You thought I was kidding, right?
Way back then.
And now the rumors are heating up...again, today.
CBS Radio, that last great bastion of news on the radio, including a little sports too, might be up for sale. In fact, a NY source tells me it's only a matter of when, not if. CBS corporate, and big top, specifically the money man himself, Les Moonves, Pres/CEO, has never valued radio. More to the point, radio is perceived as the little fish in the big pond of Black Rock corpdom.
Even as they expand their radio division in DC, and recently launched a new sports radio network, most observers agree that move might have been a preemptive maneuver to amp up the radio division, and therefore maximize the price to sell.
Enter Cumulus. Scary thought, but never doubt the resolve of the Dickey brothers who have already made inquiries and are on this like a shark on blood. On the face of it,Cumulus buying CBS Radio seems patently obscene given what we all know about how they operate and function their audio "platforms."
Could you just imagine the local implications here in the Bay Area? They already own KNBR, KGO, KSFO, KNBR 1050, KFOG and KSAN-FM, (The Bone). And conceivably, in the future, KCBS, and over 100 other stations that make up the radio division.
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AM Radio is about as relevant as the 8 Track. If I'm a buyer, I'm making a LOWWWWW bid
ReplyDeleteYou don't know what you're talking about. - Roy
DeleteThere goes the neighborhood (again)...
ReplyDeleteSince KCBS 740 is beating KGO's ratings significantly now, maybe this is their idea for lowering KCBS ratings to compete with KGO. KQED will stand alone at the top now.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the race to the bottom continues...
DeleteHow can they own that many stations in the same market? I thought there was a limit with the FCC?
ReplyDelete12:54 You're so hip, fact is 6 out of the top ten highest revenue ranking stations in the US are AM you fool. KCBS top biller even before it started the simulcast. 8 Tracks, you must be well north of 50 to even mention that.
ReplyDeleteEven in this laissez-faire era of deregulation, the FCC would NEVER allow Cumulus to own THAT many stations in ONE market. They will have to give to get. (There's a precedent, Disney had to give up a few stations--both radio and TV--when they expanded.)
ReplyDeleteYeah, back in 1992. The FCC has become even more of corporate shill now than it was even then. Do not be surprised if the deal happens.
DeleteNonononononononononononononononNO!
ReplyDeleteThis deal is not happening.
ReplyDeleteIt's too back that Timothy McVie is long gone. Maybe he could have been talked into delivering a few drums of fertilizer and fuel oil to the Cumulus headquarters in Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteI have no love lost for the rat bastard Dickey brothers. IMO The world would smell considerably better, in their absence.
Darn. I was hoping it Al Jazeera would make its entry into radio.
ReplyDeleteIt has the resources to give us more than regurgitated sameness every 15 minutes, whether it's KGO or KCBS (with KCBS being much better than KGO).
Rich, have you considered doing a segment on radio on Al Jazeera?
Until I downloaded the app on my iPad, I had no idea what kind of outfit it was, having heard so many negative things about it in American media – such negativity stemming from America's malignancy of Islamophobia.
In the more than six months that I've been listening to it (you can get it on TuneIn radio for free) and watching it, it's my journalistic appraisal that it is the best news organization in the world.
It is hilarity at its best when I hear on KSFO how awful and terrible Al Jazeera is, that it is owned by an oil-producing country, etc.
In fact, Al Jazeera is committed to reporting REGULARLY on climate change.
KSFO's prejudice reveals even more about biased American media: Al Jazeera is dedicated to the fulfillment of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It is also dedicated to freedom of the "press" (media).
It has earned the ire of many governments for its unbiased reporting, as it has earned the condemnation of prejudiced radio hosts and others all over America.
Al Jazeera has also earned many awards that place it on a pedestal over radio stations and hosts who engage in inflammatory hyperbole.
It's my journalistic appraisal that Al Jazeera has eclipsed the BBC. NPR can't hold a candle to either.
Al Jazeera recently ran a series on California gangs; it recently did a story on a Napa Valley winery and its commitment to proper environmental stewardship, and I anticipate stories on Silicon Valley on Al Jazeera’s American venture (perhaps there already have been reports that I missed).
Thus, to me, it's relevant to your thematic shows on local media and media personalities.
Yeah, I've seen and heard 'em. They're good.
DeleteIt underscores the truly pathetic nature of the corporate controlled U.S. media, when it's an outfit from the Arabian peninsula that does a better job. BBC is also good.
If you want to know what's really going on through TV or radio news in America these days, you need to watch foreign media groups, and stay away from those based in this country. Sad.