As far as KBLA's impact on KFI, does a camel notice the gnat on his hump?No. The "July month" is actually partly in June, and in any case, KBLA got a 0.0 in that period.
KFI is always down in July and August... rather typical for an adult format during summer time... even in a pandemic.
But there are far more interesting dynamics going on here. There is a recall of the governor election coming up next month and the leading opponent is a black man who was raised in South Central LA. Will KBLA be supporting the only legitimate chance California has ever seen to put a black man in the governor's office? My guess is not. People should be asking, "why not"? Most likely, liberal ideology will take precedence over skin color. Kind of odd for a station where skin color is the foundational principle of the entire station's existence (they would never admit to that of course, but check out the identity of all of their hosts).
KFI still subtly positions itself as a right of center talk station, although of course actual conservatives who take real conservative stances are not found on their air any more; they have been shooed away like a drunken crazy uncle from the family Sunday dinner. But of all of the outside candidates with a reasonable chance to win, Larry Elder most closely matches the views of John and Ken (at least when they were allowed to have their own views), but I am pretty sure they will not do anything that will assist a former direct competitor in their timeslot and who is now still an uncouth conservative/libertarian competitor on a different station that does actually represent a small, but nevertheless real, competitive threat to the station.
So most likely corporate interests and professional competition will guide their positioning. In fact, they probably feel that having Newsome in office gives them better show fodder and ratings since they have very liberal polticis embodied by a very unlikeable person to rail against. Having Elder in office, someone who would shift California policies substantially to the right, would force them into the position of being an uneasy/unwilling cheerleader, a much more challenging environment for them. They will want no part of it.
Last edited: