long live rock! that was the rockin' chant down to the last day. sadly, houston lost a legend today when clear channel changed formats. i know not many people listen to rock in here, but i figured i'd post this. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2898407 KLOL suddenly speaking Spanish Venerable rock station switches to a new format By CLIFFORD PUGH Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle In a clear signal of the growing media clout of Houston-area Hispanics, radio behemoth Clear Channel Communications has yanked legendary rock station KLOL-FM (101.1) off the air and replaced it with a format that radio insiders call "Spanglish Top 40." ADVERTISEMENT The switch took place Friday morning when the new station — now called Mega 101 FM (with the tag line "Latino and Proud") — began playing 10,101 songs in a row. The new format is a mixture of Spanish hip-hop, reggaeton and pop/dance music aimed at listeners between 18 and 34 years old. Music in Spanish by artists ranging from the rapper Pitbull to pop star Shakira will be accompanied by DJs using a combination of English and Spanish. Clear Channel officials said Houston is the first city in the nation to get the new format. With the format change, the station is targeting young second- and third-generation Latinos, said Adam Jacobson, editor of industry trade publication Radio and Records. "There are many Hispanics in the United States who grew up speaking English but are very proud to be called Latino," Jacobson said. "That's what Clear Channel wants to go after." But he cautioned it would take time for the new format to take hold. With the format change, Houston now has 16 stations that appeal to a Spanish-speaking audience. The move caught longtime KLOL listeners by surprise. "There was no warning at all," said Chris Beck, a 32-year-old cook. "I'm 35 and it's been on the air as long as I can remember," said a real estate salesman who did not want to be identified. "It's quite a shocker." He called Clear Channel headquarters in San Antonio to complain and is encouraging his friends to do the same. Once known as "The Texas Rock 'n' Roll Authority," KLOL went on the air in 1970 and has featured rock music ever since. Through the years, the station has been known for its bad-boy disc jockeys, including the morning duo of Stevens and Pruett and evening DJ Moby. The current morning duo, Walton and Johnston, had the seventh-most-popular morning show in Houston, according to the most recent Arbitron radio rankings. The station was in a tie for 15th among listeners age 12 and older. On their Web site, Walton and Johnston announced that they were informed of the change "by lower-level management sources via a last-minute phone call" on Thursday night. Their Friday show was a rerun before the format change took place at 10 a.m. In September, Clear Channel, the largest U.S. radio broadcaster with more than 1,200 stations, vowed to embark on an aggressive plan to convert as many as 25 of its stations to a Spanish-language format in the next 12-18 months. The company recently dropped a rock format that had been in effect for 36 years at a San Jose, Calif., station in favor of an oldies-based, regional Mexican format. Prior to the Houston format change, none of Clear Channel's eight area stations were broadcast in Spanish. Clear Channel's pitch for Spanish-speaking listeners is the latest sign that large corporations are recognizing the importance of the growing Hispanic market. Such heavyweights as NBC and Viacom are among the media giants that have bought communications companies that appeal to a predominantly Hispanic audience. Univision Communications, the largest U.S. Spanish-language television and radio broadcaster, already owns 68 radio stations, including eight in Houston. "Corporate America and the boardroom are staring to realize, 'Wow, we're really behind the curve. We've got to catch up,' " said Alex Lopez Negrete, president of Lopez Negrete, a Houston-based advertising agency. Even so, Negrete is saddened by the loss of KLOL. "On a personal basis, I am every bit a rocker as I am a salsero. Will I miss KLOL that I've listened to for 34 years? Absolutely. "Will I switch to Mega? They'll have to convince me like they have to convince the rest of the market, because we have our favorites."
