John Mack Flanagan

[skyrocker]

No apology needed. I've been known to ..'rocket.' John Mack remembers.

Although the picture of moderation these days, we --pretty much by ourselves-- once caused the Fairmont Hotel to redecorate the Venician Room.

Frowned upon these days, but in the era, boss.

 

[Anonymous Deejay]

Right on!! Bobby Ocean *should* write his own ticket! Whudaguy And what about Eric Chase? The days of Ocean and Chase at KFRC are memorable! CBS is foolish (so what else is new) to NOT want those two and rather have Jay Coffee or Coffey there? I think the answer is that CBS *knows* that Ocean and Chase know more and are better than their programmers and that Coffee is a corporate yes man all the way! What a shame that radio has become what it is. Radio lacks what drew people to it in the first place, the feeling that the listener mattered. The jocks had personalities that we all loved and looked forward to experiencing each and everyday. Oh well ..... I must agree about Parker and XM and ......

Im never going to agree with the way John Mack Flanagan has been treated in radio, I swear these companies like CBS and now XM radio relieviving Bobby Ocean on XM 70s channel,,what a joke,, Tell me why Ron Parker land a gig at WCBS FM,,and this Bay Area cant have some legends to listen to? So let me guess if Coffee was to be let go would Cammy Blackstone be doing afternnon drive? CBS should have given John Mack and Bobby Ocean CARTE BLANCHE and let em write their own ticket! When will they ever get it! XM is another Big Conglomirite who gets rid of Bobby Ocean and puts on some no name cheaper talent! Less and less to listen to now days! Remember CBS its not all about THE BOTTOM LINE,, its the DJ that plays a huge role in your sucess,, Satellite and Terrestrial have a few things in common, they dont listen to the listeners,, I would pay to hear the a Live John Mack Flanagan and Bobby Ocean show! Kenny in Concord... By no way am I saying Ron parker is any legend!

 

[doublecashkgb]

The Boss Radio format was tried by Entravision on their station KCCL 101.9 FM Shingle Springs, CA. The station was not sold and is now a Country formated station. The oldies format is now on 92.1 KCCL Placerville, CA. and is owned by First Broadcasting which took the KCCL calls when 101.9 went country becoming "The Wolf" KNTY!

KCCL Was not using a "Boss Radio format". It used the moniker "Boss Radio". In no way was the format anything close to the Drake sound. Hell, Drakes "Solid Gold 72" automated format was better than what KFRC is doing now.

 

[XM RADIO]

KFRC never ceases to amaze me with their "Line Up" !!! They should have done 3 hour shifts and put on John Mack Flanagan and Bobby Ocean aka Americas Favorite Disc jockey,, me Booby Ocean! These 5 hour shifts dont impress me, too long, drags on! A much better choice would be Bobby Ocean 9 till noon.. and John Mack Flanagan noon till 3 ,, weekends off for both these legends !! I just dont see Coffee getings the ratings John Mack would command! Bobby and John are the voices everyone remembers! Take 1974 for example ,,Sue Hall was in 10th grade,, John Mack Flanagan was doing 9 to noon summer of 1974,,Ocean @ noon as John would say! Funny how these younger DJs make such a big splash! Preston was in high school too , when John Mack was making nothing but ratings in the 70s! Look at Bobby Ocean Mr Voice Over, A real voice for radio and some guy who used to work for Infinity let him go ! I think XM is and has made a huge mistake letting him go! Iwould like to see some Oldies station come in and put these guys on ! Kenny in Concord

 

[rqr blimp]

Here's to John Mack Flanagan! I had the pleasure of listening to JMF during his time at KFRC and he is one of my favorites. Imagine how thrilled I was to get to work with him when my own radio career was in its fledgling stages at the old 94.5 KWSS in San Jose in the '80s!!

John, soooo pleased to hear that you are doing well and working at something that makes you happy.

 

[radiogurl45]

....that CBS *knows* that Ocean and Chase know more and are better than their programmers and that Coffee is a corporate yes man all the way!

