Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "entercom"

CBS Radio Drops "The Zone," Relaunches As "NOW 100.5"

2010-06-24T17:27:41Z

For the third time in less than a year, a Sacramento radio station has undergone a rebranding -- but out of the three stations to rebrand, this station isn't flipping formats.

KZZO, formerly known on-air as "100.5 The Zone" relaunched Wednesday morning as "NOW 100.5," a station that promises to play fresh pop-rock music, separating itself from the Top 40 genre that often includes R&B and rap music.

KZZO expects to continue to play music from artists including Train, Daughtry, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. The station eliminated 90s music from its playlist, a genre that was previously heard on "100.5 The Zone."

CBS Radio Sacramento Program Director Byron Kennedy told FOX40.com by phone several on-air employees were retained to work behind-the-scenes at the station, but the talent would not be heard on-air following the relaunch.

When asked why the station's rebranding was necessary, Kennedy said CBS Radio reached out to listeners in the Sacramento market and found "the appetite for 90s music is not as strong as it was."

"Sometimes, that happens when you've got a station in the market that's dedicated to that format," Kennedy said, adding that "NOW 100.5" will be known more for "what we're not playing than it is about what we are playing."

Though "NOW 100.5" won't feature any talent heard previously on "100.5 The Zone," the station has no plans to be fully-automated like Clear Channel's KGBY, CBS Radio Market Manager Steve Cottingim said by phone.

At a time when music listeners and consumers are ditching over-the-air radio for on-demand internet platforms and digital music devices like the iPod, corporate radio has been struggling to retain and grow their audience.

Earlier this year, Entercom-owned KSSJ dropped its smooth jazz format to relaunch as "Radio 94.7" with an alternative music format. The alternative genre was previously heard on Entercom station "KWOD 106.5," which relaunched last year as "106.5 The Buzz," a 90s genre station. Both Entercom format flips were attributed as business decisions made by the station in a struggling radio market.

However, CBS Radio, which operates KZZO and several other radio stations in the Sacramento market, posted a nine percent increase in revenue, raking in $282.7 million nationally in the first quarter of 2010.

Clear Channel radio, which obtained control of CBS Radio operated KQJK "93.7 Jack FM" last year, posted a profit increase of five percent for the first quarter of 2010, a sign that the terrestrial radio market may be rebounding.

---

Matthew Keys is an online news writer for FOX40.com and community contributor to The Sacramento Press.

Entercom $16 Million award covered by Insurance; License Challenges Pending

2009-11-12T00:21:48Z

Radio industry websites are reporting that the $16 million judgment in the wrongful death trial involving Jennifer Strange, the Sacramento mother of three who died as a result of a water drinking contest at Entercom Sacramento's radio station KDND, will be paid in full by the company's insurer, and no appeal will be filed in the case.

In related news, Entercom Communications 2008 Annual Report states that petitions to deny the licenses of all of six Entercom Sacramento radio stations are pending at the FCC, and that licenses of other stations are under challenge due to listener complaints.

Entercom's Report notes that should the FCC conclude that programming broadcast by their stations was obscene, indecent or profane, they could face loss of licenses or fines up to $325,000 for a single incident, with a maximum fine of up to $3.0 million for continuing violations.

From the 2008 Annual Report: "In the past, the FCC has issued Notices of Apparent Liability and a Forfeiture Order with respect to several of our stations proposing fines for certain programming which the FCC deemed to have been indecent. These cases are the subject of pending administrative appeals. The FCC has also commenced several other investigations based on allegations received from the public that some of our stations broadcast indecent programming. We have cooperated in these investigations which remain pending."

Several calls over two weeks placed to the FCC by this reporter on this matter have been ignored. Should anyone have more information about these complaints, please contact this reporter at suewilsonreports@gmail.com .

For full trial coverage, please go to www.suewilsonreports.com. To view the Jennifer Strange story on Broadcast Blues, please go to www.broadcastblues.tv .

