New formats and familiar voices

There has been oodles of radio news during the past week — Peggy Ijams has returned to local morning radio, KOSY has started playing all holiday music all the time, KURR is switching formats and KRSP has a new morning news anchor.

• "PEG," AS SHE wants to be known now, is a new co-host with Paul Koffy, weekdays 5-10 a.m. on KEGA, "The Eagle," FM-101.5, replacing Sue Cook.

Ijams started Monday after having been off the air for seven months since leaving KSFI. She said Bonneville had made the decision not to renew her contract there, which is why she left FM-100. She said she enjoyed sleeping in, working in the garden and being with her family while she was off the air.

After having been a fill-in with Koffy on several occasions, Ijams said she believes they have great chemistry together. She's surprised to be on a country station now but feels the music KEGA plays has a lot of soul.

Koffy has been on KEGA doing mornings for about one year. Ijams will handle the news, a position she also had on the former "Dain and Peggy" show on KSFI. Ijams spent 14 years at KSFI and has been in radio/TV for more than 25 years.

• YOU SEE HOLIDAY decorations in most of the stores even before Halloween, and so why not Christmas music on the radio starting Nov. 1? That's what KOSY (FM-106.5) has done.

Holiday music is usually a good ratings booster for stations, and KOSY may well be the first in Utah to jump so early onto the Christmas bandwagon. KOSY's seasonal slogan is "Utah's holiday music station."

• A FORMAT CHANGE has come to KURR (FM-99.5). On-air announcements say the old station, Rock 99, is gone and listeners can help build a new station.

According to information posted on the forum at www.saltlakeradio.com, the station's new call letters may end up being KJMY. There is another Web site in development, www.my995fm.com, which lends support to that idea. "Familiar new rock, retro classic" is how that second Web site defines the station. "My99.5" is its slogan.

Listeners can call 908-1581 to suggest music the new station should play. U2, The Police, Red Hot Chili Peppers, TLC and the Dave Matthews Band have been dominating the station's music this week.

What's this all leading to? And are Mick Martin, Earl David Reed and the former station's other five DJs also gone?

Stay tuned.