Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Ask Rich Lieberman

 I bet you thought I forgot to answer all your Bay Area TV/Radio media questions--ha!

Ask away.













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76 comments:

  1. What's it mean when KRON zooms in on Pam, Catherine, and Vicki but keeps the zoomed out shot for Darya?

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    1. There are two reasons why they zoom out for Darya.

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    2. Reason 2) to get away from her face

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  2. I think you just answered your own question.

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  3. Rich, Karel talks in a recent podcast about trying to be a host on iHeart Radio...I guess his crowdbegging for $ to pay his bills isn't working out all that well. Shouldn't he have to try a real job for once?

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    1. That's for him to decide. Believe it or not when Karel first started in radio here, I actually liked his show. As he moved on in life post PPM he and his stale began to drag.

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    2. Karel, the smug jerk who regularly hung up on callers engenders no sympathy from many, including me who enjoyed his show when he first arrived on KGO. If money was tight before he got fired, it must be even tighter now. Perhaps he could open a red carpet cleaning business?

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    3. I was not a fan of Karel's show, I rarely listened for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. However, compared to some other hosts on KGO and other stations, I'm wondering why he was fired. At least he had strong opinions, I have been trying to listen to Drex, but rarely can stand more than 10 minutes, he seem to talk about absolutely nothing, on top of that I feel bad for ANYONE who looses their job, when they are already in financially trouble. Compared to Joel and Corey, Drex, and even Kim Komando (but then I'm not a computer nerd) Karel was okay.

      As for Maureen Langdon, she has gotten better, as someone wrote on this blog is definitely better than Drex, but then who isn't. She has good topics at times, and also decent guests, I just wish she would get rid of the "Hanging with Langdon" that alone is almost enough to turn me away from her show. Interesting how when some of these hosts replaced the real good shows, like John Rothemann and Gene Burns, we just could not stand them, not a few years later after putting up with some of the no talent host radio puts on (not just KGO, but also 910) like Montemayor, Frosty, Drex, some of these host seem quite good, not up to the Rothann, Burns standard, but listenable. It is all a matter of perspective.

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    4. I miss Frosty. He had an interesting take on all the stories he covered. He didn't take callers but compared to everyone at 910 (save for Gil Gross) and KGO (save for Ronn and Brian Copeland), he is way more listenable and does not deserve to be lumped in with the Dreggs, I mean the Drex.

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  4. What's Dr. Dean Edell up to these days?

    And do you know the full story of his departure from KGO? As I recall, they were going to fuss with his time slot and he just elected to leave. I believe it was about a year before the infamous bloodbath? Did he just see the handwriting on the wall a bit early?

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    1. Dr. Dean I believe is enjoying retirement up in Northern CA...I think they (old mgt.) were going to try to squeeze him and Dean had one foot out the door anyway--it was time to go and he had/has all the money in the world to enjoy life.

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  5. KBCW (44/Cable 12) has been running a local Sunday Morning news program 9 am to 11 am for a couple of months that is a feed from the CBS station in Sacramento with a visual overlay of the KBCW station id. I was somewhat surprised the first time I saw it to see local news based on Sacramento and Stockton locations. While I'm sure the Sacramento talent loves the additional exposure in the SF Bay Area I'm kind of surprised that additional news in that Sunday morning time block makes business sense in Sacramento but does make sense to originate in SF by our local stations.

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  6. Any idea who is writing the Chip Franklin promos on KGO? I don't understand how a drinking fountain loosing water pressure when a toilet is flushed helped turn him into a skeptic or a cynic or whatever he says it did...

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    1. I have heard them too and I share your cringing --have no idea who writes the promos.

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    2. I think it's his standup. Apparently he's a standup comedian and used to own comedy clubs.

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    3. OK...two strikes then, 'cause not only do then not make any sense, they are also not funny. Just heard another, "I believe in marriage equality...everyone should have the right to be miserable." That joke wasn't, really, all that funny when I first heard it in, oh, maybe 1997!

