There exists at perennial albatross station, KRON, a real, discernible dread; a dread of the unknown and murky future that exists at the station at 900 Front Street. 415 Media made contact with a KRON source; someone who works inside the building who describes the mood as deteriorating at best and the atmosphere quite depressing. No surprise there.
Here's more from the source, at length...
"The feeling like the end is near, meaning they're going to turn off the lights. Considering the situation, the staff remains focused on doing a job...but for the most part that is easy because one just goes through the motions. When the email went out from Ashley Gold Messina for the quick urgent meeting it was thought there might be news of the sale going through, the station being sold or news on a possible shutdown. AGM was also serving as the interim GM at KOIN in Portland and remains there until she leaves at the end of the year. Before her announcement it was thought Media General would ship her up there before unloading KRON.
There is a hiring freeze, of course. People are tired of Radnich on the air...but he is still cordial and polite (for Gary) in the halls.
There is the belief many things will get the axe when Nextstar takes over. Gary, the Sunday Sports Night Live show and The BackStory to name a few."
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| Gary Radnich at KRON |
I see Radnich doing week end sports for the next two or three years for a local channel. He's for sure not going to push any of the big three out of being no.1
ReplyDeleteIronic,he could replace former kron sports host Jason Applebaum. Mark Ibanez is a Radnich fan. Raddy pro FOX news conservative views can't hurt.
Fire Gary!
ReplyDeleteIt's sad if you really think about it. KRON was king back in the day. I mean, they did it to themselves, but still...
ReplyDeleteWhen was KRON ever "The King"? KGO has pounded them for over 40 years, and except for the Cosby years when the 11pm did well.
DeleteThe place was always a wreck...long before MG or Young.
The big question is what is KRON's profit margin? That determines the station's future. If they are in the neighborhood of 30-40% then there is strong chance KRON lives on. Even 20% would be worth it. All TV stations make money, the question is how much. A streamlined operation like KRON should be doing very well when it comes to bottomline which is all an owner would care about. Make no mistake: the other station owners in the Bay Area would love to copy what KRON does with its staff. Less people, less salaries to pay, less benefits to cover means more money in the wallet. A healthy profit margin would help cover the costs of other entities that are not clearing nearly as much cash.
ReplyDeleteKRON is clearly getting ratings numbers because if they weren't, they would have be gone a long time ago. The question is what kind of numbers and how competitive are they. They might not be the best station, but if they are putting something up on the scoreboard they are in the game.
A bet my good friend Rich a lunch that KRON's Profit Margin is much higher than 20%! Between Ad Revenue and Retrans, KRON's probably a +$50 Million Dollar money maker! Strong Sales Staff, Creative Production, Growing News Ratings will guarantee it sticks around and thrives in a smaller competitive landscape...look for PBS and KOFY to be auction victims not KRON. Nexstar is buying a money machine......
DeleteNope, KRON's profit margin is around 5%. Yes, that is true.
Delete9:52 Nope it really is +20% Retrans + Ad Revenue - Expenses.... 5% is a ridiculous guess!
DeletePlease be accurate...Fake News will sink this Blog!
It is a testament to the work ethic of the people still at that station that there is anything going on the air at all at this point. It's certainly not their dedication to News Director Aaron Pero, because he is a Human Dumpster Fire. But they show up and do their jobs despite knowing the clock is ticking. Most people in that situation would spend their time at their desk job hunting and just air reruns of "Mister Ed" for the 10 hours of news every day. I hope all of them find better things elsewhere soon, and that Aaron Pero and Darya Folsom both end up doing the overnight shift at a public access station in Iowa.
ReplyDeleteRadnich has been mailing it in for years. He could care less about sports and anyone who follows our local teams knows it. He never shows up to any local games and is not at all interested in what's going on. He's skating by and the lack of effort is quite evident. Feel sorry for Krueger who has to carry his lard-ass on 'the Sports Bleeder.' If Hammer had any balls, (which he doesn't, otherwise he wouldn't be Cumulus' hatchet man), he'd fire that sort bloated- ass Radnich.
ReplyDeleteStopped listening to fat Gary 10 years ago because he's so uninformed but caught him last week and he's still doing the same "no no no" and "lived a little" every 2 minutes. Worthless
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