OR Radio: Mark Evans Closes On KBGE 94.9 FM

Mark Evans

For the past year KBGE 94.9 FM in Astoria, OR, with a broadcast studio in downtown Seaside and a 25,000-watt transmitter on a hill nearby, has essentially been running on auto-pilot.

The DJ was a computer. According to the Daily Astorian, The only time a human being was in the office — let alone broadcasting live on the airwaves — was maybe once-a-week, adding songs to a playlist or performing some FCC compliance.

Living in California, the station’s owners didn’t spend a lot of time in Seaside. Then, in 2013, Cal Brady died, and his wife put the station up for sale.

Seaside’s 94.9 FM was purchased in an estate sale by Mark Evans and his wife, Mickie Evans. They closed the deal in January. He’s been a part of in the industry for decades, both on the air and off.

KBGE 94.9 (8.2 Kw) Red=60dBu Local Coverage Area

“I have been working for Clear Channel radio for about 20 years,” Evans said. Most recently, in San Diego, he was a news director at KOGO.

In January, after closing the deal on 94.9FM, Evans and his wife relocated to Seaside, planning to take a more hands-on approach.

“We are going to turn it back into a community station,” Evans said. “We want to provide newscasts during the day. We want to include the community on the air. We want to bring people in.”

He also hoped to return closer to his radio roots — focusing on music instead of handling a small segment of a conglomerate.

“Clear Channel has become such a huge corporate company it was hard to get anything done,” said Evans. “It’s was suffocating.”

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