POOR RATINGS LEAD KLZZ TO A CHANGE

Poor ratings have led KLZZ-FM (106.5) to return to the rock ‘n’ roll it had broadcast for more than a decade as KPRI, but which it dropped three years ago--ironically, for the same reason.

Last Thursday, the ailing radio station, which since January, 1984, has been playing adult-contemporary music (A/C), switched to a “classic rock” format, which consists of the biggest rock hits from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

“We were dead in the water the other way,” said Tom Shadek, the station’s vice president. “Obviously, we weren’t doing a good job with A/C, because we didn’t have any ratings.”

KLZZ peaked in quarterly Arbitron ratings in April, 1985, with a listenership percentage share of 5.3, then began a steady decline. The results of the Arbitron survey released in July show the station had a 2.3 share, placing it in the bottom five among local stations.

KLZZ’s classic rock format, similar to the one adopted by several dozen other radio stations around the country in the last few months, includes such staples as “Touch Me” by the Doors, “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin, “Happy Together” by the Turtles, “Long Way Home” by Supertramp, “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf, and “Reelin’ in the Years” by Steely Dan.