KENZ
Encyclopedia
KENZ, branded as "101.9 the End" is a Salt Lake City, Utah
-based radio station
. Owned by Cumulus Media
, the station airs an alternative
format on 101.9 FM.
KENZ first signed on as 107.5 The End January 1, 1996 with R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
." Originally owned by The Slaymaker Group dba Monarch Broadcasting, the station was sold to Citadel Broadcasting
in 1998. After a 14-year run, on April 21, 2010, Citadel flipped formats to a Generation X
type music, before reverting back to "The End" and alternative music in December of 2010.
Much of the original staff came from now cross town rival KXRK
, X96. Jimmy Chunga
, a weekender and Producer of The Radio from Hell Show at X96 was hired to lead the morning show. Chunga first did the show solo, then was teamed up for a short time with a female co-host. He was joined by Marcus soon afterward. Andrea was hired away from X96 to work the midday shift. Biff Raff returned to the Salt Lake market after spending time in Austin, TX and Denver, CO to be the program director. He also did an afternoon on-air shift. Dom Casual was the station's first Music Director and afternoon drive jock. Barb Thomas worked the night shift. Mister West left X96 as well and brought the Saturday Night Cold Case to The End. Norm Church also left X96 to work on-air as well as take over marketing responsibilities for the station.
In 1999, the KENZ morning show "Chunga and Marcus" hosted a contest titled "The Cruise of Dreams," after which Marcus did not return to the show. Shortly after the departure of Marcus, Mister West joined the morning show as Chunga's partner. This was a role reversal of sorts as Chunga had been West's partner on the "Saturday Night Cold Case," a call-in request show during West's weekend shift dating back to their days at X96.
At the end of 2005 Citadel Broadcasting
moved the station from the 107.5 MHz frequency to the stronger and farther reaching 101.9 MHz frequency. Even though they were no longer at the "end" of the dial they retained the name.
In 2006, Bruce Jones (Biff Raff), the End's first and only Program Director at the time, announced he would be leaving the End and radio in general. Mike Peer, of New York City's K-ROCK, was selected at the end of 2006 to become the new Program Director of KENZ. Peer had actually worked for Bruce Jones in Austin, Texas before Jones headed to Denver and then returned to Utah to start the End.
On December 6, 2007, Chunga announced that Mister West had left the station and the Chunga and Mister show. Chunga explained that both his and Mister's contracts were up this year and he had planned to retire at the end of the year. Citadel Broadcasting gave him a good deal and he chose to stay. Citadel management decided not to renew Mister's contract. However, according to the February 22, 2008, edition of the Deseret Morning News, Mister claims that Chunga demanded Mister be fired (as part of Chunga's own contract negotiation).
On November 18, 2008, during the Tuesday CD Review, it was announced that the Parker Show would air for the final time on November 26, 2008. Parker later said that the only reason was budget cuts and that he feels no resentment towards management for the decision. Dallan as part of the parker show was laid off at the same time.
On January 1, 2010 Chelsea Earlewine announced on her facebook page that she was moving to California, and thanked all her fans for their support.
On April 21, 2010, 101.9 The End changed format and adopted a jockless "Gen X" format that focused largely on ‘90s music and let go of their on-air staff, with the exception of Cort Johnson, who ran all station promotions and acted as the stations sole on-air personality. This was an incredibly unpopular change. On December 21, 2010, the station reverted back to the more familiar "101-9 The End", returning to an Alternative
format, with a music focused morning show, "The Morning Alternative with Cort."
On July 5, 2011, Chunga returned to the The End to join Cort for the "Chunga & Cort" morning show.
On Monday, August 29, 2011, after 11 years at The End, Cort announced that he would be leaving the The End and moving to Portland, Oregon
. His last show was Wednesday, August 31, 2011.
Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
-based radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
. Owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
, the station airs an alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
format on 101.9 FM.
History
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
"It's the End of the World as We Know It " is a song by the rock band R.E.M., which appeared on their 1987 album Document, the 1988 compilation Eponymous, and the 2006 compilation And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S Years 1982–1987...
." Originally owned by The Slaymaker Group dba Monarch Broadcasting, the station was sold to Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
in 1998. After a 14-year run, on April 21, 2010, Citadel flipped formats to a Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
type music, before reverting back to "The End" and alternative music in December of 2010.
Much of the original staff came from now cross town rival KXRK
KXRK
KXRK is commercial radio station located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, broadcasting a modern rock music format to the Provo, Ogden, and Salt Lake City area.-History:...
, X96. Jimmy Chunga
Jimmy Chunga
Jimmy Chunga is an American radio personality and actor, living and working in Salt Lake City, Utah. During his radio career, Chunga has worked for X96 and KENZ in Utah.-Chunga trivia:...
