First we gotta say, Frank wasn't fired from KIRO... he was only replaced in the evening slot by John Curley (m-f, 7-10p).
Frank says, "I will return to a very familiar role at KIRO. They assure me that I will be filling in on a variety of shows. I'll also work in production, writing, voicing and producing commercials."
Ironies of ironies, the guy who's responsible for all the changes at the KIRO's Program Director Ryan Hatch is leaving Eastlake.
Hatch writes: "In one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make, my family and I are heading back home to Phoenix. I absolutely love the people and products at Bonneville Seattle, and I’m proud of what the team has accomplished."
He says he'll be Bonneville's VP of News and Sports in Phoenix, and may be here for the next few months during transition of the new PD ...as yet unnamed.
Hatch has been in Seattle only for a year, but o, what a year! Taking over from Rod Arquette last February, (Arquette is now a drivetime talk host in Salt Lake City's KNRS) Hatch has overseen a rehaul of th KIRO's and KTTH.
Hatch fired Gregg Hershold, and Jane Shannon and hired Bill Radke and Linda Thomas for the morning news. He hooked-up (so to speak) sparkling punketeur Luke Burbank to the iconic, ironic Dave Ross on mid-mornings. He dumped restaurateur Tom Douglas from his Saturday gig, and fired neither Dori Monson in the afternoons, nor Ron & Don in the PM drive. He did lure local teevee has-was John Curley to replace Frank Shiers in the weekevenings. He got George Noory's Coast to Coast for the wee hours.
We won't recite all Hatch did with sporty KIROAM because we don't care, but for KTTH, he killed 2 of 3 hours of Dave Boze's live and local PM drivetime show, snagged re-runs of Sean Hannity, Lars Larson and Laura Ingraham.
It was a mighty busy year; Ryan Hatch might not have made a lot of friends in Seattle, but he sure made a difference... and left a bloody trail.
Looking for a job?
Somebody must like him.
Posted by: AprilMayJune | February 27, 2011 at 11:27 PM
. Not surprising a thug and a boor like Hatch would fire anyone with any intellectual firepower, subtlety, class, or wit, like Douglas. Tom Douglas belongs on a station that doesn't put up with human garbage of the likes of Monson. I like the way Douglas called into KIROfm last summer and put down Monson. Fuck you, Hatch, you little turd. Tuck tail and scurry back to Phoenix, like the rat you are.
Posted by: Tommy008 | February 28, 2011 at 12:31 AM
once again Frank gets the last laugh.................
Posted by: Tommy008 | February 28, 2011 at 12:43 AM
does anyone else think Dori is on his way out? He's not even trying anymore...all negative and lazy, boring, really sort of pathetic.
Posted by: mike campbell | February 28, 2011 at 12:55 AM
Hatch didn't fire Jane Shannon or Tom Douglas. That was Arquette--probably a decision from Carl Gardner the GM or even higher-up.
Posted by: Stillhandsome | February 28, 2011 at 03:19 AM
Butterbean has left the building....
Posted by: sparky | February 28, 2011 at 05:49 AM
This is why KIRO just doesn't get it. Putting an ad in the 'newsppaper' in 2011 for a new PD?!? I thought this business was all about insiders and those 'in the know'.
KIRO should just put Dori in charge.
Give me a break.
Posted by: Truth | February 28, 2011 at 07:41 AM
Hey "Truth," ads like this, laid out like this, appear in industry web sites and e-newsletters all the time. There's no indication it's a newspaper ad.
Posted by: Pete | February 28, 2011 at 08:06 AM
And that would be "Today's Sign That the End is Near."
Wonder if they pay Jay Green for still using his voice.
Posted by: The Glenn Beck Comedy Tour | February 28, 2011 at 08:06 AM
Figures there was some talentless, scumbag 'product' behind the disaster that is KIRO.
I love the "It's one of the hardest decisions EVER. Now that I've failed and left a mess... I've decided to go." Kind of reminds you of dubbya.
Hey, can someone please email me once Luke Burbank gets fired? I'd like to listen to Dave Ross' show again but can't bear that pricelessly talentless douche bag for one second. Did you hear his joke where the punchline was 'Sasha and Malia's locker combination.."?? That was on NPR and the audience sat in stunned silence. It was truly horrifying knowing that guy was holding Dave Ross hostage 5 days a week in Seattle.
Posted by: Monson in a Minute -- You clean it up. | February 28, 2011 at 09:07 AM
If Dave has to be paired up, Tom Tangney is a much better choice. Luke is too child like.
Posted by: Gregory McKie | February 28, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Tom Tangney acts like a self satisfied know it all. That's OK in small portions, but not for three hours. And he's reasonable and moderate, while I listen for the bomb throwers.
Posted by: Andrew | February 28, 2011 at 11:17 AM
"Monson in a Minute" that's the nickname his wife has for him on the nights they have sex. Rim shot please. I'll be here all week, folks. Try the Salmon Croquettes downstairs, in the main dining room, just off of the casino floor..
Posted by: Tommy008 | February 28, 2011 at 01:50 PM
If Bill Radke was Hatch's idea, then he should be gone. Radke brings his NPR snobbery to KIRO in the worst possible way. Elitist, thinking he's brilliant, but really coming off boring for the most part. I listen to CBS and Linda's news at the top of the hour, and every hour today he had the same "I'm James Franco with Ann Hathaway" line.
Posted by: NoBS | February 28, 2011 at 03:46 PM
Butterbean has left the building....
Posted by: sparky | February 28, 2011 at 05:49 AM
So much for your promise of no namecalling, eh?
Oh well, you managed to keep your word for a little while. No doubt Putz is having a laugh at your hypocrisy.
