Like Scott, I don't work for iHeart. But if they're now running TTN content, they're also clearing TTN spots instead of (or perhaps in addition to) their own. TTN is its own division with its own budget and bonus structure. That's now more money for TTN, and potentially less for the local station. Unless the local station creates some new sponsorable items to sell to replace the former local news money. That's my tip for people who work in corporate radio: Always know where the money is going. You want to be attached somehow to a revenue stream. Otherwise, you're just an expense.
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Steve Gregory and more fired from KFI
- Thread starter DoctorWu
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Like Scott, I don't work for iHeart. But if they're now running TTN content, they're also clearing TTN spots instead of (or perhaps in addition to) their own. TTN is its own division with its own budget and bonus structure. That's now more money for TTN, and potentially less for the local station. Unless the local station creates some new sponsorable items to sell to replace the former local news money. That's my tip for people who work in corporate radio: Always know where the money is going. You want to be attached somehow to a revenue stream. Otherwise, you're just an expense.
It's not quite the same thing, but the iHeart Denver stations (KOA, KHOW, KDFD on AM) have a partnership with KDVR-TV, "Fox 31", for local weather and for local field reports. While KDVR produces a lot of newscasts on TV, the staff there seems stretched thin and the quality is not up to the standard set by the market leader, KUSA.
You seem to be arguing against a point that no one has made in this thread.
Ha! Pretty funny. OK. Let me rephrase: My comment was in response to you saying that the new staff isn't as experienced as the old staff. That still doesn't mean they're lower quality. There's a sports talk host I listen to who's in his mid-20s. Not a lot of experience. But he knows as much sports history as Bob Costas. He talks knowledgably about things that happened before he was born. I was listening to another 20-something who just replaced a far more experienced host. He was doing an interview with an NFL coach, and his questions were a lot more advanced than I typically hear from older, more experienced hosts. So older doesn't always mean better. We all start somewhere. I like to give the new guy a chance, because I was in his shoes at one time. There are lots of good young people out there who haven't been given a chance yet. Lets see what they can do before we say they're lower quality because they're young.
Funny that you mention Bob Costas. I lived near St. Louis when Bob Hyland gave Costas his big break on KMOX. Hyland had a real nose for talent. But Costas and others like him are exceptional. Most people take time to develop and to truly understand what they're doing. And even Costas had to learn a few things, too.
As a former television news manager at multiple stations in several markets (I get that TV is not radio, but the same trends apply), let me emphasize that Big A sees the big picture. Mass media in general, and mainstream news in particular, is dying. 25 years ago, far more people stayed informed by reading newspapers, watching broadcast/cable television -- and yes, listening to radio news. Now, most are consuming info from either social media, or niche broadcasters (Newsmax, etc.). This is a huge change. And while I also find it sad that the great news people at KFI are losing their jobs, the layoffs are just one more sign of a far larger megatrend.
Big A also touched on another important point. "News" content is now being created for free, by millions of social media users. Why pay a Los Angeles reporter big bucks to cover a large fire, for example -- when there will be 27 videos posted on-line by amateurs, providing similar information?
Exactly. The funny part (and you may have seen this yourself) is that TV news is using all that social media video to augment its own local coverage. They even request people to either send it to them or use a special hashtag so they can find it and use it. That's where radio should be going. They still need people to make editorial judgement over what to use. But there's no need to pay people to go to things like that when there's lots of free content available.
Because exactly…carry the three…ZERO…of those amateurs will talk to CalFIRE and provide essential and life-saving information. And a chunk of them will outright get shit wrong.
Now, as good as Steve Gregory is, I’m sure he’s made a mistake in his career at least once, but these folks are much more likely than he is to do so. “I’m hearing hobos live in these hills. Maybe they started the fire.”
And as for “why pay a reporter”, this’ll sound naive, and BigA, save your response because I muted you yesterday, but iHeart’s broadcast licenses, including KFI’s, are granted on the condition of serving the public interest.
That's not exactly true. I'd explain, but you won't read it anyway.
The fact is no station licenses will be revoked because they fired the news staff. Believe me. We've both worked at stations where the news staff was fired, and no licenses were revoked. I've worked at stations where EVERYBODY was fired (except me) and there was never a problem come license renewal time. I know several people who post here, including @bturner, who have had similar experiences.
I’m a news manager now in tv. You make valid points. But, is it ok for a rogue news reporter to post false/inaccurate information? Or, is it best for a credentialed reporter who has far more access to PIOs, elected officials, etc? I can understand cost cutting in news media, what I don’t like is the outright devaluing of news media. People are tuning out because of their distrust in media, why not invest in news product to gain the trust of viewers or listeners? KFI is a strong news brand that could’ve has a strong social and digital presence. But, now iHeart has completely devalued the product even worse by eliminating a majority of resources needed to compete against tv and the LA Times (online), etc
It depends on what you think the "product" is. My take is they determined the talk shows are the product. They're willing to give up the news part in order to focus on the talk. At least that was the decision at this station. In other cities, they kept the news and fired the morning show.
40 years ago I took a station in Puerto Rico all-news against a competitor that had a 30 year advantage on us, and was part of a TV and daily paper conglomerate. We had no street news staff. We did all government contacts by phone.
"Street" news we got by using a reverse phone directory and calling neighbors to the incident. We always got a bystander report instantly while the heritage station was still a half hour or more away by vehicle in perhaps the most congested major market in the country.
In 6 months, we were beating or tying the old-line station by using different techniques.. Listeners loved the "street flavor" to the stories that bystanders gave us. And the people in government offices and other "institutional" sources loved a quick phoner rather than a long interview by a field reporter from the other station.
As you say, BigA, there are different ways to do things and sometimes creating a new approach is better, sometimes refreshing, sometimes cheaper. Often, all three.
Way back in the early 80s. I thought it was strange also, but since I couldn't sell a roll of toilet paper to someone with terminal Irritable Bowel Disease I never gave it much thought. I did know that the sales guys were always driving the newer flashier cars so they must have been making the bucks somewhere. Us poor DJs driving Yugos were jealous. I think only one sales guys from that era is still around and I'll have to see if he remembers me and ask him about it if I can track him down.
Another market where a local emergency won't be reported on time.
Well, at least on KFI. KNX still exists and News is their format.
Los Angeles has several news stations: KNX and KPCC, to name a couple. But also you don't need a news staff to report local emergencies. Some stations have covered weather emergencies with talk show hosts. Also the TTN newsroom is only a half hour away in Long Beach, so they'd likely be aware of any local emergencies.
...because those 27 video content creators will likely simply say "look at this" or "this is amazing". A professional journalist will INVESTIGATE; will connect with stakeholders; will seek out the background to the story; and will often bring context to the story. This is because the reporter has typically been part of, and followed the local scene for quite some time, and thus can connect the event to the overall theme of not just what is happening... but what it means.
Some do, some don't. The issue at KFI is who pays? Revenues are dropping, so there's less money to hire those journalists. That's why they're being cut.
How do you ensure that the journalists are able to do their job without fear of the money going away? And how do they compete with free news?
House fires, car crashes, and other simple stories are a huge share of radio news coverage. These stories rarely require a pro to "connect with stakeholders." They rarely need context. There's no "overall theme." House burns down, people may or may not have died, and "no word yet on the cause". This ain't Watergate. I'm not expecting any yahoo with a phone camera to be Woodward and Bernstein. And if you want a bit more info on the fire or crash, plenty of agencies (sheriff's department, CHP, police, etc) already put on X and their websites info that's identical to what a P.I.O. tells professional reporters at the scene.
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