GONNNNNNE
Ronn Owens out as full-time KGO talker.
*Yeah, I know they gave him a token 15 minute "Ronn Report" but there's more to this.
I'm already on it.
*Developing...
UPDATE 1: 26 PM: I'm told Ethan Bearman will take over 10-1 PM
(That'll move the meter --hah!)
415 MEDIA SOURCE: Initially hearing health and declining ratings initiated all this ...which was bound to happen any day now and has finally taken place.
The decision was reached very suddenly and quietly; privately, KGO sources, even the most senior (the few who are left) had no clue this was coming and still don't know all the info.
Check back here periodically for updates.
UPDATE 2: 1: 39 PT
KGO management and Owens and his agent have been quietly, secretively, negotiating this arrangement for weeks --trying their best to keep it quiet.
Owens' health (he continues to battle Parkinson's Disease) accelerated the negotiations and ratings began sagging ...his new token (15 min) "report" was negotiated so Owens could maintain
Ratings factor: Owens was getting killed by "Gary and Larry" on KNBR; worse, Rush Limbaugh was beating him soundly too on KSFO (a Cumulus station, as is KNBR)
UPDATE 3 2: 36 PT -- Owens was also getting challenged by 860 AM's Dennis Prager.
(mightily)
UPDATE 4 : 19 PT: This is not the last big-money (by Cumulus standards) guy diminished; Cumulus recently filed Chapter 11 and those who make big bucks will see hefty cuts and or heave-ho's.
Owens' contract in 2006: $1.25M (pre-Cumulus)
His new contract with Cumulus: 2015 -2 years with mgt. option. (2 years at $475K per year)
No more discretionary money, especially for those with lousy ratings.
..
Ronn must be very excited about the changes right?
ReplyDeleteWonder if Radnich is next...
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Murphy and Mackey will be next. They are awful listening.
DeleteTWO MORE HOURS of Ethan?? Ugh, too much neurotic blathering about his latest dietary fads to listen to to get to his otherwise good perspective.
ReplyDeleteand even worse his moronic stupid giggling yenta sidekick whz her name
DeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one noticing it, such as his obsession with the evil White Sugar. By 1:30 his co-host gets such a case of the giggles that the show is a wash. And the constant side tracking before even finishing a sentence.
DeleteTime slot should have gone to John Rothmann.
ReplyDeletehello ,this is the GONN OweNNNS show...brought to by Townie ,Steinie and Mason Mc Duffy_
ReplyDeletetownie and steinie two of the biggest bores in radio
DeleteI haven't listened to Ronn in a while, but took an early lunch today and heard his announcement in the car. Immediately it appeared to me that this was about the anniversary of his contract (is that correct?), so I think he and/or KGO management didn't want to renew it for the now 2 hours a day (down from 3). Ronn has been phoning it in for years now, but with his condition, I don't blame him for stepping back. Don't know anything about this new guy replacing him. Pat Thurston and John Rothman are the only 2 worth listening to on that station.
ReplyDeleteTerrible solution...just what was needed disgusting Ethan front and center...had high hopes, for about 5 minutes that it would be Pat and John... disgusting....only worse would be extending curly and moe...for an hour and bringing in Ethan an hour early. And, I assume they will be replaying the Eathen show in the evening...so sad. Not going to miss Ronn, and now no need to be tuned in at the time he will be giving his report.
ReplyDeleteRonn's Union Health Care is not a Factor...He will get that for life as an AFTRA Member all he has to do is Pay It. Ronn is also in his 70's so you know he has Medicare too. His Contract was up and Cumulus is in Bankruptcy. Why pay the Freight.
ReplyDeleteRich, why do you hate someone like Owens, yet love a miserable human being like Savage? I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoy Savage, I did notice Rich's frothing at the mouth for anything negative related to Ronn or Gary. If memory serves there was a time when Ronn took Rich under his wing. It sucks to be near your 60's and harbor so much animosity and hate. To each his own.
DeleteThere's a reason Savage talks about "Mr. Softy".
DeletePrager at 860 is so much better than Ronnn.
ReplyDeleteNot surprised Prager was kicking the mattress boy's ass.
Prager is pretty great. Enjoy his show a lot.
