mikecroaro said:
That's what I like about you, Mike. You always get right to the point.
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KGO fired Burns, Rothmann, Gross and Taliafero today!!!
- Thread starter baywest
- Start date
That's what I like about you, Mike. You always get right to the point.
I just had to register and chime in as an outsider to the radio business. but a long-time fan of KGO.
The talent at KGO was top notch and relevant to younger audiences. The only reason KGO's audience shrank and got older was because of the sad fact that AM Radio is dead. Most of the target demographic has grown up on FM. Many of the younger adults don't even know what "AM Radio" is.
And here is an even more sobering thought:
I'm a high school music teacher. I took a little poll - just out of curiosity and found that virtually nobody in high school listens to the radio -- AM or FM. Now, it may be true that 17 year old kids don't matter much to the radio industry today, but these are the target demos of tomorrow and they don't listen to the radio :-/
Well... I fear AM is dead. And, if something doesn't change, FM is the next to go. It'll just be a few years and the whole industry will feel the pinch if it hasn't already.
All the best to the entire KGO family. You showed us what quality local radio was supposed to be like. It was the changing technology that got away from you and that's the fault of the corporations not the on-air talent.
Well, That's my 2 cents worth... As a fan of radio I do hope I'm wrong. Please tell me I'm wrong :-/
The talent at KGO was top notch and relevant to younger audiences. The only reason KGO's audience shrank and got older was because of the sad fact that AM Radio is dead. Most of the target demographic has grown up on FM. Many of the younger adults don't even know what "AM Radio" is.
And here is an even more sobering thought:
I'm a high school music teacher. I took a little poll - just out of curiosity and found that virtually nobody in high school listens to the radio -- AM or FM. Now, it may be true that 17 year old kids don't matter much to the radio industry today, but these are the target demos of tomorrow and they don't listen to the radio :-/
Well... I fear AM is dead. And, if something doesn't change, FM is the next to go. It'll just be a few years and the whole industry will feel the pinch if it hasn't already.
All the best to the entire KGO family. You showed us what quality local radio was supposed to be like. It was the changing technology that got away from you and that's the fault of the corporations not the on-air talent.
Well, That's my 2 cents worth... As a fan of radio I do hope I'm wrong. Please tell me I'm wrong :-/
anyone think the new KKSF-AM 910 could become a landing spot for a lot of those let go? also, i believe KFAX was all news at some point
Tuned Gene Burns in earlier this week and I thought he sounded really down.
When Mickey Luckoff left many of us suspected it was just a matter of time before they blew the station up. Another sad day for our industry.
When Mickey Luckoff left many of us suspected it was just a matter of time before they blew the station up. Another sad day for our industry.
travisl5678 said:
Um, no. Those let go probably have their sights set on a) retirement or b) working for stations that might be capable of drawing audiences of salable size.
L
Lefty Gomez
Guest
KGO Dies as all the stupid corp driving crap stations are.
KSCO Wins !
KSCO will be the south bay's number one talk stations soon.
KSCO Wins !
KSCO will be the south bay's number one talk stations soon.
I don't think KSCO will dominate the south bay, but they certainly now will see better ratings as we will probably see KGO drop out tof the Monterey-Salinas ratings with Bay Area News
recto101 said:
I once looked into MP3 players with AM capability. The best I could find was one for about $225. The big need for decent sound quality and reception was the space for loop antenna / coil circuitry. You have to pay extra for that.
Contrast that with how any rinky-dink MP3 player has FM, even a $5 unit at Ross Dress for Less.
We're becoming increasingly mobile, yet transistor radios aren't among the portable device of choice. Increasingly, the band selection switch does NOT include AM.
I live in Coos Bay, Oregon, and I have listened to KGO for the last 25 years. I specifically rise at 4 AM each morning to catch some of Ray's show. What I miss, I catch on the archives. In all honesty, my reason for listening to KGO was for the great knowledge and entertainment provided by Ray, Gene, John, Pat T., etc. It makes me sick that these great personalities will not be available any longer. I am sad to say that with this dramatic change, I must now find a new home for my ears. KGO will simply not be the same for thousands of Bay Area (and elsewhere) listeners, without it's staple personalities. I wish the best for all those who lost jobs after so many years of dedication to KGO. I hope to hear them on the waves somewhere else. I know that ratings are important, but it will be interesting to see how may listeners they (KGO) lose, now that these fine announcers are gone.
All Cumulus has done is get rid of Mickey's high priced host's, in their do or die effort nationwide to eliminate a mountain of debt. If they fail, Cumulus will come tumbling down rocking the very foundation of the country's radio marketplace with an earth shattering thud! What would any of us like to see first? Elimination of the high priced host's or the collapse of the whole company that is Cumulus? I vote for the collapse of the whole company as it just might return some sense of reality to the entire radio industry when it comes to prices paid for these people's services! The second benefit just might be a return of more individual owners of stations not less! Resulting in the third benefit more jobs again for everyone. I know dream on RadioStarOne. What do any of us truely have if we lose the ability to dream? I've always been told that we Pices are great dreamers!
RadioStarOne said:
Your post got me thinking that when the debt of radio companies is brought up, the immediate assumption is the only solution is cutting costs. That's how Republicans want to deal with the federal debt. But radio companies aren't required to handle their debt in a single way. They have multiple options available to them. They can do what the Democrats suggest to Congress and raise revenues. That would mean go to advertisers and raise the spot rate. Not likely considering KGO's falling numbers and terrible demos. They could look into new revenue streams from the internet and mobile. That's possible, although they need to provide the kinds of content that go beyond a traditional AM station.
Getting back to eliminating the mountain of debt, that's more of a corporate issue than a station issue. And the company has hundreds of stations to use in addressing the corporate debt. But they also have corporate solutions to this problem, and that's selling equity in the company to multiple investors. The problem Citadel had was the investment community lost confidence in management, and the company was unable to attract new funding. This also happened in the middle of a banking disaster when some of the strongest investment companies in the world were faced with their own demise. While the economy isn't a lot better now, and banks still aren't lending, we are seeing the revival of the capital investment companies who are willing to put out billions for a stake in companies that fit their interest. So last week, Oak Tree, a company that owns a stake in some other broadcasting companies, bought a sizable stake in Cumulus. They didn't lend them money, so it's not new debt. They bought stock, so it's equity. That's a different way to address the mountain of debt that provides new funding for Cumulus stations to make difficult decisions about their formats, and invest in the future. These are long overdue decisions, specifically for the former ABC stations that had been allowed to coast along for years without leadership or oversight.
My point here is that when it comes to debt, there's more than one way to deal with it, and don't assume the only reason the KGO hosts were let go was to eliminate corporate debt.
TheBigA said:
Reading your post, I am reminded of what we have observed at Ford Motor Company in recent years. Alan Mulally was brought in just over five years ago with the task of figuring out how face impending industry doom. He (along with other smart people in the organization) bit the bullet on some tough decisions, sat down with organized labor and got them to buy into the change, and then they went out and "mortgaged the farm" as the old saying goes. They borrowed all the money they could.... not to buy up other companies with the same problems they had... but to change and modernize. One news story at the time said they borrowed so deeply that they even had to mortgage that Blue Oval trade-mark with the cursive "Ford".
Today, Ford is considered by the business world to be healthy and viable. We have all heard the details until we are tired of them about GM and Chrysler only surviving today because of a government bail-out.
The point I would offer to all is this: Borrowed money is not what has put changes into broadcasting that many of us find unpalatable...... A bad understanding of the future and a bad understanding of what makes radio work and will make it work for months and years to come is worse than borrowed money.
Taliaferio has been there for a long time, and I've always enjoyed his banter, but not always his politics. Still, I love the conversation, even if I don't agree. That is what is good about Talk Radio.
I hate what radio has become in general. If a station can be operated by syndication and automation, then that is what the powers that be seem to feel is best for the bottom line.
What happened to the personalization of product? Terrestrial radio will die this way in the long run.
I operate an Internet station, and it is automated, but I sincerely appreciate the Terrestrial folks who have the bucks and talent to put forth quality product, without firing talent. So stupid, in my opinion, to let go such good talent, at least in the long run. It will come back to bite them, I believe.
I hate what radio has become in general. If a station can be operated by syndication and automation, then that is what the powers that be seem to feel is best for the bottom line.
What happened to the personalization of product? Terrestrial radio will die this way in the long run.
I operate an Internet station, and it is automated, but I sincerely appreciate the Terrestrial folks who have the bucks and talent to put forth quality product, without firing talent. So stupid, in my opinion, to let go such good talent, at least in the long run. It will come back to bite them, I believe.
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