2006 In English-language Radio on:
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The year 2006 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.
Events
*
Quad Cities' radio stations WKBF (1270 AM) and
WHTS
WHTS (105.3 FM), licensed to Coopersville, Michigan, is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station in the Grand Rapids, Michigan market. WHTS is owned and operated by Cumulus Media and transmits with an ERP of 20,000 watts. It is heard as far north as Tusti ...
(98.9 FM), both owned by Mercury Broadcasting but operated by a joint sales agreement with
Clear Channel Communications, are sold during the year. The sale of WKBF from Mercury to EMF Broadcasting is completed in late 2005, and in February the format switches from
contemporary hit radio (which had been formatted at the frequency since 1987) to formatting Christian music as WKLU. WKBF, which had been broadcasting a progressive talk format, is sold to Quad Cities Media and switches to Christian talk in December.
* January 3 –
The BJ Shea Morning Experience
BJ & MIGs mornings is a morning drive time radio show on 99.9 FM KISW in Seattle, Washington, owned by Audacy (previously Entercom). The show airs Monday through Friday, 6–10 a.m. PST and is also available as a stream and a downloadable podcast ...
switches to
KISW
KISW (99.9 FM) – branded 99.9 KISW, The Rock of Seattle – is a commercial mainstream rock radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the Seattle metropolitan area; live shows include ''The Me ...
in Seattle, Washington, from the former FM Talk (now country) station
KKWF
KKWF (100.7 FM "100.7 The Wolf") is a commercial radio station in Seattle, Washington. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it airs a country music radio format. The studios and offices are on Fifth Avenue in Downtown Seattle.
KKWF has a ...
.
* January 21 – Kix Brooks, one half of the country music superstar duo
Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...
, takes over as host of the long-running "
American Country Countdown
''American Country Countdown'', also known as ''ACC'', is a weekly internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 40 country songs of the previous week, from No. 40 to No. 1, according to the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay ch ...
." He succeeds
Bob Kingsley
Robert Gibson Kingsley (March 19, 1939 – October 17, 2019) was an American country music radio personality and a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was best known as the host of two nationally syndicated radio programs: ''American Cou ...
, who had left the program after 27 years a month earlier, and had since started a new program called "
Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
''Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 with Fitz'' (sometimes abbreviated as CT40) is an American country music radio countdown show created by former ''American Country Countdown'' host Bob Kingsley, who hosted the show from its January 2006 debut until ...
."
*
Dial Global
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company ...
takes over operations of the
Transtar 24-hour networks from
Westwood One
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...
.
* June 13 – VNU Media, the publishers of
Billboard, acquires
Radio & Records. The following July 14
Billboard Radio Monitor
''Billboard Radio Monitor'' was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes. The magazine was a spinoff of ''Billboard magazine'' and was most ...
will cease publication, followed by Radio & Records three weeks later on August 4. On August 11 both trades are merged into a "newly relaunched"
R&R.
* June 14 –
KKST
KKST (98.7 FM, "Kiss 98.7 FM") is a radio station broadcasting an urban contemporary format. Licensed to Oakdale, Louisiana, United States, the station serves the Alexandria area. The station is currently owned by Cenla Broadcasting Licensing C ...
/
KEDG
KEDG (106.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary format. Licensed to Alexandria, Louisiana, United States. The station is currently owned by Flinn Broadcasting Corporation. Its studios and transmitter are separately locate ...
/
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, Louisiana trade formatted to KKST as Urban leader as "Kiss 98.7" and KEDG as Adult contemporary leader as "Star 106.9".
* In September,
Mediabase
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...
, associated with the original R&R for 19 years until their final issue (as an independent trade), begin publishing their chart listings in
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
and in the following December debut their online website.
* November 7 –
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio airs the 15,000th episode of its (near) daily drama serial ''
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...
'', begun in 1951.
Debuts
*The
Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the classic hits and hot adul ...
branded ''
MOViN
“Movin'” (capitalized as “MOViN'”) is a brand name used for a variety of rhythmic AC and top 40 radio stations in numerous broadcast markets in the United States. The name is a registered trademark of Alan Burns & Associates, a radio consul ...
'' makes it debut on 1 May, at
KQMV/
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington.
*
Mike McConnell, launched into national syndication after several years at
WLW
WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One.
WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provides ...
on July 1.
*On August 17 KZLA/Los Angeles drops Country after 26 years and becomes the second station in the United States to pick up the Rhythmic AC "MOViN'" format as
KMVN. The flip would leave Los Angeles without an FM Country station until March 2007 when
KKGO
KKGO (105.1 FM, "Go Country 105") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters and airs a country music for ...
fills the void.
