Monday, November 22, 2021

Cumulus Cash Grab for Cal Basketball Kills KGO; Holiday "Mandatory" Days Off; KQED Delay Possible on Newsroom; KNBR/"The Game": They're Both Crappy; Holiday Drag; Monday Media Notes

YES, Cumulus (KGO Radio) has a contractual obligation to carry Cal basketball; part of its deal to continue carrying Cal football was that it (KGO) would have to pick up basketball games. It was mandatory and detailed in the language. Cumulus should have never agreed to the deal because it does NO GOOD to all parties. It drives away the few, but loyal listeners who support KGO and its newstalk. It does nothing to bring the few sports people who listen to Cal basketball. Cal basketball is a LOSING proposition. There's NO traction to an obscure program just trying to survive. And get this: I'm a sports fan.

KGO is obligated to this programming travesty because Cumulus is so hard up for cash that it basically gave the middle finger to YOU all, in addition to its talk-show talkers. The idea that KGO is trying to revert to the old standard KGO is a joke. By agreeing to this absurd contract, Cumulus has once again demonstrated its total disregard for a once-proud radio station so it can maintain a money grab and that's all this is: a MONEY GRAB!

*Another TRAVESTY by Cumulus: the jerks who run this corporate radio killer has designated Thursday and Friday as "holidays" to ALL its on-air work staff. So KGO and KNBR, KSFO will run, you guessed it: TAPED programming. I could see Thursday (Thanksgiving) as acceptable in the post-massacre days. But Friday too? Outrageous. The old KGO would run regular programming even on Thanksgiving; the only time KGO would go dark was on Christmas Eve and day. It ran Christmas music from 7 AM until 7 PM, that was it. But now it's fallen into the abyss. Should some major incident, terror attact, natural disaster occur Thanksgiving weekend, be moved you'll be listening to ways to strenghten your 401K.

*Business as usual here at 415 Media--NO TIME OFF even its the beginning of the holiday season. For those of you that want to continue reading media news and chit-chat, I'll be here, if all goes well, as Jim Eason used to say. Please, if you come here and like this site, even you haters, make a CONTRIBUTION to 415 Media.

*Thanksgiving was my alltime fav holiday when I was younger. I'd take my mom over to my sister's house and we'd (my brother and bil) would watch the football games while the ladies cooked and we'd nosh on the appetizers before dinner was served. It was cathartic and a happy time. Nowadays without a family, it's hard. And depressing. I used to gloss over depression at holiday time but now I understand. So it's another 7-11 coffee, me, writing and a few turkey sandwiches if I'm lucky.

*KQED hasn't announced its plans for a 2022 news cast ( a la "Newsroom") which might indicate it's either delaying or outright 86ing its nightly newscast which would be a shme.

*KRON's main news set is eternally cool. It is tech-savvy and it looks nice with a background of the bay and crawl underneath. Check my pulse: another plug for KRON.

*Yeah, 95.7 FM (The Game) is un-listenable. By no means am I endorsing wholly crappy KNBR. BOTH stations are el-sucko. KNBR hosts don't talk about sports. They concentrate on beer, betting, boobs, giggles and sound effects. Sports is a rumor at KNBR, where the Uber drivers are born.

*I LISTENED to "Live 105" in its beginning. Used to be a decent AOR station but now we have some gimmicky crap. I'm not going to listen to this GARBAGE. Hold your items and press releases--I'm not an advocate. Now or ever.

*Where's Candy Chamberlain Hurry someone, get me a Candice sighting.

24 comments:

  1. Rich - Have a good Thanksgiving. Just remember the good times with your mother and family.

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  2. "*KRON's main news set is eternally cool."

    Oh, Rich, it looks like it's inside the Millennium Tower with the way the projection to the outside is so tilted. I always expect to see everyone slide toward the window as the newscast progresses.

    It also looks claustrophobic and cheesy. The old set was better, the one before that even better still. The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight wouldn't know a good newsroom if they inherited it from the previous owners...Oh, wait, they did!

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  3. How about Starbucks instead of 7-11, also most grocery stores have prepared meals, so you can still enjoy a feast. I'm spending Thanksgiving alone, since I work retail and my daughter and family is in Southern California I don't get enough time off to drive down there. Most likely I will buy a turkey breast already cooked from Raley's or Safeway, and then make mashed potatoes, gravy, and other sides myself. Will most likely buy dessert as well, although I love to cook. Then I will enjoy a quite day with a meal and glass of wine, and do nothing other than eat, a little cooking and then do the dishes.

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    1. I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving! Sounds peaceful.

