Re: KCBS and WBZ

[Dan Strassberg <dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net>]

At 05:45 AM 6/22/97 +0000, you wrote:

>I wonder too how news stations will define themselves in this era of
>megalopoly and cost-cutting.  Are we seeing the end of radio news (gasp)?

I doubt it. I think that CBS will continue to program all news in major
markets as long as its all-news stations continue to pull good numbers and
big $. Even though CBS owns _two_ supposedly competitive 24-hour AM news
stations in each of three (and maybe four) major markets, the stations seem
to be doing very well. However, since CBS owns Shadow, I could see the
company assigning the local news programming on these all-news stations to
Shadow. Currently CBS owns WINS and WCBS in New York, WMAQ and WBBM in
Chicago, KNX and KFWB in Los Angeles, and KCBS (AM) and KPIX (AM) in San
Francisco. Of these, all have all-news formats except possibly for KPIX,
whose current format I don't know. Like WBZ, WMAQ may not be doing all news
all the time either. Westinghouse (now by way of CBS) is investing heavily
in some of these stations' facilities also. WINS either just completed or is
just completing a new antenna system to provide better coverage of the
northern New Jersey suburbs. This upgrade was accompanied by the purchase
and shutdown of two stations (one in Arkansas and one in New Jersey), to
reduce interference to WINS. KFWB holds a CP for 50 kW full time (don't know
if any work is underway) and KPIX recently applied for an increase in
daytime power.

Considering the talk wars in New York (between WOR and WABC) I can't see CBS
trying talk on either WINS or WABC. I think both of the CBS AMs consistently
outpull WOR and WABC and have better demos and higher revenues to boot. I
think a similar situation exists in LA, where KABC and KFI are the talk
stations and CBS's KNX and KFWB do 24-hour news. If you were in San Jose and
not SF, you probably didn't listen to KPIX (AM), which doesn't get down to
San Jose, so we'll need a report from SF or Oakland about what KPIX is
doing. But, as you've observed, KCBS has a strong franchise on news
throughout the Bay area. In SF-Oakland-San Jose, the two talk stations are
ABC owned. KGO is dominant, but I believe that KSFO has retained its
conservative talk format despite Disney's somewhat moderating influence.
Interesting question: Salem's talk network syndicates Ollie North and Salem
owns KFAX in SF. Is North on KSFO or KFAX? Bob Bittner tells me that North
is the only person he's ever heard who insists on referring to Hitler as
_Mr_ Hitler.

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Dan Strassberg (Note: Address is CASE SENSITIVE!)
ALL _LOWER_ CASE!!!--> dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
(617) 558-4205; Fax (617) 928-4205

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