I listened for an hour coming home from Salem this evening to news from China, how to pronounce Chinese words, and all sorts of propaganda on KXPD 1040 AM. I got a chuckle at how they pronounced Tigard on the station ID as KXPD Tiggerd/Portland.
Between that and seeing the same type of "learning Chinese" stuff they have on the cartoons my Granddaughter watches, it really makes me wonder...
I am listening to "China Now" on 1040 AM. I think that it is about time that somebody in Portland broadcast a format like this...(or, a Bollywood music format would have been cool, too).
"Tiggerd"? Clearly, a non-Oregonian at the mike! 
Best, M. 
According to the FCC's AM Query site and radio-locator, KXPD is on the air and still owned by Churchill Media. I also heard an announcement about 45 minutes ago mentioning the name of a production company as the producers of the programming. I think that one of the following two scenarios is taking place:
1) Churchill was unable to find a buyer for KXPD, but several organizations offered to buy blocks of airtime.
2) Churchill is doing more "stunting" but this time with podcasts instead of old time radio shows.
As I write this, the Chinese programming is over and a show called "Music Safari" is playing.
I've heard it pronounced "ty-guard" a few times in radio spots by announcers who clearly don't live here...
That's the way I've always pronounced "Tigard"! Best, M.
I wonder if Churchill is really making some dough with this programming or if they are having to put money into it to keep it on the air.
The company whose name is mentioned between programs on KXPD is G&E Studio. I think that might be this company: http://www.corporationwiki.com/California/West-Covina/g-e-studio-inc/45192988.aspx
from AllAccess:
"CHURCHILL MEDIA, LLC is selling silent KXPD-A/TIGARD, OR-PORTLAND to RIVERSIDE BROADCASTING, LLC for $840,000 ($500,000 in a promissory note)."
Doesn't sound like it's very silent..
Which is weird, because I thought the original Riverside got gobbled up by AMFM nee Clear Channel, unless it's that funky news outlet in the IE.
There is currently a company called Riverside Broadcasting LLC that operates out of Riverside, CA (see http://www.riversidebroadcasting.com ). I am not sure if this company has any connection to the original Riverside or if it is the same as the Riverside Broadcasting LLC that is buying 1040.
From the FCC application:
Legal Name of the Assignee
RIVERSIDE BROADCASTING, LLC
Mailing Address
1773 W SAN BERNARDINO RD
BUILDING C-31
City
WEST COVINA
State or Country (if foreign address)
CA
ZIP Code
91791 -
Telephone Number (include area code)
6268563889
About halfway between LA and Riverside.
This programming is being paid for by the Chinese government (if you doubt that, just listen to their newscasts), which is offering this network the way the Voice of America has been in targeted regions. The Voice of Russia is setting up a similar network in the US too.
Today on 1040 kHz, I have heard programming from China Radio International, as well as some local news and promos for "China Now," which I suspect is a supplement to the China Radio International programming, produced by G&E Studio. Now I am pretty confident that the Chinese government has sort-of "bailed out" Churchill Media and that they have saved KXPD. 
At the risk of veering into a discussion more fitting for the politics side of the board, here are some points that I am now pondering:
1) The lack of any Chinese-language programming (other than the Chinese language lessons) on 1040 tells me that this is not an Asian format, as I had thought.
2) The presence of the CRI Chinese lessons tells me that the Chinese government wants English speakers to learn the Chinese language. To me this is like an act of opening a door and saying "Come on in. We want to do business with you. We want you to work with us. We want you to spend your tourist dollars in our country."
3) I am really starting to wonder whether the stories heard on CRI might be more accurate than what is reported in many US-based media outlets.
Expounding on point #2, I am currently attempting to learn French, and I have found that the only way to learn a foreign language that I have found to be truly effective is in a classroom environment. At least with the way that my mind works, I need to see how the elements of a language work together to create meaningful sentences in order for me to master the language. Simply memorizing words and phrases here and there is overwhelming to me and not that useful in the end. If I were taking a Chinese class, the CRI Chinese lessons might be a helpful supplement to help me learn new words and expressions.
I am now seriously wondering whether I should study Chinese in the future. Some of the schools in the Portland area are now dropping French courses in favor of Chinese. I have a hunch that in the next 10-20 years, China will play an even more important part in the world, and that Chinese is the language of the future.
