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Cox and Salem To Swap Radio Stations Cox Radio has exercised its option to buy out Honolulu Broadcasting Inc.'s ownership of oldies radio station KGMZ FM 107.9. In turn Cox will swap KGMZ for Salem Communications radio stations KHNR AM 650 and KHCM AM 940. The transaction is subject to FCC approval which should occur by the end of the year. Once completed, a Salem spokesperson has indicated that KGMZ will retain its oldies format. Salem will also retain the call letters of both KHNR and KHCM. Salem is already using the KHNR call letters for one of its recently acquired FM stations 97.5, the former KPOI. Today that station is programming a conservative talk format. KHCM is presently airing a country music format. Cox has not said what kind of formats their newly acquired AM stations will air, and only that they will receive new call letters and broadcast in a new digital format. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | DISCUSSION TOPIC
Senator Fred Hemmings will be hosting a morning talk show on Salem radio's KHNR 650 AM / 97.5 FM, along with Senator Donna Mercado Kim, entitled "Equal Time". The show will be on the air from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, Monday through Thursday. "The format will be phone-in and naturally Senator Hemmings and Senator Kim will both be advocates for their Republican and Democrat agendas", according to a press release from Senator Hemmings' office. The Hemmings and Kim program starts this Monday. KHNR is using the program to counter similar programming at Clear Channel's KHVH 830 AM, where morning show host Rick Hamada features Senate members Sam Slom and Colleen Hanabusa as well as Governor Linda Lingle and members of her cabinet.
Salem Changes Programming on KPOI and "BOB" FM Longtime rock n roll radio station KPOI FM 97.5 went off the air Friday night and returned this weekend as KHNR FM with a conservative news and talk radio format. The major switch comes as Salem Communications takes over the programming of both 97.5 FM and KHUI 99.5 FM after having their ownership change finalized. What was once KPOI FM is now KHNR FM 97.5. The station's new format will include simuclasted programming from KHNR AM and feature nationally distributed talk shows such as Dennis Praeger and Michael Medved. New to KHNR will be a local talk show hosted by Chaz Ontai during the 6 to 9 a.m. morning drive hour. KHUI FM's programming has switched back to a Hawaiian music format, dropping the short-lived "Bob FM" rock music programming. Former "The Breeze" personality Mahlon Moore returns to the new KHUI . Jacqueline "Skylark" Rossetti will be on the air in the mornings followed by Chaz Ontai (who will be doing double duty) in the afternoons, noon to 6. KTUH alumnus Kahikina de Silva will do the evening/night time drive. Salem bought KHUI and KPOI from Visionary Entertainment who initially bought them from former owners and operators New Wave Broadcasting. KPOI?s call sign will be moving to 105.9 FM, "The Big Kahuna" which features a classic rock format. KPOI DJ Fil Slash will also move to 105.9 FM with the KPOI call letters. The KAHA call sign is being dropped. Visionary now operates the new KPOI 105.9 FM, KQMQ 93.1 FM, KDDB "Da Bomb" 102.7 FM, and KUMU AM & FM. Salem is now the owner and operator of KAIM FM & AM, KHNR AM & FM, KHCM 940 AM and KHUI FM. More details in Erika Engle's story at StarBulletin.com. Discussion Topic Continues: The Fate of KPOI and KHUI
KHON Fights For Web Address Although KHON-TV's official website at khon.com has been "under construction" for years, the station recently fought to wrest control of the khon2.com domain name from a known cybersquatter in the Bahamas. Last month, the World Intellectual Property Organization ( WIPO ) ruled that the khon2.com address should be transferred to KHON-TV and owner Emmis Communications , as it was registered and used "in bad faith." A cybersquatter is someone who buys web domain names identical to or similar to the names and trademarks of companies and celebrities, in the hopes of misdirecting visitors to their own sites or reselling the names at exorbitant prices. The WIPO has decided several high-profile cybersquatting cases, such as those filed by Julia Roberts and Bruce Springsteen, although not all have gone in favor of the complainant. COMPLETE STORY AT THIS LINK | THE BUZZ | DISCUSSION
KSSK Tops Spring Ratings As usual, Clear Channel's KSSK FM topped the Spring Arbitron Ratings this year as it has for many years in the Honolulu market. The venerable FM station continues to hold the #1 overall position for the Honolulu Hawaii market followed by Cox's KINE FM and KRTR FM. Clear Channel's KSSK AM is the #4 station in town with Cox's KCCN FM 100, celebrating its 14th year on the air this weekend, at #5. The enduring team of Michael W. Perry and Larry Price continue their morning drive dominance on KSSK FM & AM. Programs making gains in morning drive include KUMU FM's morning team of Tiny Tadani, Bill Brennan and Mandy Suganuma (at #3), Salem's Dave Lancaster and Kim Harper on Christian music station KAIM FM (up from #14 to #9) for listeners in the 25-54 age group. The morning sports show with Bobby Curran on KKEA AM ranked high with listeners over the age of 12. While Visionary's KDDB FM "Da Bomb" scored high in the ratings for the spring period. half of its morning team of was fired yesterday. Kid Leo Baldwin is gone from 102.7 FM. The Spring '04 ratings covers the time period of April 1 to June 23. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | RATINGS GRAPHIC | RATINGS ON R & R* | DISCUSSION * Form may need to be filled in order to access the data.
