Another iconic Bay Area broadcaster has apparently bit the dust--Longtime FM jock, Don Bleu; he of KYUU, K-101 (Star 101) and most recently BIG 103. 7. (IHeart)
We say "apparently" because we can't confirm his 86ing but several broadcast sources tell me privately, "He Gone!"
This is happening now all too frequently.
Bleu wasn't my favorite FM tonsil but based on pure longevity and that's 30+ years in the Bay Area, he had a fairly successful run and a pretty strong following among listeners.
In the daily broadcasting business model that apparently doesn't count these days and if you're that good, (and Bleu is pretty decent), you'd have to pay for talented people, a virtual no-no in radio today.
Take care, Don.
*Follow me on Twitter
He is only 500 hundred years old and knows nothing about social media or how it works or participates.
ReplyDeleteThat is who you want working at your radio station?
Someone living in the year 1865?
Spot on! Where is it written that disc jockeys are entitled to a lifetime of work? I hate all the changes to radio but come on man, this guy is a dinosaur. If anything I'm shocked he lasted so long. Did anyone catch Brian Sussman filling in for MIchael Savage yesterday? What a travesty.
DeleteLol@people feeling social media is the be all, end all.
DeleteEnjoy the fad while it lasts. So many things come and go...in due time.
Count me in 12:19 and 1:00. Who ever said that once you're hired at a radio station you're guaranteed lifetime employment?
DeleteNot that way for most jobs these days. Why is broadcasting any different?
Any media personality not on social media scores points with me. I don't need to know what they're thinking, eating or doing every minute of the day.
DeleteSorry to see Bleu go; seems to be commonplace these days. Little to no fanfare about this; hopefully, it'll be the same thing when Owens finally goes. As Kim Jong Un recently opined, "Hold still, Asshole!! You die!!"
DeleteStations don't bill like they used to. There's too much competition for advertising dollars, and time-spent-listening is down some, although cumulative reach has remained reasonably constant, although it's also down a little. So, rather than indict him and wag a finger in his direction related to lack of social media skills (the truthfulness as it relates to him I know nothing about), the elephant in the room is that he probably simply made too much money. They just likely felt the need to get someone cheaper. That's almost always the way it is, but they'll never use that as an excuse, so as not to ruin morale.
Delete@ 12:19 Hmmm... does Don Bleu also get negative marks from you because he doesn't have a pound of easily visible polished metal hardware inserted into facial piercings. Or perhaps because his body isn't tatted up like some cheap gigolo? Can't help wondering.
DeleteHey Max Snark, no one cares how he looks, it's all about how he sounds. No one gets fired or hired in radio because of tatoos and body piercings.
DeleteIn this day and age, where I can just listen to whatever I want to on mp3 or Pandora etc., the one thing that keeps me listening to music on the radio is the jock. I've listened to Don Bleu semi-regularly for all those 30+ years in the Bay Area. I've even bumped into him a couple of times at local stores. Along with Dr. Don Rose and Gene Nelson, he's one of my top 3 all-time morning jocks and of course, the only one who is still on the air.
ReplyDeleteI won't be a snarky smart-ass like the first writer, but let's face it, Don Bleu had a long, long time being famous, and has aged like the rest of us. Even the older demo. still listening may be ready for a fresh face, a new voice. It's called Natural Evolution of the frontman.
ReplyDeleteto the individual writing at 12:19 above today... I pity you when you get older... not everyone needs to be a social media maven...
ReplyDelete@anon 1:10 So you think workers who can no longer do the job should be kept around for ever?
DeleteWho's the fill in host for Michael Savage today? Is he physically incapable of sounding excited? What he is saying is well thought out, but his relentlessly soft-grey manner resembles the last H&R Block representative who did my taxes.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the deal with all of these Caucasian males being let go? This blatant racism needs to be addressed. Where's the NAACP when we need them?
