Mornin' fogheads, feeling any better?
Isn't it just damn sad how a corporate bully can come into an area of this size and just obliterate the local radio scene? And there's more pinching on the way--we've only just begun, as Karen Carpenter used to say.
As I stated, I wasn't much of a KFOG fan. I liked them many years ago when there were no PPM systems and Alex Bennett was in one of his moods. You know, when they actually played decent rock and roll and the music was pure and not the choice of some consultant asshole out of the Midwest who would tell PD's we "need to go into a different direction." The same asshole that would tell Dave Morey that he needed to "pipe up." Screw you---pipe this!
The truth of the matter is that KFOG lost its heart and soul long time ago. Those of you that stayed on the train to listen to the last remnants, congrats, but like most of AM and FM, the party is over. The Cumulus evil bastards continue to eat away the once-great call letters--Bye Bye KGO. KSFO? Well, who really gives a shit--they were gone moons ago. KNBR? Are you kidding me.
KFOG? 10 at 10. Don Pardo. Morey. M Dung. All we need now is a Dennis Erectus KOME reference: "Don't touch that dial--it's got cum on it." Ah, the 80's and 90's. Cumulus free and when KFOG and the old KMEL was too legit--too legit to quit.
Now, we have one last morning show out the door. Bye bye. Another element of Bay Area nostalgia lost in the abyss. They're not done hemorrhaging just yet. The Bungeroth chop machine is once again tuning up for another series of invitees and this is a party you don't want to get invited to.
When does it end? Who knows. They have more juicy little missions in mind just looking to make the next move. And the ones with too many zeros in their paycheck are high on the list. Better deliver, boys and girls, cause even if you have big numbers, (whatever that constitutes as that these day), you're still on the Atlanta radar and these SOB's don't fool around. It's as if they wake up every morning and say, "who we gonna phuck with today?" By and large, they just don't give a damn.
Welcome to the party, fogheads. BYOB. See ya at Grumpy's.
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Rich do you think Cumulus has a long term plan? If so what is it? I don't think it's to stay at the bottom of the ratings forever. I was a KSFO guy I can't stand BS/MM. I can do Len and Gill and one news round On KCBS. As a conservitive I don't want the Middle road. As im sure libs don't want Rush on there station. I guess in the end if you own the station you can do what you want with it.
ReplyDeleteAs a personal victim of job losses, due to corporate takeovers, I take some pleasure in having this venue to vent with.
ReplyDeleteI've watched several reputable businesses eventually go belly-up, due to corporate acquisitions by blue-suited carpet bagging sociopaths and psychopaths, who truly didn't have the slightest clue about what they were buying into. From all external appearances, we now get to watch this same brain-dead scenario play out in our local media.
As Rich surely already knows from the URLs of posters to this conversation, some of these local empty suits and their bat-winged minions come here, attempting to make brownie points with their big-cheese bosses Back East. Many of their minion's vitriolic troll posts are immediately transparent to any reader of this blog. I take pleasure in knowing that they come here and monitor the conversation, and in knowing that I finally have the ability to have some of these amoral losers know what I think of them and other greedy self-centered corporate-raiding bastards of their ilk.
You sociopaths and psychopaths can keep up your dismantling and dismembering of local media outlets that have long histories and loyal followings, but you do so at a serious price. That price includes lower ratings in the near- to mid-term, reduced advertising rates that the lower ratings cause, and the slow process of having to rebuild a listener following by starting from the bottom of a 500 foot deep hole. The first step is to STOP DIGGING.
You get to wait for a new listener following to find palatable what the majority of the previously loyal followers of any of your acquisitions now find totally unpalatable.
Eventually, you'll regain a following, simply because peoples' memories are short, because 50% of all IQs statistically are less than 100, and because the dumbing-down of the American public continues apace.
You may have won a battle, but at the long-term cost of losing the war. I hope so.
