Is KGO headed for Syndication?

Now that Mickey Luckoff is leaving after tiring of the nasty whims of corporate Citadel, there's talk that KGO might go the way of syndication and decidedly more conservative. Talk about changing the landscape of one of the most prominent radio stations in the Bay Area.

There are some early signs that KGO is experimenting. Just the other week, Mark Williams, a conservative tea-party, Sacramento-based talk host, substituted for all-nighter, Ray Taliaferro. Several broadcast insiders told me that the Williams move was more than just your standard substitute host and that higher-up brass were "experimenting."

KGO is one of the last stations that possesses locally-based talent, including the venerable Ronn Owens, Gill Gross, Gene Burns, John Rothmann, Bill Wattenburg, and Taliaferro. KGO does utilize syndicated content, but that's largely confined to the weekend with financial guru, Bob Brinker.

Nothing is definitive yet and although there is strong evidence of impending personnel shake-ups with the Luckoff departure, it'll be a few months before we see anything significant.

On the other hand, Citadel's ailing financial status would indicate that going conservative is far cheaper and beats having to pay top dollar for local hosts, and that includes even its most profitable entity, KGO.

Don't rule out anything.