I got to spend the day wandering the halls of two of the bastions of Bay Area radio today, along with my old pal RickRadio -- and boy, was it a blast!
We started off at KGO and KSFO, where the (truly) great Mike Amatori gave us the best nickel tour ever, which included Ronn Owens, Gil Gross, Trish Robbins, Craig Bowers and a host of others -- as well as a peek into the studio from which the KSFO morning show originates, including the TV set that Lee Rodgers can be seen on by Melanie Morgan and Officer Vic!
After lunch, it was over a few blocks to CBS/SF headquarters on Battery, where Mike Preston led us through their amazing complex. If you haven't been inside the CBS building in the city yet, it's a real showplace. I especially loved how Live 105's work area reflected the mood of the station (reminding me, somehow, of Seth Cohen's bedroom on The O.C.), how the broadcast audio equipment is displayed (to stunning effect) behind huge plate glass walls, the massive displays of awards that the stations have earned, and how KCBS' newsroom looked like an honest-to-god classic newsroom, rather than some perfunctory cubicle farm. The spaces for all the stations -- KFRC, Movin', Live 105, KYou Radio, Alice and KCBS -- are second to none. Very impressive.
We had the chance to meet KFRC's legendary engineers, Phil Lerza and George Zema, as well as Sue Hall (who allowed us to hang out in her studio as she worked), and Jeff Bell and Patti Reising graciously allowed us to intrude upon them in the KCBS news studio while they were on the air.
After that, we meandered over to KTRB's digs at venerable 1700 Montgomery Street, but -- alas -- couldn't get past the front desk.
All in all, a great day, with a special tip of the chapeau to Mike Amatori, who really went out of his way to make the day a real treat.
DJ
We started off at KGO and KSFO, where the (truly) great Mike Amatori gave us the best nickel tour ever, which included Ronn Owens, Gil Gross, Trish Robbins, Craig Bowers and a host of others -- as well as a peek into the studio from which the KSFO morning show originates, including the TV set that Lee Rodgers can be seen on by Melanie Morgan and Officer Vic!
After lunch, it was over a few blocks to CBS/SF headquarters on Battery, where Mike Preston led us through their amazing complex. If you haven't been inside the CBS building in the city yet, it's a real showplace. I especially loved how Live 105's work area reflected the mood of the station (reminding me, somehow, of Seth Cohen's bedroom on The O.C.), how the broadcast audio equipment is displayed (to stunning effect) behind huge plate glass walls, the massive displays of awards that the stations have earned, and how KCBS' newsroom looked like an honest-to-god classic newsroom, rather than some perfunctory cubicle farm. The spaces for all the stations -- KFRC, Movin', Live 105, KYou Radio, Alice and KCBS -- are second to none. Very impressive.
We had the chance to meet KFRC's legendary engineers, Phil Lerza and George Zema, as well as Sue Hall (who allowed us to hang out in her studio as she worked), and Jeff Bell and Patti Reising graciously allowed us to intrude upon them in the KCBS news studio while they were on the air.
After that, we meandered over to KTRB's digs at venerable 1700 Montgomery Street, but -- alas -- couldn't get past the front desk.
All in all, a great day, with a special tip of the chapeau to Mike Amatori, who really went out of his way to make the day a real treat.
DJ