I'm going to make this quick since I've got a ton of things to do...
Just back from the Occupy KGO rally. Met a lot of very interesting, passionate people that managed to make for a nice, albeit small demonstration. The weather gods played a part.
John Rothmann, Gil Gross and assorted media people. Folks said and shouted their displeasure. It was spirited and civil. Even Ben Fong-Torres made an appearance.
*Ronn Owens, aka: mattress man sneaked out of the broadcast center garage. I expected the Voice of Treason to make amends to his listeners, but he showed his true colors. He didn't say a word--I'm hearing he was on direct orders from Cumulus upper suits to IGNORE and just move on.
The Voice of Treason has no balls. I went all gooey saying I thought he was a "good man"--a "professional" that was caught up in the process. To many of you who heard him Thursday, and warned me that he'd turn a blind eye, well, you were right. Shame on me for giving Lowenstein-Owens the benefit of the doubt.
RONN, you are an INGLORIOUS BASTARD of the highest proportion. You are the epitome of SELLOUT.
You're are a coward too. And on a day where your tool producer, "Jared Hart", was censoring calls and pre-screening listeners so they couldn't talk about the demise of a once-great radio station, you, Ronn, capitulated the utter BS. You in essence, added insult to injury. You are nothing more than a corporate shill for Cumulus...and get this, you'll be gone too soon enough when your contract expires.
*I'll be a guest on the Michael Savage Show, (Tonight--5: 30 PST)--Bay Area listeners can tune in via Sacramento's KSTE (650 AM)
*Follow me on Twitter
Yes, what a fake BS artist to ignore the "news" it supposed to be a KGO news station right ?
ReplyDeleteI could care less what Owens and KGO does. I don't listen, I won't evn give them a hit on there website. Not interested.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that I haven't enjoyed radio so much in years. Bill has never been better than he has been on the KSCO morning show. Wonderful to hear Johnny R and Ray T on the air as well. Looking forward to Gene resurfacing along with Gil too. Thanks to MZ and those loyal advertisers like New Pane and Vitucci that help tp make it happen.
Be bold Mickey, let mighty forces come to your aid!
Who cares what Ron Owens thinks? He'll be gone in a year and he knows it. In the meanwhile, he is their waterboy. And he knows it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a way to end his career -- his audience hating him. He would have been better off quitting than perpetuating this.
Don't get mad. Get even.
ReplyDeleteDon't get mad. Get even. Contact the FCC and the KGO sponsors.
ReplyDeletePrissy Ronnnnn, the little girl. What did Jan Black ever see i9n this puke?
ReplyDeleteRonn has no guts or class.
ReplyDeleteHe is a traitor to talk radio listeners.
I'm really upset I couldn't be there today, had to work. I did tune in to KGO at 9:05 to 9:10 to see if Ronn would take at least a minute and talk about his previous comments and be a gentleman. NOPE. I can only hope the other great hosts land in a station that I can get here in San Jose.
ReplyDeleteSo you're going on the sociopathic Michael Savage show to I guess bash KGO. Well good luck with that say hi to the insane person for us. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll be on his meds.
ReplyDeletehey rich....amazing how this little old blog has put the fear of god into the powers that be
ReplyDeletesending out a poor producer to spill that dreck about people being nasty?
the nastiest comments on this blog are directed at the blog owner
btw...nice hat...
occupy 55 Hawthorne / 11th floor. that's where the true Cumulus puppets are.
ReplyDeleteRonn is a symptom, he's not the problem. It's easy to take it out on him because he's there and he's visible. We get it that you don't like Ronn or his posse, and that's ok, that's your axe to grind. But I'd rather see you use this venue to help us get to the bigger problem of Corporate monopolies of our media. And I mean that with the utmost respect, sir.
ReplyDeleteYou were inspirational today!
ReplyDeleteLoved meeting and hearing you today Rich! Looking forward to your show with Savage. Thanks again for everything!
ReplyDeleteNot only am I shocked by Matress Boy's behavior, but I am even more shocked by the idiots who called his show today. Who are these clueless morons? I have to believe they are paid callers from Atlanta. Interesting theory that Matress Man conducted today's show from a bunker in Sea Cliff. He sounded like he was under water.
