KRON isn't Great; Hardly, But...; Circle7 Tripe; Thin and Thinner Chronicle; Miller Giants Cap Un-Professional; Saturday Coffee Schmooze

LOOK, I get all your outrage and disgust, but seriously...

I didn't say KRON was suddenly the BBC. I didn't suggest you alter your schedule so you can make time for their newscasts, any one of them. I refrained from naming one specific newscast or anchor or a reporter for a reason. There's time I have no idea who I'm watching --many look as if they just came out of college. That's not such a bad deal but I digress.

KRON, I said, has some decent presentable news. We're not saying spectacular. Far from it. But there's an ebb and flow every now and then and I caught myself watching one of their morning programs. The show was crisp and fluid. There was hardly any irritable chit-chat which is so constant. Here, on KRON, I saw the news and didn't see much else. Yeah, the obligatory weather reports--much too many---were out there but the news flow was rather solid. In fact the rhythm was so smooth I forgot the anchor's name but in this instance, that was good. Sometimes, when you're in a waiting area (as I was waiting for my car's oil change) you don't need flash, you'd much prefer the basics. And KRON delivered. No, they aren't suddenly on my fab list but in this instance, they executed. Nothing more, nothing less.

You want un-watchable? Try KGO (Circle7) which is thoroughly awful. I can't bear to watch the doofus (youy know who) because he's a clown. His own ABC7 staff thinks as much. PIX? Please. NBC? Bland. Morning shows, by definition, are bland. You're basically watching coffee and sip shows. It's by design. Unless there's some breaking news, you're getting weather and traffic reports. And so it's there where I like the simplicity of KRON's approach. They don't pretend to be anything other than what they are --sure, even in her now, more subdued ways, Darya Folsom is still a chatting yenta, but that's life. You can't get everything.

*I used to think John Rothmann was apointment radio. Sure, his schtick every now and then, ("...the PRESIDENT! of the United Staes...") annoys me. Guess what? Rothmann is consistent. He truly LOVES the microphone and he can't stand living without reading or watching the news, politics especially. And anytime away from KGO, even having coffee with his wife, is a downer in Rothmann's world. I still think KGO should put him from 6 AM until midnight. The man never sleeps.

*KCBS: home for TV guys who want to slack it on radio.

*Again, for the umteenth time, Jon Miller can wear his Giants cap all the time. It's just not a good look. And it ain't just me. The sports broadcast people in this area say it's "un-professional." Miller apparently doesn't care. Look around. Did you ever see Scully wear a Dodgers hat? Does Ken Korach wear an A's cap? Jack Buck never wore a StL Cardinals hat. And Lon Simmons and Hank Greenwald never wore a Giants cap. Yeah, the booster club and Larry Baer has put a spell on some of you.

*The Chronicle: thinner and thinner. And the by-lines you'd never heard of.

*When I yearn for a good newspaper story and want great acting I go watch "All the Presidents Men" which made Jason Robards great. Hoffmann and Redford were merely fantastic.

*Here's how stupid the Chronicle is: Scott Ostler's Sunday column, his best and why many people buy the paper, is suddenly MIA but I heard the Chron nixes it because they think it's too long. That's what your Chron thinks of you.

*The Examiner, 2021, Clint Reilly's expensive fish wrap.

*WINS, "1010 WINS" actually, NY's all-news radio treasure. Yeah, they too run tons of commercials but unlike 740 AM they actually REPORT the news.

*And KRON consistently BEATS many stations from 5-7 PM. I can't fathom that. But it's the truth.

*Terry Lowry and Fred LaCosse: the old KRON in its mighty glory and morning proud.