Another example of how starved the local radio rumor mill is these days, cropped up with buzz over word that Clear Channel Radio was about to change formats on the Mountain KWMT 92.9-FM. But, as it turns out, the change - if you want to call it that - has already happened.

The change mostly has to do with jargon used by the industry when it comes to reporting music playlists.

As of Aug. 14, the Mountain will begin reporting its playlist to Billboard Magazine under a different category: hot adult top 40, or hot adult contemporary. Since December 2003 when the Mountain came on the air, it has reported its playlist under a format called Adult Album Alternative (or AAA).

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The difference between the two is that the new category is more closely aligned with contemporary music where the AAA format is associated as more connected to rock music.

Some time ago the station changed its tagline to “Tucson’s Modern Music” from “Quality Music, True Variety.”

Chris Patyk, program director and morning co-host on the Mountain, as well as others I talked to at Clear Channel, downplayed that the change was anything significant.

One buyer at an advertising agency said she had been told of the change by a competitor who suspected there might be more to it, including the possibility of personnel changes. But the people I talked to at Clear Channel insisted nothng like that is happening.

“This is mainly due to the evolution of our music over the last nine months,” said one Clear Channel employee. “The change has already happened.”

Radio ratings

The last time a change in local radio prompted rumors of a format change happened at the end of June. That’s when Lotus Corp. moved Frank Brinsley’s “The Frank Show” to KLPX 96.1-FM from KFMA 92.1-FM/101.3-FM. For Lotus, KLPX is its heritage rock station and KFMA has been the newer, younger new rock upstart.

Both stations held on to their formats but if the idea was to try to boost the audience of KLPX, the move comes just in the knick of time, judging from the latest local radio ratings from Arbitron.

KFMA’s overall ratings were up 25 percent, jumping its ranking up four notches to No. 5 among commercial stations in the market. Meanwhile, KLPX’s ratings were down 23 percent, dropping it from eighth place to No. 11.

“The Frank Show,” which on KFMA was ranked No. 5 among morning radio shows, started on KLPX June 28. These latest ratings were taken April 1 through June 23. The previous ratings were taken Jan. 7 through March 31.

Otherwise, some of the more noticeable changes in these latest local ratings:

• “Max, Shannon and Porkchop” on country station KIIM 99.5-FM moved back into the No. 1 spot among morning shows, beating “Johnjay and Rich” on hit music KRQ 93.7-FM. The last time that happened was more than two years ago.

The KRQ duo still wins in the prime 18-49 and 25-54 year-old demographics.

• Mojo Morales, former morning host on KRQ, whose show from Detroit now airs on KOHT 98.3-FM, saw his average audience size jump 58 percent. It now ranks as the No. 9 most popular morning show in the market.

• If you’re counting morning show victories, Clear Channel had four of the 10 most-popular morning shows in the market. The other three major operators, Citadel, Journal and Lotus have two each.

• Jon Justice on Journal’s The Truth KQTH 104.1-FM was the only top 10 morning show to see an audience decline since the last ratings, down about 8 percent. Although the morning time slot on his chief rival KNST gained, some of that comes from Rush Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated show starting at 9 a.m.

And among 25-54 year-old listeners, the heart of a conservative news-talk station’s audience, The Truth ranks No. 6 while KNST is out of the top 10.

Contact David Hatfield at dhatfield@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4237. Inside Tucson Media appears weekly.