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    4. What about KGO is not cringe-inducing these days? It's nice how they wedged in 2 minutes of commercials at the top of the hour, so now the shows end earlier.

      I only listen so I can hear the latest from Marilyn and Rama. They should get their own show.

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    5. 11:33AM, Re: Chip Franklin plutonium based 'jokes'. I finally figured out who his sense of humor reminds me of; Henny Youngman and Jack Benny, both of whom told jokes onstage while dressed in either a business suit or a dinner jacket. The description used back then was a 'droll' sense of comedy.

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  7. Approximately how much does Brian Sussman or Inga Barks get paid per show to sit in Mark Levin?
    Thanks you Rich for answering questions so often.

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    1. I think it's like $300 to fill in; not a lot or at least not as much as you think but nothing to sneeze at either. Plus it's a national show too.

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    2. Even if they were to do it gratis, the nationwide exposure would be worth more than $300. Sussman, recently a close ally of "Dr. Savage," now socializes with the person whose broadcast position he covets. Given the Savage-Levin opposition, by contrast, how does BS's association with either of these personalities coincide with the national syndication to which he aspires?

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  8. I believe you reported a few months back that Julie Haener and Gasia Mikaelian had some sort of conflict. Do you know if that conflict between them has toned down now especially with Gasia replacing Campbell in June?

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    1. Invariably when you fight for airtime tension can increase; both Julie and Gasia were/are respectful of their work--Gasia now going to MO2 I think has diffused that tension.

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  9. hangin with langen
    where did they get that creepy chick from?

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    1. That hotbed of Bay Area culture, New Jersey.

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    2. She was, though, considerably better than DreX when she was filling in for him last night.

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    3. well... ya know... ya just got to be wacky-nutty ya know to get Drex. ya know. Ya know?

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    4. Maureen is better than Drex. Dead air is better than Drex. I think she's likable but I never care about what she's talking about kind of like Chip Franklin. I like him too but he's just a guy running thru topics with no passion.

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    5. Hey Hey Hey easy on New Jersey now Rich

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    6. Rich is into censoring innocuous posts like the one I made listing the amount of superstars born on new jersey most of whom are people he idolizes. I'm from Clifton and lived out here almost 30 years. The Bay is the best but NJ is one of the best places in America. Gene Burns? Jack Nicholson? Bruce? Sinatra? Meryl Streep? Tom Cruise? Jon Stewart? Many more!

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    7. New Jersey....nobody cares...except those of you from NJ

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  10. Hi Rich,

    Is there a way to find out the age of a local media person, anchor man/woman, reprorter, broadcaster or is this information well hidden? The ages of some of these personalities is known though.

    Just always been curious - just so little is known about them when this type of information about other celebrities is for public information.

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    1. Generally if the person is on the air Wikipedia has a page for them and Wiki posts people's ages. Not all, but most.

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    2. I've noticed that Wikipedia has pages for some relatively obscure folks. You can usually tell that has person has written, or edited, the Wikipedia page themselves when they leave personal information, like their age, out of it.

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  11. General rating question: How much audience (actual people watching/listening) in the Bay Area market is a 1.0 share? Assume a .1 share would be 10% of a 1.0 share and a 3.0 share would be 3X a 1.0 share.

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    1. Because the ratings numbers/info has changed so much re- shares etc, I'll leave it to a person out there who will answer your question. A very good question, by the way.

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    2. A 1 share means that out of everyone breathing in the market, 1% are listening. So you can do the math on that. There are differences, too, between average quarter-hour audiences and cumulative audiences, but just to keep things simple, you can guestimate using the ratings as a percent of the total market.

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    3. Just to add to my previous post, that percent is the reach per week. So a 1 share reaches 1% of the total market sometime during the week.

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    4. that's wrong; a 1 share represents 1% of the available audience at that time; in other words, those tuned in. A 1 rating represents 1% of the total population, not just those consuming at that time.

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  12. How is your mom doing? Hope she has been feeling better.

