Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Announced

[BossRadioDJ]

This morning, I am pleased to announce the latest members of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. The Class of 2009 will be celebrated at a gala luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Berkeley.

PERSONALITY/ANNOUNCER/PROGRAM HOST:
Lee Rodgers (Active)
Bobby Dale (Legend)

NEWSCASTER:
Ed Baxter (Active)
Ted Wygant (Legend)

SPORTSCASTER:
Joe Starkey
Hank Greenwald

OWNER/MANAGER:
Bill Shaw (KSFO VP/GM 1956-1977)

SPECIALTY:
Mike Amatori (Production)
Lu Hurley (Traffic)

ENGINEERING:
Phil Lerza (KFRC/CBS)

PIONEER:
Clifton Johnsen ("Cactus Jack," KLX, KEEN)

LEGENDARY STATION: KQW/KCBS, San Jose-San Francisco

Complete information at http://www.barhof.com

 

[jussomeguy]

Can someone shed some light on what criteria is used in the BARHOF nomination process? Who exactly determines nominees, and who then votes? Can't find any specifics at all on the BARHOF site. But the results imply it's more of popularity contest than a serious recognition of any demonstrated excellence in the field.

Curious also that five of this year's seven living "winners" work(ed) at 900 Front Street: (Rodgers, Baxter, Starkey, Amatori, Wygant). What's up with that? It reeks of bias, even if there is none.

Since I wasn't one of the 9000 members of the "public" that got to vote, I offer my opinion here: Baxter's an arrogant, elitist hack who loves the sound of his own voice and believes his own publicity. A newsman he is not. Please, Ed, can we hear more about your gated-community lifestyle and tennis game? And have you ever hit the network news post without stepping on the network anchor? Sloppy work, buddy, day in and day out.

And BARHOF anoints Amatori a "production superstar"?? Gimme a break. He's a yawn-inducing one-trick pony. Everything the guy does sounds exactly the same. If his sing-songy voice were a color it would be beige. And while stringing incongruous talkshow soundbites together might have seemed soooo clever back at the high school radio station, it certainly doesn't qualify as major-market "production." Really, do these guys ever get out, or even dial around other markets to get a clue about the current state of the art? Uninspired, self-flagellating and lazy work from both of them, hardly Hall of Fame material. What an insult to Wygant, who truly was a pro.

Full disclosure: 15 years in SF broadcast, but out of the business since '99. No current connection to KGO / KSFO or any other Bay Area property.

 

[DavidKaye]

We can't honor 100 people every year. I'd love to, but we can't.

To be honest I thought there have been way too many honorees in past years. It appeared to be a making up for lost time sort of thing. It looks like things have settled down this year, tho.

 

[DavidKaye]

But the results imply it's more of popularity contest than a serious recognition of any demonstrated excellence in the field.

How can it not be a popularity contest? Even if only working broadcasters voted, it would still be a popularity contest given that friends like to vote for friends. There are no impartial criteria for judging as might happen if the award were quantitative, such as an award to someone who has done the most broadcasts, worked at the most stations, worked the longest time, etc.

Curious also that five of this year's seven living "winners" work(ed) at 900 Front Street: (Rodgers, Baxter, Starkey, Amatori, Wygant). What's up with that? It reeks of bias, even if there is none.

Given that KGO does more live and local than anybody else I can see why these folks would be nominated. How can you nominate someone for a category from KOIT when it's automated half the time? Or KIOI which is tracked most of the time? Well, KIOI's Don Bleu won in 2007. Now he's the only live person they have left, no?

Then there's the matter of ratings. If more people listen to KGO than any other station, especially more retired people who are more likely to show up at Radio Museum and KRE events, then I'd expect they'd vote more for KGO people than for others.

A look at the winners over the past 4 years shows a heavy emphasis on AM stations that doesn't reflect listening habits of the past 2 decades. Neither the excellent "Street Soldiers" program on KMEL nor its host Joseph Marshall, director of the Omega Boys Club have been awarded or even nominated for any awards. And that program has been on KMEL for nearly 2 decades!

