Monday, August 13, 2012

Veteran Traffic Reporter Burford leaving KGO Radio

Stan Burford, the veteran KGO Radio traffic reporter will be leaving, according to a station source.

No official word on whether he's retiring or being pushed out-- (he's been at KGO for 28 years), and has a 44-year career in the business to boot.

Burford recently lessened his workload--he'd been doing both morning and PM drive before opting to work mornings only at the beginning of the year. A source close to KGO told me that Burford was retiring, but also made an inference that he may not be "retiring" on his own. Maybe someone nudged him? Don't know the full details, but once I do will report back to you.

In either case, Burford, a SF native, will be missed. He has been pretty much "Mr Traffic" for decades and a great voice on local radio. I'd imagine either way this all went down, and here's hoping Burford was ready to call it quits on his own terms, a firm salute to the traffic man.

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45 comments:

  1. I expected he might choose to retire before too long, particularly after his field team was laid-off recently. After his many years of excellent service (topped with his recent selection for the Radio Hall of Fame), it seemed just such a letdown to be the sole person in the morning. I could hear a change in his voice, although, of course, he's remained excellent and professional. He'll be missed. :(

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  2. We'll know if he chose retirement or was forced out if Burford shows up with a gig on Newstalk 910 AM. I wish him well wherever he lands.

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  3. I heard Bulford went to S/F George Washington High School, just like The Great Cheryl Jennings and John "The Mighty Mouth" Rothman.

    Good luck Mr. Bulford.

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  4. I enjoyed hearing him, he'll be missed.

    If he was pushed out, that would be another silver-haired veteran pushed out the door. I know that saves them money, but wouldn't that also seem to show a pattern of age discrimination?

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  5. He's been there for 44 years. Isn't that long enough? Was he promised that he could work forever?

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    1. None of us adults would expect a 14-year-old troll like you to understand. But, thanks for sharing.

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    2. How much do the little Dickheads pay you for that comment?

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    3. Is this the same person who "so whats" "who cares" and "move on" comments. It always adds much to the conversation.

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    4. @9:46,@5:55, and @7:44

      Sorry but I just don't understand the mentality here that just because this guy is leaving his job after a very long and successful career, that he must a victim of something evil.

      How about it was time for him to retire? End of story. Careers to end, you know.

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  6. Most of us in the know were well aware that Sir Stanley was g going to call it a career. He's fortunate to have had so many good years with so many profesional organizations before it all went so badly. He's getting out of the business at the right time. A class act, a true gentleman, and the consumate professional. We're oging to miss ya Stanley!

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  7. 52 years. Been at it since 1961. The Nimitz freeway was only 3 years old!

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  8. This is not from Stan's mouth but I can tell you why he's leaving. It's because he has had a long and great career, but it's ALSO because the changes forced him out the door. It is an uncomfortable place to work. Cumulus is now operating a second-rate traffic operation that doesn't have airplanes, or overhead, and is actually a service owned by Cumulus itself. They are relying on callers to do half their work. It's called Radiate. It's an ironic name because the more you listen to their traffic reports the closer you'll actually get to the accident. Yeah, you heard me right when I told you KGO won't have an overhead traffic report anymore. The Dickeys are tightening up that budget!

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    1. OK, so what? KGO won't have an overhead traffic report anymore. Am I supposed to lose sleep over that? Why must everything on this site be accompanied by anti-Dickey outrage?

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    2. Because, dipshit, they are touting themselves as a news organization, capable of competing with KCBS. They have laid off all of the traffic reporters that add credibility to the traffic report. Unlike news stories, traffic changes by the minute. A solo anchor, like Stan, can't possibly do as thorough of a job without support. He's a total pro though and still sounds credible but they've cut him off at the knees. Relying on CHP info and road sensors is only so accurate. No wonder he's retiring. There is outrage because the Dickeys continue to undermine a once great radio station and marginalize talent that still have (had) something to contribute.

