A wet and windy Saturday 415 Media...
*A reader asks me to inquire you ex-KGO listeners of where you have migrated to. The albatross station's ratings have gone south. KGONE has fallen from the top 5 to 14th place in the overall 6+ Arbitrons.
A number of you have switched to KCBS. Some have gone the satellite route and others are trying KQED and Internet radio.
In any case, let us know where you're ears are and tell us a story or two.
*Listened intently the other day to John Lund and Greg Papa on The Game, (95.7 FM). Papa lends a good dose of sports knowledge and is adept on interviews, but his over-mention of "John" bordered on the ridiculous. "John", "You know John", etc. Sounded like Papa was auditioning for a gig. Lund is fluid enough, but needs help on the ad-lib dept. Maybe he should inquire an Insider on radio 101A.
*KTVU's vaunted franchise, "The 10 O'Clock News" looks and sounds different. The new format is chock full of "coming ups" and "something you'll see 'only on 2" bravado is clearly out of place. In addition, the overload of stories has taken its toll on some of the rank and file editors. The "Thanks for trusting us" bizarro at the end has go to go. How so un-Channel 2. Has Dr. Phil invaded the studios over in Oakland?
NOTES: Those of you who feel sorry for Ronn Owens should have listened to him on Friday as he made a Chronicle critic read the mattress ad. Yeah, feel sorry for him all right...CW Nevius' hideous 'Open Mic' on KGOne News makes Rene Richardson's ridiculous out-of-place nuggets sound like Charles Osgood...On second thought, "Ed and Rosie", (Baxter and Allen), on "Newstalk 910" has become tedious and frankly, boring. Baxter is predictable and Rosie sounds as if she's having a radio breakfast at the Rockridge Diner...Christine Craft should have Ross Mirkirami on a show. Mirkarimi has nothing to lose and everything to gain...
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*Tips/E-Mail: Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com
First off I must agree with your assessment of Baxter and Allen on Fridays. They are usually very TMZ-esque (huge turn off), the only exception was last week when they did more serious topics around the Martin shooting.
ReplyDeleteAs to new listening habits, I originally tuned to KSCO but the fact they carry blowhard Limbaugh prevents them from becoming "go to radio" for me. Another criticism is the constant shift changes of hosts, the only constants are the morning team, the late afternoon guy and MZ's Saturday morning special (he interviewed AZ sheriff Joe Arpayo two weeks ago). Why!? Not sure. Anyway I think MZ droped the ball and would not be surprised if many former KGO listeners are turning off KSCO the way I have. I listen to 910 but recently the lawyer has been taking a bunch of days off. (Dial switch!)
Rothman is the best and Gross is just not taking enough calls. Too many monologues!
So an average day I listen to Democracy Now! Krasny, KPFA or BBC until 3pm, then Tillem unless he is on vacation then I tune to the Savage Nation until 5pm then check out who is on 910. At night it is the UFO show on KSFO (vampire talk last night) and then when I wake up turn away from Sussman asap!
Agree with 09:24 AM. The Joe Arpaio
Deleteinterview with MZ was ill-considered.
Especially if you want to hold on to the KGO
refugees. Registered Dem here.
Voted for Obama in 08. Definitely
disagee with some (many) of his policies,
but the 'birther' thrust has always struck
me as a proxy for racial bigotry. Don't
think MZ sees himself as a bigot, but
he pretty much endored the birther
legend in the first hour of the show
(wink-nod.) Yuk. It definitely cooled
me toward KSCO as well.
It goes without saying that those of us who were devoted to KGO, listens to the Gene Burns program on 910. I agree (almost) about Ed and Rosie, they are the weakest link. I liked them on KGO, but as a talk format I generally don't care for a team. I don't like John and Jeff, I don't care for Stephanie Millers format, for some reason Armstrong and Getty's format works for me. Anyway other than Gene Burns show, I listen to Alan Colmes, Randy Rhoades, Tom Sullivan, Dave Ramsey and Thom Hartman, and yes Ronn Owens, when he talks about things I care about or has an interesting guest. Once in awhile I tune in to John Bachelor on KSFO, he can be quite intersting. The above mentioned hosts are all good I think, but Randy doesen't get a lot of callers, Alan does but the quality of many of his callers are mediorcre at best. On week-ends I still listen to KGO.
ReplyDeleteKGO #14, Ronn must be having a fit, he was always so proud of being on the #1 station in Northern California, and when he announced the news about KGO switching to all news format, he said something like "The talk format was not working anymore, because KGO was no. 5 (not sure if that is correct, but something to that effect) his ego must really take a beating now. Too bad about Ed and Rosie I like them as people, I just don't think their format is a good fit for talk radio.
Where have all the listeners gone?
ReplyDeleteTo their library, at least this one!
I had the pleasure to see Lilly Ledbetter speak at Chabot College last week, and purchased her book, "Grace and Grit." Great reading--highly recommended!
"The courageous story of the woman at the center of the historic discrimination case that inspired the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act--her fight for equal rights in the workplace, and how her determination became a victory for the nation."
Well,
ReplyDeleteIf it works with my schedule I listen to "Newstalk 910" after 3pm until 6 or 7. Either after school, in my classroom via iHeart radio or driving home.
I miss the late night talk. Instead of going to sleep listening to John Rothmann, I have been tuning into NPR's "Talk of the Nation" or some other NPR show through the internet. I slip my iPod Touch under my pillow and tune in. Reminds me of my old transistor radio when I was a kid. I haven't turned my radio on in the house for a while. I mostly listen to radio shows with my WiFi and iPod Touch.
This listener turns to john rothmann, gil gross, len tillem, thom hartman, Pat thurston, mike malloy, and misses geneburns. Also love michael finney & since kgo hit the dust have rediscovered npr. I look at your column daily, btw, in hopes of seeing thst cumulus has disappeared from the scene & kgo has been restored to at least a vestige of its old self. Not sire what your obsession with christine craft is - she is abrasive, old and a bit dim...
DeleteWell I know I'm older than I used to be and often go against what is politically correct, but dim? I think it's quite unusual for radio stations to have not one ..but two women over 55 on the radio..Pat Thurston who had her artificially inseminated now eight year old triplets at age 50 and me occasionally me..even older..as a fill-in host. I'm very glad I fought for the rights of women to work ..just like men..at least until age 70..
