Pete Kennedy, "The Mayor" - Rochester radio vet of dozens of years sacked by I-Heart in latest round of layoffs

[Tall Thin One]

I realize that this is primarily a Rochester focused board, but it's title is Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Rochester so Kennedy's firing after 3 or 4 decades of service certainly deserves mentioning here.

Here's the story from

Radio Insight reports the broadcasting giant (I-Heart) started cutting positions nationwide last week due to revenue projections trending downward for the rest of the year. Job dismissals include programming, on-air and digital staff, including “The Mayor” Pete Kennedy.

Kennedy co-hosted the “Newman and The Mayor” morning show on Radio 95.1 (WAIO-FM) in Rochester, as well as afternoons on Y94FM (WYYY) in Syracuse, Mix 103.3 (WMXW) in Binghamton and Sunny 102.3 (WVOR) in Canandaigua. He first joined iHeartMedia, previously known as Clear Channel, in 2012 after 20 years at Rochester’s Top 40 radio station 98 PXY (WPXY-FM).

 

[topsound]

That sucks. Good guy and long-time colleague in the Pyramid days.

 

[ckg279]

To add on to Tall Thin One's post: All Access reported on the firing, too. As did the Syracuse Post-Standard, which noted this depressing fact: iHeart Media has more radio stations in the Syracuse market(five)than it does local DJs(four). Y94's entire lineup is either syndicated or VT'ed from other markets, including Rochester-based Julie Dunn who does the 1-4pm shift.

 

[TheBigA]

iHeart Media has more radio stations in the Syracuse market(five)than it does local DJs(four).

And yet four of those stations are in the Top 10. Rochester's Bob Lonsberry can by heard in Syracuse on #1 rated WSYR.

 

[ckg279]

And yet four of those stations are in the Top 10. Rochester's Bob Lonsberry can by heard in Syracuse on #1 rated WSYR.

I don't know which stat is more depressing: what I mentioned or what you said.

 

[TheBigA]

I don't know which stat is more depressing: what I mentioned or what you said.

Depends on what's important to you. For most people, the location of their radio hosts isn't that important.

 

[flybynight]

Depends on what's important to you. For most people, the location of their radio hosts isn't that important.

But I loved that Casey Kasem did his countdown show live from my town's 1,000 Watt top 40 station in 1981. He never answered the request line, but it was probably because he was busy cuing up #16 in the countdown.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Depends on what's important to you. For most people, the location of their radio hosts isn't that important.

Yeah, we get it. You're a big proponent of syndication and voice-tracking because it gets rid of those annoying local announcers who might actually add an entertaining element for local audiences. So what if you give up some local ad avails. Think of the HR savings. How has that worked out with TSL and revenue over the last 10 years?

Oh, right, "the internet." Perhaps local radio should offer something that the internet doesn't - like a local focus on entertainment and information targeted toward their listening audience. Emulating the internet makes as much sense as when radio stations responded to the iPod by "putting the station on shuffle" instead of offering content that the iPod couldn't.

Radio is no longer a "go to" source because there's precious little reason to go there for many listeners and former listeners. They can get the same pablum from a dozen other sources without all those annoying ads that mostly sound as generic as the music format.

 

[TheBigA]

Yeah, we get it. You're a big proponent of syndication and voice-tracking because it gets rid of those annoying local announcers who might actually add an entertaining element for local audiences.

If they really were "entertaining," they would not be getting cut. This idea that one's location is a primary qualification for a job only matters if they do something that's unique to that location. Brother Wease is still on the air, and so are lots of other local staff who work in dayparts that attract revenue.

Perhaps local radio should offer something that the internet doesn't - like a local focus on entertainment and information targeted toward their listening audience.

They do. That entertainment can be based anywhere. It's not the 1950s any more.

As I've said for years, hiring more local staff will not cause people to throw away their phones or computers. Unless that happens, people will use the most convenient device to get their information.

The budgets at these stations aren't growing. Every time Lonsberry gets a COLA, someone else loses a job. They're not going to fire Lonsberry, because he's actually entertaining to some people.

