Lotus

[trevorparker588]

Corwin Haeck was very vocal about the ordeal. I've been through cuts before in my IHM/Clear Channel days and I get how frustrating this is. Unfortunately, this isn't a major company filing for bankruptcy, this is a small operator biting off more than they can chew and not having a clue on how to operate a news talk or a contemporary music format.

From Haeck in the above article from Radio Insight:

"Well, whatta ya know. Friday marks my last day as a radio news reporter. I had been planning to retire sometime in the coming months, but had not yet announced it. Instead, the station made the decision for me…by LAYING ME OFF along with every other reporter on staff! I kid you not. After 19.5 years and two ownership changes, they’ve sent me packing. Jeez…where’s my gold watch?”

Haeck continued, “I’ve been told that lasting nearly 20 years in a single radio job makes me almost a unicorn. If so, there were a herd of them at KOMO (currently KNWN) radio. Much of our tight-knit newsroom had been there as long as me or longer. I’ll miss working with them all. It’s a shame our new owners decided, after only 18 months, that a dip in revenue warranted these draconian measures. I’ve heard they plan to continue as a 24-hour local news station. I’m curious to see how they manage it without reporters.”

Has it only been 18 months since Lotus purchased this group? What a whirlwind downfall it's been. That guy better get his daddy's money right or, pretty much nothing will happen cause your dad owns the company. Cool, huh?

 

[inari]

So the question remains; why do you need to hire humans to 'guide' the AI, when they can just do it themselves?

Probably plan to churn out a bunch of content via AI and they need us lowly humans to make sure their stories don't sound like corporate propaganda or that the articles don't use terrorist groups as their main sources.

 

[trevorparker588]

Probably plan to churn out a bunch of content via AI and they need us lowly humans to make sure their stories don't sound like corporate propaganda or that the articles don't use terrorist groups as their main sources.

Also better hope that AI reporter doesn't have a potty mouth!

 

[davideduardo]

Corwin Haeck was very vocal about the ordeal. I've been through cuts before in my IHM/Clear Channel days and I get how frustrating this is. Unfortunately, this isn't a major company filing for bankruptcy, this is a small operator biting off more than they can chew and not having a clue on how to operate a news talk or a contemporary music format.

Small? They are a $70 million a year gross revenue operator of about 45 stations and a fistfull of translators, too.

Has it only been 18 months since Lotus purchased this group? What a whirlwind downfall it's been. That guy better get his daddy's money right or, pretty much nothing will happen cause your dad owns the company. Cool, huh?

The "guy" is founder Howard Kalmenson's son, James, who has run the company for decades. This is also one of the largest family owned broadcasters in the US. They do a wide variety of formats and seem to master them all, from classic rock to regional Mexican to Farsi community stations.

(Yes, both Howard and Jimmy are friends and I worked for Howard about 50 years ago. They are veterans and pros).

 

[TheBigA]

Unfortunately, this isn't a major company filing for bankruptcy, this is a small operator biting off more than they can chew and not having a clue on how to operate a news talk or a contemporary music format.

Regardless of the situation, they're the owner. What would you prefer? Have Sinclair sell the station to some big corporate owner who would have ended up doing the exact same thing? Or perhaps sell to a religious group, and the staffers getting riffed a year and a half ago? The reality is this station was overspending its revenue. Probably was doing that under Sinclair.

Nobody likes to get let go, but I don't see the outcome was going to be much different under any owner. The problem is running an expensive format on a underpowered AM in a market that's overserved.

 

[xmtrland]

Did any one read post #58? I compared the online presence of both KIRO FM and KNWN. Lotus has done nothing to improve the KNWN online presence for over a year. Starting now after laying off the news staff and depending on free writers, kinda silly when you look at what KIRO FM offers on air and online.

I did hear Lotus did a solid on severance pay.

 

[boombox4]

19.5 years. Man, that's a long time at one radio company. I did 20 in the industry. It was a good run.

Unfortunately, it's not just radio that grants its employees shorter and shorter runs in the industry anymore. It's becoming an economy wide trend. As an astute speaker at the state unemployment office told a bunch of us in the tail end of the 2000's -- its turning into a temp job market. He was correct.

I with Mr. Haeck and his compatriots well.

 

[KMan]

I believe with the departure of Corwin and the quiet departure of Tom Hutlyer earlier this year, Manda Factor remains as the last (continuous) staffer from the original launch crew in September 2002.

