WE NEED A BILL WATTENBURG RIGHT NOWThe late KGO Radio broadcaster, affectionately known as "Doctor Bill" was the late night weekend host, a calm and reassuring voice in the late night. He wasn't perfect but he was damn close.
For years, Wattenburg talked about the forest problem in Northern California and predicted an onslaught of fires that would decimate the north state --he was right. We all know what's taken place the past three-plus years.
Wattenburg often went semi-crazy over the air but his information and background proved to be quite accurate. He almost sounded as if he was right on the front line. At times he was the main center of information.
His science background was tenacious and he often talked about his vast experience, especially living in the Sierra, where he discussed and broadcast from a makeshift home studio. (like today's set-up with fellow radio hosts, how apt.)
The current pandemic was also right up Bill's alley. He wasn't a medical doctor (Phd from Berkeley) but he would be reassuring, cogent and supportive and zone in on how a vaccine could work and save us. At the very least, Wattenburg would allow a vast KGO audience to have an expert, calming voice at a time we all need it. No doubt about it.
Wattenburg, as I noted, was by no means perfect. He'd often rail and go almost bat-crazy at callers, some of whom weren't as dumbfounded as he made them out to be, but ironically, that was his charm also. If you never listened to him and your only taste of Dr. Bill was in his sunset years, then you couldn't figure out his appeal. If you, on the other hand, had caught his overall contribution and information in his repetoire, than you were ear-witness to quite an entertaining man.
Boy, the Bay Area misses him.
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The guy was a blowhard that put his politics before science. For example, despite his science background he denied that climate change could be man made(he finally acquiesced a couple years before he went off the air),and not to worry about the massive oil spills--nature will take care of it.(technically wrong in the short term, long term maybe), his dismissal of nuclear accidents was always jaw-dropping radio too.
ReplyDeleteBut his weekly conversation with some 5th grader about why raisins float, then sink when put in 7-Up was charming. zzzzzzzz
Oh please. He was calling out environmental groups and liberal econazis for their bullshit going on decades. He warned and warned about the forests. He cautioned us about those organizations that are filled with lawyers that survived just to make money off lawsuits...and your donations. His words proved 100% accurate just a few years ago when entire towns burned down. You won't admit it tho. Dumbass.
DeleteDon't get your panties in a bunch because he told it like it is. Honesty in this liberal state for once...a breath of fresh air, and sorely missed.
dear 11:44...He also had a business renting equipment used in firefighting..think about it.
DeleteI always enjoyed talking with Bill, but you are wrong about environmental groups starting the northern California fires. Have you never heard of PG&E and causation of same? I was also surprised that Bill, so wise on many things,chose to be smoker, dying ultimately of cancer.
DeleteI was surprised that Christine, so wise on so many things, claims that she spent so many hours in the ocean surfing. Ocean water contaminated with sewage, storm run-off and oil carries bacteria, parasites, and viruses, which can cause a variety of diseases. From Staph infections to earaches, hepatitis to skin rashes and respiratory issues, America's waters are an environmental hot bed for infection
DeleteThe good Dr. probably smoked, like many others, because he was terrified of what was becoming of this once great state under liberal control. Turns out he was right about a good majority of it. God bless him.
DeleteSeriously? You think Bill smoked because he was terrified of democrats? When was California a red state, exactly, in Bill's lifetime? He smoked because he was addicted. that's pretty simple. As for the comment at 1:58 about polluted beaches, there was not in the sixties, or seventies, or even now, contaminated sewage water at Rincon, the county line between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. We did have huge patches of oil slick from the Platform Honda blowout in 1969. The north swell was extraordinary that year and so we all surfed.It took gasoline and time to get if out of long hair, after so doing. I never ever acquired a staph infection, hepatitis, skin rashes or respiratory "issues" in several decades of surfing, either in Hawaii or up and down the California coast. I cannot say the same for the cleanliness of your average public or private club swimming pool. I'm glad you were too much of a pussy to go out in the ocean. You were afraid of doo doo and sharks and waves that might smack you around. That meant less crowds for the rest of us.
DeleteWhy all the hate Christine? You don’t get it, people view you as an arrogant ass.
DeleteI was accused here of being evil for enjoying the ocean. According to the poster, I should have known that the ocean was polluted and unhealthy. In my experience, this is bullshit. Why would you want people who were terrified of the ocean and those dirty, dirty waves to be going in the water and crowding out those of us who weren't? Now go play in your bathtub and pretend you are the arbiter of what all "people" think. Talk about arrogance.
