Hersholt on crosscut: who's bitter?

Gregg Hersholt, 60, exiting KIRO Friday after 26 years is lovingly interviewed today by Crosscut’s Feliks Banel and has some interesting comments about the business and memories of where radio has been in Seattle.

“Think of the [local] morning shows that were on 10 years ago that are gone. No more Robin & Maynard, no more Charlie Brown. Those kinds of big, expensive shows aren’t around anymore for a reason,” Hersholt says.

In spite of the changes and the challenges, Hersholt believes that local radio can still be relevant in the future. “With the new ratings system, you’ve got to offer something unique and local that you can’t get on your iPod or your phone,” Hersholt says. “I’m still optimistic that there’s a place for personalities on the radio . . . I’m hoping there’s a place for somewhat intelligent discussion on the radio that isn’t all crazy, political extremism.”

Banel says Hersholt isn’t bitter… He got a long career out of the business, but Crosscut commenter “radio vet,” provides the bitter POV:

I gave radio broadcasting 37 years, the last 22 in Seattle. They gave me a pink slip and put a mechanical robot in the chair. Greg's "hope" for the radio business will fade quickly and he too will find no reason to turn it on when he begins to listen to the radio as a listener. I prefer dead air, thank you.

“Please,” asks Beacon Hill's R, another commenter, “give us a reason to continue listening to the radio.”

He continues naïvely:

What I can't figure out is why one of the aspiring AM (or FM) commercial stations don't emulate the NPR style with local news content. Sure it's more costly than just hiring one of the computer-programmed music services, turn it on and play, but I expect it would have way better ratings.

R obviously doesn’t read BlatherWatch. If he or she did, they’d have heard that the radio industry has shortsightedly hung onto the hope they can program their way out of the jam they’re in as they always have.

It’s probably too late for a programming fix.

Take talk radio: Rush saved the AM dial after the great ayem music days, but since, the industry, bought-up by by Wall Street have played it very, very safe. So safe, it's killed them. Self-satisfied with the Limbaugh programming model, (pissed off right-wing talk-talk) they scarcely deviated from it, bothering to expand or improve on it for nearly 20 years.

It’s a business model they’re locked into. Consolidation, de-localized ownership and cheap syndication has led to eking profits by squeezing local stations to take on off-putting ad-spot overloads. That, and the unchanging content has neglected at least two generations of potential listeners. 

With its mixed format, live & local talk, Seattle's KIRO was a great exception... but in the end, they couldn't compete with the robots and the cheap, angry voices called down from the birds in the sky.

One of these days, people like R will wake up and find that commercial radio is nothing but clown shows, robots playing ad spots interrupted by music; or gland-tab infomercials.

Then they’ll be sorry. (and then they'll go back to their MaxiPods).

Despite Hersholt’s optimistic proclamations, Banel's profile ends with a sad, but telling quote: “… did any of Gregg Hersholt’s kids follow in their dad’s big-voiced footsteps?

“They all took my advice and did not get into radio,” Hersholt said.

Comments

[Duffman]

Interesting that none of Hersholt's kids followed in their dad's footsteps...so goes the 'industry', I guess. You may be so right-on, Bla'M.

[Andrew]

The idea that AM radio hasn't tried diversifying away from an all Rush talk format is not at all true. In the 90's KOMO had a diverse mix with Art Bell, Dr Laura, some guy named Scoot, and just a few years ago KIRO had Allan Prell, Monson, Lou Pate and Mike Webb, and these mixed talk formats didn't last. Conservative talk radio dominates because mostly old white racists have the distinction of being both politicaly inclined and preferring AM radio to that fast paced FM stuff.

*~*~*

WHEN LUKE BRUBANK DECLARES HIS PODCAST A FAILURE AND TELLS AMERICA HES SHUTTING IT DOWN --- IT WONT BE BECAUSE HE WAS NEVER ON TIME.

[Andrew]

Why does everyone keep saying "i think there's still a chance to save radio!" Would you say there's still a chance they can revive vaudeville? Replacing older, well payed workers with equally capable younger, lesser payed counterparts is common in many industries looking for ways to trim their budgets. Atleast Hersholt is close to retirement, and some are young enough to switch to other forms of media production, but then you have guys like Monson who are right in the middle, too old to learn new tricks, too young to retire in comfort (and sadly not telegenic enough for TV). I'm not a fan of Hersholt, but assuming he was financially resposnible over the past couple decades, things worked out well for him.

[Tommy008]

Monson says if the Seattle area reduces the proportion of goverment workers who work her, traffic will go down.....wow..... a % of the governemnt workers in our area wil be laid off ,and then just leave or go homeless after selling their cars? why wouldnt they just get another job, start a small business, or take a paycut and get a lower class job? People don't leave this area, one of the country's best areas, that easily...- an example of a person talking out of his ass.....

[Duffman]

And what does THAT have to do about the topic at hand; are you Dori-possessed. Read my lips the topic is HERSHOLT.

[Andrew]

Why are you even still listening? Dori has already failed. His station is failing. His schtick has proven isufficient to sustain an FM talk station. His nay sayers have been vindicated. The Dori Monson business model has reached its expiration date. It's over.

[Duffman]

I know, I know it was an accident. Well, Okay you're forgiven, now get that dial on some other station like Andrew says.

[Tommy008]

greg hersholt just isn't very interesting....but this latest Dori comment is actually very interesting...... it shows that he doesn't even see governemnt workers as real people, human beings that are of the community....people that almost surely had nongovernment employment before their current gov. job and are capable of getting private employment again....no, to Monson "government workers' are simply dehumanized units, widgets that can be "RIF"-ed OUT OF EXISTENCE and off of our roads instantly...FIRED AND POOF! their vehicles are magically disappeared from our area's freeways and roads, never to be seen again...very revealing comment by Dori..and of course very stupid....

[Ron Jeremy]

Hard to read your lips Duffage when they are pressed against Sound Politics' Asshole.

[Duffman]

Oh no, not this again. No need reading my lips...just try to make yourself useful...and follow the topic as best you can. I know it's difficult for you but you must learn to focus so that possibly one day you'll actually learn to not only read, but comprehend.

[Andrew]

Well the truth is... government workers tend to be lazy, especially on the local level. Oversight is minimal, budget allocation often doesn't reward efficiency, and it's hard to fire anyone. I'm just not the least bit surprised that Dorothy would berate govt workers.

[MacTwinny]

There is no such thing as an "accidental listener." A very childish concept. There is such a thing as a discerning listener. I am one such lovely person. I heard Monson's comment today about getting rid of government workers to lighten traffic. How one-dimensional that man is. I also thought, well they can get other jobs. Then I switched to music.

[Bill Wippel]

Gregg Hersholt parted as a class act.

[Andrew]

But wait - hold the phone ... when we laugh about what a washed up idiot Doris is, she's getting exactly what she wants: ridicule.

[Tommy008]

i'm sure that Dori "gifted program" Monson lives in a self-delusional bubble where he views all Blatherwatch anti-Dori posters as stupidos compared to his "big brain", whereas several of us today have clearly pointed out the logical fallacy that is his latest theory for reducing the area's traffic... who is the "stupid" one?

[Andrew]

You're giving her too much credit. She probably figures she made a decent amount of money pissing lots of people off, emboldening the selfish, embittering the local dialogue, trashing Seattle's former mayor and villainizing our governor. Whatever you gotta do make a buck you know. Some people give their lives to build up society. Some people make a living by tearing it back down.

[Dana]

Tommy, since Dori is who called homeless people "human garbage" and taught his daughter to cheat in school, does his callousness toward government workers surprise you?

Very good observations, by the way.