Five More Years for Tom Barnard

92 KQRS Morning Show (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As an indication that the more things change, the more they stay the same in local radio, the Minneapolis Star Tribune recently reported that Tom Barnard is staying as morning host at KQRS (92.5 FM) for another five years.

That would, by the end of the new contract whose terms weren't disclosed, mark 34 years for Barnard and KQ as the top-rated morning show in the Twin Cities, even though its ratings aren't in the stratosphere like they used to be.

It would also mean another five years of Barnard spouting off about politics, race relations and the news of the day with his personal sounding board of Terri Traen, Bob Sansevere and others.  Those, along with the sometimes juvenile atmosphere that surrounds the 'KQ Morning Show", have gotten him and his station in trouble before.

Recently, Barnard has been delving into the podcasting business, in which he puts out a daily two-hour show recorded from his home with material not suitable for radio.  The Star Tribune says he plans to expand the podcasts to three hours a day.

But there are indications that listeners are tiring of Barnard and KQ, which has had the same classic rock format since he began working there.  Three different owners in the past decade--Disney/ABC, Citadel, and now Cumulus Media--have determined that the station isn't broken, so why fix it?  It's great that there's a place on the dial for "More Than a Feeling" and Led Zeppelin.  But it wouldn't hurt to have something fresh once in awhile.

Barnard, who is now 63, doesn't seem to be contemplating retirement.  He told the Star Tribune that he got bored during the Thanksgiving holiday, saying "It's really hard to annoy people if they can't hear you".  He shouldn't have that problem for the next few years, whether it's podcast or broadcast.

Elsewhere in local radio . . .

• KQ's former sister station KDIZ (1440 AM) is being sold along with other Disney-owned stations that make up the Radio Disney network, which will continue digitally.  Some of these stations have already been sold to religious and ethnic broadcasters, who seem to be the only ones interested in low-watt AM signals that Radio Disney's intended audience--kids and their parents--have long since abandoned for the smartphone.  So don't be surprised if KDIZ starts quoting the Bible or speaks a different language than Ariana Grande in the near future.
• Hubbard Radio, the owners of KSTP (1500 AM, 94.5 FM) and KTMY (107.1 FM), has plunked down $8 million to buy 16 radio stations from Omni Broadcasting in northern Minnesota.  These include some familiar call letters if you've ever traveled or lived there:  KWAD and KKWS in Wadena, WJJY and KLIZ in Brainerd, KIKV in Alexandria, KBUN and KBHP in Bemidji.  Some of these new stations are affiliated with ABC News Radio, which ties in nicely with the coverage area of ABC's Twin Cities station KSTP (Channel 5) and its satellite in Alexandria.