Are we all listening to the same KFRC here?

Jay Coffey is amazing, nothing short. He is NOT a corporate yes man. He left his job as a program director, to be a jock on KFRC. He took a serious pay cut. Clearly, that shows he is not a corporate man.

Also, we have to remember that the KFRC one year ago (at 99.7) was not close to the KFRC of the 70s or 80s. Most feedback is about wanting a KFRC like that in the 70s, sans Huey Lewis. Those jocks are getting old. They're at least 50-65 years plus years old. A radio job does get tiring.

Last time I heard, Bobby Ocean does his show from his house and dials up the ISDN. It did come up to bring in Bobby Ocean. but there would be a problem with getting him to come into the studio. He could voice track and send that stuff in from home. But doesn't that defeat the purpose? He'd be a great replacement of the evening 7-12 voice tracker. What's that guy's name again.

If JMF really wanted a part-time jock job at KFRC, all he has to do is ask. I'm sure that's crossed their minds too.

The shifts are 4 hours, on average. Sue Hall has the lone 5 hour shift. The shifts are blocked like that because of the old schedule from teh Free FM days. (Think: Coralla-5:30-10 a.m; O&A-10-1, Grey Area- 1-3* the board op. worked 10-3, so there wasn't a shift change during a live show, then Leykis 3-7 and so forth 7-12). Sue Hall is a staple in the SF Bay Area. Several people have followed her from KFRC to Max/Wolf and back to KFRC. She was actually a highly requested personality, when KFRC came back. Also, she draws in the most recent listeners from the old KFRC at 99.7. Many of the listeners from the 70s and 80s, don't even listen to KFRC anymore. Several are in their newstalk phase. (Maybe why they're cross promoting KCBS).

Lastly, has anyone on this board emailed or contacted KFRC? It just seems like this has been an on-going topic since the flip in May (i.e. bring back X jock here or do this or that). Maybe if KFRC are contacted, they'll pay attention and know what their audience wants.

 

[XM RADIO]

Radiogurl, Im stymied about your comment getting old, I would much rather listen to someone whos been there, age means nothing! I listened to Bobby Ocean 40 years ago today a KKIS in pittsburg a small station when he was Radio Ray! So what if hes 60! John Mack Flanagan could be 60 also, whats your point? These 2 got Overlooked at KFRC! Lets take Cammy for instance, she was born in 1963, as she stated one day ,in 1963 Ocean and JMF were already in radio , they know their music,, have that Radio voice ! Cammy not hardly! The early 90s with the Ron and Cammy regime was boring! I hope to never hear them on bay Area radio, Ron parker is in NY at CBS fm! Stay there Ron! What about Coucin Brucie? Hes 60 too and hes bringing in the ratings on Sirius? As far as Jay Coffee taking a pay cut, so be it, CBS/KFRC should have considered the guys who made such a largr contribution to thier sucess over the years! I would rather hear Voice tracking of JMF and Bobby Ocean than Coffee live! John seems to connect with his listeners, and Bobby Ocean has always got something funny to say, very entertaining, Oh what about Casey Casem, hes gotta be 70 ,and he draws in the ratings on XM. Age means nothing! Gene Nelson from KYA, has to be 65, Chris Edwards from KYA finished HS in 1959, so hes 60 or so, Age means zero if thet want to work! Radio always seems to cheat the listeners, take Bobby Ocean, XM no longer has him on the 70s channel, got some no name talent in his place! That should never have happened, after KFRC cut him loose in 04 or so i followed him right over to XM he was Voice Tracked, but sounded great! Perhaps Coffee will get another gig, and we can get the correct talent on KFRC! Kenny in Concord

 

[raydioheadfm]

