THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE AGENTS ...HAPPY SUNDAY...415 MEDIA DEN*It's a good thing Ronn Owens still has an agent; it was that agent that saw the "specific language" in the year-by-year contract Owens signed at the end of last year that
(It did not).
Owens will broadcast on KGO from 10-Noon for the foreseeable future; even he was unaware of the clause and thus, his "KSFO is gonna be great" farewell broadcast on KGO was premature.
In the meantime, Cumulus suits are embarrassed, if that's possible, and sources told me the Atlanta-San Francisco Cloud Company chatter was "off the hook" over the latest brouhaha --it not only makes Cumulus look bad; it sheds a new light over their unbridled incompetence; even A-grade morons could reread contract language.
The idea early on was to let Owens stay on through the end of 2016; (it's an election year, thus interest in the Presidential Election is high on the talk-radio show circuit) but then cut him loose --if you listen to Owens he doesn't sound very good and his ratings are terrible. By moving him to KSFO he could still make money for the company (which he still does, thanks Sleep Train and Mercedes) and retire into the sunset after 2016.
Only he won't ...yet. He could be bought out (too expensive) or they could fire him outright but Cumulus is wary of a lawsuit and an sympathetic Bay Area audience that still likes Owens. In other words, they wanted no possibility of this again.
*There's no shock and awe in this corner over the latest KGO massacre; I had an idea last year that something was coming. The legacy station had already been shot, execution style; how much real harm can you do to a dead carcass?
I DO feel sorry for some of the news people that were fired and led out of the building like a pack of sardines; most will probably land on their feet; not so much for the others. Already, word around town was that former KGO head and now, KCBS boss, Jack Swanson, was fielding endless calls and e-mails with enough resumes on his desk to fill SF Bay. Only Swanson has enough on his plate to worry about; I doubt few, if any, will land a gig across the street at CBS.
*THIS MEDIA SITE has been INUNDATED over the past three and a half days; we have MORE READERS than ever before; I JUST wish the amount of sheer passion and feelings all of you have about the radio in the Bay Area; Sacramento and beyond were not TAKEN for granted by the likes of Cumulus and others.
The truth is YOU CARE. Still do in spite of corporate interests who don't. In the old days, the idea of broadcast stations intent to perform "for the interest of the community" was sincere and followed closely. TODAY, the only interests by the owners is to their shareholders and bottom-line divisions. The community? "Screw the community"! That's what they're thinking; Trust me.
*SUBSCRIBE TO 415 MEDIA; the Bay Area's only 24/7 INDEPENDENT Media Blog with BREAKING STORIES; EXCLUSIVES YOU'LL ONLY GET HERE; Inside Information that you won't see in the Mainstream Press; The 415 MEDIA SITE those in the INDUSTRY READ.
415 MEDIA is free of charge--and will always be but a DONATION is welcome and appreciated --to keep this site going --I need the financial help from those of you that like and appreciate free-form, cutting edge, TV/Radio/Internet news --TO DONATE: simply click on the PayPal icon on the right of the blog to make your donation. ALL donations are completely confidential --any donation over $25 will enable you to have a nice lunch with yours truly.
Thanks again for making 415 MEDIA the MOST-READ Media Site in the SF Bay Area and Beyond.
*Follow me on Twitter
So Ronnn goes back to 810 for two hours huh? This was a clear cut attempt to put him out to pasture for sure. The attempt to put him in with the likes of limbaugh,savage and levin would have been a death sentence for ronnn,he would have went down like a lead baloon. Now the morons at the cloud are eating crow by the dump truck load. And ronnn goes to a station where he knows he's no longer wanted.....boy,this should be great. Because I noo longer listen to 810 I'll read aboul the fall out here..
ReplyDeleteYuppiee!!!
ReplyDeleteWe now may really get the giant Ronn Owens radio goodbye extravaganza starring....
