Michael Krasny, Broadcast Pioneer at KQED Radio Celebrates 20 Years at 'Forum', (And Can Tell a Great Joke Too)

  Michael Krasny is celebrating his 20th anniversary at KQED. Krasny hosts the morning show, "Forum", (Monday-Friday, 9-11 AM), which is an intellectual island on the mostly-dreck ocean of terrestrial radio. It's a program that is largely devoid of usual present-day broadcast drama. The only drama you hear on Krasny's Forum show is that of pithy novel authors and an occasional call from Robert Redford or Philip Roth.

Krasny is not only a broadcast giant locally; he teaches English and literature classes at SF State. In fact, before KQED, Krasny hosted a weeknight talk show on KGO Radio and it was there where I met him and he was my English professor at State. He started out there back in 1970. Wow, time does fly.

I always knew he had the intellectual and professional insight but at State I saw his comedic side. The Cleveland native is also a Jewish-humor advocate and can tell many hysterical jokes. Trust me.

Here's a grand huzzah to at least 20 more years of success to Michael Krasny.

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Are Krasny and Rothmann Too Smart for Bay Area Radio?

Michael Krasny

I mentioned the other day that John Rothmann reminded me a lot of Michael Krasny. Then it dawned on me that both are some of the brightest broadcasters in the Bay Area. Which when I further explored, said to myself: Are these pair too smart for a vast San Francisco audience? Seriously now I'm not kidding.

I have always thought the Bay Area is a more cultural, more sophisticated, and therefore, more pithy radio market, yet Rothmann doesn't currently have a permanent gig and Krasny, while a major name and voice on KQED, (which has great ratings), is nevertheless, perceived as ultra erudite and wouldn't translate well on commercial radio. And maybe there's nothing wrong with that given what constitutes as "quality content" on Bay Area radio.

Even Krasny himself alluded to the whole concept of the current lack of depth in commercial/terrestrial radio when he wrote a book on the matter. I must say I'm surprised that a market of this many people who possess such extra mental girth would not have a home to listen to some of our more enlightened broadcasters. Maybe I'm assuming something that simply isn't the case.

What do you think?

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John Rothmann

John Rothmann; Un-Civil Discourse; Nurses are Great; A few Easter Sunday Media Notes

Just a few notes and comments...

*It is indeed sad, as a number of commenters have noted, that John Rothmann hasn't landed a permanent position at NewsTalk 910. Rothmann, as I have noted numerous times here, is a brilliant, informed, astute and knowledgeable political analyst. No matter what side of the aisle you're on.

Rothmann is no-nonsense. A deep thinker with a wealth of ideas on the Middle East, politics, Presidential history and a great interviewer. Even better, he's honest to his dedicated listeners and doesn't yell or scream or have to pander to people by shouting or using inane sound effects.

Rothmann reminds me a lot of KQED's Michael Krasny, himself a quality broadcaster who also provides a sophisticated Bay Area audience with intelligent radio and first-rate guests. There's a market here for that type of content, believe it or not.

Here's hoping Rothmann can get a gig soon and I do believe he will.

*Some of you have written comments; including a well-known, part-timer broadcaster and full-time lawyer, that have strayed far from the first topic at hand. I appreciate the passion and dedication, but it serves no purpose other than constant bickering and attacks. I'm not signaling out anybody or anyone in particular, but frankly, some of it gets juvenile and therefore, I have deleted a lot of the comments.

I have no issues with passionate comments and criticizing various people or individuals but keep it central to the topic and most importantly, keep it civil. Believe me, the last few weeks I've had, most of it is really trivial anyway. Don't sweat the small stuff. Trust me.

*Finally, again, I want to thank ALL of you who have sent get-well wishes to my Mom. She's doing better but faces a tough road ahead but that's OK, Mom is tough. And really, you don't know how much it helps to hear from you.

*By the way, nurses are great. Nurses are heroes and deserve all the money in the world. Without nurses, we're all mush. Just my two cents.

Have a very safe, healthy, and happy Easter.

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