so Benson is the PD, then who is the MD? and which of these titles is really responsible for the (IMHO) mostly tepid programming we typically hear on KFOG? I think I heard KFOG's share is decreasing -- maybe from a Ben Fong Torres piece in the Chronicle -- so perhaps mgt is throwing Benson under the bus thinking the dipping numbers are his fault. But if they stick with the same tired stuff, they might realize people now are just plain sick of AAA playlists.
what do you think?
the MD is the woman who does that Sun nite show ("Sideshow"?). It's not clear if Benson's being forced out or is leaving of his own accord. Cumulus (like most companies that own a lot of radio stations) is in deep shite, moneywise.
personally, I think AAA is one of the most boring formats around: Snow Patrol, Coldplay, The Fray and 87 Feist-alikes are my idea of hell and that's why I don't listen to KFOG except for about an hour of the Morning show and 10@10.
This explains why Kelly Ransford (the MD) did the New Music Thursday bit on the Morning Show last week rather than Benson. He probably had one foot out the door by then, and odds are he won't get the chance to say "bye-bye" like Dave did.
Not sure if KFOG has lost numbers or not. They used to be ranked somewhere in the teens, and iirc, they tied for #9 in the most recent book. Don't know how that translates to numbers, but they've got more stations chasing them than they used to.
Unlike I guess many of you, we listen to KFOG a lot. From the last 2 hours of the morning show, 10@10, throughout the day, and into the evening, off and on. We'll switch to KQED for news and certain shows, but otherwise it's KFOG in the background all the time.
Yeah, their programming is annoyingly bland, but barring me finally getting off my ass and ripping our CDs and setting up that centralized MP3 server, it's hard to not be lazy and just have the kid turn on the radio. (Anyways, so many of our CDs are so old...)
Unfortunately, as radio goes, what's the alternative? In the car I'll flip to KSCU, Live 105, Kiss FM and KMEL. But at home, it's easier just to leave it on KFOG.
Now, as to Kelly Ransford. I think you'd be surprised if you tuned into her Sunday Night Side Show. She plays some great, really great, really new music. It's a lot less "jam band" oriented as Mike Powers' old show in the same slot.
UNFORTUNATELY, when she was on the Morning Show doing New Music Thursdays, she herself claimed that she plays stuff on Sunday nights that she could never play during the rest of the week because it "doesn't fit the format." In fact, shortly after getting back from South by Southwest, she was did a Morning Show appearance where she talked about how she was on a panel at South by Southwest (
this one) where they asked panelists to grade songs for their suitability for play on their respective stations (or TV shows or commercials). One of the songs was by Flight of the Conchords (who we're seeing Monday, courtesy of KFOG, hooray!). It was of course hilarious and it made me so happy to hear it. Coming back, everyone was laughing, but when Greg asked what grade she gave it, it was of course a 0. She loved the song, but it wouldn't "fit". Such FUCKING BULLSHIT. Well, ok, a comedy song probably isn't such a great fit. But there's so much more they could play.
But I suppose KFOG isn't there to challenge the listener, but rather cater to the lowest-common denominator. Fucking a. You don't know how many times I wish KPIG's signal reached me in Sunnyvale/San Jose (and while I love it to death, I do need a little rock once in a while.)
I've e-mailed Kelly a couple of times to rave about the great stuff she plays on Sunday nights (ZOMG Grace Potter and the Nocturnals would so too fit in regular KFOG rotation), and she's always answered back positively and knowledgably.
But it's incredibly sad that somebody with such a wide wealth of musical knowledge has to "dumb it down" for the average Foghead in pursuit of the almighty rating. It's all about not playing anything to jarring so as to keep them from switching channels.
Fuck.
