MEDIA MADNESS

Clear Channel Communications announced its plans on January 10
to sell its Santa Barbara radio stations to Rincon Broadcasting for
$17.3 million. Rincon – a subdivision of the Malibu-based Gold
Coast Broadcasting – took control of FM stations KTYD, KSBL, KIST,
and KSPE and AM stations KTMS and KBKO on January 16. KTYD morning
show host Matt McAllister said he was enthusiastic about the
change, as he thought the association with Clear Channel gave
people a negative impression about the stations. Rincon has not
announced any personnel changes.

The battle continues to rage between News-Press owner
Wendy McCaw and former editor Jerry Roberts, who resigned in
protest last summer. McCaw has filed a $25 million claim against
Roberts, after Roberts filed a $10 million response to McCaw’s
initial $500,000 complaint, in which she alleged he violated the
terms and conditions of his contract. Despite all these angry
zeros, none of the legal paperwork can be perused at the county
courthouse, where such disputes are customarily aired. That’s
because the dispute is being waged within the semi-confidential
confines of arbitration, as is required under the terms of
Roberts’s contract with the News-Press.