AdWorks, one of Honolulu's top advertising agencies called it a day yesterday, closing after being in business for more than 30 years. AdWorks closure comes after the firm lost two key accounts in their portfolio -- Castle & Cooke Resorts and AT&T Wireless. The closure impacts more than 20 workers employed at the firm who will receive no severence but continued medical coverage until August 31. AdWorks was started in the 1970s and has seen many account come and go and several other agencies close over the years. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | DISCUSSION
Oceanic Cable to Offer Telephone Service Oceanic Cable, a division of media giant Time Warner, will offer Hawaii residents telephone service through their fiber optic cable TV system. The new service will start in November and be rolled out in phases, reaching the entire state by next year. The company plans to offer a flat rate plan that covers both local and long distance services at price points that may be less or more than what is currently offered by rival Verizon. Consumers will have the choice of whether or not to put all of their communications services into one firm of keep them separated by subscribing to phone, internet and cable TV services from different companies. There are some advantages and disadvantages that may be apparent in either option. Time Warner/Oceanic Cable has been offering broadband internet service to Hawaii since 1996 with Verizon offering their DSL based broadband a few years later. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | OCEANIC CABLE | VERIZON HAWAII | DISCUSSION
Kanoa Leahey, son of KFVE TV sportscaster Jim Leahey will become the lead sportscaster for Hawaii's Fox network TV station, KHON Channel 2. He will be the lead sportscaster, sharing the spotlight with longtime anchor and fixture at KHON, Joe Moore. Leahey who does sports for KITV 4, Hawaii's ABC affiliate will be seen on Channel 4 for the last time this Saturday. After that he moves to KHON TV but won't be on the air until November due to a contractual "non-compete" clause in his contract. Current KHON TV sportscaster John Verneri will remain with the station.
Aloha Radio Group LLC is breaking up with partner Nelson Ray Parker leaving the organization to concentrate on his print media publication, "Motorhead". Parker was a co-owner of Hilo radio station KHWI FM 92.7 with Frank and Janette Hooton who remain and have renamed their firm Aloha Broadcasting Co. KHWI features an island music and reggae format.
Nielsen Ratings Tainted by Spouse of KHON Employee It was reported today that the Nielsen ratings company will recalculate local ratings for the period that "American Idol" aired on KHON TV this past spring. It was learned that the ratings process by which diaries are passed out to random households for a member to fill out, ended up in the hands of a spouse of a KHON TV 2 employee. It is against the policy of Nielsen and other survey types of firms for people within the industry being surveyed to participate in a study. The Nielsen policy is stated on their website as well as on the front cover of the diary booklet. The oversight is not expected to severely impact the extremely high ratings KHON garnered for the period based on the strength of the "American Idol" TV series. MORE INFORMATION AT THIS LINK | NIELSEN MEDIA
Some quick notes: Craig Wireless Cable will be discontinuing their services in September. KITV Channel 4 and Oceanic Cable have entered into an agreement where KITV will supply a news briefs service to viewers of Oceanic's Cable 16 channel. KITV reporter Mary Zanackis left KITV to start her own business in Kailua. CRAIG WIRELESS EXITS | KITV OCEANIC / MARY ZANACKIS
Visionary to Retain KPOI Call Letters The transfer of ownership of KPOI FM and KHUI is still pending with the FCC. Once it is finalized by next month, KPOI's call letters will move to a Visionary Entertainment station with 97.5's calls changing over to KHNR FM. Salem operates several Christian formatted radio stations in this market with their programming geared mainly toward a family audience. Visionary Entertainment will become the State's largest radio conglomerate with the addition of New Wave properties KQMQ and KDDB FM to their stable on Honolulu stations. They also own stations on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | DISCUSSION TOPIC #1 | DISCUSSION TOPIC #2
Clear Channel Radio Group to Limit Commercial Time In an effort to cut down on "clutter" over their radio stations, officials at Clear Channel Communications, owners of more than 1200 radio stations in the United States (including 7 in the Honolulu market) will place a "ceiling on the amount of commercial minutes that are played per hour" on their stations. They will also place limits on the commercial time lengths. The new policy will take effect January 1, 2005. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS
July 14, 2004 97.5 KPOI FM to Change to KHNR FM In a routine public notice bulletin released by the Federal Communications Bureau today, Salem Media of Hawaii has requested that the call sign of KPOI FM 97.5 be changed to KHNR FM. The call sign change is a certain sign that a format change is coming very soon to KPOI FM, a longtime mainstay of rock music in Hawaii. KHNR AM also run by Salem Media currently runs a conservative news and talk format. FCC PUBLIC NOTICE PDF | DISCUSSION TOPIC #1 | DISCUSSION TOPIC #2
July 11, 2004 Olelo President Projects Revenues of $4.8 Million This Year In a feature interview appearing in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Olelo President and Chief Executive Kealii Segool Lopez indicates that collections from the cable TV fanchise fee, a cost that is passed on to all Oceanic Cable TV customers on Oahu will bring in $4.8 million to run the public access service. This compares to a $4.4 million amount brought in 2002. She said that $900,000 will go to the Hawaii Educational Networking Consortium and another $40,000 to the City Council for airings of their hearings. Oahu Cable TV subscribers pay nearly $2 a month to finance Olelo's operations through the cable franchise fee. The funds do not add up to the $275,000 that the Mayor has cut from the broadcasts this fiscal year. As a result there will be less broadcasts of city council meetings. Ms. Lopez also talks about the goals for Olelo which include training more community producers at their satellite community centers and possibly expanding those centers into other communities. As the election nears, more issues and candidate oriented programs will be airing on the public access cable channels. Olelo operates 5 cable TV channels on Oahu including Channel 52 (Oahu), 53 (NATV), 54 (Views), 55 & 56 (Education Access).