In short, well-meaning though DFJ and cohorts are, the awards simply do not reflect a cross-section of the listening public. I believe a much better way would be to interview people at random in public as to their choices because not even newspaper ballots reflect the true listenership of radio today, given that many people do not even read newspapers anymore.

 

[SFStatic]

Last time, Rosie Allen and Renel were inducted, so this isn't exclusively an old white men's club. The Street Soldiers show is not comparable. It's unlikely that any show that isn't daily, and hosted by the same personality, will ever get in. All of the nominees are well known, generally well respected (despite the dig at Baxter above), and have done exceptional work over many years. I would love to see Don St. Johnn in there, he was on KFRC for 20+ years, and has taught young broadcasters at the college level virtually his entire career. Plus, he's a great guy and a pro's pro to work with!

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Aside to David Kaye: I must have missed our newspaper ballots. When did we do them?

I'll take your idea under advisement, though. Next year, I'll take a few days off to stand on a street corner and ask random passers-by who they think should be in the Hall of Fame. Hope you aren't charging me for that suggestion...

The voting is done by two groups, for the most part: people who work in radio, and people who listen to radio. Nominations are open to the public.

> And that program has been on KMEL for nearly 2 decades!

Wow! Five days a week? Four hours a day? Here's another example of me trying to keep one of the greatest shows in radio history out of my personal, private, white-folks-only enclave!

Man, sometimes I honestly wonder why I waste the time on this.

 

[FluxCapacitor]

Can someone shed some light on what criteria is used in the BARHOF nomination process? Who exactly determines nominees, and who then votes? Can't find any specifics at all on the BARHOF site. But the results imply it's more of popularity contest than a serious recognition of any demonstrated excellence in the field.

Curious also that five of this year's seven living "winners" work(ed) at 900 Front Street: (Rodgers, Baxter, Starkey, Amatori, Wygant). What's up with that? It reeks of bias, even if there is none.

Since I wasn't one of the 9000 members of the "public" that got to vote, I offer my opinion here: Baxter's an arrogant, elitist hack who loves the sound of his own voice and believes his own publicity. A newsman he is not. Please, Ed, can we hear more about your gated-community lifestyle and tennis game? And have you ever hit the network news post without stepping on the network anchor? Sloppy work, buddy, day in and day out.

And BARHOF anoints Amatori a "production superstar"?? Gimme a break. He's a yawn-inducing one-trick pony. Everything the guy does sounds exactly the same. If his sing-songy voice were a color it would be beige. And while stringing incongruous talkshow soundbites together might have seemed soooo clever back at the high school radio station, it certainly doesn't qualify as major-market "production." Really, do these guys ever get out, or even dial around other markets to get a clue about the current state of the art? Uninspired, self-flagellating and lazy work from both of them, hardly Hall of Fame material. What an insult to Wygant, who truly was a pro.

Full disclosure: 15 years in SF broadcast, but out of the business since '99. No current connection to KGO / KSFO or any other Bay Area property.




BITTER, party of one, your table is ready.

 

[oaktree]

Gee, coming into this supposed-to-be joyous thread ends up like walking into restroom with dirty towels.

Came by to congratulate Mike Amatori.

Not only a talented production director, a good writer, humorist and a dedicated fundraiser ... he's stuck it out for many years at KGO which, certainly, has it's moments in this economic day and age of corporate ownership, not to mention through great loss and controversy as well. When others would bail, he (and others) have not ... and that says a lot to their professionalism and dedication to the craft of "radio."

"Can't we all just ... get along?" Oh, sorry. That's already been used before.

Well done, Mike. Congratulations and thanks for your contributions here. Many of us appreciate your efforts.

 

[djj]

Came by to congratulate Mike Amatori.

Well done, Mike. Congratulations and thanks for your contributions here. Many of us appreciate your efforts.

Agreed...
And an added congrats to Ted Wygant!
His occasional, unscheduled giggle-fits were a nice touch of humanism
on KGO AM-drive...
--jay

 

[LKellerIII]

Came by to congratulate Mike Amatori.

Well done, Mike. Congratulations and thanks for your contributions here. Many of us appreciate your efforts.