What's FM? It's been so long since I tuned in (1980s), that I've forgot. Satellite, iPad/iPod, etc. Cumulus has done this all over the country. It's not just San Francisco. Cumulus targeted what it considered "liberal" hosts. Do some Googling and research, and you'll see what I mean. Cumulus' board and owners are Republican stooges linked to the Wall Street banksters. Their long-term goal is to get President Obama defeated. Isn't it obvious? Duh. They leave a few liberal talking heads here and there to counter what I just said, all the while knowing that their gutting of, say, KGO, means few will listen and therefore be influenced by liberal hosts who point out that Romney is nothing but an egocentric prep turd who should have been arrested for hate crimes. Don't underestimate the racism in this country, and Cumulus' actions are designed to help its bottomline but also to defeat the president. Too bad our mass media suck so bad. Ah, but they are all corporate-owned, too. Well, that's a bit too much of a generalization. Most are corporate-owned. Just look at the shitbag that is The Mercury News. It's now worse than The Chron. That's pathetic.
ReplyDeleteYou don't know what you're talking about. It is all about cost cutting. Did you not hear about them letting Rush leave KSFO? I don't know how Lew Dickey votes, but he runs a radio group like Obama runs the country, like a fucking incompetent amateur.
DeleteA wonderful opportunity for somebody. There's still plenty of soul floating around the Bay Area. It just needs to find a home.
ReplyDeleteThere has always been friction between sales & programming. There used to be a series of checks and balances that keep it going. That ended when the army of consultants appeared in the early 1990's, with their heavily researched playlists and useless music focus groups.
ReplyDeleteThe main problem is none of these business types have the slightest clue why people listen to the radio.(hint: folks would listen to their fave station to hear what's happening, musically and otherwise. NOT by asking your listeners in focus groups what they should be playing) Their greed and stupidity have destroyed radio.
When will it end? Computer Simulated radio is not entertainment, it's a jukebox, a jukebox with only 5 records on it. I guess after running every station they own into the ground, this breed of radio management will bail. Then maybe real broadcaster will return.
For fellow M. Dung fans: M. streams a nifty little show on Sunday nights on Radio Valencia, which I understand operates from somewhere in the Mission District. If you do a Google search for Radio Valencia, you can stream his Dung's idiotshow from 10-12 p.m. Sunday evenings.
DeleteI listened on Sunday night and it was a hoot! So nice to hear a familiar voice and style from happier times in the radio biz!
AYE!! AWAYYYYYYYYYY!!
"The Morning After" is a pretty clear indication KFOX will be abandoning all pretense of a high-brow morning show.
ReplyDeleteAccording to their website looks like KFOG is planning one of their A to Z music specials for the next 2 weeks. That probably means some kind of major music shift afterwards.
buh bye Legendary "world famous" KFOG - hello KFOG for Kids!
Can they really play Adele any more than they do already?
While no great shakes to the superior Morey, it was a listenable option in the morning. These guys don't have a job and The Frat Boy and Soundboard and the Two Dirty Old and Tired Men with the Manditory immigrant still have jobs with the company? WTF?
ReplyDeleteHey rich
ReplyDeletethis is just pay back for when Sherman burnt his way across the south. south shall rise again their playing dixie on the bay.
Hey idiotshow nice to know you're still around. What Cumulus is doing to the once great KFOG reminds me of a story I told my wife this morning: Years ago, an ex-college radio mate of mine was PD of an urban format station in San Diego. Station was doing great, ratings were good and he gets called in the GM's office one morning. GM announces they're switching format to album rock. My mate asks GM if he's crazy and that he's going to mess up a great thing. GM says he doesn't care, they're switching format and he can become Promotions Director or he can leave. He chose to leave. Sure enough, the station's ratings went down the tubes and everyone left. Management idiots strike again! Same thing will happen to KFOG. As Dungboy used to say so often back in the day, AWAYYYYY
ReplyDeleteYou gotta feel sorry for who's left in that mess & have to grin and bear it until they get dumped for cheaper options - Annalisa, Rosalie & Renee. (Especially Renee who's now stuck with the PD on afternoons - talk about no chemistry.) Gotta laugh to at the PD's note about making changes. Sounds like he's talking to an elementary school audience.