Jennifer Strange Trial: Entercom Sacramento Negligent

2009-10-29T22:50:04Z

After nine days of intense deliberations, a jury of seven men and five women today rendered a verdict against a local Sacramento radio station in the civil trial of William A. Strange et al v. Entercom Sacramento LLC and Entercom Communications Inc. et al. The trial was to determine accountability for the death of Jennifer Strange, who died as a result of a water drinking contest sponsored by Entercom Sacramento's radio station KDND.

By unanimous vote, the jury decided that Entercom Sacramento was negligent in Strange's death; by unanimous vote, they also decided that the parent company, Entercom Communications of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania was not responsible. By a vote of ten to two, the jury decided that Jennifer Strange did not contribute to her own death.

Economic damages were assessed at $1,477,118. Non-economic damages were assessed at $15,100,000.

Jurors said finding Entercom Sacramento negligent was a relatively simple decision, mostly because Entercom on-air employees ignored phone calls warning them of the dangers of the contest. They said they believed it was the responsibility of Entercom Sacramento to vet the contest with the parent company's legal department, which employees failed to do.

However, jurors reported that they were sharply divided over other issues in the case. They said no one thought Jennifer was 100 percent responsible for her death, but that two jurors thought she shared some responsibility. As only nine jurors had to agree to render a verdict, that issue was quickly decided. Deciding non-economic damages proved much more difficult, and took days of deliberations. According to juror LaTeshia Paggett, some jurors thought that criteria they'd been instructed to consider for compensation like love, companionship, and moral guidance were invaluable, and as such, the family should receive zero compensation for those areas. She said other jurors disagreed sharply and felt the compensation should have been as high as $48 million dollars. In the end, according to juror Tammy Elliott, the jury agreed to averaging the dollar amount each juror felt appropriate. "Each juror's number was weighted equally," Elliott said.

According to Entercom's annual report, Entercom Communications reports a 2008 revenue of $439 million; Sacramento is one of their more profitable markets.

The FCC is still investigating the incident.

See the Jennifer Strange story and hear actual contest audio in Public Interest Picture's Broadcast Blues. For complete trial coverage and analysis of the trial, visit SueWilsonReports.com .

Jennifer Strange Trial: Determining Damages

2009-10-18T21:32:06Z

The closing arguments in the case of William Strange et al vs Entercom not only summed up the case for the jury, but presented them with guidelines for determining compensation should they find Entercom liable for the water drinking death stemming from KDND's January 2007 "Hold Your Wii to Win a Nintendo Wii" radio contest.

Sacramento Bee reporter Andy Furillo and KOVR CBS 13 reporter David Begnaud reported that plaintiiff attorney Roger Dreyer is seeking more than $24 million, and plaintiff attorney Harvey Levine is seeking an additional $12 million. They report that Defense attorney Don Carlson told the jury $4.5 million would be more appropriate compensation.

But those broad numbers downplay the detailed instructions given to the jury by the court on how to determine the proper level of compensation. Attorneys are not asking for punitive damages in this case, but rather for economic and non-economic damages for the 2.75 years since Jennifer died and the 51.75 years she would be expected to live.in the future.

First, should the jury find Entercom liable, they must determine the direct economic impact of Jennifer's death on the family. Jennifer was the bigger wage earner in her family, and the jury was given some rather straightforward instructions on determining how much money Jennifer would have contributed to her family's finances had she lived.

Second, the jury was given a much more complicated set of standards established by the court (not the attorneys) by which to determine non-economic compensation. For each of the Plaintiffs, (husband Billy, daughter Jorie, 3, son Ryland, 6, and son Keegan, 13,) the jury must consider compensation for each of the following factors individually: Love, Companionship, Comfort, Care, Assistance, Society, Moral Stewardship, Training, Guidance, and in the case of her husband, Physical Intimacy.

It is pretty simple to calculate how much money Jennifer would have earned had she lived. But how do you put a number on the damage done to a little girl who will never know her mother's love? How do you put a number on the damage done to a little boy who will never have his mother's moral stewardship? Or to a teenager who will never again have his mother's guidance? Or to a husband who will never again know his wife? There are no easy answers to those questions, but those are the questions this jury will likely have to decide.