Kenny, I think you're stymied by anyone who doesn't share your opinion. Have you read JMF's posts? He's happy even being involved at KFRC. He also is clearly happy doing his current job in the security world. Just because you want him there isn't reason enough. JMF has to want to also. You think Ocean sounded great on XM, I think he did not. So who's right? You keep saying they should "consider" the guys from the past. They did. JMF is there. How coulud you possiblly know wha the CBS guys are thinking or not? And exactly what ratings are Cousin Brucie or was Bobby Ocean drawing on Sirius & XM? The ratings for satellite are virtually nonexistent...the account for only a very few % of all radio listening across the country--let alone any impact in the Bay Area. The talent on KFRC are now the talent. The best part of all this, is that if you don't like it, you don't have to listen. You don't like Jay Coffee, don't listen. And since we know you've at least got an XM radio, you probably aren't.

Radiogurl45--the shifts are pretty much standard radio shifts today. Not sure that there's any connection to FREE FM. Almost every station has a close variation to what KFRC does.

 

[MikeAmatori]

Raydiohead...Well said.

The most corporate part of corporate radio is cost control. Three hour shifts mean you have to hire more people. This is not your "fathers" kfrc Kenny. Sad but true, but then again it's not 1973 either. You are just gonna have to live with it. It is what it is...Old Classic Call Letters on a New Station.

Give them a chance, and if you don't like what you hear, do what we all do...Vote With your Dial.

radiogurl...
I like Jay Coffey too...He reminds me of what Boss Radio would have been like if it had continued forward. He does a nice job.

 

[raydioheadfm]

I should have put this in my last. I remembered JMF had posted some thoughts on 9/18....

I'm so happy now. My voice doesn't feel what it was, but then again, I don't use my voice like I did, everyday. The Beatles stuff is very hard for me. My voice aches after 15 pages of narration every week, plus the concentration on inflection and delivery. In short, it's work! But, I'm so grateful to be part of the new KFRC. If they had started without me, it would have broken my heart. I really do feel part of the place. I don't care if the run the smartass voice guy (all the time? EVERY break weekends!!!). KFRC is back!

For what it's worth...(isn't that a classic hit? ;D)

 

[LKellerIII]

"Are we all listening to the same KFRC here? Jay Coffey is amazing, nothing short. He is NOT a corporate yes man. He left his job as a program director, to be a jock on KFRC. He took a serious pay cut. Clearly, that shows he is not a corporate man."

Whaaaat?? If you talking about Coffey's PD job at K-Earth, radiogurl, he did NOT voluntarily take a pay-cut just to be a jock at KFRC - I've heard he was ousted as PD because he did a less than stellar job. He was out and Jhani Kaye took over waaaaay before he was hired at KFRC....a year or more, at least. By the way, since Jhani Kaye has taken over, K-Earth has an excellent expanded play list and sounds great.

As an afternoon drive jock, Coffey is just run of the mill, in my opinion. I haven't ventured opinions about KFRC lately because I don't get to hear it very often - and when I do get a chance to tune-in, those damn As games are usually on. But from what I HAVE heard, the main problem with the new KFRC is the really minimal DJ involvement - most songs are bridged by the same tedious image promos or those not-so-classic mid 70s KFRC jingles.

I did hear Coffey do one of his famous show-bizzy gossip bits the other day - about Brittany Spears (now there's an easy target!) It was a big yawner to begin with, and he tripped over his tongue a few times and ruined his own punchline. With the technology these days, he could have made sure the bit was perfect by pre-recording it and playing it back, couldn't he?

 

[SteveScott]

JMF and rqr blimp...please check your messages.

Thanks!

Steve Scott

 

[oldiesfan6479]

If you talking about Coffey's PD job at K-Earth, radiogurl, he did NOT voluntarily take a pay-cut just to be a jock at KFRC - I've heard he was ousted as PD because he did a less than stellar job.

After he left the building at KRTH (formerly aka My Guy Radio),
Coffey got the PD gig (and voicetracking evenings) at oldies KBSG
Tacoma/Seattle. He was bounced from KBSG in mid-May.

