I spoke with Ted Tucker this evening regarding my earlier post on KNFT, and he questioned the version of events I outlined. Tucker assured me that neither he nor his father, Ted Tucker Sr., placed a phone call to CATS to request that the video of the Morning Show’s last airing be removed from circulation on the network.
According to Tucker, John Brooks, an employee of Runnels Broadcasting, made the call. Incidentally, Tucker is NOT the owner of the stations (KNFT-FM, KNFT-AM, and KPSA) — he is operating the stations under a time brokerage agreement with Runnels Broadcasting.
Tucker said the only negative feedback he’s received regarding programming on KNFT-AM was one day last week when Rush Limbaugh was off the air due to a technical problem. He said the station received about 500 phone calls from listeners wondering why Rush had gone off the air.
According to Tucker, the Morning Show was pulled from the lineup because of consistently poor ratings, and because it lost money.
He also challenged my claim that he is an “anti-community, bottom-dollar businessman.”
“If I am, I haven’t been eating my Wheaties.”
He said he’s contributed money to the Mimbres Region Arts Council and has sponsored a Little League Team, all during a time when cash-flow is not stellar.
“I’m doing everything I can with the resources I have.”
In addition, Tucker said he had asked the Daily Press to hold off on publication of the story concerning KNFT’s sale because he was not the owner, and that anything he said would have contributed to speculation.
Finally, he said that he had not removed the only local programming on the air waves. Tucker said Mike Rowse holds a community talk show on Saturday mornings. He said prominent community members have appeared on the show, and that U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman will be a guest on the show this Saturday at 9 a.m.
So, my apologies to Mr. Tucker. While I still don’t believe he should have cancelled the Morning Show, which I view as something of a Silver City institution, I was wrong about several aspects of this situation. That being said, the information I received this afternoon (which I also confirmed with other people this evening) came from sources I trust, and I did convey that during my conversation with Mr. Tucker.
I hope that he is in it for the long haul in Silver City and Grant County, and that he holds true to a commitment to community. From what he’s done thus far, it appears that may be the case.
I must also apologise to you, my readers, for not getting both sides of this story before typing up a blog entry. I assumed, from limited interaction with Mr. Tucker in the past, that he would be unreceptive to speaking on the record. That was an assumption I shouldn’t have made, and, even still, I should have provided him with the opportunity to say “no comment.”
Personally, I think this experience has shown that, even though this site is not a “news publication” per se, I cannot abandon my journalism skills or principles in the pursuit of providing personal commentary on news and events.
MD
There is so much more to the story. Lori & Gwen rattled on about corporate radio. Runnells Broadcasting owned 7 radio stations. Skywest Media owns or operates 4 radio stations including KSCQ & the 2 KNFT stations. That is not corporate radio.
KSCQ has had a locally produced news & comment show for 4 years. It was and still is according to ratings agencies the most popular show on any radio station. Under previous ownership and continuing with Tucker, KSCQ has made their show available to anyone locally, regionally or nationally that wanted to discuss an issue or inform the public. That has not changed.
Ted Tucker has never planned to “kill” the morning show permanently. He has planned to revamp and alter the show to make it more interesting and yes, profitable.
Which brings me to my last point. All radio stations in Silver City have been or are currently on the market. KSCQ was sold. KNFT is in bankruptcy and must be sold in the future. KWNM & KNUW are also on the market. So if so many people are supporting local radio, why is no one making any money?
suz
so the Sat morning program is the only local programming? While they may not be obligated to release the details of the leasing agreement, it seems unikely that Runnels would control the program content. So here’s a question, how much does an hour (or half hour) of air time cost and can shows sell advertising on their own show the way KABQ does in ABQ?
Is there any reporting of local news daily or is it just a sarellite feed from CNN?
Is it time for pirate radio in Silver City?
Ed Conley
Avelino,
First let me say I am a bit bewildered that I was not interviewed before you posted blog items to verify what I posted to John Fridinger
It seems there is a rat in the woodpile somewhere and I assure you it isn’t CATS nor is it me.
After speaking with John Waters, realize that the caller was in fact John Brooks.
