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Aaron Goldhammer in Cleveland Scene

What interview has he done that has been memorable? He is easier to listen to than in the past (mostly because he is wrong on most things-Ubaldo trade, Holmgren will never come to Cleveland), but Fedor is still beyond terrible.
 
I agree with John. Short of a change of focus/ownership of WKNR, Aaron Goldhammer is there to stay.

There are a lot of complaints about him on these various message boards, my comment section and the like. But a relative of mine (female) is a big fan of TRBS, and recognizes Hammer's role on the show.

TRBS still pulls in big ratings, last I heard, so unless things change or Hammer moves onto something else, he's there to stay.
 
CK likes the idea of having the young brash "love to hate" contrarian as part of his main shows counteracting the older establishd main hosts (Hammer-->Rizzo on RBS, Fedor-->Hooley/Brinda on the Hooligans).

CK's mistake (and he admitted as much himself) was doubling down with both Hammer and Fedor on RBS.

The idea in and of itself isn't bad, but both Fedor and especially Hammer tend to go over the top with it and it comes off more as schtick than actual debate on a given topic.
 
To me there's still way too much talk by each WKNR host about their personal lives. What they think about life, food, and many other things that have very little or nothing to do about sports.

Yeah, I realize that's been a radio consultant-driven approach used by many sportstalk stations everywhere.

I mean...a passing reference about a personal thing once in awhile is not that bad....but when it goes on every day, and for an extended period of time (more than 30 seconds)...it's like: who cares? Isn't it SPORTS-TALK? Not like sitting around listening to a bunch of old ladies???

Really...if Good Karma wants their hosts to share personal info about their tastes in clothing, beer, food, who's hot, your first car, who your favorite restaurants are, and the silly pretending of the hosts to be arguing back and forth about non-sports items....why not either drop sports and go regular talk, or...create an HD channel for lifestyle stuff....and one for mainly sports. (Wonder which would draw a bigger audience????).

Maybe it's me....but I much, much prefer 923TheFan....even with their crappy 24/7 signal.
 
Small talk can get bad on the shows-I tend to go more towards the podcasts rather than listening to the whole show-filters out most of that-RBS is more of a mancave type show-I like Holligans much better, Brinda can be cranky, but I still think he's great-Hooley is really good also-I just think when any of them are solo, it gets boring-the 2 and 3 man shows are the best move KNR made.
 
Ironic...the rare times I happen to try to listen to WKNR and they're running a single host...that's the ONLY time I will listen (especially if it's Brinda, Roda, or even Reghi). I'm not a football fan, so I never listen to Hooley, though I've heard from others he's pretty good.

Rizzo, Goldhammer, Chrs F....those guys have become cartoon characters....some with huge egos I'm told by my radio and sports media friends (why in heaven's name I haven't a clue....LOL). It's just guys on the radio.

Mancave stuff to me, really is like listening to a bunch of old ladies bitching....and is inane and ridiculous. I don't care what the sportstalk radio consultants say. WKNR used to be a very good local sports talk station...but that's long past, sadly.
 
Remember, CK's vision of sports talk radio is colored by his time starting as an intern at Philadelphia's WIP/610 (now 94.1). WIP has raised the "guy talk and sports, too" to an art form.

Unfortunately for WKNR listeners, it's not an art form at the Galleria.

But like it or not, TRBS is HUGE, and that's with Hammer alongside Rizzo.
 
Sorry guys, but I'm one of the "bitchen old ladies". I've been listening to the radio longer than most of you are old.
I like listening to WKNR for the Sportstainment. If I want straight Sports Talk, I know where to go. I like the RBS alot, but without Hammer. To me, he's a whiner but Rizzo works very well with almost any of the other fill in guys and I like the sports and off topic subjects, especially the day they spent most of the time on "Ragu".
Fedor works very well for me on the Hooligans. He's the perfect foil for Hooly and Brinda. I think he knows a lot about sports, has a sense of humor and can make fun of himself.
I can't listen to either Hammer or Fedor by themselves.
I've tried listening to The Fan but was bored out of my mind. Also, I can only get it on stream and no way am I going to spend my time listening to the radio on the computer. I have an old Arvin transistor AM radio I carry with me when I'm doing stuff inside or outside.
Because I grew up in the 40's I'm used to listening to baseball and football games on the radio and continue to do so.
I want to thank all of you for the education you have given me. I never heard of Frankin or Air Checks or most of the things you talk about, but I do go and look all of it up - so thanks again.
 
