Who should stay and who should go?

There will be blood.

Seattle talk stations KTTH, KIRO FM, KVI, KIROFM, are all sucking in ratings and the late summer-fall season is the traditional time to give radio stations haircuts if not decapitations.

KIROFM in particular must make some changes... we're not sure what they'll do... flipping back to AM won't be it, and neither will putting Dave Ross out to pasture or in the afternoon drive.

What can they do to eat into an FM audience that's listening to music, get back the old white male rage-talk fans who will have to have their AM radios pulled from stuck in their cold dead hands while appealing to a younger FM audience. It's a sticky problem. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

KVI, a seminal conservative talk station is looking like poop on a tongue depressor. Conventional wisdom is Fisher must make some drastic changes to appeal to PPM listeners or... get off the pot. The latter is a strong possibility, so say the wiseguys, because no one can imagine the down and out, teevee-based Fisher putting any of their scant scratch into the radio side, at least KVI, who's been neglected for years and is looking so sad. KVI- HOLD 'EM OR FOLD 'EM?

RON & DON (KIROFM m-f, 3-7p. These guys are not doing well in the important afternoon drive... Whodathunkit? a self-absorbed, testostermanic celebrity/sports orgy vs. All Things Considered in Seattle? (The rumor generators have gone hypermanic since out-of-work local teevee personality John Curley, side-kicked by retired radio pro Mike West, was tried-out in a fill-in on the show, last Friday). We say LET'S MAKE 'EM RON & DONE! WHAT DO YOU THINK?

(photo: Don O'Neill has brought down the regional collective IQ)

KIRBY WILBUR (KVI m-f, 5-9a) His iron-clad contract is up in December. The Kirb has brought his numbers up a little in the last year, but "Thee Station" ain't what she used to be. Even Dennis Miller and Sean Hannity are but wetspots on the bedsheet in this market.  Kirby is, shall we say, not always appreciated upstairs at Fisher, but nonetheless costs them a bundle with the only live & local news talk show on the station. (we don't count Weissbach). Will Kirby go elsewhere? We've heard of glowing offers from right-wing activist/businessman, gun-dementalist, and convicted felon Alan Gottlieb (he owns KITZ in Port Orchard; KGTK, Olympia; KBNP, Portland; and KSBN, Spokane). The meta questione is: once Kirby is gone or somehow shuffled, will Fisher flip formats or sell the heritage talker altogether? WE SAY SELL THE STATION TO THE MEXICANS SO WE CAN GET SOME REAL FAIR & BALANCED AROUND HERE!

(photo; Kirby Wilbur)

DAVE ROSS (KIROFM m-f, 9a-12p)  As we said he's going nowhere. That's his problem, too. He's still the most intellectually responsible, smartest AM jock in the talk market., Unfortunately, responsible voice are out of style, and he's on FM. (Dave's even smarter than you, Steve Scher, and he can sing.) DAVE SHOULD REPLACE DORI MONSON AND DO A 6-HOUR SHOW. 

PETER WEISSBACH (KVI 5-6p) Do you find yourself yearning to hear the last hour of Laura Ingraham's morning show recast in the afternoon on KVI? That's probably because you probably made the mistake of staying when they yank her at 5p and Weissbach (rhymes with "buys crack") comes "pricking the pretensions; and questioning the veil that we're told is reality." Peter is a cleaning service millionaire who's bought himself an hour of drivetime after years of flapping around the edges of a radio career. He replaced Michael Medved on KVI back in the '90's and his quirky, libertarian schtick hasn't changed one word or inflection  since those halcyon days as he helped KVI on their gran slide. No serious, mainstream news talker should have Weissbach on in drivetime, and we suspect KVI "once having thought [will] stand up and speak out," and Weissbach will be banished once more. WE SAY LET HIM TELL THE NEW MEXICAN KVI OWNERS HIS VIEWS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.

DORI MONSON (KIROFM m-f, 12-3p): For you fellow Dori, er, critics, get over it: he's not going anywhere. Dori's the lead dog on this mule train to Tukwila (and random parts of Seattle) and he's safe. He has no political clout, politicians don't even bother to answer his flamboyant, heat-seeking accusations or much come on his show anymore. His clout is within the station where he's created a nasty little don't-cross-me-or-I'll-stab-you-in-the-back fiefdom. He's turned his show into celebration of his daring little self, himself, and him. WE SAY GIVE DORI A SATURDAY MORNING SHOW ABOUT DOGS. HE CAN KEEP HIS FREE DOG FOOD PRIVILEGES, AND STILL HAVE PLENTY OF WOOF. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH DORI?

