Year End Developments and Major Decisions Affecting Bay Area Media; 2019 Ripe With Intrigue; 2020 Could Spell Doom For TV/Radio Playors

*At KQED, both TV and radio, the party is over. The mass-spending free-for-all, is coming to an end largely because KQED is being forced to downsize as its revenue is sharply reduced. Member donations are down and corporate support, waning. KQED still makes tons of money and the goldmine is still there, but the oversight people in the finance offices are beginning to audit more religiously--put two and two together. Maybe they won't send anymore coffee mugs to subscribers--in which case, you could...never mind.

*Will KGO Radio be maintained as its latest iteration as news-talk beacon  by Cumulus? It's an election year which means healthy revenue by political ads and talk zeitgeist but significant revenue streams may not mean much. Cumulus, according to well-founded rumors, might be seriously inclined to sell its SF area 810 AM, 50K-watt, clear-channel behemoth --2020 could be another key time element in KGO's future.

*KRON has stagnated --its corporate owner, Nextstar, flailing away in economic turmoil, makes for more KRON mismanagement at the base of the new year. KRON doesn't believe in rearranging the furniture. It's been the same old story year in, year out. It's still very painful to watch the K-TEL-like news reports; the shuffling of anchors no matter how awful; the incompetence inside the alleged news director and his silly maneuvering; the god-awful news direction and presentation. At some point, KRON has to be sold and/or leveraged by an owner/corporation that will invest in a Top-10 market with a thirst for news and less amateur hour by the lawn-furniture style of KRON's present-day status.

*Will KGO and its Disney coffers sign Gary Radnich, late of LRON and KNBR? If the money is close, yes, they should and more importantly, could. Radnich isn't what he was twenty years ago but he's better than Circle7's talent now. Moreover, he would add immediate buzz to an operation owned by the Star Wars franchise. There's a connection. One BIG thing too on the KGO docket: signing veteran and staple anchor, Dan Ashley to a well-deserved extension --it's going to happen--just a matter of when, not if.

*The future of Ken Bastida at KPIX. Bastida has been rumored to be one of CBS' first major anchors to be told to take a hike, (with a significant salary cut) --the latest is Bastida wants to stay through 2020 but CBS might want to leave and retire right away. Ultimately, they make the call.

*Enjoy your core-4 KTVU "10 O'clock News" vets, Frank Somerville, Julie Haener, Bill Martin, Mark Ibanez--all 4 have existing contracts for 2020 but 2021 spells the end for the group as FOX begins its major decision to trim, severely, high-cost anchor talent. Quite simply, FOX thinks it can spend a lot less on local talent even if it involves some of its most successful O and O's and that includes the Bay Area.


*The Chronicle has Hearst money which means it ain't going anywhere anytime soon but its print edition, (like other print newspapers) is bleeding red ink. And the Chron isn't in NY Times status meaning it can't forever lose money and just continue to publish. Its digital operation is making dough but not enough to pay for paper. Paging a local Amazon guy like Jeff Bezos (who owns the Washington Post) but those are hard to find

*A significant moneyed player, (like a tech giant) is thought to want to buy the local Spanish TV players, (like a SF Telemundo) --the Bay Area's Hispanic language audience is large and very prosperous --but it's only a rumor.

*KNBR has its cash cow, the Giants in a lean, lean, lean, mode. Last year, the radio content (and TV/Cable too) lost significant advertising money because the home team sucked--like its sucked for the past three-plus years. Which means KNBR has been reducing its Giants' mega-bullhorn of pre, post, and actual games. Baseball used to be their bread and butter --now it's become its home for the halfway hose. KNBR is lucky to have the 49ers which essentially pays the continuing banality called the KNBR Morning Show.

415 Media Breaking: Former KGO Radio News Legend Jim Dunbar Dies

Jim Dunbar: dead at age 89

I'VE BEEN INFORMED by a local broadcast figure, that legendary broadcaster, Jim Dunbar has died. Dunbar passed away yesterday (April 22) cause of death unknown --Dunbar was 89.

Dunbar spent the bulk of his career at both KGO-TV and KGO Radio --the latter, as a talk-show host and for many years, the partner with Ted Wygant on the "KGO Morning News."

Wygant died in 2018.

I talked to a local broadcast veteran: "He was a giant in the industry and a treasure too, personally."

Funeral services are pending.

415 Media Suspends Its Account Indefinitely

415 MEDIA is suspending its account indefinitely.

Which is to say while I'd love to be up and running, I simply cannot be.

You know the reason.

I'm not going to ask you again for donations and subscriptions. Been down that road before. You have made your decision --and regrettably, so have I.

