KSJO
Encyclopedia
KSJO is a commercial radio station
in San Jose, California
, and broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area
on 92.3 FM
. KSJO currently airs a Chinese
format branded as "92.3 KSJO".
, initially applied to both an AM station (KLIV) and an FM station. The FM station began in 1947 and became the only radio station in the United States
with an all-female staff playing jazz music.
Prior to 1968, KSJO was owned by SRD Broadcasting, consisting of Scott Elrod of San Francisco; Don was Don Bekins of Bekins Van Lines and R was Richard "Dick" Garvin. As freeform rock
was growing in popularity, with Tom Donahue's KMPX
in nearby San Francisco
becoming a national trendsetter, KSJO dropped jazz, starting in the evening only with Mark Williams and Jim Hilsabeck. After a few months Elrod and team brought in Bob Sobelman, a radio veteran, to GM the station and Larry Mitchell a top L.A. program director took over the helm. "The Light from Below" was one of the early slogans but did not live long ("below the San Francisco Bay"), the format was pure free-form progressive rock. The previous simple female-sex-symbol logo morphed into a red-white-and-blue logo and bumper sticker designed by Diane Roberts in Los Gatos, and the announcing staff was all-male for many years Brief stint program directors included Bill Slator and Dick Kimball but for 5 plus years Douglas (Droese) was the program director remaining so until the Sterling buy out in 1974. The station was later sold to Sterling Recreation Organization (SRO) of Seattle, Washington.
For much of its history, KSJO was locked in a bitter rivalry with KOME
, which also flipped to rock in 1968. At one point, in the early 1970s, KSJO briefly flipped to a Top 40 format, before returning to rock. By the end of the decade, KOME had surpassed KSJO in the ratings.
The rock war heated up when stations in San Francisco started changing to the format. KSAN
was the main San Francisco competitor throughout the 1970s, and more stations arrived. In the mid to late 1970s KSJO was known for its outrageous morning show. Advertising Director Perry White (Hartline) partnered with Michael "Mother Deal" to make morning news fun for the 'rocker' audience. At one point, in late 1982, four different stations in San Francisco alone were programming the format, in addition to KSJO and KOME.
However, in 1982 led by broadcast veteran, Jack Chunn, KSJO 92.3 FM started to dominate the Rock Radio scene in San Jose (and with respectable ratings to the north in San Francisco and to the south in Monterey/Santa Cruz). Program Director Larry 'Baby Lee Roy' Hansen assembled a strong group of air personalities including Trevor Ley and Jim Taylor (mornings), Ken Anthony (afternoons), Nicki Stevens (evenings) and Jim Seagull (overnights). Combined with strong marketing and a guerrilla street presence from promotions director Bob Jenkins and assistant Rodney Whitaker, KSJO dominated as 'The Bay Area's Home for Rock & Roll' for most of the 1980s.
KSJO is credited with airing the first-ever AIDS radiothon in 1987, raising $25,000 for a San Jose AIDS hospice. Considering their reputation as a macho rock station, this was a complete departure for a day, but audience response was upbeat and KSJO promoted a candid dialogue about HIV/AIDS with their 18-34 audience, the most sexually active group in the U.S. Program Director Ken Anthony and morning personality Paul 'Lobster' Wells organized the event with mid day host Zeb Norris, afternoon personality Laurie Roberts, promo director Bob Jenkins and assistants Martyn Wright and Mike Russell. Several rock stars donated their time and merchandise to help raise funds, including Neil Young
, Ronnie Montrose
, Mark Andes
of Heart
, Neal Schon
of Journey
, Paul Kantner
of Jefferson Airplane
and Jimmie Vaughan
of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
By 1994, KOME had flipped to modern rock
and KSJO was the stand-alone AOR station in Santa Clara Valley. Also, many of the San Francisco rock stations had long changed to different formats as well. KSJO rode a wave of popularity during the decade due primarily to the appeal of morning personalities Lamont and Tonelli. By 1998, KSJO's signal was simulcast on three other separate stations (located near 92.3 on the dial) around the San Francisco Bay Area: 92.7 KXJO in Alameda/Oakland
, 92.7 KMJO in Marina
and 92.1 KFJO
in Walnut Creek
.
As the new millennium arrived, KSJO's fortunes started to slide. Lamont and Tonelli were signed away by KSAN-FM
in late 2002, and KXJO was sold to a separate entity that same year, flipping to a CHR
format. KSJO's ratings started to slide as the demographics of the Bay Area changed. An increasingly large local Hispanic population and the rise of Hip Hop helped to chip away at the heritage rock station. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/14/PKG009LLIT1.DTL&hw=kome&sn=046&sc=306 Radio veteran Dave Wohlman was named PD in 2004 and began the task of re-inventing the rock legend with a new staff, sound and direction.
