<\/p>\n
KFI (640 AM) may be down, but its certainly not out. It is still considered one of the premiere talk outlets in the country, and the highest-rated AM station in Los Angeles, even if not as high as just a year ago.<\/p>\n
Chris Merrill agrees. He\u2019s been building his craft most recently at KTAR\/Phoenix, and was recently selected to be paired with Michael Monks for a new early afternoon program, \u201cMonks and Merrrill,\u201d part of a program shuffle that puts John Kobylt back into afternoons and Tim Conway Jr. back into evenings.<\/p>\n
Garrett Searight of BarrettMedia.Com told it this way, writing in his column that \u201cthe decision came down to one simple decision for Merrill: when KFI calls, you don\u2019t say no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cImagine you\u2019ve been floating around, working your way up from high school baseball to college,\u201d Merrill told Searight. \u201cYou get drafted, you\u2019re doing A-league, Double-A, Triple-A, and you love your team. But then the Dodgers call. When the Dodgers call, you don\u2019t say, \u2018Yeah, but I really like what\u2019s going on in El Paso.\u2019 The Dodgers called.\u201d<\/p>\n
I agree. you just can\u2019t say no to KFI!<\/p>\n
Merrill is not new to the station, having done weekends and fill-ins previously. He\u2019s being paired with Monks, who has been a reporter and weekend host of \u201cMichael Monks Reports\u201d since 2024. bEFORE landing at KFI, the Covington, Kentucky, native founded \u201cThe River City News\u201d in 2011, and hosted a program called\u00a0 \u201cCincinnati Edition\u201d on WVXU\/Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
So as of Tuesday, Feb. 17 \u2014 Monday Is a holiday, you know \u2014 the KFI lineup is as follows: Amy King\u2019s \u201cWake-Up Call,\u201d 5-6 a.m.; \u201cBill Handel,\u201d 6-9 a.m.; \u201cGary and Shannon, 9 a.m.-noon; \u201cMonks and Merrill,\u201d noon-3 p.m.; \u201cJohn Kobylt,\u201d 3-6 p.m.; \u201cTim Conway Jr.,\u201d 6-10 p.m.. George Noory\u2019s \u201cCoast to Coast AM\u201d continues in the overnight hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe universe is back in order,\u201d Kobylt told me regarding the changes. \u201cConway and I should never have been moved. I\u2019m very much looking forward to the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conway appears happy as well, though I know for a while he enjoyed the afternoon shift so that he could do more with his family. Which does he like best? \u201cNights for sure,\u201d he said. \u201cMore fun, less news.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now let\u2019s see if the station adds to the news department and starts promoting itself again. Things may be looking up at the Amazing AM.<\/p>\n
Saul Levine is an FM radio pioneer. Back in 1959, he launched Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters and put KBCA (now KKGO\/105.1 FM) on the air. Now his station is the oldest independent FM station in Los Angeles, and is among the relative few remaining independent broadcasters in the entire country..<\/p>\n
In addition to KKGO, he owns and operates KMZT (1230 AM) along with a handful of other stations outside of the city, and oversees the programming on his HD streams that share the signal with Go Country 105.<\/p>\n
Levine is a true broadcaster at heart. He could have sold his stations and retired a millionaire years ago, but he loves radio and believes in it as an art form. Indeed, he has spent all of his years in radio presenting formats that he believes are underrepresented, such as country \u2014 he launched Go Country on 1260 first, quickly moving to 105.1 later, when the old KZLA (now KLLI, 93.9 FM) dropped the format in 2006 \u2014 and classical, which he now carries on 1260 as well as KKGO\u2019s HD2 digital stream.<\/p>\n
Trained as an attorney, Levine is very proud of his accomplishments, launching his FM station when FM was not doing well. But he believed in it. \u201cI knew it would succeed \u2026 eventually,\u201d he told me recently.<\/p>\n
Levine, who I am told still uses the stairs in the building that houses his stations just south of UCLA \u2014 his law school alma mater \u2014 turned 100 on Feb. 12. I asked him if he had any thoughts on his amazing life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an old saying that a birthday is just a number,\u201d he said. \u201cI have been blessed to have a lot of them. I have been lucky to enjoy my work and still be able to go to work every day, doing what I enjoy most \u2014 presenting the world\u2019s greatest music to the wonderful people of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am grateful to be an American and live in a nation that allowed my parents to escape persecution, and make a new life. Fate allowed me to acquire radio stations and broadcast the fine arts, jazz, classical, and country music.\u201d<\/p>\n
How does he do it? How does he maintain his energy, his drive, and his passion? \u201cI have no formula,\u201d he said, \u201cexcept to work hard, engage in everything in moderation, and always look forward to tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n