Took a few days off to inhale ocean air. There's a good thing with that osmosis. Thank God for Half Moon Bay.
Some of you didn't like the April Fools post. Great. I'm not a big fan of pineapple on a pizza nor peanut butter on a bagel, it's a free country, so do what you have to do. (Chicken on a pizza? You should be arrested immediately!)
There's a rule here that I try to practice: be honest and real. Stand by what you say and make sure your readers get your genuine feeling. So, that said, what you're getting is my honest opinion. I'm not looking to make friends. This isn't about sucking up to anyone, any company, I dish, yes and I can take too.
THE FACT IS...
Through the course of the evolution of this blog, I've lost a few friendships. That's fine, it goes with the territory. I didn't come in here looking to make friends nor enhance my relationship with the existing pals. This isn't personal--it involves people that because they work in a public arena makes it personal, and so if I take some shots, then yes, it becomes uber-personal, but that's not my problem.
I'm here to be as 100% up close and honest. Nobody said you had to agree with me. And if you do, so be it and we move on. At least some of us do. I know for a fact that most of you WANT honesty, you delight in calling out a lot of these phony cretins, and you can count on me to maintain this forum with that type of credo as long as I'm around and willing and able to do what I do. You want vanilla wafers and wonder bread, go to the other sites and they'll give you milk toast.
YOU'RE JUST ANGRY AND BITTER: Hey, I've been through this rodeo a few times. The you can't get a job and that's why you're bitter comments are just so damn hilarious. Fact is, I'm quite comfortable with the position I'm in. Some of you so-called "professionals" working for peanuts; great, enjoy your ride, you're just one move away from oblivion anyway. The moment you become useless, and most of you are, they'll call you in and tell you to take a hike. Enjoy your new life in Clovis.
This blog began as a labor of love. I tried, mercifully, to write about the Bay Area media. Most of the hard-working, creative, solid talent has evaporated from the media landscape. The few remaining decent players are just hanging on. There's a few good people left. Just a few. They work hard, show up and try to make it happen under the most challenging times in a business that long ago was worthy and has now settled into the abyss. That isn't disgruntled, that's fact. You know it--I know it. I'm the only one who'll write it and at least I put MY NAME behind it. I don't HIDE behind a keyboard and post under anonymous names. Cowards are out there.
YOU, my legion of readers, appreciate my frankness. My take-no-prisoners style. I'm consistent. No, I'm not asking nor requesting any form of redemption or acknowledgement. The fact that "this little blog" attracts over 250,000 page views every month speaks for itself. You guys want honesty and the real story, not an industry press release every two weeks in the pink section. You have spoken and I'm here to be your rep.
About three weeks ago, I requested that those of you who could afford it, send a buck or two on the PayPal icon so I could devote more time to making 415 Media sustainable. I wanted this to be a place that wasn't beholden to the professional masses and that what I wrote was independent and not some phony and banal crap that most of you get and abhor. You all want the dish, the real stuff, the real take and not mushy pictures and innocuous banter. That's what you'll get here.
I'm not angry. I'm just more aware of the utter BS you try to pull past the public. There are those of you who appreciate that and look forward to reading about the idiots and morons who make up a majority of the new media culture and business. Angry?, no just a part of your new-found cult and major ass-kiss that keeps you on the payroll and forces you to plow out the drivel. The viewers, the listeners, they get it. They're not the fools your management tools make them out to be. They see right behind the BS and are wise to your every move.
Those of you who I consistently call out, well, you should know better. Granted, some of you are just trying to survive and I get that--the rest of 'yous should be ashamed striving to snarl that last buck before you're replaced by some blondiful nitwit from Fresno with the IQ of a hyena. Good going, way to play ball with the company, loyal soldier.
