KVI, as we know it, is gone: what's next?

We gotta say it. Kirby Wilbur, despite we disagree with his antediluvian politics, is one of the nicest guys in Seattle radio.

He’s a friend of BlatherWatch, though we gave him plenty reasons not to be (sorry about the crack about the donuts, Kirb). He wrote a letter of reference for David Goldstein, (a flaming liberal, but a friend too) helping him land a job at KIRO. Young talent including Luke Burbank and David Boze,  Matt Haver, Dave Carson, and Jen Andrews worked for him and owe Kirby plenty. (Read Boze's homage here). Kirby could be conservative without being an asshole- a rarity these days.

His 16-year career started in a way impossible in radio’s present state- he was a frequent caller recruited from his real-estate job and given a go because a smart programming director (Brian Jennings? Shannon Sweatte?) heard potential and put him on the air. He did evenings, afternoon drive, and moved to mornings, which at one point was no.3 in that competitive hour.

Filling the hole must have been the intention behind the new programming at KVI, after getting rid of the expensive, but low-rated Kirby on a low-rated station.

Filling in holes is the strategy of gravediggers, and that’s probably more than a coincidence.

Putting Laura Ingraham live in the early shift is probably not a bad idea, she was pretty stale in the afternoon. However, we, for one, won't be listening- it’d be like getting up 5 days a week with an unhappy wife (we gave that up years ago).

But John Gibson! Against Rush, and Steve Scher, (KUOW m-f, 9-11a) not to mention The Commentators (KOMO m-f, 10a-2p) and Thom Hartmann?! (KPTK m-f 9a-12p)

Gibson’s a 3rd-tier talker in every way- his ratings, performance, lovability are all sketchy and dubious. He’s a washed- up teevee anchor thrown a radio show by Fox as a consolation/bone after they fired him last year. (Gibson likes radio because he doesn’t have to wear his hairpiece).

He did some fill-in work on KVI a few years ago and was despised by the cranky KVI listeners (down to single digits these days). Gibson has written the definitive work on the War on Christmas (buy new for $3! or join the millions who didn't.) He’s 3rd rate despite all the out loud, on-purpose racist gaffes he’s made to get his name in the papers like Rush. 

This market obviously cannot support 3 right-wing talk stations- they’re all in the shitter. (Market ranks: KTTH,16th, KIROFM, 20th; KVI, 25th) KTTH has Rush and Glenn Beck; KIRO doesn’t, despite it’s more conservative than not, that’s one of the reasons the smaller station kicks its ass (the other reason it never left AM).

They couldn’t wrest Rush from KTTH last year, (lord, how they tried) and it’s hard to see how the station can survive in this liberal town saturated with right-wing talk.

Fisher suits (Jim Clayton, Dennis Kelly) know this stuff. This lateral (at best) move means more changes ahead for KVI.

So what to do with the once-proud clunker? Format flip? Fitting in would be a problem: there are already too many sports stations, even KIROAM is marginal except during football and baseball; music, if you could find a niche, doesn’t sound good on the AM… Business as a format is already failing by KKOL, (and they’ve got Mike Siegel!)…  Radio Disney maybe?

Or maybe Fisher is trying to get this dog profitable with cheap syndication so they can unload it.

Comments

[Tommy008]

what's the deal with Obama and his deep bowing to various little tin gods he meets abroad? we're Americans. We bow to no one. I defended Obama against Monson's silly nitpicking regardin the Joe MedicineCrow speech, but goddamnit guit this asinine deep bowing, Obama.

[Tommy008]

you most certainly dont deep bow or bow period,to some Japanese bastard, Obama ,with their frigging histiry with us.

[Puget Sound]

oh Authentic A-hole:
still smarting from that waitress dealie, eh? or was it the NY Vinnie smackdown? or the claim that it was a muslim terrorist that shot the police officer based off of your 'guess-work' aka casual racism, or was it the earlier attempt to pin the arson on 'conservative homeoweners' when you have the Earth Liberation Front loudly proclaiming that it caused the fire.

you are the kind of caller that a michael medved plays like a pinata for the amusement of his vast listening audience.

word of advice: stay in the shallow end...don't tread out past mike malloy otherwise you may get hurt.