OLELO LOOKS TO EXPAND COMMUNITY CENTERS | OLELO WEBSITE
The ESPN cable network will be airing three University of Hawaii Rainbow Warrior football games this coming season. Two of the games will be away affairs airing on a Friday afternoon or Friday night. The last game will be shown on a Saturday. The nationally televised games will feature U.H. at Boise State on October 29 starting at 2:00 p.m., and U.H. at Fresno State starting at 5:30 p.m. Hawaii time. Both games will air on a Friday afternoon. The Saturday game will be a home game that pits the Warriors against Michigan State on December 4. The University of Hawaii's other home games will be available live to Hawaii residents via the pay-per-view service run by Oceanic Cable and shown on a delayed basis on KFVE TV. MORE INFORMATION AT THE LINK | UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII SPORTS | KFVE
Korean soap operas have proven to be a popular attraction for Honolulu TV station KBFD (UHF 32 Oceanic 4). A feature report indicates that the popularity for Korean soaps have grown beyond the scope of the station's Korean community audience. Station owners were surprised to learn that many local viewers regularly tune in to such fare as "The Marrying Type," "Papa" and "One Million Roses", especially since most of the programs are sub-titled which makes it easy for non-Korean speaking viewers to watch. The result has meant more advertising revenue for KBFD and an anciliary DVD and CD side business. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | KBFD TV WEBSITE
Lack of Ethnic Diversity a Concern for Hawaii Based TV Shows A lack of ethnic diversity on Hawaii based network TV shows have been an ongoing concern for fans, and producers. With the debut of the Fox TV drama "North Shore" the issue of how well such programs reflect actual life and ethnic variety in the islands have once again come up. The new Fox drama focuses around a main cast of mainland based caucasion actors. Local actor Jason Mamoa is the only regular cast member on the show that is of a different ethnic background. The problem of not showcasing enough ethnic diversity has occured in the past and is a concern for producers of other island based network TV shows. The cop drama "Hawaii" which premieres on NBC in August will feature a multi-ethnic cast. Producers have indicated that the problem is not intentional but can be attributed in part to the lack of local talent available. The recurring problem has manifested itself over the years on such programs as "Hawaii Five-0" and "Magnum P.I." Critics have indicated that the short lived "Byrds of Paradise" on ABC TV was the most ethnically diverse of Hawaii based network TV shows.
Salem's Mum on the Future of KPOI and KHUI FM The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted the transfer of broadcast licenses for radio stations KPOI FM 97.5 and KHUI 99.5 FM from New Wave Broadcasting LLC to Salem Media of Hawaii Inc. This nearly completes the sale and transfer of ownership of the New Wave stations to its new owners, Salem. Speculation on what changes may occur with the 2 stations once the financial end of the sale is finalized remains. Both stations feature a rock format of some type, which does not fit with the current format line-up of any of Salem Media's stations nationwide. Salem targets their stations for a family audience consisting mainly of religious programming, Christian music, conservative talk and country music. Their Hawaii properties all reflect the programming of the parent company. Salem owns and operates the following Oahu radio stations: KAIM FM & AM, KHNR AM 650, KGU AM 760, KHCM AM 940 and KJPN AM 1170. New Wave's KQMQ FM 93.1 and KDDB FM 102.7 "Da Bomb" to Visionary Related Entertainment was also granted by the FCC. MORE INFORMATION | THE FATE OF KPOI AND KHUI - DISCUSSION | SALEM MEDIA INC.