Those of you who appreciate 415 Media, (and even those of you who don't but continue to read), I thank you. This isn't for everyone and I never wanted it to be. I'm a media blogger trying diligently to post varying degrees of milding interesting minutiae that won't make it to your local domain. If it comes to a point where you begin having symptoms of scurvy, then please leave the building like Elvis did. Those of you who come hear wanting more of what you've received in the past, then take your seat and get relaxed. The opening act is about to emerge and yours truly is itching to move forward after the formal introduction.
Let's carry on, shall we? Yesss.
*Follow me on Twitter
Funny,because Raddy today started to rip into people who wrote mean things about Britney Grinder-the basketball player-..and it quickly turned into all about Radnich and his critics. Almost instantly.
ReplyDeleteThe usual "not happy with their lives"..that could mean 99% of the world. A lot of lotto tickets were bought by people needing improvemnt in their lives.
I think what he doesnt like is,the best critics write things that are true about him. Well,public figures should expect that. When your on 50,000 watts,feedback to your "act" is going to be there.
And to hear Krueger chime in..he of Carib player hate and kill'em football..must be unhappiest life of all.
RATnich is passé. The Sports Loser should simulcast Rome with 1050. They'll save money and he's more entertaining than that self-serving blob. Hear the footsteps RaDIPnich? You and Grumpy Gus in the afternoon. Don't strain your neck looking over your shoulder...
ReplyDeleteYessss!! Let's carry on. Like you said, don't always agree with you, but there is no coverage of this domain other than you
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work
Rich: You are not honest. Accepting and reporting gossip, rumors and wrong information makes you dishonest. You are not "frank" - you are mean spirited, rude and vile. You lash out at anyone who disagrees with you. You attack anyone who corrects you. There is no value to what you do (except for the small disgruntled few who are as sick and twisted as you are).
ReplyDeleteYou are exactly what is wrong with society today. A failure in life who is so bitter at their own failure they lash out at good people who have worked hard and succeeded.
Look in the mirror. You will see a bitter, useless person.. now go beg for donations.
And so, Anonymous? Might we have your identity and some examples of what Rich did to rile ya up so much? Otherwise, this is just a bunch of hate from someone who won't identify themself nor point out *exactly* what Rich has done to piss you off so thoroughly!
DeleteRich--great piece. Very well put. Keep on keeping' on. I don't always agree and I don't always read everything you write. I am just one of those unwashed listeners who isn't super savvy on the in's and out's of Bay Area media.
Plus I am not a sports fan! lol
I am proud to be one of the "disgruntled few" here.
Now, y'all have a nice day, Anonymous!
1:18 Which weak ass has been are you? Funny you seem to spend time here, but everyone is sick and twisted. Fuck you.
DeleteSo where is Bob Trevor?
ReplyDeleteI agree emphatically, but wasn't it Trebor? Or do I have it wrong?
Deletekrueger said on tuesday that Britney Grinder sounds like A MAN.
ReplyDeleteExactly-whats hilarious when Radnich rants about angry people,bigots, and haters..to his left is Krueger!..who can only look down at his paperwork until Radnich gets TOO close,realizes he's getting into 2005,and then changes the subject. Its so Fruedian.
DeleteAnd it could only be Krueger in November to say on 50,000 watts the 49ers should knock Brees out of the game,infereing by targeting Bree's..and then have THE BOUNTY gate come out.
I think Krueger taps into dark forces that are the "particles" that KNBR has...
You didn't happen to take any psychotic inducing drugs out in the wilderness, did you? Trying to figure out what's behind this latest harangue....
ReplyDeleteOK fine, you're the voice of truth in the wilderness, pointing out that the emperor has no clothes, blowing the whistle on the system, etc. How does this jibe with calling a woman "horse-faced?" There have to be standards. We've all seen how internet comments can descend to a base level. I just hope some of this tone of stupidity that we occassionally see on here in the comments goes by the wayside. And I would certainly hope that RL himself isn't the one fomenting it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Rich stepped out of bounds with the horse face remark.
DeleteNow, could we get on with it?
I am offended, yes, but not uber so.