ReplyDeleteGo Mickey go!
ReplyDeleteRonn, what an incredible sell out.
How you handled yourself is pathetic.
Hope kissing up to these low-life does some good for you since you have smashed out any goodwill we were trying to hold for you.
Rich, we were all fools to think "No Cojones" would leave the garage while the Occupy KGO forces were there. Maybe he was on orders from Cumulus about that too?
ReplyDeleteFunny how KGO-TV covered the event but not "All-News" KGO. :)
Wow Rich I felt the same way inside... But hearing the facts hurts so much... Its sad.. Your words are the truth that so meny feel deep inside about this.....
ReplyDeleteThank you and Jon and Gill and How about good old Ben.. Gosh I have fond times with him back when KSAN started... Thank You I wish we did not have to meet this way.. Your words are TRUTH for all of us.. and he is also hurting future generations of folks who If no one stands up we will no longer have our local free radio.. From Radio Dog and I Thank You! Geez i only did anonymous because i have no idea what all the choses where... I was the guy with the Dog with the red antena ears
Will be tuning in tonight to hear you Rich, it was such a nice surprise to see you today. Thanks for coming out.
ReplyDeleteLike Rich I can remember growing up listening to Ira Blue, Jim Eason, Russ Coughlan, and later enjoying the diverse and professional voices that engaged us on a regular basis. Even now I turn my radio to KGO for Gene's solid shows, or even Len's entertaining stories and remember there's no there there. It is truly disheartening to see what they have done to a once great station.
ReplyDeleteI also turned in this morning just to hear what Ron(n) would do and was saddened but not surprised by his cowardice. It is the final inglorious act for a once solid professional, who, apparently for the money alone has sold out so completely. His schtick with the mattresses and the cutsie asides has been getting old, but, this was the final straw. Sorry to say but I have removed my presets for 810 and am working through the stages of grieving this loss. I look forward to the return of a station that can engage and stimulate debate, discussion and ideas that the Bay Area so desperately needs
I didn't listen. If he was under a gag order from Cumulus, I can understand that. And the producers and screeners usually screen the calls for the topic being discussed regardless if it is about the KGO firings or not.
ReplyDeleteStill, people want to talk about it. And being the ONLY talk show on KGO during the weekdays, you STILL can't ignore that elephant in the room.
I am a fan of Jared, talked to him while calling in in the past and he was respectful, kind, and easy to talk to. Good man from my experience.
ReplyDeleteMZ on KSCO mentioned that Gil has a new opportunity at some network. Have you heard what that might be?
ReplyDelete"I am a fan of Jared"
ReplyDeleteSeriously ?
@ 4:19, Ever since Jared got promoted he has CHANGED. He has become drunk on what little power he has and become a petty tyrant. Not uncommon and he will find out that Karma is indeed a bitch.
ReplyDeleteGil told the gentleman standing next to me that he will probably end up back on ABC News.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I saw you Mr Dog with red antennae. I was to your left with a black coat on and a black knit hat holding a sign that said "I AM GONE"
Here's a link to the KTSE stream. You don't need to download anything. It works like a regular link. I just tested this link, it loads just fine.
ReplyDeleteKTSE Listen Live
When it is all said and done, it is the last man standing, that survives.
ReplyDeletejust heard you on savage, what was the point? stroke his ego? it was a big lieberman-savage love festival like a paid announcement. btw, you have a nice voice.
ReplyDeleteLet's be real here. Rothman, Gross, and Burns are all broadcast professionals, but they are OLD. (Taliafero is old too, but he is a novelty act, as we say in the biz). In this day and age of PPM, their style of broadcasting DOES NOT WORK. Their ratings were sorely dropping, and their salaries too high.
ReplyDeleteEnd of story, brother Rich.
Meantime, excellent reporting on this local media issue.
