MEDIA / KEVIN BRASS : Trying to Find a Niche for Beleaguered AM Radio

Last month, KSON decided to drop its independent AM programming, providing further evidence that music on the AM band in San Diego is a dying animal.

KSON (97.3) joined local stations KKLQ (Q106) and KCBQ (Eagle 105) by simply simulcasting its FM programming on its AM frequency.

“Music programming on the AM is getting tougher and tougher to do,” KSON program director Mike Shepard said.

KSON had programmed a slightly more traditional form of country music on its AM frequency (1240) than the contemporary country it featured on the FM dial. Shepard said the audience simply wasn’t large enough to justify the expense of the separate AM entity, powered by a mere 1000 watts. Of the four on-air personalities on the AM side, two were kept on and two were laid off.

When most AM channels began sending out stereo signals in the late ‘70s, it was thought to be a sign of the resurrection of once-dominant AM music, by then lagging far behind the superior signal quality of FM. But it never happened. People were already accustommed to tuning to FM for music.

“The baby boom generation was weaned on FM,” Eagle 105 program director Sonny West said. “It sounded better to our ears.”

The deregulation of radio during the Reagan Administration made simulcasting a viable option for stations. Previously, stations were discouraged from using the same programming on both AM and FM, in order to ensure that a variety of programming was made available to the public.

In the ‘80s, though, the only programming that consistently draws big ratings numbers on the AM dial is news-talk, or “niche music,” music for a very specific older audience, such as Big Band music. Simulcasting allows a station to increase its core FM audience, reaching audiences which can’t pick up the FM signal.

“Seventy-five percent of all radio listening is now on the FM band,” KFMB general manager Paul Palmer said. “Not only is the deck stacked against you (on the AM dial), but to make a station successful you need to supply programming that is very expensive to produce.”

In general, stations would prefer to program different music on AM and FM, since it allows them to sell two different demographics to advertisers in combination deals. But more and more the expense is not worth the gains.

KGMG is one of the few stations left in San Diego with different forms of music on AM and FM. It programs “the hits of the ‘60s-’80s” on its FM station (Magic 102) and Big Band music on its AM frequency (1320), although it did simulcast the FM programming for a short time a couple of years ago. The AM frequency is so weak, reaching only the North County, that it prefers to target a very specific audience in the Oceanside-Vista area with the Big Band music.

In the future, the AM band probably won’t go to waste. Already, specific programming, such as an all-business format, is being developed to utilize AM.

“I think we’ll be seeing a lot of people trying different things to revive AM stations,” KGMG program director Greg Stevens said. “I don’t know if it will be music, though.”

“I feel like I’m giving my Checkers speech,” weatherman Larry Mendte told Channel 8 viewers Wednesday night, referring to Richard Nixon’s infamous televised proclamation of his innocence. Mendte was replying to an item in Neil Morgan’s San Diego Tribune column, which said Mendte’s electricity had been disconnected after he “failed to pay bills.”

Mendte said his wife had sent a check for $237 instead of $273, and the electricity was only off for a few minutes after the mistake was pointed out to SDG&E.;

“Give me a call next time, and I’ll tell you what happened,” Mendte told Morgan on the air.

Morgan continued the give-and-take in his Friday column, accusing Mendte of “glibspeak . . . an old ploy used by con men and dictators as they try to hide the truth.” Morgan said Mendte didn’t return two calls and used “his TV clout during a long brouhaha” with SDG&E.; He quoted his SDG&E; source as saying, “Shut-off is serious business. It’s the last possible resort.”

Contacted on Friday, Mendte opted not to reply to Morgan’s latest assault.

(Although SDG&E; representatives would not comment on specifics of the case, they did say that Mendte’s scenario was plausible.)

Mendte’s parents were in town when the power was shut off, which made the incident a little more embarrassing for him. Last week, KSDO-AM (1130) talk-show host Stacy Taylor was urging employees of San Diego credit unions to call in if they knew of any Union-Tribune employees who were late on payments. Jeff and Jer from KKYY-FM (Y95) sent Mendte a flashlight and candles.

Just a week after Larry Himmel walked away from Channel 39, following a disagreement over the future of his poorly rated weekly show, he was back discussing the possibility of returning to the station to do commentaries. But negotiations fell through. Himmel didn’t stay unemployed for long. He is back with KIFM (98.1) handling morning drive-time chores. . . . Channel 39 has renewed “USA Today” for the rest of the season, with an option to pick it up next season. The local ratings for the tacky TV version of McPaper have gradually improved over the last few months. But Channel 39 is covering all bases. It also picked up an option for next season on “Inside Edition,” another fluffy magazine show. Speculation within the industry is that only one of the shows will survive to next season.

Sometimes news is extremely inconvenient for those in the media. Last week’s edition of “San Diego Headliners” focused on the America’s Cup legal circus. The show was scheduled to be taped on Friday, for airing on Sunday, but the America’s Cup Organizing Committee was due to decide whether it wanted to appeal a judge’s decision on Saturday. No problem. The show’s producers simply taped two different openings with the guest, County Supervisor Brian Bilbray.

The folks at KPBS-TV are not happy with Daniels Cablevision, which recently switched KPBS from Channel 12 to Channel 15 on the dial. Although KPBS is broadcast over the airwaves as Channel 15, most cable systems carry it as Channel 12. KPBS prefers to be in the top 13 channels, the core of the dial. Daniels put Turner Network Television on Channel 12.

KPBS officials were upset that Daniels didn’t even bother to notify them.

“We’re very concerned,” KPBS spokeswoman Pat Finn said. “If they disregard public broadcasting, next year they’ll move us to Channel 20, then we’ll be dropped altogether.”

Daniels representatives thought KPBS would be pleased with the switch to Channel 15, its natural channel.

“We consider KPBS critical,” Daniels spokesman Phil Urbina said. “We carry two PBS channels (including KCET out of Los Angeles). People who want to watch PBS will find PBS.”