Programming Tweaked at ?The Eagle?

Commuters who start their workday at 9 a.m. may have noticed that KJEM, 93.3 FM, “The Eagle,” has taken “The Outlaw” Tommy Smith and Roger Scott’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Breakfast” morning show off the air by that hour. Before Nov. 5, the show aired in its entirety from 6-10 a.m. weekdays.

But starting that day, Anastasia, a female DJ, began piloting KJEM from 8:30 a.m.-noon.

The often outrageous and always irreverent “Rock ‘n’ Roll Breakfast” originates from Little Rock’s KMJX, “Magic” 105 FM, a sister station in the Clear Channel Communications Inc. empire.

Smith and Scott have groused on-air that they got bumped in Fayetteville because one of the people they routinely parody on their show — University of Arkansas Athletic Director J. Frank Broyles — called KJEM to “complain.”

Tony Beringer, Clear Channel’s new local vice president and Northwest Arkansas market manager, said that’s just radio schtick. He said the move was simply a programming decision.

“We have found that our listeners are very passionate about our classic rock format,” Beringer said. “They like to hear music in the morning, and Tommy’s show has evolved over the years to where it doesn’t play much music. We came up with this compromise so that we can give our listeners some classic rock at the end of drive time in the mornings.”

Smith and Scott’s show bagged a 13 share in the August Arbitron ratings. That was good enough for the No. 1 spot in their target demographic — men aged 25 to 54. But Beringer hopes to increase the station’s share of the overall listening audience by mixing in more music.

KJEM is one of four local Clear Channel stations in Northwest Arkansas.