Brian Calvert sent an email to friends Thursday evening; subject line: A fun AND informative ride.
Today, Friday (9-17) will be the last for Nine2Noon, KOMO's cheeky, eclectic, weekdaily, narrated news and yak-yak with Calvert and Nancy Barrick.
(photo: Facebook)
Do
Calvert and Barrick still have jobs at KOMO? Brian says: "Both Nancy
and I have been offered positions elsewhere in the newsroom."
We're sad: N2N went a little deeper than the usual crap, and a lot of new voices were heard - lefties and wingers, historians and plumbers. It was a noble stab at something different for AM: an NPR-style, breaking news magazine with just a hint of irony. (It tried to be what KUOW ought to be in the morning).
With the August book just out, it was likely the numbers that did them in. They got nine months to make it work, but, as Brian writes, "... the industry marches on." KOMO is the no.1 talker in town but it always has KIRO and KUOW nipping at its heels. The farewell email:
When we set out back in January with the Nine2Noon concept, we began with a blank canvas, and were given creative license to come up with a different kind of news radio. The idea was pretty straight-forward: Create a show that’s informative, but give it a different feel…one that “keeps the morning moving” for people in their cars and offices. Think of it as a news magazine on the radio. With your help, we did it.
Nine2Noon became a destination for people looking for something a little “different.” Both Nancy and I couldn’t be more proud of the show, and what’s evolved over the past several months.
But the industry marches on, and we’ve been informed that Friday, September 17th will be the final Nine2Noon show.
Nancy and I would like to thank you VERY much for all your efforts in being a part of our special project. It’s really heart-warming to look at the names we’re sending this email to, and think of how many people we huddled around the Nine2Noon “round table” on a weekly basis. We all worked together to get information to the masses, and had a good time doing it.
I realize it sounds a little cliché to say “We couldn’t have done it without you,” but it’s very true. Each of your contributions were so unique, that combined, we had one heck of a show. We’re both thankful for the time we had with you, and hope that as we continue to cover the news, that we may be able to call on you down the road and benefit from your expertise.Again, a heartfelt thanks to you. This truly has been the experience of my career.
Brian
Oh shit.
Posted by: Mac | September 16, 2010 at 09:26 PM
Never listened to them...
Of course, now I'd like to hear the show.
Posted by: Rat_Bastard | September 16, 2010 at 09:43 PM
I thought it was a success.
Posted by: TomF | September 16, 2010 at 09:47 PM
If you go up against Dave Ross, he's gonna knock you down. Nine to noon is where other radio hosts go to die.
Posted by: Andrew | September 16, 2010 at 09:49 PM
Never knew they were on. Why don’t the stations advertise their lineup? I’ll flip the truck radio to the station in the AM. Just to evaul there goods.
Posted by: Renton Maintenance Division | September 16, 2010 at 10:01 PM
It's Steve Scher with his composting information superhighway that kills everything in the 9-noon. Nobody can compete...
Posted by: PeakLimiter | September 16, 2010 at 10:26 PM
I knew Calvert and Barrick couldn't make this little show perform in that important daypart, even with the support of the owner of this blog.
This kind of programming has never worked. Can't figure out why they didn't put these two on the beach after their failed experiment. Many have been fired for less.
Posted by: CorporateBook | September 16, 2010 at 11:25 PM
I don't know if it's their marketing strategy or what, but not only had I never heard of these people, but I didn't know they were simulcasting on and I didn't know the commentators had moved. Maybe they should be ad space on this blog ya that would be great.
Posted by: Andrew | September 17, 2010 at 12:53 AM
Oh please.
What a load of crap. nine 2 noon was Calverts way of saving face after they yanked him off the PM drive show. He's a psychophant and impossible to work with. Sending you an e-mail first was his way to spin the story his way. What really happened was that he couldn't slam his little fists and control it the way he tried to control the newsroom when he was "news director". There was no depth at all. How could they go deep in 5 minutes? And where is Nancy's voice in all of this. She just sits back and lets him talk for her. You've been duped. Big time. Go back to Oregon, Calvert. You've been found out.
Posted by: jprops | September 17, 2010 at 05:55 AM
Kudos on the effort. It sounded interesting. But truth be told, last time I was in Seattle I really needed those service elements and news updates that weren't there between 9 and noon. All news needs to be all news.
Posted by: richjohnson | September 17, 2010 at 06:31 AM
jprops has it right. Barrick sounded like she was half asleep and Calvert was artificially "bright". It made for unlistenable radio and should have been shelved six months ago.
Time for 5 hours of the 'taters!
Posted by: Fred Grandy | September 17, 2010 at 08:48 AM
Didn't know it existed. I have Dave on at that time.
Posted by: drool | September 17, 2010 at 09:55 AM
Brian always come across as happy, happy, smiley to me. The pic on Blatherwatch is WAY OLD! He ain't that skinny and when he was on KOMOTV doing weather, UGH.
So JC gets 9 am to Noon and KS gets Noon to 3 pm! How about that! We'll see if they can put a dent in the KIRO FM ratings of DR and DM with their sidekicks....
Now, Blatherwatch....did you see this coming? All you talk about is the impending doom at KIROFM yet nothing has happen yet. What's the next date? Day after Thanksgiving?
Posted by: Steve Johnson | September 17, 2010 at 10:38 AM
I have to admit, lately it seems that if you want to know the future of KIRO, you can safely assume it's the oposite of whatever blatherwatch is reporting.
Posted by: Andrew | September 17, 2010 at 10:45 AM
KIROFM, 710KIRO ESPN, KTTH and KVI are bleeding money. Hood's timing may be off, but he's got it right. The status quo is unacceptable to these media companies.
Posted by: PeakLimiter | September 17, 2010 at 11:45 AM
Peak limit is right on track. These stations need to figure out a way to drastically cut costs and develop a plan to increase ROI. This is not your father's era, it's a new day and old expensive items need to be retired and funds maximized to capture innovative and out coming current technologies. drastic times call for drastic measures. Move on or move over and let the young new generations with their new ideas take over and DO IT NOW. That's how me and my new good friend Tommy feel.
Posted by: timmy | September 17, 2010 at 12:03 PM
That's too bad for Nancy. She had decades of experience, all the way back to the old KING / KNWX all news days before the Bullitts sold the stations. Sorry to hear about this.
Posted by: tom | September 18, 2010 at 02:15 AM