Chicago Sun-Times: Everyone's a winner in radio ratings roulette

All of us here on the Sun-Times radio desk would like to offer our congratulations to Rafael "El Pistolero" Pulido, morning host at WOJO- FM (105.1), on being No. 1 in the latest Arbitron ratings.

Way to go, "El Pistolero"!

While we're at it, we'd also like to congratulate Robin Rock, midday host at WLIT-FM (93.9), and Steve Seaver, afternoon host at WLUP-FM (97.9), on also being No. 1 in the latest Arbitron ratings.

And let's not overlook Brian Middleton of WBBM-FM (96.3), Lisa Berigan of WTMX-FM (101.9) and Troi Tyler of WVAZ-FM (102.7).

Wait a minute. You say you've never heard of any of these people? Well, they're all No. 1. As Casey Stengel said, you could look it up.

Sure, news/talk WGN-AM (720) wins the overall "beauty contest" in Arbitron by grabbing the most listeners between the ages of 12 and death. And urban-contemporary WGCI-FM (107.5) runs a close second with its broad appeal among those who were born after Dwight Eisenhower's first term as president.

But when it comes to targeting both listeners and advertisers, radio is a highly segmented medium. Depending on how you slice and dice the numbers, there are at least 10 stations in town that can rightfully claim No. 1 rank among some portion of the market sometime during the day.

Here, straight from Arbitron's summer survey report, are a few notable examples:

*WOJO, a Spanish station that airs regional Mexican music, is No. 1 in the market among men between the ages of 18 and 34 all day long. In mornings, "El Pistolero" is No. 1 among men 18 to 34 and men 18 to 49.

* The Loop, an album rocker, is No. 1 among men 25 to 49 all day long and specifically during middays and afternoons.

But in mornings, the 25 to 49 male crowd favors "The King of All Media," Howard Stern, on comedy/talk WCKG.

*Women between 35 and 64 dig adult-urban V-103 overall, but in middays they groove to Robin Rock on "Lite FM."

*In afternoons, Steve Dahl tops the testosterone count (men 25 to 54) on WCKG. But ex-partner Garry Meier and Roe Conn are No. 1 among men 35 to 64 on news/talk WLS-AM (890).

*Modern rock "The Mix" owns chicks in the 18-to-49, 25-to-49 and 25-to-54 groups during mornings (with Eric Ferguson and Kathy Hart) and middays (with Lisa Berigan).

*Those fickle teens can't pick a winner between WGCI and contemporary-hit B-96. They're tied.

Dialing: 'Day of Music' on WFMT

* Those who can, play: Members of the music faculty at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts will be in the spotlight today at WFMT-FM (98.7). The classical music station is dedicating the day to live performances by the faculty from WFMT's studios.

The "Roosevelt Day of Music" will air from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

*Billed as the most successful pledge drive in the public radio station's history, WBEZ-FM (91.5) raised more than $1.6 million from 15,150 listeners during the 10-day membership marathon that ended Friday.

"The continued growth of the station's membership is an encouraging endorsement of our efforts to produce and present great radio," said Torey Malatia, general manager of WBEZ.

*Brian Kovacs, former production director and evening host at WERV- FM (95.9), has been hired as production director at WZFS-FM (106.7) and WYLL-AM (1160). Kovacs, who called himself "Papa K" on the air, also will host Saturday nights on "The Fish."

Diane Sosa, promotions coordinator at the two Salem Communications Christian stations, takes on additional duties as weeknight and Sunday afternoon host at "The Fish."

*Laurence Holmes, morning show producer at WSCR-AM (670), has been promoted to full-time sports reporter at the Score. He continues to co-host Saturday nights with Dan Zampillo on the Infinity Broadcasting sports talker.

*Another former morning show producer at the Score, Rick Gieser, has joined WGN-AM (720) as a sports producer. He'll produce weekend editions of "Sports Central" with hosts Jim Memolo and Glen Kozlowski.

Going back to the Bay Area

Rick Swanson is out after less than a year as vice president of marketing and creative services at WBBM-Channel 2. He's returning home to San Francisco, where he previously was marketing and programming vice president at Chronicle Broadcasting.

The leading insider to succeed Swanson is Victoria Bouchard, promotion manager at the CBS-owned station.