The Vanity of Ronn Owens

*The man who bragged endlessly about an affectation --placing two "n's" in Ronn to stand out because, well, because he had an "ego." His word.

*The guy who didn't use his real last name because he's Jewish and didn't like a Jewish name that sounded "too Jewish." His words.

*The guy that went to shamelessly promote himself with a Cumulus goon about a month after the death of his old KGO colleague, Gene Burns.

Not a month after the old KGO purge, Burns had a heart attack and died. More than a few people, including some medical folks,said Burns demise was probably caused by a broken heart.

*Ronn Owens: a guy who fought to have an obscure "report" on air after being forced to retire so he could curry favor with a travel agency that gives him free cruise trips for PR plugs.

*A guy who ripped into Bill Clinton after the Lewinsky affair while he himself, (Owens) had an extra marital relationship.

*A man who detested Mickey Luckoff because Luckoff  was a terrible human being. Owens is kinda worse. Read on.

*Because he's more a white guy with very few Black friends, Owens carried on a career's worth of BS sincerity with an ex-KGO Black man, host, now suing KGO and Cumulus. Of course Owens never mentions the guy's name anymore. Such a loyal man, that Mr. Lowenstein.

*Owens was asked point blank about a decade ago if he were OK (health wise). The blogger insisted that Owens be comfortable in answering his question, or not, but just be truthful whatever the response. It was a lie.

*Owens made a point of publicly ripping his AFTRA union membership dues until it was that union that paid for his various medical costs and maladies.

*When the Cumulus purge began in earnest, it was Owens that went to lunch with a Cumulus Cretan named Randall Bloomquist. When Bloomquist was shown the door, Owens took his picture off his desk.

*Owens first introduction to e-mail was advanced by a former media writer for the Oakland Trib, Bill Mann. When Mann was basically thrown out the door by Luckoff (when Luckoff was KGO VP) for writing a mildly critical piece on KGO, Owens parted company with Mann.

*Owens likes to have his food and wine porno friends on air so he can get his free meals and wine bonanza still en fuego even though his tour of duty ended.

*This is yuge: It was Ronnnn Owens who OUTED the whistle blower's name on his "report"--the only Bay Area media person to do so which sort of tells you all you need to know about Ronn Owens.

*Owens is the only person who brags about his ego. Even Howard Stern has his modest moments. Not the case with Ronnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

* The guy that took a bright-eyed 17-year -old kid (me) to Candlestick Park to watch a baseball game--while driving to the game in his car, he took out a marijuana cigarette and smoked it while I was watching and sorta freaked out.

*The "Voice of Reason" is a total sham. Ask various alive and dead KGO talk hosts.

Ronn Owens Celebrates 40 Years At Current Albatross KGO; Gushy 3-Hour Lovefest; Owens Stays on Because Cumulus Fearful Of 'Barbieri Factor'; The Real Dope

Ronn Owens/ABC photo

 Ronn Owens celebrated his 40th anniversary at KGO Tuesday with a predictable sappy three hours of worshipping mushes from his amen corner, including a horrific gag-fest with Gavin Newsom in the final hour. It was sort of grotesque, even by Ronnnnnn standards.

Between all the personal porn and gushy ass-kissing, the public missed out the real story: what's up with Ronn and his future at KGO.

Ronn will carry on indefinitely at Cumulus because, and how sad is this? KGO doesn't have nor has found an adequate replacement for Owens--its that simple. Moreover, and this is the big reason that no one wants to put out: Cumulus is fearful of Owen's ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease.

Cumulus is scared to death of any parting of ways with the morning host--call it the Barbieri effect. It's no coincidence that Owens waited more than a decade to disclose his medical condition: don't think for a moment it wasn't timed. Right before Owen's contract was up (December, 2015) --like Ralph Barbieri, the public disclosure was intentional --and it worked. Maybe.

Cumulus is scared to death of a potential contract run-in with a Bay Area radio host who has manned the microphone for 40 years and although whose ratings have fallen dramatically, still has enough cachet to carry on. Even though he's getting slaughtered by both Radnich/Krueger on KNBR and Rush Limbaugh on KSFO. Ratings don't lie.

But to the 50 year-old housewife in Pleasanton; the mutants like Rama; the middle-aged men in Hayward who cheat on their wife, it's a good day--more Ronnnn and Mr. Softie--for the time being. Be happy.