Lillian O'Connor, a longtime radio personality in the Hilo Hawaii market died on Tuesday, June 29 as a result of injuries she sustained in an auto accident on June 7. O'Connor was well known among Hilo's Japanese listeners as the hostess of the "Sounds of the Orient" radio show that aired every weekday morning at 5:AM on KHBC AM 1060. Her show was an island institution that preceded Mel "Mynah Bird" Medeiros' morning show at the 6:00 morning hour. O'Connor's Japanese language program has been on the air in some form since 1941 when it premiered on the original KHBC radio. The program migrated to several radio stations including KILA, KPUA and KIPA, all in Hilo. She was a member of the Big Island Press Club and one of only three people to be named an honorary member of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce. She is survived by 2 sons and a sister. Mrs. O'Connor was 90 years old. Services for Lillian will be held Thursday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. at Dodo Mortuary, and Friday from 11 a.m. to Noon at Saint Joseph¹s Catholic Church, followed by mass at 12:15 with burial to follow at Hawaii Veterans Cemetery number one. MORE INFORMATION | KHBC AM 1060 WEBSITE | DISCUSSION TOPIC
Honolulu Star-Bulletin columnist Mark Coleman interviews longtime radio personality Teddi Medina who has worked at various radio stations in the islands from the 1950s to the 1980s. She is writing a book about radio's golden age in Hawaii (focusing on the 1940s, 50s and 60s) and offers insight into today's talk radio programming and local politics. She was a big fan of the Art Bell radio show, thinks Michael Savage has "become so nutty". Her take on politics is to be "apolitical" though she admires such local luminaries as U.S. Senator Dan Inouye, the late Rep. Patsy Mink and former Lt. Governor Jean King. This is an interesting interview that you should read. VOICING HER VIEWS by Mark Coleman, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Not Much Confidence in Hawaii TV Shows Our informal poll which asked you "What local network TV show will succeed in the 2004-05 TV season?" Our 43 respondents turned in an answer that would probably not please most network executives. 35% of our respondents said "None of them" will survive the new TV season. That would put NBC's Hawaii, ABC's Lost, Fox's North Shore, and WB's Rocky Point on shakey ground at the outset of the upcoming season. So far Fox's North Shore is the only new Hawaii based TV series to make its debut. As a result, that show got the highest percentage of votes from people who thought that it would succeed. 28% of our respondents said that program would succeed. Despite that, Fox's North Shore opened to lackluster ratings last week with reruns on CBS winning the time slot last Monday night. The show airs again tomorrow. 16% of our respondents indicated that 2 of 4 shows will succeed while 9% said all will be hits. Fact is, other than North Shore, none of the new Hawaii based TV series have been seen yet. Because of this Hawaii Radio & Television Guide will air these questions again at around the end of September or middle of October. Remember that this is a non-scientific survey and sample sizes, votes rendered, etc. could be subject to repeat voting or manipulation by the public. This week our poll diverts from the usual media stuff. Instead we ask you "Who should be the next Mayor of Honolulu"? The usual front runners are listed along with some of the lesser candidates. We will be running political polls here until the general election in November. Political polls will alternate with broadcast and cable polls. This poll is being taken at both the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide website and Small Business Hawaii's website. The poll ends on June 27. Remember that all polls conducted at this site are unscientific and conducted for entertainment purposes only. SELECT THIS LINK FINAL POLL TALLY
Bust of Jack Lord to be Unveiled Jack Lord, the actor who portrayed tough cop Steve McGarrett in the long running CBS-TV series Hawaii Five-0 will have a full likeness of him unveiled this Saturday at Kahala Mall. The bronze bust was created by artist Lynn Weiler Liverton. The unveiling ceremony will be held this coming Saturday, June 19 starting at 9:45 a.m. at the Koko Head end of the maill near Macy's. Former Five-0 cast member Doug Mossman will be emcee. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | HAWAII FIVE-0
HawaiiNews.com: Flush with the record-setting audiences sucked in by the FOX network's "American Idol," KHON announced today that the latest Nielsen Survey showed all of its newscasts at the top of the local news heap. Although the station was the last of the local stations to introduce a 5 p.m. local news show, the broadcast came in first for the first time between April 29 and May 26. KHON has already long dominated the ratings for its morning programming and 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, both weeknights and weekends. And while KHON general manager Rick Blangiardi concedes that "American Idol" helped ‹ Hawaii's 400,000 viewers on Tuesday and Wednesday nights represented the show's highest regional ratings nationwide ‹ he notes that KHON's 10 p.m. news with Joe Moore still did well on Thursday "absent the benefit of American Idol, yet against very strong primetime lineups on CBS and NBC." In many ways, the station points out in a news release, there's hardly any competition. For example, from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. the KHON morning news (anchored by Kirk Matthews and Tannya Boyd) averages more viewers and households than the combined viewership of its three competitors. On weeknights, KHON takes almost half of the state's viewers. "Approximately 108,000 adults 25-54 are watching local newscasts in Hawaii weeknights at 6 p.m.," Blangiardi noted. "On average 51,000 of those viewers are watching the KHON2 News with Joe Moore. The other three newscasts share the remaining 57,000 viewers."