 

[Starbucks]

Radiogurl, Im stymied about your comment getting old, I would much rather listen to someone whos been there, age means nothing! I listened to Bobby Ocean 40 years ago today a KKIS in pittsburg a small station when he was Radio Ray! So what if hes 60! John Mack Flanagan could be 60 also, whats your point? These 2 got Overlooked at KFRC! Lets take Cammy for instance, she was born in 1963, as she stated one day ,in 1963 Ocean and JMF were already in radio , they know their music,, have that Radio voice ! Cammy not hardly! The early 90s with the Ron and Cammy regime was boring! I hope to never hear them on bay Area radio, Ron parker is in NY at CBS fm! Stay there Ron! What about Coucin Brucie? Hes 60 too and hes bringing in the ratings on Sirius? As far as Jay Coffee taking a pay cut, so be it, CBS/KFRC should have considered the guys who made such a largr contribution to thier sucess over the years! I would rather hear Voice tracking of JMF and Bobby Ocean than Coffee live! John seems to connect with his listeners, and Bobby Ocean has always got something funny to say, very entertaining, Oh what about Casey Casem, hes gotta be 70 ,and he draws in the ratings on XM. Age means nothing! Gene Nelson from KYA, has to be 65, Chris Edwards from KYA finished HS in 1959, so hes 60 or so, Age means zero if thet want to work! Radio always seems to cheat the listeners, take Bobby Ocean, XM no longer has him on the 70s channel, got some no name talent in his place! That should never have happened, after KFRC cut him loose in 04 or so i followed him right over to XM he was Voice Tracked, but sounded great! Perhaps Coffee will get another gig, and we can get the correct talent on KFRC! Kenny in Concord

I have read quite a bit of your posts in the past, I'm the one who's stymied. It looks the same post you placed on here 25 times already.
Let's take a picture here...Number one... is the original KFRC jocks of the 60's/70's the best that ever happened in Bay Area radio .... Yes, Did JMF get ran off the air 5 years left in him or pre-maturely....I think so....Could it been age discrimination?....possibly. His ratings were there. But in the state of California, you don't have to have a reason. There could have been other factors which I couldn't come up with. Was he one of or the best DJ's that I've heard as far as being a Bay Area resident or listener. Of Course. Now the big question and answer to you.....Does it matter if JMF would make a difference today no matter what station he's on....Can KFRC and the rest of the Bay area stations successfully survive without him....The answer YES.
You keep on dwelling on things that happened 7- 10 years ago...which in radio and today's technology it's a different world.
As much as I despise corporate radio....eventually it would have had to happen.
Realistically in today's economy....corporate radio has saved plenty of AMer's from going dark. And quite a few FM's too.
There's no way that many individually would be able to survive or even as an AM/FM Combo. Major, medium, especially.
Due to merging and keeping AMer's under the same roof..... no need to pay seperate rent, combining office materials, administration workers, sanitation engineers, whatever , alot of overhead is gone. One successful one can carry the unsuccessful. Especially when you have fewer listeners at night compared to the old days. And as far the diehard terrestrial listener...he or she will still listen to their favorite oldies , movies, talk , whatever....whether with or without JMF, Bobby Ocean, or you broadcasting from Concord on the air.
Stations sell spots as a package deal for the stations under the same roof...or let's say ala carte....pretty much that's the direction no matter how you look at , it was headed.
Just like todays, businesses or corporations....they merge, especially when things get to be too competitive or a glut.
Don't get me wrong, the 610 men , KYA, they would be great for the novelties...but the flavor would last so long...because it's 2007....not 1977. You will not beat the IPOD, the automations of Rhapsody (even though I think that version of a player stinks, ) the WI-Max, I-Tunes, Broadband, Live 365 or eventually XM/Sirius. And even more. Ask yourself, think Tower records, Good Guys? The sign of the times took them down too. They were also great stores.
Bashing Ron Parker (who I thought wasn't bad) is making you full of hot air...not on the air. The next younger generation won't even care about the radio, whether FM or AM....it's like a turntable to them. And corporate or individual owners have to prepare for them. And there hands will be full. I don't disagree with you about radio in the past....You can say I'm just getting tired of agreeing with you. Even your text on this board looks like its coming from a web -tv of the 90's. Hey mannnn, you gotta move on.