I thought the Bay Area could afford a daily media blog that broke news (sometimes) and published scoops (sometimes) --I was wrong.


I thought you all wanted someone to make the Cumulus warts accountable and be your defacto ombudsman --I was wrong. Cumulus needs to be taken to task but now they are not. Oh well.

I am not going to "whine anymore" as some of you have opined. That's fine. Until you need a little whining and one day you will.

I have said "account suspended indefinitely" because I hope one day I'll be back, just not now. Who knows about the future. Maybe you'll miss me and wish I was back and had never left. (Wink)

Those of you that have repeatedly made donations and subscribed I thank you all so much. And even those that did not, thanks for reading. Too bad we're here at this moment but that's life. I can deal with it, there's far more important things to consider. Nobody died.

Take care, for now.

Don't ever believe anybody.

And never let the bastards get you down.

OMG, There's a Storm Brewing; Really? TV News Can't Wait For 'Storm Center' Coverage; Kim Wonderley Medical Mystery on KCBS AM Traffic; There Really IS a Blue Box; Sarah and Vinnie's Lovely Uzette; More KPIX Dysfunction Update; KTVU Anchor Issues; Wednesday Wash

  RAINY WEDNESDAY IN JANUARY; What a surprise.

With the coming storm approaching this afternoon you would think we haven't been down this road before but we have. Even in drought years we have a few big rain events but the TV folks are acting as if Armageddon is near.

Cut to 5 PM --the obligatory live shots from Marin, probably Mill Valley and the hardware store guy answering the usual stupid questions: "Are you busy?" No, he's sleeping actually. Holy Smokes.

Let's not stop there. Let's go to the East Shore Freeway and show the commuters drive stupid as they do, always, in this area this time of year. Then the gas station in Emeryville live shot with the CHP officer telling us to slow down. He's right, we should. But do we need a parade of reporters capturing his every word? Dumb. You could file this statement and use it every time we have a storm, it's undated.

*Kim Wonderley has been off the KCBS air well over a month now and because of strict HIPAA laws, we don't know exactly what her medical issue is (which is fine with me) ; I'm told it's nothing serious but the more time she's away, the more worry. We wish Kim well.

Kim Wonderley with Stan Bunger

My report recently about fill-in Peter Schofield eventually taking over the AM drive traffic gig is more sooner rather then later.

*Yeah, I felt this morning's tiny earthquake up near the Oakland Hills in Piedmont; a 3.4 magnitude dinger. It did wake me up --so too, Doug Sovern, who called into KCBS' John Evans , but three minutes of play-by-play I'm not sure was necessary.

*A real 'Blue Box' is a secret code that enables one to work in media circles in the Bay Area. Or Not. It's so secret I can't go into details only to tell all you assorted folks who thought it was my creation to basically go take a hike.

The secret coded Blue Box

Yes, there IS a Blue Box and if you don't have one, good luck, maestro!

*Dear Sarah and Vinne, your lovely Uzette on Alice 97.3 FM is a personal savior with a ton of positive virtue and excruciating intrigue. I will eventually hoist a few with you guys and girls at the Blue Light, courtesy of Entercom, they can afford it.

*Speaking of CBS, its alleged TV News station here is once again clueless. They can't seem to figure it out. The morning show is in serious disarray (for years now to be exact) because of the queen diva who continues to dish crap on everyone but herself. (When you have shitty numbers, MG, eventually your clout shrinks) The evening is a relative truck wreck with no direction, no planning, no real ideas and no enthusiasm from the troops who sit on the desk and wail mostly un-profound stories with a bunch of Fresno reporter-rejects who look as if they just graduated from the academy of talent-less TV Radio school in Barstow.

Sarah and Vinnie gang

Lucky for PIX: CBS has the Super Bowl this year. The sales guys need the money.

*KTVU anchor mystery: a slew of issues and personal crap that would make anyone else vulnerable and on high edge.

He'll be OK though because the company needs him.

Yes, KPIX is Flaunting its Super Bowl 50 Coverage But You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

 FEW PEOPLE would begrudge KPIX's incessant pre-Super Bowl blitz of ads, news, promos and presentation--after all, it is the Super Bowl, the biggest game in America and whose audience traditionally tops well over 100 Million people.

We get it, the unofficial national holiday on the first Sunday in February and this year, the special 50th Super Game.

OK, fine.

But then KPIX has gone over the top, no surprise here. Mildly, but just enough to cause mass irritation. Look, a Beyoncé addition to the halftime show is legitimate news, no problem there. But countdown clocks, repeated "stories" that are really no more than splashy advertisements gets to be a drag particularly when such news is driven down the throat on a daily basis.