"American Idol" Gives Fox Huge Win The local AC Nielsen Ratings results show that Fox TV's "American Idol" was the most popular program in Hawaii during the May ratings sweeps. More than half of all Hawaii households with TV sets were tuned into the popular Fox TV program that featured local singers Jasmine Trias and Camile Velasco competing for the top prize in the national talent contest. The show pulled in a 31 rating / 45 share in February and topped that in May with 50 rating / 73 share in May, a record for local viewership of a prime time TV show. The record breaking ratings is good news for KHON TV's Rick Blangiardi who stated that he knew the show would "pull in some great gains". Personnel from KHON's competitors were equally impressed with "American Idol's" local popularity. Through the program's final weeks, several competing TV stations aired stories about American Idol on their local newscasts, which probably added to the hoopla surrounding the show. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | AMERICAN IDOL DISCUSSION
Besides the big American Idol story today, Star-Bulletin's Erika Engle writes about local businesses getting contracts to dress Hawaii's various TV news anchors. I was notified by the Hawaii Convention Center's Roy Arakaki that the center's radio station got its permanent call sign from the FCC. Hawaii Convention Center Radio is now WQAG957. The station can be heard in the Waikiki area on AM 1610. KUMU AM's website was recently activated to reflect the change in that station's programming from music to mostly talk. The station airs some of Air America's programs including the O Franken Factor and the Randi Rhodes Show. The station also features Larry King and Dr. Joy Brown on its "New Talk of Honolulu" line-up. Kauai's Surf 95.9 FM (KSRF), another one of Visionary's radio stations is now on the web at http://www.surf959.com. Finally the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide was mentioned yesterday in Burt Lum's Bytemarks column that ran in the Honolulu Advertiser. Lum waxes nostalgic for Hawaii radio's old days, some of which is archived at this very site. Also mentioned is our discussion forum at HawaiiThreads.com. Thanks Burt!
Air America Lands at KUMU, KAOI and KQNG AM Visionary Related Entertainment radio stations began broadcasting talk radio content from the "Air America" network this week. Liberal talk radio host Al Franken made his island debut yesterday afternoon on radio stations KUMU AM 1500 in Honolulu, KAOI AM 1110 on Maui and KQNG AM 570 on Kauai. Franken's "O Franken Factor" will air twice daily on KUMU AM, 6 - 9 am and repeated from 5 to 8 pm. The talk radio format on KUMU AM essentially ends the "adult standards" music format that was previously broadcast there. KUMU AM will be airing similar programs to those already heard at KAOI and KQNG, though not all of Air America's programming will immediately be heard due to contractual obligations with other syndicators. The fledgling Air America Network has yet to establish a beachhead in a couple of major markets and has been struggling financially since its launch earlier this year. The talk network was established as a counterpoint to the dominant conservative talk content carried over many other radio stations. MORE DETAILS | KAOI NET | AIR AMERICA | DISCUSSION TOPIC
TV Series Takes Former Xerox Site HawaiiNews.com: The local headquarters for the ABC television series " Lost ," which was picked up by the network last month for their fall schedule, will not be hard to find. Industry officials have confirmed that the show will base its local operations in the former Xerox building on Nimitz Highway. The building has remained vacant since Xerox moved out in the aftermath of the state's worst ever mass murder, in which seven people were killed in November 1999. DETAILS AT THIS LINK | DISCUSSION TOPIC | ABC TV's "LOST"
The University of Hawaii's student run radio station, KTUH 90.3 FM gets the cover treatment this month in Hawaiian Air's in flight magazine, Hana Hou! The magazine features "DJ Ling" who does the Sunday night Planet of Sound program on KTUH that showcases pop music from around the world on the front cover. KTUH which programs an eclectic mix of alternative music will be celebrating its 35th anniversary in September . MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | KTUH 90.3 FM
The Hawaii Radio & Television Guide's latest online poll asked subscribers to Time Warner Oceanic Cable if their monthly billing rate was "too high, just right or too low." Sixty-eight percent of our very small sample size indicated that the monthly cable bill was "too high"; 16% said it was "just right" and 8% stated the bill was "too low". Another 8% were not subscribers. As usual all polls run on this site are unscientific, don't carry much weight and are subject to possible computer user abuse. That said, don't forget to participate in our next poll. GRAPHICAL RESULTS OF CABLE TV BILLING POLL
HAWAII PRINT MEDIA Star-Bulletin's New Publisher Snagged from Advertiser In a sudden announcement yesterday, Honolulu Advertiser general manager Dennis Francis was named president of Oahu Publications and publisher of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Hawaii Radio & Television Guide was notified about this yesterday afternoon as the item appeared as "Breaking News" on the Star-Bulletin's website and posted to the Hawaii Media Forum over at Hawaii Threads. The official news annuncement appears in today's Star-Bulletin but is no where to be found on the Honolulu Advertiser's website this morning. The announcement was made by David Black, chairman of Oahu Publications which publishes both the Star-Bulletin and MidWeek newspapers. Black also hired the Advertisers' Glenn Zuehls as VP of Advertising. He was director of classfied advertising for the Advertiser. The Star-Bulletin and Advertiser have become fierce cross-town rivals since the break-up of the joint operating agreement in 2001. The Advertiser is owned by media conglomerate Gannett Pacific. STAR-BULLETIN STORY | DISCUSSION TOPIC
Don Robbs Named KKEA General Manager Veteran broadcaster Don Robbs was named general manager for radio station KKEA 1420 AM. He replaces Barry Vilamil who will remain in the organization and continue with his Monday morning sports memorabilia talk show. KKEA is owned and operated by Blow Up, LLC and broadcasts a sports-talk format with emphasis placed on its coverage of University of Hawaii sports broadcasts. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | KKEA WEBSITE
Dalton Tanonaka, a former television newsman will make his second run for political office this year. Tanonaka will announce today that he will be seeking the First Congressional District seat in the United States House of Representatives. He will be running against incumbent Congressman Neil Abercrombie as a Republican. Tanonaka first ran for office in 2002 as a Republican candidate for Lt. Governor, losing that year to James "Duke" Aiona, the current Lt. Governor. Tanonaka spent many years on local TV employed with KHON TV before moving to the Asian market and establishing himself as an internationally known news anchor and journalist working for networks such as CNN.
