Sports-talk, when done at its best, can be one of the most expensive formats in radio.
And WXOS (101.1 FM) opened the vault three years ago when it entered the fray. It recruited a lineup of big-name local hosts then added the market's most connected sports journalist, Bernie Miklasz. Adding strength was the hiring of a solid array of reporters and contributors.
But the station was sold last year, from Bonneville International to Hubbard Broadcasting, and the first major shakeups under the new ownership have taken place this week as Chris Duncan has been elevated to the afternoon drive-time show from the early evening program, swapping places with Bob Ramsey. Program director Kent Sterling says the move isn't a promotion for Duncan or a demotion for Ramsey, merely a reallocation of talent.
But the bottom line is that afternoon drive-time, a block that's extremely important for ad revenue and often has been the station's highest-rated slot, now is occupied by the up-and-coming Duncan — and not by Ramsey, who takes the high road.
"It would be inappropriate to whine about a schedule change when 10 percent of America is out of work and probably 50 percent of Americans are in jobs they hate,'' Ramsey said. "I've got a job at a great company doing what I like to do, so you don't get any complaints out of me.''
Ousted was Cliff Saunders, who hosted a night show and filled a key jack-of-all-trades role. And there have been more, lower-profile layoffs, too. Post-Dispatch Cardinals beat writer Joe Strauss and Rams beat writer Jim Thomas, who added news and insight from being around the team every day, have been dropped. So have a producer and part-time board operator.
But Sterling said there is no budget crisis, that no more moves are in the works, and the cuts were made to free up money to make Duncan a full-time staffer. He had been working on a part-time basis.
"We're expanding our full-time roster, and in order to do that we had to say goodbye to some good friends,'' Sterling said.
Zapping five people who contributed significantly — heavily when counted together — in order to change the employment status of one person seems like a steep price to pay for someone who isn't being "promoted.''
It certainly weakens many key support areas that have contributed to WXOS' ascension not only in sports-talk but among all stations, regardless of format, in the male age 25-54 demographic.
Nonetheless, Duncan, a former major-leaguer who is a son of now-departing Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, has proven deserving of a shot at a showcase role. He only has been in the sports-talk business since joining WXOS last year as a baseball analyst and quickly made a name for himself as he wasn't afraid to criticize the pitchers his father oversaw as well as his dad's boss, then-manager Tony La Russa, in taking a no-nonsense approach.
WXOS general manager John Kijowski called him a "rising star'' last fall and said a prominent role eventually would have to be found for Duncan. That came this week, when he was teamed with Randy Karraker and D'Marco Farr.
Even if it's not a promotion.
BIG 12 BASKETBALL
KPLR (Channel 11) again this season will show all of Missouri's men's basketball games that are part of the Big 12 Conference's package that it dubs "Big 12 Network'' productions, a schedule of six MU games (four on Saturdays, two on Wednesdays). It begins Saturday with the Tigers' 12:30 p.m. contest at Kansas State.
But reruns of old shows such as "Heartland'' and "Bones'' will take precedence over the Big 12 games when Mizzou isn't playing. Before last year, WRBU (Channel 46) carried that full package.
KPLR has the rights for the second season and, as was the case last year, the non-MU games will be relegated to its KPLR 11.2 outlet — available only to those with over-the-air digital conversion equipment, including antennas, and subscribers to Charter cable who get Channel 153.
As was the case last year, KPLR program director Elaine Claspill said that a combination of other weekend programming already being scheduled plus the fact the CW network, of which KPLR is an affiliate, doesn't allow a lot of pre-emptions in prime time led to the decision to use 11.2. The same policy will be in place for the Big 12 tournament.
KPLR also is interrupting prime time for several St. Louis University games this season.