Even Joe and Jennifer Montana, as big as they are, are not worthy of repeated plugs and notices.

Again, we acknowledge that PIX is lucky enough that the 50th Super Bowl happened to fall on CBS' time to air the game and yes, of course the game is in Santa Clara.  I can only imagine what KTVU would be bringing us had it been FOX's turn on the rotation. Thank God for that.

I'm going out on a limb that as the game gets closer you're going to see a helluva lot more stories about Santa Clara, parking lots, VIP booths and hospitality suites. That's about 20 minutes right there.

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Winners

1. Oakland


2. Bay Area
3. KGO-TV
4. KNBR
5. Parade Planners
6. Chamber of Commerce --510
7.Oracle
8.Tim Roye and Tom Tolbert
9. Lake Merritt
10. Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area


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We Defer To A Certain Baseball Team --(And Will Try To Ignore The Mission Mayhem); Update

 We'll get back to the mundane material soon enough. And try to put this other rather predictable shit in the rearview mirror.


























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Ebola Coverage Intensifies As News Becomes More Ominous; Bay Area Media Angle; Are Any Of You Freaked Out?

 The Ebola situation is now a crisis--or is it?

Frankly, I think I speak for a lot of people: we have heard and seen a lot but are we in panic-mode?

Yes, to some degree.

Even the people who cover this story are not immune to freaking out a bit, and the latest news will only add to the anxiety.

This much is certain: as a news story, Ebola has turned from mild in-thought-process into the general conversation of the day. And that's normal given the spate of news and potential news on the horizon.

Bay Area news outlets have provided basic coverage --most of it from network field reports. And the few local radio talk shows here have pretty much ignored it. Inevitably, an Ebola case is sure to break out here. I don't know for a fact of course but given the nature of the disease, again, it's inevitable.

How will it be covered? Are local outlets prepared to give us the information and coverage we desire? Time will tell. This is all very slightly unnerving at this point.

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Bloomberg Bay Area 960 Debuts; Greg Jarrett Offers Smooth Drivetime Anchor; Danos 'Fill-In' Status At KCBS; Fox Takes Over KTVU Oct 16; Monday Coffee Opener

 'Bloomberg 960 SF" debuted this morning and if you like business-central radio then you'll be in heaven. It is mostly news, traffic, and business interviews concentrating on Silicon Valley and Wall Street.

Ex-KGO Radio tonsil, Greg Jarrett, conducted the first morning-drive anchoring and provided a steady if not spectacular style.

"Bay Area Business" is the outcue Bloomberg is using with traffic snippets from Larry Olsen. It is blended in with its other bureaus in NY and Boston. The "Bloomberg Bay Area Business Report" is centered among the local programming although ironically, the "local" story was reported by a NY reporter, Charlie Pellet.

This is not riveting radio in any sense of the word; it's mostly a lot of business, stocks, trends, dividend potpourri but that's precisely what Bloomberg Radio is counting on and with their deep financial pockets Bloomberg will be around the Bay Area airwaves for a while.

*Dean Danos, who got dumped from overnight KCBS because somebody high up, (not ND, Ed Cavagnaro), thought he sounded like a "DJ" during the Napa quake, (huh?), is probably destined for fill-in work. He's not thrilled and talked to the union. Most of the station staff was "shocked" over Danos' firing, including the Assistant ND, Jane McMillan, who is working to get the situation resolved.

*Fox Network takes over KTVU on October 16 --you, the viewer, will notice very little at first. Things will be business as usual until the new GM from Boston arrives, then it's mystery time but usually the first thing these guys do is to chop a little, replace and mix and match.

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40 Years Ago Today Richard Nixon Resigned; 1974 Memories

August 9, 1974:

Nixon resigns.

Gerald Ford becomes 38th President of the Unites States.

A month later, pardons Nixon.

Country gradually moves toward Inflation. Economy tanks. Origin of "WIN" buttons emerge.

Bay Area: Patty Hearst, six months into captivity, kidnapped by SLA. Shootout in South Central LA --"Cinque", aka: Donald Defreeze, among dead.

Chanel 7 "News Scene" dominates local TV News.

A's en route to third straight World Series Championship over hated Dodgers.

#1-rated movie: Godfather, Part II.

Owen Spann on KGO Radio.

KTVU: "Creature Feature" and "Charley and Humphrey" most popular local TV shows.

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Ask Rich Lieberman

KGO-TV Contacts KTVU's Mark Ibanez About Possible Sports Anchor Gig; Breaking: Inglis Set To Retire in August

 KGO-TV has contacted veteran KTVU weeknight sports anchor, Mark Ibanez, about possibly joining the SF ABC O and O, (owned/operated), according to a reliable station source who asked for anonymity.