DeleteWhen was California a red sate in Bill's lifetime?
DeleteAside from 1964, California was a reliably Republican state in every presidential election until 1992, when it was carried by Bill Clinton. California was a Republican stronghold in presidential elections from 1952 until 1992. During this period, the Republicans won California in every election except the election of 1964. In these years, the GOP regularly nominated Californians as presidential candidates: Richard Nixon in 1960 and 1972, and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. Since then however, the Democrats have carried the electoral rich state since 1992. The immigration of Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans and migration of northern liberals, who tend to vote Democratic, and the flight of white, middle and upper-middle class suburbanites out of the state shifted the balance in favor of the Democratic Party.
Somehow...?? you forgot Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and LBJ.....Why is that? Bill Wattenburg was around for all of those. IN fact, from 1932 to 2016,Californians voted for democrats for president thirteen times,nine times for republicans..Tell me more about your mythical "reliably Republican state".
DeleteWhen were the words "reliably Republican state" used other than by you? You asked, "When was California a red state in Bill's lifetime?". Bill was alive from 1936 to 2018. He provided dates. So yes, a good majority of his life.
Delete@4:56 who accused you of being "evil" for enjoying the ocean? They were simply pointing out the ocean isn't the cleanest of places. I would be most concerned about the radioactive water leaking into the Pacific Ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
DeleteEnjoy your waves if you want!
dear 11:46 spin all you'd like..You are math-impaired.Bill wasn't. For most of his life , the people of California voted for democrats for the presidency.
DeleteGotta love the moving of the goalposts.
DeleteDear 8:38...see Wikipedia California political affiliation history....therein you will see many indices of California's predominantly blue history..hardly a "reliably red state", in any event.
DeleteChristine Craft is the ultimate "Karen".
DeleteThat would be awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed listening and learning from Bill. At times, he reminded me of my dad, surely,abrupt but always had the right answers and I appreciated that.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. He was a breath of fresh air on that station.
DeleteLoved Dr. Bill. He could be excessively harsh on people who really didn't deserve it, but made up for it with his kindness towards the kids who called in. And he certainly nailed it with his assessment of the dismal California forest situation.
ReplyDeleteRich, you ought to do a similar profile on Dr. Dean Edell. One of my all time favorite KGO hosts. Its too bad he's not on the air during this pandemic to give us the straight scoop amidst all the smear politics and fake news.
My two favorites are Dr.Dean and Lenn Tillem.
Deleteanon at 5:14pm...Hispanic immigration? Lack of context and history are GOP trademarks. Check the name of the state and the cities, and look at the history of the state.
ReplyDelete@7:57 The name of the state and cities goes back to settlers from Spain. Not Mexico or latino countries as so many seem to want to believe. How about that lack of context now?
DeleteKGO hit a home run with Dr. Bill. On Saturday nights I would turn off the television to hear him. One of his favorite topics was the rip off of the Tongass National Forest.
ReplyDeleteIt was a "home run" within the limited context that listenership on weekend evenings and overnights was (and still is) a small fraction of what it is on weekdays. Dunbar, Spann, Eason, Owens, Burns, et al all got many multiple of Wattenburg's numbers. Bill had a big audience for the days and dayparts he was on, and was #1 most of the time in those hours. (And his skywave out-of-market audience added to those numbers.) But don't get carried away, the actual cume (cumulative audience numbers) were still relatively modest.
DeleteHe was a right-wing blowhard...who, if alive today, would've been gung-ho for the whole damn Trump sideshow. Same with Gene Burns if he were alive. Neither of those two would've had the GUTS to criticize Big Orange. Republicans today who dare to criticize our Orangutan In Chief find themselves shunned from the Circus Tent: Sen. Flake, Gov. Romney...Fox News anchors Brett Baier, Chris Wallace, Shep Smith--Hell, Tucker Carlson had a lapses in judgement once when he critized Trump for ordering the air strike which killed that Iranian Army General. But he was quickly reprimanded--and has toed the line ever since. This would've happened to Dr. Bill and Gene today if they criticized our Golfer In Chief: They would've been called into the Oval Office...gotten an earful from our PorstarBanger In Chief...and returned to KGO to continue spewing MAGAshit.
