First, the good news...
They have spacious new surroundings at KGO Radio; lots of room with clean overhead HD TV monitors and telephones and all necessary gadgets.
The bad news: rampant frustration and immense anger. Way too many managers with a whole lot of newbie reporters, mostly part-timers, who are just happy to be working in a big market. And amongst those, with some anchors thrown in, a group of tired veterans who are cranky and up to their ears with anger.
You hear the word, "over-worked" a lot. You hear about a new hire who referred to one of the anchors as "Jones-Lee"--on the air, no less. That didn't go well with the anchor nor a few of the veteran rank and file. There's a "glee" feeling that doesn't sit well from most of the workers because they don't realize the place has turned into a hellhole.
How much of a hellhole? Enough to warrant a notice to the union rep, morning anchor, Jon Bristow, according to multiple sources--(all who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared for management retaliation), to call a meeting and air out a multitude of grievences.
The biggest gripe right now is that nothing works. KGO has moved their entire operation--the offices, the studios, the newsroom, from the Embarcadero to the 55 Hawthorne center, (which houses the other stations such as KNBR, KFOG, The Bone, KSFO) and several on-air glitches have taken place in droves. Not just days, mind you, but at least three weeks. Dead air. Actualities that are either cut or simply cut out. Phone and tier lines that suddenly go blank. The anchors are steamed. The reporters are hung out to dry and the engineers look foolish. Just Sunday, KNBR was off the air for almost two hours.
KGO staffers feel hopeless. The best gig is the gig away from the newsroom. And with all managers, you'd think someone with some authority would have tried a few dry runs with all the new equipment and offices at Hawthorne. No dice. Just like when they dumped the new format last year, they would have practiced the new news format, but that wasn't the case. "Rank amateurs", said a newsroom source.
--Personnel moves: Veteran traffic reporter, Michaelynne Myers was, as expected, let go. Katie O'Shea, a traffic reporter was also shown the door. Both worked for the old Metro/Shadow traffic service.
**Developing...
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While my sympathies go out to the veterans who have to suffer through this crap, listeners can be spared this "kids from FAME" operation with more lengthy dead air boners -- like the one KNBR experienced on Sunday. Thank God I have Sirius/XM!
ReplyDeleteDitto re Sirius. I was just about to drop it, then the massacre at K-GONE, now I find myself turning to Sirius more and more.
DeleteWho's running this charade at KNBR / KGO & KFOG? That goofy kid on the Kars 4 Kids commercial? Geez.
ReplyDeleteStill makes me sick...but as I type, I am listening to Gil Gross on KKSF 910 AM. My sympathies to the KGO veterans.
ReplyDeleteIf all the ch-ch-ch-changes were at KNBR...this would be all good news. How do the spawn of Satan go on?
ReplyDeleteThis morning they announced the death of a man (but no details) and IMMEDIATELY went into some jovial Honda commercial. SO disrespectful, but turned out to be a glitch. Stuff like this all the time. I only listen occasionally when I want quick news or weather update and this is what we get. Amateurs. Not much better on other stations. Satellite = probably the only way to go. I'm still crying from when this first happened.
ReplyDeleteOh, I heard the "Jones-Lee' comment when it happened on KGO. Oh man... Whatever you think about Jennifer Jones-Lee, the news reader was so unprofessional. She is just HORRIBLE! Can't believe they have her on the air so often. Sorry to say goodbye to Michaelynne and Katie. Traffic reporters, yes, but they had personalities, unlike most of the others they have now. Has KGO hit rock bottom yet?
ReplyDeleteWhat was the Jones-Lee comment? I don't listen to KGO anymore, but I was a loyal listener for many years so am familiar with the long-time on-air talent.
DeleteA new news reader named Lisa Campbell was talking to Jennifer Jones-Lee and called her just "Jones-Lee." She said it in a very flippant and unprofessional manner. I can imagine that Jennifer had steam coming out of her ears. This Lisa Campbell is truly awful. She mispronounces names and places all the time, and her voice tone is so annoying.
