Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

[grantchester]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

I remember Bud from San Antonio city hall in 1985. There were KONO, KRNN, KSAQ, KSJL, KKYX, KCOR, and KTSA representing radio, 4 5 12 and 41 for TV, The Light, The Express and the News for print... all with offices and most with a dedicated full time reporter. Last I checked, Bud was all that was left from the electronic media, with maybe one or two from the E/N.
I spoke with someone at WOAI when I learned of Bud's retirement, and was assured a replacement would be hired. (Not that anyone can replace Bud's 35+ years experience).
It looks like they decided the city hall/courthouse/cop shop beat was too valuable to eliminate. Too bad for Stan that his history, contacts and talents weren't as valued.

 

[MisterRadio]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Also ... it's been going on for a while now, but nights and weekends you hear the same traffic reporter on KTRH and WOAI at the same time, so clearly one isn't live. Lord knows how far in advance they tape those things. Useful, huh?

This has been a Clear Channel initiative for several years now. They are trying to run all traffic reports (at least statewide, don't know if it's gone beyond that yet) out of a hub in San Antonio. Each market has a digital police scanner connected to a computer that streams the audio back to the hub in SA. The staff there compiles the info then records voice tracks and uploads them to the local station or types the info on a webpage for the few live DJs to read. Austin has resisted some of this. They still have local talent doing traffic reports and a mobile producer who is driving around gathering info (which he reports back to SA instead of to the Austin stations). I think Austin has gotten away with this because they sell it pretty agressively and the local management fought for it. I don't know how long that will last.

 

[mmnassour]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

I don't know these people and I'm not from Texas, but this thread is amazing. More than 1,000 professional radio newspeople have lost their jobs in the past five years, here we have a highly regarded heritage station that is hiring, and people here are complaining about how the job posting was worded?! Really??

No. That's not it.

The problem is not with the job posting...it's with the job, what the qualifications are, what the duties are, what the expected work product is.

What we have here is a station that was, repeat was, the voice of South Texas, one that people in an area the size of New England depended on daily for vital news and information, taking an important position and reducing it almost to the level of a college intern.

Get a job as a radio reporter in 2011? Hell, that job is vanishing, has vanished from many places. CC led the charge to radio abandoning its traditional role as a source of news and unbiased information, all in pursuit of the dollar. If that's what the market wants, so be it. But please don't call people like that "smart". Doing so demeans the truly intelligent who consider their broadcast license a public trust and take their responsibilities seriously.

 

[mrob75]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

From everything I see here, the people who run WOAI are pretty smart...they're hiring at a time when lots of Clear Channel stations are cutting news reporters, one poster said they are quintupling the ratings of their competitor. Maybe if you followed the advice of these smart people and learned what it takes to get a job as a radio reporter in 2011 rather than sitting around bitching that it's not 1977 any more, maybe you would be as successful as they are. And happy. Just a thought.

You obviously weren't reading very carefully. The job posting is for a replacement for one who retired a couple of months ago.The thread started out as a discussion of a guy who was fired. So, if you're counting, 1 retired + 1 fired = 2 gone. Only one guy got hired. Also, the CCSA cluster fired 3 other on-air employees right before Christmas. Their jobs have yet to be posted, and I suspect they won't. CCSA is one of those "CC stations cutting staffers" that you reference.

 

[Leebo65]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

This posting from the TAB jobsite says everything about what the once-great WOAI brand has become under Peter Bolger. Makes it completely understandable that they got rid of Bob Gutrhrie and then Stan.

"Description: Clear Channel Radio is looking for an experienced news anchor/reporter who is willing to be creative than you have ever been before and cannot be bound by old fashioned ideas of what is and what is not news. Must be fearless, flexible and a GREAT writer who has a passion for the profession. Ability to come up with ideas is far more valuable than a journalism degree or experience ins an 'old fashioned' newsroom. Must appreciate the value of New Media.

Requirements: Minimum high school diploma"

Hahahahaha..... Why JimBob then, JimBob fits that description perfectly. Does ClearChannel really need Peter Bolger..? Why do managers stay and talent gets booted..?

