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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Once again the world has changed and the advertisers and management of KNX 1070 have been left behind by those of us who grew up with and loved the Drama Hour.

Let's face it: no one calls a cab anymore. They tap on an app and get an Uber. People don't say 'hey, guess who I ran into at the bank today!' because frankly, no one goes to the bank.

Similarly, after stations such as KNX betrayed the loyal listeners who supported their station and advertisers through the Drama Hour years, we listeners have found ways to do without their station. Personally, I haven't updated this page in 10 years simply because I've found other sources to feed my OTR habit.

The first to be mentioned is the TuneIn radio app. While their crystal clear feed doesn't take the place of the static and fade of good ol' AM radio, they're doing one thing right: there are multiple OTR channels to choose from and they're available 24/7. What's more, it's free - all you have to do is download it. Sure, the on-air personalities we grew to love here in LA aren't there anymore, those voices we trusted in the night, but they're no longer critical to the listening experience. It's changed.

The other piece of news, and I encourage all of you to chime in here - is that KSL 1160AM in Salt Lake City plays 'When Radio Was' on Saturday nights. Granted it's only one night, but their signal comes in pretty clear here in LA with even a decent AM radio and the shows usually play for two or three hours.

The world may have changed, but I know I'm not alone in feeling that there's still something about the texture of an AM station that can't be replaced. And I'll tune in to any station that plays a Drama Hour. So if you know of a good AM station broadcasting OTR out here on the west coast, feel free to list it in the comments section so we can all check it out.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

OTR Now.Com 

I first tuned in KNX's Drama Hour somewhere around 1990. I had bought an old 1950's Grundig radio that said 'assembled in West Germany.' As The Wall had just come down, I thought it novel that I could transport back in time via this little machine and take a break from the state of the current world.

KNX pulled the plug on that four years ago and has shown no remorse, despite thier sunken ratings. Strong signal, weak management.

Now's our chance to give them the finger one more time. We can still transport back in those time machines via the computer, and the best part - it's completely free, the way radio should always be. The site is OTRNOW.COM

They have two 24 hour channels of constant radio streams we can listen to any time. Yeah, I prefer the old fashioned method of showing up near a radio around 9pm (or 2am) and listening to someone introduce the Drama Hour with the words 'good listening....'

But this site provides an excellent substitute - if not permanent replacement - for we old radio listeners. It's always available, and won't get dropped because management gets it's panties in a bundle over a fire or other passing calamity. Stick it to KNX once more - check out OTRNOW.COM It makes those sunken Arbitron ratings feel that much sweeter....

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

It’s easy to believe it’s been three years since new KNX management discontinued the highly popular Drama Hour, which replayed the greatest shows of old time radio. It's not just because I'm a fan of radio and old actors - it's because I have imagination, and old radio fed that sense.

In the 20 or so years prior to television, people got news, information, and entertainment primarily from the radio. The entertainment value of the syndicated shows was unparalleled; the listener was led by the intricate work of soundmen who created the impression of footsteps, creaking doors, gun shots and a million other situations to bring the listener in – leading radio to become known as The Theater of the Mind.

This theatre, and the cultivation of the human imagination, is ironically what died in Los Angeles in 2003 with KNX’s poor decision to discontinue thirty years of successful programming. This wasn’t only a business decision on the part of KNX’s management: it was a slap in the face to loyal listeners like myself who supported the station and it's advertisers for decades. Repeated calls to KNX management to restore the Drama Hour have gone unheard or ignored.

This page is offered to direct those with imagination interested in the history of radio to various locations where shows can still be found:


KSUR 1260am, Los AngelesKSUR picked up the Drama Hour baton three years ago and still broadcasts Stan Freeberg’s syndicated When Radio Was show, at 9pm and again at 2am. Though I much preferred the locally edited version that included two full shows, KSUR offers Freeberg’s 45 minute show that features one and a half shows every weeknight.

THE RADIO LADY – I've since purchased dozens of excellent quality CDs of old radio shows, burned them to my computer, and now own thousands of episodes once heard via KNX. These excellent recordings can be found at www.theradiolady.com for very reasonable prices. The difference? KNX’s advertisers aren’t there. Hey Sit & Sleep – are you listening? You killed it, Larry!!!

Bring Back the Drama Hour with a Buddhist Chant: Say again and again, David Hall is a twat. David Hall is a twat. Go ahead, it feels pretty good. You just know George Nickolaw is doing it.