DeleteIs Lisa Campbell the one who talks to Mattress Man about apps? If so, she is totally unprofessional and just plain awful--can't stand her voice.
DeleteRon Owens is the last guy on the Titanic.
ReplyDeleteWere the Veterans that are left the lucky ones?????
DeleteSad, sad, sad to hear that Michaelynne and Katie are now gone. I don't listen too often anymore, but they brought a lot of pep and energy to the traffic reports. I wonder how hard they are working Lynn Jimenzez, who I love and weather guy who like. They are reporting as early as 6:30 a.m. and then much later into the day. Do they have split shifts or work from home? Anyone know?
ReplyDeleteHi guys .... Hi john Bristow et al ... Gretchen Wells here .... just wanted to say hello and I love you guys (veterans who may read this) and the memories. They can't that away from us. KGO was once the GREATEST Radio Station in the world. It defined excellence in broadcasting.
ReplyDeleteSigning off ......
Mickey Luckoff and Tony Salvadore built something great. Oh the irresponsible corporate raiders running SF radio. They have no clue.
ReplyDeleteReading these posts is rather sad.
ReplyDeleteWhat was once the Sterling Silver of Bay Area Radio (KGO).
Turned into tin.
I used to listen for the updates, the traffic folks were about the last remnants of old KGO. Just plain non-sensical for a station to pay for a property and run it into the ground like they have.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there have been other media operations who have "crashed" their properties while laying people off - figure the people left will be more grateful to still have a gig than bitch about the declining product.
The best thing listeners can do is stop listening to KGO and drive the ratings into the ground even more. When revenues start to dry up in all these merger/buyout/raider situations, maybe the marketplace will have an impact on decision making. It could be too late, though. Free radio as a source of real news and entertainment is dying across the country...
ReplyDeleteSaddest of all is some day in the future few will remember the incredible status once owned by KGO. Forgotten will be all the consecutive #1 rankings.
ReplyDeleteThis is another tragic case of corporate rule. The people at the top make the rules...and make the money. The employees make less and less, if they have a job at all. And the product for the consumer is vastly diminished.
Clear Channel/Bain Capital operates this way. So does Cumulus.
The fact is, radio CEO's like Bob Pittman; John Hogan; David Field and the Dickeys are now making more money that radio CEO's have ever made in the history of the industry.
Sadly, many, many people in radio (and the listening public) continue to vote for republican leaders believing their drivel about cutting taxes and reducing spending and eliminating regulation is the right way to go. Of course, it is the right way to go if you're the 1%. For the rest of us, good luck!
Rich:
ReplyDeleteThere is no question that once great radio stations have fallen. Much of what you write about, your righteous indignation is justified. However, please don't loose sight of the fact that this is a business and that creative destruction is often necessary. It is sad. There is a romantic notion of radio that is going, going, gone.
I know that the Dickey's don't give a damn about people and what they are doing. However, I also know there is a plan and a lot of good smart people that work for them that do believe they are doing the right thing for the business. They may be wrong, or you may be wrong. Only time will tell.
Let's stick to the big issues however. For a radio station to move is huge. I've done it with a good company and good people. Whatever the company, to have glitches after a move like that is inevitable. It's not the Dickey's, or Ownes or even idiots Jarred or Bungeruth's fault.
In the end it's the further corporatization of radio. Clear Channel's initiative is to nationalize music radio personalities. Cumulus wants to completely vertically integrate its talk, control all aspects of the process. I don't like it, but it's a viable business plan. We'll see if it works and who has the last laugh.
I love the work you do and it is needed. Do hold their feet to the fire. Do speak truth to radio power. But try and stick to the business reality, not just the romance of days gone by. I loved them too, but they are gone!
I agree on several counts here. The good ole days have come and gone. The glitches are definitely not the fault of the local employees, but rather the impatient suits in Atlanta who wanted to rush the transition to the new studios and automation system (think of all the money they'll save).