LUKE BURBANK (KIROFM m-f, 7-10) Against all conventional wisdom, we believe that Too Beautiful to Live will be spared the coming ax. Of course, we like the show, and have a heavy prefernece towards it despite we don't listen to it... But it is evening radio which is sort of a cheese plate after the money-making main-course time slots that precede it. We've heard the terrestrial radio numbers are low, but the idea is that Luke and his intrepid gang build a multi-platform, FM community, and that they are doing, even selling ads on their podcast. Bonneville has staked some dough and some other coin on TBTL we believe it will be spared. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH TBTL?

SEATTLE'S MORNING NEWS (KIROFM m-f, 5-9a) The story may not be who's got to go, but who will come. Will they re-inflate the news staff to compete again with KOMO who has breached what was once solidly KIRO's brand: news. If they' plan to do that, they better get some more reporters. so they won't have to crib stories from NPR and the Seattle Times. (photo: Greggg & Jane, not pictured- Mara Laisson)

Comments

[AuthenticAndrew]

I fancy myself a problem solver so I'll give this a shot: Move KIRO sports to the KTTH and make that New York Vinnie's house, move KIRO staple talk back to KIRO 710 where they had been for many many years and move David Boze to KIRO. Turn 97.3 into a music station that plays decent music. For all of AM radio adjust salaries to reflect market realities. Dave and Dori might be whales but if they're overpriced, they're overpriced. People who like talk radio will listen with or without them like if you took away Coke I'd be pissed but I'd still buy Pepsi.

[mrogi]

Dori Munson's job is safe for one reason and one reason only: he kicks ass in the ratings.

[SIGG]

Technically that's true as Dori emerged relatively unscathed from PPM. Despite KIRO being in the 20s, Dori is still as high as #3. Since he's, apparently, the only thing keeping KIRO afloat with the R&D, Dave Ross, Frank Shiers and Luke Burbank albatros' I'd say whomever "stays" and whomever "goes" will probably correlate to how willing a host is to put some extra hours in watching Star and the girls while Dori is parachuting off a hangglider onto a hydroplane being towed by a race car in the SUMMER ADVENTURE SERIES.

The KIRO of September:
5-9 - "KIRO Morning News"
9-12 - "Dave Ross Show"
12-3 - "Dori Monson Show"
3-6 - "Frank Shiers Show" with Traffic Updates by Luke Burbank
6-9 - "Phil the News Junkie"
9-12 - "Tony Ventrella Show"
12-5 - "Ron, Don and the Emerald Queen Casino Guest-of-the-Day Featuring Highlights of Past Interviews with Capt. Keith Colburn of Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch Show "

[Duffman]

On this, I agree with AuthenticAndrew. That w/be the best fix for me (& I think for KIRO).

[SIGG]

Move KIRO sports to the KTTH and make that New York Vinnie's house

KTTH only has a nighttime power of 5,000 watts. Unless the Mariners are planning on moving their weekday games to 2PM they might not be so keen on that idea.

[chucks]

It really does not matter to me. One day, I will wake up and find that the whole damn lot of them has changed. Maybe Kirby will have moved to another location on the radio. Maybe Carlson will move home. Shram will fall off of the planet (:-])
Anyway, these new dayumed radios have a really neat feature. Seek and scan buttons. I will just push the scan button until something interesting and entertaining shows up. That is where I will land. Who really cares what station it is? If nothing is found, what the hell. I have yet to hear enough of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon on the good ol' 8 track.

[Upton]

Why can't Dave and the rest of the gang move back to AM? They coexisted with sports when KIRO had the Mariners before.

That way, by bringing back in Lewis County and other fringe reception areas that they disrespected by the move, they'll no doubt go right back to the top of the ratings.

[longtime listener]

They need to really stir KIRO up, turn it upxside down. Go back to AM, Give up on the news, anchor the day with Dori 6 to 9. Think how cheap it would be without any of those people Greg, or Jane, Tony, and that lazy Jason Brooks. All thos vans, travel time, could go into hiring some decent jocks. Get rid of Dave Ross, let him go to Osgood-land syndication or NPR. Bring Bryan Suits syndicated show in afternoon drive and let R & D drift back into the radio obscurity they came from. John Curley? Give him a try. He wasn't too bad. Let Phil the News Junkie produce Burbank, and never let him speak on the radio again. Put Frank Shiers back to running boards and cleaning up after Dori's dogs. Get some live overnight. Lou Pate I see is still not workin. He used to get listeners despite himself.

[DH]

Fisher should make KVI into the progressive station that the fucked up KPTK should be. Get a local liberal morning show or two, and steal some syndicated talkers from KPTK.

[chucks]

There are still no pictures on the radio DH. Thus nothing to hold the attention of a typical liberal person.

[joanie]

I spent the evening surfing the dial back and forth, back and forth, driving back to Seattle last night.

Replacing Randi with Frangela? Two screeching women who had me changing the dial almost immediately. I checked back more than once but still continued to flee rapidly.