*
Nova M Radio
Nova M Radio, later known as On Second Thought, was a radio syndication service providing progressive talk programming. Founded as Nova M Radio by Sheldon and Anita Drobny in 2006, its stated purpose was to purchase, own, and operate underper ...
, a progressive talk radio network featuring
Mike Malloy
Michael Dennis Malloy (born July 1, 1942) is a progressive American radio broadcaster based in Atlanta. Previously his show has been carried by WSB (AM) Atlanta, WLS (AM) Chicago, the I.E. America Radio Network, the Air America Radio network, ...
. October 18.
*
Greenstone Media, a female-oriented
talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...
network
*Kevin Barrett begins hosting a twice-weekly talk show on
Genesis Communications Network
The Genesis Communications Network, often referred to as GCN, is a radio network created in 1998, owned by Ted Anderson. The network currently produces 45 shows, distributed on more than 780 radio stations nationwide. The network is known for tal ...
called ''The Dynamic Duo'', and another talk show, hosted weekly on RBN, titled ''Truth Jihad Radio''. The topic of both shows is mainly conspiracy theories surrounding the
September 11, 2001 attacks.
*San Francisco/Oakland oldies station
KFRC flipped to
Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the classic hits and hot adul ...
as "MOViN 99.7".
*November 9 –
WAQZ in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio flips to
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
as
WYGY
WYGY (97.3 FM, "The Wolf") is a radio station broadcasting a gold-based country music format. Licensed to the suburb of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, it serves the Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1993 under the ...
"97.3 The Wolf".
*October 2 –
KMVK
KMVK (107.5 FM, "La Grande 107.5"), is a commercial radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The station is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. KMVK broadcasts in Spanish and airs a radio form ...
in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
(formerly KOAI) begins their
Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the classic hits and hot adul ...
format as ''MOViN 107.5''. This change has caused a lot of criticism to former KOAI listeners.
*December 30 – "Casey Kasem's American Top 40 – The 1970s", digitally remastered airings of selected "
American Top 40" shows from 1970 to 1979.
Closings
*May – ''
Unforgettable Favorites {{Infobox Network ,
logo = ,
network_name = Unforgettable Favorites,
country = United States,
network_type = Radio network,
available = National,
owner = ABC Radio Networks(through The Walt Disney Company),
key_people ...
'' merged into
Timeless Classics
Timeless was a 24-hour satellite music service of Citadel Media (through Citadel Broadcasting). It has distributed a mix of soft oldies and adult standards to radio stations around the United States. It was a combination of two former formats: go ...
by owner
ABC Radio.
*June 23 – ''
The Phil Hendrie Show
''The World of Phil Hendrie'' is a comedy talk radio program. The show is syndicated throughout North America on Westwood One. It is known for outrageous guests, the majority of whom are fictional and voiced live by the host, Phil Hendrie. Though ...
'', host
Phil Hendrie
Philip Stephen Hendrie (born September 1, 1952) is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting ''The Phil Hendrie Show'', a ...
decided to retire from radio in an effort to pursue an acting career. Reruns continued on two stations until 2007.
*September 1 –
John Batchelor
John Calvin Batchelor (born April 29, 1948) is an American author and host of ''Eye on the World'' on the CBS Audio Network. His flagship station is New York's 710 WOR. The show is a hard-news-analysis radio program on current events, world his ...
's last show on
ABC Radio Network
Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which ...
*December 5 – ''
Springer on the Radio
''Springer on the Radio'' was an American radio program broadcast from WCKY (AM), WCKY and later WSAI in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati from January 17, 2005 to December 5, 2006 and syndicated nationally on the Air America Radio network from April 1, ...
'', hosted by
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...
ends
*''
The Majority Report''. Originally one of
Air America Radio
Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010.
The network was founded as a left wing alternative to counter ...
's featured programs, the show ended a few days after
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''.
Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...
left the show and the network. Later restructuring of the schedule saw her co-host,
Sam Seder, move to early mornings.
*October 2 – KOAI in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
has ended their
Smooth Jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s.
History
Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...
format. (see KMVK in Debuts section)
Deaths
*January 9 –
Jack Snow, 62, former
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
player and radio announcer (complications from a
staph infection
A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria.
These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasio ...
)
*February 1
**
Dick Bass
Richard Lee Bass (March 15, 1937 – February 1, 2006) was an American football running back from who played for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1969.
Early life and education
Born in Georgetown, Mississ ...
, 68, American pro
football player and radio analyst.
**
Dick Brooks
Richard Brooks (April 14, 1942 – February 1, 2006) was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500. Brooks held off veteran Buddy Baker b ...
