THE BIG STORIES
THE PEE-PEE-EMS: Amidst the fast-shrinking revenues of a tight recession, Arbitron’s electronic, personal metering system (PPMs) were dropped into the Seattle market in March/April and turned it upside down. As the new technology found out what folks were REALLY listening to, the top became the bottom. After a near 20-year hiatus, music radio once again became ratings leading format.
KIRO TAKES A SELF-INFLICTED BLOW: After much fanfare and nearly simultaneous with Arbitron’s installation of the PPM’s, Bonneville flipped their legendary AM blowtorch to sports talk, then tucked their high-paid help (Dave, Dori, Ron & Don) into their oldies FM station (the late, not too great KBSG)
where nobody could find them. 80 years of loud and clear news and talk from BC to Mexico, Seattle to the Rockies was instantly transformed into the narrow-cast jock-talk and sporting events. (They still had to simulcast the Seahawks and Mariners on the FM station just to keep it alive). Listeners wrote to say that they could only hear the station in the ladies room. A PPM-wearer told us "we have not listened to KIRO since April 1." KIRO went from a no.1 ranking to 21st in one month. Their FM music station might have had a decent audience with the PPM's, but now the old audience has most likely strayed to KJR FM. KIROFM has inched-up, but they’re still not in the top 10, a list they led in the good old days.
KOMO IS KING OF NEWS TALK. The 24/7 news station, after the PPMs started listening are an unheard-of # 3 in the market, leading in the news talk caregory. The station simulcasts with their newly acquired FM station and has a single talk show, the tepid weekdaily feud between John Carlson and Ken Schram, on The Commentators (m-f, 10-3p).
2009 R.I.P.’S: THE LIST IS LONG, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Kirby Wilbur, after 16 years doing mornings at KVI was unceremoniously dumped in November and took Kiel Mortgage with
(photo: The Newt & The Kirb)
him. He's still viable in this market, but unfortunately, there are few local surviving talk slots. We've been hearing that he's been talking to Andy Skotdal about a place on the Everett family's upcoming northerly-directed talk station.
Luke Burbank and Jen Andrews were cancelled by KIRO in TBTL, R.I.P. 2008-2009. but their talk demo-busting show Too Beautiful to Live, is thriving on podcasts, and pure air. Third friendo, Sean DiTore twists the dials for TBTL’s replacement/fill-in Frank Shiers, and shows up regularly. Jen is on a vision quest in a trailer with her husband and phones in most days from Utah or somewhere.
Jane Shannon, KIRO’s morning news anchor was fired in November after nearly 15 years at the station. Co-anchor Greggg Hersholt finally prevailed after long, acrimonious efforts to dump her. She’s not been replaced… and neither have the sub-Glenn Beck ratings.
Cop Talk, KVI's long running law enforcement Saturday show with Co-hosts Myrle Carner and Ron Conlin took a perp-walk in September after failing to make bail-out.
Radio & Records was there one day and gone the next.The Neilsen Co. who owned it shuttered the 36-year-old-radio trade publication almost overnight in early June. Publisher Howard Appelbaum uttering those dreaded words all too commonin all media these days: "All jobs are eliminated.”
FM morning hosts like longtime KMPS morning guy (20years!) Ichabod Caine (Randy Evans) (photo: Ichabod) was edged out (last show Dec. 18th) and replaced with a couple of no-one-in-particulars. T-man (Rob Tepper) KUBE’s foul morning shock-blabber was also dumped because he was too expensive. He was also seamlessly replaced by former sidekicks.
Dr. Michael Mockovac, whose name and company, Clearly Lasic are as familiar to radio listeners as Sleep Country or was arrested and being held on $2 million bail for allegedly trying to hire a hit man, and put it on his credit card.
Ed Hume, gardening guru and northwest radio icon was composted by Fisher Broadcasting on his home station, KOMO 1000 where he’d appeared on Saturday mornings approximately since the invention of irrigation.
Paul Harvey, 1918-2009. After more than 70 years on the radio, the rest of the story was told was told February 28, 2009.
The Fairness Doctrine actually died in the 1980’s but was reincarnated in 2009 in the so-called minds of right-wing talk hosts, Fox News info-actors, and Republican politicians. It was part of an effort to con willing dittoheads into believing that President Obama is Hitler and striving to cancel the First Amendment. It re-died when the Senate voted 87-11 against reinstatement and there were no plans by Obama FCCommissioners to resurrect it.The Seattle Post-Intelligencer passed away suddenly in March, and Bill O’Reilly took credit for killing it! BlatherWatch promptly took credit for bringing down O’Reilly.
Corporate Suit, the longtime commenter in local radio chat rooms and Blatherwatch was fired or laid off wherever he worked (Fisher?) in November. He anonymously bragged about his long contribution to radio, yet never acknowledged his participation to its present dreary circumstances. Someone who knows says he's receiving unemployment; his comments which usually contained graphic, yet hilarious references to feces, have gone strangely missing.
Tomorrow: Part 2, the other news of 2009.
You do good work, Michael!
Icabod is gone??? wow...radio really IS in bad shape if he gets the cowboy boot...
Posted by: sparky | December 30, 2009 at 05:03 PM
You do good work indeed Michael! I really enjoy reading this stuff. Wonder what that says about me.
Posted by: Rich | December 30, 2009 at 05:37 PM
corporate suit is gone? awe! he was a fun little guy!
Posted by: Andrew | December 30, 2009 at 07:15 PM
That's sure a lot of death. How about a list of radio births? None to report eh?
Posted by: Andrew | December 30, 2009 at 07:20 PM
I like the replacement for D & R; can someone make D & R not return? That would be a step in the right direction.