I pretty much shunted between Luke and KUOW. I listened to Luke and Jen and their patter gets kind of addictive after a while. But, my news-truth junkie self had to be satisfied so I finished off with NPR's round-table talk about our economic woes and why kids can't read.

Dave's changed. His listening skills are being challenged by too many breaks. He used to have time to ask intelligent questions and listen to the answers. Now he interrupts and tries to get to points too quickly because he knows there's a break coming up. What can he do?

All that's left for commercial radio are sound bites, name calling, simple talk and attacks That fits Dori's style. So, that is the future of commercial radio.

[Jambo]

I'll take John Curley on KIRO. Anything but Ron and Done. When ypou think about it, how could they have changed up the afternoons from Ross to R & D, and expect anything else? I hear even Dave Boze is kicking their asses.

[Mark C.]

I don't think KIRO can make it on FM unless they go to music, which they won't. It will just fade away, and the best ratings-getters like Dori will go elsewhere in the market... whoops that's right, there is no elsewhere in this market.

[DH]

Right, chucks it's all those liberals who make Fox News the number one cable channel.

[AuthenticAndrew]

That comment about news addiction caught my attention. That irrational fear based behavior is realy the bread and butter talk radio. I found this interesting blog entry on the subject http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/09/overcoming-news-addiction/, and I can see a parallel between the "fearful news addict" and conservative talk, because of course it's widely known that conservatives are highly fearful of things in general. Not just in our culture but realy anywhere anyone is described as "conservative."

I did the maths. News addicted talk radio listeners are on the AM dial and often live in the sticks where only AM signals will reach. Talk on FM is completely hopeless, and if they remain there it's all over. I think the fact that KIRO sports did 3.3, KTTH did 2.9 and the fact that KIRO TALK ACTUALY DID WORSE THAN KTTH with 2.7 is the writing on the wall. Pack your bags.

KIRO tried to drag listeners to FM but there's lots of talk on AM to choose from, so unless all of AM talk moves to FM the majority of the listener goo will remain stuck to the AM dial. If KIRO puts talk back where it was all will be forgiven and forgotten by the dial switchers.

[Duffman]

Okay, here's the fix for KVI.
Kirby Wilbur's contract s/be re-done (for minimum wage) on the condition he attend the equivalent of Ron Bailie School of Broadcasting and major in diction and enunciation.
He can then be (sub) part of a new show called 'Carleen Johnson & Company'. Yeah, that's it.

[NoBS]

I think KIRO FM would be better off as a station today if they were still KBSG. Given how music stations seem to be more popular in the new ratings than talk and news stations, I'm certain KBSG would make a ton of money.

Bonneville big wigs are probably too arrogant to admit to that mistake, so that won't happen. I don't listen to the talk shows much, I'm at work. IF I listen to KIRO it's the news in the morning. It not an original news program in any way. I can read the Seattle Times and PI online faster than I can listen to Gregg and Jane read it to me. I don't like the two of them together, they're not friendly or interesting. I do like Linda with Gregg or Tony with Jane, but the current combo has gotta go.

My 2 cents.

[joanie]

Andrew, you call them "news addicts." I call them "hate addicts. What goes for news on right-wing radio isn't. it is propaganda and hate-speech designed to gin-up the ignorant.

News is not propaganda nor hate speech unless manipulated to be so. Then, it is no longer news.

Talk radio is not objective information. I listen to the people from whom I believe I will get a good analysis of what's going on. The best radio for me is interview radio: guests with a background and education in the subject areas.

Hate radio is very, very different. Being a news junkie, I hear a lot of stuff that I don't talk about a lot although I know it is factual. For instance, in Saskatoon - I think??? - they are having a serious healthcare crisis. Hosts who want to engender emotional responses will use it without clarification. Uncurious people listen to what gets their emotions riled up over what exercises their brains.

If listeners - all listeners - got the whole story, they'd know the real picture and adjust their thinking accordingly.

I haven't looked at your site and I will. But, being addicted to current events and non-fiction isn't a problem. Being addicted to hate-talk and a slave to one's emotions is a problem.

Interestingly, I've been watching The National for the past two weeks and noticed that in their hour of news they cover international news much better than we do. And it isn't boring. They have done ten-fifteen minute reporting on the sex trade, afghan war, American economy, and lots of others I can't recall. They aired an excellent piece on changing India.

Anyway, preferring current events and good analysis of issues isn't the same as being a fearful addict to hate-talk and name-calling propaganda. That is the food for inciting irrational fear in over-emotionalized people.

And a very good reason we need to spend a whole lot more money on good teachers and start learnin' those children a whole lot earlier.

[AuthenticAndrew]

I don't mean to suggest that Dori Munson or Kirby Blabber are "the news", I'm reffering to the news/talk coctail with news at the top and bottom of the hour with news being the main source of topics for the talk shows. It's a one two punch that plays to a certain type of person that's frightened by the times, frightened of black people, mexicans, communism, elected officials, gays, big cities, etc.

