Fire up your Bay Area media questions and I will do my best to answer. News, sports, culture, whatever...TV/Radio/Internet/Newspaper, even restaurants too.Personalities, anchors, reporters, shoptalk, open game.
*You may also ask your questions via my Twitter account.
Any time soon when Karel disappears?
ReplyDeleteI don't know exactly when but let's put it this way: I'd be surprised if he's around after 6 months from now. Just a hunch.
DeleteIf he works as cheap as you (and others) say he does, why wouldn't they keep him? Is he even on a salary with KGO or is he brokering his show?
DeleteHis ratings are terrible but he's on during the weekends when it's not that big a deal. He gets about $200 a show but the main reason he's on is that he gets health coverage from the union.
DeleteCan't be soon enough
DeleteRadio stations have always advertized and made money- right? So,why is it now like yesterdays debacle when I put 95.7 on.. in a commercial,103.7,94.5,KCBS,KGO,ALICE..And a couple of other stations on who were also at a commercial break ALL at the same time. And these breaks are much longer then they used to be. The oldies play 3 songs...back to commercials. KNBR AND 95.7 seem to go on 10 minute breaks.
ReplyDeleteIs the " less commercials" radio dead?
Deregulation and greed. They wanna milk as much as they can get all the while people flipping channels. Used to be 12 minutes of spots in an hour now unlimited tap.
DeleteHa! That's why I switched to Pandora for music. It's free and there's like one 10 sec commercial every 10 songs.
DeleteRich,
ReplyDeleteHow much do you just make up as you go without any real info? Two weeks ago you said Owens was being beat by fill-ins on KGO. You do know that's not true, nor really discernible, right?
That comment about Karel being on for health insurance, also not true. You know that, right?
Do you even realize why all those stations were at commercial when the poster suggested, or you just making that up too?
Don't you think this blog would be better if you actually posted facts, didn't make stuff up, forced people to register, and didn't delete half the posts?
Well, stooge, and I know you are just by the way you asked the questions...
DeleteA KGO source told me, unsolicited, that Ronn's ratings were lower than a guest host.
And Karel does get health insurance from the union. That's a lot more than the $200 a show he gets...
If you don't like my facts, then go away. Matter of fact, you're gone back to the KGO intern dept.
Karel has said many times that health insurance is why he needs the KGO job.
DeleteKPIX seems to have increased their number of field reporters recently, but it also seems like some of their more senior reporters (like Linda Yee, Don Knapp, and Ann Notarangelo) have been covering markedly fewer stories. Are those accurate observations?
ReplyDeleteNo, about the same.
DeleteKnapp and Yee, Ayers and Vasquez I see a lot of.
And maybe one newbie.
Have you seen Dan Ashley's end of newscast commentaries and do you like them? Just noticed them last week and it takes me back to the Wilson/McElhaton days when talking heads would opine as well as read teleprompters.
ReplyDeleteJerry Jenson did the same for KGO.
DeleteI have seen Ashley's 'Last Word' and I like them. Presents a human side to the news and he delivers them well and they are well-written.
how does Mr. Hammer over at 55 Hawthorne still have a job?
ReplyDeleteBecause he's been there forever and the upper food chain in Atlanta knows he's loyal to the core and will NEVER rock the boat until the Giants start losing and then KNBR has to deliver its own programming and ratings.
DeleteIs D.Bruce as disliked by his co-workers as is portrayed here...would seem lousy working conditions would not help anybody...realize some of these guys are prima donnas but how disliked is Mr. Bruce?
ReplyDeleteYes, he's disliked by a lot of people however that's not necessarily a reason(s) to keep him from working. Many "disliked" people are talented performers...including pima donnas ..Damon's problems are that he's not as great as he makes himself out to be.
DeleteWill Gil Gross be around in 6 months? I hope not, same for Frosty although I find him a bit easier to listen to than Gil, which isn't saying much, I hardly ever listen to Frosty, either I'm at work or I choose Ronn or Spencer Hughes, depending on subject. Will Clear Channel be around in 6 month? And what about 960 the Patriot, is that a Clear Channel owned station? I miss Bill Press and other more liberal minded hosts, it is incredible that in liberal Bay Area, we now have so few good liberal talk show hosts, at least during the week. Ronn is middle of the road, that leave Randy Rhoades and Alan Colmes, not much too choose from, for those that want to escape Savage's anger, Sussmans horrible show or Hannity's republican talking points.
