"Radio Day By The Bay" Set For July 5

The California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) will open the doors to its museum on Saturday, July 5, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. for its annual "Live! At KRE" celebration.

The event will take place at the historic KRE radio building in Berkeley, under the giant radio tower on Ashby Avenue near Highway 80.

CHRS has been refurbishing the KRE building into a world-class broadcasting museum, filled with classic radios and equipment, working studios and an authentic ham radio "shack," as well as the home of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.

The July 5 celebration is the perfect event for families seeking a day of entertainment close to home. "Live! At KRE" will feature a variety of entertainment -- including music and an old-time radio performance by the Broadcast Legends -- and a flea market and auction of great old radios, ham radio equipment, phonographs and test equipment.

Carter B. Smith, a member of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame (Class of 2007), will serve as master of ceremonies for the event. Carter worked at KRE early in his radio career, before moving on to great success at KSFO, KNBR, Magic 61 and KABL.

Another special guest will be popular Oldies disc jockey Herbie Hancock (http://qmproductions.com), one of the most renowned Wolfman Jack impersonators in the industry. Herbie will spin 45s in the KRE studio -- the same studio used in the radio station scenes featuring Wolfman Jack in "American Graffiti."

Admission to the event is $5 for adults. Children are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.

For more information, please visit www.BayRadioDay.com.

Bummer: Tony Bruno Off KNBR/1050

Sporting News Radio has parted ways with Tony Bruno (photo, right), which means that Bay Area radio has lost one of its better morning shows -- albeit one that was heard locally via syndication on a second-tier sports station.

Bruno's show was heard on KNBR/1050 (and Sirius Sports 123) and was simply a fun, entertaining, smart show, whether you're into sports or not. I'm one of many who believe that Bruno's daily 10 AM segment with Gary Radnich on mothership KNBR/680 was the best half-hour on radio, day in and day out, bar none.

Sporting News Radio and Bruno had been involved in negotiations for a contract extension, but could not reach an agreement. Bruno will remain with company -- "working with management on other initiatives," according to AllAccess.com -- while under contract for two more months.

• Read the Sporting News' press release on the Bruno situation.

Quick aside to Tony Salvadore and Lee Hammer: how tough would it be to set Bruno up with an ISDN line from his home studio in Venice Beach, and pay him (and ace sidekick Mark Willard, a Bay Area product) to do the KNBR/680 morning show by wire? Heck, you can even handle his national syndication, and it would pay for the investment. Not to mention that it would be a significant upgrade over the seat warmers you're currently paying.

Bruno was always smart enough to include enough Bay Area references to keep his show's feeling "local," and he has a sizeable, dedicated and loyal audience here.

Lee Hammer should say yes.

UPDATE (1/29): John Ryan blogs in today's Morning Buzz that KNBR is working on getting the Bruno-Radnich segment back on the air.

UPDATED UPDATE (2/4): From deep inside Tony Bruno World Headquarters comes this news via Mark Willard:

Tony Bruno returns tomorrow Tues Feb. 5 for his daily segment with Gary Radnich on KNBR, "The Sports Leader", from 10 to 10:30 PST. Catch up with Bruno and give him a call. We are all very excited to hear what's up in the near future and find out when Tony will be returning to a morning show near you. If you're calling the Radnich Show from outside the Bay Area use the following number (415) 808-KNBR and listen online at http://www.knbr.com/listenNow.html

Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Names Class of 2007

The Bay Area Radio Museum has announced the sixteen newest members of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.

More than 6,000 votes were cast during the public voting, and a stellar group of legendary broadcasters has been chosen for induction as the Class of 2007:

• Don Barksdale (KROW, KWBR, KDIA)
• Don Bleu (KYUU, KIOI)
• Mike Cleary (KYA, KNBR)
• Frank Cope (KJBS)
• Belva Davis (KSAN, KWBR, KDIA)
• Jerry Dean (KJAZ)
• Jim Eason (KNEW, KGO, KSFO)
• Aaron Edwards (KSFO)
• Bud Foster (KLX, Oakland Oaks, San Francisco 49ers)
• Bob Kieve (owner of KLIV, KARA, KRTY)
• Ron Lyons (KEWB, KNEW, KNBR, KCBS)
• Franklin Mieuli (KHIP, Warriors, Giants and 49ers)
• Don Mozley (KCBS)
• Ronn Owens (KGO)
• Carter B. Smith (KRE, KSFO, KNBR, Magic 61, KABL)
• Ernie Smith (pioneer sportscaster, KYA, KFRC)

This year's honorees join the 37 members of the Hall that were inducted last year.

The Class of 2007 will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during a special ceremony that will take place on Wednesday, December 12, at the Doubletree Inn on the Berkeley Marina in conjunction with Broadcast Legends. The event is open to the public, but advance reservations are required.

Please click here to make your reservation.

KNBR Among Leaders In Sportstalk Revenue

The Houston Chronicle ran an article Sunday morning which mentions that The Sports Leader, KNBR/680, is #3 overall nationally among sports/talk stations in attracting advertiser dollars.

Quoting here:

"Arbitron ratings are nice, but bucks are the bottom line. By that measurement, to no one's surprise, the nation's top sports radio station in 2006, based on revenues, was WFAN in New York City at $50.6 million, according to BIA Financial Network.

WEEI in Boston was No. 2 at $36.5 million, followed by KNBR in San Francisco at $29.7 million and KTCK in Dallas-Fort Worth at $24.7 million. Stations in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami, Chicago and Philadelphia rounded out the top 10."

Bernie On KNBR; Cammy On The Sidelines

KNBR's Gary Radnich mentioned this morning that the caller that identified himself as "Mr. K-Go" on yesterday's show was, in fact, Bernie Ward. Bernie must have found the bill of fare at KNBR more palatable than listening to Ronn.

Bernie had given Uncle Gary several clues as to his identity, but Gary never quite caught on.

The podcast is downloadable (at least as I write this) on the Radnich page at KNBR.com.

(It's the Wednesday March 21 offering, about nine minutes into the recording.)

Meanwhile, Leah Garchik notes in today's Chron that "Cammy Blackstone, bumped from KFRC radio when the station went to its Movin' format, has landed a job as sideline reporter for Fox Sports Net."

More about Cammy from Leah at SFgate.com.

Radio Legend Ron Lyons Ailing

Len Shapiro let me know this morning that Ron Lyons (KEWB, KNEW, KNBR, KCBS, etc.) is recovering from surgery after being diagnosed recently with cancer.

From the KCBS website:

Several weeks ago, long-time KCBS traffic anchor Ron Lyons was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent emergency surgery last week and is recovering well. The family says he is antsy to get out of his hospital room and return home.

Cards and letters to:

Ron Lyons
P.O. Box 296
Gold Beach, OR 97444

Ron's website is at RonLyonsRadio.com.

Photo: Ron Lyons at KNBR, 1965. (Courtesy of Ron Lyons.)