Remember the old KFRC?
The 'Big 610?"
Dr. Don, Bobby Ocean, Bill Lee, Marvelous Mark, Don St. John, Bam!
I loved Dr. Don, (San -RAQUEL!")
Let's retreat from 1976 and concentrate on Today, shall we?
Those of you that miss talk-radio in the Bay Area; those of you that have an insatiable love of genuine conversation with host and caller; those that miss the idea of an audio-broadcast bar to commiserate, to celebrate, to vent and to rage, I do believe all of you have hope. Listen to me.
There's this maverick businessman out there. You'll have to excuse me because I'm biased here. He's a close friend. His name is Michael Zwerling. "MZ", as he's known to his friends, is a broadcast impresario. Among other businesses he oversees, he has a love for the radio business when radio meant something, particularly local, independent, original radio that has a pulse and that listens, that covets, that respects its core audience: its Listeners.
Recently, I asked MZ about the idea of acquiring a San Francisco radio frequency. He told me that he has a grand vision. Keep in mind that MZ already owns KSCO and KOMY Radio in the Santa Cruz-Monterrey Bay Area. He also has several vested business interests in SF too. So, what about radio in SF? I asked him point blank if he had the resources to nail down a Bay Area frequency.
MZ told me that if he wanted something he could apply himself to "do anything." I believe him. In fact, I'd go as far to say that I think MZ has a plan in his head that transcends a mere new, exciting radio station in the SF Bay Area--I can't speculate specifics yet because, A. I don't want to jinx, and B. I don't know the full-scale business model of radio but I also know he's on to something and has a passion for the craft.
Let me know what you feel. Tell me, all of you, including the ex-KGO legion, how you feel about vintage radio; the radio you looked forward to and that you could trust and respect and have adulation for your favorite host and hostess? Give me your thoughts. More importantly, tell me how you'd love to have YOUR radio station back.
*Follow me on Twitter
*Be sure to listen to me today on my radio show on KSCO/KOMY from 1-4 PM PT--we'll discuss all of this and I invite you to call in and/or listen. The phone number is 831-477-1340.
KQED owns the dial because it's thoughtful and intelligent. If you add humorous and edgy to that mix someone could really succeed big time. Especially with the right people. I believe there are enough motivated and intelligent people in the Bay Area to not only succeed, but to change the face of radio. This market is unique, and the right manager could really make a mark that even spreads nationally. That's why it's so sad to see what KGO has become because of Cumulus.
ReplyDeleteI tuned in to 910 today. I listened to what turned out to be Armstrong and Getty. Whats that internet saying about what you can't polish?. Pretty much sums up that show.
ReplyDeleteIf you invite people to call would you please let them talk? You sound like Karel when you constantly interrupt guests and callers. As for old school radio in the Bay Area: I'd love for it to happen!
ReplyDeleteI am not convinced MZ is the man to pull it off. Look at his weekend line up on KSCO and KOMY. Is that what he is bringing up to the Bay Area!? A grand vision of vitamin and supplement ads 24/7?! Thanks but no thanks.
Obviously, you don't listen to the entire programming on either station...if you call, I'll let you talk as long as you don't act goofy. Pretty simple.
Delete"I'll let you talk as long as you agree with me and don't try to pull anything over my eyes. I know what I'm talking about."
DeleteRich, you're getting delerious again. Take some dinner mints. No way your dream will happen. Note that MZ didn't answer your question about "resources."
Aren't there, or he'd have expanded already Plenty of chances to do so. KOMY is not the future. He should have bought KRXA for $300k. KEAR 610 will cost a fortune.
Sorry Rich, I DO listen to your radio program and agree with 10:23. I don't think you're really hearing yourself. You are constantly interrupting and talking over callers.
DeleteRich, as usual, is spot on, though with a penchant for understandable understatement about Michael Zwerling.
DeleteMZ is a brilliant iconoclast, a true legend in radio. A younger version of Jim Gabbert.
And, yes, he comes from a very wealthy old money family dynasty that has the means to buy access to a Bay Area AM or FM radio station when the opportunity presents itself.
His parents originally bought KSCO/KOMY in Santa Cruz so a very young and financially secure "MZ" could dabble in his hobby.
