Bristow and Baxter make for better KGO Morning News; Friday Dish

Jon Bristow, KGO's rotating anchor/reporter, has been substituting this week for Jennifer Jones-Lee, who is on vacation.

It dawned on me why I found the combination of Bristow and veteran Ed Baxter, refreshing: Jones wasn't around.

Simply stated, Bristow and Baxter are far more listenable and frankly, work better as a pair on KGO. All you have to do is listen. Bristow, with the aid of some of the best "pipes" in the biz, has a nice command of the show, paces well with Baxter and delivers the news in a sort of no-nonsense manner while at the same time showing a distinct sense of humor. His banter with Baxter is infinitely more smoother and appealing than the uber-annoying and chatty Jones-Lee.

I've never been a Jones-Lee fan. Her incessant chit-chatty giggle and on-air demeanor is one of the reasons, I believe, that KGO's AM news numbers have been poleaxed by rival, KCBS.

I'm not a misogynist, so hold the e-mails. In fact, I've often stated how much I thoroughly enjoy Susan Leigh-Taylor on CBS, so this isn't a woman issue. It's all about style and personality and I've never been impressed with Jones-Lee, particularly her pathetic and irritating "It's Friday!" cheer that has all the warmth of a frozen corn dog.

Bristow, who will begin anchoring KGO's new "Noon News" on Monday, (an attempt, by the way, to cut into KCBS's growing penetration,) is a decent newsman and would give the morning block a much-needed jolt of relevance, but I doubt KGO's new upper management staff, (notably GM Deidre Lieberman) has the will to go that route, particularly in the ultra-PC Bay Area.

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