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WNYC FM to Dump Music Shows

It is all about which programs get the most callers during pledge drives.
 
ai4i said:
It is all about which programs get the most callers during pledge drives.
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And the news/talk programs will always come out ahead there. People with an interest in current events (especially politics and social issues) or the arts -- the topics of most public radio spoken-word programming -- will have any number of musical preferences, but no dominant one. More listeners will be attracted by NPR's talk lineup than any music format their local public radio station might offer, especially since noncommercial stations seldom choose to offer music that has the broad appeal of the top commercial formats.

Two public radio stations I listen to regularly are WFCR (88.5) Amherst, MA, and WSHU (91.1) Fairfield, CT. Both have nearly identical formats: weekdays it's NPR's morning-drive and afternoon-drive news/talk programming (Morning Edition and All Things Considered), locally hosted classical music middays and jazz in the evenings, with syndicated classical overnight; weekends it's Weekend Edition then a mishmash of comedy, game shows, miscellaneous talk and a couple of musical specialty shows before going to classical overnight. With no one type of programming dominating the broadcast day, I would think it would be harder for stations like these to attract fund-drive support at the levels that stations with a consistent programming focus -- like, say, Boston's WGBH and WBUR -- do. Why open my wallet to keep six hours of programming I like on a station that's running 18 hours of programming I don't like?
 
Re-align the HD-2 (say drop the WQXR simulcast). Make a deal with WNYE. Buy out WBAI (being facetious). There are things that could be done if WNYC had a real desire to.
 
K6JHU said:
Re-align the HD-2 (say drop the WQXR simulcast). Make a deal with WNYE. Buy out WBAI (being facetious). There are things that could be done if WNYC had a real desire to.
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Why? One must assume that WNYC has the data that tells them that musical programming segments have no beneficial impact on fundraising. Better to focus on what pays the bills, right?
 
Barry said:
An article about New Sounds, one of the music shows that will be dropped from WNYC.
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Is this the same New Sounds that used to be called Q2 and is carried 24/7 on 105.9.2?
 
I doubt that the WQXR simulcast does a single thing for fundraising. WGBH carrying a WCRB simulcast on HD-2 is useful because it extends the range of a very limited single to the West and South. Looking at Radio-Locator WNYC analog goes only a few miles further than WQXR analog. However WQXR on HD-2 is a lot easier on the budget than original programming.
 
Not all music is disappearing from WNYC-FM. They will continue Paul Cavalconte's Saturday night music show (formerly hosted by Jonathan Schwartz) and "Live From Here" (formerly "A Prairie Home Companion"), which has become more music-intensive since the departure of Garrison Keillor.
 
kevtronics said:
Not all music is disappearing from WNYC-FM. They will continue Paul Cavalconte's Saturday night music show (formerly hosted by Jonathan Schwartz) and "Live From Here" (formerly "A Prairie Home Companion"), which has become more music-intensive since the departure of Garrison Keillor.
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"Live From Here" is also heard on WFUV.
 
It seems like New York Public Radio could use an additional FM signal so they could offer separate News, Classical and (contemporary) Music channels. Minnesota Public Radio does this, and their Current music format sounds fantastic. How many other other markets are there where the main public radio organization is structured with three distinct channels like this too?

I don't have the numbers (David Eduardo probably does), but public radio seems one of the healthiest sectors in the business lately. If Pacifica ever spins off WBAI (I know, I know), it would be good to see New York Public Radio in the running as a buyer.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
It seems like New York Public Radio could use an additional FM signal
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I know everyone keeps pointing at WBAI, but the obvious one to me is WNYE. The city would really love a willing partner to help them with this signal. The WNYC Foundation did this many years ago, and they could do it again now.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
I thought WNYE just leased blocks of time, mostly to syndicated NPR shows that didn't fit into WNYC's schedule.
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They do, but it's a pain in the neck, and it's a complete financial drain on the city. They don't do fundraisers. I think a deal could be made if the WNYC foundation felt programming a world music format could make money. I think they know the answer to that question, and that's why they haven't pursued a third station. There's really not much money in music shows, which is why initially they dumped them from WNYC.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
It seems like New York Public Radio could use an additional FM signal so they could offer separate News, Classical and (contemporary) Music channels. Minnesota Public Radio does this, and their Current music format sounds fantastic. How many other other markets are there where the main public radio organization is structured with three distinct channels like this too?

I don't have the numbers (David Eduardo probably does), but public radio seems one of the healthiest sectors in the business lately. If Pacifica ever spins off WBAI (I know, I know), it would be good to see New York Public Radio in the running as a buyer.
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In Sacramento that is true where NPR affiliates Capital Public Radio has KXJZ-FM for News/talk programming and KXPR-FM for music.
 
RadioPatrol said:
In Sacramento that is true where NPR affiliates Capital Public Radio has KXJZ-FM for News/talk programming and KXPR-FM for music.
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Theater of My Mind asked for places with three NPR stations, not two, but a situation similar to the one you cite exists across the state of Vermont, when Vermont Public Radio operates news/talk and music (classical) stations. No contemporary non-classical music is offered, though.
 
CTListener said:
Theater of My Mind asked for places with three NPR stations
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My question is why would all three have to be owned by the same entity? We know WFUV carries some NPR music programs.

WBGO carries NPR jazz programming. Certainly WBGO performs the function of a third full time NPR station in the market.
 
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