That article will at least give you a good idea of what is good news versus what is bad news. Even much of the international news isn't all that great because of the superficiality of the reporting. They have to fill the thirty or sixty minutes with something. Quantity over quality.

I've been watching less news lately and doing more research into subjects of interest because I can read the short story about whoever became the next supreme court justice at a later time. There's not need to follow the minutia like what some hillbilly congressmen from Buttfuck Arkansas had to say about the matter or Keith Olbermanns damning eviceration of something or someone who will be outdated in a matter of hours or minutes.

[BenSeattle]

Am I the only who's completely amazed that the relentless inanity that is Ron and Don has lasted well past their three-month audition? Certainly KIRO can detect the stench from these two that continues to serve up a daily dose of mindless, unamusing dreck. (Not to mention the arrogance that is "You wanted more. Now you got four." Uh, not quite. Your station dumped an hour of news and you clowns still happen to be in the studio.) These vagrant carpetbaggers can take their mindless act to Ellensburg where the potential audience will be equal to the level of their talent. From the thin-voiced Ron to the hipster dufus that is Don, this pair of small-market jocks have mercifully reached the end of the vagabond radio road. Look out, boys, the bridge is out and your time is up. (Spectator sport of the week: watching talent-free Ron Upshaw try to remain in broadcasting without desperately clutching the coattails of his blustery "boyhood friend.") And is there ANYTHING more annoying than a local announcer constantly refer to EVERY sponsor as "my very good friends?"

Monson, of course, continues to worship at the altar of "Low Level Right-Wing Radio Wanna-Bes" as he desperately apes the Hannitys and Limbaughs who, however one-note they might be, actually bring some gravitas to the air, unlike the KIRO rodent who can't make up his mind to mimic O'Reilly or portray himself as Seattle's 'Everyman.' Good thing Dori learned the trade in the streets as a reporter and a weekend fill-in guy.... he'll fit perfectly into hosting a gardening show with someone who can actually communicate.

And here's a second toward Kirby Wilbur enrolling in a diction and elocution course. In listening to major market radio from coast-to-coast, I've never before heard an on-air talent who's garbled speech and mouthful-of-drool style is less condusive to more than five minutes of broadcast torture.

[Rich]

Well put Ben. I think that Kirbys diction issues result in how fat he is. The collar on the shirt he is wareing looks about 4 in too small for his neck. There is no way he can move those mouth mussels quick enough to speak. If KVI does drop him will the new insurance co he gets at another station cover all his existing health issues? As for Wiseback,who better to prick pretensions than a pretentious prick. As for Ron Don and Dori, I flip the station when ever they do there ads, which is alot. So as a result I miss most of Dave and listen to Thom instead.

[asdfasd]

Jeeze, I can't believe anyone else has thought of the perfect answer to KIRO's problems.

Bring back the Buzz. Keep Dave and Dori, and dump everyone else. Then sign Tom Leykis, Alan Prell and especially Pat Cashman. If you want, steal what's his name back from 99.9.

If you want to keep TBTL, put them in a 1-4am slot. That's when the hipsters are up anyways.

[ABM]

If KIRO gets rid Ron & Don, TBTL & Phil Hendrie and goes back to what made it great NEWS, it will be fine

[Van]

Phil Hendrie is the only good thing on seattle radio!

[My Name]

I corresponded to Dave Ross several years ago. I complained that he seemed to have more advertising on his show than show. He said something like, What are you talking about? The second half hour of each segment has 13 minutes of content! He admitted that the first half hour had something like 8 minutes of content. (My numbers may not be precise but they are pretty close and represent why I can't listen to KIRO much anymore.

The 'real' stars of KIRO are actually their advertising spokespeople. I remember, a while ago, they actually had that self-absorbed dipwad, Russ Simern (or whatever) start an ad by saying, "Hi, I'm Russ Simern from KIRO." So YOU'RE the jerk who diddles with himself as he listens to himself talk! It becomes very bizarre when you realize you're listening to these idiots more than the 'personalities'. It should be the Russ Simern show and Dave can come in and do spots. At least that way, the show would last longer than the ads.

Be that as it may, I have grown to hate Monson. He's just another of those ambulance chasing, irresponsible cowards we're all so familiar with. Ron and Don are just too stupid. Ron Reagan's rant on KPTK is pretty good. Luke Burbank is trying to be Demitri Martin and, unfortunately, neither is entertaining. Above all, I'm not going to sit here and listen to ad after ad after ad. Their advertising manager didn't know when to stop and I left. (It's only where Seattle Stays in Touch if you listen to it. I don't)

[Duffman]

Good to know where you stand in regard to the powerhouse KIRO, ms j.