BlatherWatch

Is linda thomas the new KIROFM morning voice?

Linda Thomas is working the news this morning on KIRO. Is she the new KIRO morning newsperson sidekicking Gregg Hersholt?

16 year KIRO veteran Jane Shannon was fired rather abruptly two weeks ago.

Often mentioned for the job, Thomas won't face a tough learning curve- she’s been filling in on KIRO for years.

Thomas is the honey-toned radio pro, and one time blogger who gave up the profession to have a family before returning to the fray.

KBCS changes protested

A group of former KBCS volunteer music producers, the people who love them will demonstrate against the paid staff they hold accountable for the station’s deep format changes next week.

A group who calls itself SaveKCBS, will protest Nov. 27th, 5:30-7p, outside a KBCS benefit with Amy Goodman at Seatttle's Townhall (8th & Seneca). Goodman’s Democracy Now! headlines the station’s new morning line-up.

Public radio audiences "ain't getting any younger..."

With the slight exception at news-based stations,  public radio audiences are aging at a disturbing pace. The future may be bleak for the music stations: particularly classical.

A new study by Walrus Research calculated the rate of aging of audiences for each public radio format.

Billy Bob: blame jane shannon!

Billy Bob (whose name is neither Billy nor Bob) worked long in the Seattle radio market wearing a suit. He says the experience heightened his sense of irony, augmented his influences, and diminished his circle of friends.

By Billy Bob

Soon, we may run out of radio people to talk about, but until then, step aside Dear Abby.  For I have some more of our readers’ bone-headed questions and my incredibly insightful retorts.

Dear Billy: I see all this crap on your stupid Blatherwatch and the message boards attacking Bonneville for firing morning news gal Jane Shannon from KIRO's Gregg Hersholt show. But don't you think Bonneville knows what they're doing? The ratings are at an all-time low. Revenue is off. I'm sure they do research and I'm sure they had good reasons for getting rid of Jane. Signed, Eastlake Insider

Dear EI:  Yes, Jane Shannon is primarily responsible for KIRO's decline.

Kirby speaks out!

Kirby Wilbur, freshly dismissed after 16 years at KVI, is speaking out on his blog. Sounds like his is just another case of Fisher Communications acting badly with the trusted help.

GM Jim Clayton said Friday in statement that the termination was for poor ratings.

Kirby says Clayton had to say something after the station was bombarded with 700 emails, a flood of phone calls and the loss of Kiel Mortgage, a significant account.

‘Mouthing off’ survived the KVI purge

We’re happy to report that the fledgling, Mouthing Off,(KVI 6-7p Sundays) has survived to blab another day…

Seattle veteran talk host, Kirby Wilbur was fired after 16 years at KVI and ignominiously led out the back door last week with his stuff in a cardboard box.

The little show with KVI producers Dave Carson, and Kevin Dodrill is masculine, libertarian, off-beat, and funny. It is, however, but a hopeful glimmer in what appears to be the sunsetting of KVI and Seattle local programming.

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.

Copps: 'regulate radio before its too late!'

“As for government and the FCC, we’ve been asleep at the switch when we weren’t being downright destructive. Twenty-plus years of heedless deregulation eviscerated almost every public interest guideline we had. Media companies took advantage of that. Don’t blame them. Blame us.”

That’s the FCC’s Michael Copps, long a minority voice in the wilderness on the deregulatin’, consolidatin’, confabulatin’, Bush-appointed FCC. Now he’s in the glorious majority.

Green shoots for fisher radio?

Fisher radio (KOMO, KVI, KPLZ) is looking better despite a 3rd quarter report that contains this dreary bullet point:

Radio revenue decreased 49% in the third quarter compared to the third quarter of 2008. Excluding the financial impact of the Seattle Mariners broadcast contract in 2008, radio revenue declined 21% over the same period.

Old Seattle Radio Saturday: dex allen, jock to mogul in 30 years...

In a Radio & Records interview when asked if Dex Allen was his real name, he said, "No. if you were a child of the '60s, you wanted to be a disc jockey, and your real name was Claude Turner, you'd probably change it too."