One of the main veteran anchors at KPIX, (CBS5) has seen the removal of his signature solo clip and speculation about his future at 855 Battery. My guess is that both sides will try to work out the murkiness, if indeed, there are 'issues, ' and there are.
* As a reader wrote, Karel and I had a frank discussion via phone. I told him point blank that I thought his painstakingly long rants about his dog's health problems were over the top. I also told him that I didn't think he was performing for the idea of ratings. Keep in mind that my older sister has a dog and cat--I know the subject of animals is a very sensitive subject, but an hour, several hours, actually, seemed extraordinarily out of place. Karel, to his credit, called, (my offer) and we had a healthy, no-holds-barred discussion. On the dog issue, we agreed to disagree. We also talked about content. I told Karel that when he sticks to the issues, I tend to like his show and his passion. I wish he'd concentrate on politics and current affairs. In the end, we argued, (civilly), and brought it all to the forefront. Between Karel, Christine Craft, and Stacy Taylor, there is no other there there at KGO, but you kind of knew that by now, did you not?
*There were several of you who were taken aback at my "Never seduce a blogger" play at humor. It was, at the time, merely an attempt to lighten up the day and try to evoke parody. For those of you who took offense, sorry, I didn't plan on making it a point to ruin your day. As I've said repeatedly, occasionally I stray a bit--don't always hit a homerun. Those of you who liked it, thanks, (I think).
*More Ray Taliaferro: November 18, 1978. Truly one of the darkest days in Bay Area history and the beginning of a truly horrible story: the Jonestown massacre in Guyana where over 900 people were victims of a murder/suicide orgy orchestrated by Rev. Jim Jones.
As word leaked out that terrible Saturday, it was none other than Ray Taliaferro, in his first year at KGO, was on the phone with officials from the government describing the surreal, mass murders and chaotic scene at the Jones jungle compound. Yes, Taliaferro, of all people, who did a masterful job.
*The Matier and Ross expose of the Lockyer story takes a new, bizarre twist. Now we have a reported sex tape. As they say in the biz, there is sure more to this story than meets the eye. Duh!
*Len Tillem would be the prime candidate to syndicate his "loyah" program, (currently, weekdays, 3-4 PM on Newstalk 910, but for now, Tillem is hellbent on concentrating to make his local show a Bay Area radio constant. From this corner, his re-brand from KGO is in full throttle-mode.
*Just because I do a semi-flattering small piece on a Bay Area female TV reporter doesn't mean I'm looking to "score", come on guys, get a life. This isn't high school and I'm not Peter Brady.
*That Ronn Owens promo about the house on fire down the street that KGO plays every five minutes is a telling 30 seconds about the mood of not only Owens, (who sounds like he's a POW reading a prepared script), but mostly all the people who work under the current SF Cumulus umbrella. Sad, really.
*On the other hand, I'm sure Owens can't wait to "trash the Oscars" come Monday. (Way, way, jump-the-shark status).
*Speaking of the Oscars, does anyone, like me, plan on merely watching Billy Crystal perform the monologue and then switching the channel off? Maybe a trip over to see "Safe House", which I'm told I'd like and this night seems dreary enough.
*Chef shows on radio. Great thinking, Cumulus minds. Maybe Ryan Scott can hold the spatula up to the microphone.
*Tom Vacar, currently over at KTVU, has never missed a day of work in over 30 years of TV work in the Bay Area.
*Those splashy new, highly-paid, "Investigative reporters" at NBC Bay Area, haven't made a dent in the ratings thus far, which shouldn't be surprising. NBC and its O and O's can't wait soon enough for the Summer Olympics in London.
*Out of place, personified: the hideous Renee Richardson on the "new 810." Watching paint dry is more interesting. And while I'm a Chuck Nevius fan when he pens his Chronicle columns, his banal commentaries on radio are simply hard to listen to. Not you, Chuck, it's the voice. It doesn't work on the radio. But I guess they need to fill time over there and so...
*Comcast "live" reports from Spring Training. How thought-provoking. How programming, genius. Maybe you can do multiple segments on what "Timmeh" eats for breakfast in Scottsdale. Another case of "we have money and let's spend it even though 99% of our viewers don't give a damn what the hell is going on here in Spring training and who cares?!!"
*Follow me on Twitter
*Tips/E-Mail/Inter-office memos: Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com
is brian copeland gone from kgo? christine craft in this slot today ...
ReplyDeleteNo, he's doing the Sunday matinee of his disengenuous one-man show.
