BAY AREA RADIO GOING DOWN THE TUBES...FAST!!

[airpab]

-KKSF gone for retread, boring, predictable Classic Rock?

-The 4th biggest market in the country without a good Classic Hits station (like KRTH, WCBS, KOOL)?

-KNGY gone for garbage Top 40...And no signal to boot?

-Michael Savage dropped for an L.A. skewed radio show?

And a while back....

KSJO gone for Spanish?

93.3 gone for Spanish?

When KCBS and KOIT are 2 of your top stations, you've got a stale, boring radio market! Too bad, used to be a fun, dynamic radio dial !

 

[Questor]

One common refrain I've heard from out-of-town visitors is, "San Francisco is known as a place of great art, entertainment and variety. Why isn't that reflected in its radio?"

 

[davideduardo]

And a while back....

KSJO gone for Spanish?

93.3 gone for Spanish?

20% of the market is Hispanic, and 60% of them are Spanish dominant... you are saying they should not have stations serving them?

 

[DavidKaye]

One common refrain I've heard from out-of-town visitors is, "San Francisco is known as a place of great art, entertainment and variety. Why isn't that reflected in its radio?"

Uh, are you forgetting KQED-FM, the most-listened to pubcaster in America (well, until the last ratings period, but still...) or KALW the other NPR station in town with some really great radio -- the nation's only philosophy talkshow, for instance. And KPFA and KCSM-FM, and Pirate Cat Radio, a remarkable station even if it weren't a pirate. And there's KUSF and KKUP in the Southbay, and KFJC and KBBF in Santa Rosa, and KPOO in SF, and, gee there are all kinds of stations that are interesting to listen to.

That's 10 stations right there.

 

[Radical348]

Yes, it's become a total disaster these past few years.

I remember looking at the playlists of stations from the SF market from years back and being jealous at how the people that lived there had such good radio stations.

I moved here a few years back and radio was vibrant as ever.

But these past two years there's been a dramatic difference.

Movin' 99.7 used to play upbeat R&B jams from the 70s and 80s (when R&B was still good; before they started substituting stupidity for soul) and songs from the 90s that nobody plays anymore (i.e. Ini Kamoze - Here Comes the Hot Stepper, InoJ - Love You Down.) Now they still call themselves "Movin" but they've morphed into a generic Top 40 station.

KKSF has been on a decline the past few years but still, I'll take KKSF at its worst over The Band any day! There's no comparison. Not even close.

Radio Alice used to be a fun, unique Hot AC station, esp. when they were "Generation Alice." They played songs from all over - they even played the Postal Service!!! And I loved the Chill With Alice show on Sunday Mornings...it's gone now. I don't know what happened in the past year or two but they sound exactly like a generic Hot AC station now.

KFOG - has not slid as far down the tubes as the others, but while they used to be squarely in the solid category, they've become awfully hit or miss this past year. It's like they stopped adding new songs. For instance, they've been gushing over that Gomez song since January (on their new music show) but they didn't add it until what, May or June? And that seemed to be the only song they added that month. When many other AAA's had already started dropping it. And I'm sick at how they keep on calling "Come On Get Higher" by Matt Nathanson new music, for crying out loud they've been playing it since Feb. 08!

And don't even get me started on Energy 92.7. :'(

 

[Diggidy62]

Energy was an abortion...Their only logical choice was mainstream...GOOD CHOICE

 

[Geek-O-Rama]

Yes KQED is quality intelligent and diverse programs and has listeners. The other stations you list as going down hill, did they change to chase listeners away or did they change to attract listeners? Are we criticizing the San Francisco population for not being smart enough? They do like and listen to KQED, still on of the top rated stations along with KCBS and KOIT.

 

[Wildstyle K]

It will soon musically become identical to L.A, and pretty much a majority of the U.S.
Enough said.

But that's just the way it is these days. Outside of oldies, people have been mentally programmed to be close minded about music and in 2009, less is more. Even oldies has become this way to some degree. I don't know why people are so worried about it though, especially with the advancements of technology that are to come, soon.

 

[airpab]

Radical348-

Thanks for confirming that I'm not the only one that see's Bay Area radio going backwards! There used to be a time where every station and every format had something good on. All you had to do was flip around the dial...Now, hard to find something I like!

Used to be so good! KNGY, KFRC (the first one), KSJO, 93.3/The City, Alice(old Alice) !!

Still have KBLX, KFOG and Live 105, but how can a market this size be without a Classic Hits and Jazz outlet?

And Energy had a great niche and the new owner didn't improve on it, he just changed it?? Wow! Top 40 with a marginal signal? Have a feeling Energy will be back again!

Just doesn't make sense? Maybe this is just a brief downturn and things will improve? Can only hope!

 

[Wildstyle K]

I guess it's only going downhill depending on what you like. If you are not losing anything or don't care too much for radio in the first place, then it will all remain unnoticeable to you.

I'll say that Movin 99.7 is still pretty decent for what they are as of right now. My former favorite station, WiLD 94.9 is still pretty good today. I'm not exactly sure where KMEL is.

You all are still better off than L.A. from the looks of things, so I guess it's somewhat all good.

In somewhat of an unrelated note, not sure if the Movin there is on the new Madonna, but for some reason, ours is, and ours is not even the same rhythmic lean top 40 like the one in S.F. Our KMVA Movin 97.5 is hits from back in the day and today, and stations like that don't normally try to break or jump on the new music first, but... for some reason I've heard a brand new Madonna, Backstreet Boys, and they even have "la la la" by LMFAO in rotation. I guess if they are playing the new Madonna before even Kiss FM, ...actually, I have no idea what it means or why they played it, but I'm not complaining. It's funny to see Backstreet Boys also trying to use the electro-pop/dance styled beats like everyone else... lets see if their following trends will lead them back to success this time around.... and best wishes to Angelina, who is back in the studio with new songs coming.

I had a long talk with Stevie B, so.... since we, along with others behind the scenes, know where music is headed and what's to come, I'm not worried one bit about Energy or Pulse disappearing. I'm looking at the long run of things... not what happened yesterday, today, or tomorrow. The future is actually really bright for music, some formats more so than others.. although most cannot see it right now.

 

[Madmansam]

And a while back....

KSJO gone for Spanish?

Well Technically 92.3 Will Be Switching Back To English, Albeit Without The KSJO Calls. Yes, 104.9 Is Switching To Spanish, But 104.9 Has Been Spanish Most Of Its Life, Especially During The 80's and early 90's As KDOS & KBRG As Well As From 2006-07.

 

[BnRinBayArea]

Unfortuantely, this complaint isn't new. Ask anybody who has been around for a while. I doubt there will ever be another "golden age" of radio... but I agree that some reasonable sounding stations would be a nice reflection of the SF/SJ market!