This is a good one.A reader inquired as to why Michael Bauer, the chief restaurant critic of the Chronicle, seemed to give only positive reviews of restaurants on his radio gig at KGO.
He answered.
The ensuing comments following Bauer's blog post were in almost universal condemnation of KGO itself; why Bauer would even bother to provide any content to such a detested media entity like KGO Radio has evolved into, courtesy of corporate radio raider, Cumulus Broadcasting.
This is one pointed comment from a reader:
KGO just came out as the 16th ranked station in the Bay Area. Deservedly so. Cumulus has gutted it, and other stations it owns, in the search for highest profit and right wing politics over community service. KGO was a top 3 station in this market for 30 years. Cumulus has destroyed that legacy. I suggest all Bay Area radio listeners continue to shun KGO and drive it deeper and permanently into ratings hell...
It doesn't stop there, either. A good 90% of the comments have more to do with KGO than the original post of why Bauer only gives positive reviews on the Bay Area's radio albatross. Which only further reinforces KGO's pariah status in the Bay Area.
No knock on Mike Bauer by the way; I enjoy his reviews and look forward to his Sunday column in the Chronicle. I just wished he chose another radio venue.
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I think KGO is a 'great' station for amateurs who want to BOAST about working in a big radio market. I won't even mention who their so-called talk show hosts are. They're not worthy of having their names typed here...
ReplyDeleteI wish people like Bauer and wine extraordinaire Evan Goldstein would shun Matress Mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn's show. Why soil their reputations going on that spineless man's show? He is finished.
ReplyDeleteRich, is Karel off KGO? He is no longer listed on the program schedule.
ReplyDeleteI think being on the air is being on the air.
ReplyDeleteI heard Anna Quindlen on Ron's show--she was also on NPR's Fresh Air.
It's just what you do.
No marks against anyone for going on one of these shows (well, Rush is different! lol).
I was just gratified that so many people took the Bauer opportunity to bash KGOne!
Ronn had great shows all week..Andy Cohen who is a kick,Anna Qunindlen who is a priceless writer, and the CAT DADDY!!!.
DeleteBut Ronn wasn't the only one who had these folks on. Besides being on NPR, no doubt AQ was on other stations as well. Andy Cohen was on Anderson Cooper's daytime show and probably other programs that I didn't listen to. So you didn't have to be listening to KGO to hear these guys. Anderson and Getty very often have the same guests in the morning that Ronn interviews later in the day or week.
Delete..and partially explains why Ralph was dumped at KNBR..he was the only sports hosts there to lean to the left. Not much,but in comparison to the Bobs and Garys and Tom's..too much for his own good.
ReplyDeleteWhat I noticed after hearing Owens show was..I thought he was the gay guy Karel. He didnt sound like the 1980's Ron Owens. He talks much slower now..and well,is he?
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of what Howard once said about a older man who came out at KROK,Stern said for years the guy sounded like just another suit...but when he came out, he started to talk in a gay way!.Stern might have a point there.
If KGOne continues any further, it will lower in the ratings than KVHS 90.5 at Clayton Valley Carter High School in Concord!
ReplyDeleteRadar
And in no time at all, folk will likely be bashing KFOG too for many of the same reasons. Way to go Cumulus.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the comments like those of above, it makes me feel even more depressed about the state of our radio biz.
ReplyDeleteI would love for things to change, to go back to how they were a mere ten years ago, but the 'genie is out of the bottle'
and in ain't gonna happen!
How did this happen? A rhetorical question. The same question should be asked: how did our country go in the toilet so quickly?
Perhaps it was there already.
A nation that chooses not to invest in education, a nation that
still marginalizes many of it's own citizens, a country that
preaches the importance of a clean environment, and then embraces gas guzzling SUVs and other energy wasting nonsense that CRIPPLES US , instead of enpowering us, a United States that produces frightened, under educated folks such as the stubborn Tea Party, the angry and dogmatic anarchists who disrupt and give Occupy a bad name, and the small core of paranoid delusional dim-wits who feel that they have to clutch their guns and bibles to feel secure....well...that's a country that's got some problems.
The state of our media is only a small part of the overall picture. Hey, how's this for an idea.
Turn off your computer, your i-pad, your smart-phone, your TV, your car radio.. throw out the thin, pathetic newspapers and magazines that now pass as
'important reading material' and spend some time with your own friends, family, or maybe just by yourself for a few hours, or better yet, a few days. You might find out that 'slowing down to enjoy life' is actually a good thing, because when we're in a constant state of frenzy, anxiety and frustration take over, and that's NOT A GOOD THING.
What a novel idea! Purge yourself of all of this toxic material. This is only step one into not buying into the crap that corporate America WANTS YOU TO CONSUME, and it just might give you a chance to actually grow and develop on your own, and perhaps even learn something interesting while developing your own mind.
