About time they made some changes at that crappy station: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4037696.html Stations targeting a broader audience By ANDREW GUY JR. Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Where's Atom? Where's Maria? And, for that matter, where is Scott Sparks? Gone. KRBE-FM is changing, and listeners have noticed. They are not pleased. Message boards, e-mail boxes and voice mails have been filled with backlash as radio fans weighed in on several changes at the station, the latest being the firing of high profile hosts Atom Smasher and Maria Todd. In an angry e-mail to the Chronicle, one man decried the state of Houston radio. "Our world got a little watered down last Friday," he wrote. "We just lost another flavor at the ice cream store. Houston, once again, had a group of outsiders come in and tell us how to do business. I'm mad as hell and you should be, too." Another person wrote on a popular message board devoted to radio issues: This is out of control. Cumulus is killing the legendary KRBE. Maybe this isn't so bad for Atom and Maria ... I know they'll both land nice gigs. Kay Alley, who commutes an hour each morning from her Spring home to her job in the Memorial City area, said she and her three kids knew something was wrong Monday morning. "There were three songs in a row and no DJ," Alley said. "I thought, what have they done with Atom and Maria?" Smasher and Todd were fired Friday, let go midcontract after new owners, Atlanta-based Cumulus Media Partners, announced the station would be targeting an older demographic for their morning programming. Sparks, who worked the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. slot at KRBE, also left the station Friday, fueling conspiracy theories that the new owners were cleaning house. "I think it's ... a format adjustment," said former KRBE program director Tracy Austin said of the changes. "In Houston, the definition of contemporary radio tends to lean a bit more adult. I think that's what they're going after. Radio is getting smaller and smaller. There's more consolidation, and a lot of companies want to do things their way." Austin, who resigned a few weeks ago to accept a job in Australia, chose her words carefully, adding that the decision last year to move Smasher from the afternoon to the morning — to replace Sam Malone — was successful. "We didn't miss a beat," Austin said. "It was a good, funny show, and we made a gain in the 18 to 34 group." Cumulus market manager Patrick Fant told the Chronicle Friday that Atom and Maria in the Morning didn't reach a broad crowd. Fant also predicted that the station's new morning talk show will be Houston's "next big thing." On Monday, Fant said he couldn't estimate the number of calls the station had received about the departure of the morning crew. "Naturally, people who liked the show and miss the show weren't happy and let us know about it." KRBE-FM has remained solidly in third place in the morning talk-show wars. Moving up the ratings will require a steep climb. For the first three months of 2006, the station had a 5.5 share of the coveted 18- to 34-year-old audience during the 6 a.m.-10 a.m. time period. Top performer was KLTN (102.9 FM) with 15.1, and KBXX (97.9 FM) was No. 2 with 7.4 share. Sparks said KRBE's new direction was the reason he left the station. (Sparks will be back on the air beginning July 17 at KLDE, 107.5) "KRBE is being taken into a radically different direction," Sparks told the Chronicle. "Stability is not their calling card right now, and (KLDE owner) Cox has a wonderful reputation in Houston." Sparks wonders if KRBE can successfully reach the older demographic that it wants. "It's a very radical approach," Sparks said of KRBE's moves. "It's definitely a question mark in the market, that's for sure." Alley, the commuter from Spring, said she's not waiting for KRBE's new morning show. "I have three teenagers, and we were all able to listen to the same radio station," Alley said. "How often does that happen?" She said she isn't sure if she'll switch to another morning radio show. For now, she plans to listen to her Sammy Hagar CDs.
Personally. I think it sucks. I have no grudges with Atom Smasher or Maria Todd, or Scott Sparks. It's just the unfortunate business of radio.
Cumulus is becoming as bad as the dreaded clear channel. they bought 93.3 up here in dallas and killed off all the dj's except one guy thats been with the station since the early 90s... the altered the music format too. didn't change it drastically, but altered it nonetheless.
As long as they continue to play crap like "hips don't lie" and that godawful song "unfaithful" by rihanna, i'm amazed they get any ratings at all. Utter garbage.
No kidding. About the only person more annoying than Atom Smasher is Maria Todd. Good riddance to both. And let's be fair. 104 will always be crap as long as its a Top 40 station. Unless the music industry wakes up one morning and suddenly decides to stop sucking.
Houston radio is unlistenable. Its the worst market I have ever experienced. Get Sirius already, or XM, whatever you choose....just get satellite.
At the very least, he's got to be laughing..... I haven't listened to KRBE since I was in Junior High (1973), so these firings mean nothing to me. The only music radio I listen to in Houston is KPFT on the weekends.
Easily the most defining quote of the story. I don't even know what to say about this. And I fully agree, all you need is XM and you're fine. KRBE has been teeny-payola garbage for decades, and when the Buzz got lobotomized by Clear Channel, I grabbed XM and never looked back. I'm waiting for a PhD dissertation on how Maria Todd and Sam Malone became the biggest names in Houston radio. Evan
