CLOSE-UP: Inland Empire Gains Increased Presence on Radio
Morman, Cliff
Larry Marino, the host of “Morning Update” for the San Bernardinobased radio station KTIE 590 AM, has played a vital role in making air time more accessible to the Inland Empire and its residents during the station’s past several months of existence. This is due to his belief that the region was being overlooked.
Marino’s talk show, “Morning Update,” is broadcast on weekdays at 5 to 6 a.m. on the Salem Communications-owned station that was once a satellite of Glendale-based KRLA before it became centered in the Inland Empire, Marino said. It features “Review From the Pew” in which a rabbi and priest provide film reviews, “Chef Talk,” a culinary program, and periodic regional crime statistics.
The station counts such companies as Loma Linda University Community Medical Center, Jackson Bank, First Mutual Mortgage, Fram Dodge, and even the University of Phoenix as being among its clients.
Marino also provides local news and weather broadcasts for the Laura Ingraham Radio Program after his show ends.
His gravitation to potentially controversial subject matter is part of the reason for his becoming a talk show host, Marino said. “I enjoy politics and I enjoy finding out what people think about issues,” he said. “I’m a talk show host who actually listens to other people.”
Marino works well with other people also, said Michael Reichert, Salem Communications’ general sales manager.
“He’s a charm Reichert said of Marino. “I love working with Larry. He’s a can-do kind of guy. I think we’ll keep him around for a while; he’s a good man. Larry brings a lot of experience to the table.”
Marino knew he wanted to be involved with radio since he was very young, he said. He was five when he toured the studios of a local station that broadcast from the basement of a church, according to www.larrymarino.com, and at age 11, he set up a wire between his and adjacent homes for broadcasts that were powered by a nine-voltbattery.
Having received his A.A. degree in telecommunications from Pasadena City College and his B.A. from the University of La Verne, his earliest professional experience was working as a technical assistant at KPCC. He later worked at various other radio and television stations in California and Texas, hosting different music programs, before working at an Ontario station where he remained until midnight and slept at the station before waking up at 6 a.m. the next morning. He would finally achieve his dream of becoming a newsman when working at KTCE (KKHR) in Abilene, Texas, in 1988. He would then work as a television reporter for the NBC affiliate KRBC/KACB, covering politics and breaking news as well as the famously tornado-stricken region’s weather.
However, the drawbacks of television made him decide to go back to radio. “In TV, you work all day to tell a story in two minutes , ” he said. “You spend too much time making sure your hair isn’t blowing or that your tie is straight. I like talk radio because you have time to go beyond the sound bites and the headlines.”
He was hired by the Independent Broadcaster’s Network to be its production director in 1992 and two years later was chosen to host the organization’s national morning broadcast. It aired on 80 stations nationwide, many in larger markets and his guests ranged from Jay Leno to Hillary Clinton. In 1995, the Sun Radio Network chose him to produce and host “Larry in the Morning,” a national broadcast.
He returned to Southern California the next year to work for MetroNetworks in Los Angeles, where be would anchor KABC news and also began working for Salem Communications’ KKLA, besides beginning to host KPCC’s “Talk of the City” broadcast.
The company chose him to host KIEV’s morning broadcast in 1998, after having bought 870 AM in Los Angeles. He began to host the afternoon broadcast in 2000 and became director of operations the next year, before KTIE’s formation in 2003.
The station has been active in many ways during its short period of existence, Marino said, having been involved in a blood drive for the Blood Bank of San Bernardino and a fundraiser called “Light Up the Night” for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Marino wants the company to continue to remain in touch with the Inland Empire as it expands and changes, he said.
“We obviously want to continue to grow with the Inland Empire,” he said. “We want people locally to tune to us to hear what we think is compelling and interesting talk programming, both locally and nationally.”
Copyright Daily Planet Publishing Inc. May 01, 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