 

[spt87]

Going local gives a chance of competing against the phone and computer by doing something unique. By not going local they are guaranteeing they will lose in the end.

 

[TheBigA]

Going local gives a chance of competing against the phone and computer by doing something unique. By not going local they are guaranteeing they will lose in the end.

Being unique only matters if it attracts an audience that the station can sell. The station management sees the Nielsen diaries, reads the comments, and they can see which local personalities are connecting, and which ones are simply babysitting a console. If hiring more local staff translated to making more money, they'd hire more local staff.

McDonalds could replace their hamburgers with sushi. That would be unique. But more people want hamburgers.

 

[SirRoxalot]

If they really were "entertaining," they would not be getting cut. This idea that one's location is a primary qualification for a job only matters if they do something that's unique to that location. Brother Wease is still on the air, and so are lots of other local staff who work in dayparts that attract revenue.



They do. That entertainment can be based anywhere. It's not the 1950s any more.

As I've said for years, hiring more local staff will not cause people to throw away their phones or computers. Unless that happens, people will use the most convenient device to get their information.

The budgets at these stations aren't growing. Every time Lonsberry gets a COLA, someone else loses a job. They're not going to fire Lonsberry, because he's actually entertaining to some people.

When you lock down formats so tight that there's little opportunity to entertain I guess it doesn't matter where your programming originates. You've already given up the strengths of radio, timeliness and local knowledge, anyway. And we've seen the results in TSL and the steady erosion of cume. Radio always had competition from other content sources. In the past, radio offered content that wasn't available anywhere else. Big Corporate has essentially abdicated that responsibility.

Funny that you should cite Brother Wease and other morning show talent. What's the one daypart most likely to be live and local at most stations? Mornings. What's the highest rated daypart at most stations? Mornings. Lonsberry does well because his talk radio show offers locally-oriented content that's timely. It's a horribly old-fashioned but effective idea. I'm not a Lonsberry fan, but it's sure more entertaining than the canned promo SPAM heard on most stations outside of morning drive these days.

 

[TheBigA]

When you lock down formats so tight that there's little opportunity to entertain I guess it doesn't matter where your programming originates. You've already given up the strengths of radio, timeliness and local knowledge, anyway.

And yet that was never a problem in the glory days of Top 40, when local talent was given ten seconds to entertain, and they found a way to do it. As I've told you before, TSL began dropping in the early 90s, long before corporate radio and VT. TSL has nothing to do with where the hosts are based.

There are no restrictions on morning show hosts, who are given lots of time to say and do whatever they want. We see how that worked out for Kimberly & Beck. It wasn't the format or management that got them fired.

 

[davideduardo]

As I've told you before, TSL began dropping in the early 90s, long before corporate radio and VT. TSL has nothing to do with where the hosts are based.

That's a false argument. TSL adjusted in the early 90's well into the mid-90's years due to changes in the way Arbitron measured ethnic groups as well as new requirements coming out of the MRC.

One of the changes, seemingly simple, was to make the diary pages segmented by daypart rather than just a page full of lines for each day. The effect was to make people segregate listening occasions rather than a common tendency to write an early morning start time and a line down to a late afternoon stop time.

In addition, the use of HDHA and HDBA areas was implemented and proper weighting and recruiting of ethnic participants was enhanced and improved.

Net result: we got closer to what the PPM shows: more and shorter listening spans, with intervals of no listening in between instead of non-stop all day listening.

There are no restrictions on morning show hosts, who are given lots of time to say and do whatever they want. We see how that worked out for Kimberly & Beck. It wasn't the format or management that got them fired.

And that is the fault of the PD as much as of the talent. It is like making a movie without a script and without a director.

 

[TheBigA]

That's a false argument. TSL adjusted in the early 90's well into the mid-90's years due to changes in the way Arbitron measured ethnic groups as well as new requirements coming out of the MRC.

What I said is that the TSL drop BEGAN at that time. It then continued in a very consistent way to the present.

