Radio

Less Sports, More Boobs: Guy Talk and the De-Evolution of Sports Talk Radio

I'm a native Houstonian. I grew up a fan of Houston sports teams, and I spent a lot of time as a kid listening to sports talk radio. There were no sports-only stations in the 1970s and 1980s. Multiple stations aired games (am I the only person who remembers the Astos games once being on 104 KRBE). A ... More >>

Comedy is NOT Pretty: Dismissed from 1560, Comic John Wessling's Heart Still Belongs to Radio

Chris Rock once said of the music business, "Here today, gone today." The same might be said of radio, particularly sports radio where hosts and shows change about as often as the baseball seasons. A few weeks ago, the latest change came at 1560 when Adam Clanton (now back on air at 790) and John We ... More >>

Sexual Orientation Questions at NFL Combine Spark Sports Radio Discussion, Create Welcome Distraction

I listen to a lot of sports talk radio. I listen to as much of the various hosts as possible across the five different stations that offer all-sports formats -- yes, five, it's insane. There are some shows and on-air talent I like better than others. We're all like that I would guess. For me, I tend ... More >>

Hey Astros, You Might Want To Hire Some Radio Broadcasters

The Houston Astros report for spring training next week. The first spring training game is on Saturday, February 23rd. And yet the Astros still do not have a radio broadcast team. Brett Dolan and Dave Raymond were dismissed the day after the 2012 season ended. In early October. And the topic as to ... More >>

Five Sports Radio Calls That Should Be Banned from the Airwaves

I have always listened to a lot of sports talk radio. I've written about it over the last few years here as well. On the whole, I find it to be interesting, informative and rather entertaining. My fiancée will sometimes ask on a Sunday afternoon when the car radio gets switched to a sports station, ... More >>

Historic Local Station KCOH Sold to Catholic Radio Network

Radio is generally in a constant state of upheaval. Witness the line-up changes throughout sports radio and the rise of News92 FM from the ashes of formerly all news KTRH. There are two FM music stations playing the exact same stuff every day because one was sold and not reformatted. The plug was pu ... More >>

KACC: "Gulf Coast Rocker" Is Houston's Last Great FM Hope

Like a wound that never truly heals, the sorry state of commercial rock radio around here continues to be a sore point for many Houstonians. Not a day goes by that several people search for 103.7 FM on the Houston Press Web site -- almost two months after the station changed formats from Adult Alter ... More >>

Happy Birthday, John Peel: Our 10 Favorite Sessions

Today would have been the 73rd birthday of John Peel, one of the planet's most legendary, eclectic and flat-out best radio disc jockeys of all time. He died in 2004, but the nearly 40 years of outrageously good music that he helped bring to the masses at BBC Radio 1 beginning in 1967 form a pretty d ... More >>

Reader's Poll: What's the Deal With Christian Music?

So you are disgusted, angry, and outright righteously pissed that your beloved 103.7 is gone with the wind, replaced by 24 hours of Christian music. Gone are your usual playlists full of Wilco, Soundgarden, Sheryl Crow and Death Cab For Cutie, not to mention your favorite DJs and personalities. Th ... More >>

Chron Admits Journatic Stories May Have Had Fake Bylines

Tucked neatly beneath a photo of Pitbull and next to the lotto numbers in Tuesday's Houston Chronicle A section (page 2, if you're curious) was a "Note to our readers" that detailed the Chron's recent discovery that stories provided to them by Journatic and affiliate Blockshopper had used pseudonyms ... More >>

Know Your Local Media: KUHF's Paul Pendergraft on Engines of Our Ingenuity, Talking Pigs and Steely Dan

If you pay attention to local radio, you know Paul Pendergraft, but despite his receiving numerous accolades including an Edward R. Murrow award and appearing virtually every day on the radio in Houston for over 20 years, you might miss him. Pendergraft is an affable, soft-voiced senior producer for ... More >>

Ranking Houston's Sports Radio Personalities

The Houston sports talk landscape is complicated and fascinating. We are blessed with four full-time sports stations, several other sports-themed shows scattered along the dial and one national sports network headquartered right here in the Bayou City. When I ranked the best sports talk shows in Hou ... More >>

