*There was a time when Ronn Owens had a conscience. He lost it about a decade ago when he bought a big house in Seacliff--that's a lot of overhead, even for Ronn and his million-plus salary. He deserves it--he makes money for KGO Radio and has been working there since 1975.
*Ronn is still the premier interviewer on the Bay Area radio airwaves. He's also the brightest and most keen on politics, pop culture, and the Middle East. That's the good stuff.
*But then, he lost his soul. That's what happens when you become the "Voice of Reason."
*The Voice of Reason has never heard of civil disobedience. Maybe he should read the constitution now and then.
*The Voice of Reason continually cheapens his show by making virtually all his guests read a mattress ad. I assume it's all about the money because, seriously, that's so tacky.
*And Ronn is going on yet another cruise. Good for the Voice--he's sailing free of charge while his minions have to fork over 5 grand or so. I hope his mattress on the ship is comfortable.
*Oh, Owens was told by the ousted Jerry Johnson that he couldn't have certain people, (including me), on his show anymore. The next time the Voice of Reason says KGO people don't control the folks he has on his show, remember this nugget.
*Ronn loves Brian Copeland. Maybe they can become the new "Ten Speed and Brown Shoe."
*Hey Ronn, maybe you should look up the word, "loyalty" in the dictionary. Even Mickey nailed you on that one, right?
*Follow me on Twitter
I love Ronn and completely disagree with you. His stance is precisely why I love him. He is a true voice of reason in that he is willing to swim against the tide now and then based on his usually center-left position. I've watched him agitate the left and the right over the years but remain the guy that I've learned to appreciate.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't get really specific on the OWS thing but I agree with his stance that you can allow people to protest and limit the time they can "occupy" an area. That seems reasonable to me.
With due respect it seems like you have a personal axe to grind over being disallowed from appearing on his program. I also think your Brian Copeland comment is ridiculous.
Look in the mirror Mr. Lieberman.
Owens does have a point about the Wall Street Occupiers. They have taken over Oakland and turned it into a rat's nest (literally!). The protest would have been better served if they came out in force, stated their concerns and frustrations with Washington, and then left. Instead, you have many professional protesters; whose only purpose is to headline the 6'clock news; making a bunch of useless noise. A protest needs to have a purpose; otherwise, the important people won't be taking notes but will simply smirk, shake their heads, and turn away.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, anything new about Tom Sinkovitz? Is he working again and if so, where?
Yeah,sure if the protesters had been polite and neat...nobody would have paid any attention to them. That would have changed things.
ReplyDeleteI have listened to Ronn for years, but more than anything, the guests playing the little "sleep game" before they are coerced into reading the ad makes me ill. When I hear it coming I turn the radio off. It is so predictable and so old. Not interesting or funny. Almost as despicable as Gil Gross' Dr Scott Hyver ads... OFF.
ReplyDeleteWhy would Owens have you on his show?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you have to offer, other than rants?
Uh oh big rich is taking on big ron, look out sparks could fly. Wake me when its over.
ReplyDeleteWho is Jerry Johnson?
ReplyDeleteThe Voice of Reason was a war monger hawk on the Iraq war. He got egg all over his face on that one. The Voice of Reason dumps on those who have grievances against Israel yet finds absolutely no fault with Israel. EVER. I wonder if the Voice of Reason will get on the air tomorrow and dump on the Oakland police for shooting a war veteran on the head with a tear gas canister. The war veteran is in critical condition. Maybe the Voice of reason will find time to squeeze that information in between his cruise and mattress ads. The day the Voice of Reason and Gary Radunich retire many in the Bay Area will rejoice. Keep up the good work Rich!
ReplyDeleteAlways be loyal to your current employer.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is left wing in oakland area. They are protesting to themselves it seems.
ReplyDelete5:15, I'll pay a LOT more attention to someone who is dressed neatly (doesn't have to be new or "fine" clothes), and behaves politely or in a civil manner, as opposed to a rowdy unkempt frothing at the mouth individual or crowd.
ReplyDeleteIf there's an upside to Ronn's rants against the Occupy movement, it's that he's temporarily declared a cease-fire in his incessant rants against "excessive" public employee wages and pensions, although he never really does spell out what he deems "excessive" to mean.
ReplyDeleteI personally find Ronn unlistenable, owing primarily to his gargantuan ego and the extent to which he oozes arrogance.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, Ronn can no more refuse the celebrity cruise opportunity than he can skip the mattress ads, or other ads he (or you or I) might dislike. While that's always been true, now -- under the Cumulus banner and in the economic straits we're in -- more than ever, people in commercial radio have to dance to the tune of the sales opportunities.
While we're on that subject, it's worth pointing out that there was a time in recent memory where Jack Swanson used to squelch the sleaziest ads from making it to KGO's air: there was an articulated policy against medical product ads, penis pills, etc. making it to air because of the extent to which they irritate listeners. Unfortunately, that policy was plowed under several years ago when the sales team found it was no longer possible to keep the log avails full all the time. Remember, in commercial radio, $$ is king.
If you don't like Ronn, you're in luck: you know as well as I do that the Dickey Bros will drop him and his million dollar contract at their very first opportunity.
Ronn has a humongous ego ... but is extremely insecure. If the phones aren't lit up, he invariably breaks out in a sweat, panics and (off air)accuses the engineering department of sabotage or incompetence. The Voice of Reason is more like the Voice of Eason. Right wingers, both.
ReplyDeleteI remember in the run up to the 91 Gulf War Owens having a guest on and they were debating the merits of using neutron bombs on the Iraqi's. Point being Owens has been missing his humanity for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteI would guess the use of flash bombs on the mob doesn't seem very upsetting to him.
Ronn Owen is all about Ronn Owen. And I don't understand why people can't see this.
ReplyDelete