Hilo's KHBC Radio Gets Web Presence
KHBC's daily line-up includes Lillian O'Conner's "Sounds of the Orient" program at 5 in the morning, the long running Mel "Mynah Bird" Medeiros Show from 6 to 10 am, Iaukea Bright from 10 - 2, Pohai Montague-Mullins from 2 - 6 pm and Brad Freeman from 6 to midnight. The station programs a mixed variety of music including Hawaiian, adult contemporary, oldies, some popular standards, pop/rock in the nights, jazz, blues and country on the weekends. KHBC recently moved to new studios at 688 Kinoole St. Suite 112 in Hilo, Hawaii. Their phone numbers are (808) 959-5700 (office) and studio line is 296-KHBC (5422). KHBC is owned and operated by Hilo Broadcasting, LLC and broadcast at 5,000 watts of power. KHBC WEBSITE | FCC INFORMATION
KINE's morning drive guy, Brickwood Galuteria was named Democratic Party chairman during their convention this past weekend. He defeated Oahu County Chairman Jimmy Toyama by a vote of 441 to 345. Galuteria who has been a Democratic Party member since 1988 pledged to "take back the governor's office" and not to give anymore free rides to Republicans. He takes over the party from outgoing chair, Alex Santiago, a former legislator.
The latest unscientific and informal poll taken at the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide last week showed that KITV's Kathy Muneno is the favorite weatherperson among our readers. Not surprisingly, all of the top vote getters in this poll were the designated weekday weatherpersons at each of the 4 local news channels. KHON's Joe Moore was the 2nd place vote getter, KGMB's Guy Hagi third and KHNL's Sharie Shima 4th. Voting was close and see-sawed during the week.
Fantasia Barrino Wins American Idol Contest Fantasia Barrino won the American Idol talent contest last night on Fox TV. More than 65 million votes were cast through the phone system or text messaging after Tuesday night's program. Barrino edged runner-up Diana DeGarmo by about a million votes to become the new American Idol. Barrino wins a recording contract with her first single being "I Believe" which both she and DeGarmo performed on Tuesday night. KUMU FM afternoon personality Lee Kirk indicated that Barrino will be radio friendly among the R & B and hip-hop stations while DeGarmo will appeal to the adult contemporary and soft rock audience. Both contestants were featured on last night's finale along with past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and the other finalists from this year's program including Hawaii's Jasmine Trias and Camile Velasco. The performers were all featured in an American Idol musical medley. The Top 10 finalists will go on tour this summer and end up in Honolulu performnig before two sold out shows at the Blaisdell Center on September 28 and 29. STARBULLETIN.COM | ADVERTISER | IDOL ON FOX | AMERICAN IDOL ON TOUR
Nationally broadcast evening show hostess Delilah will be switching syndicators come the end of June. Her contract with Jones Radio Network expires in June. She will be moving her program to the Premiere Radio Network where she will join a growing stable of radio stars including Casey Kasem (American Top 20) and George Noory (Coast to Coast AM). No word on whether or not the change will effect the local broadcast of Delilah which currently airs in Honolulu on KUMU FM.
KSSK FM, KRTR Tied for Best AC Station Our latest informal and unscientific poll indicated that 24% of the people who voted in last week's poll liked both KSSK FM and KRTR FM as their favorite soft rock/adult contemporary music format station. The same amount (24%) of persons participating in the poll indicated "none of the above" as their choice. Final poll results are shown below. Be sure to vote in the latest Hawaii Radio & Television Guide Poll!
