"What, me worry? would be the most obvious feeling over at KCBS, where suddenly, the local all-news outlet has direct competition from the new KGO, but that isn't the case--at least for now.
A few of KCBS' staffers told me that while, short term, the higher-ups feel there's no immediate threat from KGO's evolution into all-news, (except on the weekend), long-term, "they're bound to get a small percentage of listeners."
"The sheer fact they're up and running, sure, some of (our people), will give a listen, " says a senior reporter. "I doubt any of our core audience is gonna jump ship."
Then why would KCBS begin playing a series of new promos touting it as the "only" all-news outlet? "They, (management), want to be pro-active. Better to act than re-act."
Heck, they could have given me the money instead.
I mean, KCBS is stocked with some of the best reporters and anchors in the biz. I'll take Stan Bunger and Susan Leigh Taylor any day of the week over Jon Bristow and Jennifer Jones-Lee.
And CBS local is stocked with some of the very best and seasoned reporters including City Hall tonsil, Barbara Taylor, street reporter vet, Bob Melrose, SouthBay reporter, Mike Colgan, and longtime Bay Area correspondent, Mike Sugarman.
And don't forget nighttime anchors John Evans and Dean Danos. I can't fathom that miscast Peter Finch poses any threat to KCBS from 7-10, after all, as we all know, KCBS' brand has been all-news, 24-7, "all news, all day, all night" indeed.
Another thing: KCBS has built up a remarkable market constant: "sports at '15 and 45'"--traffic on the 8's", etc. Sure, there's nothing profound here, but most people who "want news"will keep it at 740 AM. This isn't necessarily a full-fledged plug for KCBS--more a slap at KGO, whose Cumulus management seemed to think that they could re-invent the market. I seriously doubt it and I get the feeling I'm not alone.
*Kristy Siefkin, her high-priestess of weather at CBS here, is splitting the SF market and heading outta town to Phoenix Television, gees, I hope we can all sleep. I'll say this: she does have a face for TV.
*Ronn Owens note: Ex-KGO higher-up, Jack Swanson, said it was a monumental mistake that Owens was placed on the air the day after the KGO mass firings. I agree. Swanson told a local broadcaster that "you always protect your prime talent."
*Owens return on Thursday coincides with the "Occupy KGO" rally at 11: 30-you can bet your ass that the timing was intentional. Ronn no doubt is going over his monologue right now, in between his facial and manicure/pedicure. Maybe if he's tired, he can rest on his latest new mattress.
*Meanwhile, over at Cumulus other outpost, KNBR, the bean counters, (other than Barbieri and Radnich), await their Cumulus knifing, and it's coming soon.
*Yeah, I'm just as perplexed as you are that, by and large, most of the local mainstream press, ignores the KGO mess, (other than a few blurbs), but they're more interested in real news like the SF Hooters closing.
*It's not that Spencer Hughes is merely bad, more god-awful, painful bad--sorta like the State Farm jingles invading your kid's elementary school.
*Hughes makes Eric Byrnes sound like Charles Osgood.
*Good people caught in the abyss: Christine Craft, Michael Finney, Bob Gowa, Stan Burford, Pat Thurston, and Rich Walcoff.
*Please, "Live 105" is cool, I get it, but its not exactly FM radio sacred ground. You can always go over to Pandora for gawds sake.
*Follow me on Twitter
Last night I realized what bothers me about Pete Finch. It is that rythmic grandfatherly delivery of his. Is it that he tries to exhude wisdom with that delivery? Very annoying. Speaking of deliveries, Spencer Hughes sounds like he is clenching his teeth and talking out of the side of his mouth. Like he constipated. I don't see him lasting much longer, he even said so last weekend.
ReplyDeleteI am also excited about the Live 105 prospect, however the signal south of SJ is atrocious!
