Early summer 2024 colorado Radio, TV, and Podcast news
eremy Levy back with you with some Radio, Podcast, and TV news. I am really looking forward to the summer. I am hoping all of my readers are as well.
Scott Ginsburg the owner of Chansler Media who had some stations in Colorado including Kool 105 ,KALC( in the 1990’s), KIMN radio, and KRRF radio 1280 in the late 1990’s has passed away. Chansler Media had many stations across the United States. Scott was in his 70’s. I remember many fun times in the late 1990’s listening to Kool 105, and 1280 KRRF radio.
Switching to a lighter note, good wishes go out to Jon Caldara. During the week of the 16th of June, on that Tuesday, Jon wasn’t feeling well, and it turns out he had a heart attack. He was in the hospital for 2 or 3 days. I have been listening to him since the early 2000’s, and I am glad that he was back on the radio Saturday the 22nd of June. He said he is really happy to be with the listeners on Saturday.
A quick KNUS note also, I found out that Leroy Daughenbaugh who was a producer on 710 KNUS radio passed away in April of 2024. He passed away in his sleep. He was a truck driver, but he also was a producer for several radio stations including 710 KNUS radio. I remember him producing for the Steffan Tubbs show and Wake Up with Randy Corporon. I will remember him the best as one of the Mike Boyle Restaurant show producers. He did a great job producing for that show. Condolences go out to his family. He is survived by his 3 sons, and many nieces, and nephews.
On Memorial day, 104.3 the Fan had a good fill in show for the morning hosted usually by Mike Evans, and Mark Schlereth. Matt Smith and Kyle Reese were on. They are normally the hosts on Sunday mornings on 104.3 the Fan. They are a good team together. They were talking about the Bronco’s, the Nuggets, and the Avalanche. They were also on for Josh Dover and Brandon Stokley.
On 850 KOA radio, Grant Smith did a great interview that aired on the Taking it for Granted podcast. His interview was with Dave Logan. You can find the podcast by searching for Taking it for Granted on the KOA website or by clicking here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/taking-it-for-granted-ep-162-dave-logan/id1548380354?i=1000652786441.
Andy Lindahl was doing a show in the middle of the Nuggets and Avalanche run in the playoffs. This was a classic show hosted by Andy because he had 3 different co-hosts. For the first hour, he had Jason Cosmitsky on as a co-host. Then in the second hour Connor Mcgahee was the co-host for the second hour, and Jeff Legwald from ESPN was on for the last hour talking about the Bronco’s and the draft.
Speaking of the Nate Kreckman and Andy Lindahl show, one day at the beginning of June Nate was not on for an hour and a half because of some water that was coming out of a pipe at his home. Andy Lindahl did a great job hosting for that hour and a half. Nate learned an important but funny lesson. The room where this room was located didn’t have a name for the room. He learned that his wife, and him needed to come up with a name for that room so they would both know what they were talking about.
I found out on the Mike Boyle restaurant show that Louis Gonzales, the Sunday producer of the Mike Boyle Restaurant show, has moved to Florida. He got married. I will really miss him producing for the Mike Boyle Restaurant show. The one memory I have is one Sunday when Mike was on vacation, Louis Gonzales was the fill in for him. This was a fun show. He talked about different sandwich places. Good luck to Louis. I will miss you. You were a great addition to the weekend programming on the station.
850 KOA radio Ben Lasiter is no longer with 850 KOA radio. He is moving on from that station. He said on the air that he really enjoyed doing the news for Mandy’s show. He also really enjoyed the Of the Day segment. He did pretty well. On his last day he lost in the jeopardy round by one point. We will have to see who fills that position. I am personally hoping it will be someone who can do a better voice for of the day.
The Avalanche, and the Denver Nuggets were in the playoffs this year, but neither made it out of the second round. The Nuggets lost to the Timber Wolves, and the Avalanche lost to the Stars. Dave Logan said on the Dave Logan podcast that the Nuggets needed to be tougher against the Timber Wolves. It was fun having both these teams in the playoffs. Perhaps next year they will get further.
Speaking of Sports, there is a new documentary coming out called Receiver. This documentary is about some of the receivers that are in the National Football League. There was an article about this documentary from the Barrett’s sports media blog about Mark Schlereth’s thoughts about this documentary. Matt Smith who was filling in for Mike Evans on Friday June 14 asked Mark Schlereth would he watch this documentary? Mark Schlereth said no. He wouldn’t watch it. He watched the first one called Quarterback. He thought it was boring. At the end of the segment Smith asked Schlereth if he would watch a documentary that was called Offensive Line? Schlereth said he wouldn’t. He had played that position and wouldn’t want to re-live this experience. He thinks that his life as an offensive lineman in the NFL was boring. My thought on this is that I don’t think so, and I am maybe looking forward to doing an interview with Schlereth sometime down the road. I think he would be an interesting person to interview. If you would like to read the article, you can find this at the sports radio news of the Barrett’s sports media blog. You can also find the podcast of this on the KKFN radio podcasts or by clicking here https://barrettsportsmedia.com/.
The Rockies have had a slow start to the season, but I enjoy listening to Jack Corrigan and Jerry Schemel. Not having the Nuggets and the Avalanche in the playoffs has given me a chance to listen to podcasts as well.
Some podcasting news. The audio theatre Central podcast celebrated its 200th episode at the beginning of June. It’s hard to believe it has been around that long. It was a wonderful episode filled with industry guests that I was familiar with, and others that I wasn’t so familiar with that I would like to check out. A couple of the guests I was familiar with were Katie Leigh, Phill Loller, Paul McCusker, and Marshall Younger. One of the guests I wasn’t as familiar with was Jason from Marquail productions. I will have to check some of the shows when I have an opportunity. Also in this episode, J.D. had listeners call into the voice mail line to tell him their congratulations. I did this, and my voice was featured on this special 200th episode of the podcast. This was really special for me, and I think it was special for J.D. . You can find this episode at Audiotheatrecentralpodcast/200.
One other podcast note that I would like to mention is that the For Fawkes Sake podcast episodes in their episode 221 of the podcast they had a question for the listeners to respond to. This question was should Harry Potter have put in the luck potion into Ron’s drink. How should Hermione should have handled this when she found out that Harry faked putting in the luck potion? They asked listeners to call into the voice mail line for them to hear the listeners thoughts on this were. I did this, and my voice was featured in the 222 episode of the podcast. It was hard for me to think what the right decision would be. It was fun calling into the podcast voice mail line. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-222-drama-drama-drama/id1485908641?i=1000658968098
Thanks for tuning in.
Spring 2024 radio/TV changes
Jeremy Levy back with you with some more radio and TV changes in 2024. I am certainly ready for Spring. I hope everyone had a great Winter season.
Kristine Noell had a baby in February of 2024. Congratulations to her. She is still not sure what she is doing yet for a career. Right now, she is in Colorado, but might be moving back to Houston. She was most recently with KPRC 2 in Houston. Before that she was with KUSA TV in Colorado.
There is still no word yet on who is replacing Rob Quirk who retired at the end of 2023. Hope media Group is looking for a program director to lead its radio stations. Hope Media group owns 910 KPOF radio and 101.5 radio. You can find the details on the Hope Media website and apply there.
In February of 2024, Robbie Knight who was a Westwood one, and 995. KQMT radio DJ for many years has passed away from a form of throat cancer. This started back in 2022. Mike Casey former program director at the station will best remember her from her voice. She had a very distinctive voice. I will best remember her from when she was supporting KBDI channel 12 during a TV auction they had. This was on a Sunday evening. Robbie and Jackie Selby, who was with KOSI 101 radio, talked about some items. I really thought that Robbie and Jackie did a great job. She seemed like a wonderful lady.
Charlie Cook of cumulus Nashville retired. He worked at “95.5 Nash Icon” WSM. He spent a little time in Colorado during the 70’s and 1980’s. Good luck to him in his retirement.
It is great to hear that a long-time country program director has been hired in Colorado. That’s right! Johnathan Wild: Yes, the Johnathan Wild who was with Steve Mudflap Mcgrew and Kelly Ford back in the 1990’s and 2000’s has been hired to do mornings at KXBG radio in Fort Collins/ Wyoming. He is doing mornings on the station. That is great news there. I really enjoyed his work at KYGO radio, and I am quite confident that he will do well on KXBG radio. Good luck to him with that wonderful career move. Speaking of Johnathan Wild, Kelly Ford, and Steve Mudflap Mcgrew, Kelly has been named the Beasley Media nighttime show host at the country radio stations. She has taken over for the host there. That is great news there. She started last week. Who knows! KYGO radio might be picking up the show.
Raj Sharon has been named afternoon host at KATC Country 95.1 radio. Raj was most recently with 104.3 The Fan as it’s program director after exiting KKFN radio. I didn’t know that he was into Country music. I am thinking that Country music and sports radio have really similar listenership. Good luck to Raj.
On Altitude sports radio, Marty O, The Altitude sports radio morning show producer got the award for best employee of the month back in February of 2024. Bret Cain wasn’t there that day and the promotion guy Rob Trigilio was filling in. Marty and Rob talked about this. That is good news there.
Also, congratulations are in order for Baylee B who used to be on 97.3 KBCO radio. She is still looking for a radio job, but in the meantime, she has gotten her Real Estate license. That is good news there.
On February 11, 2024, KALC 105.9 had their annual radiothon to help Children’s hospital. They had another successful year. On February 23 and 24 of 2024 Winter Park and the NSCD had their annual fund raiser up at Winter Park Colorado. Ross Kaminsky was up there for Friday the 24th to do his show. He did a wonderful job with the interviews. My favorite interview was when he interviewed a lady who was a blind skiier, and she teaches P.E. at a school near Winter Park. The only disappointing part of the day was that Mandy Connell wasn’t up there this year. She had a trip scheduled for that next week with her mom, and husband. Hopefully, she will be there next year.
There are some interesting changes happening on 710 KNUS radio on Saturdays. The Jimmy Sengenberger show that used to be on from 7-10AM is no longer on the air. He had been with 710 KNUS ever since 2013. It’s hard to believe it has been that long. I remember when he started on 710 KNUS radio. His time was 5-8 PM on Saturday nights. Then his show was moved to Saturday mornings from 6-9 AM on Saturday mornings. Starting in January of this year, his show moved to 7-10 AM on Saturdays. What made this show fun for me to listen to was the music guests that he had on. He would have blues musicians on to talk about their music. I also enjoyed it when he had a voice actor Jimmi Viles on. Jimmy has started a couple of podcasts. One of them is relating to music. His first episode should be released as of this posting. What does this mean for the Peter Boyles show? Well, Peter Boyles show has been moved from 9-Noon to 10 AM to 1 PM. Jimmy invited people to check out his website Jimmy.segenburger.com and subscribe to his newsletter to find out what his next activities would be. His newsletter is the Intrepid Inquiries. Jimmy said he really enjoyed doing the show and he will miss doing it. He has some other projects on the horizon that would prevent him from continuing the show. Jon Caldara has been put into that 7-10 AM time slot for now.
Speaking of 710 KNUS, this time it is the weekday schedule that has gone through some changes. George Brauchler is no longer on 710 KNUS doing the morning show. He is running for Douglas County Commissioner in DC 4. What has replaced this show? Well, Jeff Hunt and Bill Thorpe have started the Jeff, and Bill show from 6-10 AM Monday through Friday. Jeff Hunt is from the Colorado Conservative Summit and Bill Thorpe is from Colorado Christian University. That is interesting news there. One more note about 710 KNUS radio, Denis Prager’s show has been cut back an hour, and now is on for 2 hours. Denis is a national personality. His show used to air from 11 AM to 2 PM. It is now on from 11AM to 1 PM. These are certainly interesting changes.