"I have found that the only way to learn a foreign language that I have found to be truly effective is in a classroom environment."
That may work for you, and it may be the way to learn the structures and usage.
However, the only way to truly learn to converse effectively in a foreign language is to immerse yourself in it. Move to the country/area where that is what they speak, broadcast in, and carry on their daily communications. I would think that you, Alfredo, would know that..coming from a Spanish speaking area.
I took 3 years of German and 2 years of Spanish when I was in high school. It wasn't until I spent time in Germany that I got reasonably good at conversing in the language and didn't "translate" in my mind, but actually thought in German. The same with Spanish, to a degree when I traveled in Spain. While I was in International sales, we had a French tutor come in to our company and teach us conversational French for a while to help us get by in France. We also started similar sessions in Japanese. I didn't do so well in that one except for the basics. I have a friend that has been spending some time working in Russia the last couple years for about 6 weeks at a time (installing equipment and getting it running). He has picked up enough in those 3 trips that he can get by in their towns, outside of the big cities (lumber processing mills in Siberia and elsewhere). When you are around people who speak very little English, you pick up and learn to converse with them to some extent in their language.
Total immersion works well.
I found that I needed both the structured classroom environment to get the basics and the immersion experience in order to get practice and to be forced to use the language.
I came to the US at the age of 7, in June of 1981. Although I was seeing signs in English and hearing English language dialogue on television during the entire summer, I could only learn a very limited amount by asking my dad, "what does _____ mean?"
When I started school in September, I was put back a grade and enrolled in an ESL class. School through December was quite difficult because my level of English comprehension was too low to interact with others at the school or to fully understand what was required in our assignments. Although our ESL class was, of course, not as theoretical as an adult language class, it was structured in a way that was pretty effective. In my recollection, the first lessons were some very basic phrases like "My name is ______ and I live at _____." Through the course of the year they continued building vocabulary and introducing commonly used grammatical constructions (like the past tense). By February, I had a much better grasp of what was being said around me, and around March, I was able to spontaneously construct simple sentences.
The French has been a little different because I do not have the advantage of a true immersion environment. I attended French conversation activities, and I was able to pick up a word here or there, but I had no meaningful level of comprehension. I started taking classes, skipping the 101 level and going right into 102. The big breakthrough happened when we studied the past tense because that is what is used most at conversational events (i.e. people often tell stories of what they did in the past). I am now about where I was with English in May of my first school year in the US.
To get past that level with English, I just needed a little more of everything. I went to summer school, and I found that was a big help in boosting my language abilities (both because of the classroom activities and the immersion environment). When I reached the third grade, I was in the top-level reading class (our school segregated math and reading into three levels).
To continue learning French, I will have to take the 200 level courses, since moving to Canada or France is not an option.
As for French, I'm almost fluent. I used to lived in Montreal for a while and able to pick up the language quickly. I learn more French in Montreal than in my classroom environment.
The one I liked a number of years ago was some voice over guy from " not around here '" obviously ...On a TV spot , I think it was some kind of a National for a chain outlet of some sort...he pronounced Tigard ..." Teegard"...And that thing ran for about 6 months on KATU and KPTV !! Back in the mid 70s...
And I bought two new toilets for my house last week and they are Jacuzzi brand Corp. out of Chino , California...so I installed them and they work fine..but I flipped over the lower bowl to do some put together work on it and it says " Made in China "...when I first read it on the first toilet for the other bathroom I though it said " Made in Chino "...as in California...but on the second toilet I had my glasses on and it read " made in China "....
Chino , China..whats the diff ?? It will all be the same someday..
"And that thing ran for about 6 months on KATU and KPTV !! Back in the mid 70s"
They still run infomercials at times that are made somewhere back east or wherever. Usually for some seminar or get rich quick thing at several hotels in the area for a few days. They use some voice over talent to state the locations in the area. I am sure they use the same basic infomercial for the whole tour and just put the local area info throughout the show. It is obvious that their voice talent has no idea how to pronounce things. Tigggard, Oreeegone, Will -uhh - met, etc. Makes you want to call them and tell them to get someone that knows how to pronounce the names properly.
