Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Ask Rich Lieberman 415 Media

 Your favorite weekly ritual-- fire away on questions about Bay Area Media, TV and Radio.









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*Rich Lieberman and 415 Media are not responsible for comments made by others on this website.

70 comments:

  1. Did you catch the lead story on KTVU at 10pm last night? It had to do with a 3 year old who flushed a diamond ring down the toilet and how the family recovered it weeks later with the help of the sanitary district. Would you have led the news with that? I'm still puzzled by that choice.

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    1. No, but times have changed and so has KTVU. It's an easy call. And obviously it was a slow news day for the KTVU EP who made that decision, "a story you'll see only on 2."

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    2. 7:34 AM: I don't know where you've been lately but most of KTVU's leads are this way, every night. Either that or the weather. (If it so much as drizzles we get team coverage. I'm sure we'll have it tonight.) Real news is either unreported or gets shoved into the "10:40 quick VO coming out of the SleepTrain commercial" segment.

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  2. What is the latest rumor in regards to KPIX Nightbeat which shows on channel 44. You said weeks ago it would be dead by now. It seems to be still rolling right along just as bad as ever. What gives??

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    1. It is dead, on life support and hardly ticking. KPIX has invested a lot of money and time to its project therefore it will go as long as possible until the last 50 or so odd people who actually watch it cease to exist.

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  3. What's going to happen at KGO radio when they get into their new format? Will they be going back to a lot more talk shows and have less news? Who's going to become their new PD after Kevin Metheny's recent death? Is Ron Owns going to stick around for awhile? And how does the new facility across town look for them and their Cumulus affiliates?

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    1. There's a lot of questions there...Metheny was brought on board to implement, a newish format based on some local talk shows and news blocks in the AM and PM drive--now it's sort of on hold and will be enacted on an incremental basis...My best guess on their Opps/MGR/PD would be Randall Bloomquist until he screws up and/or shifts...With regards to Ronn, he'll keep going on , at least through the end of the year and into next year until his ratings tank or they decide he's making too much money...Their new facility at 300 Broadway is much smaller and cramped: use your imagination.

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  4. Is Steve Young no longer doing his show with Tom Tolbert on Wednesdays? Earlier in the season it was on, but the last few weeks it hasn't been.

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    1. My best guess is that since KNBR is a CBS Radio affiliate and Steve Young is an ESPN property, the show was nixed --not official but I'll check around.

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    2. They were doing it on the lowdown for a while with no promotion. The Game called them on it and the segment was removed. Now it's Ronnie Lott.

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    3. Thanks.
      As I speculated and now you confirm.

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    4. Isn't Ronnie Lott on the Smurf and Crack show before Radnich on Fridays? I haven't heard him on Tolbert on Wednesdays, or any other day.

      If the reason Steve Young isn't on anymore is because the game blew it, then I'm glad I've never listened to that crap station. Asswipes.

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    5. Tell us how you really feel. Don't be so vague.

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  5. Next time some propagandist goes on about "aztlan", will you give equal time to commenters who refute that myth?

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    1. This is a media blog--I hate it when threads develop that have nothing to do with Bay Area media.

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    2. Some threads take on racist slants when commenters mention the race of "people behaving badly". For instance I could mention the white piece of trash who ran over the 14 year old boy in San Leandro a few days ago. He has a long rap sheet including having sex with and mutilating a sheep. I could go on and in about his white race but what's the purpose? Same with the morons who find it necessary to talk about a "brown kid who tells f-her in the pussy"....

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    3. Uh, I think I get your point --can we move on? Good, I need a drink after all that.

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    4. Rich, 8:45 is the type of propagandist that I (at 8:12) was referencing.

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    5. I got it. We'll move on --message delivered.

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  6. Is Troy Clady gone? How much can an on air line up be messed with until larger problems are addressed?

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    1. Troy Clardy is irrelevant --kind of like 95.7 'The Game.' The problem with that station is that they have NO direction, no proper guidance, no signal, and no morning program. That's all on the Program Director and he's still on the payroll.

