WEDNESDAY WASH
I DON'T KNOW if this is an unofficial dry run; let's hope not because if it is, it would be a total disaster.
KCBS has been conducting a "Jeopardy-like" series of candidates to replace Stan Bunger, maybe go back (likely) to a two-person anchor team. This week and last, they've been auditioning PM driver news anchor, Jeff Bell and anchor/reporter, Holly Quan. It's horrible. Not altoghether awful, but horrible emough.
Bell sounds like dry captain crunch. His voice is eteran cotton mouth. He puts me to sleep. Quan is more irritating, the constant chirpy-ness makes me sick. Plus, another thing, both Bell and Quan can't interview worth a damn. They are simple news readers. Maybe that's what KCBS wants but they can do far more and it wouldn't cost them that much more money. I like Marghie Shafer but I'm not sure she has the personality. I love Dan Mitchinson but my endorsement probably doomed im. In any event, Bell and Quan has all the excitement of a Yuba City 7-11.
*Yeah, all of you are right: Joe Ritzo is yaaaawnw, uh, boring. Even as a temp.
*The Giants could have brought in Ted Robinson just for a day/night, but Larry Baer's EGO would have none of that.
*RUMOR: The Pope might be visiting the US in the fall and SF is on the pit stop, Oracle Park is likely venue --after a Giants game. Dave Flemming was set to emcee but couldn't, Flem has to do an ESPN broadcast.
*The John Lund Survival kit on KNBR "Papa and Lund"t: after every time Greg Papa talks long, say the words, "...like you said." And when Papa talks even longer to make a point, Lund says, "No doubt." If you bet the house on those two, you can earn Warren Buffet money.
*KGO's Pat Thurston has an impending six-figure offer from one of the big talker networks but my gut says her KGO gig is a keeper and plus, she loves the Bay Area.
*95.7 FM, "The Game" could save a whole lot of money and have a chimp do the morning show because the program has about five listeners, not including relatives of the show.
*The Pope never leaves the Vatican to broadcast for the BBC.
*That little 4.0 quake Monday night was no big deal, sure, unless you live on the Hayward fault. Like I do.
*Speaking of Papa and Lund, they spent multiple segments talking how great PEACOCK (Sports) was (the streaming service) carrying Giants games and how easy it was to find it. I couldn't, thousands were like me. Papa and :und were given exclusive viewing rights, no wonder imbecile Lund thought the telecast was "great."
*Whatever the current status, the Giants will have a radically-different radio/TV broadcast team in 2022.
*Underrated: KTVU crime reporter, Henry Lee. A bit dry but not as dry as my morning oatmeal.
*Frank Somerville is under the radar not only ON but also OFF the airwaves. That much is clear.
*Mike Mibach has all the substance of a 1976 box of Mock Apple Pie.
*Maggie Haberman, the NYTimes political reporter extraordinaire who covered Trump and is supposedly (still) on his (Trump) inside list, has a book coming out --she was scheduled to make an appearence on a KGO Radio talk show when some producer for Mark Thompson said, "Who's Maggie Haberman?" --true story. Haberman is now schedule to do a segment on KCBS.
*"Why don't you text, THAT!", Albert.
*On the other hand, where did KCBS find this schmuck, Joe Hughes? Sounds like a guy who had an all-night bender and showed up to work without coffee.
*The people at KTVU who work behind the camera call it the "curse." It hit Dennis Richmond, George Watson, Leslie Grififth and now, Frank Somerville. Maybe something is in the water in Jack London Square.
*Mark Ibanez and Somerville: never met a Persian woman intern they didn't like.
*I'm hearing Ibanez loves to text back and forth with his new man crush, KNBR's Mark willard, which now explans the beginning of the end for Ibanez.
*Willard is to sports talk what Mel Gibson is to Haddassah.
*The people that listen to the "KNBR Morning Show" are the same people who favor "Wheel of Fortune" over "Jeopardy."
*Dave Flemming was scheduled to do the Giants home opener for KNBR but couldn't make it because he had a prior commitment on Al Jazeera.
*If I were to be caught reading the SF Examiner, tie me to a bed and make me listen to a week's worth of the "Ronn Owens Report."
*Just in case you never heard this, Phil Bronstien snagged over $20 MILL as husband and then, EX-husband of Sharon Stone. Some people are just plain lucky.
*THIS JUST IN: KPIX reports that no one this week is leaving the station.
*At KRON, there's now more weather screens then there are people.
*Conjugal visits by John Rothmann's wife are not allowed because there's no place he'd rather be but at KGO's studio A.
- Sorry about the Mitchinson ignorance by the Audac(it)y folks.
ReplyDelete- Your Game comment reminded me of a MAD Magazine cover where Alfred E. Neumann was stuck in a office run by chimps, including one folding its arms like Ed Asner's Lou Grant. Then again, even the MAD chimps are nowhere near as lewd as Lewd Lund at the Knibber.
