Not much, which is sort of the way they like to do business down in San Jose...seems sort of innocuous to me, the "NBC Bay Area model" in action, I guess.
I think it will be an unmitigated disaster (in Vegas); they'll have a honeymoon, for sure, for the first year then they'll be drawing half-empty stadiums--look, Vegas isn't a big sports town. The majority of the people that live there are gamblers and elderly people who like the desert and don't attend sporting events--like the handicappers. Moreover, the prices will be sky-high which means they must win and by the time they actually move in, they'll probably be mediocre and losers.
Oakland never had the money --but Mark Davis knew that--still, he could have made a deal and the NFL could have helped get a stadium built with league $ and thus save an original AFL team; a legacy team at that; but the NFL doesn't care about legacy franchises moving (see "LA" Chargers, what a disgrace) they just want more greed --I'm sort of done with the NFL.
Yeah, sure, but you and I know they made their mark as the "San Diego" Chargers...the Warriors "STARTED" out in Philly too but seems to me they're a Bay Area team that's done OK here for the past five decades or so.
They will do great. It will be part of the LV experience. Bad sports town? There are only 8 games, filled with a mixture of locals, tourists and fans of the visiting team there in town for a good time. Great idea Mark Davis.
Rich, you have done a masterful job covering the KGO Radio debacle. John Rothman and Pat Thurston were "must-listen to" radio for me after any national incident or presidential speech. I like Chip Franklin and Nikki but truly cannot fathom the inane talk/repeat drivel after 7:00 p.m. What the hell is going on and why would they not put Thurston or Rothman in that slot at such a vital time in our nation's history. Appreciate you, as always.
Because the management at KGO believes that most people that listen are stupid, I'm being dead serious. They even put in a manual that is to be followed, the so-called "7F"--Facebook, Fashion, Finance, etc...It's a system they believe benefits current radio ratings (PPM) but lacks common sense because KGO is not doing well and only caters to the lowest common denominator --it's one thing if their dumb policy were paying back dividends --BUT IT ISN'T...by the way, I was respecting you up until the time I read you liking Chip Franklin, but oh well, it's a free country.
I never really noticed --in an ideal world there'd be no political comments here because this is NOT a political blog and not really interested in political comments--left or right. I DO write about right and left-wing radio but there's a big difference, Lebron.
Any possibility of a retired Gil Gross returning to the radio? In my opinion he is far better than any other KGO host and on par with Pay Thurston and John Rothman.
Gees John I sure hope not but I'll agree with you on this...I'd listen to Gil Gross over the mental midgets they have on after Noon, I never liked Gross because he seemed to mumble a lot but it's a matter of taste I guess.
Appreciate it Rich. Keep up your great work/coverage. There is no one that accurately captures the Bay Area media (and tells it like it is) other than you.
From someone on Yelp named Lianna B. from Campbell, posted 7/31/17:
"I just heard on Alice that Gretchen is in Italy and doing fine, but Sarah will still vague about why. I didn't hear "vacation" so I think Gretchen might be gone for good. :-("
Her Twitter page is also very active, and presumably she's back in the Bay now based on her tweets...nothing there on why she's gone from Alice either...her Linked In account still has her employed by CBS Radio...her FB hasn't been updated in a while...nothing on Instagram...all I could find...
Why does Damon Bruce get so much grief? I am a 52 year old working woman and i listen to him every day on my commute home. I think he is awesome and my young adult boys do as well.
I'm hot and cold on Damon; have been for years. He's talented but he thinks he's Willie Mays when he's more Willie Stargel...His best work is when he ad libs --his "bits" and pregnant pauses I could do without but I'm sure you loving him will massage his ego.
I enjoyed Damon much more on KNBR although when he rants cause some twitter troll got under his skin, that's still funny radio. I like him more on 1050 because he was allowed to be more diverse. On 95.7, it's just Warriors talk, ad naseum, sprinkled with Raiders and A's. On 1050, he's cover all the local pros plus hit a lot on college, including SJ State. I know that's 95.7 dictating to him what to talk about, but Damon was much better when let off the leash. He does have an over-inflated ego though, without question. If he was half as good as he thinks he is, he would've gone national years ago. Of course, his lunatic rant about women and sports might've pissed that fire out.
You constantly bag on PIX for not having a 'face' or a style. Isn't that a marketing and promotion problem? Which station does the best in marketing itself? Which has the best image and brand?
It IS marketing, sure, but the "marketing" would be far easier if the respective station were to identify a solid anchor and make it the face of the station. KPIX doesn't believe in that practice and continues to place their best anchors on the weekend or off the 5 and 11.
