It is a great signal. But when you examine the pattern carefully, there is a figure-8-shaped pair of lobes that go up to the NNW and down to the SSE, and a pair of "earlobes" going to the NNE and SSW, and the lobes all overlap along the edges. As was explained to me, the main lobes have the equivalent field strength of a 150,000 watt station. (Note I'm emphasizing the word "equivalent".) The side lobes are equivalent to a 5,000 watt station. KSFO is currently a 5,000 watt station, so if you are in one of those side lobes your signal won't appreciably increase, though it might get better if you're in the south peninsula or the Fremont area, just by virtue of the transmitter being closer. If you're anywhere in those main lobes, though, expect the signal to be a big improvement over 560, even with 560 being a great frequency - unless your location is really close to where KSFO transmits from, just south of AT&T Park or Chase Center.
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KSFO To 810
- Thread starter lanceventa
- Start date
I took a look at the pattern and see what you’re talking about now. My experience in the market has always been in the areas where KGO is supposedly the strongest. With that being said, I’ve listened to 560 before and it seemed perfectly acceptable as well, but 810 still struck me as being a far more attractive frequency.
On the AM dial, 560, 610, 680, 740, 810, and 860 seemed like the strongest stations. And notably, they seem strong 24/7. The other AMs didn’t stand out as being that strong (or reduced power at night to a point where they’re really only a daytimer).
When I was PD of all-talk and sports KTNQ in LA in the later 1990's, KGO was very much a model of what I thought a talk station should be.
KGO did a magnificent job at "stationality" with at least 30 and usually around 50 mentions of "KGO" every hour. The individual talents had unique personalities, but they fit-and-flowed throughout the day. You could always tune in and listen to something both new but consistent at any time. And the presentation was rather well balanced for the mood of the market; it was neither ultra "progressive" (before someone invented that term) nor too far right of the center.
Because there were plenty of phoners, we got a variety of perspectives. I never thought KGO was "uber-left". It did reflect what I thought was the mainstream of the Bay Area, but at that time it was hardly "ultra" anything. For many years, it was a magnificent radio station.
I just want to echo this and add a personal perspective.
Between the ages of 21 and 28 (1977-84), I lived in Reno.
I'd go frequently to San Francisco for daytrips, and the first station I'd want to listen to was KFRC, which was easy. About 45 miles west of Reno, even in daytime, 610 was listenable, and by the time you'd get to Sacramento, it was as strong as the locals.
I would punch around between KFRC, KNBR (then a very good personality Adult Contemporary station), and the music FMs like KYUU, KIOI, KSAN, KSFX, KOME and KMEL, too.
I'd usually drive back to Reno after dinner in the city---four hours, usually at least part of it in the dark. And by that point, I'd be burned out on the hit singles and album cuts, so I'd often punch up KGO somewhere between Vallejo and Fairfield (half an hour to 45 minutes out of San Francisco), figuring that I'd go back to music when I got bored in half an hour or so.
More often than not, I'd end up staying on KGO for the remaining three-plus hours of the drive home---the radio programmer in me marveling at just how damn good it was and the listener in me totally drawn in by the topics, the hosts, the callers and the quality of the local and network newscasts. Sometimes, as soon as I got in my apartment, I'd tune in KGO just to hear them finish the topic.
It was, as @DavidEduardo says, a magnificent radio station.
I used to listen to KGO from time to time when I was commuting to one of my first jobs in media back in 2014. I was on the road at 4am, so KGO boomed in loud and clear (despite me living far away from San Francisco). As I recall, they ran a replay of one of their popular talk shows at that time. While I don't share the same political views as the host, I thought he did a fantastic job. He seemed to be fair with all of the callers, and made a real effort to make the show engaging. I'm sure many people think of 2014 as being a bad time for KGO, but if that's how they were in their twilight years, they still sounded pretty darn good.
It terms of talk radio, they were an example of it being done well. There are many examples where it isn't done well.
"Magnificent" is the perfect description...
And for those of us on the opposite end of the political spectrum, KGO was unlistenable. Good riddance.
I don’t know when you were listening, but when I was (1977-1984), there was a mix of political views.
It’s been gone for twelve years.
And you never did answer my question. Do you live somewhere that 810 reaches more clearly than 560?
If so, good. But if there’s no discernible difference and you’re going to act like a monkey that just discovered The Banana Channel on cable over KSFO now being 50,000 watts just because it’s a big number, then I don’t know how to help you.
There was a time when talk radio wasn't about being on ends of a political spectrum. It was about conversation. Larry King didn't agree with everyone he spoke with, but he was always open to what they said, and he gave them the time to present their best self. That was when it was possible to have shows like Crossfire, Hannity & Colmes, or Face-Off with Ted Kennedy & Bob Dole. Sounds very quaint now.
I agree. Ron Owens and Lee Rogers were both strong hosts at KGO with very different political views.
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Even Limbaugh had segments of his show where he only asked callers who disagreed with him to call in. He actually did this rather often, especially during the Clinton years.
