Mike Runge is no longer a part of the Tom Barberi show on KALL (AM-910). After 18 years as a sidekick to Utah's master talker, Runge's contract was not renewed by the new owners of KALL, Apollo Radio.
"I miss him," Barberi said. "Mike is a great talent."Barberi said Runge wasn't surprised by the change and that he was almost thankful because with his many other jobs, including that of Ch. 13 sportscaster, he might actually get some sleep now.
Runge has been off the air since early April and Barberi said it's difficult to do a two-man show now that the KALL morning program is all-talk, with call-ins. He said for such a format, you don't need the usual two-person DJ team. Still, Barberi said he hopes another radio station can find a way to use Runge's talents in the future.
But Barberi is not totally alone. He still has Trina Eyring to do traffic and production, Brad Stone to do sports, Bob Hendricks to do the news and Sterling Poulsen to do the weather.
It's tougher to listen to Barberi these days too, because without his former simulcast on the FM dial, many people - especially those in southern Utah - either can't hear him at all, or they have to hang an antenna out the window.
Barberi is convinced his all-talk format will work on the FM dial, if he's just given the chance to prove it.
- KFMY (AM-960, Utah County) - "Sentimental Radio" is now here on the radio dial, instead of a simulcast of "X-96." The new station plays a lot of mellow music, the likes of Johnny Mathis and Tony Bennett. The "Sounds of Sunday" program has also returned.
- KRCL (FM-90.9) and the Wasatch Soul Alliance are presenting an appreciation dance for station listeners who helped in the recent spring fund-raiser for KRCL. The event is Friday, April 16, 8 p.m. until midnight in the gymnasium on Salt Lake Community College's campus at 4600 S. Redwood Road. The dance, co-sponsored by many local businesses, is free and open to the public.
- The station is also is presenting Alice Di Micele in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 17, in the Social Work Auditorium at the University of Utah. She is known for her commanding voice and acoustic guitar and the awareness she brings to caring for the environment.
Tickets at the door are $11.
- KBYU (FM-89.1) will present a live broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Finalists at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 18. The event, featuring young, upcoming opera stars, will be hosted by Peter Allen.
- KUER (FM-90.1) - "American Radio Company," a special production that pokes fun at public radio, will air at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 17, with Garrison Keillor.
The Hopeful Gospel Quartet and Keillor will be coming to Kings-bury Hall at the U. at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 2. Tickets, at $25, are on sale at the Kingsbury box office. Call 571-7100 for more information.
- KBZN (alias "The Breeze," FM-97.9) - Michael Gulezian and the album "Distant Memories and Dreams" will be featured on the Sunday, April 18, "Musical Starsteams" show (8-10 a.m.). Later in the day, Nathan East from Fourplay will be the guest on "Jazz Trax" (7 p.m.-midnight). "Close Up" by David Sanborn (1989) will be on the show's "Archive Album" segment.
- Here's a schedule for KBZN's "7 O'Clock CD" show next week:
Monday, April 19: "The New Edge," by Acoustic Alchemy.
Tuesday, April 20: "Logikal," by Eco.
Wednesday, April 21: "Silhouette," by Kenny G.
Thursday, April 22: "The Joe Sample Collection."
Friday, April 23: "The Games," by John Tesh.
- Morning radio happenings - KISN is the media sponsor for the 1993 Food for Food drive, Sunday, April 18. Everyone who brings in a canned good to a participating Utah Subway Shop between 3 and 4:37 p.m. that day will receive a free 6-inch sandwich. The time period represents 97 minutes for the FM-97 station. On Tuesday, "Fisher and Todd" wanted to get a 1 1/2- to a 2 1/2-year-old baby on the phone and see if they could help get the child talking. The following day, they talked to a man who had to pay $21,000 in back taxes. Scott Fisher's voice was also heard all over the radio dial Wednesday because of a Smith's Food and Drug commercial. . . .
KBER is giving away a trip to Hawaii worth $4,500 and the station was also airing a lot of "Excedrin Tax Relief" commercials and messages as the tax deadline approached this past week. Some DJs are known to have businesses on the side, but Ron and Allen claim it's no joke they also have their own used car lot too. Ron also said he took his "Green Belt" karate examination earlier this week.
"Cano and Simmons" on KKAT have a catchy new jingle about their morning show that uses the "Gilligan's Island" theme. It says they're "sometimes mean and sometimes nice." That's true, especially if you get a birthday greeting from them on the air. They can be as polite as possible or equally rude - there's just no predicting what they'll do. "Cano and Simmons" also read selected pieces of their fan mail most days just before 8 a.m.
"Jon and Dan" on KLZX were recently discussing TCI Cable's new upgrade that could provide hundreds of different channels to each subscriber and naturally Jon would like to have a trout channel. Jon also went out of his way this past week to thank "Ramone" from his neighborhood 7-11 store for helping him get to work on time each morning. It's obviously not easy to get to work before 5:30 a.m. every day. Jon and Dan's grossest event of the week was taking listener phone calls Wednesday on "Stuff you've just coughed up."
Additional morning radio news:
KSOP is promoting its "Country Club Cards" because, among others things, they offer a chance at $1,000 in cash. . . . Most FM stations only give you a one-day weather forecast, but KRGO gives five-day weather estimates. . . . Where was Wally calling from on Wednesday to talk with "McCormick and Scotty" on "Q99.5?" It was Green River. . . .
"Dom and Bill" on "X-96" went out of their way Wednesday to promote the Saturday night show of "Mr. West" on their station, describing it as three hours of boring stuff (from 7-10), until it unleashes some real comedy at 10 p.m. with "Phone Ex". . . KVRI's "Gary and Mick" have changed the odds lately by taking the 25th caller to win tickets on a Desert Star promotion; the morning DJs also played a hilarious tape Wednesday about trying to order food at a fast-food drive-in where the loud-speaker was more than a little distorted. They also did another of their phone challenges this past week, asking for descriptions of the most unusual alarm clocks.