Who cares about why the ubber pharmacist was released (sans bail) from the San Jose jail? I'd much rather hear from all the weather people go on and on and on and on.
We have this kind of weather every year. We have a hot spell and it goes away. We will have another hot spell and that to will go away. What is the BIG DEAL. It has been going on for years. The weather geeks have to say something or they don't get paid or they are clueless. Best thing to do is get up in the morning and do your stuff. It is so much blaa Blaa Blaa I don't pay attention to it. By the way I am not listening to Gil anymore I have had it. Nothing there move on. If I don't turn on the radio and do not listen maybe he will go away. I am sure he is a nice guy but when he started on kgo he was not like that. I think he is trying to be another Monte the hell with that stuff. Bring back the good ones. TO ME TALK RADIO IS DEAD. I am even getting wean off Ron Owens who have listening to for eon of years since he started. What I can't stand anymore is no one has fresh material. It is the same crap everyday. Tom Sullivan is better at least he takes callers. The phone must be ringing to get people talking can't say that on Saturday or Sunday morning 10:00 to 1:00. Thank god we have Brian Copeland on Sunday. They can do we Mike Finney the consumer guy any day. We need a complete overall of Radio. It is not going to happen unless you turn the radio off and don't listen. It's getting worse every day. I know you can't go back to old days I am a forward person the way we get our news is not the same. I would love to have Kristine Kraft on.
An alleged "#1 rated Bay Area" weekend radio blatherer from KGO is about to receive his walking papers it appears within the next 45-60 days.
But not from KGO - yet.
Let's go to press:
KAREL will not be a part of a semi-fulltime gig from KRXA, Monterey,from now on. Here's the skinny:
According to Tom Taylor's "NOW" newsletter this morning, KAREL'S first "self-syndicated" station, KRXA-AM 540 has been $old.
Taylor says: "Monterey’s progressive-talk KRXA (540) is being sold to El Sembrador Ministries."
Like KSCO in Santa Cruz, a competitor, KRXA is a 10,000 blowtorch by day, though at a better frequency on the left side of the radio dial.
Sounds like Spanish Religion going in and KAREL won't be holding down the 4 - 6 pm shift. No more switching to KRXA after "Lieberman Live" on KOMY to hear "I AM KAREL!".
KXRA has been owned in part by morning drive talker and manager, Hal Ginsberg, who gave KAREL his first shot at self-syndication, which is now down to less than a handful of pitifully small stations -- most on a limited part-time and delayed basis. This was KAREL'S biggest station, next to KGO.
So bad, so sad.
The transaction set El Sembrador Ministries back $300,000.
The deal, according to Taylor, "...appears to be the end for a lineup featuring Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann, Mike Malloy, Bill Press, Karel and the local “Morning Show with Hal Ginsberg.”
Ginsberg, who shuttles between the East coast and Monterey frequently, has been manager of KRXA LLC, which bought then-KXME, Carmel Valley in 2005 for $800,000."
That's a "haircut" over 8-years. A half-million dollar haircut.
If memory serves correct, I recall that popular former KGO part-timer Peter B. Collins had or does have a financial interest in KRXA.
The buyer is a non-profit Burbank-based group.
El Sembrador Ministries, with 10,000 watts day and 500 watts at night, plans to make KRXA a non-commercial satellite of its KHPY AM 1670 in the Riverside market from the Moreno Valley. KHPY is also a non-com with Spanish Christian programming.
Could KAREL and the progressive talkers now free agents take the long walk to Santa Cruz / La Selva Beach / Watsonville on either KSCO, KOMY or both? Inquiring minds want to know.
KOMY was progressive talk, briefly, some time ago, but the station was flipped to "oldies" -- only to see KOMY back to liberal talk with the current hosts.
What an honor to be the only host mentioned in the above piece. Truly. I really must be something to bother someone enough to make an entire press release not about me, be about me. If KRXA gets sold, I don't lose a thing except a station. Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz loses a progressive voice, and Ed, Thom, Mike, Randi and others lose another outlet, as well. The listeners lose. You see. after 20 years doing this, I don't need anyone to validate what I do, KFI, KGO, KRXA, any blogger or commentor. I have had a voice in talk radio for a long time, at big and small stations alike. But again, its not about me. It's about Progressive talk radio. Pitiful handful of stations? Ed Schulz has 84 affiliates. Randi Rhodes had 46 at my last count, Stephanie Miller 58, it's on their web page. Go look at where they are, and aren't. Now, they'll lose another. And whether it's five stations, or 50, a loss is a loss. Neither Thom Hartman or Mike Malloy have over 100 affilates. And they are losing every day as well.
No, this conversation is not about me. It's about the changing face of AM radio, it's about the lack of progressive ideas being presented, or just sheer entertainment, it's about the evolution of talk radio in to the 21st Century, web, apps, streams.
Stations come, they go. Jobs come, they go. Every host gets fired, and every show loses stations or stops all together at some point. It's radio. It's the way it is. If Hal sold his station, it wasn't to put me out of a job. If Hal sold KRXA it had nothing to do with afternoon drive or the talent on the station. It means Hal wants to sell the station. He owns it, it's his right. I don't know where the poster is getting the info, it may or may not be correct. But if it is, again, I lose a station, an area loses a voice. Some things are bigger than even me. But thanks again for spending so much time revelling in my eventual downfall. It helps to know that should bad things happen to me, it at least makes someone like you happy. And speaks volumes for your character.
I love you keep doing what you are doing. I listen to you all the time. No I am not gay or lesbian I just find you very entertaining. You will get another gig don't worry about it.
