He's still banned in Great Britain...and he's also BANNED in San Francisco. Outreageous? No, merely censorship, cowardice and paranoia.
You, the listeners, be damned. When did it matter what you want?
Michael Savage, the second most-popular radio personality in the country, isn't on the air in the Bay Area. Nobody wants to even touch him. Why is that?
A local SF broadcast exec with knowledge of the situation told me this:
Michael is extremely demanding.& difficult to negotiate with. While he attracts listeners and ratings, it's a challenge to sell. Michael is very talented and clever, but in many ways remains a neophyte in terms of the business. He has too many fill-in hosts, too many shows where he challenges Limbaugh, now he isn't even cleared in the 3 largest markets in California. Michael is his own worst enemy.
Another high-up SF radio person was more to the point: He's simply not worth the effort. He does a clever, engaging show, but I don't want him on the air because he's too much trouble.
Trouble? What about the listeners who like listening to the Savage show. Trouble? I thought Rush Limbaugh was trouble. And Sean Hannity and Mark Levin are pretty boring, yet they dominate the AM radio landscape.
I asked Savage himself about the situation. I told him that, based on the info that I had heard, he was indeed, banned in ultra-progressive, free-speech SF. He was non-plussed.
"THE RADIO MEDIA IS FAST BECOMING OBSOLETE.THE INTERNET IS THE LAST VESTIGE OF FREEDOM AND THAT, TOO, WILL COME UNDER THE THUMB OF 'PROGRESSIVES" LIKE BARRY OBAMA WHO FEARS EXPOSURE AS DO ALL THE CORRUPT SAN FRANCISCO POLITICIANS."
*Michael Savage
*Michael Savage.com
*Talkers
*RadioInk
*Follow me on Twitter
*TIPS/E-MAIL: Rich.Lieberman@GMAIL.COM
*HELP SUPPORT 415 MEDIA: ADVERTISE: Rich.Lieberman@GMAIL.COM
What you dont see Rich is,THATS what makes SF great. They draw a line..its a wide line still with Cumulus finding the right wing hosts on KGO and KNBR..and you cant find anything closer to Savage then KSFO..but its a line.
ReplyDeleteAnd having listened to him attack the bay area..he sort of makes his own bed.
He's a fucking racist and douche bag to boot. I don't understand your obsession with him.
ReplyDeleteThe man is a racist, hateful dog. It's called capitalism and if there is little support for him in the Bay Area, no company is going to commit suicide by adverstising on his filthy radio program. If you are a bigot who makes a living from denigrating anyone who doesn't look or believe like you, don't whine when you get kicked off the air.
ReplyDeleteIt is NOT a violation of free speech and the First Amendment. The government did not pull Savage off the air. The free marketplace did. Long live capitalism.
If you are so worried about about your pal Savage, help him organize a KKK rally somewhere in the Central Valley.
Trying to understand a radio executive's thought process is absurd. KNEW910 died to me the day they ditched Savage and replaced him with a GOP yes boy like John Gibson.
ReplyDeleteI recall hearing that Clear Channel built a spiffy new studio for Savage at their complex on Townsend as part of their deal to sign him to 910am only to have him never set foot in the place and insist on doing his show from his home in Tiburon.
ReplyDeletepost 1: "THATS what makes SF great." Seriously? Radio executives deciding what goes on the air regardless of whether or not people would listen?
ReplyDeletepost 2: Perhaps he's a slut and a prostitute too?
post 3: Congratulations on getting it right that the Constitution only protects us from the government. Usually it's people on the right that understand this. Nonetheless, the marketplace isn't keeping Savage off the air. The executive quoted says Savage brings in ratings. Rich's point was that *aren't* making business decisions. They're letting it be personal
post 4: good point.
Good points, especially #2. Gosh, I thought only conservatives called names! And, can anyone use adjectives that don't start with "f"? It's not the least creative, and it's tacky and classless.
DeleteUltra-progressive, free-speech radio in SF? Where except for on KPFA? The one progressive talk radio station Green960 morphed into yet another conservative station with passing nods to their most progressive hosts being relegated to the wee hours of the morning: Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartman, and Mike Malloy. Stephanie has the largest market in the US, has the #1 comedy tour, a top-rated comedy album, and she's taken off live drive time and played as a repeat at 7?
