"We don't need Mad Magazine. We have Utah and talk radio." - Michael Ray, KTKK.
It used to be that radio was a comfy friend in the corner, a crooning, melodic backdrop of sweet tunes, easing listeners through the day.
Enter talk radio.
Enter radio in a new role - an active, rather than passive citizen.
Enter noise and chatter and facts flowing fast and loose.
Enter local talk radio and this week, a discussion of strip joints.
Most people have an opinion about LeMar's, the only semi-nude exotic dance establishment in Utah Valley. It's the only establishment in Provo where a dancer can wear only pasties and thong-backed undies.
Provo Mayor George Stewart isn't amused. Stewart also wasn't amused when "Mike" from Salt Lake City took him to task on Doug Wright's talk radio show. He told the mayor to take a look around Orem's University Mall if he was so concerned about what is going on at LeMar's.
"There are girls that are just as scantily clad walking up and down the University Mall," said Mike.
Not so, said Stewart. No one is wearing pasties in the mall.
True, said Mike, but the semi-nude dancers don't leave the business like that. People have to have identification to get into LeMar's. They have to be of age.
"Haven't you ever known anyone with false identification?" Stewart shot back.
"There is a lot of fear in the community about these issues, and rightly so." Stewart has seven daughters and four sons, he told Mike. He's concerned about the state of things.
But so is Mike. Allow all segments of society, he said. Help children deal with these issues. Explain them. These businesses are part of society. "I wouldn't care if one of these places opened right next door to my house."
And so it goes in the world of talk radio.
Polar views. Discussion. Arguments. A better understanding of another point of view. Maybe.
Across the dial, Tom Barberi offers listeners his own unique solution to the LeMar's controversy:
Provo residents would stop complaining if owners simply changed the tavern's name to "LaVell's."
Enthusiam strong
This summer marks some shifts in Utah's talk radio environment, which despite some changes, shows no sign of losing its enthusiasm for this format. Last month, one all-sports talk radio station went the way of easy listening, but a fourth all-talk radio station has just joined the market.
People can't seem to get enough.
It used to be listeners thought national radio host Sally Jessy Raphael was a little snippy and Bruce Williams a bit bossy. Now we have G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North. Dr. Laura Schlessinger was on the cover of U.S. News and World Report in July.
And in Utah, people who don't talk to each other will talk about what they heard this morning or last night on talk radio programs.
Tom Welch and his severance package. Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini. Olympics: friend or foe. I-15 reconstruction.
Years ago, KSL radio introduced this market to the original version of talk radio in an overnight program called "Nitecaps." Herb Jepko hosted hours of benign discussion and friendly chitchat into the wee hours of the morning.
Someone may have called looking for advice about a family squabble or household problem. Maybe people were nicer then or had more pride, but the conversation didn't go where talk radio conversations go today.
People talked about what to grow in the garden, maybe what to do with a dog who died. But nothing heavy. Nothing too twisted.
Herb Jepko, who died in March 1995, was nice. He was pleasant. He was a comforting friend to all insomniacs.
But comfort has gone the way of the Nice Guy on the airwaves; replaced by the froth and foment society seems to love and hate equally.
Shock value
"Quitters kick a--. If you're not cheating, you're not trying and the only thing better than cheating is quitting."
Welcome to the "The Jungle," the world of Jim Rome, a.k.a. Romey Van Smack. He's the sports/shock radio host with tens of thousands of "clone" followers throughout the country - and plenty in Utah.
Utah gets plenty of attention from the mouthy Rome, who calls Utah Jazz great John Stockton the "Pasty Gangster" for his tough court presence. Salt Lake City is "Weak Take Lake," according to Rome's Internet Web page; a slam at the Salt Lake affiliate "for its reputation of having bad callers," the Web page says.
His "Separated at Birth" Web page matches up Utah Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek with Woody from the movie "Toy Story," and names actor Jim Carrey the twin of former University of Utah basketball star Keith Van Horn.
