PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: People

  • Ed Witrock

    Ed Witrock was general manager of KRDO 1240 in Colorado Springs in 1980. If you tuned in to KRDO around then, Ed was the one running the station.

    Running KRDO

    The 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook lists Ed as general manager. The senior staff also included president Harry Hoth Jr., program and music director Dave Hixson, promotion manager Greg Evans and news director Jack Gillum.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing, so we don’t have the full length of his time at the station. If you worked with Ed or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Harry Hoth Jr.

    Harry W. Hoth Jr. died July 12, 2016, at age 92. He owned KRDO radio and TV, and he also served as mayor of Colorado Springs. If you grew up tuning in to KRDO around the Pikes Peak region, you were tuning in to Harry’s stations.

    Marine, student, station owner

    Harry served in the U.S. Marines in World War II. Back home, the G.I. Bill put him through Colorado College, and he took a part-time job in sales and promotions at KRDO radio, which was then housed in the Alta Vista Hotel near campus. By 1952 he was pushing the company into television, and KRDO-TV went full-time in 1953, opening with World Series coverage. In 1955 he took over running KRDO AM/TV as president and general manager, and he eventually owned both. The company became Pikes Peak Broadcasting, picking up KRDO-FM in the 1960s and, in the 1980s, KJCT-TV in Grand Junction.

    City hall and the industry

    From 1963 through 1967, Harry was the mayor of Colorado Springs. Within broadcasting, he chaired the ABC Affiliates Council and helped with national work to update the Emergency Broadcast System. He won Colorado Broadcaster of the Year two times. The Colorado Broadcasters Association named its Harry W. Hoth Public Service Award for him in his 50th year in broadcasting, and in 2025 he joined the CBA Hall of Fame as a Legacy inductee.

    Sources

  • Herb James

    Herb James was sales manager at KSSS 740 in Colorado Springs in 1980. If you listened to KSSS back when it was a modern-country station, Herb was on the business side of the station.

    Sales at KSSS

    The 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook lists Herb as sales manager, at a time when KSSS was competing in the Colorado Springs country-radio market.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing, so we don’t have exact start and end dates. If you worked with Herb or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Dick Norton

    Dick Norton was a Colorado Springs radio news director at KSSS 740. If you got your morning news on KSSS in the 80s, he was the newsman behind it.

    The KSSS newsroom

    The 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook lists Dick as KSSS news director, alongside program director Bob May and sales manager Herb James during the station’s country-format era.

    Former KSSS morning host Tony Lynn also remembers Dick as his morning-show newsman during Tony’s 1984-1990 run, which carries Dick’s time at the station into the mid-1980s.

    Sources

  • Bob May

    Bob May was program director of KSSS 740 in Colorado Springs in 1980. If you listened to modern country on KSSS around then, Bob was the one shaping what came out of your speakers.

    Programming KSSS

    The 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook lists Bob as program director and describes KSSS as a modern-country outlet. That puts him in the station’s programming leadership at a particular moment in its history.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing, so we don’t know how long he stayed or what came next. If you worked with Bob or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Dino Ianni

    Dino Ianni was general manager of KSSS 740 in Colorado Springs around 1980. If you listened to KSSS during its modern-country days, Dino was the one running the station.

    Running KSSS

    The 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook lists Dino as general manager while the station was owned by Radio Colorado Springs and the Peoria Journal Star. His team included program director Bob May, news director Dick Norton and sales manager Herb James. The listing is a snapshot, so it doesn’t tell us how long he held the job.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing. If you worked with Dino or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Ray Dewitt

    Ray DeWitt was music director at KVOR 1300 in Colorado Springs in 1980. If you listened to KVOR’s mix of music, news and community information back then, Ray was behind the songs you heard.

    Music at KVOR

    The 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook lists Ray as KVOR’s music director during its middle-of-the-road, full-service era. That meant choosing the station’s music and keeping its library in order, in a format that blended music with news and community information.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing, so we don’t have exact dates or what came after. If you worked with Ray or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • William H. Finch

    William H. Finch worked behind the scenes at KVOR 1300 in Colorado Springs, where the 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook lists him as production manager. If you listened to KVOR in 1980, William was part of the team behind the sound of the station.

    Production at KVOR

    The yearbook gives a dated staff snapshot of KVOR in 1980, with Finch in charge of the production work that supported the station’s on-air sound.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing, so we don’t have dates of service or what came after. If you worked with William or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Mark Radke

    Mark Radke was news director at KVOR 1300 in Colorado Springs in 1980. If you tuned in to KVOR for the news back then, Mark was running the newsroom.

    The KVOR newsroom

    The 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook lists Mark as news director during the station’s middle-of-the-road, full-service era, a time when local information was a big part of what KVOR was about.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing, so we don’t have exact dates or what came after. If you worked with Mark or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Fred William Hines

    Fred William Hines was local sales manager for the KVOR/KSPZ pair in Colorado Springs in 1980. If you heard ads on KVOR’s AM signal or its FM sister KSPZ around then, Fred was in the sales office behind them.

    Selling two stations

    The 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook lists Fred as local sales manager for the combined operation. KVOR supplied the AM service and KSPZ was the co-owned FM, so Fred’s job covered both.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing, so we don’t have a longer work history. If you worked with Fred or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources