KGO (SF) fires Ray Taliaferro, Gil Gross, Gene Burns, John Rothmann

[Newsjock]

Confirmation: They're already gone from the KGO staff page: http://www.kgoam810.com/Article.asp?id=2165451
http://richliebermanreport.blogspot.com/2011/12/flash-gross-rothmann-burns-and.html

A KGO Radio source has just confirmed the following:

Gene Burns, Gil Gross, John Rothmann and Ray Taliaferro were all let go today in a major personnel shake-up at 900 Front.

Only Ronn Owens was spared a dismissal. Owens has a "personal services" contract that runs through Jan., 2013.

[mike_c]

1. is there some consequence that those of us outside their coverage...

...should know about? I've never heard of any of those people.

[Brother Buzz]

4. John Rothmann?

The foremost authority on US vice presidents in the nation world.

[Vanje]

9. Yes.

See my post , #5 this thread.

[mike_c]

12. thanks, I had no clue what this was about....

I don't listen to talk radio, liberal or conservative. I don't like the tone of most of it. So it's not surprising that I'd never heard of these folks.

[Brother Buzz]

2. It's not the first day of april

So stop saying that!

[stevedeshazer]

3. They fired RAY?!

NOOOOOO!!!!

[Devil_Fish]

48. www.raytal.com is gone too!!!! Fuck!!!NT

[Vanje]

5. Burns , Gross ,and Rothman were sensible centrists

Ray has been the most consistant liberal voice on talk radio for DECADES.
Ray Taliaferro is an institution!

Is Karel still on the line up?

For those of us in the vast rural western half of this continent, KGO AM 81 (Out of SanFrancisco) has been our ONLY contact with liberal sanity for DECADES! LOng before internet , Long LONG before Radio America ,Long before DU , those of us liberals who live in conservative rural range lands of Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Western Utah could tune our radios to AM 81 and climb aboard the Giant Liberal Wurlitzer of the night.

This is sad.

[stevedeshazer]

10. KGO booms across the West, no doubt.

KGO can be clearly heard everywhere west of the Rockies at night on any decent AM radio.

I grew up listening to Ira Blue with my dad.

Ray cost me countless hours of sleep. I'll miss him.

Your description is accurate. This is a sad night.

[MzNov]

16. This is unbelievable.

And with the news yesterday that Green 960 is booting the liberal voices, it seems to be a horrible round-up and dismissal of left wing voices. Can somebody tell me why a wealthy liberal cannot buy a freaking radio station, IN SAN FRANCISCO???

I think Karel is still on.

:-(

[CreekDog]

19. yeah, it seems like wholesale removal of the liberal perspective from radio here

insane in an area that votes 70%+ Democratic in city and suburbs.

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. wow. I remember those names from when I listened to the channel, back when Bernie Ward was

still there.

[Vanje]

7. Yep nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. Did Bernie Ward ever get out of jail?

[Brother Buzz]

11. No

There is no parole for federal prisoners

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. Too bad he became a child porn addict. He is missing the year of uprising and OWS

[CountAllVotes]

36. and Conrad Murray will be in jail for a short time

for involuntary manslaughter! :argh:

Re: Bernie Ward ... he has a website and works on it while being locked up ... http://lionoftheleft.blogspot.com/

[Brother Buzz]

37. Thanks for the link

In the past, I've mostly had to depend on information passed on from either John Rothmann or Christine Craft; both correspond with Bernie.

Now I have Brother Bernie's Email address: [email protected]

[CountAllVotes]

38. you are welcome

I still keep track of him, yes. :)

:dem:

[laugle]

50. Those are all my favorites too!

Something is really strange about all this. Geez...you'd think they could at least put Rothmann back at his old slot on the weekend. They will still have talk radio with Ron Owens 9-12 show on weekdays; and also on the weekends.

The ratings had always been so good, I can't see that mainly a news station would be more cost effective. Maybe they just want to screw the host's out of their pensions/benefits, and pay the new one's very little. I know they were in a union. It's all so suspicious to me...........

Maybe Rothmann will get on with another local station, I hope. His show was informative an entertaining. Ray is gone for good I'm sure. Very few people called him, and he always had an open line....way past his prime. Whenever I tuned in to Gene, he wasn't there, illness I guess, hope he will be okay.

Stay tuned...............

[Vanje]

13. Bernie

No parole till 2014

[bluestateguy]

15. They fired Ray?

The guy was there for over 20 years and that's it? Without a reason?

John Rothmann was a bore who sounded like a walking think tank seminar.

What are they going to do? Bring Bernie Ward?

[CreekDog]

17. wow, between this and the Green 960 move, there will be almost no liberals on the radio here anymore

in this the most liberal market in the country.

:wtf:

[MzNov]

18. Is there nothing we can do?

this is just outrageous! :grr:

[CreekDog]

20. tell them you won't listen and/or tell their sponsors that you may not patronize them

because the effort seems to be aimed at eliminating a point of view from radio.

[MzNov]

21. It's like the KKKoch brothers blew into town with the winds

and bought all the radio stations. I never saw this coming. I will definitely not patronize them...

[Newsjock]

22. Yet Ronnnnn keeps his job

It seems highly significant that the closest thing KGO has to a right-wing daytime host got to keep his show. If they had really wanted to clean house, they could have bought out his contract, too, like presumably all the others had.

[CreekDog]

23. Ronn claims to be a centrist, but as a practical matter what this means is...

that if the Republicans start saying the sky is green, Ron will say, "are they right? we'll talk about it at 9am" :wtf:

worthless.

