Those of you that come here and can't figure out why I have heaped a lot of poo-poo on Cumulus for killing radio in San Francisco might want to be inclined to read this.Facts:
Since buying Citadel, (which owned KGO and KSFO here), in 2011, the company that Ronn Owens said was a "class" organization and "treats me so well", has seen a ratings nosedive and overall destruction in its path.
The ratings numbers:
KGO: down a whopping 58%, KSFO, down 38%. Is it any wonder that even offering multiple "bonus", free ads to companies, KGO can't get any advertisers? Most companies that run a business like this would be put out to pasture. The Dickey brothers who own the Cloud Company reward themselves handsomely as evidenced by this note in the piece:
... "The Dickeys have made a small fortune. In 2011 and 2012, Lew Dickey reportedly bagged $22,080,673 in combined total compensation; Cumulus VP John Dickey scored $6,626,687. This comes at a time when the Dickeys’ business strategy has been to radically slash costs and staff.
“You try doing this damage on just one station and you’re fired,” said Jerry Del Colliano. “The Dickeys do it and they are compensated."
Mind you San Francisco had a rich radio heritage with legacy stations like KGO, which even as its ratings declined in 2008, was still a news-talk powerhouse that was the envy of an industry that marveled at its success. Making globs of money and possessing some of the most heralded talent in the business. 32 years, #1 in the ratings and billing more than $50 million bucks kind of success. Only to see this gobbled up by a ruthless bunch of corporate raiders who took over and DESTROYED a massively successful operation. These moronic people who don't know radio, don't understand any aspect of the broadcast business and hijacked a great community resource and threw it to the wolves.
But, as Ronn Owens said, "this is a great company and this is going to be a great format--I'm excited!" (Dec, 2011). How's that working out, Ronn?
Think of Cumulus as the ultimate corporate bulldozer only most bulldozers understand basic components of business and know how to run a company, know how to foster good intentions and endeavors even when faking it. Cumulus would fuck up a wet dream. Cumulus makes Clear Channel look like Levi Strauss. Cumulus makes Citadel look like the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
To this day I get frequent thoughts from mostly well-intentioned people who ask me to move on, please, things change, the world is a different place. I have moved on-- it wasn't me who trashed a virtual institution in this fine city; it wasn't I that was robbed of a community asset, a virtual listening force that people made their appointment radio. Think about it for a moment.
Oh, but Rich, the ratings were going down and only old people were listening. Yeah, how's the new format working out as I asked Ronn? Did it ever occur to the wonder boys that a mere tweaking of a legacy station be in order? An alteration perhaps. Hiring a few new, younger, voices? Not really. Instead of doing just that Cumulus and the dickheads took the dog to the backyard and shot it. See, they're not radio people; shit, they're not even good businessmen as evidenced by the article.
The real bad news here is that it's going to get worse. The consolidation is in full throttle-mode and what you will have is a model of what you currently have and that's a mosh pit of KGO gobbled up by KNBR and KSFO and The Bone. No one has an identity any more. Formats come and go, sure it's a part of the business and will continue to be so, everyone understands that only in this instance a mega-brand has been forever altered and severely diminished and marginalized. KNBR will always have its cash and sports affiliates that butters the bread, we know that and it is KNBR that is essentially fronting KGO and KSFO, both completely gutted and fretted out in the pasture.
San Francisco and the Bay Area are not alone. Cities across the nation bear the ultimate Cumulus scar. Good people have been fired. Budgets slashed. A bottom-line corporate Darth Vader that has produced a bunch of zombies. Ain't it sweet?
But at least Ronn is happy: "they treat me so well." Never mind.
*Follow me on Twitter
It's obviously because they dumped Dr Bill and Ray Taliafarro
ReplyDeleteWhat a dumb comment to this post. It's not just about the hosts; it's about the format change which left KGO with no identity now and no reason to listen, as evidenced by the declining ratings.
DeleteMolly....he was joking.
Delete> [people say] move on, please, things change, the world is a different place.
ReplyDeleteIt is a different place. I've always found that to be a straw man argument. Are you HAPPY with what the congloms have done to...everything they've touched? That's my question.
