Industry News

Derek Egeberg Brings KBLU, Yuma Back to Life

Local businessman Derek Egeberg announces he’s acquired KBLU-AM, Yuma, Arizona and is relaunching the station as a news/talk outlet. Egeberg had hosted a weekend financial show on the station for years when former owner El Dorado Broadcasting took the station dark. He decided to take on the task of buying and imgreinventing the station. He posted to Facebook: “Eighty-six years ago, this station was created right here in Yuma as a local voice for local people. Over time, like many great American institutions, KBLU became part of larger corporate ownership. But now the story changes. KBLU is once again locally owned, locally operated, and locally directed. This is more than a radio station changing hands. This is a comeback story… And we’re proud to announce that ‘The Russ Clark Show’ is back on the air weekdays from 6:00 am to 9:00 am. That matters because local radio should sound like the community it serves. It should know the streets, the businesses, the families, the farmers, the veterans, the first responders, the leaders, and the heartbeat of Yuma.” The station will feature programming from Premiere Networks, including Sean Hannity, “The Clay & Buck Show,” Michael Berry, “Our American Stories,” and more.

Industry News

KSCO Owner/Host Michael “MZ” Zwerling Unleashes Dramatic On-Air Rant During Anniversary Program

Listeners to heritage news/talk outlet KSCO, Santa Cruz, CA were treated to an unexpected candid outburst of energetic verbiage this past weekend (2/1) during the long-running show, “The Saturday Special,” hosted by station owner/ host Michael “MZ” Zwerling. This installment of the weekly 10:00 am – 12:00 noon live,img local show was set to be a celebration of the station’s 34th anniversary – marking the day that Zwerling took ownership of the 10k flame thrower at 1080 AM and launched its news/talk format back on February 1, 1991. Zwerling was taking calls from listeners offering congratulations and sharing memories of the station over the years.  One of KSCO’s regular callers, “Dave,” took a different course and went off on a political tirade that triggered an emotionally charged negative response from Zwerling resulting in one of the most dramatic live “meltdowns” captured on-air in recent memory. Zwerling’s co-host Amy Hoa had to calm Zwerling down telling him that his blood pressure was rising to a dangerous level. The listener, who was obviously a regular caller to the station was forever banned from appearing on the station again. Warning, the clip contains salty language that might be offensive to some. Listen to the exchange here.