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| Kevin Slaten |
According to stltoday.com, KXFN 1380 AM, which used to have sports but has been broadcasting in the “extreme radio’’ format in recent months, begins airing programming today that appears on the talkstl.com website. Kevin Slaten’s 3-6 p.m. sports show is its centerpiece.
Talkstl is leasing the station and began airing Yahoo Sports Radio syndicated fare over the weekend. It plans to carry that for most of the day for the time being, with Slaten having the only local show. But talkstl.com owner Scott Gertken said he plans to have a full local lineup in place by April 6, mostly sports but also with some humor.
“I thought it was important to get Kevin back on the air’’ right away, Gertken said.
Slaten, who has been on 1380 before, has been off traditional radio since KFNS 590 AM — Grand Slam’s other station — went off the air in November under a mountain of debt that crippled the longtime St. Louis sports-talk radio staple.“I’m real excited, this will be fun,’’ said Slaten, a sports-talk original when the format arrived locally in 1992. “We’ll keep doing what we’ve done all along.
“I’ve outlasted (former Cardinals manager Tony) La Russa and I’ve outlasted (Missouri athletics director) Mike Alden,’’ he added, citing two of his favorite targets of criticism. “We’re going to keep pointing out things no one else points out.”
Sources said 1380’s format switch is the fallout from a power-play between factions at Grand Slam, resulting in Mike Clavin being forced out this weekend.
He had been put in charge of many facets of the company a year ago as financial problems grew, then took full control last summer after Dan Marshall resigned as the company’s president. That was after he and broadcaster Brian McKenna had a fist fight in the station’s studios, which followed a long period of internal strife at the stations, with some accusing Marshall of malfeasance and disregarding the welfare of those working at the stations while others said he should be lauded because his personal financial backing kept the operation afloat.