KSJO's owner, Clear Channel Communications
, had instituted an ambitious initiative to introduce more Spanish-language programming into various markets across the country. When the Walnut Creek simulcast station, KFJO, became KABL in 2004, many speculated that KSJO would soon drop rock for a Spanish-language format. The end came unannounced at 7PM on October 28, 2004, when KSJO, after 35 years as a rock station, played its last song, "Mexican Radio" by Wall of Voodoo
, and immediately launched a new Mexican oldies format as "La Preciosa". Longtime listeners were angered at the sudden loss of the Bay Area's last remaining active rock
station.
The "La Preciosa" identity is also used by a few other Clear Channel Spanish-language, Mexican music stations.
On August 4, 2008, Clear Channel placed the station's assets into an entity called the Aloha Station Trust in order to sell off the station. This was due to Clear Channel being above the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) ownership limits. These limits were imposed when Clear Channel was officially taken private by Bain Capital Partners on July 30, 2008.
On September 18, 2009 KSJO picked up the "Channel 104.9" modern rock format from KCNL
104.9, branded as "Channel 92.3". The staff consisted of Joe Sib in the mornings, Jessie on middays, MegaTanner (formerly on KITS
in San Francisco), and Teddy and Chris.
Unlike many Alternative stations, Channel 92.3 focused on new music and Alternative classics from the '70's and the '80's, with not as much emphasis on the '90's.
On November 10, 2010, RadioInsight announced that Principle Broadcasting, which owns brokered ethnic stations in various cities, made an agreement with Clear Channel's Aloha Station Trust
to buy KSJO. Principle also owns KCNL
and KLOK AM in San Jose. The sale was completed on February 28, 2011-- the staff of Channel 92.3 was let go, and the station ran without airstaff, playing music while promoting savealternative.com.
On March 16, 2011, former Channel 92.3 hosts Teddy and Madden were invited back to give the station and its alternative rock format a proper send-off. At 10 AM, KSJO launched a new Chinese-language format branded simply as 92.3 KSJO. Save Alternative is now streamed online at savealternative.com and on 104.9 HD-2. In addition, Save Alternative is broadcast on 104.9 KCNL
every Saturday and Sunday night from 8 PM until midnight.
KSJO has recently been broadcasting dance music on its HD2 sub-channel since sometime in June.
Apr/May 78 Jul/Aug 78 Oct/Nov 78 Jan/Feb 79 Apr/May 79
KSJO 2.6 --- 2.4 3.2 4.0
KOME 2.7 --- 2.8 4.4 5.2
KSAN 1.3 --- 0.7 0.7 0.7
KSJO 0.8 1.8 1.0 1.1 1.2
KOME 0.8 0.9 0.8 1.6 1.9
KSAN 1.9 2.1 1.8 1.9 1.8
It appears that KSJO's dominance in Santa Clara Valley rock began to fade against KOME
in January/February 1979. Although KSJO came close to beating KSAN in July/August 1978 nine-county, KOME actually did so in April/May 1979.
Before he launched his acting career, Ron Hayes
worked for KSJO in the middle 1950s.
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...
in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, and broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
on 92.3 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
. KSJO currently airs a Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
format branded as "92.3 KSJO".
History
KSJO is the second call sign assigned in San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, initially applied to both an AM station (KLIV) and an FM station. The FM station began in 1947 and became the only radio station in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with an all-female staff playing jazz music.
Prior to 1968, KSJO was owned by SRD Broadcasting, consisting of Scott Elrod of San Francisco; Don was Don Bekins of Bekins Van Lines and R was Richard "Dick" Garvin. As freeform rock
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
was growing in popularity, with Tom Donahue's KMPX
KFRC-FM
KFRC-FM is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It simulcasts sister station KCBS, which carries an all-news format...
in nearby San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
becoming a national trendsetter, KSJO dropped jazz, starting in the evening only with Mark Williams and Jim Hilsabeck. After a few months Elrod and team brought in Bob Sobelman, a radio veteran, to GM the station and Larry Mitchell a top L.A. program director took over the helm. "The Light from Below" was one of the early slogans but did not live long ("below the San Francisco Bay"), the format was pure free-form progressive rock. The previous simple female-sex-symbol logo morphed into a red-white-and-blue logo and bumper sticker designed by Diane Roberts in Los Gatos, and the announcing staff was all-male for many years Brief stint program directors included Bill Slator and Dick Kimball but for 5 plus years Douglas (Droese) was the program director remaining so until the Sterling buy out in 1974. The station was later sold to Sterling Recreation Organization (SRO) of Seattle, Washington.
