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Bates Named KFOG/San Francisco Program Director

Y2kTheNewOldies

Y2kTheNewOldies

Walk of Fame Participant
http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n34467

This is a second change to happen at Cumulus San Francisco within a week.

Cumulus appoints veteran programmer Mat Bates as Program Director of AAA KFOG-FM San Francisco, effective August 2. Bates was most recently Head of Programming of Rock Formats at Pandora. He was previously Global Head of Music and Curation at Rdio, Senior Manager/Radio Programming at Slacker Radio, and prior to that, he spent a decade in broadcast radio at XTRA-FM (91X), KXTE-FM, KQXR-FM and KRZQ-FM.

VP/Market Manager Justin Wittmayer said, "Mat Bates is poised to take the Bay Area's most indelible Rock brand, KFOG, into the future with his unique professional background and successes marrying broadcast radio with digital platforms. He lives the format, is well connected in the Bay Area, and brings a new mindset to KFOG. Mat will work with the KFOG team to bring Rock's past and future together in a powerful alchemy that listeners and advertisers will respond to in a big way."

Bates commented, "I've spent the last decade applying the best parts of broadcast radio to emerging digital platforms. I'm really excited to now take the things that music tech does well and apply those to such a legendary and beloved radio station. KFOG already has all the necessary pieces; it's up to us to assemble them correctly now."
Click to expand...
 
Wow...impressive. This may be the first local radio PD with as much experience in digital as he has in broadcast.
 
So Schock got the axe after coming in and cleaning house? We'll never know if Pinfield was his idea or something foisted upon him by Cumulus, but once Pinfield crashed & burned, Schock was toast, I guess.
 
KFOG is only a shadow of itself.
Another once great heritage station destroyed by
Clueless programming blunders...
 
tbolt909 said:
KFOG is only a shadow of itself.
Another once great heritage station destroyed by
Clueless programming blunders...
Click to expand...

Agreed. Not sure how many more chances KFOG will get, but there is an opportunity to improve things and fix the station. Some suggestions: Keep the mix of current AOR, but fit in some old stuff that might blend well with the format (Beatles, even Presley, for example) to provide some excitement. Allow some local decisions...egg. the DJs to adjust the format...don't play the Eurythmics' 'Here Comes the Rain' when it's 95 degrees outside, and maybe have some input and be able to talk on the air about the music. Given their ratings, can't figure out why they don't take a risk. Playing a Top 40 style format with 50 current songs mixed in with a selection of 150 overplayed hits from the past 25 years is pretty darn boring. Who would want to listen to a station like that?
 
How long has Dave Morrey been gone? Enjoying his retirement and having the biggest laugh of his life.
 
Seems Mr. Bates is trying to put his own stamp on what's left of KFOG. In response to the expected rallies and counter-rallies Sat & Sun. the station decided to have a "Protest Songs" weekend. Mostly one song per hour, but of course Acoustic Sunrise today was dedicated to that theme throughout (something right up Rosalie's alley, obviously). Bates posted about it on the KFOG site: http://www.kfog.com/2017/08/25/854161/

I've read where the new head of Cumulus believes in "local focus" or somesuch (as opposed to top-down control from Atlanta), so this might be a sign of that. If it's not too late, that is.
 
RadioJunkieMike said:
Seems Mr. Bates is trying to put his own stamp on what's left of KFOG. In response to the expected rallies and counter-rallies Sat & Sun. the station decided to have a "Protest Songs" weekend. Mostly one song per hour, but of course Acoustic Sunrise today was dedicated to that theme throughout (something right up Rosalie's alley, obviously). Bates posted about it on the KFOG site: http://www.kfog.com/2017/08/25/854161/

I've read where the new head of Cumulus believes in "local focus" or somesuch (as opposed to top-down control from Atlanta), so this might be a sign of that. If it's not too late, that is.
Click to expand...

Bumping this thread up, as Mr Bates' latest gambit is to bring back 10@10. Per an email sent to listeners, "We’ve spent a lot of time here at KFOG identifying how we can be the best community radio station for you, and on that note, we’ve got some major programming updates in 2018. I’ve been alluding to this, and without divulging it all at once- I can confidently tell you: KFOG’s legendary 10@10 program will return in 2018…very soon. KFOG’s own Steve Rockwell is hard at work creating the latest iteration of 10@10, and we can’t wait to get it on the air."

What the latest incarnation of that show will sound like is anybody's guess. They just spent 2 years lowering their demos and shooing away the older, loyal "Foghead" listeners. I can't imagine Cumulus would let them go backwards, demo-wise, so I don't expect many '60s-centric 10@10 sets... or even '70s. (There are maybe TWO pre-1980 songs currently in their rotation as oldies.) And I'm sure it will be nowhere near as loosey-goosey as it was under Dave Morey or Annalisa. We shall see.
 
Folks at KFOG: PLEASE nobody listen to Cumulus suit Mike McVay! His poison prognostications have sunk many stations in multiple formats, yet he keeps a cushy gig in Atlanta, and does marvelous (/sarcasm) YouTube motivational videos. But he's yesterday's Svengali...and today's Scaramucci. Please award him a severance check and escort McVay through the Cumulus revolving door as a sign of good faith that the bankruptcy really will change Cumulus' fortunes.
 
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