Corwin was actually the original mid-morning traffic anchor from Metro and then moved to the KOMO payroll as a reporter about a year later.

 

[RadioRon]

lots of opinions about Sinclair for sure. I think a big difference here is that Sinclair saw KOMO Radio as a valued piece of their overall news organization and brand. The interaction and support between TV, Radio and online was damn good back in the day. Yes, there were ups and downs, but the station and employees generally received solid support both locally and within corporate.

 

[Goldilocks94941]

Worth pointing out that a lot of this discussion neglects considering the perspective of being a listener to this station. I've tried to catch the "traffic on the 4s" on AM 1000 when I start to head for I-5 when running errands (mostly weekends), and have been consistently let down by either no traffic update, or by how brief and superficial they usually are. Not even sure when they are still doing these reports.

Compare them to the "traffic on the 1s" on Citynews 1130 on CKWX from Vancouver. They're another all-news 50kw AM station, which underwent cutbacks recently with a corporate acquisition. While you'll hear a national feed several times during the hour, they still help you plan how to get around major backups. And they even have a full-time "all traffic" competitor on AM730 (CKGO), but the updates on 1130 still seem to be more accurate and better presented. They sound like a major market radio news station - even after cutbacks and rebranding.

On the other hand, AM 1000 (which commenters here have even had trouble remembering their new call letters correctly) does not. Many of the traffic reporters I've heard there sound inexperienced, and behave as if they have to keep their reports to no more than 10 seconds. They sound so rushed that I as a motorist have little time to digest what little they just said. Which still doesn't help me avoid backups, or decide if I'd do better to try the express lanes if they're open, pay to use 520 vs I-90 to cross the lake, etc.

Since I can't exactly stare safely at the now-complicated WSDOT website while I'm driving, I'd like to know who on the radio can deliver this service we've come to expect for many years now? In the ten minutes it takes me to enter I-5 from my driveway, conditions often degrade substantially from what I last saw on the WSDOT site at home. That's why I argue news radio traffic updates that have some substance to them would still be useful to listen to while in the car - where most of the listening is done anyway. And drive tune-ins, if it's worth our time and will reliably be there.

Also, a lot of this thread seems to presume "all news" programming is just a different color on a format chart. But the quality and consistency of the reporting and how its presented on AM1000 is what I think drives a lot of us away, disappointed.
The signal on AM1000 is not a subpar or crappy signal - it may be on AM, but its the strongest AM in the market, as one of the few nondirectional fulltime 50kw stations in the West. And in the car, 97.7 does pretty well in most of the Seattle metro area I've tried listening to it (in the I-5 corridor).

Perhaps a lot of the blame for their performance is listeners like me going away disappointed that no one seems to be awake at the controls when I listen on the weekends or evenings.

 

[Kelly A]

Worth pointing out that a lot of this discussion neglects considering the perspective of being a listener to this station. I've tried to catch the "traffic on the 4s" on AM 1000 when I start to head for I-5 when running errands (mostly weekends), and have been consistently let down by either no traffic update, or by how brief and superficial they usually are. Not even sure when they are still doing these reports.

Valid critique. Although, do any of the 'news' stations, let alone any Seattle station, do traffic often enough or with adequate detail? Seattle, especially I-5, is a Gong Show much of the day. Reporting traffic is bad on I-5 is like reporting the sun comes up at dawn and sets at dusk.

Compare them to the "traffic on the 1s" on Citynews 1130 on CKWX from Vancouver.

Cancon regulates programming in Canada, including how much news and things like traffic reports. And honestly? I'd have no idea whether their traffic is accurate or frequent enough or not, since I don't live in British Columbia. Because of this; I don't think comparing KNWS with anything Canada, is a valid comparison.

Also, a lot of this thread seems to presume "all news" programming is just a different color on a format chart. But the quality and consistency of the reporting and how its presented on AM1000 is what I think drives a lot of us away, disappointed.

Wait, is it you don't care for their traffic reports or their anchors? Or is it both?

The signal on AM1000 is not a subpar or crappy signal - it may be on AM, but its the strongest AM in the market, as one of the few nondirectional fulltime 50kw stations in the West. And in the car, 97.7 does pretty well in most of the Seattle metro area I've tried listening to it (in the I-5 corridor).

There are many more areas to the metro than the I-5 corridor. The ones I mentioned prior are terrain shielded from 97.7. When your competitor has a full market Class C from W. Tiger Mt., 'pretty well' doesn't cut it.

