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KJR and Barry Bonds -- What Happened?

C

CorporateSuit

Dear KJR PD:

Wow, your station really dropped the ball on the Barry Bonds story. KJR is supposed to THE leader in sports talk in this market and not only did you get beat by all the other talk stations, but your sister station, KHHO, made you look terrible on the story.

At 2:25, I heard Sean Hannity on KVI announce that Bonds had been indicted by the grand jury. Instantly, I switch over to KJR. Groz is interviewing the play-by-play guy for the Canucks.
At 2:30, I hear on KOMO's ABC update, lead story, Barry Bonds has been indicted.
At 2:31, I switch to KHHO, and Chris Meyers on Fox Sports has two or three guests on the phone talking about the breaking news on Barry Bonds and what a HUGE story this is. They are all over it.
At 2:35, I switch back to KJR....Groz is interviewing somebody about the Husky/Cougar bar benefit...and on...and on.....
At 2:37, I switch back to KHHO, Meyers is all over the story, getting analysis, everything.

FINALLY, at 2:38, Groz reads the news story from the AP about Barry Bonds. He begins by saying "This just coming in..." and then he concludes by saying, "We will definitely keep you updated on that story."

What?

"Keep us updated?"

Didn't his producer tell Groz about the story when it broke? And with your local resources at hand as well as your affiliation with ESPN, you couldn't get a baseball reporter or former player on the phone? This was THE BIGGEST STORY OF THE DAY and it was ALL SPORTS!! What happened? The producer...or Groz...should have told the Canucks guy "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to cut this short, John, we've got some breaking news about Barry Bonds"---and he DEFINITELY should have completely blown off the guy on the bar benefit.

Even into Groz with Gas, they STILL weren't talking about it very much while it was THE lead story on every single news and radio outlet in Seattle.

What happened?
 
At 2:39, KOMO gave the four-day weather planner
At 2:40, the Groz took a break to go to the bathroom
At 2:41, Sleep Country announced a matress sale, if you're not picky about color.

At 11:45 the next day, we're still waiting for CorporateSuit to get a life.
 
CorporateSuit brings up a good point. As a sports listener, if I get word of some breaking news in the world of sports, I should be able to flip the car radio to KJR and be filled in detail with whats happening. When you put on a show in a large market such as Seattle and you're not a music intensive station, either the host or the producer should constantly keep an eye on the TV or computer to see if any news that is relevant to their listeners is happening. Sure some may argue that the Bonds story really isn't local, but for crying out loud, he holds one of the most coveted records in sports and now he could be thrown in the slammer for a long time. I think that qualifies as a story that shoud take precedence over whatever topics you already have scheduled for that hour. Either someone dropped the ball or they simply don't care enough to do the legwork immediately to open the phone lines for listener reaction as well as track down some relevant guests that can discuss this breaking news story.
 
Oh, for Heaven's sake. They were 10 minutes later with the story. Please, close them down now. Frankly, it is a 2-sentence story and will be rehashed for the next 2 weeks anyway. How much is there, really, to say? "Barry Bonds was indicted. Now there is even more of a shadow over his record." The end. For this they should blow the whistles and stop the interviews and go all goofy? Give me a break.

And while we are on the subject, allow me just to say how STUPID I think the whole thing is. He could get THIRTY YEARS?! For taking steroids? What harm is he causing the world again? Seems to me like he's only hurting himself. For hurting yourself you can get 30 years in jail? My rant ends here because I recognize this isn't the forum. And don't wish to turn this thread into a pro/con Barry Bonds diatribe.
 
JustaLissner said:
And while we are on the subject, allow me just to say how STUPID I think the whole thing is. He could get THIRTY YEARS?! For taking steroids?
Click to expand...

No, he could get (but he won't----maybe a year) for LYING to a grand jury. You don't lie to grand juries. However, it does mean that this is the end of his professional baseball career and THAT is a big story. Did Hank Aaron serve prison time? NO!
 
JustaLissner said:
How much is there, really, to say? "Barry Bonds was indicted. Now there is even more of a shadow over his record." The end. For this they should blow the whistles and stop the interviews and go all goofy?
Click to expand...

JustaLissner may not be a sports fan .. or a Sportstalk Radio fan. Because that's EXACTLY what we expect of that format in the wake of such a development. Remember, 'fan' is short for FANATIC. Fox Sports & ESPN Radio (& TV) would be running with the Bonds story for hours .. and they'd be right. That's what every sports fan would be tuning in to hear.

And I'll bet even the Cable News TV channels were big on Bonds as well.
 
i listened to the groz yesterday with his interview with the canucks play by play interview, he mentioned the barry bonds story after the interview, and it was mentioned at the 2:30 update. groz mentioned that the story came across the wire 3 minutes before he mentioned it.
 
