‘STORM’ BLOWING OVER AT KUTE-FM

KUTE-FM(101.9), the station known as the “Quiet Storm” for its album-oriented, adult-alternative music, has laid off its programming staff to make way for a change in format, general manager Bill Ward said Wednesday.

The new format will take effect in early October along with a possible change in call letters, Ward said, but he declined to be more specific, saying that he will announce details of the station’s future in a few weeks.

KUTE, owned by Golden West Broadcasting, had suffered a ratings drop of nearly 50% in the most recent ratings period, Ward said, slipping in the Arbitron figures from a 1.3 to a .7. The station plays a mixture of jazz fusion, pop and soft R&B.;

The personnel and format changes have been in the works for months, Ward said, but he officially notified the on-air staff Monday.

“We are not inhumanely tossing (our employees) out into the street. We are helping them find jobs elsewhere,” he said, adding that the staff was given more notice than required by their union contracts.

Nine KUTE employees--the five full-time disc jockeys (including program director Laurence Tanter), two part-time deejays, music director Harry Gandy and the music librarian--were told that they will be dismissed when the new format takes effect.

“Rumors had been rampant for the last month,” Tanter said. “We were warned of the weather conditions, so (the firings) weren’t a total shock.”

Golden West apparently wants to establish a new image, Tanter said.

Tanter said he felt that the success of KWVE-FM (107.9), which calls itself “the Wave” and plays “new age” music, had tipped the scales against KUTE. “They spent a great deal of money in a short period of time. It was new and got a lot of free press because it was KMET that changed (to KWVE), the legendary rock station. I know the Wave took a lot of our audience; research has proven that.”

“You can’t really offend anyone with the Wave’s format, it’s so bland,” Gandy said.

Ward said when Golden West Broadcasting bought the station more than a year ago, KUTE was the only station using the adult contemporary format. But since then, KUTE’s target audience of 25- to 54-year-old listeners had become oversaturated, he added.

“We played music of all genres. We dared to be different,” Gandy said. “But I think it’s very unfortunate for this format to lose footing in the city. We have an audience with an eclectic taste. Our signal doesn’t reach into the hills and canyons so listeners went to other stations.”

Until the new format is implemented, business at KUTE is expected to go on as usual. “The bottom line is it’s not the usual working environment,” Tanter said.