Inside Music Media

This is the most mystifying metric of all. Before digital media, social networking, iPhones or even short attention spans, radio began losing time spent listen

insidemusicmedia.com

And that is the fault of the PD as much as of the talent. It is like making a movie without a script and without a director.

If the PD tells the talent what to say, that's exactly the thing Rox complained about, with formats locked down so tight that there's no room to entertain. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

 

[BobBarnett]

Being unique only matters if it attracts an audience that the station can sell. The station management sees the Nielsen diaries, reads the comments, and they can see which local personalities are connecting, and which ones are simply babysitting a console. If hiring more local staff translated to making more money, they'd hire more local staff.

McDonalds could replace their hamburgers with sushi. That would be unique. But more people want hamburgers.

Don’t know who you are “Big A”…but you’re consistently the wisest voice on this board. Clearly, you know your stuff.

 

[davideduardo]

What I said is that the TSL drop BEGAN at that time. It then continued in a very consistent way to the present.

No, it flattened around '95 or '96 after most of the methodology improvements, and stayed very flat at between 18 to 21 hours of TSL* by the average person until around 2010 in the diary market and until the PPM reduced TSL by around 35% as it rolled out around 2009.

TSL varied based on commute times in each market. NYC was the lowest due to extensive public transit use, and places like Dallas, Miami, San Juan and LA were the highest.

If the PD tells the talent what to say, that's exactly the thing Rox complained about, with formats locked down so tight that there's no room to entertain. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

Yet another reason why the network model has so many advantages... good talent under superior direction and access to interesting guests appropriate for each format.

 

[TheBigA]

No, it flattened around '95 or '96 after most of the methodology improvements, and stayed very flat at between 18 to 21 hours of TSL* by the average person until around 2010 in the diary market and until the PPM reduced TSL by around 35% as it rolled out around 2009.

Did you read the article I linked? I think you subscribe:

Inside Music Media

This is the most mystifying metric of all. Before digital media, social networking, iPhones or even short attention spans, radio began losing time spent listen

insidemusicmedia.com

I've seen and posted similar articles over the years that attribute the loss of TSL to the increase in competing media and increase in other activities that drew people away from the radio to other things such as TV, video games, live events, and their families.

 

[davideduardo]

Did you read the article I linked? I think you subscribe:

Inside Music Media

This is the most mystifying metric of all. Before digital media, social networking, iPhones or even short attention spans, radio began losing time spent listen

insidemusicmedia.com

No, I do not follow Jerry. I got tired of the rants about Cumulus (before the name change), Lou Dickey and iHeart.

But I know what he is talking about, and he is wrong on his timeline. I did not see him on the PPM committee I was on from 2002 to around 2010 and did not see him at the old Arbitron consultant fly-ins each year in Columbia.

I've seen and posted similar articles over the years that attribute the loss of TSL to the increase in competing media and increase in other activities that drew people away from the radio to other things such as TV, video games, live events, and their families.

And the real answer lies in the threats of accreditation loss and the subsequent improvements in methodology. Arbitron moved slowly, but got things done.

Example: We began pushing hard for language differentiation among Hispanics around 1997. It took us nearly half a decade to get it done, but finally they did a complete software rewrite and implemented it.

The reason it was not done before? The diary software was written for the very old computer systems when Arbitron was owned by Control Data. The files used a single field, differentiated by the location of each bit of data. For example, age was "102,2" which meant that at character 102, two characters showed the respondent age.

All the stratification fields were thus taken, and there was no way to add a language dominance field until they did a complete rewrite of the software.

But data fields and delimiters don't make good newsletter headlines.

 

[Buddy Shula]

Don’t know who you are “Big A”…but you’re consistently the wisest voice on this board. Clearly, you know your stuff.

I would totally disagree the station management "reads the diary comments" and " Sees what people are connecting". The only person what would give a damn about any of that would be the PD.

Above the PD, nobody would care.

They would care about "how's digital doing" and "how much is our quarterly profit up, and how do we increase it with better margins......I.E. Cutting Staff!"