What a sad time for Bay Area radio.
How can an area with such a rich broadcasting history be carved up into the current dreck dept. with a variety of such UN-interesting and morose drivel?
Outside of KCBS, KQED, KCSM, and a few other FM outlets, it's all a mess, thanks Cumulus, you evil cretins.
I know a lot of you like me have switched over to satellite radio to remedy our local house of horrors on terrestrial AM and FM. It beats the hell out of the usual suspects here in the city, but satellite, as great as it is, doesn't have the local element, therefore we continue to monitor the 415-510-408 proceedings and still amazed how bad it really is.
Thanks to Cumulus, KGO is dead, the old KGO as we know it. KNBR died many moons ago only relevant if a Giants/Niners game is on--KSFO is on the skids and has been for awhile. KFOG, are you kidding me? Dave Morey left the building before the fire gutted everything.
Remember the heroes? We have no heroes now, just a whole lot of guys hanging on before they get the last of the Cumulus purge. It's a rat race down to the end where a few morsels exist before they're eaten. They gobbled up the big people and the remaining mutts are just grabbing the last check.
You want a fantasy? Someone who has a pair and stands up to these greedy, evil people. Could you imagine what Herb Caen would have written about these folks? Hey Ronn, when you're not too busy eating at Original Joe's or having your nails manicured on Union Street, maybe you'd look at some of your prep books from years past, or are you putting away money to sail off into the sunset soon.
Ronnnnnnnnnn, you sold out, but at least you're consistent. Maybe you should take another cruise.
2012. The death of Bay Area radio. The time when interns and producers were doing regular updates. The time when assistant PD's threw their buds under the bus. Hey, "Hammer", aren't ya just damn proud to be hoovered? Yo, Bungeroth, I got news for you--you can have all your little people do your dirty work and ambush me, come at me, threaten me, bring it on, you want balls? Challenge me. You and your fellow Atlanta a-holes DESTROYED OUR RADIO STATIONS. You did.
And where is our so-called SF city leaders? Our pols who are supposed to look out and provide oversight? FRAUDS, all of 'yous, almost as bad as the enemy. And hey, local AFTRA? Hello, is anybody home? Hello out there.
I'm going on another rant. That's just me. I'm tired of all the a-holes, the phonies, the shills, the mental midgets, the punks who phucked up our industry from beginning to end. Marginalized it. Trivialized it. Made it the colossal joke it's become and DROVE IT INTO THE GROUND. DEAD. DEAD. DEAD.
Are you happy, CUMULUS SCUM?
Worse yet, CUMULUS, you have ENABLERS. The so-called "we-still-have-to-feed-the-family", therefore we will continue to propagate your propaganda-- courtesy Ronn, Mattress, Owens, Gary, "I have overhead, therefore I will continue to kiss Kruger's ass because Even though he'll have my job soon, I need the money to pay for my 98K-mile used Bentley", RadUUnich".
Bitter? No, just telling the damn truth.
I won't back down, thanks Tom Petty.
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Today,Comcast on the Happy Gary and Larry show has been late to cut away when KNBR goes to a break. So,you can see that as soon as they think they are off the air..the smiles are gone,they talk to each other with serious faces and acres of double chins.
ReplyDeleteWhen they return..Hey!Smiles!..just nonstop. Radnich now has what he wants. All under him must laugh at his jokes. I used to say ZITO was like the kid in the Twilight zone episode.."Yes,that was real good,real good Zeets" the in fear Giants/townspeople would say afraid to make him unhappy. Now Kreuger and Kate do that, "That's funny Gary,REAL funny,we mean it!"..
Cue the funeral march music and bring down the lights, Jim Morrison was right, this is the end.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this rant, Rich!
ReplyDeleteAnd in other equally disturbing news, I can't find any place to buy film for my Polaroid camera and it's hard to buy hitching rails to tie up my horse when I come to town.
ReplyDeleteYou must be here for the TV updates. Jerk.
DeleteYeah, desiring quality radio is old fashioned!
Deletenot.
Thanks for chiming in, you corporate toady
Deletesycophant!
You had better pray that the position of "boot-lick" never gets outsourced.
please stay away from the horses!
DeleteYeah,I saw that,that was odd,for couple of so called buddys,krueger was the lesser of the the two evils,(damon bruce),gary has been very cynical lately ,his jokes are actually how he feels,his days are numbered and his stress about his situation is showing up at knbr and kron..too bad at one time he was the Best!
ReplyDeleteI'm a transplant from the East Coast and even I knew about this area's rich radio history. I have airchecks of Dr. Don Rose at KFRC and how much fun it sounded. It saddens me to see it die like this. I'm glad I got out of radio when I did.
