WEEKEND READING MATERIAL...

[BossRadioDJ]

This weekend's edition of Ben Fong-Torres' Radio Waves in the Sunday Datebook:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/23/PKQ2159LH4.DTL

In the Sunday Chronicle's Sporting Green (yes, it's really green again!), a great piece about "homerism" and Bay Area sportscasters, from Russ Hodges and Bill King to Dave Flemming and Bob Fitzgerald, by Tom FitzGerald (a must-read for sports fans):

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/24/SPGG15618U.DTL

In the Oakland Tribune today, Dave Newhouse writes about "Good Neighbors: An old(ies) friend, KFRC, is new again":

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_11546227

 

[djj]

Refering to the last paragraph in Ben Fong-Torres' link:
Yes, Dr. Stuart Hyde's older and not part of the demos that cater to modern-day advertisers,
but there's a lot of truth in that simple quote from Dr. Hyde: "Radio's a disaster now"...
--jay

 

[DavidKaye]

This weekend's edition of Ben Fong-Torres' Radio Waves in the Sunday Datebook:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/23/PKQ2159LH4.DTL

Finally a column that doesn't talk about the past (except for a brief thing about KOBY which can be forgiven). I'm sure the ratings will surprise many people. Some good comments from KGO and KOIT people.

In the Sunday Chronicle's Sporting Green (yes, it's really green again!), a great piece about "homerism" and Bay Area sportscasters, from Russ Hodges and Bill King to Dave Flemming and Bob Fitzgerald, by Tom FitzGerald (a must-read for sports fans):

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/24/SPGG15618U.DTL

My advance copy isn't green. It wasn't last week, either. I guess we early adopters don't get the benefit of colored paper. Also, instead of putting in some interesting sports fill in lieu of scores and stories on Saturday games, the Chron simply reduces the size of the sports section in the advance copies! And they expect me to start paying $2.00 for this nonsense?

I'm a longtime fan of Jon Miller. I don't believe in homerism. It sounds really really rank. I remember local boosterism in Portland. I mean, heck, in any national story that had a local hook the local radio and TV stations and the Oregonian newspaper would report really dumb angles. About a serial killer I'll call John Doe reported in the early 1980s, I remember there was the story, "John Doe, who rented an apartment in Gresham in 1964...." Sports boosterism can sound just as lame. I'm glad Miller hasn't succumbed to the tendency to be a homie.

In the Oakland Tribune today, Dave Newhouse writes about "Good Neighbors: An old(ies) friend, KFRC, is new again":

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_11546227

I'm wondering what format Shannon is talking about. I've imported his database into a spreadsheet and I see the same songs repeating at least once and sometimes twice a day. Over and over. If he's playing anything unique and different it's obviously not on the air in SF.

 

[SCV_Ears]

I find it curious that the Sharks barely rated a mention in the Green's story, especially since Dan Rusanowsky is the only radio voice the team has ever had (save for when he was recuperating from a major auto accident 10 or so years ago), which makes him a natural for this story. I'd rate him the third best voice among Bay area teams, behind Jon Miller and Greg Papa.

 

[djj]

In the Oakland Tribune today, Dave Newhouse writes about "Good Neighbors: An old(ies) friend, KFRC, is new again":

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_11546227

I'm wondering what format Shannon is talking about. I've imported his database into a spreadsheet and I see the same songs repeating at least once and sometimes twice a day. Over and over. If he's playing anything unique and different it's obviously not on the air in SF.

I agree, David...
Example: I heard The McCoys' "Hang On Sloopy" less than 12 hours apart during mid-week...
I also seem to hear The Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" come up quite often...

As was the case when I first heard this format in Feb 2005, nothing much has changed...
--jay

 

[Madmansam]

1550 WAS KYCY aka KYOU not KYUU

In the Oakland Tribune today, Dave Newhouse writes about "Good Neighbors: An old(ies) friend, KFRC, is new again":

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_11546227

I noticed that Dave Newhouse refers to the previous call letters of 1550 as KYUU. It actually was KYCY though they referred to themselves as KYOU, not KYUU. KYUU was located at 99.7.

 

[onairb]

Does Newhouse not cover sports any more? I lost track of his column some years ago(when I lived on the Peninsula, and ANG bought the San Mateo Times, the Trib columnists started appearing there).
Years ago, when Newhouse was on KNBR, that station and its 'sister' KYUU shared a building (and NBC ownership), so I guess the 99.7 callletters were still rattling around somewhere in his mind.

