The Man lurks just behind every sweet smelling rosebush, and for David Goldstein--otherwise known as Goldy, the proprietor of HorsesAss.org and absurdly liberal weekends at LDS-owned KIRO 710 in Seattle--The Man dispatched The Turk* to come a calling. Summoned suddenly--never a good sign--to the station on Wednesday, the news came from management that the ax was falling on weekend live talk, where Goldy lives on both evenings in prime time. According to him, over 40 hours of local programming in the schedule have been cut recently, and nationally or regionally syndicated feeds piped through instead.
This is definitely not a disconnected cost-cutting move by one station; this kind of de-localization of media, and radio in particular, has been moving apace for at least the last decade. It's ugly; it makes creating a hit record or a buzz story that much easier: you know when you send it out, all the stations along the line are dutifully carrying it. The advertisers are buying time in bulk and spreading their bland messages en masse. And the people are, generally unwittingly and at the least subconsciously, picking it up and reacting in predictably similar ways to it.
McDonald's perfected the consistency of franchising; you knew in every McDonald's in any city in America, you were going to get the same Big Mac, fries and Coke. Clear Channel and some limited others like the LDS Church's Bonneville group that owns KIRO have done for/to radio what McD's did for beef tallow. You can go on vacation, find the JamminXX station for the good hiphop, the PowerXX for more straight R&B and oldies, BearXX for country, HotXXX for hits, and listen to exactly the same shit as at home--because it's the same tape playing the same song at the same time back home while you're here on vacation.
I'm sure Goldy will eventually find some other way to speak loudly about his superbly liberal beliefs and get paid for it, but I mourn for the death of local radio by the thousandth cut in Seattle, as well as for my pal Goldy. Cause crap, I was doing a nice little monthly gig there, talking about Oregon in Washington of all places! What kind of stupid idea was that, and why did he ever buy it when I pitched it? Lord knows--but we actually got callers from Oregon once or twice, the radio wave power of Mormonism being very strong in this neck. And it got even better when I became part of the "regional panel" to talk broader NW and national topics.
As David sees noted Washington journalist David Niewert--somewhat of a blogfather--I see Goldy to Oregon progressive blogging. He nurtured Carla and I as co-founders of our ambitiously statewide advocacy news blog, and gave us unsolicited headline coverage at his own rapidly growing space (he did after all get HA mentioned by name in a Congressional hearing, by the moron he outed, former FEMA Chief Mike Brown). He gave the patina of validity to what we were doing, and the work we did got taken seriously and had an impact on the dialogue greatly through his influence. His blog is fiercely independent and unflaggingly honest to a fault, and he runs the absolute most hands-off comment section I have EVER run across on a reasonably reputable publication. He rarely steps into this self-described commentariat sewer, but lets the bon mots of others fly in whatever puerile fashion they divine. The First Amendment not only hangs out at HA, she often spends the night.
You know how rarely I indulge in purely non-Oregon topics. That's how important I think David's contributions are to me personally, Loaded Orygun the community, and Northwest liberal online activism. Best wishes, good riddance to the likes of Dori Monson AND his producer, who somehow kept their shows (cough), and safe travels to your next destination.
Update, 1030AM--
As Nothstine points out in comments, an open letter of protest has been put together by another heavyweight of Washington online politics, Northwest Progressive Institute (on whose NWPortal LO is proudly syndicated). Click over and sign it if you agree this is a travesty; I'll reprint the letter here for your convenience:
We, the undersigned, are writing to express our profound disappointment with your sudden termination of several KIRO weekend personalities, including Bryan Styble and Carl Jeffers, but especially, David Goldstein.
For months, we have watched with dismay as the quality of KIRO's programming has tumbled downhill. More and more airtime is being filled with syndicated talk or reruns - the same bland fare that can be found on almost every other station. This decline began while the station was owned by Entercom, but has sadly continued following Bonneville International's acquisition of KIRO.
You are making a serious mistake if you believe that canceling live local talk and replacing it with "filler" programming is good for listenership or the community that KIRO and Bonneville proudly claim to serve.
You are also willingly sacrificing your unique competitive advantage in the Seattle market by firing hosts who gave Washingtonians a compelling reason to tune in on weekends. Listeners (if they wish) can already choose from a wide selection of programming across the dial that has been pre-recorded and is being rebroadcast.
By following the rest of the industry in obliterating your own talent, you are signaling to listeners that today's bottom line is more important than KIRO's future as a prestigious and uncommon radio station.
To put it more succinctly, you are encouraging your listeners not to listen.
Because live local talk has become the exception in the radio industry rather than the rule, there is value in being different...in offering to the people of this region what competitors are not offering on the weekends: a chance to call and join in a conversation, live in-depth coverage of a major Seattle news story, or simply the opportunity to hear what a local personality has to say.
The David Goldstein Show featured a wide range of unconventional and exceptional guests...including journalists, comedians, columnists, bloggers, and elected officials. David offered six hours of entertaining and original radio every Saturday and Sunday night. We will miss his show and his voice.
Your decision may yield financial savings, but it comes with its own cost: our loyalty to News/Talk 710 KIRO. You have invited us not to tune in on the weekends, so rest assured - we won't.
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