I have to agree – based on limited opportunity to listen Thompson and Espinosa are exceeding my original expectations. To me it initially seemed that they were simply tossed together in order to accommodate three needs:
1) the creation of KEIB, now home to four of the 10 most listened two talk show hosts in America – including Dave Ramsey
2) Bill Carroll’s move to 10:00
3) Keeping John and Ken from indefinitely having to do five hours daily, which isn’t their desire
Fortunately my early skepticism was misplaced.
Thanks to the excellent backup from the KFI news department, newly augmented by the fine efforts of David Cruz, the “live and local” synergy appears to be working. Keeping the momentum going would in my opinion be facilitated by the addition of perhaps two additional field reporters. This would allow ongoing thematic coverage of several concurrent topics across the programs of all five hosts (Handel, Carroll, Thompson/Espinosa, John/Ken and Conway).
Another move might be to look at the best role for Carlos Amezcua. I think he’s underutilized trying to be “live and local” for two hours sandwiched between Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard. Ramsey is a Premiere Network host and one of the most listened to the country and I can see why CC wants him in this market. However, his program is a natural lead-in for Howard and the station's format suited to nationally syndicated shows even with KFI supplying news and traffic..
So what about Amezcua? He could be part of the KFI news team 2-3 days a week with his own weekend program like Gary Hoffman and David Cruz. He could also be fill-in host for the “core five” when they are on vacation.
Inter-program synergy (Howard and Saavadra with segments in Handel, investigative news spanning the entire daytime/evening schedule, etc) is the kind of thing KFI was noted for in the “glory days” of Harrison Holliway. Never heard of him? Well, he died in 1942, so that’s understandable. But he believed that stations should deliver programs that would draw audiences, not just have “format.” And he did it well.
He initially built KFRC in San Francisco for Don Lee, but that job lost its luster as production shifted to Hollywood. This facilitated his being hired KFI/KECA owner Earle C Anthony. Until his untimely death due to heart problems Holliway helped KFI become the dominant force in Los Angeles broadcasting. KFI today needs his kind of creativity. He understood that people listed to the programs offered by the station, not just a signal.
