You don't replace a heritage morning show like Mark and Brian with two sidekicks. Heidi and Frank are both not leads. KLOS needs either a major league talent to drive the show and use them as what they're used to being...sidekicks, or Cumulus needs to bring in a top notch talent and start over. There's too much money in ad dollars on the line in L.A. to not take this slot seriously.
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KLOS Mornings = Major FAIL...here's why.
- Thread starter superjj
- Start date
I do not understand the appeal of morning talk shows on an otherwise music station. I know these shows have been on for years in most major markets and most are Howard Stern wannabes (although M&B were on in LA before Howard was aired here). Of course these shows are for the most part apolitical but I prefer music in the morning except when I want to hear talk. Then I most likely turn to Handel to be entertained. I realize I'm in the minority.
To be honest, I listened less to Mark and Brian than I did Frazer Smith when he was at KLOS. Even though Frazer did a lot of stuff, it somehow seemed less like a break in the music and more of a stage for it. When M&B opened the mics (and they were very good at what they did), it was "okay, now we're talking before we play another record" and that just seemed over time.
SuperRadioFan said:
You hit the nail on the head. Radio is supposed to be a entertainment medium. Handel is the best at it. Everyone else seems to use it as a bully pulpit and think they are ordained to preach to the audience.
I'm hearing Bob Coburn wants to do mornings.
Bug on the rug said:
Heritage KLOS jock who will get out of the way of the music. Might not be a bad choice. Kinda like Gonzer at KMET.
michael hagerty said:
I remember well when M&B took over mornings and started a non-stop talk fest - I hated it. I understood the need for some "entertainment" in the mornings so I accepted a certain level of talk, but you always knew the music would start soon enough, for example, after Frazier made his third cheeselog joke of the segment. But the idea of pure talk on a rock station was (and in many ways, still is) an anathema to me. The concept then, as it should be now is really straight-forward. If I want to hear talk, I'll turn to KFI or KABC (snicker, snicker), and if I want to hear me some classic rock I want to be able to punch up one of our two local stations that serve it up. As Howard Cossell once said, "It's only radio, it's so simple"*
*for all of you JH fans out there
SuperRadioFan said:
Consider Kevin & Bean. That show is what makes KROQ the ratings and billing success it is. How many songs an hour do they play?
superjj said:
Great idea. So like who would you suggest? Rick Dees?
The problem with bringing in major league talent from another market is they have no fan base in LA. So they're starting from zero.
TheBigA said:
Right. There was no obvious replacement for Mark & Brian. KLOS doesn't have a bench for that, there hasn't been another high profile rock morning act in L.A. for years. Their best shot was to keep Brian and get him the best partner possible, but that fell apart.
Coburn's as good as it gets, unless you can coax Gonzer out of retirement. And it's gonna be a lot more music.
Having a fan base in L.A. means nothing... look at Heidi and Frank, they have a somewhat loyal fan base form their KLSX days, but it isn't showing up in the ratings. Same with Dees whe he went to Hot. Bottom line is that compelling and entertaining radio will get listeners in the morning, even if you're a new talent to the market. And that's what L.A. needs. Mark and Brian were newbies 25 years ago, and look at what they accomplished. I'd rather hear a fresh talent vs. a retread. Maybe that's what KLOS needs.
superjj said:
If the Heidi and Frank fan base were "somewhat loyal" it would show up in the ratings. They're not.
Neither were Dees' fans.
If you're away too long, they form other habits.
I like Coburn or Gonzer not because of a built-in fan base so much as the knowledge that they're pros, they don't think the music is there to bring you them and they can develop a new following.
TheBigA said:
Hey, name when that's ever happened. It's a very short list. I'm sticking with morning drive:
Bob Crane (in 1956)
Bob Hudson (in 1963)
Robert W. Morgan (in 1965)
Mark & Brian (in 1984)
Kevin & Bean (in 1989)
T
Thomps2525
Guest
As long as we're naming successful morning hosts who came to L.A. more than five years ago---sorry, superjj!---I'd like to mention Gary Bryan, who came from KJR-FM in Seattle to take over the KRTH morning show in 2002. Bryan is a worthy successor to Morgan in the same way that Shotgun Tom Kelly is a worthy successor to the Real Don Steele. "Bbbllbbllbbbllbbbllldlddldl---ya better believe it, baby!"
And either Michael or Mister Eduardo can verify this: When Gary Owens did mornings on KFWB in 1962, wasn't he the top-rated "josh dickey" (as he called it) in Los Angeles?
And either Michael or Mister Eduardo can verify this: When Gary Owens did mornings on KFWB in 1962, wasn't he the top-rated "josh dickey" (as he called it) in Los Angeles?
LARadioRewind said:
1961-1962 and yes, Gary was #1. But again, that was 52 years ago.
Gary certainly belongs on the list.
But the list of morning talent who came to town from outside and bombed is a lot longer.
T
Thomps2525
Guest
*HarrumphhhhDonImus***Cough*Cough*KLAC1996*
T
Thomps2525
Guest
Remember in summer of 1999 when KFI afternoon hosts John Kobylt and Ken Champiou moved to KABC...for mornings? Yikes! In spring of 2001 they were back on the station where they belong and in the time slot where they belong.
I remember KRTH moved Gary Bryan to afternoons in 2005. That didn't work either! He was soon back in mornings.
I remember KRTH moved Gary Bryan to afternoons in 2005. That didn't work either! He was soon back in mornings.
LARadioRewind said:
Yeah, and it took Dees three years and two stations before he caught on.
Crane's replacement at KNX, Rege Cordic, owned mornings in Pittsburgh (which in 1965 was a Top 10 market), but couldn't get traction in L.A.
The successful ones other than the list I put up a few posts back were the ones who had been in L.A. either before or for a while....Gonzer, Fraze, Charlie Tuna, Charlie Van Dyke, Lohman and Barkley....
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