Dreyer suggested that each of those areas should be compensated between $100,000 to $150,000; Carlson suggested far less compensation for each area.

How much would each one be worth to you?

For full coverage of the trial, please go to www.suewilsonreports.com . To see the Broadcast Blues story and to hear actual audio of the contest, please go to www.broadcastblues.tv .

Jennifer Strange Trial: Who was Jennifer?

2009-10-13T20:00:27Z

Roger Dreyer began the morning by reminding the jury what this trial is all about: Jennifer Strange.

While I have focused heavily on the corporate aspects of the trial, I think it a good time to reflect on the woman at the core of this trial, Jennifer.

By all accounts, she was much loved and respected. Here was a single mother, who gave birth to her elder son Keegan when she was just seventeen, who focused her life on that little boy. She exhibited remarkable maturity for a girl her age, and she sheparded her son into the GATE program for gifted children. She attended every parents teacher conference, she spearheaded activities at her son's school, and dhe became good friends with her son's teacher, who said that Keegan worshipped Jennifer.

At the same time, Jennifer worked her way up in the radiological lab where she worked up the ranks into a supervisory position. At age 28, she was earning in excess of $60,000 a year, and her co-workers loved her. They found her style of management uplifting and encouraging, and said she always would find a way to allow people learn in their own way.

Jennifer was a stalwart friend. She was someone who would always be there to help, be it with a wedding, a new baby, or help getting a new job. And she was the kind of person who would help her friends without ever being asked.

Her children were the focus of her life; her husband Billy even admitted so, but it didn't bother him. Birthday parties, Halloween, Christmas, coloring Easter eggs, she would make a big deal of them all.

She was loving, in an overt way. She would tell her children and husband and friends she loved them, she wasn't shy about it.

And they say that when Jennifer Strange entered the room, her smile preceded her.

A lot of people really miss Jennifer Strange.

Jennifer Strange Trial Coverage: The Defense Begins, Then Rests

2009-10-06T23:14:22Z

Defense attorney Don Carlson, who represents Entercom Sacramento and Entercom Communications Inc., called his first witness to the stand this morning. Stephany Fiore, Forensic Pathologist for the Sacramento County Coroner's office had conducted the autopsy on Jennifer Strange.

Fiore testified that while she had done a couple of autopsies with cases of hyponatremia, she had never done a case of acute water intoxication.

She testified that in her research, she discovered 18 cases of people who died from water intoxication, and that 15 of those cases involved people who were severe psychotics; the other three were either marathon runners or military trainees.

Under questioning from Plaintiff attorney Roger Dreyer, Fiore said it would be "pretty easy to find information on water intoxication, you can google it." When asked if water intoxication can produce euphoria, she said she had not read that, but that it could cause confusion, coma, seizure, and death. She also said that more than one and a half liters of water could be very bad. Dreyer established that 6 eight ounce bottles of water were about equivalent to 1 1/2 liters, and that 6 16 ounce bottles would have equaled 3 liters per hour.

In his questioning, Dreyer referenced the criminal investigation which had been launched, but then dropped, in the matter. Defense attorney Carlson, outside the jury's presence, told the judge that motions had been made and approved that no mention be made of "criminal investigation, and that saying that in the presence of the jury was very prejudicial. Carlson made a motion for mistrial. Judge Phillips denied that motion, but agreed to give an admonition to the jury to disregard that statement.

Carlson next called Entercom Director of Engineering and IT manager Rick Rapalee. Rapalee was instructed by Entercom immediately after the water drinking death to save all archives of the contest, including the Morning Rave shows the week before which promoted the Wii contest.

Carlson played several clips of the promotion:
1-08-07, 6:44 AM "All of you will be drinking the same amount of water every fifteen minutes; the last person standing wins the Wii."
1-08-07 7:45 AM "We're going to give them water every fifteen minutes."
1-09-07 7:33 AM "If you qualify, every fifteen minutes, contestants
will have to drink 8 ounce or 16 ounce glass of water, and keep drinking until the last person standing."
1-09-07 7:47 AM Jennifer Strange calls the station to try to qualify
for the contest.
1-10-07 7:10 AM "Going to be drinking water every fifteen minutes, the last person standing without going wee wins."