For much of its history, KSJO was locked in a bitter rivalry with KOME
KOME
KOME was a radio station in San Jose, California, heard at 98.5 FM from 1971 thru 1998. Currently, the 98.5 FM frequency is home to KUFX .-Beginnings:...
, which also flipped to rock in 1968. At one point, in the early 1970s, KSJO briefly flipped to a Top 40 format, before returning to rock. By the end of the decade, KOME had surpassed KSJO in the ratings.
The rock war heated up when stations in San Francisco started changing to the format. KSAN
KSAN-FM
KSAN is a commercial radio station licensed to San Mateo, California, with its transmitter located on San Bruno Mountain. It broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area...
was the main San Francisco competitor throughout the 1970s, and more stations arrived. In the mid to late 1970s KSJO was known for its outrageous morning show. Advertising Director Perry White (Hartline) partnered with Michael "Mother Deal" to make morning news fun for the 'rocker' audience. At one point, in late 1982, four different stations in San Francisco alone were programming the format, in addition to KSJO and KOME.
However, in 1982 led by broadcast veteran, Jack Chunn, KSJO 92.3 FM started to dominate the Rock Radio scene in San Jose (and with respectable ratings to the north in San Francisco and to the south in Monterey/Santa Cruz). Program Director Larry 'Baby Lee Roy' Hansen assembled a strong group of air personalities including Trevor Ley and Jim Taylor (mornings), Ken Anthony (afternoons), Nicki Stevens (evenings) and Jim Seagull (overnights). Combined with strong marketing and a guerrilla street presence from promotions director Bob Jenkins and assistant Rodney Whitaker, KSJO dominated as 'The Bay Area's Home for Rock & Roll' for most of the 1980s.
KSJO is credited with airing the first-ever AIDS radiothon in 1987, raising $25,000 for a San Jose AIDS hospice. Considering their reputation as a macho rock station, this was a complete departure for a day, but audience response was upbeat and KSJO promoted a candid dialogue about HIV/AIDS with their 18-34 audience, the most sexually active group in the U.S. Program Director Ken Anthony and morning personality Paul 'Lobster' Wells organized the event with mid day host Zeb Norris, afternoon personality Laurie Roberts, promo director Bob Jenkins and assistants Martyn Wright and Mike Russell. Several rock stars donated their time and merchandise to help raise funds, including Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, Ronnie Montrose
Ronnie Montrose
Ronnie Montrose, is an Amercian rock guitarist who has headed his own bands as well as performing with a variety of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Edgar...
, Mark Andes
Mark Andes
Mark Andes is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal.-Early life:...
of Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
, Neal Schon
Neal Schon
Neal George Joseph Schon is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist best known for his work with the band Journey. He is the only member to have recorded on all of Journey's albums...
of Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
, Paul Kantner
Paul Kantner
Paul Lorin Kantner is an American rock musician, known for co-founding the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off band Jefferson Starship.- Overview :...
of Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
and Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan
James Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
By 1994, KOME had flipped to modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
and KSJO was the stand-alone AOR station in Santa Clara Valley. Also, many of the San Francisco rock stations had long changed to different formats as well. KSJO rode a wave of popularity during the decade due primarily to the appeal of morning personalities Lamont and Tonelli. By 1998, KSJO's signal was simulcast on three other separate stations (located near 92.3 on the dial) around the San Francisco Bay Area: 92.7 KXJO in Alameda/Oakland
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
, 92.7 KMJO in Marina
Marina, California
Marina is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. The population was 19,718 at the 2010 census. Marina is located along the central coast of California, west of Salinas, and 8 miles north of Monterey, at an elevation of 43 feet . Marina was incorporated in 1975 and is the newest city...
and 92.1 KFJO
KKDV
KKDV is an Adult Contemporary radio station located in Walnut Creek, California, broadcasting at 92.1 MHz. With the call letters KKDV , it broadcasts under the slogan "Diablo Valley's Hometown Station." The station is located in central Contra Costa County in the Diablo Valley close to Mt....
in Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
.
As the new millennium arrived, KSJO's fortunes started to slide. Lamont and Tonelli were signed away by KSAN-FM
KSAN-FM
KSAN is a commercial radio station licensed to San Mateo, California, with its transmitter located on San Bruno Mountain. It broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area...
in late 2002, and KXJO was sold to a separate entity that same year, flipping to a CHR
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
format. KSJO's ratings started to slide as the demographics of the Bay Area changed. An increasingly large local Hispanic population and the rise of Hip Hop helped to chip away at the heritage rock station. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/14/PKG009LLIT1.DTL&hw=kome&sn=046&sc=306 Radio veteran Dave Wohlman was named PD in 2004 and began the task of re-inventing the rock legend with a new staff, sound and direction.