      Combine all that with a weak signal, the probable loss of the A's and Raiders and you have The Game's situation as it is. I didn't even mention KNBR.

      So Troy Clardy is not the problem for the Game--The Game needs severe deep cleansing and fresh new blood.

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    2. Can 95.7 exist long term as the JV team in the market to KNBR or do they need to find a way to make it more competitive in order to survive?

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    3. Hire some talent. Get a new signal. Fire the current Program Director and pray.

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    4. What happened to the new guy they brought in from out of town in August? Is it DOA?

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    5. Yes was announced byZac on the show .Clardy gone and the new guy chris doing from Portland heard him once world series post game show and thats it?

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  7. Yes. Best of luck to Troy. He's a good guy.

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  8. At the end of his Sunday show Matt Ray commented that it was his last show and he was leaving. I thought his show was OK. He picked mostly interesting topics and most importantly (to me) he took calls. Any idea what KGO will do now in that time slot?

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    1. I haven't the foggiest mainly because I stopped listening to KGO on the weekend because it caused me great physical and emotional pain.

      Other than Finney and Thurston, KGO is useless.

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    2. Thurston is very difficult to listen to. Her over the too outrage and hysterical laughing over things that really are not that funny. A Marin housefrau and not-in-my-backyard type.

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    3. 11:29AM, Can you or somebody explain something to me about Ms. Thurston? I am a man with no children, and I will probably never have them. There are little things I know nothing about. i.e., Doesn't Pat have triplets? I thought I heard somewhere that this lady of the radio has given birth to triplets. If true, how does she find the time to be on the air almost seven days a week? Good for her, that she had figured out how to 'have it all', but I just thought infants would need their Mamasan right there with them. Is she one of those rich, creative types with a ready troop of mexican maids? Is there a stay at home Father? How does she do it?
      Yes, I'm what would loosely be labled as 'nosey', Oh Well.

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    4. 8:12 you are a little out of touch aren't you. Pat works Saturdays from 6 to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 4 to 7 p.m. that is not "almost 7 days". She does have triplets, but they are not infants, they are close to 10 years old, maybe even a little older. She was not on the radio for a long time, she use to fill in for Gene Burns, and other hosts, on the old (and excellent) KGO, by then they were already toddlers. I understand her husband is quite wealthy, and since she mostly works on week-ends, he probably is with their children.

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  9. Rich, do you find it odd that on the Ch.2 morning news, Dave and Tori make small and happy talk although they maybe don't care for each other?

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    1. No, I don't find it odd because, look, they WORK together, get a paycheck and are professionals, for the most part. They don't have to love each other and it shows--that said, you're right, they don't have a lot of chemistry and astute viewers like you can see through it.

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    2. Is it me, or is Tori pretty snippy with the weather folks at noon (except for maybe Paulson)? She seems especially short with Orozco.

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    3. Probably because unlike Tori, most people at KTVU can at least read a teleprompter and know whether they're getting punked.

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  10. Rich: I might have forgotten from one of your long ago posts, but I had no idea until watching PIX's latest pot club report that Mike Sugerman had an aorta infection that was nearly fatal. As Sugerman was about to test what would turn out to be very useless medicinal marijuana, he confirmed that he had to lay low a long while recovering from the near attack with a mix of prescription, homeopathy, and even medicinals. I wonder who else in Bay Media may have had a close call. Talk about putting everything to perspective!

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    1. They'll have to come forward if they want to pub their close call and I doubt few will.

      I knew about Mike's illness and recently saw him--he looks like he's 100% normal. Knew about the pot deal too but I think KPIX was trying to milk that and they did.

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    2. Great to see that he's back to being the same Mike he usually is.

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  11. Caught Joshua Johnson on KQED FM this morning referring to Knowland Park in Oakland as Know-Land. It's Knowland Mr. Johnson, named after the late Senator William Knowland.

