Radio Station Owners Make Big Sales Deal

A heavyweight deal in Spokane broadcasting was closed on Monday:

Citadel Communications Co., which owns four major Spokane radio stations, entered into a joint sales agreement with the Pourtales Radio Partnership, which owns another four Spokane radio stations.

Citadel will now be responsible for selling advertising for all eight stations, which includes three of the top four stations in town.

Citadel owns KDRK-FM, KAEP-FM, KGA-AM and KJRB-AM. Pourtales owns KKZX-FM, KEYF-FM, KEYF-AM and KUDY-AM.

Listeners should notice no format changes; Pourtales will still be handling the programming of its stations.

“Everything will stay the same,” said Steve Cody, general manager of the Citadel operations in Spokane. “Those are dynamite stations.”

Still, this agreement will give Citadel serious sales clout. Citadel will now be handling the advertising for Spokane’s No. 1 station (KEYFM, “Oldies 101.1”), No. 2 (KDRK, “Cat Country”), No. 4 (KKZX, “Classic Rock”), and No. 9 (KGA, “Supertalk”), as well as the other four stations.

Pourtales, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., is in the process of being purchased by Triathlon Broadcasting Co. of San Diego. The joint sales agreement will remain in effect even after the deal goes through, said Cody.

Citadel, based in Phoenix, Ariz., closed an identical deal last week with Pourtales in the Colorado Springs market, where both companies also own several stations.

What about the Pourtales employees? Cody said there might be a “restructuring” of the Pourtales sales staff.

Opera director gone

The Uptown Opera’s executive director, Kurt Howard, resigned on Dec. 15 and moved to the Midwest.

Artistic director Marjory Halvorson said Howard left for personal reasons. The Uptown Opera board is now trying to decide whether to hire another full-time director (Howard was their first) or to divide the job up among several part-time positions.

In the meantime, Chuck Lund is serving as the interim executive director, the same part-time position he had for two years before Howard was hired in August ‘94.

Howard came to the Uptown Opera from the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit. Halvorson said he is presently a finalist for a non-opera-related job.

‘Martha, My Dear’

Did anyone catch the irony in that Jan. 13 news story about a Spokane man attacked by an out-of-control Spokane police dog?

Apparently, the dog was provoked by a Beatles’ song, “Martha, My Dear,” which the man was singing as he walked down the sidewalk. What the story failed to mention is that “Martha, My Dear” is an ode addressed to Paul McCartney’s sheepdog.

Public Radio expands

Northwest Public Radio, a mini-network of public radio stations in Washington and Idaho, will soon be broadcasting two separate kinds of programming across a large part of Central and Eastern Washington.

One will be mostly classical music; the other will be mostly news and commentary.

Northwest Public Radio already broadcasts mostly classical programming in the Tri-Cities, Moscow, Ellensburg, Wenatchee, Yakima, Cottonwood, Idaho, and Clarkston, Idaho.

Now, however, it will build new transmitters to re-broadcast its “news and views” programming from KWSU-AM in Pullman. The new transmitters will be at Walla Walla (89.7 FM) and Moses Lake (91.5 FM) and will also cover the Tri-Cities and Ephrata. They should begin broadcasting in the latter part of this year.

The network is also looking for frequencies in Yakima, Ellensburg and Wenatchee.

The reason: to build listenership.

The network’s highest listenership is in the MoscowPullman area, where they already have two stations, one airing classical music and one airing news and commentary, said Northwest Public Radio executive Jean Palmquist.

So when the expansion takes effect across the rest of their market area, they hope to increase membership “by 30 or 40 percent.”

“It’s part of our strategy to deal with federal cuts,” said Palmquist.

The expansion will be paid for with a $215,000 federal grant and $85,000 in private money raised in the communities.

Northwest Public Radio should not be confused with Spokane Public Radio, which operates KPBX-FM in Spokane.

Whitworth Jazz in Italy

The Whitworth College Jazz Ensemble has landed itself a pretty good gig this month: Big Mama’s, one of the hottest jazz clubs in Rome.

The ensemble is spending two weeks in Italy at the invitation of the American University of Rome. They are playing three concerts at Big Mama’s, with several Italian jazz stars also on the program.

Action Arts

Those who care about the arts in Spokane should stop by Spokane City Hall and pick up a copy of “Action Arts: A Community Cultural Plan for Spokane.”

This plan was developed after a year of neighborhood meetings, with participation by hundreds of people. Two major themes: expansion of neighborhood arts programs and more programs for youth.

Pick it up on the sixth floor in the City Arts Department.

, DataTimes