Posted by: AprilMayJune | December 30, 2009 at 07:37 PM
Not only is radio in bad shape - 2009 was not a good year for many, but it's almost over.
"For all their differences, Americans largely agree on two things: 2009 was a lousy year for the nation, and 2010 is likely to be better. Nearly three-fourths of Americans think 2009 was a bad year for the country, which was rocked by job losses, home foreclosures and economic sickness. Forty-two percent rated it "very bad," according to the latest AP-GfK poll.
That's clearly worse than in 2006, the last time a similar poll was taken. The survey that year found that 58 percent of Americans felt the nation had suffered a bad year, and 39 percent considered it a good year.
Fewer than half as many people, 16 percent, said their family had a "very good year" in 2009 as said that in 2006.
Behind the gloominess, however, are more hopeful views that seem to reflect Americans' traditional optimism or, perhaps, wishful thinking.
Even though most said it was a bad year for the country, three in five Americans said their own family had a good year in 2009, while about two in five called it a bad year.
Some 72 percent of Americans said they're optimistic about what 2010 will bring for the country. Even more, four in five, are optimistic about what the year will bring for their families.
Curiously, however, nearly two-thirds think their family finances will worsen or stay about the same next year.
Posted by: KS | December 30, 2009 at 07:45 PM
"Clark thinks the nation is headed toward socialism, and she wants a wholesale change in elected officials, no matter their party affiliation."
Yeah, let's get rid of the FDIC,Medicare, SS and any other safeguards to ensure she beomes completely broke and sick. What an idiot!
Posted by: Coiler | December 30, 2009 at 08:02 PM
Those people have enough money, coiler, that those programs don't affect them, therefore they are not "important."
Posted by: sparky | December 30, 2009 at 08:10 PM
Great logic - wow. That is just too intuitive. Unbelievable !!
Posted by: KS | December 30, 2009 at 08:11 PM
Yes, she was a server at a country club,LOL Like she was tuned in.
Posted by: Coiler | December 30, 2009 at 08:17 PM
There was a study in Kansas that compared what people made who invested in 401Ks as opposed to those who let retirements systems manage their money. The 401ks did less well.
So, Kansas quit offering 401K and returned to pensions only.
People think they manage money better than they do. Leave it to the bean counters.
I heard that on the radio. Can't remember who said it but it was on KUOW. Sort of verified at http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/retirement/2006/12/22/do-pensions-beat-401ks.aspx.
Look what happened to chucks 401K. If he hadn't won the lottery, who knows. He might have been in line at the soup kitchen this Christmas.
Posted by: joanie | December 31, 2009 at 01:23 AM
just what i want to do.....give credibility to an extremist homosexual.....let alone joanie!!
Posted by: thisisafreakshow | December 31, 2009 at 06:03 AM
joanie
the problem with private pension systems is that they are only as good as the private company that stands behind 'em. when the company goes kaput, it may mean that the pension goes with it.
the gov't agency designed to monitor and take up the slack -if private companies fail- is underfunded. lots of tricks can be played with the assumptions used in funding these plans. chucks wife, the actuary, could speak volumes on this.
the advantage of the 401k system is that you can keep it yourself and put it in safer investments. the key is to avoid the enron deal in which 401k funds were largely invested in enron stock.
diversify.
Posted by: Puget Sound | December 31, 2009 at 06:46 AM
I'm not sure what program you used, but I can't read the story about Ichabod Cain. Can you clarify what happened? No other newspaper has apparently decided to write about it.
Posted by: Ray | December 31, 2009 at 12:03 PM
As usual, you miss the point: more people LOSE money in 401ks compared to pensions.
Posted by: joanie | December 31, 2009 at 12:18 PM
I figured it out. The font used for the short story about Ichabod (and others) does not like Firefox. I could only read it on Explorer.
Still, is there any other information on why Ichabod was released or was it just the station wanting to go in another direction.
Posted by: Ray | December 31, 2009 at 12:23 PM
The 401ks are only as good as the funds you allocate the money to. My 401k was spared the pain a lot of people had last year, because I had lost confidence in GWB back in Aug of 2001 and moved everything into Bonds and foreign investments. In January, my confidence in Obama encouraged me to bite the bullet and sock the full 20% of my check into my 401k. The Large Cap I put most of it in has returned 43% so far this year. None of my investments earned less than 20%. All of them beat the previous 5 year averages. 2010 will be a very good year. Not sure what kind of return I'd have gotten with a pension.
Posted by: Lucas Foxx | December 31, 2009 at 01:49 PM
It appears the reports of my demise are highly exaggerated. I'm not collecting unemployment, still working, but one of my resolutions was to take a long break from radio blogs, including this one. I've actually set up my own blog to write down my musings.
Posted by: Corporate Suit | January 03, 2010 at 08:10 PM
Just one question: how to add your blog into my rrs reader, thanks so much.
Posted by: christian louboutin | January 07, 2010 at 05:16 PM
thanks for pointing out to me that it isn't hooked up... will work on that- check in a day or so. big fan of your pumps...
~~
Michael Hood
http://BlatherWatch.blogs.com
listening to talk radio so you don't have to...
Posted by: michael hood | January 07, 2010 at 11:14 PM
BTW, Ichabod's real name is NOT
Randy Evans...
It's actually 'Ichabod Caine', but he legally changed it to this back in 2000 from 'Randy HANSEN'
Posted by: S | January 08, 2010 at 01:00 AM
Bla'M...open or closed toe?
Posted by: sparky | January 08, 2010 at 05:57 AM
The loans suppose to be very useful for guys, which want to organize their own organization. By the way, it's very comfortable to get a bank loan.
Posted by: HollowayBridget34 | April 01, 2010 at 05:35 AM