More fallout from Bay Area talk radio signal KGO 810 AM’s move to cancel some of the station’s most popular on air talent. A demonstration against the purge is planned for Thursday. And Santa Cruz based talk station KSCO has extended an open invitation to all dumped KGO hosts to come over to the locally owned AM signal.
“The abrupt firing of some of the finest talent in the talk radio industry by the new clueless corporate suits at KGO,” declared KSCO owner Michael Zwerling in a Special Message to KGO Listeners, “is an indication of two things”:
- 1) their total disregard, no, make that CONTEMPT for both the talent and the listeners who made that station so special, and
- 2) their INCREDIBLE, Darwin-award-qualifying stupidity.
Thus, “KSCO extends invitations to all displaced KGO hosts to come to a station owned and operated by HUMANS with good hearts, good souls, and diverse personalities and perspectives—not by cold corporate weasels and bean counters.”
On Saturday, one of the displaced KGO hosts, Dr. Bill Wattenburg appeared on KSCO and took calls.
“I want to say to everyone listening, and to the listeners to this program,” Wattenburg said in the second hour. “I had no idea of the reach of this station, and the quality of the callers out there. There’s no reason in the world why talk radio on this station can’t take over and do anything for the Bay Area, or most of it, that was done by the station that got wiped out.”
“We’ve always said that we don’t allow stupid listeners,” his interviewer proudly chimed in.
Wattenburg will be hosting KSCO’s Good Morning Monterey Bay AM Drive program all this week. It’s unclear, of course, whether his ex-KGO colleagues will accept the invitation. They include Gene Burns, Gil Gross, Ray Taliaferro, and John Rothmann.
Big demo
Meanwhile, media blogger Rich Lieberman, who broke the KGO story (and also appeared on KSCO on Saturday), says a demonstration has been planned at KGO’s San Francisco headquarters to protest the staff bloodbath. According to his post, it is scheduled for Thursday December 15, 900 Front Street, right outside of KGO’s HQ at 11:30 AM:
BRING: SIGNS! THOSE WHO WANT TO SPEAK WILL HAVE A FORUM TO DO SO. LET THE STOOGES KNOW YOU WON’T BACK DOWN
THE DATE: Keep in mind the date selected happens to be Ronn Owens return from vacation. I have been told by a few of you, some of the hosts, that you were most unimpressed with Ronn’s comments about the December 1 massacre.
THEN COME OUT AND LET HIM, KGO, AND CUMULUS KNOW HOW YOU FEEL.
It’s unclear exactly who is sponsoring this event (although it does have a Facebook page). But KGO isn’t far from North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf—if you want to make a pleasant afternoon of it.
Getting back to the KGO purge, it’s always interesting to see where dumped talk show programmers wind up. Long time Radio Survivor readers may remember the staff wipeout over at 92.7 “Energy” radio—then San Francisco home of the popular gay identified morning show hosts Fernando and Greg. When another company bought the station and changed formats, candlelight vigils, huge Facebook pages, and San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolutions were the order of the day (I even got to have a testy five minute conversation with the new owner).
None of this stopped Fernando and Greg from getting the old heave ho. But eventually the duo wound up on the local CBS signal: KMVQ-FM.
