Driving to work this morning, I noticed that KNX has made changes to its format clock. Business news is now at :20 and :50 after the hour, and sports reports are now at :24 and :54. Along with these changes come new sounders. Gone are the iconic traffic tones. Instead, there is a drumbeat type of sounder that plays throughout traffic and weather together on the fives. The sounder leading into business reports features the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Did anyone get to hear what they play after CBS News at the top of the hour or the headlines at the bottom of the hour?
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New Format Clock and New Sounders for KNX
- Thread starter Joey1986
- Start date
I just noticed this, too. I recall when sports used to be at 0:15 and 0:45 and business was 0:20 and 0:50. What causes changes to the clock from time-to-time? Is change for change's sake effective?
They may have been analyzing minute to minute PPM data from MediaMonitors and decided that polarizing content, such as business (those with no interest in business may pick that moment to tune out) or sports (women may leave at such time) should not be in the transitional period between quarter hours.
And they also may think that those same elements have specific sub-groups that follow them and putting the content in the middle of a quarter hour may "drag" listeners far enough into that quarter hour to get full credit.
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KNX New Sounders Chuck All Vestige's of Heritage
As of July 6, Ken Charles has been KNX's new Program Director. As with a newspaper publisher who implements a redesign early on in their tenure to leave their fingerprint on the product, a PD will often implement a new package of sounders to leave their fingerprints. For example, KFWB used to cycle through sounder packages every few years in the 1990s and early 2000s under a sequence of NDs and PDs, while KNX stayed pretty consistent under its long tenured management of that era.
Regarding the new sounders - Mr. Charles has tossed out all vestiges of KNX's heritage. I thought the prior sounders, implemented only a couple years ago, did a nice job of making the station's sound more current, while respecting the heritage melodic "KNX 1070......Newsradio" jingle as well as incorporating the station's decades old traffic tones into that revitalized music bed. The new sounders launched on 8/31/15 completely chuck all that away. Also, the traffic music bed plays too loudly under the traffic anchor. Listening Tuesday in my car while driving full speed on the 5 freeway I could clearly understand everything Jim Thornton was presenting but the traffic information being relayed by Denise Fondo was slightly harder to clearly decipher due to the music bed being potted up too high.
As of July 6, Ken Charles has been KNX's new Program Director. As with a newspaper publisher who implements a redesign early on in their tenure to leave their fingerprint on the product, a PD will often implement a new package of sounders to leave their fingerprints. For example, KFWB used to cycle through sounder packages every few years in the 1990s and early 2000s under a sequence of NDs and PDs, while KNX stayed pretty consistent under its long tenured management of that era.
Regarding the new sounders - Mr. Charles has tossed out all vestiges of KNX's heritage. I thought the prior sounders, implemented only a couple years ago, did a nice job of making the station's sound more current, while respecting the heritage melodic "KNX 1070......Newsradio" jingle as well as incorporating the station's decades old traffic tones into that revitalized music bed. The new sounders launched on 8/31/15 completely chuck all that away. Also, the traffic music bed plays too loudly under the traffic anchor. Listening Tuesday in my car while driving full speed on the 5 freeway I could clearly understand everything Jim Thornton was presenting but the traffic information being relayed by Denise Fondo was slightly harder to clearly decipher due to the music bed being potted up too high.
The minute by minute/PPM angle seems like the most likely one to me. You mentioned before the Art Laboe was at one or more presentations discussing the PPM model and how to program to it and took studious notes, and one assumes adjusted his show accordingly. Aside from the judicious use of clock (only in his case, with stopsets) are there any other changes you think he would have made to the show to take full advantage of the PPM measuring/counting methodology?
I'd like to see more thoughts posted on this subject. The new KNX sounders (and clock) deployed on Monday, August 31, 2015. One comment expressed to me was that they have a faint resemblance to the BBC. I think it is a bit of a shame that the KNX heritage sound, which was so well-maintained with the last update of their sound 4 years ago, now has been completely chucked. Also, the previous KNX sound had some echoes of CBS to it (their corporate parent). No longer.
In NYC, both CBS All-News stations, 880 WCBS and 1010 WINS, continue to do Sports at :15 and :45. They do business at almost the same time, WCBS at :25 and :55, WINS at :26 and :56. (And both use Bloomberg reporters for business news, although not the same people.) WINS does traffic on the ones 
01, :11, etc.) and WCBS on the eights 08, :18, etc.).
Of course, WINS has a 20 minute cycle for its news, while WCBS has a 30 minute cycle. With the end of All-News on KFWB Los Angeles, WINS is the last All-News station with a 20 minute cycle. (KFWB's switch also means WINS and KYW Philadelphia are the last All-News stations to use tele-type sound effects behind the anchors.) I always wonder why, in this fast-paced world, more All-News stations don't adopt the 20 minute cycle, so the top stories get aired three times per hour instead of two?
