You have spoken and I'm listening; Trespassing through the 415 Media fortress

OK, so that was short, yes, I mean, how many times can you write about the obvious and even at that, who cares?

You do. A lot of you do. I read all the comments, the e-mail, the feedback, and there's a huge appetite, a huge demand for information and commentary in the Bay Area media circle. Too bad the resources that it takes, the time and money, the effort, is vastly ignored in the local mainstream media machine, (i.e., SFGate, The Chronicle, BANG, et al)

Then again, the traditional guys have always tended to be more 'Mr. Softie' and offered nothing more than ungodly amounts of mostly inane and innocuous PR chit sheets; an area that likes to pretend that its cosmopolitan flair extends beyond the restaurants, the views, the fog, etc. (And how shallow is that, really?)

Sadly, the old guard outlets, (and some new ones,) are becoming more banal and useless by the day. I don't have to name them--you already know, and I've gone down that road way too many times. At this point, the only reason to even mention them anymore is when one of their ninny's happens to split, disappear, or, more apropos of late, shown the door.

A longtime local observer recently called and we spoke at great length of just how god-awful the industry is here--sure, a few old stalwarts and reliables exist amid the abyss, but they are far outnumbered by the dreck and schleck club; the giddy, goofy, amateurs extraordinaire who are willing to work at any cost, by any means, and were lucky enough to be courted and hired by a bunch of silly, ego-inflated bean counters whose "power" consists of being able to kowtow and kiss a bunch of corporate ass. They think they really have nirvana but in reality all they really possess is the art of good timing. They thrive in a climate like this, in down times, when the bottom line truncates real talent, ingenuity, and creative girth.

Even at that, we have some solid pros here. We're blessed to have the reporting depth of a Rita Williams at KTVU; the perennially solid Vic Lee, Wayne Freedman and Carolyn Johnson at KGO. The relentless street reporters, Bob Melrose, at KCBS, and his City Hall colleague, Barbara Taylor. The mighty magnitude of Michael Krasny on KQED, the still magical Jon Carroll at the Chron and although he's waned a bit of late, the reliability of Ronn Owens at fledging KGO Radio.

We should give credit to some of the more underrated tonsils, the Ted Robinsons' of the world, the sheer wonderment of listening to the A's lead play-by-play guy, Ken Korach. Have you ever heard Korach? Just give him ten minutes and see what I mean. And we must also acknowledge the greatness, the thoroughly entertaining and professionalism of Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda. I'm not a big hockey guy, but those two guys make it fun and refreshing.

Speaking of which, how fun and refreshing it would be to see, to view, to listen and watch to some soles who were beyond bland and dull. Hey Bill King, we miss you. You were not only the King, you also had the balls to speak out and not kowtow. Sure, we all love Miller, but seriously, how much Kruk and Kuip can 'yous all take? I guess a World Series championship will allow the masses to feast in above-average broadcast mediocrity. Then again, Kruk and Kuip beats the hell out of Ray Fosse and Glenn Kuiper. (Boy, that's a helluva plug, ain't it?)

I'm back. And in spite of myself, I'm going to try to churn out all the info, the various chitchat, the good and bad minutiae that you all very much cherish, (apparently.)

Like everyone and anything else, we'll score a bit, hit a few homeruns and occasionally break some news. We'll also make mistakes too, but hell, this is a blog--like I've said too many times, you want the NY Times and Howard Kurtz, you know where to find 'em.

In the meantime, I'm going to look for a decent NY pizza. Anybody got any ideas? And a bagel too. See, it's the water, I'm telling you, it's all in the water.

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