Sunday, July 22, 2007

Tom Barberi

KALL700 LIVES!

I just wanted to tell everybody how excited I am to announce that KALL700 is coming back as well as "The Tom Barberi Show" 6 to 10 in the mornings. The full lineup of shows is still under construction but KALL700 will still be the home of the UTES and Real Salt Lake. Stay tuned................
Tom Barberi
"The Voice of Reason"

25 comments:

JM Bell said...

Outstanding, Tom. Welcome back.

I sincerely hope you don't get shackled down by a stack of bonehead shows like at the last station.

Curtis said...

One word...Awesome.

Frank Staheli said...

I don't always agree with Tom, but I do find him generally reasonable.

That he's coming back is, to me, is great news, even if that means I'll be back to throwing my towel at the bathroom radio every now and again. It was a mistake to end his show in the first place.

Welcome back, Tom!

Tom Barberi said...

Thank you all and nobody is happier than my wife and the cat!

Just know that I don't always agree with myself.

Anonymous said...

Barberi in the morning...looks like it has come full circle with Tom.
Very cool. Congrats!!!Now to make the circle complete, KALL needs to bring Mikey and the Duck to fill the team.

Anonymous said...

Tom:

If you have a moment, please send me an e-mail at rfsanders@utradioguide.com -

Thanks,

R Sanders
Utah Radio Guide

Anonymous said...

great news Tom. I was a dedicated listener and occasional caller the last time around on KALL.AGE

Bekkieann said...

FABULOUS!! I'll be tuning in.

George said...

Me too and what is reasonable about genius Frank?

Anonymous said...

Tom--
Right on! Someone's got to be on the seesaw for balance ... Just make sure the FAThead doesn't jump off when you're teetering! Ouch!
How's about an outspoken, liberal, smart, sassy, snark-spreading radio veteran for a partner? I'm chompin' at the bit. Lemme at 'em!

(And I'm female, to boot. Takes care of some EEO issues.)

Alienated Wannabe said...

Congratulations Tom!

You know, if you are looking for a partner in the morning, JM Bell did a pretty good job filling-in for Michael Castner on the Nightside Project . . . he's funny, he has a media background, he's tech savvy, and he understands (if that's even possible) gen-X-ers . . . just a thought.

The only draw back would be having to wake up to "Ask a Democrat!" I, of course, would probably have to change over to Lonsberry once that segment airs -- it's part of the right wing code, I guess. But, I still think he's worth a look. (Even though he allegedly looks like the Skipper.)

Good luck!

A.W.

Bonneville Mariner said...

Tom- I've enjoyed you through the years and listened faithfully on both KALL and 97.5 while they lasted. But I gotta be honest with you, there was a definite devolution from witty and edgy to overly-negative cynicism and vitriol.

In your day, you personified the non-mormon counterculture, stirring the pot of tension between the LDS market and the I'm-not-LDS-and-I-want-to-make-****-sure-you-know-I'm-not-LDS counterculture. When you went off the air (both times), it became more and more apparent that tensions between these groups weren't nearly as high as you made them out to be.

I'll be honest here- I think you'll fail simply because the Salt Lake market is now diverse enough that there will be nothing in the pot for you to stir. You thrived off of the local LDS/non-LDS social battle. I'm just not sure anybody cares anymore, and I doubt you can resurrect yourself and successfully wag that dog anymore.

I'll be listening if you come back, but do think about changing the attitude a little, k? And maybe get a sidekick with a little gray matter in her head this time.

Tom Barberi said...

Thanks again for all your kind words and support. Regarding the idea that I built a successful career by bashing the Utah culture is a bit silly. I have always respected it but was not afraid to call anybody on the carpet when I felt they deserved it. Some critics ask me why I rarely criticize democrats. My response is, "Why don't you elect some?" Does anybody remember DeeDee or Bill Clinton? If the idea that you can't succeed on Talk radio by constantly bashing one group or idology there would be no Rush, Hannity, O'reilly and the rest of the hate mongers. Have you ever watched FOX News? Some people consider my making fun of the liquor laws as a direct assault on the Mormon Church. No, it's an assault on the stupidity of some of liquor laws! Why do you think that Governor Huntsman asked me to be part of his transition team looking into the liquor law issues? Unlike the national Talkers, I try to be an equal opportunity critic and my main goal is the cheap laff! So here'e hoping we can have some fun on the radio and in the process get people to think.

