Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Ask Rich Lieberman

TIME for your RADIO/TV/INTERNET QUESTIONS--remember, name and city gets to the front of the door.

75 comments:

  1. When are they going to resolve the co-anchor situation on KTVU's evening news? Seems like they are trying a different person every week with no clear front runner. I personally think Alex Savidge pairs well with Julie Haener. Also, when is Bill Martin retiring? He's a mumbling, bumbling mess.

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    1. As I reported here a few weeks back, KTVU originally was going to promote Mike Mibach to the 10 PM spot --replacing Frank Somerville. But they instead have gone to a revolving anchor policy, probably to save money but it's a bad look.

      Martin was ready to retire but the suits asked him to stay on a few more months, I guess to look for a permanent anchor. As you state, he's a disjointed mess. And I agree.

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    2. I had never really watched or listened to Bill Martin. Then I heard him on with Tolbert one day talking about how people should donate to one of these environmental groups in a very condescending manner. I can't remember the name but it was the same one Dr. Bill Wattenburg was on KGO warning us about for years. He warned about how their actions were going to lead to massive wildfires in the state and people losing their homes (along with thousands of animals losing their lives). That's when I lost all respect for Bill Martin. He doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. Just another brain-dead liberal.

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  2. What ever happened to Janice Huff from KRON 4 ?

    Josephine from Rossmoor

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    1. Also, regarding Janice Huff, as Mr Rich said, she left for NY many years ago. In fact, she was THERE during 9/11 and there are videos of her on Youtube, being interviewed on the spot, etc. They are really telling interviews with her too.

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  3. Hi Josephine--

    Janice Huff does weather anchoring in New York at the NBC O and 0--she's been in NY for over twenty years and does a great job.

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  4. Hey Rich, Keith in Alameda here; did you see the 11pm news on KPIX for Monday night? Elizabeth Cook was off, and so, yes, they had their two best anchors on, Hold Tight, it was Co-anchored by Ryan Yamamoto and Sara Donkey! Just wondering if you saw it and what you thought of it!

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    1. Hey Keith: KPIX knows it made a mistake with Yamamoto--it just doesn't know what to do about it...and Donchey is just too LA for the Bay Area palate.

      Had I seen it, I would have hit the remote.

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    2. If Sara would just stop using the same dye that 90 year old Chinese men use on their hair, and the leftovers from Barnum and Bailey on her face, it would be more tolerable.

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    3. I saw it. It was NOT good. And there was a bad joke that Yamamoto was trying to make. He was trying to tie into the previous story before the send off. The story was about why a T. Rex has short arms... then Yamamoto tried to joke about someone who has 'short arms' when the bill arrives after dinner. The problem is A) The joke actually refers to 'alligator arms' and B) If you didn't follow the joke and only saw the visual it was a BAD look if you catch my drift.

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    4. Ro/Oakland. 1) Jim Eason 2) Hilly Rose 3)Ira Blue

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  5. Best Bay Area talk show host ranking top 3 of all time (politics aside, just ratings and revenue). Mine, 1) Michael Savage, 2) Ronn Owens and 3) Gene Burns. Your list Rich?

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    1. 1. Lee Rodgers 2. Jim Eason 3. Owen Spann.
      Politics aside? Didn't always agree with these guys, but SO WHAT, They all did a great job, Rodger's command of the show and Eason's brilliant monologues and interviews. Spann knew his stuff too and was a great listen.

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    2. I like all three you mentioned all top 10 for sure, but to ignore Savage means you've rolled politics into your analysis, no? And Ronn as bad as was in his later years was great in his early years. If you came to SF as a major entertainer, politician, etc., you wanted to be on his show. Agree?

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    3. 12:17, your question is confusing. You ask Rich's opinion on who are the "Best" but say based on ratings and revenue, which is actually a numbers-based question which few people would know the numbers well enough to answer. Then you say Rich much be basing his answer based on politics, simply because he doesn't agree with you. Is it not quite possible he just thinks three other people had higher ratings/revenue than Savage? Keep in mind, Savage started on KGO and was rather invisible there. He didn't become popular until moving to KSFO, and KSFO during the prime talk-show era did not do the numbers KGO did. He did go on to be nationally syndicated, but if we're talking purely local ratings/revenue, I don't think Savage is in the top 3, and I am not basing that on politics, but numbers.

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    4. Greg B, stop the presses: we finally agree on something. Or maybe not, I don't know but you make some salient points.

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    5. Greg B, I'm saying rate them on ratings and revenue and NOT their politics...No question Savage and Owens would lead. Also, I said Bay Area based and not just KGO.

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    6. Rich suffers from rosy retrospection. It's a clinical term for when people tend to remember things from their childhood in a much better light than they actually were.

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    7. Gees, aren't you a genius, do you also watch KQED and eat gouda cheese? Never mind.

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    8. 2:51, if there's "no question" Savage and Owens would lead, what was your point in asking Rich his opinion?

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    9. Hi "Greggy" as your friends call you

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  6. That clown on KNBR between 5am and 6am is illiterate. Not sure what language he's speaking. He's all over the map. Some kid named Waterboy. Is he permanent? Good heavens.

