It's not quite Kansas City television, but here's some DTV info for our friends on the east side of the KC metro... If you currently receive the University of Central Missouri's KMOS-TV (channel 6), take note that there will be some changes coming to the PBS affiliate this week. While the digital TV transition isn't happening until June, the station has received FCC clearance to end analog transmission at noon on Thursday (April 2). In conjunction with the end of their analog broadcasts, KMOS will also begin to offer 24-hour programming for the first time in their history. Look for round-the-clock transmission (replacing the long-time 6AM to 1AM broadcasting schedule) from the following digital channels:
With a flurry of activity this week, and some flurries outside tonight, it's the perfect time to recap a busy week in Kansas City radio...
DALE CARTER SEEKS COUNCIL SEAT - If you're reading this from Blue Springs, you may be interested to know that a familiar radio name will be running for your City Council next year. Dale Carter, PD/morning host at KFKF for almost fifteen years, has announced his intention to run for a seat on the Blue Springs City Council representing District 1. With a website up and running (www.ElectDaleCarter.com) and a fitting tag line ("A VOICE for Blue Springs"), Carter is getting a head-start in the April 2010 race, as he works toward his stated mission of seeing Blue Springs regain its reputation as the "City of Cooperation."
LENNY SNAGS SWEET NEW GIG - After falling under the budget ax last fall, former KCHZ night man/MD Sweet Lenny makes a comeback with another Cumulus station, joining top 40 outlet 97 ZOK (WZOK-Rockford) for afternoon drive and program director duties.
DAN HURST KEEPING BUSY - Speaking of budget cut victims, former KUDL morning host Dan Hurst has been keeping busy with his voiceover business, Dan Hurst Productions. According to his blog, Hurst is now utilizing certified translators and native speakers for voiceovers and translations to more than 30 languages, noting that, "as the world gets smaller and the work force so diverse, there is an increasing demand for comprehensive language services." For more information, check out his site at www.DanHurst.com.
10 QUESTIONS FOR FEARS - You probably know Myron Fears as Program Director of Carter Broadcasting's KPRS and KPRT-AM, and you might even remember him as longtime "Breakfast Brother" Myron D, but did you know he started out at the old KCMW on the campus of CMSU? Or that he's always wanted to work in another market? For all this and more, check out All Access, where he became the latest KC personality to take the 10 Questions.
CUMULUS CUTS RECAPPED - We discussed it earlier in the week, but for completeness we should note that a second round of job cuts at Cumulus KC went down on Monday. After announcing their 4th quarter financial results last week, the company shed an unknown number off-air positions along with one jock, EZ, from afternoons at 95-7 the Vibe.
PLEDGE WEEK AT THE BRIDGE - Week one of Spring Pledge is in the books at 90.9 the Bridge, and with a ways to go before reaching the $51,000 goal, KTBG will continue the drive into next week. If you'd like to pledge your support for the station's unique sound, visit www.ktbg.fm.
After a few weeks of waiting and debating, I've decided it's time for the BroadcastKC debut of a concept I used for a time on my old personal blog. Not that many years ago, our fair city had an outstanding radio station called "The Planet" that did a little thing called Freeform Friday. Perhaps you remember it? It was always that day you could count on hearing stuff like Butterfly Boucher's "Another White Dash" and a request for something from Poe. Though it's something of a shameless ripoff, over the past couple of years I've always thought of every Friday as a Freeform Friday - and not just for the World Class Rock, but for something I haven't heard in a while, or something special that brings back a memory. So for a few months, that's what I did: A little intro/background, title/artist, YouTube video. Every Friday. Well, how 'bout we do it again?
Every week we'll post a track, tie it in to KC radio somehow (by station, personality, personal memory, whatever), then let you comment on the song, or said station/personality/your own memories. Since we're just starting the feature this week, perhaps it would be fitting to kick off with a song that once began a KC radio station. It was the summer of 2001, just three years since prominent writer/producer Gregg Alexander's short-lived project The New Radicals hit the charts for the first and only time. While the band had garnered a great deal of airplay in KC, especially on KOZN, all that ended when Alexander disbanded the group before the release of the second single (despite assembling what I consider an outstanding album top to bottom, with Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too). As SuperFrank Copsidas was preparing to launch his second venture on the Kansas City dial, he turned to Alexander and his revolving cast of bandmates for the familiar, upbeat track to kick off his brand new station at a brand new frequency on the KC dial. Perhaps you remember the heartbeat, and how its pace quickened as 2PM neared. Maybe you were listening as the song began, and KFME-FM, Garden City-Kansas City was born. The station where jocks like Nycki Pace and Jon Anthony would soon be heard "Playing music from retro to right now." It was a special radio moment, as e1051.fm launched, with The New Radicals and "You Get What You Give." Give it another listen, with Freeform Friday, right here at BroadcastKC.com.
