Ed Baxter spent over three decades at the old KGO, both as reporter and newsman. Late last year, without any warning, and on vacation in Hawaii, Baxter called in and announced his retirement. Like, "now", no ceremonies needed.
Seemed a lot of people were surprised not so much that Baxter called it quits, (at KGO at least), but in the manner in which the veteran newsman did it. Not me.
Baxter, who's filling in this evening for Gene Burns, (NewsTalk 910 AM 4-7 PM PST) already was getting tired of the mushy morning news format. While not saying so publicly, Baxter was increasingly wary of the over-insertion of Facebook mentions; the onslaught of music and unnecessary, chirpy actualities intended to attract a more "younger demo"--right, like the IPod crowd would suddenly bolt for badly-run AM news. It was a disaster then and has only been muddled further now that KGOne has become simply unlistenable.
I must confess that at first, listening to Baxter try to act hip to what clearly sounded like garbage, caught me off-guard. It was obvious by his sudden, "see ya later, KGO" that Baxter saw things coming and did the honorable thing. He chose to split from the abyss.
I doubt he goes into the specifics of his final act at the former news-talk giant. Instead, I expect a lot of feel-good stories about Jim Dunbar, Ted Wygant, Ron Naso and Rosie Allen. Speaking of Rosie, both she and Baxter will co-host the show tomorrow, (Friday, 4-7 PM). Should make for a interesting three-hour show.
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Great to bring up this subject about Ed Baxter (he sounds great on the radio right now, too!)--would love to hear more from him on the subject of why/how he left KGone....hope someday he talks more about it!
ReplyDeleteThinking back, it was strange to hear Ed Baxter trying to be more "hip"--at the time it kind of rubbed me the wrong way--but now in retrospect--your words explain it.
A comment about mattress man: on the "Former Listeners of KGO..." Facebook page today, there is an interesting discussion about mattress man's show today--and his wife, Jan Black, started posting comments to Mary Twito Chin's post--Jan Black defending mattress man. It does not sit well with me--seems like mattress man may be employing his wife for image rehab.
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/FormerKGOListeners?ref=ts#!/FormerKGOListeners/posts/280022822053064?notif_t=like
For me, at least, if Ron had just simply expressed some sympathy for his fellow hosts who were booted out RIGHT BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS!--that would have meant a lot.
DeleteI recognize that he needs to keep his job, but apparently he never even personally called anyone to offer his condolences.
Ronn's tone has changed the last year or so....before this event. I think the owners are really leaning on him!
Thanks for the facebook link...really interesting posts. I've always stayed away from facebook, but ranted and raved there the first days after the devestation. Now I only go every few days to see if there is anything new, would have missed it.
DeleteWhile I was reading it, kept thinking the next thing we'll see is Ronnnnnnnngone in front of a microphone, with his wife, Jan Black, in her cloth coat, both girls, and their dog, Checkers, as he mournfully laments HIS state. Oh, wooops, Ronnnngone's dog is Sophie. Anyone that "gets" this knows full well that I am way too old for the current KGONE
...very funny 11:20 AM! Love the images of Ronnnnnngone, Jan Black in her CLOTH coat, the girls, Sophie/Checkers....and no expensive horses.................it occurred to me yesterday, Jan Black is trying to "help" her husband--it's her million bucks, too! She's gotta fight for it now! They both do.
DeleteListening right now, great to hear Ed. Can't wait until tomorrow with Rosie. I also really love Sleep Train advertising on 910 now.
ReplyDeleteBy far the most obnoxious radio ad in the history of KGO was the one with the young woman crying over how her weight gain was ruining her marriage. But alas, she found a miracle pill which took the weight off :-)
ReplyDeleteNice to hear Ed, but, jeeze, what a shopworn topic he's discussing just before 6 pm. Speeding?
ReplyDeleteI noticed the other day the 11:30 Sleep Train ad Ronn/ Guest usually read live was pre-taped and used the afternoon newsreaders not Ronn.
ReplyDeleteEd sounds like Ed, without pretense. I too found him kind of annoying on the morning news, but when he was partnered with Rosie, they were great! She had a way of balancing his somewhat harsh delivery with her gentle goodness and beautiful voice. They made a great team! I am glad Ed is doing well on 910 today, and again, it speaks volumes that the "Former" talent at KGO didn't hesitate to fill in for their friend and colleague, Gene.