People, Jesus! Why would Ronn show sympathy, his paycheck comes from these assholes. Ignoring it is the best thing he can do to keep his job. They're not going to highlight this controversy, they are moving on and you should, too. And if the fired old-timers land on another dinosaur am spot on the dial, then enjoy until that gets blown up. KGO didn't have the foresight to keep up with "the big shift" in modern media, they were too lazy to get an FM signal and add some new (younger) talent. Blame Mickey, he got what he deserved first!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rich, for covering the KGO mess. You've been very informative and I check your site daily for updates.
ReplyDeleteSpencer Mills, from OakFoSho, has an archive of today's rally on his ustream page at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/19166503
Thanks again!
Ray T stirred shit up in Monterey County. White people get scared when a colored man shows some assertive passion and doesn't take crap, even from a rich 90 year old lady. What did she and her son expect? You are already treading on dangerous footing when you quote from the ridiculous self promoter Donald Trump's book. After Ray T's appearance, every other radio show on KSFO has mentioned it today. It's been the buzz all day. A few old white men have threatened not to listen if Ray T is hired down here. It will be their loss if MZ listens to the dinasours.
ReplyDeleteI wonder with all of the negative stuff that has happen to KGO is management being shy about changes for KNBR, the blow hole leader. Now if management wipe out 1/2 of KNBR talent, everybody would be happy about it. Looks like nothing is going to happen at the big Infomercial Giant station.
ReplyDeleteBacci says that the powers that be sent me out to tell people off. Bullshit. I was in the building for an unrelated project and saw my friend John Rothman speaking and thought I put in my two cents.
ReplyDeleteEverything is not a conspiracy to make you unhappy. I told it like it is because many of you (especially here) have been vile.
Rich goes on and on about KGO, yet just across town dozens of my fellow journalists were canned from the San Francisco Examiner by "their" new owners.
Not a peep from any of you, one quick dash by Rich.
My name is Mel Baker and I approve this message.
Anon@4:19
ReplyDeleteReally? A fan of Jared? Is this Jared's mom? Jared, start looking for a new gig. Your gone when Ronn's gone.
Here's looking at you,kid.
This getting really old.....
ReplyDeleteI hope the 30th is still on. I'm not working on that date, so I'll be there!
ReplyDeleteI miss Sheldon.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone see him at the rally? Whatever happened to Sheldon anyway?
He was my favorite caller to KGO.
Mr Baker- I feel for you, I really do. I saw you on the live stream of the event today and to be honest, you appeared shrill and somewhat hysterical. Not that I blame you, but I think your anger is misdirected. The event today was peaceful and so were those who attended. It's gotta be hell working in that situation you're in now. Your anger should be directed at the people who made it that way, not random people who came out to support the fired employees and the job you are trying to keep.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Reality and I approve this message.
The 30th is very much on, Friday, 5:00 pm, 900 Front Street. Bring a CANdle and CANned food for our CANned hosts and for Cumulus CANceling our station. Bring friends and make an evening out of the event, stay in the city and have a nice dinner after. More information on the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FormerKGOListeners
ReplyDelete@8:52pm, thank you. I too, saw this character Mel grab the mike from Rothman and thought his tough guy "you would not say this or that to my face" was hysterical. Nobody knows who he is but he acted like a victim and then got mad when Rothman said: "Mel is a victim in all this too". His anger was misdirected and he accused the demonstrators of leaving him messages on his phone. It sounded like the voices in his head were getting the best of him.
ReplyDeleteI am a psychiatrist and I approve of this message.
I find it hilarious to see people who point out lower ratings and the station losing money as reason to why they did this. Yet I have not seen any indication that they actually reviewed their ratings, knew what ratings are good and bad for this area nor whether or not they were profitable or not. Just generalities, it is very possible that a person can be profitable and have lower ratings.
ReplyDeletePeople need to realize that unless an unbiased person reviewed and analyzed a set of audited financial from these people for each of their programs you cannot truly say whether or not they were profitable. It is very easy to manipulate this data in order to get the impression of losses and use that as a negotiating tactic.
This whole idea of being behind Cumulus 100% is asinine, IF they truly were losing ground on profitability they can streamline operations, negotiate lower salaries, introduce newer radio personalities.Any one of these would have been a better idea then to completely gut the core of their company.
