KDND
Encyclopedia
KDND is an FM
radio station licensed to Sacramento, California
at 107.9 MHz. It is owned by Entercom. KDND broadcasts a Pop Contemporary Hits
format under the name 107.9 The End. KDND's current format debuted on July 14, 1998, when it changed formats from classic rock.
The station is also one of three Top 40 stations competing in the Sacramento radio market, as it competes against another Top 40/CHR outlet, KHHM, who flipped from Rhythmic in September 2011
, and CBS Radio
's own KZZO
, who flipped from hot adult contemporary in 2010
.
-FM, which had been broadcasting since the late 1940s with various formats. In 1996, Brown Broadcasting sold KXOA-FM to Entercom (which already owned KSEG and KRXQ). The station continued to program its previous “Arrow” format until the summer of 1998. The owners flipped the station to a CHR/Pop format, and changed the call letters to KDND. The station was named “The End”, apparently as a reference to the station’s 107.9 position on the FM dial. Entercom had started using the name previously, however, on KNDD
/Seattle -- also at "the end" of the FM dial, at 107.7 MHz. Cleveland, Ohio also had a station called 107.9 The End during the early and mid-1990s.
hours after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which KDND promised a Wii
video game system for the winner. At the time, the Nintendo
console was very popular and sought-after but also near impossible to find in North America
. In the competition, contestants were asked to drink as much water as they could without urinating
. The contestant able to hold the most water would be named the winner.
According to contest participants, 17 to 20 contestants took part in the competition in a room at KDND's studios. The contest broadcast during the station's "Morning Rave" program began around 6:15 a.m. as contestants were each handed eight-ounce (240-mL) water bottles to drink at 15-minute intervals. Contestants also said that as the contest progressed, they were given increasingly large quantities of water to drink. Some later remarked on the physical discomfort they suffered during and following the event.
The Sacramento Bee newspaper has released audio clips from the morning show on their website. These clips indicate that the DJs of the show were aware of the death of Matthew Carrington
by water intoxication. At one point, a caller who was a co-worker of Nurse Practitioner
Judy Linder called the station and informed the DJs that the contest could be dangerous and that someone could die. The DJs responded by saying "we're aware of that," and joked that the contestants had signed releases and couldn't file a lawsuit. However, according to a contestant, the waivers addressed only publicity issues and made no mention of health or safety concerns. The DJs also joked about Strange's distended belly, joking that she looked three months pregnant.
After the contest, Strange spoke to a co-worker by telephone, indicating she was on her way home and in extreme pain, suffering from what appeared to be an intense headache
. The co-worker contacted Strange's mother, who went to her home an hour later to find her daughter dead.
The Associated Press
reported that the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
spokesman said no officers were investigating the death, and that "It was a contest and people are saying there was no coercion." However, Deborah Hoffman of KXTV
television reported that former Federal Prosecutor Bill Portanova commented that, "on the face of it, the radio station has some serious liability exposure", due in part to widespread news coverage of the 2005 Matthew Carrington
death. On January 17, 2007, the Sacramento Bee reported that "Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness, alarmed by audio recordings obtained by The Bee of the radio show contest that may have led to the death of 28-year-old Jennifer Lea Strange, has directed homicide detectives to look into whether a crime was committed during the water-drinking contest sponsored by the 'Morning Rave' show on The End radio station." However, on April 2, 2007 the Sacramento county District Attorney's office officially declined to press criminal charges, citing a "lack of evidence of criminal misconduct."
On January 18, 2007, a wrongful death civil lawsuit was announced on behalf of Jennifer Strange's husband and three children against Entercom Sacramento (the limited liability company
that operates KDND) and Entercom Communications (the corporate parent). The Stranges were represented by prominent Sacramento attorney Roger A. Dreyer of the firm of Dreyer, Babich, Buccola & Callaham, LLP.
The family of Jennifer Strange urged the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to shut down the station and punish the parent company Entercom. On January 24, 2007, the FCC announced that they will investigate the station to see if it violated the terms of its license.
On August 16, 2007 it was reported that two of the DJ's, Lukas Cox and Steve Maney, were suing their former employer over a wrongful termination of their contract.
On September 14, 2009, jury selection
in the wrongful death case began at the Sacramento County Superior Court
's main courthouse in the city of Sacramento. Over the next month, the jury heard testimony from over 41 witnesses and 192 exhibits were entered into evidence.