ReplyDeleteDid you hear? The John Lennon conspiracy guy called into 910 the other day. Even he knows NOBODY LISTENS TO KGO ANYMORE.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great situation! And it's true--if the John Lennon guy is calling Newstalk 910 "he knows nobody is listening to KGO anymore!"....Howl!! that's a great line 6:35 PM!
DeleteAh, the John Lennon guy. He starts so seriously, then dives into the conspiracy of Stephen King. I notice that when the talk show hosts play along with him, he runs out of steam.
DeleteGary, the angry guy, is all over the dial. He even calls into Coast-to-Coast with his Jack Nicholson-like delivery. Changes his name but the voice is so distinctive.
Listened to Ed on the way home tonight and so nice to hear him again. When you think of all the talent that is presently not working, and we are getting a small tease while Gene is off it just makes you realize how far we have fallen.
ReplyDeleteQuite sad indeed!
I may have missed them, but...did old Ed do a string of Anderson's Big Screen TV commercials for old times's sake? ("I just got mine and they installed it in time for the playoffs and boy does it look great...") etc, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhen does Lloyd Lindsay Young come to 910? Or Leo Ciolino?...how about Peter Cleaveland?
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
I loved hearing Ed's voice on the way home from work today. It was so comforting because he left so abruptly and I miss him. I actually liked him very much on the morning format and particularly liked his sense of humor. I think he did pretty well as a talk show host today considering he was a news guy.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Ed and Rosie combo, wasn't the same when he moved to mornings, but thought he and Mary Ellen Geist were very good at the morning news. When they brought the giggly airhead in it became unbearable. It was good to hear Ed this afternoon, but felt he was a little too disjointed...too many topics, no real follow through. Maybe he's not used to dealing with callers, or maybe there aren't many callers? I would like to hear him again and have less topics and more discussion.
ReplyDeleteI have not really listened to mattress man until earlier this week (except confess to listening to R&B joke hour where a lot of the jokes they told were ones they had told on other R&B joke hours and then fell over themselves laughing at the "new" jokes). Listening to Ronn was like a whole different experience. I have never cared for him, too dang egotistical, but his program now is horrible. Hardly any calls and think there were 4 topics for each hour. It may have been the day after NH and he didn't really devote any time to politics. There were tons of asides to Jared a zillion ridiculous ads..sweetjack. He better look at his Marconi award every night, because he would never stand a chance of winning another one!
That's right on the 4 topics per hour.... I listened to a bit of the first hour with the Mayor but it was in the second hour, I heard him introduce 4 topics. Related, but ....
DeleteSounds bad for mattress boy--can't say I feel any sympathy for him. He handled a bad situation poorly.
Delete7:53 Ed began his show by saying he would probably not be doing the typical talk show format of introducing a topic and taking calls but rather he would skip around to various topics and taking some callers, having some guests, and just going with the flow. He also said somewhere toward the middle of the show that he was excited to be back on the air again. Had a lot to say and share after being off the radio since May. So maybe if he continues to have a chance, he will have gotten all his pent-up ideas covered and settle into the format. But when you think about it, his show today was similar to the way the afternoon news went -- topics in the news but covering them a little more in depth than just simply reading them and talking to guests to give a little more input to any given topic. Today it was Michael Cardoza (who now defends drunken drivers and he worked him over fairly well) and Jackie Speier (who seemed truly delighted to talk to him again). He had a call in to Jerry Brown but it didn't get returned. So it was sort of a news/talk format today. I thought it worked pretty well.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteI thought he was great on the Mary Tyler Moore show. When he read that the clown in a peanut suit was shucked to death by a elephant? I never laughed so hard at any TV episode.
ReplyDeleteHah, hah. That's Ted Baxter and you know it.
DeleteChannelling your inner Emily Litella?
Delete;-)
That was actually TED Baxter, fictional character on MTM.
ReplyDeleteTo see the clip, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmLX4A0o414
and start at 50 seconds or so.
Listened to about half of Ed and Rosie together. They are such a great duo like I remember before Ed went to mornings in 2000.
ReplyDeleteThey should have been kept together at KGO. They are one of those radio anchor pairs that had chemistry on air together and were greater than the sum of their parts.