ReplyDeleteThere was a time when the whole air-staff from mornings to weekenders had a true connection to the community and actual meant something to the KFOG name. No longer. What a shame. More Cumulus destruction.
I also feel bad for Annalisa and Rosalie. To be honest, those are the only DJs of the previous KFOG era that I actually liked, but since they dumped everyone else I'm nervous for them too. Dred too, although he hasn't been around as long (I am aware he was on KFOG a few decades ago.) Not sure what'll happen to him.
ReplyDeleteNever cared much for Big Rick--he sounded awkward and uncomfortable on air, as if he was trying to be clever with wording but at the last moment couldn't pull it off. I was not a fan of the morning show either. Webster was ok; the others, not so much. Good Lord, Peter Finch has one of the most annoying voices that I've ever heard. Irish Greg wasn't that much better, although partially has an excuse.
I disagree about Dennis Constantine and Renee having no chemistry. Constantine shouldn't really be on air, but I find D.C.+R.R. a LOT more tolerable than either of them by themselves. Maybe it's because they cancel each other out. They probably moved Renee over to afternoons to spare her, because she's most in line with the demographic they're aiming for.
"KFOG? 10 at 10. Don Pardo. Morey. M Dung. All we need now is a Dennis Erectus KOME reference: "Don't touch that dial--it's got cum on it." Ah, the 80's and 90's. Cumulus free and when KFOG and the old KMEL was too legit--too legit to quit. "
ReplyDeleteThat paragraph just has too much nostalgic awesomeness!!! Luv it! KOME's bumpers or the old "Perfect 36" channel 36 bumpers? Which would be more inappropriate today?? lol
Rich, anyway you can do a "Where are they now?" for M Dung and Dennis Erectus? I still have some 30 year old Erectus stuff on cassette that is probably turning to dust. And while it was appealing as a teen, I doubt it holds up well now. I mean, Nancy Reagan and Celebrity Gang Bang? Oh how the airwaves have changed!! But hey, the Gov. Jerry Brown jokes Erectus did are current again.
I did hear a 10 at 10 type show on a classic rock station while driving around in SoCal last month. These things might have been a little more formula nationally than we thought but they did play some non-typical stuff besides some tiresome Led Zep vs. The Doors dead horse battle of the bands junk.
Really sad news. I always enjoyed the Morning Show, but pretty much stopped listening after Morey left and the commercials became so constant.
ReplyDeleteI liked all of them and I also liked that they would have local personalities on from time to time--Ron Thompson comes to mind but there were many others.
Scoop was the best!
It seems like 910 is doing well with the addition of some KGOne folks. Maybe there's hope yet out there for a good music station!
I am headed out to get an MP3 player (finally) because I am so sick of NOT listening to music in the car!
ForTheRecord-
ReplyDeleteKFOG was ALWAYS consulted. First - by Lee Abrams...the A-Hole who concocted the Superstars format. An interesting idea that kinda worked - but when we in SF started tinkering with his master plan - to humanize and localize it - he turned into a total turd.
Salvadore (sales) DESTROYED the original concept- took it to "Classic Rock." Blecch. We bottomed out.
Then - Pat Evans as PD - Heavy Metal Ballads. KFOG almost died.
Enter Dwight Walker as new GM - and the Rebirth of KFOG as a hybrid Triple A station - consulted by John Bradley (SBR) where we earned and enjoyed our greatest success as an intelligent, full-service radio station. Under Program Directors Greg Solk, later Paul Marszelek and then Dave Bensen, KFOG became part of the community. A rare privilege that every radio station dreams of. All of us working overtime to provide an alternative to sophomoric low-brow predictable typical CRAP radio.