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    1. Thanks for inquiring. Amazingly well--pacemakers are incredible and she's adopted well. She has to have another procedure, soon, and that's the more invasive procedure but she's strong and has good doctors so I'm optimistic and so is Mom.

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  13. Rich what do you think about the concept of News, Weather, Sports and Traffic every half hour and Kars for Kids Jingles in between? We are getting closer all the time!

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    1. It's a lot of noise, Tom and unfortunately morning AM radio is pretty much programmed for commuters --with the assumption that they want the "live and local" mantra--which means loads of traffic and weather, sports too...oh and the 5000 commercials too.

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  14. Who is getting the 5/7 on KTVU now that Gasia is moving to mornings?

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    1. They (KTVU) haven't made a call yet but I like Pam Cook (another morning anchor) She's a good news reader and plays to the camera well. I also think Heather Holmes might be in the running but just a guess.

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    2. I hope they leave Heather Holmes on the 10 pm news. She got that blond sultry look to her that goes so well in the later evening, plus she's often wearing a party or going-out outfit so we know she probably a player. I often fantasize about her knocking on my door in the late evening because she's having car trouble while traveling through my neighborhood and can't get cellphone reception.

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    3. We really didn't need to know that, 2:16.

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  15. Why does sfgate.com perform so poorly for so long?

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    1. I'm not a techie guy --to be fair, SFGate is a lot better now--It loads a heck of a lot faster but it's still not where it should be--probably because they have more links and avenues/pictures and images on it, one day they'll get it right, soon hopefully.

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  16. Why do you think Mike Shumann never became the #1 sports guy? I find him to be just as good as Larry Beil and much better than Radnich or Ibanez.

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    1. I agree with you--For some reason, and I have no idea, the people at KGO didn't think Mike was a #1 guy. They have their reasons. Maybe because they think he doesn't have the "star" persona and he's soft-spoken, I like jis work and think he could be a very good #1.

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    2. Interesting... I think Mike Shumann comes off as a 'know-it-all' and a 'do you know who I am? I was on the 1981 SUPER BOWL CHAMP 49ers!" kind of guy. Don't get me wrong... Being on a SB winning team is something to be proud of. But its not like he was Montana, Clark, Soloman, or Lott.
      Point being he just looks so smug when he reads the sports.

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    3. Is Don Knapp still with PIX?

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    4. A fly on the wall is better than Radnich.

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    5. > Interesting... I think Mike Shumann comes off as a 'know-it-all'...

      Never struck me that way when I worked in their newsroom. I didn't cross paths with Mike much, but he seemed a decent guy, if a bit to himself, but that's no crime.

      Ibañez, on the other hand...now there's an egotistical arsehole.

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    6. > Is Don Knapp still with PIX?

      Yes. At least last I heard.

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    7. I've always found Shumann to be Mr. Bland.

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    8. The same reason Mike Shumann was never a #1, #2, #3, or #4 WR.

      He just isn't/wasn't good enough.

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    9. I happen to like Mike Shumann. One does not have to be Mr. Flash 100% of the time, on and off the set. My contacts with him have been quite cordial. And as far as not being #1 WR, he was good enough to be on the team, which is a whole lot more than any of us can claim,

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  17. If I remember right Lisa Argen and Vic Lee are former KRONvicts who went on to KGO some years before the current KRON/KGO shared services business started. Anyone have any scoop on their perspectives on being reunited with their former KRON associates?

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    1. Argen never really hung out with anyone at KRON anyway. She keeps to herself.

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  18. What happened to the Gary Radnich simulcast on CSN Bay Area? It hasn't been on for weeks.

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    1. They, (KNBR) moved into a new building and I think Comcast is busy assembling the new set/lighting and logistics for TV--I heard they're shooting for a June launch so its on their radar.

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    2. But their HOSTS are now not caring what they say....apparently the move was made with hardly any of the amenities in place. Can you confirm?

