In quick response to today's moves by KPAM (860), KCMD ("Freedom" 970) is moving the planned March 29 debuts of Sean Hannity and Mark Levin up to today. The new shows push Jerry Doyle and Dennis Miller later into Freedom's evening schedule, while Rusty Humphries is the odd man out.

A before-and-after of KCMD's lineup:

See Freedom's full press release after the jump:

KPAM (860) is launching a new schedule today, and the station is eager to play up a local "radio war" between KXL (750)'s Lars Larson and their own Victoria Taft. KPAM is also adding the syndicated Michael Savage to their lineup.

The programming changes are prompted by moves by Alpha Broadcasting's KXL and KCMD ("Freedom" 970). Freedom picked Sean Hannity and Mark Levin off of KPAM's schedule after moving toward more consistently right-leaning political talk. And when KXL bumped Savage later into its evening lineup to accommodate afternoon news, the host jumped to KPAM for a better time slot.

KPAM is now moving Victoria Taft up from evenings to middays, airing from 11 am to 3 pm against KXL's Larson from Noon to 4. KPAM is calling this a "head-to-head battle." Both shows also compete with noon news and Dr. Laura on KEX (1190). Taft additionally goes up against the last hour of Rush Limbaugh.

Savage will debut from 3 to 6 pm today, live in KPAM's afternoon drive. Elsewhere in the schedule, John Gibson bumps consumer advocate Clark Howard from late mornings to late evenings, and Hugh Hewitt moves from early mornings to evenings.

In response to KPAM's new schedule, KCMD is moving Hannity and Levin's planned March 29 premieres up nearly a month to debut today. Look for that story soon on OMC. (11:05 am update: Link.)

A before-and-after of KPAM's schedule:

See KPAM's full "radio wars" press release after the jump:

Compared to January, KGW didn't get as big a bump as one might expect from the Olympics, with most shows gaining just two tenths of a ratings point or less among viewers aged 25-54. There were two big exceptions, though: the 6:30 pm newscast, which was up more than 25 percent over January, and Live @ 7, which nearly doubled its ratings. Olympics coverage began at 7:30. KGW's late news isn't listed because of its irregular air time following the games.

UPDATE (8:17 pm): We've added KGW's locally produced "Olympic Zone" at 7:30 pm to the chart. The special aired for 13 days.

  = Morning and midday news
  = Evening news
  = Late news

And I scrapped the asterisks for shows that include weekend ratings in their averages. The difference it makes isn't as significant as I first thought.

Tyra's ditching daytime, Martha's moving to cable, and Bonnie got the boot.

With three daytime TV shows leaving the fall lineup, local stations are searching for new syndicated programming to replace them. OMC asked the general managers of KATU, KOIN, KGW, KPTV, KRCW and KPDX what changes are coming to Portland's TV schedules.

Martha Stewart left KATU for KPTV last year, but now that she's moving to the Hallmark Channel, the local Fox affiliate has poached Rachael Ray from KGW. KGW, in turn, has cleared a new program hosted by Nate Berkus, Oprah's interior designer, for 11 am.

KPTV GM Patrick McCreery says the station has yet to decide on a replacement for the canceled Bonnie Hunt show at 2 pm.

Meanwhile, KRCW, Portland's CW affiliate, is dealing with Tyra Banks' decision to end her daytime show. The station currently carries two hours of Tyra: first-run shows at 4 pm, preceded by reruns at 3. KRCW plans to keep "best of" shows at 3, and will most likely air sitcoms at 4. The station picked up a new Nancy Grace vehicle called "Swift Justice," a sort of court show minus the courtroom set, which is likely to air earlier in the day. KRCW also cleared "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Entourage," but those shows are set to run in late night.

Among other new shows yet to find a Portland home is "Don't Forget the Lyrics," a remake of the karaoke-based game show that first ran on Fox from 2007 to 2009.

KATU and KOIN currently have no plans to change their schedules this fall, while no major new first-run shows are slated for KPDX.

After more than 22 years, Margie Boulé has closed her column with The Oregonian:

I wrote my first column for The Oregonian on Sept. 20, 1987.

This will be my last.

My first column began, "As a rule, people's beginnings and endings are untidy affairs. They're so often beyond our control. We cannot choose our birth dates; we cannot look ahead and know the day we will die. And in the intervening years, there are often exasperating gaps between the ends of things -- the day your true love packed his banjo and his softball glove and left for San Diego -- and the beginnings we wish to jump to -- the chance meeting by the Literature Fa-Fl shelves in Powell's Bookstore."

But Sept. 20, 1987, was a day of synchronicities. On that day I ended my career in television and began my career as a print journalist. On that day, too, my daughter started first grade, and my grandfather died. It was his 87th birthday. It was a day of beginnings and endings.

And so is today. Today I end my career as a columnist for The Oregonian and look ahead to something new.

She goes on to recount some of the most memorable stories ever told in her over 3,000 columns. If you haven't read it yet, do.

