KISN-AM Is Dead

Submitted by LynnS on Thu, 02/01/2007 - 6:19am.

Entercom shut down oldies 910 KISN-AM at midnight this morning/last night after selling it to Salem Communications. PDXRadio's been talking about it since they yanked the last live jocks--everyone saw this coming. I haven't tuned in to hear if anything's on that freq this morning. Can someone do that? Someone with an account? I'm not going to be on much today...

Submitted by Zamboni on Thu, 02/01/2007 - 9:51am.

Salem Commmunications conservative talker...Laura Ingraham, etc.

Submitted by tvprintradio on Thu, 02/01/2007 - 11:46am.

...more right wing lunatics. Radio execs have no clue about the nature of the population they "serve."

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Thu, 02/01/2007 - 2:00pm.

Maybe this town needs more left wing lunatics. Is that what we really need?

Stations can program whatever they want. You, as a listener, don't need to listen to anything you don't want to.

It doesn't get any simpler than that.

The current programming on 910 is probably just temporary. The ownership changed and the new owners may not be ready for what they plan to do and are hence putting a simulcast of what they currently have available.

Submitted by tvprintradio on Thu, 02/01/2007 - 10:56pm.

Portland is very politically progressive, yet there are far more right-wing yapping poodles on the radio than the market calls for. The numbers tell you. Progressive radio wins...at the polls, too.
KXL, KPAM and now 910 are full of hate and bile. Rick Emerson doesn't count...at all.
What we need is more lefties. What amazes me is that none of the other stations want to emulate the success of KPOJ. I mean, radio is all about copying other successful formats, isn't it?

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sat, 02/03/2007 - 6:41am.

All I ever hear is hate radio. I hear more yelling and hateful speech coming out of that station than I do the others.

I guess it is all a matter of perspective. If you like something, it is not hate. If you don't, you think it is all bad.

There is already enough left leaning stuff on the radio. You may not want to admit it, but there is. Yeah, there is enough right wing stuff on too. Probably more than necessary. How many programs can you listen to at the same time?

Submitted by rfaaberg on Sun, 02/04/2007 - 1:17am.

One that I will not listen to is the Lars Larson "Me Lars Stupid without a discernible education" radio show. His mission is to tear *everything* down. With him, it's riding everything to the bottom.

How do we get jerks/asses like Lars off the air? I currently listen enough to keep up on his totally Don-Macintired and Hemstreeted and Ron-Saxtoned right-wing spew, and I boycott everything he pitches in ads, but is there more that I can do?

I don't want him to succeed in destroying my Oregon.

Viewer Rick

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sun, 02/04/2007 - 1:41am.

It called freedom of speech viewer Rick.
Apparently you don't believe in that concept of the other person doesn't agree with you.
You say you will not listen to Lars but then admit you do listen to Lars.
Make up your mind!

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sun, 02/04/2007 - 4:35am.

People listen because they don't want the rest of Oregon to turn out like Portland. Ruin Portland, that's fine, leave the rest of the state out of it, we'll be fine. The beauty of radio is that there are enough choices, don't like Lars, don't like KPOJ, don't listen.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Thu, 02/01/2007 - 4:07pm.

A few weeks ago I heard one of the jocks on air talking wistfully about the future...might've been Dave "Records" Stone...was not Mark Lindsey. They must've heard something. Too bad. They actually played some local stuff now and then, and despite a couple decades of oldies radio listening (not my era originally), I still heard new stuff on their periodically.

SSSSSSSSSSSuperSSSSSSSSixties+SSSSSSSeventiesssssss does not suffice as a replacement, despite their efforts to play one 45 at 1:45 (or a single a day). Nor does the eyeball-gouging banter of the robots at Charlie FM (stop calling in and leaving messages on their machine).

I was sorry to see KISN leave FM. And now AM. It leaves the dial more vapid and blank than ever.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Fri, 02/02/2007 - 9:04pm.

why did you shutdown? loved Kisn.......gonna miss you alot.....steve

Submitted by Farwest on Fri, 02/02/2007 - 12:17am.

Wow. That's a shock. My mom will be floored when I tell her this. KISN is (or was) all she listened to. She thought it was neat how they went to AM because that was how they started off in the first place (well that's what she told me). I always thought KISN was really good on FM - it was always so clear - and they had DJs and concerts and would visit random locations throughout the year. One time we went to buy furniture at Wicke's (?) and here is their little booth and mobile van in the parking lot. Huh. Anyway, once they went to AM, it seemed to just turn into a jukebox (like someone else said). I didn't really like it anymore - not to forget the weak signal. Well I'll miss the KISN Summer Goodbye Concerts and others. Goodbye KISN. You made yardwork in the heat, suntanning in the backyard, and the parties of Fourth of July memorable experiences.