Dreyer asked Rapalee whether he had listened to the entire broadcasts, he said no, he had been directed by the defense team to find out at what times those clips had played during the broadcasts. He had not listened to what was said before or after each clip, nor had he been asked to go through the entire broadcasts to find every reference to the Wii contest.

Carlson next called Wii contestant Ronald Mendoza. Mendoza was a regular listener of the Morning Rave, and had been in Entercom contests before.

Carlson asked Mendoza what he'd heard about the contest on the radio. He said that the Wii would be the prize, that they'd be outside in light clothing, they'd be drinking water, and that the last person stadning would win. Carlson: Quantities of water? Mendoza : Yes.

He told Carlson that when he'd been qualified for the contest, a woman who he thought was Liz Diaz told him the rules over the phone: they'd be standing in the cold weather, wearing something thin, if you vomited, something like that, you're put of the contest. Carlson: So you knew before you got to the radio station if you urinated yourself or vomited you're out? Mendoza: Correct.

Carlson asked whether before this contest, Mendoza was aware of the Chico incident; Mendoza said yes, but that he did not draw any similarites, because in Chico it was against his will, it was not voluntary. Carlson asked whether he understood he could leave the Wii contest at any time; Mendoza said he did.

Carlson asked whether he's heard the radio playing during the contest; Mendoza said he had, but he had not heard any calls warning of problems with the contest.

Mendoza also said that there was a general consensus amongst the
contestants to move to larger bottles to get the contest over quicker.

He also said he'd dropped out because other contestants seemed more determined to win the Wii, and he took movie tickets instead.

Plantiff attorney Dreyer asked him about the Chico incident; Mendoza said he had heard of that death, but didn;t know the details.

Dreyer: You trusted Entercom? You never thought this radio station
would ever run a contest that could have results like Chico? Mendoza: True. Dreyer: You trusted they would never expose you to danger? Mendoza: Yes. Dreyer: You believed they would research this? Mendoza: True.

Carlson called one more contestant, then rested his case. More on that testimony tomorrow.

For video of the Jennifer Strange story, and actual audio of the Wii contest, please go to www.broadcastblues.tv . For full trial coverage, go to www.SueWilsonReports.com .

Jennifer Strange Trial Coverage: Billy Strange takes the Stand

2009-10-06T22:03:06Z

Billy Strange, widower of Jennifer, who died at a water drinking contest at KDND's 107.9 FM Morning Rave program, brought the most emotional testimony of the trial so far.

Very well spoken, Strange talked about meeting Jennifer when they'd both been on Mitchell Junior High's cross country team. Jennifer was a year older, and out of his "league" socially, but he admired her. "She stood out because she was very competitive. She did not like to lose, so she would do anything she could to win."

He met her years later when he was printing flyers for his band at Kinkos; Jennifer tapped him on his shoulder, and struck up a conversation about music. The two soon were dating, and within six months, he asked her to marry him. On the stand, he talke about how she cried when he asked her to be his bride; Billy cried throughout this testimony, and the jurors could hardly look at him.

He talked about being a dad to her then five year old son Keegan, and how that experience made him feel more whole.

He talked a bout a song he had written for her, how it started with a guitar riff that she liked, and how she wanted him to write lyrics for it. One night, he woke up from a bad dream where Jennifer was "no longer around." He picked up the guitar and wrote the song; he recited the first verse:
Here I will sit to wait for you
In these moments of memories
'Cause all I wanted to do was be right there.

Regarding the contest, Billy said he had never heard of hyponatremia or water intoxication, and that Jennifer never indicated to him that she knew about it.

(Editors Note: at this point, the jurors started taking notes.)

