De-Constructing the Morning Zoo

How it happened and most importantly why..

KSFM - Woodland, California – Format - Urban contemporary

In August 1979, KSFM announced it would be switching to a more "mass appeal" music format the following month. Under the leadership of incoming programming director Jeff Lucifer, and based on the recommendations of Clifton, KSFM began to gradually work its way up in the ratings with its dance-friendly "churban" (a mix of contemporary hits and urban) format. Clifton would later apply this formula to other stations like KGGI in Riverside, California, WJMH in Greensboro, North Carolina, and WPOW in Miami (the last two sister stations to KSFM). By June 1983, KSFM evolved all the way to its current rhythmic contemporary direction under the guidance of program director Rick Gillette and music director Chris Collins, the latter who hosted The FM102 Morning Zoo and later succeeded Gillette as operating manager and PD. The move occurred after KPOP, the Sacramento market's only urban contemporary outlet at the time, flipped formats to modern rock. Gillette and Collins realized that dance music, popular in the clubs and the streets, did not receive any airplay in the area. KSFM took advantage of this opportunity, leading the station to numerous number one Arbitron rankings in the market under their guidance, eventually beating the more-mainstream top 40 stations.

In July 1987, KSFM owner Duffy Broadcasting Corp. sold all but one of its stations to Genesis Broadcasting Company, a new entity owned in part by Duffy executives, for $74 million.

KSFM faced a series of legal issues in the early 1990s. In 1990, KWOD owner Ed Stolz filed a libel lawsuit against Genesis Broadcasting for $10 million and lost. The jury in the case sided with Chris Collins and Genesis Broadcasting. According to the suit, on June 30, 1989, Collins disparaged KWOD on-air as being anti-gay and anti-African American; this resulted in lost advertisers, threats to station staff, and a drop in ratings. Collins, in turn, claimed his remarks were in response to anti-gay comments by KWOD morning host Pat Garrett. As time went on Ed Stolz lost all three of his stations - https://www.insideradio.com/free/appeals-court-hands-royce-owner-ed-stolz-another-loss-as-bankruptcy-sale-moves-forward/article_f64931c4-cbd6-11ee-a0f2-9ff700cf776d.html.

In late 1993, Collins sued Genesis Broadcasting for wrongful termination, seeking at least the approximate $335,000 value of the remaining two years of his contract. He alleged he was fired for threatening to report drug use in the workplace and associated abusive behavior by supervisors. Genesis responded that Collins was dismissed because of declining ratings.

The ratings were bound to decline because Genesis Broadcasting with Jerry McKenna as the General Manager of FM 102, at the time, systematically worked to deprive Collins of his Zoo support Group. Starting with his longtime and original member – Mike Reynolds who was terminated in late 1991. Reynolds the ‘news guy’ was also adept at playing off Collins’ remarks by using comedy to put a different spin on it. The blow of losing his partner was a bump in the road but Collins continued being the Masterful Ringleader of a depleted Zoo. In April of 1992, another member of the Morning Zoo – Killer Bee – was also let go. It continued in that vein, even though Chris Collins fought hard against the purposeful erosion, of his Zoo, which had propelled FM102 into one of the top stations in the Sacramento market. Doesn’t take a nuclear physicists to add up why the ratings fell and who was behind Collins eventual dismissal.