DeleteWell Stacy Taylor was on late last night and I believe he is on tonight as well. I listened, apparently Stacy had all day to think about his subject cause he was spot on. As one caller said, "Apparently this is the only time we can speak the truth.' I have listened to Stacy Taylor for years and this is the second time he has been canned during an election year by the right wingers. Truly a sad state of affairs!
ReplyDeleteI wish you wouldn't have gone after Karel so badly about his stories about his dog. It's actually when I like him best, when he is personal and up close. Unlike all of the other boring "issues" oriented hosts. Politics and current affairs shows, are a dime a dozen. I like it when Karel gets on the bus, and tells a REAL story.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I actually hate KAREL when he tries to do politics. Hes extreme and doesnt really have an intelectual ability. BUT, I love KAREL when he discusses human issues, entertainment, and relationships. He should stick to what makes him UNIQUE!
DeleteHe should humanely euthanize the damn dog instead of letting it suffer, just because he portends not to be able to afford it. The dog can't either.
DeleteIt used to be refreshing to hear Karel talk about everyday personal financial issues that everyone is facing but
ReplyDeletehe has gone overboard with his constant never-ending whining about his bills, mortgage and dog problems.,, and then he has the gall to tout overpriced Apple products! WTF??
An annoying drama queen.
Get over it.
Referring to the Ronn Owens promo about KGone's local coverage: Ronn has been doing almost NO local talk hours. It's usually national or international politics or a guest who wrote a book. The promo goes on and on about LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL, and how you can get national anywhere. Then all he does is national.
ReplyDeleteOne very local story he HAS been avoiding, however, is the Lockyer soap opera. He's had Bill on oodles of times over the years. He seems to like and admire/respect him a lot, like they're old friends. Wonder why he's not covering this issue of 70-yr old Bill having problems with his 40-yr old wife stepping out on him for someone younger, sex tapes, domestic violence, all the rest.
Regarding your "Never Seduce a Blogger" post, I think I, like many others, was just annoyed cause it wasn't funny and it made you sound like a weirdo.
ReplyDeleteI agree re Karel's dog. When his mother was alive, his touching stories about his parents and visits to his mother.
ReplyDeleteThe rant last night about dropping a copy of the Koran in a bucket of dirty water was a mite much. As much as I like the "real Karel" and would love to have him as a buddy, I don't find him to be an intellectual. Listening to his politics is frustrating because his knowledge base isn't there.
Love Christine Craft -- she's the reason I listen to KGOne on the weekends. Question: why does the station have talk weekends? Did Cumulus figure out that is what the listeners want? A bad talk show host is better than the endless "news" -- except Red Neck Truckers Radio.
I'm trying to remember the last time I watched the Oscars for more than five minutes. Oh yeah I think it was the year Nixon resigned. Good for you to have that chat with Karel. Maybe..just maybe he'll actually be listenable now. I own dogs myself but even I get tired of folk prattling on and on for 30 minutes with minutiae about their critters. Guess I'm just a heartless bastard like you. ;)
ReplyDeleteIf your 70 why would you torture a good looking 40 year old woman by marrying her? A year or two of looking at your flabby body and age spots-while she can pass for her 30's is asking for trouble. You can't tell me that sports guy is making his half his age wife satisfied. Even if they dont cheat-they think about it all the time and so does everybody who see's those mismatchs.
ReplyDeleteComcast is now the like Christian sports channel. Everything the local teams do,every move they make, is fine and dandy.
Why couldn't have I met Nadya?...
hmm,This post sure caused a conniption on the local show this morning of the host and sidekicks-the same attacks in defense as usual. But,when you go on 50,000 watts and brag how many times you bonked your wife...
DeleteSomebody protests too much...
@ 10:05 You need help. "Canned by right wingers", yea that's it. I guess that would explain the fact that the "Karel Show" is still on the air. Your simple minded perceptions simplify and damage any point you attempt to make. Sure, it's a right wing conspiracy. Nice pat answer for everything that doesn't go your way in life. One of these days grow up. Oh, you're already over 50 (my guess) too late. BTW I hate the Dickeys and KGO's format flip.
ReplyDeleteDid your simple mind happen to think that just maybe Karel has a contract and they can't let him go. Your are the unenlightened one if you don't get that the guys that make the bombs also happen to own the media. You grow up!
Delete"One year option" coming in early (or, maybe not) in early March. Karel said so himself on his little syndicated "show" last week. Also upset that he hasn't hear from Cumulitis, yet, but "I've been told they want to keep me on and do something else with me."
