Early Risers

It was an unusual moment for the morning team of Jamie White, Frank Kramer and Frosty Stillwell on KYSR-FM (98.7) last week. White, speaking with guest Leanza Cornett, a former Miss America and now host of Lifetime cable TV’s “New Attitudes,” was sharing some rather intimate details of the sexual habits of Cornett’s husband, “Entertainment Tonight” host Mark Steines. See, years before Cornett and Steines were a couple, White and Steines had, um, sexual relations.

So you can see how that might have been jarring for listeners.

No, not the subject matter. White, a woman for whom the concept of too much personal information is alien, talks about her own intimate details daily, such as the frustrations and temptations she faces with her husband still living in Denver, from whence the trio came. That’s more or less what people tune in for.

What was so unusual was that Jamie, Frosty and Frank had a guest.

Yes, as they approach the Feb. 16 one-year anniversary of their arrival on the L.A. dial from Denver, they’re making some changes. They’ve opened up their format to accommodate the occasional celebrity visitor, with Cornett preceded by “Star Trek: Voyager” captain Kate Mulgrew (on whom Stillwell has a major crush) and comic Howie Mandell (who “just kind of slipped in there,” says Stillwell).

And they’ve hired a new show producer, Rosemary Jimenez, who worked before with the very successful Mark & Brian at rival KLOS-FM (95.5). And look for more public appearances and promotional activities for the trio.

Predictable, eh? A year in the market and already a program shake-up. Your standard radio desperation move. After all, the station’s overall morning ratings gains in their 12 months have been negligible.

Wrong.

Jamie, Frosty and Frank are actually a rousing success here--when you look at the numbers for their, and the station’s, primary target audience. KYSR, commonly known as Star 98.7, wants adult women. Its music mix of current artists, such as adult alternative stars Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLachlan, with ‘80s oldies has been fine-tuned for those listeners. For women ages 25 to 54, Star has been consistently among the top-rated English-language outlets in the region for several years.

But the morning slot, with music programming before the arrival of J, F and F, lagged behind. A year ago, Star was 14th for those hours among that demographic for English-language stations.

A year later with the team: No. 3.

“The show has had steady growth,” says Kramer. “The company [station owner Chancellor Media] is very happy. The show is way ahead of projections.”

Indeed, White says she gets a bonus for how well they do with 25-to-54-year-old women. “My contract said we were to try to be [in the] Top 10. And we’re third!”

And they say Chancellor is looking at possibilities to syndicate the show to more markets besides L.A. and Denver, where they continue to be carried on KALC-FM, which is also otherwise a music outlet.

In the meantime, though, expect a public event to celebrate the one-year anniversary sometime in March, as well as the release of a “best of” CD, with proceeds to go to charity.

In the bigger picture, new promotions will be launched soon for the station as a whole, with the morning show positioned as an integral part of the overall programming alongside the music, the live performances in the Star Lounge and afternoon drive-time hosts Ryan Seacrest and Lisa Fox.

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The changes and surrounding activities for the morning show, says Star program director Angela Perelli, are meant to both solidify and broaden the listener base. That can be a tricky proposition, since there’s no dispute that the show isn’t for everyone.

“They’re so willing--especially Jamie--to put everything out there,” says Perelli. “Women in particular respond to her. They either totally relate to her or can’t stand her, but are intrigued she’s so open.”

And what people do respond to, love it or hate it, is the chemistry of the show. There are no scripted shtick or set bits or cast of characters, as on much of the competition. There are barely even topics for callers to address; discussion themes, as much as there are ones, are broad and generic.

That’s not going to change, even with the occasional guests. But don’t expect the guests all to be celebrities whose husbands White has been intimate with.

“I’m out of those people,” she says.

Channel Surfing: While Star’s management continues to integrate its on-air personalities with the music, Channel 103.1 (broadcasting on the twin signals of KACD-FM and KBCD-FM) doesn’t really have that problem. Most of the time it doesn’t even have on-air personalities--yet.

Three months after Jacor Broadcasting bought the outlet and converted it from the groove dance-oriented format to adult alternative tunes, music director Nicole Sandler remains the only deejay, holding down the afternoon slot. The rest of the time the station is automated, with no announcers. A rumor was even circulating among radio executives that it was going to stay that way.

Not true, says Sandler. A full staff will be hired (except for possibly the overnight shift). But it’s more important to get the right people than simply to get people on the air quickly. The first priority right now is equipment upgrades, and deejays might just be in the way.

“We’re just moving slowly because we want to get this new system up and running first,” she says. “Plus, we’re looking for really good people and I hate to say it but they’re hard to find. But we’ll have a staff, and other programming elements--specialty shows, features, promotional activities, things that will bring in more variety through the day. What you’re hearing now is the basic shell of the radio station. It’s still in the start-up phase.”

Meanwhile, she says, initial ratings indications are positive, though the station’s weak signal in the San Fernando Valley has been a limiting factor.

Radio Amour: It will be Valentine’s Day en Francais on KCRW-FM (89.9) Sunday as Gary Calamar focuses his 8-10 p.m. show “The Open Road” on Parisian pop romanticism. In the second hour, his guest deejay will be the American chanteuse who goes by the name April March, featuring her new album of French-styled songs as well as classics by such icons of the form as Serge Gainsbourgh and Francoise Hardy.