The year in Wasatch Front radio is nearly over, but there were many memorable moments in this, one of the most exciting segments (and sometimes most bizarre) of the media and entertainment industry. Here's a list of the superlative performances for 1994:
Best prank - "Fisher and Todd" of KISN-FM making someone a "millionaire" (with a million pesos, worth $326) on April 1.Best self-promotion - Simmons Radio Group (KSFI, KDYL and KRSP) for its Gold Medallion Award at the 1994 "PROMAX" Conference in New Orleans for its "Berry Good News" promotion to advertisers; and another on Halloween with Simmons' "Arbitron In Cider."
Best station promotions director - Ken Bell of Simmons Radio Group, who did the above promotions.
Best attention-getting promotion - (tie) KVRI's "Wakeup Club"; KBER's "Ron and Allen" repeating their shows each hour for Groundhog Day on Feb. 2; and "Jon and Dan" of KLZX with their one-day Slim Whitman music format change in August.
Best radio commercial on TV - KVRI's fall commercials showing elevator parties.
Best fund-raising efforts - The 18th annual KSL Radiothon and KXRK's concert at Saltair for food bank donations.
Best new morning show - "The Good Guys," Gary Zane and Scott Christopher of KKAT.
Best new weekend show - "Phones X" with Mr. West and Jimmy Chunga on KXRK.
Best new radio feature - "Unplugged" by KBER's "Handy and Hayes," with live rock music each Friday.
Best overall talk show host - Tom Barberi of KALL.
Best issues-driven talk show host - Bob Lee of KSL.
Best radio license plate - KODJ ("Oldies 94.1") with LSN2US.
Best return - Joe Redburn coming back to KTKK.
Best solo morning DJ - Chere Wood, formerly at KBZN.
Best male newscaster - Dan Bammes of KLZX.
Best female newscaster - Peggy Ijams of KSFI.
Best new newscaster - Andrew Peters on KRSP and KDYL.
Best traffic reporter - Duane Southwick of KSL's "Eye in the Sky."
Best overall news reporting - KSL.
Best sports news - KISN-AM.
Best new slogan - "Superstars of the '80s and '90s" by KVRI.
Best new call letters - KUJJ alias "KWJJ."
Best trend-bucking - KKDS keeping a few local shows, instead of going all-network on Radio AAHS.
Best acting by a DJ on TV - Hans Petersen of KUMT in "Tom Paine" on KUED.
Best acting by a DJ in a movie - Scott Christopher in "Rockwell."
Best daily birthday greetings - Kevin McCormick and Richard Cano on KUTQ.
Best continuing character - "Chin-Wa" (Allen Handy) on KBER.
Best comeback of 1994 - Richard Cano of KUTQ getting back on the air after several months with a serious illness.
Biggest milestones of 1994 - Howard Bogarte of KFAM hits his 58th year in broadcasting; Len Allen of KLO reaches his 47th year on the air; Paul James of KSL celebrates 30 years doing BYU broadcasts and KSOP hits its 30th birthday; Tom Barberi of KALL-AM and "Country Joe" of KSOP attain their 23rd anniversaries; and KRCL marks its 15th anniversary.
Biggest changes of 1994 - Station sales of KQOL, KBER and KKBE.
Biggest return to local radio - Janna "Banana" Blake, Utah's original woman DJ returns to radio, this time at KMXB after a long hiatus from broadcasting.
Biggest Trip by DJs - "Jon and Dan" of KLZX broadcast live from the Winter Olympics. Second-place: "Kerry and Bill" of KXRK visit London.
Biggest phone slammers - "Cano and McCormick" on KUTQ.
Busiest news director - Don Gomes of KPCW and KCPW.
Busiest male personality - Michael G. Kavanagh of KMXB/ KUMT.
Busiest female personality - Robin Morales, at KMXB/KUMT until August.
Busiest DJ off the air - Amanda Dickson of KSL earns her law degree and passes the Utah State Bar exam.
Busiest traffic reporter - David Candland of Aerotraffic reporting each morning on umpteen radio stations.
Deepest voice - James Parker on KSFI, weekends.
DJs with the largest overall audience - Grant Nielsen and Amanda Dickson on KSL's morning show.
Grossest billboard - Jon and Dan of KLZX's attention-getting fat bodies freeway signs.
Most surprising developments of 1994 - Scott MacNeil leaves KSFI and KXRK is ranked No. 1 in the young adult summer Arbitrons.
Most absurd radio happening - KBER management destroying KZHT commercials just before KUTQ assumes control of the station.
Most entertaining DJs - Wakeup Club on KVRI.
Most embarrassing moment - Kevin McCormick of KUTQ joking about not having a dummy to perform a breast cancer exam on for listeners' benefit during an in-studio, on-air health interview with a nurse and then being unexpectedly and seriously asked by the nurse to actually perform such an exam on her.
Most risque DJs - Mick and Allen of KBER.
Most family-oriented morning radio shows - "Fisher and Todd" on KISN, "Dain and Peggy" on KSFI and "The Wakeup Club" on KVRI.
Most improved stations of 1994 - KRSP, KVRI and KXRK.
Most interactive with listener DJs - "Mark and Danny" on KDYL.
Most healthy laugh - Scott Fisher of KISN-FM.
Most sultry voices - Rebecca Marshall of KVRI and Peggy Ijams of KSFI.
Most realistic DJs, who seem the same off-air as on-air - "Kerry and Bill" on KXRK.
Most universally used DJ voices in 1994 - Doug Wright and Amanda Dickson, both of KSL and Tom Bock of KMXB.
Most successful format change - KRSP's switch to the "Arrow" rock format.
Most clever DJs - "Fisher and Todd" on KISN-FM. Close second: "Wakeup Club" on KVRI.
Most clever stunt - "Fisher and Todd" on KISN-FM selecting a lazy man to be a temporary, "Homo-Laziness' specimen in Hogle Zoo.
Most modest and unassuming DJ - "Country Joe" of KSOP.
Nicest DJs - "Country Joe" of KSOP, Danny Kramer of KDYL and Doug Wright of KSL.
Most spontaneous and unpredictable DJs - Jon Carter of KLZX and Richard Cano of KUTQ.
Saddest development in local radio - Hans Petersen of KUMT losing his third on-air job in less than three years.
Shortest job - Richard Cano spending just six days on KRGQ before jumping to KUTQ. Second-place: Dain Craig serving just three weeks as KISN-FM program director before taking a job at KSFI as program director and morning co-host.
Weirdest stunt - Rebecca Marshall of KVRI being covered in strawberry jam and peanut butter to create the world's first human peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Weirdest tie-in to radio - The involvement of KCNR and KLZX in the March Salt Lake library hostage crisis.
Wildest stunt - Rick Shane, KKAT, morning producer, hopping a freight train to see how far south he can ride on "National Hobo Day."