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Gene Burns Passes
- Thread starter SFStatic
- Start date
Al Peterson
R.I.P. Gene Burns. The legendary Talk radio host died today at age 72. Gene had a colorful career that included stints at WCBM/Baltimore, WEEI and WRKO/Boston, WCAU/Philadelphia, WKIS/Orlando and WOR/New York. But he is perhaps best known for his years at KGO/San Francisco, where he was heard from nightly from 1995 until 2011. He also hosted Dining Around with Gene Burns, a popular weekend show focused on fine dining in the Bay Area, that aired Saturdays. We'll have updated details following the holiday weekend in your regular Tuesday afternoon edition of NTS MediaOnline Today.
Pat Thurston will be talking about Gene at 6 tonight on KGO 810, as will Karel later.
Gil Gross has posted on Facebook that he'll do quite a bit about Gene on his show Tuesday on KKSF 910.
R.I.P. Gene Burns. The legendary Talk radio host died today at age 72. Gene had a colorful career that included stints at WCBM/Baltimore, WEEI and WRKO/Boston, WCAU/Philadelphia, WKIS/Orlando and WOR/New York. But he is perhaps best known for his years at KGO/San Francisco, where he was heard from nightly from 1995 until 2011. He also hosted Dining Around with Gene Burns, a popular weekend show focused on fine dining in the Bay Area, that aired Saturdays. We'll have updated details following the holiday weekend in your regular Tuesday afternoon edition of NTS MediaOnline Today.
Pat Thurston will be talking about Gene at 6 tonight on KGO 810, as will Karel later.
Gil Gross has posted on Facebook that he'll do quite a bit about Gene on his show Tuesday on KKSF 910.
God Bless Gene Burns, A true first class radio host, one of the best! We are all richer for his years in radio on a good many stations around the country and in the bay area! Rest in peace Gene you will be missed! You touched us all so easily! Thanks so very much!
radcat said:
For the life of me I can't understand why KGO will be doing a tribute to him. After nearly 20 years at KGO they kicked him out without even a chance to say goodbye. And now the station has the chutzpah to do a tribute to him?
Anyhow, the tribute will be Sunday, May 25 at 10am on KGO, or what's left of it.
Gene was the single biggest reason I listened to KGO as long as I did. He was one of the very few talk show hosts that brought common sense to talk radio, not mindless partisan throw-away blather. This is a very sad day for talk radio...even sadder than when Cumulus ruined it for all of us. I am fortunate to have met Gene on numerous occasions; and he was as genuine off the air as he was on. Radio was his profession, but his conversations and opinions were genuine to who he was and not just for ratings. RIP Gene, you will be very sorely missed.
J
jussomeguy
Guest
Brilliant man and a gentleman. This is very sad. He could speak with authority on nearly any topic, from charcoal v. gas grills to international relations. A true legend, at least in my mind. Threw a mean holiday party, too.
"Try being informed instead of just opinionated."
RIP, Gene. I've missed you for years.
"Try being informed instead of just opinionated."
RIP, Gene. I've missed you for years.
EastBay said:
Be assured that there are a great many back here in old New England who feel exactly the same way.....and whose sad hearts are breaking just as badly.
Talk radio was never the same back here once he left.
Gene: God be with you while transiting the "final meridian".
KCBS had Ed Baxter (ex-KGO) on the phone this evening for a rather lengthy tribute to Gene Burns. It was good radio about radio, extremely professional, and to my ear, quite refreshing.
In David's defense, he got his information off of the KGO web page in tribute to Gene Burns. I guess they don't have a working calendar and they don't proofread their work. It should read "Sunday, May 26th, 2013 at 10am (PT)". David Weintraub hosts.chris319 said:
KGO Gene Burns webpage: http://www.kgoradio.com/common/page...ost+Gene+Burns+Passes+Away&id=28103&is_corp=0
Talk 910 KKSF Gene Burns webpage: http://www.talk910.com/articles/talk-910---the-latest-474533/gene-burns-1940---2013-11324055/
Although Gene was hired soon after his dismissal from KGO, he never did a show for KKSF; guest hosts filled in until Gil Gross took over that time slot permanently.
M
mrdavedog
Guest
How perfect, fire Gene, hold tribute to someone you fired over a year ago and * posting the date.