[MzNov]

24. Yep. n/t

[demosincebirth]

28. They should have let Ron Owen go and kept the others

[still_one]

42. It is not in their interests to represent the progressive community of San Francisco. This has

everything to do with 2012

[still_one]

41. he used to be a centrist, but in the last 10 years he has definitely shifted right, and I would

classify him as conservative. Not a nut job, or extreme far right, but definitely conservative

[shanti]

49. follow the money n/t

[Brother Buzz]

25. Why is Gene Burns, who was let go today, still on the air?

Think he barricaded himself in the broadcast booth?

:rofl:

[laugle]

51. It might be a repeat show. I know Rothmann had one. nt

Do you happen to know who bought KGO? Was it Cummulus. I think they bought KSFO which has Hannity/Limbaugh on out here in CA. I'll just bet they won't be fired!

[Upton]

26. I'm listening to Gene Burns right now..

and so far, he hasn't said a word about it..

[Newsjock]

29. According to All Access, Burns' show is a repeat that's not been announced

http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/99745/four-hosts-out-at-kgo-san-francisco

... the BURNS show that aired on THURSDAY night was a rerun from mid-NOVEMBER (the second anniversary of OCCUPY WALL STREET) with no announcement that it was not live.

[trof]

43. Listened to him on WRKO (Boston) years ago.

Some of his rants were classics.

[Newsjock]

27. New story: KGO going 'all-news' 2pm-midnight starting Monday

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/01/MNMM1M7B9E.DTL&tsp=1

A big shakeup is coming to KGO radio: Many of its most recognizable voices are being let go as the station, which can be heard up and down the West Coast, switches to "all-news" format from 2 p.m. to midnight starting Monday.

"What we are doing is adding a tremendous amount of news content to KGO," Paul Hosley, the station's news and program director, told us late Tuesday shortly after staff was notified of the changes.

Among those who will leave the station are talk-show veterans Gene Burns, Gil Gross, Ray Taliaferro and John Rothmann.

[Brother Buzz]

31. I am truly sorry for initially poo-pooing your thread

Matier and Ross was the confirmation I needed

and I am truly sorry for losing KGO, too. It's going to be weird without it.

[KharmaTrain]

30. More Downsizing From The New Owners...

KGO was just taken over by Cumulus radio who has been going market by market and firing people to cover a $50 million dollar nut the new owners took on by buying out the bankrupt Citadel broadcasting. It's easier and far cheaper to plug in a satellite than to pay a live body that require a decent wage as well as dreaded health insurance and maybe even a 401-K. Radio has "deregulated" itself into financial and moral ruin.

[CoffeeCat]

32. There were firings in our area too...

...and I think this was due to the Cumulus take over.

In Des Moines, we had a wonderful liberal host "Bradshaw". He was fired as were other on-air radio personalities.

I used to listen to Gil Gross. He really was wonderful. I would say that he was a centrist. Very fair minded
and rational. He used his brain. Unlike the rest of the right-wing blowhards who get their talking points
from the Koch Brothers/corporations/neocons and spout off nonsense for three hours a day.

The free thinkers and those who are not reading the overlord talking points--are being let go, it seems.

[alp227]

33. At least Pat Thurston (substituted for Ronn on Black Friday) is still on weekends

8-11AM (PT). She had an interview on 11/25 with the author of the investigative news article "Richard Nixon's Darkest Secret" on Consortium News. I like Burns when I listened to him the few times I could over the past 2 weeks.

Also, Stacy Taylor has a cool progressive show on weekend afternoons 2-5PM. So does Karel on S/S 7-10PM.

[AsahinaKimi]

34. All these guys are liberal voices

and Both Gene Burns and Ray Taliaferro have been there for years! WTF is going on with KGO? Its been the liberal voice of radio on the West Coast for a long, long time. Ron Owens has always been a bit in the center.. politically. I wonder if KGO has sold out to the dark side???


I used to tune in for Bernie Ward..I was sorry he had his problem and ended up in prison. Updating, if KGO is going all news.. that's not very wise, we already have an All News Station. What's one more going to do?

This is truly messed up! I have to admit, I don't listen much to KGO anymore, but its always been there, when I wanted to hear topics discussed. I will definately boycott them now. I hope their arbatron ratings go into the toilet.

[still_one]

40. Actually it tried to cover the entire political spectrum. It is so obvious that they not only want

to kill any progressive dialog, but even moderate dialog

This all is a result of deregulation and the telecommunication act of 2000, signed by bill clinton

[librechik]

35. Also, local Mario Solis Marich on 760 KKZN in Denver fired by Clearchannel

for financial reasons--they changed to sydicated Norman Goldman

[miyazaki]

39. Unbelievable! Fuck KGO for this, and especially that schmuck Owens.

Pathetic bastards!!

[Zorra]

44. occupy! nt

[OmahaBlueDog]

45. Honestly, I'm surprised KGO had kept the local talk format this long

Most markets dumped topical local talk in favor of syndicated shows in the 90s due to cost and the bad demographics/low ratings.

I listened to Ray in the 80s. I never could figure why he didn't get nationally syndicated.

[n2doc]

46. Shame. I used to listen to their shows all the time back when I lived in the Bay Area

My Racist Grandfather used to get steaming mad just at the mention of Ray's name. Was great fun!

[Devil_Fish]

47. I will sorrily miss KGO. I think this move is the stupidest thing they could have done. NT