Remarkably, with incredible vision and business acumen, MZ turned around the fortunes of KSCO/KOMY by his innovative approach to programming: a shrewd mix of local public affairs/news-talk programs with local hosts and nationally syndicated programs promoting wellness through healthy lifestyles and vitamin and mineral supplements. He's developed a hugely successful model as an independent broadcaster and has incurred the wrath of the big pharma industry and corporate radio behemoths in the process for turning the radio business upside down.
What began simply as a venue for a young, restless and bored MZ to dabble in his hobby of radio broadcasting has by his persistent and focused effort turned into a mightily successful business model that is the envy of many.
MZ has proven time and time again that he can deliver. His most recent coup was to add the Bay Area's most widely read media blogger Rich Lieberman and KGO all-star Bill Wattenburg to his programming lineup.
Can he do the same thing in San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose?
The answer is an unqualified YES!
No.
DeleteThanks, Rich.
Ahhh the good old days. Inspired to take a look at the bay area media Boradcast Legends site,I see a link to Captain Satellite.com. Its gone.
ReplyDeleteTHAT makes you feel old. Happy retirement in Auburn, Bob March. To siiiir with ...
I don't know what you mean by "vintage" radio, Rich. What I want is talk radio by LOCAL hosts who discuss matters of local as well as national interest..."the issues of the day" as the late, great Gene Burns was wont to say.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't want are any more nationally-syndicated, right-wing propaganda shows. They have already colonized the dial and made listening impossible.
Looking for intelligent, insightful and engaging "LOCAL" hosts on talk radio?
DeleteLook no further my friend.
Rich Lieberman's show on KOMY/KSCO is just the ticket!
The left-wing propoganda from Miller, Hartmann, Rhodes, Colmes, Press and the likes of even Armstrong & Getty is no better. Look at the ratings. There are none.
Delete"I was a mistake." Priceless. Just priceless. You neurotic twit. Your mother should still wash your mouth with soap. The hardest she can find.
DeleteWoo-hoo! Bring back Ernest Raymond Lenheart to the Big 610.
DeleteI would love to have great talk radio back in the Bay Area. I live in Concord, and hopefully, we would get a good signal here.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the updates.
We already have "great talk radio."
DeleteAre you listening to Rich Lieberman's news-talk show daily on KOMY/KSCO and live streamed over the Web?
But, I get your point. It would be fantastic, a dream come true, for Rich's program to be broadcast from a radio station with a strong, clear signal that blankets the entire Bay Area and beyond.
Stay tuned ...
You, then, don't know talk radio.
DeleteAh, the good old days.
ReplyDeleteThere were KFRC people and KYA people and never the twain shall meet.
Me, I was a KYA person. Gene Nelson, Bobby Mitchell, Big Daddy, Tommy Saunders, and Russ the Moose.
How does a lineup get any better?
Phil Brown
I was too, KYA all the way! Does anyone remember KEWB...channel 91?
DeleteDoes anybody remember the KYA busy signal? there was a line you could call to dedicate a record. But if you got a busy signal you could talk between the beeps-for real-to any one getting the busy signal. It was a blast. But pretty soon the phone company changed it so you couldn't.
DeleteHere's a http://bit.ly/KYA1260 stream.
DeleteI hope that he is willing to sign a union contract and able to
ReplyDeletepay decent AFTRA scale and above union wages for the staff.
It should be comperable to the ones in place at KCBS and the old KGO
Right... and you wonder why you're being replaced with automated computer systems, canned content and voice tracks, yet margins are slimmer than ever (due largely to massively declining listenership and ad revenue). But hey, unionize yourself to oblivion, why not. After all, we bailed out the UAW, why not AFTRA?
DeleteAs another person said, KQED, public radio, owns the dial. They respect their listeners and put forth thoughtful radio. However, they are taking off "Talk of the Nation", a show most listeners love, and one of the few (aside from Forum) that features listeners' calls. That time period (11-1) would be a perfect place to put a Gene Burns clone (don't we wish) opposite KQED. KGO, with the exception of Pat and Michael Finney, insults my intelligence.
ReplyDeleteWell, here's a perfect storm: MZ buys a San Francisco radio station and puts Rich Lieberman's vaunted talk show in the 11-1 slot opposite KQED. "Lieberman Live" will emerge out of the shadows of Watsonville and become the Bay Area's top-rated radio talk show under the wise tutelage of MZ. That's a winning combination!
DeleteNever happen. As Gene Burns would say, "Moron!"
