I asked Silverman directly if he was fired by Owens.
"Yes, I met with Ronn and after the (Whitman-Brown debate) cancellation, he said, 'this is not going to work anymore'", said Silverman by phone.
Silverman was alluding to the Jerry Brown-Meg Whitman radio debate, scheduled to air on KGO last week that was abruptly canceled at the last minute. Insiders told me Owens was furious over the embarrassing matter and Silverman himself was overly distraught dealing with the affair.
Compounding matters was the sudden resignation of longtime KGO GM, Mickey Luckoff, on the very day of the Brown-Whitman axing. Needless to say, it has not been a very comfortable couple of weeks at KGO.
Silverman insists his firing by Owens was amicable and that he himself had urged the veteran morning host to move him away from the production side. It should be noted that Silverman will stay on at KGO and do part-time producing and some TV work.
Make no mistake this has been a tumultuous time at KGO and this latest development is ample proof of the direct fallout from the Luckoff resignation. As several radio people have told me, Silverman's situation could have been diffused by Luckoff himself, (and has been in the past I'm told)
Silverman worked with Owens the past seven years and was generally regarded as one of KGO's most solid and seasoned producers, working for the notoriously demanding Owens, who still commands top-five ratings status in the overalls, (6-plus.)
No word on the successor who will replace Silverman.
