One of the all-time great talk radio stations, San Francisco's KGO 810 has fired Gene Burns, Gil Gross, Ray Taliaferro and John Rothman and (apparently) others as they switch to an "all news" format from 2PM to midnight starting Monday. KGO will no longer promote itself as "Newstalk 810" and will now call itself "KGO-810 - the Bay Area news and information station."
The only hosts confirmed to be keeping their shows are Ronn Owens and weekend host Brian Copeland.
KGO radio going to news format - veterans leaving
The switches come amid major turbulence in the Bay Area media market. KGO's one-time dominance in the a.m. Arbitron ratings has taken a big dive in recent years as increasing numbers of listeners have switched to satellite and internet radio. Just two months ago, Citadel Broadcasting sold both KGO (810 a.m.) and its sister station, KSFO (560 a.m.), to rival Cumulus Media, which already owned four other stations in the market, including all-sports KNBR (680 a.m.).
The ever increasing consolidation of media ownership following passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 certainly didn't help any.
It's a damned shame that our radio stations have become so homogenized - just like our stores, shopping centers and restaurants. While I'm grateful that at least we still have internet radio, podcasts and satellite radio, they can't take the place of great locally produced programming in terms of keeping people informed and aware of multiple points of view.
It must be a sad moment for people like Jim Dunbar, Jim Eason and Art Finley (not to mention the just fired hosts) and I'm sure that folks like Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins would shed a few tears if they were still around to see this.
KGO, it was a great ride while it lasted.
UPDATE: A report about how "IT" all went down:
KGO Radio: The day the 'IT' hit the fan; Bloodbath at 900 Front; The Inside story
Ronn Owens sure showed himself to be a self-congratulating turdball. It'll be all the more satisfying to see him lose his show when HIS contract runs out in a couple of years.