DeleteI believe Prager only has appeal to those who agree with him. He bashes the left too much (of which I'm one) he quotes the bible too much, and the twist himself into a pretzel defending Trump. Other right wing, or should I say conservative host are more diversified and I listen to them on a regular basis, like Michael Medved and Tom Sullivan.
DeleteDid Ronnnn, in his farewell address, do a mea culpa and admit he was wrong in his defense of scumulus when they fired all of old kgo's hosts 6 years ago? Doubt it.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Sir P.
DeleteKnowing Ronn (with 2 n's no less) he is too weak to admit this.
"Let's take callers, our topic this morning, "cell phone use while driving"
Just a few minutes before closing today's program, Owens announced that after 43 years of doing a talk show, it was "time to try something different." So, starting next Tue., he'll be doing a 10-minute " Ronn Owens Report," segment daily at 12:50 in place of his talk show.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, while in most cases one might expect the retirement of a program like his, especially one so long-running, to involve some sort of retrospective--perhaps even an entire "Best Of" hour featuring clips of noteworthy interviews, discussions and other on-air events that occurred during the show's long run--instead Owens instead merely made a brief mention of the change, the engineer played the Earth, Wind & Fire song that was Owens' original 1975 opener for the evening show with which he began his KGO career, and Owens invited listeners to tune in on Tue. and to keep in touch via social media.
Whatever you may think of Owens--whatever personal history may exist between you two--this is inappropriate. It' s also a lost opportunity for an interesting retrospective, given the vast array of guests Owens had the great fortune to secure.
I imagine that, given the current situation at KGO and other Cumulus holdings, the resources for producing such a retrospective just aren't there. But anything would have been better than Owens' mere dozen sentences and a few minutes of his original theme song. Is that all that 43 years of historic programming merit?
After the Front Street Massacre of six years hence, I thought, we've essentially lost Bay Area talk radio, but at least we still have Owens. Now we don't even have that. The only remaining talkers at KGO are Brian Copeland in the 2-4PM slot, and Rothmann and Thurston, both fill-in part-timers even after all their years of station affiliation. All are arguably underutilized.
Again, think what you will of Owens and of the quality of his program in its last years, but this development represents yet another nail in the coffin. And the unsettling, inappropriate abruptness with which it was announced (assuming no previous mention was made) and treated raises questions about what's happened behind the scenes, for one thing. Also on my mind is the obvious issue of what will fill Owen's old time slot. Given practically all the programming decisions Cumulus has made since seizing KGO, the possibilities seem too frightening to contemplate. But for better or for (most likely) worse, all (well, something) will be revealed early next week.
--Joe Perfecto
I agree with everything you said. There was a period there where Ronn was king. Everyone gets old. Everyone slows down and moves on to their next phase in life. To wring your hands and treat it as a gotcha moment is so disappointing.
DeleteVery well said, Joe.
DeleteWell said Joe. The 40th anniversary show should have given the hint on how Cumulus respects longevity, absolutely basic. No matter how you feel about Ronn now, the amount of hosts that will reach the benchmark of 40 years at the same station will be few and far between. So gross they didn't give a proper goodbye for the listeners sake, even if he is staying on air. There's people who did stick it out through the changes and you can't allow them to say thank you? Or the company say thanks to Ronn? Whether it was Ronn's decision or Cumulus just do something nice. It's not hard. But little known fact is Cumulus does not have deep archives of the show and relies on listeners and other employees for audio moments they themselves recorded. It's amateur hour by a corporate entity.
DeleteThere’s no way in hell that Chippy Franken stays. He’s the absolute worst.
ReplyDelete339:
ReplyDeleteYou're missing the point: Rich is about the craft, not the topics. Savage works his craft and takes pride in his work. Conversly, Owens has been coasting for years with no pride in the product he presents. Wasted talent.
Spot on. Although I am on opposite sides politically from the “doctor” (which doctorate is he claiming this week? Epidemiology, anthropology or “ethno-botany”!? He is extremely well informed and prepared. It is amazing to hear hacks like charlie freedman on ksco or goof balls like ethan barelyaman and ronnnn blowenstein who are ill prepared and periodically say: I had not heard that news. What the hell!?
DeleteAlthough he was way past his prime, you would think Ronn would get a better sendoff than the one I heard today. On the other hand he didn't show a lot of loyalty to his colleagues back during The Purge of 2012. One less choice on the radio which was already a wasteland for newstalk junkies like myself.