DeleteWhen I was a wee lad, I listened to BackTalk on KFRC.
ReplyDeleteMy friends and I only listened to 610.
Dobo Arigato Mister Roboto.
Rich said it all:
ReplyDelete"Those of you that miss talk-radio in the Bay Area ... Listen to me."
Call and give Rich a piece of your mind on his exciting, informative, cutting-edge talk radio show.
"Lieberman Live" or the "Rich Lieberman Show," Mondays through Fridays on KOMY AM 1340, La Selva Beach-Watsonville.
Talk radio just like KGO used to be (maybe even a notch or two better) when the all-stars reigned.
Not even close. The old staff, including Gene Burns who must be spinning already in his grave, disappears. Rich is neither King of Watsonville or relevant to radio or blogging.
DeleteMr. Lieber has the DNA of a common housefly. Remember, he was "a mistake" according to his mom.
DeleteIf anyone can do it, Rich, MZ can!
ReplyDelete"Doctor Don Rose" was funny and popular with his corny wisecracks on KFRC 40 years ago. Props to him for that and deservedly so.
ReplyDeleteBut this is the 21st century. His routine is dated today. Very much so. This is the stuff of nostalgia for aging baby boomers. The same goes for motor-mouth DJ's talking over 2-minute songs on 45 rpm records.
KFRC and KGO are gone. They aren't coming back. R.I.P.
Rich, you've outdone yourself today. You followed today's post about great vintage radio with your show calling everyone a pimp and a hoe! How original and classy. If this is the future of Bay Area radio under MZ G-d help us all!!! You have a lot of nerve criticizing Ronnn and Copey after putting out this kind of crap radio on air. Geez! 51 year old Jewish male talking about pimps and hoes....wtf!?? Go ahead censor me.
ReplyDeleteHis age and ethnicity have nothing to do with it.
DeleteHis age and ethnicity have everything to do with it. This is the same guy who yesterday said ” NOTHING IS GOING IN THE WORLD” so we will talk about pimps and hoes. He says this while Syria is burning, Israel is at it again vs Iran, $1 Billion dollars worth of cocaine was intercepted in the Pacific and the Bay Bridge fiasco is going on. These are topics that popped into my head easily. How can a 51 year old male with the DNA of the great Talmudic sages come up with two hours of pimp and hoe talk!?
DeleteI actually brought up the Syria-Israel situation --there's NO there there. People here don't get excited about foreign affairs...Yes, we're all pimps and ho's --if you listened, and obviously you did, you heard authentic great radio.
DeleteIn the words of many who hear foreign affairs talk in lots of places on the dial -- "Poppycock".
DeleteYou just don't know the issue(s) or how to present them.
t's all about YOU!
What are the chances we could get the old KFRC back in addition to a quality talk station??????????
ReplyDeleteEasy. Got about $10-million, maybe $8-million? Won't get the call letters, though - CBS owns them, now. Chances? 100% if you help invest -- Zilch if you don't have deep pockets.
DeleteThe Days of Talk Radio are Long Gone in the Bay area. At some point Even CC will See what the Q did saved money and kill 910 I do think Most AM stations will go all Canned and Scripted. What do we have now anyway KCBS and their Same crap every Hour format? KQED pimping it's self out for donations? If I want that I will Tune into Karel. The State of Radio is as is and that is what it is.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have a talk radio station that I can pick up on my little handheld radio. KKSF barely comes in, can't listen to news all day long without the talk. I find myself listening to Baptist radio or some rightwing station out of Fresno as of late. Can't wait for a local talk station!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for good talk radio to come back. Even if I don't need the stuff the sponsors sell, I'll patronize them if they help bring back quality, engaging talk radio. I'll buy dog food, even though I don't have a dog... I'll buy new windows, even though I rent... We'll buy diamonds monthly from Tom Shane (that won't hurt as much as the wasted dog food, I must admit)... whatever it takes, even mattresses if necessary (not all the mattress hawkers are insufferable).
ReplyDeleteI was reminded during the recent Gene Burns replay, that I was the luckiest person alive when I could listen to Mr. Burns and prepare dinner for my family. I want that again. I deserve nothing less. And there are hosts currently available in the Bay Area who can come pretty close Mr. Burns.
I'll listen day and night, like I used to, if someone could give me something great to listen to.