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  12. Rich I cannot believe you didn't comment on 910's Election coverage. Gil held down the fort and did a good job, John Rothman provided relevant analysis but those 2 clowns Corey and Joel were complete buffoons. I cannot fathom how they are on the air. I read somewhere on your blog that Corey was in charge of the station. Is this true? Does anyone above him have the power to get him and that other fool off the air? No one, liberal, conservative, gay, straight, whatever can possibly think this is good radio. They don't seem to have the qualifications or intellect to even be on the air, maybe on late weekend nights in a small market. Certainly not one of the top markets in the country. The quality of radio programs has rapidly died, no better example then these two nitwits.

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    1. I don't listen to 910 AM even on election night because they have hired old sandpaper retreads including duds like Gil Gross and Ed Baxter. Rothmann aside, they lack the essentials to be a relevant radio station and if you look at their 1 rating, I'm not the only one who feels this way.

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    2. The few times i've been 'caught' listening to Corey and Joel, I'm left thinking, yes, they are ridiculous, but one of the fellows, (I don't know who is who) has a pretty good delivery all by himself and does not really need his partner sitting there to chirp in a sundry reaction. Their act almost reminds me of George Burns and Gracie Allen, only 'Gracie' doesn't bring that much to the table, except as someone for the first voice to talk to.

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    3. To 1:51 you must be talking about Corey who has a decent head on his shoulders. It cannot be Joel as he sounds exactly like an out of place chirping bird who should stick to mooching off of the great Gene Burns coattails.

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    4. They need to put Corey with someone much edgier than Joel. A person with an opinion that stirs the pot. Corey is fine as a steerer of the ship but he needs to find a real color person. Could facilitate a move to mornings somewhere and some decent money. He'll get nowhere with Joel.

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    5. BTW I was referring to Corey's voice and delivery. He doesn't sound like he needs the "chirp" along side of him but I think for overall content and entertainment purposes he would struggle as a singular host. He's better at asking the questions and steering than he is at being the opinionated one. Joel is bad all around.

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    6. They had a chance to make some changes and they hired Frosty and Ed Baxter, whIle considering Rothmann. I'm convinced they have no idea how to move a needle. What a waste.

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    7. I think they are both bad, I have a slight preference for Joel, he use to fill in for Gene Burns on his dining around show, I think he is adequate on the dining show.

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  13. I notice many radio stations are using the term "Trending Now." Do think that is attracting a younger audience? If I was in charge I would have them say "Here is a list of crap that no one cares about!"

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    1. Don, you're too smart for 2014 radio, so therefore you have no chance.

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  14. What's the deal with KFOG's 97.7 south bay outlet? The information stream in car (indicating songs, artist etc.) has been dead or barely functioning for months...but the 104.5 outlet is fine. Also, with KFOG's sliding ratings, profile etc....how can they justify tying up two spots on the dial?

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    1. Clearly, it's a station Cumulus has obvious disregard for otherwise issues like this one wouldn't be taking place. Cumulus: the company that destroys once golden legacy stations.

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  15. First, Steve Young on KNBR has been one of the best 20 minutes of radio week after week.

    I do have a complaint about listening to radio over the internet. Why do I have to listen to a commercial before connecting to the live radio show? Is it not torturous enough that I have to listen to all of the commercials during the show? Really, you need to slam me with an extra 30 second ad in prior to connecting? I wish annual IRS audits for the people who decided that was a good idea.

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    1. Online and on air commercial inventory is different. Stations have no money. Radio is free. Is this really a problem in your life?

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  16. How do the ratings, which must be horrendous, allow the disastrous duo Gil and Rhoda to continue on 910? Gil is bad enough solo. Do ratings even matter?

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    1. Good question, Paul: 910 is owned by Clear Channel and their product content is so diluted and marginalized that ratings are but a mere blip, like a test pattern. Talk 910 also has a real lousy signal, thus they settle for mediocrity and terribly dull programming --like Gil Gross, who is their star retread--NO ONE's listening though.