He talked about the phone conversation he'd had with Jennifer during the contest, how she sounded fine and was having fun, and had turned down tickets for a Justin Timberlake contest. He talked with her again after the contest, he thought as she was driving home, when she told him she didn't feel well, and was going home to lie down. He was concerned to a degree, but only hoped she would not feel ill. He told her he loved her.

That was the last conversation Billy would have with Jennifer.

Defense attorney Carlson asked whether Jennifer sounded normal when he spoke with her on the phone, and Billy said yes. He established that the radio station was about 20 minutes from their residence.

Carlson also asked whether Jennifer had taken a cruise to the Caribbean with girlfriends when baby Jorie was 9 months old. Strange said that sounded right. He asked whether Billy had taken care of the kids through the week, and Strange said he had. Carlson also asked whether Billy played Playstation with Keegan, and whether thay owned a Playstation; Strange said yes.

On redirect, Dreyer asked about the cruise; Strange said Jennifer had won it through a raffle, and as he gets motion sickness, he choe not to go. He said it was hard to take care of the three kids that week, but since she was lucky enough to win a cruise, why shouldn't she go?

For video of the Jennifer Strange story and audio of the Wii contest, please go to www.broadcastblues.tv .

Jennifer Strange Trial Coverage: Medical Personnel Always Present for Reality Shows

2009-10-05T19:55:41Z

Psychologist Dr. Diana Everstine was hired as an expert witness by plaintiff's attorneys.

She said that from a group dynamics standpoint, as there were fewer and fewer contestants, the ones left would be more determined to win, and may not be making sound decisions. Their adrenaline would be up, the pressure would be high, and that was compounded by the water intoxication.

She said that reality show contestants are very closely monitored, even when they are not subject to water intoxication. She talked about reality shows such as "Survivor," and noted that contestants for such contests are screened carefully, that psychologists and medical personnel were always present, and contestants went through medical screening after the contests were completed.

Defense attorney Carlson established that there is no direct research that has been conducted on contests. He referred to a study cited by Everstine that dealt with students posing as prisoners and prison guards, and noted that in that study, people were physically locked up. With regard to the Wii contest, Carlson said: "Anyone could leave if they wanted to?" Everstine: "Yes."

Carlson asked about competitive natures, and again referred to Kevin Williams, the contestant who first had gone on the radio and promised he would win, but later dropped out when he had had too much. Everstine stated that "people who brag the most often do the least." Carlson said that Williams listened to his body and quit, and that after he went to the bathroom, he came back and felt fine. Everstine said that would indicate to her he was not impaired, but also noted that perhaps the other contestants were not able to listen to their bodies and were compromised.

Carlson discussed another study with Everstine, one out of Yale where adults were told they were participating in a study on the effect of punishment and learning, and were asked to apply increasingly greater shocks to a subject (actually an actor hired to act as though he'd been shocked.) Carlson asked what role Jennifer would be playing in such a study, the one giving or getting a shock? Everstine said she had no role. The Radio staff? Everstine said they played neither role.

She did say that the frontal lobe of the brain enables people to understand consequences, and that that lobe is not fully developed until the early 20's; that's why teenagers don't well understand consequences. She thought the frontal lobe would have been impaired by the contest and contestants would not have fully understood the consequences of their actions.

Carlson asked whether Jennifer was in a rational state of mind when she decided to take the Justin Timberlake tickets; Everstine thought not. Carlson pointed out that she had turned down the Timberlake tickets the first time they were offered.

On redirect, Everstine said the two studies cited were textbook stuff. Dreyer asked whether in any of the studies about group dynamics anyone had been required to ingest anything; Everstine said no. She also said there is a big difference between being in sports and being in a contest. She said atheletes train, and often will play with fractures without knowing about them until later. She said contestants had no idea what they were getting into.

Regarding Kevin Williams, Dreyer asked whether his awareness of what water intoxication was might have influenced his decision to leave the contest; Everstine said yes.

For more trial coverage, please go to www.suewilsonreports.com. To hear audio of the Wii contest, please see the Jennifer Strange story at www.broadcastblues.tv .