DeleteHmmm. Kinky. You stay classy, Karel.
Nice item on Taliaferro covering Jonestown Rich. That month of November of 1978 was terrible....the Jonestown massacre, the assassinations of Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone.. the Raiders losing two games in the final seconds of play at home...no less...to
ReplyDeleteSan Diego and Seattle in John Maddeen's final year. 1978 was not a good year for the bay area. And don't forget the 49ers went 2-14 that year under the combined efforts of Head Coaches Pete McCulley and Fred O'Connor. The only good thing about the Niners bottoming out in 1978 is that in 1979, Eddie Debartolo got smart and hired Bill Walsh.
And the rest as they say..is history!
Where were you in 1978?
Yeah. "Never Seduce a Blogger". We like a lot of what you do, Rich, but comedy just isn't your thing. At least, not in writing.
ReplyDelete"Just because I do a semi-flattering small piece on a Bay Area female TV reporter doesn't mean I'm looking to "score", come on guys, get a life. This isn't high school and I'm not Peter Brady."
No, you're no Peter Brady. Greg Brady, maybe, since he was the one macking on the chicks while Peter dealt with puberty and his voice changing. :)
Hey, I like Renee Richardson! She use to be on KFOG and before that KITS and Hibernia Beach as Renee Rotten. That was some entertaining radio back in the day.
One last-ch2 ran a scroll of Belva Davis retiring all day...never mentioned Don Sanchez. Isn't that being a little small? Would FOX news collapse at Don Sanchez mentioned? And if it does, then I doubly wish they had mentioned him...
ReplyDeleteKCBS did the same thing - they noted Belva's retirement and not Don's. No disrespect intended to Don, but perhaps Belva retiring is just a bigger story? Or maybe it's Don's bad luck that Belva inadvertently stole his thunder, kinda like Farrah Fawcett dying the same day as Michael Jackson.
DeleteFirst off, it's not FOX News. It's KTVU Channel 2 News, owned by Cox. They just have an affiliation with the Fox network. Get it right.
DeleteSecond, Belva is currently a host of a program on KQED, a PBS station, which is not KTVU's competitor.
I have been following the Lockyer scandal with reluctance. I have long supported and admired Bill--this is so tragic!
ReplyDeleteFor the poster who maligned him for his age: You should do so well, my friend! He is a brilliant, savvy, and influential leader in our state. Lots of us women value men for their smarts, and tend to recoil from losers who post sad little anonymous diatribes on someone else's blog.
Re: the Lockyer affair. I'll bet Mary Hayashi is breathing a sigh of relief about now!
This is so "tragic?" Why? Because a high-level polito now knows that someone's been boinking Nadya for over a year and now the word about a sex tape? Come on, 2:48 -- it happens all the time. 40 year old women are still in their prime. Usually. Maybe she's tired of Bill's BS.
Delete"Boinking?" How classy!
DeleteCheap shot at Mary, Lanie T? How sad.
DeleteI've given up looking for Christine Craft on KGO. I never know when she is going to be on. Now I read that she is in for Brian Copeland today. Why would I have to learn that here? If she had her own blog....
ReplyDeleteGod knows she has enough opinions to fill a blog! ;-)
Re: Never Seduce a Blogger. I appreciate that you were trying to shake things up a bit, and be humorous and creative, but do you realize how sexist it was, especially the picture.
DeleteI've ripped Karel here a few times, but I agree with him that he isn't doing his dog thing for ratings. I have cats. Two of our four cats died within three weeks of each other last year. They went through tests and tests, etc. that cost us a ton of money that we really didn't have, so I completely understand Karel's feelings regarding his dog. I haven't heard him for a few days, so I don't know how his dog is doing, but I hope things worked out. And I relate to his issue of deciding what bills to pay and not pay because now he has vet bills and the vet requires cash.
ReplyDeleteSome of Karel's recent topics have been spot-on. Like his bus ride and the things he brought out about that. The compassion was nice to hear, especially from a person (Karel) who is suffering himself. He has a lot of humanity.
As far as tech goes, there is no one like Karel on the radio, except maybe Kim Komando. Although I have different views of Apple than Karel, all of our electronics are made by workers who deserve more, but Apple is the world's richest company. It should lead. That's been my main point. Plus, it has a cultish quality to it. (My Mom was a Mac fan, and I've owned Macs, so my dislike of Macs and Apple is based upon my own use of Macs and Apple products, and my Mom's constant "Macs are so much better than windows" monologues.)