Many years ago, there was a radio campaign for a (now defunct) chain of furniture stores, which ran ads on Z100 & KEX...probably other stations in town as well... Back then, it was just the two stations in the building, and there weere just the two of us Production folks - Todd Tolces and me. Anyway.... Todd and I would recut the end tag of the spots, because they mispronounced "Tiggard", and "Alo-ha." We complained to the ad agency, and after about eight months, successfully got them to say the city names correctly.
On a somewhat related note; I do a voiceover for a portiion of an infomercial, which airs in multiple cities. Every other week or so, I have to voice pick-up lines, with specific city locations. So far, they've all been major cities, whose names I know very well. And as a result, I haven't butchered anything. But....I'm sure the day is coming, when I'll have to ask the client for a pronunciation. No problem..I'll ask. I don't want to sound like the uninformed idiot to the people in that city. I've heard enough people botch the cities around here over the years. Too-la-tin, Will-uh-met, Tiggard, and my favorite..Orygone City! I don't want to be "that" guy.
I have to say this is one of the worst radio stations I have ever heard on the AM band.
I have mixed feelings about the new KXPD. On the one hand, I like that they are airing news stories that are more long-form than what is usually heard on the radio today. They are covering Chinese and Asian news stories that one can't hear on other radio stations. I've also enjoyed some of the features on Chinese culture. I have put KXPD on one of my car radio presets so that I can quickly duck away there when KPAM runs commercials (one spot was freed by the format change at 1550).
I have some problems with the execution of the format. The first is that the audio levels are extremely low on some of the programs, to the point that they are almost unintelligible! It sounds almost as if the programming is being uploaded into a computer at the transmitter site, without any person actually monitoring what goes out over the air. Another problem I have is that sometimes (though not always) I feel like I am listening to an extended informecial for the Chinese economy.
A small note was made about this on Glenn Hauser's World of Radio #1572
Churchill Paid $1.8 million in 2006 and it now sold it for $840 k.
That's a $960 k Loss (53% loss).
What does this say about other stations value?
Why the big loss?
Anybody?
I am not an insider, so anything I say is speculation. Nonetheless, I think that the appearance of a regional Mexican format on FM had much to do with the perceived loss of value of this signal. In 2006, regional Mexican programming was one Portland AM station (1520) and two AM rim-shots (880 and 940). Churchill was eager to pay $1.8 million to try to compete with them. Then KRYP signed on, stealing most of the listeners of KXPD and many of KGDD. Possibly, the management team at Churchill didn't make the best financial decisions along the way.
Then, at the end of 2009, Churchill finds itself in such dire straits that it cannot afford to keep its radio stations on the air, and it can't readily find buyers. The company files for bankruptcy, and its stations remain silent.
Today, there is not much hope for 1040's future as a viable Spanish station. The one format with a proven track record (regional Mexican) has established itself in the Portland market as a FM format. Churchill decides to cut its losses and sell the 1040 signal at this lower price for some quick cash. In my opinion, this was probably a wise thing to do. The signal is not strong enough to appeal to Entercom, Alpha, or Clear Channel. I wouldn't be surprised if I learned that Churchill offered 1040 to Salem and Crawford Broadcasting, and neither showed interest.
"A small note was made about this on Glenn Hauser's World of Radio #1572"
And guess who sent him the information (and made sure to cite this board, by the way)!
That's more than I thought they would get for it. Several days ago, I saw two lower-tier stations go, for the price of a new car!
Hopefully cheaper than one of these:
http://www.thesupercars.org/bugatti/bugatti-veyron/
"cite this board"
As per DX LISTENING DIGEST 11-26, June 30, 2011
"Several days ago, I saw two lower-tier stations go, for the price of a new car!"
I find that hard to believe. What stations were those?
It might be hard to find but the stations were split, with the lower priced one going for around 12K. Maybe, I'll remember something about it.
What market were these stations in? Do you know if they were on the air or if they were just construction permits? Lest anybody forget, the license to currently-dark KQRZ-LP in Hillsboro recently sold for just $1000!
I saw two lower-tier stations go, for the price of a new car!
It might be hard to find but the stations were split, with the lower priced one going for around 12K. Maybe, I'll remember something about it.