Perhaps a lot of the blame for their performance is listeners like me going away disappointed that no one seems to be awake at the controls when I listen on the weekends or evenings.

As has been mention here and other threads; radio doesn't focus on nights and weekends because those times are filler until AM drive rolls around.

 

[fybush]

"Cancon" has nothing to do with traffic reports. It's purely for music stations, which are required to play a certain amount (which varies by format and market) of music that qualifies as Canadian.

The CRTC does regulate news and talk as a "specialty" format, which often includes license conditions requiring a certain number of minutes per week of local news. I have never seen a license condition requiring the broadcast of traffic reports.

 

[boombox4]

If a news station neglects traffic reports, it's bound to push drivetime commuters to the competing stations who have them. It's just common sense.

I-5 may be a madhouse most of the day, but there are other arterials and freeways (405, 99, 599, 509, 520, 518, 18, 16, I-90, 167, etc.) that see heavy enough traffic to qualify for traffic reporting.

So I think Goldilocks' complaint has some validity. Does it matter in the big picture? That conclusion is beyond my pay grade.

 

[Mark Roberts]

From what I recall of CKWX during a visit to Vancouver several years ago was that it was a straight-ahead all-news station that wouldn't be out of place in any major American city. Traffic and weather were on the 1's, the same clock that WMAQ in Chicago used in its all-news incarnation. The pace was very fast, though, and I wouldn't have recommended it to anyone with anxiety problems.

I wish there was something like it in Denver - with a mellower pace - but I know I'll never get that wish.

 

[Mark Roberts]

If a news station neglects traffic reports, it's bound to drive commuters to the competition who has them. It's just common sense.

If, about a decade ago, Cumulus totally lost its collective mind and approached me and said, "Mark, please program KGO for us", I would have had 10 traffic reports an hour, i.e. every six minutes, because Bay Area traffic is that bad, and that's the one service not easily replicated by anything else other than radio. (Yes, there's Waze, but it has its limitations and misdirects people at times. I know this from experience.) The key is to have a predictable cadence. It would have been repetitive. It would have been annoying. But it might have given them a shot at overcoming KCBS's overwhelming advantage.

(Not that I ever proposed this! File it in the Fantasy section.)

So, in the instance that we're discussing now, who would be KNWN's competition? Is it KIRO and does KIRO have traffic reports on a predictable, consistent cadence? Who else is doing traffic reports in Seattle? Are they doing them often enough and predictably enough? Bay Area example: KQED-FM has traffic reports, but they're tied to the frequency of local news cut-ins from the main NPR programming, which, I would argue, is not frequent enough for drivers looking to avoid traffic problems.

 

[Goldilocks94941]

When it was KOMO radio, traffic reports were promoted as being "on the 4s" every hour, around the clock. For those of you tunig in from elsewhere,, the 4 was an easy to remember, since it was also their TV channel. And even before KIRO went FM-only for talk, their traffic updates were "on the 3s." Seemed like the typical death match of commercial radio rivals, so that you couldn't hear both if they were on time, and there was enough significant traffic news to report.

Today (Saturday afternoon), on my way to I-5 to get into the city, I tuned to AM 1000 just in time to find a traffic report at 2:02pm. Cut out of the ABC hourly newscast at their first opportunity. Not what you'd expect from an all-news station. (Then again, ABC and CBS radio newscasts are often sound silly to me, putting everything in the present tense by adding 'ing to every verb.) The traffic update I heard was concise - maybe 15 seconds. And two minutes earlier than I was accustomed to from them. Didn't give me a feeling that they had checked all routes in the area, but had some news about I-5. Until the announcer finished by saying his next report would air at 2:04pm. Which suggested it was recorded earlier, aired in the wrong slot, and therefore who knows how timely or accurate it is. Again, not worth my while. But I don't have much else to choose from. Welcome to Seattle.

I'm going on about this aspect of an "all news" station because it seems to be a major driver of tune-ins for a so-called all news station in a busy metro area. There may not be much in the way of alternate routes around here, but at least I'd like to know if delays are bad enough I should wait, or try an "arterial" instead of the freeway. I'm trying to find a reason to listen to AM 1000. I'm hoping for some halfway reliable information. I'm not dialing in to hear Kars for Kids ads.

I mention CKWX as an example that KNWN could try to emulate. Give it a listen and take notes. Most people can hear it around Seattle (AM 1130), tho' the signal gets wiped out often during "critical hours" before sunset now by one of Birach's newer time-brokered powerhouse stations giving us Russian Pentecostal programming from south of Portland, aired right at us until sunset.

