Ray Woodson, the sports-talk radio veteran who spent the bulk of his Bay Area career at KNBR and most recently, 95. 7 FM "The Game" decided to bail out, suddenly and swiftly --with little notice."This time its my decision."
Just like that.
Those of you that have lived a little know that radio has changed and that what little creative energy is left is expensive ...and many broadcast companies are either unable, or more likely, unwilling to pay the freight.
Therefore, you then have stagnant radio and talent-impaired talent.
I asked Woodson directly why he decided to leave the radio biz and his response was both expansive and telling:
Via text:
"It was a combination of factors, Rich. Family and professional. As you know the business has changed quite a bit. To me sports talk radio is an art, not a science but that’s not how this business is “trending.” Also, after what happened this year, I decided I want to be my own boss from now on. I figured after 40 years in broadcasting I’ve earned that. I will do podcasts, for one thing. Pretty soon I’ll write a book—maybe it won’t be of interest to the general public, but for my kids and grand kids. Everyone at The Game was great, by the way. This was just a personal and family decision about how I need to focus my energy at this point in my life, plus I am going to need recovery time from an upcoming surgery. Just as a postscript — I got REALLY tired of commuting into SF. One year, when I was working in Monterey and SF, I put 55K
miles on my truck. Between driving and BART, and the overcrowded conditions — as Sinatra once said — “that’s enough.”
Which is a crying shame. Woodson was one of the few original sports-talk radio hosts who could spin a good tale or two and he was both informative, funny, and easy to listen to.
He didn't have to resort to cheap and disingenuous sound drops and bits that is a common nuisance in today's mostly banal, innocuous, talk-show code where there exists a whole lot of noise and very little substance not to mention extremely boring sports radio that neither enlightens nor entertains.
Woodson was one of the few KNBR hosts that I looked forward to listening to and was bummed when Cumulus gave him the boot. Why?
Because he was deemed too expensive by today's radio morsels and excavated out to pasture. He soon landed at "The Game" but was mostly doing fill-in. It's a shame someone of Woodson's talent won't be a part of the Bay Area radio landscape, but as he quoted Sinatra, "that's enough."
On his terms, that's good enough for Ray Woodson, which is good enough for me.
wow. I heard him just yesterday afternoon. This was sudden indeed. Seemed like a good guy. Probably being a fill-in wasn't enough. A shame that he was replaced by literal clowns at the Knibber.
ReplyDeleteEvery radio guy in the Bay Area thinks everything is a sound bite or a tweet. None of these guys understand what it means to hold an audience! You nailed it, Rich! Doesn't need sound bites and gimmicks. He was just good at his job! Everyone has these "takes" and they're all the same nonsense. Who said it FIRST! That's why for all you haters out there I still love Savage because even though I don't agree with him he can hold the damn audience! So can Rush! Ralph could too! None of these guys can do it and that's why no one is listening! Not because of the internet but because their stations SUCK!
ReplyDeleteI heard about this from a friend. Too bad I missed his final broadcast as i was in the car but going to a party and didn't listen to the radio. His statement to you isn't a surprise. He was probably tired of getting jerked around. Plus as a fill-in, he was working all sorts of different hours which is not great for family life. Hopefully Ray's podcasts will be good as I do miss him on radio. While it's great KNBR has a late night show, it isn't great. Ryan Covay is decent but a ways to go.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I agree with you Rich. What a shame and loss. Good luck to Ray.
ReplyDeleteRay Woodson was a pleasure. His voice was a pleasure, unlike his replacement at nibbles, Covay, who has the worst sounding voice of anyone.
ReplyDeleteAnother good one gone. Best wishes to Ray and his family.
Ray Woodson was the only KNBR host who let callers speak and offer opinions without cutting them off or make incredibly stupid remarks.
ReplyDelete"Cutting them off" = Radnich, Fitz & Brooks; "stupid remarks" = Frandsen
DeleteDamned shame. But he feels comfortable leaving at this point in his life, and I wish him all he best.
ReplyDeletecompare him to the usual pompus schumks like micahael urban
ReplyDeleteThat bumbling clown Crowe let Ray go at the Knib... When will that bankrupt POS company fire him? Crowe was the clown who lead the game to its miserable ratings.
ReplyDeleteWhat would someone guess he made per year before being let go at KNBR?
ReplyDeleteGodspeed Arthur Chavez.
ReplyDeleteThank you Don Rickles
DeleteHmm,Not once did Radnich the best man at his wedding- ever give Ray a plug. All he did was go on about how Ray wasn't hip enough to be at KNBR when they let him go.
ReplyDeleteI tell you,Ray and Pamela,are just sooo lucky to be in Radnich world. They should thank those lucky stars.
Shut up, Stan.
DeleteHonestly, Stan, your obsession with Radnich is a telling indication of your mental instability.
Deletelol the "Shut up, Stan" made me laugh out loud. Maybe that will be my go to from now on.
DeleteThis is bad news, but inevitable I suppose. Ray always came across as a true professional, and it was a pleasure listening to him, even though he could get a little too pc from time to time, I always appreciated his skills as a broadcaster. He reminds me of the throwback style of radio personality: polished, well spoken, needed only the dulcet tones of their voice to communicate their message. That used to be the standard, not the exception, as it sadly is today. When you hear clowns like Murph and Mac with their torrent of sound clips, dudes, bros, mans and yeahs, you just shake your head that those are the people who get contract extensions when somebody of Ray's skill gets the shaft. Its more of an indication of how our culture is changing than anything else.
ReplyDeleteThank "reality television." You don't have to be a professional anymore to be entertaining.
DeleteI agree Rich. Ray is a classic radio person. Sounded like an actual adult was talking. Having an actual conversation. Similar to Frank and Mike.
ReplyDeleteColudn’t agree more, 9:38.
ReplyDeleteMurphy’s crap is the same every day. I wish he would “pivot” himself into the ground and take his moron, side-kick with him. What’s the over/under on whether he says “pivot” more than “dude”.
Well said 12:52.
DeleteMurph and Mac could be joined by many others over at KNBR where stupidity knows no bounds.
Damn. I'm sick to death of all the "bros" on local sports talk radio. Woodson and Tolbert are the only people in that genre I can stand listening to, and I pretty much stopped listening to Tolbert when they paired him with Lund.
ReplyDeleteRay is too intelligent for the sports talk genre; the stupidity, arrogance and disingenuous on display in this market are not to be believed.
ReplyDeleteEntercom is filled to brim with SPorts Radio Hacks, all with this typical East Coast vision of the format. Congratulations you will remain in 1 share land.
ReplyDeleteThat leaves Rod Brooks as the least knowledgeable, most boring sports talk host in the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteNo way that would be Drew Hoffar... got his gig because his bro runs knibber now
Delete