Jon Carter landed at...

[tardiscaptain]

The earlier thread talking about Jon Carter's plans after leaving KRSP is locked, so I'll post the news here.

Today Jon Carter announced on his Facebook page that he will be the morning DJ at 104.1 Zion FM in St. George. So local listeners will have to go to the station's website and stream him if they want to hear him in the mornings.

I wonder if the reason for the time off was to get moved to the new city?

Good luck Jon.

[David]

When a TV or radio personality is fired or quits, they almost always have to sign a non-compete agreement which prevents them from getting another job in broadcasting for a certain period of time. It's been about 90 days since Jon disappeared from The Arrow, so his non-compete clause may be up now, if indeed he had one. Utah did ban non-compete agreements for radio & TV a couple of years ago, but there are still some exceptions. Maybe Jon was impacted by one or more of the exceptions mentioned in this article.

www.insideradio.com/free/utah-bans-non-compete-agreements-for-radio-and-tv/article_d5e0a172-33e5-11e8-8ce4-7bf93322e3a7.html

[oldiesfunhouse]

Such a great talent in such a small market! Was there any indication of a start date? I've already emailed the developer of the radio streaming app I use and asked him to add that station. On their website, they make a big deal out of the fact that they play a lot of rock without a lot of talk. I hope Jon will still be allowed to do his bits and stuff. It sounds like the station is kind of similar to the Arrow, though. They do the block party weekend and stuff. It will be interesting to listen to.

[kenglish]

I'm gonna miss him. Always used to see him at Harmon's ("Hi ya', Kenny!").
Any chance he can stay in Sandy, and do his show from home?

[amanuensis]

Anyone know whether he moved? Perhaps Jon decided he wanted to live in St. George in retirement and this job was a way for him to pre-position with someone else paying for some of the costs.

[David]

Oldiesfunhouse, I wouldn't classify St. George as a small market, but that's just my opinion. There are almost 90,000 residents in St. George proper, and about 171,000 in the metro area that includes St. George city. It's also the most populous city in Utah outside of the Wasatch Front. Jon is well known in the radio business in the Utah-Idaho area, and I'm sure he'll do just fine in St. George, especially doing the morning show on a classic rock station. BTW, Zion 104.1 streams live on their web site.

[oldiesfunhouse]

Hey, David! I apologize and sit corrected. I imagine people in LA and New York would consider Salt Lake City a small market. I think it would be so interesting to get Jeff Caplan's perspective on what it was like working in the largest radio market in America, NYC, compared to working now in, what are we, the 29th largest? He's on probably the biggest station in the market but … it would definitely be interesting to hear from him what the differences are.

[David]

Salt Lake City is now the 28th largest radio market, and I believe it's moved up a notch recently. Salt Lake is indeed a small market compared to New York City, LA, or Chicago, but they have a much larger population than Utah. Considering the size of the St. George market, I think Jon did well with finding a new job. At least he didn't end up on some small town station in the middle of the desert. ☺

[amanuensis]

I guess the question that we would still like to know is whether he jumped or was pushed.

[henry]

Sept 17, 2020 20:32:01 GMT -6 amanuensis said:

I guess the question that we would still like to know is whether he jumped or was pushed.

Obviously pushed.

There was no big "Happy Retirement, Jon!" party on The Arrow. KSL didn't go upstairs and do a "Doug Wright retirement"-style feature on his career and legacy with KRSP. He simply vanished.

That screams salary weight which some executive was trying to lighten off her accounting books. Perhaps ad revenue at Bonneville is way down because of 2020. Maybe the morning numbers weren't panning out anymore. Who knows?

There's no doubt St. George would be a sweet gig for Jon, even if it means stepping down to a "retirement gig" income. Lots of freedom. Small sponsors who really geek out about the local radio stations and personalities. Everything about it sounds like radio heaven, except for the pay. (And the 110 degree summer days).

[David]

I agree with what Henry said. The Arrow is not responding to any inquiries about Carter's departure on their Facebook page. I'd think that if Jon had retired or left voluntarily, KRSP would respond and let people know, but that's just me.

[kenglish]

I think I read somewhere that Jon has had a "sidekick" on his show for a while. Maybe his contract was coming up for renewal, and both sides were aware that KRSP couldn't match what the other station offered. They could have all just played coy for the duration, while bringing his replacement up to speed.
Doug Miller wound up at KUTV because KSL just couldn't match the channel 2 offer.

[CAwasinNJ]

Ken, to answer your question about working from Sandy, from a technical standpoint it's definitely possible. There are plenty of music playing automation systems that could work. If he runs his own board and does a solo show I don't see any reason that couldn't be in his home wherever that is. Even with multiple people on air it can be done with a little work. Talk hosts have been doing their shows remotely for years. There's also the question of getting the audio down there. Any internet connection would work, though personally I'd think a business class line would be preferable. So yes I'm sure it COULD be done. The question is whether both parties would actually WANT it to be done that way.

[amanuensis]

Their advertisers would probably prefer him to be located in St. George so that he could do remotes from their stores.

[kenglish]

They'll need to build a milk truck for remotes.
(Maybe Ken Meyer has the Rock Assault Vehicle in his garage.)