Well, Greg Steckline didn’t waste much time putting his fingerprints on Wichita’s newest addition to the family. The $275,000 acquisition of Classic Hits 92.7 KWME from Murfin Media has now been followed by a new identity, with the Wellington-licensed station emerging as 92.7 The Keeper of the Hits. It’s a clever bit of Wichita branding, borrowing from the city’s iconic Keeper of the Plains while maintaining a musical foundation built around the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The presentation appears to be taking a somewhat softer direction, and the new name gives Steckline an opportunity to establish his own identity without walking away from the familiar music that brought listeners to 92.7 in the first place.
We told you back in August that the acquisition was going to be interesting, and it wasn’t simply because another FM signal was changing hands. Steckline has been steadily building a Kansas broadcasting operation with interests in Country, News/Talk, Sports, Spanish-language programming, and agricultural information. Adding KWME gives the company another music property in Wichita, along with an established audience and a frequency that has already been through several identities over the years. The purchase also creates some intriguing possibilities for the people who have been associated with the station, and frankly, that’s the part of this story I find most interesting.
The new branding itself is pretty smart. Wichita residents know the Keeper of the Plains, and connecting a radio station to something that recognizable gives the name an immediate local identity. The station’s new promotional material uses music from Don McLean, Tom Petty, and Aerosmith, including American Pie, Free Fallin’, and Crazy, suggesting a presentation that places considerable emphasis on familiar, enduring songs with broad adult appeal. It’s still recognizable Classic Hits territory, but the musical approach appears to be more relaxed than some of the more aggressive presentations the format has adopted in recent years.
Whether that softer approach becomes the station’s defining musical strategy remains to be heard. A few promotional selections aren’t enough to establish the full extent of a format adjustment, and listeners will ultimately judge the product by what comes out of the speakers over an entire day. But the decision to maintain a familiar musical foundation while introducing a distinctly Wichita identity makes sense from a programming standpoint. Steckline doesn’t necessarily need to reinvent the station to make the acquisition worthwhile. He needs to give people a reason to associate 92.7 with something they enjoy, something they recognize, and preferably something they cannot get in quite the same way somewhere else.
There is also the matter of the pending KGKP call letters, which would complete the transition from the station’s longtime KWME identity. The new name, the proposed call change, and the revised presentation suggest that Steckline intends to make the property his own rather than simply continue operating Classic Hits 92.7 exactly as it existed under Murfin.
But here’s where the questions begin.
What happens to Jack Oliver and Barb?
Because when you’ve got a broadcaster with Jack Oliver’s history in Wichita, you don’t simply change the station name and expect nobody to wonder what happens next. Jack has been part of Kansas radio since 1969, working at stations including KLEO, KAKE, KKRD, and KEYN before becoming associated with KWME. He has spent decades developing relationships with listeners who know his voice as well as they know many of the songs he’s played. That’s the kind of experience and market familiarity that should carry considerable value, particularly for an independent owner trying to establish a stronger local connection.
And Barb deserves consideration in that conversation as well. Whatever Steckline ultimately decides to do with the morning presentation, the existing audience has developed habits around the personalities it hears. Changing a logo is easy enough. Asking listeners to develop a relationship with an entirely different morning show is another matter, and experienced operators ought to understand the difference.
So does the current morning arrangement continue? Is there a new role for Jack? Does Barb remain part of the picture? Could the station eventually introduce something entirely different in morning drive? Those are reasonable questions following an ownership change, particularly one accompanied by new branding.
And what about Cindy Lea and Royce Stevenson?
Their names have been part of the broader conversation surrounding Murfin’s Wichita properties, and the sale of KWME naturally raises questions about how the remaining operation will be arranged. Murfin still has stations serving the market, including 97.1 BOB-FM, and ownership changes sometimes create opportunities for experienced personalities to move into different responsibilities.
I’m not suggesting anybody has been reassigned, released, or offered another position. We haven’t established any of that, and I’m not interested in creating a personnel story where there isn’t one. But there are familiar voices and established relationships involved in this market, and it would be surprising if listeners weren’t curious about how the programming pieces eventually fit together.
Then there’s Throwback Nation.
Tony Lorino’s nationally distributed program has become a familiar part of Classic Hits and adult music radio across the country, and the question now is whether that programming remains part of the 92.7 experience under Steckline. The musical direction of The Keeper of the Hits would certainly seem compatible with some of the material associated with Throwback Nation, but compatibility isn’t the same thing as a confirmed programming decision.
