I'm still on radio but have taken time off to care for my mom while she recovers.
And soon, I will meet with the owner of the station to discuss the future and see if he and you folks, and myself, want me to do a talk show. And when I hear the results, I will inform you all.
Thanks for inquiring.
Rich
Rich,
ReplyDeleteIf you are merely taking time off from work for a legitimate reason, why would you need to meet with the owner of the station to discuss the future before returning?
You need to determine "if he and you folks, and myself, want me to do a talk show."
What's that all about?
There's obviously more to Rich's absence from KOMY and the suspension of "The Rich Lieberman Show" than simply the need for Rich to care for his mother.
DeleteAgreed. Definitely worded in a way to lead to questioning.
ReplyDeleteLook, real simple: I'm NOT under contract and need to iron out a few things. If the stars are aligned and the owner wants me to carry on, I will. You all too.
DeleteI hope this clarifies it.
Good for you Rich. Keep reaching. Hope all comes out well for you. Bless you for taking care of you Mom. She sounds like she is a strong person. She will make it because you love her and she knowns it. That will give her all the strenght she needs. The very best to your Mom and good for you.
DeleteDefinitely a very cryptic post. I've been critical of your show and you've censored me, however you need to be on air. You had improved quiet a bit as time passed, hopefully you get back soon otherwise you'll be rusty..
ReplyDeleteRich
ReplyDeleteKeep doing what you are doing you will make it. Good luck to you.
Keep taking care of your Mom she seems to be very strong. She will get stronger because she has a son like you who loves her.
My best to your Mom.
Richard,
ReplyDeleteHope everything works out for your sweet Mom. The rest will sort itself out. You are one of my favorite on-air talents. You are honest, fair, and have a great sense of humor.
Take good care,
Melissa
"How clear can I be?" Stop lying for starters. Be informative and accurate. MZ is probably not very happy with you and your lack of business progress.
DeleteA two-week leave after 11 weeks?
You, sir, are full of crap.
Rich: Are you playing on our sympathy for your mother to post effusive reviews of you and your radio show in order to have some leverage in bargaining with Michael Zwerling over your future at KOMY?
ReplyDeleteWe all realize that you're doing this radio show gratis for a full 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, and that's unsustainable. It's not paying for your living expenses, which makes it a hobby more than anything else.
At some point, you either need to be appropriately compensated for your time, talent, and value-add to KOMY, or you need to move your gig somewhere else.
That's ultimately what you're getting at without saying so in as many words.
There's obviously more going on here behind the scenes that taking time off from KOMY to care for your mother.
The ball's in MZ's court now. Honestly, as much as I laud him for giving you a break, you owe him nothing.
You're at a crossroads.
No. I've said what I've said. Family first. I don't know how more CLEAR I can be.
DeleteRich: I think 5:18 clearly gets the message that family comes first and that you've been off the air to care for your mother. No one disputes that, or that it's the right thing to do. Let's be clear, moreover, that you're the one who alluded to other pending matters between you and the station's owner that are driving whether or not you will return to KOMY and for how long. Fair enough. We get it.
DeleteYou're correct, however, to point out that these are separate matters that shouldn't be conflated with your obligation, as a loving and responsible son, to put your mother first.
We get the point that while the owner of KOMY/KSCO sees the promise and potential of your talent and likes your radio program, he's looking for advertising revenue, which apparently hasn't been forthcoming (at least in sufficient dollars) to pay for the freight. He needs to sell time, or you need to bring advertisers, and with a few exceptions, it hasn't happened yet. His position, and yours, are both reasonable and understandable.
Unless you have another income stream, or are independently wealthy, the arrangement you presently have with KOMY can't continue indefinitely.
I know that you've got a lot on your mind and my prayers and heartfelt sympathy are with you in this most difficult time.
Thank you very much.
Delete"I'm NOT under contract
ReplyDeleteand need to iron out a few things.
If the stars are aligned and the
owner wants me to carry on, I will."
Mr. Lieberman,
Is there any doubt in your mind that the owner of KSCO/KOMY wants you to continue broadcasting "Lieberman Live" there?
5:20: What's the motive behind asking Rich such a question? Surely you must realize it's one he'd be foolish to answer.
DeleteRead between the lines, people. There's only so much that Rich can say here. His future presence on KOMY/KSCO is under consideration. He needs to be rewarded for his talent, and right now he's working without a contract (and presumably without monetary compensation). Whether or not he returns depends in part on you and me as well as KSCO/KOMY ownership.
ReplyDeleteIf you want Rich to remain on KSCO/KOMY, post your support for him here and even more important, contact the owner of these two radio stations, Michael L. Zwerling, and let him know how much you enjoy the "Rich Lieberman Show."
*** CONTACT INFORMATION ***
You can call "MZ" on 831.475.1080 or send him a fax on 831.425.3090. Don't delay! Do so now and then post here.
AM 1080 KSCO - News Talk Radio
AM 1340 KOMY - Future Super Radio
2300 Portola Drive, Santa Cruz, CA
guessing...Rich isn't paying for time. Owner likes show but cannot sell it because it's largely a niche show that if successful would have to find advertisers not already advertising on stations which Rich may not treat to kindly. That's just a guess. Good luck Rich it seems like you have a lot on your plate.
ReplyDeleteI do...and thank you for getting it.