Karel's The Most is really good, too.
He has many views I disagree with, but at least he is passionate about them and engaging, and does not sound tired and burned out like Ronn Owens.
So, it's good to hear your detente with Karel, and I'll join in. I think he's been screwed by KGO, but I'll try to listen to him, and I'll download the KGO podcasts, just to show the support.
And, if he's only getting $1,600 a month from KGO and medical benefits, he is worth way more than that. Way more. Way, way, way more.
Wait wait wait...you're angry that a sports station is covering sports? I mean the Giants won the World Series less than two years ago. Because you don't care about Spring Training doesn't mean we fans don't. If they WEREN'T live I'm sure you'd just be complaining that they aren't covering the story. When you complain just to complain it makes you seem like you're just finding petty stuff to bitch about. Just saying.
ReplyDeletewith all the changes the giants have undergone, including right at the top, there are a lot of stories coming from this st....and fans want to know the health of their players.....all the sports stations get strong ratings from az....thats why most of the st games are broadcast
ReplyDeletecrystal sucked....his fake hair sucks, his bits sucked....hes old, out of touch, and not funny...except to the idiots in that crowd....how he made marty laff is beyond me
is karel live on sundays? cuz the biggest entertainment event is going on, and he was chatting about websites
Oscars suck. Phony actors and actresses except for the great Meryl Streep. I have not watched it for years, waste of time.
ReplyDeleteperhaps this is the first time you've heard of Christopher Plummer? Martin Scorsese? etc.?
DeleteGood post, 9:28. I thought Karel's monologue about the bus ride to LA. was brilliant and moving. I've often been exasperated by Karel, but never bored. When he first was on KGO I hated him. His voice, his talking about himself. It took only a short while before I cared about him and his stories. He is not a good "talk" host in terms of back and forth with callers, but he is a very engaging monologist, funny and energetic. And I'll admit, I do care about his little dog.
ReplyDeleteI'm really pleased that Karel and Rich had that conversation. Listening to Karel tonight, you could tell he took the words to heart. Good on you, Rich.
I think Rich's detente is good for all of us to take a step back and be more considerate.
DeleteI've always liked Karel.
I understand his frustration with Republicans and evangelicals, but we should avoid stereotypes and generalizations, in the sense of demeaning entire communities of people, as a general rule. I say this as a person usually considered "conservative" and married to an evangelical who isn't braindead and who doesn't even support the idiot Santorum. So, we should not stereotype and generalize. That goes for Karel, too.
However, given the bank robbery of the American people by banking interests that are supported by so many Republicans, and given that Republicans are largely supported by evangelicals, one can understand why Karel groups them all together. Plus, it's difficult to be nuanced on the radio. I understand. I've worked in radio; not in talk, but in running news departments.
That said, let's ease up on Karel and look at his positive points. Focus on those, because there are plenty of them, including his compassion.
And KGO should pay Karel a lot, lot more. Stop screwing with him. He's worth keeping.
Surely you jest.
DeleteI must have missed the memo. He still talked about his dog for an hour and couldn't "go on without the help of calls because I am so upset," then talked about the Oscars and million dollar shoes. I didn't know that KGO was now a training ground for wannabe talk show hosts like Karel.
DeleteI really can't believe that even some of the rural stations that carry Red Eye Radio want to spend an hour talking to a guy about motor oil - but yeah, they had a guy pushing his new motor oil on last night for at least the 1 a.m. hour. And guess what? It's now available at WalMart!
ReplyDeleteThey don't care at that hour. The "show" is free, it doesn't require a humanoid to run, it is completely automated at the station level and it keeps the station on the air for up to five hours overnight. The station doesn't make any money, either. Nada. It all goes to Cumulus.
Delete'Nuff said.
One thing is certain: Matress Man will spend more time talking about the Oscars than the KGONE mass firings. I have not listened to Lowenstein in a while but I am not surprised he has avoided talking about the Lockyear scandal. He reluctantly talked about Any Twosome Newsom banging his best friend's wife, remember?
ReplyDelete"NBC and its O and O's can't wait soon enough for the Summer Olympics in London": or, for its Bay Area station, its 1st Giants telecast (in spring training) March 23rd v. 2-time reigning AL champion Texas Rangers; or (for those who only care about the regular season) Tuesday, April 16th v. the reigning NL East Champion Phillies, both at 7PM: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=sf#y=2012&m=3
ReplyDeleteKarel saying something moving.?.....maybe moving his bowels.
ReplyDelete