I've tried to listen to the Fan-I do like Baskin and Phelps sometimes, it's just a break from the RBS and all the bells and whistles-I like some of the mancave mix-the "what should we do with Colt McCoy?" in the pre-season is a prefect example-there was only so much I could take-the old WHK in the the early to mid 90's was ahead of it's time (sadly, ratings were terrible)-Les Levine was at the top of his game-he would even make fun of the WKNR, who were straight sports talk-even making fun of the 20-20 ticker, ect., the how come quickies were great, the Buck Harris caller, ect.-I'm not even sure if they screened calls-Tony Rizzo the tone of that show on RBS (Rizzo started talk radio at WHK at the time)-"Top Men" and the "I'm negotiating a new contract" were bits Les used back then.
 
It's great that we have a choice in Cleveland sportstalk radio. For me, it's 923TheFan and the rare times when WKNR when they talk about sports...not lifestyle stuff.

I could care less if TRBS had a 100% share of the ratings...the show's to silly for me. And, could care less about what some media consultant has told sportstalk stations is the new way to run their formats.

When and what I listen to, and do things in life, I do what I personally like...not because a radio show or any product, service is what's new or popular. Or, walk around uttering the pop culture expressions that are popular because seemingly everybody else does so (i.e.: "really????", "back in the day", etc.: are we all sheep? any individualists left out there? LOL)...but, that's for a different discussion in a different place...:)

And Nick Camino on WTAM is very good too...one of my favorites in Cleveland radio...without all the gossip. If I want gossip, I can listen to my wife and her friends: ridiculous (IMHO).
 
I agree. Hiring Grossi was a fantastic move for WKNR, and it paid big dividends when there was a spate of big Browns news (Haslam buying the team, etc.).

Tony being on board instantly brought credibility to the station's Browns coverage, and his extensive online output gives people a reason to go to their website.
 
I think they know how popular Grossi-since the beginning of the season, he basically seems to call in to each show once a day, and on Friday is on the RBS for at least a few hours.
 
Tony Grossi was an excellent addition to WKNR as well as Bruce Hooley last year. The majority of people can't stand Goldhammer and Fedor but for whatever reason Karamazin keeps them around. As I said before if someone ever buys the station they are gone. Far too many negatives. People listen for Tony Rizzo and for Hooley/Brinda. Have you ever run into anyone who is serious and say I really listen to those show for Goldhammer or Fedor? No. The only host in town who was a contrarian and was good was Peter Brown. Peter Brown actually knew how to get a rise out of his audience at times without being stupid and Peter actually admitted when he was wrong unlike the two adolescents.
 
CleveRadioInsider said:
Tony Grossi was an excellent addition to WKNR as well as Bruce Hooley last year. The majority of people can't stand Goldhammer and Fedor but for whatever reason Karamazin keeps them around.
Click to expand...

Karmazin and Goldhammer are essentially twins...similar upbringings, similar politics, both come from money, and both have high profile fathers. CK also has a thing for "conflict radio", which is why Hammer and Fedor are there...to play "the heel" as it were.

CleveRadioInsider said:
As I said before if someone ever buys the station they are gone. Far too many negatives. People listen for Tony Rizzo and for Hooley/Brinda. Have you ever run into anyone who is serious and say I really listen to those show for Goldhammer or Fedor? No. The only host in town who was a contrarian and was good was Peter Brown. Peter Brown actually knew how to get a rise out of his audience at times without being stupid and Peter actually admitted when he was wrong unlike the two adolescents.
Click to expand...

I will say this...If Good Karma were to ever get a station in NYC/LA/Chicago, Hammer would be on the first plane out of Hopkins. He's here because it's the biggest station in the GKB portfolio.

Fedor may find a gig somewhere as a producer/update guy, but not as a main host.
 
Hammer knows his role. Is he annoying to listen to?? yes. Can he suceed hosting his own show??? No. But, for some reason it works with Rizzo.

Hiring Grossi was a great move for that station and the website. It made the website a must-go location. And the amount of traffic on their website has increased since they hired him and he began writing for the site.

I wish the Fan would make the same move and hire some established writers for their website.
 
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