KOGO guts news staff: three fired

[SDRadio]

Marylin Hyder, Wade Douglas and Sally Hixon.

 

[sdwulfdawg]

Marylin Hyder, Wade Douglas and Sally Hixon.

So much for being San Diego news leader....sheesh....

 

[philosofy]

How big of a cut was this? Three people out of a dept of how many?

 

[Bob_Hudson]

How big of a cut was this? Three people out of a dept of how many?

One thing that's important in covering news (beyond car crashes and gang bangers) is to have a knowledge of the community, present and past. Experience does make a difference. I don't know anything about Hixon, but the loss of Wade and Marilyn results in real dumbing down of KOGO's news department.

 

[Bob_Hudson]

How big of a cut was this? Three people out of a dept of how many?

Voice of San Diego - http://voiceofsandiego.org/opinion/slop/ reports:

"KOGO's now left with two reporters and one anchor."

(note: that link is probably good for just a short time)

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Cheap Channel's I-CRAP-infected news/talker KFYI Phoenix
is pretty much the same story.

ND, morning anchor, afternoon anchor, two reporters.
(There may also be one or two part-timers on the weekend.)

It's so lean, they're running canned local news in the evening--
the PM drive anchor loads a few 'casts in the Audio Vault before
leaving--and network only overnight.

 

[SDRadio]

In keeping with CC policy, just fire the people who can read.

 

[sdwulfdawg]

How big of a cut was this? Three people out of a dept of how many?

One thing that's important in covering news (beyond car crashes and gang bangers) is to have a knowledge of the community, present and past. Experience does make a difference. I don't know anything about Hixon, but the loss of Wade and Marilyn results in real dumbing down of KOGO's news department.

Sally Hixon is a local writer/publicist who got lucky, could read, and was at the right place at the right time.

Thinking about all of the cuts, though, has me not being able to get out of my head a post on here or somewhere else a long time ago when Clear Channel (formerly Jacor) started buying up stations. Someone EXHORTED (that's a college word that describes things well) and referred to Jacor as a ponzi scheme that could care less about radio as a quality information/entertainment medium.

(According to Wikipedia, a "ponzi scheme" is a transaction which usually offers abnormally high short-term returns in order to entice new investors. The high returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises (and pays) require an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in order to keep the scheme going. The system is doomed to collapse because there are little or no underlying earnings from the money received by the promoter. However, the scheme is often interrupted by legal authorities before it collapses, because a Ponzi scheme is suspected and/or because the promoter is selling unregistered securities. As more investors become involved, the likelihood of the scheme coming to the attention of authorities increases.)

 

[Bob_Hudson]

I hope they didn't fire those people and keep, say, Howard Castle..... is he still there?

 

[RBA]

They have to pay for their bloated sports staff at 1360 somehow.

 

[136kgb]

Sally Hixson was formerly Sally Buckaloo. Sally has a remarkable resume that dates back to KOGO Radio 60, in the days Ernie Myers was king of mornings on KOGO.

 

[Bob_Hudson]

Sally Hixson was formerly Sally Buckaloo. Sally has a remarkable resume that dates back to KOGO Radio 60, in the days Ernie Myers was king of mornings on KOGO.

Oh okay.... she was married, I believe to Jim Buckalew a professor of journalism at San Diego State University who did weekend news at KCBQ and various other stations over the years

 

[136kgb]

People keep talking about how terrible Clear Channel and especially KOGO is, but the fact is that there is not an AM station in town that can touch the quality of KOGO. 760 KFMSuck has one live show and has outsourced traffic and news, or to be even cheaper they have channel 8 do the news. In fact the Rick Roberts show isn't even done from the studio they do it from Rick's house. KCBQ well you know the way KCBQ is today its better to remember it in the past when KCBQ stood for "Columbia Broadcasting QUALITY" .

As for San Diego radio in general compared to KOGO, KOGO still even with the layoffs has more employees than any other station, and the staff that is still there is the very best in San Diego. KOGO still stands for quality. Since the day the station was licensed in 1925 it has never stopped being the best. People keep talking about how Clear Channel is so cheap, but Bob Bolinger was able to get Jeff and Jer, he kept DSC there, he kept Roger there, and he still pays Tony and Kris, and A.J. on 933. Also Cliff Albert and Jimmie Steele are the two best programmers in San Diego (especially with their formats).

People always have been and always will be jealous of the Great KOGO and they always will. It has the best signal in San Diego, just the call letters. K-O-G-O inspire awe. I grew up in San Diego, and grew up listening to KSDO/KOGO, and I will continue to listen to KOGO news until AM ceases to exist.

