Kim McCallister Utility Player Supreme Gets Short Shrift on KGO Radio; 810 AM Could be a Goner Sooner Rather Than Later

Kim McCallister is one of the few, fresh voices on KGO Radio. A diamond in the rough whose talent gets taken advantage of daily.

McCallister has been a news anchor and reporter from the old KGO to present day 810 AM. She's got a tranquil, steady voice and she does a quality job under the most dire circumstances. They, the bosses, and some of her co-workers, now use her as a talk-show aide. She basically does a side-kick gig and does so without any pay increase. She works long and hard hours and gets little reward. Her allies have come to expect a lot from her, (some, who work on a microphne) and don't understand that free cookies and coffee don't help much at the bank. Put two and two together.

McCalister is not spectacular. She could easily be replaced but she's loyal, reliable and steady. She keeps the engine running at KGO which is leaking oil every day. Her talent goes beyond news. She can function as a talk-show host and regularly filled in both Christmas time and on an everyday basis. But the powers-that-be have run her rough shot of late. McCallister isn't one to rock the boat, it's not in her DNA. She knows she's not a #1 but she also knows she's a firm 275 hitter.

KGO is about to royally screw with her but she has options this time and they don't know yet but they will.

*I've said KGO will go the way, soon, of KABC and WABC, once mighty AM radio powerhouses who are now just fragments of what they used to be.

KGO, if they don't go Spanish radio, will become a brokered mish-mash with largely taped financial, vitamin shows and with only a few local voices and syndicated programming. It could happen any day now, any moment. At any given time. The money is non-existing. There's only a few retail ads existent on KGO. Do a listen now: listen to all the PSA ads (especially at early evening and midday) --it's all remnents. It's loaded with promos (KGO), PSAs, national ads that aren't local. Those don't bring any money into the station which is why KGO (Cumulus) is forced to carry Cal basketball and run shlinky Steve Moskowitz ads--who pays them a modest fee-because the station now loses so much money it has to look at less prime, less desirable retail outlets so they can pay for their existing obligations. Which is a better way of saying, again, at any moment, KGO could be SOLD to anyone/anybody and devoid of talk-show hosts here and LA. It's that simple. The tap is going dry.