There has been oodles of radio news during the past week — Peggy Ijams has returned to local morning radio, KOSY has started playing all holiday music all the time, KURR is switching formats and KRSP has a new morning news anchor.
"PEG," AS SHE wants to be known now, is a new co-host with Paul Koffy, weekdays 5-10 a.m. on KEGA, "The Eagle," FM-101.5, replacing Sue Cook.
Ijams started Monday after having been off the air for seven months since leaving KSFI. She said Bonneville had made the decision not to renew her contract there, which is why she left FM-100. She said she enjoyed sleeping in, working in the garden and being with her family while she was off the air.
After having been a fill-in with Koffy on several occasions, Ijams said she believes they have great chemistry together. She's surprised to be on a country station now but feels the music KEGA plays has a lot of soul.
Koffy has been on KEGA doing mornings for about one year. Ijams will handle the news, a position she also had on the former "Dain and Peggy" show on KSFI. Ijams spent 14 years at KSFI and has been in radio/TV for more than 25 years.
YOU SEE HOLIDAY decorations in most of the stores even before Halloween, and so why not Christmas music on the radio starting Nov. 1? That's what KOSY (FM-106.5) has done.
Holiday music is usually a good ratings booster for stations, and KOSY may well be the first in Utah to jump so early onto the Christmas bandwagon. KOSY's seasonal slogan is "Utah's holiday music station."
A FORMAT CHANGE has come to KURR (FM-99.5). On-air announcements say the old station, Rock 99, is gone and listeners can help build a new station.
According to information posted on the forum at www.saltlakeradio.com, the station's new call letters may end up being KJMY. There is another Web site in development, www.my995fm.com, which lends support to that idea. "Familiar new rock, retro classic" is how that second Web site defines the station. "My99.5" is its slogan.
Listeners can call 908-1581 to suggest music the new station should play. U2, The Police, Red Hot Chili Peppers, TLC and the Dave Matthews Band have been dominating the station's music this week.
What's this all leading to? And are Mick Martin, Earl David Reed and the former station's other five DJs also gone?
Stay tuned.
BRET CONNOR HAS joined Jon Carter mornings on KRSP (FM-103.5). He started last week as the station's news anchor. He has 18 years of broadcast experience and used to work for Z-93 radio. Connor has also been a public-address announcer for the University of Utah men's basketball team.
ANOTHER BONNEVILLE ACQUISITION — Bonneville International Corporation purchased WPLC (AM-1050) in Washington, D.C., last month, so it can broadcast programming of FederalNewsRadio.com in that area.
Previously only an Internet broadcast, this addition of a terrestrial signal is the opposite of the popular "streaming" trend on the Web nowadays. The Web broadcasts are extremely popular in D.C., and the radio addition means the site can now be heard in cars.
RADIO HAPPENINGS — What's up at KCPX, Channel 105.7? The station played all three presidential debates over and over again, from Oct. 29 through Election Day. Calling itself "Debate Radio 105.7," the station also used messages from local politicians — all designed to help encourage people to vote.
— "Bob and Tom," a popular syndicated show that airs weekday mornings on KBER (FM-101.1), now has its 150th affiliate station. The show has been syndicated since 1995 and is estimated to have nearly 5 million listeners nationwide.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com