A couple of quick podcast notes. The Giz Wiz podcast hosted by Dick De Bartalo, and Chad Johnson celebrated their 18 anniversary. This podcast started back in 2006 with Dick and Leo Laporte, and Chad started hosting back in 2014. I started listening in 2007. This show is about different gadgets that Dick and Chad have discovered. Chad and Dick had a cake made for them. The next quick podcast note is that I found a couple of new Harry Potter podcasts to listen to. The first one is For Fawkes Sake podcast. This is hosted by 2 friends who decided to host a Harry Potter Podcast together. They also have a YouTube cooking show together. They celebrated their 200th episode in January of 2024. I really think they do a great job covering the books and they bring up some good questions. The only criticism I have about their show is they do have a tendency to swear. If kids are listening, they would want to be aware of this, or parents would want to be aware of this. The second podcast I found is called Broomsticks, and Butter Beer podcast. This show is hosted by Daniel Rino and his wife Jessica. They are from St. Louis.In January of 2024, they celebrated their 200 episode. That is wonderful news there. They also bring up some good questions while reading the books. Both of these Potter podcasts are talking about book 6 Harry Potter, and the Half Blood Prince.
Thanks for tuning in.
Larry Zimmer Tribute
“Larry Zimmer, was such a wonderful radio announcer in Jeremy Levy’s opinion.” Jeremy Levy back with you with the sad news that Larry Zimmer long time voice of the CU Buffs and the Denver Bronco’s has passed away at the age of 88 years old. He was surrounded by his family and friends, and died peacefully. Larry was behind the microphone for 486 CU Buff’s games. He started his career at the university of Missouri. He was also the sports director of 850 KOA radio back in the 1990’s.
I don’t like to go to games because of the loudness, so I really enjoy listening to them on the radio. Whenever I listen to sports on the radio I feel like I am right there with them at the game When I listen to sports on the radio I love hearing the announcers call the games. In the early 2000’s, I would sometimes listen to the CU Buff’s games even though I wasn’t a football or college football fan back then. Larry Zimmer was the first one to help me enjoy the CU Buffs.
Andy Lindahl knew Larry well and said that when he first became an intern at KOA radio Larry wasn’t sure about hiring him. He was a young kid, and KOA was looking for older people to take the job because older people listened to that kind of radio at the time. I think that Larry made the right decision to hire Andy. When I meet a radio host, I think it is surreal. Mark Johnson had a story that he told many times on Monday January 20 2024. He and Larry Zimmer were talking to a fan of the CU Buffs before one of the games. They talked for several minutes, and the fan said, “This was amazing!” Mark asked him what is so Amazing? The fan said I’m sitting here, and I am talking with the voices of my favorite college football team. This is so Surreal! This is the way I feel when I meet a radio personality and when I do an interview with a radio personality. I hope that my followers can understand this by reading this blog, and by listening to my podcast. I really wish I could have done an interview for this blog with Larry. I am sure he would have many stories about his times announcing games.
Larry was the same person announcing a CU Buff’s game that he was in person Mark Johnson said. Way back in 2004 when Mark Johnson was set to take the job as the CU Buffs football announcer people told him not to take the job because no one could replace Larry Zimmer. Mark was a little bit nervous his first couple of games, but it sounded like to me both by listening to Mark tell the story, and by listening to Mark take over for Larry that he was a great radio announcer. The transition was seamless thanks to Larry Zimmer. It was all due to his kindness and his warmth by welcoming him into the booth. For 12 years he was his mentor. When Mark did games with Gary Barnett, Mark would often get texts from Larry saying great broadcast today. You did a great job in covering the game for the fans. I really agree with that.
Dave Logan was Larry’s partner for the Bronco’s games in the early 1990’s. Dave said on Colorado’s morning news that he doesn’t think he would have a job in this business if it weren’t for Larry Zimmer. Dave got to see him in the hospital before he passed away, and he said it was good for him to see him. Dave said Larry’s mind was sharp as it was when he first knew him. His body might not have been totally functional, but his mind was certainly functional. Mark Johnson also got to see him in the hospital. They talked for many hours about the CU Buffs, and they would read bible verses together. The last week that Lary was in the hospital it was tough for him. If it weren’t for Larry Zimmer, Dave Logan and Scott Hastings wouldn’t have a show together. I believe, though I can’t back this up, that Lou from Littleton got hired by Larry as well. He did a great job over the years that Lou and Larry worked together.
Mark will miss him as a partner and as an announcer. Most of all Mark will miss Larry as a friend. Dave Logan feels the same way. The play from the Bronco’s that Larry called and will always stick in my mind is one of John Elway’s games. “Here is the fourth down play. Elway’s got the ball. John drops back. Runs up out of the pocket. Let’s the pass go. It is caught by Rod Smith! It is at the 40- the 35- the 30- the 25- the 20- the 15- the 10- the 5- touch down touchdown Bronco’s! The Bronco’s strike in a hurry.” You could hear the excitement in his voice. Dave said as the color guy, “That was unbelievable!” The Bronco’s walk off the field a winner. In my opinion Larry Zimmer was and will always be a Colorado football winner. Thanks for tuning in.
Jeremy’s winter Colorado media changes 2023
Jeremy Levy back with you to write about Colorado media changes for winter of 2023.
I hope everyone has had a great holiday season so far. Let’s start on the TV side. Rick Salinger is retiring from KCNC TV good luck to him. He is retiring because of health issues. Also speaking of CBS KCNC channel 4, Brit Moreno who used to be with KCNC 4 TV, but moved to Austin Texas is now back in Austin on the TV station KXAN after an absence. She explained about this in a Mike Mcguff blog post.
Kathy Sabin had an accident and has been off the air recovering at home. Well wishes go out to her. Kathy has done weather in Colorado since the early 1990’s.
There is a second story on the Mike Mcguff blog about a former TV anchor for KUSA TV Christine Noell. The post said that she is back in Colorado. We don’t know what she is doing yet.
I was looking on linked-in a couple of days ago, and there were a couple of reporter positions at TV stations, and a couple of other TV jobs available. There were also 2 positions available for either a full time traffic reporter that can go in the traffic helicopter to report traffic, and a second traffic reporter position. Look at the I heart media website for the details on where to send your resume.
Johnathan Steel has been doing a great job as a fill in as well as Cynthia Bale, Kelly Cane, and Daren Coplin. Kathy J., who was with 107.1, 107.5 and 101.5 radio for over 20 years is moving to Kosi 101 radio to be its next afternoon DJ. She is taking over for Jim Lawson who just wanted to be the program director at Kosi 101, and not to do afternoons anymore. When Kathy started her radio career she was a promotions person for Kosi 101. She knows her way around the building well.
Jammin’ 101.5 is looking for someone to replace Kathy on that station. Jammin’ 101.5 is owned by Max media. You can find the post and apply on the Max Media radio website. On December 22, 2023, I found out that Jammin’ 101.5, and Flow 107.1 are being sold to Pillar of Faith media. This was surprising news. Pillar of Faith Media owns 910 KPOF radio. This means that Max media isn’t in Colorado anymore.
The V Bros have launched at nights on 95.7 KDHT radio which is owned by I heart media and is a Hip Hop radio station. This show is broadcast in Boston. The V Bros are Mikey and Frankie Vinci . Mikey, and Frankie have done shows around the United States, but this is the first time that they have teamed up to do a show together. They will have a third person joining them, Gianna Gravalese. This show will be launching more affiliates in 2024.
Kosi 101 radio did their annual Ronald McDonald House radiothon and raised some good money for that organization. Cumulus radio stations in Colorado Springs did a similar radiothon, and they met their goal.
You might have seen that Bailee B. who was with KTCL radio for some years got a job at Cumulus media in Kansas City at the classic rock station. Unfortunately the information that was posted on the radio insight about her getting this job was not accurate. She was at that station, but after Thanksgiving, she is no longer with that station. She told me she is enjoying the time off but is hoping to find a new radio job at the beginning of 2024.
Steffan Tubbs is no longer with 710 KNUS radio. He retired from the station back at the beginning of November. He is going to be working on a documentary. After that, he isn’t sure what he is going to be doing. The one main thing I have learned from listening to Steffan is that when you are doing interviews that sometimes you need to ask the tough questions of the guests that you are interviewing. That is what Steffan did for the years he was at KOA and 710 KNUS.
Deborah Flora is no longer with 710 KNUS radio either. She is running for a political spot that was Ken Buck’s in the U. S. Congress. Replacing Steffan in the afternoons will be the Officer Brandon Tatom show which is broadcast nationally on many of the Salem Communications radio stations. Sebastian Gorka is on from 2-4 p.m. on 710 KNUS radio. Brandon is on from 4-7 p.m. Also, Charlie Kirk show is on from 10 A.m. to noon on week day mornings on 710 KNUS radio. Jay Sekulow is on from 7-8 p.m. on weekday evenings on KNUS as well. The rest of the lineup is unchanged.
On Sunday nights, Casey and Scott Bloyer’s show the Bloyer effect is no longer on the air from 7-9 P.m. on KNUS. Scott has moved to Greely to join a different church, but Casey is still at Launch Pad Brewery. It was a great show while it lasted. They both said that on October 29, 2023 which was their last show. After Backbone Radio is Arc midnight with John B. Wells from 7-10 P.m. Also, the national program Jill on Money is on twice on Sundays. She is on from 7-9 a.m. and 2-4 p.m.There seems to be many scheduling changes on KNUS radio.
Speaking of 710 KNUS, Randy Corporon had a little bit of arm surgery, and was off the air for a week recuperating. Matt Dunn was his substitute. The week that Randy was back on the air on the 10, of December Matt Dunn wanted to celebrate the holidays with his family. Randy filled in for Matt on Back Bone radio on Sunday night from 4-7 p.m. . Peter Boyles had some great shows on Saturdays in November and December. The toy run that he does every year was a success. One interview that I really enjoyed was from Sandy Clough on the Peter Boyles show This was also on the 10th of December. I really enjoyed the imaginary thanksgiving day parade that he did on the day before thanks giving. The Mike Boyle restaurant show had a successful Christmas gift card drive for taps. They were able to support 63 families in the Colorado Springs area with gift cards for restaurants, and for stores like WalMart and Target. They got ten thousand gift cards from the listeners of the Mike Boyle Restaurant show. They had a great Christmas party for the families at Lui’s pizza restaurant at Tutt Blvd in Colorado Springs. That is excellent news there.
Speaking of sports radio, Dmac (Daren Mckee) has joined 92.5 Altitude sports radio, and is partnered with Scott Hastings and Tyler Polumbus. The title of the show is PHD again, and can be heard from noon to 3 on Altitude sports radio. Daren sounds like the job he has at Altitude is really exciting to him. Also speaking of sports, Amanda Brown is the new program director replacing Raj Sheron. Amanda came from 710 KESPN radio in Los Angeles. She got cut by that station. Maybe some good changes will be taking place on that station in 2024. There is no word yet on what Raj is going to be doing. Jeff Brantly is a new producer for the AM. for IHeart media radio stations 630 KHOW, and 850 KOA radio. Jeff and Raj used to work together at ESPN radio 105.5 radio when that was a station back in 2012-2013. Jeff is a great producer for all of the shows on KHOW and KOA radio.
