KPIX's 'Night Beat' Is In Dire Straits; Nobody's Watching; Don't Expect Bernie Ward On KGO Radio Anytime Soon; Michael Krasny and Angie Coiro; Fire and Ice; KRON Tech Glitches at 900 Front; Tuesday Rundown

 "Night Beat" is in trouble --how bad is anyone's guess but bad enough that rumors have circulated the building that KPIX's attempt, (via its KBCW sister station), to attract an audience for it's 10 PM youth-oriented news show has been an abject failure and is soon to be doomed.

Best case scenario? 90 days. Worst-case? The show could be a goner by the end of the year. That's nine days, I know.

The reason: nobody's watching. Moreover, few, if any of KPIX's coveted demo that was its prime target is watching Night Beat. Furthermore, when those few people watch, they tend to take a look and click their remote.

When Night Beat debuted back in July, KPIX had a plan; albeit sketchy and terribly hard to attain, but a plan nonetheless. More of an experiment actually--but it was simple enough: develop a tech-oriented, soft-news, airy alternative to the traditional newscast and gear it toward a younger audience. Internally, KPIX knew it would have NO chance to compete with KTVU's dominant "10 o'clock News" that is currently the ratings king in that time period.

But KPIX went forward with a blueprint: attract a loyal, if small, audience to build on and acquire a core millennial-oriented demo; the 20-30-something tech types on their laptops and smartphones --precisely the demo that is ON THEIR phone!, checking texts, facebooking, twittering, Instagramming  --do you sense a problem here? The type of people that are doing anything BUT watching their TV at the moment--great research boys and girls!

Worse yet, PIX brought out talented, but clearly not seasoned, Veronica De La Cruz to work the new show, (in addition to co-anchoring the 6 PM News). De La Cruz, at first glance, looks more splash than dash; that said, her captaining of the Night Beat has been fraught with technical issues, out-of-place gimmicks, yelling "GAME ON" to open the sports segment is plain silly and sophomoric. The weather "quiz" is cheesy --and the frequent "TRENDING" and reliance on Facebook and Twitter has been a disaster. No.One.Is.Watching.

Night Beat has had six months to generate an audience but nothing has transpired. Ultimately, KPIX could have brought forth Masterpiece Theatre and if not enough people watched, that would have been blown up too. Unfortunately, Night Beat is no Masterpiece Theatre but it might as well be blown up because nobody's watching. And with that, the show is in dire straits.

*Don't invite KQED Forum host, Michael Krasny and KGO Weekend 10 AM -1PM talkie, Angie Coiro to dinner.

*Bernie Ward, just released from Lompoc will NEVER appear on KGO Radio, either as a host or as a guest. That's my guess.

*The amount of technical glitches that has plagued KRON since its move to 900 Front has ignited rumors about sabotage and the like--from where? Imagine.

*If KOIT gets a huge lift in the ratings from playing 24/7 Christmas music there's something wussy about that, sorry, sincerely, 415 Media Scrooge.

*Let's make it plain and simple: YES, those who PAY a modest amount and SUBSCRIBE to this site help make it possible for me to get some much-needed $ to pay ME, who is 100% responsible for its content, its production, its selling. We have limited advertising and so, yes, without money, 415 Media is lost in translation --I didn't do this with priority A making money but I can't and won't LOSE money either. So, yes, please, if you come here and enjoy this 24/7 then I'd appreciate a donation or subscription --to pay for a service? What a concept!

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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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