KBAM Longview – From Shady Deals To A Respected Member of the Business Community

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• This reminds me of something KLFF did when I worked there. They'd sell some spots on the all-nighter and, without telling the client, they would bonus them ten to one during the day. Happy customer then spent a little more money.

  • It gave the impression of being sold-out, I suppose. And gave those customers a bonus.

• Those guys made "a dollar a holler" sound like high finance!

  KAYO was known as the place for trade-outs in Seattle. When I worked there, it was common knowledge that Jessica's attic was filled with motorcycles and other big ticket items that she doled at as birthday and Christmas gifts.

  • I worked afternoon drive at KBAM as Lou Robbins. My buddy Dave Sawyer (Ryan) worked mornings. We were doing late-night recordings of a two-man show we wanted to peddle to larger markets. One Saturday night, after the station had signed off, we were in the middle of taping and station owner Arne Peterson walked in, staring at us through the window into the control room. Thinking fast, we told him we were practicing before pitching him a two-man morning show. All he asked was whether we thought it was humorous. We looked at each other and shook our heads YES. "Well, start this on Monday morning then. Great idea!" And he went off to his office. The following Monday, Ryan & Robbins premiered on KBAM, as Ryan & Ryan premiered on KAYO that same day.
    We ran with this for the better part of a year, sending out an occasional tape to Eugene, Portland, Salem etc. We got an offer from KUGN/Eugene. As fortune would have it, I had just decided to accept an offer from AT&T in Tacoma. Smart move on my part. Dave went on to do voice -tracking for IGM/Bellingham. He also spent some time at KIXI Seattle.

• I think heavy dependence on trade outs was a big part of old radio. Dick Stark told me that when he began at KPUG in 1960 one of the hardest aspects of selling spots was going in a store and the owner saying no, we already have a deal with Jessica and Vicki. That would be pioneer owner Jessica Longston (KAYO, KPUG and other stations) and Vicki Zaser her GM partner. When I had KBFW we had a few trades...Shilo Inns national, Rosario Resort, Vancouver Canucks hockey and a few local restaurants. But it was a small percent of the business.

• In 2021: KBAM has returned to LOCAL hosts in some dayparts. Phil Roger writes: : I’m back on air on KBAM and having fun with it. Voice tracking 9a-3p M-F. Dropping in local community events, country song insights from the 70s, 80s & 90s. Bringing back the ‘legends’ of country as Real Country K-BAM. And we say K-BAM! Streaming at KBAMCountry.com. All the idea of our local GM.

  ** Phil is also an account executive for the Bicoastal Media stations, so he is very involved in KBAM and the community. https://kbamcountry.com/