DeleteI am getting p.o. listening to Gil Gross. Four hours of his rant and I am pulling my hair and shaking. It's a talk radio show and yet no one is calling to form an opinion. How do I complain about this man so they can remove him. I would rather listen to you on 910. From now on Gil Gross is not on my dial anymore. TODAY DID IT. I AM P.O. BIG TIME. WHAT A WASTE OF MY TIME.
DeleteEnough of the pity party for Rich! Really. He's a big boy. What he needs more than anything else is for us to show him real support by contacting the owner/manager of KSCO/KOMY.
DeleteGil Gross has indeed molded his program into a news-talk show, but it's one where he's in control, where he does most of the talking, with a fast pace and quick change of subjects, usually including several short phone interviews with Politico.com reporters. He's made a conscious and deliberate decision to move away from the traditional talk-show format, the centerpiece being listener engagement by taking phone calls. Gil has said on several occasions that the call-in format doesn't work, at least not in the PM drive segment during which he says people are channel surfing.
DeleteFour continuous hours of Gil Gross talking and the constantly shifting of topics is too much. I can't stand his "Dumb Criminals" segment on Thursdays or his wife Rhoda as his co-host on Fridays. She detracts from the program, having little of substance to say and a grating voice.
I gave Gil Gross a try for a while, but came to the conclusion that NPR's afternoon/early evening news programming on KQED-FM is far superior in terms of depth and breadth. Some will disagree with my assessment and prefer 4 hours of Gil Gross. To each his own I say.
Gil Gross is the darling of Talk 910's management.
DeleteHis fellow KGO news-talk veterans Len Tillem, John Rothmann and Ed Baxter all got the axe at 910 last week.
Gross was spared the blood-letting and given an extra hour at 910 taken from "the Loyah."
Rich:
DeleteI get it, and I'm confident that most of your blog readers do, too.
It was a nice run at KOMY while it lasted. No matter how it turns out there, thanks for giving it your best and to Michael Zwerling, the station's owner, for giving you a break.
If it's a niche show (and I believe it is) that's hard to sell to advertisers, how about changing the format to something that will sell in this market? How about that, Rich?
DeleteForget about Gil Gross. Show Rich some much needed support.
DeleteI must concur with the various criticisms of Gross. Gross claims his manic, schizophrenic change of topics is a direct result of his time slot. I say bull! His show on KGO was from 2pm until 4pm and he took TONS of calls. He has a similar time slot on KKSF, so what changed Gil?? In his heyday, even Ray Taliafero would take two to three callers per hour during the graveyard shift. At least Ray's rants and monologues were entertaining. Gil Gross is not. Four hours of his ironic pauses, sighs, ooohs and aaahs is just tooo much. He must have pictures, no other answer makes sense
DeleteOnce people hear Gil Gross, I agree, they start channel surfing. He can't hold an audience. He does what he does because he's not entertaining enough to carry it like other former bay area hosts. he's moving from topic to topic to pretend there's pace but really to mask the fact that he doesn't have enough to say on any particular topic, and worse isn't willing to take on the callers. Sorry man but people have cell phones and do call. I've called before and the producer said, "did he give out the number?...i don't think he's taking calls on this topic." That's the Gil Gross show. Gil needs to be told what to do and stop relying on himself to guide his own ship because he's not that in control of it. There I said it!
ReplyDeleteI've listened to Gil, and while I can't say for sure whether he can/cannot carry a topic, the above seems pretty reasonable.
DeleteAs a fan of radio, I too have called his show, and was also told by his producer/call-screener "he's not taking calls on this topic." In my mind that meant he's either "filling", which isn't acceptable to me, or he's unwilling to get into it with his listeners, which is also somewhat weak.
I don't know Gil at all, but I do know I'm not blown away by what I've heard the last few months, especially when he's joined by the female co-host. I usually hear the beginning of the show if I'm surfing on my way to work, and I'm not captured enough to not turn on Tame Impala.
The way I see it is everyone has access to everything now, so if you can't spin the news in a unique way, create controversy, or make the stories more entertaining than the stories themselves then you aren't going to get very far. Whether Gil can do this, I don't know, but I believe that's what it takes.
Love or hate, Michael Savage has the same access to the news as anyone else, but it's his take that separates him, and gives him his audience. - DW
The other thing people can do is to click on the little "donate" button just below where it says "donate to 415 media." It is easy to do (I did it a couple days ago) and any amount is welcome. While the use of a blog doesn't cost much, there are costs in the internet connection, and certainly in Rich's time and effort. Sure, it is not tax deductible... big deal. If you like what you read, support it. If you like what you heard on the radio, let the ownership know you're listening.
ReplyDeleteI agree about Gil's show. I don't buy his premise (as posted on his facebook recently) that people aren't calling the show. Whenever John Rothmann subbed for him, John used the old talk format of introducing ONE topic and taking calls. He had callers for the entire 3 hours. Now with Gil having 4 hours, it is just too much information to handle jumping around. Nothing in depth anymore. Also, apparently 910 has now changed their "handle" to TALK 910 rather than NEWSTALK 910. Wonder what that's all about. Seems they do as much news now as they ever did and their only local talker -- Gil-- does almost exclusively news talk. So are there other changes in the wind??
ReplyDeleteWhat's this all about Rich? Has your radio show been cancelled?
ReplyDeleteDid you quit?
DeleteNo
DeleteI have been saying this about Gil Gross forever. He is boring. Loves hearing himself talk. He throws his wife into the mix and all I can ask the management is "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?" She is an embarassment to the station.
ReplyDelete