After a remarkable 38 years with the station, much of it playing special requests and dedications as host of KOST’s (103.5 FM) “Love Songs on the KOST,” Karen Sharp has left the building.
Her last program was on October 10th; Sharp’s friend and former KOST colleague Mark Wallengren broke the story when he posted on Facebook that Sharp “has been asked to do her last broadcast on this station tonight.”
The move came at the end of the same week of layoffs that affected iHeart stations nationwide, including lost positions locally at KFI (640 AM), KRRL (92.3 FM) and now KOST.
“Love Songs” came early in the development of KOST, former programmer Jhani Kaye — the man who launched KOST as a light rock station — told me. The original host was Jan Marie, who Kaye had hired away from KRTH (101.1 FM). The success of the program led Kaye to add the similar “Pillow Talk,” hosted by Nancy Plum, to the KFI schedule … easy to do since he was by then the programmer of KFI as well.
Replacing Sharp is Paul Kelley, who is being syndicated from his home base in Arizona. This appears to be the future of iHeart stations. Remember that when iHeart runs those ads about how local radio is the best advertising medium. It may be, if it indeed is local.
For her part, Sharp kept it positive throughout her last show and posted on social media numerous thank-you messages. In return, her many fans reciprocated in kind.
Here are just two examples of the connection:
A listener named Deanne wrote on the Lovesongs with Karen Sharp Facebook page, “Karen, you got my sons and I through our darkest times. You showered us with your love, kindness and understanding. You cared for us. You made us laugh and gave us a voice. We always felt better listening or talking to you. You are our special ‘family’ member. What the heck will we do at night, and how will we keep going without your light?”
“I can’t stop crying,” wrote another listener named Cheryl. “You have been the Southern California backdrop to so many years of my life. I’m mad at iHeart for taking away our pumpkin spice latte comfort at night. How could they do this to so many people who have loved and confided in you for so many years!?”
You don’t get that type of listener loyalty without making a true connection, something radio programmers used to strive for. But you can’t get it via personalities who are hundreds or thousands of miles away, probably pre-recorded, after a day of doing something else for another station. All of this in spite of the fact that Love Songs consistently ranked among the most popular nighttime programs in Los Angeles.
Playing Monopoly?
Cumulus Media has filed a suit against ratings company Nielsen over what Cumulus says is abuse of its monopoly status among ratings companies.
The issue has to do with how ratings are combined nationally. Under what is called Nielsen’s “tying policy,” if just one station in a cluster owned by a company does not subscribe to Nielsen for that particular city, the entire cluster is left out of the national ratings compilation.
And it doesn’t just affect the Cumulus stations. As explained in a story from RadioInk.com, “That means a single station’s decision not to purchase Nielsen data in a major market removes the entire area from Westwood One’s national ratings.”
Westwood One is owned by Cumulus and distributes programming to stations nationwide, including stations owned by others.
This potentially would lower the perceived appeal of a program distributed by Westwood One, as well as any other similar company, possibly causing lowered ad revenue, or even the loss of current or future affiliates carrying the programming.
Why wouldn’t a station just subscribe to Nielsen? It can affect the bottom line without necessarily making a difference to advertising sales. KABC (790 AM), for example, has not subscribed to Nielsen for at least a year.
I am curious how this will play out. Who will prevail?
Overnight Gold
Word on the street is that Go Country 105 is about to launch overnight “gold” programming, in which midnight to 6 a.m. will be heavy on hits from the past. We’ll see if this rumor proves to be true.
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com