KCBQ Becomes a “Thing of the Past”, 1170 KCBQ San Diego | February 1976


Is this any way to do a promotion? KCBQ kicks off a format tweak by becoming a ‘Thing of the Past’, apparently in response to KFMB-FM going Top 40 sometime earlier. Ratings are down and KCBQ decides to skew older in response.

New Contributor Mike Donovan shares this gem from his collection, saying he’s been assembling airchecks for the past 30 years.

This starts with Mason Dixon’s show as it ends, then goes into this ‘change’… and an apology to listeners for scaring them into thinking KCBQ was going away. “We don’t want to make you mad at us…” Would any station try something like this today? Probably not, since format changes are so commonplace these days, the shock value would be minimal. Still, we think you’ll like this from a station with more energy than anything you hear on your radio today!