Gil Gross has been given the 4-7 PM time-slot on KKSF-AM, (NewsTalk 910) on a permanent basis and Gene Burns, who has been recovering from a stroke, will no longer return to the station, according to a reliable station source.
Burns has been suffering from a variety of health issues for the past year. He was due to begin a new job on 910 AM in January but suffered a stroke and is recovering at home in the city.
Gross will take over the slot on a full time basis. John Rothmann, who filled in Monday and Tuesday, will provide political commentary on Gross' show throughout the election year. In addition, Ed Baxter and Rosie Allen will also provide content to Gross' show.
**Developing story...
RL 415 MEDIA EXCLUSIVE
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NewsTalk 910 AM Programming Line-Up Effective May 9, 2012:
6 – 9:00 a.m. The Armstrong & Getty Show
9:00 a.m. – Noon The Rush Limbaugh Show
Noon – 3:00 p.m. The Tom Sullivan Show
3 – 4:00 p.m. The Len Tillem Show
4 – 7:00 p.m. The Gil Gross Show
7 – 10:00 p.m. The Alan Colmes Show
I'm glad to hear Gil will be full time, and that Rothman will be around. No doubt a hard decision on Gene's part (or was it his?) In any case.... good healing thoughts to Gene!
ReplyDeleteThis is so bittersweet. I am so happy for Gil Gross and I am glad he will not go to a national news outlet as had been rumored; however it is sad Gene will not be returning to the air any time soon. Perhaps Gene told 910am that he was not returning any time soon and urged them to hire one of the All Stars? Good work Rich!
ReplyDeleteIf the people running 910am are smart they would get rid of Rush and Colmes and hire the All-Stars. I don't give a darn about left or right politics, I crave local NEWSTALK. They have to fill in that void.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to hear about Gene. I truly wish him well. I'm happy to have Gil on full-time, but I will miss hearing John on a semi-regular basis.
ReplyDeleteDoes Joel get Dinning Around?
ReplyDeleteGreat news for Gil! Sorry to hear that Gene won't have a show, but maybe there'll be room for a mid-day or evening slot once his health improves.
ReplyDeleteWill that completely flamboyant producer that worked for Gene still do Gene's dining program? That would be a huge mistake. He sounds like someone who has never been on the air and was riding gene's you-know-what for years, which is why he got the gig
ReplyDeleteFrom what I remember he & Gene were an item at one time. It used to be a joke among restaurant employees about Gene's younger dining companions.
DeleteAre we talking about the extremely happy and optimistic sounding guy who says: "FABULOUS!!" Every other sentence? You'd think that after filling in all this time he would sound more professional. The show is just a 3 hour infommercial without any real insights or critiques relating to food. One thing Joel has mastered is the art of the trade out. He recently got a luxury Mercedes to drive down to Pebble Beach and during the show he did a ten minute infommercial about the car and the dealership. He is so bad I would take the horrible Grace Ann Waldon over him. He is such a materialistic and name dropping queen...
DeleteJoel Riddell is already doing Dining Around and has been since January on 910. But he is a terrible interviewer. He just cannot stop talking over his guests, it's all about him. I am trying very hard to keep listening to his show, but I'm about to give up. He hasn't given an update about Gene in weeks. So I'm afraid the show is now his. Too bad. It will die.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Gil!! Good choice. Now if 910 would get rid of Blowhard Rush, I might listen more often.
ReplyDeleteI think Joel Riddell does a great job with the dining show. He's much better than the buffoons on KGONE: Walcoff and the chef--whatever his name is.
I'm sorry Gene won't be returning, but also excited about Gill... That means starting at noon I have a good radio station back. Tom Sullivan is interesting, love Len's hour but glad that Gill will be on as a regular. I was so worried that the slot might be going to a national guy so I wouldn't have anytime with a local person. GREAT NEWS
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry to hear Gene will not return, he was a wonderful, professional broadcaster who was a joy to listen to. Very happy for Gil....now if these guys had half a brain they would give Rothman 7-10. Generally, John Rothman is excellent and in an election year his program would be incredible. Also some of the other stuff he does i.e. Batman etc, although not my cup of tea, is fun. Joel Riddell...can you please slow down the pace at which you talk. I dont know if he thinks the show is 15 minutes long or he has a recurring vision of an 18 wheeler coming through the studio. Go Gil!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Would love to see John slotted from 7p to 10p on KKSF 910. Alternately, would like to hear him mid-days after Rush from Noon to 3p.
