July 19, 2004

KNX-AM hires radio vet Jackson

After a 19-month absence, local radio institution Michael Jackson is returning to the airwaves - but not as a talk show host. Instead, he'll be conducting interviews for news outlet KNX-AM (1070)

Station officials are planning for him to make his first appearance Thursday or Friday with a prerecorded interview with Walt Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner. Jackson will appear intermittently thereafter with what he described as interviews with "world leaders and the people who are making a difference."

KNX's plan is to break the interviews into four or five minute segments that would be interspersed with regular news coverage during weekday drive time (6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m.).

There is no set schedule for how often Jackson will be heard. Howard Freshman, marketing and promotions director at KNX, said the station will promote him on the air whenever he has an interview scheduled.

Jackson was on of the Southland's preeminent radio personalities for more than 30 years, mostly at KABC-AM (790) and, more recently, with several stations that dropped him when they changed formats. His last job, at KLAC-AM (570), ended Dec. 11, 2002.