The once great radio stations of San Francisco have had a history of fading into a shadow of their former interest and influence, and once again a great radio station is about to fade ingloriously, this time, as in the past, through the shortsightedness of the bean counters who are more concerned with profit than product.
Here's a short history of the greats, from KSFO to KNBR, and now KGO. In the 50's and 60's KSFO was the gem of San Francisco radio, primarily buoyed by personalities like Don Sherwood and Carter B. Smith. When KSFO executives decided to change their business model, the once great station became a has been station, and Carter moved to KNBR, joining great hosts like Frank Dill, Mike Cleary, C.J. Bronson and others. KNBR was the powerhouse radio station through the 70's and 80's, and then they lost Frank Dill to retirement and changed their format. Now they are still a part of the Bay Area radio scene, but only as a haven for sports fans. KGO then rose to the top spot thanks to the ability to pull in interesting personalities and a great format.
Alas, KGO is destined to journey to the land of the radio has-beens. If the people who listen to the radio want news all day long, the stalwart is KCBS, which has gained more listeners thanks to KGO's foolish move. My friends and I will be listening to Gene Burns on 910Talk starting in January, and to Bill Wattenburg on KSCO 1080 in Santa Cruz, we hope. Unfortunately, the power of KSCO is limited to 10,000 watts during the day compared to 50,000 for KGO.
Cumulus Broadcasting has managed to gut the station that had the greatest audience in the Bay Area and beyond, and the dilution is destined to take KGO to that gray place where the once great radio stations now reside, the Purgatorio of broadcasting.
Adios KGO. I'm looking forward to the change because it sets up a new challenge—find the best personalities on air and support their advertisers.
