Jim Eason sent me the following e-mail.
Eason was a longtime talk host for KGO Radio, and later, KSFO. I didn't always agree with his politics, but his shows were some of the best in Bay Area radio in the late 70's, 80 and 90's.
Here's the letter:
My first call-in talk show on KGO Radio was in Summer, 1967 (oddly enough, the main topic from the callers was the explosive situation between Israel and the Arabs...the more things change, the more they stay the same).
At that time, KGO was a mish-mash of programming - Don McNeil's Breakfast Club, Alex Drier "Man on the Go", Ira Blue from the hungry i, etc. Before very long, the trend to all-talk with occasional news heated up - Jim Dunbar, Owen Spann, Russ Couglin, me...and the ratings rocketed skyward. (KGO was in fourth place or so, with KSFO, KCBS, KYA, and KNBR ahead of us, but soon reached Number One).
Under intelligent ownership - ABC, then Capital Cities, then Disney, etc...etc... - the ratings stayed high, and the other stations literally looked "up" to us...WE WERE NUMBER ONE!!!
But, with ownership who knew NOTHING about radio broadcasting...it became obvious the end was coming...I quit in June, 2000 (the cover story was I had retired...not so...I quit in disgust).
I am not a disinterested observer, and I sure as hell am NOT a listener, and haven't been for years. I have followed some of the disaster stories, however, and I have one thing to say.
GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH. And, good luck "competing" with KCBS. They are NOT a solid, first-class news station (never has been), but they must be dancing in the halls over the KGO suicide.
Finally, hahahahahahahahaha.....ha! Jim Eason
Pretty much says it all.
**LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
*KNBR and other stations are next on the hit list. Don't have a time element, but I'm working on it.
*Among the other casualties, confirmed:
LLoyd Lindsay-Young
Bill Wattenburg
Nicole Gregg, (producer)
Steve Clark
ADVERTISE ON RL 415 MEDIA: Rich.Lieberman@GMAIL.COM
*TIPS-E-MAIL: Rich.Lieberman@GMAIL.COM
*KEEP IT HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA NEWS.
*Follow me on Twitter
"Do what you can but behave yourself."
ReplyDelete- Eason's sign-off
Nice humanity...this guy, laughing, really??? People have lost their livelihoods...many of which you knew and worked with, and you laugh? Fact is KGO was number 1 beyond the date by which he retired. Ownership didn't ruin it, People Meter did. Shrink the sample size and expect the ratings to be MORE accurate? Add the asinine decisions of new ownership and now you've got a true sinking ship. He's right on the money with that. This isn't a broadcasting company...it's a ledger sheet.
ReplyDeleteEason's idea of good radio was spending a whole show describing and taking calls about how he shaved his beard. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteRegarding KNBR's lineup changes, let's hope Ralph Barbieri is the first to be let go.
ReplyDeleteGo bye Ralph.
Enjoy your permanent stay in Europe.
He's right on the money with that. This isn't a broadcasting company...it's a ledger sheet.
ReplyDeleteUltimately that's what all businesses are...and in case you hadn't been paying attention radio is a business. High priced talent and monster ratings....everybody is happy. High priced talent....mediocre ratings....big problems.
If there is any draw for old KGO style programming someone will provide it...that's just how it works.
No,its not people meter..its Dickey and only Dickey. He could choose to make a great product,invest and HIRE in the company to improve the product and thus ratings..OR he could be a parasite on a long time products name,slice anything but the person who pushes the "on " button...and when he makes a breif huge profit..can always walk away when the company collapses. Thats what he and all the Big American businessmen are doing. Screw America say these conservative Republicans.
ReplyDeletesigned,
the masked 'S'
Who is Steve Clark???
ReplyDeleteI, for one, am absolutely delighted to hear Jim Eason chime in. I loved his show and missed him when he left!!! Jim, keep speaking out! Your commentary is always welcome in my home!
ReplyDeleteI am not an Eason fan. I enjoyed him more at KGO than when he was doing the morning KSFO show. He really pissed me off but at least he was way better than the hack Sussman. Anyway, I don't think he is laughing at the hosts, he is laughing at ownership and the demise of a once great station. It would be great to hear from Swanson or Luckoff.
ReplyDeleteI am always saddened when I hear of any fellow broadcasters losing thier livelihoods. Nothing good left about the business.
ReplyDeleteEason is and always has been an ass.
ReplyDeleteRadio is ultimately a business and KGO's ratings have been languishing so change was needed.