Ranking The Local Sports Radio Shows From Worst To First

I've been listening to sports radio in the city of Houston a very long time. Too long, probably. While I don't remember much about Edmonds and Martini, I do remember when the only sports radio show in Houston was Sports Beat, which ran evenings on KTRH. Amazing to think that we've gone from one four ... More >>

Turn The Radio On: Top 10 Musicians Who Should Be DJs

A few years ago, Van Halen front man David Lee Roth filled in for Howard Stern on his nationally syndicated radio show. Roth also served a stint as a deejay for New York's 92.3 Free FM. This is nothing new, because many artists have at some point served as DJs, such as Greg Kihn of the Greg Kihn ba ... More >>

4 Warnings -- Your Guide to Listening to Super Bowl Week Talk Radio

Super Bowl hype week is underway, and I know that many of you will be consuming sports talk radio this week in an effort to get ready for the big game. (I know many of you won't be, and I understand that as well. I hate me some me sometimes, too. It's okay.) The general public service announcement ... More >>

Excuse Me, Rapper. Would You Like To Be Played On The Radio?

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com.Note: ... More >>

App of the Week: Pandora vs. iHeartRadio

If you haven't been paying attention, a very tiny little war has been brewing over access to the ears of people who like to listen to radio online or on their smart phones. I say it's a tiny war because, at the moment, it is. While many of us who love music and like to listen to it a lot will do wha ... More >>

All That Jazz

Critics say KTSU has lost its listeners, not to mention its soul, by ditching its cutting-edge music and many of its veteran DJs.

Memories Of "Crash" Collins Continue To Pour In

​Last Sunday's passing of longtime Houston radio personality "Crash" Collins and our subsequent blog about him brought in some interesting commentary from people who remembered Collins' long tenure at rock radio station KLOL-FM. Collins was one of the first disc jockeys to ditch the formalized ... More >>

ERRRRRR: Get Ready to Get Emergency Broadcasted On, Y'All

​A nationwide test of Emergency Alert System is set for today at 1 p.m. Houston time, when a half-minute message will air on all television and radio stations. The purpose is to test out the preparedness of the system to break into radio and TV channels to give instructions and news in the eve ... More >>

BestFest: Bun B, Rap God; Toadies Close Out With A Shred

Photos by Marc BrubakerYou know who this is.​It's hard to write about Bun B objectively anymore. Really, it is. He has ascended to where ever it is that people who are hard to write about objectively ascend to. It feels like, if he just did it with conviction, he could walk out on stage, take ... More >>

A "Classic Cool" Start To BestFest Weekend

classiccool.com​Kicking off with a swanky media preview party this evening, the area surrounding the "superblock" at Main and McGowen should be a beehive of activity the next 48 hours. Tonight Lonesome Onry and Mean will be partying in the Mercedes Benz VIP area and getting a first look at t ... More >>

Is Commercial Radio Fading Into Oblivion?

​How many times has this happened to you: You're driving home from work. A song comes on. Drums. Guitar strums. A wimpy voice: "Say, oh, got this feeling that you can't fight..." You've heard this same song three times in 30 minutes, and it bores you to tears. Unlike the imaginary audience th ... More >>

KTSU's Take Ova Crew Brings Student Voices To "The Choice"

Take Ova Crew on FacebookThe Take Ova Crew welcomes Houston's own Devin the Dude.​In 1972, the FCC approved a license for Texas Southern University's FM radio station, 90.9 KTSU ("The Choice"). The station was originally intended to give students in the communications department an opportunity ... More >>

KGOW'S KAPOW KAPOW

1560AM weaves pop culture, locker-room humor and irreverence into sports-talk radio.

