This Way, L.A.

With the fifth anniversary coming on Tuesday of the Los Angeles riots that ensued from the acquittal of four police officers accused of beating motorist Rodney King, many area radio stations will be using the occasion as an opportunity to reexamine the divisions in our community that fomented that tragic occurrence.

But examining the plans that different stations have for the commemoration reveals some startling differences in perception among programmers and listeners of what the riots mean, historically, and what changes have taken place in the intervening time. It’s a spectrum that runs from deep concern to virtual indifference.

At KKBT-FM (92.3), which is the top-rated station in the urban (i.e. African American) market here, the issues of the riots are still seen as a daily concern. As such, the station is marking the anniversary with a full-scale “town hall”-style public meeting at the Magic Johnson Theaters in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw Plaza that will be broadcast live on the weekly “Street Science” community action show at 8 Sunday morning.

“People are still struggling with the same issues,” says Dominique DiPrima, the show’s host and the station’s community action director. “There’s negative and positive that came out of those acts of civil unrest that we’re still dealing with. I think a lot of people know, especially the younger ones still running in the streets of L.A., that these issues are bubbling under the surface.”

Similarly, KCRW-FM (89.9), the Santa Monica public station, is devoting a two-hour special edition of its “Which Way, L.A.?” round-table--which was created in 1992 to address the issues raised by the riots--on Tuesday at noon to look at where we’ve come since then. And that will be followed by a rebroadcast of the April 4 debut of its “United States of Los Angeles” audio documentary series, this installment exploring the lasting impact of the riots on the hard-hit Korean American community.

“We’ve moved away from the riots,” says Warren Olney, the veteran L.A. newsman who hosts “Which Way, L.A.?” “The most important change has been the economic recovery. But there’s still enormous uncertainty, and now with welfare reform and other changes, there’s tremendous uncertainty about lack of employment and even housing and adequate resources to stay alive. And race relations remain probably even a higher profile issue than it was then. The whole multicultural aspect of the city has become more clarified, though we certainly haven’t figured out how we’re going to live with it. So Rodney King’s question [can’t we all just get along?] is still very much up in the air.”

The two prominent news stations are also devoting time and resources to the anniversary. Robert Sims, director of news and programming for KNX-AM (1070), is planning a series of spots throughout Tuesday with updates on some of the key figures of the riots (King, attack victim Reginald Denny, the police officers). Greg Tantum, program director of KFWB-AM (980), has similar plans, with segments aired live from the station’s mobile studio from a South-Central location, as well as reflective looks at the media’s role in the events.

“Five years ago, about a month after the riots, I was on a panel at a state-of-the-industry dinner and one of the big issues was how poor a job we had done, at least in the electronic media, in understanding and reporting the problems of a major part of our community,” Tantum says. “So I want to look five years later, has anything changed or have we gone back to business as usual?”

In contrast, it will be business as usual at L.A.’s top talk-radio stations on Tuesday. Neither KABC-AM (790), KTZN-AM (710), KFI-AM (640) nor KLSX-FM (97.1) has plans at this time for any special on-air symposiums or specials to mark the anniversary, though representatives of each say that one or more of their hosts might make it the topic of some of their call-in time.

“We’ve made note of the anniversary, but we’ll wait until that morning to see for each show what will hit a chord with the audience,” says KLSX program director Jay Clark. And judging from the calls elicited on related topics in recent months, he says, it will be a pretty grim chord.

“People are scared,” he says. “It surprises me the number of people who really feel they want to arm themselves. One of the remarks made the other day was someone said they never felt safer than when the National Guard was on every corner after the riots.”

Take on the Day: Do you love Dr. Laura Schlessinger? Even better, do you hate Dr. Laura? Either way, you gotta check out a new Internet Web site, “The Dr. Laura Parody Pages.” While there’s nothing here about the recent, widely reported allegations of the L.A.-based radio counselor’s supposed run-ins with various service personnel in Dallas, Web site creator Tim Hill doesn’t paint a flattering picture of his subject.

Among the elements are a Top 10 list spoofing Dr. Laura’s bestseller “Ten Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives” (“1. Marrying O.J. Simpson. . . . 8. Voting”), a Frequently Asked Questions page (many answers simply point out that Dr. Laura’s degree is in physiology, not psychology or psychiatry) and a hilarious spoof of a “typical” Dr. Laura call.

An on-target satire or a vicious attack? Dial up https://www.geocities.com/area51/vault/4695/laura.htm and decide for yourself.

Dead Alive: With the syndicated “Grateful Dead Hour” back on L.A. radio via KCSN-FM (88.5), the locally produced Dead-oriented “The Music Never Stopped,” hosted by Barry Smolin on KPFK-FM (90.7), will expand starting May 9 both in time and format. The show will now run three hours, from 8 to 11 p.m., and in addition to unreleased Dead concert tapes, will feature authorized bootleg broadcasts of young bands following in the free-form Americana spirit of the Dead.

Button-Pushing: Here’s what’s at the top of the charts around town: Pop--KIIS-FM (102.7), Monica’s “For You I Will”; Country--KZLA-FM (93.9), Jeff Wood’s “Use Mine”; R&B--KKBT-FM; (92.3), Blackstreet’s “Don’t Leave Me”; Hip-hop--KPWR-FM (105.9), Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotized”; Dance--KACD-FM (103.1), Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity”; Alternative rock--KROQ-FM (106.7), No Doubt’s “Sunday Morning”; Adult rock--KYSR-FM (98.7) Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me.”