Entercom cuts

[TheBigA]

Yes, every one of those professional announcers no doubt threaded tape.

Not in union shops they didn't. "Those days" are when BM was a thriving format.

Look, you want me to list the stations that paid college kids 2.75 to thread up reels of muzak? There were a bunch. And the day Satellite Music Network was launched, a lot of them got fired. Another way technology led to "job efficiencies."

If you really want to go back in history, there was a time when radio stations had live musicians. But it was much cheaper to play recordings, so all the musicians got fired. Every generation has its thing.

There was a time when DJs sold their own shows. Alan Freed was one of them. I promise you if a DJ did that today, they'd have radio stations lining up to hire them.

 

[Wimmmex]

Not in union shops they didn't. "Those days" are when BM was a thriving format.

WJIB...a thriving BM format...union shop....yes, 'announcers' threaded reels of tape.

WHUE....a second fiddle BM BM format...union shop....yes, 'announcers' threaded reels.

But, continue, if you like.... ;-)

 

[CTListener]

WJIB...a thriving BM format...union shop....yes, 'announcers' threaded reels of tape.

WHUE....a second fiddle BM BM format...union shop....yes, 'announcers' threaded reels.

But, continue, if you like.... ;-)

You dare doubt the all-knowing BigA?

 

[TheBigA]

But, continue, if you like.... ;-)

Was Boston a Top 10 market? Did the OP say top market stations were required to have live announcers? Yes. I don't disagree with that. I know that Bonneville had live announcers at its O&O WRFM in NYC. They got paid well to introduce the Living Marimbas and they were a Top 5 station. But their announcers didn't thread up tapes unless they were in NABET. And if you happened to work at a BM in a smaller market than Boston or NY, you got paid 2.75 to thread up tapes. But maybe you know of one in Manchester that paid people $50K to thread up tapes.

 

[Wimmmex]

I know that Bonneville had live announcers at its O&O WRFM in NYC. They got paid well to introduce the Living Marimbas and they were a Top 5 station. But their announcers didn't thread up tapes unless they were in NABET.

I was friendly with Jim Aylward who worked at WRFM as an announcer during their golden period. He told me that they loaded reel-to-reel tapes and cart machines in addition to their announcing duties. (I think Transmitter readings were done by a NABET member....or the guy on WWRL....not sure.)

But maybe you know of one in Manchester that paid people $50K to thread up tapes.

Manchester's WZID had live announcers that were paid a livable wage, as most were older guys who had families, etc. ...probably the highest paid guys in Manchester...

You dare doubt the all-knowing BigA?

Ha!

 

[TheBigA]

I was friendly with Jim Aylward who worked at WRFM as an announcer during their golden period. He told me that they loaded reel-to-reel tapes and cart machines in addition to their announcing duties.

Photos?

 

[davideduardo]

And the day Satellite Music Network was launched, a lot of them got fired. Another way technology led to "job efficiencies."

They still had to have a baby-sitter. Logs were still manual at the beginning of that period.

If you really want to go back in history, there was a time when radio stations had live musicians. But it was much cheaper to play recordings, so all the musicians got fired. Every generation has its thing.

Most stations did not want to have live musicians, but if they wanted music they had to satisfy the American Federation of Musicians and Emperor Perillo. For a certain amount of recorded music, they had to have an agreed upon amount of live music.

A famous case involved a station in tiny Chattanooga, TN. They tried to eliminate the orchestra that Perillo required, and got a rather long lasting and nasty strike. Only after Perillo lost power and the AFM became less combative could Storz have created Top 40 in Omaha.

Remember, Perillo stopped the release of recorded music for over a year during WW II... a rather nasty act while the nation was at war and needed entertainment.

There was a time when DJs sold their own shows. Alan Freed was one of them. I promise you if a DJ did that today, they'd have radio stations lining up to hire them.

I know of brokered shows well into the 80's. And we still have brokered talk shows even in NYC.

 

[davideduardo]

You're telling me professional announcers threaded up reels of tape? In those days, announcers announced. They didn't "assemble."

I know of many markets, some as large as Phoenix, some smaller like Birmingham and Las Vegas where the "live" Beautiful Music announcer loaded the tapes and played the carts...

The largest market I can think of was Pittsburgh, where Cecil's 13-Q had a Shulke FM in the early 70's. The announcer changed tapes, played carts and did the transmitter logs.

And they occasionally took 15 minute naps with an alarm. That allowed, once, the 13-Q jock to take a tape, splice in an Iron Butterfly song, and let it play. The guy did not even notice.

