Nobody knows what the hell is going on!
We show up and do our work and get out asap.
Those are but a few of the reaction from veteran staffers at KGO who responded to me about the latest personnel move in the newsroom as Paul Hosley was shown the door on Wednesday. Nobody was really surprised as someone had to take the fall for the station's freefall is in full swing.
The veteran reporters are numb. The anchors, most of them in the morning, try mightily to project a giddiness that doesn't sound very genuine. It isn't. Although Hosely wasn't liked by many, there was at the very least, a sense of "normalcy" inside the newsroom even though Hosley's days were numbered.
*To answer several of your questions, no, the morning host, Ronnnnn, will say nothing about this and go on with business as usual. Luckily for Ronnnnnnnn, he has a guest in the first hour, but even if he didn't, he would cease from shop talk because Ronnnnnnnnnnn doesn't want to rattle Cumulus suits--they might take one of his gadgets away. That would be the end of the world. So, yes, we go to work, we sip coffee, we talk and we sell mattresses.
*Developing...
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Why is it Ronn's job to say something about a fired employee? The radio station is there to provide news and entertain. How is publicly airing the dismissal of an employee something the audience needs to know about? It's not as if Paul was a public figure like Ralph Barbieri was at KNBR. He was a manager/director.
ReplyDeleteSo a PD was fired from a station whose ratings fell then flat-lined. How is this information valuable to someone driving to work? If i was a GM and heard my host talking about it I would dock him for a week.
Well - just a bit of a disagreement here - I liked Hosley - worked with him in the past and he was an even-handed pro who knew the news.
ReplyDeleteAnd Ronn is simply too much of a class act in my opinion to dish the dirt. What's the point?
I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who works at KGO and they said the atmosphere around the place was really bad after the news about Hosely getting canned. While Hosley doesn't sound as if he were any great shakes as a News Director, it also looks as if Cumulus (in typical Cumulus fashion), decided to make someone pay for their own stupid, short-sided mistakes.
ReplyDeleteCumulus media (now that's an oxy-morn for you!) is historically one of the worst, if not THE worst media company in America. They are a walking advertisement for why media regulation should come back. Since they appeared on the scene, they have laid siege to stations in small, medium and large markets, decimating staffs, downgrading the product, and then moving on while leaving carnage in their wake.
Other companies such as Entercom, Infinity, and Clear Channel are probably no better, but Cumulus negative effect on its 'cluster' of stations here in the SF area has been particularly acute.
The Dickhead brothers are greedy, unimaginative, cold-hearted businessmen, who could care less about the quality of radio programming that their stations put on the air. Their only real concern is that the 'the bottom line,' stays big and fat. Unfortunately the 'bottom line' is also the holy grail for most American businesses.
Yet another reason why our media and the country in general is going into the toilet.
You're wrong when you say Paul Hosley wasn't well liked. He's fair, kind, funny and if he knows you work hard and do well, he trusts you to go do it. I think most People who've worked for him feel this way. Obviously, you can't please everyone but he managed to come close. What I don't get is why, when something bad happens to someone, do people on the periphery who don't really know anything, get so mean spirited? What good does that do?
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. Paul is one of the best bosses I have ever had. Respectful, kind, creative, caring and an all around good guy. People love to talk bad about others, especially others who they don't know or have any emotional attachment to.
DeletePaul Hosley will be missed by many.
If Paul wasn't liked by many, why would everyone be so upset about his untimely departure? Or give him a standing ovation?
ReplyDeletePaul Hosley was a great boss. Honest, fair-minded and good to the people he managed at KGO. There are no villains among those who report for work every day at 55 Hawthorne. Just people who do the best they can in a very tough environment. Hosley has always had the respect and affection of his staff and we will miss him terribly. We don't know much about Escarsega but he seems like one of the good guys. We will give him our best efforts because we're broadcast professionals...not wanna-be hacks who have nothing better to do than spew hate and misinformation on a poorly written blog.
ReplyDelete