New HD radio station plays nothing but metal

Metalheads rejoice!

Folks with HD radios have a new station to check out that's playing nothing but metal 24/7/365.

No Control Radio launched Friday on 107.1 FM HD2.

Owner Emmis Austin Radio claims the new signal, which is an expansion of the 11-year-old "No Control" program on 101X, is the nation's only round-the-clock commercial metal station.

"The beauty of this new channel is that it's local, it's unafraid to play lots of hard-hitting metal; to promote the metal scene and to ignore everything else," said Scott Gillmore, vice president and market manager for Emmis. "Lovingly put together by Chuck Loesch, No Control Radio is growing fast."

Tune in to hear established bands such as Metallica, modern faves such as As I Lay Dying and new and unsigned talent.

Get more details at NoControlRadio.com.

KISS-FM No. 1 again

Pop-friendly KHFI is — for a second straight month — Austin's No. 1 radio station, according to May ratings figures from Arbitron.

The top six stations remain unchanged from April, but farther down the list, a few stations traded places. KLZT, for instance, returns to the list after an absence of a few months, bumping sister station KLBJ-FM out of the Top 10.

Average quarter-hour ratings as of May 25, courtesy of radio-info.com (numbers in parentheses indicate rank as of April 27):

1.) KHFI (1)

2.) KASE (2)

3.) KUT (3)

4.) KLBJ-AM (4)

5.) KPEZ (5)

6.) KBPA (6)

7.) KKMJ (8)

8.) KAMX (9)

9.) KVET-FM (7)

10.) KLZT-FM (11)

KUT pulls in plenty of awards

There have been a lot of smiles in recent weeks over at KUT, where staffers have won a number of prestigious awards.

Austin's NPR affiliate has — for the first time ever — earned a pair of national Edward R. Murrow Awards.

The Murrow awards, presented annually by the Radio Television Digital News Association, recognize excellence in electronic journalism.

Competing against radio stations from across the U.S., KUT took top honors in the Audio Reporting: Hard News category for a piece on health care by reporter Nathan Bernier and in the Audio News Series category for a look at the end of the space shuttle program.

News director Emily Donahue served as producer for the NASA series, which featured Bernier and fellow reporters Mose Buchele, Matt Largey, Ben Philpott and Jennifer Stayton.

Both pieces advanced to the national competition after winning regional Murrow awards earlier this year. Four other KUT entries also won at the regional level.

Bernier, who came to Austin in 2008, says the award was a definite treat, but the conversation his story generated is what pleased him most.

"I just want to tell great stories," he said.

KUT also took home five Houston Press Club Lone Star Awards last week, including a Radio Journalist of the Year win by Philpott, the station's government reporter.

Other winning entries:

"Budget Deficit Looking Ahead," reported by Philpott, nabbed first place in the Politics/Government category.

Bernier's "Doctors on Healthcare" got second place in both the Public Affairs and Series categories.

"Long-Term Unemployment," reported by Largey, was awarded third place in the Public Affairs category.

Finally, a "Texas Music Matters" documentary focusing on legendary musician Janis Joplin took top honors at the New York Festivals 2011 International Radio Programs and Promotion Awards, one of four wins by KUT.

"Piece of My Heart: The Story of Janis Joplin" received the Grand Trophy and a gold award in the Culture and the Arts category.

It first aired in October 2010, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Port Arthur native's death, and featured interviews with Kris Kristofferson, Tracy Nelson and Powell St. John, among others.

"Home with the Armadillo," another "Texas Music Matters" documentary and a component of the station's "Armadillo Oral History Project," received a silver award in the History category.