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    3. Thank you for the gratuitous name-calling and again demonstrating the uninformed anger that seems to fuel many regular posters on this site.

      By all accounts, Stan was ready to retire after a very long career and has begun to sound a little worn out, as befits a gentleman of his age.

      But somehow you know that "they've cut him off at the knees" without ever explaining who they are and concluded that's the reason he is retiring - without any factual support except your own fanatical imagination about those demonic Dickeys.

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    4. Not uninformed at all. I'm well inside the ropes and know what I'm talking about. If you can't figure out who "they" are, I'll be more specific. They are Cumulus (duh) who spun off a traffic reporting "service" called Radiate which is actually maintained by an office in Chicago. Imagine your local traffic info being fed to you from Chicago. It is nearly impossible to make sense of CHP's dismal information to a LOCAL reporter, let alone some drone in Chicago. In setting up this "service" they (Cumulus again) eliminated the airborne reporters and the super commuter who used to drive the commutes times.

      Stan would have too much class to point the finger publicly. I'm sure he was easing towards retirement but with his resources compromised, he will be unable to provide the same quality product he's known for. This likely will have hastened his retirement.

      I'm not a fanatic and it doesn't take one to see what the Dickeys have wrought upon Bay Area radio. Sorry you can't recognize something so plainly obvious.

      And "by all accounts" Stan does NOT sound worn out. I'm sure he was disspirited with the change and perhaps that came out a bit, but he still is golden.

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    5. And you are surprised that big companies consolidate operations for the sake of efficiency and economy?

      Try phoning any company you used to call and speak to humans on the phone, now you get an automated voice and if you talk to any living person, they're likely overseas... Is that the Dickeys' fault too?

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    6. You just don't get it. THE PRODUCT HAS BEEN SEVERLY COMPROMISED. Okay? All companies are lean and mean in this economy. The trick is to do without ruining your product. KGO has ruined their product and by doing so, lost most of their listeners. They could have still run the place lean and mean without destroying the station, which provided a service to the community. Why are you such an apologist for this terrible company is the question. Must be on the payroll.

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    7. @6:00 No, you're the one that doesn't get it. The industry has changed. You gain comfort by identifying specific enemies and embarking on this self-righteous campaign against them but I find that unrealistic and simplistic.

      I'm not on their payroll or have a vested interest in the industry. I'm just put off by all the self-righteous indignation.

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    8. I think, he/she has been rather measured in these comments, sir. Not the case with all these posters. Sometimes in life, there are companies that are not operating in anyones best interest (except possibly the stockholders). Righteous indignation is called for. As an insider and someone with 30+ years in the broadcast industry, this I can rightly say, is one of those times. We've all accepted leaner. We've all accepted salary cuts, longer work days and the elimination of staff. It's the times we are living in, granted. The Cumulus model is a whole other can of worms. I have many friends at 55 Hawthorne and the facts are disturbing. However, if you'd like to continue defending a soul-less corporation that you have no affiliation with, we obviously cannot stop you.

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  9. Do they have helicopters anymore? Don't listen often enough to know, but I haven't heard from Michael Lynn and a couple others. Anyway, good luck to Stan who I always found very interesting and intelligent.

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  10. Lol! Off topic but KRON´s Stanley Roberts' People Behaving Badly made it to CNN's Ridiculist on A. Cooper's show. It was the always funny ”carpool lane guy”. I need to get a life...

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  11. Stan Burford, Lu Hurley, Lynn Durling were KGO shining stars. The end of yet another era.

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    1. Wow. Remember those names vividly.
      Nobody did traffic reporting like that trio.