Yeah he did step out of bounds. There's elegance in a horse.
DeleteGlad you had a chance to get out and breathe some fresh air Rich. The nice thing about living here in the bay area is that
ReplyDeletethere is lots of physical beauty nearby...and I'm always amazed at those people who live here who don't take advantage of it. But I guess if everyone did, we'd have our parks and beaches overrun with too many people, so it's probably a good thing.
I was just talkng with a media friend of mine and we both agreed that your column probvides a valuable service, and that most of us who have worked in the media understand why you write the critical things about the industry that you do. You can do it with impunity, the rest of us can't, unless we want to become pariahs in our own industry.
But there is certainly more than a kernal of truth about what you're saying as the broasdcasting biz has really gone into the toilet in recent years due to deregulation which the Ccnservatives and Republicans, (and even some Dems) have long been championing.
It's too bad however, that so many young people today don't realize how far radio, TV and newspaper reporting and coverage has fallen over the last ten years. That's because so many young people are busy tweweting, texting, and
checking out the latest video games, and they're also raised in an age where they have become somewhat attention deficeit oriented. That's another thing that is really frightening about America today. So many young people, (and older people too) are so distracted and fractured that they can't concentrate and spend any time learning to understand things, they're moving too quickly. and can't focus. It's frustrating for those of us who like to actually read papers ansd books and have conversations and send letters. But mnost people just don't feel that they have the time to do that anymore..and that's very sad.
Anyway..some food for thought! Keep up the good work my friend!
Spot-on column. When I can earn some money, I'll send you a few bucks via PayPal. Sadly, in the two Americas that exist, I'm in the one jobless America. One of the seven to 14 million unemployed Americans, thanks to Wall Street and corporate greed, and all the shareholders who profited from stealing my 401K. Not to mention causing the loss of my job. I used to think you could get a job within several weeks and mocked those who couldn't. I've been humbled and chastened for such false bravado.
ReplyDeleteYou're happy with your life? Yeah I dont think so , c ya wouldnt want to be ya..
ReplyDeleteOh Joe! I swoon reading your oh so original snark!
Deletewith a name like Joe Douchebag, who's fooling whom?
DeleteWow Rich....while you can be brutally honest and lash out at people, there are others who really love to take shots right back at you.
ReplyDeleteI understand it, but some of the vitriol from some of the posters who disagree with you shows me that there are some angry people out there who don't like your musings because you offend their sensibilities. And that's fine...but we all have to learn how to have thicker skins.
I guess that the good thing about posting is that you can get some things off your chest and you a feel a whole lot better afterward, because one would hope that some of the things you've said with some passion, are going to get people to think a bit more about things.
I still wonder though, about those who seem to go to great lengths to try snd assassinate your character. I don't always agree with you write either, but I know that you've been around these parts for a long time and have been observing the local media scene very closely for over 30 years and have a lot of good sources. I also know that many of your observations are spot and wonder if some of your detractors are these insecure 'newbies' who are making peanuts, or the management who hired them.
IN any case, people are talking about what you're writing, and that's a good thing! Discussion and an open dialogue is something we need more of and I thank you for providing that. No other blog in the bay area seems to want to tackle the sometimes sticky issues that you are unafraid to discuss.
Agreed. While I don't agree with everything Rich posts (I actually enjoy Radnich; I feel the media has railroaded George Zimmerman) I find the way some of the responses come through to show that they are posted by interns, lackeys, or lickspittles for the Dickey types.
DeleteKeep up the good work, Mr. Lieberman!
Yes, ofcourse, that poor Zimmerman. No mention of the real victim here, Trayvon Martin, who has lost his life when all he was doing was minding his own business. Poor Zimmerman my ass.
DeleteRich
ReplyDeleteIf you weren't honest, I wouldnt come here! Thank you....
Briteny Grinder does sound like and man and looks white when her parents in the stands are black. She is a great player caught in a weird world. It's a tough place for a young person to be in. I feel really sorry for her.
