As originally reported and updated on Rostra, big changes are coming to KOGO-AM Radio, San Diego’s foremost news and talk (make that talk with a sprinkling of news) radio station.
9 a.m. – 12 noon: Rush Limbaugh (No change here, KOGO isn’t about to commit broadcast suicide)
12 noon – 2 p.m.: A new locally originated show debuts with an interim host at this time. He’s familiar to many San Diegans. Brian Suits was one half of the Suits and Kennedy Show weekday evenings on KFI. Suits has been working as a solo host in Seattle. I found his show enjoyable with good energy and a wide range of topics beyond politics including pop culture. How he’ll fare as a solo act, hard to say.
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.: LaDona Harvey moves her popular politics and current events show into this brand new time slot.
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.: Replacing the departing Chris Reed is Bob “Sully” Sullivan. Sullivan previously hosted on Wednesday nights when the show is just an hour due to an Aztec sports talk show sharing the time slot. Sullivan is also co-host of a popular Internet radio program called the “Big Biz Show” with well-known local broadcast personality and comedian Russ T. Nailz.
AllAccess.com is reporting today that as of Monday, KOGO will begin simulcasting its signal on KUSS-FM 95.7, a ClearChannel station that previously offered a country music format. This is a move being made by leading news and talk stations across the country. Younger audiences have all but forgotten that such a thing as AM Radio even exists. This is particularly good news for LaDona Harvey. She is drawing an unusually young audience for a talk show, (think 30 year olds instead of 60 year olds) and this can only help her increase those numbers.
This leaves one elephant in the room question to be answered. If Roger Hedgecock’s contract stipulates that his show must remain on the air through the end of this calendar year (and I understand that it does), we have two talk show hosts overlapping in the same time slot, Roger and LaDona.
But we ALSO have two air signals, KOGO and KUSS. Might there be a plan to split the difference for the time being? We’re likely to find out Monday.
I’m sorry to see Roger leave KOGO. It’s been a hell of a run for him. I was employed by the station the day he started on the air, January 20, 1986 and I recall it in detail. He had the flu and had to muster all his energy to get through his show, a highly anticipated debut. Thank goodness it was all uphill from there for many years.
But in a way, Roger “left” us, the local audience, many months ago when he ended his local show in San Diego to begin his nationally syndicated show. So any sense of loss I feel at Roger leaving AM 600 is primarily nostalgic.
Say what you will about Roger’s views, he’s a hell of a talent. He would have made a hell of a mayor and he did for the short time he was in office. As it turned out there was a much bigger stage in store for him. I daresay we wouldn’t have nearly the budgetary mess or pension trouble we do now had Roger served two full terms as mayor. Lest we forget, we have Comic-Con and a San Diego Convention Center in large part due to Roger’s leadership. That accomplishment alone gives Roger and the city a lot to be proud of.
Roger is hands down the smartest person I have ever worked with, before or since. We might have tangled but always for the right reasons. I’m proud to have been one of only two permanent producers of the show, along with my successor Jimmy Valentine. Jimmy had by far the longer tenure and I hope he’ll weigh in here.