Unless the right entity decides to purchase a few of the Formerly Crown Jewels in Bay Area radio formats, nothing will change for a while. Maybe we'll luck out and interested parties on both sides of the isle will show up, bags -o- money in hand. Maybe a Oprah, or a pair of Koch Brothers, or that Mexican Billionaire Carlos Slim will want to dabble in the radio business two years before the next big election. There are some quite wealthy South Koreans too, who know how to run a successful business or are willing to experiment and learn.
ReplyDeleteSo why hasn't someone successfully filled the void left by KGO? Are all the station owners in cahoots with the Dickeys? Of course not. Things have changed and no one out there is willing to revisit that formula.
ReplyDeleteI have often wondered the same.
DeleteTheir is still a listening audience for the old KGO.
The market has changed, the business has changed, our culture is changing, etc. Quality is out of favor. It costs too much.
DeleteNo one is a bigger champion for Cumulus than your buddy Mike Savage. You seem to fail to mention that every time you bash Ronn Owens. Care to explain the difference?
ReplyDeleteSavage was brought aboard AFTER the massacre.
DeleteYou're preaching to the choir when what you should be doing is getting to the stockholders of Cumulous. Maybe they'll vote to claw back some of those ridiculous salaries for destroying a stellar AM station (KGO).
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, they destroyed the brand too, since as you say there is no identity anymore. Most foolish thing you can do is to destroy brand equity.
So Rich, what are you going to do? How many more times are you going to write this exact same story.
ReplyDeleteNewspaper readership is also down. Do you blame that on Cumulus too?
Lieberman's inability to adjust to change, portraying himself as a heroic martyr and pinning all the blame on a specific corporate villain speak to his own limitations. It provides no useful insight into understanding the real world today.
I understand the "real" world today and the fact you're an idiot living in it best explains my anxiety dealing with the real world--assholes like you embody it perfectly.
DeleteWell just keep crying about his Richie boy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the old KGO and KSFO will come back just like in the imaginary good old days you delude yourself about.
Thanks Ronn.
DeleteWow. How do you REALLY feel, Rich? (I couldn't have said it better myself. Well - maybe a LITtle better)
ReplyDeletecumulitus. avoid at all costs. awful company. good people in the trenches, but terrible management.
ReplyDeleteCan Lieberman go more than 24 hours without attacking Ronn Owens.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course "it's nothing personal," right, Rich?
Most children learn at a young age that stomping your feet and throwing a tantrum doesn't change anything.
ReplyDeleteWonder why young Rich Lieberman never learned that lesson.
Rich, I happen to work for Cumulus and you're dead wrong about them and the Dickeys, or 'Dickheads,' (as you so scornfully call them). They're a good company who know plenty about radio. When they bought KGO, they took a quick look around and realized that they needed to get rid of some of the 'dead wood,' which they did in short order. Rich, Cumulus and all of the radio companies out there have to be realistic; Guys like Talioferro, Burns, and Lem Tillum were seeing a precipitous decline in ratings, and the only people listening were the grey-haired, geriatric set. This is not the demo that Cumulus or any other radio company who wants to survive covet. KGO needs to go after the younger demographic, because those are the folks who buy the good and services that are advertised. I guess you don't understand these things Rich, because you only want the radio profession to be what it used to be, and it's not going to be that way anymore as you well know! For KGO and stations that are similar to it in format and style to survive, they need to make the kind of tough, forward-thinking, and courageous decisions that the Dickey's made when they first bought KGO I have to tell you this as well; you're not far off in your predictions. A new round of layoffs and cut backs are coming, but it will make KGO and Cumulus's other properties 'leaner and meaner,' and hopefully the ratings will reflect that. Ronn Owens has been a true good soldier, and he understands what's going on, even if you and some of your starry eyed posters don't! BTW, I'm not one of your "brown-nosing Cumulus interns Rich! That's very insulting!
ReplyDeleteBut the facts aren't in dispute. KGO's huge descent into oblivion didn't occur until after the bloodbath. What you call courageous and forward- thinking is neither. If it were actually interesting or worth listening to, that would be one thing, but it isn't. It won't capture any audience of any age, because it's a mish mash and a bore. It could be fixed.
