Ronn Owens delivered his very last broadcast on KGO Friday night.
It was sudden and, considering the moment, sad and unremarkable. The "Ronn Owens Report" and his own talk show ended after 46 years. Owens came to KGO in the fall of 1975.
WHY NOW? What you won't read in the press release but will read here. The non-BS and NO SPIN. Any number of reasons why Cumulus pulled the plug now.
*It's the end of the month. That's a time for pink slips at the Cloud company.
*Owens little show at KGO, his "report" did nothing at all to move the needle. He was getting anywhere from a $100-300 a pop for each of his reports. Cumulus is trying to save as much cash as it can. Even Owens isn't spared in that dept. Both sides, I'm sure, decided it was ttime to end its dual relationship. Not even a fanfare for KGO's longest tenured talker but the handwriting was on the wall.
Rich, having no one post a comment about his demise from KGO is truly apropos. The wind blew out of that sail a long time ago. How charming, don't you think!
ReplyDeleteRonn is the weakest link! Goodbye!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe he can get a job at the local Chick-fil-A!!
Didn't the former talk show host move to Scottsdale last year? He's been "phoning it in" anyway. Ron had his day, and his day has come and gone. Pat Thurston is the star of KGO now.
ReplyDeleteKGO no longer has any stars. See its descent from number one for thirty years to its current position at the bottom of the listenership barrel. There's a clue there.
DeleteI'm sorry but Pat Thurston is not a "star".
DeleteTo me Rothmann is by far the star of KGO .
DeletePat Thurston is the star of KGO.
DeleteBack in the 70's, Ronn was the cool young talk show host alongside older hosts like Owen Spann, Jim Eason, and Art Finley. Rock trivia, status/class/tacky . . . He was fun back then.
ReplyDeleteNow we can move on from Ron Ownens to the next burning issue...When will Dan Ashley get a decent haircut? Or any haircut for that matter. Most folks have moved on from the COVID19 Caveman no-haircut situation. What's up with Ashley?
ReplyDeleteIf you've got it, flaunt it.
DeleteAnd I ain't got it, so I'll shut up.
Especially sitting across from the vision herself Ama Daetz.
DeleteDan - see a stylist or even a barber - please.
$100-$300 a pop?? Minimum $500 a week, maximum $1500 a week!
ReplyDeleteIf KGO's paying Ronn $100 an episode, but the station is billing $500 for the spots that air in his slot, the station makes a profit. If they only bill $75, they're losing money. You can scale that argument for any amount they might be paying him. Point being, you can't just bitch that the guy's making too much or too little without knowing what his services are worth to the station's billings. If his replacement only brings in half the revenue in those slots, dumping him could turn out to be counterproductive. You'd think management would have done that analysis before canning the guy, but we can't ever forget this is Cumulus.
DeleteWas he still on the air? I thought his show was canceled long ago.
ReplyDeleteWOWens
ReplyDeleteToo funny. And they hang on to medoro, Thomson, and screamer Merril.
ReplyDeleteAin't that the truth about Screaming Super Sub-Par Sub Chris Merril. Just appalling. I'll not be tuning in when Chip Franklin goes on vacation any minute now. I don't understand how the not-bad Chip can think so highly of his protegee Merill.
DeleteThere is nothing sad about surviving for 46 years on any radio station,much less what was once a national powerhouse.. Everyone gets older(unless they die young), Rich, and everyone eventually retires or dies. In Ronn's case,he has also valiantly battled a debilitating illness(Parkinson's) and inspired others similarly afflicted, that you don't necessarily have to stop living. Who will you have to kick around now?
ReplyDeleteOne helluva run in radio, I'll give Ron at least that much.
ReplyDeleteI listened to Ronn's first KGO broadcast, and, now, apparently his last. Ronn's forte was alwalys conversing in a meaningful way with listener callers. If a caller voiced a one-sided opinion, even one that Ronn clearly agreed with, Ronn would ask the caller to defend their position, by raising questions from the other side of the issue. The editorial format however, while Ronn did very competent job, that's just not where his talent lies. A better use of Ronn's talent would have been as one of the talk show hosts, but in abbreviated form: say, Nikki 6-9, Mark 9-11, Ronn 11-12; something like that would have worked better imo.
ReplyDeleteIt’s ironic that this may be the only place Ronn's last gasp in radio is memorialized, as much as he’s been bashed here. Never cared for him, but 46 years at one station is the definition of a successful career in radio.
ReplyDeleteLordy! No more Ronn Owens cruises to Newark, NJ? How will I live?
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ReplyDeleteRonnn, had a very good run. They should have dumped the horrible Medoro and Ron, both at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThe RO report was an annoyance. It was obvious that even the hosts hated it - it just cut into their time, and Ronn is just not as well read on current events as the other hosts.
ReplyDeleteI always thought pre-Trump — of whom Ronnnnnn evidently isn't a fan — that Owens should have touted for Preparation H. All that fence-sitting (i.e., creation of false equivalents) must have given him piles.
ReplyDeleteThere was a time and place for Bay Area talk radio and KGO had the greats in their prime. Ronn, Gene Burns etc. The current hosts are boring and lack the IQ that it takes to really converse on a wide variety of subjects,
ReplyDeleteWe loved Ronn and will miss him terribly. We once told him that we got a college education, by listening to his show for years. KGO is still like a family to us. We listen to Mark who brightens our day every day with his humor. We love Pat Thurston and John Rothman is full of history. KGO is our number one station. Yes, we have our transistor radios that we carry around the house. We miss Chip and also the travel show with the late John Hamilton. KGO will always be our number one station! Brian & Joyce Granville - Antioch, CA
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