On October 29, 2009, after a week of deliberations, the jury awarded the survivors of Jennifer Strange the sum of $16,577,118 in monetary damages. They unanimously found Entercom Sacramento LLC to be 100% at fault and Entercom Communications Corp. to be 0% at fault. They also found by a 10-2 vote that Jennifer Strange was 0% at fault (that is, there was no contributory negligence
) for her own death. Dreyer was lead counsel for the plaintiffs at trial, while lead counsel for defendants was Donald W. Carlson of Carlson Calladine & Peterson LLP.
As of January 2010 all parties including DJ's Lukas and Maney have accepted settlements with Entercom.
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio station licensed to Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
at 107.9 MHz. It is owned by Entercom. KDND broadcasts a Pop Contemporary Hits
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
format under the name 107.9 The End. KDND's current format debuted on July 14, 1998, when it changed formats from classic rock.
The station is also one of three Top 40 stations competing in the Sacramento radio market, as it competes against another Top 40/CHR outlet, KHHM, who flipped from Rhythmic in September 2011
2011 in radio
The following events occurred in radio broadcasting in 2011.-Events:*January 1: 2 Knoxville stations change formats as WDLF and WYLV flip to K-LOVE and Air 1 , and a few Pittsburgh station change formats, as ESPN Radio moves from WEAE to WBGG, and Radio Disney moves from WWCS to the renamed WDDZ,...
, and CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
's own KZZO
KZZO
KZZO is a hot adult contemporary radio station in Sacramento, California.At 115 kilowatts, KZZO is one of the most powerful FM radio stations in Northern California, and can be received in the California Central Valley from as far south as Modesto, CA to just north of Chico, California, as well as...
, who flipped from hot adult contemporary in 2010
2010 in radio
The following events occurred in radio in 2010.-Events:*Date Unknown: CHOI/Quebec City flips from Alternative Rock to News/Talk.*January 4: KJCS/Lufkin, Texas goes silent....
.
History
KDND is the successor to KXOAKXOA
KXOA was a Sacramento, CA radio station that existed on both AM and FM between 1945 and 2004. It was mainly a Top 40 station for most of its AM existence and programmed a very successful "light rock" format that lasted nearly two decades, but also experimented with other formats on both AM and...
-FM, which had been broadcasting since the late 1940s with various formats. In 1996, Brown Broadcasting sold KXOA-FM to Entercom (which already owned KSEG and KRXQ). The station continued to program its previous “Arrow” format until the summer of 1998. The owners flipped the station to a CHR/Pop format, and changed the call letters to KDND. The station was named “The End”, apparently as a reference to the station’s 107.9 position on the FM dial. Entercom had started using the name previously, however, on KNDD
KNDD
KNDD , also known as "107.7 The End", is an alternative rock radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is operated by Entercom Communications Its studios are located in the Metropolitan Park West tower between Downtown and South Lake Union in Seattle...
/Seattle -- also at "the end" of the FM dial, at 107.7 MHz. Cleveland, Ohio also had a station called 107.9 The End during the early and mid-1990s.
HD digital radio
KDND has signed on with its HD digital radio station. KDND HD2 airs an all-comedy format.Death of a contestant in KDND radio contest
On January 12, 2007, a listener named Jennifer Strange, 28, died of water intoxicationWater intoxication
Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning, is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by over-consumption of water....
hours after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which KDND promised a Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
video game system for the winner. At the time, the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
console was very popular and sought-after but also near impossible to find in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In the competition, contestants were asked to drink as much water as they could without urinating
Urination
Urination, also known as micturition, voiding, peeing, weeing, pissing, and more rarely, emiction, is the ejection of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. In healthy humans the process of urination is under voluntary control...
. The contestant able to hold the most water would be named the winner.
According to contest participants, 17 to 20 contestants took part in the competition in a room at KDND's studios. The contest broadcast during the station's "Morning Rave" program began around 6:15 a.m. as contestants were each handed eight-ounce (240-mL) water bottles to drink at 15-minute intervals. Contestants also said that as the contest progressed, they were given increasingly large quantities of water to drink. Some later remarked on the physical discomfort they suffered during and following the event.
The Sacramento Bee newspaper has released audio clips from the morning show on their website. These clips indicate that the DJs of the show were aware of the death of Matthew Carrington
Matt's Law
Matt's Law is a California law that allows for felony prosecutions when serious injuries or deaths result from hazing rites. The bill amended the California Education Code and California Penal Code to change charges for some hazing rituals from misdemeanors to felonies, and for the first time gave...
by water intoxication. At one point, a caller who was a co-worker of Nurse Practitioner
Nurse practitioner
A Nurse Practitioner is an Advanced practice registered nurse who has completed graduate-level education . Additional APRN roles include the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist s, CNMs, and CNSs...
