KGO Upheaval the Talk of the Industry and Beyond; Advertisers leave, Listeners vent; Monday PM post

Upheaval? Yes. Revolt. Indeed. Anger? To the 10th power.

The KGO Radio mass firings by Cumulus has struck a major chord not only locally, but beyond. And it's not just industry chatter and water cooler talk. Its reached way, way beyond that element. It has taken on a life of its own.

Need proof?

I did four radio interviews on Monday, from Santa Rosa to San Luis Obispo. My e-mail has gone through the roof. This is not to boast, and as you know, I love boasting. People, most of whom work outside the radio biz are still steaming. Everyone wants to know what to do, how to get even, anything possible short of mass rioting outside KGO studios.

A few things to dish out....First off, I'm not in the business of organizing events. That's for all you guys to decipher. As I have said repeatedly, I sympathise with all of you who are outraged over what happened, not so much what went down, (although that was bad enough), more so the manner in which it was handled.

I'd been critical of KGO and wrote extensive pieces that management needed to do something. Indeed, KGO had lost significant market share and listeners, particularly the ones who buy coke and go to the movies, the so-called coveted A25-54 demo that listen to IPods and MP3 players. Nobody disputed a change was in order. But to the extent that took place last Thursday? No. I mean, essentially, instead of euthanizing the critter, Cumulus took the dog into the backyard and shot it in the head. No tweaking, screw seasoning and hiring young, seasoned, fresh voices, let's just blow this building up and start over.

Which they did. But the airwaves are not like a furniture store. And KGO, even modern 4.0/Internet/Ipod/IPhone KGO was nirvana to many demos, from the 30-something crowd to the AARP people. Sure, they were regressing. From the moment Mickey Luckoff and Jack Swanson left the scene, the end was near. Everybody knew it, even most of the hosts who were shown the door. Change was coming, but certainly not in the manner of Thursday's massacre.

And the listeners are still stunned. Anger, resentment, all of the above. Is it resonating? Try this: Three big advertisers have ceased their accounts, including C-Crane Radio, Just Remnants, and Burgermeister. Rumors abound that more companies are considering pulling their money away from KGO too. Folks, you start messing with the cookie jar and believe me, they begin to notice. That's when management calls meetings and "considers all options." I'm in no way suggesting that the suits are suddenly going to wave the peace flag, but truly, maybe they underestimated the reaction. Wait a minute! I know for a fact that they didn't expect this.

Twitter has exploded with all of this and on Facebook, everywhere you go, this is the talk of the town. You may think I'm being dramatic. Check my cell-phone bill then. I've kept all e-mails. I'd say it's about 90% anti-KGO. Even dopey Copeland was unable to quell the situation on Monday filling in for the mattress guy.

Oh, about Ronn. How do some of his colleagues feel? The same way I felt and then some. out of respect, I won't mention their names, but yeah, some felt as if they were thrown under the bus. I'm being diplomatic. Trust me, some people are pissed. And just wait until I tell you what I have been told not to tell, just yet. (But I swear, I will. Be patient).

YOU GUYS ARE BEING HEARD: OK? They didn't figure this was going to be a big deal. They still think of most of 'yous as fools. They have ZERO regard of your feelings. And yeah, they really don't give a rat's ass about Gene Burns, just to name one person.

I'm not a KGO apologist, but I remember the days when they ruled the land. Even at their worst, they still were a part of the conversation in this area. A little tinkering here and there, a complete overhaul of the news department and such would have made much more sense, but sense ain't now virtue with the Dickey brothers and Cumulus. Cumulus is hell and all the other rotten things that take place in Atlanta. (And we haven't even talked about the BK, but we will soon).

This story is far from over. I have a lot to tell you guys and eventually I will. I've spoken to many people, including those directly affected. There are wheels in motion and the future is still fluid. In due time, I will tell you things that you may like. At the least, this spot continues to be a forum for you all to vent. That's OK, it's good to get it all out.

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