First:the Bay Area is no longer the #4 radio market. Nielsen downgraded the market to #5 while promoting Dallas to #4 in April. Sacramento & San Jose were also downgraded by one market size as well. Second: most of the Bay Area billionaires are techies who do not want radio to survive. Radio is direct advertising competition. The tech people want everything to be streamed. Third: the WABC guy in NYC is a true conservative believer. He’s on a political mission - not a financial mission. Fourth: your premise that a news talk station wouldn’t cost that much to run is totally false. Only an all news operation is more expensive to operate. On air talent, producers, engineers, sales staff, support staff, rent, utilities (especially for the transmitter). Plus, a stand alone station in the advertising market is basically DOA with ad agencies and high end advertisers. Before its demise, KGO was losing in the low seven figures per month. You’ve got to be a true believer to be willing to do that. Hello YouTube!!!
Rich, I am not sure having an outlet to “talk” about politics - whether National, State, or local - would work in the bay area. Folks are getting their news from several directions - but rest assured the billionaire class is telling most people what to think and where to buy. There are few real reporters, Jane Mayer and Sy Hersh come to mind, but their numbers and their work is being drowned out by the Ultra Wealthy. Americans are largely uneducated, uninformed, opinionated, and biased. Few could tell you their Senators’ names. Very few could name an adjoining state’s Capital. Even fewer could identify the 3 branches of Government, let alone tell you how many Supreme Court Justices there are. Listening to wildly uninformed and ignorant folks opine on politics is about as appealing as sitting between 2 morbidly obese Floridians on a 14 hour flight to Moscow. No thanks
WABC is my go to radio station, I listen to it every night. It's quite entertaining.
The only problem is that I know more about the traffic, weather and politics of New York than I do about here. It certainly rains a lot in NYC and they have as stupid a governor, mayor and city government as we do here. Kind of discouraging hearing how NYC has gone to shit. It's not really any consolation knowing we're not alone in that regard.
First:the Bay Area is no longer the #4 radio market. Nielsen downgraded the market to #5 while promoting Dallas to #4 in April. Sacramento & San Jose were also downgraded by one market size as well. Second: most of the Bay Area billionaires are techies who do not want radio to survive. Radio is direct advertising competition. The tech people want everything to be streamed. Third: the WABC guy in NYC is a true conservative believer. He’s on a political mission - not a financial mission. Fourth: your premise that a news talk station wouldn’t cost that much to run is totally false. Only an all news operation is more expensive to operate. On air talent, producers, engineers, sales staff, support staff, rent, utilities (especially for the transmitter). Plus, a stand alone station in the advertising market is basically DOA with ad agencies and high end advertisers. Before its demise, KGO was losing in the low seven figures per month. You’ve got to be a true believer to be willing to do that. Hello YouTube!!!
ReplyDeleteRich, I am not sure having an outlet to “talk” about politics - whether National, State, or local - would work in the bay area. Folks are getting their news from several directions - but rest assured the billionaire class is telling most people what to think and where to buy.
ReplyDeleteThere are few real reporters, Jane Mayer and Sy Hersh come to mind, but their numbers and their work is being drowned out by the Ultra Wealthy.
Americans are largely uneducated, uninformed, opinionated, and biased. Few could tell you their Senators’ names. Very few could name an adjoining state’s Capital. Even fewer could identify the 3 branches of Government, let alone tell you how many Supreme Court Justices there are.
Listening to wildly uninformed and ignorant folks opine on politics is about as appealing as sitting between 2 morbidly obese Floridians on a 14 hour flight to Moscow. No thanks
WABC is my go to radio station, I listen to it every night. It's quite entertaining.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem is that I know more about the traffic, weather and politics of New York than I do about here. It certainly rains a lot in NYC and they have as stupid a governor, mayor and city government as we do here. Kind of discouraging hearing how NYC has gone to shit. It's not really any consolation knowing we're not alone in that regard.
Curtis Sliwa on Sat/Sun nights is must listen. great theater! … 9pm-3am pacific time
ReplyDeleteCousin Brucie on KGO! Imagine it!
ReplyDeleteThat’s what the SF Bay Area has been waiting for the cornball King of the 5 boroughs of New Yawk, circa 1964 Cousin Brucie
ReplyDelete