DeleteRich,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the page views.
Please post a way to send a message to Gene Burns. Thanks.
I will miss Gene, but wish the spot had been given to John Rothmann. You can only take so much of Gil Gross. Like maybe an hour, max.
ReplyDeleteGreat news. Gil really took it in the shorts at KGO. All the time and effort moving his family to The Bay only to get dumped. Happy for him and his family. To everything there is a season, Gene had is turn at the Mic and what a good job he did. Also good news for listeners. It's time for some continuity. Not a fan of Rothmania but I'd be more inclined to listen to him than Lambaugh. He's all over the dial and unlistenable. Yes far better to have local personalities than those national conservahacks.
ReplyDeleteYou have to wonder if this media takeover stuff isn't about controlling what people listen to as opposed to making more money. There is a big vacuum left were the likes of left wing giants like Ward and Taliafero once roamed. Maybe because the folks with the big money want it that way?
I've thought for a long time now that gradually reducing the options for liberal/progressive talk radio programs is a component of what's going on in Bay Area radio.
DeleteThe empty suits who run mega-outfits like Cumulus and Clear Channel are card-carrying political ultra conservatives. Why wouldn't they do whatever they can to silence the left-leaning voices of radio properties they own? That might be an even more powerful desire than their profit motive, in many instances.
I don't know how we do it, but the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has to be revisited and several aspects of it need to returned to the less plutocratic standards of the past. Like the requirement for stations to serve community needs, for example.
@1:02 pm are you serious? You must be one of joel's friends. Joel has NO radio experience whatsoever and it unfortunately shows. If it wasn't for "dating" gene a long time ago he wouldn't have ever even been allowed to say anything during gene's show. I am certainly not a fan of what happened at KGOne, but you have to admit that at least KGO's food show has a legitimate radio guy teamed with a chef. Has Joel ever done anything in the food business besides ride on gene's coat tails and eat free meals?
ReplyDeleteI hope 910 will not make Gil Pimp so many Books
ReplyDeleteSome of us like to read! Terry Gross (Fresh Air on NPR) frequently has authors and I listen to her show almost every day.
DeleteI am happy with the choices that 910 has made. I hope that Jon Rothman is on regularly with his political coverage. Gil did say that as Gene gets better, he can start out with Dining Around segments. Based on comments above, it doesn't sound like Dining Around is all that great with Joel. I seldom listened to it anyway back in the day, but with Joel's voice, I really found it unpleasant.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have a permanent person, I guess, but I liked the other people, too. What are the rest of them going to be doing, does anyone know: John, Ed & Rosie? This has been a hard time for all, I'm sure. How about Rothman in the 9:00a.m. slot? I really get tired of the puffed up egomaniac who is there now.
ReplyDeleteBarbara
Ed & Rosie were starting to grow on me, especially when they stayed away from TMZ garbage. I was actually making it a point to listen to them on Fridays. I ran into Rosie at the Market Hall in Oakland a few weeks back. Aaahhh, what a lovely woman in every sense of the word.
DeleteI am very happy for Gil Gross. I think the station offered him the steady gig over John Rothman is because Gil talks about a broad range of topics, including social, topical and sometimes even trivial issues; but people respond to them. John is so serious and informed about politics that he almost only ever talks politics and the middle east.
ReplyDeleteI give major kudos to 910 for respectfully holding Gene's show open for him and for taking good advantage of the crummy KGO massacre. The "All Stars" really came through, too.
Remember, Gil likes dogs but he has cats.
Can't wait for Gene's blog! I can't imagine a worse living hell for a talk show host of Gene's caliber than to have speech aphasia.
Gil Gross doesn't like dogs.
DeleteGood for Gil. He is becoming the Black Widow of talk radio. He got his full time gig at KGO due to the untimely death of Pete Wilson and now he got his full time gig at KKSF due to Gene's severe health issues. I too enjoy Rothman but his myopic pro Israeli stances are tired. Here is hoping Gene returns and replaces blowhard Rush...