ReplyDelete"THE RADIO MEDIA IS FAST BECOMING OBSOLETE.THE INTERNET IS THE LAST VESTIGE OF FREEDOM AND THAT, TOO, WILL COME UNDER THE THUMB OF 'PROGRESSIVES' LIKE BARRY OBAMA WHO FEARS EXPOSURE AS DO ALL THE CORRUPT SAN FRANCISCO POLITICIANS."
ReplyDeleteCan you make the font a little bigger? I didn't quite catch it.
censorship? give me a fucking break! The PD's whom you interviewed answered your question: he's too much trouble and doesn't generate the revenues to justify dealing with this racist douche.
ReplyDeleteRadio stations want to make money, they don't give a fuck about how offensive the content might be. Savage may generate ratings, but not revenues, pure and simple.
Good to see that you're still interviewing Savage with knee pads on!
"Michael Savage, the second most-popular radio personality in the country, isn't on the air in the Bay Area. Nobody wants to even touch him. Why is that?"
ReplyDeleteBecause maybe for once the broadcasters have it right? We don't want to listen to his ass!
Sorry, Rich--this is NOT the same as the KGO hosts! And not because they're so "liberal." They have talent and interesting shows.
"Free market working" doesn't equal "censorship".
ReplyDeleteIn any case, Savage's schtick sounded better in the original German.
Banned? How is that? It's that nobody wants to deal with the fallout. Not worth it; whatever cash comes in gets offset by cancelled sponsors, complaints and general ill-will.
ReplyDeleteSo not wanting to work with someone who is difficult and isn't worth the trouble means "banned" now?
ReplyDeleteI think the word "unemployable" is more accurate.
Savage=Tired act
ReplyDeleteBeating the drum for Savage on this blog=An even more tired act
Glad to see so many people here got it right. It's Capitalism! There are plenty more Conservative shows in "ultra left-wing Bay Area". Why are they not having any problems finding a spot?
"Banning", my ass!!!
I want a post about you selling a Jetta to your "good friend" Radnich.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I heard the whole bit this morning, and have been awaiting some good posts on it, either here or at BASG. So far, no go.
DeleteIt was good stuff, too! (the whole "social media" bit!)
Same here..why Rich didnt hear it or podcast re-run and give his opinion that Gary "Forgives him,his good friend", but I do notice that Radnich likes to bash a poster who monitors his show-lol-and Radnich HATES that guy,when he simply posts what Raddy said. No lies,nothing made up..but Radnich goes into a fit over THAT guy..hee.
DeleteSavage is entertaining as hell. Easily better than any national host. I am a progressive Latino and recognize Whiner for the racist pig he is. On one ocassion he referred to Latinos as Apocalipto Men. Yet he also goes ballistic against right wingers, including O'Reilly, Beck and Rush, as well as the establishment check pants repubs. He is a good circus clown, very entertaining. Not sure why people get crazy over the guy. If I were running KSCO I'd dump Rush and put Savage in his place. Simply because he is way more entertaining. I listened to Rush when he started and used to shill for Snapple, he was great then.
ReplyDeleteRich +++
ReplyDeleteThis isn't surprising what you write today. It was you who kissed Savage's ass for self-gratification not once, but twice. You sucked up to this loser who is as much a freak as Karel. Savage has not met a word ending in "-phobe" that makes his act so repetitive. If you knew what you were talking about - you'd know there is no place here for his bullshit. That's why he failed here in how many places? Three, four maybe? Quick being a kiss up to this ass. Leave that to Karel.
"Banned"...no way Rich. It's not the content, as incendiary as it can be, that they have the problem with. It's working with the guy. He's a pain in the ass and there's only so much blood sweat and tears the suits are willing to put into maintaining him. If he wasn't so difficult, they'd put up with the fall out from his radio show, no problem. He is not the "good kind" of crazy.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteYou gained many former KGOne listeners here, Rich, some months ago. I think I can speak for a majority that we eschew Schlock Jock crap. I don't think it's entertaining. But that's just me--cursed with a brain!
I still listen on 650am, because I'm not a close minded drone like the naysayers in here. Simple logic dictates you can learn anything from anyone but if your bias triggers emotions that cloud logic, you lose before you even conjure a thought.
