KIEV to Add Reagan, Medved to Talk Lineup

In an effort to bolster its profile among talk-radio fans, KIEV-AM (870) will add hosts Michael Reagan and Michael Medved to its talent roster starting next week.

Salem Communications Corp., the new owner of the Glendale-based station, is wasting no time making changes in the broadcast lineup. Effective on the sale date of Aug. 26, Reagan, son of former President Ronald Reagan, will be heard weeknights from 8 to midnight, while film critic and author Medved, who occasionally has filled in for Rush Limbaugh on his syndicated show, will take over KIEV’s 2-5 p.m. weekday slot.

“We’re going to build a conservative talk station,” Salem Vice President Dave Armstrong said Monday. He is vice president of two other local Salem stations--KLTX-AM (1390) in Long Beach and KKLA-FM (99.5)--and will assume that title at KIEV when the sale is complete. Salem is buying the station from Southern California Broadcasting Co., which is controlled by brothers Fred and Ron Beaton.

Salem owns more than 40 stations, which, like KKLA and KLTX, are primarily Christian. It also owns Salem Radio Network, headquartered in Dallas.

Longtime KIEV host George Putnam will remain in the noon-2 p.m. slot, but Ray Briem, who now airs at 3:30-5:30 p.m., will move to the 5-7 p.m. slot.

Larry Marino, who hosts “Talk of the City” at 9-11 a.m. on public radio’s KPCC-FM (89.3), will become KIEV’s prime morning host. He will head a 6:30-8:30 a.m. show with news, traffic and phone calls, then will return at 9:30 to host a 90-minute health segment, followed by an hourlong program on financial matters from 11 a.m. to noon. Armstrong said that there will be other contributors on the health and money programs.

KIEV’s psychology show with Roy Masters, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., will stay in place.