ReplyDeleteHey Rich. I know you deal mostly with the media, but I would love to hear your opinion on what you think of these right wing, conservative, head-in-the-sand nit wits who think we need less regulation, less government oversight, and think our president is a socialist! I sometimes wonder where these people are coming from! Their historical prospective is so limited...I get the feeling that most of them have never heard of Joe McCarthy of the black lists of the 1950s, Barry Goldwater and his "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," philosophy of the 1960s, and of course the racists from both parties who embraced the conservative philosophy and voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was 100 years overdue.
ReplyDeleteThese are the same dim-wits who think that deregulation was a good thing....right! Just at the results: lack of oversight of our banking industry led to the meltdown of the economy....lack of regulation in the media led to the advent of these 'big-box' media companies who have dumbed down and downsized our traditional media, pushing these bloated, braying hate-monger windbags such as Limbaugh and Hannity on the air to be heard coast to coast. So instead of local issues and local voices, we now get the same crap on every station with just a few voices who don't seem to want to give any kind of balance in their discussion of complex issues.
How can anyone with a clear conscience think that deregulation has been a good thing? Conservatives are always railing about
'government being too big,' but how about big business learning to play by the rules....Who put us in the economic morass anyway?
"The only ones for me are the mad ones...the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing..."
ReplyDelete"Everyone was yelling at him to 'Go, Go, Go!'"
Jack Kerouac, "On The Road"
I enjoy reading your blog... don't change a thing.
ReplyDeleteLove the blog and your brutal honesty, Rich. Outside of you liking that nasty, evil-doer prick Michael Savage, I tend to agree with most of what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteEverybody has "that" kind of friend at least once a lifetime. It's when they turn on you,do you realize that the others were right all along. I think it would take one post about Savage kicking his dog-as a made up example- for Savage to turn on Rich..just warn'in...
DeleteActually chicken (barbequed) on pizza is an LA creation dreamed up by Wolfgang Puck and his brethren. As a part-time So Cal person I have to say it isn't bad...and in the words of Herb Caen, "If you haven't knocked it, try it."
ReplyDeleteHey, I wanted to say something in support but the last comment here at the moment was from South Bay Bob and it pretty much sums it up. Tell the truth as you know it and give us your opinions. No one else is doing that. This has become the go-to media column for the Bay area. Am I right?
ReplyDeleteDue to the changing paradigms in media, those who used to be kings are no longer. Rich's blog chronicles this huge shift and along the way he writes what he sees. Why would people get mad at him? He reports the facts plain and simple. From where I sit, it appears those who despise Rich do so because the truth hurts and they have job insecurity. Great work with your last few columns Rich!
ReplyDeleteThe media is going to hell overall. The way we report on everything, is all the same. It's like eating fast food and unfortunately, the WORST is yet to come!
ReplyDeleteRich,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this blog. Having worked in the business many years ago in the Bay Area, I enjoy reading about the comings and goings in Bay Area media. I would have never really known what happened at KGOne had it not been for this blog. I'm a little picky about where I send support, but I will send a few bucks your way as I do find value in this blog and I want to respect your time in keeping this blog going. You do a great service for us all. Yes, there are times when I think what you have said is harsh, and possibly over the line, but that's my own opinion and I can then choose to take it or leave it. If it starts to get to harsh, I can simply stop reading. Nobody forces me to read your posts. I come here because I want to. Keep up the good work!! (and I'm not afraid to post as my own name)
Kudos to the last poster Rich..and kudos to you. Without your insights and strong opinions, a lot of people would have no place to go to get really good inside dish on the local media.
ReplyDeleteThe Chronicle certainly won't provide it as Ben Fong-Torres does some good work highlighting those who work in the music-entertainment part of radio, but he is woefully out of his element when it comes to critiquing or understanding news or sports talk radio.