Posted by: Rachel's Goiter for Sparky | February 28, 2011 at 04:44 PM
Good riddance. Hopefully, the new PD will fire Puke and give Dave his show back.
Posted by: gerry0416 | February 28, 2011 at 06:46 PM
Yes, Im sure you are.
But when Bla'M originally posted the story of Hatch being hired back in March of 2010, the picture with that article was that of the wrestler Butterbean, before he changed it back to the regular photo. Check your rolodex.
Posted by: sparky | February 28, 2011 at 06:49 PM
So, I guess this means that Frank will be doing his insufferable Santa bit next year? again?
Maybe the new PD situation will bring about more welcome changes...
Dave Ross was much better on his own for us old timers, but Luke isn't as bad as I'd like to think he is... Tagney is good the times I hear him.
His movie talk is pointless, but he's not bad as the occasional co-host.
Dori must be nearing the end of his 3 year contract and that's the one to watch.
I'm sure he'll re-up and this blog can continue the "wall to wall Dori hate".
(It's fun stuff)
Posted by: Rat_Bastard | February 28, 2011 at 07:34 PM
The nice thing about Radke is that he's not morning zoo. If they had hired Bob Rivers, and he'd brought Spike O'Neill with him, I'd find it a more difficult open for Ross and Burbank.
now having said that, it's all too obvious that NPR doesn't prepare talent for commercial radio. Burbanks first commercial outing with TBTL was pretty rough, he didn't know what listeners wanted, but he's starting to get the hang of it after a couple years on the job. You know I know we all know that if Steve Cher were to be picked up by a commercial radio station, he'd be cancelled and ushered out of the building before his hour was even up.
You listen to KUOW and think those hosts must good in their own little NPR kind of way, but when they're challenged to do classic talk radio, they turn in a worse performance than than you hear on a community college station or even a right wing CB frequency out of the Ozarks.
Posted by: Andrew | February 28, 2011 at 08:01 PM
Burbank is a great addition to the Dave Ross show. Before Burbank, I couldn't listen to five minutes of Dave, now I listen to the whole show. Their banter reminds me of when I used to chat with my boss who was 15 years my senior. Love it, keep it coming. Monson is as pathetic as ever. He is just terrible! R&D are okay... "YOU GOTTA BE LOVIN **THAT***!" I like their show but they do recycle way too much. I used to be a KOMO listener, but since they split up John & Ken, I just can't listen to the same old stories over and over and over. Ken is like a broken record. John is better but I like the mix that Ross & Burbank bring more. KOMO was foolish to drop Coast. I started listening to KIRO because I left the stream on a few times after evenings of Coast and caught R&B in the morning.
Posted by: Dumped KOMO | February 28, 2011 at 10:13 PM
I really miss Carlson and Schramm together as "the Commentators".
Too bad they don't share an hour between their solo shows.
The problem with Ross and Burbank is they're both Liberals so the arguments they have are more about age difference instead of ideology.
Posted by: Rat_Bastard | February 28, 2011 at 11:23 PM
I'm p*ssed that KIRO has become People Magazine on the radio. The newest commercial talking about the woman who has time for nothing but finds time for Ron and Don's Top Five at Five is horrible. Who TF cares about the latest 911 call or piece of gossip? That's the TOP NEWS of the day? And now Steriod Boy has a h*rd on for Dave Ross - making "short" jokes? I think Dave actually married his daughter's mother, didn't he?
Posted by: Russell Tupper | March 01, 2011 at 12:14 AM
Ross and Burbank is growing on me. There is a genuine chemistry between the two, and it probably wasn't easy for Ross to share the microphone. He's been gracious even when Luke pokes fun at him.
But what I cannot stand is that Radke and Thomas do only a one hour show, four times a morning. They repeat the whole thing. First of all, by the fourth hour, they sound bored to death with it, but also, it discourages anybody to listen for longer than an hour. What's the idiotic thinking behind that one?
Posted by: Nantuckett | March 01, 2011 at 05:01 AM
Actually Hatch had paralled success with KIRO and raised every daypart rating above 5.0 (25-54)with the exception of nights. Now that the next book will not have the numbers from the Seahawks playoff run, I'm sure there will be some major drop off in the numbers.
But Hatch just didn't like it in Seattle. The weather, mostly. Coming from an area like Phoenix which everything is FLAT (in the valley) and on a grid, Seattle/Puget Sound is a very hard place to navigate. He made his views on living here very vocal so this is not a surprise to anyone.
Posted by: JimF | March 01, 2011 at 11:57 AM
That should have been "unparalled" success.
Posted by: JimF | March 01, 2011 at 11:57 AM
Puhleeze! John Curley is stuck on himself and I find him boring ... bring back Frank Shiers ... please.
Posted by: Kate | March 04, 2011 at 08:34 PM
Don't you mean "unparalleled," Jim?
Posted by: joanie | March 04, 2011 at 08:39 PM
Luke or "Puke"? sorry, but he's "Puke" Burbank on Dave's show. He's like a guy walking around in a tuxedo jacket over a hospital gown which keeps flying open in back so that you can see his ass crack. He doesn't know that he has the hospital gown on and thinks he has a nice pair of expensive black Italian slacks on underneath it. I say this because he comes across to me as though he believes that he is very cleverly submerging his huge ego on the show and being very deferential to Dave. But it is simply a slick act, and an unsuccessful one at that. He comes across as insufferably smug and obnoxious, even abarsive at time, and that outsized grandiose ego just keeps coming out on the air like the buttcrack under the hospital gown, no matter how artfully he believes he is disguising it.
Posted by: Tommy008. | March 04, 2011 at 09:13 PM