Any business person can tell you that getting new customers costs up to 10x more than you retain your current customer base. KGO just lost a substantial customer base, not only did they lose these customers but they lost the most profitable ones. From what I have seen many of the people they have lost have been listening for decades and for longer periods at a time, one..two..three hours to hear Ronn, Gil, Len, etc. With the current format someone can tune in for 20 minutes, hear the news cycle and leave.
Mr. Baker:
ReplyDeleteI was at today's rally, and your statements were politely received. Our beef is not with current KGO employees, but with a management that shows contempt for all parties involved, including the listeners.
I've worked for corporations that have had big layoffs, and it's hellish for both the fired employees and the survivors (most of whom do not have ironclad contracts).
The phone calls you get from angry people are largely due to the fact that listeners have not had a chance to discuss the situation on the air. (Some older listeners without internet access are still baffled about what's become of their formerly favorite radio station.) It's odd that a talk radio station forbids the discussion of the one topic that its listeners most want to discuss, and some of the blame must fall on Ronn "management doesn't tell me what to say" Owens.
My advice to you and other KGO employees: Look for a new job now, while you're still employed.
I get a kick out of whatching ABC 7 anchors bend over backwards to tell viewers that KGO radio isn't owned by the same company...
ReplyDeleteKGO TV covered it:
ReplyDeletehttp://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Fsan_francisco&id=8469188
And note to Mel Baker -- you should have kept out of it. You were tone deaf to the civil and peaceful demonstrators.
Thanks for the post Rich.
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling that Jared the producer was sceening calls.
Typical of authoritarian radio.
This Jared guy annoys me more than Ronn. Ronn I can understand (with his contract and all).
This producer guy sounds so much like some belligerent mangement type in training.
Very disgusting.
Thanks for posting that UStream link. I'm watching it now. If the hosts don't come back at KGO or another place, this was a good farewell that they didn't get on KGO. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteJacque - yes we CAN.
ReplyDelete8:10pm - Sheldon couldn't hold a CANdle to Michael in Cotati or Harvey in Berkeley. Of course we miss the angry Brother obsessed with the oligarchs and the pissed off middle age white guy Gary who hated just about everybody. Nights are no fun now. I wonder if Bulah and HB have weighed in? Yeah .... Cumulus fired an audience for sure.
Gee Rich, that's easy for you to say but will you "still love him tomorrow?"..
ReplyDeleteIs it weird that I miss "John Lennon Conspiracy Guy?"
ReplyDelete@1:48 don't forget Charles in Berkeley! He called every show. My favorites were Michael in Cotati and also the angry Brother you mentioned, especially when he called Mr. Burns. I was amazed that Gene could understand what the brother was saying. I'm from the 'hood and I could not understand half the stuff the guy was saying!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing quite like a good old 'town hall' meeting on a web site. Everybody gets to print their opinion and some people even like to vent their spleens. It's actually great therapy and you feel so much better when you get this bile out of your system and tell people (with impunity as I'm doing right now), just how you feel.
ReplyDeleteRich, you are our 'guilty pleasure.'
Now for my two cents:
It's time to move on people. I know that it's frustrating and painful to see what is happening, but this unfortunately, is the US of A that we're now living in in 2011.
Corporations don't care now, and many have never cared about individuals. The 'little' people who are the backbone of these corporations, and who are also very responsible for 'making their brand,' what it is, are eventually discounted, marginalized, used up, and downsized out of jobs. Their primary purpose is to work their butts off to make the corporation money. And of course, these corporations do give them some security, in the form of a bi monthly paycheck and benefits, albeit less and less these days!
The people who run most of these corporations usually come from colleges where they took a lot of accounting classes and other related business courses. I was in a fraternity for awhile back in my college days with such a group. Nice guys, smart, likeable and family oriented, but they were in a different world than the one that I was lucky enough to grow up in.
I got out of that fraternity because even though some of those fellows were friends, we just didn't have a lot of common values.