A couple of brief points, due to your attention span.
1. You are so full of shit and have been since your KFI "experiment" that Robin finally had enough. Even gay people have little regard or respect for you and your schtick. "I'm waiting for that long overdue call Mr. President." Who the hell are you?
2. You have the least respect of the lineup of "progressives" at KRXA and, especially, at KGO. You are the "clown prince" and from your former exec producer (who I know) on down, you are a joke in the graveyard of radio - 9 to midnigt and 7 to 10.
3. You ego is trying to cash checks you bank account can't afford. You and the entire west coast know it. So, please stop trying to impress.
4. I don't care about your freaking lack of a love life. It has no place on radio -- let alone a dying medium on AM radio. "Be the best" not the laughed at.
5. The other hosts with 58, 28, 100, 4 stations prove the point. Your competition has 600, 525, 300, and others well over 200 or 300. There ar 16,000 stations in the country. You are the pimple on the ass of life, especially your "lineup". Sorry about your losing Reno, too. You have so little to fall back on. You certainly have few sponsors anywhere. Why? Business finds you offensive for beginners. An "oddity" that launched you and Andrew "20" years ago. Entertainment values have changed, Karel.
6. As a Democrat, believe, I get the point about Bush bashing. If, however, he is a warm criminal, why hasn't he been brought to justice? Just because?
7. Do a pet show. You'd be good doing that.
8. Please cool it with trying to be a white gay guy in a black man's body. You are offensive trying to be all you are trying to be.
It's hot here 2 days a year and all people do is complain. The crappy weather is the main reason I'm thinking of relocating. Try going out and raising you metabolism by exercising a little on a hot day instead of sitting on you rear end and complaining!
Why does Erica Kato always sound like she's giving a flight attendant announcement during her weather reports? Strange, unnatural delivery after almost every sentence.
KAREL ..is absolutely right. If the story pans out, the sale of krxa to a spanish christian group means less intelligent radio for listeners in Monterey. That's not something that talk radio afficionados should be cheering...and wow, only $300,000 really?
It's Kentucky Derby weekend. Karel is a loser by a mile. You suck up to him because he keeps you active one day a week. You are such opposites in many opinions and you know it. KRXA, as you know, is more than just Monterey. I think Karel put you up to this post because that's so you. Hal felt sorry for him, not because Karel is "legitimate" as a talk show host.
$300,000 really? Yeah, really. A $500,000 loss in 8-years. That's a haircut. So, counselor, explain to us why? This is radio and poor radio like KRXA is, even at 10,000 watts, only worth that. Not $4-million, not a million -- $300,000.
It's a business, Christine, and KRXA is one that was woeful with how much it could business it could make. The time is right to get out now.
Really.
Less moronic name-calling flatulence to listen to in Montereay. Hooray! The "other side" is equally as wrong and bad, Christine, but that doesn't make it "right". However, people like you, Schultz, Malloy, Rhoades, Press, Miller and, most of all, Karel, need to be less preachy, be accurate, be open minded and keep in mind that hate talk on either side is just that ... hate talk. You spew it often.
Don't just say "Oh, I'm just an entertainer". Good, thoughtful information and respectful conversation with sincerity and listening,, as you've been known to do at times is, ultimately, the most entertaining.
Talking about one's gayness, wide-open emotion and inaccurate, often made up "preparation" is bogus, non-entertainment.
Anonymous.....I have no idea of who you are. why are you such a "nasty" person? Do you have axes to grind, or is hate,ignorance and inflated ego just big parts of your "make up" Are you mad at the world, or, just full of nastiness and hate? And my last question..Who made you the guy who decides what the truth is, and who made you the guy with all the right answers while the rest are just "regular" mortals"? Who made you the "decider" of whats what in this world.My suggestion is, see a therapist..get real on your ego, realize you are not akin to God..and start loving people...(which YOU think you do)..but brother , you come off as one ego filled, hateful human being. Can you make your points with just facts, your opinions without sounding like an overbearing,immature child? I think you'd get people to actually , possibly listen to your comments and get somewhere without your diatribe and alienating the people that read your mean spirited comments. Maybe that's why you hide behind Anonymous.
This may shock you, but Karel doesn't tell me what to think, or what to talk about, ever, either. It's kind of the old, very successful KGO formula of hiring good hosts and not interfering with what they talk about. We are both liberal in the general sense, but disagree passionately about several things, guns and Bradley Manning among them.Did you think I modified my views to fill-in on his show? Because that's so "me"? You wouldn't know good radio from a hole in the ground.
I don't shock about much. That goes for your opinion.
Listening to you on KRXA right now. You sound bored and boring. You are trying not to mention KRXA being sold and not getting calls about "more ideas or less". What does that tell you? There are so few interested.
The thing most unlikable about you is not your "side" of an argument. It's that there is ONE side to a dialogue and that's YOUR side, unless it's a similar opinionu. You "hear" but, like politicians, don't "listen". Your snarkiness belittles only you.
People on the "right" that do this are termed morons, whack jobs, wing-nuts, or schmucks and more. You, however, are not only right on everything (you think) but you take joy in making sure everyone knows it. "Listen to ME!" appears you mantra.
"Old, very successful KGO formula" is worn out, Christine. Why? Because as great as that varied format was, factually, KGO lost most all 25-54 demos. It cost both ratings and a pile of money. You know that.
That's business. KGO was tired, old and appealed to people 55+ and after 30+ years, it was over. Old habits die hard. Even an FM, as is the case with your old station, KFBK, couldn't save it; just like it can't save AM 910. No more Tillem, Rothman, Baxter, Rosie Allan and PD Alan Eisenson. It's about the Benjamins.
