• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Ed Baxter Retires from KGO

O

oaktree

It was announced after 11 this morning that 35-year reporter and anchor Ed Baxter has retired. KGO GM Diedre Lieberman confirmed the announcement today, stating that 20-year-plus veteran, Jon Bristow, will joing Jennifer Jones Lee for morning duty from 5-9 weekdays.

Baxter began his lenghthy tenure at KGO as a reporter in 1976, moving to Afternoon News anchor duies for 21 years in the early 80s, then to Morning News Anchor for the past 11 years.

In a statement, Baxter said he looks forward to sleeping in, and that the years of morning duty "...has taken it's toll."
 
Was this a planned retirement or was he given an option to retire or be fired. Is KGO making moves to shore up their tumbling ratings?
 
1069_KIFR said:
Was this a planned retirement or was he given an option to retire or be fired. Is KGO making moves to shore up their tumbling ratings?
Click to expand...

KGO's ratings aren't tumbling. They're actually slightly increasing.
 
Thank god. Baxter was a stunningly false and self-absorbed personality; a hack newsman and a mostly unlistenable broadcast annoyance.

What great news that he's finally out of ear shot -- made even better by the news he'll be replaced by Bristow, a talented journalist and one of the few skilled (ok, brilliant) people still left inside Front Street.
 
jussomeguy said:
Thank god. Baxter was a stunningly false and self-absorbed personality; a hack newsman and a mostly unlistenable broadcast annoyance.

What great news that he's finally out of ear shot -- made even better by the news he'll be replaced by Bristow, a talented journalist and one of the few skilled (ok, brilliant) people still left inside Front Street.
Click to expand...

Thanks for saying that - really, I mean it. I've criticized Baxter before and you would have thought I was attacking the savior, or something. I guess he's a nice guy, so people rush to his defense. He has a perfectly fine announcer's voice, but he's spectacularly inarticulate, and often childish on air.

I stopped listening to the KGO Afternoon News a couple decades ago when he was on with Jan Black. I thought they were both irritating and ignorant. Then Black moved to KCBS and I realized that she was a very smart person and excellent journalist. Baxter had been bringing her down. Same thing with Rosie Allen, who was no slouch either, once she got away from him.

When Baxter took over the KGO Morning News, I stopped listening to that, too. No chance I'll go back now that I'm an NPR junkie, but it's good to know that the quality of the Morning News will improve.
 
I remember when I took KGO off my list of 'go to' stations for breaking news. It was on the morning of the Sept 11 attacks. After seeing it on the morning news as I was getting ready for work. I was driving to work, I punched up KGO on the radio. It was announced that The FAA had ordered ALL planes to land!! There was Ed Baxter interviewing the SFO spokesperson, at the time, His big question, wasn't about the control towers scrambling to accommodate all the unexpected planes into SFO, but, "What about the passengers luggage?" His concern was that passengers luggage would be at the airport where the passengers were originally scheduled to land, while the passengers are now being directed to other airports.

I flipped it to KCBS where they had live feed from New York as to what was happening. So right then and there KCBS became my go to news events when I only can rely on radio.
 
DavidKaye said:
1069_KIFR said:
Was this a planned retirement or was he given an option to retire or be fired. Is KGO making moves to shore up their tumbling ratings?
Click to expand...

KGO's ratings aren't tumbling. They're actually slightly increasing.
Click to expand...

KGO will have a better chance to take back its customary #1 rating if they go to FM. KCBS has held the #1 spot since they added FM. :)
 
1069_KIFR said:
Not at first. It took some time. Plus KGO making some changes helped.
Click to expand...

I'm not in the Bay Area so if I got that wrong, sorry! IIRC, KCBS was still a top 5 station when they added FM. KGO was usually #1. When the KCBS simulcast caught on, they went to #1, unseating KGO. That's why I'm of the opinion that if KGO adds FM, they've got a serious chance to regain the #1 rating. KCBS added ratings and lowered their demos when they added FM. IMHO, KGO would like to do likewise. :)
 
Its amazing to me that after 35 years at KGO, he got so little fanfare on his way out the door. It seemed so sudden; I may have missed it but I didn't hear anything about him even considering retirement. He was there one day, and gone the next. When Rosie Allen left, for example, we heard about it well in advance. Even the KGO newsletter only gave him a couple brief sentences. I have to wonder if this was a not-so-amicable departure, or if I'm reading too much into it.
 
I think he was asked to leave and just spun it as retirement. Sorta like Don Nelson, the Warriors fired him and now he is retired.
 
I'll chime in happily to Ed's defense here. When I was a traffic reporter, working as "Liz Cheska" with him on KGO every afternoon was one of the highlights of my day. He was a joy to work with - generous, funny, unflappable. It was always kind of a downer when Stan picked up the day's baton and I moved on to do other stations til 7pm.

Ed, enjoy those sleep-in mornings - you've earned them!

Oh, and -

In a statement, Baxter said he looks forward to sleeping in, and that the years of morning duty "...has taken it's toll."
Click to expand...

I'll bet Ed wouldn't have misplaced that apostrophe, either. ;)
 
Angie Coiro said:
I'll chime in happily to Ed's defense here. When I was a traffic reporter, working as "Liz Cheska" with him on KGO every afternoon was one of the highlights of my day. He was a joy to work with - generous, funny, unflappable. It was always kind of a downer when Stan picked up the day's baton and I moved on to do other stations til 7pm.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can not understand all the dissing of Ed Baxter. As a listener only (I've never met him) he seemed to be easy-going, and as you said, unflappable. It all seemed to start with John Higdon dissing him about interviews, and yet hearing many of his interviews I didn't find them to be bad at all. Maybe there was a personal thing involved.

For anyone who works morning shift, I don't envy you at all. I'm just not rigged that way.
 
DavidKaye said:
Yeah, I can not understand all the dissing of Ed Baxter. As a listener only (I've never met him) he seemed to be easy-going, and as you said, unflappable. It all seemed to start with John Higdon dissing him about interviews, and yet hearing many of his interviews I didn't find them to be bad at all. Maybe there was a personal thing involved.
Click to expand...

It sounds as though Ed is enjoyable to be around on a personal level. But professionally, I wholeheartedly echo the sentiments of lkeller and others. Mr. Baxter mastered the art of speculation while interviewing those with "breaking news" stories. Further, I think his name, "Ed" was short for Editorializing. It always sounded like ego.

I wonder if the good folks at Anderson's TV will find someone else?
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom