1. What's the deal between Ronn Owens and Karel? Ronn pissed off Karel because when Owens takes days off, Karel is not on his guest-host list. Why? Because Karel has turned into a misfit, threatened to quit several times and appears wanting to get fired. More telling: the radio station really doesn't care one way or the other which speaks well about the way they operate. 2. Is Jessica Aguirre of KNTV going to be back? My best guess is yes. Aguirre is still steady and works well with Raj Mathai who is fast becoming a major star at the NBC O and O in San Jose. Aguirre's contract is up at the end of the year; Janelle Wang is still the wildcard but the station needs both of them.
Did Owens take-off today?
ReplyDeleteWho sat in for him?
Owens took off today. Brian Copeland filled in
DeleteWell I would first question whether Ronn has much, if any, input regarding who fills in on his show? Aren't these decisions made by programmers and such? But let's for a moment assume Ronn DOES have a "say" in these matters: Karel has not "turned into" a misfit....he has ALWAYS been a misfit, to one degree or another. The more telling issue, tho, is that Karel is about as far from the image Ronn wants to present on his show as any host could get: Karel is unprofessional, loud, not "PC", and does not have "connections" to any of the types of guests which draw listeners to Ronn's program. To listen to Karel fill in for Ronn for, say, 3 or 4 days in a row would be almost unbearable to the average, educated Owens-listener (even to those who are not die-hard Owens fans). Karel is not and never will be morning-talk material on a station like KGO (or a station like KGO ** used ** to be). Karel will move on soon.....
ReplyDeleteBest written and most well reasoned comment I've seen today.
DeleteVery simple explanation on Karel and Ronn. He finds Karel the most amateur and unrofessional talk show host on radio - then and now. Then Executive Producer, Trish Robbins, brought in Karel as a "novelty act" to KGO 14 years ago. Karel / Andrew and then just Karel had been hired and fired at KFI by Robin Bertolucci who ended up firing Karel twice. Robbins, after years of putting up with Karel, turned on him and made her feelings known around KGO, including to Owens prior to Karel getting fired by KGO by Mickey Luckoff..
ReplyDeleteHe had been fired for the "Joe the Plumber" incident and Ronn certainly had no problem with that. He couldn't stand Karel for his lack of professionalism and found his ultra left spewing way out of place for the legacy mid-morning program hosted by Owens.
He was nothing short of livid when Karel was re-hired by Diedra Lieberman some time after Luckoff left as GM and Trish Robbins had a comlete turn around as executive producer who clearly noted how obnoxious and unliked Karel was upon his rehiring. Robbins was out the door, as was Paul Hosely (the first time) and Karel wasn't asked to sit in for Owens from then on.
On another front, the Bernie Ward incident brought up another difficulty. Ward and Owens had fought off-and-on for years. Not only about politics, but other personal issues. Karel was noted (and remains) as a strong Ward sympathiser and tended to "flaunt" it. Owens didn't like that. Christine Craft, a lefty and most obvious and noted a friend was fine filling-in for Owens for her credibility, her professional ability and as a long time talk show host for years at KGO and their friendship. Pat Thurston would dislay the same tendencies with her liberal positions, but, again, as shown at the debate yesterday, Owens and Thurston have gotten along well for the last 7 years. Not so with Karel.
Ronn also didn't like that Gene Burns, who was long time AFTRA shop steward at KGO, would babify Karel over the littlest thing and Mr. Burns, always one to passify his union charges, would go out of his way to calm Karel down and give him "direction" over and above Trish Robbins or anyone else with any say. Ronn resented this and his massive ego held a grudge which, like it not, who can blame him?
He knew he got his "digs" into Karel when he would approve fill-ins, but Ronn knew that fill-ins on his show were painless and of no trouble, unlike Karel's idiocy, which would bring the legacy down even more than it was already heading.