ReplyDeleteThere's much to decipher there. I think you had a question about Gil Gross and Frosty--for the time being, yes, they will have jobs...Clear Channel has $21B in debt since they're considered a "toxic asset", they will be allowed to operate so as long they continue to pay some of that debt down.
DeleteIs it just me, or do Gross and Frosty want to talk about anything other than the news of the day?
DeleteWas Weintraub docked for his comments about "middle of the road" Ronn "Blowens?" He wasn't on the air last night, and they didn't say why. My gut tells me they gave him a warning and one more false step he'll be gone. He'll be fired before Karel. You watch.
ReplyDeleteHe's still on the web site: http://www.kgoradio.com/common/page.php?id=68663 I've made some inquires and hope to know soon.
DeleteHe was sick.
DeleteHe'll be back tonight.
Nobody cares about Ronn.
Can I get a two-fer?
ReplyDeleteWhat ever happened to Anna Chavez? She was a great anchor for channel 7 and then up and vanished.
Any word on whether the people channel 2 axed over the names find work? That seemed a little extreme especially since they did nothing to Tori Campbell.
First q: Chavez left the business out of a particular concern--if you archive this blog you will know why.
DeleteAs for the KTVU people, 3 out of the 4 have found jobs, not all in media.
Chavez? That's easy.
DeleteShe heard that Rich was planning to start a media blog where he'd make creepy pervert remarks about the female talent regardless of the fact that they are somebody's mother, daughter, or wife. She decided to get out beforehand.
I saw a comment on your blog from someone talking about Michael Finney off the air being a real nasty person. What can you tell me about Finney? He seems like a genuinely nice guy on radio and tv...then again....that is their job.
ReplyDeleteHe's a very nice guy.
DeleteAnd everybody has a bad day every now and then including me --when that happens very nice people can become "real nasty.
Was the real reason Dennis Richmond retired and left KTVU because even tho he tried for years and years, he just couldn't beat Mark Ibanez in the battle of mustaches?. My source at KTVU informed me that the physical and emotional toll was just too much and he finally gave up, retired, and shaved it off
ReplyDeleteVery funny but stick to your day job.
DeleteWhere's the best pastrami in the Bay Area?
ReplyDeleteThere's a few good places...
DeleteI like Miller's East-Coast Deli on California/Polk and the Oaks Card Club in Emeryville --oh, and Tommy's Joynt too.
Brennan's in Berkeley is better, but I do love Tommy's Joynt.
DeleteMiller's is excellent, but it's on Polk Street between Clay and Washington.
Delete#1. Who is the man that introduces himself as "Hi!, I'm Michael, of New Pane,Com." He has a very classy, east european type voice, sort of like Lawrence Welk meets Don Ameche. He sounds like those hard working Polish guys from my neighborhood back in Michigan.
ReplyDelete#2. Heard anything about TrueCar.com getting a different spokesperson yet? That Gum-Chewing Girfriend needs to go back to her other job at The Waffle House, where yelling is encouraged and diction is ignored.
Sorry but I have no time for those irritating splurts. SWITCH is the best advice.
DeleteI guess I'm naive, but I was surprised by a recent visitor comment on this blog, saying that there is a Cumulus management-mandated bias against older callers to the talk shows at KGO. I know I've felt verbally abused by a couple of their producers, on a couple of occasions; but, I always assumed it was just that they were having a bad day. (A talk-show producer having a bad day. Imagine that!)
ReplyDeleteThe post went on to say that, although the older demographic is correct for the station, the management in Atlanta keeps struggling to gain the interest of the face-hardware and body-ink crowd. Hence KGO's crappy numbers and declining ad revenues.
Do you think the comments are factual? If so, the 15 minutes worth of Ronnnnn that I caught the other morning will be my last KGO broadcast that I ever listen to. It's no wonder that both Cumulus and Clear Channel are scores-of-billions of dollars in debt and turning abysmal profits. Upper management at both corporations must be solely ego-driven, with no intellectual capacity to see that their grandiose "plans" aren't working. It's the old cliche defining insanity as doing the same things over and over, and expecting different results.
Del:
DeleteI wrote of Ronn's tendency to cut callers that were perceived as "old'--he's been doing this for 30 years. I don't think it's an institutional mandate but he's so obvious and blatant I had to post something.
Hope this helps.