Americans, and particularly in this day and age have been 'programmed' somewhat by our peers and the media to buy a lot of crap that they really don't need. I know this is how our system works, but it's not a sustainable model, and it's better that we're going through this economic downturn now, because hopefully we'll slow down a bit on our rapid overuse of our already restrained resources.
What does all this have to do with KGO you ask?
Good question....KGO is just one of many radio stations that are being 'downsized' by corporations that want to survive and thrive so that their hungry CEOs and shareholders can make a better living than most. I understand this, but I can't buy into it.
Unfortunately, many of us would probably try to be doing the same thing that they're doing if we were in their positions. There are really very few truly altruistic people out there...and there are virtually none in the corporate world (and that certainly doesn't just include the good old US of A, but the almost all the rest of the world!)
For what it's worth, I rest my case, and I now feel much better! Thanks Rich for providing this forum. You are doing a good service, even though many times I find myself in sharp disagreement to what you post.
Now I'm going to get off this machine and get out into the sun and go for a hike with my dog and some friends!
Happy holidays to everyone and stay positive!
Life is very short!
Rich Liberman's mini-concert tribute to Michael Savage:
ReplyDeleteKilling Me Softly(with his song)-Roberta Flack
How Great Thou Art-Elvis Presley
You Light Up My Life-Debby Boone
Dear Anonymous 9:51 am, Thank you so much for your thoughtful and insightful comments. I think you are exactly right about corporations not caring about individuals, only about their short-term bottom line (contrary to the supreme court's ruling, they are NOT people). I don't believe this is a new concept -- the big industrialists of the early 1900s were sure a greedy bunch -- but now we have the global economy thrown into the mix. Actually, I do disagree with you that most of us would probably do the same thing if we had a chance. My experience is that there are a lot of very good people in the world doing kind and selfless things and not in pursuit of a lavish lifestyle. They just don't get press exposure and they don't have the power to exploit others the way rich people do. But you do have the right idea. In the big picture, the loss of KGO is small potatoes, but we do feel bad for those employees who have been thrown out like yesterday's garbage. I have turned back to public radio and rediscovered blessed silence. Anyway, thanks for reminding me that it is time to move on.
ReplyDeleteI miss the caller, Joanne. And Garrett. Joanne is so intelligent and well-spoken. Garrett too. And I even miss the man who sounded like he had a mouthful of marbles. Can't remember his name.
ReplyDeleteI listened to a bit of the noon show at KSCO today - the one Ray was on yesterday. I hope someone runs a tape of that show sometime. He really upset a lot of people. Must have been a VERY good show. I was about to call in to defend Ray when a man, who said he was a vet, called and did a beautiful job of defending Ray, calmly, clearly, without rancor toward any. The host himself doesn't like Ray and kept saying he should be polite, he should be reasonable, he should be this, that, anything but what he is. BS. Ray is Ray and has a right to be Ray and that's what we like about Ray! And essentially, that's what the caller said only he said it nicer.
Meanwhile, I'm writing my letters to the FCC and state and federal reps, as John recommended yesterday at the rally.
Mr. Baker--You seem to have some big anger issues, and directing them at the kind and sweet crowd yesterday was VERY out of place! Did you hear anyone "screaming" or calling names? No, you did NOT. We are your friends--please direct your bile at a different target. Maybe your employer?
ReplyDelete"The people who run most of these corporations usually come from colleges where they took a lot of accounting classes and other related business courses."
ReplyDeleteThe crux of it all. 9:51am gets the gold star. Living in the USA. The business schools armed with the digital processing revolution of the last 30 years run everything. Cumulus could just as easy be an airline, big box retailer or toaster building company. These corporate suits are interchangeable. The Bean Counters can run any company by the numbers. It really makes little difference what the product or service is.
Mr. Mel Baker you Mention:
ReplyDelete" yet just across town dozens of my fellow journalists were canned from the San Francisco Examiner by "their" new owners". While the former KGO listeners feel bad about anyone who has been "canned" from their jobs, we did not listen to those people day and night for years. Nor did we know their names, and we certainly did not feel like they were family. As a 30 year listener I think that you just dont get it. Perhaps you have never listened to a radio station for that long to understand.