Gow Media Adds Josh Innes to ESPN 97.5/Houston Lineup

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Gow Media Adds Josh Innes to ESPN 97.5/Houston Lineup


https://news.****************/articles/c40822/Gow-Media-Adds-Josh-Innes-to-ESPN-975-Houston-Lineup

Show starts on May 18th,2020

Gow Media adds "The Josh Innes Show" to its weekday lineup on Sports KFNC-FM (ESPN 97.5 FM) Houston, starting Monday, May 18. He'll solo host the show weekdays from 2-4pm CT. Innes started his radio career in Baton Rouge in 2005, followed by his debut in Houston sports radio in 2009. In 2014 he enjoyed a 2-year stint in Philadelphia before returning to Houston in late 2016.

"We're excited to add Josh to our local lineup," said ESPN 97.5 General Manager Todd Farquharson. "He certainly has a following which will definitely bring new listeners to the station, and new advertisers."

 

[BamaTX]

Gow Media Adds Josh Innes to ESPN 97.5/Houston Lineup


https://news.****************/articles/c40822/Gow-Media-Adds-Josh-Innes-to-ESPN-975-Houston-Lineup

Show starts on May 18th,2020

What an awful decision. I just don't get how this guy keeps failing "up". Gow will soon understand how dislikeable this guy is. Truly unprofessional.

 

[cotton belt]

What an awful decision.

Brought to you by the same folks whom honestly believed that building a 46kW transmission site in the flood plain of Brazos Bend State Park was just a jim dandy idea. Sorry, not a big Gow Media fan.

To borrow a Dennis Green line, Josh Innes is what he says he is. A shock value, say what's going to piss off a portion of the listener base, type of jock. You're supposed to either love him or hate him, but either way, you're still tuned in to hear what he's going to say next. That's the thing that really matters to anyone involved with the show. Whether or not the general public will spend the time to actually listen to him. This has been the biggest issue with The Josh Innes Show. Most Houstonians don't seem to care what Josh Innes has to say, one way or the other, and that is the ultimate death bell for any show.

He could not pull numbers at KBME; we'll see if that trend continues at KFNC.

 

[stan]

It makes me wonder what the end game is for Gow. Is the goal to lose money to offset profits somewhere else?

 

[cotton belt]

That is unlikely, however, if you'd like to read a somewhat comical dose of delusional commentary from the CEO himself, I offer you the following article from last April.

https://houston.culturemap.com/news...emap-sportsmap-innovationmap-sb-nation-radio/

Of note, Gow states that he is often asked "How is 1560 The Game doing?", to which he never provides an answer in the article. The answer, of course, is that "the flagship of Gow Media" is currently "doing" Vietnamese language programming provided by the Voice of America.

There are several eyebrow raising statements penned in the article, such as 97.5 reigning as Houston's "dominant" sports station, and his SB Nation "eliminating" the competition from NBC Sports Radio. Neither statement holds the first drop of water.

The first hallway encounter between Josh Innes and Charlie Palillo ought to be interesting.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

That is unlikely, however, if you'd like to read a somewhat comical dose of delusional commentary from the CEO himself, I offer you the following article from last April.

https://houston.culturemap.com/news...emap-sportsmap-innovationmap-sb-nation-radio/

Of note, Gow states that he is often asked "How is 1560 The Game doing?", to which he never provides an answer in the article. The answer, of course, is that "the flagship of Gow Media" is currently "doing" Vietnamese language programming provided by the Voice of America.

There are several more eyebrow raising statements penned in the article, such as 97.5 reigning as Houston's "dominant" sports station, and his SB Nation "eliminating" the competition from NBC Sports Radio. Neither statement holds the first drop of water.

The first hallway encounter between Josh Innes and Charlie Palillo ought to be interesting.

Not quite right, the programming on 1560 Houston and KNGO 1480 Dallas is provided by a commercial operator, they just happen to carry an hour of VOA at night

 

[TheBigA]

The station's GM said:

"He certainly has a following which will definitely bring new listeners to the station, and new advertisers."

Yes he has a following, and he also has a group of haters. He reminds me at times of Clay Travis.

 

[davideduardo]

Brought to you by the same folks whom honestly believed that building a 46kW transmission site in the flood plain of Brazos Bend State Park was just a jim dandy idea. Sorry, not a big Gow Media fan.

Actually, many ideal AM transmitter sites are prone to some degree of flooding.

I've built sites where you had to wear boots with a board attached not to sink in. Or ones that required a walkway over the wetlands (think WMCA) and ones where the base insulator was four feet above the ground.

Many good AM sites flood or get really wet. The skill is building to always be above the high water mark. So Gow did not err in picking the site... he erred in not constructing the facilities high enough above ground.

 

[ThatVoice22]

So Gow did not err in picking the site... he erred in not constructing the facilities high enough above ground.

So Gow failed coz the KGOW transmitter drowned in a known flood plain ... All Gow had to do was boost the transmitter on clown-stilts. EZ-PZ.

 

[davideduardo]

So Gow failed coz the KGOW transmitter drowned in a known flood plain ... All Gow had to do was boost the transmitter on clown-stilts. EZ-PZ.

A "higher-than-100-year-flood" or "Higher than hurricane tide" construction technique is used by AM stations that are well engineered in order to be able to locate in the absolutely best land for that band. Of course, the best AM transmitters have the tower in the ocean, such as the old WQAM and WRHC in Miami. KGO in San Francisco is the absolute best of the many stations in that market that are right on the waterfront.

