Bruce and Pamela Out at KTAR

[davideduardo]

When is KKKTAR going to get rid of Ramsey? That should've been done a long time ago.

Pretty sad that this station is so desperate to compete with KFYI.

I find the KKKTAR reference inappropriate. The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints (It was so much easier to say "Mormons") is pretty accepting of all nationalities and races. They are very active doing evangelism in Africa and Latin America, with no discrimination.

No, I am not a Mormon, but have had good experiences with them going back to when Bonneville Presiden Arch Madsen and I were on an AIR (Interamerican Association of Broadcasters) committee back in the 60's.

A cynic would say that they accept anyone willing to tithe; a less partial view would say that they are very open to anyone who will conform to the rules and rites of the church.

And of course, in Ramsey's case he provides numbers and has an affinity. Don't we all look for that when we do programming?

In any case, in 25-54, KTAR nearly doubles the KFYI numbers so whatever they are doing is working pretty well within the limits of the traditional talk format.

I'd refer you to BigA's very perceptive comment (in another thread) that the biggest limitation of the talk format is that is is almost exclusively a format that 45+ and, particularly, Boomers, will use, but those under that age have other listening preferences.

 

[The Media Observer]

I find the KKKTAR reference inappropriate. The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints (It was so much easier to say "Mormons") is pretty accepting of all nationalities and races. They are very active doing evangelism in Africa and Latin America, with no discrimination.

No, I am not a Mormon, but have had good experiences with them going back to when Bonneville Presiden Arch Madsen and I were on an AIR (Interamerican Association of Broadcasters) committee back in the 60's.

A cynic would say that they accept anyone willing to tithe; a less partial view would say that they are very open to anyone who will conform to the rules and rites of the church.

And of course, in Ramsey's case he provides numbers and has an affinity. Don't we all look for that when we do programming?

In any case, in 25-54, KTAR nearly doubles the KFYI numbers so whatever they are doing is working pretty well within the limits of the traditional talk format.

I'd refer you to BigA's very perceptive comment (in another thread) that the biggest limitation of the talk format is that is is almost exclusively a format that 45+ and, particularly, Boomers, will use, but those under that age have other listening preferences.

To clarify David, I'm not referring to (nor am I interested in) the religious beliefs of Bonneville. I'm talking strictly about the far-right turn that 92.3 took when that bigot Darrell Ankarlo was hired. When I refer to the two stations competing, I'm talking about content, not ratings.

Regarding Ramsey, his show is nothing more than an overbearing infomercial to $ell his brand.

And finally, Broomhead is another Ankarlo for the new decade, which is shameful. Thanks for responding. Respect.

 

[DrAkbar]

Old Home Month continues at 92~Three as Tony Femino is out and Dr Bob is in on Sunday mornings. Yes indeedy, whatever ails you can be cured simply by manipulating your spine and purchasing plenty of the supplements he hawks. Dr Bob is yet another KFYI immigrant, joining Broomhead, Brian Whitfill, the Nearly Bald One's wife, Jim Sharpe, and Deborah Dale in the newsroom. If it wasn't for the fact KTAR is super saturated with weekend financial advisors, Keith DeGreen might make a return visit to 92~Three. The more things change at KTAR, the more they remind Los Buckeye Boyz of 5~Fifty.

 

[Deus Ex Machiato]

In any case, in 25-54, KTAR nearly doubles the KFYI numbers so whatever they are doing is working pretty well within the limits of the traditional talk format.

The thing I don't get (again) is why they'd ditch a couple of long-standing hosts to put Broomhead in that slot.

That would be like if someone over at Power got blown out and Kiss or Live discarded one of their talents in favor of bringing that person on board. It doesn't make sense.

If KTAR is doubling the KFYI numbers, then why ditch one of their shows in favor of a KFYI cast-off?

 

[EricStein]

Old Home Month continues at 92~Three as Tony Femino is out and Dr Bob is in on Sunday mornings. Yes indeedy, whatever ails you can be cured simply by manipulating your spine and purchasing plenty of the supplements he hawks. Dr Bob is yet another KFYI immigrant, joining Broomhead, Brian Whitfill, the Nearly Bald One's wife, Jim Sharpe, and Deborah Dale in the newsroom. If it wasn't for the fact KTAR is super saturated with weekend financial advisors, Keith DeGreen might make a return visit to 92~Three. The more things change at KTAR, the more they remind Los Buckeye Boyz of 5~Fifty.

Even a decade ago, KTAR was proud of being "live and local" even on the weekends. Now, much of their Saturday and all their Sunday lineup is brokered shows and infomercials.

 

[EricStein]

The thing I don't get (again) is why they'd ditch a couple of long-standing hosts to put Broomhead in that slot.

That would be like if someone over at Power got blown out and Kiss or Live discarded one of their talents in favor of bringing that person on board. It doesn't make sense.

If KTAR is doubling the KFYI numbers, then why ditch one of their shows in favor of a KFYI cast-off?

That's already happened over at iHeart - Kiss picked up Tino Cochino, who was previously on Power. Also, the gradual cheapening of Sports Parking Lot 910's line-up.