DeleteI was just thinking of how I dislike the spots for the other radio programs on Newstalk 910. Why do they (the radio station) need to give us a 2-3 minute "listen" to a past show? It is annoying. Doesn't the station have other advertisers?
DeleteI too also like Gene B, Pat T, Christine C, and Michael F. It is not easy to listen to radio anymore. Most of the time in my car I listen to music or nothing at all. Quite is nice.
I don't understand the Christine Craft "dim" comment; would never use that adjective with her..
DeleteI used to be glued to KGO 24/7. Still in mourning. Very unhappy. It's too much work to find stuff I like now. :(
DeleteChristine Craft old? smh Leave it up to the women to be bashed for their age, looks, ect. The majority of the men on talk radio are the same age if not older than Christine.
DeleteI am still Homeless Ex- KGO listener. Life has become so different. Before all I had to do is to tune in to 810.and now keep turning the dial, I heart radio, Stitcher and I am still not home yet. 910 so far has not delivered, I wish they keep Gill Gross for 3 hours everyday not sure if Gene is coming back. I don't know where Ray T is, maybe retired. There is just too much Anger, Brainwashing, Stupidity and No intelligent conversation or debate on Radio all over the nation.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking the same thing about The 10 O'clock News, and KTVU as a whole. Something is different. The fact that they primarily focus on violence in Oakland is one thing but their stories don't have the same punch anymore. Plus their field packages and live-shots are "all hat, no cattle". Everything seems rushed and you're aren't getting all the info.
ReplyDeleteI don't "trust" them for shit anymore.
KTVU is stuck in the 1980's.
DeleteTotally on the mark! I watch KTVU news now and almost every story I think, "How is this 'News'"??? But even more disappointing is when there is something of real interest and relevance to the community and they cut it off after the equiviliant of a twitter feed length to move onto some inane crap.
DeleteThey gloss over real news to move onto "news" about the new Ipad or the like. I don't know if they are lazy or if they are getting kickbacks from big corporate companies.
I read on a feed here that they now have a 'feed count' where they now care more about the number of stories than the content of said stories. This makes sense since the quality of any story has gone down (more and more shallow) while the number seems to go up.
I guess it's cheaper to just stand next to Lake Merrit saying you're "live" in Oakland than actually research real news.
Shame on you KTVU... You should be better than this!
I think it's interesting that Karel has become something of a non-entity, particularly after that hallabalu at pier 39 upon his return to KGO. No one speaks about him anymore. He's just faded into the KGO ether.
ReplyDelete9:24 am. Do you realize how far to the left you truly are? Democracy now? You are the equivalent of the cliche tea party right winger listening to some nut via short wave radio. Your frigging mind is closed to anything but the the brown shirt brigade says. That is pretty sad. What's worse,in your mind you're moderate. Ha Ha Ha.
ReplyDeleteHey moron, read my post closely. I am a regular listener of the Savage Nation in addition to Democracy Now! How is that close minded? The fact you use "friggin" in a sentence should disqualify you from ever posting on this great blog
DeleteI feel like a ghost wandering the halls of talk radio trying to find a place to settle since the demise of KGO. For a.m. news I listen to either KSCO or a bit of KGO. I like Lynn Jimenez and know what times she does her reports and the weather on KGO is good. I check out Ronn and listen to parts if they interest me. Then I check out KCBS here and there for news. If I'm driving I listen to music and still push the radio buttons here and there. If it's a Thursday or Friday at noon, I go back to KSCO for Cory Gold and hope he is being funny. Later in the afternoon it's 910 for Len and then the other KGO guys. I still like Rosie and Ed for Friday Lite. On week-ends it's Michael Finney, last week Stacy was back, and if Christine Craft is on at any point I try to listen. That's what I do these days.
ReplyDeleteI listen to Armstrong and Getty on 910 then sometimes see what Ronn's up to on 810. Can't stomach Rush. I'm trying to listen to Tom Sullivan but don't really like his show. From 3:00 until I turn the radio off at around 8, I listen to 910. I don't like the infomercials on the weekend on 910 but try to listen to Burns/Riddell on Sat. Morning. I like Michael Finney on KGO. Overall, radio is not what it was prior to 12/1/11. I find myself streaming videos and reading books, which are hard to do while toiling in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of The Game. They sent Drew "I've got huge balls" Hoffer to New Orleans to cover the Final 4. He was on by himself this morning, except when he interviewed Jarred from the Subway commercials. It was painful listening to Hoffer trying to adlib. Just kept repeating himself over and over.The dead air was covered up by all the noise in the Super Dome.
ReplyDeleteSince the KGO debacle, for me it's 95.7 or KQED for both the morning and evening commute, unless the Sharks are playing, and then it's 102.1 for the evening drive. When the A's start up, it'll be 95.7 most evenings.
ReplyDeleteI miss having Gene Burns for my evening commute. I hope he continues to improve after his stroke.
Up here in Santa Rosa I find myself listening to 95.5 a 24/7 comedy station more often while in the car, DBruce in the afternoons Ralph and Tom if they aren't talking golf, hockey or spending time with the goofy weatherman. I used to keep KGO on as background noise when working in the office but now go between streaming music stations (Pandora, various via TuneIn radio)
ReplyDeleteEven before the KGO overhaul I didn't listen to Ronn, who lost the spark when his attempt at syndication failed something like 20 years ago.
switched to satellite. occasionally will listen to kgo on weekends if i'm driving and there is a halfway decent host. can't believe i lived without satellite.
ReplyDeleteGene Burns was the only local radio to listen to. Re sports Collen Cowherd in the morning is good--but he is too footballcentric, and eventually gets old. With Gene gone I just download podcasts from places like the Free Library of Philadelphia and listen to them during my commute.
ReplyDeleteRe Sports--If Ted Robinson and Tom Tolbert and/ or Ted Robinson adn Eric Allen teamed up that would be good sports radio. Lowell Cohen should be the only 'Sports Insider'--an outsider with a unique perspective. I can't listen to the Razor and his 10000 word questions. Re politics--my attitude re Michael Savage is the same as yours--politically I couldn't disagree with him more but you wish his energy and stories translated to other radio shows.