Better yet, dance to Ronn's favorite tune!

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San Jose Mayor Steamed That KGO Radio Closes Its South Bay Bureau And Plans On Telling Ronn Owens This Morning But Can He? Will KGO/Cumulus Put The Mute Button On Sam Liccardo?

 One of the biggest gripes against the closure of the KGO Radio South Bay Bureau happens to be San Jose Mayor, Sam Liccardo.


No big news there.


But Liccardo is so steamed that he's planning on bringing the matter directly to the source.


That might be a problem




Liccardo is scheduled to be on the Ronn Owens Show this (Tuesday) morning. And Liccardo, I'm told by a source, would like to ask Owens himself...on the air. The question now is how Owens and his producer try to vex the plan, in essence censor the mayor. Not saying it's not going to come up but KGO has a history of silencing the lambs --it and Cumulus doesn't take to liking its assorted dirty laundry make the airwaves.


This much is certain. Liccardo is supposedly steamed that his city and region is being pushed aside by KGO even though KGO apparently doesn't have the money to keep its bureau open and staffed with reporters. You would think even dumb Cumulus would want a presence in the heart of Silicon Valley but apparently they didn't get the memo. Maybe their too busy handing out SweetJack coupons.


Give a listen to Ronn today. If Liccardo is silenced we'll know first hand that the mute button has been used on the mayor of the second biggest city in California.


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D-Day For Ronn; 'Special Announcement For The Listeners'; Updated: Owens Has His Doctor On; Announces He'll Have Procedure

 1. Retirement (never)


2. Quits KGO --lands sales gig at Sleeptrain


3. Taking temporary leave and considering part-time offer from KPOO


4. Uh, become chief of staff for Gavin Newsom --2018 Gubernatorial Run


5. Buy KGO Radio
6. Asks the listeners if he should buy another Mercedes for the dog
7. "Should I add another 'n' to 'Ronnn?"
8. Says he has a man crush on "Rama."
9. Officially changes name to "Mr. Softie"
10. Tells audience his Clark Kent is Copie.


See you at 11


UPDATE:

Owens has his doctor on; announces he'll have procedure done to slow down advanced Parkinson's --asks listeners to ask questions.  Are we supposed to state sympathy?

Ronn Owens And John Rothmann Deliver Vintage Radio On KGO; Presidents' Day Boffo Performance Brings Back Old Memories; (Audio)

John Rothmann

 It was like old times on KGO Radio Monday morning. More specifically, from 10-11 AM, the vintage Ronn Owens; the guy who can still hit it out of the park every now and then blasted an audio grand slam, with an assist from a former colleague.


John Rothmann guested, as he always does on Presidents' Day, and you had about as terrific and informative a program as there is; (here's the audio link)--hey, Cumulus, if you keep this up, pretty soon you might have to hire this guy back and then you might have a legit radio station once again. Did you hear the show? He killed.

Ronn Owens

What began as the usual subject matter of presidential trivia and stories soon morphed into the biggest news of the past day--the latest horror story from the Isis savages and its aftermath; both Owens and Rothmann provided the listeners a solid, candid assessment of what's going on and the ramifications that affect the US and the west. Rothmann, who knows the Middle East like George Will knows a conservative, was masterful in his analysis. Owens too who asked the right questions and delivered one of his best shows in years. It was most compelling and dare I say, entertaining.


More to the point it reinforced the idiocy that Rothmann isn't on KGO as a full-time host. And for what reason? Because he's perceived as a one-trick pony who concentrates only on foreign affairs and the Mid-East? I believe they have a guy from NY who does that type of program and he's pretty damn good. Just imagine if Rothmann were to precede him.


If Cumulus and KGO want to win back a part of their shrinking listenership they could do worse by hiring back Rothmann, who has a loyal legion of fans--yes, people who actually like to listen and talk about that age-old relic called "News-Talk" --remember that? It's a format that brought universal acclaim and legacy status to the station; a station that once dominated SF radio and was the envy of the industry.


Ronn, you done good on Monday--you too, Mr. Rothmann. Here's hoping your audience doesn't have to wait until Presidents' Day, 2016 to hear you on 810 AM again.