You're entitled to your educated opinion as anyone. However, you're not that unworldly that you are the answer absolute and correct on everything.
As a "progressive", you do "schtick" and stir the pot well with your definite opinions. Unfortunately, those around you, including Karel and the gang at KRXA don't "inform" - and their entertainment value is nebulous at best. You need to work more and show how it's done and see where you go. The past doesn't mean a thing now. KGO is no more.
I don't know about being "that unworldly", but I do know that I'm not a "progressive", a word that describes a timorous liberal. I take your argument, but must point out that it has a crumbling foundation. Do you know what that is? The immensely successful and enduring juggernaut that was KGO was beginning to fade, but course corrections(including an infusion of some really bright and prepared voices)could have steadied the ship. Instead, the remake which you so admire and tout as a "benjamin" procuring fix, has landed the juggernaut upside down and stuck on the shoals of well, disaster. Have you actually seen the facts on that. I think it's 16th place now, behind a spanish language outlet? Am I right? So the "solution" turned out not to be one, at all. Your argument than being an FM couldn't save KFBK is interesting, but I think the problem stemmed from the time KFBK went from KGO type programming with news blocks and good hosts with a variety of opinion and political positions playing off each other, into predictably all right wing clear channel sean hannity formula. I think KFBK still does well comparatively in the ratings game, but it's not the interesting place to listen that it used to be. There was a time not so long ago when talk radio was the hot medium. It isn't currently. Do you really think your prized demographic listens to the new style of radio? You know it doesn't, because there is no "there" there.That could change, and I'd love to see it. What amuses me is how anyone in the broadcasting biz, especially radio talkers, would be pleased to see a talk station go under. Isn't that self-defeating?
Excellent post, Christine. Thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately, the industry for making money depends on the 25-54 demos -- and I am in broadcasting. I know, because it's dealt with every day. In fact, it's more 25-49 or 18-44 morre than anyting.
Do they listen to the "new style" of radio? Well, I'd like to say "NO", but the folks at Arbitron / Neilsen (which just bought Arbitron) says that 92% of the people in the nation still listen to radio.
Do they like it? Consider this: KGO has less that 3%bs of the total listeners in San Francisco. KQED and KCBS combined barely have 12% of the total audience. We used to have 30 shares and more.
KFK AM does well out of habit as "the go-to news / talk station." The FM, not so much. Same with KMJ in Fresno. Top two on AM and a 1.4 on FM with "hipper" news talk.
However, the combination makes a lot of money.
The "Hannity formula" does not work in San Francisco on Clear Channel. That's why they don't clear the show and Premier / Cumulus share the load on him. That's why he's stuck on KSFO. A Cumulus station that now is tied with KKSF 910. The morning show is killing it.
These are above and beyond your best posts, Christine, and while others don't understand or care, this has been an admirable effort from you and I appreciate your sharing here.
Since you were glued to krxa and my fill for Karel yesterday, I have to ask how you missed my description of the kind of radio that I find interesting and successful? You claim that I believe I am always right and that my opinion is the only one that matters. Is that why I described a template which includes a wide variety of researched and informed and educated points of view? Did you think I was a ventriloquist talking at length to a passionate caller who would very much miss losing a radio talk station, particularly the one in question in this thread? I'm really not that talented. BTW I do like one of the voices I've heard on KGO doing fill from time to time. He's younger than most, way more conservative than many, but has a sharp mind and an engaging persona. I've never met him, but am pleased when I hear him on the air, not because I agree with him, but because he's got "it". If I owned a radio station, I'd give Greg Gory a job. good day.
let's play a game and count the number of times, Christine talks about herself, her experiences and uses "I" in a comment on another individual's blog and unrelated to the topic at hand.
poor widdle 6:55 wonders why he's so tired. Perhaps someday he'll learn that if something makes you unhappy, just say no.Why is he so impelled to read something again and again which annoys him so? He could spend his time reading something that challenges him. Or he could learn that "another individual's blog" is open for comment even from people and on issues he doesn't have the depth to understand. The topic at hand was hot weather and how it is reported. Someone other than myself,added a breaking bit of broadcast news that a nearby talk station was being sold and flipped.Opinions were expressed by many about that news.6:55 wants everyone to only talk about what? the hot weather? weather-related topics? about how pooped out he gets when he is forced to read something that isn't anonymous? 6:55,when your hangover clears, I think you should do something productive and start your own fascinating blog. I promise never to read it. okey doke?
I would almost pay good money to hear Rich do three hours on this topic of "Radio Today" on KOMY. Really would. Lots of phone calls, good research input for MZ and for Rich, too.
Christine - another point. While you are well aware of the lack of "liberal" stations more and more and the lack of "entertainment value" with the current crop of personalities, keep this in mind:
Today's radio audience of 18+ males, 25-54, 25-49 and such is also due to the "shift" in that today's "audience" was born in the internet age with cellphones. Today, they are the "young generation" and they were all born in the FM era, as were those born in the 80s and many in the 70s.
Today's "techno generation" has no use for AM radio. Most don't even know it exists, outside of "Yeah, that's what my dad and grandad listen to," and a lot of those "dads" are in their 30s or 40s and grew up listening to FM, not AM. They, too, are quickly abandoning the AM band.
That's why AM is stuck with spoken word formats. Music rarely works on an AM station today, so, audiences don't "seek" AM radio outside of talk. With the current breed of talk, the repetition in market-after-market and the lack of developing quality local news and talk -- it has become a wasteland, especially on 50,000 watt giants (or 10,000 watt mini-giants) today.
