media bytes for friday, june 6, 2008

Thursday, June 5, 2008 by SDRadio.

She’s back!: A big ole Country Howdy to Cindy Spicer. She returns to NewCountry95.7 and resumes her programming during the mid-day.

She’ll be back on July 1 and will wear her boots as as music director for the station while hosting. Delana Bennett hangs up her cowboy boots and retains focus on the Star 94.1 morning show. She has become part of the Jeff and Jer Showgram.

Program Director Mike O’Brian told AllAccess.com, Geoff Alan will retain his Assistant Program Directory and night duties.

Friday Afternoon Update: What familiar voice will resurface on a San Diego station soon? The talent has a song found on MySpace …. Stay Tuned.

In a week that couldn’t get any “weirder” for workers of Clear Channel Communications, the staff was given the opportunity to get their own copy of Clear Vision. The newly published book is an inside look on the rise of the station group.

The hardbound edition is also available on-line and at local stores. Or you could wait for the major motion picture staring Brad Pitt as Dave Rickards, Harrison Ford as Chip Franklin, and Jerry Mathers as Helper Boy Randy Hoag, Cookie Chainsaw Randolph will play himself and Lee Hacksaw Hamilton.

Radio Notes: KPBS gathers news in and around the county and is not afraid to test new methods of gathering the facts — or question for the political debate for the City of San Diego. The public station polled followers on Twitter. Questions were used in the debate, the station replied to me via Twitter…..KLAC-AM 570 will be the radio home for the San Diego Chargers come football season. The Charger’s home in San Diego is Rock 105.3. Football season starts in two months!

John Fox, long time radio personality in San Diego, and in Los Angeles, writes about the loss of Bob Dale: (Last) “Wednesday’s item is one of the saddest you’ve had to report in a long time. Bob Dale was not only one of the pioneers and early star/local heroes of San Diego television; he was a genuinely great guy . I don’t think the unctuous Huell Howser could have pulled off Zoorama with the style and relatability Bob Dale did. His personality really shone through on the small screen. Something the consultants from Magid failed to notice, instead focusing on his archaic but trademark bow tie when they recommended letting him go from Channel 8 … big mistake. I had the good fortune to work down the hall from “Uncle Bob” during his last two years at KFMB. He was always up for a chat. And he was a great story teller.

Bob Dale and KFMB engineer Bob Crottinger had me in stitches over a story about their encounter with a Zoo patron in the Men’s room separating the Children’s zoo from the main San Diego Zoo. It was commercial break during a live episode of Zoorama. Now remember, this was around 50 years ago. There were no self-contained or wireless cameras and the act of TV broadcasting was something fairly new, mysterious and maybe a little frightening to some people. The Bobs were moving a large TV camera, tripod and all the attached cables through the restroom from one section of the zoo to another because the equipment wouldn’t fit through the outside turnstile. Crotty thought it would be funny to stop, aim the camera at a man standing at the urinal and point at him as if “cueing” him to action. It was not aired or recorded, and Dale protested during the telling that it was a cruel joke to play, but they both agreed the man’s expression was priceless! Said Dale, “No word on what kind of ‘performance anxiety’ the poor guy may have developed after that!” (Go to News 8 to see that early era of Bob’s TV career)

Bob Dale’s annual Christmas story about the “Booze Balls” was a classic. I had him on the B-Morning Zoo back in the 80’s for his annual re-telling after he left Channel 8. Which I like to think helped it later become a Channel 39 tradition too. He graciously allowed me to publish it along with many of Don Howard’s great stories in Radio Digest a few years back. It’s a tear-jerker alright … the story, not the fate of Radio Digest. If you don’t remember Bob’s annual Booze Balls story following his Christmas TV weather report, NBC San Diego has a clip of it. Too bad they don’t have a clip of him playing the Ocarina … another of this Renaissance broadcaster’s many talents.”

(Where is John? Giving good deals on American cars. Find him at as the Internet & Fleet Manager #1 Simpson Buick Pontiac GMC 8200 E. Crystal Drive, Anaheim Hills, CA 92807. Call him at 800 783 5971.)

San Diego’s own Shotgun Tom Kelly is part of the promotion of the new CBS TV show Swingtown. The summer offering features music that Shotgun plays on oldies K-EARTH 101.

During the red carpet showing last week, Shotgun interviewed Swingtown actress Lana Parrilla. As reported in LARadio, she was excited to met the afternoon host.

Shotgun can be heard in the afternoon drive on the CBS radio station from 3 to 7.

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Make it a great weekend!

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