ReplyDeleteI agree 1,000 percent with this comment: "Great news for Gil! Sorry to hear that Gene won't have a show, but maybe there'll be room for a mid-day or evening slot once his health improves."
ReplyDeleteI do hope that he is given a chance to come back to Dining Around (DR), and / or co-host with Gil.
I'd also love it if there were some kind of "It's not retirement" party for his faithful listeners.
I had wondered about his relationship status, but it was merely a curiousity. If it's true, it would be interesting to hear if he felt pressure to not reveal it, or if it was simply a privacy issue.
Joel Riddell doesn't seem to have the chops, gravitas. or experience to handle the gig. It seems like he is trying too hard, and if the "trade out" comment is true, it's funny how that doesn't surprise me ... how I had the feeling that he was using DR as his own private Entre Vue Card to NorCal excesses.
I missed Gil's show today. Did he address what will happen to Gene's Dining Around Program? I enjoyed it for years on KGO but have found it unlistenable with his producer as the host now. He sounds amateurish and only talks about the fantastic things he gets to do. He seems to forget that not all of us can go to these exclusive parties or drop a paycheck at the French Laundry. Very pretentious to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI'm heartbroken about Gene and wish they would have chosen John Rothmann instead. I keep holding out hope they will go with John for the 7-10 spot. Then my life would be back to almost normal. The longer the time goes on, I just can't believe what KGO did to itself. They redefine stupid.
ReplyDeleteI agree you on Rush. His act used to be entertaining but it is old and stale now. Maybe they will start to work on their weekend schedule now as most is paid advertising. I don't listen weekends or to Rush.
ReplyDeleteI love listening to John Rothmann, as he never fails to educate. Looking forward to KKSF putting him in his own timeslot. That being said, I'm thrilled that we get to hear Gil on a regular basis. He's a class act!
ReplyDeleteI was in Sales at 900 Front a few years ago and we were told by the sales managers to be aware of Joel Riddell's requests for handouts. If you wanted Gene to do something or be somewhere there had to be something in it for Joel and his boyfriend or it wouldn't even be considered.
ReplyDeleteNot to pile on but I distinctly remember attending a dining around remote in Walnut Creek a couple of years ago. Every single guest who Gene interviewed that day left behind plenty of goodies, including a winemaker who literally left 7 or 8 bottles of wine for Gene and Joel. No wonder they never were critical of any entity that appeared on the show. The trade out factor must be substantial
DeleteSo it sounds like Joel was the driving force in this, no? (Or when you refer to "Joel's boyfriend", were you refering to Gene?)
DeleteI could care less that Gene might be gay, but him possibly dating much younger (male) bimbos over educated, well-traveled, cultured men is disheartening. I would have thought Gene would have been dating a Stanford or Harvard tenured professor, not a young hanger-on. Then again, maybe this just makes him more human?
Joel Riddel's boyfriend is Robert. As you may recall the three of them blended a wine and named it: GenJoRo
DeleteI too agree with you that if Gene and Joel were an item at some point it is an odd couple.
Agree 100% with Julie, also I'm a political junkie, loves history, especially presidential history, and since many years ago I lived on a kibbutz in Israel,(no I'm not jewish I'm danish)I follow the middle east situation carefully, so for me I would have preferred John. I'm glad the slot went to someone local. Hopefully 910 will continue to evolve, I can see John in several spots, 9 to noon, noon to 3 p.m. 7 to 10 p.m (although I like both Alan Colmes and Tom Sullivan)the weakest spot during the week for 910 is their 10 p.m to 1 a.m, that would work well for John as it is his old timeslot from KGO. Keep writing 910 and encourage them to continue to make intelligent choices, unlike all the stupid choices KGO continue to make.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Gil and I sincerely Gene is able to return in some format down the road. 910 should seriously consider dumping Rush and bringing in John Rothman. I think the bayarea would support John and it would cost as much as carrying Rush and I do agree he is old and tired!
ReplyDeleteThank you 910 for giving us talk radio again, please consider John, Ed and Rosie full time!
I am completely heartbroken over Gene's situation. I hope he can recovert to live a normal life, on or off the radio. I have been a big fan of his and would often go to events that Dining Around was broadcasting at like the Mustard Festival and Sonoma Art Festival. I have met Joel a few times and must say that he was always rude, arrogant and once, right in front of me threw away a plate of cookies I made for Gene and the staff that was working in the extreme heat. I am aghast that this is the heir to the Dining Around throne. But good for Gil!