KQIK (AM) Lakeview, which sold for $12,500?
http://feedback.pdxradio.com/topic/lakeview-owner-sells-kqik-amp-kqik-fm-separately
This from Kent Randles:
*** Release #27521 (Broadcast Applications) dated 7/5/2011 ***
KXPD Tigard OR AM BAL-20110629AAE 1040 BB N 45° 28' 26.0" W 122° 39' 33.0" License 233 53 0.0 15
Accepted App for Assignment of License for AM Station; Release Item within 100.0 kilometers of Flag Point; Licensee: Churchill Communications, LLC; Voluntary Assignment Of License From: Churchill Media, LLC To: Riverside Broadcasting, LLC FORM 314; Assignor: Churchill Media, LLC; Assignee: Riverside Broadcasting, LLC; Applicant: Churchill Media LLC
It looks like MoD has it! Sorry Craig, I thought I saw it somewhere else and that the FM was priced a little lower but thanks for the link!
Yes Smoochie, I know but Kent's info gives the FCC date.
I've just checked out KXPD for the first time. As posted above, they ID themselves as "G&E Studio" but there is nothing on the web about a Chinese site. Then I heard briefly "Easy FM" mentioned almost like it was to be covered up by KXPD local weather. Putting this into google you get websites in Chinese which you can get translated into English. I was a little afraid to click on them because I've heard of the viruses on Chinese sites. Then down the page I saw wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_FM
"Yes Smoochie, I know but Kent's info gives the FCC date." It took me awhile to piece this together. I was talking about Master of Disaster's above link to one of your posts.
On Thursday afternoon, I heard the automation system at KXPD spit out a medley of a variety of IDs and announcements. One ID, voiced by an American-sounding man, correctly pronounced "Tigard." There were several different versions of the "G&E Studio" announcement.
I am still trying to figure out what G&E Studio is, since the announcement "This program was provided by G&E Studio" seems to run after all programs, including those from China Radio International. Did G&E Studio produce any of the programs heard on KXPD? Are they a company financed by the Chinese government that buys time on American radio stations? Or are they both a program producer and an airtime buyer?
See the Wikipedia article cited by Craig above...it might asnswer ar least some questions that have grown up around KXPD in the last few days.
Best, M.
See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Drive
I heard mention of the 558 kHz broadcast in London while listening yesterday afternoon. The above Wikipedia page does not yet list KXPD as a US station that carries the program. Nonetheless, both "China Drive" and "China Now" originate at the Easy FM studios in China.
I am still trying to figure out what G&E Studio is, since the announcement "This program was provided by G&E Studio" seems to run after all programs, including those from China Radio International. Did G&E Studio produce any of the programs heard on KXPD? Are they a company financed by the Chinese government that buys time on American radio stations? Or are they both a program producer and an airtime buyer?
A reverse lookup of the telephone number for Riverside Broadcasting listed on the FCC application for assignment of license comes back to Jimmie Su, and Edit Media, also of West Covina CA. James Su is listed as President of G&E Studio on the link that Alfredo provided above.
Since we're talking about mispronouncing the great suburb of Tigard on this thread, I'll add this one I just heard minutes ago here.
KOMO Seattle, no less, in a story about a Seattle-based insurance company acquiring "Beaverton-Tie-guard Insurance." If they announced a news reporting accuracy number, I'd be giving it a call right now.
(Smack palm on forehead.)
why is the format listed as nostalgia in the HD radio guide? I hear nothing like that at 1040.
It sounds like they're referring to the Old Time Radio they were running for awhile.
KXPD discontinued HD Radio operations a long time ago, so I am surprised that they appeared at all in a guide related to HD Radio programming. Their being listed as Nostalgia also seems somewhat of a mystery, since the Old Time Radio programming was there just so that they could sign on the station for a few days and thus not be forced to forefeit the license. Then again, perhaps somebody at what remained of Churchill Media decided that any mention of KXPD anywhere was a good thing (just as a reminder that the station still exists), even if the information is not completely accurate.
This list (from the HD RADIO ALLIANCE) seems to be up to date and does not show KXPD:
http://www.hdradio.com/stations/Oregon-OR/Portland-69
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