THIRTY YEARS AS A NEWS STATION?
For a little over 25 years, KLIV has been the station that radio listeners have relied on for years, but that will be no more after June 10, 2016. Robert (Bob) Klive, the owner of family-owned Empire Broadcasting, believed in the beginning that local news is essential for Silicon Valley. KLIV has been on the air since 1946, which was originally a classic music format - which by the way changed formats several times up until April 1991, becoming a full-time all-news station.
I have done some digging to fact-check the various sources and did my own calculations. I revealed that the sources, from the Mercury News to the Silicon Valley Business Journal, did mention about KLIV putting at least 30 years of experience covering weather, traffic, and current events in Silicon Valley. Neither of them, however, mentioned the actual date that KLIV became a full-time all-news station in late-April 1991.
The main problem for both articles was the fact checking from the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Datebook that was dated on April 28, 1991, where KLIV went from being a big-band station and a part-time news format to a full-time all-news format - the article was mentioned in a Wikipedia page on KLIV. None of the articles that I found mentioned "full-time all-news" station.
The fact-checking was not the only problem that I see. There were others that I also had to address.
THE QUESTION ABOUT "COUNTRY GOLD" FORMAT
I also question who is going to cover the shifts for KLIV's new classic country format, promoted on-air as "country gold." Klive maintained that in the interview with the Mercury News and Business Journal, he noted that the station has lost money and never gained profit in the years as an all-news station. But with the switch to classic country format comes questions about KRTY's personalities, which includes Gary Scott Thomas and Julie Stevens in the mornings, Randy Jones, Tim Anthony, Indiana Al, Michael Moore, and Jenna Johnson.
I've made inquires about who is going to be doing the classic country format on KLIV, and they said that KRTY personalities will be on the air at KLIV. They have yet to announce as to which personalities will cover which shifts. The upcoming announcement before the switch to classic country could mean that some on-air personalities at KRTY could be changing time slots to cover KLIV's new format and possibly adding more personalities to fill-in for any of the current KRTY personalities and cover KLIV as well.
KRTY PERSONALITY ALSO ON KLIV?!
Viewers may have heard that out of the 12 people on-air at KLIV doing news, only John McLeod will be staying - and I'm told that McLeod won't be covering traffic after the transition. One particular personality that I've been seeing twice on both KLIV and KRTY's websites is Kim Vestal, who also handles voiceovers and does her digs on Saturdays at KLIV and Sundays at a radio station named KKIQ - that covers Pleasanton, Dublin, and Livermore. But with Kim Vestal not being at KLIV for news when the station puts in classic country music questions me as to whether Vestal will remain at sister station KRTY, which she has the capabilities of doing both news and music in addition to her voiceovers. Despite the uncertainty, Vestal's voice is very unique and soft enough for me to patiently listen to KLIV.
KRIS ROWBERRY, JOSH DAUGHERTY AND THE SAD PART...
There are two of the personalities that I have enjoyed talking to, and they are worth listening to.
One of the people at KLIV that will surely be missed is Kris Rowberry. While Rowberry is known for his history around Silicon Valley, perhaps my favorite is his unique voice and his tagline asking listeners to call in for traffic tips...
"We appreciate the calls from our KLIV traffic spotters."I also enjoyed Rowberry's history on the Silicon Valley, of which I hope that he will continue voice history on his YouTube page - that part is filled with a lot of history of theme parks and much of the Silicon Valley from Rowberry's days at KLIV!
Another personality that may one of the people that I enjoyed listening to is Josh Daugherty, who often would work behind the scenes in helping the station put on sports for listeners to enjoy, including being the radio home of the San Jose Earthquakes of which I met the president, Dave Kaval, at least three times - yes, this is not a joke. For Daugherty, I've often called in to report traffic late at night or on weekends whenever I'm on the road.
One of the most serious calls I made to KLIV while Daugherty was on the air was an accident that happened right outside my window on 101 northbound between San Martin and Tennant Avenue exits. Daugherty initially reported the mainland Silicon Valley "green," as in no accidents or stalls. However, I told Daugherty that the southern part of Silicon Valley was not so "green" at all and the accident was "pretty serious." The traffic was a nightmare in both directions, repeating the effects of a typical rush-hour commute that would not normally occur on a weekend or holiday. Many other calls to KLIV when Daugherty was on-air included accidents in Campbell and San Jose that tied up traffic.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Overall, KLIV has yet to announce as to which KRTY personalities will be doing which time slots. Some of KRTY's personalities have been made aware about the change happening to KLIV. But it's not exactly known as to when KLIV plans to unveil the schedule for the new classic country format. However, it's clear that KLIV does plan to retain some of their special programming, which will make the station not necessarily a 24-hour "country gold" music station.
Original Work: Kyle Chak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com
Twitter: @KyleSChak
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