Agreed...
And an added congrats to Ted Wygant!
His occasional, unscheduled giggle-fits were a nice touch of humanism
on KGO AM-drive...
--jay

Agreed and amen! Mike is a real talent - and a very witty guy.

 

[MikeAmatori]

OK, everyone...Deep Cleansing Breath

To the folks who voted...Thank you.

To David Jackson...Thank you for all your hard work. You deserve better treatment than this!

To the people who have a problem with BARHOF, well then, YOU need to come up with something better.

To Jussomeguy, you obviously have a problem with Ed and Me. Please seek professional help. What an angry bitter fellow you are, how sad.

To Lew, Oak, Jay, David & Flux, I thank you for your kind words.

To David Eduardo, David, my Mom is from Santa Ana, El Salvador. So could you please give me 1/2 a point for being Hispanic, because I am.

When I started doing this for a living 40 years ago, I thought it would be fun. I have been blessed to have worked in the Bay Area my whole Radio Life.
The Hall of Fame is a very nice acknowledgment by peers, coworkers, listeners and fans, and I appreciate the acknowledgment,we all do. This has been a tough few years for our business. The BARHOF lets us take a moment and celebrate the people and stations we think deserve it. For a couple of hours we get to say, here is something or someone I like on the radio, "THANK YOU"

Well BARHOF, THANK YOU BACK ! I am very honored to be part of the class of 2009.

Mike Amatori
KGO/KSFO Radio

 

[DavidKaye]

Aside to David Kaye: I must have missed our newspaper ballots. When did we do them?

I meant that it has been customary for companies to take out ads in newspapers to publish polls and ballots, legal filings, and the like, the idea being that a newspaper is the best way to reach a cross-section of the population. But that is no longer true.

I'll take your idea under advisement, though. Next year, I'll take a few days off to stand on a street corner and ask random passers-by who they think should be in the Hall of Fame. Hope you aren't charging me for that suggestion...

I am serious about polling, though. It was just such a random sample I did about 8 years ago of people coming out of the 24th Street BART station that I learned KGO wasn't the be-all end-all of radio. In fact, when I asked the random sample about Ronn Owens, absolutely nobody had heard of him, and he's the highest drawing talkshow host here. The name Howard Stern got recognition, but that could have been his radio show or his book or his movie. Who knows?

Wow! Five days a week? Four hours a day? Here's another example of me trying to keep one of the greatest shows in radio history out of my personal, private, white-folks-only enclave!

Why does a program have to be on 5 days a week to be considered good? Looking back on past Hall of Fame winners, Joe Starkey shows up only when a ballgame is on, likewise Bill King.

I'm not saying that you had anything to do with picking the nominees or winners, now did I? I admire the fact that you've put a lot of effort into this, but if you can't take a little critique maybe you shouldn't have such a high profile, eh? Public posts to forums are not for the thin-skinned. Your organization has been giving out awards based on what several of us see as a flawed concept. I haven't said anything about it until now, when prompted by someone else, but heck, is it a hall of fame or isn't it? Are the nominations going to come from a cross-section of the listening public or from a select group of listeners? If the latter, then it's not a hall of fame.

Man, sometimes I honestly wonder why I waste the time on this.

Because you're interested in broadcasting, as am I.

 

[in3media_be1]

Some posts from this thread have been moved to Take It Outside


http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=150483.msg1267894#msg1267894

 

[tripton99]

Just to address the implication that Bill King only showed up for a game. Just for baseball alone, consider he anchored three or more hours each day for at least 162 games a season for two decades or more. He would also talk constantly and intelligently for up to four hours for each of 20 or more Raider football broadcasts per year for a quarter century. He also did as many as 100 Warriors games per year for more than two decades as well. How many of his fellows in the Hall of Fame have entertained for so many hours?

 

[MikeAmatori]

I had the pleasure of working next to Bill King for 3 years with the Oakland A's. No one worked harder. Bill kept stats on every player on every team, hand written stats. He was always at the park at least 2-3 hrs before the game, on the field, talking to players, coaches etc. It was usually more than an 8hr day for Bill...162 regular season games,
+the pre season. Not to mention the A's 3-4 hr games.

