Earlier reports were that Cindy Scull and Robert Miguel had been fired at the Bone, but it appears that that's not what happened. That's not what this entry on Scull's MySpace page makes it sound like, anyway. The entry wasn't up when I posted earlier. Still waiting to hear from her or Miguel.
--Robert Philpot
Just got confirmation from Bone program director Gary Thompson, without illumination. Full text of e-mail: "Cindy Scull and Robert Miguel are no longer with The Bone. We appreciate their hard work over the past year and wish them the very best. We are currently evaluating morning show options and accepting applicants."
--Robert Philpot
Right around the time I left for the TV press tour, people started asking about Pugs & Kelly's mysterious disappearance from KLLI/105.3 FM. Then the whole Russ Martin mess happened. Now I get an e-mail from a reader saying that Cindy Scull and Robert Miguel have been fired from KDBN/93.3 FM "The Bone" morning slot, and sure enough, they're off the Bone Web site. E-mails out to Scull and Miguel right now; haven't tried to reach the station yet.
Here's a little more from Pegasus News.
--Robert Philpot
First, there's all this Russ Martin stuff that happened while I was gone. I e-mailed Martin yesterday and he told me (in so many words) that his attorney has advised him not to comment.
Then there's this Christian Bale incident that's one of the first things in my e-mail this morning.
Then there's the fourth hour of Today starting off with "Holy Batman, everybody!" That's just going too far.
--Robert Philpot
If you go to the Web site for KDGE/102.1 FM "The Edge", you'll see a tease saying that The Adventure Club is back. But, as we say in this biz, that buries the lede: The real news is that Josh Venable, the show's longtime host till Clear Channel cut him from the radio station last year, is back, says Vince Richards, Clear Channel Dallas operations manager and KDGE program director. Venable will begin re-hosting the three-hour true alternative-rock show at 8 p.m. Sunday. The Edge's Local Show will move to 11 p.m.
--Robert Philpot
Denise Gallagher, wife of Salem Radio Network talk personality Mike Gallagher, died of cancer Sunday at age 51. Mike Gallagher's show can be heard weekday mornings on KSKY/660 AM, which has a nice obituary for Denise Gallagher on its Web site.
--Robert Philpot
I've been listening to Platinum 96.7, which replaced the Texas Twister this morning, off and on since about 6:20 a.m. Still making my mind up about it (they just played Twisting the Night Away -- ironic, huh?). In a way, it does remind me of Memories 96.7, which preceded the Texas Twister -- and a lot of people were upset when Memories went away, especially because Memories, while low-rated, was fairly unique in this market as a soft-oldies station. Some of the stuff I'm hearing sounds a little bit more upbeat than I remember Memories, but that was a long time ago, so I can't recall if Memories actually played Stayin' Alive or Johnny Rivers' Mountain of Love.
If you go here and click around the time function, you'll get an idea of Platinum's mix, which combines some familiar stuff with things I haven't heard in a while (on the radio, anyway -- my iPod still has better oldies playlists). Curious about how well this will work with a transmitter location that has always had issues and with a playlist with both eyes on an older demographic the media is increasingly forgetting about.
KSCS, Platinum's sibling station, has been wrapping some Texas music into its playlist and giving it a lot of attention between 10 p.m. and midnight. But for Texas-music fans, the switch is a bit of a drag -- things were shaping up for a good Texas-music battle between the Twister and Fort Worth's the Ranch. Now it's not gonna happen.
--Robert Philpot
Today is a sad day for me. Robert's been blogging for weeks now about the coming demise of the Texas Twister, but I've been mostly pretending like it's not actually going to happen because I. Love. The Twister. (Not that I don't have love for KSCS, The Wolf and The Ranch, too. But they're not turning into oldies stations.)
The Twister has really hit it's stride in recent months, mixing together Texas favorites like Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jeremy McComb and Miranda Lambert with more mainstream acts that were, thank God, not Rascal Flatts or Keith Urban. And it kept the Carrie Underwood to a minimum. I often discovered new acts I really dug by listening to the Twister. That's not true of many radio stations.
I know there are great country stations in this town still. That's one of the things I love about it. But today, there's one less. I think I'll spin some Luke Bryan in the Twister's honor.
- Erin White
If you turn on 96.7 FM right now, you'll discover that one of the worst-kept secrets in Dallas-Fort Worth radio has come to fruition and country station KTYS/96.7 FM "The Texas Twister" has become oldies station "Platinum 96.7." Within days, the KTYS will be gone as well, and the call letters will be KPMZ.
Perhaps I shouldn't say worst kept. It was pretty much out there that this would be an oldies station, that Larry Dixon and Gail Lightfoot would do the morning show, that the station would be called "Platinum" and that Ron Chapman would be involved as a consultant. But the rumored launch date kept changing, and the playlist was never completely clear. "Soft oldies" was thrown around. So was "a mix of soft oldies and soft adult contemporary."
“I was making up billboards that had slug lines at the bottom that said, ‘From Buddy Holly to Billy Joel,’” Chapman said. “‘From Neil Sedaka to Neil Diamond. From Ritchie Valens to Rod Stewart.’ That’s about the spread that we’re going to have.”
Chapman said the station will play more pre-1964 music than most modern-day oldies stations, then reeled off a bunch of artists the station will play from several eras: Bill Haley, Mark Lindsay, Glen Campbell, Bobby Darin, the Del-Vikings, John Denver, the Everly Brothers, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Paul and Paula, Tom Jones, Barbra Streisand. But Elton John and the Doobie Brothers will find a home, too.
No matter what has been on 96.7, the station has struggled somewhat because its transmitter is northwest of Denton, and as this map indicates, the primary coverage area misses a good chunk of Dallas. Chapman acknowledges that the coverage is a concern. "I'm going to call it a 'very exclusive club,'" Chapman says. "If you're included, you have just gone Platinum. You're among the select few and we're going to treat it that way. Where we cover, we cover like a blowtorch, but where we don't, we don't. The target is probably going to be everything north of I-20 and from then it goes all the way up to Oklahoma."
I'm cautiously optimistic about this music, but just because I might like it doesn't mean it'll work. For one thing, the loss of the Twister is sure to tick off fans of that station, which has been at its best in recent months (fans of Texas music are pointed to Fort Worth's 95.9 The Ranch, which is also sounding good these days). For another, every station that takes a risk here takes a hit, and too many of them are too quick to tweak their formats after a couple of ratings dips. Time will tell. I'll be listening today to see what I think.
--Robert Philpot
Speculation continues about what's up with KTYS/98.7 "The Twister," but other radio stations aren't sleeping. AllAccess reports that KLUV/98.7 will add The Tom Kent Radio Network from 7 to midnight Saturdays, beginning this weekend. (OK, any other former El Pasoans out there get the forced reference in the post title?)
--Robert Philpot