Read a book, go for a walk, talk to a neighbor, go for a bike ride, play with your kids, hang out with your friends, check out the nice views from a nearby hill; we've got a lot more going here in California and in our country, and we don't need to waste our precious time being NUMBED AND DUMBED DOWN anymore by
the selfish idiots who would rather have us chasing our tails around all day long.
As Shakespeare wrote: "the fault dear Brutus, is not in the stars, BUT IN OURSEVLES!"
Truer words were never spoken!
Anon @ 2:58 PM said:
Delete"A nation that chooses not to invest in education, a nation that still marginalizes many of it's own citizens,"
We certainly don't seem to invest in education when it comes to the written English language and basic grammar. I'd guess that 40-60% of Americans have no clue what "its" means and what "it's" means.
Its = Neuter possessive ("His" is masculine, "her" is feminine, "its" is neuter. Examples: His hair is brown. Her hair is red. Its fur is black.) Basically, "its" means "Belonging to or a part of it."
More examples": Its color is very dark. Its consistency is watery. Its citizens don't know how to write a proper sentence.
It's = a contraction (short way of saying) it is.
Ex. It's a dark color. It's a watery mixture. It's a shame so few people know the difference between "its" and "it's" these days.
Now re-read the quoted sentence anonymous posted complaining about education. I think that may be an example of irony.
If I were Rip Van Winkle, and had gone to sleep in 1988 and then woken up after a 24 year nap just a few days ago, I'd really be alarmed at what I was seeing.
ReplyDeleteI know people under the age of about 35 hate hearing this but,
do you really think things are better now than they were in 1988?
It's up to you young people to try and find a way to help us all get out of this mess. You're in charge of a lot of what's going on today. You have the power in numbers and have the future in your hands. Corporations are hiring you because they can take advantage of your youth, energy, and eagerness. Use those opportunities to try and change things from within. As that famous bumper sticker said: 'Evolution, not Revolution.'
Try showing some backbone and stop blaming the baby boomers for all of the problems of this country. The maladies in the USA have their roots back in the 1770s when our forefathers bought men and women over here in chains from Africa, and showed blatant disregard and disrespect for the people who had lived here for hundreds and in some cases, thousands of years by wiping most of them off the planet.
We're all just products of that legacy and sooner we accept it and try to do better for ourselves and our country instead of climbing all over each other and beating each other up and
embracing 'the brand' rather than the individual, the sooner we move toward finding solutions.
I wish radio and TV still had the positive kind of power to persuade, fascinate, and inspire as it did for decades. But most of radio and TV today, in this country, has been co-opted by corporate powers, who have taken our nation back into a new 'Dark Age,' similar to the 'Gilded Age' of the late
19th century. In those days robber barons like Morgan, Rockefeller and
Vanderbilt had incredible power and sway. Do we really want to follow the advice and example set by that bloviating self-inflating windbag Donald Trump, or listen to the rantings of hate-mongers
Who call themselves 'entertainers' such as Russ Limbaugh?
The only way to make it now is to be a leader of your own house and believe that you CAN control your own destiny. By trying to do so, perhaps you'll gain a lot of self respect. And who knows, perhaps you'll inspire others to follow your example.
Satellite radio and podcasting may not be the answer, but at least they present an alternative and a possibility.
I predict that KFOG will shortly become KGO-FM. It makes perfect sense: meet KCBS on two bands, and lower headcount. Its got Cummmulus written all over it. Or something.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 2:58 PM made some good points, *except* this:
ReplyDelete"...under educated folks such as the stubborn Tea Party,..."
Let's first start with a few facts, OK? We have had the largest, most educated group of citizens working at the peak of their careers for the past 20-odd years - in our nation's history! Right? The Baby Boomers. And so with this massive "cohort" working at their peak years, contributing huge amounts of tax dollars into the system, we should have saved a little bit of it.
Right?
And we should have well-maintained streets and highways; glistening and successful educational systems (with all the money we spend); plentiful and cheap energy; impressive infrustructure of all kinds; and the most educated workforce on the FACE OF THE EARTH.
No. We don't have this. Our infrastructure is crumbling, and half the students can't speak proper English, let alone write a decent paragraph; we put roadblocks in front of ourselves; we overspend on underproductive people (gov't, etc.).
But worst yet. We spent ALL of the tax dollars from the Baby Boomers, so that is a DOUBLE wham-O. We'll have to pay for their retirement, and medical expenses, of that huge cohort; and we didn't save any money for it! So a smaller workforce will pay for a larger retired group.
On top of this, we have ridiculous state, local, and federal pensions that are just CRAZY!
Is any of this wrong? This is just common sense. There is no Free Lunch.
This is what the Tea Partyis fighting for. Fiscal solvency, and the Constitution.
Judging by their signs and slogans....most tea partiers have never read, much less studied the U.S. Constitution....nor , of course has anyone else.
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