Ronn's re-negotiation with Cumulus after the firings of all talk show hosts, especially with the keeping of Karel, did not sit well with Ronn whatsoever. Karel would put himself in the same league as Owens, saying, "Well, Ronn and I are the only ones who survived the blowout!" Ronn was, rightfully, indignant, angry and the door was forever closed to Karel. Gene Burns spoke with Owens about Ronn being one foot over the edge of the cliff as it was with Cumulus and there was some bitterness, especially since Ronn did not acknowlege the blow up of KGO and his friends, as Ronn maintained his shift and lost friendships, several deep, because of his actions regarding the blow-up and blowing-out.
Ronn is now extremely protective of his shift and legacy though making less than his past contract through the work of his famous agent, Ronn maintains for as long as possible. Karel will, at least now, not darken the door of the KGO studio when and if Ronn Owens occupies it during mid-morning.
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DeleteRonn took the day off after working the debate yesterday. No doubt, because Karel did this by taking off last night Ronn would have none of that, so, Copie filled in. Possibly, Ronn didn't get "paid" for her performance at the debate after all. Neither did anyone else.
DeleteIf it was ok for Karel to dump his shift, is was ok for Ronn, as well.
Yikes - quite a bit of rambling. I didn't try to decipher all of it - but one thing was noteworthy: are you aware, post-er, that Christine Craft is probably one of - if not the - biggest Bernie Ward supporter there is?? Just sayin'.
DeleteWhy is Karen still on the air? I think even I could do a more 'professional' job than he does.
DeleteOf course, 7:03. It was clearly exlained in the post - rambling or not - since you can't tell the story in two sentences, that Ronn has no problem with Craft's feelings and support of Ward because she is very cautious of what she says on air - Karel wasn't - and that she is professional, credible and responsible. Karel isn't.
DeleteRambling? Not so much. Others wanted the "back story" so, it was given. No holes barred.
I know Ronn use to have a say in who filled in for him, but that was his old contract. Back then I heard him say he wanted the integrity and quality of the show be the same. So at time Gene would fill in for Ronn and Bernie would fill in for Gene, and perhaps Christine would sit in for Bernie, musical chairs for sure. Only once when Ronn was very ill, did he say, he was so miserable that he didn't care that Bernie sat in for him. I'm pretty sure his new contract does not have the same restrictions, when Tim Montemayor was at the station he sat in for Ronn several times, that really tells a lot. Ronn may not (in fact did not) like Bernie, but I'm pretty sure he would agree that intellectually Bernie was way above Tim Montemayor.
Delete@6:01
DeleteQuickly scrolled through the politically slanted verbiage and wondered whether you realize how laughable it is to list "Ronn," "friends" and "legacy" in such close proximity.
10:41, maybe, then, you should take two minutes out of your busy life to do more than "quckly scroll" before you make such an uninformed "slant" to what you think was implied. Why? Because you would be wrong. Yes, I realize your point, but you make none by brining it up about "Ronn," "friiends" and "legacy." You make no sense.
Delete6:01, that's quite a good helping of backstory! I am strangely gratified that Ronn lost friends over the cavalier and phony way he responded to "The Massacre". To her great credit, Pat Thurston was heartfelt in her response, and allowed listeners to vent. She also kept close to Gene during his horrifying final decline and loss of speech. Similarly, I greatly admire Christine Craft's steadfast loyalty to Bernie Ward, when he has been almost universally scorned. That takes guts, and shows character.
ReplyDelete8:06 - Well said! I agree with all of it!
DeleteThank you, 8:06. The backstory is not complete without the full story. Karel, to the chagrin of many employees has far overstayed his welcome. Maybe it's because of his rabble-rousing towards how he as an openly gay individual would bring more scorn if terminated. None of that matters, now, and KGO has hired professional people wo are gay many times. Weintraub, who has issues himself, did a much better job last night than Karel. He would be fine in that position; the lowest rated, least listened to dayparts in all of radio - 9 to midnight Saturday and 7-10 pm Sunday.
DeleteKarel would keep Cumulus' legal team busy for all of about two minutes in finding a proper termination for him. Again.
