Dan McKay said:
More local talent? (What's Frank Shiers, chopped liver?)
Yes. (Just kidding, Frank....)
Dan McKay said:
What would you do to fix KIRO?
Well first, move it back to 710 kHz. News/Talk doesn't belong on FM in Seattle. We already saw that in the '90s with KIRO-FM 100.7. How anyone could have done something so misguided without bearing in mind what happened to KIRO-FM from 1992-98 still amazes me.
For offices and AM unfriendly areas, emphasize the web stream. That pays for a news/talk station better than an FM frequency
When KIRO-FM was on 100.7, the tower was on Queen Anne Hill and that made downtown Seattle tunnel penetration very easy. My car gets KIRO-AM better in tunnels than 97.3, which is a wash of white noise most of the way through.
Second, the 97.3 signal is not very good for a station on the caliber of KIRO. I mean if KIRO is going to be the station we depend on, it's GOT to have a dependable signal. KIRO-AM's daytime range covers most of the state and parts of B.C. and Oregon whereas 97.3 barely makes it into Mount Vernon. And Bellingham can't even get a listenable signal in most areas.
(Of course, this is going to set me up for some more Bellingham bashing - bring it on Guru.) But when you think about it, most of KIRO's listeners aren't shut-in homebodies. They go places. And when there's so much multipath noise and crap in the further reaches of that signal that you can't even understand what the hell Dave Ross is saying, that can't be good for PPM. I don't think the PPM signal even registers with all that going on. To say nothing of news/talk fans having to zap it to KGMI or CKNW in the north or KXRO or KBKW (or heaven forbid, KOMO-FM) in the south when the 97.3 signal goes straight to hell.
It's just wrong. FM was made for tunes, not lo-fi monaural blabber.......
Next, remember what made KIRO a LEADER. It was NEWS, It was KIRO
NEWSRADIO 71(0). Those guys REALLY BLEW IT when they let KOMO take that
NEWSRADIO moniker and I really don't think Dennis Kelly is even ABOUT to let them have it back. You can't blame him. He's got Bill Yeend too and he's taking what was once KIRO's to the bank.
So what's the fix?
Well, start with more discussion on issues across the Northwest. Get the Northwest perspective. FORGET the mundane celebrity/political gossip, that's what KTTH is for and Frank Shiers really belongs there. He may be a nice guy, but he's just a wee bit too conservative and what a moderate talk radio station needs is more topics than just political rants - from EITHER side. There's a zillion other things in life. Especially out here in Puget Sound.
Enter KUOW.
KIRO USED to do hard, in-depth news. Major stories on Northwest issues that ran at least 5 full minutes in length were not uncommon once on 710 kHz, but are now a mainstay on KUOW. And KUOW is somehow kicking EVERYBODY'S ass in the Seattle news/talk arena. So it's time to discard that "it's just public radio" notion because that's like saying "It's only a train" when you're crossing a set of rumbling tracks in front of a three locomotive powered chain of rail cars that go down at least a mile. KUOW is doing something they're not. And it's so damn good, people not only put up with one of the WORST FM signals in the Northwest, they actually PAY to hear it.
It's time for KIRO to quit underestimating their biggest opponent and start LEARNING from them. And from the looks of it, the priorities got misplaced. It's the programming, not the FM dial position that makes KIRO.
With the dawn of PPM, paradigms have truly shifted.
Too Beautiful To Live was actually a GOOD show and discarding it was BAD. It gave KIRO some good street press (The Stranger even wrote a cover story about it. And The Stranger is pretty influential. When you can get good coverage in the alternative media, DO NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED. The LAST thing you want to look like is too stuffy. But when TBTL was let go, that's what they did.)
I think KIRO's biggest problem overall (besides it's crummy FM signal) is all the lineup changes they made over the last 10 years. KGO in San Fransisco has the same problem. KIRO needs to get stable and back to basics.
My $2.00.......
P.S. One more thing on KIRO-AM. I had a very strange dream the other night. I got into my car and punched in 710 kHz. As "Moving In Stereo/All Mixed Up" The Cars played, I went to get a latte, then got on I-5 south towards Seattle. A voice over that sounded a LOT like Jay Phillips then came on. "Welcome to Seattle's Newest Radio Station. This is 710, The Drive". "Gone Shootin'" AC/DC begins and I began to weave a bit as I nearly choke on my scalding hot latte.
Then Steve Slaton comes on and I quickly realize I better pull the hell over to the nearest exit. He was in top form and sounding great. Then he plays a lost Elton John album cut (one of the lengthier ones), then "Tenth Avenue Freezeout" Bruce Springsteen.
Another Jay Phillips voicer: "From Vancouver, Washington to Vancouver, British Columbia from Westport to Wenatchee, Wherever you go, this is 710, The Drive". Something like that....
"Dance The Night Away" Van Halen, then "Fly Me Courageous" Drivin' N' Cryin' plays and Slaton comes back on, sounding as
COOL as he ever did, talking a bit about the radio station. Then plays "Evil Woman" Black Sabbath......Then my cell phone alarm goes off.....That's where it ends, folks.....