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    1. He is too lousy, almost comically lousy. I'm not up that early--if I was I'd be sipping coffee and listening to something other than KNBR...by the way, the "waterboy" happens to be Black, the moron from 6-10 AM, Brian Murphy, calls him that and is pretty lame in my book.

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    2. Ira Blue, Owen Spann, Jim Eason

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    3. He isn't Black who told you that? His name lst name is the same as the Adam Sandler movie character

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  7. Hey Rich, I follow KNTV 11 every Saturday and Sunday morning at 7 a.m I noticed that the news that they report on in the first 30 minutes is the same stories that are repeated in the second half hour. Why is this? I find it annoying. But I continue to watch because I just love Kara Klapper. Just a nice person.

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    1. They do that because people, even on a weekend morning, are constantly flipping channels --I don't like it either but it's called the new reality.

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  8. Any thoughts on the Oakland A's? They've dismantled the team, threatened to move to Las Vegas and weren't able to sell season tickets during the lockout. No one's talking yet...but I think there will be games this season with less than 1,000 in attendance (like they had in the late '70s). If this plays out...can't see how anyone will be able to justify building a new stadium in Oakland.

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    1. I've given up hope. The owner, John Fisher, is a JOKE. A jerk too.
      Oakland can support a team--remember, when the Haas family bought the team, they consistently drew close to 3M fans a year and the Coliseum was baseball nirvana.

      Now we have a jerk owner who keeps threatening to move the team to Vegas. OK, please, go away.

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  9. Did Mark Ibanez and Christine Craft ever have a thing?

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    1. Oh god I hope not. For both of them.
      But no, they didn't.

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    2. PTL, that Mark had more taste than that !

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  10. Hi Rich,

    Any word on MIA Rebecca Corral since she lost her voice?

    Thanks for your great blog.

    Waiting for the heat in the east bay.

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    Replies
    1. Even before she had to leave last week, Rebecca Corral has been dealing with some health malady--I'm told it's nothing serious but it's serious enough to make her miss days for over a year now. Thanks for the kind words on the blog.

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  11. Saw a Michael Savage reference in another post. I don't hear Micheal's name as much, or see him in the media as often, as I used to. Is that subjective, or has he been keeping a lower profile recently?

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    1. He has a podcast--go to his website.
      I haven't heard it.

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    2. Savage’s contract wasn’t renewed by cumulus so he went the podcast route which is sad. As much as I disagreed with his far right politics he was entertaining LIVE. I tried his podcast once and turned it off within 30 seconds.

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    3. Listened to him almost everyday on KSFO (Savage), but once they fired him, and he went to a podcast I have not bothered to hear him once. The world will soon forget you right?

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    4. Holy hell! Out of curiosity I went to the Savage podcast and found a recent one from last Friday in which he’s celebrating his 80th birthday! Savage is 80? I was shocked Joel Bartlett was 81! Where did the years go!?

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  12. Igor, King of Elbonia here. If you're a real Oaklander you would miss Bill Fiset.

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    1. I knew his son, Gary, who was a sales guy at KGO Radio.
      As for Bill Fiset, he was like the Oak Trib's Herb Caen, a little before my time but I do remember his columns and Perry Phillips too, which made me roll over because they were so funny and poignant. I knew Fiset and Phillips were quite the One-two punch, Mr. Igor.

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  13. from Z in Emeryville -
    Do you watch any of the international news channels such as BBC, France24 live in English from Paris, NHK in English from Japan or DW Deutsche Welle in English live from Berlin? They are free over the air with a rabbit ears antenna. My favorite is DW with solid anchors, in depth Euro news and excellent documentaries and travelogues. DW is on 60-4 and is top notch. Have you seen it?

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    1. I watch the BBC "World News" late night for their excellent foreign coverage, especially what's going on in Ukraine.
      I haven't seen the other options because I have no rabbit ears, just stinking basic cable.

      Thanks Z.

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    2. From Z in Emeryville

      Rich,
      Deutsche Welle news live and documentaries are on the web at DW.com and in my view their news, documentaries and productions are better than BBC. It's worth a try.

      Delete
    3. Wow..Rich only has basic cable ?
      You're missing out on the 100's of digital channels free over the air.
      Not only is 2-1 KTVU but you also get Fox weather on 2-2
      Buzzr channel on 2-4 and movies channel on 2-3
      So KTVU is sending over 4 channels streaming over the air.
      Multiply that with every station (KRON)and it adds up.

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    4. to 8:34
      from Z in Emeryville,

      I'll donate $15 to Rich if he promises to buy a rabbit ear antenna (if he can get reception) so he can see channel 60.4 DW and channel 2.3 Movies! with classics and all-day Film Noir on Thursdays.

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    5. @Z in Emeryville
      You're correct. DW's straightforward reports are superior to those on BBC, which often slant in one direction and do so in melodramatic fashion.

      Delete
  14. Leaving all else aside, do you consider Ronn Owens to be an extraordinary radio talent? He's made so good dough, right?

