Columnist Kate Maddox: Tuning into radio duo’s departure

Kate Maddox

Friday, April 28, 2000 | 9:03 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays. Reach her at kmaddox@lasvegassun.com.

There's apparently more to the story of the departure of Las Vegas' longest-running morning radio team of Ken Johnson and Jim Tofte. Sources say that the real reason for the somewhat abrupt end of the KKLZ 96.3-FM morning program had more to do with corporate cutbacks than raucous on-air behavior or ratings.

The buzz is that Centennial Broadcasting, which owns KKLZ and two other local stations, is on the block and looking for potential buyers. Keeping a popular -- and pricey -- morning team on the air means money and Centennial reportedly wants to keep its sale price down to attract more interest.

Unfortunately for Johnson & Tofte, that meant getting the boot for a less expensive replacement. Although their ratings slipped slightly over the past year -- at this time last year the guys were No. 2 in the market -- they still had a good grasp on the local morning slot.

Through the current upheaval, the DJs themselves have remained diplomatic. Johnson still maintains that although they were surprised to leave so abruptly, they had an "amicable departure," despite what he termed as some frequent "philosophical differences."

Johnson said that splitting with his partner, Tofte, is out of the question and the duo are shopping themselves to other stations in town -- a smart move, considering they bring with them a large and loyal following. The pair, who have been together for 15 years, want their fans and/or potential employers to know that they can be reached at: ken801@lvcm.com.

The more shocking news of the KKLZ morning radio story is that the replacements will be the L.A.-based team of Mark & Brian. This is surprising mainly because the duo took a stab at Las Vegas in 1993 and bombed. Badly.

Mark & Brian were on the now-defunct alternative rock station KEDG 103.5-FM for only six months before they got the boot. KKLZ Program Director Jerry Dean defended Mark & Brian's first attempt at the Las Vegas market, saying that the duo were never given the opportunity to get off the ground here and that their former host station wasn't willing to make a real commitment to their success. Dean said that Mark & Brian, who signed the deal with KKLZ late Wednesday, are No. 2 in L.A. behind Howard Stern and No. 1 in Portland, Ore., and Sacramento. Dean is optimistic about their second coming.

Mark & Brian try to take Vegas -- again -- starting Monday on 96.3.

In TV news, the premiere of the "E! True Hollywood Story" on magicians Siegfried & Roy will air at 9 p.m. Sunday-- and will repeat in the weeks to follow, as most E! shows do. The special will include guests such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shirley MacLaine, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Steve Wynn telling their favorite S&R anecdotes and chronicling their meteoric rise to fame (and fortune).

On Saturday night the Venetian hotel-casino gets its second televised documentary in the hotel's brief history. The Learning Channel will profile the megaresort in a one-hour program scheduled to air at 9 p.m. on the cable channel. "King of the Strip" will take a look at the building of the $1.5 billion hotel-casino. Earlier this year the Discovery Channel devoted a one-hour documentary to what goes on behind the scenes at the Venetian.

And finally, the Sun's own Joe Delaney will get some TV time this evening on the newsmagazine "Extra." At 7:30 on KTNV Channel 13, our respected entertainment columnist will discuss the life and times of comedian and Las Vegas resident Jerry Lewis, who will also be interviewed for the profile.