As the Smoke Clears

In such an environment, pros like Channel 9's Dennis are relying on the most basic tenets of news judgment. "Every day we make decisions based on what we think is most important for viewers to know," she says. "And I don't know that the criteria has changed."

In a world where everything else has, that's good to know.

Erratum: The roster of journalists who made mistakes following last week's events includes yours truly. In my previous column, I wrote that Jamie White and Danny Bonaduce can be heard on Alice, when in fact they're now on KISS-FM.

Clearing out: During the September 14 Clear Channel fundraiser alluded to above, Don Howe, vice president and general manager of the Denver radio outlets owned by the Texas-based behemoth, spent the day in front of the operation's headquarters collecting money alongside his family (he's married and has three sons, ages fifteen, thirteen and ten). The occasion was emotional, Howe says, and not simply for the obvious reasons. Why? Howe already knew he would be leaving Denver, where he's spent the last fourteen years.

Howe's new title with Clear Channel is West Coast Senior Vice President, and his duties entail overseeing 125 stations, most of them in California (the Denver market is part of the Plains/Northwest region, under the supervision of Jay Meyers). As such, he'll be relocating to San Diego at year's end. Until then, he'll handle his chores from Denver, with Lee Larsen, previously in charge of Clear Channel's local AM properties, sliding into Howe's old post. "I was hesitant to leave, because we have deep roots in Colorado," Howe says. "But I'm looking forward to working at this new level."

The legacy Howe leaves behind is a complicated one. When he arrived in Denver during the late '80s as an employee of Jacor Communications (a firm Clear Channel subsequently swallowed), his company owned just two stations, KOA and what became the Fox. But in short order, Jacor picked up KAZY, which Howe used to destroy a rival outlet, KBPI, that Jacor later picked off the scrap heap and returned to powerhouse status. (Howe calls this accomplishment his greatest in Denver.) He was also at the helm when, following the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 -- a law that allowed businesses to own eight stations in any market and an unlimited number overall -- Jacor hit the FCC maximum here. Denver, Howe notes, was the first city in which this happened. Finally, Howe birthed Jacor Concerts, a precursor to Clear Channel Concerts, currently the largest concert-promotion outfit in the nation.

Many observers see such consolidation as bad for competition and consumers alike, including the partners in Nobody in Particular Presents, a local promotion company that filed a lawsuit against Clear Channel in U.S. District Court, alleging innumerable monopolistic practices ("Taking on the Empire," August 23). NIPP's Doug Kauffman and Jesse Morreale declined to comment about what Howe's departure might mean to them, but Barry Fey, the venerable head of another Clear Channel adversary, House of Blues, wasn't so reticent. He feels Howe is being moved because of heat from the lawsuit and an ongoing Justice Department investigation of Clear Channel. "Don Howe and his merry men are responsible for all of that," he says. "The first domino has fallen."

Howe denies that the suit was factored into his new gig, and circumstantial evidence backs him up. When Clear Channel announced its regional supervision plan on August 27, former AMFM executive Jim Donahoe was named West Coast head. But weeks later, Donahoe resigned because of what he told Radio & Record were differences between his vision and Clear Channel's; Howe was then hurriedly recruited to take his place.

Still, Howe's departure may mean shifts in the way Clear Channel does business in Denver. Fey, for one, is thrilled that Larsen, whom he calls "a good, decent man," has been put in charge, and he's equally pleased that director of FM programming Mike O'Connor, who shares Howe's hard-nosed reputation, didn't get the nod. "That would be like putting Adolf Eichmann in charge of United Jewish Appeal," he says.

The normally pugnacious Howe doesn't rise to such bait. With the clock winding down on his time in Denver, he seems downright sentimental. "This is bittersweet," he says. "But it's the right move."

Turmoil a-Go-Go: The biweekly known as Go-Go has been among the more resilient zines to hit Denver in recent years. Founded by Gary Haney in 1999, it began life as a quasi-pornographic mag but was soon transformed into a more mainstream entertainment source -- and lately, its page count has been inching upward despite the generally lousy economic climate. But what took place behind the scenes last week -- specifically, the firing of longtime editor Chris Magyar and the resignation of art director Marilyn Taylor -- implies that Go-Go may be shakier than it seems.