Speaking of 630 KHOW radio, Ryan Schuling filled in on the Troubleshooter show on December 2nd and 3rd. This was a new show for him to fill in on, but he did a great job. Tom and Marc Mager were both busy doing other things. Tom mentioned that he is looking for a few more deputies to help him with his show. Those that are interested can e-mail Help@troubleshooter.com.
Cecil Lamee’s show is only on from 6-7 p.m. on week day evenings. Mike Rice is on KFKA radio doing College women’s UNC bears basket ball games. I don’t know if he would be doing anything else with that station. It is good news that he is getting some part time work. One quick podcast note that I would like to mention is the Wod Fam Choc Pod podcast had it’s last episode in October of 2023. They aren’t going to be podcasting any more. Their last episode was a good one. They reviewed broken Window in the Novicom Saga of Adventures in Odyssey podcast. They thought this was a good episode to end on. .
Thanks for tuning in.
Thoughts on Talk Radio
Jeremy Levy back with you. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on talk radio.
As many of you know, I have been a talk radio listener since 1996. I first started listening to the weekend programming which is called brokered programming. The hosts brokered their time. Warren Byrne, Gabby Gourmet, The Media Show with Dusty Saunders and Joanne Ostro, The Mr. Fix-it Show, The Gardening sshow with Jim Bourland and Keith Funk, Bird talk, the Mike Boyle Restaurant Show are just many examples. As caller Jay said on the Peter Boyles show said on July 15, 2023 “those shows he really learned things from, and they weren’t politics.” I agree with him. I learned things from those shows. I really liked it back then when they would take calls. I got to hear many people’s opinions on things. Some of the national shows on the weekends are still good at this. I always enjoy it when Mike Boyle takes calls.
In the early 2000’s, I started listening to some of the weekday shows. Peter Boyle’s shows were really interesting when he had on authors or other radio personalities as well. I really like the way Peter Boyles does his research for his shows. As Mike Boyle said, “how do you expect me to recommend a book if I haven’t read the book? How do you expect me to recommend a restaurant if I haven’t been there?” Tom Martino’s shows have always been entertaining for me. It was also a good way for me to learn about politics as well, even though I might not have agreed with the politics that they were discussing.
As I have learned over the years, I have been able to understand politics a little bit better. Sometimes I take what they are talking about on the radio and discuss it with my mom and dad so I can understand it better. It has opened up enlightening conversation with them. Politics on the radio have their place in the radio industry. I enjoy it when callers can call in to say what they are thinking.
I enjoy hosts that can talk more than politics. A couple of hosts that do a great job with this are Mandy Connell and Ross Kaminsky. On July 14, 2023, I heard 2 interviews with Christian Toto a movie reviewer. The movies that he was talking about I might not want to see, but I enjoyed his opinions on the movies. On Mandy’s show she has a life coach which I like as well. When Jon Caldara is substituting host, he sometimes talks about politics, but sometimes he has entertaining stories. I enjoy the entertaining stories. Michael Brown doesn’t take calls, and I don’t like that Michael does use the talk back feature in the iHeart media app, because that is interesting on other shows. Peter Boyles explained on the show on July 15, 2023 that they might be afraid of their image on the air. Leland Conway doesn’t take calls either. I do enjoy on Fridays during the last hour of the Leland Conway show from 2-4 p.m. on 630 KHOW radio when he does the twisted view where he invites other hosts from the IHeart stations into the studio to talk about fun topics. It helps me get to know the other hosts that work in the building.
Since 1997, when I would travel to different places, I listened to the different talk radio stations around the country. When I visit certain places, I enjoy finding out how different radio stations are programmed and what the different hosts are talking about. Some other states have more local talk shows than others. California and Texas have more local hosts than Colorado does. This is because there are more listeners to the stations, and the states are bigger states. Oahu Hawaii has the most interesting radio stations. The local shows on Oahu talk about Hawaiian issues. This is interesting to me.
Recently, I read a book series by Lev Grossman called the magicians book series. There are 3 books in the series. In the third book the world that the main characters in the books visited was going away. They didn’t want it to, and tried to stop it from going away. The world had to go away in order for a new world to take its place. I feel that the world of talk radio is a world for me. Whenever I am interviewed by a radio host, or I meet a radio show host, my world of Talk radio has opened up an opportunity for me. I have learned over the years that sometimes people in my talk radio world go away even though I don’t want them to. Examples I have are Lois Melkonian and April Zesbaugh. When those people went away in my talk radio world, it brought in the opportunity for other people to take their place. Examples would be Mandy Connell and Jeana Gondeck.
When I was at Pikes Peak Community College, I was exposed to podcasts, and that also opened up more of my talk radio world. I am certainly ready to explore more of this world by creating my own podcast called Jeremy’s Journey. I believe radio is wonderful, and so are podcasts. I also believe when I listen to talk radio, I feel the connection. In my producer Dan Mandis interview he said that podcasts are wonderful, but a podcast can’t give you that instant connection that the radio can. In May of 2023, Peter Boyles was talking about AM radio not being in cars anymore. In my opinion this was a sad thing to talk about, and many callers felt the same way. The callers that called in would really miss the talk radio in their cars. Peter Boyles asked was it going away? He hoped not, and I agreed with him. There was an update with this. It doesn’t seem that car radios are going away. Some laws are in the process of being passed to see that they don’t.
This is something I am happy about.
Thanks for tuning in.
Fall 2023 Radio and Podcast updates
Jeremy Levy back with you with some Colorado radio updates. “The Colorado Rockies can turn things around in the next few years.” Quote from Ed Henderson scout for the Colorado Rockies, and one of the Rockies insiders on KOA radio. The Colorado Rockies wrapped up their season the last weekend of September. The last broadcast of Rockies All access was on September 30, 2023. Jerry had Ed Henderson on. Ed said Azekiel Tobar, Brenton Doil, and Noland Jones were 3 players that really impressed him as players that can grow even more in the next couple of years. He also said the College pitchers they have signed are going to be great pitchers in the future. When they do get some of the older pitchers back that will help them as well. Ed is a great Rockies insider because he has been around the game for many years.
The CU Buffs are now 4 and 4 on the season. They made the September 30, 2023 game against the USC team a close one. They lost 49 to 42. The second half of the game was really exciting. They unfortunately lost their next game to Arizona State in a close one as well.
The Air Force Falcons are now 7 and 0 on the season. They have a great team this year. I love listening to the games on 104.3 the Ffan either on Friday nights or on Saturday nights. Jim Arthur is a great announcer for the team. I really enjoy listening to when he calls the games on the radio.
Paul Jaxon has taken over mornings on WBIG radio. He used to be with KBPI 106.7 when that was KBPI radio in Colorado. in the late 1990’s. It was 1998 to 1999. He worked with Willie Bee when Willie first started at KBPI radio. He replaces The Don Jeranemo Show on WBIG radio. That whole story of why Don is no longer with WBIG radio is that when he was at the Commanders training camp back at the end of July or the beginning of August he made a comment about a TV reporter that wasn’t flattering. Don was fired after that. Don used to host the nationally syndicated Don and Mike show on 1280 KRRF radio Colorado when that was a talk station in Colorado. Good luck to Jaxon. I hope he does well on WBIG radio. I e-mailed Jaxon to congratulate him about this, and he seems really excited to be taking over at WBIG radio.
Tyler Fry who was a host at 107.5 radio in Denver is now in Kansas City to take over a cumulus radio station there. Good luck to him. Tyler was with 107.5 radio in the early 2000’s.
If you have tuned into 91.1 K-love recently, and wondered where Skip Mahaffey went to? Well, Skip has not been on K-love’s morning show since August. October 9, 2023, I read that he has moved to take over programming of Pillar media in Cincinnati Ohio and New York. He will be on the air in Ohio, and just program the station in New York. I will miss him on K-love radio. He had a very calming and sincere voice. There is no word yet about who is replacing the Skip and Amy show on K-love.
A program director from the 80’s who did some work at KRXY radio in Denver has moved to Cumulus radio in Chicago to take over programming for WLS F.M. radio. This person would be Todd Cavanah. Good luck to him with that move. Long time viewers of my blog would remember him from the 80’s when he was with KRXY radio.
KUAD radio K-99 radio is looking for a co-host for its morning show. Interested candidates need to look at the Town Square website under the link jobs. They need to send their resume as soon as possible. Town Square is growing and they are looking for people.
Podcast highlight time! In this blog I would like to highlight the Odyssey Geek podcast. This podcast is hosted by Austin Peachy. He is a big Adventures in Odyssey fan just like I am, and he is a big audio theatre listener as well. In some of the Odyssey Geek podcasts, he highlights some of these audio dramas. One of my favorites is Paws and Tails. On these episodes he is joined by Michael La Favor who hosts some podcasts of his own which I will talk about in a future blog post. Austin announced that these podcasts will not be on the Odyssey Geek podcast feed anymore. Are these episodes going away? No, they are not going away! They are just going to be their own podcast called a walk through Wildwood. These will have the same great content that people have come to know and love. This will be coming soon, and I am really looking forward to these new episodes. Austin and Michael make a great team together reviewing and discussing the episodes. When the podcasts were on the Odyssey Geek feed, they were the most listened to podcasts. That is excellent news there.
There is a quick update with the audio theatre central podcast with the audio theatre awards that I blogged about last time. J. D. the host of the show thanked everyone for sending in feed back to him about this. He said they are still evaluating things. He really wants this show to be the very best audio drama presentations as possible. No decisions have been made yet They have a donation button on the audio Theatre Central website, and I would encourage people to donate to this website, so they can continue this wonderful work. This is still a developing story.
A podcast I have found recently is the Newest Olympian podcast. This podcast is about the Percy Jackson Fantasy book series and is hosted by Mike Schubert. As it is described in the introduction of the show, Mike is a 30 year old man who has never read the Percy Jackson book series, but he is reading them for the first time to see if this is a book series we are all sleeping on as a society. In my opinion the answer is yes. This sounds like a really fun book series. Coming up this Monday October 24, 2023 is Mike’s 100th episode of the show. This should be a great episode. I wonder if there will be anything special for the 100th episode. It turns out that for the 100 episode it is the live show from Chicago In some episodes of the show, he goes to a specific venue to perform the show live from an audience. He mentioned there are 4 shows coming in Texas in December.
Thanks for tuning in.
Fall updates 2023
Jeremy Levy back with you with some more updates for fall of 2023.
On Christian Salem station 94.7 KRKS their schedule has changed in the afternoons. They don’t have New Life Live on at 3 o’clock anymore. This show is a nationally syndicated call-in program that was broadcast in both Denver and Colorado Springs. Those who listen to that show will have to listen to it on 10.7 the word in Colorado Springs at 11 o’clock a.m. This station is also owned by Salem Communications. I got this information from Tom Moller who does mornings on 94.7 KRKS radio. The website says that New life Live is still on at 3 o’clock on 94.7 KRKS radio- this is INCORRECT.
“Touch Down! Touch Down CU Buffs! This is amazing I haven’t seen anything like this!” Mark Johnson play by play announcer of the CU Buffs. Mark Johnson has called 3 very exciting first games of the Deion Sanders Erra of the CU Buffs on in September of 2023. The games were against TCU in Dallas Texas, Nebraska, and CSU in Colorado. The Buffs won the first game 45 to 42. The quarter back for the Buffs is Deion’s son Shadeur. Deion said that many people didn’t have belief in the team, but that they had belief in themselves. It is great to hear the team talking that way. I am hoping for a successful season with the CU Buffs. As a college football fan, I root for two teams in Colorado to do well, the CU Buffs and the Air Force Falcons football team. The reason why I root for Air Force is because that is close to the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind in Colorado Springs where I went to school during my high school years. The reason why I root for CU is because 850 and 94.1 KOA radio are two of my favorite radio stations to listen to, and they are the flagship stations for the CU Buffs. The game against CSU was amazing and a late night for everyone involved.