Wow, what a load of crap 9:18. No one is using the "gay card" to keep themselves from getting fired. And there are no other openly gay talk show hosts on KGO, contrary to your misspelled assertion that "KGO has hired professional people [who] are gay many times". Name a few! It sounds like you're the one who is trying to pull the anti-gay card, asshole. What is that simmering resentment?
DeletePat Thurston is hands down the best host on that station now and a class act. I wouldn't mind her replacing Ronn when his next contract is up because he's mailing it in these days. I also like Christine, most of the time, but she has that very common and annoying habit most talk show hosts have of being intolerant of other peoples' opinions especially if they differ from hers, and being too long winded. It also pissed me off when subbing for Ronn on the June 3 11 am time slot after teasing the subject for the entire previous three hours, she went into a little rant against Magic Johnson basically saying Donald Sterling was right in his criticism of him. While I have no problems with her voicing her point of view, I thought it was pretty bush league to wait (after teasing it from the very beginning of the show at 9 am) until the very last segment of the last hour of the show and take NO CALLS on the subject. I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this, but I guess not many people listen to that station much anymore.
ReplyDeleteIf we base radio on your opinion then Pat would replace Owens.
DeleteInstead we base them on ratings, and she probably shouldn't even have a show. Neither should Ronn.
10:37 I know it must rankle the orthodoxy, but when Donald Sterling questioned Magic Johnson's contributions to underprivileged communities,the pc response was to suggest that "everyone" loved Magic johnson and his smile and his johnson and all he had done for the poor. The fact is that Magic Johnson pimped subprime loans to people who couldn't afford them, pimped a Magic Johnson credit card with stunningly high fees, pimped rent-to-buy furniture stores that get you a 500 dollar tv for 1500 dollars, and built a lot of burger kings to keep the masses poorly fed. Sterling's point was valid, that's all, whether it sullies the myth or not.
ReplyDeleteThat all may or may not be true, but why wait 'till the last five minutes of the show to bring it up? Why not bring it up in the first or second hour and have a dialog with the listeners?
Deletewell 2:34...I didn't wait until the last five minutes of the program. I brought it up in the last segment of the program...more than five minutes. You should have called in...yes? Apparently you'd been waiting for two hours plus to weigh in on the topic. I'd gladly discuss it with you on the air. As to the veracity of the information, it's easily discoverable..give it a try.
DeleteThank you 6:01...marvelous! 8:06, also very good, and do agree with 10:37 on Pat. Karel is horrible, but I really feel that he was better than the "chef" ugh, on Sunday, and found it so strange that they included Scott in the debate. That, in itself, showed how low KGO has fallen.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone that participates in the blog GO to the debate? I would love to know how many people really were there.
Rich, your blog is great. I come here the first thing every morning, then several times during the day....thank you....lc
Thank you 9:28. It pains me how many inside KGO get no recognition in the wake of being trampled by excessive egos by the likes of Karel and others. It's a "ME ME ME ME ME!:" world there. When you have a 2.1 share and your cumes have dropped another 20,000 listenes, and your numbers in San Jose, now, are below a 2 share and a cume of under 100,000 -- I'd work harder and try to make a difference before it's too late. Thanks again.
Delete6:01, thank you for your account. After many years, I left KGO in the mid 90s, when it was still under Disney ownership. I know some of the parties, and some came after me. While I cannot corroborate all that you said, it seems generally in keeping with what I do know, and what I have observed.
ReplyDeleteKarel came after I left the station. I enjoyed his programs, before the "Joe the Plumber" firing. His performance after the re-hire soon became a disappointment.
If Karel is upset that he isn't asked to sit in for Ronn, that's too bad. He should be asked. Brian, Pat and Christine are the only ones who should be asked.
While he was at KGO, Tim Montemayor would fill in for Ronn on Wed., Thurs., and Fri., while Brian or Pat took the helm on Mon., and Tues.. My GUESS is ... only a guess ... that "Monte" was on the staff schedule from Wed., through Sun., and was a money-saver on the last three days.
You get what you pay for.
Thank you, 1:28. Thanks for reading and for your thoughts of what was a great radio station that you were fortunate to be a part.
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