Steigerwald, Paulsen join KDKA

Scott Paulsen and John Steigerwald join the nighttime lineup on KDKA (1020), starting Feb. 18.

KDKA Program Director Marshall Adams says the three-hour “Paulsen and Steigerwald Show” will get what he calls “a limited engagement” weekdays starting at 7 p.m. and will play to the pair’s “unique and different views” on a variety of topics.

“Scott and John will talk about current topics you would expect to hear on KDKA, but with the twist of their different personalities and with a decidedly Pittsburgh perspective,” Adams says.

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Also added are the Dennis Miller Show from 12 to 3 a.m. and the “Midnight Radio Network” from 3 to 5 a.m.

Out is “After Midnight” with Gary Dickson. This morning’s show was his last broadcast, Adams says.

“Scott and John have a wonderful chemistry for two people with such different views of the world,” said Keith Clark, vice president of programming for CBS Radio Pittsburgh, in a prepared statement. “We’re excited to give them an opportunity on KDKA to see what develops with this show. We’re hopeful this show will become a ‘must hear’ for our audience.”

Both Steigerwald and Paulsen have long histories in the market. Steigerwald was a TV sports anchor and reporter for KDKA-TV (2) and other stations from 1978 until 2007, while Paulsen had a lengthy run on WDVE-FM (102.5), most memorably as morning-show host with Jimmy Krenn.

Both were also part of CBS Radio’s ill-fated FM talk experiment, “The Zone” WTZN-FM (93.7), as was Miller.

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Still, the addition of the pair, along with Miller, could bring a decidedly younger sound to KDKA in the evenings. The weekday nighttime lineup currently consists of syndicated political talk shows by Neal Boortz and Bill O’Reilly, followed by Dickson and “Undercover Club.”

Boortz and O’Reilly are both conservative political talk-show hosts; though Miller, a Pittsburgh native, also leans right, he’s considerably edgier than Boortz.

Although topics on “After Midnight” were many and varied, the show inherited the older audience of its predecessor, “The Undercover Club” with Bob Logue.

“The Undercover Club” might be most famous for disseminating the folklore remedy of placing a cake of soap in bed to alleviate aches and pains.

And just like “The Undercover Club,” callers on “After Midnight” often wanted to discuss nostalgia or their medical ailments — sometimes to the apparent on-air consternation of Dickson, who formerly hosted the high-energy morning-show at WWSW-FM (94.5) along with Jim Merkel.

Adams says Dickson “served KDKA and our audience very well and we thank him for his talent and tireless efforts.”

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In the new lineup, “The Paulsen and Steigerwald Show” leads into O’Reilly, who leads into Miller.

The combined show is an experiment that will last at least through the end of March, Adams says.

“As you know, they worked separately at The Zone,” he says. “We’re eager to hear what they can do as a pair.”

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Perhaps the only potential clunker in the new lineup is the “Midnight Radio Network,” previously known as “The Midnight Trucking Radio Network.”

The Dallas-based show, syndicated by Jones Radio Networks, was once solely aimed at long-distance truck drivers. It’s now a more general-interest talk show, but many features are still geared (pun intended) to a truck driving audience.

The network can also be heard on 24 stations nationwide. Several, like KDKA, are 50,000-watt clear-channel nighttime stations like Detroit’s WJR, Dallas’ WBAP and Oklahoma City’s KOKC … the latter owned by Pittsburgh’s Renda Broadcasting!