That's why AM stations are buying up FM translators to simulcast all over and why sports teams opt for strong FM signals, not AM stations unless there is a killer signal like KNBR and KGO.
It's a new age, indeed. Talk radio needs to catch up. Going to FM, as so many talkers do now, isn't the answer. As you know, "content is king." The contemporary isn't there. Thanks.
Rich, this would be a great show or series of shows for you to do. Please?
Maybe it will be, afterall, "All Karel - All the Time".
many good points. Here's some more. Don't forget that the majority of American citizens aren't men at all. The most successful radio stations ever weren't solidly liberal or solidly conservative, but offered a wide range of views playing off each other throughout the day, rather like a hard-fought tennis match. The individual talk shows, bracketed by local and national news, weren't little islands unrelated to each other with no connection to the whole. On some of those stations, including KGO, hosts were urged to call each other's shows and disagree passionately with other hosts, without ad hominem attacks.This created the sense for the audience, that (to mangle Gertrude Stein) there was a "there" there, a connected entity engaged in the issues of the day. The listeners stayed tuned for a long time.
Another reality which apparently won't change is the fact that the demographic with the most discretionary income these days, is an older demographic, outside the vaunted 24-54 age group. It's a fact that Arbitron doesn't want to acknowledge, but is nonetheless true. Smart advertisers know it.
The wasteland you aptly describe is indeed sad and tiresome,but eminently changeable. love, Pollyanna
It is hard to understand why Hal Ginsberg, a die-hard Progressive & agnostic, is selling KRXA to Spanish Christian radio at what I have to believe is the bottom of the AM radio market (much like what we saw housing recently go through). While I have not really studied this much of late (& thus am about to be guilty of the irrational conspiracy theory I often accuse some KRXA Progressives of), I do understand the intrinsic value of the frequency band KRXA has license to & know that ultimately, over time, it is worth an absolute fortune.
AM will inevitably ultimately go progressively (pardon the pun) through a digitization process that will take the frequencies analog radio currently hoards & divide them into digitized channels. This conversion will someday allow stations like KRXA to dramatically increase their transmitter's reach by allowing broadcast power increases that do not cause interference, by increasing the distance each watt of power reaches, & by increasing the number of channels on which each station can broadcast. KRXA could thus someday become a blowtorch equal to or better than today's KGO. Due to the laws of physics, KRXA's frequency position on the dial is prime & the license it now holds will ultimately be worth much more than it is today (to someone).
The problem I see (& I'm sure Hal sees too) is that the inevitable AM radio digital conversion will be extremely expensive and, like Hal's recent proposal of taking KRXA exclusively to the Internet, the conversion is likely to initially lose many listeners in the process. On the other hand, depending on how the government regulates the conversion, when it does occur KRXA might be able to afford the upgrade by leasing out a portion of its license while keeping for its own operations what at that point could be worth a fortune.
Just my 2 cents here. God isn't making any more AM frequency bandwidth. As KRXA Progressive listeners understand, when it comes to natural resources, man is capable of using what God has given us much more efficiently & effectively & in doing so it is possible for us all to profit.
One other thought. Hal has proposed that his weekend host Michelle Jackson maintain his Monterey County studio operations after the terrestrial transmitter sells. While Michelle has proven herself as being surprisingly capable (in spite of the first impressions made by her immature-sounding squeaky voice), I think Hal & the public would be better served if he was to lease or sell all or part of the terrestrial transmitter & the Monterey studio to Christine Craft (who is both proven to be extremely capable & who has the extraordinary connections necessary to make good things happen for the station). Christine Craft has previously publicly stated she would love to move from Sacramento to the Monterey area & operate a station. Scuttlebutt is that she would have done so long ago but she has not been willing or able to give the Zwerling's their price for KOMY. However, considering Hal's now publicly announced fire-sale price for an almost comparable station, I would not be surprised if she couldn't resist.
Taking this thought further, Christine is obviously well aware of KRXA's pending sale. Perhaps what we as KRXA listeners are seeing is in reality already a high-stakes poker game between Christine Craft & current owner Hal Ginsberg. OK, I admit that my perception of reality may be off due to some personal events occurring in my life, the previous loss of what was KGO, & now by KRXA's impending sale. However, one can hope that even in this altered state of consciousness, I have somehow perceived truth (much as was made famous by Sherlock Holmes). LOL. Please God? As a Lefty union-labor Progressive (read unabashed blue-collar Liberal), I don't want to see Progressive radio's presence further diminished. Even in today's world of the Internet, I a remain a firm believer that one cannot maintain local broadcasting credibility & presence without also maintaining a local terrestrial transmitter.
Who cares about why the ubber pharmacist was released (sans bail) from the San Jose jail? I'd much rather hear from all the weather people go on and on and on and on.
ReplyDeleteIt was not about the pharmacist. I was about the weather.