Rod Mackey is no longer with KUSA TV as it’s sports reporter and has moved to KCNC TV channel 4. This is a great move for him. He said when he left channel 9 that he really enjoyed his time with KUSA 9. He said that Kathy Sabine, and Matt Renoux have been there the longest, and he was glad to be with channel 9 for that long period of time. Who will be the next sports anchor for KUSA TV? We will have to wait and find out.
“Another successful ATC Senica awards”. J. D. Sutter from the audio theatre central podcast. One of the podcasts I really enjoy listening to is the Audio theatre Central podcast hosted by J. D. Sutter. Every year they put together an awards ceremony for the best audio theatre family audio dramas. This is the only thing of this kind out there. This isn’t like the Grammies or the Oscars. This is a special awards ceremony. It takes some very hard work by J. D. It takes 8 months out of the year to put this together. J. D. has recently had some stresses in his life. One of the big stresses in his life is this awards ceremony because he is involved with it in some big way. His doctor has told him to take some of the stresses out of his life. J.D. has a full-time job. Much of the preparation for the awards has to be done at night and on the weekends. He has a great time doing the awards every year. It isn’t profitable to do this every year. They need to find some sponsors for it every year as well. J. D. explained that he doesn’t mean for this to sound like a begging for money segment. It is coming out of his finances. For the first couple of years of the event, J. D. had to pre-screen the submissions. In the last couple of years, he had to bring in help because many of the submissions didn’t meet the criteria that he was looking for. They weren’t family friendly. That is a concern. J.D. doesn’t know if people are intentionally trying to slip something past him, and the people that help with the awards. They don’t charge people to submit their projects. It is free to submit the projects. It hasn’t grown like they hoped it would. J. D. is wondering would they need to charge money for the awards? JD’s question is what would it take for people to show up and watch it live? J. D. wants to hear from the listeners about this. I am a loyal listener to this podcast, and I know that J.D. would love to hear from friends of my blog to e-mail him to let them know their thoughts. I don’t want this to end. There are ways to make it more enjoyable or more profitable. I am not an expert on this. I will be letting him know my thoughts, and I would encourage you to let him know your thoughts. You can e-mail him at J.D.at audiotheatrecentralpodcast.com or at feedback@audiotheatrecentral.com. I loved listening to this episode. Adventures in Odyssey (my favorite Audio Theater drama) really cleaned up big this year in the awards. One other note- September is their anniversary month. They started in 2010. J. D. is hoping to keep the blog and podcast coming for years to come. That is great news there.
Some sad news to report for Dan Caplis and the Caplis family. Dan’s youngest sister Joanne passed away suddenly on Thursday night the 7th of September. Dan went back for the funeral. Dan wasn’t on Friday the 8th of September. Kristy Berton Brown filled in for him, and said to keep Dan and his family in your prayers as they go through this difficult time.
Steffan Tubbs went on a vacation to Florida the first week in September. Randy Corporon and Peter Boyles were my favorite fill ins for him.
“A new generation of 1043 KKFN Sports radio is on its way”. Announcer of the Fan. Yes, you read that right! KKFN 104.3 the Fan has a new line up. They have 2 new mid-day shows. The morning show is still hosted by Mike Evans and Mark Schlereth, but they will be adding an extra hour. Their show will be on from 6-10 A.m. The show that was hosted by Orlando Franklin, Chad Brown, and Nate Jackson that was on from 9-11 A.m. has been taken off the air They have been let go from the station. Who is on starting at 10 O’clock? It is Brandon Stokley, but he is joined by Josh Dover. As many of you know Josh was with Altitude Sports radio 92.5 radio for 7 years. The show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is called Josh and Stoke. Where did Zach Bye go, Stokley’s former co-host? Well, Zach has taken over as host of the drive show from 2 P.m. to 6 o’clock P.m. Who is Zach co-hosting with? Well, it is none other than Phillip Lindsey former running back for the CU Buffs, and the Denver Broncos. Where did Darren Mckey go? Daren has been cut from the station. Darren wrote on twitter that it is now on to the next opportunity. Some listeners weren’t happy with the show that Darren was doing with Derek Wolf. Derek left at the end of July. In my opinion The Fan had trouble finding a great partner for Darren. Some people were saying the show was better when Alfred Williams was co-hosting with Darren. Alfred seems happier on 850 KOA radio. He has matured on KOA radio. Who will replace Josh on Altitude Sports radio? We will have to wait and find out. They haven’t named a co-host with Scott Hastings and Tyler Polumbus.
Jimmy Sengenberger had his 10-year anniversary show on Saturday the 23rd of September. It was a great show. He had his grandpa on the show. His grandpa first got him listening to Rush Limbaugh when he was 12 or 13 years old. It brought back some wonderful memories for me of when I used to visit my grandparents, and I used to listen to talk radio in Florida, or New York. Sometimes I used to record tapes of me doing a radio show, and my Grandpa Ed would be a caller to the show. I think that Grandpa Ed and Grandma Bernice would be proud of my starting my own podcasts. Thanks for tuning in.
Late summer radio changes and Broncos
Jeremy Levy back with you to write more about some late summer 2023 radio and TV changes.
Alex Waters has taken over nights on KKMG 98.9 radio in Colorado Springs. This will be a great move for him.
Audacy has tapped DJ Buck as ks107.5 radio program director. He is still programming the FM
Audacy Hip Hop station in Conneticut. Audacy has been making changes to its radio stations to save money. This means that different program directors have been programming Audacy stations that are not in the state that the station is in. In my opinion, this isn’t a smart thing for them to do because if a station has a problem there wouldn’t be a program director there to help with the problem.
The Colorado radio blog wants to send its condolences to the family of Frank Cody who passed away recently. Frank was the one who formed KBPI radio, and he also formed many of the smooth jazz radio stations around the country. He might have even formed KHIH radio which was a smooth jazz radio station in Colorado. People will miss him. If you would like to check out his work his website is still working at Frankcody.com.
Brit Moreno has taken leave from KXAN TV. She has been having some emotional
issues. I got this information from Mike Mcguff blog. I hope that Brit gets better soon, and will be back
soon on KXAN TV.
John Moug is no longer working for Lotus KPLZ radio in Washington. John was
with 92.5 KWOF radio when that was a country station. John and his co-host Angie have a short non-
compete clause and are available immediately. In Seattle their show performed well, but they are looking for their next opportunity. Good luck to them whatever their next opportunity.
“Another successful Taste of Douglas County for their 24th year.” Quote from Mike Boyle from the Mike Boyle restaurant show. Yes, the 24th annual Taste of Douglas County was held on Thursday August 17, 2023, at the Douglas County Events center. Steffan Tubbs was broadcasting from there this year again, and did a wonderful job covering the event. Congratulations to Mike Boyle for the 24th successful event in August.
The week before Steffan Tubbs was out with a lung illness. He was back on Tuesday August 15, 2023. He seemed to be feeling better.
Speaking of 710 KNUS, Peter Boyles had a great trip to Sturgis, South Dakota.
Before the trip in July, Peter Boyles had Gary Defrange, Tom Tancredo, and Frank Diangelis on
the show. That was a fun show to listen to, and you can listen to the podcast on the Peter Boyles
710 KNUS radio website. They had a great time together.
Ross Kaminsky was broadcasting from Bronco’s training camp on Thursday August 17, 2023. That was a great live broadcast. My Dad and I attended Bronco training camp that day. The Broncos started limiting the number of people attending and we needed reservations, but it still seemed as crowded as other years. There is a lot of optimism with new Coach Sean Payton. I'm hoping they make the playoffs.
Howard Garett is no longer on 1460 the answer on Sunday evenings from 5-7. He is still on Sundays from 7-10 AM right before the Mike Boyle restaurant show. Howard is national, but he has great tips about
Colorado gardens. Many people really enjoy listening to him in Colorado Springs.
At the beginning of July Dan Caplis went on a vacation to Africa. He said it was a great trip. Kristy Berton
Brown, Ryan Schueling, and Jon Caldara were fill ins. Those were great shows.
Also at the end of July Tom Martino the Troubleshooter on 630 KHOW radio had a second back surgery. It was to repair a disk in his back. The surgery went fine, but he had to spend a couple of extra days in the
hospital. He is back home now, and he is recovering well. Thanks for tuning in.
Spring/Summer 2023 updates
Jeremy Levy back with you to write more about some more Colorado radio changes.
The Colorado Avalanche were in the playoffs again this year, but they were swept in the second round of the playoffs. They just didn’t have the depth this year. I am looking forward to next year. In April, when the Avs were playing the Kraken of Seattle, I e-mailed Dick Fain who is one of the sports hosts on KJR 93.3 radio in Seattle, and he said that the Kraken were a hungrier bunch. They needed to play a complete game if they had a chance of winning. Luck would have it, that is what happened. The Avs lost and the Kraken won.
After the Nuggets won the NBA trophy, I found a video on you tube with the announcer of the Nuggets Jason Cosmitsky. This was from channel 9. Kim Christiansen asked him if he knew what he was going to say when the Nuggets won the trophy. He said that he wrote it all out. He didn’t want to mess it up.
Mike Evans (morning show host of KKFN radio’s morning show) was very confident about the Nuggets being successful in the playoffs. If you would like to check this out, there is an article about it on Barrett’s sports media.
One of the podcasts I listen to, the Audio Theatre Central Podcast, has a couple of openings on the Audio Drama Alliance. They are looking for sound designers, and some composers for their audio dramas. If you are interested, you can go to the website Audio Drama Alliance.com, and fill out the form. They will get back to you. I have found the Audio Theatre Central Podcast to be a great podcast over the years. This is hosted by J. D. Sutter. On the podcast they said that you don’t have to have vast experience.
For those of you in The Colorado Springs area, you might remember a TV multi-media journalist named Chandler Jordan. After leaving KRDO TV news, he moved to Texas for a couple of years. Now he is moving to South Carolina to WIS TV in South Carolina. Good luck to him. He graduated from a school in North Carolina, so he is closer to where he graduated.
Tyler Gunter has taken over some radio stations in Elco Co. Tyler is in charge of 5 T LLC. He has acquired Elco broadcasting from Paul and Ketra Gardener. These stations are KELK, Jack Fm, KRJC, KLKO, and Fox sports KEAU radio. This is exciting for him. He was previously with the company a few years ago. He owned a real estate company before.
KDZA returns to Pueblo. Mountain radio group has shifted Variety hits (101.9 the lake) to KDZA radio station. This would be classic hits. It is a great move for them.
Shawn Lucero has left KILO and KRXP radio in Colorado Springs. He has moved to Denver to become program director of 102.3 the sound in Denver. This is a public radio station that plays Colorado music. Congratulations to him.
In April, IHeart media went through some re-structuring. This affected Colorado as Mike Rice and Susan Whitken have left KOA radio. Mike Rice was let go. Perhaps he might resurface again when the Bronco’s season gets going again. Susan Whitken has retired. Good luck to the both of them. I will miss them. Haley Mae has taken over doing news for the Mandy Connell show. At the beginning of June Mandy Connell had throat surgery and was off the air until July 7, 2023. Krista Kafer, Mary Walter, Ross Kaminsky, Jon Caldara, and Ryan Schueling have been filling in for her. Good wishes go out to her.
