Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Radio Foos for News?

Bad Credit frontman Dallas McLaughlin was a victim of the recent radio firings at FM 94/9.
Bad Credit frontman Dallas McLaughlin was a victim of the recent radio firings at FM 94/9.

“Somebody is going to blink; someone is going to switch to talk.” That’s what one local rock DJ says about the inevitability of one of the four modern-rock stations in town dropping music for news, sports, or talk.

That DJ is employed in local radio and did not want to be quoted by name. But, he admits he’s working in a doomed industry. FM stations are increasingly dropping music for talk as new music hipsters embrace Pandora or Slacker. “They pretty much made FM radio irrelevant for music,” says the DJ.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“As music moves to the iPod, it’s time for spoken word to move to FM,” says Randy Michaels, the CEO of New York and Chicago stations that shelved the Foos for news.

Some major markets have just one or two stations that play modern rock. San Diego has four, and they are fighting over a shrinking market.

According to the Arbitron ratings, the least likely station to switch would be 91X, which is in 15th place among all listeners, compared to Rock 105.3 (19th) or FM 94/9 and KPRI (tied for 20th). FM 94/9 recently fired two of its three full-time DJs, including Tommy Hough (who will continue to host 94/9’s Sunday reggae show) and Amanda Thorne (host of “Big Sonic Chill”), and two part-time DJs, including Bad Credit frontman Dallas McLaughlin. For the past 18 months, 94/9 has aired the all-talk Mikey Show in the mornings.

FM 94/9 general manager Rick Jackson and Clear Channel operations director Jimmy Steele (who oversees Rock 105.3) both gave lukewarm forecasts for their stations sticking with rock. Steele says that modern-rock is “in the doldrums” nationally because of a lack of major, compelling artists in that format. Both Jackson and Steele say there are no immediate plans to switch their stations from rock to talk.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” says Jackson. “I didn’t think we’d have to fire 13 people but we just did.” Those layoffs affected 94/9 and sister stations KSON and KIFM. “We have no plans [to drop rock] but that means nothing with the economy being what it is.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Colorado governor Polis’ days in La Jolla canyons

Why Kamala might not run for Calif. governor
Bad Credit frontman Dallas McLaughlin was a victim of the recent radio firings at FM 94/9.
Bad Credit frontman Dallas McLaughlin was a victim of the recent radio firings at FM 94/9.

“Somebody is going to blink; someone is going to switch to talk.” That’s what one local rock DJ says about the inevitability of one of the four modern-rock stations in town dropping music for news, sports, or talk.

That DJ is employed in local radio and did not want to be quoted by name. But, he admits he’s working in a doomed industry. FM stations are increasingly dropping music for talk as new music hipsters embrace Pandora or Slacker. “They pretty much made FM radio irrelevant for music,” says the DJ.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“As music moves to the iPod, it’s time for spoken word to move to FM,” says Randy Michaels, the CEO of New York and Chicago stations that shelved the Foos for news.

Some major markets have just one or two stations that play modern rock. San Diego has four, and they are fighting over a shrinking market.

According to the Arbitron ratings, the least likely station to switch would be 91X, which is in 15th place among all listeners, compared to Rock 105.3 (19th) or FM 94/9 and KPRI (tied for 20th). FM 94/9 recently fired two of its three full-time DJs, including Tommy Hough (who will continue to host 94/9’s Sunday reggae show) and Amanda Thorne (host of “Big Sonic Chill”), and two part-time DJs, including Bad Credit frontman Dallas McLaughlin. For the past 18 months, 94/9 has aired the all-talk Mikey Show in the mornings.

FM 94/9 general manager Rick Jackson and Clear Channel operations director Jimmy Steele (who oversees Rock 105.3) both gave lukewarm forecasts for their stations sticking with rock. Steele says that modern-rock is “in the doldrums” nationally because of a lack of major, compelling artists in that format. Both Jackson and Steele say there are no immediate plans to switch their stations from rock to talk.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” says Jackson. “I didn’t think we’d have to fire 13 people but we just did.” Those layoffs affected 94/9 and sister stations KSON and KIFM. “We have no plans [to drop rock] but that means nothing with the economy being what it is.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Successor to Lillian Hellman and Carson McCullers

Crossword puzzles need headline
Next Article

O’side Tree Lighting & Gift Market, Holiday Lights at the Museum, The Elovaters and Little Stranger

Events December 5-December 6, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader