Station geared to women among '05 changes

What's ahead for Salt Lake area radio in 2005?

Lots of change, as is par for the course in the radio business.

One of the first sure-fire changes to come to mind is a brand new station. Bonneville International will put KSL's new sister station on the air, probably around late winter.

This new station, at AM-820 — perhaps the last open space on the AM radio dial in Salt Lake City — will be information and conversation geared for women.

Rumors to the contrary, the format will not be LDS music, as the station's KUTR call letters hinted. (A 1980s LDS music-format station in Salt Lake City had the call letters KUTR.)

According to Arbitron, women do more radio listening than men. However, most radio programming is done by men. Bonneville International, owner of AM-820, has already named a woman, Chris Redgrave, as the new station's manager, a progressive move in the right direction.

Another obvious question as we look forward to 2005 is whether some familiar faces, bumped off the air in 2004, will return this year. Former longtime KALL talk-show host Tom Barberi, for example, says he is talking to a station in the market about a possible radio job. He said he's hopeful but can't say more at this point.

Stay tuned for the usual format changes, new morning shows, etc., as the year progresses.

• SUPERLATIVE REACTION — There was lots of feedback to last week's best-of-the-year-in-radio column. There's not room to list all the different opinions out there regarding 2004's best, but here's a sampling of what some listeners said:

— Best new morning show: Steve Carlson and Erin Brady of KXRV, "The River"

— Best midday hosts: Doug Wright on KSL, Helen Powers on KBER, Sue Kelley on KRSP, Brandie of KQMB

— Best afternoon hosts: Kelly Hammer on KBER, Rob Boshard on KODJ

— Best male voices: Mick Martin, formerly on KURR; Michael Dennis on KHTB ("The Blaze")

— Best female voices: Monroe on KZHT, Helen Powers of KBER

— Biggest improvements of the year: Ian McCain of KJQN, the KQMB ("Star 102") morning show

— Biggest losses of the year: Bill Riley on KSL, the KKAT country-music station, the KISN call letters, KURR and its rock-music format