Hurricane 'name malfunction' at KRON

"Weather is very serious to us," said KRON General Manager Brian Greif.


PS: Photo is from this morning. Courtesy: Newsblues.com


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KRON won't let the new Weather guesser rap; 'Weather is very serious to us', says GM

Oh dang!

Nick Kosair, the rapping weatherguy that KRON recently hired, (he starts in a few weeks) won't be rapping after all.

Brian Greif, KRON's GM tells Joe Eskenazi of SF Weekly that "he isn't going to be rapping-- 'what works in his current market may not work in San Francisco. Weather is very serious to us."

Sure, Greifster, whatever you say. Al Roker would be proud. Karna Small too.

Did you give him a house account at Tommy's Joynt?

Some coupons at Costco?

Perhaps dinner at Denny's on Vince Young?

Do tell!







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Bill King and the HOF

I have said many times its a real injustice that Bill King is not in the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The late, great King passed away in October of 2005. He broadcast Warriors, Raiders and A's baseball, for almost three decades and many regard him as the greatest sports announcer in Bay Area history.

A's fans are trying to get King into the HOF and fans who want to help can vote for the King online here. (Voting goes through Sept. 30)

Hats off to the Oakland A's brass and fans for spearheading this valiant effort.


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Does Katie Couric have pictures?

Why and how does Katie Couric get so much ink and airtime? Matter of fact, when's the last time Katie Couric mattered?

All I know is ever since Couric left the Today Show and migrated to the CBS News, she's been an abject failure, like, oh, about 5 years and $60 million dollars abject failure, yet even now her very next move is already the focus of almost everyone in the business.

Is she headed back to NBC? Will she replace Larry King on CNN? Hell, the only thing we haven't seen is if Major League Baseball is considering her to be the next baseball commissioner. (Don't rule it out)

You begin to wonder. Does Katie Couric have pictures?

She anchors a perennial third-place news program that nobody watches anymore and hasn't seen any form of nighttime ratings success since the days of early Dan Rather and latter-day Cronkite. And just to say thanks for being such the prized talent we sought so hard to get you on our air, here's $12 million a year to chew on, Kate, for your next trip to Bloomingdale's.

Just imagine if her high priestess of modern-day TV news actually delivered some winning ratings? Then what would she make! Jeff Zucker would have to sell one of his mansions just to get her to return a phone call.

Like I said, she has to have pictures.

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Wall St. Journal gives Oakland some tech love

Oakland gets targeted by the local outlets when all the bad news hits, (between riots, crime, murder, you'd think the entire city was a hellhole) so when the Wall St. Journal touts the city as a possible new center of tech start ups, you have to stop and read.

Traffic wars; KCBS uses new tag lockouts to its traffic coverage; counters KGO

KCBS began using new traffic lockouts; They rotate evenly.

Here's one:

 First for traffic, all day and all night. Your next update at __________ on the traffic leader, KCBS.

And another:

First for traffic, whenever you’re on the road. Your next update at __________ on the traffic leader, KCBS.

Of course KGO began new traffic coverage and schedules on Monday--KCBS countering. Coincidence? You be the judge.

KGO Radio's new 'Traffic on the Fives'; new news format debut; but will it dent KCBS?

KGO Radio unveiled a brand new news format Monday that is heavy on traffic, de-emphasizes weather and sports, and ostensibly aims to try to derail AM news leader, KCBS.

KCBS has steadily maintained a firm lead in the morning news ratings and speculation from around town is this is KGO's first of many opening salvos designed to try to get back to the top spot it held in the market for over two decades.. Like many observers, I think KGO needs more than just extra traffic to seriously challenge CBS.

KGO is branding a new slogan, "First Traffic" and now has begun airing "traffic on the 5's", (to counter CBS' "traffic on the 8's.) Although the amount of hourly traffic reports remains the same, (six,) there appears to be more extended coverage and a great deal of updates around the traffic.

Anchors Ed Baxter and Jennifer Jones-Lee are still at the helm; with Rich Walcoff handling the sports and veteran Stan Burford at the traffic desk the essential format still remains; but there's only two weather segments, (with Lloyd Lindsay Young) and Lindsay Young seems to have lost time in the pecking order.

The news blocks seem a little shorter too, but the topical interview segments, (at : 15 past the hour and a real strength of Baxter) also appear to have been given greater emphasis, which is good. What is not good is the rampant, almost borderline incessant tabloid chatter that has overtaken the news blocks, punctuated by Jones-Lee extended giggles.

KGO has always been more heavy on anchor chit-chat and conversation, (a la 'Dunbar and Wygant,) while KCBS has stuck to the more no-nonsense straight-delivery news devoid of the constant chirping on KGO. CBS' version of "conversation" is the John Madden segment.

A broadcast friend jokingly told me that KCBS could conceivably counter KGO's "first traffic" by going to "traffic on the 4's"; (nope, don't think so, joke or no joke)

While the new KGO format sounds a bit crisper and refreshing, long-term, I believe its going to take more than just expanded traffic, first, second, third, whenever to outdistance and overtake KCBS.

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