Why Michael Bauer’s restaurant reviews on KGO radio are never negative

Restaurant critic Michael Bauer writes that he’s eaten out every night for 25 years or so and does 100 reviews a year for the Chronicle, but don’t expect him to say anything negative about an eatery he reviews for KGO Radio. In answer to a reader’s question at Inside Scoop SF he says that radio is different from newspapers and that while KGO pays him for the reviews, they aren’t paid advertorials for the restaurants. So why are they never negative? The places he goes on behalf of the station are generally ones he knows and likes:

“Even in print, if I’m not reviewing a high-profile restaurant and the food isn’t good, I probably won’t review that restaurant in The Chronicle. Why cut down a mom and pop place when no one but the people in the immediate area knows it exists?”