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    1. The only thing extraordinary about Ronn is the size of his misplaced ego. He owes most of his success to being the least-worst thing in his timeslot for many years.

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    2. A day or so late on this,but Owens was the best talk show host (up there with Owen Spann) in the late 80's and into the mid 90's. But then he tried to go national, at least an attempt at an LA simulcast. That is when the whole thing went south with him. Hasn't been the same since.
      One hardly mentioned is Shann Nix. Excellent,smart programs.

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  15. Of course I think highly of him, always have, especially in his early days at KGO. Post 2016, not so much. He was appointment radio in his early career--great on politics, great on current events and pop culture.

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    1. Ronn Owens was awesome when he was younger. It was so great to listen to him on KGO, plus to stay there to listen to Jim Eason. Man KGO was awesome then.

      On the conservative side, Rush Limbaugh on KSFO was always entertaining. And KNBR was good as well.

      It is just so sad to have KGO, KSFO, KNBR and KCBS going at full-speed. Now all 4 are a total wasteland. I am not someone who is always talking about the old days but in this instance, the 70's, 80's, 90's were fun radio all around the dial.

      And Dr. Don Rose too. Pat from San Jose.

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    2. 4:48 PM that was my take as well regarding KGO and KNBR. I wasn't too into politics (was just a kid), but enjoyed Ronn's Rock Trivia and Status/Class/Tacky routines.

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  16. Hi Rich,

    How do we make abc7 "Building A Better Bay Area" stop? Do we need to put it on the next ballot? It sure seems like this slogan has seen better days.

    Best Blog...Thanks Rich

    Sitting by the Dock of the East Bay.

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    Replies
    1. at least nobody says "we're all in this together" anymore

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  17. Well, I'm afraid we're stuck with this Disney propaganda --it's a payback from the mouse for their version of social justice. Which isn't such a bad deal but Disney's MO here is so full of...

    Thanks Docker, for your kind words on the blog.

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  18. It's hard to believe people like john rothmann,pat thurston,mark thompson,chip franklin,joe starkey,embarrass themselves weather it's the phony,overly giddy shtick with steve moskovitz,whining about termites,rodents,and bedbugs,claiming they know people from financial companies they've never met..why do they do it,how much extra income do they get?..its baffling

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    1. You're baffled?! Do you have bills, a mortgage payment, kids in college? WTF! Have you ever heard of people working two jobs to make ends meet? These people are in a position to make extra money (side hustle), get over it. Or, maybe get a second "stunt" gig.

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  19. Do you think the Bay Area get another Country music station with the departure of KRTY in June? Although I retired near Lake Tahoe, still have family down there and some love their Country/Western and they dislike streaming since the FM signal provides better fidelity.

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    1. Yes, I do and I think it's already online in San Jose but I'm not a country music guy, Walee.

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    2. Since I asked that question, RadioInsight posted this morning (Weds) that 94.5 KBAY just switched to a Country format and known as Bay Country now.

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    3. My music world just grew smaller.

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  20. I may be in the minority listening to KSCO out of Santa Cruz but what’s your take on MZ constantly changing programming? He treats Charles Freedman like a cheap whore rotating the guy all over the schedule. Most recently after the death of Rush Limbaugh MZ placed Freedman in the 9-12pm spot. Suddenly MZ is piping in some nationally syndicated host I never heard of from 9-noon and Freedman was moved to 12-2pm. We mock KGO for incompetence but KSCO is not far behind. Any news on MZ selling the station? What a PUTZ!!!

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  21. Uh, I'm only a now and then listener --b/c every now and then I host a show, I don't write about KSCO, full disclosure thing.

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    1. I do enjoy when every now and then when you call into the Saturday special. I appreciate your full disclosure.

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  22. KPIX, had Kenny Choi on the street of Sacramento, along with him was The New Golden Boy, RYAN!!! Is that his future????

    Ken
    Tiburon

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  23. Sara Donchey looks like something from 1970s television, maybe a Lawrence Welk Show cast member or a Hee Haw Honey. She needs to have a style makeover, or go to Fox or Sinclair in a Red State market where she'd blend in better. She definitely is a reason to change the channel.

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  24. Hi Rich,

    Not sure if you listen to 95.7 during the night time hours, but if you do, do you know what's up with Matt Kolsky? He hasn't been on the air as much recently. Not sure if 95.7 silently let him go, or he's taking a break from the station? Contract negotiations perhaps? I checked his Twitter and it looks like he's doing a podcast. Kind of weird how he's doing a podcast, but not doing his radio show.

    If they made or have made a decision on Kolsky, do you think 95.7 should bring in Larry Krueger or Rod Brooks to be on the night show on 95.7?... Kolsky is good, but maybe having him do the night show might not be his thing.

    Otis from San Francisco

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    Replies
    1. Night radio is an after thought to PD's

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  25. Where's Sherwood?

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  26. From Gerry in San Mateo: Rich, is there a more boring sports-talk show in any major market than Willard and Dibs? How does Willard, a shameless Giants rooter, stay employed?

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  27. DW is on PBS and is great! They have the best news readers and reporters. They don't treat their audience like idiots.

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