BY RICHARD WAGONER>LA.COM

Two legends will return to the airwaves soon: Michael Jackson and KGIL.

Interestingly, the two are related.

Beginning Oct. 29, KMZT (1260 AM) will drop classical music and become a talker as the KGIL calls return to the 1260 frequency. Classical will continue to be heard on KKGO's digital HD-2 signal.

Jackson, anchor of the KABC (790 AM) lineup for 32 years, is the real star on the new station. Actually he's the only local star, which makes one wonder about the longevity of this format.

Larry King begins the broadcast day with a replay of CNN's "Larry King Live" cable television show every morning at 6, followed by two hours of "Wall Street Journal Radio" beginning at 7.

Jackson is on from 9 to 11 a.m., with syndicated talk host Neal Boortz taking the 11 a.m.-to-2 p.m. shift.

Syndicated psychologist Dr. Joy Browne completes the day's new talk programming, followed by a replay of Jackson's morning show every day at 5 p.m.

Call me underwhelmed, though many fans of Jackson, a member of the Radio Hall of Fame, will be glad he's back on the air.

There is some good news, though, for standards fans: station owner Saul Levine has decided the new KGIL will run adult standards all night, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Frequency 1260 signed on as KGIL back in 1947 as a big-band station — top-40 for the era. The original call letters lasted through a few formats until 1993, when the station became KJQI, followed by KNNS in 1995, KGIL again in 1997, KJAZ in 2000, KSUR in 2002, KKGO in 2005 and KMZT in 2007.

As noted, the station has not been known as KGIL for 10 years.

Baseball fever

KFWB (980 AM) had some big news this week: The Dodgers won't be on the all-news station next year.

Yes, the Dodgers are returning to their longtime home of KABC (790 AM) beginning next season. Officially, the contract begins Nov. 1.

KABC thus has exclusive English-language rights to all 162 regular season games and 15 spring training games. A new weekly show to air Sunday nights will keep fans in the loop on Dodgers news and allow them to share their views. And of course the station will feature pre- and post-game shows whenever the Dodgers play.

The Dodgers previously were on KABC for 25 seasons: 1973 to 1997. Other stations that have aired the English broadcasts are the original KMPC (now KSPN, 710 AM) from 1958 to 1960; KFI (640 AM) from 1961 to 1972; and KXTA (now KTLK, 1150 AM) from 1998 to 2002.

KFWB aired Dodgers broadcasts beginning in 2002.

At one time, the Dodgers were a huge radio draw. Television carried only a handful of games, so fans needed radio to follow the action when they weren't at the ballpark themselves. These days, all Dodgers games are on broadcast television, cable or satellite, so the need for radio coverage is reduced.

Indeed, KFWB saw no ratings jump, or even a blip, when the station started carrying the games.

That being said, as an all-news station focused on, well, news, KFWB and the Dodgers were never a perfect fit. KABC, while talk, also is entertainment — as are the Dodgers. The Dodgers and KABC just seem to go better together.

Richard Wagoner is a freelance writer based in San Pedro. Send questions to him via e-mail at rwagoner@cox.net.