Lee Rogers was absolutely brilliant on KSFO. Couldn't even tell he was doing the show from his home in AZ. The way he wouldn't let guests get away with anything and kept the conversation on point was refreshing. Had several conversations with him off air and really enjoyed him and his experience.
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KSFO To 810
- Thread starter lanceventa
- Start date
KMBZ-AM is very political and syndicated, other than the morning news from 5-7 AM:
The FM is more local though, but I don't listen to it. I can't stand Dana and Parks, Church of Lazlo is so much better.
I remember him. He was quite fond of nuclear power, as I recall, and would often get into disagreements with at least one anti-nuclear caller over it whenever he brought it up.
As I've said before, I used to listen to KGO all the time (before Cumulus' "Big Mistake" 12 years ago). Back then, even Coast to Coast was better (it seemed less overtly about political conspiracies* and more about UFOs and such, which, odd as it was, was far more interesting than all this "anti-liberal" hate speech that seems to pervade many modern conservative talkers).
*I'm sure that was still very much a thing; I never did listen to it that much.
c
I was in Santa Cruz earlier this month, within sight of the boardwalk, and can tell you that KSCO literally sounds horrible: it undermodulates and sounds very distorted. I wonder if its antenna system, which is in a kind of swampy area, has deterioriated significantly. At night, I was able to pick up the 1090 from Baja California with almost no interference from KSCO.
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What you call a "big mistake" was, in my view, a reasonable reaction to KGO's audience aging out, along with the increasingly polarized nature of talk. The mistake was in trying to do it on the cheap and not adequately committing to it. It also was a move that was made about 20 years too late. They had to try something different.
I grew up (in my high-school years) within earshot of KMOX, and it's not what it was either.
That sucks! I got them in well even up in Half Moon Bay but that was a few years ago. Is their antenna as old as their building?
I think this is a relatively recent development. I was still able to get it, noisily, in Oakland last year.
The antenna, three towers, is at the studio.
That's sort-of impressive, given that KFAX/1100 blasts in from Hayward with 50 KWs. Were you using a standard-issue, garden-variety radio, or something with more selectivity (like the Sangean) with a loop antenna? I have a Superradio III and don't recall ever being able to grab 1090 (including KSCO) because of KFAX's side-splatter.
What about their FM signal, did it sound bad too?
Qodosen DX-286 with selectable bandwidth. (If you don't have one, get one!)
I didn't listen to it so I don't know. I don't remember receiving it but there's no reason I shouldn't have if it was on the air.
KGO 810 at the end Cal Golden Bears game tonight, promoing the next game "here on 810......(pause no KGO) ..."
Both the KGO and KSFO calls have a lot of legacy invested in them, but that and $3.00 will get you on a MUNI bus.
Maybe the launch will be at 8:10 am with a short announcement full of the usual B.S., along the lines of 'Legendary KSFO is moving to a new home at 810 AM...blah, blah, blah'. Since this is Cumulus, which lacks any creativity, and no local host to do it live, it'll probably happen overnight with no fanfare. With the occasional 'tune your radio now to 810, the new home of KSFO' announcement.
I won't be listening tomorrow, due to lack of interest. The only thing with this flip that I care about is the sad loss (presumably) of the legendary KGO call letters leaving radio.
I won't be listening tomorrow, due to lack of interest. The only thing with this flip that I care about is the sad loss (presumably) of the legendary KGO call letters leaving radio.
The flip happened on 810 at exactly midnight, with 560 KSFO legal ID, no KGO ID, into Fox News....
Now an announcement of the move to 810....KSFO is on the move, followed by Red Eye Radio.
560 and 810 are simulcasting.
Now an announcement of the move to 810....KSFO is on the move, followed by Red Eye Radio.
560 and 810 are simulcasting.
And just like that, KGO is gone....
Agreed!
Legendary though they may be, the KGO calls haven't meant much, except a formerly good reputation that was completely destroyed due to Cumulus' incompetent management.
In a way, it's good to finally put KGO out of its misery. Sports betting was the last straw.
c
But 560 and 810 can't both be simultaneously KSFO. One of them needs to be something else. Either 810 remains KGO, or the KSFO calls actually move to 810 and then 560 needs other calls. I guess those other calls could be KGO, and then Cumulus might be able to use up their supply of stationery. Or maybe 560 will become KHSQ. (A "WCBS/880" reference, for anyone who hasn't been following the NYC board and the WCBS/Audacy/Good Karma soap opera.)
KGO was already destroyed when Cumulus bought it. It had been on a decline in earlier years of the new Millennium and When the PPM was introduced to the market, the numbers fell even further; it was seen that the talk format had no "phantom cume" that most other stations in the country found and the TSL was much shorter than previously detected in the diary-based survey.
Quite simply, Mickey Luckoff and his crew could not make the station adapt to the aging of talk listeners and the move away from AM. While some traditional talk stations like KOA and WLW have managed to survive and thrive, many other talkers declined in that period and those in PPM markets tended to suffer from much shorter TSL. There have been a variety of opinions on why KGO began its decline even before the PPM was introduced; many attribute it to the more liberal or progressive tone of the market.
This is what I've said here for the last 20 years everytime someone suggests "bringing back" KFRC. Let the call letters rest (apart from their use at the TOH for KCBS). Every successive attempt has been less successful and less satisfying than the one prior.
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