Despite repeated slams on the Beehive State, Rome's visit to the downtown Gallivan Center during the recent Jazz playoffs drew several thousand Utah fans, many of whom said they called in sick to work to see him.
Loyalty. Deification. Most local talk radio hosts don't enjoy this kind of notoriety, but several admit they suffer from the long-windedness that plagues big-timers like Rome.
Last week, the Los Angeles-based Rome was talking trash - called "smack" in Rome's jungle - about quitters. They rule.
A major league baseball player's voluntary exit from the sport triggered the tirade and illustrated a common criticism of talk radio: Discussion on any topic can go on, and on, ad nauseam.
Rome talked about the player, revisited his philosophy on quitting. "How great. He's a major league baseball player and he quits. Great."
More on the player, more on the sport, more on quitting. Then the shock jock compared the athlete to a Taco Bell employee. "The sour cream gun jammed for the 50th time in one day so I quit," Rome said.
Utah sports talk
Locally, sports talk remains popular but took a hit earlier this month when Sports Radio-570 (KISN-AM) folded. The Salt Lake market supported two all-sports stations for about a year before Trumper Communications, which owns KISN, traded the 570 AM frequency for KKBK (106.5 FM), which Trumper said would be more profitable.
So there does seem to be a limit. What remains is the popular KFNZ ("K-FAN" 1320 AM).
There a listener can find all the amateur analysis he can stomach. John Stockton's famous pass during the playoff series? Karl Malone's chances for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award? Utah listeners and callers regurgitated every millisecond, every turn of the screw, every hint and comment and toe tap toward the title.
But the day changes and the news changes and suddenly Utah's mild-mannered equivalent to Rome is making jokes about Dallas Cowboys football coach Barry Switzer getting busted with a loaded gun at the airport.
"Yeah, I've got two pair of socks, some underwear, some workout clothes, a nice suit . . . and my handgun!" chides David Locke, K-FAN's host of "Locked on Sports."
Locke doesn't have Rome's mouth, but he has a good bit of Rome's self-confidence. He's also more creative. In his "Man Behind the Counter" series, Locke makes spontaneous calls to 7-Eleven convenience store employees around the country - wherever a major sports event is happening or a Utah team is traveling for a contest.
In David Letterman style, and a quick "you're on the air" caveat, Locke quizzes clerks nationwide about the Jazz chances for a win, what's going on, what the person knows.
Grandmaster Barberi
KALL's Barberi began his 27th year at the station this summer - staying power that qualifies him to be Utah's grandmaster of talk radio.
He played music for a number of years at KALL until the station converted to an all-talk format.
Bolstered by strong views about state liquor laws and pornography legislation, Barberi has earned a reputation as one of the state's most vocal liberals - a title he says is unfair.
He says he's far more conservative than he gets credit for.
Most Utahns, according to Barberi, believe in an intrusive type of conservatism, which runs counter to the national definition that true conservatism is getting government out of people's lives.
"I try to keep event-oriented," he said. "I live in mortal fear of being redundant."
Redundancy. Critics talk about it, and apparently, so do hosts.
Other talk stations, according to Barberi, have too high of a "rant" factor. Some talk show hosts can get locked onto one single issue for way too long.
"What I do is entertain. . . . No one else has my opinions. No one else can do exactly what I do."
What's the draw?
The Wasatch Front has four talk stations and soon could get a fifth.
In addition to KALL, KFNZ, KSL and KTKK - KWUN (AM 1230) - is hoping to get on the air before the summer is out. This new station, nicknamed "Radio One," has lined up two very familiar names in local talk radio: Mills Crenshaw and Martin Davies.
There are rumors that there may even be two other talk stations on the dial before the end of the year.
What is it that makes talk radio so popular and its listeners so loyal and committed to the format?
"I hear things I don't normally hear. People express their opinions," said Ken Jarvi, Murray, who started listening to talk radio in the 1970s. "It's a great medium."
Jarvi said it is the depth of news and analysis that he enjoys so much.
"I don't call in very often," he said. "But it's so educational."