Jennifer Strange Trial Coverage: Jennifer Could Have Been Saved

2009-10-03T18:01:27Z

Dr. George Kaysen, MD was hired by plaintiff's attorney as a medical expert. Kaysen teaches at UC Davis; his expertise is in nephrologist, specializing in kidney disease, including electrolite abnormalities.

He said that hyponatremia "happens quite commonly," especially with patients on diuretics. He spent a lot of time educationg the jury as to the technical meaning of hyponatremia; it came down to the dilution of the level of salt in the bloodstream balances with the level of salt in the cells, and that when the salt fell below a certain level, it would cause cell swelling, and brain swelling. Kaysen also said that no matter how much water a person drinks, the kidney can only process about one pint an hour; so anything ingested above that amount would not be urinated out, but would have to be absorbed by the body. He also said that the smaller the person, the greater the dilution. Jennifer was petite. Lucy Davidson, who won the contest, was much larger physically.

Kaysen said a medical "water challenge" would involve drinking one quart of water, then waiting an hour and a half to urinate. He said that amount of water drinking would have been safe for a contest, but that any doctor or nurse would have known not to exceed that amount. He cited two studies, one with 15 women in a hospital setting, who had died from water intoxication. He also testified that such loss of salt would cause impaired mental status and impaired judgment similar to alcohol intoxication. He said it was not possible to determine exactly when contestants would have felt impairment from the water.

When asked about some other contestants experience of headaches, lightheadedness, and nausea, he said that was to be expected with acute hyponatremia. Dreyer played the audio clip of Jennifer saying her head hurt, how she didn't feel well, and her belly distended, and Kaysen said those were classic symptoms of water intoxication. He said that Jennifer's judgment had been impaired, that she should not have driven herself home, and that, had she had medical attention when she left KDND at 9:40 AM, her life would have been saved.

Entercom Defense attorney Don Carlson established that water intoxication and alcohol intoxication had different effects. He also established that the Chico case was different from the Strange case in that the Matthew Carrington had been force fed water, whereas Strange had voluntarily drunk water. Kaysen admitted that while he has treated 200 cases of chronic hyponatremia, he had never treated an acute case. He also said he had never before seen anyone die from a water drinking contest. Carlson: "When I took your deposition in August of 2009, you were not aware of anyone dying from acute hyponatremia other than marathon runners or those who were severely psychiatric damaged; are you aware of anyone dying from voluntarily drinking too much water?" Kaysen: People don't generally volunteer to drink this kind of water." Carlson presses him for yes or no answer; Kaysen said no.

For more trial coverage, go to www.suewilsonreports.com . For video and audio of the Jennifer Strange case, go to www.broadcastblues.tv .

Jennifer Strange Trial Coverage: Market Managers are Like CEO's

2009-10-02T23:37:39Z

In a videotaped deposition of Entercom Communications President and CEO David Fields, he talked about his rise to the Presidency of his father's company at the same time radio consolidation occured. Fields said that they owned about a dozen radio stations in 1988, whereas by 2000, they owned roughly 100. (Today Entercom owns 300 according to their website.) As a result of consolidation, they changed their business model to have three regional Vice Presidents who would oversee the market managers, who were each in charge of about six radio stations. He said that his market managers acted like CEO's.

Fields said it was not the job of Sacramento Market Manager John Geary to be involved in any way with contests or day to day promotion of radio stations. He said they had established a different chain of command for contests, one that bypasses their general, or market managers. The promotions director and the program (station) manager were to go directly to the legal department at Entercom Communications Inc. to vet any contests except "no brainers."

Fields said that as CEO, he had to approve the contest guidelines drafted by his chief lawyer Jack Dunleavy. But he admitted he had not reviewed the Power Point presentation before it went out, because he trusted Dunleavy's judgment on such things. Asked if he were aware that Carmela Masi had drafted the guidelines, not Dunleavy, Fields said that he knew Masi was on Dunleavy's team, and didn't know how the lines were drawn. He said he was not aware of the unwritten policy that any any contest including ingestion or physicality have on site medical personnel.

