Bells purchase PV radio signal

Friday, October 22, 1999 Henry Brean

It already keeps him up at night, but nationally syndicated talk show host Art Bell has decided to branch out even further into the radio business.

Bell and his wife, Ramona, have announced plans to launch the first locally based, fully licensed, Pahrump-only radio station. The Bells expect to go on the air with 95.1 FM, tentatively known as KNYE, early next spring.

"We really wanted to provide a station for the town, a real one," Art Bell said. "It’s about time."

The station’s format will be "oldies" from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. Art Bell said a wide variety of music will be played, ranging from "select (Elvis) Presley" to more contemporary artists such as the Eurythmics. "We’re going to be very selective about the music we play."

What the Bells won’t be very selective about is how much music they play, at least not for the first six months. During that period, Art Bell said local residents can count on hearing nothing but music and station breaks on 95.1. "No commercials, five million in a row," he said.

The Bells were granted a broadcast construction permit — and an FM frequency to go with it — by the Federal Communications Commission on Oct. 8. They obtained the construction permit in an auction for $265,000. The down payment is due Tuesday, and Ramona Bell expects to receive the actual Class A permit from the FCC sometime in January.

After that, construction of the station and its 100-foot tower on Highway 372 west of Comstock Park will take three to five months, she said. Once complete, the fully computerized, two-person operation will reach the entire valley, with Ramona Bell putting in much of the on-air work. "We’re bringing Pahrump into the 21st century right away," she said of the equipment to be used at the station.

Like her husband, Ramona Bell is no stranger to the airwaves. She spent two and a half years working for KDWN in Las Vegas, the station from which Art Bell’s radio show on the paranormal once originated. Now "Coast-to-Coast with Art Bell" is the highest rated late-night talk show in the country, with about 15 million listeners on more than 400 stations.

As for whether he plans to spin any tunes on KNYE, Art Bell is noncommittal. "You may hear some of me," he said. "You never know."

Ramona Bell, who is the station’s licensee, said KNYE may expand with time, eventually becoming a more powerful Class B station. But the Bells’ plans for 95.1 FM are not expected to affect Pahrump’s other major radio project, a 100,000-watt regional station proposed by General Cyrus von Edwards of Oklahoma City.

On Monday, Edwards said he is forging ahead with his project, which he said will bring a 2,000 foot tower and a Class C station — the most powerful license the FCC issues — to the valley. It will also bring a number of jobs here, contrary, he said, to recent comments made by at least one member of the Pahrump Town Board.

Edwards said he is not concerned about competing with a Class A station, since his signal will carry "well over 100 miles" and his operation will subsist on national and regional advertising. "Whatever they might do out here will be small compared to what we will do."

As for the format of his station, Edwards said that will be left up to local residents, who will be surveyed on their preferences as the station gets closer to going on line.

Edwards said he has not yet applied for a frequency from the FCC, but he will do so shortly when he files his engineering schematics. He declined to speculate on when he might receive his broadcast construction permit. "I’ve seen them take six months and I’ve seen them take six years," he said. "I would hesitate to say."

The Bells applied for their broadcast construction permit three and half years ago because Pahrump had "absolutely nothing" for radio listeners in search of oldies, Art Bell said. "Everywhere you went in town people were listening to oldies on 107.5," he said. "Then 107.5 changed format and put on Howard Stern, who goes over like a lead balloon out here. We’re a pretty laid-back town."

Since they applied for a permit from the FCC, Las Vegas oldies station 93.1 FM has begun broadcasting in Pahrump, but Art Bell said he is not worried about the competition. "Pahrump needs a legitimate radio station of its own," he said. "People need a place to get reports on the (driving) conditions over the mountain and other public service information."

Art Bell made headlines across the country a year ago last week when he suddenly announced he was leaving the air because of a threatening situation involving his family. He went back on the air a short time later, and no specific explanation was ever made for his brief hiatus.

Ramona Bell said she and her highly rated husband have lived on the south end of the Pahrump Valley for nearly eight years. Art Bell has lived in Pahrump for more than 12 years, she said.