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  12. KGO is rapidly on it's way to becoming a pale imitation of KCBS. Pat Thurston, Karel and sometimes Monte are trying to fill much larger shoes. Ronn is devolving into a restaurant plugger. He still makes an occasional political comment, but it totally lacks any fire. At least Ray had the fire in his belly, even if it made him insufferable at (Most) times. When Ronn leaves the building, now or later, it will go almost un-noticed by his fan base, because those ranks have already been decimated by the other slashing at the station. Any "going away" party will have a leaden, somber feel to it, more like a wake. 910 will continue to benefit from the blood-loss at KGO, as will Armstrong & Getty on 650, for those within earshot of KSTE. AM is sadly, a dying format, un-served by our own FCC, and the Telecommunications Act of 1995 (96?) will allowed wholesale ownership of stations without an inkling of community service. Not one shred. So, customers are migrating (a bit) to podcasts and web radio. Some are going to internet radio, but not in droves. Like newspapers, AM radio is bleeding out, a niche finding itself undermined by countless other attractions, including the web and zillions of channels on cable. I would guesstimate that for the age bracket that includes 20 and 30 - somethings, only a very small percentage of them utilize either AM radio, newspapers, evening news on TV, or even local TV news. A sense of community is gone, just like local politics, no-one goes to city council meetings unless their local elementary school is being closed, or some punk got shot by the police, then they show up in hordes, rudely screaming at people on the dias. Otherwise, they couldn't be bothered to get involved. Read the paper? No. Call in to a talk show and discuss local issues? No. Vote? No. Go to the Richmond City Hall and yell at Chevron bemoaning how their life is ruined and they're gonna get cancer for sure? You betcha.

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  13. I am of the opinion that not having overhead traffic reports is in fact a really bad thing for a news station. That is something I believe 100%. If you think otherwise then you can have fun sitting in traffic while staring at your google map.

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  14. Love Stan, but he has been sounding a little worn out lately. I was VERY, VERY surprised he survived the cuts/layoffs/slash-and-burn at KGO this long. The new traffic "product" they're using at KGO is a mess. Anyone know if it's even created locally...or in an office in Atlanta? From what I hear it's not being done by anyone who knows anything about the area. I'm hearing more and more reporting of minor "fender bender" type incidents on rural roads here in Sonoma County...incidents that might cause a five minute delay for three or four people...I think they're just reading the CHP dispatch scroll on line and, if it's "important" enough to be there the intern who writes the reports thinks it should be reported.

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    1. Apparently traffic on the Cumulus stations is being produced out of Chicago. That would explain all the inaccuracies.

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  15. It's interesting. You spun this out exactly as everyone in the newsroom predicted you would. You would make veiled references to Stan being pushed out, etc. All to stir up stuff in your comments section. Did you actually you know, call Stan for a quote? Nope, of course not that would be reporting. He's not hard to reach I'm sure that we would at the very least pass on a message from you with you contact information. Stan's a newsman and I'm sure he would answer. If you want to pretend that you reporting on the industry then use some of those great reporting skills you claim to have.

    As to Stan's retirement. He has been moving toward retirement for some years and has talked openly about doing so for some time. He put up with a grueling split shift for decades to be our voice. The toughest work anywhere. Get up early, have a couple hours off, work till 7 p.m and then head off to bed.

    We love Stan, he has been the Voice of traffic and it will not be possible to replace him, only replace the service he gives our listeners. I would hope we get lucky and hire back our air traffic reporter Michael Lynn to do Stan's job. I have no idea whether she's applied.

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    1. Very well said.
      Rich spins it this way to engage his unsophisticated readers in his good guy Rich vs. all the evil villains in the industry fantasy.

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  16. I like Stan. It's too bad he's leaving. But, on the other hand, I haven't listened to him since 12/1/11. So, either happy retirement or I hope he finds a good job elsewhere. He's very good at what he does.

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  17. Dickey trolls....go elsewhere! Your banal attempts at juvenile humor and outrageous comment are not welcome here at 415 media.

    We veterans want to reflect upon the past glories and great days of radio in the area, not these dark times currently faced. We don't need your oinkish treacle and adolescent take on everything, such as : "get over it dude!" No, YOU get over it! And get a clue dim wits! You're supporting and being used by corporations that will use you up and pay you less money now than ever, and then they'll discard you. Wait until it happens to you....and then you'll feel the outrage that we feel.