I don't know how to compare news people on one station or the other because I don't listen to KCBS, but I have NEVER heard anybody with as quick a wit and clever comebacks as Jon Bristow. Maybe news reading isn't his true calling. I am just a listener, never been in the business, don't know Jon or any of that. I've enjoyed that from him since he's been on the morning news. Haven't listened since the dismemberment of the staion so I don't know if they've silenced that as well.
ReplyDeleteAny hope that someone at Cumulus Media will put Karel on a short leash, like, soon? I can't take anymore "Break Up Songs", pink iPhones "under review", talks with the iPhone voice, Siri, and the ranting, raving and misinformation spewed forth.
ReplyDeleteNo, making that reguritated vomit spewing forth. This guy needs a comedy coach. And time off to find a new boy friend down there in Long Beach. Talk about bad radio ... for any market.
kgo's long-term plan is to go syndicated. If cumulus was serious about news, they would emulate the old KGO: South Bay reporter (Lee Shell/Gene Rusco), East Bay bureau (Greg Edmonds); Sacramento bureau (Pat Davis); City Hall reporter (Dick Leonard). Until they do that, it's all a sham.
ReplyDeleteDid you happen to hear the outright rip-off of KCBS's standard line, "And at the editor's desk is ... "
The beautiful Mercedes has been stripped down to a Ford Pinto.
So sad.
Kristy was growing on me..anybody who loves dogs must be a good person. Real dogs-not pits. Those are for psychos.
ReplyDeleteI liked 105-back in 1996. The best music they play is from pre 1996. Hip Hop killed rock. African Americans created rock-and they took it down as cool.
Hey-Dibley says since leaving the Raddy show(in so many words) he's cut his drinking by 90%!..interesting that the same day Raddy took a jab at backstabbers who then work at "A dump"..something like that.
And PTL as Tebow would say, for RL415 MEDIA. Our last sanctuary for truth...
Live 105, along with their So. Cal counterpart KROQ are horrible stations because modern day mainstream rock is horrible...
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't shed a tear if either one of those stations went away in favor of either some ground breaking indie rock station (We had Indie 101.3 for a while down here in So. Cal)...or some good news-talk.
If it's true that Mickey Luckoff is working on a deal at this time, that would be FANTASTIC news indeed; especially to hear wonderful hosts again like Gene, John, Gil, Ray and Dr. Wattenburg and fav Joannie Greggains on the air, revived!!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I hope it is not at the expense of losing the programming format of Live 105, alternative rock. PLEASE KEEP LIVE 105 (especially Aaron Axelson's show on Saturday nights--if he's still there). I'm hopeful that Mickey can arrange for another station with a strong frequency on AM (like eliminate some of the multiple Spanish stations--too many!).
Thanks again, Rich, for the updates. Will you make an appearance at the rally, so your fans can thank you in person? Hooray for you and Mickey Luckoff and all the great posts (funny ones too) that make current radio events lively for us!
Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, says "that only the paranoid survive." Good to see KCBS take KGO seriously and hopefully they will improve their product.
ReplyDeleteAlso good to see that "mattress man" has become a lightning rod for criticism. m. His self-important, "voice of reason" schtick got old ages ago.
Response to 12:23pm: Live 105's format is the only alternative rock station that is worth listening to, but Aaron's Subsonic show is BEST! If you want indie music, search elsewhere on the dial. There are worst programming on other stations. Like I commented, some of the Spanish stations could be eliminated because there are so many of them on the air now. Few alternative rock stations where the frequency comes in clearly exist. Leave Live 105 alone, 12:23 and others who think like you. I'm happy to support Mickey's efforts on gaining new ground with a strong and overreaching station, but not Live 105.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon @ 11:45
ReplyDelete"Kristy was growing on me..anybody who loves dogs must be a good person. Real dogs-not pits. Those are for psychos."
I just lost my pitbull to cancer. He was loved by EVERYONE who met him. Even by those who hated the breed. It is not the dog, it's the macho type owners who want to be badasses that make these dogs mean. They are very smart and loyal. They have to be neutered, nurtured and not ignored. My dog was my co-pilot, my right hand man, and my best buddy. Don't insult his memory by calling me psycho. Our family is in mourning from his loss.