How did he keep his strength??? It was peanut butter and raw onion sandwhiches! REALLY...My eyes watered 162 games a year.

 

[DavidKaye]

How many of his fellows in the Hall of Fame have entertained for so many hours?

If the Hall of Fame awards are to be based on quantity of time on the air, I suppose KALW's Alan Farley should take an award, no? I'm assuming the awards are supposed to go for quality, but DFJ seems to feel that the Street Soldiers program and/or its host don't qualify because the program is only just once a week.

In that case, I guess Marty Nemko of KGO could never qualify for such an award either, even though he runs circles around most KGO talkshow hosts in listenability.

 

[DyingMedium]

Congrats to the Honorees...Well deserved for all.

Advice to all: Just ignore DK...It'll save you a lot of grief.

Jussomeguy: Wow...bitter indeed. While I'm not a real big Ed Baxter fan, many people are and he's been a fixture in Bay Area Radio for what seems like forever. He deserves it...As Does Mike A, whom I don't know at all. Just know his work, which is solid, consistent, and award-winning. GJ, Mike!

David Jackson: You do it for yourself or you don't do it at all. It's just radio. Ignore the professional haters.

--DM

 

[LKellerIII]

Congrats to the Honorees...Well deserved for all.

Advice to all: Just ignore DK...It'll save you a lot of grief.

Jussomeguy: Wow...bitter indeed. While I'm not a real big Ed Baxter fan, many people are and he's been a fixture in Bay Area Radio for what seems like forever. He deserves it...As Does Mike A, whom I don't know at all. Just know his work, which is solid, consistent, and award-winning. GJ, Mike!

David Jackson: You do it for yourself or you don't do it at all. It's just radio. Ignore the professional haters.

--DM

Thanks, DM. I couldn't have said it better myself...so I won't. I'm not a fan of award ceremonies per se, but I think its important to recognize talent and longevity in a medium that's been taken for granted for so many years...especially lately. I hope to make it to one of the BARM get-togethers some time.

I do somewhat understand Mr. Eduardo's opinion, though I'm a little baffled by the vehemence of it. For example, it's bothered me that LA radio veteran Ruth Ashton Taylor has been more or less forgotten down there - she's credited with being the first woman reporter/anchor in LA radio (1949) and TV news (early 60s) down there - as well as the first Latino, despite her name. I guess she's half Latino, like El Hombre de Producción. But San Francisco is not LA, which had a much larger influx of immigration from Central and South America much earlier than the Bay Area, so there were numerous Latino broadcasters there - at least as far back as the early 70s, probably earlier. Post war San Francisco - even up into the early 70s was certainly not the same "enlightened" place politically that it is today. Why, I can remember when SF had Republican Supervisors like Caspar Weinberger and John Barbagelata...

 

[DavidKaye]

Advice to all: Just ignore DK...It'll save you a lot of grief.

Because you don't agree with my opinions? Is it not a fact that the HOF nominations and winners don't reflect radio listening in the Bay Area because of the overabundance of people from AM stations represented when FM has been the dominant force here for over 20 years? Yes, it's a fact. Thus, the HOF is skewed away from reality.

Please understand that I'm not trashing David F. Jackson, who has done amazing work on the HOF, the Radio Museum, the "KYA" and "KABL" streams, etc. I'm simply pointing out that the methodology for getting nominations is flawed, that's all.

 

[tripton99]

I don't understand a few people getting so worked-up about a Hall of Fame that is voted on by mostly "insiders." When do the "people" vote for the Grammys or Emmys or Oscars?
I would love to see a "People's Choice" award, but there is no cheap way to conduct that. I appreciate the fact that David Jackson does so much just to make the voting for current Hall of Fame a reality. David Jackson is no Bernie Madoff. I suspect DJ does the leg work on the annual ballot out of a love for the Bay Area broadcasting community, yet there are some constant wankers/complainers on this board who are only good for charging racism and sexism in the balloting. Unless DJ gets to crown the winners, let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's assume that the vast majority of "insiders" who've voted are old white males. Certainly the make-up of the Bay Area radio fraternity has been a white male majority since forever,