It's getting worse over at KGO. Yeah, I know you've heard this before, but now even the crap patrol is being asked to account for the crap they're placing on the weekend.
Who is running the show? None other than PD, Paul Hosely, who also has dual duties as news director. This is the guy who thinks "The Monte Show" is ground-breaking radio content.
Straight from the mouth from one of the station's ex-insider:
Hosley is making the decisions-- he's just overwhelmed. He was expected to piece together a completely shattered radio station but Cumulus had no plan other than saying that KGO wasn't successful and they needed a younger audience to make it so. Greed is a powerful motivator and combining it with stupidity and arrogance makes a mess.
And then there's the boy wonder, Assistant PD and Mattress Man's producer, Jared Hart:
Just completely over his head. And doesn't know what the hell he's doing. Not a clue. You know the whack jobs late on the weekend? Most of those are his call.
Latest potent potables:
--The Embarcadero studios are a ghost town. All the sales dept. and management people are over at 55 Hawthorne. (No wonder Owens sounds detached and depressed).
--A few veterans in news are biting their tongue and trying to just do the job and get the hell out as soon as their shift ends.
--As cannibalism from KNBR and KFOG spreads, (Ray Ratto and the woefully out-of-place Rene Richardson), more division. You can only take so much.
**Developing...
As Ray T. was wont to say, how sad!
ReplyDelete"Over his head" would be a perfect description of both of those guys. It's a perfect recipe for disaster...greedy corporate assholes with no connection to the market, aided and abetted by borderline-incompetent middle managers too scared to just walk away and let the place burn.
ReplyDeleteHere's the thing. They say they want a younger audience. But people who like news talk are generally a bit older and a bit more mature. Many young people do like news talk, but they probably appreciate smart and informed local news talk just like all other news talk fan.
ReplyDeleteIf you're not a news talk fan to start with, you're not going to suddenly start liking it just because the hosts are suddenly younger and change topics every few minutes.
Instead, what the changes do is alienate the long time fans of news talk because they won't care for inexperienced, more shallow, less thoughtful talk hosts simply because they're "younger" or "fresh voices."
The old KGO had it right -- they would introduce new voices as fill in for vacation and illness. The audience could get to know them in small doses as they develop their skills and style. As time goes by, it's easy to tell which fill ins get the best feedback, and they can get more gigs, eventually getting a weekend position, and finally a weekday show.
Also, I don't see how dumping M-F news talk for plain news will get younger audience. Those who like news already had a couple established choices in the Bay Area, and there's little compelling reason to switch from KCBS or KQED to a new all news station. Besides, do young people really listen to news on the radio? News on the radio is best in small doses as it tends to repetition. This is why all the long time listeners have abandoned the plain news radio KGO. It's so repetitious, it **encourages** short listening periods, unlike good talk radio which encourages people to listen all day long so as not to miss their favorite hosts, great guests, etc.
If they really want a younger audience, they would need to go to music format with some sort of silly zoo-type ADD hosts. Lots of contests, stunts, etc.
It just seems like Cumulus is either unclear on the concept or else they're just lying like Burt Reynold's rug (remember when he was on Ronnn's show, lol?) and are just using the "we want a younger audience" meme for cover to bulldoze a legend.
Well, now that hundreds of thousands of older news talk fans have left KGO, and the only people left listening are two 20-something interns who work for Cumulus, I guess their audience is actually younger.
How's that working for your ratings, Cumulus?
Excellent post stately clearly!! With the ratings being collected with the people meters, the short listening periods don't matter to them because each time you even skip by a station for a few minutes, you get a blip on the meter indicating (to the meter, at least) that someone's listening.
DeleteWhoever is really calling the shots doesn't seem to understand radio at all. Hope they read your comments because you laid it out beautifully.
CW Nevius has the worst radio voice of all time.
ReplyDeleteCW Nevius is one of the worst columnists of all time, and that's saying something, since The Comical has had so many subpar writers and columnists, including Ray The Rat Ratto. Pathetic. He fed on too many corporate PR buffets and his writing has always been lazy and not respected by sports figures and teams.
ReplyDeleteHey, Rich, unrelated to this post, how about J.D. Hayworth? His false country crap didn't work in Arizona and it won't here.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you missed Melanie Morgan's great expose of a corporate jet at Paso Robles. Turns out the jet was rented and not a part of the corporation that was bailed out by the federal government. It is leased by it. What a crackup. No wonder Morgan isn't in news. What a whiff.
Sussman: sell your climate change denying bullshit to the islanders who are losing their islands to increasing water height. No, their islands are not sinking, dumbass.
YOUNG PEOPLE get their news off the internet.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Jared Hart-less was also responsible for putting on air the other hideous fill in hosts around Super Bowl time. Remember them? One of them was a friend of his from the South Bay. It is obvious Jared boy and Hosely are way over their heads and it comes through loud and clear on air. @7:49am broke it down perfectly. Anyone who believes the ipad, ipod, youtube generation is stopping their web surfing and texting to listen to Monty is a moron.
ReplyDeleteA younger audience? I began listening to KGO talk radio in my teens. SO TAKE THAT YOU MORONS AT CUMULUS!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou still crying over kgb_o!
ReplyDeleteHey Anon!
ReplyDeleteI stand by my reporting on KSFO during our "Whistleblower Wednesday"segement in which Ibroke news that an AIG jet was parked on the tarmac at Paso Robles airport last weekend.
In fact, I have further evidence about this story of abuse that I certainly hope the rest of the the Bay Area Media will pick up on.
It's an outrageous use of taxpayer money, and an issue that is neither right nor left.
Tune in tomorrow (Friday) for the very latest on this breaking story.
Melanie Morgan, KSFO morning show co-host.
Oh, Melanie, I can't stand your simpering over your idiot co-host. I, along with many readers, saw your negative posts after the KGOne debacle, then you removed them when you got the am gig at KSFO. You and your ilk are what's wrong with the right-wingers: You spew hate and listening to you is tiresome. Frankly, you don't come across as very bright. I can't wait until Cumulus dumps you and Sussman... But then you two fit in so well with that company's "ethics."
DeleteI'm a young punk and get my news from Jon Stewart. What's a KGOne?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone else noticed the TMZ-ation of the Assman morning show on KSFO? Whereas in the past the weatherman would begin his shows bashing Muslims and Obama, now he is Mr. Giggles talking about some junk entertainment/sports related baloney. I guess Cumulus sent down word that they need a younger demographic. I can't wait for Melanie Morgan's great scoop. I am sure it will be as groundbreaking as the Breitbart tapes. Haha. Give us a break.
ReplyDeleteThe 'Monte (Monty?) Show' is aptly named. Count the number of I, Me, My personal pronouns - it's all about him, his son, his personal life, his opinions... The few calls he takes are interrupted with more about Monte. I know more about him than I ever cared to know. Only worse program on the 'new' KGO is Red Eye radio.
ReplyDelete