Kzzu-Fm Now Part Of Kxly Team
It is now official: KXLY has acquired The Zoo.
KXLY’s purchase of KZZU-FM and its sister station KTRW-AM (The Score) became official on April Fools’ Day (no symbolism intended).
This means that Mike Fitzsimmons and the Breakfast Boys are now part of one big happy family, that family being Morgan Murphy Broadcasting Group, KXLY’s parent company.
That big happy family will eventually be housed in the same building. KZZU and KTRW will move into the KXLY studios on Boone Street by September.
However, don’t expect The Zoo to suddenly sound like KXLY-AM or KXLY-FM (Classy 99.9).
“The Zoo will retain its own personality,” said Steve Herling, KXLY vice president and general manager. “We’re not changing it.”
Nor will they change KTRW’s identity as an all-sports station.
However, KXLY will look for ways to use its new radio stations on TV, as it does with KXLY-AM’s simulcasts on KXLY Extra!
Paul Harvey switches stations
Meanwhile, KXLY-AM has snagged Paul Harvey.
He’s only the most listened-to broadcaster in the world. He was formerly heard on KGA-AM.
KXLY-AM picked him up as part of its new ABC Information Network service, which began Monday. KXLY-AM formerly used the CBS Radio service, but since KXLY is an ABC affiliate on the TV side, the switch made sense.
Harvey’s “News and Comment” runs at 5:30 a.m., 7 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. each weekday. “The Rest of the Story” runs at 6:30 a.m. and 5:25 p.m. each weekday and 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
Poll cats
The Inlander’s annual Best of the Inland Northwest readers’ poll came out this week. Here are the winners, based on 662 ballots, in some of the arts and media categories:
Best Radio Deejay/Team: The Radio Men on KKZX-FM (Jim Arnold and C. Foster Kane).
Best Radio Station: KAEP-FM (The Peak).
Best TV Anchor-Reporter: Marianne Mishima of KXLY-4.
Best TV Weathercaster: Tom Sherry of KREM-2.
Best TV Sportscaster: Dan Kleckner of KHQ-6.
Best Jazz Band: Safe Sax.
Best Country Band: The Kelly Hughes Band.
Best Rock Band: Shoveljerk.
Best Festival: Pig Out in the Park.
Best Blues Band: Too Slim and the Taildraggers.
Best Acoustic Musician: Paul Brasch.
Best Artist: Harold Balazs.
Best Arts Performance: “The Nutcracker.”
Best Theater Production: “Lost in Yonkers” by the Spokane Civic Theatre.
In the other categories, our “Lamest Winner” award is a tie between “It’s a secret” (Best Fishing Hole) and “My own backyard” (Best Place to Make Whoopee in the Great Outdoors).
Country Final Four
Speaking of polls, country station KNFR-FM (The Frog) held a listener’s poll of country superstars last week. Jay Daniels and Kevin James, known as the Good Morning Guys, organized it like the NCAA Tournament, starting with 64 names.
A few days of voting narrowed it to a Final Four: Alan Jackson, Alabama, George Strait and Reba McEntire.
And the winner: George Strait over Alabama, by one vote.
, DataTimes MEMO: To leave a message on Jim Kershner’s voice-mail, call 459-5493. Or send e-mail to jimk@spokesman.com, or regular mail to Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.