DeleteWhere I wholeheartedly disagree is that Cumulus has a plan. I worked for Cumulus for six years and I know firsthand how impulsive these people are. They work in a glass tower in Atlanta (where each executive has their own marble bathroom), they get BIG ideas and send them down the chain. One size fits all, no exceptions, get it done yesterday, no budget, no transition, no "thank you". These people are smart, sure; but most of all they are colossally arrogant and living in a bubble where they rule the world. It is capitalism I guess, however I see it more like Communist Russia: bloated, inefficient management at the top; starving and beleaguered workers at the ground level.
Cumulus is as committed to its business model as most Jihadists. I believe their business model- which says screw you to the listener, F-you to the employee, starves innovation and creativity, and smashes any passion- is flawed and rotten to the core. It's the opposite of true, healthy capitalism, which puts the customer first and thrives when employees (along with managers) are productive, happy, innovative, and passionate.
Cumulus' first commitment is to the all mighty dollar. So you would think that they worship the advertiser, the source of all revenue. But how you can you maintain a good service to the advertiser with such an awful product and so much rot and discontent within the core of the company?
I suppose it can work, but I have to wonder how long their formula will last.
The main problem is competition: with Clear Channel as their primary competitor, there's not a whole lot of incentive for Cumulus to change because workers have nowhere to go. Because Cumulus doesn't want workers to think for themselves or be innovative, they don't care about having the best professionals on their payroll. As long as someone will work for cheap, they're hired. The only ones with large salaries are from preexisting arrangements from acquisitions (ie, Ronn Owens).
As much as Cumulus is blind to it, they ultimately have to convince their advertisers that people listen to their stations. So vote with your wallets: don't advertise or listen to Cumulus stations.
in response to @6:32 anon: Just because there is a "plan" for the dismantling of radio and the funneling of all authority and all revenue to Atlanta, doesn't mean that it is a good thing. You say we'll see if it's a "viable business plan," that we'll see "if it works." Works for whom? Right now it's working very very well for Atlanta: lets see, we put 2 more radio stations into our facility that used to house 4 radio stations, and we'll do so without adding any floorspace whatsoever. Saved: over a million dollars a year in real estate rent per year. We'll dismiss anyone earning over 6 figures, and we'll deny raises for 7 years running to anyone in any aspect of operations (many of whom make barely above SF minimum wage). We'll level the management structure so that not only are there no longer any "middle managers," but really there is only ONE manager in the entire SF cluster; all the other people have their titles reduced to "coordinator" even as they find themselves saddled with the work formerly done by 3 people. All this cost cutting, and siphon the money directly to Atlanta, giving local people -- even Bungeroth -- virtually zero purchasing authority. Build everything cheap, often out of stuff we cannibalized from operations we took over. Defer all maintenance until gear literally blows up (I give you last Sunday). Don't bother with niceties like ergonomic furniture, carpet in the hallways (can't see the threadbare halls on the radio after all). This is the "business model" thus far, and it seems to be working very very well for the Dickeys and their bankers, is that what you mean? If so, things are grand, but...
ReplyDelete....speaking for myself, I don't really give a damn about lining the pockets of the Atlanta Gulag. Call me "romantic" if you will, but when I got my degree in radio and television broadcasting, one of the things they taught us along the way was a pride in craft. We were versed in the notion that the airwaves belong to the people, that the broadcasting companies serve in The Public Interest, that holding the license to broadcast meant serving the public first, and turning a profit second.
(to be continued)
(continued)
ReplyDeleteIn contrast to the above, the "business model" of the Dickey clan seems to be "slash and burn." Like the forest management practice of the same name, it is profitable at first, cutting down everything that grew over years and selling it off cheap. Unfortunately, in the forest, the result of this "business model" is desert left behind where there used to be rainforest. No longer profitable, the slash and burn foresters move on to fresh land, leaving the bare eroding soil behind as dead. The Dickeys seem to be doing the same thing to radio; once they've sucked all the life and money out of it they'll eventually sell the license and the towers to someone else for one last cash infusion.