DeleteTotally agree with you. But Rich goes on and on. Not sure why. It's too much, enough already Rich.
DeleteHey 2:59 -- you may not be a "brown-nosing Cumulus intern," but you sure have your nose up someone's ass. The younger demo doesn't listen to KGO. They have this thing called satellite radio and other options like Pandora. You must be an ad rep. Is this the pablum you give to potential clients? What hogwash. The programming on KGO and most radio stations isn't worth a crap. And thanks to deregulation, there are near monopolies. Not good for competition.
DeleteIt doesn't take courage to hide behind a laptop and read MS-Excel spreadsheets.
The fact of the matter is the quality of radio has gone into the dumper. It's not about objectivity anymore. There's no fun in the programming. Your eyes are so awash in the crap coming out of the Dickey's ass that you can't see that and refuse to acknowledge it.
You've protected your job for the next few days. Congratulations. You make me puke.
@2:59
DeleteSeriously? I'm 80% convinced you just posted this to troll a bit. Yes, the classic KGO's ratings were declining, and skewed to older listeners who appreciated someone who could speak intelligently and develop a cogent point and pose an intelligent question in a five to seven minute monolog (Gene Burns, god I miss you!).
But what are the ratings now? Are they higher? No. Did they hold the same? No. Did they go down a little? No. They collapsed.
Everyone who liked intelligent talk radio abandoned KGO since there is nothing left of worth to listen to there (maybe Pat Thurston at times or Cristine Craft when she fills in). And did all the young people suddenly start listening to KGO? Hell no. Young people don't want to get their news in repetitious little bites in between annoying repetitious commercials. They have smart phones. Gives them all the breaking news, sports and weather they want when they want. As for traffic, I'm sure there are apps that do better than the people in Texas when it comes to reporting our traffic. Oh, but hey, smartphones CAN'T give you live local discussion about the news of the day. (Well, I guess you can just read the comments to a news story on SF Gate, but it's not the same without Gene calling the commenter an ignorant blowhard!)
Note -- for a good talk show, people would listen to the full 3 hours! For the current format, after 10-15 minutes the repetition almost forces you to change the channel! How on earth can that improve ratings?
Summarize -- get rid of all your current loyal listeners by cutting the format they like. Fail to attract any new listeners with a boring, repetitious format that other stations already do better (KCBS) = slashed ratings.
Yes, this is great business sense, Mr. 2:59, awesome!
Asshole shill.
DeleteThe world is a different place? I don't think so. At least if the ratings indicate anything, the world is the same place. It's KGO that is different. And the proof is in, the experiment has been don. When you radically alter a station with a successful format and cadre' of live and local hosts, give the format a shambolic shampoo, while the world remains the same, the ratings drop. QED.
ReplyDeleteSFBA in general is a different place.
DeleteWhat does QED mean?
ReplyDeleteRich, we've heard this all from you before, over and over again.
ReplyDeleteIn your story, you say without that you've "moved on." Obviously that's not the case.
Tell you what: YOU move on. Goodbye.
DeleteThe only reason to l find to listen to radio in the Bay Area is for live sports or traffic. The weekend CBS Sports Radio shows on the weekends are awful. Take a listen to the first episode of the Dongeronimopodcast.com to hear how it is for a veteran radio personality had to deal with management. The people from cars for kids and various mattress outlets may find it easier to just run their own station with looping ads and breaks on the 8's for traffic and weather updates at this point.
ReplyDeleteIt's Back !!!!!! ........ Exclusively on the Ronnn Owens show.
ReplyDelete1877-kars-for-kids
That's the new demo they are targeting.....Kids
Legacy station ? ...ph..hahahahahah
KGO died with Radio Shack, K-mart, ETC.
@2:59 is that you Ronn?? What do you mean forward thinking? What was KGO ratings when Cumulus bought the station and what are the ratings now? Tells you all you need to know about whether they know what they're doing or not.
ReplyDeleteStop stomping on the Dickeys will you Rich? What have they ever done to you, except to perhaps upset your sensibilities. KGO is a much better station now that all of those old codgers and geezers are gone. Cumulus gave the station a nice, fresh coat of paint. The listeners will come back, just as soon as they figure out that this all news format is much better than listening to a bunch of dinosaurs ramble on and on!
