KFWB-AM rebuilds programming with an ‘On Your Corner’ twist

For three-quarters of a century, commercial radio in America has had a simple measuring stick: attract more ears — life is good; attract fewer ears — life is not so good.

It’s when you have to come up with a new plan to attract ears that life in radio gets interesting.

Two years ago, KFWB-AM (980) switched from its 41-year all-news format to a news/talk mix. Today’s anniversary finds the station being interesting, indeed.

An unexpected, cataclysmic five minutes during a live broadcast last year (more on this in a bit) blew up a seemingly sound programming strategy that was still struggling to find its footing. The ratings for the new endeavor hadn’t yet caught up with the old one, and after the explosion they got even worse. KFWB now has half the audience share of two years ago, dropping from a tie for 31st place in the Los Angeles-Orange County radio market to a tie for 43rd.

So, how to rebuild? September 2011 finds KFWB focusing on conveying usable information instead of opinionated rant, and aiming to deliver it through hyper-local, issue-driven methods.

As Andy Ludlum, the station’s director of news programming, wryly puts it: “Think ‘Radio 101’: [an approach] old enough to be new again.”

A manifestation of this is what landed a strike force of KFWB broadcasters in South Bay locations on a recent Wednesday. The station’s newscasters and talk show hosts were “On Your Corner” in Redondo Beach, reporting to Southern Californians in a way that felt both Radio 101 and yet fresh all at once.

For four decades, KFWB was one of the Southland’s two AM all-news radio stations. Armed with a gritty, hard-charging tone and its indelible “you give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you the world” slogan, the station competed against rival KNX-AM (1070).

In 1995, both stations ended up under the same ownership of CBS. In 2009, the company decided it no longer made sense for them both to have the same format. KNX, with its more powerful 50,000-watt signal (KFWB is 5,000 watts), retained the all-news format.

KFWB’s new approach was a hybrid of sorts. There was still morning news and traffic, but otherwise the schedule transformed into a lineup of syndicated talk shows. It was built around advice guru Laura Schlessinger, the nation’s third most-listened-to radio talk show host whom the station lured away from her longtime perch at KFI-AM (640).

But in August 2010, Schlessinger self-destructed in spectacular fashion when, responding to a listener call-in, she used the N-word 11 times and made other race-related comments. She departed her syndicated show by year’s end and now is heard in the high-pay netherworld where so many other controversial voices reincarnate: satellite radio.

This left KFWB management to invent a new wheel. A few realizations emerged over several months after programs were tried and different hosts were interviewed.

“We came to believe that much of our audience didn’t really want the provocation associated with political talk,” Ludlum said. “It was a mismatch — they were OK with voices, but from an informational standpoint, not ranting.”

From this base, a new format with localizing components evolved. KFWB restored an afternoon/evening commute newscast to the lineup, but in a style that finds co-hosts Maggie McKay and Michael Shappee both reporting the events of the day and discussing them.

Bridging the newscasts, Ludlum built three blocs of talk that tapped what he sees as the area’s most significant issue: money.

“I really think the changing economy and its impact on our lives will ultimately be the story of this generation,” Ludlum explained.

To that end, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., hosts Bob McCormick, Dave Ramsey and Les Brown address finance issues from three angles: specific consumer advice, overall money-management strategies and a dose of motivational empowerment to tackle solutions.

But there was room for more tinkering.

Once a month, “KFWB On Your Corner” stakes its tent in a Los Angeles or Orange County locale for a day of live, on-site news and talk. Thus, KFWB was doing a day at a couple of sites in Redondo Beach with the focus on South Bay cities, leading with a morning news broadcast heavy on local lifestyle — surfing, beach volleyball, beachside tourism and shopping opportunities.

The broadcast, however, wasn’t just backyard booster-ism. Economic challenges facing some of the towns were front and center when the mayor of Hermosa Beach dropped in for an interview to explain a mix of competing revenue measures facing local voters on an upcoming ballot. Later, his counterpart from El Segundo candidly addressed the search for revenue to shore up city coffers.

“Hard news has equal applicability here,” said Ludlum. “Crime, pollution, all the way down to pot holes, we want to tell a general audience what life is like in these places, but also what the issues are, especially when the issues are driving the talk in these towns.”

Though “On Your Corner” is only 3 months old, Ludlum likes the concept.

He is also realistic that it’s not an overnight game-changer. “We have a ways to go figuring this out.”

KFWB also has a ways to go when it comes to ratings. Arbitron figures released Tuesday showed the station attracting on average just .5% of the audience from July 21 to Aug. 17 — about the same as the previous four months.

Ludlum is simultaneously undaunted and aware of challenges ahead.

“The goal is to get people to try it. There’s so much competition, 80 different radio signals in this market, plus the great climate, other entertainment options. It’s a success when you get them for 10 minutes.

“[So just consider us] neighborly, warm and friendly, with usable information on topics that matter to people here.”

In other words, a new approach to attract ears. Maybe just what is needed at a time when things at KFWB are, in fact, very interesting.

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