 

[TheBigA]

Even a decade ago, KTAR was proud of being "live and local" even on the weekends. Now, much of their Saturday and all their Sunday lineup is brokered shows and infomercials.

This is a very common problem for news/talk stations around the country. Even WCBS 880 in NYC is running brokered programming on the weekends.

What happens when being "live & local" no longer earns the kind of money necessary to meet expenses? What would you do?

 

[davideduardo]

If KTAR is doubling the KFYI numbers, then why ditch one of their shows in favor of a KFYI cast-off?

Long ago I lost track of the "losers" I hired from not-so-good stations who turned out to be market leaders on a better station. (OK, so "better" meant that I ran it or programmed it. But it also meant that it had more listeners.)

The best case was a morning show I put together in 24 hours in the Dominican Republic. In 1985 I interviewed about 20 people in Santo Domingo, a million-plus market. I found one good guy who was unemployed for standing up to the owner over his opinion, but he was a bit serious. I found another who had gotten fired several times for "lack of prudence and respect" but who was smart and funny. The next morning at 6 AM they were hired and "auditioning" live together on the air. They are still on the air today, and they have been #1 for the last 35 years, generally with as big an audience as the leading prime time TV show.

So hiring the right person who was on the wrong station is very good if the PD knows how to direct the talent and is open enough to give them some freedom.

 

[indieradioguy]

Even a decade ago, KTAR was proud of being "live and local" even on the weekends. Now, much of their Saturday and all their Sunday lineup is brokered shows and infomercials.

Can't help but notice the apparent contradictions that 92.3 will inevitably face with this latest change - e.g., will NPR-savvy millenials & Z's ever be demo for a station that is pretty much only "live and local" when it comes to traffic updates and the yearly Beg a Thon - oh, so now you want to be part of the community? Take away Detour Dan and the PCH, and is there anything local left over there?

Curiously enough, 92.3's web site disabled comments on their news release. (Probably didn't want to see the feedback they got with their last programming move.)

 

[davideduardo]

Can't help but notice the apparent contradictions that 92.3 will inevitably face with this latest change - e.g., will NPR-savvy millenials & Z's ever be demo for a station that is pretty much only "live and local" when it comes to traffic updates and the yearly Beg a Thon - oh, so now you want to be part of the community? Take away Detour Dan and the PCH, and is there anything local left over there?

Millennials don't listen much to talk radio*; they use podcasts and other alternatives for longer form talk

KJZZ and KTAR are pretty much tied in 18-34, below 15th.

The top 10 stations in that demo get over 50% of all listening, so those from 10th on down get fairly small shares.

Stations ranked 11-15 get just 15%, and 16-20 gets 7.5 shares on average.

Around 26 stations (not including streams) get enough listening to show in the book based on an average of the non-Holiday influenced months.

* The little listening reported is more than likely from "forced listening" when an older person controls a car radio.

 

[EricStein]

Speaking of Bonneville, they gave the entire local staff at Arizona Sports the day off in favor of their awful-sounding ESPN Radio feed. Not that it’s much of a loss since they were probably going to talk all Suns/Devin Booker, all the time.

 

[Deus Ex Machiato]

Long ago I lost track of the "losers" I hired from not-so-good stations who turned out to be market leaders on a better station. (OK, so "better" meant that I ran it or programmed it. But it also meant that it had more listeners.)

The best case was a morning show I put together in 24 hours in the Dominican Republic. In 1985 I interviewed about 20 people in Santo Domingo, a million-plus market. I found one good guy who was unemployed for standing up to the owner over his opinion, but he was a bit serious. I found another who had gotten fired several times for "lack of prudence and respect" but who was smart and funny. The next morning at 6 AM they were hired and "auditioning" live together on the air. They are still on the air today, and they have been #1 for the last 35 years, generally with as big an audience as the leading prime time TV show.

So hiring the right person who was on the wrong station is very good if the PD knows how to direct the talent and is open enough to give them some freedom.

I mean, that's a nice story, but I'm not so sure it relates to the question I'm asking.

Yes, it's possible to pluck an unknown or underused talent from off the street or an obscure station, but this is a situation where a long-serving talent was hired from an arguably "heritage" station to fill a slot. Broomhead isn't some rookie who can be molded into a winning talent. He's got an established brand, a history on a talk outlet with a well-established (though shrinking) audience, and I'm guessing that the powers-that-be at Bonneville didn't hire him with a plan to remake him into a less strident right winger.

He is what he is. And if - as a programmer - you're looking to move your station/brand into the future, I'm not entirely certain that this was a good move. If you want to focus your station on the rapidly aging demo that still remembers "Rush Rooms" from the 90s and have Fox News on their television every night? Sure. But is that forward-looking? No. What's more, putting him on for a couple hours in the early midday tells me they're not exactly trying to develop the next breakout morning show star.

It's not 1985. It's 2020. We're rapidly approaching the time when those blinking towers on South Mountain will be irrelevant, and the future of radio will be in streaming and podcasts and social media. How does Broomhead fit into that better than the other hosts on KTAR?