KGO and KTVU do a real good job of branding and imaging --especially KTVU even though their talent is not as impressive as it was years ago.
PIX is not helped at all by the uncertainty caused by CBS' NY HQ not deciding on ND Dan Rosenheim's fate and what else to do with one of their most important stations alongside WCBS NY, KCBS-TV LA, & WBBM Chicago. Do note that while KGO-TV & KTVU do the best marketing jobs, marketing and morale never seem to mix. In KTVU's case, it's the whole station, which in Circle7's case, it's ND Trixie belittling nearly everyone, even the great reporters like Wayne Freedman. TV & Radio, regardless of hi-tech changes, rarely listens to its viewers and listeners any more. It just puts out the product and promotes it any way it chooses.
> KGO and KTVU do a real good job of branding and > imaging --especially KTVU even though their talent > is not as impressive as it was years ago.
KTVU is ALL branding today. The product reminds me of a community college newscast with its constant technical flubs, typos, wrong info in scripts and--above all--inane improvised comments from the anchors who just reveal how STUPID they are without smarter, unseen writers feeding them copy. There was a movie some years ago called 'Robot and Frank." I thought it was about Julie Haener.
Oh please god, no. Haberman is so bland, he makes Wonder bread taste like sriracha. And Middlekauff just passes off takes he hears on ESPN/FS1, etc... as his own. Brodie Brazil had to actually explain to Middlekauff what special teams are in hockey, despite Middlekauff earlier stating that he'd been watching hockey for years. Haberman is just a milquetoast Kozimor while Middlekauff is merely a pretender. Butcher Boy should get a show before H&M.
Rich... I'm assuming you're more privvy to Ralph Barbieri's health situation than I am ( Which isn't saying that takes much) ... Is he past the point of no return as far as ever coming back to radio fulltime?
Did KNTV drop Peggy Bunker? She's been MIA the past two weeks and...tellingly...Terry McSweeney has not been mentioning her abscence when the news starts. On Sundays Vicky Nguyen as been in but hasn't been saying she's been in for Bunker.
It could all be coincidence but I'm seeing enough red flags here to suspect otherwise.
Do you ever listen to Tolbert and Lund? More often than not Tom just takes the microphone and rambles on about absolutely nothing. For 10 minutes at a time. It's as if they have run out of things to talk about and noone is calling. How popular is that show in the ratings, etc?
Very popular, probably KNBR's best --too bad Lund the moron hijacks the show and makes it hard to listen to ..plus the million commercials. I agree with you about Tolbert but I think he's good, overall.
Is there anyone who thinks Lund is good? Maybe one guy in Modesto somewhere. Speaking of which, the new night time goons on Knbr are fitting in well with the rest of the dumbed down media landscape. No more callers, so we're left with personality driven "hosts", an ex-ball player and an amateur who says nothing. We're supposed to find them fascinating? Compelling? Worth our time? It's awful. And the later night guy who pushed out Ray Woodson is an unmitigated buffoon disaster. This has J-twitt's fingerprints all over it.
Go to house of bagels on st creek nr lawrence expwy in santa clara. Get the "all in one". Every Sat morning I drive there to get one. A great young asian family runs it. DELISH!!!!
Round Table is pretty good considering its chain pizza --actually, I like a local chain, "Xtreme Pizza" --great crust and nice blend of ingredients too.
Have you ever noticed that one of the many things Murphy of KNBR incessantly reminds us is that he lives in southern Marin. As if that makes him elite. He is such an ass!
Why does virtually every newscast when. Showing taped footage say "as you can see here...?" Of course we can see it, we're watching the news! Do every media consultant say that they need to emphasize the fact that they are showing (and we are now watching) video? Radio reports never say 'as you can hear now." It seems like the news programs are dumbing down to viewers. Thoughts?
Yes, the "dumbing down" is always there. I once heard from a news writer at KTVU that the writers are required to write at a high school level. No big words for the viewers!
Hey there Rich, Couple of questions. Where is your podcast on issues of the day? What KGO can't get right, why don't you take a stab at it? Last question, I know you're busy waking up early to checkout Robin Winston do traffic, but where is your piece on fixing KGO 810AM. I think good ole Mike needs a program clock showcasing how the station should be managed.
Hey Rich, looks like LAURA Garcia got a new boob job - and I don’t mean her new co-anchor. Having moved on from Brent Cannon I assume she’s now on the hot prowl?
ALL YOUR BAY AREA TV/RADIO Questions answered ...415 MEDIA is open for business; name and town please.
How has Lamont and Tonelli made it this long?
ReplyDeleteI guess they have a following whatever that means today on FM Radio. I've never warmed to the guys --not exactly breaking news.
