1. Does it occur to the geniuses at KPIX that by harping heavily on "Twitter/Facebook-Trending", etc. for their new 10 PM 'NightBeat' that the very crowd they're trying to appeal to, (young and dumb), are probably out texting, twittering and facebooking? (PS: Monday Night's show was by far the WORST yet, especially the ridiculous, "Game On" segment with the doofus Dennis O'Donnell and anchor Veronica De La Cruz. Baaaad!
2. Can Kevin Metheny save KGO Radio before it ultimately sinks? Pig Virus has a lot of work ahead of him--he may just resort back to firing someone who's on the toilet.
3. What was the purpose of "The Game", 95.7 FM, to give Tony Bruno a tryout in the morning with sloughs like Rick Bucher and Aubrey Huff alongside? Tuesday's early-morning combination of talking about "women with breasts", "those who feel out good", and Kate Upton on-air mishmash was a monumental embarrassment. Then again, the morning show is about to implode anyway, Bruno or not.
4. Why is KGO-TV wasting Larry Beil to anchor sports? Beil is much better and more rounded as a fulltime news anchor. Actually Beil and Dan Ashley would be great paired together but 2 white men is against the law in local TV News, grounds for being shipped to Davenport, Iowa.
5. Why is it that the bulk of women media players in the Bay Area are so god-awful? For every Jessica Aguirre and Pam Moore, we have yentas like Kate Scott, Ann Killion, Mindi Bach and Amy G. Even Gloria Steinem would agree.
6. How can anyone take KTVU seriously when they place the uber-obnoxious Eric Rasmussen as their "Investigative Reporter?" Tom Vacar, yes, even he, the arrogant one, could do wonders over the mismatched Rass but Vacar has gray hair and is in his 60's, that's a red light. Stop!
7. Will Ronn Owens make it to the end of his contract? It's getting painful.
8. Could PIX's ND, Dan Rosenheim, consider the "serious offer" he's about to get from KTVU to replace the Boy Wonder? If the offer has a 3 in it with five 0's then Rosenheim is as good as gone.
9. Is KRON anytime soon going to move in at 900 Front? Thanksgiving is the best bet and even that date is now in question.
10. C'mon Rich, really now, is there really that much jealousy of VDLC at KPIX? Uh, yes. Hell yes. Ba-Dum-Bump! Especially when it's clear the new show sucks. Trending!
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You forgot to put Roberta Gonzales on the "yenta" list, although she might even be below those on the present list. Let's put her in the "sub yenta" group.
ReplyDeleteAnn Killion sucks? I remember the first time seeing her thinking damn she's good looking, much better than her old Merc. News headshot.
ReplyDeleteBoth Cumulus and Clear Channel are both making great "sucking sounds" in local talk, with Cumulus - KGO and KSFO at the bottom of the barrel. "The Game" is one-tenth of a point away from KGO, now. Will Pig Virus be able to save it, you ask? If he truly has 6 months to refloat the boat and it took not just three years to get it in this shape, but several years before that watching the audience get older without the benefit of sponsor support, no.
ReplyDeleteMany folks over there. both ego obsessed talent and a good number of behind the scenes hard working bees who try with all their might have no clue what's before them.
If Atlanta (Cumulus headquarters) won't let Metheny make change without the micromanaging there will be lots of turnover and little change. Unfortunately, the very same problems that beset KGO and KSFO are not unique in reaching historic lows for Cumulus. In large markets, so far, each and every Cumulus talk station has hit the skids with historic low water marks. NY, LA, Chicago, SF, Dallas (now below a 2 share for the first time in WBAP's history) and in many other markets, the result is the same. From Fresno to Providence and everywhere in between, Cumulus has, with hundreds of stations, is killing talk radio.
Their formulatic waysdo not work and there are, so many Cumulus stations (not to mention competitor Clear Channel, now $21-billion in debt) that "fixing" this won't be easy. There are too many stations to be "fixed" and not enough talent in management (are you reading this Randall Bloomquist?) from top to bottom from "executive producers" (like Rene Bakos) to mid-line managers, to talent to the rank and file to unify under Atlanta control to make the changes needed at as little expense as with an increase in revenues. Not easy with a sinking 1.6 share..
The needle isn't moving on dominant 50,000 watt stations anymore, be it KFI, WABC, WLS, WJR, KMJ or other formerly huge beasts of heritage radio. Rich said it right on in his post -- "Young and Dumb" are already texting, tweeting and Facebooking their brains out at all hours of the day and night not watching "hipster" news on the telly or to listening on the "radio" and especially on Ancient Modulation (AM) of which that demo has no clue except for a Niner's game, a Giant's game, certainly not even on FM for the A's, or to the Warriors. Those franchises keep sports radio alive.
That little PPM meter cannot find "affluent" money making (and spending) "sellable" adults that a single "commercial" station (with ads) needs. Those adults listen to KQED and KCBS. Period. Some listen to KNBR for major league sports.
