There are hardly any Van Amburgs, any Dave McElhattons, Jim Dunbars or Dennis Richmonds out there. And Owen Spann and Dr Don Rose are long gone literally and figuratively. I'm sure I left a few out--help me.
Sad.
Even sadder when the big dogs here today are in the twilight of their career and just hanging on. Such is life. We're not losing sleep over this but merely reflecting on the state of the industry.
Pass the coffee cup.
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Today's guest at 1 PM: Former KPIX reporter, Manny Ramos.
Appointment radio is dead as a concept as far as corporations are concerned. People tune in for the music and bland content, not for the personalities who make the station worth listening to (and who help make a lot of money.)
ReplyDeleteNo more Robert W. Morgan or Gary Owens in Los Angeles or Larry Nelson in Seattle. Who needs them?
Don Imus still has some star power, if you like listening an angry old man whose career peaked years ago.
There isn't even a "farm system" to develop new talent, since most stations in small markets are highly automated.
The pendulum may swing back the other way at some point in the future but, for the moment, dreck and wretch programming will prevail.
It's probably true in every major media market. Maybe for one thing in the days before the Internet and maybe even cable television news anchors were more prominent and carried much more authority. All the attention was focused on Channels 2 through 13 ... fewer options. And certainly more people listened to radio, and believe it or not there was time when AM was king.
ReplyDeleteAlso probably local stations were more autonomous and got less directive from network and corporate heads to cut costs. Top talent eventually gets too expensive now, and since the market is shrinking, it's felt that high profile personalites are not necessary.
Why does this column continue with the Self-Promotion of his radio show?
ReplyDeleteIs that what readers come to this site for? Not me. I have visited twice in the past month (yesterday & today). Each time I am forced to see the Self-Promotion of the Santa Cruz Radio Stations / Show whereas I find less & less on media critique of interest or value.
Maybe I'm different than others who visit & enjoy the Self-Promotion & Self-Aggrandizement. To each his / her own.
It's called ...making a living. Sorry, but yes, this is MY space and there those REGULARS who read this site, largely for FREE. How much did it cost you to get into my club? Yes, I occasionally do plug MY radio show just as other hosts/bloggers/TV people plug their other venues. When Matt Drudge, for example, did a show on Fox News, he always plugged his Drudge Report. I hope that clarifies it. I will...and still do find the time to critique. Have a lovely day.
Delete"Why does this column continue with the Self-Promotion of his radio show?"
DeleteTony says tax payers can't pay for everything despite what the POTUS would have you believe. Tony bets that Rich has bills to pay and a radio gig that needs traction. God forbid he covers the bills and has a little left over.
Rich knows the worth of playing on the home field and taking the initiative to shape his career, rather than being an employee and suing an employer to play ball the employees way.
Tony thinks Pete Wilson should be on the short list of high quality local talent that we no longer enjoy, but never found Dennis Richmond all that great, adequate but aloof.
Tony gets carried away and censored every now and then and says you're better off reading Rich's self promotion rather than Tony's thoughts, so show a little appreciation.
The farm system now starts at KGO, sadly, sans Ronn Owens.
ReplyDeleteWith satellite radio in cars, I'm not sure if the KGO of the past that you, I and others enjoyed will ever return.
Although I don't have my car's satellite activated (yet), the only sports on radio that I listen to is done on Sirius, either on my home receiver or on my iPad or computer.
The drive for a younger demo is ruining local talk radio. The young demo isn't listening to terrestrial radio.
KGO has imploded thanks to a corporate culture that fosters mismanagement; KNBR imploded a long time ago and has only survived because of its flagship status for the Giants; KSFO's morning show can provide some compelling radio but often is a one-tune wonder, as you've noted, Rich.
However, I will say that KSFO's recent attention to unemployment and the millions who have simply stopped looking for jobs and therefore are not "counted" by the government are positive developments.
That said, I find it difficult to listen to KSFO's morning hosts because of the distractions, sound effects, etc. that I suppose the hosts and program director believe they need to attract and retain audiences.
I understand those needs, having been a radio station news director, but I also believe those goals could be achieved differently.
All I can say about this is The Telecommunications Act of 1996 ruined radio.... Thank Mr. Clinton for signing that piece of garbage
ReplyDeleteFunny you wrote about the men in Bay Area media... I can't help but think about all the great ladies who also graced the airwaves too.