 

[sdwulfdawg]

Sally Hixson was formerly Sally Buckaloo. Sally has a remarkable resume that dates back to KOGO Radio 60, in the days Ernie Myers was king of mornings on KOGO.

Say what you want to say about her, maybe she can write, but her on air presence is/was downright terrible and very much reflects the not very nice person that she is. She is as dry as a rock and really the station won't be missing her.

 

[jprg]

136kgb must be a Bush W fan and smokes crack at the same time. Can't see in a million years how someonce could say KOGO is the best. Give me break!

 

[SDRadio]

136kgb must be a Bush W fan and smokes crack at the same time. Can't see in a million years how someonce could say KOGO is the best. Give me break!

He has a point on how KOGO and CCU-SD is today. It remains the best in the market for news on the AM dial, although the golden mic hall of fame is getting really thin these days. Looking from the audience point of view, there is a decline in news gathering and reporting -- and what is up with Coast To Coast AM at 7 p.m. at night? How pathetic is that -- even if it is not Blenn Geck.

When Mark Larson hung up his KOGO headphones and headed over to San Diego AM 1700 (XEPE for those who insist the call letters are something else....), management promised a local talk show after Roger. Has NOT happened. Aztec sports is great; however a local voice when sports is not on is needed in the market.

I am a C2CAM fan; however having the show start at 7 p.m., (a repeat from the previous day) is too much. George or Ian live at 10 p.m. is perfect; but a waste of valuable air time before.

KOGO will be able to prove itself again when (not if) the next disaster hits San Diego. Never count KPBS-FM out -- even with the fire they found other ways to keep the news on the air (thanks to FM 94/9).

There is a lot of morning talent at CCU's house, after that scattered offerings on 95.7 (Mike O'Brian), Star 94.1, and Channel 933. That doesn't make it a bad group; listeners were spoiled with the hosts they have grown to enjoy and attach themselves.

Which leaves a lot of talented folks on the beach: JM in the PM, Dave Mason, Mark Zegan, Cindy Pace, Bobbie Hill, Marlyn Hyder .... the list is too long.

 

[136kgb]

Obviously JPRG I am a conservative if I listen to KOGO, duh! And what do you think is the best station in the market? Sofie? KOGO is the closest thing to a real radio station this town has. KOGO has what is known as a "staff". There are more people working for KOGO than any other radio station in San Diego, and more than most TV stations! True there is a decline in quality broadcasting these days, but KOGO is still (even with cut backs) as good as San Diego gets. I know JPRG that your favorite station is gone R.I.P. Air America. But 1360 is far better today then it was as Air America. Hell at least 1360 is live for the entire day unlike 1090.

 

[doublecashkgb]

136-KGB

Lay off the meds. KOGO is supposed to be a full service N/T Station. Giving the station
undue props for doing what exactly..thinning down the staff?. Apparently Don Layton is
the new consultant at Clear Channel San Diego anyway. Anything could happen.

 

[136kgb]

Wade, Marilyn, and Sally are all friends of mine. And I did not want any of them to go. But there still are some very talented people there. Phil Ferrar, Mark Evans, Jim Charvet, and of course LaDona Harvey. And I should give KOGO high marks they are a consistently a high rated station (and has been since 1925), and during emergencies KOGO does something that no one else does, and that is they operate in the public interest. KPBS did ok during the fires, but far and away KOGO was the best at it. And as for being on meds you need to be on medication to listen to radio in San Diego today!

 

[Bob_Hudson]

And I should give KOGO high marks they are a consistently a high rated station (and has been since 1925)...

Well actually they spent a lot of time in the toilet in the 80's and into the 90's when the folks who owned the old KPRI 106.5 bought and grossly mismanaged KOGO (Southwestern Broadcasting, I think) and especially later when Par Broadcasting owned KOGO and the very weird Jack Merker was news director and their talk shows included Imus, Ollie North, G. Gordon Liddy and a lot of other shows no one cared about. I worked at KOGO under both of those companies and it was sad to see what they did to that station that had indeed been one of San Diego's top-rated station.

I do have to give props to Jacor and CC for making KOGO once again a real player, but to be honest they did not really do it through any sort of genius programming: basically they just moved KSDO to KOGO, putting what was already a very good news and talk station on a very decent signal.

Yes they do have some good people left in the news department but there's no doubt that CC has nibbled away at it over the years and with the latest round of cuts pretty much are left with a thin veneer of a news department.