DeleteWe have this kind of weather every year. We have a hot spell and it goes away. We will have another hot spell and that to will go away.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the BIG DEAL. It has been going on for years. The weather geeks have to say something or they don't get paid or they are clueless. Best thing to do is get up in the morning and do your stuff. It is so much blaa Blaa Blaa I don't pay attention to it. By the way I am not listening to Gil anymore I have had it. Nothing there move on. If I don't turn on the radio and do not listen maybe he will go away. I am sure he is a nice guy but when he started on kgo he was not like that. I think he is trying to be another Monte the hell with that stuff. Bring back the good ones. TO ME TALK RADIO IS DEAD. I am even getting wean off Ron Owens who have listening to for eon of years since he started. What I can't stand anymore is no one has fresh material. It is the same crap everyday. Tom Sullivan is better at least he takes callers. The phone must be ringing to get people talking can't say that on Saturday or Sunday morning 10:00 to 1:00. Thank god we have Brian Copeland on Sunday. They can do we Mike Finney the consumer guy any day. We need a complete overall of Radio. It is not going to happen unless you turn the radio off and don't listen. It's getting worse every day. I know you can't go back to old days I am a forward person the way we get our news is not the same. I would love to have Kristine Kraft on.
it could be because most of the meteorologists aren't from this area, so it's a surprise to them.
ReplyDeleteDon't blame the messenger, I am in Sales NOT Production! Meteorologist Mike Pechner
ReplyDeleteOh yeah,it was nice to roll down the windows early and turn up the radio as the young prettys went by ..C-O-L-A, Cooooolaaaaa!
ReplyDeleteGood for you. You are enjoying life. Go for it. I love it.
DeleteBREAKING NEWS - A Rich Lieberman News Alert ...
ReplyDeleteAn alleged "#1 rated Bay Area" weekend radio blatherer from KGO is about to receive his walking papers it appears within the next 45-60 days.
But not from KGO - yet.
Let's go to press:
KAREL will not be a part of a semi-fulltime gig from KRXA, Monterey,from now on. Here's the skinny:
According to Tom Taylor's "NOW" newsletter this morning, KAREL'S first "self-syndicated" station, KRXA-AM 540 has been $old.
Taylor says: "Monterey’s progressive-talk KRXA (540) is being sold to El Sembrador Ministries."
Like KSCO in Santa Cruz, a competitor, KRXA is a 10,000 blowtorch by day, though at a better frequency on the left side of the radio dial.
Sounds like Spanish Religion going in and KAREL won't be holding down the 4 - 6 pm shift. No more switching to KRXA after "Lieberman Live" on KOMY to hear "I AM KAREL!".
KXRA has been owned in part by morning drive talker and manager, Hal Ginsberg, who gave KAREL his first shot at self-syndication, which is now down to less than a handful of pitifully small stations -- most on a limited part-time and delayed basis. This was KAREL'S biggest station, next to KGO.
So bad, so sad.
The transaction set El Sembrador Ministries back $300,000.
The deal, according to Taylor, "...appears to be the end for a lineup featuring Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann, Mike Malloy, Bill Press, Karel and the local “Morning Show with Hal Ginsberg.”
Ginsberg, who shuttles between the East coast and Monterey frequently, has been manager of KRXA LLC, which bought then-KXME, Carmel Valley in 2005 for $800,000."
That's a "haircut" over 8-years. A half-million dollar haircut.
If memory serves correct, I recall that popular former KGO part-timer Peter B. Collins had or does have a financial interest in KRXA.
The buyer is a non-profit Burbank-based group.
El Sembrador Ministries, with 10,000 watts day and 500 watts at night, plans to make KRXA a non-commercial satellite of its KHPY AM 1670 in the Riverside market from the Moreno Valley. KHPY is also a non-com with Spanish Christian programming.
Could KAREL and the progressive talkers now free agents take the long walk to Santa Cruz / La Selva Beach / Watsonville on either KSCO, KOMY or both? Inquiring minds want to know.
KOMY was progressive talk, briefly, some time ago, but the station was flipped to "oldies" -- only to see KOMY back to liberal talk with the current hosts.
Stay tuned.
Adios, KAREL!
And to think my insightful and thought provoking comments get deleted while this post makes it...
DeleteMy cynical comment might warrant a food related retort.
What an honor to be the only host mentioned in the above piece. Truly. I really must be something to bother someone enough to make an entire press release not about me, be about me. If KRXA gets sold, I don't lose a thing except a station. Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz loses a progressive voice, and Ed, Thom, Mike, Randi and others lose another outlet, as well. The listeners lose. You see. after 20 years doing this, I don't need anyone to validate what I do, KFI, KGO, KRXA, any blogger or commentor. I have had a voice in talk radio for a long time, at big and small stations alike. But again, its not about me. It's about Progressive talk radio. Pitiful handful of stations? Ed Schulz has 84 affiliates. Randi Rhodes had 46 at my last count, Stephanie Miller 58, it's on their web page. Go look at where they are, and aren't. Now, they'll lose another. And whether it's five stations, or 50, a loss is a loss. Neither Thom Hartman or Mike Malloy have over 100 affilates. And they are losing every day as well.
DeleteNo, this conversation is not about me. It's about the changing face of AM radio, it's about the lack of progressive ideas being presented, or just sheer entertainment, it's about the evolution of talk radio in to the 21st Century, web, apps, streams.
Stations come, they go. Jobs come, they go. Every host gets fired, and every show loses stations or stops all together at some point. It's radio. It's the way it is. If Hal sold his station, it wasn't to put me out of a job. If Hal sold KRXA it had nothing to do with afternoon drive or the talent on the station. It means Hal wants to sell the station. He owns it, it's his right. I don't know where the poster is getting the info, it may or may not be correct. But if it is, again, I lose a station, an area loses a voice. Some things are bigger than even me. But thanks again for spending so much time revelling in my eventual downfall. It helps to know that should bad things happen to me, it at least makes someone like you happy. And speaks volumes for your character.
Dear Korel
DeleteI love you keep doing what you are doing. I listen to you all the time. No I am not gay or lesbian I just find you very entertaining. You will get another gig don't worry about it.
Karel, thanks for replying.
