Gone … but not forgotten

KFI (640 AM) evening talk host Morris O'Kelly — aka Mo'Kelly — was the guest speaker recently at the El Camino College Center for the Arts.

It was a motivational speech using his own life experiences to demonstrate the importance of following your passion as you search for opportunities in your chosen career — in his case, radio.

“There are many paths to success … but every single one passes through the land of `no,' ” he said, a point he stressed throughout the night. When, for example, he was once told he was not ready to host a talk show, O'Kelly set out to improve his craft and prove — eventually — that he could.

Essentially, he said that every rejection is an opportunity for self-reflection and growth and that you cannot rely on others to be your advocate — even if those who do are much appreciated. You have to be your own cheerleader: If you don't believe in yourself, why should others?

Demonstrating his own growth over the years, O'Kelly told of his early days working for free giving commentaries for the BBC and CNN. Sitting in his car outside of McDonald's or Starbucks, he connected his computer to their free WiFi network for the reports because he couldn't afford his own internet at home.

That's a distant memory and a far cry from today, when he hosts “Later With

Mo'Kelly” weekdays from 7-10 p.m. on one of the most listened-to talk stations in the country.

On hand during the discussion were friends and family as well as colleagues past and present. It was a good speech, and judging by the reaction of the crowd, very much appreciated.

Amazon.com is shutting down Amp, its live radio service launched just 18 months ago. It was open to anyone who wanted to start a show, according to The Verge.Com, which explained, “Amp was geared toward fans of music and talk radio.”

The report continued, “Any Amp user with an Amazon account could launch a live show and access millions of licensed songs, which they could compile into playlists and play for their followers. Amp users could `call in' to shows and ask hosts questions.”

It has not shut down yet but is expected to wind down in the coming weeks.

Amp won't be forgotten — but only because most people didn't know about it in the first place. The marketing for Amazon's Amp was dismal, at best. I didn't hear about it at all until the shutdown was announced, and I heard it from an AM radio station owner.

Apparently, it did have ads on Spotify. I don't use Spotify. Too bad, I might have even launched a show.

Limits

There is conflict in the industry regarding further relaxation of ownership limit rules — you know, the rules that in my opinion allowed a handful of companies to own so many radio stations that it destroyed the profitability of the entire industry and created such massive debt that investors and station owners may never recover.

Apparently, the National Association of Broadcasters wants the FCC to loosen rules even more, while iHeart — the NAB's largest financial backer — is saying “slow down.”

My opinion? Learn from your past. Radio was immensely profitable until the exact point when companies were allowed to own more than seven radio or television stations nationwide. Competition led to creativity and attracted listeners. It is time to tighten ownership rules. Over the next 10 years, the total number of stations owned by any one company should return to that limit of seven.

If that number is considered unreasonable, then perhaps cap ownership at 50 stations nationwide with no more than three in a market. Consolidation in radio did not lead to the promised operational efficiencies, and the draconian cutbacks that followed pushed listeners to other entertainment sources. It's time to fix this.

Younger listeners

For years I've been saying that fun radio,