Willie Brown
Gary Radich
Van Amburg
The Mill Valley Singers
And his wife
DeleteThis speaks volumes about the incompetence of Cumulus. A laughing stock of a company...dismal leadership...no vision for the future, etc., etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteLaughing stock? Have you seen their stock price? About to be de-listed and sent to the pink sheets. This is fun watching them crumble. Never saw a cloud crumble before...
DeleteYes...incompetence on a grand scale. I no longer hope that 810 will return to what it once was,thats an impossibility. I do hope to see the cloud hang itself till death though..
DeleteRonn's fill in hosts are cheering. They won't lose their midday exposure.
ReplyDeleteThe proposed new lineup after A & G in the mornings is just ehhh. I was hoping for more of a change. I would keep Chip around but not the others. I'm one of the few with respect for Ronn so all joking aside, fine, let him ride out the year altho I was hoping for something fresh and new when they announced it, not retread.
ReplyDeleteWhat's going to happen with the syndicated John Batchelor Show that was on KGO late at night? Even though I didn't necessarily agree with his views, he ran a tight show with interviews with authors and sounded like he had actually read their books and was familiar with their topics.
ReplyDelete6 hours of that guy is 5 hours and 59 minutes too long. Put Ray back on or Pat on the late shift.
DeleteI'm sure it will stay. It or Red Eye Radio is the overnight programming on pretty much every Cumulus station.
Deleteto 3:25
DeleteYour post is 100% fact-free. I like Ray but he hasn't said anything in months and probably has no interest in coming back. I doubt Cumulus has any interest is bringing Ray back. Does Pat want to work at 1 am? Really?
They bumped Winetraub for Batchelor and only because the boss was sleeping with the assistant program director who had a crush on him but then he told HR. Cumulus!
Delete@Anon 5:53, Pat use to work the 1am slot on weekends and would fill in for Ray during the week. I doubt if Ray would come back but I think she would take a late slot if available. Dump Drex and put her in the 7-10p slot.
DeleteThe KGO staff had a gathering this afternoon at an employee's house. All of them showed up I heard
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time sharing stories and enjoying a final time with all of us together.
DeleteAre there photos? I'm curious who showed up? Ron? Copie? Chip?
DeleteI brought a camera.
DeleteI hid a camera in the bathroom.
DeleteTuesday will be interesting:
ReplyDeleteNot nearly as interesting as Monday will be.
DeleteWhen I search for KGO on Google, it now takes me to Sirius Radio. :-)
ReplyDeleteI just got a new car that has a one-year complimentary subscription to Sirius XM. Do people really pay to listen to this crap? It's awful and expensive. Since the car also has a six-disc CD player and iPod connections, I'm about as interested in Sirius as an inuit is in an ice chest.
DeleteI appreciate, Rich, that you haven't been insulting to Ronn during this situation. Yes, I understand that you don't enjoy listening to him and also did not like the way he handled the last bloodbath, but I and many others still like him and listen to him.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing that has kept me from visiting your site very often is the way you spoke about Ronn. It doesn't bother me if you state an opinion in an honest way even if I don't agree, I just didn't like the mean- spiritedness that went on for years. Today is a new day.
However, I don't mind if you say crappy things about Cumulus!
Thanks for keeping us updated on this latest Cumulus hot mess. You are serving the community well.
Yeah for Ronn Owens! Way to shove the shit back into the face of Cumulus corporate thugs as they destroy radio media in the Bay Area! My mother used to listen to KGO when Ira Blue was an evening talk show host. I was just a child when listening with her and someone called Mr. Ira Blue claiming to be the Zodiac Killer!
