KCBS HAS BUILT a reputation here based on 24/7 News and Information with an emphasis on LIVE reports; "traffic and weather together" and "sports at 15 and 45." It's a formula that has catapulted KCBS to the top and near-top of the Bay Area radio ratings for over four decades.KCBS doesn't sound right these days. Much of its trademark quality news reporting and updates are in a quagmire. There's no more consistency. The traffic reports sound like shit and the new reporters are amateurish. Not all, but many don't seem to know the Bay Area. Most of this mishmash is not KCBS' fault; CBS has changed it traffic/sports affiliate agency but KCBS is responsible for its announcers and they sound terrible and I'm being kind.
The traffic reporters, bar a few veteran voices, are awful. Wait a minute, what traffic? What used to be its hallmark is now part of its downfall. There are no more overhead helicopters. That hurts morning and afternoon commuters who rely on that KCBS dynamic but it's now GONE. So too are the great traffic broadcasters like Ron Cervi and sports voices like Dave Lewis shoved out like rotten eggs.
KCBS has become a home to the old KGO Radio voices too, what happened here? Was there a kidnap that happened overnight? Whatever the case, I'm not listening anymore because KCBS isn't worth the time nor effort. It has a bad smell and needs to be deodorized quickly.
Sad to see it go. I replaced AM button #4 KCBS with KSNT 840 AM out of Las Vegas. Gosh I hope the Bay Area doesn't become Irrelevant with the decline of those AM stations.
ReplyDeleteKCBS is like sliding down Seal Rock on your bare ass. It has been slowly imploding. Very sad to see this happening. Just like KGO, its gone forever.
ReplyDeleteBut, Rich those who left were professionals and those who have replaced them are also veterans and professionals. I think your misogyny is showing.
ReplyDeleteHey 352, yes they're veterans, but "professional" is a matter of opinion. First off, you've got that lounge lizard, Kevin "The Rat" doing sports. The nickname sounds self-serving and in his sportscasts, he's resorted to using sound effects like an actual movie line or whatever his "creative" mind is thinking. But then again, we could be listening to Rich "It's All About Me" Walcoff doing sports. Bad enough we've got Bruce McGowan who walks around SF wearing a sandwich board saying "Listen to Me."
DeleteExcellent post at 7:41am.
DeleteYou summed up very well the characters who have no business providing news.
Who in their right mind goes by the name of "The Rat"
When is 65 will he still have this nickname?
They should all work at the carnival know as KNBR.
Omigawd...the humanity!! of having a sportscaster with a nickname...a sportscaster with a sense of humor who is also very creative..what is this world coming to?
Deleteoh 3:52, don't you know you're never supposed to compliment anyone on this thing? It's for haters only. I still listen to KCBS and in some instances, the people they've hired are an upgrade. Sorry but Bruce McGowan is way more talented and engaging than Dave Lewis. I don't know any of these people personally so I can't comment on that, only what I hear on the radio. KCBS has a very strong stable of sports talent from morning to evening.
DeleteYo 612: Go pound sand. KCBS has a certain style to it. It's stodgy. That's the CBS brand. Or it was. If you can't handle the truth, hit the road.
DeleteSorry to inform you at 6:12.
DeleteBut Bruce MacGowan is not suited for radio.
Just wait till he goes into his birdbrain Will Clark impersonation.
Hey 612, is Brucie Boy your neighbor? Are you his Facebook friend and read his long form posts which he knows aren't suited for that medium but doesn't care because he thinks he's the shit? He looks at a mirror when he does his sports because he thinks only of himself. And it shows in his work. He's now forced to talk about sports that don't concern him. If he had it his way, he'd replay his talks that he had at a theatre in Mill Valley and yap about baseball all day. He even kisses the ass of his former employer, even though THE SPORTS LEADER (as he has it in his posts) told him to get lost years ago. Both of you are delusional.
DeleteSpeaking of once-great (or at least good) radio stations, it will soon be one year (June 10?) since KLIV in San Jose switched its all news format to "country gold" music. I'd like to know what everyone from there is doing now, if you've got room for such a story (or stories).
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing George Sampson, who was the news director and morning anchor at KLIV, on KFBK in Sacramento now. Been there a few months.
DeleteThat's nice to know, Anon 4/10 @ 7:30am, thanks. He's one of the crew that I enjoyed hearing on my early morning commutes, always very good. He lived in the Santa Cruz mountains, so I wonder how he ended up in Sac & how that's working for him & his family. It would be nice to read/hear an interview with him & his former colleagues -- hope they're all doing well.
