2011–KVI format switch; KVOS sale; Auburn AM flips to Spanish; Shellie Hart out at KUBE; Bonaduce to KZOK

From the pages of Gord Lansdell’s NWBroadcasters

December–29, 2011 – KVI AM 570 Seattle wil continue with Christmas music until 5 a.m. December 31.  It will then stunt with syndicated talk shows until 6 a.m. Tuesday, January 3 when Mark Christopher launches the new lifestyle-talk format.
December–15, 2011 – Former KING-TV Seattle news anchor Brad Goode has been hired by rival KOMO-TV to co-anchor its morning newscast.   He left KING last summer over terms of a new contract, and went to work for CNBC.   Molly Shen moves to co-anchor the 5 p.m. news at KOMO. 
December–15, 2011 – Seattle TV clown J.P. Patches, aka Chris Wedes, now 83, will have the future education center of the North Transfer Station in Fremont named after him.  In the local show, aired from 1958 to 1981, Julius Pierpont Patches lived in a shack at the city dump, of which he was the mayor. 
December–09, 2011 – Former KAYO manager Sid Roach died early Thursday morning in a rollover accident about a mile east of Kennewick.  He was 60 years old.  He worked for Greg Smith as manager and sometimes engineer of KAYO in Aberdeen for several years before the station moved to Olympia.  He then stayed on in sales, working out of the Aberdeen office.  Sid left broadcasting and moved with his wife to eastern Washington about 10 years ago.   His father, Sidney Sr. was a broadcast engineer at KGON Oregon City in the 1950s and went on to own KARY Prosser in the 1960s with his wife Judy.  
December–08, 2011 – Evening jock Matt Doormatt Lockmon has left his position at Seattle market KISS KBKS-FM 106.1.  He had been there since 2009.  
December–05, 2011 – Jim Trapp has been named PD of JACK KJAQ-FM 96.5 Seattle effective December 15, replacing Carey Curelop, who continues as PD of KZOK-FM 102.5 and KPTK AM 1090.   Trapp successfully launched JACK Seattle in 2005 and was most recently PD at X107.5 KXTE-FM Las Vegas. 
December–04, 2011 – Seattle market MOViN KQMV-FM 92.5 Seattle PD Maynard takes the reins as acting PD at sister station Click KLCK-FM 98.9, replacing a departing Jim Richards.  
December–02, 2011 – Newport Television has agreed to sell KVOS-TV Bellingham to Reston, VA-based OTA Broadcasting.  OTA, which recently purchased KFFV-TV Seattle, is a subsidiary of investment firm MSD Capital controlled by computer tycoon Michael Dell.  Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.  It is expected to close within 90 days subject to FCC approval. 
December–02, 2011 – KIRO-TV Seattle expands its 11 p.m. Sunday newscast to a full hour making it the first station in the market with a 60-minute broadcast in that timeslot.  Monique Ming Laven remains the anchor with meteorologist Morgan Palmer and sports anchor Chris Francis. 
December–01, 2011 – KUBE-FM 93.3 Seattle personality Shellie Hart, whose termination was announced in mid November, was given the chance to air her final shift Wednesday. 
November–24, 2011 – Oldies KVI AM 570 Seattle moved to all-Christmas music today, as noted in an email sent to clients last week.  Beginning January 3, it will flip to talk radio as Smart Talk 570 KVI.
November–24, 2011 – Longtime Seattle market Q13 KCPQ-TV morning news anchor Lily Jang is leaving in the New Year to return to her home in Houston, as her father is suffering from Parkinson’s disease. 
November–23, 2011 – Ellen Taylor will be the new co-host with Fitz on The Wolf KKWF-FM 100.7 Seattle beginning in early December.   She comes from Grand Rapids/Lansing MI and replaces Mary White, who left last month. 
November–23, 2011 – KWDB AM 1110 Oak Harbor has been sold by Action Pages LLC to Satnam Media Group Inc., which has a Canadian connection.  Sale price is $35,000 and is subject to FCC approval.    
November–22, 2011 – Seattle market The Mountain KMTT-FM 103.7 under PD Mike Kaplan is moving toward a more classic AAA format with some current core releases rolled in.  Additionally, longtime station MD/host Shawn Stewart has been released. 
November–18, 2011 – An email sent to clients today reads in part: “Beginning January 3, 2012, KVI Greatest Hits will flip to talk radio, called Smart Talk 570 KVI.  The positioning will be “Smart Talk for a Sound Life”, featuring lifestyle, health, local and entertainment news.  Hosts Mark Christopher and KOMO 4 TV’s Elisa Jaffe will start out the day with “Sunrise Seattle,” and other hosts including Clark Howard, Phil Hendrie, The Buzz featuring Scott Carty, and a WSJ Daily Wrap will inform and entertain listeners.  From Thanksgiving through January 2, 2012, KVI will celebrate the holidays with traditional Christmas music.” 
November–17, 2011 – Seattle-based Fisher Communications has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Fisher Plaza, its approximately 300,000 square foot mixed-use facility located near downtown, to Hines Global REIT, Inc. for $160 million in cash.  Fisher will remain the Plaza’s largest tenant, with a 12-year lease for its corporate headquarters and Seattle television, radio, and internet operations.  
November–16, 2011 – Longtime KUBE-FM 93.3 Seattle midday host Shellie Hart has been released.  She also had previously served as operations manager for the Clear Channel Seattle group. 
November–11 – KTBK AM 1210 Auburn-Federal Way has changed call letters to KMIA and has switched its format to Spanish Contemporary Hit Music identifying as Latino 1210 AM and playing Latin Pop, Hip Hop, Reggaeton and Bachata ”Solo Exitos”. 
November–04, 2011 – Q Country KNBQ-FM 102.9 Centralia has flipped to a simulcast of Sports Radio KJR AM 950 Seattle, extending the signal into the South Sound and well south in Washington State.  The change occurred at 7 a.m. 
November–01, 2011 – KSGX-FM 104.9 Eatonville, which was stunting as Freddy 104.9 with halloween music and horror movie clips over the weekend, moved at midnight to a rock format as The Brew 104.9.  
October–31, 2011 – Danny Bonaduce of The Partridge Family fame is the new morning host at KZOK-FM 102.5 Seattle effective Monday, November 14.  He was most recently a.m. drive host at WYSP-FM 94.1 (now WIP-FM) Philadelphia.   He will be joined by news director Sarah.