I listen to 910AM pretty religiously Monday through Friday now.
ReplyDeleteI am a democrat but after listening to Rush a few times I found it interesting and entertaining. Mostly, it was enlightening to hear the actual source of the rhetoric my conservative friends have been repeating for years. I love waking up in the morning and tuning into Armstrong & Getty. I catch myself laughing out loud daily. I like the variety of fill-in hosts for Gene, although I agree with another writer that Gil is spending way too much time on his monologues and he tries too hard to be funny. I'd still rather hear Gil than listen the news repeats on 810 (I tried to get used to the net format but the hourly repeats of the same information got on my nerves). Len is always fun to listen to and I can take or leave Ed and Rosie. To sum it up, I honestly found John and Gil boring at times over at 810, but then when I was faced with their absence, I was relieved to have them back on air on 910. I think a lot of listeners may have felt this way.
On the weekends I like listening to KGO though.
My least favorite host is Monty. His major weaknesses in my opinion are:
1) he uses 10 words when three would have been fine,
2) he constantly asks listeners to call in but then leaves them on hold for an hour or more,
3) he uses trite phrases like "I'm telling you straight-up" and "I'm a gross ass man" and he yells into the mic which is not necessary,
4) Monty's arguments are usually not well thought out and he'll flip/flop on issues or run with a tangent to escape a caller challenges him with a compelling rebuttal;
5) he often will interview someone in one hour and then replay it in its entirety in the third hour, which makes me turn the dial.
Yet, despite all of Monty's downfalls, I still tune into his show on the weekends instead of 910's programming.
I hope Ron Owens will join 910 when his contract with 810 is up so I can enjoy his show again.
Even before all of the radio station upheaval I had quit listening to all talk shows regardless of format. I listen to KCBS for a while when I get up in the morning, and Face The Nation on Sunday's but otherwise strictly listen to music either from my own collection or on satellite radio. I will be listening to baseball games when the season starts this coming week.
ReplyDeleteI listen to 910 (Armstrong & Getty) until 9:00 in the morning, switch it to 960 (Dave Ramsey) from 9:00 - 12:00, then back to 910 for the rest of the day. I have an internet radio piped through the house so all of this comes in crystal clear for me.
ReplyDeleteOn the weekends I listen to 560 in the mornings then move to 910 usually for the rest of the time if I'm listening. On Sundays it's Bob Tanem and then Kim Komando (on 560) until 1:00 when Leo Laporte is on 910. On Saturdays we haven't found much of anything we like anywhere so the radio's off most of the day.
I very, very rarely have KGO on. Usually it's maybe for 10 minutes while in the shower (radio reception... the internet radio can't be heard in there) but that's only occasionally, and not for long.
It's surprising how unsettling this whole KGone thing is. In the mornings, I listen to 740, sometimes Stephanie Miller via IHR, Lately I been tuning more into NPR. Later on, Len Tillem, and Randi Rhodes. Gil Gross sometimes. Evenings it a little of 740 again. I miss Gene Burns terribly. This whole thing would have been much more endurable if Gene were around. I'm expecting him to get better and be back on the air and I hope he knows how missed he is.
ReplyDeleteUsed to listen to KGO about 8 hours a day. I now listen none. Start my day off with KCBS, listen to KQED more; both of those 'til 3, when I try to remember to switch to 910. Love Gil Gross, most interesting show there. Rosie is boring with Ed, but love her alone.
ReplyDeleteI heard the chronicle critic forced mattress ad,bad radio,sell out ,lazy,retire! Lund just does not have anything to say,957959579507 whatever,him and papa were interviewing nelson the other day and every time lund would ask aquestion its call letters papa lund nelson,and a dumb question ,it just geys old Papas bored i am bored,lund urban its almost as boring as fitz, thank god for giants baseball ,Good bye 95.7,Pa
ReplyDeleteI think Lund and co.have sunk a bit from a higher level..His twice now bashing of Obama (What has he done?)ignoring that Obama has created health care,ended a war,killed Bin Laden and that other one who was beheading journalists..And Obama saved Ford and Chrysler,GM. Where would our banks be without Obama?...and then when Urban chimes in (Urban,like Zito wants it both ways-to be liberal with pot,woman,"be yourself")with his old repub status quo beleifs. Urban,is predictable. And Lund has been like he see's the writing on the wall..by apologizing for feeling down. Bad Republican John-never admit you feel depressed-NEVER!.
ReplyDeletePapa brings a huge bay area sports knowledge to THEGAME..although Greg couldn't have missed the Jeremy Lin importance any more then if Lin had bitten him on the ass,and Greg just scratched the itch. A huge story for the bay area.
And- I did catch Hoffer this morning on THEGAME..eh,cut him some slack-he's just 25. But,he did sound like me when I talk to myself....drone...
I have 910 on in the morning to wake me up. Then it's occasionally Ronn if I'm not out and about away from a radio. Then either KCBS for an hour of news or KSRO 1350 for news and whatever their 12:30-1:00 segment is (often not too compelling). Then Dr. Joy Brown on KSRO 1-3, then 910 until I turn if off in the evening. Weekends, not much. I could listen to some of the KGO people who aren't TOO bad, but I didn't usually listen to KGO on weekends anyway, except while I was lying in bed in the evening, so why start now?
ReplyDeleteThank goodness baseball is starting because there will be something to listen to every day. A's are my favorite, but listening to the Giants is better than anything else on in the evenings and weekend days.
For me, wake up to KQED and a splash of KCBS. Listen mostly to Michael Krasny and then Talk of the Nation. Later it's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. At 3 I catch Len and then John Rothmann when he's on. When he's not, it's Pandora for me.
ReplyDeleteOn the weekends I catch Pat Thurston when I can... and I used to love the refinement of Stacy Taylor, but... Is he or isn't he gone?