It sounds as if you believe that AMs should be on nice, rocky hilltops that never flood.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Brought to you by the same folks whom honestly believed that building a 46kW transmission site in the flood plain of Brazos Bend State Park was just a jim dandy idea. Sorry, not a big Gow Media fan.

Also the same company that put a booster transmitter on 97.5 in pancake-flat Houston metro, the result of which was to have KFNC interfere with itself, making reception far worse. On-channel boosters are for situations where the primary signal is blocked by terrain. Unless there is a mountain range in Baytown that has sprung up without my notice, there is no reason to try such a scheme here.

It makes me wonder what the end game is for Gow. Is the goal to lose money to offset profits somewhere else?

I wondered that prior to the current pandemic. I think the ultimate fate for Gow is that the Internet properties (CultureMap, SportsMap) get gobbled up by a bigger media conglomerate, while KFNC and KGOW are sold to new owners. Gow has soldiered through bad ratings in the past, but the company would seem to have its limits, as was demonstrated by the shutdown of SportsMap 94.1 after only 16 months of operation, and giving up on SportsTalk on a technically challenged AM.

Not quite right, the programming on 1560 Houston and KNGO 1480 Dallas is provided by a commercial operator, they just happen to carry an hour of VOA at night

I don't know whether they still have this, but Houston's other Vietnamese language station, KREH, used to carry Radio France International's Vietnamese service as part of their programming.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

A "higher-than-100-year-flood" or "Higher than hurricane tide" construction technique is used by AM stations that are well engineered in order to be able to locate in the absolutely best land for that band. Of course, the best AM transmitters have the tower in the ocean, such as the old WQAM and WRHC in Miami. KGO in San Francisco is the absolute best of the many stations in that market that are right on the waterfront.

It sounds as if you believe that AMs should be on nice, rocky hilltops that never flood.

The now deleted WKIZ 1500 Key West had all 3 towers IN the water just off the causeway/highway/whatever you call it

 

[ThatVoice22]

It sounds as if you believe that AMs should be on nice, rocky hilltops that never flood.

It sounds as if you believe that KGOW was smart to operate an easily-drowned transmitter in a known flood plain. Your examples were designed to operate in water, KGOW was not.

 

[davideduardo]

It sounds as if you believe that KGOW was smart to operate an easily-drowned transmitter in a known flood plain. Your examples were designed to operate in water, KGOW was not.

My example stations were designed to operate where the absolute best AM ground conductivity is found, which is in wetlands or near or on a salt water shoreline.

I had several AM sites in Quito, Ecuador, which were in wetlands at a little under 10,000 feet AMSL in an area that could accumulate as much as a meter of water in heavy seasonal rains. It was a marvelous site, but we had to rebuild once due to greater-than-ever-seen rainfall.

In the case of WGOW, the wetlands may have been the absolute only place they could put that highly directional system. But the conductivity of a normally moist area is very worth taking advantage of with proper construction.

It was smart to locate there. They probably built for the highest flood level in recent history, and were blindsided by the hurricane being much worse. That happens. It does not indicate ignorance or stupidity.

 

[2Speakers]

Also the same company that put a booster transmitter on 97.5 in pancake-flat Houston metro, the result of which was to have KFNC interfere with itself, making reception far worse. On-channel boosters are for situations where the primary signal is blocked by terrain. Unless there is a mountain range in Baytown that has sprung up without my notice, there is no reason to try such a scheme here.

Gow has a high dollar consulting engineer whose ideas they keep buying into, despite lack of performance of his previous ideas.

 

[davideduardo]

The now deleted WKIZ 1500 Key West had all 3 towers IN the water just off the causeway/highway/whatever you call it

I had an AM on 660 in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in the tidal salt flats outside the city. It was not a swamp, but we had to fill with tons and tons of earth pulled from construction sites and hillsides, and even then to walk anywhere boots were needed. The transmitter was built on a platform made of emergency bridge drum modules. In theory, if the land flooded (it never did) the building would rise. The tower base was nearly 2 meters above the ground.

We picked a "dangerous" site on purpose and the result was rewarding: the station had enormous coverage, enough so that we ended up running have of the transmitter power to save electricity and to extend tube life. Sometimes those little extra construction expenses are worth it in the long run.

 

[cotton belt]

It was smart to locate there.

It was cheap to locate there. That is, until the equipment had to be replaced twice. He knew very well what was possible out there, as tropical storm Allison had just inundated the State park and virtually all of Houston just 5 short years earlier in 2001.

 

[davideduardo]

It was cheap to locate there. That is, until the equipment had to be replaced twice. He knew very well what was possible out there, as tropical storm Allison had just inundated the State park and virtually all of Houston just 5 short years earlier in 2001.

Considering that zoning, NIMBY and land prices anywhere else nearby where the directional pattern would work made such locations impossible, he had no choice.

 

[Fieldtech1]

Gow has a high dollar consulting engineer whose ideas they keep buying into, despite lack of performance of his previous ideas.

Isn't Dade Moore their engineer?

 

[cotton belt]

Considering that zoning, NIMBY and land prices anywhere else nearby where the directional pattern would work made such locations impossible, he had no choice.

Which would not qualify the decision a "smart" one, as you previously stated. He was bit by the radio bug, bought a substandard, high end of the dial facility from Don Werlinger, and spent way too much money on it trying to make a diamond out of a lump of coal. It's his money, and his concern, but please don't try to sell me a TV dinner by advertising it as fine cuisine.

David Gow has seen far more success than failure in the various different ventures he has been involved with in his lifetime, and I am sure that he has the bank roll to prove it. In solely my own opinion, which is worth the standard $0.02, the debacle of 1560 AM in Bellaire, Texas has not been one of the finer examples of the former, from start to finish.