In the sports/radio/TV dept, what's ironic about the current situation is that we now have two...not one..but TWO...all sports radio stations and one local TV regional sports operation, (never before until 2011), but the quality of radio and TV sports journalism has dropped significantly since the 1990s.
During that time, Cumulus downgraded KNBR, and Entercom doesn't seem to want to, or have the money available to give 'The Game' enough teeth to challenge KNBR.
And Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area has cameras at all the local events, but they brought in a cadre mostly out of town mediocrities...most of what they have to offer is mostly bland and uninspiring to say the least.
The problem is that the big-box media companies today, with rare exception...(usually only at the network level), just don't want to spend the money on their local operations here in the Bay Area,or anywhere else,
Many of the radio stations here have been skating off their past reputations, but that will only take them so far.
As far as Comcast Sportsnet goes, their biggest problem is drawing viewers; they get plenty for the Giants, Warriors, and even some for the Sharks and A's, but their news and interview shows and post game programs draw flies. I think the reason is a of lack of interest (how many people want to watch a 3 hour baseball game on TV, and then sit around for hour and watch ads post game analysis?) Knowing that they weren't going to get decent ratings, I'm guessing Comcast then, perhaps logically (after all, who wants to throw away money?) put together a very modest budget for creating their local TV sports staff.
So don't expect any new great talent to appear, or quality programs to suddenly emerge in the future.
And Kudos to the 2:14 post who hit the nail on the head. KNBR doesn't even have a reporter. At least The Game does with John Dickinson but overall the quality is bad on both stations. I expect it to get worse and worse...and it's so sad this is a top 5 market but it might was well be Las Vegas or Boise Idaho!
DeleteThis blog provides a valuable service. When I quit WLS in Chicago in 1993, Bob Feder of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote a column entitled "Chicago Bids Good Riddance to Stacy Taylor". Thick skin indeed. I'd personally prefer to see more "Wow! This is great radio" stuff, but it's a sign of the times that it's more about what we settle for, other than what we actually like.
ReplyDeleteStacy you are in the biz and maybe you can explain why radio is missing the mark in so many cases. Is it trying to find that magic spot between the demo they want and the one they have? I realize that the media is very fragmented and hard to get the numbers they used to enjoy but it appears so many stations are driving people away. I just don't understand it.
DeleteAs far as personalities are concerned I realize and this blog confirms that you can find as many people who enjoy a particular host as don't, but I don't think that is the issue as much as the personality of the station. So many now are devoid of any personality at all even though they spend a great deal of time advertising how great they are.
Speaking of WLS some of the best radio ever was in the 70's when WLS and WCFL went head to head. That was radio!!
As the old expression goes, success has many fathers but failure is an orphan. I believe there was a time when radio programmers knew what good radio sounded like coming out of the box. Not just talk, but music radio as well. Today, in addition to the fragmentation of the audience,cheap syndicated programs, etc., programmers tend toward a formulaic approach and either don't have the instincts to know good radio when they hear it or don't trust their instincts. I know it sounds simplistic but sometimes what listeners think is a "conspiracy" is really just bad decision making.
DeleteI agree! I have never bought the conspiracy theory. I think the old saying "Maybe there is more to it than meets the eye......No there is less." applies. Where is the new Bill Drake when we need him?
DeleteThe people running radio increasingly appear to treat it like a fast food franchise. It is the McDonaldsization of media. The only hope is that the dummies in charge someday realize there is an appetite out there for more local substance. The analogy is perfect to food. If I live in a nice city with great local bounty why the hell would I want to buy from a mega chain? Did people quickly forget that for many years Ronnnnn used to beat Rush head to head? The programmer with balls who shows up and caters to the local audiences will be king. Unfortunately, I doubt anything will happen on that front, especially when the decision makers' decisions are based on pleasing Wall Street and not an audience.
DeleteOk, I'll chime in here too. I read this blog and I like it, and I think I might like Rich too. However, he is misogynistic and just plain mean at times, and I don't like that.
ReplyDelete