BTW: KISN's former site is a real mess. There's still stuff from the time of 97.1 - and meanwhile, the main site is under construction.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 11:25am.

It was a shame that the FM gave way to AM, but even sadder was the fact
that there was no real money put into reviving the Old KISN AM.
It sounded pretty bad, and it didnt have to. That 4 tower array didnt
work in the past, and its still what it is, today.
The original tower site put out one heck of a signal.
The original transmitter building was so campy it was totally cool.
Most would call it Early Orange Crate, but it was cool.
Of course, all the BIG money was spent downtown, and that was the place
to be. One person said radio is dying, and that could be the case, but
I still hold hope out for a future.

Submitted by thedude on Fri, 02/02/2007 - 4:49pm.

I'd like to hear some non-political talk radio. News radio without the pundits... a dream that will never again be.

(exception with NPR, sadly public radio on the coast blows. They play the great news radio during the work day and play classical and soul during the commute)

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sat, 02/03/2007 - 6:51am.

You have the gardening, car repair, home repair shows on several stations. You even have Lykis with his wine show. Generally, Leykis is not political during the week.

You also have Bill Handel from LA on KEX weekends with his non political Handel on the Law show..... always interesting.
Then there are the financial shows...... Moneytalk for one on weekends and Dave Ramsey nightly on KEX... not to mention Coast to Coast... usually not political.

And there are others. Just look for them.

At the extreme end, KKEY used to have non political talk. No rules. anyone could call and talk about anything. And they did.... the same group of about 20 people called in just to chat ... kinda like neighbors chatting about their day over the fence. They talked about what they were going to barbeque that night, about their walk to the post office to mail a letter, just sitting at home reading the paper and listening to the callers.......
It was the only talk radio and town. Boring, basically.

It is there. Seek..........and you shall find.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sun, 02/04/2007 - 12:44am.

I returned to the northwest 2 years ago. And after finding KISN, have listened to nothing else. I am so very disappointed.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sun, 02/04/2007 - 9:31am.

So, anyone hear longtime Portland Jocks Scott Tom & John Williams are doing now?

Did they even get a chance to say adios?

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sun, 02/04/2007 - 12:44pm.

For you other Kisn Junkies check out this site

http://www.rma1.com/

Diesel Dave
Outcasts Car Club

Submitted by tvprintradio on Sun, 02/04/2007 - 9:18pm.

nostalgia for one's past is all well and good. i value mine. i just don't think of it as art. i think of it as trash i liked when i didn't know any better. i don't think less fondly of it. i just recognize it for what it is.
i'm not originally from here and what made me laugh about the kisn nostalgia site was how radio stations all over the country stole ideas from each other and passed them off as orginal. even names of jocks. we had a johnny dark, too. i'm guessing there were johnny darks in many markets.
loved the "surveys." showed you how barren pop music was in the early 60s after the fall of rock n roll.
i'm happy to say that there are such sites in every market.
i could go on.....

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Wed, 02/07/2007 - 12:32am.

Not necessarily "news-talk", but just news. Wouldn't it be wonderful if some of these out-of-the region owners made a serious investment in this format?

Portland is becoming a big enough city to support this.

Imagine a radio station where a person living in the Portland region could turn to day or night and get not only the old standards... frequent time, temperature, and weather forecasts... but also meaningful, in-depth news and commentary, local, regional, national, and international, with a local/international news roundup at the top of every hour. Sure, being part of a network would be fine. Throw in an occasional talk show, but keep it local and politically neutral, as the TV stations claim to be.

Never again would we have exploding PGE transformers in Beaverton and be sitting in the dark scanning the battery-operated radio for hours to figure out what happened.

One possiblity & suggestion:

Bring back the call letters KGW, for instance and have a tie in to share the resources of the KGW Newsroom. They could simulcast the 5-7 pm and 11P to 1135P TV News block and have independent anchors/reporters during other times.

If Belo/KGW-TV doesn't want to do this. How about some of the other TV news outfits? It might jumpstart their recent lackluster and slipshod efforts as of late. Good content = an audience of listeners and a revenue source.

Submitted by LynnS on Wed, 02/07/2007 - 10:13am.

The first dopes who bought KINK and KGW-AM (when I was still there--they're the dopes who fired me ;) ) dropped the historic KGW calls almost immediately, going temporarily with KINK-AM and simulcasting. The day they shut down KGW I knew my own days were numbered, and I was right. Once you drop a 3-letter call sign you can never get it back. That frequency is now KPOJ.

-----
Lynn Siprelle * Fairy Blogmother

Submitted by Bill Cooper on Thu, 02/08/2007 - 12:34am.