Judy Linder called the station and informed the DJs that the contest could be dangerous and that someone could die. The DJs responded by saying "we're aware of that," and joked that the contestants had signed releases and couldn't file a lawsuit. However, according to a contestant, the waivers addressed only publicity issues and made no mention of health or safety concerns. The DJs also joked about Strange's distended belly, joking that she looked three months pregnant.
After the contest, Strange spoke to a co-worker by telephone, indicating she was on her way home and in extreme pain, suffering from what appeared to be an intense headache
Headache
A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...
. The co-worker contacted Strange's mother, who went to her home an hour later to find her daughter dead.
Aftermath
On January 15, 2007, the front page of KDND's website was replaced with a message from John Geary, KDND's vice-president and general manager, expressing sympathies to Strange's family and announcing that the Morning Rave program would be taken off the air indefinitely. On January 16, 2007, Geary dismissed 10 station employees (including the 3 morning DJs, Lukas Cox, Steve Maney and Patricia Sweet), from their positions in connection with the tragedy and canceled the Morning Rave. In consequence, all references to the Morning Rave program and associated DJs have been removed from the KDND website.The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported that the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, abbreviated as SSD, is a local law enforcement agency that serves Sacramento County, California. It provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, as well as incorporated cities within the county that have...
spokesman said no officers were investigating the death, and that "It was a contest and people are saying there was no coercion." However, Deborah Hoffman of KXTV
KXTV
KXTV, channel 10, is an ABC affiliate television station in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by the Gannett Company. Its transmitter tower is located in Walnut Grove, California, and studios are located on Broadway, just south of Business Loop 80 at the south edge of downtown...
television reported that former Federal Prosecutor Bill Portanova commented that, "on the face of it, the radio station has some serious liability exposure", due in part to widespread news coverage of the 2005 Matthew Carrington
Matt's Law
Matt's Law is a California law that allows for felony prosecutions when serious injuries or deaths result from hazing rites. The bill amended the California Education Code and California Penal Code to change charges for some hazing rituals from misdemeanors to felonies, and for the first time gave...
death. On January 17, 2007, the Sacramento Bee reported that "Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness, alarmed by audio recordings obtained by The Bee of the radio show contest that may have led to the death of 28-year-old Jennifer Lea Strange, has directed homicide detectives to look into whether a crime was committed during the water-drinking contest sponsored by the 'Morning Rave' show on The End radio station." However, on April 2, 2007 the Sacramento county District Attorney's office officially declined to press criminal charges, citing a "lack of evidence of criminal misconduct."
On January 18, 2007, a wrongful death civil lawsuit was announced on behalf of Jennifer Strange's husband and three children against Entercom Sacramento (the limited liability company
Limited liability company
A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...
that operates KDND) and Entercom Communications (the corporate parent). The Stranges were represented by prominent Sacramento attorney Roger A. Dreyer of the firm of Dreyer, Babich, Buccola & Callaham, LLP.
The family of Jennifer Strange urged the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) to shut down the station and punish the parent company Entercom. On January 24, 2007, the FCC announced that they will investigate the station to see if it violated the terms of its license.
On August 16, 2007 it was reported that two of the DJ's, Lukas Cox and Steve Maney, were suing their former employer over a wrongful termination of their contract.
On September 14, 2009, jury selection
Jury selection
Jury selection are many methods used to choose the people who will serve on a trial jury. The jury pool is first selected from among the community using a reasonably random method. The prospective jurors are then questioned in court by the judge and/or attorneys...
in the wrongful death case began at the Sacramento County Superior Court
Sacramento County Superior Court
The Sacramento County Superior Court is the California Superior Court located in Sacramento with jurisdiction over Sacramento County.-Gordon D. Schaber courthouse:The Gordon D. Schaber downtown courthouse is the main courthouse of the court...
's main courthouse in the city of Sacramento. Over the next month, the jury heard testimony from over 41 witnesses and 192 exhibits were entered into evidence.
On October 29, 2009, after a week of deliberations, the jury awarded the survivors of Jennifer Strange the sum of $16,577,118 in monetary damages. They unanimously found Entercom Sacramento LLC to be 100% at fault and Entercom Communications Corp. to be 0% at fault. They also found by a 10-2 vote that Jennifer Strange was 0% at fault (that is, there was no contributory negligence
Contributory negligence
Contributory negligence in common-law jurisdictions is defense to a claim based on negligence, an action in tort. It applies to cases where a plaintiff/claimant has, through his own negligence, contributed to the harm he suffered...
) for her own death. Dreyer was lead counsel for the plaintiffs at trial, while lead counsel for defendants was Donald W. Carlson of Carlson Calladine & Peterson LLP.
As of January 2010 all parties including DJ's Lukas and Maney have accepted settlements with Entercom.