ReplyDeleteYup, couldn't agree more!
ReplyDeleteI am just a poor ole radio listener. No wonder KQED is top o' the heap these days. I drive all day for work and it's the only thing worth listening to.
That and the traffic reports. When KGO went to "Traffic on the Fives" it just meant that I had more options. I click to KGO at the Five, and then to KCBS at the Eight. If they think I STAY on the channel, they have screws loose! I simply listen for my location--if I hear it, I am gone that quick! And if I don't, I flip back to KQED as soon as the weather or commercial kicks in...
I am with you, Rich. I don't do satellite radio because I really like the local angle.
I WISH I WISH I WISH these companies would check in with the lowly consumer to find out what WE want!!!!! Grrrrrr,
But those minute or two clicks to the other stations register on someone's people meter and those traffic stations get ratings just as if you were listening. They use that data to get advertising based on listenership. Stupid, I know, but that's what technology has brought us in the way of radio ratings.
Delete@ 2 PM. Precisely. The data is f**ed up! As I say, I am only a lowly consumer. My REAL listening habits are not being factored in.
DeleteKCBS, KGO, and KQED all get their traffic from the same place. This crap about which station does traffic better is complete bullshit!
Deleteit's not just radio in the bay area the change is nation wide, and in other areas such as education, insurance, police acting like stormtroopers, Banks blantantly ripping off homeowners, corruption is rampant in every govt entity be it state fed county or city....and everyone is still hoping nothing will affect their little private world. Sieg heil !!!!
ReplyDeleteOh boo hoo, and it's so hard to find a place to send telegrams too!
ReplyDeleteBack in those good old days they had Western Union offices on every corner.
You're not original, or making good points.
DeleteWhat are you sitting on as you write this? A chair? How old fashioned. Why aren't you floating on your own personal ass-hovercraft?
What do you eat with? A fork and knife and spoon? How neanderthal. You're not having it mainlined into your digestive system?
Somethings remain important even when new technologies come in. People still enjoy painting, although photography was supposed to "replace" it.
Things change, not always for the better. You can adjust to change or you can rant and rave about how much better things used to be and find some bogeyman to blame it on!
DeleteTelevision has gotten worse..
DeleteNewspapers have gotten worse..
Customer service has been outsourced and gotten worse..
Medical care has gotten worse, big bureaucracies control our lives..
Must be Cumulus!
Rich, try and forward your rant to every other region that has a Cumulus so they all know what's going on, regardless of each state's culture. We must have listeners nationwide gang up on Atlanta's worst business black eye!
ReplyDeleteIsnt radio following the decline of the newspaper industry? Several people who use to be on radio now do podcasts, so I am still able to listen to them.
ReplyDeleteIs there a record industry anymore? The "new" generation downloads their music, so why listen to the radio? The demise of radio may have more to do with changing technology...the current state of radio ownership is not worthy of the rich tradition and heritage they own.
Newspapers can be replaced by internet news and cable news, if that's what you prefer, and it is more time sensitive although there is something about the printed form that still has appeal.
DeleteHowever radio in real time with local talk and discussion while driving, gardening, doing household chores, during work for some people just can't be replaced that easily. Perhaps we're talking about demographics and younger people always have, for the most part, preferred music to talk. Perhaps it's the baby boomers big numbers that are quickly moving out of the "desired" demo that is causing part of the problem as there numbers are huge and the upcoming non-boomers have smaller numbers and they tend toward newer technology and of course just plain music. Podcasts are great options if you eventually get around to it.
Perhaps profit expectations need to be reviewed. With big corporations that have their top guys in the 1% income bracket, it might be too expensive to have good, local radio. However, there is still a market.
The big problem isn't technology, and it isn't our system of government. It's all on us. We've all been 'fat, dumb and happy' for so many years that when the hefty bills finally arrived and had to be paid, we were shocked.
ReplyDeleteOf course underscoring all of this is the fact that people HAVE
become more callous and selfish because everyone is desperately trying to hang on to what they have. The rich folks are especially paranoid. Major corporations have now put together these
'groups' such as 'ALEC' to pressure our Congress and Senate to pass more legislation that caters to their needs, not the American public.
Also, this country would probably have a sustainable situation if our population were at around 150 million, which it was back in the mid 1960s. Now at 315 million Americans, and with people thirsting more than ever for needless luxury, (bigger homes, bigger cars, more crap they don't need), our resources are running out and the cost of living will continue to skyrocket.