ReplyDeleteI listened to Dr. Bill sometimes, often enough that I got a good idea of his personality. Yes, he was cranky, and he was not one of my favorites, as for his support for Trump, not sure I think there is a good possibility he would be a Trump supporter, at least on some issues, not sure he would have let Trump get away with the "bleach" comment, even Michael Savage had problems with that. You could not be more wrong about Gene Burns, I doubt he would have supported Trump, Gene was an independent, libertarian on most issue. He supported Obama, not on every issue, but definitely liked his cool demean, I remember Gene's show when Osama Bin Laden was killed, he was full of praise for Obama. I doubt he would have supported Trump, other than a few issues. He would definitely see through the lies, and narcissistic personality. No, I'm pretty sure Gene would not have been much of a Trump supporter, definitely would never approve of
Deleteall the grandstanding and misinformation Trump spews in his press conference. I cannot imagine Gene going along with the way Trump is treating the press. I think you need to look into Gene Burns a little more, before you form an opinion on him. I can tell you one thing NO ONE EVER told Gene Burns what to say.
So, not unlike the left-wing blowhards -- a Three-Ring Circus complete with Clown Car. Nancy Pelosi, the Ice Cream Queen, Self-Aggrandizing Autocrat Gavin Newsom, Hollywood Con Man Adam Schitt, and Crazy-Fingers Biden. So, like all good clown acts, Pelosi endorses Biden -- which is a lot like Beavis endorsing Butthead. You mean like those blowhards?
Delete5:55 I really was not making a comments on with political party, I was merely trying to point out what I think Gene Burns would have thought of Donald Trump, since the poster at 7:27 was so sure Gene would be 100% for Trump, as my comments points out, I doubt. As for the grandstanding of Pelosi, let's just say that most politicians that are in the national spotlight do some grandstanding. Trump supporters will admit that he is fond of grandiose statements.
Delete@5555..typical Trumpster with the name calling. The Dems are far from perfect but have done a much better job as of late than Trump and the do nothing GOP
DeleteI lost Dr Bill when he would have his "plant" callers. Usually some guy who worshipped him and was involved with pushback.com.
ReplyDeleteBut my favorite Dr Bill moment was when he was shitfaced drunk on-air, talking about Duane Garrett the afternoon of his suicide.
Wattenberg was a self-aggrandizing jackass, not that smart, not much different than Trump in his love of self. Good riddance.
ReplyDeleteNot very smart??? This man was an incredibly smart man that was a professor at Berkeley, Worked at the Lawrence Livermore Lab with all the major nuclear science minds of the day such as Edmund Teller, He had hundreds of patents and did some amazing work that saved probably hundreds of thousands of lives. some of his best examples are;• Performance of Coaxial Cable in the Vicinity of a Nuclear Explosion
Delete(1962), U.C. Radiation Laboratory Report UCRL-7164, 1962 (Classified).
(This was the experiment that led to the nuclear test verification
technology known as CORTEX.)
• Helping Put Out the Oil Well Fires in Kuwait (1991).
• Dropping Food Packages to Refugees without Parachutes (1993) (Now
being used in Afghanistan.)
• Protecting Suspension Bridges from Terrorist Attacks (2001).
• Hijacked Truck-Stopping Device for Police (2001).
• Stopping the Waste of Blood from Blood Banks (1965).
• Fixing the BART Train Control System for the State of California (1971–
73).
• Rapid Clearing of Minefields with Helicopters (1990–91).
• Designing Temporary Freeway Bridges for Rapid Earthquake Repair
(1994–95).
He would also be terribly upset that Trump is opening back up the Tongass National forest in Alaska for logging. That was a cause he fought long and hard for and was very happy when they closed it down.
I agree that he was a pain in the a** and loved to hear himself talk. I especially loved when he would start his program with the homey lets talk about things, your medicine may be stronger than mine but thats okay. Then he would immediately degrade someone that disagreed with him.
But he was a very intelligent man.
Intelligent man. But not very smart.
DeleteSome people cannot conceive of anybody that disagrees with them as being smart or intelligent. A very closeminded mindset.
DeleteHow the HELL does KGO not have DR DEAN on regularly during this PANDEMIC??!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, DR Dean is retired but surely he will do it from home.
Thanks, Rich! Really miss Dr. Bill. He was a great voice of reason and science. And miss Dr. Dean Edell. Fortunately Dr. Dean is still with us and I hope he is enjoying his retirement but I sure do miss his voice of sanity.
ReplyDeleteI heard Dr. Dean being interviewed a few times over the past couple of years, forgot on which program, I think one was Ronn's. Anyway from what he said he is perfectly happy being retired.
ReplyDelete