Below, some interesting info from Wikipedia:


KNX is a Los Angeles, California, clear channel radio station operating on 1070 kHz with 50,000 watts of power from a transmitter site in Torrance, and a key West Coast flagship station for the CBS Radio Network. It has long featured an all news format, with a break between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. for the KNX Drama Hour, a presentation of old-time radio dramas.

In 2003 the station suddenly removed its longtime Vice President and General Manager George Nicolaw. Nicolaw, who gave weekly editorials on the station, was a community fixture, having represented KNX at numerous events. David G. Hall replaced Nicolaw, who came to fame by building KFI's talk radio format. Quickly changes occurred. In an attempt to update the image of KNX, they dropped the Drama Hour which Hall claimed was pre-empting other news programming, but on January 1, 2004 they reversed themselves by adding two talk shows titled Computer News and Food News on weekends.

Despite the name, the programs are call-in talk shows and are heavily topic-driven, with limited general news updates at the top and bottom of the hour. Hall's changes have caused great anger among longtime employees (a few of whom actually left the station, including longtime news reporters Gail Eichenthal and Alex Sullivan - Tom Haule is off the air but still works there, now as operations manager) and apparently with listeners as well since KNX, as of mid 2005, had some of its worst ratings ever. Much of the anger has been due to the replacement of longtime solid anchors by less seasoned presenters. The image has been changed substantially, with more banter between news hosts, more long form special programming, and reduced traffic reports (prior to Hall's tenure, traffic reports were every six minutes during the day; they are now updated every 10 minutes on the 5s). The morning news team of Haule and Linda Nunez was moved to the middle of the day, and the afternoon news anchors were also changed. To make matters worse, a three-hour block of business news debuted in the 9 a.m.-Noon slot, Money 101, anchored by KNX financial editor Bob McCormick. Nunez anchors only the 1 p.m. newscast, and famed reporter Frank Mottek, famous for reporting the tragic 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, anchors the 2 p.m. newscast.

The station is commonly owned under CBS Radio with fellow Los Angeles mostly-news station KFWB 980. In comparison to KFWB, KNX runs longer news features, interviews with former talk show host Michael Jackson, and simulcasts programs like 60 Minutes. The traffic reports are more focused on the core Los Angeles County and Orange County areas.

Prior to media consolidation, KNX was one of the seven "heritage" CBS news/talk stations, the others being WCBS, WCAU, WBBM, WCCO, KMOX, and KCBS. It remains a CBS Radio Network affiliate, and its reporters occasionally appear on the network. However, the station no longer runs the entire CBS Radio newscast during the day.

On August 12, 2005, at 11:06 p.m. (PDT), with a special hour-long program celebrating almost seven decades of the station's history, KNX ceased broadcasting from its longtime studios at CBS Columbia Square on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood in favor of new facilities a few miles away on the Miracle Mile.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Too Close: I got into a friend's car the other day and KNX was on. It was soothing for a moment to hear some of the old voices and programming, but still I turned it off for him. Even after three years, there is no forgiving new management's betrayal of the loyal listeners who patronized the station and their advertisers for decades.

Wow - The Arbitron rating listed for April show KNX now at 0.6 - this is compared to their 2.1 share a couple years ago. How could such a powerful signal be going unheard?

Hey David Hall - want your Arbitron ratings back up? Put the Drama Hour back into circulation and bring back the voices L.A. has loved so long. Change may be inevitable but your ideas haven't worked. Another good idea? Charter a fishing boat out on the Pacific, tie the anchor to your feet and dive in after that bobber you lost last year.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

According to today's Los Angeles Times, KNX's market share has dropped noticeably in recent Arbitron ratings.

"The market's two all-news stations showed mixed results. KNX 1070 fell from a tie for 18th, with a 2.1% audience share, to 21st, with 1.8%. Meanwhile, KFWB 980 - the Dodgers' flagship station - rose from 1.3% and a tie for 28th to 1.5% and a tie for 25th."

Continued kudos to KSUR 1260/540 AM for picking up the Drama Hour and providing Los Angeles radio listeners with quality programming.

Thursday, December 04, 2003

The management at KNX 1070 AM has taken a sudden and foolish gamble with its advertiser's dollars by pulling the long-running Drama Hour off the air. Our intent here is to provide Drama Hour listeners with a resource where they can contact the station's advertisers, and let them know that a hearty base of the station's audience is being cut out.

KNX serves an impressive stretch of our state with its 50,000 watt signal. They rightfully claim that during times of crisis, that signal provides the public with vital information.