Capitalism would be a great system if people played by the rules, worked for the greater good of their communities and if people weren't so inherently greedy. But we're going downhill quickly and what is happening to radio is a mere reflection of what is happening to America, and the rest of the world as well.
With too many people demanding our shrinking resources, human life has become 'cheap' and expendable. And the basest displays of our behavior are now on full display throughout the world.
But all is not lost! If you take a moment and go for a walk, hang out with a friend, or read a book, perhaps you can temporarily put all of this nonsense out of your head. And realize too that during almost every period during man's short
'civilized' state, there have been equally daunting problems.
Rich, I wish you'd just come out and tell us what you think. Don't hold back, man. lol
ReplyDeleteRadio is a difficult medium in which to make a fortune. To do what KGO did, someone, somewhere has to care about it. It's much easier to have a small staff to monitor network feeds than actually developing content. The Cumulus concept is apparently that the most expensive budget item should be the electric bill. Talent costs money and is sometimes difficult to work with (K. Olbermann). But, KGO did it well except that business model doesn't conform to the new owners view of the world. AM radio has been especially hard hit it seems.
ReplyDeleteSo many local activists tried to get stations to cancel controversial hosts (Mike Savage, Rush Limbaugh) which results in bland, boring one dimensional programming. Maybe they should standup a take a bow along with the Cumulus execs. They got what they wanted, someone they found to be distasteful is gone, however, they weren't replaced with people you agree with, they were replaced with nothing. Way to go.
The Gary & Larry Show is a good indicator of the inane type of entertainment now put on KGO. First place, the aforementioned show I have heard one show rebroadcast 3 times. And who really cares about a truckstop in Oklahoma. As for the daily "shows", Pat has one of the only ones worth tuning in to. Aside from that, it amounts to 5 inches of copy to fill 5 yards of time, Over and over and over and.... I'm not sure if it's stupidity, trying to get as much out possible before the collapse.
ReplyDeletePat who?
Deletethe overnight show on KGO isn't local but the hosts actually listen to the callers....a huge upgrade!
DeleteAnd it's not just Cumulus. Clear Channel stations are actually voice tracking morning drive. Don't worry if we have a major earthquake...the board op can play MP3's of Renel saying "Wow! That was a BIG one!" And Entercom-SF has fired at least a dozen people in the past few months.
ReplyDeleteWhy even bother listening to KGO/KNBR/KFOG etc, they're carbon copies of EVERY OTHER station across America. Local radio? Yeah sure. I miss Dave Morey but he knew when to get the hell out of Dodge. KFOG sounds like Invasion of the Body Snatchers now, they have pod people posing as announcers. Most everyone sounds so..blandddd. Makes me want to take a nap listening to them. I used to listen to Dred Scott 3 decades ago in Santa Rosa. He was lousy then, and all these years later he's still lousy.
ReplyDeleteI also was a DJ a few decades ago. I used to miss radio, not any more.
Best rant ever! If u don't agree, ur an ass-kissing minion sent by cumulus to subterfuge Lieberman. Truth hurts indeed!
ReplyDeleteYes, of course cumulus is monitoring the Lieberman blog!
DeleteMatt Drudge killed daily newspapers. Thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteI wonder with the recent ratings that show KGO radio (810 AM) at 15th place (??), is there any way Mickey Luckoff will continure his quest, or re-try his quest, to put together another talk station? There still is an unmet Demand there... maybe not the old KGO numbers in its heyday, but with the ranks thinned, and if several took a trim, could the old ghost have another shot?
ReplyDeleteDon't resign the Mattress Man, at least not at a clean $1 Mill a year... Rosie isn't needed... neither is Taliaferro or Christine Craft... rebuild around Gil Gross, Rothman, and Dr. Bill... and I always liked the baritone of Greg Edmonds, sounded so solid ... would the good Doctor Bill work 4-5 days a week from a home office? And don't forget Mr. Burns, we can all hope and pray.
Add to this some fresh talent... hey, here is a new idea!! How about giving Dr. Bill Wattenburg's daughter a try, I beleive she is a professor at Chico State, and she had to develop some chops, perspectives, and abilities knawing on ideas with Daddy - aka Dr. Bill.
If the newbies crash and burn, then try someone new... no Sean Nix or Pat Thurston... and if you really want to have fun, instead of Taliaferro screaming at people, calling them racists at 3AM for daring to have a different view of the world, bring back Bernie "Child Porn" Ward for the wee hours, on 30 percent of the salary. We'd then get the inside story about life in the Big House, and more fantasies about GWB.
We can dream, eh?
Didn't the same thing happen at KABC in L.A.???
If God exists he will treat the evil doer Dickey brothers the same way he treated the Egyptians during Exodus.
