Jonathan L and White agreed on a 10pm to midnight timeslot, Mondays through Wednesdays for the show.

“The Lopsided World” had previously been a part of Sandusky KUPD weekends since August 2005 until Jonathan L announced his retirement and the final show aired in mid-April of last year.

Though Jonathan L now lives in Berlin, Germany, he is no stranger to Arizona. He had begun, inexperienced but determined, in 1982 with his successful specialty show called “Virgin Vinyl” on KLPX Tucson.

In 1986, he was among the original staff (as APD) of the newly established Key 100.3 (KEYX-FM) in Phoenix, “Arizona’s Rock & Soul.” Jonathan L is also considered one of the pioneers of the format of AM 1060 KUKQ, Phoenix, and starter of the Q-Fest music festival.

Just a few years ago, he was voted Phoenix New Times’ “Best Rock Radio Personality,” 2008, and awarded as “Best Radio DJ,” several more years.

Share your thoughts below!

Starting on August 15th ,Dave Pratt will return again to terrestrial radio, this time on modern/alternative rock station X103.9. Pratt and his “Dave Pratt Live” morning show crew have been doing an internet radio show every morning via DavePrattLive.com. Landing a chance for the show to air on terrestrial radio enables many more listeners to become loyal listeners.

With the news, Pratt prides himself on the new affiliation with Riviera Broadcast Group focusing on catering to the state of Arizona but assures his most recent venture, “Dave Pratt Live” will be heard as it had been broadcasting online for the past two months.

Pratt’s morning crew include co-host Kassi Jayde, a former assistant producer with JohnJay & Rich on Clear Channel Kiss FM, Channel 12 news anchor Mark Curtis, voiceover, imaging and production artist, Rob Trygg, and assistant producer Alexis Rodriguez.

Beginning August 15, “Dave Pratt Live” will be heard from 6-10am on X103.9 (KEXX).

By Hardy Price

The Arizona Republic, N1 – December 11, 1977

Two days and two nights on the road. Fighting fatigue and accidents by playing the radio. Picking up Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Chicago, Fort Worth. Listening to announcers pitching everything from pine tar and Pontiacs to alum and autographed photos of Jesus that glow in the dark.

Roaring up I-10 north of Casa Grande in the pre-dawn hours. It was with great anticipation that eyes started straining for the blinking red lights atop South Mountain. Not only would it mean that home was near and the end of a long trip, but the tinny car radio speakers would begin to shoot with familiar voices.

Hey that’s Toad Hall on KDKB and there’s Heywood on KOY and Spero on KXIV. Wonder what corn Len Ingebrigtsen is dishing out this morning on KOOL? Art Webb, W. Steven Martin and Richard Ruiz on KRIZ, KUPD and KRUX, respectively, will have already started to talk a mile-a-minute. Chris O’Connor at KNIX and Larry Scott at KJJJ have already fed the chickens, milked the cows and slopped the hogs, getting ready for four hours of Buck, Willie, Ol’ Waylon and Hag. Too bad Johnnie Linn is no longer talking about July pork bellies on KTAR.

Just as soon as the sun breaks over the Superstitions, the Christian stations will start saving souls, KMCR will begin educating and KXTC will be denying rumors that it will change from an all jazz format to a gospel-Christian-Catholic-Jewish-Zen-agnostic country-western station.

That’s good old Phoenix radio. A little something for just about everybody, unless you happen to be black. Phoenix has 33 radio stations (18 AM and 11 FM) but not one with a dominant black format. Matter of fact, Phoenix is the largest metropolitan radio market without a black station.

It would seem that Phoenix has just about more radio stations than anybody. According to Spot Radio Rates and Data, a monthly radio trade publication, Phoenix has more radio stations than Los Angeles, 28; San Diego, 18; Denver, 26; Miami, 24; Chicago, 27; Kansas City, 20; St. Louis, 23; Buffalo, 28; New York, 29; Boston, 28; Dallas, 18; Houston, 25 and Salt Lake City, 18.