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    3. And what was in place was poorly designed and often malfunctions. "Experts" from Atlanta called the shots - and seriously missed the target.
      Bit by bit items are being corrected, but KNBR is only one of half a dozen stations which are struggling through the same problem with - in many cases - cheap equipment.
      Overall, morale has plummeted. Staff enjoys and supports one another, but Cumulus has ongoing mis-steps in connecting in any meaningful way with employees.
      Food and beverages banned in studios - despite extended shifts that stretch across meal-break times.
      And there is a systemic problem with payroll - missed pay, incorrect pay, and lack of legally required data on pay stubs. (And if it is that way in Cumulus' SF market, it can't be any better in the hundreds of other markets they "serve."

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  19. What are Terilyn Joe, Emerald Yeh up to these days?

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  20. Can someone please tell me what on earth the Corey and Joel show on 910 is? Where did these two intellectual heavyweights come from? Boise? I'm voting it the worst show on the radio.

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    1. I tried listening to their show for about a couple of minutes and I finally had enough and turned off the radio. I can't believe that Bay Area radio programmers put this junk on the air but haven't lifted a finger to bring back KFRC.

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    2. @ 3:48. Thanks for making me laugh out loud. I've briefly overheard those two guys on at least a dozen different occasions. Every time, I've found their show and their views such yawners that I couldn't tolerate more than 10 minutes of listening to them. The funny part is that they chatter incessantly, as if anyone at all really gives a shit about what they think.

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    3. what is even worse is Corey is the program director at 910, but there are other bad shows, not only on 910, but also on KSFO and KGO, an overall sad state of affairs.

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  21. Rich, I was wondering if you have heard anything more in follow up to KRONs bad press lately (the BS ticker issue and Erica Kato firing). I would have thought that the BS thing would have cost Pero his job but apparently not. Any insider information on any backlash at KRON?

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  22. My reply to the Shuman post is...Radnich said Shuman is off putting to fellow sportscasters,and does the laugh at their questions during football season at conferences.
    So,maybe Mike has rubbed the head honcho's at KGO to keep him from no.1 but not enough for weekends. It really is strange that Larry Beil was hired as a news anchor and Mike's off camera boss.

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  23. I've never really cared for 'Shu'. I remember when he broke into Bay Area radio on KNBR around 1993 (doing the morning sports updates on 'Frank and Mike'). He wasn't very knowledgeable about anything other than the NFL(especially 'his' era of the NFL), and once blew off giving baseball scores, saying 'check the papers'. When MLB journeyman Dale Sveum (pronounced 'Swaim') played for the A's in the mid-90s, Shumann constantly botched his last name, and played off the 'me dumb ex-jock' to try to excuse his ignorant inability to pronounce a single-syllable name that just looked 'different'.('SWUM...SWOOM..SVEEM...whatever'.) Plus, he just has an annoying whiny/nasally voice that sounds chronically congested: 'Diz iz Bike Shubad sbeagig'. His ABC7 gig only proved he has a face meant for radio.

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  24. The latest promo for drex has him talking about leaving the past behind and that this is ":new talk" or some sort of crap. I don't know who came up with this promo, but it appears to be in reference to the old KGO. Regardless of what was before it does not change the fact the drex show is terrible. The topics are awful and the commentary is idiotic. "listicles", "computators"? Saying "you know" at every other breath. Has management listened to this show? Does Ronn still think it is a great show? His sidekick's "laughter" is like listening not nails on a chalk board.

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  25. laughter that sounds like nails on a chalk board seem to be a favorite of Cumulus, you can say the same about Katie Green (KSFO morning show with Brian Sussman,
    who is as bad as Drex, just in a different day), I pretty much agree with your over all critic of the Drex show, he is terrible. I heard him tonite, saying his ratings is going up, and that people don't want a serious talk show after a long day at work. Perhaps not, although I do, however there is a big distance between serious and silly, it is possible to not be dead serious and still be interesting, Drex is not interesting or funny nor entertaining.

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