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wednesday ◀
10.14.98
eight.a ◀
new york it's the
LAER
After several big changes, 105.9 the Lazer caps off its year broadcasting from the Big Apple
story by liz wristen ● kansan staff writer
"The new owners have been great because the day after we found out the station was going to be sold, a staff meeting was called and they passed out new contracts that assured us our jobs for another year. It could have been a nightmare, but it's been a great thing so far."
rodger t dodger lazer program director
Jason Marck and Rodger T. Dodger broadcast together yesterday during the morning show. Both Marck and Dodger will be traveling next month to New York to broadcast from Museum of Television and Radio. Photos by Christina Neff/KANSAN
Rodger T. D. Todd, program director for the Lazer, talks on the air yesterday during his show. Rodger said the station's new owners assured their jobs were secure.
KLZR FM has been through a lot in the last 10 months. Despite a change in location, more
R change in location, more advanced technology and new ownership. 105.9 the Lazer isn't changing its tune.
Last January, the Lazer and KLWN AM 1320 moved from the one-room broadcast site at 3035 Iowa St. to a two-story complex at 3125 W. Sixth St.
Rodger T. Dodger, program director for the Lazer, said he thought the move was an important step in the continued success of the station.
"It was definitely for the better," Dodger said. "I think that in a lot of ways, the move has been one of the smartest ideas we have had in years. The location on Iowa grew to become a commercial business district, and as a small business, we were getting commercially taxed because of our location. It was getting very costly."
The new location on Sixth Street has brought about many changes for the station. Dodger said. Not only has the new location provided more office space for the Lazer and KLWN AM, but it has enabled the station to have about $10,000 worth of computer equipment installed. Dodger said the technological advancements at the new location were beyond state-of-the-art.
"It's like we went from a manual typewriter to the Starship Enterprise." Dodger said. "We went from the very bottom to the very top and skipped everything in between."
Lawrence Broadcasters Inc., owned by Arden Booth, retains the rights to the station's building on Sixth Street, though it no longer owns the stations.
The station also underwent new ownership as of Sept.1. The station, along with KLWN AM, had been owned by Lawrence Broadcasters, Inc., since 1951 but were sold to Zimmer Broadcasting of Cape Girardeau, Mo., last month.
ho longer. John Zimmer, vice president of Zimmer Broadcasting, said the company had been researching the two Lawrence stations for the past few years. Zimmer Broadcasting owns 31 radio stations, primarily in university towns across the Midwest, Zimmer said. This includes stations in Columbia, Mo., Joplin, Mo., and Carbon-dale, Ill.
"We chose to purchase them because they are both great stations," Zimmer said. "We also realized how great the community of Lawrence is."
Dodger said the new ownership did not create job concerns for station employees.
for another year. It could have been a nightmare, but it's been a great thing so far."
"I think it was one of the best things they could do for the station," Dodger said. "And the new owners have been great because the day after we found out the station was going to be sold, a staff meeting was called and they passed out new contracts that assured us our jobs
Hank Booth, general manager for the radio stations and son of Arden Booth, said he was pleased with the changes that had been made during the last year. He was relieved that when the Lawrence stations were bought, they were not moved to Kansas City or Topeka locations.
Though the Lazer has new financial backers, Booth said the station would continue to broadcast the same format.
"This is a very young community of which the median age is 21 years," Hank Booth said. "Radio is a very volatile business in terms of ownership and programming, and I think it was a good corporate move for us. My father put the AM station on the radio in 1951. We've been here 47 years and we plan to be around many more."
These changes are not the only aspects of radio life that have kept the station pre occupied.
An article in Rolling Stone magazine last spring ranked the Lazer as one of the top 10 radio stations in the nation. This led to an invitation from the museum for the station to broadcast a few sets live Nov. 5 and 6 in the Big Apple.
next month, the Lazer will be taking a trip to New York to broadcast live from the Museum of Television and Radio.
director, will be accompanied by a few station listeners to New York for the broadcast.
Dodger and Jason Marck,production
"I think we're going to have a great
time," Dogger said. "We are even taking some listeners with us, which is kind of like a thank-you to them for supporting the station."
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