DeleteGeorge Sampson here. Thanks for the props.
DeleteIt's been nearly a year since KLIV flipped and while I miss my KLIV listeners, the great staff and working for Bob Kieve (25 years total!) I've been lucky to continue working in radio news.
These days I am at KFBK in Sacramento, living in the Sierra foothills and lamenting the demise of Bay Area radio news outlets. First KGO, then KLIV and I've got my fingers crossed for my friends at KCBS.
Wait until the Entercom crew, with a high-level corporate type already living in SF, gets their management mitts on KCBS. Buy-bye!
ReplyDeleteYou can also add the repeating of the same stories over and over, though I guess that can be chalked up to the format. Apparently the expectation is that no one listens for more than 30 minutes at a stretch.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rich's critique.
ReplyDeleteThey flew in planes but point taken. Important part of traffic reports is missing. But I hear a lot of the same traffic people as before like Kim in the morning and Sheryl in the afternoon. People already know who George Rask is too.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess no more breath taking pics in my Instagram from @Sky1Ron while he flies over traffic ?
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who can't handle the truth, stop following the blog. What Richie is saying is true. Wake up, pay attention, stop being a zombie and get with the program. Meanwhile, SiriusXM subscriptions are on the rise.
ReplyDeleteBut - they may want to drop their tag line: "First in traffic"....cuz they really aren't, anymore. I've driven by some fairly serious accidents recently on 880 in the south bay, and listened to KCBS for 30 minutes after I passed the scene.....they never reported it. That is not "first in traffic".....
ReplyDeleteOver the weekend, KCBS, for my limited listening time, sounded like amateur hour, including production quality. At least George Rask was doing the traffic, and could pronounce all the names.
ReplyDeleteIn the vein of "The food is so bad,and the portions are too small" KCBS has 3 minutes of news followed by 3 minutes or more of commercials.
ReplyDeleteSeems like.
Sheryl Raines is HORRRRRRRRIIIBLE. I heard her make up streets on occasion and she sounds like she has a mouth full of cheetos. Seriously!!!! And Derek Smith is never prepared "uhhhhhhhhhh" and Alan Brooks sounds condescending and corny.
ReplyDeleteSheryl Raines has a voice like velvet, and she doesn't make up streets as you assert.She doesn't get all that voice work because of a "mouth full of cheetos".
DeleteWhat station are you listening to? She's gotta be the worst traffic reporter anywhere, beside Sal Castaneda.
DeleteThere was a discussion on bayscan yahoogroups about much less use of media 450 MHz 2-ways, some of us scan those for latest on what the media (aircraft, ENG vans) are following. Much of us think they get their traffic info from Caltrans cameras instead of reporters-on-the-spot. However, like the ENG vans that have only one person instead of three (talent, camera, sound), I guess it is the trend of reducing costs which I don't understand because that equipment is expensive ($20K is chump change) and it seems they replace all that gear every two years (except tripods and wireless mics).
ReplyDelete"There are no more overhead helicopters."
ReplyDeleteWasn't the KCBS air force always airplanes?
Have you ever timed their "All News" coverage cycle?
ReplyDelete00-03 Nat'l News 3 min
04-07 News 3 min
08-11 Comm'l, Tfc Wx
12-13 News 2 min
14-15 Comm'l, Sports
16-21 Comm'l, Tfc Wx
22-24 News or Interview 2 min
25-26 Stocks
27-30 Comm'l, Tfc Wx
31-35 News or Interview 4 min
36-41 Comm'l, Tfc Wx
41-42 Feature (Osgood?)
43-44 Comm'l
45-46 Comm'l, Sports
47-51 Comm'l, Tfc Wx
52-54 News 2 min
55-56 Stocks
57-58 Comm'l
58-00 Tfc Wx
As far as I'm concerned,Sports is not news. Neither is weather. Traffic reporting is valuable to some, especially road closures, but Waze and GPS are more informative. Now with no overhead traffic observation/reporting, GPS is even better than ever. And no annoying commercials. (Just that impatient voice telling you to make a U-turn because you're taking a shortcut. LOL)
That's approximately 16 minutes of "All News" an hour. Sounds like Bait an Switch to me. "Tune in for an hour of All News and we'll give you 44 minutes of commercials and crap instead."
Been listening to KCBS for over 20 years, traffic updates are not up to date, commercials in the middle of traffic reports is the worse thing you can do. I am in outside sales and drive 40k+ a year and used to depend on good reporting. I hope they see the error in their ways soon before it is too late.
ReplyDelete