I STILL GET ASKED about my feelings about the old KGO Radio. "Why are you so emotional?"
Because, as I've noted so many times here and in private, KGO wasn't your normal mere radio station, it was a local treasure --an institution, really. A radio station alone does it no justice because it was so much more than that. Its former and some present KGO vets called it a family. And even that distinction does it no justice.
I'M REMINDED of all this --regrettably---because of the terrible Capitol Hill attacks on Wednesday. A day that shook almost all of us. And a day, like 9/11 that shook our collective soul. I'm still sort of emotionally spent, are you? Looking back on the images of Wednesday, it's amazing that more people didn't die or that more innocent people weren't maimed or killed.
It is days like the Capitol Attack and 9/11, national tragic events in history, that KGO Radio lived for, the radio station with an ability to allow its audience to vent, react, commiserate, in essence a place to talk about what happened. A unique place and welcome avenue for collective grieving. 9/1 and the Capitol mob attack required a place where you could show some emotion and support especially today during a pandemic.
I remember locally growing up in the Bay Area in the 70's and having to endure the November of 1978 twin tragedies: the Guyana/Jim Jones massacre and only a week later, the Moscone/Milk murders. Arguably two of the worst weeks in SF Bay Area history. Thank God for KGO Radio.
It was the old KGO then that callers called to express their shock and awe. I was a junior high-school student; I remember learning about the Moscone/Milk killings when on lunch break at Skyline. All I could remember was, "OMG!" And just a week after Jonestown.
I remember KGO and a guy, some talk-show host named Ronn Owens, crying on the air. It wasn't schtick, it was real. And people listening were as emotionally spent as Owens. KGO pretty much went wall-to-wall with the murders coverage and Jonestown just a week earlier; KGO was in effect, the Bay Area's church of all faiths, a 24-7 place to let loose your emotions.
More and more I remember how KGO's hosts were just as affected as the rest of us. I don't know what would have happened without a KGO. And to this day, you had to be there to get it
I am the opposite. When ever something big happens and you turn on a radio station like KGO it is just non stop the same chatter over and over. I'm okay with it for a day or so, but after that move on. Two days later I don't need to hear about how you felt the earthquake sitting on your couch
ReplyDeleteAs a 24 year Veteran of KGO, that overlapped both Versions of the station, I would only remind you that they are 2 different radio stations.
ReplyDeleteThe OLD KGO Died on 12/3/11. It was a great radio station with great talent, and I totally agree with you Rich. Whenever there was a major issue, KGO's Staff came together like a fine swiss watch. They spent the money to cover the story properly and it's impact on the world and our local community.
The New KGO, The Cumulus version, is trying, but not very hard due to Corporate money issues, and sadly the depth of the current KGO talent pool, John and Pat are about all that KINDA harkens back to that OLD KGO way of doing things, but their resources are limited too. The 10 years that have divided the two versions of the station has been telling. BUT, this is the KGO we have now, we have to live with it. Will it get better? In My Opinion...This is about as good as it will ever get without a new ownership in place, BUT that's me. This is what the current management can afford, So this is the KGO we get for now. Sadly, as they say, you can't go home, but we also must remember, KGO would have evolved in those 10 years. MAYBE this is as good as KGO will ever be AGAIN.
REALLY?? It's all about money? It's not possible to find 2 decent talk show hosts to round out the talent. You don't need Medoro at 6am. You don't need anybody at 6. The good old days started talk at 9 am and broke up the day with news.Now it's just gimmick bull shit like Thompson, Medoro, and Franklin. They add nothing. Medoro and Thompson are so hollow they just insult the listeners. Minimal effort could change this. There is no desire to do it!
ReplyDeleteOf course it's all about money. And no, it's not possible to find 2 decent talk show host, especially an experienced qualified entertaining non-obvious-schtick host to work in a top 10 market, if you don't have the $$$ to draw him/her. I've worked in this business for about 30 years and have seen the transition of what was once News being received only on Print/Radio/TV. I was born and raised here in the Bay Area. I grew up with KFRC/610 when they were THE station to go to for music. I was there for The Quake and their morning talk shows. I was there for London/Engleman on KMEL and it was Renel Lewis at the time and she was doing News & Traffic at the time. KGO was revered as the source for News Talk in all things radio broadcast. Well, KCBS too, but KGO had that draw because of its Talent. And its Talent was also expensive. And that's because it was owned by Cap Cities and CC paid well if you were good because you brought in the ratings. But when CC sold ABC to Disney in the 90s? That changed everything. And that change didn't happen overnight because back when the sale was going on, the Internet wasn't even seen as a source for anything except AOL and Emails (for fun). Smart Phones wasn't even a name, it was Cell Phones and that was about $0.50-$1.00/min just to call anyone. But as Disney was planning to dump it's expensive overhead for both KGO-TV & KGO Radio, they paid the high end salary on their on-the-air talent and NABET staff because they knew as time went on, once contract negotiations came around? They weren't willing to deal. Throw in the Internet and all it's ease of getting information out to people, no to mention the advent of Smart Phones? Now Disney was in the Driver's Seat. You also have to pin this on the type of audience we have now. We don't have the same era of audience that we have from the days of Quake of '89, Shooting at 101 California, Oakland Fires of '91 or other events of that era when it was covered (and only covered) by PROFESSIONALS. Hell! I can have my 10 year old take his Smart Phone and go cover some news event. And speaking of which, remember the days of when a huge news event happened, you'd see the reporters get flown to that location to give it that local flavor covering the event? Nope. Not anymore. So, of course it's all about money. Like what 4:03 said, we just have to live with it because that's all that is given to us.
DeleteI get your issues with KGO radio quality. But if Cap Cities owned KGO? Then I'd give your complaints some credence. But we are talking about a company that started in 1998 and came about once the rules changed about the number of radio stations that can be owned. Just reading the first few lines on Wiki told me right off the bat that it's sounds like a company that buys a bunch of high end radio stations and run all of them on the budget equivalent as KKIQ. I may be wrong, but I sure didn't hear of crappy talent back in the early days of ABC ownership.
DeleteJust look around inside the average household. Who even HAS an AM radio in their house? We get our information in different (not necessarily better) ways today. Even while driving around in our vehicles, AM radio is a thing of the past. I say this with a heavy heart because AM radio was my co-driver for over 30 years behind the wheel of a big rig at all hours of the day and night. Time has, unfortunately, moved on.
ReplyDeleteDon’t underestimate free. This is a good example of why anecdotal evidence is of little use. Google “the steady reach of radio”:
Delete“If there’s one thing we’ve learned about radio, it’s that its mass appeal has been consistent over time as America’s top reach medium. The original electronic media, radio continues to reach more Americans than any other platform measured by Nielsen. Among adults 18+, radio reaches 92% of U.S. adults every week.. Radio connects with the right audience at the right moment, particularly when consumers are out and about and ready to shop and buy. Consumers use radio primarily when they’re away from home. Out-of-home listening during the full week is more than twice as high (69%) as in-home listening (31%).”
I go back to the Ira Blue days, not at the Crown Room, but at the Hungry I, where on Saturdays after 11PM, there were recorded mystery shows. The days of Jim Dunbar, Jim Easton, and Owen Spann. The overnight shows of John Rothman and Ray Taliaferro. Sunday's "God Talk." Dean Edell,MD; the lawyer on weekends. Those were the days.
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