Curtain Closes For Hawaii's American Idol
The young lady exited the show very gracefully, thanking her family, friends, fans and the 2 finalists before exiting the show with a rendition of the Natalie Cole standard, "Inseperable." The American Idol broadcasts proved to be a winning formula not only for KHON TV Channel 2, but also for all of the other local TV broadcast news programs as extensive coverage was given to Jasmine's trip to Hawaii and her return to the show. Some restaurants and bars also capitalized on the show as event specials were built around the broadcast. Constestants from American Idol will be on a 52-city tour that will include Honolulu. Tom Moffatt will be promoting 2 American Idol shows at the Blaisdell Center Arena on September 28 and 29. Hawaii's 2 top 10 constestants, Jasmine Trias and Camile Velasco will be on tour with the other American Idol finalists. ALOHA JASMINE | DISCUSSION TOPIC | IDOL ON FOX | PHOTOS
Voting Controversy Brews Over American Idol Program A voting controversy has surfaced surrounding the Fox TV progam American Idol. A report in Broadcasting and Cable magazine, an industry trade publication indicate that many callers voting for their favorite contestants are shut out of the system by "power dialers". The report indicate that those power dialing have the skills and technology to circumvent the phone system and vote multiple times. A Fox TV spokesperson has stated that the network has "gone through great lengths" to ensure the integrity of the voting process. On an unrelated note, some media outlets have faulted the people in the State of Hawaii for overloading the system and voting multiple times for local diva Jasmine Trias at the expense of last week's audience favorite La Toya London, who did not garner enough votes and was voted off the program. An online petition has been started to debunk the media's alleged inaccurate reporting of the Hawaii voting connection. MORE DETAILS: STAR BULLETIN.COM | PETITION ONLINE | AMERICAN IDOL DISCUSSION
Hawaii will be the home of three nationally aired network TV series this coming fall. The ABC TV network greenlighted the TV series "Lost" which will be filmed in Hawaii. The series will be about a group of air crash survivors stranded on a tropical island. The Fox Network will be adding the hotel drama, "North Shore" to their fall schedule, while NBC will be airing a new cop drama called "Hawaii". The latter 2 series have already started production on their episodes. All 3 series have shot expensive pilot episodes around Oahu this spring that will air when the programs start their network run. The series are expected to bring millions of dollars of spending per episode into the state. The islands over the years have hosted a number of network prime time series, the most famous being the long running Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I. of the 70s and 80s.
Multi-millionaire Donald Trump more recently known as the host of NBC's reality TV show, The Apprentice will be host of a daily radio program called "Trumped". The program consist of a series of 60 to 90 second vignettes on a variety of business and non-business related topics. Trumped is being syndicated through a division of Clear Channel Communciations and will air only on neighbor island radio stations KONI FM on Maui and KTOH FM on Kauai. There are no plans to air the show on any of Honolulu's 7 Clear Channel stations. MORE INFORMATION AT THIS LINK | THE BUZZ
More information: Star Bulletin.com | Buzz Column | Honolulu Advertiser | More photos.
Idol Watch: Jasmine Trias in Final Three Hawaii's Jasmine Trias proved the pundits, critics and judges wrong by surviving another round of the nationally televised American Idol television program last night to make it into the final three contestants for next week's show. Ms. Trias, a 17 year old student from Maryknoll High School did not wow any of the judges in Tuesday night's disco song competition after delivering less than perfect renditions of "Everlasting Love" and "It's Raining Men." However when the votes were tallied, Ms. Trias survived with over 5 million phone call attempts coming in from Hawaii alone. Audience favorite La Toya London was the person voted off. Trias returns to Hawaii today to shoot a promotional video. American Idol airs on Tuesday and Wednesdays on KHON TV. MORE DETAILS | AMERICAN IDOL DISCUSSION | AMERICAN IDOL WEBSITE
The Joe Moore / KHON Channel 2 News fans surged ahead of KITV 4 News in the final days of the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide informal and unscientific poll held this past week. For the first time since we polled local TV news watchers that our survey nearly reflected the usual outcome of the local Neilsen ratings. The final poll results are posted below:
Be sure to check back with the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide for another poll that will be online by this weekend.
KNDI Radio Website Packed with Program Information KNDI recently announced their website to the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide. The new site is found at their unique URL, http://www.kndi.com/. The site features pictures and information on many of the KNDI radio personalities and programming information and air times for each show. Speakers of the various languages from the Philippines benefit the most from KNDI's programming, though the station targets other language groups including Cantonese, Samoan and Ilocano. The station also runs specialty programs including "The Crash House", a heavy metal rock show airing during the late night/early morning weeknight hours. One of our message board users asked whatever happened to Harvey Weinstein who once worked at the old KPOI FM in the early 1970s. He can be found working a specialty blues show Saturday nights from 7 to 9 pm. KNDI is owned by The Broadcast House of the Pacific, Inc. and is one of the oldest locally owned radio stations in Honolulu. They broadcast at 1270 on the AM dial with studios and offices at 1734 South King Street. KNDI RADIO WEBSITE | FCC INFORMATION
New Wave's Honolulu Radio Stations Finally Sold After months of speculation, New Wave Broadcasting LP have sold their last 4 radio stations to Visionary Related Entertainment, owners of several radio stations on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. The $11 million sale is pending FCC approval. Visionary will retain KDDB and KQMQ and sell KPOI and KHUI FM to Salem Communications. Formats on the Q and Da Bomb will remain as is. It is unknown what kind of programming Salem will have for KPOI and KHUI. Visionary's Honolulu radio stations include soft rock / AC KUMU FM, adult standards' KUMU AM and classic rocker KAHA FM. Salem's radio stations are generally aimed at a family audience with religious music and programming being the dominant on most of their 6 radio stations.
