https://news.****************/articles/c41171/KVI-Seattle-Welcomes-Ari-Hoffman-to-Weekday-Afternoons
Show starts on April 26th.
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KVI/Seattle Welcomes Ari Hoffman to Weekday Afternoons
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
- Start date
Show starts on April 26th.
Best of luck. KVI has been mostly irrelevant for decades. But I’m sure Sinclair still has a need for it.
I'm planning on going to Seattle at some point this year on vacation. And trust me when I say...there is NO WAY IN HELL I'd listen to the station that Tom Leykis used to refer to as KKKVI. (You can guess the reason why.) Not just because of the lineup of gasbag talk show hosts, but that Sinclair owns the station. (That's also why I won't listen to KOMO if I need a news fix. And I LOVE listening to all-news stations.)
Actually KOMO Newsradio sounds pretty good and their numbers are not awful. They tend to keep things balanced. My only complaint is they could use a bit more edge ala KNX in LA. But i guess they are trying to reflect “Seattle mellow”, though Seattle has not been very mellow in recent years.
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I have never noticed any content on KOMO radio that appeared to be pushing a political agenda. The same is true for KOMO television. They are forced to air certain biased Sinclair content, but they choose to run this content at a time where virtually nobody is watching. Even the comedian John Oliver ran an episode about Sinclair's biased news coverage, hailing KOMO as an example of a news station that still presents fair coverage by getting around some of these company policies in a clever manner.
You might be able to make an argument that KIRO-FM is more biased than KOMO radio if you're listening to the content that airs between official news breaks. The main difference here is that KIRO listeners are tuning in specifically for certain shows and know what to expect from certain hosts. KIRO sometimes gets classified as a "conservative" radio station, but I really don't think that label applies to all of the content on the station. For instance, the morning news program with Dave Ross is informative without promoting any agenda.
As for KVI, if nothing else, at least most people in the metropolitan area know what they are and can take or leave it.
You might be able to make an argument that KIRO-FM is more biased than KOMO radio if you're listening to the content that airs between official news breaks. The main difference here is that KIRO listeners are tuning in specifically for certain shows and know what to expect from certain hosts. KIRO sometimes gets classified as a "conservative" radio station, but I really don't think that label applies to all of the content on the station. For instance, the morning news program with Dave Ross is informative without promoting any agenda.
As for KVI, if nothing else, at least most people in the metropolitan area know what they are and can take or leave it.
I've noticed KIRO seems at times to try and add conservative hosts or have a conservative AND a liberal (the Todd Herman experiment, multiple versions of KIRO Nights) with Jack Stine being the latest and Jason Rantz being another example (and now that he's on KTTH, they still repurpose his content at times) The only clearly liberal hosts that seem to be left are Dave Ross and Tom of Tom and Curley. Dori is actually more conservative and less critical of his own side than he used to be. The bulk of the social media commenters to KIRO (FM) certainly lean right.
KIRO also has the Gee and Ursula show from 9am to noon, which definitely leans a little to the left. I find myself tuning into Dori once in a while because he does tend to call out some of the strange and/or amusing things that go on in Seattle. If the show operated more like some of the national conservative shows that constantly promote an agenda, I wouldn't bother.
One irony: KVI is still on the air, and Tom Leykis isn't. Why he never returned to the air is a good question, he definitely has the ability to field a show and draw an audience.
KOMO Radio is about as middle of the road, dry news as you can get.
They are definitely middle of the road, and that is probably a good thing. I'd have to agree with seatownmedia in that a little more authoritative presentation would be nice (like KCBS in San Francisco), but their current direction seems to be working for them.
Leykis isn't on the air because his house had a black mold infection which hospitalized him, he lost his voice over it. He still does a podcast but his voice is gone.
Of similar news KTTH is dropping the EIB network and adding the Dan Bongino show to the time slot... Bongino is a new syndicated show from Cumulus. In theory anyone in the market could now pick up the Premiere show formerly hosted by Rush Limbaugh which continues on with substitute hosts, including KTTH morning host Todd Herman. Could Todd end up doing mornings on KTTH and then be heard middays on KVI? Things that make you go hmmmmm...
Of similar news KTTH is dropping the EIB network and adding the Dan Bongino show to the time slot... Bongino is a new syndicated show from Cumulus. In theory anyone in the market could now pick up the Premiere show formerly hosted by Rush Limbaugh which continues on with substitute hosts, including KTTH morning host Todd Herman. Could Todd end up doing mornings on KTTH and then be heard middays on KVI? Things that make you go hmmmmm...
I also think Leykis would be an odd fit for any talk format in 2021. His politics on KFI were regarded as "liberal" but at the same time, the "Leykis 101" and the relationship/dating advice he gives wouldn't exactly square with most liberal's perspectives and would be regarded as archaic sexism. Doesn't really fit anyone's format.
Leykis was riding the 'shock-jock' wave of the 90's. After a while his shtick got old, ratings sagged, yet his ego seemed to get larger and disproportionately out of sorts. That's about the time affiliates started doing the hot potato. He became more trouble than all the pain was worth. He was smart to move on-line. His handful of remaining bottom feeders who enjoy hearing about 'porking' or whatever, are still around to keep his ego light lit.
Black mold effected his voice? Yeah, sure.
As far as Leykis goes: Agreed, but maybe he saw the writing on the wall in terms of radio and got out while the getting was good. (I'm not discounting Kelly's take in the slightest.)
I am frankly surprised Leykis ever aired in Seattle, it being mostly a non controversial market. But then again there was a guy on KING-AM in the 80’s who liked to rile them up. Can’t think of his name at this point. edit: just came to me. Mike Siegel.
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From what I understand when KLSX flipped Leykis had had to wait to get back on the air because of his contract, and instead of getting back on the air he decided to go online with streaming instead (he already had a website). By that time shock talk had faded. The Buzz flipped not long after KLSX did (possibly at the same time). Probably other stations that carried him also were flipping.
BJ Shea and the Mens Room get edgy at times, or at least used to during and after the time Leykis was on the air. I think Leykis was even on KISW for a while after the Buzz flipped.
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