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Stephen Stock And Eric Rasmussen Deliver First-Rate Real News Stories; NBC Bay Area/KTVU Break Down Quality Content; The Vacuous Ronn Owens Defends Brian Williams On KGO Because 'I Really Like Him'; Thank God Callers Take Him Down; KRON New Weather Woman; KTVU New Look Gets Stamp Of Approval; TGIF 415 Media Notes

FRIDAY RUNDOWN

A case of good LOCAL TV News on display: Stephen Stock of NBC Bay Area and Eric Rasmussen of KTVU reminded us that there's still quality workmanship out there if you can apply it and hunt for a story.

Rasmussen went to a Downtown Oakland residence hotel and exposed a filthy, obscenely dark, dank and gutter place --and was able to come face to face with its owner (who didn't talk) but also a young mother with kids who had no alternative but to live at the dump. I've been critical of Rasmussen before but he was great here and his relentless pursuit of the slumlord and getting to the bottom of the affair was quality work.

*Stock, part of "NBC Investigates", (KNTV) provided a lengthy and informative essay of the state's fragile levee system --I knew it was bad but I didn't contemplate the future hellhole that awaits us if a big earthquake were to hit at the wrong place. Good work, Mr. Stock.

*The vacuous Ronn Owens at his best: Mr. Voice of Reason's hideous defense of Brian Williams based on "I really like him." Owens, "Mr. Softie"--what a complete schmuck.

*The few talk-show hosts left at KGO (on the weekend) are shaking their head over being left out of consideration for the 7-10 PM weeknight slot. The guy that got the gig got it based on his mushroom recipes.

*KRON has a new weatherwoman --thanks for keeping me abreast of the situation.

*It's easy for me to rip KTVU's new look and format but I like it. It's more crisp and fresh and it moves along at a decent pace. There's more stories and information. It's considerably more of an appealing look. It's not perfect --but nothing is perfect anymore. And yes, I've seen WEATHER AUTHORITY--is it campy and ridiculous? Absolutely ..but welcome to the world of modern-day TV News.

*Stock up: Azenith Smith: I'm loving her more every day. Talk about transformation from the news outhouse to the penthouse.

*Brian Williams easy call: if he's still got the gig at the end of Friday he'll get spared and not fired; the weekend is always the best friend of those public people whose jobs are in peril.

Azenith Smith--KTVU

*Somebody at KPIX should be informed that your quasi-new graphics look horrible. Just what's with the block-centric lettering? It looks something out of El Paso.


*The morning news gigglers on KGO and their daily tease with the mattress man: About as enticing and cool as a Fresno Arby's.




Stephen Stock--NBC Bay Area 'Investigative Unit'

*Mike Nicco giggles and Jennifer Jones-Lee giggles-back: I think all we need is Chuck Woolery


*Remember, The 'Voice of Reason's sole existence is to get out of the house and sweet-talk sweet-nothings with middle-aged women in Pleasanton who regard Target as the same as Nordstrom.


*Dear Chef Ryan Scott: I thought you were bad but after listening to 7-10 PM you might as well be the reincarnation of Jim Dunbar.


*KRON: OK, so you got the lighting right now if only you could get a bigger desk! Go down to Office Depot and do it right away. There's a sale today.


*Brian Copeland: "What if Urkel wanted to be a talk-show host? I smell a one-man show.

*Hey, did you hear? It's supposed to rain like hell for a few days! Oh Nellie!

*Ronn: Mattresses, manicures , heaping praise on dorky new talk-show hosts from 7-10 PM, you're just a fine man, Mr. Lowenstein.

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Ronn Owens Has Been Away From KGO For Nearly Three Weeks on 'Unusual' Vacation

 Ronn Owens returns from a two-week vacation this morning behind the albatross KGO Radio microphones. His unusual lengthy mid-January respite was planned long ago during the Randall Bloomquist/Renee Bakos run. Of course both Bakos and Bloomquist are gone from the KGO bunker on Hawthorne now.

That being said, many of you plus a prominent industry source asked me if Owen's extended vacation was out of the loop and whether there's anything going on? The rumor mill has been rife too because Owens stay away from the microphone came after early January when he broadcast from Washington DC...so he's been away from the microphone since January 8.

