KTRB Files For New Daytime Site

Pappas Radio's KTRB (860 AM), which has been operating with a directional 50,000-watt signal from the Livermore hills for the past few years, has filed an application with the FCC to move its daytime transmitter to the Hayward shoreline, where it would transmit a non-directional signal.

The move, if approved, should provide KTRB with one of the strongest AM signals in the Bay Area. Only KNBR (680 AM) operates a fulltime 50,000-watt non-directional signal in the Bay Area; KTRB would have a comparably equal signal from local sunrise to sunset.

Other 50,000-watt AM stations in the Bay Area, including KCBS and KGO, operate with directional signals, which limit their coverage in some parts of the region.

KTRB's new location in Hayward would have them sharing the existing KFAX (1100 AM) transmitter site. KTRB's signal would be transmitted through KFAX's current tower #3.

KFAX is owned by Salem Communications, which also operates KDOW (1220 AM), which has been working towards a power increase of its own for several years.

At nighttime, KTRB -- which re-branded itself as "Xtra Sports 860" recently -- would continue to broadcast with a directional 50kw signal from the Livermore site.

The technical exhibit, with all the details, may be reviewed on the FCC website.

KTRB Puts Lieberman "On The Beat"

This press release is just in from the friendly confines of KTRB at 1700 Montgomery Street in the City By The Bay:

RADIO STATION GOES BIG - “BIG VINNY,” THAT IS!

Rich “Big Vinny” Lieberman to Become AM 860 KTRB’s “Man On The Beat”

San Francisco (November 14, 2007) -- Starting this week, “KTRB’s Man On The Beat, Rich ‘Big Vinny’ Lieberman,” is going to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public via a series of weekly updated radio features that take a satirical and irreverent look at Bay Area life.

Rich Lieberman is a veteran of the Bay Area media scene, having worked at K-101 Radio in the 1980s as Sports Director, covering local sports and events including 3 Super Bowls, 2 World Series, and the 1984 Democratic National Convention. He then worked as a San Francisco correspondent for ABC radio, and spent 3 years doing work for the “Larry King Show” on Mutual Radio. Rich also achieved notoriety by playing the “Big Vinny” character in a prominent series of TV commercials from 2001 - 2003.

“Big Vinny” haunts the cool clubs within the San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas scenes, and has the inside on Larry King's favorite breakfast hangout, “Nate and Al” in Beverly Hills. His little black book reads like a Who’s Who of Bay Area entertainers, athletes, media people, and politicians.

Rich “Big Vinny” Lieberman will be KTRB’s local “Man On The Beat” and will report all of the good local gossip when it comes to the hot clubs, the singles scene, and the latest Pam Dawber sightings, not to mention deliver a healthy dose of politically incorrect opinions!

Rich “Big Vinny” Lieberman said, “I believe that in order to make your case, you have to be passionate about what you believe in. I have some strong opinions and ideas that won't always be popular, but most definitely will strike a chord in your consciousness.”

KTRB Program Director Kevin Barrett said, “Rich is a throwback. He appreciates the greats like Herb Caen and Mike Royko. San Francisco is his beat, and we’re excited to have him on KTRB.”

Jim P. Pappas, KTRB Vice President and General Manager said, “Rich bleeds creative energy. He is a Bay Area native with a definite feel for what’s hot and what’s not. His feature will add to the entertainment value and diversity of our program line-up.”