It's a mandate. In fact it was supposedly argued against during a recent KGO meeting but I don't know if Owens was there for that meeting.
DeleteRadio stations' managements have been pressuring their production departments for younger demographics, going back to Marconi.
DeleteAdvertisers want to sell to younger people. It isn't that younger people have more money. However, older people are more "brand loyal," and sponsors lure younger folks to BECOME brand loyal to them.
There was a time, during the 70's, when KGO producers had to ask each caller for his/her age, and enter each on caller log that was submitted to the PD. The weekly average age of callers to each program went out in a memo. Many callers caught on, and lied about their age. If an older caller sounded young ... and many did ... producers lowered the age on the log. The pressure was intense.
I hate Cumulus for what they've done to radio. But, demanding younger "demos," is nothing new, or unique to them.
Brand loyalty seems way out of date these days with companies getting swallowed up by others and no longer existing. That reasoning may have applied in days gone by, but nowadays new companies appear and disappear rapidly and younger folks seem to prefer whatever the newest trend is to come along. It's likely their company will be gone by the time they grow up. Just look what's happened to radio. Here today, gone tomorrow. New call letters for the same radio station. KNEW was 910, now 960. So brand loyalty is a concept that's gone forever it seems.
DeleteYounger callers doesn't mean younger listeners, and vice versa.
Delete"Younger callers doesn't mean younger listeners, and vice versa."
DeleteTry explaining that to the sales department!
Who is the female reporter introducing this mind-boggling 1981 KRON story?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WCTn4FljUQ&feature=youtu.be
I believe that is Rita Channon. Here she is in another video from 1981:
Deletehttp://youtu.be/LmWWZbcCszU
I think that is Barbara Simpson, but I could (probably am, wrong)
ReplyDeleteRich- how did ' Amy G.' ever get a job with the Giants? Her annoying, nasal, whiny baby-voice is bad enough, but there is absolutely no substance of any kind to anything she talks about. Why do they want this ditz on their broadcasts when the rest of the broadcast team is so highly regarded? Do Larry Baer and Ted Griggs actually think that soccer moms and panda-hat wearers are really that n important demographic to go after? I can't see anyone else with any love for baseball wanting to listen to Amy G. and her constantly annoying and useless cut ins from the dugout.
ReplyDeleteShe's there to perk up Giants commerce and give pleasure to fat white guys in Fresno watching on TV with Buster Posey jerseys.
DeleteThat's about it in a nutshell.
With Kate T. Scott leaving KNBR (I believe that was reported) do you think Dan Dibley will make a return seeing as tho you reported that he's out at The Game?
ReplyDeleteKate Scott is not leaving KNBR.
DeleteI reported that she's been auditioning at KGO-TV to do weekend sports anchor duties.
Dan Dibley was let go at The Game, (as were his other Rise Guys); I doubt he goes back to KNBR or that they'd hire him but never say never.
I've always wondered why newsreaders and reporters fake a Mexican accent when reporting a story with Latin surnames. Have you ever heard this discussed by anyone in the business. Why not fake Irish for O'Leary or fake German for Schneider? Why the deference to just one group?
ReplyDeleteIt's because they are trying to cater to hispanics in the audience and show their own roots. You do raise a very valid point, though. If you're going to say San Francisco or San Jose with a Latin American Spanish accent, then you should be pronouncing Campbell with a Scottish accent, Dublin with an Irish accent, etc...
DeleteRich:
ReplyDeleteAny info on Fred LaCosse and Terry Lowry? Are they still in the news business?
What's up with bay area radio?...NOT giving away any free prizes and contests anymore?
ReplyDeleteI get more goodies at the Costco Demostation tables then on radio. Didn't the big 610 give away cars in the 1970s?......Cheap bastards.
Speaking of cheap...what's up with KGO's bumper and image music? It's like 7 years old and sounds like shit.
Reminds me of music in the Kmart restroom.....Bop..ba..ba...kgo..bop.ba..ba.......
So are the A's moving to San Jose???
ReplyDeleteDibs did not get along well with Lee Hammer, but then that's true of a lot of people who had to work with that dolt. The guy is clueless, but he survives because the Dickhead brothers love the way he does their bidding for them in SF A true weasel and a corporate shill. That's his destiny in life.
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm late to the party, but can you fell me what happened to Sully from the Lamont and Tonelli show? It's mindless entertainment, but at least they make me laugh, unlike the rest of the shit you hear in this market.
ReplyDelete