KLOL goes from classic rock to Latino format (Houston, TX)

Channel 11 news staff ^

[Orange1998]

KLOL, 101.1 FM announced Friday that station has changed formats. The station switched from a classic rock format to a Latino music format branded as Mega 101.

KLOL is now branded as Mega 101 FM. The station's web site was listed as under construction, but KLOL's former morning show hosts Walton and Johnson announced on their web site that they were informed Thursday night of the change.

The radio hosts stated on WaltonandJohnson.com that, "Thursday night Walton and Johnson were informed by lower-level management sources via a last-minute phone call that there would be no Walton and Johnson Show tomorrow. In it's place would be Hispanic music programs."

[weegee]

Also in those days, Cactus Records was THE classical shop, and they had all their records in the order of the Schwann catalog, so you had to look it up in the catalog, write down its #, then go find the record.

Reminds me of the way Don's Records in Bellaire had singles filed; by song title, not artist (and there were many racks of singles). If you wanted the flip, rather than the hit... forget it!

[weegee]

The big deal is that Houston now has one fewer English language station for new music. It also has one fewer "new rock releases" station (we are left with the "edgy" alternative station playing new Green Day and 10 year old Pearl Jam/Nirvana and the Dance Pop station).

They are selling to a "target audience" but denying that a possibly larger audience exists untapped in this market. White people who want to listen to radio are left largely with listening to the same songs they've listened to for 25 years (and the full playlist can be heard every 24 hour cycle; no repeats in a day but every day repeats) or they can go to "talk radio". Even the commercial (non-public radio) classical station just flipped Spanish.

We've been told that we can go to satellite radio and that programming is "better" there. Why pay for radio? Maybe I want to hear local advertisers, local coverage of events, local flavor (regional favorites or music played as a band tours in the area). Also, if pay radio stations are so much better than the local variety, why doesn't some local station adopt that format/playlist?

Seems to me that the demographic that can most likely afford to pay for digital radio has been told to leave analog radio. Clear Channel has tried to downplay their holdings in XM since this has happened.

[Conspiracy Guy]

LOL

[Conspiracy Guy]

Sorry

[weegee]

I seem to recall a La Raza radio estación here in Houston (don't recall if it was AM or FM, saw the bumper stickers though; could also have been out of state cars with local plates).

[dr_pat]

Gee, Conspiracy Guy, do how many dates did you get since you had the teeth installed?

[superskunk]

Seems to me that there's an untapped market there that could bring some enterprising media company a ton of money.

I'm not opposed to foreign language stations, but if ya want to live here, learn to speak the language. No application for citizenship should ever be considered unless the applicant can speak English.

[weegee]

Houston now offers political ballots in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. English and Spanish are both on our new electronic ballot box (not a touch screen) but Vietnamese voting uses a paper ballot.

Somehow I don't see how different ballots for different ethnic groups can be legal (certainly when some in a county are voting electronic while others are voting paper).

[weegee]

English radio has been stagnant for at least a decade. It is part of why the whole music industry has seen such declines. If audiences don't hear new music, sales of new music will also decline.

A Clear Channel executive said that "kids don't listen to rock and roll anymore, wake up". White kids don't listen to Spanish language hip hop either.

This isn't the first time that the industry has tried to kill rock and roll nor will it be the last (certainly in 1995 they tried shifting focus from grunge to boy bands).

[Conspiracy Guy]

That's a naked mole rat. They only get 3 inches long so I can't relate to anything that huge.

That picture always creeps Hi Heels out and it's ususally Zacs Mom that instigates the evil deed.

[weegee]

Houston's radio dial (especially on AM, but also FM) is a tower of babble of languages (including Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, and some things I could not identify, possibly Cambodian).

When I caught an AM talk show while strolling the dial, I caught the Arabic station and thought that I might hear their perspective but instead found that only about 4 words in 30 were in English.

We cannot celebrate our diversity if we cannot talk with one another. We are being balkanized as a nation.

[weegee]

Be careful if you ever see a naked mole rat. They will try to burrow through the palm of your hand.

[Conspiracy Guy]

I've only ever seen them in pictures. Zacs Mom has a cool picture of fid the naked mole rat in the stack of carrots or taters.

[Conspiracy Guy]

I've only ever seen them in pictures. Zacs Mom has a cool picture of fid FIND the naked mole rat in the stack of carrots or taters.

[Zacs Mom]

Stealth Naked-Mole

[Zacs Mom]

kinda like a bizarre version of "Where's Waldo"


*snort*

[Conspiracy Guy]

ROTFLMAO.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Yep!

[Sans-Culotte]

Sirius or XM is prolly what I'll do. The last commercial classical channel we had here had way too many commercials, news updates, etc, so I was already considering it. The only remaining classical channel is an NPR channel, and during drive-time, there is no music-only All Things Considered, Morning Edition, etc, barf, so it does not really count.

Does Sirius have any advantage over XM? Are they both around $10 per month?

[MeekOneGOP]

She was still breathing when I posed the original ?

No, I doubt it.

Sorry I'm so slow getting back here. I am so far behind, and playing catchup.