It’s no secret KQRS’s ratings have plunged in the past couple of years; the station’s new owner, Cumulus Media, just parted ways with the general manager installed a few months ago, Pete Frisch.
Frisch replaced local broadcasting legend Marc Kalman, who retired Dec. 16. Frisch is a company lifer, starting at the shop 25 years ago, rising to sales director and eventually adding the G.M. job.
Frisch confirmed the news today, but didn’t offer more details. The local cluster also owns headbanger 93X and nostalgia station Love 105.
Despite KQ’s decline — which company officials have blamed in part on new ratings technology (see page 12) — Cumulus stayed in-house in the Frisch-for-Kalman switchover. Cumulus absorbed KQ’s bankrupt precedessor, Citadel Broadcasting, in mid-2011.
The Atlanta-based company has a rep among locals as a particularly hard-nosed, centrally run shop, and given the numbers, several insiders expect larger blood-letting. I’ve heard some talk that Cumulus installed a regional manager as G.M., possibly on an interim basis; company officials have not returned calls.
Why I Quit Listening to KQ
I was listening to KQ and Tom Barnyard with my 8-year-old daughter in the front seat. She turned to me and asked what a blow job was. I haven’t listened to them since.