 

[Leebo65]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Doing so demeans the truly intelligent who consider their broadcast license a public trust and take their responsibilities seriously.

I think we: the citizens of the US need to re-examine this Public Trust deal. These big Corporations are making a mockery of the airwaves.

 

[daypart]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Hahahahaha..... Why JimBob then, JimBob fits that description perfectly. Does ClearChannel really need Peter Bolger..? Why do managers stay and talent gets booted..?

This message board is now interviewing you to be Bolger's replacement. You can hire people back, but you have to make the same number of cuts, because your new bosses at CC will be giving you Bolger's budget. Now tell us who you would cut to do a better job than Bolger... or are you just proposing here that they eliminate the Bolger position and let the station run itself?

 

[Maize Brothers]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

You're all missing the point. Ratings don't matter as much as the success of a station listed in the Miller-Kaplan. This measure of a sstation's success (or failure) often has a direct correlation as to whether staff is expanded or reduced. WOAI (and the CC-SA cluster in general) had a good year financially in 2010. And no, I don't work there. Drop by your GM's office and ask to take a look at the report--you'll see it in black and white.

Is it fair to cut longtime news people? No. In this case, and according to reports on this website, newsroom cuts are happening across CC. The "regionalized" approach to news reporting (recording) can easily be done from a far away location and, sadly, isn't as "vital" to a station's success or local "sound" as it once was. If there is a breaking local story, a news person in house or a stringer from another outlet can do a good job covering the story for the station.

I don't know Peter Bolger, and I am not going to second guess the motive for removing Stan.

I do know that Bob Guthrie's departure was a legitimate retirement celebrated publicly here several years ago. Perhaps Bud LIttle's retirement was just that, too. Eventually, Bill Rohde, Jim Forsythe, and Michael Main will sign off, too. At some point, broadcasters age just like athletes and give it up. Will they have a pension or long term health care like athletes? Hell no.

Did anyone consider the possibility that Stan retired before typing their reations to Stan's dismissal? Maybe Stan had enough. Unless anyone here can post the real answers, then this entire thread is merely speculative in nature. Would you write/air/post a news story based solely on speculaton?

 

[fredcantu]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

If there is a breaking local story, a news person in house or a stringer from another outlet can do a good job covering the story for the station.

Yeah... Suddenly that big news team is reduced to one person trying to gather information and get it on air at the same time. Your station's one time to shine and win a reputation as the go-to station for breaking news and that's your plan?

 

[gabigley1]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

You're all missing the point. Ratings don't matter as much as the success of a station listed in the Miller-Kaplan. This measure of a sstation's success (or failure) often has a direct correlation as to whether staff is expanded or reduced. WOAI (and the CC-SA cluster in general) had a good year financially in 2010. And no, I don't work there. Drop by your GM's office and ask to take a look at the report--you'll see it in black and white.

If this is the case, then why would the CC-SA cluster need have a budget cut in the first place? Why not increase news staff and be "SA's NEWS
Leader" once again?

 

[mmnassour]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Because public service has been completely exorcised from CC radio. Yes, a station must be profitable to stay on the air, of course. But now we see profit to the exclusion of all else.

 

[daypart]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Because public service has been completely exorcised from CC radio. Yes, a station must be profitable to stay on the air, of course. But now we see profit to the exclusion of all else.

The bar is pretty low for what constitutes public interest these days. Most stations seem to meet that obligation early on Sunday mornings, and do whatever they please the rest of the week, as long as its not obscene.

 

[Maize Brothers]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

CC-SA is likely required to cut its staff/budget to fall in line with a corporate mandate. Just because the local market did well doesn't mean they get a "pass". The region might have done poorly and their "good" may still translate to losses. Right now, it's likely about reducing costs at all costs across the company. Has anyone seen Q1 pacing for the industry or for the region? Plus, there is a real possibility of a loan default/bankruptcy/reorganization in the works, which is a much larger issue. Scarier times than late '09? Something to consider.