Good post Rich. I was flipping around the radio today and heard Scott Reiss of CSN Bay Area co-hosting a radio show on 'the Game.' Why does the 'Game' insist on using so many of the TV guys from CSN Bay Area? These are TV guys, not radio guys, and just because they may look good on TV, doesn't mean that that sound good on the radio. I guess 'The Game' has some sort of working agreement with
ReplyDeleteCSN Bay Area, because there are a lot of CSN guys appearing regularly on their shows each day. I guess they all have to do extra work because CSN must not be paying them very much.
In fairness to 'the game,' they've at least got one guy that sounds credible and knows what he's talking about and that's John Dickenson, who actually goes to the games and practices and doesn't just get his info off the internet or steal it from the newspapers. His info is a lot more reliable than the talking heads on CSN who seem to think they know everything about bay area sports.
And another idea on THEGAME..instead of Dana (tell it like it is,but in a funny way) Stubblefield being an entertaining guest..why isn't he a co- host? HE would wake up the RiseGuys as a 4th RG'er. He would take dullness out of Lund and Urban. Last year when he and Vern Glenn had a fill in show-it was fast and funny.
ReplyDeleteI guess THEGAME needs me to solve all their programming shortcomings.
'S'
Listen to News talk 910 mostly these days. Unfortunately I seem to live on the fringe of this stations range, so listen mostly through myiPodTouch. KKSF needs to advertise the station to let the public know the line up.
ReplyDeleteCheck Ronn's program out, but he is not as interesting since the Changover.
"The Wheelhouse with John Lund" is easily 95.7 FM The Game's weakest show. John Lund lacks energy and local sports knowledge. He laughs and jokes around plenty but rarely has anything important or thought-provoking to say. I thought Lund was maybe 25 years old based on his voice, elocution and lack of general knowledge. I was completely floored to learn that he is in his 40s. As a regular listener, I hope 95.7 can find a suitable replacement for Lund soon (and before their ratings fall even further.) Somebody in house like Roxy Bernstein would be much better.
ReplyDeleteRonnnnn from 9-noon, 910 from 3-6, otherwise 95.5 comedy or books on tape in the car, and internet radio (WWOZ, JAZZ.FM, KCSM) at home.
ReplyDeleteMethinks you protest too much; The morning guys and Lund, Poppa and Urban are easy on the ears; funny and entertaining. Stop picking nits Liberman.
ReplyDeleteI went through a real mourning period with the loss of KGO. It was a 30-year habit that was totally integrated with my life. Finally, about three weeks ago, I turned to KQED to establish a new habit. Now it feels right, and my mourning period is over. I sent them a check. I also feel smarter.
ReplyDeleteSame here. It takes a while to break the habit and find something else to listen to, but when you do, it's easy to forget about KGO, especially when there's really nothing to listen to at 810. The new stations and times become the new routine and the hosts become familiar, and KGO is but a memory.
DeleteKQED in morning & evening, KSCO in early afternoon, 910 in late afternoon, especially with John & Gil, and back to KQED. And, yes, it was a real adjustment to change my 30 yr habit of KGO 24/7. I never believed it would become so bad. Ok, I confess, I do listen to mattress man occasionally. But it isn't the same.
ReplyDeleteI listen to Podcasts (NPR shows, Adam Carolla, Tom Leykiss (starting Monday), and Gil and John when they're on in the afternoon. I also enjoy listening to Alan Colmes from time to time because his callers are unintentionally hillarious.
ReplyDeleteYou can't leave the radio on one station like the old KGO days. I just can't get interested in the syndicated people. All politics all the time.....who cares nothing changes. I don't listen to KGO at all anymore. For me its KXRA Carmel for news, Dr. Bill and Charlie on KSCO, some KNBR and 910 on my way home. Have satelite in my truck now. Sirius should be paying finder's fees to KGO!
ReplyDeleteI am sure the implosion at KGOne is not unique but it would be interesting to compare it to another station that did it earlier and how it eventually worked out.
I think it would be better if everyone quit bitching about how bad KGO is and just quit listening. Radio stations don't care if you like a host or not as long as you are listening. Silence is what they hate.
I find it interesting that a lot of people have gone to KQED. Doesn't it leave you a bit cold, the stale and staid style,
ReplyDeleteall the pauses, and filler.? To me it's very hit and miss, when
it's good it can be great, when it's not it's just a bore. The
style is so sluggish.
Nevermind KGone and KTVU, this viewer wants to know how in god's name is KIM COYLE employed? Watching her updates while watching the final four is excruciating. I though you had to have looks to be in TV and if not the looks, some special je-ne-sais-quois. She has neither.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty much KQED non-stop for me. I quit KGO cold turkey and only tune in when I know Christine Craft is on and usually that's only after the fact and via the archives. I do listen to the Bill Press show on 960 when I wake up before dawn. I am absolutely averse to Karel and Thurston and Monte What's His Name.
ReplyDeleteI would listen much, much more to Newstalk 910 if Rothmann and Gil Gross were on later in the evening. This 4-6 pm schedule just isn't a time when I can listen to the radio. My advice to Newstalk 910: make your station a 24-hr LOCAL talk station.
Mostly KCBS for news, Rothman (who next to Gene Burns)is the best so I listen to him every monday and occasionally to Gil on wednesday and thursday. Hard to get enthused by any of the other's although I've tried all of them.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that Ronn's show is definetly FLAT after after the KGO massacre and speaking of flat or BORING Krasny over on 88.5 is the worst.
After listening to KGO since the Dunbar days, am having a hard time getting grounded to anyone station now. Hope Rothman get a regular slot soon,
Given up newstalk altogether and started listening to KCSM and KUFX.
ReplyDeleteI live up in Mendocino County. Can sometimes pick up 910. Can't stand Armstrong & Getty or Rush. Listen to 910 late afternoons sometimes if it comes in. My only other option is public radio station KZYX. I was a KGO all day every day listener.... but no more. Actually the truth is I've turned the radio off for the most part. I've read more books in the last few months then I've read in the last 10 years.
ReplyDeleteWhich idiot management type at KGONE decided to bring in Matthew Rey at midnight instead of Staci Taylor or Christine Craft? Was the lunatic NY comedian not available? Talk about amateur hour. This Matthew guy sounds like he is about to piss in his pants. Relax Matt, when I turn the dial only your mom and Jared will be listening. EIGHTY EIGHTY EIGHT TEN!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to Peter B Collins filling in for Monty. The new KGO is an up-side down world, the fill in host are better than the regular hosts, it use to be the other way around, especially on KGO, even as a fill in, the host had to be pretty good, but not any more. What a shame, and what idiots the new owners are.
