Richard Wagoner, Los Angeles Daily News Journalist Profile

Articles

What is happening at once-dull KLOS FM? The radio station is sounding good

4 days ago | dailynews.com | Richard Wagoner

Radio. (Getty Images) PUBLISHED: June 23, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDTDependable. Predictable. Dull. That’s how you might have described the KLOS (95.5 FM) of old. But no longer. KLOS has been on a roll for a while now, updating the playlist a little, having a lot more fun on the air, and — while no one was really watching (except for us) — becoming a huge ratings success.
Why fears about an Audacy takeover seem to be unfounded

1 week ago | pressenterprise.com | Richard Wagoner

In an interesting twist on perception versus reality, it appears that the investment made by The Soros Fund Management into Audacy may help stabilize the company. When Soros first announced interest in Audacy, it raised the possibility that it planned to align the company with the political views of chairman George Soros, who often contributes to liberal candidates and causes. Audacy is known for carrying right-leaning talk programming, though its bread and butter is music radio and news.
Why fears about an Audacy takeover seem to be unfounded

1 week ago | dailybreeze.com | Richard Wagoner

In an interesting twist on perception versus reality, it appears that the investment made by The Soros Fund Management into Audacy may help stabilize the company. When Soros first announced interest in Audacy, it raised the possibility that it planned to align the company with the political views of chairman George Soros, who often contributes to liberal candidates and causes. Audacy is known for carrying right-leaning talk programming, though its bread and butter is music radio and news.
Why fears about an Audacy takeover seem to be unfounded

1 week ago | dailynews.com | Richard Wagoner

What’s happening in radio this week. (Getty Images) PUBLISHED: June 16, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDTPlus, the pleasing sounds of a deliberately mellow station. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To log in, click here.
Remembering how Rick Dees turned KIIS-FM into a radio powerhouse

2 weeks ago | dailynews.com | Richard Wagoner

Radio personality Rick Dees was a guest on Magic Matt Alans “Outlaw Radio” recently. (File photo by Paul A. Hebert, Invision/AP) PUBLISHED: June 9, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDTI grew up listening to Rick Dees. He arrived in Los Angeles to work at KHJ way back in early 1979 when I was 16 years old. KHJ program director Chuck Martin, in an extremely successful attempt to bring glory back to the once-mighty top-40 powerhouse, hired Dees away from WHBQ in Memphis.
Remembering how Rick Dees turned KIIS-FM into a radio powerhouse

2 weeks ago | presstelegram.com | Richard Wagoner

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Why the quality of radio may be improving without using an actual radio

3 weeks ago | dailynews.com | Richard Wagoner

Why radio might even be better without the radio. (Getty Images) PUBLISHED: June 2, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDTIn the old days, if you wanted to listen to the radio, you had to have an actual radio. Over the years, radio designs have changed such that they have become smaller, sound better, and pick up more stations than those of the past. Now, a radio isn’t even necessary for most stations.
There’s good news coming out of Southern California radios

1 month ago | ocregister.com | Richard Wagoner

The radio industry is getting some good news regarding listenership trends. This has been brought on in part by changes in attitudes as well as ratings methodology, capturing listeners who were always there but missed (though some say the change artificially inflates the true numbers). Newer technology may be helping as well, and there just may be one more little factor behind it … the programming. More on that later.
Some radio station contests lack the key ingredient of fun

1 month ago | dailynews.com | Richard Wagoner

Some radio station contests these days don’t have the same appeal for listeners as the giveaways on stations like KHJ during the heyday of AM radio. (Photo by Getty Images) PUBLISHED: May 19, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDTFrom a purely entertainment standpoint, radio station contests are similar in nature to television game shows. People generally like to play along, and see or hear other people win, even if it’s a relatively minor prize.
Celebrating the 60th anniversary of ‘Boss Radio’ KHJ (930 AM)

1 month ago | dailynews.com | Richard Wagoner

PUBLISHED: May 12, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDTI’m a few weeks late, but it’s still worth a mention: May 2025 is the “official” 60th anniversary of the launch of “Boss Radio” KHJ (930 AM), the station credited with revolutionizing top-40 radio throughout the country. In reality, it wasn’t truly the station that began it all … one could easily point to others, including KGB (now KLSD, 1360 AM) in San Diego, which beat KHJ to the format by about a year.