this
Christmas at the strip Club!! Check it out copy and paste into your URL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOrrX0emKwg
By Ny Nick
December 22, 2008 4:08 PM | Link to this
LIVE Blogtv Link Rock Music and crazy NY Nick LIVE Now Goto the link BELOW
http://www.blogtv.com/People/NyNickAtl
By Chuck Deskins
December 22, 2008 4:39 PM | Link to this
Clearly the biggest radio news of the year and decade is the fact that Randall Bloomquist still has a job at WGST. Time for the new girl to toss that MORON out of the Building of Death, both literally and figuratively!
By Randall Bloomquist - WGST
December 22, 2008 4:51 PM | Link to this
Deskins is right! I’m amazed that I still have a job after running WGST into the ground. Did you know that WGKA’s syndicated morning show from Washington, DC has higher ratings than the local morning show I put together on WGST? How do I keep my job? You got me on that one!!
By Freqface
December 23, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this
hi-frakin-larious :-) we were wondering when someone would just up and pop off about the STAR PD and miss pm drive. radioinfo said some of the suits weren’t aware aware of the past/current sexual fling, and are unhappy, the staff is in shambles. that guy wont have a shot making a decision with that monkey on his back(atleast not without lawyers getting involved) it pays to be in the pd’s pants. ching ching. another wow-ing star94 hire.
By Freqface
December 23, 2008 10:52 AM | Link to this
hi-frakin-larious :-) we were wondering when someone would just up and pop off about the STAR PD and miss pm drive. radioinfo said some of the suits weren’t aware aware of the past/current sexual fling, and are unhappy, the staff is in shambles. that guy wont have a shot making a decision with that monkey on his back(atleast not without lawyers getting involved) it pays to be in the pd’s pants. ching ching. another wow-ing star94 hire.
By Norma Lee
December 23, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this
No mention of TRG & Gangs fall ratings???? They are TERRIBLE. The Regular Gays are the Titanic of ATL morning radio. Nice knowing yas guys.
By the clerk
December 23, 2008 2:33 PM | Link to this
maybe the mgmt. at star94 figured the ratings were better when j.r. was bangin cindy last time he was there, they mine as well try for round 2. ray really lucks out because jr wont sacrifice his booty call and p** them off.sometimes it works in your favor!
By Charles
December 24, 2008 12:02 PM | Link to this
WGST is still on the air???? I thought they closed the doors on that place when The Kimmer and Tom Hughes left!
Thank goodness for the internet and WABC’s streaming broadcasts of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity! Otherwise I couldn’t catch their shows here in North Cobb County!
By Patrick
December 24, 2008 12:37 PM | Link to this
In 2005, I left Atlanta radio for XM and never looked back. In 2008, I decided I didn’t want to pay XM any more money to hear the awful PSAs on the talk channels and dropped XM.
Here’s the neat thing: I have yet to go back to Atlanta radio. Just finding out that I can live fine without it. Got my MP3s on my ipod, got traffic on my phone, internet access and news sites like the AJC wherever I go. Even my game console has weather and news. So what the heck do I need Atlanta radio for? For that matter, what do I need Atlanta TV for? All they do is read the AJC to me, which is all radio news does these days. Do they think people don’t notice?
By Bud
December 24, 2008 7:28 PM | Link to this
Patrick…it’s good that you’ve gotten at least 3 years out of your $att Radio receiver…since SiriusXM will almost certainly go out of business by the end of 2009.
“With nearly $1.0 billion of its $3.3 billion total debt coming due in the New Year ($190 million in February, $350 million in May and $433 million in December), and given the current background of capital market dislocation and the company’s poor liquidity situation, the rating actions anticipate that Sirius will be unable to repay or refinance its maturing debts without negotiating some sort of compromise arrangement with at least a portion of the affected constituents,” Moody’s said in a statement.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/moodys-lowers-sirius-ratings-liquidity/story.aspx?guid={FB154A55-1B6E-4A88-AF2C-197FAD520695}&dist=morenews
By Mark
December 29, 2008 1:41 PM | Link to this
Miss Fox was a racist , along with the rest of the gang at the station. She’s simply a typical black. A drunk, and a druggie.
By War Eagle
December 29, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
Mark,
the whole station needs an enema!
By courtney
January 7, 2009 12:32 PM | Link to this
Mark,
You sound racist. Not all White people are the same. That goes for Black people as well. It sounds like you do not get out much. If you did, you would recognize this.
By Tina
January 7, 2009 2:47 PM | Link to this
Mark, that was actually quite impressive! In a meager 3 lines, you’ve managed to prove to the world that you’re not only an idiot, you’re a hypocrite too! How “typical” of you.