Blog 37

I am writing this from Shilo in Beaverton after the Associated Press Broadcast Awards: KQEN won (in division two -all station outside of Portland)

Best Breaking News
Best NewsCast
Overall Excellence Award

Plus - 2nd place in Breaking news
and 2nd place in Sports Reporting

Yahoo! More details on Monday.....now off to find a jazz club!

Blog 36

This blog will be different than any I have written.  This - to say goodbye to someone I did not know personally.   But yet someone who had a huge impact on me, particularly during my time in Portland.  Les Sarnoff, longtime host at KINK FM in Portland died on Friday of cancer.  I never met Les, and never worked at KINK during my time in Portland area radio.  However the impact remains.  For those of you unfamiliar, KINK is a somewhat electric rock station in Portland...which has evolved since  its "underground" days in the late 60s.  Its still highly popular across many age groups.   Les did mornings for much of a 30 year time span.   He was always pleasant to listen to....like having an old friend stop by for your morning coffee at home. While my style on air is certainly different, I did glean from Les the need to converse with the listener one on one. As I worked my way around in radio up north, I  kept listening and learning and Les was one of those people I drew ideas from.  Later as I gained friends who had worked with Les, I learned even more:  his incredible work ethic  (coming in at 2am to be ready to be on air at 5am!) and his involvement in things his listeners cared about.  He emceed many concerts, and non-profit events and cared about their success.  His final gift - from a man who made sure to be involved in his listener's lives - was letting us be involved in his sickness.   Les posted numerous blogs on the KINK  website explaining his treatment, options, and hope for surviving stage four cancer.  I checked the site often....and the insight was incredible.  He could have easily said goodbye on air and just vanished....as many often do.  But his positive attitude about beating the disease caused him to  again share with the listeners and readers. 

Did I meet him? - no.  Did I talk to him? - no.  But did I listen to him?  Oh you bet I did. And I will be listening to Les for years to come.

Kyle Bailey

Program Director

News Radio 1240 KQEN - Roseburg      

 

Blog 35

I just read that other blog (Brian's), and it made me think of something:  "Why I still live in Roseburg".  Now I am not stealing Brian's thunder,  but we are both on the same page about this community.  In fact so is all our staff.  At KQEN and  Brooke Communications, we have  an office full of people who have deep roots in the area.  Some have lived here forever, several of us have "come back" to Roseburg, and most tend to eventually realize how much they like it and why they would be nuts to  leave.   When I moved here in 1988 to work at another media outlet, I planned to stay "a year or two".  I considered offers back in "the big city"  and looked at possibilities at other bigger places.  Eventually I immigrated to Brooke Communications and the more I got plugged in to things, the less I wanted to leave.   There is something to be said for a short commute, lower cost of living  and making long term friendships.  

So here I still am.  KQEN is becoming more successful that ever-  its great to see the impact we are having with a mix of local news and talk, and best in talk from Rush, Lars, Dave Ramsey and more.  Lots of excellent reasons to like Roseburg.   So keep listening...and we'll keep working hard to make the station even better!  Thoughts?  Email me:  kyle@bciradio.com

 

Blog 34

What a great wknd in the Umpqua Valley!  Enjoying the sun with soccer games, a motorcycle event at Stewart Park, and the Bull Riding event at the fairgrounds.  Yes that was our own Bob Larson on a uh donkey (no bull) while our friends down the hall on Best Country 103 rode actual bulls.  Bossman Mike Carter (a real cowboy) did the best while Randy and Ashley were seen limping our of the arena.   Brian Prawitz provided play by play, while I wisely sat quietly in the stands.  A fun night.  Hopefully the rest of the wknd is equally fun!  Enjoy!