Brace yourself: "seattle radio is about to be turned upside down... "

The sage of Eastlake, Don O'Neill, (the "Don" part of the Ron & Don Show) has just Facebooked that "Seattle radio is about to be turned upside down and no one saw it coming."

(photo: The Don of Eastlake)

(We have to mention the possibility that Don O'Neill's idea of upside down-turning at Eastlake might just be that he's having a bowel movement at work).

We of course have endlessly predicted big changes at both KIRO and KOMO, and have seen and reported them dutifully as they've unfolded.

There are more changes to come at KIRO, and rumors abound. Luke Burbank has sidekicked Dave Ross (m-f, 9a-12p) again this week, and though he says he knows nothing, we hear there's something in the works: OM Ryan Hatch is liking what he hears of the chemistry between these two. (and Luke gets to promote the shit out of Too Beautiful to Live, his show podcasted on the KIRO website, that gets more cume than Dori and Frank Shiers (m-f, 7-11p) combined).

Dori Monson's (m-f, 12-3p) ratings/knuckle-dragging, boyish bravado continues to be softened daily by the girlish tones of Gottess Jessicaman, the news reader allowed (encouraged?) to inject a little yang into the conversation. It more or less works... she needs to exercise more of the cojones we know she possesses. The dialogue needs more tension to be interesting.

R & D (KIRO m-f, 3-7p) is arguably the most popular live and local talk show in Seattle. So we doubt that they're going anywhere, despite all the speculation that they might be going to a morning-er daypart. Their excellently produced combination of the drill-down into hyperlocal news stories, (read crime) sports, and celebrity dish is turning out to be, we hear, a compelling secret pleasure of male drive time listeners, esoecially after NPR's All Things Considered has finished a cycle.

Comments

[I Produced Dori Monson's Scat Play Video]

How is it possible that anyone could like listening to Luke Burbank? That's just impossible. The PD probably likes the price tag. I'm sure he works cheap. He'd have to since he seems to be brain damaged in some way.

[Andrew]

There's no way Dori is happy about having Gottesman chime in. We've heard hintings in the past that he's irratable (complained about how TBTL left garbage the studio) and that he sets out to destroy those whom he doesn't like (allegedly narced on Webb to management.) Along with dimished ratings likely comes diminshed influence around the station, but he's always struck me as a devious turd with a creativity that's oriented towards evil. Gottesman should watch her back.

[Fred Grandy]

KIRO's new PD is that in name only - he clearly couldn't program a DVR, let alone a radio station. He has no idea how to make KIRO successful again, so he's just trying different $hit and hoping something sticks.

[Gregory McKie]

I am so tired of hearing about the R&D death watch. I just wish they would finally get the radio ax.

I would like to hear Pat Cashman and Lisa Foster on the air again.

[Rat_Bastard]

The problem is indeed that R&D do well...
I say on this blog often that their voices on ads get me changing stations right away.
I like Dave Ross, Love Dori's show, but changes on other stations could easily pull me away from KIRO for good.
Just waiting to see what happens.
Walked into the house today and they were on...
Heard about 15 seconds...
I can't understand how anybody can listen to them.

[gerry0416]

As long as Luke Burbank is polluting the Dave Ross Show, I'll be listening to something else - anything else.

[Jarrod Hubbard]

Hold on. So if Dori is "ratings/knuckle-dragging, boyish bravado", what does that make Ron and Don?!

[Mrs. L. Burbank]

Luke Burbank MUST be the nephew of someone down there. Someone who is owed a HUGE favor by the PD. Why do people who have nothing to say have to talk so much? Terrible. Absolutely terrible and unforgivable.

[Andrew]

If you don't like Luke Burbank, chances are you are in the "dead" demographic, which is to say you spend so little money that advertisers wish you were dead.

[Fred]

@Andrew - a comment like that shows you have absolutely no knowledge on how advertising works and are clueless about demographics. Old people spend MORE money than the young'uns, not less.