ReplyDeleteYour argument does not hold water. Rush, Savage, Levin, Hannity is still on the air, and have been for years. I think they are stale, because for the most part the repeat Republican talking point, well Savage not so much, but hasn't changed much the last 10 years or more. Gene Burns and John Rothmann was so much better than Savage, but guess a lot of listeners wants the hysterics of Savage as oppose to intelligent, calm, cerebral analysis of what is going on, i.e. Burns, Rothmann and Wilson. How sad.
DeleteThe younger demographics are not intelligent enough or have enough patience to appreciate, someone intelligent and their own person as Gene Burns and John Rothmann. Don't know what they listen to, but I doubt it is very enlighten.
DeleteOMG...I'm shocked at how few of you "get" this. The data Rich republished today has gone viral in the radio industry tonight. These stations didn't belong to Cumulus, they belonged to YOU. Cumulus only has a license to use these station in Your interest. Anyone who thinks they acted in your interest, or made these stations better is delusional...or perhaps you Are intern required to post here, or maybe new salespeople.
ReplyDeleteWhatever. Thank you Rich. We must never forget the rape of radio that happened in our community by carpetbaggers from Atlanta. If you think they care about our community , you are a fool. The Dickeys could care less about our community....all they want is to line their pockets before they leave this once great assets in total ruin.
Right, no one gets it but you and Rich.
Delete@6:42 is right on. The Dickwads took a community jewel and destroyed it. Not because the audience wanted more news (as they alleged after the massacre) or because they wanted to attract younger listeners (as a young listener I'm offended they think putting up amateurs like Weintraub, Scott and Langden is what young folks want to hear). They destroyed the station because of pure greed. Let's cut the bull crap and this false narrative that the new garbage they're putting on air was necessary to get ratings. A 1.0 rating is all the proof we need to see through the Dickwad bull!
DeleteOn a positive note I've discovered tons of other stations in Europe through TuneIn with intelligent news reports and talk.
What the Dickheads did to KGO is akin to someone buying a classic Ford Model T and "pimping it" by putting on 22" rims, lowering it close to the ground and painting it metallic pink in order to attract the young "chicks". Problem is the car looks ridiculous and is attracting no one. Who are the morons who think "Chef" Ryan Scott, Maureen Langdenlee and Dave Weintraub learning on the job are more appealing than the legendary hosts? Keep up bashing Cumulus and Ronnnnnnnnnnn Rich, they deserve it.
ReplyDeleteAmen, many on this blog keep saying move on, I get that, young people have different likes and priority than us old times, but the fact is there are not much to move on to. I don't care your age, but I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a talk show host to be informed, intelligent and entertaining. Very few of those left. Young people just don't know what they are missing.
DeleteLike the Model T analogy with the 22" inch rims.
DeleteVery good.
Rich, you're a tired old broken record.
ReplyDeleteGas used to cost less than a dollar a gallon. They'd pump it for you and give you free stuff to boot. That's not the way it is anymore.
You can either pay today's prices to drive your car or sit by the roadside and whine about how great things used to be. Obviously Lieberman is off by the side of the road going nowhere.
Hey yenta Rachel:
DeleteWhy don't you go blow Lew Dickey and your KGO boss. Oh, and have a nice day too.
Don't forget the after-dinner mints.
Karel, you and your Oral Diahrrea Filth need to get the hell out of here. Just Disappear.
ReplyDeleteWow, there is a lot of hate for the Dickeys and Cumulus on this web site. I'm new to the bay area and just started listening to KGO so I don't know what it sounded like before, but I like the news folks I hear; John Bristow, Brett Burhardt, Micki Madora, Scott Letiere, and so many others. They do a solid, professional job with a staff that from what I can tell, doesn't have as many resources at KCBS all-news, but they put more personality into it. I don't care for any of their talk shows however, and if they are going to continue to have them, they should at least hire some people who are compelling and energetic. Karel sounds like a nut-job, Maureen is not from here, Ryan Scott in an embarrassment, and Ron Owens sounds as if he's mailed it in. But I'd go easy on the KGO news department folks. From what I've heard, they are operating with one hand tied behind their back and you I guess it's okay to \ blame the Dickeys for that.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you've got a few brown nosing posers who are cowardly hiding behind the keyboard, anonymously defending Cumulus and the Dickheads. Probably some low-paid interns who were instructed to post on Rich's website under the threat of losing their jobs. That sounds like the kind of things the Dickheads and their minions like to do.
