Comments so far on this story:

1. D wrote on December 3, 2007 9:47 AM:
"Listening to someone talk about injecting things into their scrotums, or having sex on air, isn't my idea of good, fun, eclectic radio. It sounds assinine. Howard Stern's been making a living at it for awhile, so I guess there is an audience for it. I prefer music myself. That being said, I agree with you that San Diego music radio is LAME. I remember when 94.9 came on air. They advertised their independence at every break (do they still, I dont know?), but they gradually turned into a mirror image of 91x, safe run of the mill "alternative". And I too do not believe for a second that KYXY and KIFM are the top rated stations. NO! In hell, maybe. Not here."

2. Robert E. Lee wrote on December 3, 2007 11:05 AM:
"Seth: As a former Radio guy, first as an on-air jock, then an advertising salesman, this piece on Clear Channel immediately caught my attention. First, I too bemoan that the "news" in the News/Talk Radio format continues to diminish. What Clear Channel/KOGO offers as "news" is, in my opinion, pathetic. KOGO recently made the decision to get rid of what news they did offer in morning drive with a new, talking head. This new guy is mediocre at best; even the (lack of) quality of the sound of his voice grates on me. He sounds whimpy. So, KNX shows up in the ratings here, first, because they offer continuous, hard, professional-soundin news, and second, they even have a reporter assigned to our city. Imagine that: A Los Angeles station that seems to have a greater, more regional interest in the news, including San Diego, than KOGO does..."

3. Sparky wrote on December 3, 2007 11:27 AM:
"Clearly you are out of touch with San Diegan's Seth. KYXY and KIFM as well as Star's 94.1 are listened to on a regular basis by those who live and work in this City. Clear channel is a joke. Those of us who want to enjoy our travels in a vehicle prefer to listen to satellite radio (XM or Serius) where we don't have to put up with much chatter from the talking heads but can listen to the music of our choice. We can listen to national news, sports as well as a very progressive and wide list of programing that allows us NOT to grind our teeth while sitting in traffic. San Diego radio as well as TV are a joke. The news on both is nothing more than a talking head reading stories from the UT. What a joke."

4. Robert E. Lee wrote on December 3, 2007 11:27 AM:
"We are told by the industry "leaders" in Radio that News stations have disappeared because they are too expensive to operate, compared to other formats. But there is most definitely an audience that hungers for Radio news. Some of the most ratings-successful stations around the country (WINS and WCBS in New York; WGN and WBBM in Chicago; the aforementioned KNX in Los Angeles; WWJ, Detroit; WBZ, Boston, and more) are News stations. If Radio station programming is interesting, compelling and successful among its listeners, that will show up in the ratings. If a station shows up well in the ratings, the sales staff at that station needs to have the conviction to charge advertisers a higher rate to place their commercials on that station. Voila, the higher expenses of an all-news station are paid for. But beyond that, it requires vision and a sense of community service..."

5. Rocky wrote on December 3, 2007 11:36 AM:
"It's simple. The FCC lost its teeth back in the 70's and the media, especially Radio and then TV became the "Vast Wasteland" that it is today. Neither contains "Broadcasters" and with the introduction of Affirmative Action we are now left with the mess that is now is called, "The Electronic Media." It would be very laughable if it weren't for the fact that it is extremely frightening because there is no longer credibility either in the content, the people gathering, preparing, or delivering the news. The owners are greedy and the bottom line is simply profit. As long as there are listeners and viewers to pad their pockets it will be with us indefinitely. This is just a mirror of the world we now live in and the dumbing down of our once great society."

6. Robert E. Lee wrote on December 3, 2007 11:42 AM:
"But it depends on the company, too. Almost all of the News stations I mentioned are owned by CBS. The CBS Radio culture, going back to the 1920s, says that news "matters", and can be a ratings success. A newer company like Clear Channel (formed in the 80s) has no such belief or vision. But, let's see how things shake out in the next year or two. San Diego has more locally-based Radio owners than most markets of our size, including companies like Finest City Broadcasting, Broadcast Company of the Americas, Compass, and a couple of others. Lincoln Media, an East Coast insurance company (!) that owns KBZT, KSON and KIFM, is putting those stations up for sale. Hopefully, a local company will pick them up. Clear Channel aside, there are potentially interesting times ahead for San Diego Radio. As the saying goes, stay tuned."

7. Larry wrote on December 3, 2007 1:35 PM:
"I just tuned in 94.9 and all I heard was a cat being strangled. So much for your taste in music. Bring back the spelling whiz kid!"

