Fritz Coleman is best known for his long tenure — almost 40 years — giving weather reports at KNBC-TV Channel 4. But he began his broadcast career on the radio, first at WBEN/Buffalo, New York and then WKBW in the same town.
After he retired from weather — a career, he often quipped, based upon giving the weather report in a city that has no weather — he launched a podcast with Louise “Weezy” Palanker called “The Media Path Podcast,” carried by iHeart and available on various apps as well as at mediapathpodcast.com. More than 100 episodes have been released so far with guests ranging from Henry Winkler and Cindy Williams to Keith Morrison, The Cowsills, Peter Noone, Bill Medley, and Gary Puckett. It “focuses,” if you can call it that, on news, politics, and entertainment.
His latest project is going to happen through a series of Sunday afternoon live performances at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. Dates announced so far include April 26th, May 26th, and June 23rd … and will be extended through August … all at 3 p.m. Called “Unassisted Residency,” the show is said to include some of his favorite stories and observations … and will be different every time.
Things You Like
It’s always fun finding out what readers like and potentially discovering new shows. Here’s a sample of your interests so far…
“I love radio. I am so old school! I still have a clock radio on my night table, and a radio in my kitchen. I listen to the radio in my car. My favorite local program is the Ellen K show on KOST (103.5 FM). Ellen, Ryan, and Darlene are so upbeat in the morning. I am not a fan of Christmas music starting in November, however!” — Phyllis Metzger, Long Beach
“I enjoy listening to the Gary Bryan Morning Show on K-EARTH 101. I wake up to him and Lisa Stanley Monday through Friday. The show is very entertaining, and I like the themes they have each day, like Throwback Thursday. It’s not exactly kid-friendly; I would rate it PG-17. I especially enjoy listening during the Christmas season when they help out a family in need to be able to have a merry Christmas. It really is a great way for me to start my day.” — Russell Cinque, Jr., Glendale
“I try to listen to The Tim Conway show on KFI (640 AM) every day. The dude always makes me laugh out loud! Most of the subject matter is local news. His offbeat humor is great, but the way he runs the show is very entertaining too. He has a strong supporting cast. John Phillips on KABC (790 AM) is very locally oriented. His show is more political humor and criticism. He is an expert interviewer and hosts a lot of interesting guests. He is sarcastic and bright. He always makes me think and brings a smile to my face.” — Vince McDonough, Costa Mesa
Believe it or not, the following messages all arrived within minutes of the column hitting the streets. I checked with Poorman (Jim Trenton) directly, and he insists he didn’t encourage or have knowledge of the following:
“Poorman from the old KROQ days has a morning radio show on KOCI (101.5 FM), broadcasting out of Newport Beach/Costa Mesa. He has over 400 listeners who call in on a daily basis and plans semi-monthly concerts and gatherings with the mayor of both cities. Poorman and KOCI need to be recognized!!” — Carrie Berg
“Hands down our favorite: Poorman’s Morning Rush on KOCI here in SoCal … Newport/Costa Mesa….chiming in” — Michael Moran
“Even if we do miss The Mighty 690 and the old 91-X format, Poorman is still around and spinning great tunes and fun conversations on KOCI in the mornings. His New Year’s marathon was great with fun guests too.” — SCPIXX
“A very unique local show is PoorMan’s Morning Rush. It’s on from 7 a.m. -11 a.m. Monday thru Friday. I use the “myTuner Radio” app to listen.
“Every day brings a different spin on local radio, as Poorman involves his audience in a challenge to come up with songs that follow a particular theme. A recent theme was ’99,’ related to the closing of 99 Cent Stores. The audience picks every song played, except for one, which Poorman calls his world premiere song of the day. After that song we can text him (on his one & only cell phone) whether we believe the song will be a hit or not. He reads all opinions on the air, as well as the nickname of the audience member. Poorman also hosts parties with live bands at a local pizza joint called Original Pizza, where most people in attendance know each other due to being on his show. That is a very special experience. I believe you will be hooked if you start listening.” — Ron Underwood
As luck would have it, just as these arrived, Poorman announced that he has added another affiliate for his show. As of last week, you can now hear the Morning Rush on KQLL/Los Vegas, also known as “KOOL” an oldies station at 1280 AM … and simulcast on a low-powered extender at 102.3 FM.
The passion of all the above proves my main point: There really is some great content on the radio. Let’s keep this up – what do you like?
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com
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