More than merely destroy three once iconic radio stations in San Francisco, Cumulus did one better. They managed to marginalize their own content factories. We all know about KGO. It's as dead as a doorbell as its "all-news" format is about as relevant here as a red mountain on Mars. A slight uptick in the monthly Arbitrons has not translated into broadcast wonderment. They have a twilight morning host from 9-Noon who sounds tired and hungry and their news dept. is beige wallpaper with plastic on grandma's couch. The house has been redecorated and looks like an innocuous duplex in Concord.
Furthermore, it is borrowing content in the form of actualities from sister station, KNBR. That's mostly consisting of 49ers, Giants and Warriors sound bites and lots of Ted Robinson chatter. Thank God they have Robinson to supplant a lightweight sports dept.
*KNBR is Cumulus' cash cow with most of its gold courtesy the 49ers, Giants and Warriors. Needless to say, everything else on Knibber, minus the Radnich and Tolbert Shows, is mostly salt and pepper on the salad. Without the Giants or 49ers, the station would be mush. And as it generates more revenue for its Atlanta brethren, it is risking the wrath of its talk show listeners with a heavy duty overload of commercials that has plastered the hours.
*KSFO was long ago left in the AM wilderness. It has taken on a conservative "hot-talk" label for years now with a forum for the right-wing crowd in Walnut Creek and Pleasanton. Michael Savage has hampered up the PPM meter in the evening. I like Brian Sussman personally but the "KSFO Morning Show" needs a whole lot of editing and chopping; (the gravel-voiced rock and roll chick is completely out of place--maybe there's an opening at The Bone). Sussman needs to try to calm down and sound less angry. The Groundhog Day I hate Obama template could also be altered--even the conservative crowd gets tired of the endless POTUS-bashing, (see Sean Hannity.)
*Several broadcast sources tell me KRON's Justine Waldman is being courted by CNN. Waldman, who came out of Boston TV before coming here, is an underrated local TV News reporter with smartness, solid work, a bevy of good contacts and a great, super-sexy face and body to boot.
*I was alerted by a local wag a week ago that KGO's "The Monty" was scouting Utah real estate. I didn't report the tip because I didn't think old Mont was worthy of his limited mark on SF radio. And Utah was on the horizon because, simply stated, Monty would have been pink-slipped anyway and he knew it. Yeah, that SF to Utah route is a winner.
*There's a fair amount of 'yous all "commenting" on this site from the TV and Radio dept. I'm flattered --to a degree. It's fine you acknowledge everyone in the biz reads this sheet daily. But keep in mind when you get dirty and dingy, the IP address can be traced. Let's have pretzels and a ketel-one to celebrate.
*Bill King is a Hall-of-Fame BROADCASTER, PERIOD, no matter what sport. Jon Miller, Lon Simmons, Hank Greenwald, Don Klein and yes, even Duane Kuiper would agree with my proclamation, so there! It's official.
*In between the hassle of broadcasting their Giants assignment, I'm delighted that Kruk and Kuip, Miller and Flemm are enjoying NY and if they'd kindly pay my tab at PJ Clarke's I'd be even more appreciative.
*If the woman is fat and ugly she's not a Gamer babe, right?
*Bar stops in the Big Apple are a lot more giddy when the team is in contention and not hovering around third place said my buddy, Triple McDoozle.
*About as close to Bill King as there is: Ken Korach. He knows how to give you the game without a whole lot of largess and isn't afraid to rock the A's boat when it's necessary. And yes, for the 9999th time, he GIVES the SCORE, on average, every 2-3 minutes while the OUT-of-HERE! guy and Meat man are busy checking out gamer babes and ownage.
*Follow me on Twitter
Kruk and Kuip do Giants TV so the score is ALWAYS on the screen - no need to give the score every 2-3 minutes. Now radio is a different story Mr. Miller and Mr. Fleming.
ReplyDeleteBarbara Simpson is very popular with KSFO listeners. If they want to improve their ratings, they should give her more air time.
ReplyDeleteI have been saying for years that Barbara Simpson is number one!!!
DeleteNo, Lisa Simpson is number one.
DeleteBarbara is intelligent, and some of her shows are very enlighten, especially when she talks animals, or nature. However, since Obama became president she has too many outrageous conspiracy theories. She is too hateful, if she doesn't like him or his policies, I get that, I can understand that (I didn't care much for Bush, or at least his policies, but could admit he is a good father, son and husband), but she cannot give him credit for anything, that gets tiring and boring. So I don't think she is versatile enough for a full time gig.
Deletewithout the Giants or 49ers, the station (KNBR) would be mush....
ReplyDeleteREALLY?! wow, breaking news!
And Bill King is a hall of famer - way to go out there on a limb Rich.
Quite a bold and courageous stance you are taking!
in other headline - without the steaks, chops and prime rib, Mortons would just be another vegetarian restaurant, and I don't care what other people say, Abraham Lincoln was a great president!
Good for Justine. Hope she gets it. She and her husband are both way too good on camera and off to be wasting their talents in that shithole on Van Ness.
ReplyDeleteJustine is nothing more than a second rate high school audio visual journalist. Have you noticed how wide she opens her mouth to speak? And when she does it makes no sense. Second rate at best... Husband too.
DeleteJustine? Ha ha ha ha! Now that's funny.... Signed,
DeleteDarya
Say Rich,
DeleteCan you find out what's up with the kron girls covering up lately. Man, I haven't been able to watch the normal two minutes since the no longer show boobs. May as well shut the station down. Lol!