ReplyDeleteI normally don't comment about Michael Savage, because I don't take him seriously, and I can't believe that anyone else does either.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fact that he doesn't believe a word of what he's saying...he merely spouts off about his extreme right-wing philosophy like a nut-job, just to get a rise out of people and get attention and ratings.
I have a good acquaintance who also happens to be one of the most prominent political figures in California. This fellow and Michael are good friends, and my acquaintance says he is never bothered when Michael rips him on the air, because he knows that Savage doesn't believe in what he's saying. My acquaintance did say however, that occasionally he's had to take Savage to task in a lighthearted way when Savage went overboard.
But listen to what Savage is saying, and you'll agree that it's obvious that this guy is a phony and a put on. There's no better example of that than his 'belief' that he's being banned from SF radio because he's a conservative and will scare people like Obama.
The reason Michael Savage is not on a local station is that his
methods of dealing with broadcasting people while in negotiations is confrontational, and he causes too many headaches. I have heard this from several prominent local radio executives who have dealt with the man.
Savage may be entertaining, but he is not sincere, is a phony who doesn't believe anything he espouses on the air, and he also happens to be a lousy businessman.
And you, of all people should know this Rich! Savage's supposed 'conservative' politics have absolutely nothing to do with his not being on a local station. It's the fact that he turns people off with his abrasive and condescending personality. As I said before, he's a classic put on.
there was a guy on KNEW when it was all talk back in the late 1960s who did the same thing that Savage is doing. He pretended to be a hard core right-wing nut case and he got plenty of attention and even death threats as a result. His ratings were good, but this guy (his name was Pat Michaels) finally left the area when his ratings flat lined, and he migrated to Orange country where he went to work for a talk station down there and became a left wing nut case that garnered even better ratings down there! Why should we be at all surprised that Michael Savage is doing the same thing now that Pat Michaels was back in 1969? He's simply an opportunist
(like Maury Povich or Jerryu Springer) who is merely giving a segment of the population that is very extreme and pretty unsophisticated, what they want to hear!
Well, it's called "doing a show" and most of the good hosts are pretty trumped up to "entertain". I actually think when Savage is off politics and talking life-stuff, he's a great comedian! However, he is still a major pain in the ass off the air. Talk to a few of the board ops who've engineered his show over the years...and there are many, because simply, he's pretty durned abusive. Not cool. Who wants to manage that?
DeleteRich--
ReplyDeleteWhy the continued boner for Savage?
I have to laugh at mealy mouthed sissified leftist pukes who mistake strong opinion for hate or racism. They prattle on like little spoiled babies who crapped in their diapers because they don't like his opinions. Some have it half right, he is as an individual a pain in the ass. This has basically nothing to do with the show he does on the radio. We call it inside ball. For the moron who claims Savage is a bad businessman, what reality are you in?. Savage is one of the wealthiest talk show hosts in the US. You are full of crap. A flawed man? For sure, but to this crowd of aging leftists with their former KGO talk hosts who can do no wrong, are just getting older and less relevant. Don't take them too seriously. Not all, some. I have a number of good liberal friends.
ReplyDeleteTHE INTERNET IS THE LAST VESTIGE OF FREEDOM AND THAT, TOO, WILL COME UNDER THE THUMB OF 'PROGRESSIVES"
ReplyDeletewhat???????? both dems and republicans are backing bills to control the net....and not one of the senators or republicans backing those bills, can be considered progressive.
savage is his own worst enemy....he is a total pain in the ass
let him hang around union square and scream at the pigeons
btw...he should sue levine...that guy has stolen his act
Well, I don't think I'm going to convince you when nobody else has, but Michael Savage really is no good. For some reason he is being nice to you now, but at some point he'll throw you under the bus too, and then I don't even want to think about the names he'll call you. I agree with everything written above; he's really awful Rich. I wish you could see it.
ReplyDeleteLet the venomous comments from obsessive anti-conservative haters ensue.
ReplyDeleteSavage is the best entertainer on the air. Sure he goes off into crazy land every now and then, but that is all part of the fun.
ReplyDeleteIt's all in how you interpret it. Maybe Savage was 'non plussed' because he hadn't heard such a ridiculous question in a long time.