Finally, since the subject of "business models" in broadcasting has come up, let me just point out a very simple model for a broadcast station that seems to have been somehow overlooked by Cumulus: Create good programming, and people will listen. You get a reputation, built over time; people respect the station, like the station, they add it to their presets, they tell their friends, and you start to get ratings. Then, you hire a sales staff that understands the product, and the sales staff brings that product and the listeners it garners to advertisers. Advertisers find a good value reaching the audience, and thus their investment in advertising returns dividends for them, and they come back for more. To put it another way: in this "romantic" model of commercial broadcasting, the programming department creates something good, and the sales department sells that to advertisers. In the Cumulus model, there is no distinction between the "programming department" and the sales department. Sales is driving programming, which is the broadcast equivalent of the tail wagging the dog, and there is no programming department at all to speak of. Sort of like putting a billboard company in charge of city planning, the end result will not be very attractive at all.
This is the future of commercial on-air broadcasting. Get used to it.
ReplyDeleteThe folks remaining at KGO should do whatever they can to create dead air. Screw up the works and make the station go off the air. do it big time and so it lasts just not minutes but hours or days. Do this and this will really make the world take notice. Hey, what do they have to lose? Their job? Not is not a loss, that will be an improvement. Working for Cumulus is working for a gorup of people that are anti-mankind. A trash corporation led by selfish, self absorbed problem makers who are not part of any solution for the betterment of life.
ReplyDeleteAnd you might say, easier said than done becuase it is a job and brings in money so they can pay their rent and eat. Hey, I put my money where my mouth is. I have quit jobs in the past cold turkey with no new job to go to cuz I didn;t want to work for trash people. It is tough but I am glad I did it. The more people who do this, the more likely we will be to drive such corporations into the ground.
Getting intelligence talk from Jean Quan is like getting a 5yr old to think coherently. Lee-Jones needs to learn how to ask hard core questions.
ReplyDeletehardcore is one word. learn that first
DeleteHey DICKCORE @anon 4:01 ... Are you a Quan Lover?
DeleteWell presented opinions on what Cumulus is all about. They are certainly not a popular radio company in any town where they own stations, amd they have made a black mark for themselves in the bay area in a relatively short period of time.
ReplyDeleteMy prediction...they will tire of the radio business in five- six years and sell most of their properties, leaving a wasteland behind. Though radio is still a viable medium because it is the only one that is free, it is being strangled by companies like Cumulus and Clear Channel.
I feel badly for the people who have full time jobs and have invested years of work at some of the stations in SF. Although there was 'Saturday Night Massacre' last December at KGO, they still have a lot of on-air reporters and anchors. Many of them will probably be working for a good deal longer because Cumulus needs them if they're to maintain the all-news format. But it can't be much fun
being invested in a job that could disappear at any minute.
Cumulus reminds me of those aliens in the movie: "Independence Day." Remember that film? It was the first of the trilogy of Roland Emmerich's disaster flicks (the others were the 'Day after Tomorrow,' and '2012.') In the first movie, aliens come to earth with the idea of killing off all the humans, using all the resources of our precious planet, and then moving on to the next hapless world. Sound vaguely familiar?
TO: 5:12 AM
ReplyDeleteStop bashing Republicans for everything you do not like. The truth is that the OLD Democratic Party and the NEW Democratic are 2 totally different parties. The OLD party has been overtaken by the NEW Obama and the Chicago Radical Socialist/Marxist Movement. Their goal is to lower the United States to third world levels. The United States must be brought down to lower levels so that we are not better than anybody else in the world. I think we should be bring everybody else up to our level of living. There for I am voting for MITT ROMNEY to lead our country back the Capitalism. Remember that "FREE MARKET CAPITALISM IS THE BEST PATH TO PROSPERITY".
Well said at the 8:18pm post.