I was in my car when he called and was quite frankly a bit distracted from being able to give my full attention to the entire conversation, however, he did say he was the new owner of KNFT. I didn’t know the name of the new owners, so when I spoke with Lori Ford mistakenly assumed the person who called me was telling the truth. John Waters has the call made to CATS on tape and I will be videotaping the call this morning for a point of reference to clear up any misconceptions about a call being made to CATS. Apparently some one has a problem with being truthful about the call now that the issue is out there, but I assure you, I have absolutely nothing to gain by fabricating stories about this.
Just to clear up the issue of CATS vs CATS producers, I am NOT an employee of CATS, just as none of the producers that air programing on CATS. Cats only has two employees and they are charged with the daily operation of the station as well as the recording of official City and County government meetings and presentations as part of the franchise agreement.
When Brooks made the call to CATS, he was referred to me, the producer of the program, since it is my say as to requesting the program be pulled ultimately,
So, my impression is that some one spoke out of school and is now trying to do some damage control.
As I stated before, had I been dealt with in a professional manner, I would have gladly sat down with whom ever it was that actually had the authority to make such requests and closely reviewed the show for any content deemed inappropriate and edited it out. I was not given that option but instead was told to remove the show from rotation under at least an intimated possible legal problem. As I said before, I was not interested in giving any more energy to this “owner” that called me.
If I have some how spoken falsely about the Tuckers, I sincerely apologize, but I would expect Mr. Brooks to be man enough to admit he is the one that misrepresented him self and his authority to me and CATS. I hope this makes things a bit clearer since from the blog one would assume that the Tuckers have been somehow the victims of a fabricated incident, but let me assure you, it happened just as I stated.
I would be curious to find out just who Brooks, if anyone, does in fact represent.
Again my most sincere apology to the Tuckers for a rough start in Silver City. I would be happy to meet them face to face to clear up any misunderstanding since I do not want to be made the bad guy here for being the messenger. I merely stated what I assumed to be the truth based on the call I got from “KNFT”
Ed Conley
Silver Radio
Each and Every hour during the work day, the DJ’s on KSCQ and KNFT talk about local events and happenings. Saturday mornings is the only day that politics are discussed on any of our programs.
Gwyneth Jones
Avelino, This is Gwyn Jones, one of the former hosts of The Morning Show on KNFT AM 950. I am an experienced journalist myself who has worked for seven newspapers and four radio stations in New Mexico, and literally grew up in the business, since both of my parents worked in journalism, editing and broadcasting. I am also familiar with journalistic principles, and I’m glad to see you are attempting to set the record straight on this subject.
So, in that interest, here are my comments.
Ted Tucker’s assertion that the Morning Show “had poor ratings and lost money” is misleading at best. Since the station was in bankruptcy, of course you could argue that every show was “losing money.” In fact, the live spots that aired on the Morning Show were the highest priced commercial spots that aired on KNFT. And customers were willing to pay for them because they got results–which means people were listening to the show–a lot of people. Year-long contracts for those spots of course were cancelled by the advertisers as a result of the show being discontinued.
I could provide a lot more comment on why the stations were losing money this past year, after the former owner was out of the picture and “local” management was put in the hands of convicted felons and amoral jerks who caused the sales to plummet and drove off so many good employees and customers.
As far as the “ratings”…most people don’t understand how ratings are compiled. Arbitron is the rating company and they send out letters to people in the area with a dollar bill attached and ask them to keep a log of what they listen to. The ratings are compiled from the logs that get sent in…last year, the total logs sent in from this area were under 20. That means that when KNFT’s “market share” was computed…it was based on replies of less than 20 people who bothered to do the paperwork. Needless to say, this is not an accurate reflection of how many people listened to the station.
After hosting the show for a couple of years, I know that many times that number listened to our show, which reached from near Las Cruces to near Tucson, and north and south in a comparable area. Lori Ford and I were told countless times by guests that their exposure on the show resulted in overwhelming response from the region and community. For example, a benefit held in Hillsboro was attended by about a thousand people, when the organizers had expected about 300. Other locals took the time to ask people who attended their events how they heard about it–and they were told that they heard it on the Morning Show.
