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RIP: Paul Lotsoff, KAVV 97.7 Benson

SomeRadioGuy

SomeRadioGuy

News coming out from the family that KAVV 97.7 Benson, AZ owner Paul Lotsof was found dead in the station production room Tuesday morning, having likely Collapsed while working when no one was around

He was known here on RD as "CAVEManager."
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
News coming out from the family that KAVV 97.7 Benson, AZ owner Paul Lotsof was found dead in the station production room Tuesday morning, having likely Collapsed while working when no one was around

He was known here on RD as "CAVEManager."
Click to expand...
His moniker was a nod to the Karchner Caverns which is near Benson, AZ.
 
I'm pretty sure he was a (mostly) one-man-station down there in Benson with KAVV-FM.

RIP, Paul.
 
CaveFM is live and local and a throwback to broadcasting from a bygone era. KAVV might be one-man station in terms of management, sales and engineering but Paul has an air staff of five: Cavemen
Long-time morning man Joaquin Haro has a great radio voice and his deep, Southern drawl reminds me of the late, great Davie Lee of WIL & KUSA in St. Louis.
 
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landtuna said:
His moniker was a nod to the Karchner Caverns which is near Benson, AZ.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure KAVV is entirely live.... but mostly.

KAVV also isnt turning a profit or nearly none
 
All Access is reporting that Paul Lotsof, owner of KAVV-FM 97.7 in Benson, AZ has passed away. I believe he was on this board as CAVEmanager.

www.allaccess.com

KAVV (Cave 97.7 FM)/Benson, AZ, Owner Paul Lotsof Found Dead

STEREO 97, INC. Classic Country KAVV (CAVE 97.7 FM)/BENSON, AZ owner PAUL LOTSOF was found dead in the station production room last TUESDAY (8/23), according to his family, having apparently collapsed while working with no one else around. No other information is available.In 2017, KAVV came...
www.allaccess.com www.allaccess.com
 
SirRoxalot said:
All Access is reporting that Paul Lotsof, owner of KAVV-FM 97.7 in Benson, AZ has passed away. I believe he was on this board as CAVEmanager.

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I corrected the URL: https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/...cave-97-7-fm-benson-az-owner-paul-lotsof-foun

It mentions:

"In 2017, KAVV came under fire from local residents, who began a petition seeking to shut down the station for broadcasting messages offering advice on how listeners could conceal child pornography. LOTSOF, who disagreed with state laws on possession of child pornography, claimed that these messages were in the public service. After advertisers were threatened, LOTSOF pulled the PSA from the air."
 
Lotsof was 79 years old. His early posts in this forum indicate he was a former resident of WNY and a broadcaster here. The KAVV website says that his dad fronted the money for him to apply for an FM license in Benson, AZ in 1977. He cobbled together used gear that had largely been discarded by bigger stations and got the station on the air in 1983. It's been broadcasting since then with mostly live talent. Lotsof purchased an FM translator in 2017 that covers Benson, but not much more of the AM's service area.

Lotsof maintained that his "PSA" was misunderstood. Judge for yourself:

Radio station owner defends PSA about how to hide child porn from police

The owner of a Benson-area radio station is defending his decision to create and air a public service announcement that instructs people how to hide child pornography from law enforcement.
www.13wmaz.com www.13wmaz.com
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
I'm not sure KAVV is entirely live.... but mostly.

KAVV also isnt turning a profit or nearly none
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Surprised, then, that KAVV is still streaming with no geofencing. I'd imagine it has too few listeners to bust the station's budget. I'm listening right now and the morning jock is talking about Lotsoff.

Side note: Wasn't KAVV a '50s/'60s oldies station? I heard a hybrid hit country/classic country format on it today. (Think Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors" and Tyler Hubbard's "5 Foot 9" in the same set.)
 
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CTListener said:
Surprised, then, that KAVV is still streaming with no geofencing. I'd imagine it has too few listeners to bust the station's budget. I'm listening right now and the morning jock is talking about Lotsoff.

Side note: Wasn't KAVV a '50s/'60s oldies station? I heard a hybrid hit country/classic country format on it today. (Think Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors" and Tyler Hubbard's "5 Foot 9" in the same set.)
Click to expand...

