THIS ISN'T EXACTLY SHOCKING NEWS; Cumulus' KGO 810 AM is once again officially rudderless. They have NO money. Not a dime. They're paying people to literally keep the engine running and that's about it.Which makes it all the more confusing that ex-PD-programmer; ops man, Jack Swanson took the position only to quit barely a month after he sat in his office.
Swanson thought he had a reservoir of cash to restructure the operation and instead was provided a unworkable budget. He was tongue-tied like he is now after inferring he might be able to bring back some slightly-tweaked KGO that was never going to be the old KGO but infinitely more interesting and news-talkish. Not.
What is on the front burner for KGO in 2019? Basically nothing. Cumulus will make a few role changes and spin it as something profound and keep its few listeners in the dark. That's the price you pay with dimwits running a business they know nothing about and maintaining the status quo which is KGO --underwhelming AM newstalk and not much different then post 2011 KGO.
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*I HOPE YOU HAD A NICE HOLIDAY. I joined a few family members for "The Green Book" which has Oscar written all over it. A warm, vastly entertaining and poignant movie about a couple of unlikely buddies and their adventure in the Jim Crow Deep South. I don't do movies a lot but this being a Christmas day, I was eager for a film foray and this one hit the spot followed by early evening Chinese food at Gold Medal in Oakland. A massive holiday cheer? You betcha --or as Woody Allen used to say, the usual mainstream Jewish Christmas: Chinese food and a movie.
*THIS IS DEAD WEEK; a number of your favorite TV anchors and radio (what's left of them) are finishing up holiday with the family.
So you're either in luck or you can't stand the thought of being without your heroes for some time; get hold of yourself. Walk the dog. Watch dog movies on cable. Read a book. Put your smart phone in the drawer and make some spaghetti and meatballs like I plan to do tonight.
Rich, Cumulus and its AM properties in particular, are likely viewed by the creditor-owners as a declining asset not worth further investment. See "https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/harvest-strategy.asp". The BANG newspapers' owner is reportedly doing this as well, search 2018 articles about unrest at corp sibling Denver Post.
ReplyDeleteThe real declining assets are the Tricky Dickeys. Too bad the business world and its donors can't see that.
ReplyDeleteYep, BANG Newspapers is sliding into more obscurity. I only keep the EBT because my parents enjoy the crossword and the nostalgic routine of reading the paper. Oh, and of course, the Dubs, too.
And the BANG news websites throws up a paywall notice a lot when looking for stories. At least they can be gotten around easy.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I still like reading a mag or paper since it can't crash! LoL
Rich .. one piece of holiday good news, it appears ME TV is going to re-appear for us over-the-air antenna viewers on channel 44.3. Currently there's only a place holder screen there, saying "ME TV coming soon". Do you know when actual ME TV airing begins there? Also, any rumors of a weather sub-channel appearing somewhere, like we used to have on channel 4.2? That would be a major public service to the Bay Area one of the stations could provide toward their license renewal application.
ReplyDeleteI have a yin-yang tattoo. That photo makes me feel good. And I'm white btw.
ReplyDeleteGiving Jan Wahl some competition!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Rich: Totally agree with you on Green Book. Great Movie-saw it last week. Based on a True Story about African-American Classical & Jazz Pianist Don Shirley played by Oscar-Winning Actor & Bay-Area Native Mahershala Ali touring the South in 1962 along with his Italian-American Driver/Body Guard Tony Villalonga played by 2-Time Oscar-Nominated Actor Viggo Mortensen. Both Actors were Superb. Hopefully both Green Book & its 2 Main Actors will be Rightfully Rewarded with Oscar Nominations. Rich-Keep up the Great Work! Regards, Cary from SF
ReplyDeleteTook my 80+ year old parents to see The Green Book. We all loved it. Fantastic movie. Didn't get Chinese after thou. I wish we would have.
ReplyDeleteWhat was Swanson thinking when he took the job in the first place? What hill of lies did Cumulus feed him? Did he not do his homework beforehand or ask what type of budget he'd have to work with? Look at Cululus' history. It isn't like they're going to all of a sudden start handing out money when they've been so stingy with it for so many years.
ReplyDeleteHow nice of BANG to buy up virtually all of the area's newspapers, strip the largest of them of the city name where it had been published since 1851, and then drive all them into the ground. If BANG goes under, we're left with pretty much nothing except the SF Chomical, and that is truly a sad commentary.
ReplyDeleteTo: 7:27 PM Re J Swanson's KGO strategy
ReplyDeleteI'd guess he was giving the KGO management the benefit of the doubt. If you're going into business w/someone, if you have to question the sincerity of every single statement they make, that's not gonna work. So he gave them a chance to prove themselves sincere business partners. Someone who's word you can take to the bank. And when they failed to deliver, Swanson had no choice but to walk. Whether that's bad or good for KGO's bottom line, I guess time will tell. Certainly not looking good at this point. As a fallback KGO can always switch to country and western music.
Without a doubt, the Cumulus management is slime. But even AM stations with decent corporate ownership and management teams are mostly struggling. Few people under 50 listen to AM, and millennials barely know the band exists. (And of the ones that do, most are there for news, sports, or religious or foreign language formats.) All the RF interference in the atmosphere - computers, routers, LED and CFL lighting, and many other noise generating devices - drives listeners away from the AM band. So KGO, KNBR, KSFO and their lesser-powered neighbors on the dial are fighting an uphill battle. (CBS did the wise thing a decade ago when they decided to simulcast KCBS on 106.9 FM, and about 2/3 of their listenership comes from the FM signal.) This trend is happening in markets all across the country, and it's not very far away from being the 21st century's version of shortwave radio. So sinking more cash into KGO is just playing with deck chair arrangement on the Titanic. (Sorry, Rich, them's the facts.)
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