Rich, sorry to get off topic.
Working on the Occupy KGO signs right now. 4 of us going.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason most other bay area media properties aren't covering this is some combination of "professional courtesy" and being on the knife's edge themselves.
ReplyDeleteThey don't want to seem to be piling on another media outlet for a couple of reasons, you don't "promote" a competitor and you don't throw stones in a glass house.
Agree with @12:56 about pit bulls. Sorry about your dog. I lost one myself earlier this year.
ReplyDeletePeter Finch on KGO has to be Cumulus' idea of a bad joke. Speaking of which, I just love those KGO ads on KFOG, don't you?
Heh..didn't think so. :p
You make a good point about KCBS and it's constant hourly format. The new KGO is like a long, run-on sentence, with punctuation in the wrong places. ABC News comes at the top of the hour during weekend talk but quarter past during the week (when it's on at all). There's no distinction between what happens with local news at the top of the hour and what just preceded it. I'm sure there is a format in the minds of KGO management. However, as a listener, I can't figure out what it is.
ReplyDeleteIt just is the fact that KCBS has not had any competition for years...and years.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay, KCBS. Only an idiot from outside the Bay Area would even think about it.
You mean newspapers and TV "reporters" (not just the news readers) are maybe now afraid to report the local news, if it isn't complimentary to their "competition" as a courtesy to other news outlets? I didn't know that getting the news out to the public was some kind of a game with winners and losers. They don't have to express an opinion, just report what is going on and maybe dig into why Clear Channel and Cumulus are swallowing up the local radio stations (TV too?). They could give us a little bit of background info on FCC regulations and why all this is happening. Isn't that what newspapers are supposed to do? Hooters closing is not really news in the traditional sense. Doesn't affect the greater community in any significant way. This situation is much worse than losing KGO if other media are afraid to report facts.
ReplyDelete1:04, I know you were just throwing this out as a possibility, not fact, but even the idea of it being a possible reason is scary
I have been listening to KCBS for a few days now.. off and on. Must say, the reporting and reporters seem so much more mature and easy to listen to than those at KGO. Dare I say, the station has more gravitas?
ReplyDelete11:45 Only the most deserving...ever get to know the true love from the noble Pit Bull terrier..
ReplyDeletecondolences from the heart
Two words: SATELLITE RADIO
ReplyDeleteI can't get Pandora in my car, which is the only place I listen to Live 105.
ReplyDeleteLive 105 IS FM radio sacred ground.
Wait, Hooters is closing???
ReplyDeleteWithout live 105 tho, we wont get as many rock concerts in the area...
ReplyDeleteResponse to 5:15 PM: Right on! If you haven't checked out the Subsonic show on Saturday nights hosted by Aaron Axelson, give it a try. Sorry, off topic--but just wanted to emphasize that Live 105 should remain as is--there are other stations that Mickey Luckoff will be successful at managing, and I wish him the best for his efforts.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rich, for letting us sound off.
OMG!! SF HOOTERS IS CLOSING????
ReplyDelete(Just kidding. You can see just as much eye candy on a spring day around town. But I hear the chicken was good. Kinda like the articles in Playboy.)
Wow! Axelson's Subsonic is STILL going? I haven't listened since the late 90s when he was hitting the Drum & Bass stuff and Eminem long before the mainstream. In that case, save LIVE 105. I might have to check out his show again. Does he archive any of his shows for podcasts or downloading? (usually a big No-No with music though but his old shows got me buying more than a few new CDs at the time).
Still, I might have to dig up those old tapes of Steve Masters on LIVE 105 or even some old stuff from THE QUAKE. Great stuff for this old fart child of the 80s.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, please stay, Kristy! I want to admire your beauty, and if you stay, Rich promises stop hitting on you! Or at least stop hitting on you as much!
ReplyDelete