ReplyDeleteKGO went from what, no. 2 or no. 3, to number 14, and falling?
ReplyDeleteWhile Rush is OK by me (not great, not bad), I would prefer a LOCAL host who is moderate to conservative... this America-is-bad, white-men-are-bad, capitalism-is-bad, and racism-is-everywhere was tired ... 15 years ago!
Here is an email blast I got today from Diningaround.com:
ReplyDeleteThis is from Joel Riddel. It claims that gene will be welcomed back when he is ready.
"Gene Burns; Gil Gross and NewsTalk910
"As you know, Gene is recovering from a stroke, Gil mentioned Wednesday during the announcement of his “The Gil Gross Program” Gene has not
yet recovered enough to be back on the air. You see, he has aphasia, which is affecting his speech. Ironic really, if you think of his
major skills in the spoken word. The management of NewsTalk910 have been very supportive of Gene during this period of time, and of me. They are fans, as are we of Gene’s ability to talk issues of the day - to argue without offending- to offer differing opinions in a
professional gracious manner. As Gene continues to recover, I welcome and read comments made by you to him on www.diningaround.com . Gene will be welcomed back to the air when he is ready - and the whole team expects to keep every body as up to date as possible. * Information is tough / as the recovery is steady yet not fast. For me, I exist in the same fast paced world as the rest of you. My expectations and
assumptions are quick- and patience is something I have had to learn. Medicine can be an art, and he is maneuvering this maze of aphasia better than some."
"I will continue to host the Dining Around program in Gene’s absence, and go over my notes with Gene prior, and post program. I know he is listening and it makes me proud to be able to step up."
Joel Ridell is so bad that he makes Chef Ryan Scott sound like the food equivalent of Walter Cronkite, even when inebriated
DeleteI don't understand the appeal of Gil Gross. Whenever I listen to him, he sounds like he has no genuine insight into the topics. But I will say he at least sounds smarter than Tom Sullivan but just as disappointingly banal. I guess I won't be listening to KKSF much now too.
ReplyDeleteSorry to read about Gene. Figured by mid-March that his December stroke had been severe. If he has to re-learn how to speak again, then his left brain suffered trauma. At his age and depending on the severity of the damage to his left brain, it may take him years to regain his beautiful speaking voice. Still I miss hearing your voice on the radio, Gene, and hope you do regain your speech.
I am also sorry that I'll not be able to hear John Rothmann's voice on the radio on a somewhat regular basis. At least I downloaded the 84 podcasts of his Gene Burns show cover, so can now listen to him via my iTunes whenever I want to.
Overall I enjoy Gil but his attempts at humor are painful. Gil you are NOT funny and taking 3 second pauses and saying: " aaaaaaaah"
Deletedo not automatically make bad jokes good. Also this schizo format you are doing sucks. What's with two, three or four topics per hour? When telling a story, just tell the story, no pauses for effect please. Also take a call once in a while baby. Leave the monologues to Rush and Savage.
Agree 100% with anon 11:56 pm. I LOVED Gil's show on KGO when he had ONE topic per hour and took calls. His particular skill in discussing a different aspect of the local issues that had been talked to death made for interesting radio, and consequently he got very intriguing callers. For example, when he was discussing Mary Hayashi stealing stuff from Nieman-Marcus, he didn't ask the question whether it was right or wrong but he discussed stealing as an addiction. Got some fascinating calls which turned the hour in an even different direction from what he expected. That same thing's happened a time or two on 910 when he does take a few calls, but even so he cuts calls and goes on in a totally different direction.
DeleteI guess it's all about PPM's and hoping to hook a channel surfer on the topic of the minute. Still prefer fewer topics and more calls.
Not much on news talk 910 for me now, only len tillem, they should of picked or find a slot for John Rothman. Gill Gross seems to be a nice enough person but I don't care for his shows format, he seems to agree with every conservative guests point of view and fights with any liberals he might have on, not much different than pete wilson or jim eason.
ReplyDeleteCan't stand Alan Colmes show either. Seems only right-wingers call the Colmes Show, if I wanted that point of view I tune in hannity