    In the meantime, enjoy your pathetic little time as 'broadcasters' because that's what you are in name only. The quality of on-air work in radio in the bay area at this current time has never sunk to such a low level! I'm sure you can reflect proudly on that in days to come as you reflect in the not too distant future about your brief moments of glory!

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    1. Here here! I can only imagine these people to be young and naive. They're so happy to have jobs in broadcasting and know that they only way they advance is for the veterans to clear out. Or be cleared out. These companies like Cumulus and Clear Channel have ZERO regard for you, or your family. You are a number on a ledger sheet. You are not "talent" and have no inherent value. You just make the wheel continue to spin. And if it's not you, it'll be the next person, willing to work for crap wages in terrible work conditions without complaining. This has nothing to do with "broadcasting" as we know it. These companies are not broadcasting corporations, they are leveraging firms and it's a dirty rotten shame.

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    2. You look to the past with rose covered glasses. I've been in broadcasting for 30 years and it has always been about management trying to reduce costs and pay us as little as they can while working us as much as they can. That's American capitalism, for better or worse and is true everywhere and in EVERY industry. No one is saying get over it. What we are saying is "what mysterious age of glorious management/worker peace, love and harmony era are you making up!" Without being a apologist for Cumulus I will remind people it was much, much, much worse under Citadel, which bleed us dry all. We literally had to roll out a red carpet for that SOB of a CEO when he came out to tell us the company was bankrupt and looking for a buyer. Cumulus has at the lease reinvested in equipment, hired new employees, many of whom a long time broadcast vets.

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    3. "These companies are not broadcasting corporations, they are leveraging firms and it's a dirty rotten shame."

      I agree with you about that, but it's not just Cumulus and Clear Channel and the broadcast industry. Regrettably, that's the economic world we live in and I'm bothered by the suggestion that those in broadcasting have been uniquely victimized and deserving of greater sympathy.

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    4. I doubt anyone thinks this is "unique" to broadcasting, but since we're on a media blogsite, it's more germain to the conversation than grousing about the state of the nation. We are a microcosm of what's going on a much bigger scale. No greater sympathy, but sympathy none the less. It's sad that the public has to put up with a product that is so much "less than" what it could be. With just a little creativity, you can still pinch pennies and deliver a decent product. That's the big shame with Cumulus and the like...they just bulldoze it all down. Needlessly and with no vision.

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  18. Stan is the man...but I still miss Lou Hurley...

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  19. Stan himself put out a memo to the staff explaining his decision to retire, YES, retire. As has been noted by other commenters, he's been moving in this direction for a few years. His decision entirely.

    Stop creating drama where there is none, all of you.

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    1. Like he's going to say in a memo "I hate that they've gutted my staff so now I'm retiring"

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    2. Stan wrote a memo that explained why he was retiring.

      It is idiotic for you to dismiss his own words suggest an alternative reason without any justification. Just another example of believing what you want to believe regardless of the facts.

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    3. It's idiotic that you expect a guy's "goodbye memo" would air any ill will toward his employers. My justification, sir, is well "inside the building".

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  20. It is so typical that Rich has spun a routine retirement into his evil Cumulus narrative. Rich, save the drama! Are you back from your "I can't go on" escapade?

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  21. Didn't Stan write a book about the bay area traffic and shortcuts eons ago or was that Lynn Durling?

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    1. Yes, Rush Hour Relief, about 20 years ago.

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  22. On the good "old" KGO I'm pretty sure if someone retired who had been there for so many years, someone often Ronn would do a so called "goodbye" show. If that does not happen, perhaps it wasen't his decision, perhaps it was, like I heard Ed Baxter and Rosie say they got out because the saw the writing on the wall. Fact is he is, if I can add, well beyond retirement age, so it is totally believable that he wants to retire. If there is not special send of show, it could be because he didn't get to choose his departure, or it could be that Cumulus do not want to encourage that kind of "We are a family" show, which the old KGO was so good at.

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