8. D wrote on December 3, 2007 1:52 PM:
"Sparky, you're jumping the gun on the XM radio thing. Sure, it WILL be what everyone has in their cars, but not yet it aint. Too expensive still. Like DVD players, started out expensive but now you can get a decent one for less than $50. The whole affirmative action thing, I don't know what that's all about. As for Cliff Albert, if he had a brain, he would team his out-of-work liberal gasbag with a conservative one, and have a radio show a la Hannity and Colmes. That would be some good listening. And don't get me started about the two disappointing country stations here..."

9. JR wrote on December 3, 2007 1:55 PM:
"Local radio kills brain cells. 'Nuff said. Here's a story pitch for you, Seth; take a look at how the paralysis-inducing XLNC 1 is allowed to knock out Pacifica Radio's signal. Wonder if their towers are really Mexican or in name only and whose name is attached to what nationality on their bottom line. One may wonder if 3M people in this region have been intentionally left out of a loop that could have brought them something different, if politically unappealing, to SD's ownership on air. BTW, positive mention should be made of 96.9FM Pirate Radio; these fellows are doing their bit to liven up airwaves even in face of repressive federal laws. They're heroes in my book."

10. JR wrote on December 3, 2007 2:51 PM:
"I think you gave SD radio a new name: 'Geese fart radio' just about sums up what we can expect to hear across the dial in our cul de sac by the sea."

11. Robert E. Lee wrote on December 3, 2007 4:41 PM:
"JR: The long-running signal interference standoff between XLNC1 in TJ and Pacifica Radio in L.A. looks to finally be coming to an end. The Mexican entity that owns the XLNC1 signal is currently going through the regulatory process to move their signal to 104.9FM. Both sides should end up winning: Pacifica's signal will finally be able to penetrate into a good part of the San Diego area, and XLNC1 will get a new, stronger signal that covers much more of the San Diego market. My experience is that there are large, respective audiences in San Diego for each of the stations and their formats/programming. I enjoy classical music. However, once XLNC1 upgrades their signal, I hope they also improve their selection of music..."

12. Rocky wrote on December 3, 2007 5:47 PM:
"Further more, it was at one time an FCC ruling that a person or corporation could not own more then one AM and FM Radio station or one TV station in the same market. They could own a combination of the three. Case in point, Channels 8 and 10. Channel 10, when sold in the 70's had to sell off each of their individual stations. KOGO-AM, KFSD-FM, and the TV station had to be sold to separate buyers. Several years later that rule was changed and now a single entity can own multiple stations in the same market. This is the travesty as now one person has a huge effect and tremendous control over what information the listener and the viewer will be exposed to. Big brother is not only watching, but is he controlling us as well?"

13. Steve K wrote on December 8, 2007 9:51 AM:
"Jazz 88 is San Diego's local treasure--it is listened to worldwide via link as well as FM 88.3, featuring 'America's classical music'. Meanwhile, I'm wondering if Clear Channel, et al are eying the financially ailing U/T, with possible new FCC rules on cross media ownership, on the horizon. I'm sure David would consider a nice offer."

14. Seth Hettena wrote on December 12, 2007 5:13 PM:
"Update: Just learned that legendary rock critic Lester Bangs once guest DJ'd on KPRI back in the 1970s. Makes that station seem even sadder now."

15. KL wrote on December 16, 2007 9:29 PM:
"I MISS KLSD! I miss Stacy, I miss Scooter, I miss Air America, I even miss Ed Schultz because that really is where America comes to talk. KLSD was absolutely my cup of tea and there's nothing else like it on now on the radio. By the way, whenever you talk about KLSD's low ratings, you need to mention the correspondingly low-powered signal. That's a huge factor. Cliff Albert told us in the parking lot that the application for a higher-powered signal has been in the works for a while and should happen next year. Too late for me."

16. D wrote on December 17, 2007 11:49 AM:
"Low power signal? What a load! The format was tossed because it was out of touch not only with Southern Californians, but with reality in general. The power signal was never a "problem" when it was a music station. Gee, I wonder why it could handle music broadcsting, but not just talking. Golly. If you miss listening to a station where the slogan is (Blame) America First, you can always subsctribe to Radio Al Jazeera."

17. hibob wrote on January 8, 2008 5:20 PM:
"D brought up 91x and 94.9 at the top of the thread, and bemoaned their current aggressive blandness. There's a simple flow chart to describe the fleeting presence of local and independent rock on San Diego airwaves: --1. Station decides to include local and independent rock in the playlist/hires Mike Halloran as music director. Those two decisions are pretty much synonymous in SD. --2. Play great music for a while and get recognition for it. --3. Now that the station has regular listeners, fire Mike and switch playlist to heavy rotation of the singles that major labels are paying promoters to pay radio stations to play. Again, these two steps are pretty much synonymous in SD. --4. Profit? Lather, rinse, repeat. The same thing has happened at 91x, 92.1, and 94.9 since I moved to SD."