[KS]

"Klueless, the numbers on fixed news have been posted here many, many times. Learn to read."

With all due respect, Ph(J)oanie, you can't comprehend reading much at all for a schoolteacher and/or are a liar with your numbers. Are you retarded ? Give it up, you are just looking stupid or bring it on - whatever I don't care.

Your assertions are ridiculous - one O'Reilly show attracts 3.5 million, Beck attracts 3 million and right there, there are many people that do not watch both and that is only a small fragment of the total viewing audience. I stand by the 15-25 million over an average week and challenge you to bring forward any credible evidence to counter it.
(hint - don't waste your time with Media Matters, they are serial liars)

[chucks]

I was reading an article somewhere in the past couple of weeks that stated that 40% of Americans regularly watch cable news (I believe it was a PEW Research study). If 40% of Americans watch cable news and Fox News Channel gets 50% of cable news viewers with the rest divided up by CNN, HLN and MessNBC, it just makes sense that 20% of Americans watch Fox News.
None of this will tamper down the deluded Joanie, but who really gives a rats ass about that?

[KS]

If your numbers are in the ballpark, it appears that I underestimated the number myself - 60 million - OK.

What you said about Joanie, who takes Media Matters as gospel. Rather than state the obvious, she has shown that she can't help it - she's probably a 9-11 truther also.

[OneOfHerStudents]

You lost argument to puget sound and called him names how can we ever trust you.

[sparky]

Hmm..you all profess not to care what joanie thinks, but you spend hours writing rebuttals and calling her names.

Interesting.

[KS]

Sorry to pierce your sensibilities, Sparkles, but you have poor judgment when you select your mentors - case and point; Joanie. Your political correctness is often nauseating along with your blind ignorance to the damage that Obama is really causing all Americans including you, but you are too ideologically blind to see.

It is true - we don't care what Joanie thinks, but we continue to debunk her fallacies as a public service for others in the blogosphere who might take seriously what she says.

[Drew]

"...as a public service"? C'mon, it's really a personal attack, isn't it?

[chucks]

I certainly can not speak for the other posters here, but when it comes to joanie and I, it is personal. To deny that on either of our parts would be democrat.

[KS]

"...as a public service"? C'mon, it's really a personal attack, isn't it?"

I don't give a flip what you call it.
Folks, consider the source.

[joanie]

None of this will tamper down the deluded Joanie, but who really gives a rats ass about that?

Probably because deluded joanie knows where to get the facts.

Credibility ratings for the Fox News Channel have remained largely stable in recent years. Currently, 23% say they can believe all or most of what they hear from Fox, down slightly from 2006 and 2004 (25%)

Too bad you can't figure out how to get this stuff yourself. You wouldn't hae to say I believe . . . so much.

From same site:

Most Frequented News Sites on the net:

YAHOO 28%
MSNMICROSOFT 19%
CNN 17%
GOOGLE 11%
MSNBC 10%
AOL 8%
FOX 7%

Doesn't really mean much. I think I saw on one of the pages that cable news did get 39%. They break down the demographics. Check to see where the educated people are getting their news, chux.

[joanie]

It's perfectly fine, Drew. I like calling out fools. Too many people let them get away with their idiocy, faux charm, and down-right stupidity.

Our country can no longer afford them. If any one of them had the brains to take me on the issues, they wouldn't have to take me on with personal attacks. Including chux.

Sputs tries to sound intelligent. But Sparky and I have both run the his circular gamut. I finally quit. I was getting dizzy and he isn't worth it. That's why he's counting beans.

[KS]

With your last post, you have proven nothing except illuminated how much of a fool and how much in denial your really are,
Ph(J)oanie. Keep rationalizing with your circular arguments.

Trying to appeal to your half-witted fan base ?

[joanie]

Keep up the generalized insults, klueless. What else do you have to offer?

Do you realize how pathetic your responses make you look? I mean, really?

[KS]

Ph(J)oanie, you just proved my point in my last comment. You have no coherent argument, just verbal screed.

Hey, I'm just doing the folks a public service by showing them how vapid and duplictous you really are. Keep trying to isolate and attack - Saul Alinsky would be proud.