From the KNX website:

"Listeners in San Bernardino lost local radio station coverage and depended on KNX for evacuation information and updates on where the fire was heading. Listeners in Simi Valley got needed traffic information on freeway closures and alternate routes around critical fire areas. "

Naturally, any loyal listener would applaud KNX's decision to pre-empt the Drama Hour in the interest of public welfare. No one could have forseen that station management would have discontinued such a successful show.

KNX needs a fresh reminder that Drama Hour listeners are an advertising gold mine.

We hope that Drama Hour fans, also being steady patrons of KNX's advertisers, will use this site to prove their role in KNX's advertising base.

Here we have provided the names, phone numbers, and some of the e-mail addresses to KNX advertisers. The whole purpose to KNXRevolt! is to help listeners tell these businesses that radio advertising dollars are wasted when their favorite programming is discontinued.

Many recent blogs and chat room postings regarding the loss of the Drama Hour seem to have a similar theme: 'we loved listening to these old shows in the car, or just while cleaning out the fridge.' Drama Hour listeners couldn't be pegged into a single demographic, they apparently made up a broad cross-section of Southern California.

We've received e-mails with the names of stations that are planning new alternative Drama Hour programs. As these stations begin their broadcasts, we'll be happy to list them on the site.

KNX now offers a SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE to Drama Hour listeners. Simply put, most casual listeners won't be signing up for a show they once conveniently tuned in on the car radio. Furthermore, the die-hard old time radio fans we've spoken to have all said they won't soon be paying for a 'service' they can easily replace with cheap MP3's bought off EBay. It appears that's just what they'll do, and KNX's advertisers won't be there.

If you care, TELL THEM!

KNX says due to "ongoing and recent events, the transit and supermarket strikes (and) California gubernatorial recall election have highlighted our need to provide news around the clock."

The fires have gone out, the strikes will be settled, and another election will be held.

Tell them where you'll be listening.

KNX said it seemed appropriate to end the Drama Hour's long run with Orson Wells' "War of the Worlds."

Like that broadcast, this too seems like a bad joke.

If you're a fan of the Drama Hour, we hope you'll use this site to tell KNX and their advertisers how you feel, and what you want to hear.

I contacted KNX again last night to remind them that, a whole month later, I continue to receive e-mails and comments regarding the Drama Hour. Most of these comments ask where a new Drama Hour can be tuned in, and many express that they've contacted KNX's advertisers. In fairness, I offered to post any new reply the station management offered. I received the following e-mail today. Judge for yourself if there's anything new in it's content, or if the 'personal voice' we're all eager to hear comes across....



We have received a lot of feedback about our decision to discontinue the Drama Hour on both sides of the fence. It would be impossible to address every comment individually but there have been several recurring themes and questions. While we realize your only wish is to have the Drama Hour reinstated, we would like to clarify some key points:

The change was made to allow KNX to be a consistent news and information station, which offers unique analysis and perspective on the news, as well as insight into lifestyle trends relevant to our audience. It is also why we dropped NFL football games in September and are evaluating all of the news and informational programs and features on the station. We believe programs such as the KNX Business Hour, 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes ll offer perspective on the news that differentiates us from other stations.

Many of you say that 22 hours each day of news is more than enough. Well, the average person listens to a news station for 20-30 minutes a day. Those people who want to hear news from 9 - 10 pm don't care about the other 23 hours. These people (and we hear from a lot of them) wonder how we can call ourselves "NEWSARADIO" and they have the same expectations as someone who listens to us from 7 - 8 am. And yes, there are more TV, radio and Internet news stations than ever before because there is a greater demand than ever before.

For those of you say this was a business-related decision, we can not argue. We are, in fact, a business and not privately funded. We are licensed to serve Southern California and we believe it is important to do the best job we can at what we do best--NEWSRADIO. KNX is the only 50,000-watt all-news station in Southern California and we are simply trying to do a better job of covering and explaining the news.

KNX does not operate and charge for the old-time programs available through our Web site. We provided this link in response to the many fans that asked if there was an alternative to our broadcasts. It's also why we inform you that another local station (KSUR 1260 AM) is now airing some old-time programs and plans to add to additional favorites in the near future.

We respect your position and understand your dissatisfaction over losing the Drama Hour. We hope to keep you as a listener for our news coverage but we know you have other choices and thank you for the support you've given us over the years.

Howard Freshman
Director, Marketing/Promotions
KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO
6121 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90034-6423
www.KNX1070.com

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