FRIDAY SCHMOOZE
Kevin Graham (pictured) has been the KNBR PD for months now; he hasn't made any significant moves since he took over the gig. He should. KNBR's ratings are going south and their current iteration is a massive REPUDIATION from listeners who either kissed them goodbye, tuned them out altogether and switched to the albatross all-sports FM outlet, 95.7 The Game, almost as hideous as KNBR. Either way, KNBR is DEAD IN THE WATER.
Graham has sat back and taken inventory and so far has done
ZERO, why so is anyone's guess. What's he waiting for. His
morning show is
FAILING and a joke of the Bay Area. His
Papa (Greg)/Lund (john) has
CRATERED and is TANKING and his afternoon Dog Poop is a CROCK with massive indifference and severe infighting. The HORRID "
TKB" show has more baggage than the United terminal at SFO. It continues to teeter on the brink and move into dudsville, with three guys
TALKING OVER each other and audiences
leaving EN MASSE.
Among its many issues (and it's a laundry list)is KNBR hosts policy of not taking calls, a sports-talk staple. KNBR hosts don't take calls (for the most part) because, get this, they're terrified of having to interact with callers! That's right. They simply
DO NOT know how to engage with people. How bizarre, how rank amateur. I know this seems nuts but a former KNBR producer (now in another market) told me
directly so. The producer said that hosts don't want to engage because they don't care much for listener interaction and are put off by even acknowledging them and their opinions. How poignant and telling.
Rod Brooks, for one, part of the failing
TKB cannot take the idea of a critical call. Brooks, the proverbial know-it-all, would rather argue and rip his co-hort,
Larry Krueger, a glarring, daily ritual that has become tired. Which explains why the show is a
TOTAL DISASTER.
Much like 99% of KNBR's programming.
*The Athletic was just sold to the NY Times for half a BILLION, good news for its scribes. The Bay Area Athletic is BLEEDING RED INK with a FAILING reader base and MEDIOCRE writers and a CRAZED EIC who thinks he's God and he isn't and if you challenge him, he'll block you on Twitter.
*Yes, Mr. Kawakami, karma is a bitch.
*The Chronicle is getting so thin editors have begun making Karen Carpenter jokes.
*KCBS is so desperate these days they have to place woeful, inadequate, Eric Thomas on their AM-drive news. With equally terrible co-anchor, Holly Quan, KCBS has become a local JOKE and then some.
*INDUSTRY WORD:
Nextstar (owner of
KRON and many other stations) has
The CW on its radar. It's serious about a purchase.
Rod Brooks is a joke. Has been for years. Does he realize how putrid he has? No content, insight, etc. Luckiest man in Bay Area radio.
ReplyDeleteI live half the year in Oregon and just got back. After two weeks I've already stopped listening to KNBR. If I were the PD, I would target the usual suspects: Paulie Mac, John Lund and Rod Brooks. Paulie and Lund's spot could be easily upgraded and I would tell Tom Tolbert to either make it work with Larry or retire.
ReplyDeleteKNBR night time is a ghost town. Last night, they had a host by the name of Carey Crowley. Horrible voice. sounded like a 12 year old!
ReplyDeleteHe is about 12.. He's a Giants beat writer for the Merc. Not meant for radio. But they haven't found a host yet. The Dieter dude is ok, but also boring.
DeleteDieter is a Chicago guy that tells us how to think in the Bay Area. He's not boring, he is annoying and well just annoying.
DeleteKCBS is an abomination. It has become unlistenable. The mistakes are constant and unforgiveable by a "network" outlet, one that carries the CBS call letters. The missed sounders, the mi-pronunciations, the general lack of talent and the over stale format is horrible. Time for Jennifer Seelig to go and the format to be blown up.
ReplyDeleteHow do you find all this mistakes when all I hear is an endless block of commercials?
DeleteKCBS Suffers from lack of local major breaking news content! You can't be all news all the time without news! At least that was the Issue with KCBS a year ago when I stopped listening.
ReplyDeleteIT'S ONLY GOTTEN WORSE.
DeleteLack of local news? Daily smash and grabs at businesses and in parking lots all over the Bay Area, San Francisco car breakins in the dozens daily, daily crimes all day every day by liberal voters in the area and yet nothing at all to talk about? Interesting.
DeleteTwo issues ... separate but equal : 1) KNBR hasn't been the same without Radnich and Bruno. They were the best 30 minutes as advertised. 2) I still don't like KCBS only carrying 3 minutes of the network news on the hour during the day. Like 55 minutes isn't enough per hour for their repeated dribble. They gotta have 57 like that's gonna make a difference.
ReplyDelete1. That's good knowledge.
Delete- Graham is afraid of contract litigation. Hence, everything is twisting away in limbo from the morning to Lewd to Kerr's wackiest UofA teammate ever. Need help from a place that won't give it - the head honchos atop the Cloud Clowns.
ReplyDelete- NYT v Tim K? This should be interesting. It is a big time mismatch, but will that stop Tim K? Probably not.
- The Chron is far from the Top of the World.
- As long as Seelig still runs KCBS, Thomas will still be misused.
- Doesn't Viacom still own the CW? And Nextstar wants to buy from them? Then there's KRON who is still an ideal target for Telemundo, aka NBC Latin.
