Talk:Ronn Owens

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A few improvements are suggested below. I'll allow some time for others to weigh in before I make the corresponding edits myself.

1. The paragraph about Owens' show being "the No. 1-rated show on KGO, with over 500,000 regular listeners" needs some dates associated with the claim. That is, while the statement might well be true today, it might not be true tomorrow. (This is a biographical article in an enyclopedia--it shouldn't look so much like a publicity release.)

2. Who, exactly, credits Ronn with introducing the idea of bumper music? (If you look up bumper music in Wikipedia, you will find a stub article that actually credits Rush Limbaugh with the idea.

3. The notion of "Rock Trivia" is not self-explanatory--it needs some description. Also, isn't it true that the "Oldies" format came into being in the 1960's? If so, then the statement that Ronn's creation of "Rock Trivia" predated the "Oldies" format is false.

4. It doesn't need to be said that Ronn is celebrating his thirtieth anniversary at KGO. Not only does such a statement lack the context of any associated dates (see No. 1 above) but we have already seen that Ronn began at KGO in 1975. It's superfluous.

5. The statement that Owens is a "Bay Area icon" seems entirely POV.

6. Similarly POV is the statement that the Marconi award is "prestigious." --Leftymn 07:46, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Re-worded opening paragraph; deleted unsubstantiated statements about bumper music, Rock Trivia, and Oldies; deleted superfluous "thirtieth anniversary" statement; deleted POV statements about Owens being an icon and the Marconi award being prestigious.

I couldn't figure out how to re-word the statement described in item no. 1 above without eviscerating it, so I left it alone despite its shortcomings.--67.137.33.164 07:16, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ronn Owens - ratings

It looks like the changes that have been made are good, but it still reads like a PR piece generated by his staff. Maybe I can tweak it later.

Per the ratings, if someone can cite the Arbitron (?) or such ratings radio uses, that might be a more effective and objective yardstick. But yes, its a target that is always moving.

[edit] minor controversies

I removed:

Owens was off the KGO airwaves during an 88-day contract dispute that ended in February 1995. Reportedly, the dispute involved a difference of opinion over whether to allow national syndication of Owens' show.[1]

Between 1997 and 1998, Owens' show was simulcast in Los Angeles on KABC, also owned by Disney. Owens took the time slot held by Michael Jackson, whose ratings were faltering. Despite signing a five-year contract to do the simulcast, after one year Owens himself vacated the time slot at KABC. His show, too, failed to generate adequate ratings in Los Angeles. Owens reportedly blamed both Jackson, for "taking shots" at Owens "on the air and off the air," and KABC, for failing to promote Owens' show. Disney reportedly bought out the remainder of Owens' simulcast contract, which had doubled his annual salary to $620,000.[2]

These paragraphs were soon put back. They are well sourced, as the replacing editor said. However they happened 10 years ago and are taking up too much space in the article. Also they are both said to be "reportedly". If something was reportedly 10 years ago what is it now? Steve Dufour 05:42, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

One principle of Wikipedia etiquette is to avoid deletions whenever possible. So let's examine your stated rationale for deleting the language above:

• The use of the term "reportedly" means simply that the language is based on reporting in the San Francisco Chronicle. This is all that is needed to satisfy Wikipedia's Verifiability criterion.

• This article is biographical in nature. By definition, then, the article should take the form of a written history of the person's life. Thus, the fact that something happened 10 years ago is no cause for deletion.

• If this were such a minor issue in Owens' life, it would not have been reported on in the newspaper.

Please give a legitimate reason for deleting the language. Leftymn 08:21, 18 June 2007 (UTC)