, a weekender and Producer of The Radio from Hell Show at X96 was hired to lead the morning show. Chunga first did the show solo, then was teamed up for a short time with a female co-host. He was joined by Marcus soon afterward. Andrea was hired away from X96 to work the midday shift. Biff Raff returned to the Salt Lake market after spending time in Austin, TX and Denver, CO to be the program director. He also did an afternoon on-air shift. Dom Casual was the station's first Music Director and afternoon drive jock. Barb Thomas worked the night shift. Mister West left X96 as well and brought the Saturday Night Cold Case to The End. Norm Church also left X96 to work on-air as well as take over marketing responsibilities for the station.
In 1999, the KENZ morning show "Chunga and Marcus" hosted a contest titled "The Cruise of Dreams," after which Marcus did not return to the show. Shortly after the departure of Marcus, Mister West joined the morning show as Chunga's partner. This was a role reversal of sorts as Chunga had been West's partner on the "Saturday Night Cold Case," a call-in request show during West's weekend shift dating back to their days at X96.
At the end of 2005 Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
moved the station from the 107.5 MHz frequency to the stronger and farther reaching 101.9 MHz frequency. Even though they were no longer at the "end" of the dial they retained the name.
In 2006, Bruce Jones (Biff Raff), the End's first and only Program Director at the time, announced he would be leaving the End and radio in general. Mike Peer, of New York City's K-ROCK, was selected at the end of 2006 to become the new Program Director of KENZ. Peer had actually worked for Bruce Jones in Austin, Texas before Jones headed to Denver and then returned to Utah to start the End.
On December 6, 2007, Chunga announced that Mister West had left the station and the Chunga and Mister show. Chunga explained that both his and Mister's contracts were up this year and he had planned to retire at the end of the year. Citadel Broadcasting gave him a good deal and he chose to stay. Citadel management decided not to renew Mister's contract. However, according to the February 22, 2008, edition of the Deseret Morning News, Mister claims that Chunga demanded Mister be fired (as part of Chunga's own contract negotiation).
On November 18, 2008, during the Tuesday CD Review, it was announced that the Parker Show would air for the final time on November 26, 2008. Parker later said that the only reason was budget cuts and that he feels no resentment towards management for the decision. Dallan as part of the parker show was laid off at the same time.
On January 1, 2010 Chelsea Earlewine announced on her facebook page that she was moving to California, and thanked all her fans for their support.
On April 21, 2010, 101.9 The End changed format and adopted a jockless "Gen X" format that focused largely on ‘90s music and let go of their on-air staff, with the exception of Cort Johnson, who ran all station promotions and acted as the stations sole on-air personality. This was an incredibly unpopular change. On December 21, 2010, the station reverted back to the more familiar "101-9 The End", returning to an Alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
format, with a music focused morning show, "The Morning Alternative with Cort."
On July 5, 2011, Chunga returned to the The End to join Cort for the "Chunga & Cort" morning show.
On Monday, August 29, 2011, after 11 years at The End, Cort announced that he would be leaving the The End and moving to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. His last show was Wednesday, August 31, 2011.
Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
Staff
- Cort Johnson - Morning Show Host/Assistant Program Director (2010–Present), Morning Show Co-Host, Executive Producer (2005–2010), Promotions/Marketing Director (2001–2007)
- Jimmy ChungaJimmy ChungaJimmy Chunga is an American radio personality and actor, living and working in Salt Lake City, Utah. During his radio career, Chunga has worked for X96 and KENZ in Utah.-Chunga trivia:...
(Brett Smith)- Morning Show (1996–2010, July 2011-Present): Had been the morning show producer and a weekender at X96 before being offered his own morning show when KENZ was starting up. Did voice over work on the side as well as some acting ("The Singles WardThe Singles WardThe Singles Ward is a 2002 LDS cinema comedy film directed by Kurt Hale and written by Kurt Hale and John E. Moyer based on his own life as a stand up comedian and single member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
"). Older brother to Jon Smith. - Mike Summers - Mid-days (2011–Present) Weekender/Program Director
- Tysen - Afternoons (2011–Present)
Former airstaff
- Grant Ruby - Music Director/Promotions Director/Afternoons (2007–2010): Came to KENZ at the end of the year from KEDJKEDJKEXX is a commercial radio station located in Phoenix, Arizona, broadcasting to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area on 103.9 FM. KEXX airs a modern rock music format branded as "X 103-9". In July 2009, the station added less commercials and plays deeper tracks rather than just radio hits unlike normal...
(The Edge 103.9) in Phoenix, Arizona. Originally took over Midday shift, was promoted to afternoons when Parker left the station at the end of 2008. Added Promotions Director at the end of 2008. - Mister West (Brian West) - Morning Show co-host (1999–2007)/ Weekender (1996–1999): A weekender at X96 and then at The End, West had done a weekly request show with Chunga before being asked to replace Marcus in 1999. He left the show in 2007 after management chose not to renew his contract.