DeleteAbsolutely no KGO since that first week of December. Not even to tune in to the train wreck.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely no Gary on KNBR as well since he threw D-Bruce under the bus with his little vacation thing. I use to love Gary for years but his schtick is just a tired act.
I was listening to THE GAME more and hardly any KNBR but found I've been listening to less of any sports talk since football ended (not a fan of hoops and college sports). But now that baseball is kicking up again, both stations will get some love. I do like John Lund and Papa. And I could listen to Marty Lurie talk baseball all day. I'm excited to hear some A's and Giants games.
For talk radio, I regularly download John Rothmann's shows from the 910 website. The podcasts are crystal clear, unlike the terrestrial signal, and are commercial free. You can get an hour's show in in about 36 minutes. I wish John had more hours so he could cover those smaller topics like local history or lighter topics like those Halloween shows rather than just having to cover the biggest headlines in the news with 2-3 hours a week.
Other than that, it is more music from internet radio. I'll either listen to my alternative 80s music, maybe some 90s techno, or even this great station out on the east coast that plays stuff from 1900 to 1950 (Big Band, Jazz, etc.). Or maybe I'll just listen to the sound of the TV in the other room with TCM or ME TV. I'm not THAT old but I guess I'm just craving some "comfort" radio and TV rather than the barrage of negative political crap.
I really miss the old KGO! What do I do now? I wander around depending on who's on and what I'm doing. KQED, Rothman, Gross, Tillem, Ed and Rosie, and Alan Colmes. Weekends I occasionally listen to KGO and especially like Stacy Taylor and Christine Craft.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: I really like Gil Gross, and I know he loves his wife, but I really don't think she adds anything to the show, Do youi?
I like Gill as well, he is very fair, and can present both sides of almost any argument, so the listener can really understand (case in point the real estate crash, the swaps, derivites etc. after he explained I had a much better understanding of what happened). Anyway to get to your point no I don't think his wife adds anything, I'm not sure if it is her personality or the way she talks, frankly to be she often sounds b...... I won't write out the word, don't know if is fair, since I have never met her, but from what I heard she is not someone I would want to hang around too much.
DeleteMiss the Old KGO? Listen to Dr Bill Wattenburg, Len Tillem, John Rothmann, Gene Burns & Dining Around 2010-2011
Deletehttp://bit.ly/OldKGOPodcasts
My radio is always tuned to 910 now. :-) I love it. However, on the weekends I'll listen to KGO.
ReplyDeleteI thought I would miss the personalities I enjoyed on KGO, but I found making the switch to KQED was surprisingly smooth. I enjoy the indepth stories and quality reporting found on public radio. The traffic reporting is not as intense, but they have accurately reported commute problems that have helped. For me, KQED has been a refreshing change.
ReplyDeleteSwitched over to KQED as well. At least I am not peppered by all those obnoxious mattress ads anymore. That should have be a sign as to where KGO was going
ReplyDeleteI used to listen to KGO from 7:00am to 4:00pm every day. I could set my watch by who was on now. I now listen to Len over the internet and then catch maybe an hour with the "all stars". My home radio went into storage a few weeks ago, I simply can not find anyone else I want to listen to.The only time I catch Ronn is when I carpool with my sister(she insists). Tell me how many times DOES he mention "his producer Jarod" every hour????
ReplyDeleteIt was very hard to let go of KGO. My husband and I had been listening to them for 30 years. So now I listen to Armstrong and Getty on my way to work; sometimes they are fun, sometimes they annoy me. When I am not working or go to work later I can hear Ronn Owens back on KGO. In the afternoon on the way home from work I listen to Len Tillem and then to whomever is covering for Gene Burns; my favorite is John Rothman followed by Gil Gross although he likes to hear himself talk too much. I agree that Ed and Rosie have their ups and downs. In the afternoon if I don't like the sub for Gene I will listen to John and Ken on KFI640 from L.A. on Iheartradio. But because they are in L.A. sometimes the talks are too localized and I don't know what they are talking about. Definitely never listen to Rush Limbaugh. He drives me nuts. If I listen to the radio on the weekend it is still KGO or 910 or KFI. For some reason after 6pm it is hard for me to listen to 910 because of all the static. Maybe it's my location (Brentwood) but they are not clear in the evening in my area. It's been difficult not to have a regular station to listen to. It was great just to have 810 preprogrammed.
ReplyDeleteI followed Gene to 910, but stayed for John and Gil. I don't much like Ed & Rosie's schtick, and have been disappointed by Gil. For reasons unknown, he seems to be hitting on half a dozen topics each hour, and rarely takes calls. Fortunately, John is still John.
ReplyDeleteDon't listen to KGone anymore. Shifted to KSFO (Bob Brinker a favorite) and started listening to Rush Limbaugh (actually from KMJ in Fresno!).
ReplyDeleteCouldn't stand the Len Tillem Daily Infomericial for him, his firm & all his buddies wanting their 5%.
Have you even noticed when a caller (with money) needs "help" he immediately says: "...we have to break & I will talk to you off the air...? Hmmmm.
At least McDonnell on Saturdays on KSFO claims his show is an infomercial!!
Used to listen to Radnich when Tony Bruno was on; stopped immediately when he was cut out. Listen to 95.7; NewsTalk 910 has a very weak signal in the East Bay so it discourages people from listening; seems to be true with other areas I read about.
Agree with the comments about Gil's new format. When asked on his facebook why he takes so few calls anymore and covers too many topics per hour, he says it's the changing nature of talk radio. People are busy and out and about during those hours and can't follow one topic for a whole hour. He says they don't like to tune in to the middle of a discussion when they've missed part of it. I disagree. Even if you miss a little bit of an issue, you can still hear much of it. If it's interesting, you can hear the rest on podcast. The variety of local callers is what, for me, makes the local talk shows interesting and unique. Just covering the news in slightly more detail than an hourly news report is not as interesting as hearing the opinions of the listeners. Callers may not be the experts, but they are the ones living the ins and outs of daily life and give a much more realistic pulse of what people are feeling about the issues of the day. He could start with at least one hour of callers if he doesn't want to switch altogether. On KGO his caller driven hours were some of the best on 810. Please, Gil......