UC Radio's Mike Yusi: How To Succeed In Podcasting

"Traditional radio is as dead as Joey Ramone." ​Last year, Rocks Off's editor - who will be played by upcoming Celebrity Apprentice contestant Gary Busey for the duration of this article - hauled us into his office and said, "Dammit, With One F! This radio on the Internet thing is blowing up ... More >>

The Nine Most Annoying Types of Sports Radio Callers

Send in the Clones.​Hair Balls likes to listen to sports radio. We aren't exactly sure why, but we do. We've got a bunch of stations to choose from in Houston, which gives us lots of opportunities to hear interviews, analysis and banter, some good, some bad, about all things sports. As syndic ... More >>

KTRU: No. 1 Local Music Story Of The Year

Rocks Off has been counting down the top local music stories of the year. Before this came the Lightnin' Hopkins historical marker, Meridian imbroglio, Fitzgerald's sale and Trae vs. The Box. Brittanie Shey​Rocks Off wrote a lot of words about Rice University's pending sale of KTRU (91.7 FM) ... More >>

Odd Pair: KILT Tries Lord, Innes Together

Rich Lord is still looking for a co-host.​The sports radio landscape in Houston used to be simple. For years, there was one show: Sports Beat on KTRH. The evening sports show was all Houston sports fans had when it came to sports talk. With the rise of sports talk nationwide, Houston followed ... More >>

Cougars Not Getting Respect From ESPN -- Or Their Own Flagship Station (Updated)

Is this where they got their UH-UTEP announcers from?​I've got an idea for the Houston Cougars. Instead of wasting time going after beat writers for trying to find out health information on players, maybe they should instead use that valuable time for more important things. Like making sure the TV ... More >>

Embargo

UH and Rice make deal with Chron

Media Embargo: UH And Rice Get What They Want From The Chronicle

They probably played this on KTRU​If you're going to kill off the last station in town that epitomizes "college radio" (for better or worse), you have to work hard not to come off looking like a villain.The University of Houston and Rice sure did, using a media embargo in cooperation with the Hous ... More >>

KTRU News Roils, Saddens Local Music Community

UPDATED (5:35 p.m.) to include comments from Rice's B.J. Almond and a new Facebook count. The fate of KTRU's annual outdoor free concert in the spring is one of many things that has yet to be decided.​News of the University of Houston's impending purchase of Rice University student radio stat ... More >>

Judge Denies Trae's Injunction Request Against The Box

​Simply put, the task before Trae seems illogical. No hip-hop artist has ever walked into a courtroom and essentially forced a radio station to play their music. Then again, no other hip-hop artist has a day named after him in his own city. Interestingly, it was the unfortunate events that occurre ... More >>

5 Rappers Who Dissed The Radio, Sucka!

​ "Radio - suckers never play me" - Public Enemy, "Rebel Without a Pause" Eazy-E once walked up to legendary disc jockey Greg Mack and asked him what he could do to make his music radio-ready. Mack's reply? "Well, you could start by cleaning up the lyrics." Ever the savvy businessman, Eazy returne ... More >>

New On DVD: This Is A Radio Clash, From Pirate Satellite

​Out on DVD today is Pirate Radio, staring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy. So, walk right by Woody Harrelson's Defendor, Lauren Holly's The Final Storm and unless you're just a die-hard fan, Robert Englund's Nightmare on Elm Street collection. If you've got kids (or fond childhood memories) ... More >>

Game Time: A Radio Programming Question...Please Let Me Help You

​We all have certain things that are on our sports "bucket list," and whether it's because I've loved football from the time I was in diapers or whether it's because I am now in a line of work where it seems like everyone except me has been to one, attending a Super Bowl is at or near the top of m ... More >>

Comedy of Manners

Main Street's Ps and Qs reallyworks as a family show.

Fight for Your Right

Does the U.S. belong with the Axis of Evil?

KCOH Up For Sale, But Staying Put

One of the more interesting bits of music-related legislation to come up recently is the bill known as the Performance Rights Act. Drafted as House Resolution 848, sponsored by House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and co-sponsored by a host of legislators including Houston Dem ... More >>

This American Life - LIVE!

A National Public Radio favorite takes the big screen

Pirate Radio USA

Web exclusive!

Things We Don't Get: Walton & Johnson

Why Do the "Car Talk" Guys Have a Cartoon and I Don’t?

Former Death-Row Inmate Sent Back to Prison

Martin Draughon returns to the clink after becoming a test case for alleged flaws in GPS monitoring devices

Getting into The Game with Chance McClain

KGOWTF: Poker on the Radio?

Nothing Happening Here: Protest Music, Then and Now