DeleteA couple of brief points, due to your attention span.
1. You are so full of shit and have been since your KFI "experiment" that Robin finally had enough. Even gay people have little regard or respect for you and your schtick. "I'm waiting for that long overdue call Mr. President." Who the hell are you?
2. You have the least respect of the lineup of "progressives" at KRXA and, especially, at KGO. You are the "clown prince" and from your former exec producer (who I know) on down, you are a joke in the graveyard of radio - 9 to midnigt and 7 to 10.
3. You ego is trying to cash checks you bank account can't afford. You and the entire west coast know it. So, please stop trying to impress.
4. I don't care about your freaking lack of a love life. It has no place on radio -- let alone a dying medium on AM radio. "Be the best" not the laughed at.
5. The other hosts with 58, 28, 100, 4 stations prove the point. Your competition has 600, 525, 300, and others well over 200 or 300. There ar 16,000 stations in the country. You are the pimple on the ass of life, especially your "lineup". Sorry about your losing Reno, too. You have so little to fall back on. You certainly have few sponsors anywhere.
Why? Business finds you offensive for beginners.
An "oddity" that launched you and Andrew "20" years ago. Entertainment values have changed, Karel.
6. As a Democrat, believe, I get the point about Bush bashing. If, however, he is a warm criminal, why hasn't he been brought to justice? Just because?
7. Do a pet show. You'd be good doing that.
8. Please cool it with trying to be a white gay guy in a black man's body. You are offensive trying to be all you are trying to be.
It's hot here 2 days a year and all people do is complain. The crappy weather is the main reason I'm thinking of relocating. Try going out and raising you metabolism by exercising a little on a hot day instead of sitting on you rear end and complaining!
ReplyDeleteWhy does Erica Kato always sound like she's giving a flight attendant announcement during her weather reports? Strange, unnatural delivery after almost every sentence.
ReplyDeleteYou should watch her weather reports with the sound muted like I do.
ReplyDeleteKAREL ..is absolutely right. If the story pans out, the sale of krxa to a spanish christian group means less intelligent radio for listeners in Monterey. That's not something that talk radio afficionados should be cheering...and wow, only $300,000 really?
ReplyDeleteIt's Kentucky Derby weekend. Karel is a loser by a mile. You suck up to him because he keeps you active one day a week. You are such opposites in many opinions and you know it. KRXA, as you know, is more than just Monterey. I think Karel put you up to this post because that's so you. Hal felt sorry for him, not because Karel is "legitimate" as a talk show host.
ReplyDelete$300,000 really? Yeah, really. A $500,000 loss in 8-years. That's a haircut. So, counselor, explain to us why? This is radio and poor radio like KRXA is, even at 10,000 watts, only worth that. Not $4-million, not a million -- $300,000.
It's a business, Christine, and KRXA is one that was woeful with how much it could business it could make. The time is right to get out now.
Really.
Less moronic name-calling flatulence to listen to in Montereay. Hooray! The "other side" is equally as wrong and bad, Christine, but that doesn't make it "right". However, people like you, Schultz, Malloy, Rhoades, Press, Miller and, most of all, Karel, need to be less preachy, be accurate, be open minded and keep in mind that hate talk on either side is just that ... hate talk. You spew it often.
Don't just say "Oh, I'm just an entertainer". Good, thoughtful information and respectful conversation with sincerity and listening,, as you've been known to do at times is, ultimately, the most entertaining.
Talking about one's gayness, wide-open emotion and inaccurate, often made up "preparation" is bogus, non-entertainment.
You know it. So does Karel.
Get a grip old girl.
I'm nither gay, nor an entertainer.
ReplyDeleteWe agree on that on both parts. Karel has you beat on only the first part. Frankly, it's sick to hear the insecurity of it all week after week.
DeleteWe get it. Karel is gay.
Anonymous.....I have no idea of who you are. why are you such a "nasty" person? Do you have axes to grind, or is hate,ignorance and inflated ego just big parts of your "make up" Are you mad at the world, or, just full of nastiness and hate? And my last question..Who made you the guy who decides what the truth is, and who made you the guy with all the right answers while the rest are just "regular" mortals"? Who made you the "decider" of whats what in this world.My suggestion is, see a therapist..get real on your ego, realize you are not akin to God..and start loving people...(which YOU think you do)..but brother , you come off as one ego filled, hateful human being. Can you make your points with just facts, your opinions without sounding like an overbearing,immature child? I think you'd get people to actually , possibly listen to your comments and get somewhere without your diatribe and alienating the people that read your mean spirited comments. Maybe that's why you hide behind Anonymous.
DeleteNo one anywhere,ever has asked or told me to think or post anything.
ReplyDeleteThis may shock you, but Karel doesn't tell me what to think, or what to talk about, ever, either. It's kind of the old, very successful KGO formula of hiring good hosts and not interfering with what they talk about. We are both liberal in the general sense, but disagree passionately about several things, guns and Bradley Manning among them.Did you think I modified my views to fill-in on his show? Because that's so "me"? You wouldn't know good radio from a hole in the ground.
ReplyDeleteChristine,
DeleteI don't shock about much. That goes for your opinion.
Listening to you on KRXA right now. You sound bored and boring. You are trying not to mention KRXA being sold and not getting calls about "more ideas or less". What does that tell you? There are so few interested.
The thing most unlikable about you is not your "side" of an argument. It's that there is ONE side to a dialogue and that's YOUR side, unless it's a similar opinionu. You "hear" but, like politicians, don't "listen". Your snarkiness belittles only you.