ReplyDeleteLew Dickey certainly helped to killed Liberal Radio, wonder who ordered that? The Koch Brothers? Dickey was out to destroy Liberal Radio & Concepts from way, way back.
ReplyDelete08-Jul-03
Dixie Chicks
AdAge.com reports: "During a Senate hearing on radio consolidation, senators grilled a radio industry executive about his decision to pull all songs by the country band the Dixie Chicks from the air... The committee's chairman, John McCain, R-Ariz., sharply questioned Cumulus Media CEO Lewis W. Dickey Jr. if he felt his decision ban the Dixie Chicks from all of Cumulus' country music stations demonstrated the political danger present in having too few owners of the nation's media... Sen. McCain said that while individual stations have the right to pull songs, the decision by Cumulus (as well as by another media company, Cox Communications) to pull songs chainwide from its stations was a 'total contradiction' of statements made by media executives that they were serving local markets. Mr. Dickey's decision smacked of Nazism and McCarthyism rather than of free speech.
For you Big RightWing Investors, here's a little inside look on The Dickeys:
http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2009/03/15/With-stormy-future-in-forecast-Cumulus-CEO-pay-questioned.html
These are all good points being raised here.
ReplyDeleteBut I am still convinced that a format such as the old KGO can survive here.
I don't have the answer, but I am certain with the right management it can work.
910 had a golden opportunity to recreate the old KGO and it looked like they were on the right track when they hired on many of the old KGO personalities. They kept on some of their nationally syndicated people so they had a nice mix. Then they replaced their best national guy, Tom Sulllivan, with Frosty and turned both his and Gil's show into sort of news talk where they and their guests do all the talking. Sort of like KGO afternoon news used to be -- the only program on KGO that I didn't listen to.
DeleteThe key probably is as you say -- right management.
Those two buffoons Savage & Karel are the worst. Savage actually thinks reading aloud from one of his awful books and/or bashing Hannity who is a classy guy is the way to good radio all over this country? You can't even listen to him for a few minutes and why does he so hate all the conservative radio hosts? He is so full of hate & arrogance. And Karel is a moron who leads every discussion with "my dead husband" after awhile it became really funny but now he is just unlistenable if that is even a word. Cumulus needs to do something/anything fast.
ReplyDeleteHey Rich, do you have any inside info that the Dick-wads might sell their Bay Area porperties? I heard a hot rumor at the station today.
ReplyDeleteKSFO.
DeleteWell said.......
ReplyDeleteKGO's owners presumably are after profits. Not ratings. Maybe the new format lowers expenses enough that even with the ratings decline, it does just that.
ReplyDeleteYou can't bring in profits without ratings.
DeleteI've had it with Karel's preaching about right and wrong and, of course, if you don't go his way, you are "on the wrong side of history." Lead story ... the Mozilla CEO of 11 days who was forced out for making a $1000 contribution to anti-gay marriage. This, just minutes after more pings from the Malaysian plane were disclosed. Then, why we are wrong about the news we "care" about -- while he's "stroking my new Indian motorcycle which is gorgeous which I have for a couple of months. My best friend's best friend who would have been 30 was killed on a motorcycle on Monday and I didn't have time to care about all the news, but I tried, I really tried." .
ReplyDeleteLooks like Lieberman flipped out again. Around 5:20 pm he starts calling everyone ass holes.
ReplyDeleteStay classy Rich. Maybe Cumulus did it!
They never should have fired Len Tillem. I stopped listening to KGO after they canned the lawyer.
ReplyDeleteIt's remarkable how little the 415 "media critic" knows about the radio industry. I'm not sure who gave you your credentials, but your bonafides can certainly be questioned.
ReplyDeleteKGO was heading downward, but it certainly wasn't the sinking ship Cumulus claimed it to be. They don't understand the uniqueness of this market, and never have. They destroyed the station, and probably cannot get it back to anything close to what it was.