Could the show remain on 92.7? Would Steckline prefer a different weekend approach? Could there be opportunities elsewhere in Wichita for familiar syndicated programming? The answers will depend on the decisions made by the people actually operating the stations.
And I suspect we’re going to hear more about those decisions before too long.
Meanwhile, over at Murfin Media, there’s another matter that we simply cannot ignore.
BOB is still sitting upstairs in Human Resources.
Now, for anybody who missed our October 4 story, we’re talking about 97.1 BOB-FM, the Wichita station whose entire programming philosophy seems to revolve around playing whatever BOB happens to feel like playing. We suggested that BOB had been summoned to HR, and since then we’ve been waiting to find out what that particular meeting might involve.
Apparently, BOB is still in there.
I don’t know whether they’re discussing his performance review, updating his benefits, or trying to explain why he played Prince, Def Leppard, Fleetwood Mac, and something from the back of an old Columbia House shipment in the same hour. I wouldn’t even begin to speculate about the official reason for the meeting, assuming there actually was one. But the timing of the developments across Wichita makes the running joke considerably more entertaining.
Steckline has taken possession of 92.7 and introduced a new brand. Murfin retains BOB-FM and its other market interests. Familiar personalities remain part of the discussion, and there are still legitimate questions about how everything will be organized moving forward.
BOB, meanwhile, apparently hasn’t been dismissed from HR.
Perhaps somebody finally discovered that he doesn’t have a personnel file because he’s technically a radio format.
Whatever happens, the situation illustrates something I’ve said repeatedly about station ownership changes. The transaction itself may involve a license, equipment, contracts, and financial arrangements, but listeners experience the consequences through the product they hear every day.
They notice when the music changes. They notice when a familiar personality disappears. They notice when a morning show suddenly sounds different, and they certainly notice when the station they’ve listened to for years begins identifying itself by another name.
For Steckline, the acquisition creates an opportunity to build a distinctive music station around a recognizable Wichita identity. The Keeper of the Hits name has possibilities, and a carefully managed musical presentation could give the station a useful position among listeners who enjoy familiar songs without necessarily wanting an aggressive Classic Rock approach.
But the people will matter.
Jack Oliver’s experience matters. Barb’s relationship with the audience matters. The familiar voices associated with Wichita radio matter, and so do the decisions concerning local and syndicated programming. Whether they remain where they are, move into different positions, or eventually pursue opportunities elsewhere, those decisions deserve attention because they affect the relationship between the stations and their listeners.
I hope Steckline recognizes the value of that experience as the new station takes shape. Independent ownership can be a tremendous advantage when management knows the market and understands the importance of developing a local identity. The company now has a chance to demonstrate that understanding through both the programming it puts on the air and the people it chooses to put behind the microphones.
Murfin, meanwhile, still has an interesting collection of Wichita properties and the opportunity to determine how those stations develop following the sale. BOB-FM is particularly intriguing because the brand already lends itself to a broad musical presentation and a personality that listeners recognize even though BOB himself doesn’t actually exist.
There’s room to do something creative there without sacrificing the familiar appeal that makes the station what it is.
And knowing the Wichita radio market as I do, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some interesting conversations taking place on both sides of this transaction.
To be clear, that’s an observation about the possibilities, not a claim that any particular personnel or format change has been decided. We haven’t received confirmation of such developments, and we’ll distinguish what has been announced from what remains unanswered.
For now, congratulations to Greg Steckline and his team on the relaunch of 92.7 The Keeper of the Hits. The name has a strong local connection, the music remains familiar, and the next several weeks should give us a much better understanding of what management wants the station to become.
We’ll also be watching the people associated with the former Classic Hits 92.7, because ownership changes shouldn’t make the contributions of established broadcasters disappear from the conversation.
And Jack, Barb, Cindy, Royce, and the folks at Throwback Nation? We’re curious about what comes next, and I suspect quite a few Wichita listeners are, too.
As for BOB, somebody might want to check on him.
He’s been in that HR meeting an awfully long time, and I’m beginning to wonder whether management has finally asked him to explain the playlist.
Then again, BOB has been doing exactly what BOB wants for years. I can’t imagine he’s going to start taking orders now.
Something tells me Wichita radio hasn’t finished rearranging the furniture, and we’ll all have a clearer picture soon enough.
#OnTheDial #WichitaRadio #KWME #KGKP #KeeperOfTheHits #StecklineCommunications #MurfinMedia #JackOliver #CindyLea #RoyceStevenson #ThrowbackNation #BOBFM #ClassicHits #KansasRadio #RadioIndustry