Gilbert Kauhi, known to many as "Zulu" died on Monday in Hilo from complications resulting from diabetes. "Zulu" was most well known for playing "Hawaii Five-0" detective "Kono" for 4 years in the long running CBS television series shot in Hawaii during the late 1960s and 1970s. Zulu was also an entertainer and got an early start in show business as a disk jockey for radio station KHVH in Honolulu. His death makes James MacArthur the last surviving original cast member of "Hawaii Five-0". MORE INFORMATION AT THIS LINK | HAWAII FIVE-0
KINE's Brickwood Galuteria Wants to Head Democratic Party Brickwood Galuteria, KINE 105 FM's morning show host wants to head the Hawaii Democratic Party. He will have to run against anyone else in the party for chairmanship during the Democrats' statewide convention to be held on May 28 through the 30th at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. The current chair of the Democrat party is former State Legislator Alex Santiago. Brickwood is the host of KINE's morning show as well as a cooking show on Channel 2.
Hawaii's own Jasmine Trias, the surviving candidate from the islands on the Fox TV series American Idol has survived another week of elimination to be placed in the top 4 finalists. She is among an all-female finalist lineup as the program heads into the last 3 episodes. Verizon Hawaii reports that 4.7 million phone calls were made from Hawaii to the American Idol phone bank during the polling period shortly after the show's completion on Tuesday night. MORE DETAILS AT THIS LINK | AMERICAN IDOL WEBSITE
This week we ask "What is your favorite 6 o'clock TV Newscast?". That poll appears on the adjacent column to the left.
The Hawaii Radio & Television Guide Message Board will be moving to a new server and user interface soon. Stay tuned to this page and our message board for more details.
Low Power AM Broadcasts from Hawaii Convention Center The Hawaii Convention Center recently activated its new "travel information station" during the weekend of the First Hawaiian Auto Show on April 14. WPZH 377 is the callsign of the new service that broadcasts with a 10 watt transmitter from Kalakaua Ave. at 1610 khz on the AM dial. The new radio station broadcasts an automated program that provides listeners with information of large events at the Convention Center that might impact traffic on roadways near and around the facility. WPZH's signal coverage extends within a three-mile radius around the center including Ward Ave. to McCully Street and in most parts of Waikiki. "The Hawaii Convention Center's new radio station is a valuable community service to our area residents," said Joe Davis, SMG general manager of the Hawaii Convention Center. "We are pleased to have access to another medium to relay this information." General information about the Center's location and parking can be heard on the station 24 hours, seven days a week. Low power travel information stations can only be broadcast by government entities, such as park districts and authorities for the purpose of disseminating information to travellers. The service was created in 1977 and is not available to individuals or groups. Programming must be of a non-commercial nature. More information can be found at the links below: HAWAII CONVENTION CENTER | CALL SIGN DATA (FCC) | TIS RADIO (FCC) | SMG WORLD
Mayoral candidate Duke Bainum's campaign was fined by the State Campaign Spending Commission for a recent radio ad that did not include the disclaimer clause required for all local campaign advertising. The radio ad in question was aired on New Wave's KPOI, KQMQ and KHUI (Bob) radio stations. The campaign will be fined $75.
"Da Bomb" 102.7 Breaks Into the Top 5 While most of the usual market leaders remained in the top 10, two radio stations including New Wave's Urban CHR "Da Bomb" 102.7 FM and Clear Channel's alternative rocker "Star 101.9 FM" pulled in high enough overall ratings to land them within the coveted group of market leaders. Da Bomb's ratings climbed from 4.7 in the fall to its 6.1 share, tied with KCCN FM 100 for overall 4th place. Star 101.9 moved from a 3.5 to 4.3. Stations falling out of the top 10 included KIKI FM 93.9 and "XME 104.3". Both stations air an urban contemporary music format. Perennial market leader KSSK FM 92.3 which airs the immensely popular Perry & Price morning radio show remains the #1 overall leader, with P & P maintaining their lead in morning drive. KINE FM despite losing a few market points edged into the #2 overall slot followed by KRTR FM 96.3 and the tie of KCCN FM & KDDB 102.7. The top 10 stations in the Honolulu market are: 1. KSSK FM, 2. KINE FM, 3. KRTR FM, 4. KCCN FM / KDDB FM (tie) 5. KSSK AM, 6. KDNN FM, 7. KUCD FM, 8. KUMU FM, 9. KQMQ FM and 10. KGMZ FM. The winter ratings period covers the months of January to March 2004. More information can be found at the following links: KSSK REIGNS (article) | HONOLULU HAWAII RATINGS
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Hawaii's American Idol contestant Jasmine Trias' run came to an end last night after she was outvoted by viewers who chose finalists Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo to appear in the program's final episode next week. Trias enjoyed a whirlwind, 2-day homecoming in Hawaii last week before returning to Los Angeles to rehearse and appear in the Fox broadcast.
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