A single focus for KABC’s Braverman

Talk station KABC-AM (790) has promoted its program director, Erik Braverman, so he no longer will split his focus by also overseeing sister station KSPN-AM (710), the ESPN sports outlet and flagship station of the Anaheim Angels and the Los Angeles Kings.

Braverman moves from program director of both stations to operations director of KABC, and hands over programming duties at KSPN to Ray Kalusa, who leaves a job in Oklahoma City, where he programmed an ESPN sports-talk outlet and two other stations.

John H. Davison, president and general manager of KABC and KSPN, both ABC-owned stations, said the move will allow Braverman to focus on KABC, the local home of such talk hosts as Sean Hannity and Larry Elder.

Braverman previously worked at talk station KFI-AM (640) and adult-contemporary outlet KOST-FM (103.5), then joined the Westwood One Radio Network in 1994, first as producer of “The Tom Leykis Show,” then as the company’s West Coast director of talk programming. He joined KABC in 1996 and added his duties at KSPN when ABC bought the station in January 2000.

Kalusa, who played baseball for the University of Notre Dame, has worked behind the microphone and behind the scenes at rock, talk, news and sports stations from Ogden, Utah, to San Diego.

New KUSC GM

Eric DeWeese, general manager of a public radio station in Baton Rouge, La., that he founded in 1980, has been named general manager of classical music station KUSC-FM (91.5).

DeWeese, 56, will oversee day-to-day operations of the station, but Brenda Barnes will continue as KUSC president. The station has a staff of 30 and an annual budget of $5 million.

KPCC shifts Rabe

Shirley Jahad, a reporter and producer at WBEZ in Chicago, has been hired to host the local segments of “All Things Considered” on KPCC-FM (89.3). She’ll begin Sept. 15, replacing John Rabe, who will become a full-time reporter at the Pasadena-based public-radio outlet. He’ll cover health care and affordable housing issues, the station said.

Newhart to sell

Comedian Bob Newhart has decided to sell his Santa Barbara radio station, KZBN-AM (1290), to Wendy McCaw, owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press. KZBN now features music, but McCaw said she planned to start live community programming.

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With contributions from Associated Press