 

[radio dx]

When can we (or will we) hear live folks on the weekends on "The big 106.9?)

 

[raydioheadfm]

By the way, since Jhani Kaye has taken over, K-Earth has an excellent expanded play list and sounds great.

Agree on the K-Earth music, but disagree on air staff. Jhani's doing the K-Earth version of KOST jock presentation. Liner radio, no or little phone interaction, but I will say that makes it pretty clean. Other than mornings (obviously) and Shotgun, he's got Carson, Joshua and the rest under pretty stiff restraints, in my opinion. I've listened a few days this month online and it's consistent, it was not just someone having a bad day. One important point I think too, K-Earth is an oldies station. Fully 50% of most hours I checked yesterday are 60's. Jocks aside, 60's style jingles and Van Dyke v/o combined with the music make it decent. KFRC, good or bad, is doing something different than what we would normally call oldies.

KFRC's jocks are talking at least 6 or 7 times per hour, so not sure why you comment on limited jock interaction. What I have noticed is they don't talk into the commmercial breaks, so yes they don't have any long winded 30-40 second breaks into 6 minute commercial clusters (or however long they are!)

 

[radiogurl45]

Radiogurl, Im stymied about your comment getting old, I would much rather listen to someone whos been there, age means nothing! I listened to Bobby Ocean 40 years ago today a KKIS in pittsburg a small station when he was Radio Ray! So what if hes 60! John Mack Flanagan could be 60 also, whats your point? These 2 got Overlooked at KFRC! Lets take Cammy for instance, she was born in 1963, as she stated one day ,in 1963 Ocean and JMF were already in radio , they know their music,, have that Radio voice ! Cammy not hardly! The early 90s with the Ron and Cammy regime was boring! I hope to never hear them on bay Area radio, Ron parker is in NY at CBS fm! Stay there Ron! What about Coucin Brucie? Hes 60 too and hes bringing in the ratings on Sirius? As far as Jay Coffee taking a pay cut, so be it, CBS/KFRC should have considered the guys who made such a largr contribution to thier sucess over the years! I would rather hear Voice tracking of JMF and Bobby Ocean than Coffee live! John seems to connect with his listeners, and Bobby Ocean has always got something funny to say, very entertaining, Oh what about Casey Casem, hes gotta be 70 ,and he draws in the ratings on XM. Age means nothing! Gene Nelson from KYA, has to be 65, Chris Edwards from KYA finished HS in 1959, so hes 60 or so, Age means zero if thet want to work! Radio always seems to cheat the listeners, take Bobby Ocean, XM no longer has him on the 70s channel, got some no name talent in his place! That should never have happened, after KFRC cut him loose in 04 or so i followed him right over to XM he was Voice Tracked, but sounded great! Perhaps Coffee will get another gig, and we can get the correct talent on KFRC! Kenny in Concord

I have read quite a bit of your posts in the past, I'm the one who's stymied. It looks the same post you placed on here 25 times already.

I agree with everything you say, Starbucks. Also, instead of posting 25 times, I was wondering if anyone tried emailing or contacting KFRC?

Thanks guys, raydioheadfm, production boy.

Lkeller- No, I am not talking about K-Earth. I was talking about his Seattle gig. So he wasn't PD there. Woops. My bad.

Anyone can learn the music. It would probably require 25 years to do a lot of reading and to listen to all of it (or one weekend of listening to 106.9). Bobby Ocean and JMF are hits and veterans. I really do think KFRC gave it an honest sincere approach to get these guys back.

That's it.

 

[LKellerIII]

"Agree on the K-Earth music, but disagree on air staff. Jhani's doing the K-Earth version of KOST jock presentation. Liner radio, no or little phone interaction, but I will say that makes it pretty clean."

