Pin It

A Word From Our Sponsor

Television keeps moving the line between advertising and editorial.

A A A Comments By Michael Roberts Thursday, Mar 16 2000

Lontine's lack of interest in KVOD leaves open the question of where the station will wind up. The most logical theory is that Clear Channel will simply give it away, as it did in the case of KHOW2-AM, which is now Radio 1190, the wonderful station affiliated with the University of Colorado. Furthermore, say proponents of this hypothesis, the recipient of the property is likely to be a minority broadcaster. Why? Because this gift would score brownie points with the Federal Communications Commission, which has to approve the sales of more than a hundred stations before the Clear Channel-AMFM merger can be finalized. The FCC stated previously that it hoped Clear Channel would strongly consider giving opportunities to such businesses -- and it has in the case of the aforementioned Hispanic Broadcasting, a firm in which Clear Channel just happens to hold a 29 percent ownership stake.

As for KVOD listeners, they'll probably need to find somewhere else to celebrate Beethoven's birthday.

Susan Goldstein

More About

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Channel 7's on-air editorials ("7 Solutions," February 24) have made their first big score: Only weeks after asking Public Service to either guarantee that a leaking gas-storage facility near Arvada is safe or shut it down, Public Service announced that it will close the operation. As Channel 7 general manager/editorial frontwoman Cindy Velasquez says in a followup to the original message that airs this week, "Thank you for listening."

The Denver Post has been heard aplenty of late: Its March 12 preview of the final Columbine High shootings report was a top-of-the-broadcast item on many national news programs. But lost in this hoopla was a newspaper-war irony: Reporter Peggy Lowe's contribution to the opus made the Post's front page even though she's been writing for the Rocky Mountain News since March 1 -- a departure that only added to the brain drain that's afflicted the Post since the first of the year. Daily switching, however, is a two-way street, with business type Al Lewis and columnist Reggie Rivers recently leaping from the News to the Post. Can't tell the players without a program.

Have comments, tips or complaints about the media? E-mail "The Message" at Michael_Roberts@westword.com