Rick Emerson's interview on WSU's KOUG on 10/29/09

I'll probably be updating this blog less often as it's much more convenient to keep the Facebook group and its hundreds of members updated than multiple places at once. You can keep up with the fairly frequent updates (as often as there is any news to post) at Facebook: Rick Emerson Show Bottom Line Brigade.

If you're interested in keeping up, I'd really advise checking that page often or joining it.

WSU - KOUG - Rick Emerson Interview (68m, 10/29/09)

Rick Emerson: Gone, Baby, Gone

Gone, baby, gone.
The rumors -increasingly inescapable over the last few weeks- are now cold, solid fact.

As of Friday, October 23rd, The Rick Emerson Show (v.6.3) is no more.

The changes didn't stop with us. Our compatriots Cort and Fatboy were removed from their rightful place atop Portland's geek pyramid.

There will be lots to say and much to address in the coming days. For now, we will simply note that it has been, as always, our pleasure to serve and entertain you.

I will also make this brief request: despite your initial inclinations or inborn desire to rattle The Man's cage (a desire I share, by the way), please forgo the gathering of coffee cups, the mailing of human skulls, or the ritual animal sacrifice that you may have planned for the KUFO parking lot. There's lots of folks whose jobs have been eliminated, and many, many families whose daily financial struggles are much more difficult than mine. Trust me---no one (especially no one associated with the show) has anything but the deepest recognition of, and respect for, your loyalty. That, my friends, is never in question.

Instead, we'll pause, take a moment, regroup, and move ahead, as we have always done.

We couldn't have gotten this far without you, and we wouldn't dream of leaving you behind.

You are, and remain, our friends, colleagues, supporters, critics, and companions. You are the best.

Talk soon,

-Rick, Tim, Sarah, Greg, and the rest of the family

Goodbye Rick Emerson Show; Cort and Fatboy.

Share your thoughts with Alpha Broadcasting's owner: Larry.Wilson@alphabroadcasting.com

What can we expect on Monday? Nobody seems to be certain, but this short compilation of moments from Friday's show sure seems ominous.

RES - Read Between The Lines Remix (mp3)

Update: It appears that Cort and Fatboy is no more.

http://podcast.kufo.com/kufo2/2022510.mp3

Update: In another classy move, KUFO removed Cort and Fatboy's farewell comments to their listeners. However, you can still listen to it on Facebook, here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=160278799463


WWeek: http://blogs.wweek.com/news/2009/10/23/dead-air-kufos-cort-and-fatboy-fired/

Mercury: http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2009/10/23/well-fuck-cort-and-fatboy-just-got-fired

Also, a listener states that he called the station to ask about Cort and Fatboy and after a very long time, they answered the phone and said they "have no idea where Cort and Fatboy are . . . maybe they're sick today?".

Meh.

Patyk Replaced by Ditch Effective Immediately

Effective immediately, some guy named "Ditch" is replacing Chris Patyk as KUFO Programming Director at KUFO.

Who is this guy? Well, Ditch most recently spent five years as the afternoon-drive host at Classic Rock KGB (a station that gets the Led out) in San Diego and Classic Rock KILO in Colorado before that. KGB's morning show is Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw and features segments like "how many guy's have stuffed your mom" where kids guess the number of their parent's sexual partners to win.

What was Ditch's own show like? According to a description on askaword.com:

Ditch regularly places prank calls on the show, and at the end of the show, provides the "30-minute Dirty Joke", in which the set-up is read around 6:10 PM, and the punchline is delivered around 6:40 PM.

What does this mean for the RES (and C&FB for that matter)? Will Ditch seize the opportunity as PD to do something new, compelling, and bold? Or will he pattern KUFO after the stations he came from with morning zoos and shock jock programming?

In January, Ditch was quoted in an article as saying:

... the cuts are a sign that radio will move even more toward "voice tracking," a term that refers to prerecorded radio shows from other cities. But he told me that "those who focus on locality will ultimately survive."

"Listeners have always flocked to stations that engage them with local promotions and programs," he said. "No matter how it's dressed up, the listener is not stupid and always figures out who is local and who is not." -- (source

Then again, another rumor going around has been that Seattle's Ricker has been hired on at KUFO, after leaving KISW 99.9 this week.

Along with discussion at PDX Radio, there's also this, via Twitter -- more rumor, strong hunch, or something more?

I guess it's all done then. Ricker and Dave Milan coming to KUFO. Shame about the Emerson show...

The latest quarter's ratings for Portland show that KUFO has dropped from a 3.9 the previous quarter to 3.6. Not entirely surprising considering how they bled out all their talent during that same time period.

Chris Patyk, Out at Alpha Broadcasting

Oregon Media Central confirms that KCMD and KUFO programming directory, Chris Patykis no longer part of the Alpha Broadcasting team, as of Tuesday the 20th of October.

No further news for the future of KUFO or the Rick Emerson Show at this point and I've been unable to dig up the latest PDX Arbitron numbers for this quarter (which I believe is the first to use the new Portable People Meter system to replace traditional manual diaries).

RIP: Ed McCarthy, CNN Radio

Long time Rick Emerson Show CNN guest, Ed McCarthy passed away today. We'll all miss his huge and warm laugh and I'm sure I speak for listeners everywhere when we wish the best for his wife and remaining family.

Update:
I spoke with Tyler Moody at CNN who is working to put together a scrap book at CNN for Ed McCarthy's family and asked that I pass along the request to others to share their thoughts and memories of Ed for inclusion in the scrap book. Please do so by emailing Tyler.Moody@cnn.com and including "Ed McCarthy" in the subject line. I will post this message in a few other places to make sure everyone has a chance to do so. Thanks.

With Show Improved, What's the Next Step?

The show has largely returned to its old self for the last few weeks (or as close as it is likely to get on FM in the immediate future). The show has gone from about 88 minutes a day to around 140 (more or less). It would be great to have more, but it's a huge improvement to have what we have.

However, what is the next step? How do we make sure that this sticks (and possibly slowly improves)? The best thing you and I can do is to make sure we still let KUFO and CBS know how much we like the show. Drop them a note. Support sponsors by buying their products and tell them why you are a customer.

Most importantly, convince your friends and colleagues to listen to the show. A dedicated core of fans will not have continued impact unless the fan-base grows. The fans coming from AM are a small number compared to the massive FM audience. Make it a point to convince someone to listen until they become a fan. Package together a few of your favorite shows to present to them so they see what it is at its best. Continue to spread the word wherever and however you can.

We got the show back, for now. But if the numbers don't pan out after the show has been given a chance, there's less that can be done. So now it's our job as listeners and fans to make sure it's too beloved by too many to be tampered with again. Ideally "small, but vocal" will cease to be an accurate description of the audience.