KJR cuts costs with most recognizable voice, Grosby
By JIM MOORE
SEATTLE P-I COLUMNIST
May 13th

IF YOU'RE A FAN, you've probably listened to Dave Grosby on Sports Radio KJR-AM/950 over the past 12 years.

"The Groz" has been part of KJR's midday routine, hosting his own show from 1 to 3 p.m. and joining Mike Gastineau on "Groz with Gas" from 3 to 5 p.m.

Then last week in a sudden move, Ian Furness replaced "The Groz" as host of the midday show, with Grosby remaining only as a co-host on "Groz with Gas."

This kind of stuff happens all the time in sports radio. Hosts are jerked around or fired or leave to take jobs elsewhere, but here it's strange -- in the past 10 years, KJR has rarely changed its lineup.

Then when "The Groz" is involved, it's odder yet because he is arguably the most recognizable voice and personality at KJR. Plus he's been there longer than anyone, joining the station in 1991 when it switched to an all-sports format. Grosby went to KIRO in '93 and returned to KJR in '96 and has been there since.

"He's kind of a godfather of radio for us," said Rich Moore, KJR's program director. "He's a true radio professional. It's one of the hardest things I've had to do or be a part of.

"Everyone understands the value of Groz. We came up with a creative solution to keep him here. It couldn't have been done if Groz wasn't as professional and open-minded as he was."

Moore said Grosby became the unfortunate victim because of budget tightening. His contract ended April 30, and KJR needed to cut costs. Reducing his pay would help the bottom line, and the other hosts still had long-term deals.

"It was a crummy time for his contract to come up," said Gastineau, whose deal runs through Dec. 31, 2009. "This could have been me if my contract was up."

Moore said he had to cut "contract labor," and Grosby was his only option. There weren't any other issues such as those rumored about Grosby's health -- he had quadruple-bypass surgery three years ago and said Monday, "I'm in the best shape of my life."

KJR already cut payroll with behind-the-scenes job trims late last year, but those weren't enough to appease the number crunchers in tough economic times.

It doesn't necessarily compute with Grosby. He's been fired before, but usually for justifiable reasons such as low ratings. His ratings at KJR have been consistently good for the target audience, males 25 to 54. He is seemingly a popular host.

"It's the hardest thing to get your arms around," Grosby said. "But they're looking at the bottom line, and I understand that entirely."

"The Groz" tries to be philosophical. Heart surgery helped to give him perspective. He thought about being righteously indignant and quitting, but what would that do?

"Then you've got to find a job, and it's not a time to be unemployed," he said.

So he's sucking it up and staying positive. KJR also will use him on its Web site, perhaps even giving him an online show that, for instance, might run against the station's broadcast of "Monday Night Football" games.

"He will also have a presence with audio and video blogs," Moore said. "There's so much upside and opportunity on the Web front. We're using him as the guinea pig or model for that."

Said Grosby: "With the Internet stuff, they're giving me free rein."

"The Groz" also will be the primary pinch hitter when other hosts take vacations.

Furness had been co-hosting the "Elise and Ian" show from 7 to 10 weeknights. His move to middays leaves Elise Woodward with her own show, too.

A Seattle native, Furness, 42, is an O'Dea High and WSU graduate who offers a Coug take on the Huskies' flagship station and a counter to the 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. host, U-Dub homer Dave Mahler.

"I'm the salt to his pepper, I guess," Furness said.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the other hosts' contracts run out because something smells fishy. Will they get the partial ax, too? Or will they magically remain? Furness' contract expires at the end of September, but he said negotiations are under way "to figure out how to extend or rework that."

Gastineau has been the afternoon drive-time host since 1996, yet he knows he's not immune.

"The thing that irritates me the most is that we're not people anymore, we're line items," Gastineau said. "It's, 'What's this guy making and can we get by without him?' "

Grosby has just decided not to worry about the future, saying: "What's the point of not having a good attitude? You only make yourself more miserable. You deal with it and move on."

P-I columnist Jim Moore can be reached at 206-448-8013 or jimmoore@seattlepi.com.

As a fan of the Mariners, Seahawks and Sonics, the Clear Channel ownership first got my back up by changing the transmitter pattern so Victoria no longer receives KJR as the STRONGEST non-local AM signal in the daytime.  

Now the station is almost completely unlistenable; and to add insult to injury, non- US residents are barred from listening on-line.

KJR is still commercially very successful, with more sponsors than make for comfortable listening, all aimed at a young male deomgraphic.  But the suits want even more dollars, so when times are tough, cutbacks become the only way of adding to the bottom line.