On Radio: Olympia station's days on the water are beginning to dry up
By BILL VIRGIN
P-I REPORTER
The studios for Olympia's KGY-AM (1240) have become something of a landmark for the historic radio station, featured on many a tour and even a postcard, but they also have practical value.
An announcer could do the weather update, the marine forecast and the tide report just by looking out the window.
KGY's studios aren't just next to the water -- they're literally over the water, on pilings in the shallows of Budd Inlet.
Or they will be until be the end of 2009. A 50-year lease KGY signed with the Port of Olympia is coming to an end, and the port wants the property to redevelop it for a hotel.
KGY would prefer to stay put, says general manager and morning host Dick Pust, but the port isn't interested in a renewal or extension (ironically, KGY's studios were 50 years ago part of a waterfront redevelopment project). "Our status as a unique studio is about to end," he says.
KGY-AM is, pardon the aquatic expression, an odd duck in more ways than just its studio location. It's a locally owned, family owned station in an industry dominated by out-of-town chain ownership. KGY owner Barbara Kerry died 13 months ago, Pust says. Ownership is in probate now, but it's expected KGY eventually will go to Kerry's children. "They've indicated they want to keep it in the family," Pust says.
KGY-AM has a sister FM station at 96.9 that runs a syndicated country service. The AM, however, is live and local around the clock, starting at 5:30 a.m. with Pust's show, a blend of news, music and interviews. KGY is something of a throwback to the days of full-service AM radio; during the balance of the day it features adult contemporary/soft rock music, and carries an extensive schedule of local, college and pro sports.
Pust is marking his 40th year as morning host on a station that is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year. The station's call letters were granted in 1922 to a Benedictine monk who taught at St. Martins College, according to a history on KGY's Web site. The over-the-water location isn't the only unusual home KGY has had. In its early days, it broadcast from a log cabin on campus that had been a student clubhouse.
KGY's status as an independent has made operating more challenging. "When I started, it was all local businesses in Olympia," and Olympia was a market unto itself, Pust says. Now it's a part of the broader Seattle market, and the locally owned department and grocery stores that would advertise on a local station like KGY are largely gone. "The big advertisers just ignore you," he says.
Still, the station remains in the black, Pust says. "We're still having a lot of fun."
In other radio notes:
The Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound presents a program with historian John Jensen on the life and career of comedian Jack Benny, 2 p.m. Saturday at the Museum of History and Industry. Admission to the program, which includes radio program and interview excerpts, is free with MOHAI admission.
The Metropolitan Opera performs Giordano's "Andrea Chenier" at 10:30 a.m. Saturday on KING-FM (98.1).
"Audioasis" features live performances from the High Dive in Fremont by The Cops at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Coho at 8 p.m., on KEXP-FM (90.3).
Liz Sommars' guests on "Conversations" at 6 a.m. Sunday on KISW-FM (99.9), KBSG-FM (97.3) and KKWF-FM (100.7) include Janice Amatuzio, forensic pathologist and author of "Beyond Knowing."
Tami Kosch guests on "Community Matters Weekend Edition" at 7 a.m. Sunday on KPTK-AM (1090) include Steve Ettlinger, author of "Twinkie, Deconstructed."
The Sunday edition of Jim French's "Imagination Theatre," heard at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on KIXI-AM (880), features the debut of a new series of westerns from Colonial Radio Theater Co.
P-I reporter Bill Virgin can be reached at 206-448-8319 or billvirgin@seattlepi.com.
Bill Virgin's Radio Beat every Thursday in the Seattle P-I