SF Radio: After 40-Years Ronn Owens Exits KGO For KSFO

Ronn Owens

Cumulus Media announces that Bay Area Radio Hall of Famer Ronn Owens, KGO 810 AM talk host for 40 years, will move to sister station KSFO 560 AM, where he will host Afternoon Drive from 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., starting Monday, April 4, 2016. Owens moves from the 9:00 a.m.-12:00 Noon shift on KGO 810.

He announced his new radio station home on KGO 810 this morning.

KSFO Program Director Mike Anthony said: “With Ronn Owens taking over afternoons from 3p-6p, KSFO is now live and local in both drive times. This is also a great opportunity for a whole new audience to hear the brilliance that has made Ronn a legend in San Francisco radio. We couldn’t be more excited to have Ronn driving afternoons on 560 KSFO.”

Owens said: “What a unique opportunity to keep doing what I’ve been doing for the past 40 years, in the place I love doing it , the Bay area… and I’m just a couple of clicks down the dial”.

KSFO 560 AM (5 Kw, DA-N)

Owens has had the top-rated program with KGO 810 for 40 years. In that time, he has had thousands of guests in the hot seat, including President Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Steve Martin, Condoleezza Rice, Benjamin Netanyahu, John McCain, Eliot Spitzer, Joe Montana, Tony Bennett, former President Jimmy Carter, Willie Mays, U.S. Secretaries of State, CIA Directors and community leaders. As a versatile talk host and author, Owens covers topics from politics to pop culture, and his show has been called the “ultimate town hall meeting.” He has long been the voice of reason in the Bay Area, balancing issues so that listeners can make up their own minds.

Owens has won numerous awards and was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in December 2007. The National Association of Broadcasters presented him with the prestigious Marconi Award for Major Market Personality of the Year Award in 2003 and again in 2010. Talkers Magazine named Owens one of the Top 25 Greatest Radio Talk Show Hosts of All Time, ranking him 13th and the top local personality in the country. His first book, Voice of Reason: Why the Left and Right are Wrong, was published in 2004.

StreetTalk has it that iHeartMedia's talk duo Armstrong & Getty are headed to KGO. The station is now airing 'Next Generation of KGO' teases.  (Expect to hear more about it early next week).  If so, does that mean A&G are exiting iHM and their regionally syndicated show?  No word from iHM but...

iHeartMedia's Talk KKSF 910 AM has announced that syndicated Stephanie Miller is moving into A&Gs 6a-10a timeslot.

UPDATE 3/31/16 3:45 PM  Justin Wittmayer, VP/MM for Cumulus/San Francisco sent a memo to remaining staff:

Team, 

Today, we have set in motion new programming strategies for both KGO and KFOG that will help us better meet the needs and demands of our listeners, advertisers and community. Our goal is to reposition these two stations for future growth and strength through new and enhanced programming, and new additions to the KGO and KFOG teams, including programming veteran Bryan Schock, whom we announced this morning as the new OM/PD of KFOG and KSAN. We believe the new programming direction will put KGO and KFOG on the best paths to growth and success. 

Unfortunately, to achieve that goal, we had the difficult but necessary task today of restructuring our KGO and KFOG station staffs to allow us to meet the new needs of these two stations as we invest in new programming that is redefined, refocused and of the highest quality. Today, we informed the affected employees about these changes, which included the elimination of a number of full-time and part-time positions across these two stations, primarily in the news department at KGO and in key dayparts at KFOG. I want to thank those professionals who are leaving us for their contributions and service to KGO and KFOG, and wish them only the best as they continue on in their careers.  

I want to thank the remainder of our team for working with us through this transition and in the coming weeks and months, as the new KGO and KFOG take shape. Together, we will build these newly imagined stations into strong and vibrant brands that our listeners and advertisers will love.  

I will be sharing with you more specific details on these programming shifts and additions in the next few days and weeks. In the meantime, please reach out to me directly with any questions.jw 

Justin WittmayerVice President - Market ManagerKFOG/KGO/KNBR/KSAN/KSFO/KTCT