, 63, American
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
race car driver and radio broadcaster (heart attack)
**
Ernest Dudley
Vivian Ernest Coltman-Allen (23 July 1908 – 1 February 2006), known professionally as Ernest Dudley, was an English actor, dramatist, novelist, journalist and screenwriter.
Biography Personal life
Vivian Ernest Coltman-Allen was born in ...
, 97, British novelist, journalist, screenwriter, actor, radio broadcaster.
*February 3
**
Al Lewis, 82, American actor (Grandpa Munster on ''
The Munsters
''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anoth ...
''),
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
political candidate, restaurateur, and radio host.
*February 27 –
Linda Smith, 48, English comedian.
*March 1 –
Harry Browne
Harry Edson Browne (June 17, 1933 – March 1, 2006) was an American writer, politician, and investment advisor. He was the Libertarian Party's Presidential nominee in the U.S. elections of 1996 and 2000. He authored 12 books that in total hav ...
, 72, American
libertarian writer, politician, U.S. Presidential
candidate
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* ...
and radio talk show host.
*June 26 –
Stan Torgerson, 82, radio announcer for
Ole Miss football and basketball games.
*July 4 –
John Hinde, 92, Australian film reviewer and journalist.
*July 31 –
Paul Eells, 70, voice of the
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...
football and basketball for radio and television, car accident.
*August 2 –
Robert Eric Wone, 32, American general counsel to
Radio Free Asia (stabbing).
*August 25 –
Ross Warneke, 54, Australian television commentator and radio broadcaster (cancer).
*September 6 –
Sir John Drummond, 71, former controller of
BBC Radio 3 and
The Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
.
*September 26
**
Ralph Story
Ralph Story (born Ralph Bernard Snyder; August 19, 1920 – September 26, 2006) was an American television and radio personality. He was best known as the host of '' The $64,000 Challenge'' from 1956 to 1958, and as the writer and host of ''Ralph ...
, 86, American radio broadcaster and television show host (''
The $64,000 Challenge''),
emphysema.
**
Iva Toguri D'Aquino
Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino ( ja, 戸栗郁子 アイバ; July 4, 1916 – September 26, 2006) was a Japanese-American disc jockey and radio personality who participated in English-language radio broadcasts transmitted by Radio Tokyo to Allied t ...
, 90, Japanese American broadcaster
*September 28 –
George Balzer
George Balzer (September 1, 1915 - September 28, 2006) was an American screenwriter and television producer.
Biography
Balzer was born to a Roman Catholic familyJack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...
's radio and TV shows, natural causes.
*October 3 –
Gwen Meredith, 98, Australian writer of all 5,795 episodes of the long-running radio serial ''
Blue Hills'', after heart trouble.
*October 5 –
Robert Dentith, 29, British radio presenter of "The Unsigned Show" on
Kerrang! Radio
Kerrang! Radio is a specialist digital rock music radio station owned and operated by Bauer and forms part of the Kiss Network.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 341,000 listeners according to RAJAR.
Stations
Hist ...
.
*October 13 –
Bob Lassiter
Bob Lassiter, also known as "Mad Dog", (September 30, 1945 – October 13, 2006) was a controversial and highly influential American radio talk show host in the 1980s and 1990s. He worked in several markets but is best known for his long stint i ...
, 61, American
talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...
personality.
*October 16 –
Lister Sinclair
Lister Sheddon Sinclair, OC (January 9, 1921 – October 16, 2006) was a Canadian broadcaster, playwright and polymath.
Early life
Sinclair was born in Bombay, India, to Scottish parents. His father, William Sheddon Sinclair, was a chemical eng ...
, 85, Canadian playwright and
CBC broadcaster (
pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...
)
*October 17 –
Christopher Glenn Joseph Christopher Glenn (March 23, 1938 – October 17, 2006) was an American radio and television news journalist who worked in broadcasting for over 45 years and spent the final 35 years of his career at CBS, retiring on February 23, 2006 at the ...
, 68, American
CBS News radio and television news anchor,
liver cancer.
*October 20 –
Mary Gay Taylor, 71, radio journalist for
WCBS-AM
WCBS (880 AM, "WCBS Newsradio 880") is a radio station licensed to New York, New York and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. WCBS's studios are located in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of lower Manhattan an ...
.
*October 21
**
Pye Chamberlayne, 68, American radio journalist (heart attack).
**
Paul Walters
Paul Christopher Walters (15 June 1947 – 21 October 2006) was a BBC radio and TV producer, best known for his work and appearances on Terry Wogan's BBC Radio 2 breakfast show ''Wake Up to Wogan'' from 1995 until a few months before his death ...
, 59,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio and TV producer.
*November 23 –