DeleteMMyers is gone? Damn, they're canning everyone. Why? Too high a salary? Are they buying some generic copy from out of town?
ReplyDeleteDo we, seriously, have a case of age discrimination going on here? Can folks in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and 70s, and hire folks with slim resumes in their 20s and 30s?
I guess this could also be a sign of a Jewish purge... is Rich Walcoff next?
Sad days. I never even fathomed something like this would happen... I just though we would gradually lose an anchor or host every year.
Yeah right, free market capitalism really works? What have you been smoking 8:18 anon? You probably think deregulation was a good thing too. Free market capitalism works when people play by the rules.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the Republican Party is that they've encouraged deregulation, which has led to industries being gobbled up by the 'big boys,' off shoring of American jobs. the concentration of power and income into the hands of fewer and fewer, the erosion of the middle class (the strength of this country), and the downsizing of jobs.
I love that word 'downsizing,' what a joke! How about,
"You've been fired because we want to save money and can get someone to do your job, plus five other things for less money."
Over 70 percent of our economy is based on consumer spending, and most of that comes from the middle class. But middle class Americans are being squeezed, marginalized and thrown out of work by today's version of FREE MARKET CAPITALISM. So guess what? They're not going to be able to afford the goods and services offered by companies, and more and more businesses will suffer as a result and more layoffs will also occur.
Citizens United was upheld by the Supreme Court, which means that corporations have the same rights as individuals. Where in the US Constitution is that written?
Wake up and smell the coffee 8:18 anon. One of the biggest reasons this country has gone to the dogs, is that FREE MARKET CAPITALISM practiced by selfish, elitist, corporate America has stifled competition, thrown people out of work, and turned this country into the direction of a Third World Economy.
As someone who was thrown out of work not once, not twice, but three times by this kind of practice, I have a reason to feel very strongly about this. But at least I was smart enough to put money away, and experienced enough to get part time work.
The Republicans SHOULD be bashed, because their party has been taken over by greedy, selfish, short sided people who are only interested in lining their own pockets, not in helping to keep our middle class (and our country) strong.
9:38 is really uninformed (either purposefully or not) about what constitutes FREE MARKET CAPITALISM. What we have in America is not FREE MARKET CAPITALISM - it's "CRONY CAPITALISM" and it has much more in common with its evil sibling FASCISM than it would ever have with real free markets. A system that has businesspeople going to govt to get special privledges at the expense of consumers and competitors has no relation whatsoever to a free market. A free market is truly free. It is free from outside interference and it is free from the ability of those in business to gain access to government levers in order to hamstring competitors, erect barriers to entry and create monopolies that squeeze consumers. Put down the Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky and start reading Von Mises and Hayek.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess it's "a pox on both your houses!" (government and big business).
ReplyDeletePeople unfortunately today, are just as prey if not more so to
greed, one of man's most contemptible qualities.
If people all over the world would just take more of an attitude that 'we're all in this thing together,' then we could solve a lot of our problems!
Unfortunately people haven't evolved much higher than the animals around us, but I'll say this for the animals; at least you don't see them cutting each other out for a percentage of the profits!
Capitalism in general requires people to need more than they need, consume more than should be consumed, and thrives on greedy behavior.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the biggest reasons why this world is going to the dogs, environmentally, as we're rapidly using up our resources (Indian and China want to be just like us!), and it will be a much different place in 30-50 years that our children inherit.
How much is enough? I guess John D. Rockefeller put it best when he said: "Just a little bit more!" That's capitalism in a nutshell.
Unfortunately, nearly everyone wants " just a little more."
People have not outgrown their childish needs to possess more material items that are necessary survive.
That's a shame for our world, and it's a shame for us too, because it turns us all into slaves, fighting each other over resources instead of trying to work together to make this a better place.
Am I being too idealistic here? I don't think so!
As a Cumulus Dallas employee, let me just say that it sounds like San Fran has the same problem that Dallas did when they moved. It's not just you guys. It's Cumulus all over.
ReplyDelete