Col. Ray: No hard feelings toward KURV

McALLEN — Talk radio host Ray Coughenour, the retired U.S. Army officer who hosted The Daily Report with Col. Ray on 710 KURV, has settled his contract dispute with the station’s parent company, but said he still doesn’t know why the radio station fired him — not that it matters now.

“At this point, I don’t have any hard feelings toward KURV,” Coughenour said. “I just think we could have handled it better. We could have done a transition and everyone would have been happy.”

KURV’s parent company, Dallas-based BMP Radio, abruptly fired Coughenour on Feb. 2. Management at the company’s McAllen office hasn’t returned calls or messages left over the past two weeks.

Starting Monday, Feb. 6, KURV switched up the afternoon schedule, broadcasting an extra hour of The Sean Hannity Show and reducing the local drive-time show to one hour. The replacement show, which doesn’t have intro music or an official name, has been hosted by Davis Rankin, president of local public interest group Futuro McAllen and a regular fill-in for Coughenour.

“There is a movement on radio stations across the country to take the Hannitys and Limbaughs and expand their hours and get rid of local hosts,” Coughenour said, which saves money but ignores local issues.

On air, Coughenour often focused on local news with national implications, including border security and illegal immigration. Recently, he spent several shows dissecting and questioning the McAllen Independent School District’s decision to spend $20.5 million on iPads and other Apple products for a new initiative.

Ratings for The Daily Report with Col. Ray were OK, Coughenour said, recalling a conversation with BMP Radio management, but ad sales hadn’t kept pace. Coughenour said BMP Radio didn’t explain the decision to fire him.

Coughenour said his impression was that the decision was “event-driven” and that “the word on the street” was his criticism of the iPad purchase may have been a factor.

“I don’t know that’s the reason or not, because that hasn’t been told to me,” Coughenour said. “All I know is I did a story three or four times on the MISD and then I got fired.”

Regardless, Coughenour said he’s settled his differences with KURV and has no plans to return to radio. Instead, Coughenour said he might apply to teach at South Texas College or the University of Texas-Pan American.

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Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at dhendricks@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4452.

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