It was common knowledge that Owen's buddy, Bloomquist, who "resigned" for "family reasons", caught Ronn off-guard and made for some testy off-mike encounters with Cumulus suits in Atlanta. I don't know how heated the exchanges were, but I do hear they were "enlightening." An agent explained:

 

It's highly unusual for someone as prominent as him to take two weeks off in the middle of January --I'm sorry but no one does that so I'll just say that something has to be up. You're talking about the morning talk show in the 4th-largest market in the country. Come on, man! 

Again, we're told, (officially), that this vacation was planned long ago and that there's nothing, at least publically, brewing, but we also didn't know about the in-house shouting fest by Owens and Atlanta suits.


We're also told that some behind-the-scenes maneuvering is in place. Oh, by the way, Owens will turn 70 this October and mark his 40th anniversary at KGO.


We anticipate Owens will return to KGO and not say a word about this mystery on Monday morning because we know the drill.


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Two Of Cumulus' Biggest SF Players, Gary Radnich and Ronn Owens Anti-Union; KNBR Recent Vote To Join SAG-AFTRA Dynamic; Thursday First Hit

Gary Radnich and Ronn Owens--both morning air talent for Cumulus stations, KNBR and KGO are notorious anti-union guys. Interesting coincidence given KNBR's recent vote to join the SAG-AFTRA Union.

We're not necessarily trumping up the idea of being pro or anti-union. That's for the membership to decide but given San Francisco's strong identity as a labor town it merits conversation.

It's just interesting that both Owens and Radnich, (and most other prominent air talent), have pooh-poohed the union --until they got to their status where benefits, health coverage and the like was a given and which they take for granted. The underlings at KNBR, fed up with Cumulus' work demand, its demeaning and destructive abuse toward its employees had enough, apparently. The hard part comes now but their heart is in the right place.

Owens has decried the union many times on the air; he's said repeatedly, paraphrasing, "Hey, I have to be in a union to work." Yeah, Ronn, it's a tough life.

Radnich hasn't been as vocal but once the KNBR-union story got out he made an off-hand remark like be careful what you wish for. Yeah, until they tell you they're cutting your pension and asking you to make more contributions to your health care.

Poor babies.

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Hey, Ronnnnn Owens Is Finally Talking About Ebola On KGO, Hallelujah

 Yeah, after spending hours on his usual potpourri of dogs and gadgets, it's good to know he finally decided to "tackle Ebola" with the usual bullshit Emily from Pleasanton.

Thanks Ronnnnnnnnnnn. Hallelujah

{KGO Radio}

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KGO/Cumulus Grooming Chip Franklin as Ronn Owen's Replacement; Friday First Take

 When Ronn Owens retires from KGO or Cumulus decides to retire him on their own, expect to hear talk-radio veteran, Chip Franklin, as Owen's replacement.

According to several broadcast sources, Franklin is being groomed to become the 9-Noon permanent host.

Franklin has been doing a lot of fill-in lately on KGO and generally sounds pretty good. Of course, compared to many of KGO's current roster of talkies, that's not too difficult, but Franklin, after a lackluster start, appears to have settled in and has found a common groove.

Franklin's recent past includes talk duty in San Diego where he worked at KOGO before getting axed by Clear Channel last year after six and a half years. 

He's also worked in movies and general entertainment. He sounds relaxed on the air. When he first started I hesitated to remain listening but he paced nicely and offered thoughtful and entertaining takes on news and topics of the day. It wasn't contrived nor forced and it sounded fairly honest and reasonable. Franklin wasn't stop-the-presses material but he at least sounded fairly provocative and catchy --again, a far cry from some of the amateur-hour regulars on the weekend.

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Ronn Owens

Many of you have asked me about my reaction to Ronn Owens coming out publically to disclose he has Parkinson's disease.


I wish him well.


What? Would I wish him anything else? Please.


First off, I knew about this for years and held off because I wasn't a hundred percent certain.


And what would be accomplished by me going public? His personal life and professional life are separate. I would hope most of you sort of get it.

Just because one is critical about one's professional behavior has nothing to do with health and well-being.


Again, I wish him and his family the best.


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KGO Talk Host Weintraub Makes Fun of Ronn Owens On-Air; Refers to His Highness as 'Ronn Blowens'; Complete Audio

 So, if you were driving home from a late dinner in the wee hours last Friday night/early Saturday, you missed quite a show. I mean, it don't get any better when a KGO Radio talk host makes fun of the station's 9-Nooner, Ronn Owens.