Radio in Phoenix grew with the population boom. KOY signed on first in 1922, but KTAR gets the nod as the first commercial radio station to hit the air, also in 1922. KOY started out as an experimental station with the call letters of 6BBH. It turned commercial shortly after KTAR.

KJJJ (then called KPHO) went on the air in 1940 to be followed by KRUX and KQXE (formerly KBUZ) in 1946, KOOL in 1947, and KIFN in 1949. Things really began to pick up in the 1950s with KRIZ (1950), KXIV (1954), KHEP (1956), KSGR (1956), KMEO (1957), and KPHX (1958) right on into the 1960s with KNIX (1960), KUPD (1960), KRDS (1960), KDKB (1960), KCHS (1962), and KASA (1966).

You have to understand that some of the call letters are not the same ones as those originally granted the licenses. Many times when ownership changes, so do call letters. And a recent Federal Communications Commission recommendation calls for stations with both AM and FM outlets to have separate call letters. The FCC has already required that stations with both outlets provide substantial differences in programming, thereby eliminating the goold old days of cost-cutting, simultaneous broadcasting.

For many stations in Phoenix, cost-cutting is essential. There are just so many ways to split the profits pie and no matter how thin the slices, somebody always comes out with the crumbs.

“This just might be as competitive a radio market as there is in the country,” said one station manager. “And that does make it hard on the coffee pots (small stations). I would guess there’s always one or two stations in the Phoenix market for sale.”

Radio stations, just like any business, operate in different ways. One station use to pay its on-air staff by allowing the staffers to sell their own programs, splitting the fee with the station management. “I was trying to sell spots on my show for $8,” said a former disc jockey. “Come to find out this other jock is going to the same people offering spots on his show for $6. Helluva way to make a living?”

This instance is an exception to be sure, but would seem to indicate that all is not well on local airwaves. To attempt to judge the relative healthiness of a station by checking the rating can be just as misleading. There are almost as many ways to interpret radio ratings as there are ways to interpret the bible.

Station managers privately admit to this, but would rather see their children spirited away by gypsies in the night than tell a potential advertiser that his station is not at least No. 1 during some time of the day.

Several years ago one station manager wrote an advertiser, and friend, asking for a letter of recommending the merits of buying time on the station. The station’s rating was so low that even a ladder wouldn’t provide much help. “I really hated not to write him the letter,” said the friend. “I know it would probably help him, but next year when I go to buy advertising, he could pull my letter out and tell me I could afford to pay more since advertising on his station proved to be of such benefit to me.”

Pratt is paired with co-host Kassi Jayde, a former assistant producer with JohnJay & Rich on Clear Channel Kiss FM. Other notable members of the show will include Channel 12 news anchor Mark Curtis, voiceover, imaging and production artist, Rob Trygg, and assistant producer Alexis Rodriguez.

Interested in your thoughts. Leave your comments below!

The show will take place at Quail Run Park in Mesa, and tickets will go from $39. Check out the KUPD Concert Calendar for more details on the lineup, venue, and prices.

In an announcement posted online, Wellington writes: “It’s been 11 years since my voice has been heard over the FM airwaves… On Saturday, March 5th, Beef returns to the air! Not only that but he returns to the scene of the crime, 98KUPD, where he toiled for nearly 15 years as air personality, promotional appearances, and Promotions.”

He will begin Saturday, March 5 from 2-6pm.

Market veteran and local celebrity Dave Pratt is itching to reveal his news of a brand-new “morning show,” as he divulged via his Facebook account and page last week. No further information has been released by Pratt, but others continued with the notion.

On Radio-Info.com’s radio industry message board, details were posted:

“The other night I’m at Benihana with some friends and amongst the group of people across from us, one guy says he’s a sales rep for The Peak,” writes thisguy (username). “This guy is just hammered drunk and proceeds to tell his friends that at the end of their contract Chris and Amy are out. Amy is going to do mornings at 103.9 and Dave Pratt will take over mornings on Peak.”

