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KSFO To 810

And why not? Cumulus isn't making these changes for the benefit of any of their listeners. If I'm a listener, I know that. If I'm a listener, by definition I can already receive the 560 signal. The 810 signal might come in better, or not, depending on each listener's location. But I doubt anyone's naive enough to think this is corporate charity to make their life easier. So again, why should they care? At least until the plug's pulled on 560, and it becomes 810 or nothing.

It's not charity. KSFO is still spot sales based on whatever ratings they've got. If they don't lure the audience to where they need them before the plug is pulled on KSFO, it's a problem for them.

I told the story here (darned if I can find it) not that long ago about when KTAR in Phoenix moved its news/talk format to FM and changed the AM to sports. It was eighteen months before the audience finally fully migrated. A chunk of 'em thought they were just always tuning into a ballgame, pre-game or postgame show.

This was despite a month of heavy on-air and outside promotion about the move.


Remember: You're not the customer. You're the product. They're trying to serve you to the real customer---the advertiser.
 
The figure-8 null is there to protect WGY. This also made a fulltime AM possible in Kansas City in 1947. That one’s not called KCMO any more, either, much less KWKC.
Isn't there a contra to the East null for AM 810 in S.F., to protect the skywave for DZRJ(AM) 810 in Manila???
 
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It’s fun to speculate, but keep in mind that KVTO and KEST program to Chinese-language speakers - primarily Cantonese - who are concentrated in San Francisco and in the bayside East Bay. There are more Mandarin speakers in the south Bay but they are more widely distributed and are more recent arrivals. Thus I think it unlikely that either of those stations would want to spend the money needed to acquire a bigger signal that wouldn’t gain them (or the people buying time for programming on the stations) that much more audience.
A good guess! Sans 'People's Spy Radio' stuff.
 
There are more Mandarin speakers in the south Bay but they are more widely distributed and are more recent arrivals.
I was surprised when I first moved to the south Bay and found a shopping center where all the signs were in Chinese (I can't read it, so I don't know if it was Mandarin or not).
 
I was surprised when I first moved to the south Bay and found a shopping center where all the signs were in Chinese (I can't read it, so I don't know if it was Mandarin or not).

All dialects of Chinese use the same characters, though there are differences between mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. There might be some colloquialisms that are slightly different (the character for "peace," which is a woman under a roof, can also be read to mean "cheap" in some areas, for example), but, if you encounter someone who only speaks Cantonese, you can write to them if you know characters. China greatly simplified its writing system after Mao rose to power. Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional Chinese characters (unless China has mandated simplified characters since taking over Hong Kong in '97), but Taiwan has a few simplifications that were introduced after the British took over Hong Kong.

Fun fact about me: I've lived in Hong Kong and Taiwan and used to speak Mandarin at an almost native level. If I was having a conversation with a native Taiwanese over the phone, (s)he would have had a hard time telling I was an American. I haven't spoken it other than at a very basic level in Chinese restaurants in almost 30 years (which was more than half my life ago). Chinese is a language that gets away from you quickly if you don't use it regularly, and I haven't used it much since my sophomore year of college. So, I don't speak it well today, though I can still occasionally wow people by writing characters or using a slang term with the workers at Chinese restaurants.
 
All dialects of Chinese use the same characters, though there are differences between mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. There might be some colloquialisms that are slightly different (the character for "peace," which is a woman under a roof, can also be read to mean "cheap" in some areas, for example), but, if you encounter someone who only speaks Cantonese, you can write to them if you know characters. China greatly simplified its writing system after Mao rose to power. Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional Chinese characters (unless China has mandated simplified characters since taking over Hong Kong in '97), but Taiwan has a few simplifications that were introduced after the British took over Hong Kong.

Fun fact about me: I've lived in Hong Kong and Taiwan and used to speak Mandarin at an almost native level. If I was having a conversation with a native Taiwanese over the phone, (s)he would have had a hard time telling I was an American. I haven't spoken it other than at a very basic level in Chinese restaurants in almost 30 years (which was more than half my life ago). Chinese is a language that gets away from you quickly if you don't use it regularly, and I haven't used it much since my sophomore year of college. So, I don't speak it well today, though I can still occasionally wow people by writing characters or using a slang term with the workers at Chinese restaurants.
One of my relatives had to learn basic Chinese when he went there with former Kansas governor Carlin on a trade mission a long time ago, so he taught me. It's always fun to see the order taker's surprise at the Chinese places when he or I say "sheh sheh"after we give our order in English!
 
One of my relatives had to learn basic Chinese when he went there with former Kansas governor Carlin on a trade mission a long time ago, so he taught me. It's always fun to see the order taker's surprise at the Chinese places when he or I say "sheh sheh"after we give our order in English!
It's wonderful to know even tidbits of other languages. Besides the ones I speak either well or "adequately" I know things like you describe for several other tongues. It's certainly perceived as a sign of respect to show that you care enough to try to learn a bit of another culture. It's great that you know even a little bit of any variety of Chinese!
 
Fun fact about me: I've lived in Hong Kong and Taiwan and used to speak Mandarin at an almost native level. If I was having a conversation with a native Taiwanese over the phone, (s)he would have had a hard time telling I was an American. I haven't spoken it other than at a very basic level in Chinese restaurants in almost 30 years (which was more than half my life ago). Chinese is a language that gets away from you quickly if you don't use it regularly, and I haven't used it much since my sophomore year of college. So, I don't speak it well today, though I can still occasionally wow people by writing characters or using a slang term with the workers at Chinese restaurants.
What I find amusing ("amusing" as "strange" and not "amusing" as "haha") is that the larger percentage of Hispanics in the U.S. know some amount of English, and many are marvelously bilingual. Yet so few "Americans" speak any other language. I find it strange that Latinos compliment me, sometimes in amazement, for being able to speak Spanish while they "all" know good amounts of English.

For those who are not at least bilingual, the ability to think and speak in more than one language expands one's perspectives; languages reflect culture and knowing several makes acceptance and the welcoming of other cultures very rewarding.
 
What I find amusing ("amusing" as "strange" and not "amusing" as "haha") is that the larger percentage of Hispanics in the U.S. know some amount of English, and many are marvelously bilingual. Yet so few "Americans" speak any other language. I find it strange that Latinos compliment me, sometimes in amazement, for being able to speak Spanish while they "all" know good amounts of English.

For those who are not at least bilingual, the ability to think and speak in more than one language expands one's perspectives; languages reflect culture and knowing several makes acceptance and the welcoming of other cultures very rewarding.
Very true, David. I derived great benefits from living and traveling in Mexico and attaining fluency in Spanish. I still use it today, whenever I have the chance.
 
Isn't there a contra to the East null for AM 810 in S.F., to protect the skywave for DZRJ(AM) 810 in Manila???

That's a new one. I've never heard of an American radio station having to protect the signal of a station that's not in North America or the islands around it. I am going to pose this question on the DX board.
 
That's a new one. I've never heard of an American radio station having to protect the signal of a station that's not in North America or the islands around it. I am going to pose this question on the DX board.
There's no protection required to Asia from West Coast US stations.
 
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