Joseph Avant January 30, 2011 BISMCS 471: Media Organization Analysis 950 KJR
MEDIA ORGANIZATION ANALYSIS: 950 KJR
I. Introduction
To begin to analyze 950 KJR’s importance one must understand that they are more than just the sports radio station that they are known as today. It is important to focus on KJR because they are presently the oldest operating radio station in Seattle and for the most part of their existence they were not even a sports radio station. In the 1960’s under the direction of local legend Pat O’day, (known today as the Schick Shadel spokesperson) KJR became one of the pioneers in radio broadcasting by taking a chance and jumping on board with the rise of Rock & Roll. By airing young artists such as Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles, KJR became a favorite of Seattle’s youth. Because of their willingness to take a chance and their recognition of the popular music of the time, it became Seattle’s number one rated top 40 radio station and stayed that way for two decades. Not until the 1990’s was 950 KJR a sports radio station and following in their history they were revolutionaries in the sports radio world as they were one of the first stations in the country to go “all sports”. Cook notes that “Radio is made up largely of powerful commercial broadcasters, each controlling a particular frequency to send out programs they themselves produced” (p. 54) This is true to 950 KJR as they are owned by a powerful company that owns several different stations, Clear Channel Communications. 950 KJR air’s on am radio with a “sister station” aired on 95.7 fm. 950 KJR is very active on the internet as many of their shows are podcasted and can be listened to on www.kjram.com. KJR was the only sports radio station in the greater Seattle area for almost two decades until 2009 when KIRO 710 jumped into the all sports radio game, and instantly a rivalry was born. Some well known radio voices from KJR (Kevin Colabro, Dave Grosby) defected to KIRO and it has been a battle for radio supremacy ever since. An average day on KJR begins at 6:00 am and ends at 10:00 pm. The first program is a four hour show hosted by Mitch Levy that goes by the name “Mitch in the Morning” and is followed by four other programs which are, “Softy” (10:00-1:00), “Ian Furness” (1:00-3:00), “Gas-Man” (3:00-7:00) and ending with “Elise at night” (7:00-10:00), these programs range from two to three hours a piece. However, many days are interrupted by scheduled airings of athletic contests. There are many more intricacies to 950 KJR so I will use the rest of the paper to properly inform you.
II. Affiliations
KJR is currently in affiliation with Fox Sports Radio. A live Fox Sports Radio feed is broadcasted on 950 am from 10:00 pm after “Elise at night” and ends at 6:00 before “Mitch in the morning” airs. KJR is also in affiliation with ISP sports which enables them to be the flagship station of the University of Washington which includes Husky football and men’s basketball broadcasts. KJR’s sister stations are South Sound Sports, Oldies 95.7, GenX 1049,Q country 102.9, KISS 106.1, KUBE 93.3 and Iheartmusic.com.
http://www.kjram.com/main.html
III. Leadership
Clear Channel Executives:
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President
SVP - Treasurer
SVP - Real Estate
Chief Communications Officer
SVP - Human Resources
Scott
Hamilton
Ace Horan
Jessica
Marventano
Lowry
Mays
Hamlet
Newsom
Joe
Shannon
Robert
H. Walls, Jr.
http://www.clearchannel.com/Corporate/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=1168&p=hidden
IV. Audience
There was no factual data that supported demographics for 950 KJR. However, I was able to find ratings at stationratings.com and found that KJR is the 19th most listened to station in the greater Seattle area with an average rating of 2.6 and listened to by 325,100 CUME (people daily).
http://www.stationratings.com/ratings.asp?market=39
V. Funding
950 KJR is privately owned for profit by Clear Channel and no financial facts are available.
VI. Size
950 KJR is a Licensed Class B AM station with a power of 50,000 Watts. 950 KJR can be found at 351 Elliot Avenue West, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98119 and employees about an average of 30 people. KJR's radio coverage is rather large and can be heard north and south from Portland, OR, to Vancouver BC. It ranges east and west from Aberdeen, WA, to Wenatchee, WA. http://www.radio-locator.com/info/KJR-AM
VII. History
KJR was founded on March 9, 1922 and was owned by entertainer Danny Kaye. It is currently the oldest radio station in the Greater Seattle area and has gone through several different genre’s. Today KJR is am on channel 950 and on fm as channel 95.7. The fm station is classic rock and the am station is sports radio.
VIII. Medium
KJR can be found on 950 am radio or on www.kjram.com
Bibliography:
1. Cook, T. E. (1998). Governing with the news: the news media as a political institution. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
2. http://www.clearchannel.com/Corporate/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=1168&p=hidden
3. http://www1.arbitron.com/sip/displaySip.do?surveyID=WI11&band=am&callLetter=KJR
4. http://www.radio-locator.com/info/KJR-AM
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