 

[davideduardo]

The REAL assembly work for Bonneville was being done by Marlin Taylor in a non-descript office building in Tenafly NJ, within sight of Major Armstrong's famous tower.

Remember, a number of the big names in Beautiful Music were graduates of Jerry Lee's Philadelphia station. It was totally locally programmed, always. At the beginning, they played the songs off albums using a card system, according to one of the guys that worked there.

All the EZ Communications stations originally had jocks who played the Beautiful Music off albums until they decided to do tapes in Fairfax and send them to the stations.

 

[Retro]

Mix 104.1's Matthew Reid is exiting too.

Total staffers let go in Boston was 11.

So, once again these conglomerates are only at numbers! Nancy Quill is was a mainstay, who's very name is is synonymous with Magic!
Mike Reid is a talent on the rise! He will no doubt land somewhere else, perhaps better than where he was, inspite of the firing!

While I know that this latest round has to do with the pandemic and all, now is not the time to be letting go of "talented" people! 30 years ago, Matt Siegel pompously was quoted in The Boston Herald as saying that there weren't any future stars in radio anymore!" I piped up personally and said to my myself "You mean that Kid Valentine as WZOU wasn't future force to reckoned with at all?"

Down the road, WZOU became Jamn, and at the time, very musically focused. The Herald reports that Sean "Valentine" is out and headed to Dallas instead! I did some research on that, and he did so well in the Metroplex, that ended up landing at Kiss 102.7, in L.A. aka KIIS! I guess that it doesn't really all that matter at all though, because as you know Matt Siegal is the king of his own domain!

 

[TheBigA]

All the EZ Communications stations originally had jocks who played the Beautiful Music off albums until they decided to do tapes in Fairfax and send them to the stations.

I'm not doubting that. There were stations that played rock music off albums until they replaced them with tapes from various syndicators such as Drake Chenault. But once they did, the music was no longer chosen locally, and staffing changes were made. To say they were "locally assembled" because the tapes were loaded by local people sort of overstates the situation. There were also top rated stations in large markets that had a single canned voice 24/7, even doing time checks and generic weather. And the point that I was making is it was done to save money.

 

[Wimmmex]

Photos?

You're kidding, right? Ha-ha...

You might try the phrase: "I may have been mistaken..."

It works wonders.

 

[TheBigA]

You might try the phrase: "I may have been mistaken..."[/i

I'd like confirmation. I'm sure photos exist. I was in NABET in NYC and I know we didn't permit newscasters touching tape or carts at any time. So the idea that announcers threaded automation tapes or were involved at all in that process (especially morning drive) doesn't jive with my own experience as a NABET engineer in NYC. Also, quite often the transmitter engineers were in another union. Not sure exactly about WRFM. What happened in Boston is another story. I later spent some time in AFTRA in several cities, so I know what we were allowed and not allowed to do.

 

[Wimmmex]

I'd like confirmation.

"I may have been mistaken..."

The phrase still applies....acknowledging a possibility that you might be wrong and don't have to get in the last word constitutes a level of humility...and humility is a wonderful human trait! Have a great day!

WKBW was a NABET shop too wasn't it?...and on-air talent rant heir own boards, loaded carts.

 

[TheBigA]

WKBW was a NABET shop too wasn't it?...and on-air talent rant heir own boards, loaded carts.

In Buffalo? I thought I said NYC. Not the same thing.

I'm also not saying Bonneville wasn't beyond skirting union rules. As I said, their syndication studio was in NJ, not NYC. Perhaps to escape union rules.

 

[Wimmmex]

In Buffalo? I thought I said NYC. Not the same thing.

Have you ever let a conversation go where you weren't the last word?

Blessings!

 

[TheBigA]

Have you ever let a conversation go where you weren't the last word?

Blessings!

I could ask the same of you. We've been through this before.

 

[Wimmmex]

I could ask the same of you. We've been through this before.

And the answer would be yes! Usually I let you "win" because you have to always get in the last word.....not a great personality trait. ;-)

Go ahead, you're right...you win....since you said the last thing! Feel Good! ;-)

 

[MarkW]

April 11, I predicted the stock would rise to a range of $1.50 to $2.00 "soon."

Pre market open, it is priced at $1.55. Been on a roller coaster ride the last few weeks to 30 days (peaking previously around $1.38 then crashing to $0.97), but the signals the past week or so have clearly been bullish.

 

[MarkW]

Now the stock is up to $1.80 a share!