But laughing at the many mid-level producers and staff who have lost jobs right before the holidays is simply cruel.
There is a business to radio, of course. But radio is a PRODUCT you idiot. Of course you want to increase your profit margain but not by putting out a shitty product. It's like taking a Mercedes and putting in Ford Fiesta parts but still calling it Mercedes. Anon at 2:23 is correct. It's just a business coup with no regard for the PRODUCT which is suppose to opereate in the public interest, hahaha. KGO is not responding for the public thirst for more news. They're just running it into the ground so they can take the money and run, same as Citadel did. Claim bankrupty, get the stock up, sell and run away with the money.
ReplyDeleteThe hahahahahha comment by jim eason (whoever he is, a bit before my time)makes him seem quite bizarre.
ReplyDeleteNice coverage, lieberman.
When KGO was good back in the day, Jim Eason was the only one I could not bear listenning too. KGO has been a bomb a long time , time for changes. KNBR I hope they do the same thing,get rid of Pauley Mac,Radnich, Fitz and Ralphie that will make it a good day.
ReplyDeleteThis whole column and the associated comments all sound like two girls in a high school bathroom sniping at each other. News to you news "pros" who are so proud of the comments here. If you were all such hot shit, you'd still have jobs at KGO.
ReplyDeleteSince when did Jim Eason's opinion on anything (much less what happened at KGO this week) matter? I agree with Anonymous 4:34. I had the misfortune of meeting Eason at a Giants game several years ago. What an arrogant, pompous, self-important clown. Someone I know who used to work at KGO told me Jim never did like anyone at KGO who wouldn't kiss his ass by agreeing with anything he said; That being said, Jim had very few friends at the station. So, when I read his ego-laiden, mean-spirited email he sent you, I really wasn't surprised. I thought, that is typical Eason. His tone really comes off as fatuous and cynical. Taking pleasure in seeing other people lose their jobs isn't cool. But no one ever accused Jim Eason of being cool. Or of engaging his brain before he opened his mouth, either. The fact that he is laughing at anyone (whether it be his former co-workers or the new management team at KGO) tells me how small-minded this guy really is.
ReplyDeleteTO JIM EASON:
ReplyDeleteYou sound like a bitter, cynical man who obviously had some issues with management. But, you at least were fortunate enough to convince the 'suits' to let you do the last few years of your show from your home on the other side of the country. I don't know too many announcers who had that kind of a sweet deal!
I never figured out how you could speak with any authority about what was happening out here in the bay area when you were living in the heart of the Carolinas,(or wherever it was) almost 3,000 miles away!
And you actually prefer the topography and weather and culture of that area more than that of beautiful Northern California? Amazing! We had 68 degrees today and the air was so clean and clear that you could see 60 miles down the coast!
We have beautiful, unspoiled beaches, spectacular mountains, world class theatre, art and sports, great dining, and innovative entrepeneurs. Yes, it is expensive...but you get what you pay for here! I've been to your part of the country and there are some beautiful areas, but the lack of diversity, the lousy weather, and the crappy food make it a place I'd only want to visit again very briefly.
Is Greensboro, or Raleigh, or Charlotte, or wherever you now call home really that much nicer than Northern California? You must be from those parts originally, I guess, or else why would you want to live there?
But Jim, back to my original point.... I say it again; you were very fortunate to have lasted as long as you did in this profession...and at one station for so many years! Instead of sounding bitter and cynical, you should be thanking your lucky stars that "the bad rubbish" who kept you around and put up with your noise and nonsense all of those years.
True, many radio management types wouldn't know which side of a mike to speak into, but at least the folks at KGO kept you employed, paid you well, let you work on the other side of the country out of your house, and you didn't have a 'go to work' like most poor slobs in this struggling country of ours!
Sadly, in the end we're all expendable, but gosh, I would hope that you enjoyed yourself in your career those many years. It sure doesn't sound like it! All I hear from your post is vitriol and acid. I've worked in this business for a long time myself and have also had a number of 'ups and downs,' but I've always appreciated the experiences and adventures, and felt lucky to have been able to do something that I was proficient at. I have truly enjoyed working in broadcasting all of these years.
It's sad to see you spitting at the people you once worked with at KGO. I don't know about the issues you might have had with them, and frankly, there not my or anyone else's business. But Jim, these folks gave you a nice salary, an open platform to expound on your views, and some level of sustenance for all of these years.
would think that someone who had as good a run as you and was as popular and as respected in your profession could show little more class. Either that, or just not say anything at all!
