AT 75, KGO-AM HAS BECOME A TREASURED FAMILY MEMBER

By Brad Kava, SJ Mercury News - Ear (column); Friday, March 17, 2000

Contact Brad Kava at bkava@sjmercury.com or (408) 920-5040; fax (408) 271-3786.

The best thing I can say about KGO-AM (810) news-talk radio is that, for my last 20 years in the Bay Area, it's been like an old friend. No, make that a relative.

If I get as mad at a friend as I do at that talking box sometimes, I take Lucinda Williams' advice and change the locks on the front door and on the whole town.

But I've never been able to drop KGO from my program buttons, even when it slaps me in the face, even when I'm so emotionally stirred that I reach the point of simultaneously loving and hating a host or caller. You know -- thekind of strongly mixed emotions only a relative can bring out.

The station is celebrating its 75th year on Saturday with a free gathering at San Francisco's Concourse Exposition Center at Eighth and Brannan streets. You can meet many of the hosts, including ''rest-of-the-story'' (or is that resting during the story) Paul Harvey and money man Bob Brinker, whose $25 panel has sold out.

The best thing I can say about KGO is (stealing from its sister station's slogan): If I miss a day, I miss a lot. And usually, if I miss something, I'll hear about it from a friend or my wife.

The station's numbers are phenomenal, but it's not just about numbers. One out of six people in the Bay Area checks out KGO at some point during the week. That's 1 million listeners, if we can believe the ratings surveys.

The station has been the most-listened-to on the dial for 21 years, fast closing on 22. That's unprecedented in any large market. Long after AM radio was pronounced dead, it's obvious that video hasn't killed this radio star.

Looking back on their years, folks at the station boast about being the first to have a helicopter for traffic reports, or winning a heap of awards. But the station's strength is in its people -- folks you can stand to have with you in the car or in your kitchen. And for the most part, they voice a diverse set of opinions.

There are the left-leaners, Bernie Ward and Ray Taliaferro, whose yelling has kept me awake during many long drives home from concerts. Before cell phones, there was one night when I drove off the road to find a pay phone so I could call Ward and yell at him. I still bristle about his views on serious bicyclists.

When I listen to Gene Burns, there are times I could doze off with my eyes open -- when, for example, his subject is whether or not kids should go to school, or whether people should be asked to take off their shoes when visiting someone's home. But at other times, he's the most rational voice out there -- grammatical, persnickety and precise. Wallace Turner, a great journalist for the New York Times, once told me the difference between writing for his paper and most others. ''We don't waste the reader's time, boy. Just remember they are reading in a subway, and they are in a hurry for the information.''

Morning man Ronn Owens lives up to that standard. He's as even-voiced and even-minded as his shirts are loud and tacky. And no one does the homework to prepare for a show better than Owens.

Some of my favorites, too, are those in the hidden shifts. I don't know if Bill Wattenberg is as smart as he thinks he is, but he's figured out how to make an interesting Saturday- and Sunday-night show on what could be deadly boring subjects -- science, the environment, nature. And no one will better prepare you for a stint on ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.''

I'd like to hear more of comedian Brian Copeland, buried on the Sunday-morning shift. He's young and fresh and the least stuffy guy there.

I like fill-in Christine Craft, but am mixed on Shann Nix, who spends too much time belaboring the obvious.

And then there are things that really make me mad -- like a relative who has joined the Ku Klux Klan.

There's ''quacktor'' Laura Schlessinger, the shamelessly self-promoting psycho-babbler, who insists gay people are defective and who demeans anyone who doesn't kowtow to her right-wing views.

I feel sorry for any caller who would feel the need to ask Schlessinger a serious question. You'd do better getting an opinion from a random person on the street, who'd likely be more honest and caring.

The best thing she's done are those nude photos, and they weren't much to speak of. She's bringing in ratings, I guess, but has no class.

Speaking of which, there's also the station's hidden stepsister, KSFO, which has the same owner and operator. While I rejoice in the things KGO brings us, I'd have trouble shaking the hand of the guy who signs the checks for KSFO's small-brained, foul-mouthed afternoon hate-talker. Displaying animosity toward anyone who isn't white or male, Michael Savage is the relative sitting in the corner at the party, embarrassing everyone else.

His bosses may argue that he brings diversity to the talk world, but you know and I know and they know that he appeals to the lowest common denominator for ratings points.

I urge you to go to the KGO party and congratulate your favorite hosts. Andwhen you get over to the management section, ask Jack Swanson and Mickey Luckoff why, with all their success, they put their seal of approval on this kind of hate talk?

More news

They're calling the station ''the Bone,'' and the last song they played before switching over was Elton John's ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.''

It's not a bad tack, given that competitor KUFX-FM goes for a gentler sort of rock and plays a lot of Elton John these days.

KSAN is clearly going to skew toward a male audience. Former KRQR jock Steven Seaweed is there at 10 a.m., and former KSJO jock Tim Jeffreys is on at 3 p.m.

No word yet on the morning show. I'll bet you wish you could see whom program director Larry Sharp is taking to lunch.

Previous Article - Return to Index - Next Article