San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

Yeah. I found out on F/B. Halloran is the best. I've been listening to him since I first came to San Diego in '88 when he was w/91x when it was still owned by Noble Broadcasting. He's had quite a history in radio and really knows his shit. I HATE Clear Channel.

Mike is a really hard worker and he does it b/c of the passion he has for music and its artists. He has an excellent reputation in the industry and w/artists who respect him. I remember he was at KROQ for a spell and when he was over at 92.1 for a while before that changed formats. He and other DJ's have had to scramble for a long time to get and keep jobs thanks to CC.

I think he should revolutionize KPBS evening w/their boring classical which is the equivalent of dead air. Then it can really be music for the people. They should make him music director over there. I bet their ratings soar and membership/sponsors go up.

I know Mikey from years ago when he first came to SD; he was good friends with a girl I used to work with.

I've never thought much of his personality or his show. He fit right in with the other dipshits on Rock 105.

Oh no. That's really bad news.

That has been a really reliably good station.

They haven't really been clear-channelized have they?

It seems music in the mornings wasn't "bringing in the ratings":

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/...

however, even a top-rated morning show like the DSC went away:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/...

this forces me to conclude that "it" is not about the ratings, nor about the music, and that pulling in the listeners is not the same as contributing to profitability.

then again, the jay leno show debacle (as an attempt to improve profitability by drastically reducing quality) is another interesting lesson in creating a sustainable business model.

@KSMountain: the station is owned by lincoln financial, not clear channel.

however, i do remember ads in 2006 shortly after the acquisition proudly stating "the suits don't pick the music, we do". have not heard these ads in awhile.

it was also a bit jarring to hear ads for {halloran's} dog dare without halloran.

but i do recommend big sonic chill in the evenings, if you can get past the repetitiveness of the ads. which is another sign of desperate radio is getting, if they are taking money from people who would normally appear in your spam filter (hair loss treatment, foreclosure fixing). i also notice NPR is sponsored by "constant contact", which seems to try to do what facebook is doing, but targeted at businesses. i never go to that site, i wonder who does?

I think Big Sonic Chill was better when Midori was the DJ. I liked her.

So far JPINPB has said everythigng for me...

I loved Midori sweet voice for big sonic chill..

And what the hell... I listened to 949 in the morning BECAUSE they didn't have a morning show...

List of things I don't give a Sh*t about:

Wacky AM DJs with wierd intern names

Morning Shows...

Thigh Masters...

Anything that comes out of Kelly Rippa's mouth...

Puppies...

Ok... I lied about the puppies... Love em as a matter of fact...

Can't beleive 949 when all Clear Channel on me!

CE

I was referring to the management and programming style.

It is not literally owned by the Bush cartel.

Another interesting story from Dec 2009:

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/...

"A decimated radio business has triggered the fire sale of three radio stations to a former NFL linebacker who an insider says might take one of those stations out of music and into sports. John Lynch, who once played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, just finalized a deal for his company, Broadcast Company of the Americas, to take over 91X, Magic 92.5, and Z-90 from locally based Finest City Broadcasting. Finest City took over those stations four years ago for $110 million. Lynch/BCA got those stations by assuming $18 million in debt, meaning the three stations lost more than 83 percent of their value in four years."

So, basically, this purchase puts pressure on the other stations to consider format and personnel changes....

There was rumored to have been an auction (at the bottom of the link....

The only constant is change

I am dumbfounded that any station would let Halloran go. Goes to show you what corporations know about music. Stations should be fighting over who gets Halloran. Radio has been his life and he knows so much about it and is so connected. I am very bummed that he's not w/94.9. I was more devastated when 91x got taken over way back when by the evil music empire. But this is just another blow. Makes me not even want to listen to 94.9. I'm sure wherever he goes, he has a following and it will only be a boost to that station. He's the most knowledgeable, personable, entertaining DJ out there. He's great at doing interviews, great at promoting. He really is the best and is loved by many.

Higgy - thanks for the link. I thought 91x was still owned by Clear Channel. The article seems to indicate otherwise. Maybe Halloran could go back to 91x. Interesting that Lynch is back w/91x. Funny. The more things change, the more they stay the same. In the end, radio is a small world.

People still listen to the radios? Isn't that what the Internets and Eyepods are for?

(sorry, still bummed that 94.9 jacked our "Friends Chill" night at the Whistlestop. At least they could have done their version on a different night. Oh, and also picked a name that doesn't have the world "chill" in it. I mean, really?)

Sadly, Halloran is probably a victim of the changing media marketplace. He's a San Diego institution in the music scene, but commercial radio is probably in it's final decade. Many more cars are coming equipped with satelite radio and iPod plugs, and even those further down the economic chain have CD players and low-end computers to burn cds. My own heirarchy of listening has been NPR > my iPod (mostly podcasts) > 94.9 > Sports talk radio > everything else on the dial. At this point in time, I really only have two stations programmed: NPR and 94.9.

I pretty much only listen to 105.3, but I switch around a lot (during commercials). 94.9, I am just not into the non hard rock stuff they play all the time. Probably suits you cali hipsters a lot more than me. Can't stand KPRI with these acoustic sets from some little known female vegan. However I at least understand KPRI sees a market not being served and goes after it.

Mornings I flip from Cowerd to Rome. Once in a while I'll have Scott and BR on but typically not because I don't follow any local sports.