Nope, KAVV has always been classic country under Lotsoff. In recent years, it evolved a bit and added some newer country
 
SirRoxalot said:
Lotsof was 79 years old. His early posts in this forum indicate he was a former resident of WNY and a broadcaster here. The KAVV website says that his dad fronted the money for him to apply for an FM license in Benson, AZ in 1977. He cobbled together used gear that had largely been discarded by bigger stations and got the station on the air in 1983. It's been broadcasting since then with mostly live talent. Lotsof purchased an FM translator in 2017 that covers Benson, but not much more of the AM's service area.

Lotsof maintained that his "PSA" was misunderstood. Judge for yourself:

Radio station owner defends PSA about how to hide child porn from police

The owner of a Benson-area radio station is defending his decision to create and air a public service announcement that instructs people how to hide child pornography from law enforcement.
www.13wmaz.com www.13wmaz.com
Click to expand...
KAVV was never on AM. Always at 97.7 FM..

Met Paul once, back in '84, when I drove down to Benson, and interviewed for an on air position.
 
SirRoxalot said:
Lotsof was 79 years old. His early posts in this forum indicate he was a former resident of WNY and a broadcaster here. The KAVV website says that his dad fronted the money for him to apply for an FM license in Benson, AZ in 1977. He cobbled together used gear that had largely been discarded by bigger stations and got the station on the air in 1983. It's been broadcasting since then with mostly live talent. Lotsof purchased an FM translator in 2017 that covers Benson, but not much more of the AM's service area.

Lotsof maintained that his "PSA" was misunderstood. Judge for yourself:

Radio station owner defends PSA about how to hide child porn from police

The owner of a Benson-area radio station is defending his decision to create and air a public service announcement that instructs people how to hide child pornography from law enforcement.
www.13wmaz.com www.13wmaz.com
Click to expand...
KilowattKat said:
KAVV was never on AM. Always at 97.7 FM..

Met Paul once, back in '84, when I drove down to Benson, and interviewed for an on air position.
Click to expand...

KAVV at one point had an on channel booster, but im not sure if it was ever used long or if at all.

KAVV was broiefly on.. was it 1210 in Tuscon to see if it'd bring more audience and revenue and it didnt. .so that lasted. .6 months?
 
KilowattKat said:
KAVV was never on AM. Always at 97.7 FM..

Met Paul once, back in '84, when I drove down to Benson, and interviewed for an on air position.
Click to expand...

I gotta hear that story.. tell us how it went.
 
CTListener said:
Side note: Wasn't KAVV a '50s/'60s oldies station?
Click to expand...
Cave Music

SomeRadioGuy said:
KAVV at one point had an on channel booster, but im not sure if it was ever used long or if at all.
Click to expand...
KAVV currently has translator at 104.1:

K281CC-FM 104.1 MHz - Benson, AZ

Radio Station Information for K281CC 104.1 MHz FM, Benson, AZ
radio-locator.com radio-locator.com

SomeRadioGuy said:
KAVV was broiefly on.. was it 1210 in Tuscon to see if it'd bring more audience and revenue and it didnt. .so that lasted. .6 months?
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Yes, simulcast on KEVT 1210 for six months at the most. The AM audio was horrible with static.
 
kwthom said:
A little seedy side of the man's life, but *I* wasn't going to be the one that went there, especially in the memorial thread.
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Sorry, but I do not honor people in death who did not merit honor in life. The guy caused considerable negative reaction and tainted broadcasting. He seems not to have found peace in life; may he find it in death.
 
RF101 said:
No editorial here folks, just the facts.

Today, KAVV filed to sell the station for $200K to Bedrock Media, a firm with interest in KPGX, Navajo Mountain as well as three translators including one in Moab, UT.

Draft Copy « License Modernization « FCC

Licensing and Management System
enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov
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Does KPGX actually do classic country on its HD2, as the Wikipedia article on the station indicates? I assume that's an automated jukebox or a syndicated format, so is it likely that Bedrock will feed that to KAVV, clean out the air staff and just run KAVV as a bare-bones classic country station out of a broom closet?
 
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