The KGW call letters are gone...for now...but not necessarily dead. The FCC rule is that they don't issue new 3-letter call signs, but they will allow 3-letter calls that were given up to be brought back on the original frequency in the original city of license. But (and there's always a but) here's the deal-breaker, at least for now. If there is an FM or TV owned by another company with the same calls they have the right to block the 3-letter calls from being used again. When Jacor originally bought 620 they tried to resurrect the KGW calls, but KGW TV owner Belo objected. If you want to see the KGW calls return just convince the folks at Belo to stop being jerks and let it happen.

Submitted by LynnS on Thu, 02/08/2007 - 11:26am.

I was unaware of the more arcane aspects of FCC rules. :)

-----
Lynn Siprelle * Fairy Blogmother

Submitted by Spiro on Sun, 02/04/2007 - 12:45pm.

John Williams filled in for Bruce Murdock last week on K103. He's extremely well thought-of in that building.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 12:01pm.

Does anyone know another oldies goldies station to listen to?

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Mon, 02/05/2007 - 12:36pm.

John's extremely well thought of in any broadcasting building (or bar) he's ever been in. A good guy, no matter how you slice it.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Tue, 02/06/2007 - 9:37am.

I listened to the oldies while I walked - I've been doing 6 miles a day - the pace was always picked up at just the right time and I loved the music. Where can you hear oldies in Portland now? What a true shame.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Thu, 02/08/2007 - 1:05pm.

106.7 is pretty good for oldies.
If you think 60's and 70's music is "oldies", that is :-)

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Tue, 02/06/2007 - 8:59pm.

If K103 (Clear Channel) is smart, they will snatch John Williams up immediately and put him on middays....excellent jock not to mention the fact that he can fill in on any shift!

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Wed, 02/07/2007 - 6:16pm.

Awful.....only station with decent music. More talk radio! Won't last long!

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Wed, 02/07/2007 - 6:40pm.

I've been listening to KISN for over 20 years. I love it. It was my era. I hated it when it went to AM, but followed it anyway despite the poor reception. It is the only thing I listened to. The people making these decisions are idiots. I think we all need to let them know that, too.

Submitted by tvprintradio on Thu, 02/08/2007 - 8:32am.

until they're replaced by a new upper management who knows better until they're replaced by another new upper management who knows better than that last two. and so on and so on and so on.
who gets left out? the listener.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sat, 02/24/2007 - 2:01pm.

Very upsetting, I can't here the beings of rock and roll any more on the radio. Oldies music is important to be on the radio dial. The young generates are going to miss out on what made music today. So many cuts, beats and lyrics are robbed from oldies music and for me If hear something I thought I heard before I do research on it and always find more then I ever thought I would. So disapointing, We got to Uncle Mort on KBOO radio to start a new oldies radio or something.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sun, 02/25/2007 - 2:57am.

I have no idea what you just said or mean.

Submitted by rfaaberg on Sat, 03/10/2007 - 2:36am.

English must not be the person's first language, I'd say. Perhaps it's not a person we know on-air!

Viewer Rick

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Wed, 03/07/2007 - 10:33pm.

the same story across the country.get rid of the live dj and get on with talk shows that are syndicated.chicago just lost larry lujack,tommy edwards,and dick biondi from their now defunct oldies radio.not that they were not making $,just not enough $.even if the listenership declines,the costs are cut in half!

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Sun, 05/27/2007 - 11:09am.

Yes.. I said Montana. I made a toolbar that had kisn streaming all the time. Great music! Seems everytime there is something good in this world there always has to be someone to screw it up and KISN was the best oldies station I ever found! I come to Portland every few years and always went on my way to tune in. KISN will truely be missed!

Dr.BigDog® Billings, MT.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Tue, 07/10/2007 - 12:55pm.

Just this morning I needed a fix of oldies and searched the dial only to find static (I hadn't heard about this until now). Sad news. I certainly didn't grow up in the original "oldies era" but I still grew up with oldies music.

Submitted by Gary (not verified) on Sat, 12/15/2007 - 3:32pm.

Yah, I re-found KISN on the internet last year and listened to it for a couple of months before the end.

Somehow it's sad to see it pass. I grew up in Portland and I remember KISN-AM from back in the 60s and 70s. The studio in the window on West Burnside, the airport billboard that said "we've been KISN your wife", and the Carol Tree, though for some reason I never went to actually see the tree.

Well, it was good while it lasted...

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 8:37am.

I work in Massachusetts and listened to KISN every day. It was so uplifting and really made a difference in my day. It was by far the best oldies station in the country. The D.J.'s were outstanding. I cannot find an oldies station that even comes close to KISN.

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Tue, 05/27/2008 - 6:33am.

I have to laugh a bit. KISN started at 910 AM, hence the slogan ninety-one-derfull. Apparently after I moved away from Portland due to the Army they moved to 97.1 FM. So they actually moved BACK to 910 AM.

Anyway, now I found old recordings of KISN on Live365.com at:
http://www.live365.com/stations/290356

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