DeleteWho will replace Ama when she is on maturity leave?
ReplyDeleteMy best guess is Kristen Sze because she seems to be KGO's flavor of choice --but she's better than Natasha Zouves which is not saying much.
DeleteWhat about Dion Lim, since she is going to be working with Eric Thomas on weekends
DeleteWhat do you think of the new morning anchor on nbc bay area?
ReplyDeleteNot much, which is sort of the way they like to do business down in San Jose...seems sort of innocuous to me, the "NBC Bay Area model" in action, I guess.
DeleteHe and Laura have no chemistry maybe it'll develop still will watch NBC for morning news as to me personally it beats outs the others.
DeleteWhat are your thoughts on the Raiders move to Las Vegas, Mark Davis,Libby and Almeda county as it relates to the inability to find a solution ??
ReplyDeleteI think it will be an unmitigated disaster (in Vegas); they'll have a honeymoon, for sure, for the first year then they'll be drawing half-empty stadiums--look, Vegas isn't a big sports town. The majority of the people that live there are gamblers and elderly people who like the desert and don't attend sporting events--like the handicappers. Moreover, the prices will be sky-high which means they must win and by the time they actually move in, they'll probably be mediocre and losers.
DeleteOakland never had the money --but Mark Davis knew that--still, he could have made a deal and the NFL could have helped get a stadium built with league $ and thus save an original AFL team; a legacy team at that; but the NFL doesn't care about legacy franchises moving (see "LA" Chargers, what a disgrace) they just want more greed --I'm sort of done with the NFL.
The Chargers STARTED out in LA for their first season actually.
DeleteYeah, sure, but you and I know they made their mark as the "San Diego" Chargers...the Warriors "STARTED" out in Philly too but seems to me they're a Bay Area team that's done OK here for the past five decades or so.
DeleteMark Davis looks like the 4th Stooge, Moe's retarded cousin Simon, with that cereal bowl haircut.
DeleteThey will do great. It will be part of the LV experience. Bad sports town? There are only 8 games, filled with a mixture of locals, tourists and fans of the visiting team there in town for a good time. Great idea Mark Davis.
DeleteBorn, raised in Oakland. Went to school with Mark at Montera and Skyline. Left the Raiders when Al moved to LA. Never been back. F'em
DeleteIf the Davis' lived in Piedmont, why did Al send Mark to Oakland schools?
DeleteThe Piedmont move was after high school. look it up. Hell, Al shaved Mark's hair in JH when caught smoking. Not cool hair in the late '60's
DeleteMust have been a WONDERFUL Dad...
DeleteRich, you have done a masterful job covering the KGO Radio debacle. John Rothman and Pat Thurston were "must-listen to" radio for me after any national incident or presidential speech. I like Chip Franklin and Nikki but truly cannot fathom the inane talk/repeat drivel after 7:00 p.m. What the hell is going on and why would they not put Thurston or Rothman in that slot at such a vital time in our nation's history. Appreciate you, as always.
ReplyDeleteBecause the management at KGO believes that most people that listen are stupid, I'm being dead serious. They even put in a manual that is to be followed, the so-called "7F"--Facebook, Fashion, Finance, etc...It's a system they believe benefits current radio ratings (PPM) but lacks common sense because KGO is not doing well and only caters to the lowest common denominator --it's one thing if their dumb policy were paying back dividends --BUT IT ISN'T...by the way, I was respecting you up until the time I read you liking Chip Franklin, but oh well, it's a free country.
DeleteMe too, regarding the comments until mentioning the dumber Franklin, a disgrace to our airwaves, as much a joke around as Beeeer-man.
DeleteYou seem to have a favorite left wing racist whose comments pass through daily. Why not adopt a favorite right wing racist to balance it out?
ReplyDeleteI never really noticed --in an ideal world there'd be no political comments here because this is NOT a political blog and not really interested in political comments--left or right. I DO write about right and left-wing radio but there's a big difference, Lebron.
DeleteI'll try to do better.
DeleteAny possibility of a retired Gil Gross returning to the radio? In my opinion he is far better than any other KGO host and on par with Pay Thurston and John Rothman.
ReplyDeleteGees John I sure hope not but I'll agree with you on this...I'd listen to Gil Gross over the mental midgets they have on after Noon, I never liked Gross because he seemed to mumble a lot but it's a matter of taste I guess.
DeleteAppreciate it Rich. Keep up your great work/coverage. There is no one that accurately captures the Bay Area media (and tells it like it is) other than you.
ReplyDeleteYou have tremendous taste and I approve of your message.
DeleteWhat happened to Gretchen at Alice?