NO, it was NOT! If it was mentioned in an earlier sports update, it must have been prior to 2:25, because that's when I heard Hannity announce it. And I'm sorry, but for Groz to do an interview with a play-by-play guy for a team that's not even in Seattle....and then basically a 5 minute infomercial interview with some Huskie about a benefit...and THEN read the Barry Bonds story and blow it off as trivial is totally wrong. The story became THE story the rest of the day on ALL major news outlets and stations. KHHO/FoxSports made KJR look like they were completely uninformed.
 
Watch out! Corporate Suit's gonna blow a blood vessell. Easy buddy. Why is it that big of a deal to you? Do you really care that much? Do you have to be right? What if you're blowing this out of porportion? Any chance you got your brief's in a wad over a few minutes and bad radio? Who cares? I know you do, but I just don't appreciate why you do so much. You seem a little intense. What do you do to relax?
 
Although KJR being late to the Bonds story doesn't upset me, it is symptomatic of the "clubby" environment on KJR's airwaves. These guys are less like sports journalists and more like sports geeks hanging out at the local bar...maybe that's by design. I'm a P1 of the station but I find myself getting increasingly irritated by the in-jokes, nicknames and commentary on internal matters that are of little or no interest to the listeners (at least this one). The morning show has become almost unlistenable in this regard, as well as Mitch's blatant disregard for the clock - extremely unprofessional.
 
I heard Robin and Maynard announce it right after the promo for the Pat Cashman show. ::)
 
I have to admit I am a huge sports geek and will watch or listen to just about anything involving a ball and more than one person :eek: Bust seriously I can't tell you when the last time I tuned in KJR for any kind of sports fix... I would rather get tidbits from other non-sports stations and tune into ESPN or Fox Sports when I am in front of the tube...

Mitch and that bunch totally turns me off to sports radio and if KJR was smart they would not settle for subpar ratings and aim a little higher and replace some of these guys...

It is time for somebody to come through and create a quality FM Sports Talker... Maybe "The End" should be near ::)

Shark said:
Although KJR being late to the Bonds story doesn't upset me, it is symptomatic of the "clubby" environment on KJR's airwaves. These guys are less like sports journalists and more like sports geeks hanging out at the local bar...maybe that's by design. I'm a P1 of the station but I find myself getting increasingly irritated by the in-jokes, nicknames and commentary on internal matters that are of little or no interest to the listeners (at least this one). The morning show has become almost unlistenable in this regard, as well as Mitch's blatant disregard for the clock - extremely unprofessional.
Click to expand...
 
NO, it was NOT! If it was mentioned in an earlier sports update, it must have been prior to 2:25, because that's when I heard Hannity announce it. And I'm sorry, but for Groz to do an interview with a play-by-play guy for a team that's not even in Seattle....and then basically a 5 minute infomercial interview with some Huskie about a benefit...and THEN read the Barry Bonds story and blow it off as trivial is totally wrong. The story became THE story the rest of the day on ALL major news outlets and stations. KHHO/FoxSports made KJR look like they were completely uninformed.


are you calling me a liar?????? i listened to it with my own ears. i was coming back home after running a few errands and i heard it. it was mentioned at the 2:30 update, right after the intervew with the canucks play by play announcer. if there is anything i don't like to be called (or insinuated in this occasion) is a liar
 
Ben Dover said:
Mitch and that bunch totally turns me off to sports radio and if KJR was smart they would not settle for subpar ratings and aim a little higher and replace some of these guys...
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I find Mitch makes the most astute observations regarding sports of all the people on that station, and he is also the best of them at conducting interviews. He is not one to avoid asking the tough questions by simply lobbing softballs at the subject of his interview. I might not always agree with him, but the guy is knowledgeable and very smart. Maybe a little arrogant at times, but knowledgeable.

I know he ruffled the feathers of some BJ listeners by pointing out what a disaster Double R's television appearances were, but, once again, he was dead on the money.
 
Ron_Obvious said:
I know he ruffled the feathers of some BJ listeners by pointing out what a disaster Double R's television appearances were, but, once again, he was dead on the money.
Click to expand...

How does the above have anything to do with what has been said in this thread? And who cares?

And pure knowledge does not always translate to good radio. I never questioned the mans knowledge of sports, it is his High & Mighty attitude that turns me off, the KJR elite dismiss many of their non-regulars phone in opinions as uninformed or out of touch and it does make them sound arrogant and it prevents them from reaching a broader audience hence their ratings, and that is where I feel there is room for a station to sweep in and do the format right and reach a broader audience.
 
Somewhat unrelated but somewhat related to this thread ... has any sports station ever done a show that is targeted at women who are either "in" to sports or "slightly in" to sports? Wonder if there is a weekend show opportunity there or something? ("Fabulous Sports Babe" aside ... she wasn't really talking TO women....). Just a wild hair idea ... probably has no legs.....
 
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