People on the "right" that do this are termed morons, whack jobs, wing-nuts, or schmucks and more. You, however, are not only right on everything (you think) but you take joy in making sure everyone knows it. "Listen to ME!" appears you mantra.
"Old, very successful KGO formula" is worn out, Christine. Why? Because as great as that varied format was, factually, KGO lost most all 25-54 demos. It cost both ratings and a pile of money. You know that.
That's business. KGO was tired, old and appealed to people 55+ and after 30+ years, it was over. Old habits die hard. Even an FM, as is the case with your old station, KFBK, couldn't save it; just like it can't save AM 910. No more Tillem, Rothman, Baxter, Rosie Allan and PD Alan Eisenson. It's about the Benjamins.
You're entitled to your educated opinion as anyone. However, you're not that unworldly that you are the answer absolute and correct on everything.
As a "progressive", you do "schtick" and stir the pot well with your definite opinions. Unfortunately, those around you, including Karel and the gang at KRXA don't "inform" - and their entertainment value is nebulous at best. You need to work more and show how it's done and see where you go. The past doesn't mean a thing now. KGO is no more.
Thanks for your time.
I don't know about being "that unworldly", but I do know that I'm not a "progressive", a word that describes a timorous liberal.
DeleteI take your argument, but must point out that it has a crumbling foundation. Do you know what that is?
The immensely successful and enduring juggernaut that was KGO was beginning to fade, but course corrections(including an infusion of some really bright and prepared voices)could have steadied the ship. Instead, the remake which you so admire and tout as a "benjamin" procuring fix, has landed the juggernaut upside down and stuck on the shoals of well, disaster. Have you actually seen the facts on that. I think it's 16th place now, behind a spanish language outlet? Am I right? So the "solution" turned out not to be one, at all.
Your argument than being an FM couldn't save KFBK is interesting, but I think the problem stemmed from the time KFBK went from KGO type programming with news blocks and good hosts with a variety of opinion and political positions playing off each other, into predictably all right wing clear channel sean hannity formula. I think KFBK still does well comparatively in the ratings game, but it's not the interesting place to listen that it used to be.
There was a time not so long ago when talk radio was the hot medium. It isn't currently. Do you really think your prized demographic listens to the new style of radio? You know it doesn't, because there is no "there" there.That could change, and I'd love to see it. What amuses me is how anyone in the broadcasting biz, especially radio talkers, would be pleased to see a talk station go under. Isn't that self-defeating?
Excellent post, Christine. Thank you for your reply.
DeleteUnfortunately, the industry for making money depends on the 25-54 demos -- and I am in broadcasting. I know, because it's dealt with every day. In fact, it's more 25-49 or 18-44 morre than anyting.
Do they listen to the "new style" of radio? Well, I'd like to say "NO", but the folks at Arbitron / Neilsen (which just bought Arbitron) says that 92% of the people in the nation still listen to radio.
Do they like it? Consider this: KGO has less that 3%bs of the total listeners in San Francisco. KQED and KCBS combined barely have 12% of the total audience. We used to have 30 shares and more.
KFK AM does well out of habit as "the go-to news / talk station." The FM, not so much. Same with KMJ in Fresno. Top two on AM and a 1.4 on FM with "hipper" news talk.
However, the combination makes a lot of money.
The "Hannity formula" does not work in San Francisco on Clear Channel. That's why they don't clear the show and Premier / Cumulus share the load on him. That's why he's stuck on KSFO. A Cumulus station that now is tied with KKSF 910. The morning show is killing it.
These are above and beyond your best posts, Christine, and while others don't understand or care, this has been an admirable effort from you and I appreciate your sharing here.
Since you were glued to krxa and my fill for Karel yesterday, I have to ask how you missed my description of the kind of radio that I find interesting and successful? You claim that I believe I am always right and that my opinion is the only one that matters. Is that why I described a template which includes a wide variety of researched and informed and educated points of view? Did you think I was a ventriloquist talking at length to a passionate caller who would very much miss losing a radio talk station, particularly the one in question in this thread? I'm really not that talented.
ReplyDeleteBTW I do like one of the voices I've heard on KGO doing fill from time to time. He's younger than most, way more conservative than many, but has a sharp mind and an engaging persona. I've never met him, but am pleased when I hear him on the air, not because I agree with him, but because he's got "it". If I owned a radio station, I'd give Greg Gory a job.
good day.
Nobody cares.
Deletehere we go ughagainnnnn.....
Deletelet's play a game and count the number of times, Christine talks about herself, her experiences and uses "I" in a comment on another individual's blog and unrelated to the topic at hand.
this is so tiresome.
poor widdle 6:55 wonders why he's so tired. Perhaps someday he'll learn that if something makes you unhappy, just say no.Why is he so impelled to read something again and again which annoys him so? He could spend his time reading something that challenges him. Or he could learn that "another individual's blog" is open for comment even from people and on issues he doesn't have the depth to understand. The topic at hand was hot weather and how it is reported. Someone other than myself,added a breaking bit of broadcast news that a nearby talk station was being sold and flipped.Opinions were expressed by many about that news.6:55 wants everyone to only talk about what? the hot weather? weather-related topics? about how pooped out he gets when he is forced to read something that isn't anonymous? 6:55,when your hangover clears, I think you should do something productive and start your own fascinating blog. I promise never to read it. okey doke?
DeleteI would almost pay good money to hear Rich do three hours on this topic of "Radio Today" on KOMY. Really would. Lots of phone calls, good research input for MZ and for Rich, too.