ReplyDeleteI'm being honest, I have no clue but I'll bet you a reader will know so come back soon.
DeleteFrom someone on Yelp named Lianna B. from Campbell, posted 7/31/17:
Delete"I just heard on Alice that Gretchen is in Italy and doing fine, but Sarah will still vague about why. I didn't hear "vacation" so I think Gretchen might be gone for good. :-("
Her Twitter page is also very active, and presumably she's back in the Bay now based on her tweets...nothing there on why she's gone from Alice either...her Linked In account still has her employed by CBS Radio...her FB hasn't been updated in a while...nothing on Instagram...all I could find...
Why does Damon Bruce get so much grief? I am a 52 year old working woman and i listen to him every day on my commute home. I think he is awesome and my young adult boys do as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm hot and cold on Damon; have been for years. He's talented but he thinks he's Willie Mays when he's more Willie Stargel...His best work is when he ad libs --his "bits" and pregnant pauses I could do without but I'm sure you loving him will massage his ego.
DeleteI enjoyed Damon much more on KNBR although when he rants cause some twitter troll got under his skin, that's still funny radio. I like him more on 1050 because he was allowed to be more diverse. On 95.7, it's just Warriors talk, ad naseum, sprinkled with Raiders and A's. On 1050, he's cover all the local pros plus hit a lot on college, including SJ State. I know that's 95.7 dictating to him what to talk about, but Damon was much better when let off the leash. He does have an over-inflated ego though, without question. If he was half as good as he thinks he is, he would've gone national years ago. Of course, his lunatic rant about women and sports might've pissed that fire out.
DeleteWell-stated.
DeleteYou constantly bag on PIX for not having a 'face' or a style. Isn't that a marketing and promotion problem? Which station does the best in marketing itself? Which has the best image and brand?
ReplyDeleteIt IS marketing, sure, but the "marketing" would be far easier if the respective station were to identify a solid anchor and make it the face of the station. KPIX doesn't believe in that practice and continues to place their best anchors on the weekend or off the 5 and 11.
DeleteKGO and KTVU do a real good job of branding and imaging --especially KTVU even though their talent is not as impressive as it was years ago.
PIX is not helped at all by the uncertainty caused by CBS' NY HQ not deciding on ND Dan Rosenheim's fate and what else to do with one of their most important stations alongside WCBS NY, KCBS-TV LA, & WBBM Chicago.
DeleteDo note that while KGO-TV & KTVU do the best marketing jobs, marketing and morale never seem to mix. In KTVU's case, it's the whole station, which in Circle7's case, it's ND Trixie belittling nearly everyone, even the great reporters like Wayne Freedman.
TV & Radio, regardless of hi-tech changes, rarely listens to its viewers and listeners any more. It just puts out the product and promotes it any way it chooses.
> KGO and KTVU do a real good job of branding and
Delete> imaging --especially KTVU even though their talent
> is not as impressive as it was years ago.
KTVU is ALL branding today. The product reminds me of a community college newscast with its constant technical flubs, typos, wrong info in scripts and--above all--inane improvised comments from the anchors who just reveal how STUPID they are without smarter, unseen writers feeding them copy. There was a movie some years ago called 'Robot and Frank." I thought it was about Julie Haener.
Very astute post and worthy of a blog, great analysis.
DeleteWill Habermann and Middlekauff get a regular show on KNBR? Or just fill-in work?
ReplyDeleteI would guess the former but just a guess.
DeleteOh please god, no. Haberman is so bland, he makes Wonder bread taste like sriracha. And Middlekauff just passes off takes he hears on ESPN/FS1, etc... as his own. Brodie Brazil had to actually explain to Middlekauff what special teams are in hockey, despite Middlekauff earlier stating that he'd been watching hockey for years. Haberman is just a milquetoast Kozimor while Middlekauff is merely a pretender. Butcher Boy should get a show before H&M.
DeleteIf there was ever a pair of hosts in need of "radio names" like Arthur Chavez/Ray Woodson it's Habermann and Middlekauff.
DeleteBrodie Brazil, sounds like a name from the Muppet Show. With that stupid beard. Or a character from Point Break.
Deletewill the morning gang at radio alice be affected by the CBS being bought?
ReplyDeleteProbably not since that show is very profitable --I'm not a fan but many people are so it goes.
DeleteRich... I'm assuming you're more privvy to Ralph Barbieri's health situation than I am ( Which isn't saying that takes much) ... Is he past the point of no return as far as ever coming back to radio fulltime?
ReplyDeleteI think Ralph is enjoying his retirement life with son in Marin and radio is in the rear-view mirror.
Delete...... and yes, there are left wing racist. Thank you for pointing that out LeBron in Hayward.
