Canned
routs live
at KFMY
By STEVE DODGE
Of the Emerald
It was a sad evening for alterna
tive FM radio, but the KFMY faith
ful at George’s Restaurant re
fused to show it.
Balloons hung under a sign
reading “KFMY: Goodby old
friend,” and patrons in the bar sip
ped half price beer and cheered
as the station dipped its colors and
signed off Saturday night shortly
after midnight 20 years after it
went on the air.
The station, now owned by Obie
Communications of Eugene,
(which runs KUGN-AM), dropped
its trademark hard-rock format
Sunday morning and took on
computer-programmed soft or
“mellow” rock and new call letters
— K-98.
Duke Young, who has owned
the station since its beginning in
1958 with a contemporary jazz
format, said he sold to KUGN be
cause “I’m not into hype radio. To
succeed today you’ve got to hype,
sell t-shirts and load with com
mercials. A lot of people are going
to miss a good radio station.”
At least a few people are un
happy about that change — peti
tions are being circulated around
town protesting the switch to au
tomation and urging retention of
the old format.
"We re trying to get KFMY's
format back on, or on a different
station,” said Andy Goering, a
Lane Community College student.
“Automated radio is depersonaliz
ing; it has no depth or personality.
I don’t think radio should be like
that.”
Uoering teeis the new owners
are 'out for a buck instead of mak
ing a better radio station." He says
he and Rick Brown, a University
student, hope to gather 10,000
signatures to that effect to send to
the FCC and KUGN.
K-98 station operations man
ager Mike Ferguson acknow
ledged the reasons for the change
to automation and “mellow" prog
ramming are primarily economic,
but said it will be “easier for us to
run the station."
Ferguson said "the music is
meant to be soft. Any abrasive
elements have been removed," in
order to appeal to a wider audi
ence than the old station did.
However, he said, the station is
open to feedback and is looking
into reviving KFMY’s oldies show,
"Olds 98," one of its most popular.
But to many, including the
now-unemployed staff of the old
station, it won’t be the same.
"How happy can I be after
seven years (of live radio) being
replaced by a machine?" KFMY
disc jockey Ken Martin said.
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