The weekend of July 15, Jon Caldara of the independence institute, participated again in the Courage Classic bike ride for Children’s hospital. This is always a great supportive event for Children’s hospital. Jon was on the Dan Caplis show the week before and mentioned if people can support the cause at the Independence Institute website. I have donated to this in past years, and I would encourage you to do the same.
Good wishes go out to Michael Brown of 630 KHOW radio. He had some back surgery and Ryan Schueling was his fill in on the days that he was gone.
Speaking of talk radio stations, 710 KNUS has been having some changes in their programming. Matt Dunn, who hosts Back Bone radio on Sunday nights was off the air in April and May. He came back in the middle of May and explained his absence from the station saying that his wife had cancer. He had to take care of his kids while she was going through treatment. It is great having him back on Sundays. When Matt Dunn was taking care of that, Randy Corporon was a fill in for him some Sundays. After Matt came back, Matt has been filling in on Randy’s show on Saturday evenings from 5-8. The reason is Randy’s wife, Tonya, passed away. She had been having some medical issues. If you would like to read the obituary of Randy’s wife, you can do this at https://www.dignitymemorial.com
The Colorado radio blog sends its condolences to the whole Corporon family. I found out last Saturday that Randy will be back the 28th of July.
Craig Carton has left WFAN radio to do some TV work for FSN. If you remember in past blogs, Craig started in Colorado with 950 KKFN radio, and spent a little time at KBPI radio as well. Good luck to Craig. If you are looking for a couple of podcasts to listen to, I have a couple of new ones to check out. The first one is about the newer episodes of Adventures in Odyssey which is an audio drama that I really enjoy. This podcast is called All Things Adventures in Odyssey and is hosted by clint. The link is
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-things-adventures-in-odyssey-an-unofficial-podcast/id1693273384
The second podcast is called Hot Mike with Scott Hastings and Andy Lindahl. I didn’t know that Andy and Scott Hastings did a podcast until recently. I listened to the most recent episode and they talked about some good things. They were talking with people on the phone instead of texting people to talk to them before they started getting into Colorado sports. You can find this podcast at
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hot-mic-with-hastings-lindahl/id1493146377
Thanks for tuning in.
Radio updates
Jeremy Levy back with you with some more radio updates. I first wanted to send my condolences to Tad Swensen’s family. Tad used to be with Kool 105 radio in Colorado. My friend Gary Outlaw told me that he passed away. Condolences to him and his family.
Speaking of family. Tyler Polumbus hasn’t been on 92.5 Altitude Sports radio. He will be back as he is gone for family reasons. Scott Hastings and Josh Dover have been doing a great job holding down the fort while he has been gone. Tyler was back on Tuesday January 31, 2023.
Speaking of sports radio 104.3 the fan. Derek Wolfe shared a story with Daron Mckey about when he hunted a mountain lion. Barett’s sports media had an interesting article about his experience, and how some of the national sports media thought about the story. This article discussed how Pat McAfee heard the story. Derek thought it was interesting. If you would like to check it out it is under the sports radio news section of the Barrett’s sports media website.
104.3 the Fan has started a new brand. The brand is Denver sports. They got in trouble with some of the branding. There is a lawsuit going on relating to the brand. This is a developing story. The Denver sports will also have a new app to go along with it.
Jessamyn McIntyre has been named program director of 93.3 KJR radio after the departure of their program director left to take the program director post at 92.5 Altitude Sports radio. This program director is Kevin Shockey.
Good wishes go out to Dave Logan who is recovering from throat issues he has been dealing with. He was back at the start of the third week in January. Ryan Edwards has been named the third co-host of the KOA radio sports zoo from 3-6 on 850 KOA radio congratulations to him
Good wishes also go out to Dan Caplis and his wife Amy. Amy fell in their home and had to have surgery. Dan was off with her for the last couple weeks of January, but was back on January 30, 2023
On 710 KNUS, good wishes go out to Steffan Tubbs who had some hand surgery. He will be back at the start of the fourth week in January.
The show bird talk had their last show on 710 KNUS back a couple of weeks ago. Barb Shlinker’s Colorado Springs Real Estate show is on during their time period. Good luck to Dave and Scott with their retirement. They sold the stores to their franchise partners. The stores are still around. I’ve been listening to them since the late 90’s. Peter Boyles had them on his show, and it was a great interview. You can go back and listen to that hour on the podcasts page on the 710 KNUS radio website. I met Scott, and David at the stores when they did a broadcast, and it was a great time. I will miss Dave and Scott’s show.
Randy Corporon has moved to 5-8 PM now on Saturdays. That is great news there.
Dana Meyers has been named morning host on KVOQ radio. KVOQ is owned by Colorado public radio. It is located at 102.5 on the dial. She replaces Jeremy Peterson. Jeremy is no longer with the station. She started at KVOQ radio on January 16. Dana most recently worked for WZBA in Baltimore Mariland. She got her radio start at the student radio station at the University of Boulder. The people at the station will miss Jeremy, but the station is very grateful to have found Dana.
The station 101.5 radio has a new title for the station now called Jammin 101.5 and will be branded as the R and B hits from yesterday and today. Kathy J., has been named Mid-day host on the station. Kathy was most recently with Fox 31 news doing her mid-day show. This is good news for her.
Thanks for tuning in.
Denver Nuggets blog
“You can take the D out of the Dover because this thing is over! The Denver Nuggets have won the 2023 NBA finals! The Denver Nuggets are at the top of the NBA world!” said Jason Cosmitsky Denver Nuggets radio announcer.
“The Denver Nuggets are going to become world champions!” Lou from Littleton former 850 KOA radio host said , when he joined Julie Browman on the Dave Logan podcast. Julie’s reaction was what really? Really?
If you remember in my blog from last summer about the Avalanche, then you would remember the question being asked: Who will be the next Colorado team to make it to the finals? This question has been answered this year in the Denver Nuggets winning the trophy.
Jeremy Levy back with you to write about the Nuggets run to the NBA finals. I’m going to take you back to the start of the 2023 Denver Nuggets play offs. Winning the championship has been something that the Nuggets haven’t done in their 47 year existence. They have been in the play offs before, but they never have won the trophy. . They first played the Minnesota Timber Wolves. They won that series in 4 games. Then they played the Phoenix Suns. They lost a game against the Suns at home. Julie and Lou from Littleton substituting for Dave Logan on the Dave Logan podcast were hoping that this wouldn’t be the end of the Nuggets run. Lou was right again. They won that series in 5 games. It was the gentleman’s sweep. My friend Kathy Blanchard who lives in Arizona was hoping that the Nuggets would win. She was excited for that series. She said that she didn’t want the Suns to win. 98.9 KMVP hosts were a little bit sad that the Suns didn’t win. The next series was against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nuggets won that series in 4 games. Kathy Blanchard wrote to me after the fourth game “Bye By, Lakers!.” I was feeling very confident that the Nuggets were going to win the NBA trophy after that game. Then it was onto the Miami Heat. My prediction was that the Nuggets were going to win the series against the Heat in 5 games. I was right with this prediction Julie Harrison my former music teacher at CSDB e-mailed me a friends reaction to the series- Julie wasn’t a basketball fan, but she had a friend of hers that was. He thought the Nuggets really had a great team. Melissa Riveros who lives Near Miami Florida said that she was excited for the series. She said she was happy the Nuggets won.
Bret Cain said at the start of the play offs that this is the Nuggets year. He thought the team really stuck together. On the last night that the Nuggets won, it was loud at the stadium. Dave Logan said that everyone was standing at the beginning of the 4, quarter, and they didn’t sit down until a half an hour after the game ended. Dave Logan got to go to some of the games. He hopes that people notice the wonderful talent that the Nuggets have in Nicola. My 2 favorite players are Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Jamal and Nicola Jokic are the best duo’s in the game now. Dave Logan said that those 2 are really special players. Scott Hastings was really excited about the Nuggets winning the trophy. I have been a listener of Scott’s since 2004. I know that he has been in Colorado for some special moments. He has been in Colorado for Super Bowls and a couple of Stanley cups, but this was his first time calling a Denver Nuggets championship. This must have been really special for him. You could hear the excitement in his voice when he was color commentating on the radio. Bret Cain and Mark Moser went to the game together. As the seconds counted down Mark Moser was blubbering like a fool. He was so happy for them. Vick Lombardi asked a great question. What does this mean for the fans? I liked that question and I will answer that at the end of this post. Bret Cain got to go into the locker room after the last game. This was one of the best moments of his life. Bret Cain said it was a very loud locker room. They had music blaring and players were really happy. Altitude Sports radio 92.5 radio had coverage all of Monday night into Tuesday morning, and so did 104.3 KKFN radio. The parade took place Thursday June 15, 2023. KOA radio was broadcasting live bright and early on Thursday morning. They started at 5 o’clock. Marty Lenz and Brandon Kristzahl were in Civic Center Park. Jeanna Gondek had the weekend off. It would have been great to have her opinion being a transplant from Michigan. Ross Kaminsky and Ryan Edwards were broadcasting from the parade route. My 2 favorite parts of listening on 850 KOA were two former staff members from KOA radio came out of retirement for the big parade. These 2 people were John Morrisey and Jerry Bell. John used to be the KOA radio traffic reporter. He used to do many traffic reports from the KOA helicopter. For this parade he was broadcasting from the helicopter. Jerry Bell was broadcasting from different places around the parade route. It was good to hear John and Jerry’s voices again. I hope they are doing well in their retirements, and I am hoping they are doing well. They sounded the same as ever. KOA radio was the only station covering the parade from the sky. The second best coverage was Altitude sports radio. They had all of the crew. Altitude sports radio was noisier and louder than 850 KOA radio’s coverage was. Michael Malone was really proud of the team. His speech at the end of the season was “We want More,! More,! I certainly agree with this. Many of the fans were really excited about the Nuggets winning the trophy. Dave Logan said last week that he thinks there were more people at the parade than last year with the Avalanche parade last year There weren’t as many people as there were for the Bronco’s superbowl parade. When the Denver teams are doing well it really brings people together After the parade, Nate Kreckman and Andy Lindahl talked about the coverage. They talked about a story with a woman reporter asking a fan who is a kid what they thought about the championship Denver Nuggets? The child fan was kind of shy and didn’t answer the question. Nate, Andy, and I felt sorry for the reporter. Brandon Kristzahl got to hold the trophy. He got to see Nicola in the truck close up. That was a big highlight for him. Speaking of duo’s, I liked what Lois Melkonian put in her newsletter. She wrote that Jamal and Nicola had a couple of Triple Doubles in the game. She was encouraging saying that people can be their own triple Doubles, and to work hard for what you want. I am hoping through this blog and my podcast that I have shown you some of the people I have considered to be people who are Triple Doubles. Some examples are: Steve Kelley, April Zesbaugh, Steffan and April, Marty Lenz and April, Marty and Jeanna Gondek, Dave Logan, Scott Hastings, Dave, and Susie, Dave and Lois, and Mike Rice, Jack Corrigan, and Jerry Schemmel, and many others. I have learned from these people that hard work pays off. These people and many others I didn’t mention have brought the triple Double attitudes to their work every day This is where my hard work attitude comes from. . In my life, I appreciate these people. That’s what this season means to me. I appreciate all of you supporting me through out my life.
Thanks for tuning in.
Children's authors
Today, I would like to share with you about two of my favorite authors from when I was younger.