ReplyDeleteDid KNTV drop Peggy Bunker? She's been MIA the past two weeks and...tellingly...Terry McSweeney has not been mentioning her abscence when the news starts. On Sundays Vicky Nguyen as been in but hasn't been saying she's been in for Bunker.
ReplyDeleteIt could all be coincidence but I'm seeing enough red flags here to suspect otherwise.
Good question, I'm on it and will investigate.
DeleteRich -
ReplyDeleteWe need a KRON update
Ok, Update: KRON still unwatchable.
DeleteThere's your update.
Is bay area tv news dead or on life support?
ReplyDeleteDead as in lousy? No --making too much money but the quality is barely breathing for the most part.
DeleteWould you rather be stuck on an island with Heather Holmes or Leslie Griffith?
ReplyDeleteNeither. Too much drama--think "Play Misty For Me."
DeleteDo you ever listen to Tolbert and Lund? More often than not Tom just takes the microphone and rambles on about absolutely nothing. For 10 minutes at a time. It's as if they have run out of things to talk about and noone is calling. How popular is that show in the ratings, etc?
ReplyDeleteVery popular, probably KNBR's best --too bad Lund the moron hijacks the show and makes it hard to listen to ..plus the million commercials. I agree with you about Tolbert but I think he's good, overall.
DeleteIs there anyone who thinks Lund is good? Maybe one guy in Modesto somewhere.
DeleteSpeaking of which, the new night time goons on Knbr are fitting in well with the rest of the dumbed down media landscape. No more callers, so we're left with personality driven "hosts", an ex-ball player and an amateur who says nothing. We're supposed to find them fascinating? Compelling? Worth our time? It's awful.
And the later night guy who pushed out Ray Woodson is an unmitigated buffoon disaster. This has J-twitt's fingerprints all over it.
blueberry bagels or poppy? Rich: onion
ReplyDeleteOnion and garlic too, you guessed it. Too bad there isn't a decent bagel in the Bay Area --House of Bagels is close --as is Bettys in Oakland.
DeleteGo to house of bagels on st creek nr lawrence expwy in santa clara. Get the "all in one". Every Sat morning I drive there to get one. A great young asian family runs it. DELISH!!!!
DeleteHouse of Bagel in SF is not closed.
Deletehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/house-of-bagels-san-francisco-3
Favorite "big chain" pizza? Dominos? Pizza Hut? Round Table? Papa something or another?
ReplyDeleteRound Table is pretty good considering its chain pizza --actually, I like a local chain, "Xtreme Pizza" --great crust and nice blend of ingredients too.
DeleteIn our family, we call Dominos Cardboard Factory Pizza!
DeleteYour take on Katie Nielsen at PIX. She has had Darya level work done,
ReplyDeleteWell, you just answered the question and I concur.
DeleteHave you ever noticed that one of the many things Murphy of KNBR incessantly reminds us is that he lives in southern Marin. As if that makes him elite. He is such an ass!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of HH, LG & "Play Misty For Me"...
ReplyDeleteKeep both of those aforementioned wack-jobs away from a pair scissors & Katie Nielsen.
Darya ... Lots of work done on everywhere BUTTER face.
ReplyDeleteHow old is she now? North of 55? 60?
DeleteWhy does virtually every newscast when. Showing taped footage say "as you can see here...?" Of course we can see it, we're watching the news! Do every media consultant say that they need to emphasize the fact that they are showing (and we are now watching) video? Radio reports never say 'as you can hear now." It seems like the news programs are dumbing down to viewers. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteDumbing down, I have proof. When the weather people say a rain storm is coming, and the roads will be wet.
DeleteWhat's next...Scattered darkness in the early evening hours!
Yes, the "dumbing down" is always there. I once heard from a news writer at KTVU that the writers are required to write at a high school level. No big words for the viewers!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome liberal Bay Area.
DeleteNo, it's thanks to the cons in general who are already dumbed down that's brought it all down to the LCD for the rest.
DeleteHey there Rich, Couple of questions. Where is your podcast on issues of the day? What KGO can't get right, why don't you take a stab at it? Last question, I know you're busy waking up early to checkout Robin Winston do traffic, but where is your piece on fixing KGO 810AM. I think good ole Mike needs a program clock showcasing how the station should be managed.
ReplyDeletehi Rich I hope your Mom is doing better. what happened to Vic Tafur at the SF Chronicle??
ReplyDeleteHey Rich, looks like LAURA Garcia got a new boob job - and I don’t mean her new co-anchor. Having moved on from Brent Cannon I assume she’s now on the hot prowl?
ReplyDelete