Boulé was among 37 staffers laid off from the paper last week.

Stacey Wilson, former associate editor of Portland Monthly, is joining The Hollywood Reporter as a television features editor. Byron Beck has an interview:

How did you hear about the job?

I saw it posted on Mediabistro.com two weeks ago and thought, ‘Wow, that sounds like the perfect job for me.' But knowing the climate and how many talented journos are out of work right now, I felt the site would be utterly flooded with resumes, so I got sneaky. I asked my friend who reviews films for Us Weekly (with whom I used to work in New York), if she knew anyone there and she did. I wrote him, and he referred me to the Editor in Chief, who referred me to the Executive Editor in charge of hiring. That was Monday two weeks ago. By that Wednesday, he’d asked if I was going to be in L.A. anytime soon; funny enough, I was. I changed my ticket to arrive a day sooner, and that was that. Honestly though, I felt like I’d won the lottery just getting an interview.

PK, Sarah Pepper, Ivan Trujillo
on KKHH's "The Hot Show"

PK and Ivan have a new place to play: pop station KKHH in Houston.

In Portland, the two had been on Jammin 107.5 (KXJM)'s "The Playhouse" since 2000, when the station was owned by Paul Allen on the 95.5 frequency. Their entire show, including cohosts DuRyan and "Extra Work" Tony, was canceled on December 1 of last year.

Now, PK and Ivan are on "The Hot Show" in Houston with a new third member: Sarah Pepper, who's been with KKHH since 2008.

Topics on this morning's show included how long to date someone before getting married; interviews of random people in court; and a prank call to a radiologist, asking how to get on the radio. Portlanders can listen online from 4 to 8 am PT through the station's Flash player or MP3 stream.

On Clear Channel's Jammin, mornings now consist only of music and an occasional remark from a recorded San Francisco DJ, Dreena Gonzalez.

Yesterday, Moody's upgraded Clear Channel, a company saddled with billions in debt, from "imminent" restructuring to "inevitable."

KMHD billboard above OPB's
Macadam headquarters

Two dozen billboards have popped up around town. Banners hang along NW Lovejoy. And your next cup of coffee could wear call letters on its sleeve.

Oregon Public Broadcasting is providing KMHD (89.1) with a bigger promotional budget than the jazz station has ever received, now that it's housed in OPB's Portland headquarters. The station's ratings have also been on an upward trend lately.

KMHD, whose operations were moved to OPB last August, is still licensed to Mt. Hood Community College, for which it was named. The new media campaign was created by Leopold & Ketel. Advertisments will also appear in print.

Communications Director John Bell tells OMC, "We hope folks love [the campaign] as much as we and tune in to KMHD."

After several cycles of buyouts, The Oregonian began laying off newsroom and other employees this morning, a move that had long been expected. The company's pledge to avoid newsroom layoffs expired earlier this month. Unverified names of those affected do not indicate a particular pattern, such as a rumored thinning of non-Portland reporters, though our list of names is, thus far, short.

A statement on The Oregonian's website measures the staff reduction at 37, primarily in the news department, leaving "more than 200" in the newsroom and a total of 750.

Said publisher Chris Anderson in a statement, "These layoffs are a painful but necessary part of our 2010 budget, which was developed to ensure financial stability for The Oregonian now and in the future."

UPDATE (11:35 am): Byron Beck publishes three names, none of which we've confirmed, and only one of which we've heard from other sources.

UPDATE (11:50 am): Matt Davis publishes 19 names.

UPDATE (12:25 pm): Hank Stern names a few that have already been listed.

UPDATE (2/25, 10:52 am): Publisher Chris Anderson tells OMC, "We have notified every person who is being laid off. We have no plans, no intentions and no thoughts of further layoffs."

Last week, we published a filthy article about the trouble one local playwright was having getting her show mentioned by The Oregonian. The problem with the play was its title: "Slap That Bitch," a hip-hop retelling of "The Taming of the Shrew." We proceeded to publish The Oregonian's own list of all the naughty words supposedly banned from the paper, as well as details of what colorful language had nevertheless made it into print.

Serious journalism, that.

Since then, The Oregonian did list the play online, minus its title. Instead, paper used the play's production company, "Fuse Theatre Ensemble," as its heading.

Then yesterday, a reader alerted us to an online-only review. The play's title was in the headline and appeared once in the article itself. But with nothing in Sunday's paper, we wondered if this was another example of the dichotomy between print and pixels when it came to certain words in The O. (Compare this online article with its print partner, for example.)

Today, however, "Slap That Bitch" was printed in a bold headline atop a short-form review. Paired with this online video from theater critic Marty Hughley, The Oregonian turned an initially cautious approach into a sort of bitch-fest.

As for the play itself, it "certainly has playfully, humorous moments," writes critic Richard Wattenberg, "but the piece could benefit from judicious cutting. It is itself in need of some taming."