01, :11, etc.) and WCBS on the eights 08, :18, etc.).Of course, WINS has a 20 minute cycle for its news, while WCBS has a 30 minute cycle. With the end of All-News on KFWB Los Angeles, WINS is the last All-News station with a 20 minute cycle. (KFWB's switch also means WINS and KYW Philadelphia are the last All-News stations to use tele-type sound effects behind the anchors.) I always wonder why, in this fast-paced world, more All-News stations don't adopt the 20 minute cycle, so the top stories get aired three times per hour instead of two?
This thread got me to thinking. Many stations across the country claim to be "News Radio" but what stations are considered true All News stations? Let's see...
WCBS, WINS, KNX, WBBM, KCBS, KRLD, WTOP, KYW, WBZ, WWJ...not too many...are there others?
WCBS, WINS, KNX, WBBM, KCBS, KRLD, WTOP, KYW, WBZ, WWJ...not too many...are there others?
WBZ has never been all news. There's always been talk programming at night.
No all-news stations in Phoenix.
Along with KRLD. They have been all news-during weekdays 5AM-8PM since late 2010. Talk programs and infomercials on nights and weekends.
Surprisingly you can tune into a live newscast at 2PM on a Saturday/Sunday (probably because of the traffic reports due to the famous unpredictable, heavy L.A. traffic). L.A. is one of the last remaining cities where it is still possible to do it.
From the internet stream, the music bed during the traffic segment seems to compete with the traffic announcer's voice half-and-half. How does it sound on AM? I would reckon that it's hard to listen to the traffic report with the awful background music. It was hard to pay attention to his voice on a high-fidelity stream.
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Which, apparently, includes the part about usually coming in 15th in the ratings. Ken's trend is 2.7-3.0-3.6. 7th place 6+, beating KFI and the best showing in 20+ years. Anybody have 25-54?
25-54 1.2 1.4 1.7 2.1 in last 4 books.
They moved from 20th to 17th in demo, with a virtual tie with KFI.
And how many LA listeners would "get" that?
I have been a regular listener to KNX over the last 20 years or so. And I've programmed two all news stations.
But for the life of me, I can't recall a "heritage sound" on KNX. In the 90's, I preferred KFWB as KNX with its race track reports and pontificating editorials was stodgy and stuffy. KFWB had a "sound" and appeared to have better team spirit. KNX has always been, just as I find the LA Times, a little too stiff and full of itself.
That is a throwback type of image I do not think anyone wants or desires today. I don't even think that today's CBS wants to sound like the old CBS.
It is good they have reimaged. The sound was not terribly cohesive prior to Mr. Charles' arrival.
Something in the Nielsen numbers makes me think that was the purpose in bringing him in... to fix something that was broken and coasting downhill.
at a 1.2 25-54, sounds like the heritage was long gone before 2015. If someone has doubled the numbers over the last 4 books then he is a hero, I don't know how to critique that, I'd imagine that anyone who reminisces for old sounds and perceived heritage are not the audience they would care about. Then again 25-54 will be history for am no matter what you do that is not sports soon enough. I know in NYC those am newsers still make a mint while the 2 fms on 923 and 1027 are nothing special, not now but that decision does draw near....wins on 923 is an easier call than 880 on 1027.
KFI was doing a great job interfacing news with its on air talk staff. They had Dave Cruz as an investigative reporter backing up Steve Gregory with breaking news stories and Eric Leonard handling court issues. But Dave disappeared, Michael Clsrk was let go (or left - it has never been made clear) and two members of the news team replaced Thompson and Espinosa.
If KNX is now waking up and reinventing itself hopefully KFI does the same thing. One approach would be to return to more field reporters integrated with the five daytime/evening talk show hosts.
If KNX is now waking up and reinventing itself hopefully KFI does the same thing. One approach would be to return to more field reporters integrated with the five daytime/evening talk show hosts.
I think the OP is referring to the "Traffic on the 5's" sounders--the car horn honking from a '60s tube synthesizer. That is KNX's signature sound. The other all-news stations (almost exclusively CBS-owned) have no such differentiation.
UPDATE: Yesterday evening I noticed that the traffic sounder has again been changed. It's more musical. No more drumbeat. All other sounders are the same ones that debuted back on August 31 of this year.
BTW, @KTN Corp: You're right. I was referring to the "car horn" sounder. I'm sorry that it took me over a month to confirm that with you.
BTW, @KTN Corp: You're right. I was referring to the "car horn" sounder. I'm sorry that it took me over a month to confirm that with you.
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Another KNX change this month that does not sit well with me is the addition of the syndicated "The Car Pros" talk show on Saturday mornings. TCP replaced Food News, also a talk show, but Food News was a local show and attempted at least slightly to be a news show, whereas TCP is syndicated fare. It would be nice to see KNX air its all-news format during Saturday mornings (9-11a) as it does every other day of the week.
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