As far as Mr. Tucker’s assertion that complaints about Rush Limbaugh’s absence being the only negative feedback he’s received regardiang program changes, I know for a fact that’s not true. In a courtesy interview with Mr. Tucker after all the KNFT employees were laid off, and later when he called me to say he had no positions available, I personally urged him to reconsider the show’s cancellation, regardless of whether the current hosts were considered or not, because the show was a great community service. As it became clear that a management transfer was coming….we at the station had been waiting a year–a number of our guests and listeners wrote and e-mailed the station asking that the Morning Show be continued. Those letters and e-mails should, by FCC requirements, be placed in the public file at the station. The public files are open to the inspection by anyone who cares to ask.
But since Mr. Tucker says he has not received any feedback on the Morning Show, I would urge anyone who misses the show, which aired in some form for the last 28 years, to contact him in writing to let your thoughts be known.
John Brooks, who is a consultant overseeing the bankruptcy court’s management of KNFT and the other Runnels Broadcasting System stations, did place the call to CATS regarding pulling the Morning Show Finale from the broadcast schedule. However, according to show producer Ed Conley, Ted Tucker Sr. did call him and threatened legal action if he did not pull the show. Keep in mind that John Brooks lives in California and obviously never saw the show, unless someone sent him a tape….so he apparently made his objection to the CATS broadcast based on input from someone in Silver City…someone who objected to the content.
My take on that at the time was that the Tuckers probably objected to the way the show was edited…specifically running my last newscast item regarding the transfer of management of the stations, while focusing on a bumper sticker adorning the studio wall that bore a rude slogan regarding corporate radio. Keep in mind that John Brooks was aware that CATS was filming that day, since he was on the premises, and that CATS producer Steve Solano had been filming the show periodically for about six months.
So, Avelino, please continue to try to get the whole story–even on the second or third go-round on a particular issue or event. And thank you for providing this extra forum for people to communicate. It’s especially impotant when other forums are being lost.
Lori
According to your new and improved blog, the Tuckers have already contributed to the MRAC and Little League when “cash flow is not stellar”. As we all know time is money ESPECIALLY when it comes to radio. The Morning Show contributed lots and lots of time (that’s all it was about), or it could be seen as money, to different commmunity issues, concerns, politicians, causes, schools, kid’s activities, groups, “prominent community members”, and on and on. We can get down to monetary value here as far as contributing: let’s just say these people were charged our SPECIAL rate of $6.90 per 30 second spot. Most of the guests were on the air for around 30 minutes…WHOA! We’re talking mega bucks being contibuted to this community and surrounding areas. But, KNFT did not think of it in terms of money, but rather in terms of COMMUNITY SERVICE, which no one can put a monetary value on.
Now as far as the rateings go, I would have liked you to ask Mr. Tucker to prove the “consistently poor ratings”. Is that based on the fact that no one called to complain about The Morning Show not being on the air? Is it based on the Arbitron ratings? Just what is that statement based on? Rush Limbaugh was off the air for more than one day when SkyWest first took over, not just one day as you stated. No one expected Rush to be off the air at all, where as with the Morning Show it was announced and made known to listeners that it would no longer exist.
The “because it lost money” statement is so, so, so misleading. And I’m being nice here, Ave!!! The radio stations were doing okay while Matt Runnels was there, but then we were all placed under new management. John Brooks was considered the general manager/consultant, but locally he placed some very poor leadership to high positions at KNFT. The income of the stations pummeled to new lows. These people were kept in their high positions DESPITE PROOF of immoral, dishonest (some of upper management hired had criminal backgrounds), unethical tactis that were running rampant at the radio stations. A lot of good, trustworthy, honest employees bailed or were fired under this horrible regime that was kept in place for some unknown reason. There was no explanation from John Brooks on why he was keeping these low lifes in charge. One can only speculate on why he didn’t listen to the peons or pay attention to the decline in the numbers. So therefore my reason for stating that the comment of the Morning Show losing money is misleading (and remember, I’m being nice with that comment) is that the stations as a WHOLE were losing money due to very poor management. As soon as that horrible regime was gone the stations started to perk back up again and not just morale wise. The employees at KNFT have done more than our share of damage control and for those of you who do not know…three women kept three radio stations running under very difficult circumstances.(Hence our motto:”We’re putting the broad back in broadcasting!”) This was done for the sake of the community, the listeners and advertisers. Believe me, it wasn’t done for our paychecks to get bigger because that never happened. Others (non-local) were and still are making the really big bucks.