He favors the mixture of local and national issues and said talk radio is a perfect medium because you can do other things while you listen. He estimates he spends some 20 hours a week listening to talk radio.
Drew Chamberlain, Salt Lake City, has been a loyal KTKK listener since 1984.
"I like local issues," he said, explaining that he listens to talk radio two to three hours every day, mostly in his car.
A foe of light rail, Chamberlain is also chairman of the Independent Party of Utah. He believes perhaps the biggest power of talk radio is that it brings people together, like others who share his views in opposition to light rail.
"It serves a good purpose," he said.
Janalee Tobias, South Jordan, says she's an avid talk radio listener because she's motivated by a variety of causes and concerns and enjoys exercising her right to freedom of speech.
She said she listens to KTKK when she's seeking action on an issue, tunes in to KSL for more event-oriented talk radio and listens to Barberi on KALL when she wants some entertainment mixed in with current events.
Stations' viewpoints
- Dick Perry is president of United Broadcasting, the company that owns and operates KTKK. He believes his station draws a more conservative audience.
"Our goal is to present both sides and let people judge for themselves."
He insists that KTKK's profit margin is not the station's focus. "We want to be the voice of Utah. . . . Cause motivates people more than money," he said.
- KALL program director Bob Hendricks believes his station doesn't usually get the credit it deserves.
"People listen to us. But some won't admit it," he said.
Hendricks also said KALL doesn't beat its drum to cater to the talk radio junkies - it is more mainstream. "We're in the business to entertain. We try to lighten it up," he said.
- KSL radio managing editor Scott Seeger believes his station should indeed be considered a talk station, despite its accent on news, traffic and weather.
He said at least 10 hours a day of KSL's programming fits the political talk format. Seeger admits KSL leans toward the conservative, but said the station tries to be balanced.
Seeger said Wright tends to be conservative but is not an in-your-face conservative or a screamer. He is a polite host and yet he discusses topical issues and flushes them out.
"He lets callers express their views."
- Crenshaw, meanwhile, believes talk radio listeners become "addicts" to the medium when it is done correctly. That's what his new station is hoping for.
He believes talk radio listeners are among the most pro-active of people.
He promises his new station will be fast-paced, issue-oriented and a pure form of talk radio that lacks "pickle recipes," has no syndicated national programming and no shows telling how to fix your car, your garden, etc. It will be all local talk radio around the clock, he said.
But KWUN has yet to get on the air more than a month after its scheduled startup date. The former operators of AM 1230, a Spanish-language format, have a court battle going against "Radio One" to determine who really has the rights to use the frequency.
The attorney representing Spanish Radio said the two sides are finally talking on their own, but it's unclear when the matter will be resolved.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Just what percentage of folks are tuning into talk-show radio?
Monday to Sunday, 6 a.m. to midnight, from the latest Arbitron book, spring 1997:
Age 12-plus audience share:
2. KSL 6.5 percent
15. KALL 3.2 percent
17. KFNZ 2.7 percent
24. KISN-AM* 0.8 percent
26. KTKK 0.6 percent
Age 18-34 audience share:
16. KSL 2.2 percent
17. (tie) KALL 2.1 percent
17. (tie) KFNZ 2.1 percent
21. KISN-AM* 1.0 percent
28. KTKK 0.2 percent
Age 25-54 audience share:
4. KSL 6.0 percent
12. KALL 3.0 percent
14. KFNZ 2.9 percent
23. KISN-AM* 1.1 percent
28. KTKK 0.3 percent
Age 35-64 audience share:
2. KSL 8.9 percent
9. KALL 4.0 percent
12. KFNZ 3.2 percent
19. *KISN-AM 1.0 percent
22. KTKK 0.8 percent
Talk audience by the total numbers of listeners, age 12-plus, weekdays 6 a.m. to midnight:
KSL 230,800
KALL 90,400
KFNZ 144,000
KISN-AM* 43,600
KTKK 18,300
*KISN-AM aired an all-sports format during this entire ratings period. However, since Aug. 1, the station's sports programming has ceased.