Consistent, local and community-oriented. Those three words probably describe KSOP radio as well as any.
Defying industry odds and remaining with its original family ownership, FM-104.3, which these days is known as "The Cowboy," has changed less over the years than perhaps any other Salt Lake area station.
In fact, for the longevity of personalities at the station, KSOP is likely the local leader by a wide margin. Consider these numbers:
40 years — Larry Hunter, weekend DJ, has been at the station since the 1960s.
32-plus years — Morning DJ "Country Joe" has been at the station since 1971 (minus a short stint at a rock-music station). He was inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame in 2001. He's also an internationally recognized author of reference books used by country radio announcers around the world.
22-plus years — Newsman Dick Jacobson arrived at KSOP back in 1979, left for a time and returned in 1988. Phil Pond and John Greenwell, nighttime jocks, each exceed the quarter-century mark.
18-plus years — Kim Hall, midday DJ, and Bill Buckley, afternoons.
Five to 10 years — Lee West has done traffic reporting at KSOP for about a decade; some other station DJs are also in that range.
"I think the longevity of employees is why we are still going 50 years after my father, Henry, began the station," Greg Hilton, KSOP general manager, said. "We are a big family. That closeness is hard to find nowadays, especially in the world of consolidation."
Hilton said consistency is definitely part of the station's success.
He also believes KSOP airs fewer ads than its competitors (and this means playing more music). In addition, "our DJs aren't yelling at you," he said.
In the same location for decades, KSOP still resides in West Valley City at 1285 W. 2320 South.
KSOP-FM plays a variety of the best contemporary country music. Sister station KSOP (AM-1370) plays classic country hits from the '50s to the '80s.
NEW UTAH RADIO WEB SITE — There's another Internet site for local radio news — utahradioonline.com.
Dan Petersen, who started the site, recently returned to Utah from Seattle. He isn't new to the Web scene. He initiated the Utah Radio News and Salt Lake Radio.com sites before heading north. (He sold those two original sites when he moved.)
"I am hoping to make this a real fun site for news and rumors," Petersen states in an introduction on the site.
RADIO HAPPENINGS — Mark Waldi is the new 2-7 p.m. weekday afternoon DJ on KRSP ("Arrow 103.5"). He has 23 years' experience, having worked in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and Phoenix. He also worked for Salt Lake-area radio stations for seven years — including the first-ever morning drive spot for "Arrow 103.5."
— "Temple Square Concerts" airs Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on KBYU (FM-89.1).
— "The Infinite Mind" is a new syndicated show that airs locally on KUSU (FM-96.7) Sundays at 8 p.m. For details, go to www.theinfinitemind.com.
— KBYU (FM-89.1) will broadcast a four-part series that pays tribute to Denmark's irrepressible storyteller, titled "Lesser-Known Tales of Hans Christian Andersen." It will air every Monday in September at 8 p.m.
Also in September, KBYU will air four concerts from the 2005 Cathedral of the Madeline Festival of the Arts and Humanities, Saturdays at 7 p.m. (with the exception of Sept. 24, which will begin at 8 p.m.).
— Radio delay: I couldn't help but notice that during a live broadcast of President Bush's visit to Utah last Monday, KSL radio had a five-second or so lag behind the TV broadcasts.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com