MEDIA : SDSU Council Holds Key to Fate of Campus Radio

A meeting of San Diego State University’s Associated Students Council scheduled for Wednesday could determine the fate of KCR, the campus radio station.

For more than 20 years, KCR has operated as a training ground for radio personnel. Forget the posturing of XTRA-FM (91X), KCR is the top radio station in San Diego for programming new music that doesn’t get aired elsewhere.

In that sense, it has operated as a true campus radio station, always on the edge. It walked a similar line in terms of financial stability, never quite achieving respectability.

The latest chapter in the station’s troubled history unraveled recently when the university refused to accept financial responsibility for the station. To continue operating, the station must have a benefactor who will back it in case it is sued or goes into debt.

The logical sponsor is Associated Students--which two years ago angrily severed its ties with the station, absorbing a debt and making accusations of mismanagement.

KCR staffers now must persuade the A.S. that the station has changed in two years. It may be the station’s last hope.

“The decision to keep KCR on campus lies with the A.S. council,” said Steve Janisch, general manager of the station.

A slew of new operating guidelines have been installed at the station, he said, designed to make it more professional operation.

In the past, A.S. fronted KCR money, and the station paid it back when it could raise funds. But Janisch said the station is willing to deposit a year’s operating budget--approximately $3,200-- with A.S. and work only from the cash. KCR doesn’t want any money from A.S., he said, just its sponsorship.

“I don’t think that (backing) is far away,” said A.S. President Kevin Faulconer. “I think KCR has come a long way. . . . A lot of people on the council are ready to make the station go, including myself.”

Janisch hopes the council will make a decision Wednesday, the last council meeting of the school year. With the station in limbo, he is finding it difficult to find a new general manager (he graduates in May). It would be hard, he points out, to keep personnel motivated through the summer if the station’s future is still uncertain. The station is broadcast through the Cox and Southwestern cable systems.

“I can’t see us putting out the effort while sitting on a block of ice that could be pulled out from under us,” he said. “If they (delay the decision) it will be like torture.”

KKYY-FM (Y95) has hired two industry veterans--the husband-wife team of Ron Stevens and Joy Grdnic--to replace “Jeff and Jer,” who jumped to KFMB-FM (B100).

“Steven and Grdnic” is a comedy machine. For two years, they have been anchoring the mornings for WXHT-FM (Hot 97), a contemporary-hits station in New York. Their resume also lists gigs with stations in Los Angeles and stints writing for television shows such as “Family Ties” and “Facts of Life.”

Their radio bits, primarily parodies of songs and commercials, are syndicated nationally through their own All Star Radio Comedy Network. Locally, the only station using the network was KSON-FM (97.3). Coincidentally, KSON’s contract with the service ends later this month.

They also supplement their income with videos. Y95 listeners will decide for themselves if they like the duo’s homey comedy routines, but a few years ago The Times reviewed one of their videos, “How to Party,” this way:

“Nearly every bit misses the mark--badly. Hang around any high school locker room for an hour and you’ll hear jokes better than these.”

Stevens and Grdnic are scheduled to start May 29.

Peter Greenaway’s “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover” may have received--to put it tactfully--mixed reviews, but it is controversial. And San Diegans love controversy.

“The Cook” recently posted the second-best attendance week in the three-year history of the Park Theater, according to Landmark Theaters spokesman Steve Russell. (The record is held by a post-Christmas week of “Henry V.”)

“The Cook” was released unrated, after several scenes, such as one in which dog manure is spread over a man’s naked body, earned the film an X rating. Now it is a certified hit, which means exhibitors can adjust their standards a bit. Last week it was picked up in San Diego by some of the major theater chains, which normally wouldn’t touch an X-rated film.

Who is Max Rebelo, the author of occasional articles for San Diego Newsline? Kristina Rebelo would like to know.

The local correspondent for Sports Illustrated, she knows it’s not her teen-age son, Max Rebelo. Newsline Publisher Larry Remer acknowledged that his writer was using a pseudonym, but he wouldn’t answer any more questions.

Rebelo is “incensed.” She’s afraid that her son is going to be associated with whatever the fake Max Rebelo writes, and she wants him to stop using her son’s name. Remer told her he would “pass the word along” to the pseudo-Rebelo.

Kristina Rebelo said she was “disappointed” with Remer’s “cavalier attitude.”

“How would he feel if someone started using the moniker Larry Remer?” she asked. “It’s an intrusion on our privacy. There is only one Max Rebelo and that’s my son.

“I told him (Remer) that if the guy wants to work under a pseudonym, he should open the phone book and find a name that is more common.”

Remer, contacted Thursday, refused to answer any questions about Rebelo.

New KNSD-TV (Channel 39) sports guy Jim Stone fits the mold of all the station’s recent hirings, in that he is male, middle-aged and thoroughly unexciting. Although he appears competent and professional, he comes across like the quintessential sports-is-life cheerleader, throwing in cliches and asking athletes silly questions whenever possible. . . .

Chicago Tribune reporter Jim O’Shea was in town last week researching a book on the demise of Vernon Savings & Loan. He reportedly was examining connections between convicted madame Karen Wilkening and corrupt executives of the failed Texas institution. . . . Former Channel 39 sports guy Bobby Estill is finally getting back on the air. In addition to a regular gig in Dallas, he will be seen on the locally produced “Surfer Magazine,” which begins a new season tonight at 10 on ESPN. . . . Another local television personality is hitting the national scene. Linda Zweig, former coordinator of the San Diego Crime Stoppers Unit, will co-host the next three weeks of the nationally syndicated “Crime Stoppers 800,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on KTTY-TV (Channel 69).