The legendary KGO (was) and KFI (currently) are the only talk stations that I ever listened to. Why settle for McDonald's when there's steak and lobster to choose from. If KFI ever goes away, that will be the end of listening to talk radio for me.
Which is why KFI fans like myself, are floored by what happened last week.
Which is why KFI fans like myself, are floored by what happened last week.
As most have detected, I am somewhere to the right of Atilla the Hun. Yet when I listened to KGO, mostly in the mid to late 1990's and earlier 2000's, it was not at all "unlistenable". Yes, it did present some perspective that were to the left of mine, but the balance with callers made it a fun and combative but still civil and dignified presentation.
I never found KGO unlistenable until, after the sale and transition to new owners, it was just not good radio.
On the topic of politics and radio, some of the best talk stations have a lineup of shows that feature different perspectives. I’m more on the conservative side, but I absolutely find a well executed (local) talk station to be engaging. Some hosts you’ll agree with, some you won’t, but that’s the fun part of listening. Echo chambers are rarely good for anyone.
Totally agree, political perspective is not what makes great talk radio. Its an engaging host, that's entertaining, can converse on other topics, and keep you listening past the spot load, news, and traffic breaks, because you can't wait to hear what they say next. And has a great sense of humor, which is important to keep the show balanced from the seriousness of the news today.
Oh heck, I just described KFI! 🙂
You described KIRO in Seattle pretty well too (though it's not quite the same as it used to be). I like local talk radio for local discussions too. Nonstop talk that focuses on national politics gets pretty old for me. That's typically what you get on the big syndicated shows. It's not that I don't want to hear some of that, but I don't need three hours of it every single day. I did give up on some of their shows (some of which were getting a little too political), but in general, most of the content is fantastic.
There's very few stations left that fit that description. Particularly, if you're looking for a center to left perspective on the national stuff. Not sure there's any "left" left on KFI, but Handel's reasonable. KMBZ in Kansas City, again more local and less political overall. WWL in New Orleans, one of the strongest is their "radical moderate" and local heritage talent, Scoot, preceded by the conservative Newell Normand. KIRO's the only other example I can think of off hand. It's still a decent station, but I used to be much more passionate about it. Their sister all-conservative station KTTH used to have two local shows, but cut the one from former KFI host Bryan Suits - politically I didn't necessarily go all in with him, but he was a colorful character and had a lot of background in military matters which made him more interesting than the hosts in the syndicated slots on that station.
If anything, I get annoyed with certain KIRO hosts who seem to ignore certain very relevant national stories simply to avoid controversy or because one half of the duo doesn't want to talk about them. Last week, the midday show ignored the nominations of Gaetz and Gabbard completely. Instead, they had three slots devoted to how supposedly the election meant that the LA Times and the View were going to change hosts and editorial boards to cater to Trump voters and how (in the view of one of the hosts) it was so GREAT that media was recognizing that balance was important. This is the same member of the show that spent multiple segments over the course of a week finding examples of "hysterical" Harris supporters freaking out, crying, etc. Maybe he should balance his own show before worrying about what ABC and a newspaper do.
I don't care about politics per se, be entertaining - but also, try to be a little less transparently hypocritical. It makes people even more suspicious of your takes. But this is what happens in talk radio when producers and program directors aren't in control of the talent and not leading and coaching. You get lazy radio from talent that feel entitled to run things their way instead of playing for the team.
If anything, I get annoyed with certain KIRO hosts who seem to ignore certain very relevant national stories simply to avoid controversy or because one half of the duo doesn't want to talk about them. Last week, the midday show ignored the nominations of Gaetz and Gabbard completely. Instead, they had three slots devoted to how supposedly the election meant that the LA Times and the View were going to change hosts and editorial boards to cater to Trump voters and how (in the view of one of the hosts) it was so GREAT that media was recognizing that balance was important. This is the same member of the show that spent multiple segments over the course of a week finding examples of "hysterical" Harris supporters freaking out, crying, etc. Maybe he should balance his own show before worrying about what ABC and a newspaper do.
I don't care about politics per se, be entertaining - but also, try to be a little less transparently hypocritical. It makes people even more suspicious of your takes. But this is what happens in talk radio when producers and program directors aren't in control of the talent and not leading and coaching. You get lazy radio from talent that feel entitled to run things their way instead of playing for the team.
Dr. Bill Wattenburg was destination listening for me on Sunday nights. It was 2 hours of answering caller questions on science, technology, and engineering. Always fascinating to listen to, even when he strayed politically on the environment, and global warming.
He used to rave about the 50,000 watt coverage at night of KGO, and the ability to cover "Alaska, western Canada and the US, and all the way down to Mexico!"
Those were the days ... I'm glad Dr Bill isn't around to witness what KGO has become.
When the fairness doctrine was still in effect, it was a lot different on all stations. Ron Owens had a once a week show where he had Billboard chart experts, who talked amongst themselves and took listener calls from people who would bring up a particular song to find out if it made the top 60 on any particular week. The people who called were often familiar guests from other weeks. I never missed that show. At one time, KGO had a 26 share at night in Portland! On the daytime Talk station where I worked, people were constantly commenting about one specific KGO host or another!
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