ReplyDeleteWhat am I listening to now...
ReplyDeleteMornings: KCBS and KALW/KQED for news. Maybe one cycle of Jennifer on KGO, but switch back to KCBS when one of their new sappy features or pooled sports commentary comes on.
Midday: off or KCBS.
Afternoons 3-6: 910 for Len and then leave it on, especially when Gil Gross is subbing.
Weekends: KCBS and when I'm by my computer Leo Leporte via Internet
Man, I have to chime in here- Talk radio has turned into ADD theatre. Topics are changing so fast, you can't follow 'em, and should you have an opinion, by the time you dial the phone the topic has shifted again. If you are lucky enough to get thru, unless you are polarized- with or against- the odds of actually talking to the host are there with a winning lotto ticket. The thing that made KGO a winner was the ability to hear different views during an hour's topic, not a 10 minute diatribe, 9 minutes of news and commercials and perhaps 3 callers. That ain't gonna draw nor captivate listeners, ever.
ReplyDeleteAs to Gil? well, he's still a newsman. He will stick to news and politics, and do it extremely well. Where that falls short is that it is just that: news and politics. Lighten up, for God's sake. Folks will happily chat and follow lighter topics instead of the gravitas of the news as a refreshing break from the reality we live under. When we had Pete Wilson, he was a master of the genre. He could rock a story of local or national importance one hour, then switch to an interview with guys who talked like pirates, and not miss a step.
I think talk radio died with Pete Wilson, and was buried with him.
As to KTVU- I truly wish I still drank. The drinking games you could play with the typos, miscues and graphics issues would enrich the coffers of any collegs bar tenfold.
Alcoholism and news? Well, that ain't altogether unheard of either.
My husband and I have switched to Pacifica radio during the week, but we check out the weekend programs on KGOne. We love Stacy Taylor and very much miss him. Depending upon their topics, we at times listen to Pat Thurston, Karel, Peter B. Collins and Christine. If Stacy, Peter and Christine had regular programs, we would tune in regularly. If Gene were able to be on 910, we would tune in, as well. We wish him the very best in his recovery.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to Ray Taliaferro???
ReplyDeleteSorry, but who cares? Towards "the end" he only seemed to like hearing himself talk. And talk. And talk. Drove me NUTS. It was time for him to go.
DeleteWeekdays I listen to NPR mostly because Bay Area AM radio stations don't come in clearly here in Santa Cruz. I seldom listen to KSCO, our local station. So I miss KGO a WHOLE LOT weekdays and especially the evenings. I actually like the weekend programming better, because I love Pat Thurston, Brian Copeland, and even sometimes Karel. I'm friends with Stacy Taylor, Christine Craft on Facebook and Pat too so I can get the word if they're going to be subbing. Love Peter B Collins too. I wish KGO would put Stacy, Christine and Peter on in place of Monte and some of the other blah programming. I wish Ray T. were on somewhere permanent too! I only listen to John on 910 and it's really frustrating to have him only one day a week. So many things I want him to cover and he can't in one day. I miss the security of knowing my favorite hosts will be on in the same time the same days. Even Pat is on at different times Sat and Sun. Why the heck is that? Anyway, I'm reading my Kindle more and watching more Netflix.
ReplyDeleteActually John Rothman is usual on Monday and Tuesday's most weeks, you must have listened a day when he took a day off or there was a game on.
DeleteAlso, Christine is NOT dim and she's NOT too old. Whoever said that is projecting.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I hate being all over the radio and not even 80% happy with any of the options. Since the early 1990's had the radio set on 810 and rarely moved the dial...maybe some music on some days. Now I am back and forth between 910 (and shhhhh would never tell an opinion poll) 810. I did try the KCBS and KQUED, but just could not go there.
DeleteI wake up to Armstrong and Getty....I keep trying but don't quite "Getty" them. I keep meaning to look them up and see what they look like. I can't take the morning at KGone with Jen the valley giggle girl. I turn to 810 right at 9:00 a.m. to hear the ABC news (thank heavens Ronn wanted his potty trips so the news is on sort of on the hour). I happen to like ABC news.
There is no way that I will listen to Rush; I tried it one day and almost threw the radio through the window.
The radio is on 810 until 3 pm, but I can't really say I'm listening. I try to "hit" the hour news until noon when they go back to the ridiculous "afternoon news". Ronn is awful, the constant suck ups to Jared, asking his opinion, or stating Jared's opinion, the mattress commercials, and the other spots that Ronn is now reading, doing or whatever. (I won't buy a Sleep train mattress ever again, even though they advertize on other stations-can't get Ronn's ads and the mess of 810 out of mind ...won't go back into to Just Remnants even though we are purchasing flooring and have dealt with them before...same with Zerorez. I'm old but I have "old" money, too)
3 pm. I switch back to 910 and sort of listen to Len. I like him.(Not the "best of", but sure Len doesn't care) He's helped me and he's funny.
Oh dear, 4 pm. I have been the strongest Gil supporter ever. I scheduled my doctor appointments, everything around Gil. But I am not caring for him on 910. It's too much Gil, and not the same Gil. He almost sounds like he's auditioning for a spot on 810 with the constant change of subjects. I always felt the best part about Gil's shows was his interaction with callers, his shows on depression, drug addiction, abuse, etc were some of the best shows on radio. Telling people they could call in and not use their real names. He showed empathy, something I don't hear now...well, can't because he doesn't take calls. I also loved his funny, funny, funny shows in asking the listeners to call in about their worst gift, their worst meal, or whatever. It's also unnerving that he doesn't use e-mail. You have to post on facebook....what's up with that? I am not a facebook user, yes, have it, but use it for personal contacts...not "talking" to radio hosts. Rhoda, well, used to really enjoy when he had Rhoda on, but she's changed as well.... I would really wish that the old Gil had a regular show, but not listening regularly to the new Gil. Gil, you may not be a Rich supporter, but sure that you read these posts or someone reads them. Please, please, please, please stop this KGONE personna! Keep a subject on for a whole hour....take calls...! Give an e-mail address!!!! Rhoda come and visit but tone it down a bit!!!