[Tommy008]

i haven't heard Gottesman on with Dori much the past few days.Things seemed to come to a head between them the other day or week when Monson was going on a tear about something related to the stimulus package or auto bailout and Gottesman kept tryign to make it into a Bush/Obama thing by reminding him that Bush signed off on them first. "What is wrong with you?", Monson kept repeating , in irritation, chiding her for her attempts to politicize his discussion. Later Monson facetiously claimed to be on one of those " sexiest men in the world" lists, and Gottesman instead of goign along withthe gag and agreeing that he was on the list, or deserved to be, she laughed at him and emphatically said "not!". The honeymoon definitely seems to be over.

[cal calverson]

"How is it possible that anyone could like listening to Luke Burbank? That's just impossible."

"As long as Luke Burbank is polluting the Dave Ross Show, I'll be listening to something else - anything else."

"Why do people who have nothing to say have to talk so much? Terrible."

Burbank is a simperer. Many Seattle men seem to be simperers too. Surely you've noticed? So LB can establish that bond. Simper, whine.

[Russell Tupper]

"secret pleasure" = two retards talking about stuff that they can't possible understand, 1980s style sound effects, commericals talking about how good the steaks are at a seafood place and traffic on the sevens?

[Burbank's A Dick]

Luke Burbank is an arrogant spoiled East Coast dick.

On Friday the fucker was bitching how unfair it was that Whitman's maid was getting $23/hour.

Fuck off Burbank! A lot of people in your Obama economy would love a job let alone one that pays $23/hour.

[dick dickerson]

"On Friday the fucker was bitching how unfair it was that Whitman's maid was getting $23/hour."

If this is true--I wouldn't know because I can't listen to a simpering whiner on the radio for more than 10-seconds and I'm overdosed by listening to Seattle men every day anyway--then Burbank is more of a shithead than I realized. Christ, child-care workers don't make half that.

Really, can't management hire some high-schoolers to program KIRO?

[Andrew]

Gottesman is causing Dori to lose his grip on professionalism. He's going to come undone one of these days, and the fact that KIRO management has forced the two together must mean that they're no longer satisfied with how things were going. This could be the beginning of the end.

[Tommy008]

"simperer"- beautiful description of Burbank.......have you noticed how Buurbank kisses the asses of male black rap and hiphop "artists" (thugs).. he brags about interviewing the son of the late Easy E when he was in public radio in LA...there was a clip on World's Dumbest the other day of a white knucklehead in the front row at a rap concert. the musclebound black male rapper pulled the guy up on stage from the audience picked him up over his shoulder and threw him out inot the audience like a sack of potatoes...that's what these rappers would do to a guy like Burbank if they had a chance...yet he lavishes them with sycophantic adoration and reverence.....

[Tommy008]

folks thanks for the many kind concerned posts about how my repair job is going regarding the vicious attack on my Mercedes.....uuh , err, i guess there no such posts...//////////

[Tacoma listener]

Yes Blatherwatch has told us many times of the impending doom at KIRO yet nothing happens.

I don't listen to Ross much anymore since they put LB with him; someone posted "he must be related to someone to keep a job" NOT, maybe he kisses ass good. And to bitch about the lady getting $23 an hour? Welll, guess he doesn't like a woman making more than him. LOL

I haven't listened to Dori much anymore; when I tune in the subject matter seems to be "soft" vs his normal bitch session (Which I like)

BTW if anyone doesn't like the idea of $4 an hour parking, come on down to Tacoma where we charge 75 cents an hour

Oh and Ron and Don...I'm tired of hearing Don make comments about "getting ready for an enema" You are an enema Don and they should flush the toilet and send you to the Puget Sound.

[Puget Sound for T008]

tommy 008
but at least you caught the cretins that did it.

hey, how's the restoration project on the jag going? a long time ago you mentioned that you were working on one.

[Tacoma Listener]

I see posts that R & D are #1 talk show in Seattle, etc.

DOES ANYONE HERE....have access to what the ratings are for stations in Seattle by time period? I've seen the cumulative reports but have never seen anyone put up numbers that mean something by show or time period. I've heard in past that info is "confidential"

I wonder how R & D health is after pushing all the USDA Prime beef on the radio and eating at the restaurant. I bet their cholesterol level is up!