KSJO's owner, Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, had instituted an ambitious initiative to introduce more Spanish-language programming into various markets across the country. When the Walnut Creek simulcast station, KFJO, became KABL in 2004, many speculated that KSJO would soon drop rock for a Spanish-language format. The end came unannounced at 7PM on October 28, 2004, when KSJO, after 35 years as a rock station, played its last song, "Mexican Radio" by Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave group from Los Angeles best known for the 1983 hit "Mexican Radio". The band had a sound that was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.-Formation:...
, and immediately launched a new Mexican oldies format as "La Preciosa". Longtime listeners were angered at the sudden loss of the Bay Area's last remaining active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
station.
The "La Preciosa" identity is also used by a few other Clear Channel Spanish-language, Mexican music stations.
On August 4, 2008, Clear Channel placed the station's assets into an entity called the Aloha Station Trust in order to sell off the station. This was due to Clear Channel being above the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) ownership limits. These limits were imposed when Clear Channel was officially taken private by Bain Capital Partners on July 30, 2008.
On September 18, 2009 KSJO picked up the "Channel 104.9" modern rock format from KCNL
KCNL
KCNL is a radio station in San Jose, California and serves the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by The Principle Broadcasting Network San Jose, LLC and airs a Mexican Oldies format....
104.9, branded as "Channel 92.3". The staff consisted of Joe Sib in the mornings, Jessie on middays, MegaTanner (formerly on KITS
KITS
KITS is a San Francisco, California, USA-based radio station broadcasting at 105.3 MHz. The station is owned by CBS Radio and programs a modern rock format. The station also broadcasts on HD channel L2, locally on Comcast cable channel 986, and is streaming online.-Hot Hits:The station's...
in San Francisco), and Teddy and Chris.
Unlike many Alternative stations, Channel 92.3 focused on new music and Alternative classics from the '70's and the '80's, with not as much emphasis on the '90's.
On November 10, 2010, RadioInsight announced that Principle Broadcasting, which owns brokered ethnic stations in various cities, made an agreement with Clear Channel's Aloha Station Trust
Aloha Station Trust, LLC
Aloha Station Trust, LLC is a privately owned trust company that owns radio and television stations previously owned by Clear Channel Communications....
to buy KSJO. Principle also owns KCNL
KCNL
KCNL is a radio station in San Jose, California and serves the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by The Principle Broadcasting Network San Jose, LLC and airs a Mexican Oldies format....
and KLOK AM in San Jose. The sale was completed on February 28, 2011-- the staff of Channel 92.3 was let go, and the station ran without airstaff, playing music while promoting savealternative.com.
On March 16, 2011, former Channel 92.3 hosts Teddy and Madden were invited back to give the station and its alternative rock format a proper send-off. At 10 AM, KSJO launched a new Chinese-language format branded simply as 92.3 KSJO. Save Alternative is now streamed online at savealternative.com and on 104.9 HD-2. In addition, Save Alternative is broadcast on 104.9 KCNL
KCNL
KCNL is a radio station in San Jose, California and serves the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by The Principle Broadcasting Network San Jose, LLC and airs a Mexican Oldies format....
every Saturday and Sunday night from 8 PM until midnight.
KSJO has recently been broadcasting dance music on its HD2 sub-channel since sometime in June.
Ratings history vs. KOME and KSAN
Arbitron average share, total age 12-plus, 06:00 - midnite, seven days:Apr/May 78 Jul/Aug 78 Oct/Nov 78 Jan/Feb 79 Apr/May 79
- Santa Clara county only:
KSJO 2.6 --- 2.4 3.2 4.0
KOME 2.7 --- 2.8 4.4 5.2
KSAN 1.3 --- 0.7 0.7 0.7
- San Francisco nine-county, including Santa Clara county:
KSJO 0.8 1.8 1.0 1.1 1.2
KOME 0.8 0.9 0.8 1.6 1.9
KSAN 1.9 2.1 1.8 1.9 1.8
It appears that KSJO's dominance in Santa Clara Valley rock began to fade against KOME
KOME
KOME was a radio station in San Jose, California, heard at 98.5 FM from 1971 thru 1998. Currently, the 98.5 FM frequency is home to KUFX .-Beginnings:...
in January/February 1979. Although KSJO came close to beating KSAN in July/August 1978 nine-county, KOME actually did so in April/May 1979.
Before he launched his acting career, Ron Hayes
Ron Hayes
Ronald G. Hayes was an American television actor who, as an activist in the environmental movement, worked for the establishment of the first Earth Day, observed on April 22, 1970. He was a member of the Sierra Club and a founder of the ecological interest group Wilderness World...
worked for KSJO in the middle 1950s.