Yes - K-Earth's jocks are obviously on a very short leash, but they do a great job of making those liners sound live and exciting, with none of that "I'm reading a liner for the 10,000th time" delivery you hear from the jocks on KOIT, and probably KOST, which I presume is KOITish in format. Gee- "Koitish" sounded slightly nasty, didn't it? Anyway - the whole K-Earth presentation - music, jocks, jingles, pace - is very entertaining, I think.

"One important point I think too, K-Earth is an oldies station. Fully 50% of most hours I checked yesterday are 60's. Jocks aside, 60's style jingles and Van dyke v/o combined with the music make it decent. KFRC, good or bad, is doing something different than what we would normally call oldies."


Yes - in terms of the music, the two stations are different, but both 60s and 70s hit music were originally delivered by the big stations of the day (KFRC, KYA, KHJ) with basically the same Top 40 presentation across the two decades, so I think we can compare them...we're not talking about the difference between Album rock and Beautiful Music, or anything

"KFRC's jocks are talking at least 6 or 7 times per hour, so not sure why you comment on limited jock interaction. What I have noticed is they don't talk into the commmercial breaks, so yes they don't have any long winded 30-40 second breaks into 6 minute commercial clusters (or however long they are!)"

OK - I'll shut up about it until I get to listen more - I haven't hear Sue Hall's show since she came back. I commute to work by public transit, and don't like having the radio on at work, so admittedly my exposure to KFRC has been in the car in the afternoons or evenings, and usually baseball is on.

But I think not letting the DJs talk into the commercials is a mistake - that's when they get a chance to cut loose and show their personalities. We're not talking anywhere near 30 or 40 seconds. Going into the stop-set, most of the pros (JMF, Bobby Ocean, etc) could give you frequency, call letters, promo what's coming up, and snap off a funny or snarky remark - and be into commercial in 15 or 20 seconds. That was when they were at their best, in my opinion, not talking up the intro between songs. Personally, I miss that, and I'm sure Jay Coffey would be good at it too.

 

[radiogurl45]

Jay Coffey does talk going into traffic, then they go into spots. I'll have to listen to her if the other jocks do so. I just hear the other jocks talking in general.

 

[LKellerIII]

"The next younger generation won't even care about the radio, whether FM or AM....it's like a turntable to them. And corporate or individual owners have to prepare for them. And there hands will be full. I don't disagree with you about radio in the past."

People on this board keep saying that, but I'm not sure it's true. Predictions about "new" media killing off "old" media started in the early 50s when it was predicted that TV would kill movie theaters. Thousands of theaters did go dark by the mid 50s, but as movie content changed, and became more daring, violent, and/or sexual...with content you couldn't see on TV, in other words - big screen movies survived and flourished. I think radio and i-pods can co-exist too. Radio will have to change, but I doubt they'll be successful if they become "just turntables" and imitate the i-pod. If that's the case, my i-pod is clearly superior, because it doesn't run commercials.

I wonder also - if it's true that younger generations will reject radio for i-pods, why is it that a lot of the stations with a younger demographic actually allow their DJs more time on the air? While the old fogey-formats (KOIT, KFRC) are increasingly "less talk" and have DJs that just read liners, it's NOT true if you tune in Wild 94.9, for example. You'll hear talented young jocks like Joe Breezy or Saint John cutting loose on the air a little. I've noticed the same thing on Alice.

About the length of DJ airshifts. I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with Free-FM - radiogurl must be around my age - Music DJs haven't worked 3 hour shifts since the 70s. If you think back to the 80s and the best personality driven "hit" stations like KYUU, K-101 or KMEL, all the jocks worked 4 or 5 hour shifts, typically 5AM or 6 to 10:00, mid-days 10-2 or 3PM, 2-6PM, or 3-7, and so forth. Late nights (after midnight or 1:00AM) was usually jockless. And these days, it seems like many weekday jocks are off weekends. In the 60s, the big Top 40 DJs on those 3 hour shifts would pull a 5 hour shift on Saturday or Sunday.