ReplyDeleteAnn Frazier Ross McGowan,Terry Lowery,Jack LaLaine,Pat McCormick,Rigo Chacon. A few other bay area icons they were,colorful and with flavor..
ReplyDeleteGive me a break. These people are stars? Anne Frazier, Ross McGowan?
DeleteYes, Anne and Ross! And pat mac!
DeleteThere will never be another Jack LaLaine! So far ahead of his time.
I am lamenting with you. Isn't there a book in the Bible called Lamentations? I don't know the Bible very well, but anyway, I lament that this is all true. I grew up on radio in the 1940s, Don McNeil and his Breakfast Club. My mom never missed it. I listened to Sky King in the afternoon, One Man's Family on Sundays, and evenings we had Amos n Andy, The Green Hornet, Fibber McGee and Mollie. Then in my teens we had Peter Potter and other great DeeJays in Southern California. My grandma listened to talk radio in LA every nite. I don't know who, because I wasn't paying much attention, but I remember she went to sleep listening to some guy talking. And you could always count on these programs being there on the same day and at the same time! I miss that. Well, then I found talk radio in the 1980s, KGO, and LOVED it. Shades of my grandma! I have painted my whole house sometimes into the night, walked miles and miles all over town listening to great radio, to Bernie Ward, Michael Krasny, Dwayne Garrett, Shawn Nix, Christine Craft, Gene Burns, John Rothmann, and yes been put to sleep, like Grandma, with Chris Clarke and Ray Taliaferro.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Henry Tenenbaum, Malou Nubla, Jan Wahl and Rod Brooks?
ReplyDeleteThat's funny!
DeleteI couldn't agree more. After than gagging, stinking Telecommunications act was passed, a lot of good middle class broadcasters who were in their peak years were thrown out of work. These big mega-companies who took over the radio business t hen hired younger, cheaper, less talented on-air folks, and as a result, we have some of the worst dreck in the history of radio on the air today. No wonder radio is dying!
ReplyDeleteHo-hum. Another 'I wish for the glory days' of media from Rich. Hello? One of the reasons is because of what you do on the Internet. That is the star, the Intertnet. And since when was Dave McElhatton a star? I don't think so. What about Radnich? He's pretty big. Probably the biggest today and has been for some time.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, boo hoo, the business has changed, back in my day they had real stars, blah, blah, blah
DeleteRadnich big star? In his own mind and apparently in your narrow ignorant mind too...
DeleteYou aren't worthy of shining Dave McElhatton's shoes. He was bright, well-prepared, engaging, interesting and humble both as a San Francisco radio and TV legend. Very few folks end up doing both memorably. His was a career in full, a man who was much-respected and loved by his listeners and viewers, a man of substance. He would have been so,with or without your "intertnet".
DeleteSpeaking of old timers, I saw David Jackson deliver a report on KPIX last night. Haven't seen him in a while.
ReplyDeleteStar cost money. They only have the budget today for brown dwarfs.
ReplyDeleteGene Burns is a star. He had a phenomenal command of the english language.
ReplyDeleteSeconded.
DeleteDepending on your point of view, there is an old Chinese proverb or curse "May you live in interesting times."
ReplyDeleteIf the current media environment were a battle field, the generals have given up. They don't know how to fight the battle against the Internet and all the other content that is available. The soldiers, not having a clear goal from the top are going through the motions.
Maybe the solution is not to fight the battle, but to win the war by providing excellent content for the local community. Hire talented people, let them put content on the air that relates directly to the community they serve and don't worry about what the competition is doing.
If I want to sell my products on eBay with hundreds or thousands of other vendors competing for the same market I MAY make money if I am aggressive enough and lucky enough. I focus on my local market where I don't have that much competition and I can actually make money.
The same concept may just work for local radio. Invest in the local community with talented interesting hosts and listeners may actually come back.
Outside the media bubble, very few have ever heard of those that work as anchors in the media. It's not really fair to blame regulations for the demise of radio, newspaper, or even television. Blame the execs who were too short sighted to see the Internet as a game changer and too set in their "old white boy" ways to embrace technology and change.
ReplyDeleteToo true. Often we produce various events or programs, and some of them rely on widely recognizable media celebrities. There just don't seem to be that many left in the Bay Area, but if you go to the online platforms you can find celebrities with wide followings, though not in the traditional broadcast sense.
ReplyDelete... at least that's our experience. Others may vary (our caveat)
I see David Jackson is back on KPIX after some 25 plus years...
ReplyDelete