For more trial coverage, go to www.suewilsonreports.com . To see video of the Jennifer Strange story, go to www.broadcastblues.tv .

KDND Manager: "Wii Contest Typical"

2009-10-02T00:43:26Z

Station Manager not told what Dangerous meant
In a videotaped deposition dated July 12, 2007, KDND station manager Steve Weed testified as to his forty plus year radio career. His role at KDND was to coach on air talent with the goal of entertaining and getting listeners, helping performers improve their craft, and making musical decisions. Part of his job was to listen to the various programs to look for deficiencies and help correct them. He said he punched in and out of the morning Rave the day of the contest, but felt the contest was consistent with those they'd had for the six years of the Morning Rave program.

Although he supervised Pechota, Weed said his responsibility was to supervise on air talent, and Pechota's was to run contests. He did not know who was monitoring the Wii contest, and did not ask as to the health or safety of contestants. He said there he had been no training concerning the health of contestants nor had anyone at Entercom ever instructed him to conduct such training.

Weed said at his previous position at WDBD he had been required to review contests before and after they were conducted, as was customary. At KDND he said he was not involved with contests after they had been planned. He said he did not have a supervisor with regard to contests, and that he was left to his own discretion. "There was no training from Corporate regarding contests," and there had never been a written report about contests for review.

Weed said his job was to make content more entertaining, but that there was no set criteria. He felt he had license to do what he chose, and talked about the vicarious trend, as in Fear Factor or Survivor, to have contestants "go through" something to win a prize, and said he had participated in planning contestsbefore the Wii contest where contestants must "go through" something to win.

Weed said Entercom's legal department in Boston would delineate factors for safety, but when asked which factors, he said he didn't know. He testified he had never seen anything in writing from Entercom Communications regarding safety, and that he had never been given any guidance on that. There was "no criteria to consider whether this contest would pose a health or safety problem."

Weed said he thought at the time the Wii contest was typical of the things they did at KDND, the "last man standing wins" was the kind of thing they did all the time.

Find more trial coverage and commentary at SueWilsonReports.com.

Jury Selection Begins In Radio Station Water Death Suit

2009-09-08T20:21:52Z

The parent company of a local radio station engaged in the first day of a wrongful death lawsuit after a contestant died on a morning drive program more than two years ago.

Entercom Communications Corporation, owner of six radio stations including KDND 107.9 FM "The End," was slapped with a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family of Jennifer Strange, a contestant in the station's "Hold Your Wee For A Wii" promotion in January 2007. Contestants were challenged to consume several varying amounts of water over the course of the station's "Morning Rave" breakfast program. Participants forfeited the contest when they were unable to hold their urine or vomit after consuming the water, with the last contestant standing receiving a prize of a Nintendo Wii gaming console.

Prior to the start of the contest, a woman identifying herself as a nurse called the Morning Rave program, warning the disc jockeys that the contest could have dire health consequences. The DJs ignored the health advice and proceeded with the contest anyhow.

Strange is thought to have consumed more than two gallons of water before eventually accepting tickets to a Justin Timberlake concert as a consolation prize. Throughout the contest, Strange had complained of head pains while the DJs commented that her stomach looked bloated.

The mother of three was found dead in her Rancho Cordova home hours later by a relative shortly after the contest ended.

In response, KDND fired 10 staff members, including the DJs associated with the "Morning Rave" program and several members of the station's promotional team. Later, the station launched a new morning show, hiring three disc jockeys away from a Pennsylvania station. The station and the new morning show continues to dominate in demographic and overall ratings.

It's those ratings that attorneys for the plaintiffs in the wrongful death civil case say pushed the station in the direction that led to Strange's death.

"That is why Jennifer Strange died," a brief released by lawyers Roger Dreyer and Harvey Levine read. "Not because of an oversight, but because Entercom cared about ratings, not risk."

Jury selection in the wrongful death case began Tuesday morning, the same day KDND rolled out commercial-free radio weekly on Tuesday during peak listening hours. According to the Sacramento Bee, Entercom is thought to have lost $710 million last year despite having dominant ratings in the Sacramento market.