Instead of looking for revolving door "sales types" to sell (or try) a failure (who wants to sell failure?) - maybe a new promo. "Call and write KGO and KSFO, and, yeah, even our competitors at KKSF and KNEW. Let us know what you think would be new, different, exciting for talk radio. You must follow the rules, however. If you're over 55, forget it. We're not interested. If you're under 35 or 40, who are you kidding? You don't listen to AM or we wouldn't be in the shape we're in in the first place. Under 35 down to 18, enjoy your hippity-hop station. For you hip elders and oldsters, enjoy KQED-FM. They don't need advertising, just your pledge checks, please. And you "Traffic on the 8's" fans, keep listening to the mighty good KCBS or, get a police scanner."
Not that it matters to me, but just by observing, I do not think Larry Beil is Caucasian. Not fully anyway. I thought he was either hawaiian , middle-eastern or Italian. Maybe he simply enjoys Sports more than hard news. When your manager likes you, or thinks the majority of viewers do, you will get pampered here and there.
ReplyDelete- Larry Beil is from Hawaii... yet not Hawaiian.
ReplyDeleteGotta disagree with your assessment of Mindi Bach - I think she's solid - but I couldn't agree more about Ann Killion, who is a completely transparent contrarian in both her crappy newspaper articles and while appearing on TV. Bush league.
ReplyDeletea. tried to give 95.7 the benefit of the doubt Monday morning thinking Tony Bruno would give the morning show a refreshing lift...and then I tuned out completely after listening to the trio pontificate about going to the bathroom. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteb. don't understand all the venom toward Ann Killion....I wouldn't lump her in with the other "yentas"...Killion is a credible journalist.
I agree on Killion. She had the balls to question Tony LaRussa's entry into
Deletethe HOF, in light of his "head in the sand" stance on steroids in his own locker room. She is legit and not afraid to ask the tough questions.
Anyone miss KGO's Carolyn Johnson? You can the live steam of KNBC Los Angeles where she anchors at 5 pm and 6 pm at www.nbclosangeles.com
ReplyDeleteI watched NightBeat for the first time tonight. It wasn't that hip or fresh. Different opening and new graphics are pretty much the highlights, as well as a tight shot on Veronica. The segments like 2-Minute Mix or Jump on Tomorrow were nothing special. Veronica should be standing in some blocks or using a different way to shoot the anchor toss. I remember seeing the old UPN station in LA do a late night newscast. It was really flashy with graphics. NightBeat doesn't have anything to be excited about. (The website for NightBeat is just a header for KPIX's stories). It is almost a regular newscast with one fast paced, uninformative top story segment at the top.
ReplyDeleteYou keep saying how bad Ronn is, and I wonder how much of it is an honest assessment of his show as opposed to your obvious dislike of Ronn. He did a very good show and very informative on the ebola virus this a.m. Tom Sullivan basically had the same view, seems very reasonable, Michael Savage has training in that area, but I can't help thinking he is creating fear and hysteria for no reason. Anyway to get back to Ronn, you say it is getting painful. As opposed to what? What his show use to be like? Compared to Gene Burns or John Rothmann, or your current favorite Michael Savage. Certainly, looking at the landscape of talk radio in the Bay Area, Ronn isn't that bad. Are you suggesting he is worse than Gil, Joel and Corey, Karel (whom I'm somewhat neutral about, mostly because I rarely listen) or Sussman, Levin or Spencer Hughes? I must say at times Spencer Hughes drives me crazy and I have to turn the dial, but he has a segment fairly often that is kind of fun. Who said talk radio has be dead serious all the time? Today he did a segment on who would you like to have a beer with, a drink or tea, dead or alive. Another time he did who would be your dream date at the prom (dead or alive) what is your favorite cars. I like those segments, they are just different enough and offers a little escape from all the serious stuff. He is okay when he talks gay issues, on other issues not so much, as I said I have to turn the dial.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem that commercial radio faces today is that a small number of companies, run mostly by bloodless, clueless 'beancounters' and nit-wit 'consultants,' now pretty much taken over and now run the business of radio.
ReplyDeleteThey have cheapened the 'product' in an effort to turn a profit, and the public has responded by turning off the radio. It's very sad, because radio is still viable, and is still the only media that's free. Think about it for a moment...you have pay for a newspaper, for a computer and a hookup, for TV cable, a cell phone, but you don't have to pay for radio.
And yet, so much of the programming on commercial radio is vapid, bland, and brainless, in short, a waste of time to listen to. Companies that have been mentioned frequently on this website are to blame, and unfortunately, Congress is also to blame for passing the onerous 'Communications Act' of 1996 which deregulated the industry and allowed mega-companies such as Cumulus, Infinity, Clear Channel and Entercom to swoop in and buy as many stations as they could, then 'cluster' them together with smaller staffs and less local programming.
They are not serving the public interest so it's surprise then that the ratings for radio have dropped alarmingly off over the last 15 years.
the new diva on pix you gush so much about is way overrated
ReplyDelete