That's the easy part.
This much is certain:
There's a current VOID in Bay Area terrestrial radio, more like news-talk radio, the only viable format that exists on the AM dial.
The Bay Area is the 4th-largest radio media market WITHOUT a newstalk station. Like, NO newstalk station minus a few hours of KQED's Forum, which is scant at best and really dooesn't count.
Even the old, old KGO, which officially died last October had a talk presence, albeit diminished.
A new, perhaps "The All-New KSFO" --a HYBRID mix of Conservative, Liberal/Progresive newstalk; a John Rothmann here; a Melanie Morgan; a Tom Sullivan there. With LOCAL emphasis and national too, LIVE and pre-recorded on the weekend, but newstalk nonetheless.
Anything now beats the alternative.
There is movement, I hope.
The Bay Area without a talk-radio outlet is a TOTAL ABOMINATION.
most of the good talkers are long gone ; Jim Wattenberg, Ray Taliferro , Art Bell
ReplyDeleteArt Bell?..lol
DeleteLarry King used to do in the 80's a national 6! hour program every night..he did 3 hours interviewing a guest[s] which included calls from listeners..then 3 hours of open phone America
As Rich wrote:
ReplyDeleteAnything now beats the alternative.
There is movement, I hope.
Sad to say I think the only movement is down the toilet for Bay Area News Talk Radio. I wish someone would prove me wrong.
Nice thought, but the market won't support it.
ReplyDeleteYou''ve got build it, staff it, promote it, and promote it some more. And the really big challenge is getting the advertisers to buy it and keep buying ads.
You need advertiser support just like KCBS, which means 12 to 18 minutes of commercials. Every hour.
And you need news, weather and traffic too.
You will need 30 to 40 people on staff to make it real.
Without the ad support, it will be just another gravestone in the radio cemetery.
That is a great idea! A station that programs conservative and liberal talkers would get my attention. I watch Fox News and MSNBC to see what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteThe way I see it liberal media to conservatives ratio is about 5-1, each side is bias
Delete12:18, I agree, really no one good is left, but please no Brian Copeland (a giant bore)or Pat Thurston (would leave her hubby for Bernie Sanders...lol). I can handle Rothman when he avoids the topic of Trump (I don't care for Trump either but he goes on and on ad nauseam).
ReplyDeletere: " the HARD PART: convincing a few Bay Area millionares and BILLIONARES to invest"
ReplyDeleteThat's the exact problem Rich. The listeners who typically call in and voice their comments aren't billionaires. Why would a 1%'er invest in a venture who'd objective is to give a wide audience to middle-class 99%'er advocates?
Such a venture would have to come from a major group owner. No stand alone owner would be able to make it work. Today's ad market requires multiple demos for every ad buy. If you can't deliver strong numbers in men and women 25 to 54, you're toast. News talk delivers persons 35+ and in reality, 55 to death. That's a tough sell. It's not about the programming ... it's about the sales. No money means no programming.
ReplyDeleteYou'd have to model the advertising on something like the north bay cluster centered around KSRO. They are not owned by the big three and make most of their bank from local advertising. You couldn't treat the thing as an investment. Someone would have to buy the signal as a write off and then try to build a sales staff that would sell hyper local to pay for the basic operation.
DeleteI would prefer the Warriors, Niners, Giants, A’s, Sharks, Earthquakes, auto racing, horse racing, fishing reports.
ReplyDeleteANYTHING beats the KRAP coming out of 680, 810, 960, 1050. Those are not sports stations, those are where nose pickers go to hear about nose picking, their version of Brain surgery.
960 Bloomberg is the best station in the Bay Area and only better now that the horrible A's are finally done. I'll bet this is the last year 960 lets that disaster go on.
DeleteNot bad idea really.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Newstalk. Issues of the day. Wide awake during the night missing Gene, Bill, Bernie and Ray. George Boory with Astrology, UFO’s and tin foil hat Vitamin pushers is unlistenable.
ReplyDeleteAccount Exec: We’re starting a news/talk station in the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteWould-be advertiser: Like the old KGO 810? With woke hosts? National topics one can hear on MSNBC? Rip-and-read news?
Account Exec: Yeah, just like that!
Would-be advertiser: No listeners?
Account Exec: Oh, you had to mention that part.
These are the days News Talk Radio is needed plus many other days. RIP Dianne Feinstein
ReplyDeleteAny station that can interact with listeners would be good. There are so many pressing issues to discuss but no outlet for audience feedback. All news all day doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteA AM signal alone wouldn't work. You'd need to have an FM signal paired with it or an FM alone. You'd need a huge ad campaign to get a younger audience to listen to radio. You'd have to try to make a go of it with local advertising since the big three have national ads locked down.Talk with basic news is a good format, but the mechanics of it are hard. One option. KPFA in Berkeley is actually in the commercial spectrum. If Pacifica continues to fall apart someone could get that signal, which has a huge footprint.
ReplyDeleteAs a person who still works in the business, I will agree someone who previously stated nice idea but it's a no go. The advertising dollars aren't there, no support in the market in terms of listenership and the lack of quality talk personalities. You can't keep depending on retreads from the KGO of old. Now if someone would take the Talk Hybrid that KFI in Los Angeles has taken then it could work. Hard Left and Hard Right programming will eventually fail in San Francisco. In my 22 years (and counting) in radio, I find that people want to be entertained and informed not preached to all the time.
ReplyDeleteAgree, I used to listened to KGO for decades, as I traveled from Sacramento to SF on business. KGO used to be my go to, but their last 5 years it was hard to take, as everyone of their hosts all suffered from Trump Deranged Syndrome. No balance at all. I also listened to KFI when I traveled down south, and I continue to via podcasts everyday because there is no alternative up here.
DeleteIt seems there’s a concerted effort to keep uninformed and misinformed.
ReplyDeleteHello? Anybody recalls when I said Midgets are going nowhere this year and little kapperdink wanna be little gabe kappalin aint jack doogie? well well, dickhead finally got fire tonite....
ReplyDeleteIn today’s world where radio competes with numerous online platforms, investors won’t sink money into a fading medium. Might as well pitch venture capitalists to fund a VCR or buggy. That said, a news talk station would succeed by adapting to a modern tech adept audience, for instance integrating streaming video as KNBR/The game currently do.
ReplyDeleteWhen Melanie Morgan was young, oh my!
ReplyDeleteSomehow Fresno is able to support KMJ, a pretty good talk news station. Ironically, this past Saturday on their restaurant show they had some old-time SF restaurant owners who were doing great story telling , stuff you’d think would be on an actual SF station
ReplyDeleteAlmost every major city in the country has a News Talk station, and they typically rate relatively high in the ratings. May not be a big money maker, but someone with morals and values needs to step forward and do whats right for the community at large. KGO used to reflect the heart and sole of the area. Local reporting, community events, restaurant reviews, it was a great service. Someone needs to do the right thing. Not everything need be about making another buck.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot 1 thing... Demographic change. They're not interested ..
ReplyDelete