Clear Channel Making "Whoopi" At KKSF

Billboard Radio Monitor reports today that Clear Channel's Smooth Jazz KKSF/103.7 will become the Bay Area affiliate for "Wake Up with Whoopi." The program, which will air from 5 to 9 a.m. on weekdays beginning August 14, is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, also a Clear Channel subsidiary, and features Academy Award-winning actress/comedienne Whoopi Goldberg.

"Wake Up" begins airing on July 31 on WKTU/New York, giving it a two-week head start before branching out to WLIT/Chicago and KKSF. New York radio stalwart Paul "Cubby" Bryant will serve as Goldberg's co-host.

According to a press release on Premiere's website, "Wake Up With Whoopi" will be "a fresh morning show blending daily topics, comedy, listener call-ins, guests, and locally programmed music." The emphasis is apparently on "welcoming women back to morning drive," a slogan used twice in the release.

"Women have been waking up to morning television for the past 15 years because radio hasn't always given them a reason to tune in," according to John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. "This is a new chapter. 'Wake Up with Whoopi' will go down as the first program in the next generation of entertaining morning radio because of the extraordinary talents of Whoopi Goldberg."

"Radio is an area I have always wanted to play in," Goldberg said in the press release. "There aren't many women helming their own show. I'm thrilled to add my name to that small list because I believe that we have something to add to the morning groove."

The show displaces KKSF's current morning show "helmer" Kim Dooley, a woman whose future role at the station has not been defined.

KMPH Up and Running: The continuing tale of Modesto's KMPH/840 reaches its next phase, as the station has begun regular programming with a combination of brokered talk, Adult Standards and foreign-language fare. KMPH is the Pappas company's 5,000-watt replacement station for 50,000-watt KTRB/860, which will move into the Bay Area, reportedly by the end of the year.