In the courtesy exit interview it was stressed to Ted Tucker Jr. that KNFT’s Morning Show has been an institution for 28 or so years. It was also stressed to him that whether he kept the hosts on was irrelevant. I felt he didn’t know how much the show meant to Grant County and surrounding areas. How could he, he’s from the city! That is now obvious. He claims “Mike’s World” is taking the place of The Morning Show??
I know Matt Runnels is upset because we did not publicly thank him on the air our last day. That show was not about him. It was about our listeners, and guests that have been supportive of community radio. Allow me to say it here. Thank you, Matt for throwing Gwyn and I together on the air and yelling at us while we were on the air about not doing things up to your standards!
So Avelino…keep up the blog site as it is very important to all of us. But…as far as these articles go, it seems to me you only got one side of the story and without proof of statements. In the future maybe you could get all sides with the proven facts included! Still love ya! ~L.
MD
I find it interesting that Lori says the station, KNFT, was doing well when Matt Runnells was running things. He is the one that is in bankruptcy.
To further say time is money is nice and yes the show did inform some of the community of issues and goings on, but goodwill doesn’t pay the bills. Cash flow does.
Gwyn has no way of knowing how many calls were received or of what nature, she was not in the office on the days Rush did not air.
There is no doubt that Gwyn and Lori worked hard to put on a show under trying cirucmstances. But neither did they do their homework when it came to portraying the new management as ‘corporate radio’ nor have they given them any chance to make changes. Change can and does take time, especially when you are dealing with bankruptcy judges, lawyers and trustees that are not here.
One last comment. Arbitron is not the only ratings service. Gwyn is right, very few diaries were returned. That is why other services have been started that are more accurate statistically.
suz
The diversity of opinion here on this blog is the diversity of opinion that we used to hear on the radio and it deserves to be heard. I don’t call the lineup on KNFT acceptable. Where’s Ed Schultz? Where are others who represent alternate opinions (and better grounded facts)? The people of Southern New Mexico deserve the truth.
To only be exposed to the likes of Rush Limbaugh is shameful. The top leaders of the country are either under indictment or being investigated and all we hear is what patriots they are. Will someone please put up a real radio station?
Lori
Let me clarify: What I meant by the statement that KNFT “was doing okay” (not “well”) while Matt Runnels was there, was the fact that we were doing better than then after he was let go. Financially. No, it wasn’t great or well by any means. Hence the bankruptcy.
Also wanted to comment on the corporate radio comments that we are reported as going on and on about. The bumper sticker we had on the wall in the AM studio had been there since LAST SUMMER. Please don’t think that sticker was placed there to offend the Tuckers. It had been in that same place on the wall since last May. Believe it or not, doing the radio show was the easiest part of our job!
Ed Conley
Just out of curiosity. I wonder why the number of “complaints’ that Ed Schutz was taken off the air was never mentioned.
Surely someone had to comment about it.
Frankly, besides the Morning Show, that was all I felt was worth listening to. We can get the right wing drivel from most of the other mass media outlets that seem to dominate the landscape.
None of this surprises me at all, and regardless of if KNFT is or isn’t owned by corporate media, the underlying message is still ” It’s my station and I’ll do what I want” .
As the crusade to quiet all forms of media not towing the party line continues, the next battle will be for community access Television.
And they wonder why people create “Pirate radio” and internet media options. I guess there are still some people smart enough to know they aren’t likely to get any form of balanced information from mainstream media anymore.
J.R. Ricketts
What happened to the go old days at KNFT when we were billing $70,000 a month, had 15 employees, and had a helluva lot of fun. Oh, Matt Runnels stepped in and all that ended.
J.R Ricketts
Gen Mgr KNFT AM & FM 1990-2001