All this said, a lot of you people posting also seemingly know nothing about this business at all.
KGO is now a news station with weekend talk. Weekend talk is where talent is "developed." Many of you cannot understand this concept because to you KGO is still a place for talk programming. Yet Cumulus cannot afford to pay great talent for weekend programming. You're lucky it's even local at all, yet you don't see it that way. I'm shocked Cumulus hasn't syndicated it in the first place! There's hope in the fact they're not. It COULD mean KGO may go back to talk. Yet to bash the weekend hosts, or compare them to full-time talk hosts from a M-F shift is just plain idiotic. And as I've stated time and time again, where are all these great hosts from KGO's legendary station now? Ronn Owens? What's he doing? Gil Gross? Len Tillem can't get a job. John Rothman too. Gene Burns has passed. Bernie Ward is in prison. Ray Taliaferro? Working for Obama. These are the famed hosts of KGO! Any of them making an impact anywhere?
How does any of it related to weekend programming? What remains on the weekend are Thurston, Karel and Brian Copeland from the old KGO. Are any of these people getting ratings? Some of you write about them as if they're amazing talents, yet are they getting ratings? Then you bash hosts like Montemayor and others? They are weekend hosts! That's where you develop talent.
Personally, I think Maureen Langdon has markedly improved, Matt Ray does a nice show, and David Weintraub has real potential. I could certainly live without the cooking show which may have gotten better since I last heard it, but do think Mike Finney's show is perfect on the weekends.
KKSF is the station that's not helping Bay Area radio because they are doing talk, and doing poor talk at that. For all of KGO's poor talk I think their programming is better than KKSF, which is doing it full time.
In the end, the "media critic" has no real insight as to what's going on. You keep claiming to just that but you've added nothing of value in months. Your predictions like Ronn Owens being let go 2 years ago, or KGO flipping to talk last summer, Karel being fired, and a variety of other things have never been close to correct. Yet you won't address these things, I've noticed.
Sorry for the long post, but reading these posts of yours as if they're anything more then guesswork has become a pointless exercise.
Your so full of shit....Time for you to flush it!
DeleteI don't "need to know anything" about this business at all.
Look at KGO's product. A Bimbo from Texas making every mistake in the book. The end product is an absolute fail.
The "uniqueness" of the market ? ... Ya, we like the dummies doing traffic reports from Texas ! .........hahahahahaa
KGO=Retard Radio
He/She did not suggest KGO was putting out a good product now. And did say that the owners of the company completely misread this market. Speaking of "misread," you should learn how to read.
DeleteI agree KGO for the most part is better than KKSF> Copeland, Thurston and Ronn are all good hosts. Like Matt Ray, except he is weak on engaging the callers, tend to agree with them, no matter their position, comes off as wishy washy. Maureen is better, but I still don't care for here. Heard Eathan Bearman weeks ago on KSFO, thought he was awful, have heard them a few times on KGO he sounded better. Montemayor is gone from the Bay Area, our gain, Utah's loss, (no I did not transpose the sentences I meant it that way) just couldn't stand the guy, he wasn't too bright. As for Rothmann not being able to get a job, same for Talifario, might be true might not, don't think anyone knows. Ray is around retirement age I believe, John Rothmann does a lot of things, speeches, writes books, he comes from the Haas family, he might just not want to work for any station for any low compensation.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, Karel was stupid enough to ADMIT on air tonight that the traffic guy is in DALLAS ... and Karel had to "welcome him" as a newbie to KGO! He also told Thurston that he was making 1/2 of what he was when Jack Swanson rehired him. That would mean about $100 a shift, because AFTRA scale is about $200 or less for part-timers, with health bennies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for plaing 30 seconds of "Happy" tonight Karel. It's a shame it was played under a distorted KGO promo that you cut and interruped by your awful singing. I've heard better in Stockton. Also, for someone so "tolerant" of people, why must you argue to the point of shouting over and hanging up on people who disagree with you? Who died and made you GOD? You limp wristed moron
Rich, never stray from telling the truth. We'll only rest when we see the Dickheads burn in HELL!
ReplyDelete