ReplyDeleteRich has riled you unwashed masses into a frenzy over those villainous Dickey brothers.
DeleteKind of like Glenn Beck works up his lunatic fringe....
You know I was devastated when KFAT radio went off the air in Gilroy so many years ago. The station was great and I loved it.
DeleteBut you know what, it's gone and it aint coming back. Maybe I should start a blog and rant and rave and find out which business executives were responsible and call them names.
Maybe if I hold my breath till I'm blue in the face I'll get what I want.
Pardon me, 1:40. Glenn Beck and RL? Apples and oranges are far more comparative.
DeleteI am one of those "unwashed masses," but I am not a freaking fool. I work for the County and am in my government vehicle all day. Radio's kind of important to the dirty people like me!
"Rich has riled you..."I think not. I just got damn mad last December. So KQED is on almost the time. Put that in your pipe and smoke it carefully, hon bun.
Rich, I completely agree with everything you say in this rant BUT enough already. You make the same points almost daily. There must be other things going on in Bay Area media that you could share with us.
ReplyDeleteRadio isn't what it used to be and never will be. GET OVER IT!
ReplyDeleteWell, yeah, we get over it in about two seconds. Those of us who are the listeners.
DeleteI get over it all the time. It's called changing the dial.
Was a devoted KGO listener for... what, 30 years? When I moved up here to north Idaho the internet kept me connected. Why listen to SF AM radio when not living in SF? Because it was great radio and it spoke to people beyond the SF Bay area. KGO was a NATIONAL station discussing topics that interest EVERYBODY. Now all I have left is Ronn, who I still enjoy, but it isn't the same anymore. They broke up my favorite band, my favorite team. And for what? A few pieces of silver? I think Rich told us they have sunk in the ratings. Well done Corporate Idiots. Sleep well. By the way- what does one get for selling a soul these days, for betraying a nation of listeners, for taking something that works and just destroying it?
ReplyDeleteBTW- the new ads on KGO where the new personalities talk in animated, happy tones about the revolutionary new KGO as if we are idiots who cannot see this for the sham that it is: insufferable. Wow- two voices doing the news at night! THAT IS so different! A man AND a woman! Wow! What a breakthrough!
What a waste.
A good tear, Rich, but like a previous commenter I would point out that Cumulus -- while egregious -- is not alone. Clear Channel pioneered the mega-conglomo-homogenization thing by buying more radio stations than it turned out was legal, and then successfully lobbying to not only legitimize their holdings, but allow them to by even more radio stations. Even now, they skirt the shreds of remaining law by creating shell companies and other entities to "own" their holdings when they would otherwise violate ownership regulations. It's a thin dodge but the FCC seems to buy it, toothless old watchdog that they are.
ReplyDeleteCumulus is all hot to "go after" Clear Channel, and follows their lead. As you well know, they are ham-handed and callous in doing so, giving not a whit about the art and craft of broadcasting, seeing only a geographically diversified network of sales teams engaging in a massive synchronized dance of the dollar signs, creating "symbiosis" with SweetJack, all fed by a programming machine assembled from spare parts and remnants and maintained by a small army of corporate toe-licking completely interchangeable zombies who follow company "best practices" without question or hesitation, asking only "may I have another" when abused.
Cumulus is like a slumlord who buys up blocks of apartment buildings, squeezes them for every cent they can, doing zero maintenance and planning all the while to to sell at a profit just as soon as the market picks up.
Predatory capitalism, pure and simple.
My habits didn't change because I practically stopped listening to KGO a long time ago. When KCSM goes, I might consider satellite. For now, I can stumble along with KCSM and KCBS with a little KQED. Radio is like everything in our culture, no vision, vulgar, and only out to make a buck. The state of popular music is so bad there is nothing left to listen to. KGO was an all white station with very few tokens to diversity and it reflected almost nothing about my world view. The world is not just about white men. KGO got what it deserved. Good riddance. Radio got what it deserved. White bread, homogenized crap not worth listening to.
ReplyDeleteI love radio too but the Bay Area has always had awful radio imho. Lowest common denominator, preaching to the chorus. The music stations here were never as great as the ones in LA imho back then. Of course there was KUSF, but then KUSF a couple of decades ago started playing wall to wall crap aka rap music that was awful. Was not sad when they kicked either. Change comes and goes Rich, that's the way it goes. Be zen, and like other people say, you rant about this daily.
ReplyDeleteRich, you are soooo right!! I had been a KGO listener since the days of Ira Blue. I quit when the Atlanta scum arrived and will not go back.
ReplyDelete