Bernie Ward has a lot to say, lately:
Sunday, March 17, 2013 – Let Those Who Have Eyes (about Senator Portman and same sex marriage)
http://lionoftheleft.blogspot.com/2013/03/let-those-who-have-eyes.html
Sunday, March 17, 2013 – The Road to Argentina… (about Pope Francis)
http://lionoftheleft.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-road-to-argentina.html
Friday, March 22, 2013 – Those Who Forget History… (an Iraq rehash)
http://lionoftheleft.blogspot.com/2013/03/those-who-forget-history.html
Friday, March 22, 2013 – New and Improved? (about the Republican Party)
http://lionoftheleft.blogspot.com/2013/03/new-and-improved.html
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And now, in full Monty Python mode, something completely different… another view about the pope:
(Warning, four letter words ahead and adult content)
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http://open.salon.com/blog/james_emm/2013/03/24/what_the_fuck_is_pope_francis_up_to
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Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s continue on as before.
Lately, I’ve been dissatisfied with KKSF-Newstalk 910-AM. First, Len Tillem has so many ‘Best Of’ shows. I’ve been disappointed too many times waiting until 3:00pm just to listen and then he’s a no-show. Sometimes, when he is there ‘live’ he’ll bring in his money-maker buddy Pat Vitucci and I’m disappointed because I want to hear the stories, oh, the stories!
And, speaking of the stories, what is up with Gil Gross? I love Gil and listen to him everyday, but it’s getting to be a lesson in what it’s like to have Attention Deficit Disorder, never staying on one topic long enough to gather thoughts about it. Gil introduces a topic, talks at length about it, brings on a guest on the subject, and then Gil uses up the guest’s time by talking about his own stories that he recalls from his past. The guest will give some courtesy laughs at Gil’s little witticisms, but then is whisked off the phone because it’s time for news and weather.
Added to this annoyance is a Friday with Rhoda. She squeaks and squeals and talks in slow, enunciated sentences, as if just learning to speak, and when Gil is not going on with another story about him then we have to listen to Rhoda saying things like, “You’d better watch it, buddy,” and “Hey!” She’s always yelling “Hey!” in a faux-angry voice that is a bit too high to stomach so late in the afternoon.
And, I’m saying this as a fan of Gil. This last Friday was almost unbearable. I want this to work for everyone. For Gil, for the loyal listeners, for Sebastian Kunz and Lloyd Lindsay Young. It’s as if they are not taking this seriously any longer. If they don’t care, why should we? Please, KKSF – Newstalk 910-AM, step it up a level. Allow Gil to do what he does best, host a topic and discuss it for an hour with callers, guests, and keep the conversation focused.
Also, it’s not helping that Gil’s show gets cut short for some sports stuff. I don’t even bother listening to the podcasts any longer since there is no Hour 3. Sometimes there’s not even an Hour 2.
Are they going to just sit back and let Cumulus Media win?
kgoformerlisteners 
I know. I have been concerned with the number of “best of” shows. And I totally agree with you about Gil’s show omitting the callers. That’s what made KGO rule. LIstening to different points of view and the stories. I also am not as interested in hearing a topic for 10 minutes. What are we going to do?
Yet another ‘Best Of’ for Len today, but it’s a religious holiday for him so I’m not as irritated about it. Gil showed up,though, and it’s a religious holiday for him as well. But it wasn’t a full show because it was cut short for sports.
I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about it and that’s why I keep posting. I don’t know what to do about it. If only people would care enough to NOT listen to Cumulus stations and speak out about feedback on KKSF-Newstalk 910-AM. Why aren’t they utilizing the talent they have to take back the airwaves and show everyone how local radio can thrive. Why aren’t they adding callers to the mix? Instead, Gil is giggling with Rhoda and teasing Sebastian about Star Trek and using dumb criminals as news. This is not the Gil we used to hear on the former KGO and I don’t understand why. How can we make them care about their own product? It’s frustrating!
Thanks for your comment, EdgewaterIsle!
I agree with everything you’ve written here. When John Rothmann fills in he takes calls, engages in intelligent and informed debate, and really makes the show about a conversation. I’m a fan of Gil too but I agree that his show on 910 is a shadow of its former self. And why on Earth do they have to play college basketball?!?!
Hi, Janice. Thanks for the comments. I love to hear John Rothmann as well. Another person who takes a lot of good calls is Jim Gabbert. I’m really not a fan of his, but I was impressed with the level of conversation he brought to his show when he filled in for some former KGO hosts.
I was pleasantly surprised today. Gil took a lot of calls and engaged his guests with interesting questions about the topic. Did you hear the hour when he had the discussion about fracking? There was a caller who made some frightening and intelligent points about fracking. He discussed the varied make-up of land mass in other regions and how it affects the type of fracking and determines what chemicals to use. He also brought up a good point about the use of water for this in a potential drought year here in California. It was an interesting conversation and I learned a thing or two. I’ll have to link it in my next post. I missed John Rothmann who was on later with Gil, but I’ll listen to the podcast tomorrow.
Thanks again, Janice. By the way, I hate that sports show cutting into the time. Why can’t they bring Gil in an hour earlier when Len has a ‘Best Of’ show and there’s a sports show during Gil’s time? Len was back today, but I missed most of his show because I was busy at work. It’ll be in the podcast that I’ll listen to tomorrow.
I mean play college basketball on 910, not why do they play the sport. LOL
I have to say that I didn’t realize how much I liked John Rothman and how great he is until he was gone (as a regular host, that is).
Hi, EdgewaterIsle. I wasn’t as familiar with John Rothmann on the old KGO format. In recent years, I’ve been a daytime listener and I think his show aired early evening. Same with Gene Burns. I’ve never heard him host and now I wish I had. As for Rothmann, I was thrilled when he hosted on KKSF-Newstalk 910-AM. I’ve read comments about him and not all of them are praise. I was puzzled. Were they hearing the same thing I was hearing? It was baffling. After some time, I do understand what others say critically about him. But, that doesn’t take away what he brings to his show. I might get tired of him saying that thing he says, something about it’s a delight to be here, etc. Same way Gil Gross always says ‘and all of that’. Those minor things don’t matter when I consider the overall quality of the show.
I hope John Rothmann gets his own show on KKSF-Newstalk 910-AM. Also, if Hillary runs for President, I wish I had the option to find out what Ray has to say about it.
OMG — have you heard now that Newstalk 910 has fired Len? Yes, it came out earlier today. Check out the Facebook pages. Len put out a podcast saying he’s going to do podcasts and maybe get on another station. Obviously Newstalk 910 is making the same mistakes that KGO did.
Unbelievable! I happened to check the formerkgolisteners Facebook page this morning before I started work. There were some ominous comments about Len’s program being removed from the KKSF-Newstalk 910-AM website. I don’t participate in Facebook so I couldn’t read some of what people were saying. I looked on Newstalk’s website and Len wasn’t there. That’s when I began to wonder what the heck is going on. Then, when Gil showed up at 3:00pm I couldn’t believe it! Another Thursday evening followed by a Black Friday.
That media blogger guy said others are gone, as well. But, he lost any legitimacy long ago so I’ll believe it when I hear it from a credible source.