Speaking of kron, I noticed the usual women who show off their chest ( kato, Bennett, and the am old yacker) seem to have toned down their act. Maybe the new owners said knock off the cheap slutty wear. Probably not good for the already dismal ratings.
DeleteWho is her husband?
DeleteGrant Lodes, who also reports for Kron 4.
DeleteOk thanks that guy is terraible voice for tv.
DeleteI'm a little late to this party...so I don't know if you're talking about a Bay Area or National Hall of Fame.
ReplyDeleteBill King is a definite BAY AREA HOF Broadcaster. No argument here.
But for a NATIONAL HOF? No way. Even though he broadcasted in a Top-5 (or six, depending on the year) market, he was merely a Regional announcer. A damn good one...but still, a regional broadcaster.
I'm 53-years old....born in SF and grew up on the Peninsula. I have lots of friends in Boston/NYC/Philly....as well as in Atlanta, Charlotte....and in San Diego & LA. Most of these friends are hard-core sports fans. And most of these buddies (all around my age) wouldn't know who Bill King is or was.
Bill simply didn't have the national scope needed to be considered for a National HOF.
Put him in the Bay Area HOF (if he isn't already) But a National HOF? Not by a longshot.
Bill King entered the Bay Area Hall of Fame in 2006.
ReplyDeleteBill King entered the Bay Area Hall of Fame in 2006
ReplyDeleteIf there is a campaign for Kuiper to be HOF, I'd have to believe it is health related more than based on merit. If it were merit based, why not Rick Monday or some other generic?
ReplyDeleteWhat! No KTVU headlines??? It's been like a week since you have said anything about them.
ReplyDeleteIt's been awhile since commenting on Rich's page, so here it goes:
ReplyDelete- As long as people like Jared Fart are there, KGO stays irrelevant
- KNBR has been commercial crazy since the Frank Dill Era; unfortunately, when some viewers go, they always find others through their reckless advertising
- Yep, even Kuip says Bill King first. Holy Toledo, MLB, NFL, and NBA (Miller will demand the latter) all should put him in.
- Still won't listen to Savage, but if he can knock off Limbaugh and Hannity a few pegs, I will thank him profusely. This society is more interested in rants than solutions more than ever. UGH! The hot talk world is definitely among the culprits behind our inability to solve our world's problems. I'm proud to be a rarity that does not find such gas bag rhetoric entertaining and has never turned to such stations. Like Sir Elton John says, "I rather look at porcelain". Or at least turn on my record player.
Speaking of KTVU Rich what do you think of their New Commercials featuring Frank, Julia, Gasia etc( Minus Tori Campbell) Bellowing Oakland, Walnut Creek, Monte Serrano--HELLO Mill Valley!!
ReplyDeleteNoticed no Kira Klapper on ABC7 as of late. Been at least a couple of weeks. Is she still with the station?
ReplyDeleteHer name reminded me of a funny comedy routine that Johnny Carson and Jack Webb did long ago on his show. It involved the robbery of clappers (which can also be spelled with a k) and you get how that routine went.
DeleteGREAT for Justine! If this is true, she totally deserves it. Much more talented than the morning diva who probably would be quite happy to see her move on.
ReplyDeleteYou're right on about KNBR. The ratings come from the Giants, period. When they don't do well (see that last trends), ratings fall. When they're out of season, much worse. However, I would take KGO's sports guys Rich Walcoff and Kevin the Rat over any of the so-called "reporters" on KNBR. Both are veteran pros with great chops and real talent. Hardly "lightweight". If anything, they're under-utilized and represent some of last of KGO's once venerable talent stable.
Justine Waldman is THE BOMB. She's a triple threat. Good looks, intelligent and solid on-air. Enough said. She's a ton better than Wonderboob in the morning.
ReplyDeleteKGO has taken a free fall into the abyss. Not even MacGuyver can save them. Lost cause.
KNBR wouldn't have an audience if it weren't for the front runners favorite dynamic duo of the 49ers and the Giants. The Warriors get cast aside to The Ticket. Can't listen to it. Haven't listened to it. If I want noise, I'll open my car window while I'm driving up 101.
The only similarity Korach has with Bill King is that he's an unappreciated announcer (that few listen to).
ReplyDeleteKorach is WAY better at calling baseball games than King. Remember, King was a great basketball and football announcer--------baseball not so much.
Hdyu 8:54 am anon, you obviously didn't listen much to King if you think Korach is better. Ken Korach is certainly one of the better guys and better play by play announcers in baseball these days, but even he would be remiss to compare himself with the great Bill King.
ReplyDeleteKing's calls of the big moments are what set him apart. If you ever heard his call of Scott Hatteburg's game winning homer that gave the A's 20 straight wins in 2002, or his call of Kirk Gibson's homer that best Eckersley in the first game of the 1988 World Series, you'll understand.
King knew baseball, he was outstanding, and the argument that was a 'regional' (anon 12:21PM) announcer, so he shouldn't be in the baseball Hall of Fame is a crock. There are many other 'regional' announcers who are in the Hall, including Lon Simmons, Bob Prince (Pittsburgh Pirates), and Marty Brennerman (Cincinnati Reds), so anon 12:21's argument is specious.
Brian Sussman is a horrible person and his radio show is unlistenable. It is a disgrace that he has been on the air as long as he has; he's a no-talent hack who is trying to follow in the footsteps of other shrill haters (Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, etc). Sussman is AWFUL.
ReplyDelete