 

[davideduardo]

I mean, that's a nice story, but I'm not so sure it relates to the question I'm asking.

Yes, it's possible to pluck an unknown or underused talent from off the street or an obscure station, but this is a situation where a long-serving talent was hired from an arguably "heritage" station to fill a slot. Broomhead isn't some rookie who can be molded into a winning talent.

In my example, both talents had been in the market at different important stations for about 20 years for one and 15 for the other. They had never had the chance to work as a team, and alone each was lacking something. In the past, part of a PD's job was to find people who would even be better at "your" station.

It's not 1985. It's 2020. We're rapidly approaching the time when those blinking towers on South Mountain will be irrelevant, and the future of radio will be in streaming and podcasts and social media. How does Broomhead fit into that better than the other hosts on KTAR?

The error is in thinking that radio is over. It is not. AM and FM are being phased out, but curated formats and entertainment are not going to die.

Personally, I think that we will see lots more national radio, and the source of new talent won't be Ishpeming or Meridian or Amaraillo... it will be in podcasts and the like.

 

[TheBigA]

How does Broomhead fit into that better than the other hosts on KTAR?

That's an interesting question. Just two weeks ago, someone here was complaining how Ramsey broke up the news flow. He's not alone any more.

 

[KCIR72]

In case you don't know, Ramsey is one of TMISU. So it will never happen as long as the Bonnies own the station.

Ramsey is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, he is more of an evangelical. In any case, he espouses similar views and teachings to the LDS.

 

[KCIR72]

Not sad to see Bruce and Pamela go. Their brand of talk was hard to listen to. They were just preachy and the "open mic line" was just cheezy... I mean, why not take phone calls?

Not sure Broomhead is the answer though... Lets see his first show will be: he used to be an electrician, he is a 2nd amendment supporter, he supports law enforcement... have I missed anything?

 

[DrAkbar]

Not sad to see Bruce and Pamela go. Their brand of talk was hard to listen to. They were just preachy and the "open mic line" was just cheezy... I mean, why not take phone calls?

Because most callers ramble and seldom get to the point. Boring for everyone else who's listening.

Not sure Broomhead is the answer though... Lets see his first show will be: he used to be an electrician, he is a 2nd amendment supporter, he supports law enforcement... have I missed anything?

He fills in for Glenn Beck, who like Bruce & Pamela, used to be on KTAR.

 

[Legend City]

Christ...have you ever heard the kind of people in AZ that call into talk shows?

Drooling morons.

Not having callers is why I liked Bruce's show.

 

[Deus Ex Machiato]

Christ...have you ever heard the kind of people in AZ that call into talk shows?

True story...I knew this guy who got hired as a phone screener for a certain politician's talk show on KFYI. Back when they had local hosts and took phone calls. I asked him how the job was going. He said it had destroyed his faith in humanity. The people who got on the air were the few who were not - as you said - drooling morons. After receiving constant abuse and death threats, he shut down his social media account, quit the job, and left radio entirely.

 

[asugeorge1]

I mean, that's a nice story, but I'm not so sure it relates to the question I'm asking.

Yes, it's possible to pluck an unknown or underused talent from off the street or an obscure station, but this is a situation where a long-serving talent was hired from an arguably "heritage" station to fill a slot. Broomhead isn't some rookie who can be molded into a winning talent. He's got an established brand, a history on a talk outlet with a well-established (though shrinking) audience, and I'm guessing that the powers-that-be at Bonneville didn't hire him with a plan to remake him into a less strident right winger.

He is what he is. And if - as a programmer - you're looking to move your station/brand into the future, I'm not entirely certain that this was a good move. If you want to focus your station on the rapidly aging demo that still remembers "Rush Rooms" from the 90s and have Fox News on their television every night? Sure. But is that forward-looking? No. What's more, putting him on for a couple hours in the early midday tells me they're not exactly trying to develop the next breakout morning show star.

It's not 1985. It's 2020. We're rapidly approaching the time when those blinking towers on South Mountain will be irrelevant, and the future of radio will be in streaming and podcasts and social media. How does Broomhead fit into that better than the other hosts on KTAR?

I think radio, especially FM radio, is still very relevant. It is purely your opinion that having Broomhead on KTAR is not “forward-thinking.” To others, even younger people who are conservative, Broomhead might appeal to them now that he is on FM as opposed to Ancient Modulation.

Also, it is important to remember that what you might consider to be “forward-thinking” could be a lot different from what thousands of other people think is “forward-thinking.” I think Broomhead fits into KTAR’s current talk format that has definitely skewed more conservative the last few years. Gone are Bruce, Pamela and Mac Watson, both of which were very critical of the current president. In is Chad Benson, Mike Broomhead and even more Dave Ramsey. I personally am upset that KTAR is sacrificing an hour of their best programming, all-news in the morning with Detour Dan Beach traffic updates, for Broomhead, but I can see why they are doing it, especially in a Presidential Election Year in one of the most hotly contested states come this November.