Our dream was to become a station that all of San Francisco could turn to as a voice that truly reflected the Bay Area. We were that...for a while. We were proud of the product and our parent company, Susquehanna, appreciated our work.
Dwight Walker, Jude Heller, Bill Ruck, and the people whose names you know - Rosalie, Annalisa, Renee, Peter, Big Rick and lots more I wish I could rattle off now ----
Hey - Greg - Webster. Sorry you guys couldn't get out earlier so you wouldn't be forever connected with KFOG-past.
BUT - Know that is good - to have KFOG (a GREAT radio station) on your resume. And - if you wanna do a show on WTF...lemme know.
-Dave Morey
PS - With very few exceptions, terrestrial radio is dead and rightfully so. Somewhere along the way it turned into real estate.
BUT - if-I-may...speaking on behalf of those who were lucky enough to be there while it still welcomed and appreciated creativity,
GOOD JOB!!!
Mr. Morey!
DeleteWe MISS you, honey! Your dulcet tones and incredibly smart thoughts woke me up many a work day.....
Now I use the Smart Phone app for my morning alarm instead of a "clock radio." Who on Earth needs a barrage of loud commercials first thing in the day?
879harrisville.com
DeleteShhhh.
Very selective memory.
DeleteDave's point is so true about the non-continuous nature of radio. From a listener's point-of-view, the connection we feel is quite palpable, both when it's there, and when it isn't. Even in the glory days of KSAN, the feeling of community ebbed and flowed. There was a time when KKSF was the cool place to listen, before KFOG. During KFOG, there was the short lived KKCY and the other call letters I can't remember that pulled me in. My favorite fax, which seems to have been lost in the mists of time was one I sent back and forth to and from Dave Morey. It was during that period in the late 80's when they were forced to play Guns and Roses, among other out of place songs. I sent Dave a fax saying something like "I presume you have a shotgun held to your head to play GnR." He sent it back with this addition: "It's a double-barrelled shotgun, one barrel for Guns n Roses, the other for Whitesnake!"
DeleteDave! Thanks for stepping in, and speaking up. We MISS you, man! And now, Webster and Greg are gone, but not forgotten! Thank you all for the depth of music knowledge, incredible mixes and opening my mind to some great tunes. Time for a Foghead Rebellion!
DeleteDave - We MISS YOU! How could you abandon us like this in our ongoing hours of need? Can you stream your station so we can get back to enjoying radio?
DeleteBest.
The So called KFOG morning show with that no talent Irish Greg had a POINT 2 rating. He should have been fired years ago. Enough said
DeleteSeriously.....Get rid of Renee. .... No one cares about her opinions on what music she likes or what concerts she went to in the 80's....She was horrible in the morning and even worse in the afternoons. KFOG should let Dennis do HIS show solo. BTW... The new morning show is 100% better than Irish Greg. At least they try to be a show and not talk about bike riding. Jeez!!!!!!
DeleteI can't help but agree with Dave Morey about terrestrial being all but dead, with the few exceptions of when somethings such as baseball is on the radio. The two have always been a perfect marriage since the first games began to be regularly aired in the 1930s. Just look at the ratings baseball gets on KNBR. Nothing else they carry comes close to the numbers they garner for baseball.
ReplyDeleteWhat's really sad are these things: America IS being dumbed down, perhaps not intentionally by corporate radio, but they are certainly part of the problem.
Trash/tabloid TV and the annoying junk food for the mind such as Dancing with the Stars and Survivor are also to blame for this mess.
And too many Americans now also spend endless hours tweeting, facebooking and texting each other, squinting and ruining their eyes while ignoring their immediate surroundings as they stare into tiny screens.
Face to face interaction with people is now a rare thing, as is reading a book or a newspaper (how many bookstores are around anymore? and don't get me started about how the newspaper business has been run into the ground).