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    2. Thank You, same to you, whatever you do. I understand missing family and friends. One of my best friend that lived closed to me passed away in July 2020, when I didn't celebrate holidays with my family, I would go to his house and cook for him a neighbor and myself. This year as I'm enjoying my wine I will remember the good times we shared for close to 35 years.

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    3. I'm sorry for your loss.

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  4. Oh joy, KNBR will be running the best of Krukow and Kuiper kissing Giants ass. Maybe even worse: we'll all get to hear Greg Poophead and his ear-piercing, pandering and annoying 49ers touchdown call.

    This example really goes to show how much radio really sucks in this market. The stations should take the rest of the year off.

    I wish KSFO could go back to the days when Captain Show Biz (Jim Lange), Russ the Moose Syracuse and "The Man With the Almost Perfect Body" (Gene Nelson) were on the airwaves. At least it was entertaining. As for KNBR, bring back Frank and Mike in the Morning. They should a lot better than listening to a bunch of dolts.

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  5. I would surmise if there is some major news event this weekend,rothman would go on the air..he has nothing else to do and already volunteered to do it in the past

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  6. Rich, I agree with everything you wrote about Cal. The vast majority of the Bay Area tunes that shit out. I know it's an instant channel changer for me. A losing proposition with no traction...so true!

    And God, here comes a Thursday of KGO programming listening to a ridiculous financial show. It's so bad on so many levels.

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    1. "The vast majority of the Bay Area tunes that shit out. I know it's an instant channel changer for me. A losing proposition with no traction"

      Those two sentences could be used to describe 90-95% of the content that KGO puts out.

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  7. I loved your eloquent posts about Thanksgiving with the family last year. Thank you for sharing one this year. I didn't realize you had a brother. I'm guessing he passed on?

    God bless, Rich!

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  8. *KRON 4: Did someone kidnap Rich and dropped an imposter to write the blog today?

    *LIVE 105-KITS: I listened to them in the early days after The Quake came to an end. I remember Alex Bennett doing the morning show.

    *Candy Chamberlain: I remember her on Saturday nights in the late 70s on KYA AM and FM. Great DJ. I remember she was on the usenet groups in early 2000s.

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  9. - You know who noticed the ongoing deception by KQED over its members? Thuy Vu, who once anchored KQED's newscasts after leaving PIX, but knew something never smelled right, and left when she could. Not surprised that no one is willing to take another chance.
    - The Cloud Clowns ignore all listeners, including KNBR's kingpin Frank Dill. Cumulus turns from cloud clown to ostrich when Dill comes calling to criticize what they've done to his beloved station. Dill did the right thing not only retiring when he did, but staying far away on the golf courses of his favorite destinations. We are all poorer for that, no matter what glory year stations we chose.

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  10. I remember Don Sherwood and when KSFO was "The World's Greatest Radio Station, particularly in San Francisco"? I was a member of Gene Nelson's Royal Commandoes, and listened to Scott Beach on weekends.

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    1. Jim Lange, Al Jazzbeaux Collins, Aaron Edwards -- voices of my youth and the World's Greatest Radio Station.

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    2. Loved listening to Jazzbeaux at night. He made his listeners use their imaginations as they entered his purple grotto.

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  11. For years I woke up to Frank and Mike then when Frank retired after Mike left, they brought in Steve McPartland who didn’t last long. Each replacement after him was worse than their predecessor.

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  12. I'm with you. Was in the car the other day and had not had 105 on for awhile so was surprised to hear it had changed to a new format and its not worth listening to so gonna stick with 107 and enjoy some of the old stuff.

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    1. If you like sixties rock and roll, depending where in the Bay Area you are "The Eagle" from Sacramento is a very good station, 96.9

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  13. That’s a nice holiday memory of your family. Thank you for sharing. Have a nice thanksgiving.

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    1. Why deprive yourself just because your family isn't around, most grocery stores offer a Thanksgiving prepared meal. I understand missing family, but a nice meal and a glass of wine is good way to remember the past.

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  14. Alg is 100% correct. The hosts get dumber and cruder. Clowns yelling over one another, reveling in their minor celebrity, recounting their weekends and idolatry of local sports heroes. It's one long shill-athon.

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  15. It's good that Cal's "Go-Bears" fans have a place to listen to the basketball games. I used to be one of those intense sports fans, couldn't get enough, even the 3-4 hour after-game segments going over every single play and referee call, it held my att'n. But KGO is a news-talk branded station, and I concur w/you Rich, it isn't really the best venue for that sort of programming. An improvement would be for KGO radio to only air the game itself, and not the pre-game and the lingering-on-and-on post-game segments.

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  16. I would rather hear a 3 hour post game show then knowing ahead time chris Merrill would be on next,the less time Merrill is on the better

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