ReplyDeleteChristine - another point. While you are well aware of the lack of "liberal" stations more and more and the lack of "entertainment value" with the current crop of personalities, keep this in mind:
Today's radio audience of 18+ males, 25-54, 25-49 and such is also due to the "shift" in that today's "audience" was born in the internet age with cellphones. Today, they are the "young generation" and they were all born in the FM era, as were those born in the 80s and many in the 70s.
Today's "techno generation" has no use for AM radio. Most don't even know it exists, outside of "Yeah, that's what my dad and grandad listen to," and a lot of those "dads" are in their 30s or 40s and grew up listening to FM, not AM. They, too, are quickly abandoning the AM band.
That's why AM is stuck with spoken word formats. Music rarely works on an AM station today, so, audiences don't "seek" AM radio outside of talk. With the current breed of talk, the repetition in market-after-market and the lack of developing quality local news and talk -- it has become a wasteland, especially on 50,000 watt giants (or 10,000 watt mini-giants) today.
That's why AM stations are buying up FM translators to simulcast all over and why sports teams opt for strong FM signals, not AM stations unless there is a killer signal like KNBR and KGO.
It's a new age, indeed. Talk radio needs to catch up. Going to FM, as so many talkers do now, isn't the answer. As you know, "content is king." The contemporary isn't there. Thanks.
Rich, this would be a great show or series of shows for you to do. Please?
Maybe it will be, afterall, "All Karel - All the Time".
many good points. Here's some more. Don't forget that the majority of American citizens aren't men at all. The most successful radio stations ever weren't solidly liberal or solidly conservative, but offered a wide range of views playing off each other throughout the day, rather like a hard-fought tennis match. The individual talk shows, bracketed by local and national news, weren't little islands unrelated to each other with no connection to the whole. On some of those stations, including KGO, hosts were urged to call each other's shows and disagree passionately with other hosts, without ad hominem attacks.This created the sense for the audience, that (to mangle Gertrude Stein) there was a "there" there, a connected entity engaged in the issues of the day. The listeners stayed tuned for a long time.
ReplyDeleteAnother reality which apparently won't change is the fact that the demographic with the most discretionary income these days, is an older demographic, outside the vaunted 24-54 age group. It's a fact that Arbitron doesn't want to acknowledge, but is nonetheless true. Smart advertisers know it.
The wasteland you aptly describe is indeed sad and tiresome,but eminently changeable. love, Pollyanna
It is hard to understand why Hal Ginsberg, a die-hard Progressive & agnostic, is selling KRXA to Spanish Christian radio at what I have to believe is the bottom of the AM radio market (much like what we saw housing recently go through). While I have not really studied this much of late (& thus am about to be guilty of the irrational conspiracy theory I often accuse some KRXA Progressives of), I do understand the intrinsic value of the frequency band KRXA has license to & know that ultimately, over time, it is worth an absolute fortune.
ReplyDeleteAM will inevitably ultimately go progressively (pardon the pun) through a digitization process that will take the frequencies analog radio currently hoards & divide them into digitized channels. This conversion will someday allow stations like KRXA to dramatically increase their transmitter's reach by allowing broadcast power increases that do not cause interference, by increasing the distance each watt of power reaches, & by increasing the number of channels on which each station can broadcast. KRXA could thus someday become a blowtorch equal to or better than today's KGO. Due to the laws of physics, KRXA's frequency position on the dial is prime & the license it now holds will ultimately be worth much more than it is today (to someone).
The problem I see (& I'm sure Hal sees too) is that the inevitable AM radio digital conversion will be extremely expensive and, like Hal's recent proposal of taking KRXA exclusively to the Internet, the conversion is likely to initially lose many listeners in the process. On the other hand, depending on how the government regulates the conversion, when it does occur KRXA might be able to afford the upgrade by leasing out a portion of its license while keeping for its own operations what at that point could be worth a fortune.
Just my 2 cents here. God isn't making any more AM frequency bandwidth. As KRXA Progressive listeners understand, when it comes to natural resources, man is capable of using what God has given us much more efficiently & effectively & in doing so it is possible for us all to profit.
One other thought. Hal has proposed that his weekend host Michelle Jackson maintain his Monterey County studio operations after the terrestrial transmitter sells. While Michelle has proven herself as being surprisingly capable (in spite of the first impressions made by her immature-sounding squeaky voice), I think Hal & the public would be better served if he was to lease or sell all or part of the terrestrial transmitter & the Monterey studio to Christine Craft (who is both proven to be extremely capable & who has the extraordinary connections necessary to make good things happen for the station). Christine Craft has previously publicly stated she would love to move from Sacramento to the Monterey area & operate a station. Scuttlebutt is that she would have done so long ago but she has not been willing or able to give the Zwerling's their price for KOMY. However, considering Hal's now publicly announced fire-sale price for an almost comparable station, I would not be surprised if she couldn't resist.
ReplyDeleteTaking this thought further, Christine is obviously well aware of KRXA's pending sale. Perhaps what we as KRXA listeners are seeing is in reality already a high-stakes poker game between Christine Craft & current owner Hal Ginsberg. OK, I admit that my perception of reality may be off due to some personal events occurring in my life, the previous loss of what was KGO, & now by KRXA's impending sale. However, one can hope that even in this altered state of consciousness, I have somehow perceived truth (much as was made famous by Sherlock Holmes). LOL. Please God? As a Lefty union-labor Progressive (read unabashed blue-collar Liberal), I don't want to see Progressive radio's presence further diminished. Even in today's world of the Internet, I a remain a firm believer that one cannot maintain local broadcasting credibility & presence without also maintaining a local terrestrial transmitter.