I'm not talking about on air jocks. I'm talking about stations that kind of have a unique "personality" to them. For example, we mentioned kckc in another thread, but that station seems to have a personality of its own. Kenz in salt lake city has kind of a dance top 40 all of its own. 96.5 (alternative) in KC did before the consolidation years ago. Do many stations have personality these days, or did they years ago?
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Stations with their own "personality"
- Thread starter tall_guy1
- Start date
We could probably make a case for KTU in the early 2000s, but they sound like a Rhythmic-friendly Hot AC these days.
WXRT seems far removed from the typical Audacy style of programming, so I guess that counts? It also is more adventurous than, say, KBCO.
WXRT seems far removed from the typical Audacy style of programming, so I guess that counts? It also is more adventurous than, say, KBCO.
I get what you are describing. On one side of the coin, I would think it might be more difficult to develop such a station personality today because part of it was based on people being in one location and 'feeding' off one another.
On the other side of the coin, there were stations such as KVIL in Dallas, somewhere between a true AC and Top 40 at the time with seasoned jocks led by Ron Chapman. While the jocks were 'personalities' the focus was the listener taking the spotlight and referred to by name and as if you knew the person, for example. PSAs were typically for more affluent listeners intentionally. Contests were 'living beyond your financial means'. Literally this station was marketed to the younger families where they were climbing the ladder in their careers, living in suburbia and had a 'sky's the limit' attitude. Listeners were made to feel like they were part of a special club of radio listeners who had invited to artsy things in DFW and could afford cruises or week-long trips to Hawaii only because the station promotion set the price at $103.70. They even gave away a house the winner could customize up to a large amount (like $60,000 back when a 3/2 ranch style in the suburbs went for $30,000). The station was a solid market leader in the most desirable demos for years if not honing in on a couple of decades. Talk about personality, this station had a big one.
On the other side of the coin, there were stations such as KVIL in Dallas, somewhere between a true AC and Top 40 at the time with seasoned jocks led by Ron Chapman. While the jocks were 'personalities' the focus was the listener taking the spotlight and referred to by name and as if you knew the person, for example. PSAs were typically for more affluent listeners intentionally. Contests were 'living beyond your financial means'. Literally this station was marketed to the younger families where they were climbing the ladder in their careers, living in suburbia and had a 'sky's the limit' attitude. Listeners were made to feel like they were part of a special club of radio listeners who had invited to artsy things in DFW and could afford cruises or week-long trips to Hawaii only because the station promotion set the price at $103.70. They even gave away a house the winner could customize up to a large amount (like $60,000 back when a 3/2 ranch style in the suburbs went for $30,000). The station was a solid market leader in the most desirable demos for years if not honing in on a couple of decades. Talk about personality, this station had a big one.
Good Lord, let's take another try at trying to push the same narrative.
One example might be the Jack format, built around a character with an imaging voice. Very unique personality that is consistent 24/7, yet in most cases without actual personalities. That would apply to the knock-offs, such as Ben.
That was pretty much the Drake format, the jocks worked within the template. as opposed to having a different format for every shift. KHJ sounded substantially the same no matter what time of day. I believe it was called "stationality". WNAP, the Buzzaed in Indianapois, or WMMS, THe Buzzard in Cleveland, same thing.
Jack is a good example. Another was a try at an adult audience cutting the hard edge from Top 40 on FM leaving the personality at the door and simply back announcing in a rather formal way. It became rather popular in quite a few offices. They limited commercials to 8 per hour, 2 per break. This was a mid-1970s station.
If you listened to KHJ back in the Drake and Jacobs days, you instantly knew what station you were listening to due to the standardized station words and positioning statements. But there was no way you confused Morgan with Steele or any of the other talents.
And, being a frequent visitor to Cleveland in the 70's and 80's, I can say that The Buzzard also had a station feel, but each jock had a different and fun / interesting / entertaining personality.
I believe Norfolk, Virginia's WOWI fits your criteria. Parked at 102.9 on the dial, 103 JAMZ has been the home of Urban Contemporary music in Hampton Roads for at least 45 years. The station has been through a couple of ownership changes and COUNTLESS on-air changes, but it has consistently played the music popular with young people.
You absolutely know what you're getting when you turn to the station...it's almost an adjective: you could say, "That sounds like a 103 JAMZ song," and no further description or explanation would be necessary.
You absolutely know what you're getting when you turn to the station...it's almost an adjective: you could say, "That sounds like a 103 JAMZ song," and no further description or explanation would be necessary.
KIIS-FM Los Angeles they are the ones that provided the template that every Iheart CHR or HotAC runs on today. At one point KIIS-FM was on SiriusXM because of the legendary persona of that station.
How about Z-100?
KIIS was on XM because iHeart was an early investor. Several other iHeart stations including Z-100 and WSIX were there as well.
BigA is correct: KIIS and Z-100 were on XM because Clear Channel was a start-up investor in the satellite service.
Further, KIIS was the base for Ryan Seacrest (who nearly never actually goes to the station) but the music programming is based on local research at the individual markets and there is quite a bit of difference between the various iHeart CHR and Hot AC stations based on the market, competition, ethnicity of the market and needs of the cluster.
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