ReplyDeleteRonn is probably old enough to go on Medicare and the AFTRA contract offers full medigap coverage for anyone who has been on the AFTRA plan for 20 years or more, all of which are true in Ronn's case.
ReplyDeleteI for one will miss Ronn very much. He has been on the air so long in the Bay Area, that he is a part of what makes here here. He was a great talk show host for many years. In recent years he may have let the show slide a bit, but can you blame him (based on health and age). Most of you appear heartless and bitter. All you like to do is criticize. He has given a lot to the area, so ease up.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you ease up on Ronn. He sure has given a lot to San Francisco and his listeners the faithful like you and I. Some of us are lucky we were able to listen to him for so many years. He should have been known as The Mayor of the best talk radio show until Cummulus got hold of Kgo.
DeleteWho's Ronn Owens?
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with 6:29, yes he was not the host he use to be, but he still put on a decent show that I could listen to. Cannot listen to Rush, or Ethan, and Dennis Prager only in very small doses. Leaves no choices for the 10 to noon time slot, which is when I listen most days, since I work from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. and have a long commute. At noon there are some decent choices Michael Medved and Tom Sullivan, I will listen to Dr. Drew and see how he stacks up against those two, use to like his TV show.
Delete860 from now on. Ethan Boreman? Chip Fuckman, Brian Crapman? No more, I'm done! Thank you very much. I know that was child like but that is what this world famous station/call letter has become. Sorry to see you go. Good riddance.
ReplyDeleteYou programmers wanted a moderate/young voice in the Bay, but because you didn't get the demo that listens to AM radio, you lost and continue to lose.
I don't expect you to change and so I will move on to different content. As so many others have. See you in the past.
No wonder BMW is taking the AM band off their radios.
ReplyDeleteBeen with KGO since Ira Blu, loved Dunbar, Easen, Rodgers, Duane, Pete, Art, early Ronn, KGO was the "Golden Standard" for years. But the important word is "was", not much left there now, closest available is KSCO in Santa Cruz
ReplyDeleteAnd Owen Spann?
DeleteRonnnnnnnn who? Isn’t he some schmendrick who loved the latest gadgets and pedicures? I thought he was off the air for years.
ReplyDeleteWhat is keeping KGO from running Rush? Is it that fallout from the Dicky's?
ReplyDeleteIf Rush can beat Ronn from 560, why can't Rush just kick ass on 810?
Please don't give me this "the left would never allow it in the BA."
Is something contractual keeping Rush off 810?
The left running the BA is going to be history soon enough. With the Chinese taking over huge parts of various cities there is a conservative, educated upswing in Bay Area population.
DeleteFor 6 years, Ronn was in a nearly no-win situation.
ReplyDeleteThe corporate owners destroyed KGO. They made moves that benefited a very small group at the top while ruining a great station.
Ronn Owens could have done the greatest shows of his career in the past few years, but it wouldn't have mattered - he was on a sinking (sunk?) ship.
Sure, he could have walked away and/or been critical of the new owners. But in the world we live in today, it's hard to criticize anyone for hunkering down and taking the money from the vultures that run our industries.
I didn't know.....KGO is still in business?
ReplyDeleteYeah I am surprised like many of you.
ReplyDeleteWhy wasn't there some sort of best of Ronn Owens or tributes from his favorite guests.
I was expecting Gavin Newson, Willie Brown, John Burton and many others to bid him farewell.
"This is not the last big-money (by Cumulus standards) guy diminished; Cumulus recently filed Chapter 11 and those who make big bucks will see hefty cuts and or heave-ho's." Who is even left at KGO who makes big-money?
ReplyDeleteWay to go Pat Thurston, opening of her show, and after it probably her last. I have not cared for Ronn since the bloodbath, but no one should be treated the way Cumulus treats people... I swear and have for years, that the bloodbath killed Gene Burns, and doubt that Ronn will have any respite from his Parkinson's with this. Not right in any way. And, I know Rich doesn't care for Copeland, but I have liked his show and his many features. Not all of them are appealing to me, but I appreciate the diversity... goodbye KGO
ReplyDeleteHe's been on KGO since October 1975. I just started the 7th grade then; am old now. What a run that will never happen again. Longer than Frank and Mike's.
ReplyDeleteRonn Owens...is he the lawyer with the phone number 1-800-8 million? If so, I've heard of him.
ReplyDelete