One would be Beverly Cleary. Beverly was born on April 12, 1916. And died on March 25, 2021. She had a long life. She was 104 when she passed away. When Beverly was a child, she was a troublemaker, and she didn’t like reading. As Beverly got older, she wondered why didn’t authors write books about kids like her. This was interesting to me because when I started with the idea for this blog, I wondered why a blog wasn’t there that talked about talk radio and Colorado radio. After College, Beverly became a librarian, and was forced to ask this question again. This is why she became an author. From an article in the New York times I read about her she has published over 40 books., She has also sold over 90 million copies and she won many awards. In 2000 the Library of Congress declared her a living legend. Many of her stories grew out of Beverly’s own life. One thing I didn’t know before was that Beverly was an only child. Beverly wrote in one of her memoirs that she felt restless, angry, rebellious, disloyal, and guilty even though her parents were told that they had a wonderful child. In my opinion Beverly’s books still do resonate with kids today. It said in the New York Times article that Beverly wrote that Ramona helped her process the world that she grew up in. In writing my blog, it has helped me process the radio world around me. I feel I am very fortunate that I have gotten to share my interviews through this blog. I feel that learning about these hosts has helped me process the radio world around me.
I first was introduced to Beverly when I was 5 or 6 years old. I listened to the book called Ellen Tebbits. This story showed 2 girls who became best friends. This book showed me how important friendship is. I remember my mom and dad reading the Henry Huggins book series to me as well. Henry was a character that I could relate to. Around this time, I remember one of my teachers Mrs. Lisa Hardert reading Dear Mr. Henshaw. This story was interesting to me. The book taught me that teachers care about the things that their students are going through As I have gotten older, I feel it would be great to write to some of my favorite authors. The name of the second article I read had a verry fitting title in my opinion. Beverly wrote about real life, and her readers loved her for it. I couldn’t have said it better myself. The question that one article asked was from the Newberry medal award to the national book award. Will Beverly Cleary’s books remain in the imagination of every child who met Ramona, Beezus, Henry Huggins, and his dog Ribsy, or any of her dear flawed characters? The answer for me was a resounding yes. When I used to read the books in Braille, or when I used to listen to them on tape, and situations came up I would think, I could relate to that situation, and it helped me in my childhood when these types of situations would come up in my life.
After reading all of those books, when I was 7, I started listening to the Ramona Quimby books. This series was about a girl named Ramona who had a wild imagination and would always get herself into some kind of a mess. I could tell that Ramona was a stubborn character. Some of the parts of those books were humorous. One of my favorite scenes was when Ramona wore her pajamas to school. That was a humorous and an embarrassing chapter. Beverly wanted her books to speak for themselves and resisted publicity. She named the street for the Ramona books after a neighborhood that she grew up in. Beverly wrote in her second book about her life. In my opinion that is very true. People will remember her books for the intelligent wit. In her later books, Beverly said that Ramona was more aware of her growing up. This is something that I have learned as well. The way I heard about Beverly’s death was from a radio host Richard Mckan who hosts a home improvement talk radio show on WRVA radio. He talked about how he used to read her books and enjoyed them. This brought back many fun memories for me. Thanks to Beverly for her imaginative, and creative books, and imagination.
Patricia Reilly Giff. Patricia was born on April 26, 1935. And passed away on June 22, 2022. She had a long life. She grew up in Brooklyn New York. One of the colleges that she attended was Hofstra University. This is where she got one of her degrees. Giff resided in Trumbull, Connecticut. Other authors that wrote similar books to hers were Elise Broach and Tonny Abbot. Giff was married to Jim and had 2 children Alice and William. She was a teacher before coming an author, and her first books came through her teaching experiences. Her first series of books were the Polk Street School series. Her characters in this series represented some of the children in her classes when she was a teacher. My favorite character was Dawn Bosco. Dawn was very much like me because she really enjoyed mysteries. Dawn wanted to be a detective when she grew up, and she started by solving mysteries in school. My favorite book featuring Dawn was one where Dawn went to camp and solved a mystery there. Back then the name Dawn became one of my favorite names. When I would hear the name Dawn it always made me think of the character Dawn Bosco from the Patricia Reilly Giff books. Patricia also wrote the book Pictures of Hollis Woods. This was about a girl in Foster care. I remember reading this in Mrs. Campbell’s class, and the book brought out many emotions in me. Patricia won a Newberry award for that book.
Patricia’s children William and Alice honored her this way. This was taken from an obituary I read about her. "Our mom was a warm, loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. A mentor to a generation of writers, she inspired everyone with her humor, positivity and friendship. She made everyone feel special." When I read her books, I found that to be true. I will always remember her characters, and how they would forgive themselves in the books when they couldn’t forgive themselves personally.
In my opinion Patricia and Beverly Cleary were two fantastic authors who wrote books that kids, and adults could relate to. When I started my writing of stories, I think of these 2 authors and try to write stories that people of all ages can relate to.
Thanks for tuning in.
Winter Colorado Radio and TV updates
Jeremy Levy back with you to write more about radio and TV changes.
The biggest news for KOA radio is they have hired someone to replace April Zesbaugh on KOA radio from 5 to 9 AM. It is Jeana Gondek. Jeana is originally from Michigan where she started her career there and then she moved to Jacksonville Florida. She was with WOKV in Jacksonville. Jeana has joined Marty Lenz on Colorado’s morning news. This is great news for KOA radio I think that Jeana will become one of my new favorites in this era of radio.
Gary Shapiro has semi-retired from KUSA TV channel 9. He will still help out on special projects. Jordan Chavez has taken Gary’s spot-on KUSA TV. Jordan came from KAMR Amerillo Texas which is the NBC affiliate there.
Natasha Verma has left KUSA TV as well at the end of 2022. She was there for 3 years.
Jim Benemann has retired from KCNC TV channel 4 at the beginning of December of 2022. Good luck to Jim. I remember Jim being at KCNC TV for a long time. April Zesbaugh talked with him during her last week at KOA radio, and it sounded like he was looking forward to retirement. Michael Spencer has taken over for Jim on KCNC 4.
In October of 2022 Dereck Wolfe was named co-host of the Fan Afternoon show with Darren McKee. Congratulations to him.
Tyler Polumbus has joined the mid-day show with Scott Hastings and Josh Dover. Altitude Sports radio has also added a new show from 10-12 hosted by Chris Dempsey. It is called Dempsey and Company. That is a great show to listen to. Josh, Tyler, and Scott come on from 12 until 3 PM, and Andy Lindahl, and Nate Kreckman come on from 3-6 PM.
KALC radio had a holiday concert called Alice in Wonderland at the Fillmore auditorium starring many of the bands that they play. This was a great concert that they had.
Art Labow passed away at age 90. Art coined the oldies but goodies slogan for stations like Kool 105. He died in California.
The Country radio awards are out, and the Bobby Bones show was selected as large national country morning show of the year. That is great news for them.
Rich Valdes has been named the host of the Jim Bohannon show after Jim’s departure from the show. Valdes has served as a sub host for the Mark Lavin show. The show will feature a mix of guests and features. Rich said that no one can replace Jim, but he is looking forward to the opportunity.
Nia Bender who did traffic is now back doing some shifts on News radio 850 KOA radio. She was doing traffic for 99.5 The Mountain.
Thanks for tuning in.
Barbara Walters Tribute
Jeremy’s Barbra Walters blog. Jeremy Levy back with you. Today I’m going to write a blog about Barbara Walters. Barabra was born on September 25, 1929, and died on December 29, 2022. She was married 3 times. She worked from 1959 until her retirement in 2015. She was famous from being a news correspondent for ABC news.
My first experience with Barbara Walters came when I was watching Sesame Street. In the late 1980’s Sesame Street did a special of different celebrities’ singing songs with different characters. This special was called Put Down the Duckie. As I wrote about in my Bob Mcgrath tribute, Barbra Walters came to Sesame Street to find out what Bob Mcgrath was really like. They talked about her job as a news correspondent. They sang a verse of People in Your neighborhood together. Barbra asked Bob Mcgrath about something personal that many people wanted to know about. She asked the question this way: “Bob, everyone knows that you and Linda have been keeping company for a time. Where is this relationship going and do you two have any future plans?” Bob Mcgrath said, “As a matter-of-fact Linda, and I are making plans.” Barbra asked, “Could you tell us about them?” Bob’s response, “I would love to. Tomorrow we are going to go to the park, and then Linda and I are going back to her place for a game of checkers. Those are our plans.” Barbra acted as if she seemed a little taken aback with the answer.
The second special that Barbara was in was All-star 25 birthday Stars on the Street Forever. In this episode she was a news anchor. She explained that a grouch by the name of Ronald Grump wanted to destroy Sesame Street forever. She then went to a reporter to tell us more. In my opinion, Barbara was in her element as a news anchor on Sesame Street. At the end of the special Sesame Street was saved.
I know that many news anchors when they were growing up loved watching Barbara Walters knowing that someday they wanted to grow up to be news anchors as well. Barbara wrote a book about her life called audition. I might read this book one of these days. On an episode of the Howard Stern show, he asked what was the obsession to do everything? She answered in her book she talked about her father being a manager of clubs. He owned these clubs in Boston and New York. He lost everything. He lost his wealth from owning the clubs. Barbara had to work. She felt like she was always on the outside looking in. Later in her career the host of the Tonight Show after Hughe Downs wouldn’t allow Barbara to ask any of the serious questions. The hosts' name was Frank McGee.
Barbara’s sister was disabled. The other kids would make fun of her. Barbara’s sister died of Ovarian Cancer 15 or 20 years ago. Her sister was the most influence in her life. When she was writing her book, she wanted to call the book Sister. She never resented her. When they were growing up Barbara had the good looks. Barbara also has a daughter named Jackie. Her sister was named Jackie as well. Her daughter runs a program for adolescent girls called New Horizons. It is a therapeutic program. Because of her sister Barbara said in the interview that she had an understanding and a passion that she might not have had if her sister didn’t have the disability. She had much empathy for her because she had to take care of her.
Barbara didn’t worry about her hair when she was on TV. People recognized her from her voice. She said this during an interview with Cathy and Judy from 720 WGN radio interview. Barbara told the quick story in this interview when she was with her daughter in Bloomingdales in New York, she told her not to touch what was on the shelves. Someone would say “Aren’t you Barbara Walters?” She thought that was funny When this interview was done Barbara was at a great place in her life. When she was writing the book her worst fear was losing the book on the computer.
Barbara Walters never liked to drive. She took lessons, but she never liked to drive. She received a star on the Hollywood walk of fame in 2000 as well as other awards. She was close friends with Tom Brokaw. She also was friends with Joan Rivers. In my opinion she gave women in news radio a good start like Denver's own Lois Melkonian and April Zesbaugh. One of her best friends was Beverly Sills, who was an operatic soprano. 10 years after leaving the New York Opera she gave Barbara a ring. The ring said, "I did that already.” The advice in that ring when you feel you have done that already than you don’t have to audition anymore. Thanks for tuning in.
Sesame Street's Bob McGrath
Today I’m going to do something a little bit different and talk about one of my favorite TV characters who has passed away. The Colorado Radio Blog wants to send its deepest condolences to the family of Bob Mcgrath. Bob Mcgrath played Bob Johnson the music teacher on Sesame Street for 30 plus years. He passed away at the age of 90 with complications of a stroke. He was an original member of Sesame Street, He died at his home in New Jersey. He was born on June 13, 1932 and passed away December 4, 2022.
