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Rumor: Ronn leaving for L.A. Brian taking his time slot.
- Thread starter HCochet
- Start date
DavidEduardo said:
I wouldn't disagree - Jackson was immensely popular with my parents generation - my mother had his KABC show on daily in the 60s and 70s, but of course, that demographic has mostly passed on,
Lkeller said:
Well, that's two very different assessments of Michael Jackson.
First of all, he comes by the accent honestly...he's from South Africa.
His popularity came from being in a new and developing format at a time when world events were confusing the adults who needed reassurance...a generation that, by and large, valued intelligence or the perception of it. And, never having truly screwed up, over a period of 25 years on the same station in the same timeslot, he built a level of trust and respect with his audience.
His polar opposite Joe Pyne notwithstanding, in a town and a time where Lohman and Barkley, Robert W. Morgan and Sweet Dick Whittington were mere disc jockeys, Michael Jackson was what a talk radio personality needed to be.
But, in the words of Steely Dan, those days are gone forever, over a long time ago. Everyone says Rush Limbaugh killed Jackson's career in L.A. and in terms of pure numbers, it was true...but Jackson was on the downhill slope 10 years earlier. His audience was in its 60s and 70s and in a multi-cultural city where morning entertainment was coming from Frazer Smith and Rick Dees, Jackson sounded like a museum piece. I was in my 20s, in radio, had grown up with his voice in my house, appreciated his talent and stature in the market...but I couldn't listen for a full hour. There was too much else going on...more immediate, more in touch...more relevant to my world view. If I was 65, with a house on Lido Island, I'd have probably listened to all three hours.
Llew's mom and mine would have enjoyed each other, I think. Both were loyal MJ listeners. I don't know about Llew's mom, but mine's been gone for 7 years now and would be 90 if she were still alive. And she wouldn't be Jackson's oldest listener by a long shot if he were still on the air.
I think we've lost a lot in the evolution of our society and the media. It's disheartening in some ways to hear such a harsh sum-up of Jackson from an intelligent guy like David Eduardo, whose intelligence I respect greatly. Mostly because if that's what David thinks, then Jackson never had a chance with the mass audience born after World War II.
I'm still not sure I could listen to an hour of Jackson, even now that I'm in my mid-50s. I suspect that he was the right guy at the right moment (1965-1975). But when I turn on what passes for talk radio today, I'd at least like to have the option.
michael hagerty said:
Thank you. I think that's an extremely well-done assessment of Michael Jackson. I first heard him when he did overnight talk at KEWB when the talkradio idea was still in its infancy. He was as comfortable as an old shoe. He was similar to KSL's Herb Jepko, except he wasn't corny or a huckster, but he attracted the same kinds of shut-ins and inactive people Jepko did.
I could hear a slight smile in his voice as callers phoned in and talked about their parakeets or their insomnia. In later years on KABC, I couldn't figure out why anybody thought he was hot stuff. I didn't find him insightful or particularly engaged in his conversations. It just seemed to me that the topic had changed from parakeets to armchair politics.
1069_KIFR said:
First prize: One tour at KGO.
Second prize: TWO tours at KGO.
Been reading up on this...Ronn's represented by Don Buchwald. It gives a tiny bit more credence to the idea that Ronn will end up somewhere else.
michael hagerty said:
Some of that may be generational. But when I became familiar with Jackson the second time (I did not listen a lot while I was at KWKW in the early 70's) he gave the same impression some old TV shows or movies do... the wrong pace for the times and a manner of speaking that seemed archaic.
I remember when Top´40 stations tried to get British jocks after the British Invasion. The accent was somehow both fun and real. But towards the end of Jackson's run on KABC, it just seemed out of place.
Delving into the content, he seemed to be increasingly untrue to Ocam's Razor... he heard zebras when the hoofbeats came from horses. There was a certain expectation that a talk host would address the most topical issues, and it seemed like Jackson had different priorities... a quality that could be confused with feeling his opinions were somehow more important.
I totally agree that he was the right person for a long time. In fact, longer than most. But towards the end of the KABC run, I could never say that his show was compelling on a personal level.
DavidEduardo said:
Funny you should mention that. Before Jackson reinvented himself as a talk host, he was one of those British DJs at KEWB Oakland and KYA San Francisco, both as "Jackson" and "Michael Scotland."
You can see his pic at the bottom of the blue and purple Fab 40 cover, along with Casey Kasem and Don McKinnon.
http://www.bayarearadio.org/surveys/kewb/kewb_survey_sep-16-1961.shtml
DavidEduardo said:
I found out where the "rumor I made up" came from
My coworker told me today.
It's from a June 7 "Rich Lieberman 415 Media" posting
Rich wrote
"I got a tip from an industry person that KGO's Ronn Owens is all but set to be bought out by Cumulus in August or September.
Owen's, (9-Noon) personal-services contract runs through January 1, 2013. It's highly unlikely he'll stay on the air through the end of the year given Cumulus' desire to buy him out early.
And the early word on his replacement? Try Pat Thurston or Brian Copeland....................."
There are 87 responses, most of which I didn't read. Possibly one of those speculates that Ronn will go to Los Angeles.
michael hagerty said:
What Michael Jackson did have going for him was a hell of a Rolodex and the backing of the old ABC network to get the guests, correspondents and news exclusives. But I could see where people would think him a bit stodgy and old. He was however, smooth and likable. He was also a liberal and they fell out of favor in the late 80's.
HCochet said:
Nope.
It was in what Rich wrote himself in a post on July 2:
KGO is now officially in total free fall.. The laughing stock of the trades, abandoned by its listeners and in the woodshed with a dreadful carnival act on weekends and a tired, mostly out-of-touch "news" division that pretends it is still relavent. Worse yet, it's once-admired and popular morning talk host seems resigned to ride out into the sunset and cement his SF legacy with a sheep turn. He, like most of the other veterans, simply has turned a blind eye. He doesn't care. Maybe he'll find solace in Los Angeles, (the rumors are making the rounds again.)
DavidKaye said:
Has Liebermann Looked at the SF books from Jan 2012-June 2012 The ratings for KGO stabilized from 2.0-2.9 It was December 2011 when KGO Dropped from 4.5 to 2.5. Maybe KGO's Argument is that its weekday news format is good and Weekend talk is doing good. KGO can argue that KCBS went down from a 6.6 in February 2012 to a 4.7 in June 2012 because they feel that the KGO anchors offer more features in their Newscasts over KCBS since CBS is more focused on Hard News. But then again KQED has stabilized at a 5.0 for all this time.
Lopaka said:
KQED and NPR seem to do well with it. I seriously doubt a commercial station could compete doing it, though.
Why don't you ask Ronn?
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