Can the local listener tell much difference? Look at KQXT's cume and results recently. Yes, it's Christmas success. But look deeper--they're airing 1 live daypart and the rest are robo-jocked via "Premium Choice"...and they're winning. I'm not a fan of it whatsoever...but think about it. Lower the overhead, raise the ad rates, have some succcess, prove that "Premium Choice" can work in large markets, and you have a blue print for some sort of success elsewhere. Isn't that the MO anyway? I'd bet they (CC-SA) are returning a significant amount of revenue to the bottom line versus expenses to operate KQXT. Music director? Not needed. AM show costs? Nope. Limited live bodies? You bet. Packaged sales with other stations to deliver multiple (duplicated) audiences from reps that represent multiple stations? Bingo.

Success here won't save any positions on staff that bean counters consider elsewhere deem "unnecessary" or "luxurious". Instead, it's what they could/should do...everywhere.

 

[Leebo65]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Hahahahaha..... Why JimBob then, JimBob fits that description perfectly. Does ClearChannel really need Peter Bolger..? Why do managers stay and talent gets booted..?

This message board is now interviewing you to be Bolger's replacement. You can hire people back, but you have to make the same number of cuts, because your new bosses at CC will be giving you Bolger's budget. Now tell us who you would cut to do a better job than Bolger... or are you just proposing here that they eliminate the Bolger position and let the station run itself?

Eliminate the position. No PD micromanaging. Thanks for coming.

 

[1st of 5]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Anyway, does Stan K still announce for the Spurs home games? When I used to attend their games during the dome days, he was the guy yelling into the PA system, which no one really paid much attention to.

 

[daypart]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Anyway, does Stan K still announce for the Spurs home games? When I used to attend their games during the dome days, he was the guy yelling into the PA system, which no one really paid much attention to.

No, he lost that gig on October 11, 2008 according to Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Kelly

I'm a bit surprised that there's a web record of the exact date, but my top of the head guess was that it happened about two years ago.

Wikipedia says he still does PA for the Missions baseball team and UT Longhorns basketball.

 

[1st of 5]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Earlier, it was posted that Stan was on the air on KTSA as Charlie Brown. I remember his voice on KTSA during that time, but I don't remember if he was a DJ or newsreader. What was his position at KTSA? Was he ever on KONO-101FM?

 

[gabigley1]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Earlier, it was posted that Stan was on the air on KTSA as Charlie Brown. I remember his voice on KTSA during that time, but I don't remember if he was a DJ or newsreader. What was his position at KTSA? Was he ever on KONO-101FM?

Stan, aka Charlie Brown on KTSA radio in the seventies. The March 11, 1972 edition of Billboard has a group photo of him on page 31. Click the link below to go page 31 of that issue and scroll down a little to see his photo. He is listed in the photo caption as an 'air personality':

http://books.google.com/books?id=uS...nepage&q=charlie brown ktsa billboard&f=false

 

[daypart]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Earlier, it was posted that Stan was on the air on KTSA as Charlie Brown. I remember his voice on KTSA during that time, but I don't remember if he was a DJ or newsreader. What was his position at KTSA? Was he ever on KONO-101FM?

Stan, aka Charlie Brown on KTSA radio in the seventies. The March 11, 1972 edition of Billboard has a group photo of him on page 31. Click the link below to go page 31 of that issue and scroll down a little to see his photo. He is listed in the photo caption as an 'air personality':

Wow, that's wild to see a young Stan with shoulder-length hair standing next to Sonny Melendrez with an Afro. Thanks for posting that. 8)

 

[daypart]

Re: Goodby Stan Kelly

Earlier, it was posted that Stan was on the air on KTSA as Charlie Brown. I remember his voice on KTSA during that time, but I don't remember if he was a DJ or newsreader. What was his position at KTSA? Was he ever on KONO-101FM?

Stan, aka Charlie Brown on KTSA radio in the seventies. The March 11, 1972 edition of Billboard has a group photo of him on page 31. Click the link below to go page 31 of that issue and scroll down a little to see his photo. He is listed in the photo caption as an 'air personality':

Charlie Brown is back on the air at KONO. I heard him on Sunday afternoon.