Barbara Walters (who just passed away) said, “Bob who is he? The man behind the Alphabet songs, and the great sorting games, and songs. What was he really like?" Barbara went to Sesame Street to find out. They sang a verse of "People in your Neighborhood" together.
Even though I never knew Bob personally, I feel like I got to know him through Sesame Street After watching that segment, it made me wan"t to pursue a news job. I’m doing something much better with my podcast.
A New York times article on his passing said, "When he first auditioned for the show, it was an old fraternity friend who told him about the project. He wasn’t interested in the project at first. The friend told him it was a Kid’s show on PBS. He had never seen a Muppet or ever heard of Jim Henson the puppeteer. After looking at some of the animation and some of the segments of the show he knew this show would be different. One thing that I didn’t know from this article was what the Sesame Street stage looked like. The article described it this way: The set was an urban brownstone stoop in front of a building's dark green doors and beside it’s collection of garbage cans. The article said that the character of Bob was reliably Easy going, and polite whether he was dealing with Oscar the Grouch, Elmo the red monster, or Big Bird. He was always this way whether he was singing the song “ People in your Neighborhood”, talking about concerns with young kids and Muppets, or visiting grouchy town with Oscar the Grouch which is one of the most popular scenes of the show.
Bob Mcgrath had this role on Sesame Street from 1969 through 2016. In 2016, Bob, Rosco Orman who played Gordon, and Amelio Delgado who played Louis were fired from the show. Fans of the show for a long time were angry about this including me. How could this show do this? I wondered to myself. I grew up with Bob’s calming presence on the show. I didn’t think it was fair for them to fire Bob, and the other cast members of the show.
The show Sesame Street wasn’t the same without them there. The show Sesame Street I knew growing up, and the show it is now are very different. The show now is a half an hour instead of an hour. The show now teaches different concepts than what I remember growing up. Bob was a big part of teaching concepts during the show If you would like to check out an interview that Bob and Amelio did together at one of the Comic Cons you can find it on YouTube. They explained why they were let go.
The first time I remember hearing Bob was on the Sesame Street book and record. The first words I remember from this record was “Hello Everybody.” The first song I remember Bob singing when I was listening to this record was I’ve got two. Which was a song about the things on a person’s body that they have two of. The song started out in my third favorite key which is C and went up three keys to E flat Sometimes when Bob would start a song, he would have simple instructions which made the listener feel very comfortable to join into the song.
I also loved that the human cast were very encouraging to each other. When one of them would sing one of the verses. Gordon in particular was hesitant about singing his verse. It seemed to me that Bob made it easy for him. The second song I remember from this record was the song was called What Babies are Called. Bob sang this one with Susan who was played by Loretta Long. Bob and Susan had a great friendship on the show. This song was written by Joe Raposo who was a writer of some of the songs for Sesame Street. I have heard both versions of the song, and I think that Bob and Susan’s version was the best version. After they sang some of the lines, they put in their own reactions to what they were singing about. For example: Susan would sing: Lions and Leopards have cubs which is the proper thing for them to do.” Bob’s reaction to this was very proper.”
Bob interacted well with the Muppet characters on the show. Anyone watching or listening to the show would be able to understand this. Later on, in the same album after Oscar sang "I love Trash", Bob Mcgrath said after the song that singing that song must have made Oscar very happy. Oscar had trouble admitting that. Bob said he could tell by the smile on his face. Oscar’s nick name for Bob Mcgrath was Mr. Blue eyes because of his eyes. They were blue.
Bob Mcgrath was always good about picking up on emotions from the Muppet characters. In one of my favorite shows, Big Bird was disappointed and angry that Granny Bird wasn’t coming to visit. Bob Mcgrath recognized that emotion and gave Big Bird some constructive ways to deal with his anger and disappointment.
The last memory I would like to share is A Christmas song that Bob used to sing on Sesame Street, and he put it on Bob Mcgrath Sings Christmas Album “Keep Christmas with You.” In this song we are reminded to keep the Holidays and the memories with us all through the year. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and a happy New Year.
I'll miss Bob.
Thanks for tuning in.
Peter McNab tribute
Jeremy Levy back with you. The Colorado radio blog is saddened and sends its’ condolences to the McNab family and the Altitude radio family about the passing of Peter McNab. Peter passed away from Cancer on Sunday November 6, 2022. Peter was the color announcer of the Colorado Avalanche on Altitude TV. He also did some games on Altitude sports radio as well as being the color announcer. The first thing that Mark Moser shared about him was he had a whole body laugh. When he laughed it was like his whole body was laughing. Mark Moser came into the studio to talk about Peter on Monday November 7, 2022. Peter was a big part of Colorado Avalanche hockey and of the hockey games on Altitude Sports radio and TV. My dad was telling me he played for the Boston Bruins, and Mark Moser mentioned the Bruin’s could have won the Stanly Cup for 3 years in a row when he was on the team. Mark Moser also mentioned he played for Montreal Canadians. He had never won the Stanly Cup. His dad Max did when he played for the Detroit Red Wings. Mark Moser had so many wonderful memories of him and Peter together. Mark was Peter’s partner on the TV broadcasts. In the days when Peter would be going through the cancer treatments, Peter would ask Mark to help me on that game because he was not feeling the best. Mark always did and those broadcasts were still great. Peter was a big golfer, and so was Mark. The best golf memory that Mark and Peter had was going to the final 4 together when that was in Colorado. They spent the whole game together. That was special. Brett Cain mentioned that when a person talked with Peter, it felt you were part of the family. When Brett came to Altitude sports radio back in January of 2019, he went to his first Hockey skate practice. Peter talked with him for a half an hour about hockey. That’s the kind of person he was. Scott Hastings became a hockey fan when the Avalanche came to Colorado. When Scott would have him on the radio show he was doing at the time, Peter would never talk down to his listeners. He talked to the listeners like a friend. That is also Scott’s philosophy as well. Scott, Josh, and Tyler Polumbus talked about that when you are entertaining listeners it should be fun. When the Avalanche won the Stanly cup this Summer, Gabe Landeskog came up to Peter and said when he was a boy, he wanted to play the way Peter did. The memory I will always remember about Peter was during the celebration of the Stanly cup parade. Mark Moser was singing the song “Living on a Prayer” and Peter didn’t like his singing. He said it sounded terrible. He said it sounded like tripping on a cat, and he told Mark Moser to stop singing. I thought his singing was on key, but it wasn’t the best singing. They played that clip a couple of different times during the shows on Altitude Sports radio. Vic had some wonderful memories of being with Peter as well. On Kreckman and Lindahl, Nate and Andy mentioned that Peter taught them about the game of hockey. When he was on the radio with Mark Moser, or with Connor, I learned something by listening to him. Connor talked about what a kind man Peter was. If they needed anything on the road, Peter would get it for them. Andy Lindahl remembered a time when he was working as the producer of the sports zoo back on KOA as the producer. It was during the Av’s first run to the Stanly Cup. Andy was done producing that day. He wanted to get things ready for the next day’s show. One of these things was calling Peter to see if he wanted to come on as a guest on the sports zoo. Andy thought he was going to leave a message for Peter, but Peter actually picked up the phone in the middle of a game. Andy was surprised about that. Peter was surprised to hear from him. Many hockey analysts knew Peter. On the Avalanches trips many of the analysts would ask how is Peter doing? They hoped that Peter was doing okay. Mike Rice knew him from the conversations that Colorado’s Morning news had. Mike Rice said what a kind person he was on the Dave Logan podcast. Dave Logan and Alfred Williams mentioned him on the Sports Zoo. When Alfred first got into broadcasting, he worked for Altitude TV. Peter was always very kind to him. Alfred and Dave both said what a wonderful hockey man he was. I wish I could have done an interview with Peter for this blog. I would have loved hearing his insights into Hockey. I always enjoyed listening to him with Connor on the radio. It was fun listening to them during the run during the Stanly Cup. Peter was the main TV announcer for the Avalanche since the team arrived in Colorado from Quebec Canada in 1995. He was a 2021 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He also played for Vancouver and New Jersey. He is best remembered for his seasons with the Bruins. He was a friend to so many.
He will certainly be missed by listeners to the team at Altitude Sports radio and TV and myself.
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Vince Scully
I started becoming a baseball fan in 2007 when the Rockies had their magical run to the world series. For me being a blind person, I enjoy listening to the way the announcers describe the game. Tom Sullivan a friend of mine who is also blind, described it this way: The announcers paint great word pictures for me. Tom enjoyed listening to Vin Scully doing this. The Colorado radio blog is saddened by the news that Vince Scully passed away at the age of 94 in August. Vince was the Dodgers radio announcer from 1950 until 2016. Vince was a great broadcaster. He described the plays vividly. Rockies announcer Jack Corrigan knew Vince. Jack was on the Ross Kaminsky show on Wednesday August third and he said to Ross that one of the things he tries to do when calling a baseball game is use many different word pictures to describe the game. When I listen to a baseball game, I listen to how the announcers describe the game. Jack and Jerry Schemmel will get excited whenever the Rockies would play the Dodgers whether it was at home or on the road. Vin’s last announcing of a game was at the end of the 2016 season. The last game he announced was the Dodgers against the Colorado Rockies. Jack Corrigan and Vince went to the Catholic mass together as was their habit when the Dodgers came to town. Vince usually read the passages. That day Vince said, “Jack how about you reading the passage today?” Jack did. After the passage Vince said to Jack that he hoped Jack would be calling baseball games for as long as he did. Jack said this morning he would be 99 years old if that were to happen. Jack will always carry the excitement of each game with him like Vince did. Jack said that every game is a new story to be told. Mike Boyle interviewed Barry Stockhammer who spent many years with the Dodger organization. Barry said that Vince was a special announcer for the Dodgers. Barry mentioned that when you listened to the Dodgers on the radio and Vince Scully on the radio, you were listening to a friend. As a blind person when I listen to Talk radio or sports on the radio I feel like I am listening to a friend. Mike and Barry brought up listening to baseball games on a transistor radio. My dad mentioned to me that when he was younger, he used to do the same thing, listening to Mel Allen and Phil Rizzuto broadcasting Yankee games. If you remember in my Mark Crowley interview, he also mentioned the same thing. They also talked about that Vince would speak about the game to all levels. Vince brought everyone together. Mike and his daughter Kaylee got to meet him. It wasn’t only the older generation who knew him. People from my generation knew him as well. My feeling is when the Colorado sports are doing well, it brings people together. I think that Colorado fans of sports are some of the best fans. I love it when players mention that to radio announcers. Casey and Scott Bloyer interviewed Connor Shreve on the Bloyer effect on Sunday night August 7, 2022. Connor called Minor League baseball. Connor was impressed with how Vince persevered every season. Connor told the story about Joe Davis who took over for Vince. Joe said that was a master broadcasting class to sit in the booth with Vince when he was calling games. Connor’s favorite memory was Todd Helton’s last home run call. Vince was rooting for Todd to get a hit in his last game. That will always stick with Connor.
Blind people who listen to baseball games on the radio always enjoyed Vince calling games. I subscribe to the A C B conversations list, and one of the people on that list brought Vince’s passing up. One person, Ray Campbell, said that blind people have an appreciation for the radio voices that paint the picture of America’s past time for us. Whether you enjoy baseball or not, the melodious voice of Vince Scully could be easily recognized. I agree with this! Larry Gasman who is another person on the ACB Conversations list said he wished that he could have done an interview with Vince. A third person on this list mentioned he met Vince at a lunch and he was very kind. . Los Angeles is one of my favorite places to visit. I would sometimes catch a Dodger game on the radio on 570 KLAC radio and I always enjoyed listening to Vince Skully. Thanks to you Vince for creating such wonderful memories for so many people. RIP Vince.
