In just a few weeks, Frank O. Pinion will be back on the air

Q: Last month, you reported that Frank O. Pinion soon will be leaving KTRS (AM-550), but that he already had plans to move the show to another station and that he would announce the news within a few weeks. Have you heard anything more?

A: Looks like you’re going to have to touch that dial — but not by much. Starting Oct. 2, John Craddock and his Large Morning Show in the Afternoon will begin airing its radio high jinks on KFNS AM-590 “The Fan.” Same time (3-6 p.m.), different channel.

Oh, he knows what you’re probably thinking. First, KFNS is a sports station and, as Craddock, who goes by Frank O. Pinion, freely admits, few men know less about sports than he does.

Well, not any longer. Craddock says the addition of his show is the opening salvo in revamping the station from all sports, all the time, to a mix of sports and other entertainment. In so doing, Craddock says he intends to help change the station’s reputation from that of an “elephant graveyard,” where old radio jocks go to fade into obscurity.

“I have never been anywhere and had a failure,” he says on a 10-minute video selfie he posted Wednesday night on Facebook. (It was his fourth try. His son called once and he belched in the middle of another.) “I don’t intend to make what is probably the last stop in my career a failure, either, and it’s not going to be.”

He also knows it’s common knowledge that the station’s signal is difficult to pick up in many areas. Three years ago, even he would not have considered KFNS, he says, but that’s no longer a barrier. By downloading KFNS’ “590 The Fan” app from your app store to your smart devices, you will be able to listen to his show anywhere. And he said podcasts will start as soon as 30 minutes after the show begins.

As he did when he made his announcement on July 27, Craddock declined to elaborate further on why he will sign off from KTRS on Friday.

“Trust me, if it had been you, you would have left, too,” he said. “It was absolutely unacceptable what I found out what they were doing to me. And I feel good about it. I’m glad I did.”

So, on Oct. 2, Craddock, Dan Strauss and the rest of the zany crew will move down the dial but continue the same type of show that has served him well for 20 years. As an added incentive, he says KFNS is paying him a salary, too. (At KTRS, he was merely given free airtime to sell to advertisers.)

“This is a deal where I can’t lose,” he said. “So the pressure is on me to make sure this was a smart thing, and I think it will be.”

To AM in the PM anytime or to see the new video, go to his Frank O. Pinion and the Large Morning Show in the Afternoon Facebook page. For what it’s worth, he says his first bit of humor will be the sausage joke.

Today’s trivia

What airline offered the first domestic jet passenger flight within the United States? When?

Answer to Friday’s trivia: In its lifetime, a typical honeybee will fly 500 miles, according to the Chester County (Pa.) Beekeepers Association. Stroking its wings at nearly 200 times a second as it speeds along at up to 15 mph, it may visit 50 to 100 flowers on each flight, which may take it two or three miles. And after all that effort, how much honey will a bee produce in its life? An estimated one-twelfth of a teaspoon. More fun facts to bee-dazzle you: A hive of bees may have to visit anywhere from 1.2 million to 2 million flowers to gather 10 pounds of nectar that is turned into 1 pound of honey. Foraging bees may carry up to 80 percent of their weight in pollen or nectar. The agricultural value of honeybee pollination is estimated at, at least $15 billion.

This story was originally published September 8, 2017 at 12:17 PM with the headline "In just a few weeks, Frank O. Pinion will be back on the air."