I don't know for sure when KIRO-FM does traffic reports, apart from in weekday morning drive. And I think those are usually the best delivered and most comprehensive ones in the market. But I don't know when to rely on them at other times. So I don't.

And that's it as far as I know for regularly-scheduled traffic updates on any Seattle stations. Perhaps one of the music stations does it around the clock. Or weekend afternoons. But I doubt it. Post something here if you know otherwise.

So don't be surprised if listening is down. If one of the basic services we'd come to expect is hit and miss if it's on, and then you don't know if it's actually current information or not -- it's no surprise people aren't going to listen to just anything they put on the air to fill time.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

When it was KOMO radio, traffic reports were promoted as being "on the 4s" every hour, around the clock. For those of you tunig in from elsewhere,, the 4 was an easy to remember, since it was also their TV channel. And even before KIRO went FM-only for talk, their traffic updates were "on the 3s." Seemed like the typical death match of commercial radio rivals, so that you couldn't hear both if they were on time, and there was enough significant traffic news to report.

Today (Saturday afternoon), on my way to I-5 to get into the city, I tuned to AM 1000 just in time to find a traffic report at 2:02pm. Cut out of the ABC hourly newscast at their first opportunity. Not what you'd expect from an all-news station. (Then again, ABC and CBS radio newscasts are often sound silly to me, putting everything in the present tense by adding 'ing to every verb.) The traffic update I heard was concise - maybe 15 seconds. And two minutes earlier than I was accustomed to from them. Didn't give me a feeling that they had checked all routes in the area, but had some news about I-5. Until the announcer finished by saying his next report would air at 2:04pm. Which suggested it was recorded earlier, aired in the wrong slot, and therefore who knows how timely or accurate it is. Again, not worth my while. But I don't have much else to choose from. Welcome to Seattle.

I'm going on about this aspect of an "all news" station because it seems to be a major driver of tune-ins for a so-called all news station in a busy metro area. There may not be much in the way of alternate routes around here, but at least I'd like to know if delays are bad enough I should wait, or try an "arterial" instead of the freeway. I'm trying to find a reason to listen to AM 1000. I'm hoping for some halfway reliable information. I'm not dialing in to hear Kars for Kids ads.

I mention CKWX as an example that KNWN could try to emulate. Give it a listen and take notes. Most people can hear it around Seattle (AM 1130), tho' the signal gets wiped out often during "critical hours" before sunset now by one of Birach's newer time-brokered powerhouse stations giving us Russian Pentecostal programming from south of Portland, aired right at us until sunset.

I don't know for sure when KIRO-FM does traffic reports, apart from in weekday morning drive. And I think those are usually the best delivered and most comprehensive ones in the market. But I don't know when to rely on them at other times. So I don't.

And that's it as far as I know for regularly-scheduled traffic updates on any Seattle stations. Perhaps one of the music stations does it around the clock. Or weekend afternoons. But I doubt it. Post something here if you know otherwise.

So don't be surprised if listening is down. If one of the basic services we'd come to expect is hit and miss if it's on, and then you don't know if it's actually current information or not -- it's no surprise people aren't going to listen to just anything they put on the air to fill time.

Not Birach, Bustos.

And Lotus would never do CKWX style on KO.. KN..whatever.. it would be too expensive

 

[MarkW]

Based on a few of the posts here, it appears programming quality on 1000/97.7 leaves something to be desired, and that was before the workforce was slashed.

Perhaps this explains why ratings are sinking like a stone.

Did such issues exist prior to the ownership change?

 

[Kelly A]

"Cancon" has nothing to do with traffic reports. It's purely for music stations, which are required to play a certain amount (which varies by format and market) of music that qualifies as Canadian.

The CRTC does regulate news and talk as a "specialty" format, which often includes license conditions requiring a certain number of minutes per week of local news. I have never seen a license condition requiring the broadcast of traffic reports.

You're right Scott, I meant to say CRTC. Got the two transposed. A friend of mine used to program a news station in Toronto, and CRTC used to include minimum number of traffic reports committed by licensees during drive times.

 

[TheBigA]

So don't be surprised if listening is down. If one of the basic services we'd come to expect is hit and miss if it's on, and then you don't know if it's actually current information or not -- it's no surprise people aren't going to listen to just anything they put on the air to fill time.

You're basing this opinion on one example that happened on a weekend? I don't think that's indicative of anything.