 

[lenhockey]

Dave Newhouse is now doing features for the Oakland Tribune. He's been out of "direct" sports for a while. I'm sure he will do sports features from time to time.

 

[Bowler Bob in Brisbane]

Yes! Yes! YES!

I just read your post and immediately turned from listening to sports talk radio (the Tony Bruno Show on KNBR 1050) over to KFRC 1550!

Awesome!

Right now they're playing "Hawaii-5-0" (9:44 pm)

I haven't been this happy in... well quite a long time!

I'm actually giddy over the prospect of hearing all of my favorite songs again, all day and all night!

It's ironic that "Hawaii 5-0" was the first song that I heard upon my first listen, becuse I spent 5 hours yesterday adding 200 of my favorite songs from 1969 to my playlist.com "Songs of 1969" playlist.

I turned 15 years old on June 22nd, 1969 and spent that whole summer hanging out up at Holly Park Circle with my transister radio and my skeateboard listening to KFRC, as I had been doing for the previous 3 years

I love KFRC, ever since it went "Drake" in 1966.

My mind still pictures that pencil drawing of the dancers at the bottom of the big rock formation that carved out "KFRC, The Big 610".

In 1967 I would to take the #15-3rd & Kearney bus from the Sunnydale Housing Projects to the KFRC Studios on Bush Street & Kearney(now a hair salon) just to get the Top 40 Survey every week.

My big christmas present in December 1966 was a miniature reel-to-reel tape recorder with a lapel microphone.

The first thing I ever recorded with it was the Lovin' Spoonful's "Full Measure" direct from the little speaker on my transistor radio.

By the time I had graduated from Luther Burbank Jr. High School I had amassed a huge collection of 45's that I started buying in the Summer of Love (1967).

Every week KFRC would debut anywhere from 5 to 10 new records, and I would promptly go out and add those new singles to my collection, Just like KFRC did to it's Top 40 playlist.

I still have all those records and more!

Now 41 years later at 54 years old I now DJ in the Poster Room Lounge at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium under the name "Professor Phil Moore Jr., musicologist, playing those very same records.

I would love nothing more than to DJ just at least once at the new KFRC, it would be a dream come true.

Thank you so much for writing this post and totally making my day!

Cheers!

Bowler Bob in Brisbane

www.myspace.com/bowlerbobinbrisbane
www.myspace.com/mickflaire
www.myspace.com/dogbeaver

 

[1069_KIFR]

It is nice to see someone truly excited about radio. I could feel the true happiness in his post. I hope you enjoy your new found station and that CBS does not screw it up again.

 

[norcalreps]

Dave's article is great!!!! He is right on!! Great job!!!

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Bill Mann discusses the woes at Young Broadcasting (owners of KRON/4), comments on the faltering newspaper industry, and makes it sound like he's not a fan of KGO's Mickey Luckoff (or Ronn Owens, for that matter) in his latest column in the vast network of BANG papers:

http://www.mercurynews.com/alamedacounty/ci_11582833?nclick_check=1

 

[LKellerIII]

Bill Mann discusses the woes at Young Broadcasting (owners of KRON/4), comments on the faltering newspaper industry, and makes it sound like he's not a fan of KGO's Mickey Luckoff (or Ronn Owens, for that matter) in his latest column in the vast network of BANG papers:

http://www.mercurynews.com/alamedacounty/ci_11582833?nclick_check=1

Mann is a witty writer, but I'd take anything he says with a grain of salt. In the old radio.digest.com days, he was the Bay Area columnist, and it became clear that he considered most radio people - and especially disc jockeys - to be the lowest forms of life.

I would email him some comments occasionally, and he would respond thoughtfully...until the day I wrote him to defend the Doghouse (what can I say - I thought they were funny in their Wild 107 days). He blasted me, and after that, it was clear that I had become a card-carrying member of the Low Life Club in his eyes.

Having said that - St. Mickey does have detractors. I know two of them personally, and they have very unkind things to say about him. Then again, they were both on-air people who were terminated by Luckoff, so I take their enmity with a grain of salt, too. I would think it would be impossible to not make some enemies after 30+ years in radio management.

 

[DyingMedium]

Bill Mann is to radio what KFC is to chicken. He used to always show up at station events, gobble down the free food and drink, dropping a lot of it on his clearly unwashed shirt. Then he'd go on to write some error-riddled article about the event/station he was allegedly covering.

Also...his alleged "career" on the air was far from a career.