I love to listen sports talk radio driving to work, and then while at work. But I gave up on KNBR yearas ago...and instead listen via computer to ESPN radio for Keyshawn, Jay, & Max...then Greeny...and switch to CBS radio for Jim Rome.
ReplyDeleteAnd those national shows talk about the same 4 sujects
DeleteLebron
Aaron Rodgers
New York Jets
circle back to Lebron
Thank god for music
Another reason KNBR and KGMZ hosts don't take calls is likely because some callers are more knowledgeable than they are and could prove the hot takes the hosts have are garbage by citing just a few simple stats.
ReplyDeleteAs for you calling out Kawakami for blocking people on Twitter for challenging his tweets... pot, meet kettle. You've literally done the same thing, Rich, so you can climb down from your hypocritical high horse.
Agree on your entire comment.
DeleteWe finally stopped the print version of the SF Chronicle when they increased the rate to effectively $500+ per year for 7 day delivery. We're on one of those six month 99 cent on-line deals now (we've got endless email addresses). It doesn't take long to look at their e-edition content, that 99 cent 6 month deal may be overpriced as well.
ReplyDeleteAt the start of the pandemic about 2 years ago, I started working from home 5 days a week and listening to the radio a lot. It soon became clear to me that KNBR Morning Sports(Murph & Mac) is atrocious and is the reason I have a much greater appreciation for Easy Listening Jazz.
ReplyDeleteI can explain Rod Brooks's entire radio career in 2 words, Affirmative Action. NOBODY will ever criticize him for anything ever for fear of being labeled the dreaded R word. His skin is thinner than a prophylactic. Notice how quickly he jumps on any differing point of view.
ReplyDeleteIf you take calls its hard to spend all the time carrying the water for Lock Step Larry and the 49ers. they are all just paid shills for the local teams. Callers would introduce a dissenting voice.
ReplyDeleteBrooks is the weak link on that show. Amazes me how much time it takes him to say nothing. His locker room reporting years ago on the 49ers radio broadcase (D Bruce had the post game show), was horrible, frustrating the shit out of Bruce and most listeners.
ReplyDeleteDisagree on your The Athletic take. The writers are excellent, and I enjoy my subscription.
The morning show is in the words of Larry Kruger very "cream of wheat".
ReplyDeleteI always found it funny that on any given day I can turn on KNBR and Tom Tolbert will be missing from his show yet go over to 95.7 The Game and there he is talking about the Warriors on their broadcasts.
ReplyDeleteThere should be something against that.
Brooks also intentionally speaks slowly to take up as much time as possible since he has little of substance to share. He must volunteer to read promos and sports updates, too. Gives him an excuse when he is tongue-tied with nothing to say of insight or interest when called upon.
ReplyDeletekcBS is all I can say. What a f$#&ing Mess...
ReplyDeleteTHERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH KNBR SPORTS TALK SHOWS.....if you like to hear gigglefests, reviews of beer, lots of silly nick-names, non-sensical tangential discussions (KNBR morning show - like they are so clever), diatribes on farts and inside jokes that listeners are not privy to. The problem isn't the hosts - it's obviously us listeners.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The morning show has never been funny
Delete95.7 theLAME and KNBR are about equally as bad these days. The Lame used to be worse but now they are basically the same since they both swap hosts and reshuffle their lineup every 6 months.
ReplyDeleteThe words that really come to mind when i think about how bad these stations are - stale and out of touch. So much so its insulting to people who attempt to listen to their garbage. They really need to clean house at this point. Until they do i have zero interest in ever tuning in again. After years of loyal listening i switched to podcasts and discovered I can hear good bay area sports coverage without the nonstop SF team worshipping and snobbery, by people who are worth listening to!
Serious question: How do the people who run those stations still have their jobs?
Crowly is brutal...Mistaking opinion for fact on a daily basis. Love Dieter. More Copes please!
ReplyDeleteLove that pic of Kawakami and his 80's mullet. Beautiful, man. The TKB show, what an unfortunate name for a radio program. Just move the letters around and you have the BKT Killer...but I digress. Yes, Rod mocking Larry is old and played out. It must be intentional. Tom desperately needs Ralph to drop in from heaven. KNBR needs Gary and Tony B to bring back the old 30 minutes of magic. No more Joe from Livermore. The Glory days are over. Dieter drips with condescension and sanctimoniousness. It's aggravating to hear someone who believes he is more knowledgeable than NFL lifers talk about what direction the franchise needs to head in. Wake up, man. Brian Murphy, who is sometimes entertaining, usually gets mired in his own narcissism. This station needs a visionary to save it from itself.
ReplyDeleteGive Eric Thomas a chance to get used to the switch from TV to radio. He's got the pipes and the chops to be really great. And while you are at it, give Holly Quan a break too. I miss her in the field. She is a fantastic storyteller, especially covering wildfires. I'm sure with a little time, she will become stellar in this role as well.
ReplyDeleteCould KNBR bring back Pete Franklin's ghost to host and take calls? Pete would love the 49ers Cowboys rivalry game this Sunday. KNBR needs to get rid of John Lund & Rod Brooks. Also Bob Fitzgerald's dad was golfing buddies with former psycho Napoleon complex PD Bob Agnew. That's how he got his job and stabbed Greg Papa in the back to get the Warriors gig. Facts!
ReplyDelete