We've helped to create a society that is not only plagued by an alarming attention deficeit syndrome, but we let all of the commercial crap
subconsciously influence our decisions to buy more crap that we don't need and that wastes valuable resources.
Blame the congress for passing the 1995 Communications Act
(which deregulated the media), but we all are complicit in this manner, as we've allowed these corporate raiders to bilk, deceive,
and systematically ruin our once reputable radio industry and much of the rest of our once proud and prosperous society
Shame on them, but also shame on us for sitting back like a bunch of dumb, fat-assed nit wits, and not doing anything when we had the chance!
Generations remember their radio stations. There's a whole group out there that worships KFRC-610. The comments here are from folks who bonded with (or worked for) KFOG. Now a new generation will bond with the next big thing, which probably won't have a transmitter or tower. Think about it. The entry of Cumulus in this market is ill-timed. Cumulus is a vulture picking at a corpse. They didn't really kill it, but we can laugh because now they're stuck with it. And nothing they do will revive it. Good luck with this terrestrial radio thing, Cumulus. Too little too late.
ReplyDeleteI keep reading about Dennis Constantine (The Pioneer, The Godfather, the Inventor of AAA) and what a frigging genius he is. Well, first of all, if you couldn't program a successful AAA in Boulder, CO, you shouldn't be in the business. So no big accomplishment there. His consultancy crashed because he couldn't keep his pants on in Seattle. He took KINK to the brink before Alpha got wise and sent him packing. Fortunately, Chris Mays got there in time to put some soul back into the station before the market gave up on it entirely. (The irony is palpable.) And now he's parlayed his dubious track record into the gig at KFOG. WTF? It's stunning to watch him f*ck up one of the most respected stations, much less AAA stations in the country. If I hadn't just written the above rant, I'd say I was at a loss for words.
ReplyDeleteAsk K-FOG's Constantine about his years as just "Dennis," the teen pied piper on KTLK in Denver vibrating with glee about the Osmonds and DeFranco Family every weeknight from 7 to midnight. Somebody's got audio of it. I used to. Truly blackmail material....
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the above comments.I echo what has been said.Look at KGO wrecked to pieces for instance. I know thing change but in the end where are we going as a society with our media going the way it is? Are we too lazy as a people to care? I read books listen now to Internet programs in 5 languages. For a tv newscast for me it's the Pbs Newshour. I hope to death our media improves because if not, we are as a people no matter where we live, we are down the toilet. With all the our media today, where are the smart folks? Where I am I see very few. I think I heard Ray Taliafero say repeatedly that ''we are a dumb nation.'' As life goes on those words ring true.
ReplyDeleteReading all the comments above it would appear that we're all getting too old to be relevant when it comes to our entertainment. If you're not in that 18-34 age bracket you don't matter. I saw an interview on the news, young adults; one tweets a 100+ times a day, the other spends 5 hours on FaceBook every day, what a supreme waste of time! Do I really need to keep up with what you had for lunch? My advertising co-op is considering dropping radio advertising all together because it provides the least tangible feedback. I don't think the masses are listening to terrestrial radio any more and certainly not the ones who flock the malls to buy things. Internet advertising is cheaper and more verifiable. Our target audience is 34-55 and good Lord I'm barely in that demographic! The KFOG of Dave Morey was the best and Classic Rock used to be OK too, but how many times a day do you need to hear Hotel California? The Internet is here, MP3s are here, in order to truly have your own choice, it seems that's the only place to go.
ReplyDeleteEverything said is things i know but my heat is broken just the same.
ReplyDeleteMy break up letter to the morning show:
ReplyDeleteDear KFOG morning show,
We've been exclusive for many years. But, you've changed. You used to be warm and fuzzy. Never pushy, like others. You were funny, but never rude or raucous. You were open minded; You had gay friends; You introduced me to new things, like KABOOM, and new music. You were never cheap with concert tickets, and swag.