Entercom operates six radio stations in the Sacramento market, including five FM stations and one AM sports station.

---

Matthew Keys is an online news writer for FOX40.com and community contributor to The Sacramento Press.

KWOD Flips Formats, Becomes "The Buzz"

2009-05-23T02:13:39Z

One of two dedicated rock stations in Sacramento has bid adieu to the alternative music format.

KWOD 106.5 FM, which had been broadcasting alternative music since 1991, relaunched Friday morning under a new format that plays hits from the 1990s — expanding its genre to include rock, pop, alternative, dance, conteporary urban R&B and more. Along with a format flip come new call signs and a new nickname: KBZC 106.5 FM "The Buzz." The format flip isn't so much because people aren't tuning in, but instead because the alternative rock format is failing as a business model.

"The last few years have been very challenging for KWOD," a statement prepared by program director Curtiss Johnson read. "We face the same circumstances as so many other organizations today: The challenge of running a business profitably."

This is not the first time KWOD has flipped formats while in Sacramento. In 1957, the 106.5 FM frequency belonged to KJML, which aired "elevator-like" music. In 1977, the station began experimenting with quadrophonic sound — an enhancement to stereo that broadcast audio through four channels instead of two — and as such, changed their call letters to KWOD and their format to that of adult contemporary mixed in with jazz. Shortly thereafter, the station dropped jazz in favor of pure Top 40 chart hits.

Nearly twenty-five years later, the station would adopt the all-too-familiar pure alternative format at a time when the alternative rock movement was beginning to take momentum.

"Those were the days before the term 'Alternative' was actually coined by some supposed marketing genius somewhere," Johnson wrote. "Then most people just called it Modern Rock and [KWOD] played bands, like the Pixies, The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Smiths and The Clash."

While the radio had a nice run with presenting new and interesting tracks for listeners to hear, people have begun downloading music online or listening to Internet and satellite radio stations, which has left the terrestrial radio market scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to compete. This has led to several station changes nationally and locally.

All three Sacramento radio companies — CBS Radio, Clear Channel Communications and Entercom Communications — have begun implementing new changes to the way radio is produced. The "Big Three" have fired talent in favor of computers, fired programmers and staff in favor of nationally-programmed content, and have begun picking up syndicated talk and music programs.

For example, KGBY 92.5 FM (Clear Channel Communications), which had aired adult contemporary music in competition with KYMX 96.1 "Mix96" (CBS Radio), abandoned the format and fired morning show host Lori Sacco and veteran broadcaster Paul Robins in favor of an adult alternative format. KGBY now competes with KZZO 100.5 "The Zone," another CBS Radio station.

In addition, CBS Radio has struggled to keep an audience for its adult alternative channel "The Zone," which mainly seeks a female audience. The station has shuffled through at least two breakfast shows before settling on the syndicated program "Mark & Mercedes," a program that originates from Nevada. CBS Radio also recently lost KQJK 93.7 FM "Jack FM" to Clear Channel Communications as part of a national station-swapping deal. Clear Channel Communications has announced intentions to launch a new radio station on the 93.1 FM frequency, though it's not clear what the upcoming format will be.

Sacramento's second-largest radio player, Entercom Communications, has also floundered in this downward economy. The company runs five radio stations in the city, including a sports-format station affiliated with ESPN and a Top 40 station that came under fire two years ago following the death of a listener from water intoxication during a station-run contest.

KWOD was marketable — the station could have embraced ideas like social networking to connect with their audience. The station could have offered free music downloads of local independent artists. The station could have solicited for user-generated content in the form of concert photos, videos and listener-run blogs. That idea, along with KWOD, is now gone.

Now, Entercom hopes to cut its losses and begin a new profitable radio station, but it's unclear if KBZC can compete against KGBY, KQJK, KZZO and the company's own Top 40 station KDND. Sacramento now has four contemporary stations to choose from, so it remains to be seen whether the river city will feel "The Buzz" for long.