There's another "KISN" radio station out there, as I discovered on a vacation earlier this month to Ore-gon.
KKSN in Portland goes by the nickname of "KIS'N," just like Salt Lake's KISN-FM. Both stations are also located at 97.1 on the FM dial.The two have bucked radio trends toward constant change and have kept the same basic formats for about a decade.
However, that's where the similarities end. The Portland KISN is an oldies station, while Salt Lake City's offers adult hits.
Until about 20 years ago, the Portland station did have the official KISN call letters. However, it discarded them, and that's when they ended up in Salt Lake City.
Later, the Portland station managers considered it an error to have dumped the catchy call letters, so they got the next best thing available - KKSN. (A San Antonio radio station has the call letters KISS.)
According to DJ Scott Fisher of KISN, who has family living near Portland, the Oregon station is perhaps most famous for a billboard it used to have at the Portland airport. The sign said something like, "While you've been gone, we've been kiss'n your wife."
- Whenever I leave Utah, it's always been amazing to discover how top-notch the state's TV anchors and news reporters are when compared to most other large cities. I've heard others make similar comments that a lot of other cities don't match up to Salt Lake's TV newscasters. During this Oregon trip, I felt the same about radio talent, too.
Portland radio DJs didn't seem that appealing. Sure, they were new to me, and maybe I needed more time to warm up to them, but Salt Lake DJs seem smoother, more professional and more entertaining.
The other lacking commodity was traffic news on Portland radio. I finally found some road reports, but they weren't as frequent or as detailed as is the case here.
- RADIO HAPPENINGS - "Space Elders" with "Kerry, Bill and Gina" on KXRK Tuesday featured an encounter with the Romulons. On Wednesday the DJs talked about barking dogs . . . "Geronimo" filled in for Dan Bammes with "Cano and the Bull Crew" earlier this week on KUBL . . . "The Wakeup Club" on KBEE continues to air Leeza Gibbons' entertainment reports . . .
Jimmy Chunga on KENZ had Steve Oldfield, Fox News entertainment reporter, on the air Wednesday for an interview . . . "Mick and Allen" on KURR collected "lounge" versions of popular rock songs Wednesday. They also compiled a list of loyal listeners and talked about unusual terms and names in sporting events like golf and basketball . . . "Dickie Shannon" on KODJ did another pop quiz Wednesday . . .
"Kidd Cassidy" on KKAT Wednesday asked listeners what TV show best described their love life. "Three's Company" to "Eight Is Enough" were among of the responses . . . "Uncle Nasty" on KBER examined the First Amendment in detail Wednesday and talked with listeners about their opinions . . .
"Fisher, Todd and Erin" on KISN-FM Wednesday helped John, an Ogden listener, find a woman who would be willing to take a trip with him to Florida. Natalie, also of Ogden, responded. The two played a "Battle of the Sexes" game Thursday. The DJs this week also got a strange call from a mother in labor and listened to tales of embarrassing moments from listeners . . .
Tom Barberi on KALL talked Thursday about the outrageous salaries some sports stars earn . . . Jon Carter on KRSP did some spoofs and special music Thursday to highlight the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley's last concert.