Bonneville Mariner said...

Speaking of calling people onto the carpet, Tom, let me parse a few of your words:

"Regarding the idea that I built a successful career by bashing the Utah culture is a bit silly. I have always respected it but was not afraid to call anybody on the carpet when I felt they deserved it."

Sorry, Tom, but yours was a niche audience (admittedly, one that I was part of) that would not exist were it not for the culture/counterculture phenomenon here. I agreed with most of your criticism of Utah culture, my beef with you was that it was incessant.

I didn't care about you bashing Republicans. I mostly agreed with you. But the truth is that any success you had (and I'm guessing you define success as simply not getting fired, since KALL historically never faired too well in the larger market) was due to your stirring of the LDS/non-LDS pot. The liquor thing was a vehicle for that.

Again, I had no problem with this until you became so depressingly negative. I think you had a great format- the banter with the producer, the sidekick, the interaction with the newsreaders. In those areas I think you kicked butt.

Now, as far as Rush and buddies being hatemongers...what makes you any different from them? The targets are different, but the rant is the same. You aren't any more balanced than they are (though I think you have more talent).

jess said...

oh sweet.

now kvnu will have some morning competition. i am going to have to find a happy medium here.

this is proof that having choices isn't always a good thing. ;)

Tom Barberi said...

You got me! I am unfair and certainly unbalanced! Which reminds me, If FOX News has to tell you they are fair and balanced it must not be readly apparent. All this is what makes it so much fun.

Anonymous said...

As a fellow talk show host, I say welcome back. The more local talk Utah has, the better. The more PLURALISTIC talk- all the better.

Talk radio is already too vanilla. Too predictable and too homogeneous.

Tom, make sure you podcast so we can listen up here in the Cache Valley.

Anonymous said...

omg you're off to a great start, tom.

happy it's not family values radio. ugh.
when's our launch date?? ;)

anonymously signed,
your sidekick

i'm no robin quivers but she wouldn't last long here, would she??

Anonymous said...

Great news, Tom.
If you're interested in utah musical satire, the Sons-in-Law of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers have just released NEOKHAN, their sequel to 2002's Olympvs Rex. If you're interested, I could snailmail copies to you. Or, you can listen on-line at www.cdbaby.com/cd/utahpioneers

In particular, I recomment "It Ain't God", where Rod Decker makes his musical debut.
Happy trails, Ghengis Khen

Anonymous said...

Give 'em hell Tom.



dolt

Anonymous said...

That's Great...

Is it on the air now?

let me know...

Anonymous said...

YYYYYYEEEEEEE HHHHHAAAAAAAA!!!

HE'S BACK!!!!

Maybe those Morons at KALL do read their emails.

I know I sure gave them HELL, when Tom was treated the way he was treated. I haven't listen to KALL since.

A friend of mine happened to tell me Tom's back on.

Perhaps (and that is a big perhaps) KALL Radio will think twice, before letting the person go who WAS/IS KALL Radio.

Welcome back voice of reason, we missed you.

And don't ever forget Tom, WE LOVE YOU MAN.

Dave

Anonymous said...

so ... is tom back on now? or are the powers-that-be still working out details?

curious in sugarhouse

Tom Barberi said...

I spoke too soon!
It is with a great degree of disappointment I have to report that the owners of KALL 700, Dave Checketts group, want to keep KALL a sports station. I worked with the management of Simmons Media on reviving KALL with my show but that has been nixed. I want to thank all of you who were so supportive of my return and let you know I will continue to work to make that happen.

Anonymous said...

Tom, weren't you on the air just this morning? I listened to you on the way to work today. What's the deal?