And not only did David Weintraub basically take out Owens on-air, he rather matter-of-factly destyoyed him, belittled him and made mincemeat of him, unless of course referring to his mattress man as "Ron Blowens?" Bam!

It got better.

Weintraub's out of-nowhere fisticuffs was in reaction to an Owens caller and Ronnnn's subsequent mea-culpa about the 2012 election. Actually the subject matter is a who cares.

Listen to this thing of beauty beginning at : 27 after.

And here I thought I was the only one who has tired of his highness act. 

This should rankle a few feathers and not just Shakira.

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Of All People, What Sean Hannity Said About Cumulus But Ronn Owens Didn't

  It was extremely difficult working with Cumulus… and to watch them literally destroy many heritage talk stations…such as KGO, WLS, KABC, and many others…and fire some of the best and brightest managers and PD's in the industry.

The old KGO Radio comes back for three hours; Pat Thurston pulls off impromptu wake for Gene Burns; Ironies galore

As word trickled out Saturday that Gene Burns had passed away, Pat Thurston was in the process of prepping for her show, which is about the only thing worth listening to on KGO.

Thurston was a close confidante to Burns; often times it was her who had the lowdown on Burns health status which had rapidly deteriorated since his dismissal from the station in December of 2011. Burns had suffered a myriad of issues including several minor strokes. The latest one, which had occurred only days before ultimately cost him his life. Burns died Saturday morning.

Thurston was in high gear on Saturday. Before her show, she popped into Michael Finney's show. Finney got a call from Ronn Owens, who announced Burns death. Immediately, word started getting out and Thurston began planning.

Soon, Owens and John Rothmann arrived at the Cumulus KGO broadcast studios. Ever so careful, Rothmann actually asked Thurston if it were OK for him to talk on the air. It's Cumulus, mind you. Thurston obliged.

Suddenly, a stream of former producers and engineers from the old KGO began arriving and phoned in to offer condolences. Mickey Luckoff called. So did Ray Taliaferro and Christine Craft.

What started out as an impromptu hour or so of reminiscing eventually evolved into a mighty, sometimes cathartic three-hour broadcast wake. It was, ironically, sadly, maybe enlightening, the very best three hours of vintage KGO Radio--you know that old KGO where people actually sounded like something and the fact that it had to take Burns death to create it, spoke volumes.

Periodically, audio outtakes of Burns verbal jousts and work were played. The studio ensemble laughed out loud. Hundreds of e-mails poured in as did callers. At one point, Thurston made the dynamic point of saying that Burns demise might have been accelerated by his dismissal from KGO. "I hope this doesn't get me fired", she said half-kidding. A later arrival to the show, Karel, (who can't help making himself the subject no matter what, ) went one step further, (I'm paraphrasing), "His firing probably cost him his life." I immediately tweeted out that I finally agreed with something Karel said, and to his credit, at least he had the guts to say it. As per usual, later on in his own show he resorted back into typical Karel mode injecting his own professional demise. God forbid he stay the course but oh well.

Give Thurston and producer, Lynn Sloan, credit for assembling the masses. It was remarkable auto-pilot radio that reeked of sincerity and sadness. Again, that it took the death of a former legendary host and colleague to pull it off is both compelling and revealing.

I want to make a few points here.

I'm quite happy and give props to Thurston for pulling off the genuinely decent Saturday night broadcast. At first I was bothered by the fact that Cumulus would benefit, (unknowingly), of a host's dismissal. Sure, I know Cumulus had nothing to do with this ad-libbed broadcast but I was still perplexed. Here you have three hours of some of the best radio, (for a change), and yet only hours later, it would all sink back into the abyss.

On Sunday night, KGO broadcast a three-hour tribute to Burns. The program consisted mostly of  highlights of Burns various show themes and his back-and-forth with various callers. It was a nice program. Burn's "Dining Around" show was also lauded with a few of his celebrated pitch outtakes and they were both funny and poignant.

There is no word of a memorial service for Mr. Burns. Should one take place I will mention it in a future blog post.



*Gene Burns

*Obituary

*KGO Radio

*Cumulus

*Pat Thurston

*John Rothmann



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