R&R ONLINE: Bob Newhart Sells His Radio Station



Newhart's Adult Standards KZBN-AM (Bob AM 1290)/Santa Barbara, CA made headlines in June after his company, Rotijefco Inc., received a $5,000 fine from the FCC for failing to maintain operational Emergency Alert System equipment and for failing to log the status of the non-operational equipment. Newhart has now agreed to sell the station to local newspaper publisher Wendy McCaw, owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press, for an undisclosed price. The purchase of KZBN will be handled by Ampersand Broadcasting, a sister company to the parent of the News-Press. McCaw purchased the News-Press from The New York Times Co. in October 2000 and under her tenure radically strengthened the newspaper's coverage of Santa Barbara County. McCaw now hopes to do the same with KZBN, providing listeners with more local news coverage than any other station in the market, the News-Press reports.