Ibanez has been a KTVU stalwart since 1979 and recently signed a three-year extension, but it's up in March, 2015 and given the uncertainty at Channel 2 since Fox acquired them, Ibanez might be tempted.


Ibanez was unable to comment.


At KGO, Channel 7, the sports anchor situation is very much up in the air.


Larry Beil has been doing much more news anchoring but through a variety of sources, has told people he'd prefer to go back to his native Hawaii and "be a big fish in a little pond."


Mike Schumann is KGO's weekend anchor and prime backup but isn't considered a "long-term" option should an opening occur if Beil splits.


Ibanez has indicated in the past that he'd prefer to end his career at KTVU, but with Fox taking over and perhaps wanting to chop highly-paid on-air talent, Ibanez may have to at least listen to offers.


**Meanwhile, I have heard from KTVU sources that longtime weekend sports anchor, Fred Inglis will retire from Channel 2 in August.


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Weather Pussies in the Bay Area TV/Radio Department

 We have been told it's going to be hot for the next few days. Record-breaking heat. Extreme conditions. Spare the Air days. Blah, blah, Blah.


OK, so now what?


Exhibit A: Stan Bunger on KCBS expressing an almost glee-club giddiness bordering on the absurd. Bunger was, once again, breathless as he repeatedly told listeners Monday morning "it's going to get downright hot...even at the coast!" Thanks Stan --once, twice, three times ...? At one point, Stan's excited voice sounded like a high-school kid on his way to the Senior prom. I mean, seriously now!


Lawrence Karnow, the designated weather guy from KPIX5, was a little more dignified but nonetheless star-struck: "RECORD TEMPERATURES!" --which begs the question, Haven't we been here before? Don't we know this is a region where we get extended heat waves even in May? The answer of course is yes but the gee whiz element of local tonsils remains mind-boggling--like:


*The inevitable live shots from the Walnut Creek fountain, the Livermore ice-cream store and the roofer in Concord: "Hey, pretty hot up there?" No, not at all...matter of fact get me a jacket!


*Fire danger: Stay away from the hills and don't have a BBQ on Mt. Diablo --enough said. But noooooooooooo, we need background reports, comprehensive, compelling and the all-encompassing, TEAM COVERAGE! Unnecessary roughness.


You want Real News? This is real and surreal and worthy of real Team Coverage. It's the kind of weather news that could be made for TV and get some viewers, normally hooked to the Weather Channel or National Geographic smack dab on Bay Area TV channels: while we experience a few days of May heat, it's snowing--SNOWING in Denver and the Rocky Mountains. 2 feet of snow and a deluge of rain in the Midwest. Closer to home, it was 28 degrees near Tahoe this morning.


How about a concise 5-minute package on the weather extremes? I'm neither pro nor anti Climate Change, I don't know much to comment on the matter but I do know unusual and seems to me we're in that mode today yet we get very little coverage on this phenomena--why? Cost? Lack of sexy? I'm willing to bet the cost of KTVU's Bill Martin's junket to the White House last week for a play and tell with the POTUS was far more expensive than Martin, a "certified" meteorologist, giving us a couple of minutes breakdown on why and how it's hot here and snowing in Colorado and freezing in Tahoe; instead we're left with the same old tired act of heat wave actualities that we've grown accustomed to mixed between traffic reports and Muffy the Dog rescued from the Stockton train tracks.


The Bay Area Weather mafia is orchestrated by a bunch of weather pussies. Talk about the proliferation of useless information. We know it's hot and it's going to be hot for a few days before the fog returns which it will and Stan Bunger's voice of glee will conform to normal standards.


Are Floridians deluged, daily this time of year with endless shots of rain drenching Miami Beach? Hell no. Do Seattle people get live shots from Downtown with panoramic views of the same? No, because rain, torrential rain is a constant in both towns. The real story would be if Seattle's temperature was in the 80's while Miami was 68 and zero humidity.


I am AMAZED, still, by this weather laziness on local media. Feed the masses the tripe, they will swallow it in because they know no better. And doth protest you'll get the suckers in PR forced to tell the bottom feeders, this is what the viewers want. Bullshit.


No, it's what YOU GUYS want. Be creative for heaven's sake. How about a little analysis and perspective --that you continually force-feed the public with the SAME.OLD.TIRED minutiae is not only lazy, it simply doesn't look nor sound right--quit acting like a bunch of weather pussies and get back to us when you get real news.