I didn't listen to very much of John on KGONE too late for my normal listening.... but am really enjoying his show on 910. Of course I had heard him before, but really only when he was filling in for Ronngone and was always impressed. He certainly deserves his own show.
Rosie and Ed... too forced. Not the way they used to be.
Of course miss Gene and pray that he can recover and return.
Part 2 from post I did that wouldn't take...didn't know we were limited!
DeleteWeekends. Dining around I still listen to, but miss Gene there. 910 weekend programming is pretty bad...hate their infommercials...health, investments...snake oil salesmen all the way around. I haven't heard Leo yet, not sure why, something must be interfering. I like Leo.
810 weekend. Love it when Stacy is on. But guess he isn't for some dumb reason...oh yeah, dumb reason is KGONE. I enjoy Christine when she fills in...would like her to have her own show, no, I do not always agree with her, but like her style. I'm not thrilled with Pat's voice, but she is growing on me a little.
Michael Finney, what is up with that first hour of being a "talk show host"....horrible. Do what you do best.
I don't know what the program is called but that Ryan Scott chef thing...too cutsey and "insiderish" and can't figure out why we need to be subjected to more Rich...what's he there for to open the wine and beer? Well could be worse I guess, they could have Jennifer whatever there giggling and swooning over Ryan.
Karel, off goes the radio. Copeland, ho hum....
All around not listening to nearly as much radio as I used to... But I guess nobody cares except for Rich!!!
Impossible to listen to KGO - the "all NEWS is all BLEWS. I listen to 910, 710, KQED and whatever else. I actually grieved with the "bloodbath." What the Cumulus people don't understand is that talk radio in the Bay Area included all the callers -- the regular ones whose opinions enhanced the "talk" -- my community is gone. I hope 910 can come through.
ReplyDeleteyou ever listen to that crappy show gil gross has on ksfo. no wonder he's gone from kgo. the worst radio I've ever heard in my life gil gross on ksfo. go ahead try to listen to see how long you last.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, a person with such poor English skills as yourself is not someone from whom I take recommendations. There are a good twenty or more errors in your silly little rant.
DeleteIt seems natural that educated and savvy talk show hosts/journalists, such as the witty and erudite Gil Gross, would not be your cup of tea!
Thanks for sharing though.
Stll trying to find a radio home, 910AM possibly my best option.
ReplyDeleteAM: The Arizona /Heyworth guy doesn't do it for me, and Rush is right now in no-man's land. Sometimes I'll listen to Sussman (?) pre 9AM, then it's 20% Ronn, 30% Rush, and 50% - forget about it.
Lunchtime, I do like the guy who follows Rush, he doesn't seem to follow any formula, leans right, with common sense. So he's a fresh voice for me. I finally caught Len Tillem a few times, good to hear him again.
Awaiting the beloved Gene Burns, though I am to the right of him.
Burns fill-in hosts?
Gabbert - like him.
CCraft - no thanks.
Gil Gross - good to hear him.
John Rothman - ditto, but does he ever learn that it is called "talk radio", not "listen radio"? Does he ever let a caller with an oppossing point of view get out their opinions / thoughts - without *interrupting them* on every point? This is either rudeness, or his attempt tp overtalk his "opposition", so that he interrupts the flow of their argumenyt - in his attempt to force us to agree with his opinions?
Rosie Allen - nice lady, but please stick to news, and I bet she got a sweet buy out from KGO radio. She played it right with her clear political advantage.
Dr. Bill - I need to make a better effort to track him down to listen to him. Rich - Has his national talk show done well???
And about 910 AM - can you guys please come up with one or two phone numbers we could use, not 5?
I remember Les Crane and Al Jazzbo Collins, I started listening to KGO as an early teen! Now, 910 and some KSCO. The best of KGO went to 910 but I have real difficulty receiving the broadcasts in the house where I live in the Santa Cruz mountains. Impossible to get at night. Hoping they'll place a repeater down this way some day so I can listen more. KGO is simply horrible now, with a few exceptions for the weekends.
ReplyDeleteJAir"head" Hart(less) almost hit a homerun on April Fool's day. We had: God Talk, Jack Hamilton, Peter B. Collins, Christine Craft, Pat Thurston, Karel (big props to Karel, his second hour interview was the best I have heard. No interruptions or talking over his guest. Thank you Karel!. You pissed me off in the past, keep up the good work.) but who is on at 10pm? The creature from the Black Lagoon. Maureen (I am an Irish comedian from NY) Longlan. Diaaaaal switch. You almost did it Jared boy. You almost had a moment of brilliance. Oooops!
ReplyDeletel live in Portland and have had my decades-old ritual forever altered with the demise of KGO's talk giants. I'd typically listen to NPR's Morning Edition, then turn to the local right wing nut-jobs in the early afternoon, then back to NPR late afternoon, then KGO for the rest of the evening, starting with Gene Burns at 7pm. The new "all news" format is absolutely intolerably dull, I have zero interest listening to a news loop over and over. Thus, no more KGO for me.
ReplyDeleteI've gone to NewsTalk 910. Even Ed and Rosie are infinitely preferrable to that depthless slimepit implosion at KGO. And I still love Rothman et al. Armstrong and Getty are actually funny...
ReplyDeleteI listen to John Batchelor on weeknights when he doesn't have his Wall Street shills on who talk down about the average American. I listen to Karel and Savage when they aren't talking politics, because I'm not interested in politics. I enjoy Karel for his tech and social compassion; I enjoy Savage for his wit and storytelling. I watch The Young Turks on TV by taping it and I listen to The Young Turks on Podcasts. I also listen to Pat Thurston and Len Tillem. A variety of stations and media to fill in the old KGO.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Glenn. You and other posters over the last several months have given me ideas for new listening targets.
DeleteThanks, Rich, for posting this question. Interesting answers!
I've migrated to 910. I surprisingly enjoy Tom Sullivan.
