KPIG's Alternative Newsman Travus T. Hipp Died Friday Morning

Callers began flooding Freedom-based radio station KPIG-FM (107.5) Friday after disk jockeys told listeners that controversial newsman Travis T. Hipp passed away in his sleep overnight.

He was the man who gave "All The News You Never Knew You Needed To Know ...Until Now."

The 75-year-old, who was born Chandler Laughlin III, seemed like a lifelong hippie and did his news reports by phone from his home in Silver City, Nevada, because he thought California was going to fall into the ocean.

Hipp was part of the 1960s revolution, a contemporary of Wavy Gravy, who spent time at radio stations KSAN in San Francisco and KZAP in Sacramento before he signed up with KFAT in Gilroy, which turned into KPIG in Freedom in 1988.

"He basically gave the listeners a different view of the news on a daily basis and from our perspective it was greatly appreciated," said KPIG manager Frank Caprista.

One difference included getting arrested on the air in 2008 by Nevada police for having 14 marijuana plants growing.

DJs were playing songs in his memory Friday, including in the KPIG satirical tradition, "Fixin' to Die Rag," by Country Joe and the Fish.

The station will do some kind of memorial Monday, Caprista said. They didn't know any family memorial details yet.

"He lived a colorful life," said Caprista, which included living on a houseboat in Sausalito, serving the the Navy and living in Monterey afterwards, and doing news reports from Nepal, Tibet and the Middle East.

The station got word of his death from another former DJ, Sister Tiny, who also lives in Silver City and formerly worked at KFAT.

If you have air checks of Travus's reports, post the links here and add your memories of him in the comments section.

Hear a collection of his newscasts here.