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Broncos Season
Jeremy Levy back with you. Today I am going to be doing something different. I am talking about 2022 Bronco’s training camp. In my opinion, this has been the second-best Bronco’s training camp I have been to. My dad and I went twice this year. The first day as we were walking through the parking lot I wasn’t sure what to expect. The last couple of years have been a little bit of a disappointment because the feeling at the facility wasn’t as energetic as it was when we went during the Peyton Manning years. I think this shows that the quarterback does make a difference. The Broncos have Russell Wilson as their quarterback now. He came from Seattle. As we were walking through the parking lot, a familiar voice said you can walk on the sidewalk. I thought the voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place the voice. The voice said,” do you recognize my voice? I’m Brandon Kristzal from 850 KOA radio. I have always wanted to meet Brandon. Brandon then re-introduced me to Brandon Stokely who is with 104.3 the fan and is a former Bronco. That was a great start to this year's training camp experience. Brandon Kristzal said after words he wishes he could have gotten a picture of us together. My only regret is that Brandon didn’t invite us on to the field. That would have been so exciting. After meeting up with the 2 Brandon’s we continued on to our seats. The practices were more energetic. I could hear the music being played. I could hear the fans cheering for their favorite players when they did something good My dad said they looked more organized. He said that the second day was better because they were in pads the second day.
Dave Logan said on the Sports Zoo, and the Dave Logan podcast that he likes the practices that Nathaniel Hacket has implemented this year. We will know in future years if what he did this year would be helpful in the future. I consider Dave Logan the best expert when it comes to football because he has been around the game for so long. Dave has the best knowledge about the game. This is why I enjoy listening to Bronco’s games on 850 KOA radio. I consider Andy Lindahl my second expert when it comes to football. Andy said on Altitude sports radio 92.5 that he is looking forward to finding out about the right tackle position. He isn’t sure what they are going to do at that position.
The second day I got to take pictures with some of the cheer leaders, and the Mascot. The second day was even more crowded than the first day we went. On the first day we were able to find seats, on the second day all of the seats were taken. People seem really excited about the improvements to the team this year. When Russell came out the fans got really excited.
Mike Rice is back doing the pregame show, the half time show, and the post-game show for 850 KOA radio. Russell Wilson did not play in the preseason games. Alfred Williams made an interesting point about that. KOA radio got a text on their text line saying that the Bronco’s haven’t made the play offs in 7 years and that concerned the fan who texted into the sports zoo. Brandon and Alfred talked about that the coach in Wisconsin took over the team a couple of years ago and they didn’t play their starters in the preseason. They went to the playoffs. Alfred and Brandon’s thought was this wouldn’t hurt the Bronco’s if they didn’t play their starters. The Broncos have a new ownership group. This is really exciting for them. They seem thrilled for this opportunity. As a fan, I am really enthusiastic for the future of what the new ownership does with the Bronco’s. Dave Logan got to introduce them at the press conference the second week of August of 2022.
I am not sure if they need a new stadium right now. That might happen in the future. Andy Lindahl brought up that question to fans however, I didn’t hear what the fans were thinking about that question One of my favorite players is Jerry Juedy a wide receiver. I am hoping he has a great season. Andy Lindahl’s question is can Jerry Juedy be a big part of this offence now that Tim Patrick is done for the year due to injury.
The first preseason game was against Dallas. Dave Logan liked Nathaniel Hackett’s time management of the game. Dave and Nathaniel didn’t like the running game In the Dallas game. Dave said in the second game that has gotten a little bit better. Dave liked Jalen Virgil who is a wide receiver. Dave said all 4 receivers had moments in the game that were good. Josh Johnson started the first and the second pre-season games against Dallas and against the Bills. Bret Ripen started the third pre-season game against the Minnesota Vikings. The big story for the Bronco’s and Bills game is Von Miller is now with the Bills. I listened Friday morning to 550 WGR radio to the morning show with Howard and Jeremy, and they were talking about Von being with the Bills. Dave Logan was saying that Von Miller might have a great season with the Bills. The most interesting name I have heard on the Bills is Tre 'Davious White. That first name is the most interesting name to me. The Bronco’s lost to the Bills 42 to 15. That was a bad game. The word that Alfred would use to describe the game is embarrassing. The seconds and third players didn’t play well on Saturday. Alfred Williams said it’s time to panic. Dave Logan was concerned. The Bronco’s won their third preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings 23-13. Nathaniel Hacket said the run game looked better. The next step in the process was narrowing the roster down to 53 players. One of the players that I was surprised about was Jaquan Hardy who was a running back. He was cut by the Bronco’s. He might end up on a different team Brandon Johnson was a second player that I really liked who was cut by the Bronco’s. He might end up on the Bronco’s practice squad. Brandon is Charles Johnson’s son the Charles Johnson who used to be in Colorado Sports radio. I like it when fathers who play the game have their sons also play the game. Benjamin Allbright, was saying those players understand the game better, so they might understand better that they might get cut from the team. . The Broncos have their listening ears with other teams for players they can pick up. The player that Brandon Stokley was most surprised they traded was Malik Reed. He got picked up by the Steelers who are in Pits burgh. Alfred had a feeling they were going to trade him. It seems that Alfred was right again.
The first regular game of the season for the Bronco’s is tonight-September 12 against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. This is the day right after my birthday. This feels like a new era of Bronco’s football, and I am really looking forward to finding out about this new era of players. Thanks for tuning in.
Summer radio and TV news
Jeremys next radio blog for summer 2022
Jeremy Levy back with you. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer- I know I am! Here are some more radio and TV updates. The fan 104.3 the fan has elevated Richie Carney as assistant program director of 104.3 the fan and KEPN radio. This happened at the end of June. Richie is the Darren Mackey’s and Tyler Polumbus’ producer. Richie is excited to grow in his new role at the station. Nick Ferguson is no longer with KKFN radio from 6-9 PM. This show he hosted with Cecil Lammey. Orlando Franklin is now hosting the show with Cecil and is now called Orlando and Cecil.
Ryan Harris is no longer with 92.5 Altitude sports radio. He made the announcement at the end of June on the show Hastings Harris and Dover. The show is now titled Hastings and Dover. Good luck to Ryan with whatever his next plans is.
At the end of May I found out that Dusty Saunders who wrote for the Rocky Mountain news and did a radio show on 710 KNUS in the early 90’s has passed away. He was in his eighties. I had a wonderful time listening to his shows with Joanne Ostro. Max Media has 2 openings for 1015 KJHM and 107.1 KFCO. They are looking for a promotions/ sales director and an on air personality. The on air personality is from 107.1. The sales director position has to be dynamic and energetic leader with a passion for Creating audience content and driving sales sponsorship revenue with the sales team. People need to send their resume, and cover letter to Sean Rhoads at Sean@maxmediadenver.com Or you can send it to Adrien Scott at AScott@maxmediadenver.com.
KKMG radio in Colorado Springs was looking for a new program director as Dylan Saulsberry exits. It hasn’t been announced yet who this is. This might be in a future post.
At the beginning of the summer, I heart media had some furloughs. This means that Greg Foster is no longer the program director of KOA radio 850 A.m. and 94.1 Fm and Freedom 93.7 and 760 radio. Greg started with KOA radio back in 2010. Before that he was in Utah. Also Tim Spence is no longer the program director of 630 KHOW radio. Dave Lauer is furloughed also from 850 KOA radio and the Mandy Connell show. He might be back in the future. Mike Rosen is also furloughed. He also might be back in the future. Robbin Hart also got furloughed from doing news in the mornings for all fm radio stations in the Denver cluster and mid-days at KTCL radio.
KOA radio has secured it’s next program director it is Dave Tepper. Dave was most recently with Altitude sports radio 92.5 and 950 the betting radio station VCIN. There is no word yet who will be programming those stations. Michael Brown said on July 24, that he would love to keep Dragon Redbeard as his producer. He asked listeners to e-mail to a certain e-mail address and tell him why Dragon should still be the Michael Brown’s producer. The last I heard he got 150 responses. I e-mailed the e-mail address saying I was on board with this decision.
The last 2 weeks of July on the George Brauchler show on 710 KNUS radio George hasn’t been there. He is in army training. Jon Caldara has been substituting for him. It is great to hear Jon on 710 KNUS radio. He likes fill in work on the radio. Brady King joins KOAA as sports anchor and news reporter coming from KJTV, and KCBD TV Lubbock Texas. I got this from Mike Mcguff’s blog. The people at KOAA TV are really glad to have Brady on board. Eddie Haskell has left the afternoon DJ position on Max Media’s WGH in Virginia. Eddie used to be program director of KYGO radio and was the program director of the Fort Collins country Town Square media country station. He is taking the summer off before he decides where his next radio stop would be.
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Radio updates and news
Jeremy Levy back with you to write more about Colorado Media for Spring of 2022. If one good thing can come from the Nuggets season this year is that Nikola Jokic won the MVP award for best over all basketball player for the second time in a row. There were people who thought Phildelphia 76ers player Joel Embiid should have gotten the award. Matt Smith and Nate Jackson on 104.3 the fan talked about this the second week of May of 2022. There was an interesting article for me to read from the Barrett’s sports media blog. E S P N N B A Analysts Brian Windhorst and Tim Legler got the attention of Matt Smith who was filling in for Chad Brown and Nate Jackson during the Chad and Nate show from 9-11 on 104.3 the fan. Windhorste and Legler felt like Embiid was the MVP and sounded offended that he wasn’t the winner. Matt Smith argued the same things could be said for Jokic, meaning that Jokic carried the team through the regular season and the playoffs when the Nuggets were in the series against Golden State. He argued that Jokic did more with less star power for the Nuggets. Matt didn’t understand how Embiid was Legler’s choice instead of Jokic. Matt said “There are several reasons why that is Garbage from Legler. Nate Jackson said that Jokic is the Rodney Dangerfield of NBA players. Nate Jackson said that Jokic does deserve the award for the second year in a row. If you would like to read the full story it is on Barett’s sports media blog under sports radio news.
Andrew Mason has joined 104.3 the fan as a contributor. Andrew has spent some time in the 2010’s as KOA’s contributor and the n he spent some time at Milehigh sports radio. This is great news for him.
Parker Hillis has joined Kilt sports radio as its next program director. He was with 104.3 the fan for a couple of years. It is interesting that Parker and the former program director in Houston both worked at 104.3 the fan.
Cherise Fruge has has signed an exclusive V. O. imaging with Bens town. This is great news for her. If you remember she was in Colorado back when 92.5 radio was a party station. Congratulations to her. She succeeds John Clayton.
Brandon Krisztal has been named lead sports reporter for KOA radio. He is no longer doing the sports reports in the mornings. He is doing all sports. Mike Rice has taken over as sports anchor in the mornings on KOA radio. It is great hearing Mike’s voice again in the mornings on KOA radio Brandon is a co-host on the KOA Sports Zoo with Dave Logan and Alfred Williams. It is great to hear Brandon in this roll. . Tom Martino the Troubleshooter had back surgery in May of this year. He did some shows from his house. He is getting better and better each show. Well wishes go out to him.
KS 107.5 program director has left the station. He left after the morning show had been canceled.
Aubrey Bishop has been elevated to promotions director at KRXP radio after Cate left KRXP radio.
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