Given my lack of interest in local scene and flipping around every time a commercial comes on I am exactly what hurts local commercial radio. Now, if I hear a good Tool song on 94.9 I stay (as an example). In 5 years here I have no idea who Mike was (or Mikey for that matter). Lastly I am kind of glad that KGB dropped it's morning format. What I hated were the nightly repeats. When I can't get a good song on 91X, 105.3, or 94.9, the next check was KGB and starting at 7:00 there was no more music. Now, I will say as a classic rock fan, KGB is the worst station ever. To me you have to mix in more of the metalish type of music from the 70s and 80s. Sometimes their selections drive me batty.

The Clear Channel thing is killing radio but CC is losing money hand over fist so that might die of natural causes.

I really need to get an ipod converter and start listening to my Bill Simmons Podcasts that I never get around to playing. (TG will appreciate that)

I think that would be a great idea.

Okay.
I tried listening to this annoying fundamentalist tool.

My only thought here is that I wish he would go the direction of other religious extremists and go on a jihadist mission that does not involve fucking up my music or debasing my favorite station.

Maybe Somalia.

I give you credit. I just refused to listen.

Jeff and Jer have been out since last summer??
We'll miss great insight like this from Jerry Cesak: "‘American Idol’ is coming back next week, and I can’t believe we won’t be on the air to talk about it.”

This comment from UT reader sums it up:

"That one sentence does a pretty good job of illustrating exactly what is wrong with terrestrial radio now, especially morning radio. Brain-dead babbling about a brain-dead TV show, that's what morning shows have become."

I third that notion! The NPR radio station out of Santa Monica, KCRW, has excellent non-classical music programming and it is successful. From yelp and the 94.9 f/b page there is indication that those fleeing from mikey are tuning into NPR. probably some self-selection there. So, not a crazy idea...

The irony: Halloran is going into real estate, sort of:

Halloran, who has also worked in the record industry, has not ruled out a return to either radio or records. He says he and his new business partners have made a $6 million offer to buy a local motel and turn it into the “Rock and Roll Motel.… I also just finished a movie script with one of my buddies from Detroit. It’s a movie about Jesus. I was told by a local entrepreneur he wants to option the script.”

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/...

This reminds me of how there used to be "Madison and Tony" on SETS102.1 (pre-KPRI logo, but still owned by Robert), and I seem to recall Tony was a realtor...then in the post-bubble years, it became "Madison" only...maybe Tony cashed out of the radio biz riding that housing cash cow as long as it would moo...

NPR

I remember when he and a relative of his opened a record store in La Jolla. I think it was around 1993 or thereabouts. It wasn't very successful.

KCRW is a good alternative. Can't get it in on the car radio, though. It would be cool if KPBS did some music. As I said, they could really benefit from Halloran's knowledge and connections.

For the best music, go to Pandora.com. Pay the yearly fee (35 bucks or so) and you'll have no commercials. No Halloran needed. You are your own DJ - sort, of.

There is some good database technology there that chooses the music based on songs you choose as seeds. It's pretty nifty.

I haven't listened to a radio staion in several months, since signing on to Pandora.

I like hearing the DJs though. Kinda like some live contact out there. At least w/Halloran. He provided info about music and artists, etc. etc. I tune the commercials out. Anyway, if KPBS did something like KCRW, there would be no commercials. It was be great.

For nearly every song, you can link to the database and get detailed info about that song, the artist, and the album. Further links bring you to reviews of the album (proof of a live person out there), other albums for that artist, as well as artists, songs and albums similar to the current. And, you can play snippets of most songs, too.

Plus, there is a little forum for each song so you feel connected to other listeners.

If you are really into music, you could spend hours digging into those web pages. It's quite fun.

It's a remarkable application. For each song, someone has taken time to characterize the song using 300 specific musical characteristics. It's "about the music" for sure !

I uses those characteristics to find other music you may like. Really cool. Highly recommended.

How else could I have possibly discovered a rockin' bagpipe band called "Enter the Haggis" ?

I recently bought a Samsung DVD player that has a built-in Pandora application so I can play pandora.com through my audio system. I have a friend who listened to pandora using his I-phone on a drive up to O.C.

Gwaaddddd... SDDuuuude...

Your german NOT irish... Give that Haggish stuff a rest... Are you thier publisist?!?! Every since you heard that band you have to go around telling everyone! :P

I did my part in all this and emailed thier program director at 94.9 telling them that the lack of morning show is the reason why I listened to them in the morning.

I also included the fact that Halloran was one of the best and most professional DJs I have ever heard.

I did tell them to keep up the good work on the other shows though.

CE

Looks like the Useless Tribune did a write-up on Halloran. Sums it up pretty well Emperor of the air

Mikey's show on 105.3 was the lowest common denominator of morning radio. It was painful to listen to them all try to 'out stupid' each other every day.

When he was hired on by 94.9 I gave it a listen to see if things would change. So far they have not. It is still an exercise in mediocrity. DJ's have lost the ability to be smart, funny, and entertaining all at the same time.

I would not label Mikey as a religious "extremist" - unless your definition of "extremist" is basically anyone who is a practicing Christian. But I also feel that his on-air proselytizing is totally out of line. That stuff might fly in a big city in the Bible belt; but around here he just comes off like a whiny, sanctimonious, know-it-all.

I spend most of my morning radio time on 1090 AM (sports), or NPR.

To the someone who commented on getting satellite radio as an alternative: Satellite radio is dead.
The new wave will be Internet radios built for your dashboard that work over normal 3G cell connections. Sometimes I use my own cell phone, along with an app called "I heart radio", to tune into stations in other cities. Just put it on speaker phone and listen away without the additional rip-off monthly subscription fee of satellite.

Big Sonic Chill is the only reason to listen to the station unless they have a ku de ta (sp?). It is the same 90's grunge songs with a few new songs thrown in once and a while. Temple of the dog and Nirvana were great in their time...but let them die already. They most have the same 20-30 songs on rotation.