Kabc

How painful it was to listen to Arthur stumble through the reading of the news each morning. His lack of humor and pompous know-it-all attitude grated on my nerves. He had a great voice but seemed to be in a cultural Twilight Zone. What happiness when he announced his belated retirement. But KABC went overboard with the retirement festivities. "Stop, stop," I thought. "Bob may change his mind and decide to stay." Now, a year later, this childish outburst. EUGENE H. TYNER Whittier

Rep. Bobbi Fiedler, who gave up her west San Fernando Valley-southern Ventura County congressional seat to run for the U. S. Senate, is negotiating with KABC-TV Channel 7 to become a political commentator for the Los Angeles station after her term expires Jan. 3. The three-term Chatsworth Republican said in a recent interview that she has no plans to run for political office again but would not rule out the possibility.

You can hardly stand the excitement on KABC-TV this month. First came Lady Liberty. Now comes Lady Little taking over for Lady Lund. Everything on local TV news that goes around, comes around. There are people cycles as well as story cycles. So here they are, the dream pair, those high-rises Tawny Little and Jerry Dunphy, Channel 7's Goddess of Gush and Wizard of Wind. Together again.

KABC-TV Channel 7 and A. C. Nielsen Co. have settled, on undisclosed terms, a lawsuit that KABC brought last June amid a controversy over the station's alleged attempts to improperly boost its audience ratings. The suit "is settled, and we continue to do business with each other," said Larry Lasky, a Nielsen attorney in Chicago.

Former anchorman and network talk-show host Tom Snyder joined KABC-TV Channel 7 Friday as a "special correspondent" for its non-news programs, the station said. KABC-TV spokesmen said Snyder would be appearing on Channel 7 specials and would be developing projects of his own for the ABC-owned station. He may appear on such local programs as "Three Three O" and "Eye on L.A.," but will not be part of KABC's news department, they said.

State officials cited KABC-TV Friday for safety violations that could cost the station close to $30,000 in fines for the accident that critically injured reporter Adrienne Alpert. Of the three citations issued by Cal/OSHA, the one carrying the largest penalty, $25,000, cited KABC-TV for failing to maintain proper clearance when erecting the van's 42-foot microwave mast.

Judith Michaelson's article on KABC-AM's new afternoon host, Al Rantel, was informative, fair and balanced ("Defying Expectations," Oct. 8). I wish I could say the same for the station's new program direction. The "rightward turn" at KABC to which Michaelson refers is neither a coincidence nor a result of quiet design of station management. When KABC replaces its liberal/moderate hosts in favor of 10 straight hours of conservative rhetoric, the plea "we want a new audience" comes through loud and clear--and it is no secret that the audience they covet lives at KFI. One can only wonder about the future of the liberal duo of Ken & Peter on the station's morning show.

As a 35-year-old white male, I am the listener KABC wants. I seldom listened to KABC until the past two years, when they added jingles, dropped the octogenarians and got rid of the evil classical bumper music. I prefer the new, younger sound of KABC. Will you put away your crying towels and stop throwing ink bones to Michael Jackson? Jackson was legendary, but so was Willie Mays when he played for the Mets. The problem was, Mays was dropping fly balls in his old age. Jackson's problem was, 35-year-old white males couldn't relate to his hoary citations, his lame puns and his tedious topic selection (waxing loquacious about China's most-favored-nation trading status used to make me jab my FM button faster than you can scream Howard Stern)

It seems to me that in any successful business, the "moral high ground" is worth something, over and above the bottom line--and that the Disney Co. and radio station KABC manager Maureen Lesourd don't understand that at all ("KABC-AM Pushes Jackson Talk Show to Weekend Slot," Business, July 3). The gradual attrition and ultimate removal of Michael Jackson, the undisputed class act of talk radio, from his longtime-institution morning show--and his banishment to weekends alongside the cooking and car shows--betrays a total disregard for the sensibilities of the audience and the traditions of a once-great radio station.