The KGO Facebook site is hilarious. KGO is posting as if nothing unusual is going on, but all the commenters are blasting it.
ReplyDeleteWow, interesting observation from Jim Eason.
ReplyDeleteI always thought he left on good terms with K-GO.
I guess not.
Well, he left at the right time because that radio station turned into the spokesmen for the DNC.
Good bye K-GO. Your demise was self-inflicted.
Who is this jerk on at 10pm? I'd rather hear the Alien show on KSFO. oh crap, that is also a Cumulus station. It is clear every talk show host left at kgo will bend over backwards and follow the company line. Even that feisty old bitch Christina Craft sounded like a wimpy company shill. Sad sad sad.
ReplyDeletethere are two businesses, that when run on the pure biz model, make the product suck....radio/tv and pro sports franchises
ReplyDeleteim sorry...but cumulus doesnt know or give shit one about the radio biz...end of story
kabc in los angeles is all right wing talk...and it gets lower ratings than the npr station...it may make money as the majority of hosts are of the syndicated variety....but it isnt a successful station
i happened to catch a bit of karel's show tonite....kinda funny listening to a so called progressive defending his employers for this move.
"we could all see this coming"....he said over and over
really? a drastic format change to a format that seems doomed from the get go?
i could have seen kgo doing more syndicate talk...or getting younger hosts....but not this...and i didnt see any of the industry insiders predicting this move
i dont think that eason is laffing at those who lost their jobs...im sure he feels for them
despite is right wing leanings...he hates the suits as much as anyone
I stargted listening to KGO in 1975 while I was a truck driver, and the preset button on the radio was welded to KGO, Jim Eason was the best!
ReplyDeleteI remember one show in which he wanted to read something from the SF Examiner that he didn't have with him in the studio, so he just left the studio to go down and get a copy leaving just dead air until he got back. I can immagine anyone ever doing something like this in this day and age and getting away with it. Or his confrontation with Loretta Switt (Mash)on the air great radio!
Did anyone catch the "comedian" this morning? He said he was HONORED that ownership thought highly enough of him to keep him on. No wonder the voice of treason handpicked this guy as a fill in. Weasels the both of them!
ReplyDeleteI am proud to know Bruce MacGowan. Well said!
ReplyDeleteBruce MacGowan is so provincial he wants to argue the merits of the Bay Area versus Jim's home in North Carolina?. Hate to have to tell you Bruce, but there is actually life outside of the Bay Area. Where he chose to move is what concern of yours?. This is very typical of what KGO had become, mostly a monolithic mouth-piece for progressives, and a second rate news product.
ReplyDeleteIf KGO had stuck to it's original idea of a mix of opinions,first-class news, & high entertainment value perhaps Cumulus would have never been able to purchase this beachfront property. Cumulus is not equipped to run major market radio stations, they are out of their league.
Wow, classy move on Jim Eason's part to say "ha ha ha good riddance to bad rubbish." Not sure who is referring to: those let go or management. Regardless, it's not the same management nor owner it was in 2000, so Eason's comments seem absurd, bitter, and childish.
ReplyDeleteBruce MacGowan, while making a few good points, also seems quite self important.
ReplyDeleteYep that is vintage MacGowan (or someone who listened to him enough to spoof his style). Takes forever to make a point while going off on some large tangent somewhere in the middle.
ReplyDeleteI thought Eason was dead. Does he venture his opinions anywhere these days? I thought he moved back to NC at one time. Anyone know?
ReplyDeleteThere is a recent back story why Jim Eason hates the suits. I know it. Do any of you know it?
ReplyDeleteCumulus is nothing but a corporate raider and they will repay their stockholders for allowing them to acquire Citadel by stripping the stations. This is not only happening at KGO - watch for it to happen to all the old Citadel stations. I mentioned this on a message board I belong to and someone piped up and said the same thing happened at her music station. Everyone fired and instant Christmas music. All these stations will soon have canned music, news and talk show. Much cheaper. Scary on many levels.
ReplyDeletewow LL Young too? Now he will have to simply broadcast live from Mount Vaca and tell us on a hot summer day "It's 90 degrees in vacaville already!!!" He got excited about heatwaves and rightly so!
ReplyDeleteWow - that guy put the W in weather. The best since Leo Ciolino, Mike Pechner, and Harry Guise (RIP) of the good old days