July 5, 2011
The station has moved more toward a combination of news, conversation and commentary leaving the two Texas Radio Hall of Famers on the beach. Lana Hughes and J.P. Pritchard had the longest-running newscast in Houston, 27 years. They were told after last Thursdays show they were out, replaced by Ohio radio personality and Tea Party activist Matt Patrick.
KTRH GM Eddie Martiny told a Houston Newspaper, "Traditional news coverage is no longer as compelling as it used to be. Ten years ago, radio stations were prime sources of where people went to get news. Today, they get it from Blackberries and smartphones. He says the new format will resemble Fox News' Fox and Friends and will reflect current appetites for commentary along with news."
Long-time radio consultant Michael Packers tells Radio Ink he was involved in the hiring of Hughes and Pritchard. "It was 1984 and the Jones family had given us the go ahead to create the first radio station in the History of Houston to be positioned as News Radio. We needed 2 anchors for morning drive who would help solidify that strong news image we were building. Laura Morris (who was the program director at that time) and I agreed that JP and Lana were by far the strongest members of our news team and that their chemistry together would be the magic we needed to build a personality oriented news show for morning drive. Mornings with Lana and JP at KTRH played a key part in the very successful launch of NewsRadio in Houston. Within 18 months, KTRH soared from a talk radio station stuck in the mid 3 share range to Houston?s first News Radio station at a 6.1 share. (Arbitron 12+) That by the way was the historical high for the station as NewsRadio and it?s never been equaled since.
Joe Householder worked at KTRH from 1990 until early 2000 at a time KTRH was an all news operation with sports at night. He says Lanap and JP are a Houston institution. "Certainly among the city's opinion elites, on any given day you could always hear someone say, "well, I heard on Lana and JP's show..." as a precursor to something that was taken as authoritative fact. Unfortunately, as the station reduced its commitment to news through the day, it's role as an active part of the daily conversation was a bit diminished, but Lana and JP retained their voice of authority and their reputation of integrity. When I was there, if I met someone for the first time and they recognized my name they often said, "oh, I hear you on Lana and JP's show," instead of saying "on KTRH." They were synonymous with the call letters.
Householder also spoke about his two friends. "Two truly decent people in every sense of the word, they were both pros who were a pleasure to work with. Neither of them had the large ego that is sometimes part and parcel of morning drive personalities and they were both rock solid reliable. They were also great mentors to the younger members of the news staff - never shy about taking a reporter aside and in very supportive ways telling him or her what could be better in their stories or their writing or delivery. It was always done in a way that the recipient of the critique walked away better for having had the experience. It was never harsh and always came from the perspective of someone who had a clear understanding of what the station's listeners needed. You couldn't help but develop a deep affection for both of them after working with them for awhile."
(7/6/2011 6:59:18 AM)
Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I thought the Lana and JP schtick got old long ago. Got to feeling like I was listening to Regis and Kelly and the ongoing gaffes at copy reading was getting worse.
(7/5/2011 11:21:19 PM)
Plenty of other choices for talk show format. Listened to JP and Lana for good solid news coverage with brief to the point interviews.
(7/5/2011 10:59:44 PM)
KTRH, and Clear Channel, I look forward to a similar headline for you,... Long-Time KTRH Is Out. Just watch your ratings, it should not take long. I sincerely hope that JP and Lana end up at a local Houston station or on satellite radio. Me and thousands of others are waiting and looking forward to it. No more KTRH for me, I mean none. Good day.
(7/5/2011 10:03:14 PM)
This is a total disgrace. I grew up listening to this awesome team. This used to be my wake up and now I have to search for another news station. I am disgusted with talk shows. Need meat not fluff.
(7/5/2011 9:33:36 PM)
I, too, was extremely disappointed to have no JP & Lana on my way to work this morning. I quit listening to KTRH in the evening when they went to talk radio and I will do the same in the morning. You can listen to people spouting their opinions all day long but I listened to KTRH in the morning to get really good new coverage. You have really messed up a good thing.
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