New England RadioWatch: October 16, 1996

Kidstar Débuts!

by Scott Fybush and Lisa Stein Fybush

• The 1150 spot on the Boston AM dial, known once an hour or so as WROR(AM), is now occupied by the latest affiliate of the Kidstar children's radio network. The format flip took place at 11:50 AM (appropriate, eh?) on Thursday...and we get the full story from NERW special correspondent Lisa Stein Fybush (aka "Mrs. NERW"):

  The Computer Museum's auditorium was filled with children this afternoon, all clad in red Kidstar T-shirts and eating cupcakes frosted with a red star and the words "1150 AM." The kids were from public schools in and around Boston, and had been invited to the sign-on ceremony of the Kidstar network.

  Kellie King, the Vice President of Marketing and Member Services, said the purpose of Kidstar is "to give kids a voice, along with just being quality entertainment." King said children don't always have the opportunity to be heard, but with Kidstar, "they can get their voice on the radio," whether it's by requesting a song, answering a poll, or just saying something funny.

  Kidstar isn't only for kids, it's by kids. The network has several kid DJs, two of whom were flown in for the ceremonies.

  Ari Melber, a 16-year old junior at Garfield High School in Seattle, and an all-star DJ, called the network "multimedia that's focused around the radio." Melber said the advantages of being able to call in to the network and be heard made this an interactive medium, unlike TV, which people just sit and watch.

  Boston is the fifth market where Kidstar can be heard. We can only hope that the kids will remember it after the cupcakes are gone.

  You can check out Kidstar on their website, http://www.kidstar.com, which features RealAudio-format programming from each of Kidstar's current outlets (KKDZ 1250 Seattle, KDFC 1220 Palo Alto/San Francisco, KDZZ 1240 San Diego, WDOZ 1310 Dearborn/Detroit, and now WROR).

• NERW readers with an interest in Maine radio history may want to check out a book that's available from the Maine Association of Broadcasters. The History of Broadcasting in Maine was published in 1990, and it's still available for $14.95 plus $3.00 postage and handling, from the Maine Association of Broadcasters, 128 State St. #301, Augusta ME 04330. Tell 'em NERW sent you! (oh, and the long-promised NERW survey of the last 15 years of Maine FM will really appear next week, we promise...)

• A minor correction: Some editions of the October 16 NERW mistakenly listed 89.9 FM in Barre VT as "WCMR." The correct calls are, of course, WCMD, and NERW apologizes for the error. Also, we really did know that WWFX in Belfast-Bangor ME was CHR before becoming country.

• That's it for now; more next week!