Oregon Media Insiders

From PDXRadio, we hear about the death of longtime Rose City Radio ad saleswoman Ada McCormack. From Doug Zanger's remembrance in AdAge:

Ada spent 27 years at Rose City Radio and was, without question, a star in every sense of the word. Not only was she a true professional but she was loved by everyone who was fortunate enough to know her. What I remember most about Ada was her smile. Her face completely lit up and her eyes were as bright as the sun when she was happy -- which was pretty much every time she rolled into my studio. I honestly don't ever remember a time when she wasn't smiling. She loved her job, loved Rose City Radio, loved radio and cared deeply about her clients and colleagues.

Professionally, Ada's work could very well be considered a "small agency success story." She started out in the industry young, persevered through just about everything thrown her way, never took "no" for an answer, always said "yes" to her clients and was successful because of it. As an account rep in radio, one is often forced to make decisions that we, as small agencies, have to make every day. Reps also looks at their client lists as "small businesses" and Ada ran one of the very best in Portland radio.

A Mass will be held at 1 p.m. tomorrow at St. Clare Catholic Church; a vigil service will be at 7:30 p.m. tonight, also in the church.

I hear through the grapevine that Colby Reade is leaving KXL. Don't know where to.

It's official: Rhythmic CHR is gone from the Portland dial, and sports talk is coming to FM radio:

Effective May 12, Jammin' 95.5 will switch from its current hip-hop/R&B lineup to an all-sports format, take the name The Game, and move into competition with KFXX (1080 The Fan).

The official announcement is expected Friday.

More than more talk, the move means a new home for the Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Seahawks and Oregon Ducks. All have been on KXL (750). Also on KXL was Oregonian columnist John Canzano's "Bald-Faced Truth." That show, which moves to a 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. time slot, will be one of three local shows on the new station. Gavin Dawson, recently of KFXX, will host a one-hour show after Canzano, The Oregonian has learned.

The O also says Katy Brown will be co-hosting the morning show with Ken Vance as WWeek reported last week.

I'll have more in a bit.

Someone just crashed a car through Rose City Radio's front door and surprise! It wasn't directed at Lars! I'm listening to Lars (under duress) and PK from 95.5 says it's a guy who's been sending the Playhouse death threats. More on this as it develops.

All Access reports that Jammin' 95.5 PD and KXL OM Mark Adams has been let go:

ADAMS' contract was not renewed by ROSE CITY RADIO after eight years as PD and 26 #1 18-34 books at KXJM.

[caps in the original.]

This fuels speculation that 95.5 will be going all-sports. Over at pdxradio, commenter Paulwilson says James Derby will be managing both stations, and another commenter gives a launch date of May 12th, but neither is confirmed.

Promoted from the comments:

Former Lars producer Cherry Williams sues KXL for $1.75 mil, claims wrongful termination according to the O.

Attorneys for Cherry Williams filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon, claiming she was terminated to deprive her and her disabled husband of company-sponsored health insurance.

Her husband "suffers from an untreatable blood disorder, severe back pain, and sleep apnea," according to the suit.

She was fired Dec. 21, after nearly 15 years at KXL or its predecessor, according to the suit.

I'm trying to learn a little more about this.

Update: Cherry Williams and Shawn Taylor are one and the same, according to sources. So we're talking about one producer, not two, here.

Remember Shawn Taylor, Lars Larson's longtime producer who got fired the Friday before Christmas? Someone reported in that thread that she got hired on to be EP of Thom Hartmann's nationwide Air America show. I pinged Shawn and she said that it is indeed true.

And I have to say: That is the most hilarious thing I've heard this week.

Congratulations, Shawn!

I hear from an insider that longtime Lars producer Shawn Taylor was fired the Friday before Christmas. (Ah, this business.) The insider says no explanation has been given to the staff as to why Taylor was dismissed.

Via the comments we get pointed to breaking news that Lars Larson has filed with the Oregon Bar to get Gov. Ted Kulongoski's law license revoked:

The subject at issue is whether Kulongoski knew about but did nothing to report Portland Mayor and Governor Neil Goldschmits' sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl. ...

"We are focusing on more serious issues than a complaint from a talk show host," said spokeswoman Patty Wentz.

oh snap.
This is the same issue that's dragging down Multnomah Co. Sheriff Bernie Giusto. Wonder if the media types who knew but didn't say will ever face the professional music?

In the comments, someone points us at this post on SportsJournalists.com which purports to be from John Canzano. Sounds like him, so I'm willing to take that as a given. In it, he defends his decision to work at Paul Allen-owned KXL and takes more than a few jibes at his critics:

The purists are going to hate this, but in sports, we're writing books with people we cover, and columnists (not beat writers) are doing shows in which GMs are paid guests, and we're doing shows on flagship stations, some of which are owned by the teams.

In the end, what we have to stand on is our body of work.

Judge me on mine.

I'll live with that.

I insisted on 100-percent control of content, in writing, from the radio station. I insisted that I not be paid as an employee of the station, but as an independent contractor. I insisted that the Oregonian be granted access to the same content that will be aired by KXL... including a live stream of the show on the newspaper's website so there was no unique content on the radio. I insisted that KXL promote me by using "The Oregonian" in all references. I insisted that if the show ended at any time for any reason I would be paid for the entire duration of the contract. There were some other safeguards installed as well. The deal was one-sided in my favor. It had to be or I wouldn't have done it. ...

After exploring this radio thing, I felt confident that I could be myself, autonomous, uncensored, and free to give opinions, do a show, and promote our newspaper. And the management of The Oregonian must have shared that confidence because they've been supportive. The local weekly porno tab took a jab. Didn't bother to talk with me. That's fine. I saw it coming. I get it. ...

My colleagues at The Oregonian know that if the Blazers or anyone else ever attempted to steer my thoughts, or pressure me, it would be an amazing, unforgettable 10 minutes of radio. I respect the concerns of those who see this as problematic and have had healthy discussions with several of them, but in the end, my work will have to speak.

If you think I've gone soft, call me on it. My readers will. If you think I've sold out, hammer me. My readers will.

The folks at SportsJournalists.com are skeptical.

And apparently the Canzano bobbleheads are available at Goodwill.