- Producer Casey (Casey Scott) - Morning Show Producer (1998–2006): Currently working in real estate, and as a Gonzo reporter on KUTV Channel 2's morning show.
- Announcer Boy (Pete May) - Production (1996–2004): Sassy on-air comic foil to Chunga.
- Biff Raff (Bruce Jones) - Program Director/Afternoons (1996–2006): Program Director and afternoon jock. PD for KBER 101KBER-External links:*...
as well as The End. Biff announced his retirement in August 2006. - Dom Casual - Music Director/Afternoons (1996–1999): Had been part of the original X96 morning show with Bill Allred. Left The End to PD a station in Spokane, WashingtonSpokane, WashingtonSpokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
. Once there he hired Kari Bushman who had been doing weekend shifts at X96. Returned to the Salt Lake market to work at the new incarnation of KJQ. - Andrea - Music Director/Middays (1996–2000): Another former X96 jock. Hosted the weekly advice call-in show "Bitch & Moan" with various co-hosts. She left KENZ after landing her own morning show in Pennsylvania. Returned to Salt Lake and worked for a time at the new KJQNKJQNKJQN is a radio station in Salt Lake City, Utah which currently plays the Jack FM radio format. It broadcasts at 103.1MHz.Previously known as Classic Alternative KJQ, the station flipped to Jack FM in January 2005....
. - Barb Thomas - (1996–2002) Hired as part of the original staff in 1996 working Nights. In 1999 when Biff Raff stopped doing an on-air show in the midday, she was shifted to afternoons until she was laid off due to budget cutbacks in 2002.
- Kari Bushman - Music Director/Middays (2000–2007): Had been a weekender at X96 before taking a job in Spokane, WashingtonSpokane, WashingtonSpokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
working for Dom Casual. Returned to Salt Lake to take the midday shift vacated by Andrea. Kari resigned from KENZ in 2007 due to a conflict with new management. In 2008 Kari Bushman joined fellow former KENZ staffer Jon Smith as a morning show co host on Sunny 106 in St. George, Utah. - Norm Church aka Normon Church (Brad Davis) - Promotions & Marketing Director, Morning Show Man-on-the-Street, Weekender (1996–1997)
- Sticker Boy (Tyler Ware) - Promotions, Man-on-the-Street (1996–1997)
- Little Ricky (Rick Pollock) - Promotions & Marketing Director, Morning Show Man-on-the-Street (1997–2001)
- Jon Smith (Nathan Smith) - Weekender/Nights (1999–2004): Younger brother of Jimmy Chunga. After weekends and nights at KENZ did afternoon drive at KJQNKJQNKJQN is a radio station in Salt Lake City, Utah which currently plays the Jack FM radio format. It broadcasts at 103.1MHz.Previously known as Classic Alternative KJQ, the station flipped to Jack FM in January 2005....
. Jon left the Salt Lake City market in 2005 to program KPLD 94.3 The PlanetKPLDKPLD is a radio station broadcasting a Hot Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Kanab, Utah, USA, the station serves the St. George area. The station is currently owned by Marathon Media Group, L.L.C..-History:...
(alternative) in St. George, Utah. Jon is now the Morning Show Guy and Program Director for Sunny 106 in St. George. - Mike Lindsay - Weekender/Nights (1997–2002): Currently works weekends on X96
- Vince Klortho - Weekender (1996–2003):
- Chris Howey - Weekender (1999–2000):
- Jay Johnson - Weekender (2000–2007):
- Marcus - Morning Show co-host (1996–1999): Chunga's first co-host. Left amid accusations of sexual misconduct on a cruise sponsored by the radio station; Marcus denied the accusations and filed a defamation lawsuit against Chunga, Little Ricky (Rick Pollock), Biff Raff (Bruce Jones) and Citadel Broadcasting. He was later a member of the morning show on Star 102.7 and now works for 94.9 Z-RockKHTBKHTB is an active rock radio station broadcasting to Salt Lake City, Utah and the surrounding areas. KHTB broadcasts on 94.9 and currently identifies itself as 94.9 Z-Rock. It is owned and operated by Cumulus Media...
. - Parker (Mike Peer) - Program Director/Afternoons (2007–2008): Came to KENZ in January from WXRK (K-Rock) in New York to replace Biff Raff.
- Dallan - Afternoon co-host, End Zone Producer, and on-air Mix Engineer. (2005–2008)
- Chelsea - Morning Show Co-Host (2005–2009), Traffic (2003–2009)
- Randy Jetsen - Nights (2007–2008)
- Zeek - Weekender/Overnights (2006-2008)
- Cellular Bagel Guy (Rob Hill) - Promotions & Marketing Director (1996): Delivered bagels to the masses live each morning.