• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

John Zach "retiring" from WBEN December 30.

If Zach is 76, he's been eligible for Social Security for over
a decade. 76 is about the median age of a WBEN listener as well.

Honestly, how long of a contract can a 76 year old expect to get
on a declining AM format...?
 
Gee, could it be that he's just tired of getting up at 4:00 AM? He's had a heck of a career. I hope he get to enjoy his retirement.
 
Perhaps he retired. It's curious that the article quotes Zach
as saying he was once "insulted" by WBENs low salary offer.
He took it anyway. That comment indicates bitterness.

Radio corporations aren't known for sentimentality...
 
SirRoxalot said:
Gee, could it be that he's just tired of getting up at 4:00 AM? He's had a heck of a career. I hope he get to enjoy his retirement.
Click to expand...

Probably. This isn't a surprise but it will be sad to see him go. Not only that, he has to get up at 1:00 AM to be there by 4:00 AM.

Thankfully, Brian Mazurowski is only an interim replacement.

As for tdolt's comment about bitterness, I'm sure he is over his 1988 paycut. That was probably taken from Zach's interview years ago.
 
If he had to get up at 1am for a 6am shift, he probably should retire.
Shouldn't Dandy The WBEN Lackey KNOW the real reason for this
breaking news?
Maybe the retirement is "Fake Liberal News"...
 
One thing is certain, John Zach holds a prominent place in the annals of Buffalo radio news broadcasting; there with Henry Brock, Joe Downey, Jim Fagan (who recently passed), Ray Marks, Don Dussias, and the often venerated Jim McLaughlin. Zach's distinct delivery was richly articulated, lacking any up-speak and pseudo-hip ad-lib tonality. It would fittingly serve as a template for those entering the business and those too young to realize the past and present values of radio news. Having endured ownership changes, format flips, program and news directors, and a hefty salary cut for the joy of waking up at 3 a.m., Zach, at 76, is entitled to retire and be accorded the accolades he richly deserves. Posters here can only hope that Entercom ponied up and paid him a reasonable salary, especially after morning host Bill Lacy was shown the door and Zach did most of the heavy lifting on the WBEN morning show. He'll be sorely missed by WBEN listeners, regardless of their age.
 
I just hope they don't replace him with that stuttering illiterate Tom Puckett. I can't take any more inarticulate mumbling.
 
Zach then took a public relations job, working for Bob Rich Jr. In 1998 he was offered a job at WBEN, which would have required him to take a $14,000 pay cut. He told Pergament, “Even though I thought the amount of money was insulting, I took the job."

Why do people in radio and television do this?! Is it that much of an addiction to be "on the radio?" On the one hand, I admire the man's dedication; on the other, the choice is crazy. Can you imagine coming home to your spouse and telling her you're quitting a good paying job to get back into radio, you'll be waking up at 2 a.m.... and oh, by the way, it comes with a $14 thousand (-$538 per two week pay period) pay CUT. Most normal people would have laughed and told Entercom to take a long walk off a short pier. Or worse.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
Zach then took a public relations job, working for Bob Rich Jr. In 1998 he was offered a job at WBEN, which would have required him to take a $14,000 pay cut. He told Pergament, “Even though I thought the amount of money was insulting, I took the job."

Why do people in radio and television do this?! Is it that much of an addiction to be "on the radio?" On the one hand, I admire the man's dedication; on the other, the choice is crazy. Can you imagine coming home to your spouse and telling her you're quitting a good paying job to get back into radio, you'll be waking up at 2 a.m.... and oh, by the way, it comes with a $14 thousand (-$538 per two week pay period) pay CUT. Most normal people would have laughed and told Entercom to take a long walk off a short pier. Or worse.
Click to expand...

What's a more interesting job worth to you? In Zach's case, $14 thou less-a-year was the cost of having a job he was excited about going to every day. Quality of life stuff.
 
Could be Entercom eliminated a six figure salary when they released Lacy, so maybe they gave Zach a slice of that and still saved money. I've heard about sales reps who lost a good list at one station and got away from a toxic situation. They joined a competitor, put a hole in their former employer and built an even better list. That doesn't happen often, and it doesn't happen over night. Still, I can see how reading about a radio guy taking a $14k pay cut would make some people wonder. Radio can be irrational.
 
tbolt909 said:
If Zach is 76, he's been eligible for Social Security for over
a decade. 76 is about the median age of a WBEN listener as well.

Honestly, how long of a contract can a 76 year old expect to get
on a declining AM format...?
Click to expand...

First off, your about 12 years off on the median age of the wben listener. Second, this is not a declining am format.
 
Buddy Shula said:
First off, your about 12 years off on the median age of the wben listener. Second, this is not a declining am format.
Click to expand...

Tell that to the majority of AM talk stations around the country who have seen marked declines in recent years.

Still, you think that every time a gray-hair dies, WBEN sprouts a new 25 year old listener?

Somehow I don't believe that's altogether true.
 
flybynight said:
Tell that to the majority of AM talk stations around the country who have seen marked declines in recent years.

Still, you think that every time a gray-hair dies, WBEN sprouts a new 25 year old listener?

Somehow I don't believe that's altogether true.
Click to expand...

Exactly. AM News Talk is in a world of hurt nationally.
I was exaggerating slightly about 76 being the average age of
a WBEN listener. Mr. Shula says that's off by 12 years.
That means it's 88 or 64. Perhaps Scrooge said it best ---

IF THEY WOULD RATHER DIE, PERHAPS THEY SHOULD DO IT
AND DECREASE THE SURPLUS POPULATION...
 
Carl Paladino is a vile parasite. He is clearly a disturbed and warped man.
His comments about the Obama's are truly despicable.

WBEN employs people who spew similar vitriol daily.
Paladino is an embarrassment to Buffalo. It's sick that many
people supported his run for Governor.

Here's a News Flash--
Making abhorrent racist comments DOES in fact make you a racist...
 
flybynight said:
Tell that to the majority of AM talk stations around the country who have seen marked declines in recent years.

Still, you think that every time a gray-hair dies, WBEN sprouts a new 25 year old listener?

Somehow I don't believe that's altogether true.
Click to expand...

WBEN is 10th in 18-34, 6th in 25-54 and 4th in 35-64. It is 2nd overall in the Summer book, so there are plenty of 25-54's listening. In fact, a around 40% of all AQH listening is under 55. 7% is 25-34, and 23% is 25-49.

In local markets that don't have as much agency billing (only 22% of Buffalo revenue is national), selling 25-64 or 36-64 is definitely possible. All adult stations have over-55 spillage, including AC, classic hits and classic rock and even country.

In the last 10 years, WBEN has not lost its share of market revenue, so it is hardly declining or in its death throes.
 
David, please explain why Entercom had to give up on the
WBEN FM simulcast. The idea was to grow the station not decline.
No growth took place, so the plug was pulled.

WBEN was once consistently Top 3 in 25-54.
Those days are long gone. They had a recent 12th place finish.
The #6 rank you list probably was a fluke and the best they can hope for.

Sure, it can survive a while longer with what it has now.
The failed FM simulcast showed that no NEW listeners were
tuning in...
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom