Infomercials on The Breeze

[Route 222]

Fell asleep last night (Friday night) with The Breeze on. Woke up to go to the bathroom around 4:20 a.m. with some guy babbling on about heart health. I turned it off and went back to sleep.

This morning when I woke up for the day, I checked the "Recently Played" list of music. No music from about 4 to 6 a.m. which means they were running that kind of stuff for those two hours.

Is that usual for a big city FM commercial station to air this kind of stuff? I know it was an obscure off hour (Saturday from 4 to 6 a.m.) but still. I think they're used to be some rule years ago that every station had to air some sort of public service stuff so stations would air a public service program or two at some crazy off hour like Sunday at 5 a.m. Not sure if that's what this was about or if they're actually selling infomercials. I didn't listen long enough. I was half asleep. Not sure if the discussion about heart health at 4:20 a.m. was trying to sell something or if it was an educational program about hearts. Either way, kind of weird.

 

[TheBigA]

Is that usual for a big city FM commercial station to air this kind of stuff?

Not on a station that targets older listeners. Especially early in the format when they don't have real ratings to sell.

 

[atthestars]

Fell asleep last night (Friday night) with The Breeze on. Woke up to go to the bathroom around 4:20 a.m. with some guy babbling on about heart health. I turned it off and went back to sleep.

This morning when I woke up for the day, I checked the "Recently Played" list of music. No music from about 4 to 6 a.m. which means they were running that kind of stuff for those two hours.

Is that usual for a big city FM commercial station to air this kind of stuff? I know it was an obscure off hour (Saturday from 4 to 6 a.m.) but still. I think they're used to be some rule years ago that every station had to air some sort of public service stuff so stations would air a public service program or two at some crazy off hour like Sunday at 5 a.m. Not sure if that's what this was about or if they're actually selling infomercials. I didn't listen long enough. I was half asleep. Not sure if the discussion about heart health at 4:20 a.m. was trying to sell something or if it was an educational program about hearts. Either way, kind of weird.

Nah, not weird. I've heard them before on 102.1, 104.5, 95.7 etc. If it makes the station a little extra money in a time where it won't hurt ratings, then why not?

 

[nd2023]

Sometimes they might combine an infomercial with their public affairs requirement.

 

[Gregg.]

I know WDUV Tampa, the original large market Soft AC, and always #1 in Tampa, runs infomercials early on Sunday morning. I believe all the Cox stations in Tampa run infomercials from 4 to 6 a.m. Sundays. At least that was the case when I was in Tampa a couple of years ago.

And when it comes to Public Affairs requirements, I think you have to do it no earlier than 6 a.m. So almost all stations do it on Sunday at 6 a.m. Or they run an infomercial or religious show at 6 a.m. Sunday and do their public affairs at 7 a.m.

 

[b-turner]

There is no requirement on Public Affairs programming with the exception of doing some Public Affairs programming which is in response to your quarterly 'issues' list your station must generate by talking to the public, officials, non-profits, etc. The list and the programs described as well as airtime are documented as a quarterly report that is filed in the public file. It can air anytime and length is not dictated. Most stations run a 30 to 60 minute weekly program, sometimes choosing a nationally syndicated program. Most stations air Public Affairs early Sunday morning simply because the audience doesn't care to hear the programming although it is one of the most important things a station can do in the eyes of the FCC and their boss, Congress.

 

[TheBigA]

There is no requirement on Public Affairs programming with the exception of doing some Public Affairs programming which is in response to your quarterly 'issues' list your station must generate by talking to the public, officials, non-profits, etc.

I thought that issues list thing was done away with in the 80s.

 

[b-turner]

I still need a list of 'issues' to 'create' public affairs programs to 'serve' the community. I'm sure it was more elaborate back in the 1980s. Legal told me about 5 to 8 topics from unnamed sources and a list of programs that address those issues. It's about a page long each quarter. I use a syndicated national program and it is uncanny how many topics they hit on that are legitimately the 'issues' I'm told of in a string of phone calls each quarter.

 

[Gregg.]

It's true the FCC no longer requires a formal "public affairs show." Some stations never run a 30 minute show, but document the issues discussed, even if a brief comic way, by its morning crew. You have the feeling the people keeping track have to be creative in how they document a comic discussion of how long a staffer had to wait for a bus this morning as "Mass Transit Issues" or how some neighbor never cleans their yard as "Environmental Issues." The FCC probably is satisfied with that annual report on issues programming.

But it seems most stations run by significant owners air a 30 min. prerecorded show every Sunday morning to be sure they are doing what is required to keep the license. In some cases, all the co-owned stations run the same show. If you're up at 6 a.m. next Sunday, check if all the stations in your market under the same owner are running the same public affairs show.

 

[TheBigA]

If you're up at 6 a.m. next Sunday, check if all the stations in your market under the same owner are running the same public affairs show.

Not everything a station does for public service is on the air. They also organize various charity events and fundraisers off air, and these also count as public service.

 

[b-turner]

That's right, public affairs is not just limited to a program. I worked a station that took some issues and made them 'pet' projects. Being in a college town, we were always doing something involving impaired driving awareness. After a child was abducted on the way to school, we ran a series of remotes to get local kids in the database, Child Find, I think. At another station, the news department tackled issues with short interview segments (maybe 60-90 seconds) with a new topic weekly. It was edited down to just the lean meat as a news actuality would be.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

But it seems most stations run by significant owners air a 30 min. prerecorded show every Sunday morning to be sure they are doing what is required to keep the license. In some cases, all the co-owned stations run the same show. If you're up at 6 a.m. next Sunday, check if all the stations in your market under the same owner are running the same public affairs show.

The issues reports are filed quarterly. But the reports were tucked away in filing cabinets as part of the "public file" and were not sent to the FCC. I would wager no one other than myself and the station owner read the issues reports I compiled back when that was my job.

Of course, in the last couple of years, the FCC has mandated filing of issues reports online. Which would mean I could read WISX's issues list from my living room without traveling to iHeart's offices in Philly to personally inspect the public file.

 

[TheBigA]

Which would mean I could read WISX's issues list from my living room without traveling to iHeart's offices in Philly to personally inspect the public file.

Except the link on the station site routes you to the FCC, which is now closed due the "funding lapse."