ReplyDeleteCan't stand Rush or other people who scream at listeners about emo stuff. I'm a grown up. Give me facts (or your version of the facts) and I can make up my own tiny mind. Thank you very much.
Adore Lem.
I tried to support and listen to the former KGO hosts on 910. In the end, I was reminded how boring John Rothmann, Rosie and Ed are. Now I only tune into Alan Colmes' syndicated show. On the weekends, I listen to KGO.
ReplyDeleteSince KGONE, I am still wandering the maze of radio. I used to have KGO 810 on every day, 24/7. It's hard to listen to the radio during the day or early evening because of the changing schedules of the good old KGO hosts like Rothman, Gross, Burns.
ReplyDeleteI can't listen to podcasts on my computer because I work in a 2 person office and can't (don't have the tech ability) listen on Ipod. I wander from KQED to KCBS to KSFB (yes, liberal and devoted Catholics do exist!), and when I find Pat Thurston, Brian Copeland, Karel, Peter B. Collins, or Christine Craft (bless her strength!) on KGO on the weekends, I listen to them. KSCO and KKSF (910) often have too much static so even if I get them, it is not very successful.
I think everyone is being too hard on Jennifer, Rosie, Ed. I occasionally hear them as I scan through the dial. I don't like the chitter chatter yuk yuks either so I usually do keep on going to KCBS for news. I'm sure they are just being made to do this under threat of keeping their jobs. It must be hard to be in the SF market because once you are here, you don't want to go looking for a job in Topeka or Nome or Savanna--no disparagement to those places-just they are far away and their weather is not like ours.
Emmy from East Bay
Emmy--I so like the cut of your jib!
DeleteI second all your emotions here! Beautifully put.
I wish that Christine Craft shows the same passion she does for Ross Mirkarimi, towards other unknown men who are currently in jail for doing the same thing, grabbing their woman. Ofcourse, many of us don't believe Mirkarimi to have slapped, kicked, or punched any woman, but the fact that he has a bad temper and is able to not just grab, but hold onto his wife's arm long enough to cause a bruise, is very poor judgement on his part as a sheriff. With Ross being a sheriff, you would think he would be smart enough to not show such bad or questionable behavior front and center for his neighbors to witness. Mirkarimi would've been labeled, not just an abuser, but a hypocrite for not stepping in to stop the same judgement towards other men who are in jail for doing the same thing as he. Then we would've had to request changes in some of the laws of what exactly domestic violence really is. Everyone has their own definition. Yeah, it is best for him to be removed as Sheriff.
ReplyDeletegrabbing "their" women? Ross Mirkarimi took hold of his wife's arm and she wrenched away..They were having a fierce argument(imagine that..a couple have a heated argument..who knew?)
DeleteThe argument was about the safety of taking their two year old son to Venezuela where mama is a soap opera superstar and where the kidnapping of celebrities is a recent trend in a virtually lawless country(see Santa Ines, Venezuela kidnap major league ballplayer)
so what we have here is a bicep pinch created by two people..Eliana is not a whimpering child who doesn't know her own mind and she would tell you (and has all along) that she's no victim of domestic violence. You want to infantilize her and tell her she can't know her own mind.
btw..if you can find someone imprisoned for misdemeanor false imprisonment..let me know.. YOu might want to read the statute first..specifically the part about "no intent to harm".
see also what Superior Court judge Quentin Kopp has to say about Sheriff Mirkarimi.as well as former sheriff MIke Hennessey.
First I will say I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer so that might be my problem but..... I used to enjoy ABC news on KGO but when they moved it to 50 minutes before the hour I missed it all the time or would join it part way through. It aggravated me to the point where I changed to CBS. I assume KGOne expects you to tune in all the time like the old days so it wouldn't matter when the news was but I was only tuning in for the news and I am not smart enough to catch before the top of the hour. I wonder if anyone else found the new time aggravating?
ReplyDeleteRich...where are you...we haven't had a post for a couple of days! We're starving for our Liberman/guilty pleasure daily media post!
ReplyDeleteHey, Rich, what's with the censoring of Mirkarimi posts? You brought him up first in your post. It seems others cannot add their two cents to that topic.
ReplyDeleteKGO is a no go on mornings but I do like KCBS, all the players are strong. However, and I may be of a minority opinion, KGO beats KCBS in afternoons for "listenability" in so many ways. I don't care for the delivery of the anchors on KCBS and I can't even listen to the sports or traffic people in the afternoon. KGO wins hands down. I do miss Gene Burns, and oddly (since I loved to complain about him) Ray T. as well. But 910, outside of some of Gil's solo shows, just doesn't hit it for me.
ReplyDeleteAt the top of the hour I turn to KCBS for CBS News update. I listen to Len Tillem and Jon Rothmann on 910. Would love to find our where Stacy Taylor has landed. I do miss the KGO News reporters -- they are (were) good but it was the hosts that brought me to the 810 and I usually lingered long enough for the news. For news it's KCBS and sometimes KQED.
ReplyDeleteIn a word, nothing. There is nothing to listen to anymore. I don't turn on the radio anymore. It's always a disappointment when I do, so now I just don't. I listen to the breeze blow by. It's more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI listen to KSCO sans Rushbo. I'm not a syndicated show fan. Dr. Bill seems to me to have mellowed quite a bit - maybe it's a midday versus midnight thing for him. There is a wide variety of opinions, and a somewhat more rational crowd of callers than the many simpletons and ideologues that crowded onto the board at old KGO. Oh, I tune in a bit to Len for comic relief now and again. Unlike Rich, I enjoy Gary R. on KNBR. For news, it's local KLIV. For music college KSCU is a fave.
ReplyDeletePost KGO, I learned of the wonder of internet radio. There is all kinds of chit out there. Community radio from Armpit, Ireland. Old time radio shows. Bizarre music themes. All comedy stations. One station is 100% George Carlin. News from South Africa. Many of the worst rock music stations in the world are found on internet radio.
I sincerely hope that when Owens(tein) is dumped @ KGO that I will never have to listen to his voice again. His cleverness ( he thinks) when making wisecracks during guest interviews + those god damn Sleep Train commercials he sometimes makes a guest read piss me off. I praise those interviewees that refuse to read them. That shows class.
ReplyDelete