Another San Francisco Bay Area listener upheaval over morning show changes. This one at Cumulus owned KFOG 104.5 FM, where Bill Webster and “Irish Greg” McQuaid have been replaced by a new “KFOG in the Morning” program with Greg Gory, Tony Longo, and Melanie Walker. Webster and Greg were dumped in the middle of May. The new team made their debut last Tuesday.
On Friday KFOG’s Dennis Constantine put this statement up on the station’s Facebook page:
It’s been a challenging week of changes for KFOG’s morning show. I realize that KFOG in the Morning with Tony, Greg and Melanie is different than the show it followed. For those who have listened to KFOG for a long time, you know that for many years the show was hosted by M Dung, followed by Dave Morey. These two personalities had two completely different styles. When one left, the station was inundated with irate listeners. There was an outcry from Fogheads who were upset that we would make such a dramatic change in style. . . .
I am following the feedback on Facebook and have received a lot of response from listeners, and yes, even positive! For as many people as there are listeners to KFOG, there are that many opinions about how the station should sound.
“I believe in the new KFOG in the Morning with Tony, Greg and Melanie,” Constantine’s statement concludes. “I am working with them on a daily basis and their show will improve each day. All I ask you to do is give them a chance to create rapport and find their rhythm. Come meet them at station events. They are human beings and they have feelings like you. Each of them has a deep desire to connect with Fogheads on a personal and meaningful level. Please keep your comments civil and constructive. They care very much about creating a show that is positive and enlightening.”
Some choice KFOG Facebook comments following the Webster/Greg dismissal and their replacement with a “robo-playlist” (as one listener called it):
May 13: “Really!!! You FIRED IRISH GREG?????????? Shame on you.”
May 12: “Literally, crushed today 🙁 I truly count on Webster, Irish Greg, Greg, and all the countless others ,to start my day off! Without the morning show, I would be lost. Guess I’m off to Pandora with soo many others.”
May 11: “* shakes my head at the once-beautiful KFOG *”
Fogheads also quickly responded to Constantine’s statement. Here are some:
I’ve only listened to snippets, but what I have heard is disappointing. In the collective 10 minutes I heard, there was making fun of foreign accents, an affected radio voice, and sexist “banter”, if I wanted that in a radio show, I’d go back to listening to Sarah and Vinnie. As for different viewpoints that I may not agree with, that’s fine if they are informed viewpoints. Unfortunately, what I have heard from Tony and Greg is simply misinformation. As for Melanie, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was asked to play the role of airhead on another show, but this is San Francisco, this is KFOG. We like intelligent women. DJs who insult their listeners and their listeners’ intelligence have no place on KFOG.
Dennis, It’s not about ‘rapport and rhythm” it is about the dumbing down of the morning show. Tony’s voice is grating to listen to and makes me feel like I am tuning into a syndicated LA radio station. That is definitely not the KFOG vibe. The tone of your message smacks of superiority and a “I know best” attitude. I have read almost every comment on the FB page and other blogs. Most Fogheads are respectful and thoughtful with their remarks. Again your reminder to keep it “civil and constructive” is insulting. I tried to listen to the show many times this week but the endless banter which was neither witty nor informative was irritating. Tony’s overbearing personality and his style of interrupting others when they speak is juvenile. I don’t think I have heard Melanie say more than a few words and again during some inane conversation about who deserved a medal or something?I can’t even remember, it was so juvenile I had to turn the dial. It seemed like there were more commercials too. The good thing about that, was I was able to jot them down so I can write letters of complaint to your sponsors!
completely agree with damn near everybody here and I’m killing myself trying to find evidence of the positive feedback Dennis is referring to…..I’ve seen a handful of “give it a chance-ers” but the overriding message here, Dennis, in case you missed it, is THE NEW SHOW BLOWS!!! they may be human beings with feelings and I’m certainly not attacking anyone’s character but the show is just plain awful and most importantly DOES NOT REFLECT THE KFOG COMMUNITY! which part of this are you struggling to understand? FIX IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! exactly who are you trying to please?
One thing I’ll say for KFOG: smart idea to let the listeners vent on the station’s Facebook page. When KGO management surprised the Bay Area with its talk radio staff bloodbath late last year, the station stonewalled their fans, resulting in two independent Facebook groups.