So rumor has it that Dave Pratt is headed to Bonneville’s 98.7 The Peak– and that’s just what it is– a rumor.

The truth is that Dave Pratt’s “new morning show” will not be on the radio at all, but online at DavePrattLive.com.

In an email sent early Sunday morning, Pratt writes:

Since our budget cut release from KMLE in 2008, we have kept in touch for 2 years. All along, my promise was that I would never leave you, and I would never leave Arizona. I also promised that our morning show would return at the conclusion of my CBS contract, which has finally ended. Well, a “Mayor” has to keep his promises right?

Thanks to you, and thanks to the loyalty that you continue to give, we will share a very special announcement with all of the details very soon. “Dave Pratt Live”. We are back baby!!

What do you think? Comment below!

Pratt has been away from mornings on CBS Radio Phoenix’s KMLE Country 108 since December 2008, but his contract is still in-effect to this day.

In a mass-email sent out today, Pratt updated his mailing list on how summer has been, his latest projects, and his hope to return on-the-air, depending on what CBS Radio does with his contract on its final year.

Pratt could return in as little as a few months if all goes his way.

“My hope is that CBS will not pick up the option on my final year,” wrote Pratt. “Sure, it’s been a long, paid vacation, but I am more than ready to get back in the air chair.”

Under the CBS Radio contract, Pratt remained off the air since December 2008 and has been spending more time with his family, remaining active in the community and blogging daily on AZCentral.com.

“If CBS does not pick up the option, I will be back in a few months,” Pratt wrote. He’s not ruling out rock, talk, country or sports.

One question asks,
“WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE MORNING DJ(s)?”

Options (and percentages as of 5:45 this evening):
Ankarlo (Darrell Ankarlo), KTAR
2%
Barry Young, KFYI talk radio
2%
Ben and Matt , KNIX
30%
Beth and Bill, KEZ
5%
Dave Pratt, formerly of KMLE
31%
Doug & Wolf, KTAR
1%
Holmberg’s Morning Sickness, KUPD
4%
Howard Stern, Sirius Satellite Radio
2%
Johnjay and Rich, KISS
21%
Tim and Willie, KMLE
2%

You can place your vote here.

PhoenixAirchecks.com Analysis:
- Where’s everybody else? Surprised to not see Chris & Amy. What about JR & Mary? And why not Tom & Maria? Dave Pratt is still an option, yet it’s been fifteen months since he’s been on the radio. (Yeah, but he also blogs for AZCentral.)

- Speaking of Dave Pratt, Pratt is beating Holmberg’s Morning Sickness over septuple! (that means times seven)

- Johnjay and Rich seem to be the ones most pushing for their followers on Twitter to vote for them on this one. So far it’s gotten them to 21%.

- Why can AZCentral never spell Willy’s name right?

The “Lopsided World of Jonathan L” has been a part of KUPD weekends since August 2005. The free-form style show currently airs Saturday mornings, 6:45-10am, and Sunday evenings, 5:45-8pm.

Jonathan L has had a career in radio, lasting three decades and over two of them spent in the Phoenix market. He had begun, inexperienced but determined, in 1982 with his successful specialty show called “Virgin Vinyl” on KLPX Tucson.

In 1986, he was among the original staff (as APD) of the newly established Key 100.3 (KEYX-FM) in Phoenix, “Arizona’s Rock & Soul.” Jonathan L is also considered one of the pioneers of the format of AM 1060 KUKQ, Phoenix, and starter of the Q-Fest music festival.

Just a few years ago, he was voted Phoenix New Times’ “Best Rock Radio Personality,” 2008, and awarded as “Best Radio DJ,” several more years.

For more information on Jonathan L’s show and retirement, click here. A journey through radio, as told by Jonathan L himself, here.