We almost broke up when Dave Morey, with his mellifluous voice, left. It was tolerable though; as Greg, Peter and Renee, stayed.
But KFOG, really? Now, No Sat morning 10@10 marathon's, No Peter Finch, No KABOOM, No Irish Greg, No Webster. Really, KFOG?
I know change is necessary, KFOG. But, our inherent values have changed. You aren't family owned and independent, anymore.
In closing, I don't think I can be exclusive anymore, KFOG. I am going to have see others, and test the radio dating pool.
Much love,
Foghead Leigh Ann
Too bad, I say! I will no longer be a KFOG listener (sorry Rosalee and Renee).
ReplyDeleteFoghead Leigh Ann has nailed it. Finding and listening to KFOG was a personal connection in the same way you meet someone new and interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhen I arrived in the Bay Area (2000) I found them when cruising the dial and was instantly attracted to the radio personalities - they were having fun with music, they were promoting the local musical community, and the social community as well. Clearly they loved music and weren't just pushing product. It was like discovering the AM top hits stations, as a preteen, in the 70s.
Only years later did I realize that this was no accident, that it was actually the vision of some of the people wielding influence, and that other Radio stations were 100% driven by corporate agendas and targeted Play Lists.
I have no personal animosity towards the new staff, but the replacement show just doesn't have the same warmth and personality. And frankly I'm surprised to notice that so plainly.
Foghead Joe.
As many others, I am giving up my Foghead status as of today. Gave it a try, but today actually turned the radio off. Listening to a grown man with ADD rattle incessantly is obnoxious, especially for a morning show. You've lost your way, KFOG. I have enjoyed being a loyal Foghead for 14 years but would prefer silence to the drivel that is now being aired.
ReplyDeleteMe too--hard to listen to motor mouth with nothing to say. Sound like talking heads not people. I guess you are aiming for a young male audience?
ReplyDeleteAfter today's morning show ( of which I listened to only about 10 minutes) Rosalie sounded so real, so genuine, so relaxed, so intelligent. I can't take the new morning show and really miss Irish Greg and Webster.
I agree with Foghead Leigh ann 100%. Sad to lose a good friend. I have always loved KFOG--and it's best quality by far has been the on air personalities that always acted as if the listener were intelligent. Still love Dred, Rosalie, Renee, and Annalesa. Really miss Irish Greg and Webster. Seems to want to appeal to younger men now. Morning show is obnoxious now with that motor mouth with nothing to say.
ReplyDeleteHow could you f-ck up such a good station? You folks have ruined it. I to will be checking out other stations. I like Greg Gorey and also still love Dred, Rosalie, Renee, and Annalesa. Really miss Irish Greg and Webster and especially Dave Morey.
ReplyDeleteNeed to realize that Cumulus assumed over $600MM in debt in their acquisition of the stations from SusquEhanna, which includes KFOG. KFOG brings in $10-20mm in sales for the company, so the new owners had to make cuts at most of their new stations across the U.S.
ReplyDeleteCumulus is not the only owner of the station, but they are charged with the management of the station and they had to make certain expense cuts given the agreement with the private equity companies.
Redrover, it is rare to see a posting miss the point so completely, as yours does. I do not think you can possibly be trying to make the point that reducing audience appeal is going to gain ad revenues.
ReplyDeleteBut let's look at your statement of $600MM in debt:
Do you have a reference for this ?
I don't think that amount is operational losses, I think that figure comes from one part of Cumulus overpaying another, in order to generate an internal debt-for-equity swap. In other words a corporate funny-money accounting/tax avoidance maneuver.
- Foghead Joe
When I want real radio with real DJ's I listen to the PIG in Freedom CA. Tiny little liberal station but free to play what they want. But you gotta like a little hippie country/folk mixed with your rock. The first ever to stream on the web too. Worth every penny I pay.
ReplyDelete