ReplyDeleteI listened to KGO and also KFRC all through the 1980'sand 1990's. What KGO was to talk, KFRC was to music! Even though Owens is still going to be on for a short time longer, I have not been listening much to KGO for a few years since the first big firing. I swear the corporation firing killed Gene Burns! He lived for that station! So much has changed! Radio is dead! RIP KGO and KFRC
The Drex show on KGO seems pretty good. I hope they keep that one. Chip Franklin? Not so much. Makes comments that are difficult to believe. Hasn't much credibility. Both KGO and Chip would better off if Chip were somewhere else. Ronn, I actually would prefer he moved to the afternoons. Morning radio has a lot of good content to chose from already in the Bay Area, with NPR's Forum and Gil Gross on 910, both excellent. Ronn is good, but number three on that list. In the afternoon he'd be number one. I don't care which frequency his voice is modulated. He's still interesting to listen to, and moderate his show well, politely allowing a lot of listeners to give their point of view. For the weekend I hope they keep Michael Finney and Pat Thurstone. That food and wine afternoon show, not so much. Last wish: I hope beyon hope they completely rid the San Francisco airwaves of John Bachelor. Infomercials about cosmetics and hair products would be more interesting. I was listening KGO the first time Ronn came on the air, and I listened to his putative last hour on KGO. Times change, everything changes, but I think Ronn has some good shows left.
ReplyDeleteThe weekend question is an interesting one. My bet is it will go almost 100% brokered programming.
DeleteIn my view John Batchelor is one of the best things on radio. Wonderfully intelligent interviews of interesting, knowledgeable guests. More in depth discussions, and surprising content, than anything on NPR. However, he's no longer on live in SF, so I listen to him on iHeartRadio. I've just about had it with local radio; not much of it appeals to me any longer. Too bad.
Deleteon knbr, the old kenubber, you notice ray woodson k nows how to drag the listener along as if he's JUST about to talk about a topic, then you realize much time passes then it's already a commercial. those ''hosts'' have mastered the art of pulling listener along with a voice tone that sounds like they are just about to talk about something then a commercial happens. its that inflection in their voice that tricks you every time. mind control experts, do they tech this somewhere...lol...
ReplyDeleteIs it too far fetched to hope that KGO would be sold in Cumulus's bankruptcy proceeding and bought by a company who wants to try to re-establish KGO as the talk powerhouse that it once was?
ReplyDeleteFrom your lips to God's ear, EdgewaterIsle...
DeleteDrex is pretty good, really? Guess you never listened to John Rothmann or Gene Burns? Drex is horrible, perhaps Joel and Cory on 910 is worse and that new show on 910 the Doghouse, as far as I can tell those 3 shows are mindless chatter, with very little that interest someone interested in politics, issues of the day (and no I don't mind the Kardashian's)and the likes. I'm not a fan of Chip Franklin, but I think he is better than Drex. John Batchelor is a little too conservative for me, and his show is often pretty dry, (talking about China and it's economy) never the less, he is intelligent and well informed and have intelligent and well informed guests on, often he does show that has nothing to do with politics or current world affairs, but has a rather historical bent to it, I enjoy those show, especially when it about history figures I have a strong interest in, like the on I heard tonight on the Fresno channel (580) about Franklin D. Roosevelt.
ReplyDeleteJohn Rothmann is definitely an interesting host provided he isn't talking about the Middle-East, where his bias makes him unlistenable on that topic. But for state and national politics, he's among the best. He'd make for great listening especially this election year. Maybe I wasn't paying att'n, but I don't recall a Rothmann hosting slot on KGO being an option to choose from. As for Drex, I only listen infrequently, I'll generally be listening to NPR or KCBS in the evenings; but when I do listen to Drex his show seems like it might draw in younger listeners to the talk & content format, which is a good thing. Everything can't be about the Medicare set. If Gene Burns were the host of the 7-10 pm slot I'd listen then much more frequently. But even if it true I'm not paying careful att'n, I know for a fact that's not an option. Batchelor .. yuck .. KGO will have to make do without me listening after 10 pm. They own the station, but I own my radio's channel selector buttons.
DeleteIncompetence like this should keep the investors away. Delisting will be that much harder to avoid.
ReplyDeleteMore BS from Mr. Warmth. Oh he loves everybody. His name is on the studio where he bull shits. He got his way. Like he said the other day, "I'll probably die behind this microphone." Maybe he'll retire before the ext election.
ReplyDeletejokes on Mr. ITK. Hook or foot firmly planted in mouth?
ReplyDelete