I hear from the inside that News 92 KROI is about to get a new program director. I don't currently see that as a position on the station's website so I guess it is a new position.
Sounds like the gig is going to Alan Furst who currently works for Indianapolis FM news station 93.1 WIBC as program director. Furst has also worked as a Sr. VP of Programming for Clear Channel and as a radio consultant according to his LinkedIn profile.
Furst apparently starts in early January.
He'll be entering a competitive market here in Houston. You thought we had a lot of sports talk radio station...it's getting crowded in the news format too.
KROI has been on the air for a year now and just put in a million dollar expansion to its news facility. SEE THE PHOTOS. 88.7 KUHF has been a 24 hour NPR station for more than a year and of course there is heritage station 740 KTRH who has been around longer than you have probably been alive and just hired the legendary Shara Fryer.
I love a good radio war.
UPDATE 12/14/2012:
Here is the official release on Alan Furst's hiring:
Radio One Regional Vice President Doug Abernethy, market manager for the company’s stations in Houston and Dallas, announced today that Alan Furst will assume the duties of Program Director for News 92 FM (KROI-FM/Houston) beginning January 7, 2013. Since the station’s sign on just over a year ago, programming responsibilities have been covered by consultant Ed Shane in cooperation with Radio One’s corporate programming staff. Furst is a former consultant for Shane Media and has spent over twenty years working in Texas markets.
Furst, currently the program director of News/Talk 93 WIBC-FM in Indianapolis, says he is ready for the challenge.
"I'm thrilled to return to Houston and join News 92 FM, “says Furst. “Radio One has put together a great team and the energy in the building is electric. We’re going to build something very big and very special that will become a force in the nation’s fourth largest city.”
Furst’s remarkable career has included service to broadcasters in both hemispheres and on three continents, and has earned him national as well as international acclaim.
As a student at Bethany College in West Virginia, Furst worked at WVBC-FM, a 10 watt radio station, alongside a wealth of burgeoning talent. Faith Daniels (formerly of The Today Show), Tory Tolley (CNN), Bob Orr (CBS News), Chris Moore (CBS Sports Network), Dave Sims (Seattle Mariners play- by-play announcer), and Kurt Franck (Pulitzer Prize winner) were all among the notable journalists and broadcasters who got their start at this tiny college radio station and were colleagues of Furst.
From this inauspicious beginning, Furst went on to programming stints for 700 WLW-AM in Cincinnati, KAJA-FM in San Antonio, WSYR-AM in Syracuse, and WEEP-AM in Pittsburgh. He later served as Vice-President of Programming for Capstar, Director of Country Programming for Cumulus, Senior Vice-President of Programming for Clear Channel, and National Program Director for New City Communications.
On the international front, Furst held the position of Group Program Director for the Australian Radio Network in Sydney, programmed 97.3 in Brisbane, and launched the first country radio station in the United Kingdom.
His professional accolades include multiple awards from the Indiana Broadcasters Association for his work at WIBC-FM (including Best Newscast/Large Market), and a Crystal Award for WSYR-AM in Syracuse.
An avid sports fan (baseball and hockey), train travel enthusiast, animal rescue advocate and ardent student of American history, Furst will now make his home in Houston with his wife Ann. His father lives in the neighboring community of Sugar Land and his son Andrew lives in Dallas. A second son, Jason Furst, is the program director of WBT-AM/FM in Charlotte.
RELATED
- News 92 FM KROI is on the air (1st hour local audio included)
- KTRK 13's Ed Brandon on 24 hour news radio in Houston
CONTACT: Leave me a Houston or Texas media news tip | COMMENT: Click to leave your thoughts on this post here
