Finally, the Hall of Fame for 40-year broadcaster

Dave Jarrott was the Susan Lucci of Texas radio until this year.

Nominated 10 times, the veteran Austin broadcaster was finally named to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame this summer.

"This year, all the stars aligned," he says. "Maybe they just got tired of seeing my name on the ballot."

Jarrott, 66, began his 40-year radio career in 1963 during his freshman year at what was then Southwest Texas State College, working for KCNY-AM in San Marcos.

"There were light bulbs that had more power than that station did," he jokes.

That gig led to spots at Austin's KNOW-AM, KHFI-AM and KTBC-AM, before Jarrott departed — briefly — to co-host a morning show in Fort Worth.

Three years later, he was back here, delivering the news on KTBC-TV. Yes, TV.

"I enjoyed TV immensely, but I had to be too serious — and I had to wear a suit and tie," he says.

So it was back to radio, landing once again at KNOW-AM, as well as KHFI-FM, KEYI-FM and KLTD-FM before wrapping things up at KKMJ-FM in 2000.

These days, you'll find Jarrott focused on his other true love, theater. He recently wrapped up "Hairspray" at Zach Scott Theatre and will appear in a Penfold Players production later this year.

Off the radio for a decade now, Jarrott says he's still approached by listeners who remember his on-air gags.

"That, to me, is very humbling," he says.

KHFI No. 1 in August

Austin has been KISSed yet again.

Pop-friendly KHFI-FM, known on air as 96.7 KISS-FM, remains the city's No. 1 radio station, according to August ratings from Arbitron.

The rest of the list features the usual suspects, albeit in a slightly different order.

Mix 94.7 and corporate sibling Majic 95.5 both moved up three spots, leap-frogging NPR affiliate KUT-FM.

KUT, which spent a considerable amount of time as Austin's top-rated station, was No. 9 this time around – the lowest it has been in recent memory.

Average quarter-hour ratings as of Aug. 17, courtesy of Radio-Info.com (numbers in parentheses indicate rank as of July 20):

1. 96.7 KHFI-FM (1)

2. 100.7 KASE-FM (2)

3. 590 KLBJ-AM (3)

4. 95.5 KKMJ-FM (7)

5. 94.7 KAMX-FM (8)

6. 103.5 KBPA-FM (6)

7. 102.3 KPEZ-FM (4)

8. 107.1 KLZT-FM (9)

9. 90.5 KUT-FM (5)

10. 93.7 KLBJ-FM (11)

Stations help out wildfire victims

The six Austin-area Emmis radio stations teamed up Sept. 7 to collect cash for Central Texas wildfire victims, raising $25,314, as well as three truckloads of much-needed supplies for Catholic Charities of Central Texas.

The day before, fans of the "Dudley and Bob Show" on KLBJ-FM collected a truckload of items for Austin Christian Fellowship, which is assisting Steiner Ranch residents.

In Central Texas, Emmis owns 93.3/102.7 KGSR-FM, 93.7 KLBJ-FM, 101X, 103.5 BOB-FM, 107.1 La Z and Newsradio 590, which is also simulcast on 99.7 FM.

Meanwhile, Clear Channel's five Austin radio stations teamed with Sonic and Fox 7 to collect items for the Capital Area Food Bank.

Clear Channel operates 96.7 KISS-FM, 98.1 KVET-FM, KASE 101, 102.3 the Beat and 1300 AM the Zone.

Around the dial ...

KUT is — finally — looking to hire a new program director. The spot's been empty since Jody Evans departed two years ago. See the posting at kut.org/jobs. ... Speaking of KUT, the station's fall pledge drive is under way. ... Congrats to Austin radio alumnus Jay Michaels, who has landed the program director spot at Clear Channel-owned KDMX-FM in Dallas. Michaels helped launch Hot 93.3 in 2003. Hip-hop-focused Hot is, of course, long gone and that frequency is now home to KGSR-FM.

gdinges@statesman.com; 912-5987

‘Lighters' still leads the hits

"Lighters" continues to light up Austin's airwaves, taking most-played honors for a third straight week, according to figures from AllAccess.com.

The Bad Meets Evil hit was heard 226 times on local radio stations Sept. 19-25. That's the same number of spins it had the previous week.

Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" and Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" aren't far behind.