- Chuck Barney's article remembering Fred Zehnder includes a strong statement from KTVU alum Randy Shandobil, one of the greats. Even Betty Ann Bruno - very busy with her own off-air life - chimed in and saluted Zehnder. Proof of the respect is when Barney called and heard Dennis Richmond crack and nearly come to tears. The folks at the smaller newspapers, San Leandro Times & Castro Valley Forum, will especially miss him terribly.
What curse on Dennis Richmond? He seems to have had a charmed life.
ReplyDelete> Underrated: KTVU crime reporter, Henry Lee.
> A bit dry but not as dry as my morning oatmeal.
And the other guy, Evan Sernoffsky, looks like a Russian comedian from the 1980s. I almost expect him to blurt out "What a country!" in his reports.
You are spot-on with the comment on Ted Robinson. He is a pro - Giants baseball, 49ers football, Olympics, Wimbledon, US Open. He would be perfect on Giants broadcasts again.
ReplyDeleteKgmz no longer offers any alternative to knbr, if they still weren't holding on for dear life to the warriors they would have folded by now.its full of ex knbr retreads who were all fired or quit and migrated to fm
ReplyDeleteI still think 95.7 is pretty good, even though yes, they do kind of run some Warriors, Giants, and Niners topics into the ground. With that being said, I don't mind the Giants, Warriors, and Niners talk on this station, but at the same time, at times I do kind of miss their old shows where they had more variety and it wasn't just the Warriors, Giants, and Niners all the time. The good thing about this station is that all the shows are different, even though the main topics are the same.
DeleteIt's unfortunate some of the hosts that really made 95.7 go in their earlier days left for other opportunities which kind of makes you wonder if 95.7 is more of a stepping stone job. Case in point, look at Joe Fortenbaugh. I didn't care for him as much, but he had a good thing with Dibley and Lorenzo Neal. Then he just up and left for Vegas for a national gig. Gianna was another case in point. Left 95.7 to do TV for KPIX I think, and she had a good thing on Damon's show in the afternoon drive time spot. Greg Papa, even though him leaving 95.7 for KNBR made sense, he and Bonta overall had a good midday show. Chris Townsend, et. al left as well. Some of what made 95.7 unique kind of got lost when people who helped make this station go in the past, left for other opportunities when they could've stayed and helped really build 95.7 be a stronger competitor to KNBR.
Yeah, 95.7 is full of ex-KNBR employees, but it's nice to see them get the full-time shot that KNBR didn't give them. Listening to some of them, it's unfortunate KNBR didn't give them a shot to be on KNBR 680, the main station.
I think at the very least Bonta, Damon Bruce, Kate Scott, and maybe a couple of other hosts, Ryan Covay, possibly Butcher Boy who was a former caller on KNBR shows back in the day, should've been on 680. Kate technically was on 680 but she left to do more play-by-play. I like Kate, but it is kind of interesting to hear her in the mornings again, when she originally left morning radio to do play-by-play. She's now doing both in a way. Wonder how much longer she will do morning radio before deciding to go back to doing play-by-play full time. She's going to be calling women's basketball games in the Olympics in a few weeks, so that's going to be huge for her. She called a Warrior game on the radio earlier this year.
But yes, I think 95.7 is still good, even though it's unfortunate they kind of beat a dead horse with some of the same topics at times.
I agree about 95.7 The Game. I'm tired of Murph & Mac. Lund does nothing but cackle. TKB and Mark Willard are not worth the listen. Only Kruk & Kuip and Marty Lurie are worth the time.
DeleteMeanwhile, on 95.7 Koz and Whitey (The Scrubs on weekends) are hilarious with their self-deprecation. Steinmetz and JD provide the Warriors knowledge. The Morning Roast is better if watched on Twitch (you can't see the silent laughs and gestures on radio). Sorry, I could do without Damon and Kolsky (who has a penchant for contradicting and disagreeing with Ratto at every turn even though Ray is very knowledgeable).
I believe Lund also says "absolutely" quite regularly after a guest finishes talking.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I am kind of surprised that the Giants couldn't have Ted Robinson who used to call Giants games on the radio, or even Greg Papa who works for KNBR, call the Giants games on the radio when you have a situation like last night where Duane Kuiper is out, Dave Flemming is calling a game on ESPN, and Jon Miller is on TV with Krukow.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see if the Giants reconsider it. I'm sure they are open to suggestions.
You're on fire with this column
ReplyDeletewhere did KCBS find this schmuck, Joe Hughes? Sounds like a guy who had an all-night bender and showed up to work without coffee.
Now that is funny
Here we go again ... ANOTHER Bay Area Personality getting an offer for "Bigger Pastures" and also getting a KGO mention in there, too
ReplyDeletePair up john bristow with jennifer jones Lee for the morning KCBS. Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteWow. Someone else remembers Mock Apple Pie. People think I'm making it up when I describe how everyone made one, once.
ReplyDelete"..sounds like a dry Captain Crunch"
ReplyDeleteThat's a very funny line. Mind if I use it?
I disagree with you on Quan and Bell at KCBS. I love them. Quan brings continuity. And Bell has a soothing, golden radio voice that I find very easy to listen to. I pray they become permanent. One other I always enjoy is Melissa Culross.
ReplyDeleteKCBS, if you are listening, please keep them permanent !