Classy KGO. Classy.
On a positive note, Gene was talk radio at it's best. His voice, command of the English language and his monologues were amazing.
Rest well Gene, I miss you.
KGO and Cumulus. *.
* removed per terms of service
Classy KGO. Classy.
On a positive note, Gene was talk radio at it's best. His voice, command of the English language and his monologues were amazing.
Rest well Gene, I miss you.
KGO and Cumulus. *.
* removed per terms of service
Actually, the on-air tribute WAS classy. A lot of hurrying in the web dpt, and I understand the webmaster is out of state on vacation, so another person covered this on the fly. Between gathering an cutting up all the audio from Gene (which was peppered with expletives), things were moving quite quickly. The people that had known Gene and worked with him did this...be angry at the company if you wish, but the tributes were a labor of love for the man.
SFStatic said:
I guess I missed it. I went BACK to the KGO website to see if they'd corrected the date to May 26 and read THIS: "Listen to KGO 810 on Sunday, May 25 at 10pm for a special honoring the life and work of Gene Burns, hosted by David Weintraub."
Okay, changed to 10 PM now. Well, if it was just on, then they screwed it up AGAIN. Originally it was 10am and then they changed it to 10pm and but ran it at 10am anyway.
Can anybody at KGO walk and talk at the same time? Or have all those folks fled to KKSF 910?
chris319 said:
The last time I heard Gene Burns on-air was when he called in for an hour of Karel's weeknight show shortly after the KGO format change in Dec. 2011, along with a couple of other hosts who had been sacked (I want to say John Rothmann and Ray Taliaferro).
Burns was scheduled to debut on KKSF at the beginning of January 2012, but he never did, as his stroke occurred in the intervening period. From day one, his spot was hosted by a rotating cast of "San Francisco all-stars" until Gil Gross assumed full-time hosting duties, and Dining Around was hosted by Joel Riddell. Eventually, Burns did some blogging on the Talk 910 website, but his post-stroke aphasia prevented him from on-air work.
It will be on at 10pm. Monty has been on this morning. From what I hear, they just couldn't pull all the elements together and edit them in time this morning. Having assembled this kind of program myself, I have an idea of the time and effort that goes into it. Perhaps you, David Kaye, can just squat down and hatch such programming, but most people can't.
DavidKaye said:
Apparently not.
I missed it too. I got home around 9 am on Sunday, May 26 (yes, that date is correct) to find that a photo of the broadcast in progress had already been posted on Facebook, so I concluded that the broadcast had already taken place on SATURDAY NIGHT, MAY 25 at 10 PM, i.e. about 11 hours earlier. It just goes to prove that at KGO they literally don't know what day it is and don't know am from pm. I understand the demands of putting together a live broadcast at the last minute, but really, how can you not know what day and date it is and whether it's morning or night? For one thing your guests need to know the correct time and date of the broadcast so they show up at the studio on time and not 12 hours late. It's not much of a tribute to the man if you misdirect your audience into missing the broadcast by screwing up the date and time on your web site.
See, on my computer I can click in the lower right corner of the screen and a little doo-dad appears telling me the CORRECT date and time. Computers are so smart these days! My advice to KGO personnel is to have someone who works at a nearby Radio Shack tune a radio to 810 on the AM dial for you (AM -- that was like before FM). If you hear people talking on the radio, it's a good sign because it means your station is on the air. Now a word for your corporate leaders: a 2.4 rating is worse for your station than a 4.4 rating. The way the radio business works, higher numbers in the ratings are better. You would rather have a 4.4 rating like you had before your format change, closer to what KCBS has, than a 2.4 like you have now. Clear on that?
Regarding the Facebook photo, I was frankly quite surprised to see that Cumulus let those KGO alumni back in the building, much less allow them on the air live.
Actually, Chris319, all of Pat Thurston's show and all of Karel's show Saturday night were devoted to Gene, as you allude to in the snarky remark about not allowing former hosts into the building. I doubt Cumulus or even Clear Channel is so heartless or evil as to bar those former folks from a broadcast honoring a former host that has passed on. It wouldn't even need to be someone who passed...at Don Bleu's 25th Anniversary on K101, a number of people who formerly worked there were at the celebration and clips were aired the following day. A good friend of mine busted his butt making the whole thing happen.
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