ReplyDeleteAs to his being hard to get along with, gee, did you just figure that one out, Rich? It's been commented on for years. So he's hard to get along with. So what? He either makes his numbers or he doesn't. If he does, some station manager will hire him. If not, not.
Sigh, I guess on a slow day where there is no news, ya gotta meet the deadline and make some news. Well, at least you spared us the latest Fluke-isms.
[Say, you really should get some 'smileys' for us. lol]
Savage is a player with the emotions of its listeners...I own a place NEAR Savage NEAR Palm Beach..he knows how to play all sides and those people who listen to him fall into the trap. His children are very wealthy and many question if he really writes many of his books a similar pattern to others who put out books by the month. He has homes all over which is fine BUT stop the abuse Savage toward listeners and their emotions. He is now begging for the Mormons to advertise on his shows which explains why he is pushing the Pro-Mormon issue. He is so predictable and a scam but its entertainment. Grow up People and Savage is a player as the racist people like Brian Copeland and others play the other side.
ReplyDeleteI will never understand the fascination with warmed-over shock jocks. The fact is these hosts are of only interest to those who agree with their wacked-out opinions whether conservative or liberal. I guess people want to validate there thoughts rather than having them challenged. Here I go dating myself but growing up we knew that Wally George or Joe Pyne were there for a laugh. Trouble is now people actually take these disk jockeys seriously.
ReplyDeleteThat him in the bottom picture? Looks like the Cowardly Lion from Wizard of Oz, no?
ReplyDeleteI live in the Bay Area and stream Savage out of Las Vegas via KDWN. Local radio blows.
ReplyDeleteMichael Savage is a fraud! Plain and simple. It doesn't matter whether he's conservative or liberal...he doesn't believe a whit of the garbage he espouses on the air. How could he? What he says is so outrageous that anyone who believes he's serious hasn't gotten a clue yet! Why you and your readers even waste the time talking about this miserable excuse for a radio host Rich is beyond me!
ReplyDeleteSavage, Hannity, Limbaugh, Levin, Beck are sick twisted evil fucks and so are their legions of sub-moronic fans.
ReplyDeleteThe Savage Wiener has a personality consonant with his looks; one ugly motha... His specialty is not just in getting off while humiliating callers unlucky enough to get through. He mispronounces a lot of words a Ph.D and experienced radio guy should stay clear of,and he constantly lies or exaggerates virtually everything about himself. For instance, his doctorate is NOT in epidemiology but in ETHNIC BOTANY (Flowers and Plants). And his "show" is no longer top rated.In the last three years he has dropped from 3rd to 5th (See "Talker Magazine.")He is reputed to make over ten million bucks a year, yet is so money crazed that he continuously begs the mouth breathers in his audience to contribute to his "legal fund." I know of not a single case that he has outright won over many years.Unlike many who have written before me, I believe he essentially does believe most of the claptrap he spouts; in my view he ain't that good an actor.But he is damned skilled as a professional prick and basket case. As for writer, it seems obvious to me that he mouth farts a few hours each night into a recorder then has a secretary type it out until some sort of book emerges. I sense that he knows he is failing and feeling the coming of advancing age. Note the increasing use of public relations hacks to artificially put his name anywhere on the web it might fit. Michael Savage IMHO has won hands-down, the title of Rectum of Talk Radio.
ReplyDelete"Liberalism is a Mental Disorder" - will live on for millions.
ReplyDelete"Borders, Language, Culture" - will live on for generations.
"Liberalism is a Serious Mental Disorder" - ditto.
And I'm sure he had a hand in helping his son create the drink, and company, Rock Star.
I LOVE THE GUY AND REALLY MISS HIM.
ReplyDeleteCOME ON MIKE GET BACK ON THE AIR.
I am sad to see any "voice", be silenced. You get one news person thrown out of the marketplace and all of the rest of you will be in line to be "next." Ever hear of "patient gradualism?" You should be beating the airwaves and throwing up signs everywhere and screem to keep this guy working in something he likes to do and is good at.
ReplyDeleteIs this the America we grew up in and want to leave it a free place for those that will follow?
Not in this country of all places. This is a slippery slope. folks.