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    2. What about Joel and Corey? Their show has no redeeming quality what so ever, if no one is listening to Gil, who listens to those two. Gil does decent interviews, and since their isen't much else on that time of the day, I listen for off and on during his show. if possible usually the top of the hour. Probably adds up to 20-30 minutes on most days, not much. Listen to Dave Ramsey on 650, at least he gives decent financial advice. Why KGO do not hire John Rothman and put him in Joel and Corey's spot, is beyond me, or better yet, have Gil on from 4 to 7, and John from 1 to 4 p.m. Ed Baxter is not half bad, considering what else is available. Having Ed, John and Gil on would at least give us a more balance, and at least John would take calls, it would be a more solid line up than what they have now.

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  17. I had KCBS on. You kniw how you hate cliches? How this HOFer? On SJ traffic : "And with a report (somebody) "Do you know the way to San Jose?". He said it like he was the first man to come up with that old chestnut.
    Do you agree that if you had $100 for every time TV and radio people said that,you could take a 2 year sabbatical?
    Is that not the truth,sir?

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    1. If I had $100 for every time this Stan the Observer guy made an asinine post, I could take a 2 year sabbatical.

      Truth.

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    2. All of us would be grateful if "Stan TheObserver" would limit himself to observing and forego commenting.

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  18. I enjoy listening to Greg Papa but that annoying co-host John Lund is really the pits! I get the feeling that Papa does his part of the show from a makeshift studio at his house as Lund seems to do all the of the lead ins to segments. But why does the 'Game' keep bringing in mediocre or lousy talent Rich? The morning show is a joke, especially when Brad Gilbert is on. How does that PD over there keep his job? Does anyone listen to that station? What's the status with the Raiders and A's broadcasts over there? .

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    1. It's all a mess, a big mess.

      Both the Raiders and A's want out but I'm not so sure where they can go.

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    2. Gilbert is a blowhard who just likes to hear himself talk.

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    3. Are we referring to Brad Gilbert the former tennis player? He does tennis commentary on ESPN. Extremely obnoxious. I didn't know he was involved with the Raiders. I knew he was a fan. He grew up in Piedmont. Extreme blowhard!!!

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    4. Lund is horrible with his constant giggling like a little girl, his immature, sophomoric, idiotic remarks, and he's brought Papa down to his level - why is he still on the air? Are there that many frat boys in the Bay Area?

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  19. The Larry Krueger/Rich Walcoff 49er post-game show on KNBR is at times uncomfortable to listen to. Seems like Krueger is obsessed with showing that he's the alpha dog.

    Do these guys not like each other or is Krueger overcompensating for being second-banana to Raddy during the week?

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  20. Rich,please make the "kars for kids "spots go away ,an the screech on morning KSFO leave !!!

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  21. Usually after a shooting, car crash or some other calamity where someone dies news coverage includes footage of the first responders standing around chatting and many times laughing out loud as if they're hanging out at a bar. Have you noticed this? Most recently a person was found dead of drowning in SF. The two first responders were carrying the covered body on a stretcher and were completely cackling. Are they not aware that cameras are filming them? A person died at least act like there's some concern for the diseased. Very unprofessional behavior. The news anchor is giving the gory details very somber then they cut to the officers standing around "shooting the sh*t"...Rich, your thoughts...

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  22. Just saw on Troy Clardy's Facebook page that 'The Game' fired him. Jason Barrett doesn't have a clue as to what he's doing. Clardy did a fine job with the A's post game show. How many hosts have they had on that show since it started up a few years ago? No continuity over there, and they keep people like 'giggles' (John Lund), and 'Jedediah' or 'Jeremiah' or whatever that god-awful amateur calls himself. Some of the 'talent' they've hired over there is a joke. And they hope to make a dent in KNBR's ratings? Not with that signal or that roster of mediocrities. I guess the only reason they keep Lund around is because Papa isn't always available to do the mid day show with him. Lund always gets in his immature, embarrassing little juvenile jokes in, then giggles like a little school-boy, and Papa unfortunately encourages it! I'm amazed Jason Barrett still has a job there. He must own pics of someone higher up in a compromising position, or else he sucked off someone pretty good to get the job. The Game is an absolute travesty, and I don't blame the A's or the Raiders for wanting to look elsewhere.

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