ReplyDeleteThey'll cover their ass by replacing him with another Caucasian male....voicetracking from Des Moines.
DeleteJack Kulp would be a great fit on 103.7.
ReplyDeleteI was a promotions intern at K101 in the early 90's and found Don Bleu to be one of the nicest people to be around, even though he was the big star and came across on the air as a little arrogant. On the other hand, Terry McGovern, who was doing afternoons was the opposite. On the air a sweetheart, but in person, well.....
ReplyDeleteYou're exactly right - one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet or the pleasure of working with. Worked with him on the old (pre-90's) Evening Magazine at KPIX and never had a bad day with Don! If they do shit-can you (the bastards), well, you had a great run and rank up there at the top in a crowded field of Bay Area radio guys. Rock on, sleep late, my friend, and work on that nasty duck hook - maybe you can help me with mine while you're at it. Tom.
DeleteThis guy always reminded me of an aluminum siding salesman. At some point in a DJs career or to be politically correct A Host must start thinking about getting into Management, or at least change with the times. Like ROOOOOOOON his style has not changed since 1994 The Pinnacle of his career was bloopers in the morning. Nothing says success like calling some moron at 7am on a prearranged call to tell them they are fired. I wish him luck and hope he has some $$$ socked away!
ReplyDeleteHard to have lived in the Bay Area in the last 30 years and not have run across Bleu in person at some point. You have to think at some point he figured he was playing with the house's money and was just going to keep doing radio until someone told him to stop. No, nobody is entitled to a radio job, but you have to think the station thought enough of him to hire him due to his long Bay Area ties, and he at least deserved a decent send off. Or have those been outlawed in radio these days?
ReplyDeleteThings happen in threes. Shame to see Don Bleu go out like this. He didn't deserve this. Neither did Hal Ramey. That's OK. The asswipes who made these decisions should remember that it could happen to them someday. And the way corporate America is going, IT WILL.
ReplyDeleteSo you think Bleu should remain on the air until he's taken his final breath?
DeleteOn a related topic, CBS Radio seems to be ready to embark on some nationwide large-scale cutbacks. Some recent changes at KCBS and elsewhere may be short-lived; as I understand it, they haven't really started yet.
ReplyDeleteDon is like the nearby Safeway store. Exceptional maybe not...I mean you can find the same thing in anytown USA, but he's you're local store, nearby, familiar, and you know what you are going to get when the door opens, a smile and a hello from somebody familiar at the counter. This comes as no surprise whatsoever of course.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing I really care for radio wise in the Bay Area anymore. There's no more oldies stations (like the old KYA and KFRC), no more smooth jazz (KKSF) and no more talk radio like KGO, which is only a shadow of it's former format. I would occasionally tune in to hear Don Bleu in the mornings and he's like an old friend. I now have Sirius and XM in all my cars and that's what I listen to. I even listen to XM on line while at home. It's a sad state of affairs for radio these days.
ReplyDeleteI remember Don Bleu on KYUU as early as 1978, so it's close to 40 years. He's even outlasted most of the legacy jocks on the legacy "throwback" stations, and he started before most of them!! I actually stopped listening to the Big1037 morning show not because of Don, but some assmunch named Dennis Cruz who came out of nowhere and has a great voice for a mime troupe. I was never the biggest Don Bleu fan (he was direct competition to Dr. Don Rose and could never hold a candle to him) but to last in a single market for THAT long, in THIS modern radio environment (think the fall of the Roman empire, only worse) once can only bow down to him and wish him well...and hope he's somehow invested that almost 40 years of jock money to live well in retirement...
ReplyDeleteCritical of Don Bleu because of his age. Look, he was good because of his age! The young DJ on the radio today sound like they have marbles in their mouths. No talent at all today. Don was a class act! We listened to Don in the 70's in the Mpls. St. Paul Cities of Minnesota. Don has been missed ever since. Rock on Mr. Bleu and God Bless you!
ReplyDelete