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The Land of 'Tolerance' is Mostly Intolerant And a Few More Things About Michael Savage

 SAVAGE and The Bastion of Tolerance is the capitol of Intolerance

How is that San Francisco and the Bay Area--the liberal/progressive palace of tolerance is so intolerant?

Kind of ironic.

Worse yet, the posers in this town are third-rank amateurs. Hiding behind their masks and shields. Cowards and phonies.

I hate to start the day off so negatively but you make it impossible. I didn't hear the Savage show on Wednesday but heard my name and 415 Media was mentioned and prominently so. Let me start out by saying I'm a fan of the Savage Nation. He's interesting. He entertains me. He's not the gospel by any sort of means but he's quite spot on in many illustrations but not for everyone's taste. And he's the greatest story-teller on radio hands down. So there. Put away your blinders for a moment and listen to the man. Screw the politics and just LISTEN. You might even laugh a little yourself. It may help later on with the boss, your wife, girlfriend, your husband, mistress, whomever...

See, I've said this a million times: Savage is brilliant. I don't think I 'd want to work for him because there could be tension. All I want is entertainment. I don't need lectures from morons who think he's evil and dire straits. He's on the damn radio, for god's sake, get a life. And he's a master at the almost impossible: he can work the room. Name me someone who can hold an audience for ten minutes in today's insane environment? You can't. Posers. Cowards.

And let's address another thing while we're at it. I haven't received a penny from Savage. I should be so lucky. Besides I'd rather have a corned-beef sandwich at Tommy's Joynt. Savage is a fan of my site. Maybe he likes me because I listen ardently to the show. On the other hand when I'm critical of his occasionally loony-tune rants he doesn't berate me. I have a pretty good track record. There's days when he overloads on the Obama hysteria and I turn the dial. Political radio is lazy radio. That's why Levin and Rush and Hannity are beginning to sound tired because their shows are repeats of yesterday. Only yesterday is today. Same-old tired material. Sounds like the test pattern on TV, the national anthem at midnight on the tele that signified the end.

Bay Area, get a grip. Don't be a bunch of pussies. Wake up and smell the roses. Get out of the house and run, exercise a little, (I've been doing it a lot lately--great for the endorphins) and get your head out of your ass. Savage is the most honest man on radio. He's not curing cancer or reinventing the wheel but a lot of what he says makes sense, a foreign concept for some of you still migrating in People's Park and saving the whale. I got news for you, Berkeley has been lost for years now and Telegraph avenue has a Bank of America perched on it. Mario Savio is gone. Wavy Gravy is a ghost and Café Med is tattered. Even Spengers has been destroyed and Brennans was cleaned up and the food sucks now.

Back to point Savage is a decent bargain in a world that a little too busy these days. We're on the brink of World War 3 in Ukraine with a ticking time bomb that could go off any moment. We become infatuated with a missing plane that seems to have more of a story yet will probably have little impact on our increasingly marginalized life. We worry a lot about the small stuff. We should pay attention more to the little things like people living on the brink who live paycheck to paycheck and quit kvetching about a guy on the radio offering meatball recipes.

Bay Area, land of tolerance...really now? Baloney.

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Live 415 Media Town Hall Meeting Today at 1 PM PT

 This has become very popular and today, (Friday), I'm taking it live.


Nothing like a good 415 Media Town Hall Meeting, live and direct.


Questions and answers--let's try to make it lively and engaging.


I welcome your questions now and starting at 1 PM, we'll go direct.


Be nice. Hold the name-calling and let's have fun.


See you then.
Fire away.


You can ask questions too on Twitter

Barbieri lawsuit against Cumulus/KNBR proceeds; Dickey deposed; Trial begins Sept. 9; Yahoo replaces Chronicle on CSNBA Talk Show; Saturday Media Notes

Ralph Barbieri's lawsuit against Cumulus is proceeding; both he and his lawyer, Angela Alioto, returned to the Bay Area Friday night after a day in Atlanta where Cumulus CEO, Lew Dickey, was deposed.

Barbieri was fired from KNBR in April of 2012 and months later, filed an unlawful termination suit against Cumulus media. The odds of the suit making it all the way through the legal web and to actual court is long and arduous, let alone Barbieri winning, but the Dickey deposition means the ex-KNBR talk vet is serious about pursuing his day in court.

The trial begins Sept. 9th. No talk of settlement on either side.

**Comcast SportsNet's, "Chronicle Live" is no more: come Monday, the sports cable show becomes "Yahoo Sports Live." My gut tells me Yahoo offered a sizable chunk of cash to sponsor the local sports chat show and the Chronicle balked. Just a hunch.

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