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Richard wagoner radio columnist
- Thread starter 34james
- Start date
I've listened to some of those podcast episodes, they're good
Those of us who don't actually work in the industry anymore have nothing to lose. So, we can bloviate to our heart's content.
But if I was drawing a paycheck from LA radio? There's no way I'd be blabbering away on message boards. It may violate my company's NDA. It's rude to co-workers, whom I'd be gossiping about. It's undermining managers who I work for or may want to work for in the future.
As a casual listener? This board is like ESPN. Criticizing every touchdown or pass— from the comfort of my couch. (There used to actually be a radio publication called "Friday Morning Quarterback," probably as a wink to this phenomena)
But if I was drawing a paycheck from LA radio? There's no way I'd be blabbering away on message boards. It may violate my company's NDA. It's rude to co-workers, whom I'd be gossiping about. It's undermining managers who I work for or may want to work for in the future.
As a casual listener? This board is like ESPN. Criticizing every touchdown or pass— from the comfort of my couch. (There used to actually be a radio publication called "Friday Morning Quarterback," probably as a wink to this phenomena)
There are ways to do it responsibly. Obey the terms of an NDA, if you have one, never gossip about co-workers. Never undermine your boss, and realize you can't be objective about your direct competition, so don't go there. And if you're worried about the next gig, yeah---maybe don't post.
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Sorry about that---I've been on the other side of the country with a new grandbaby since Thursday night. Just got back.
Richard's been writing about radio for a long time. I don't know if he's ever worked in it, though.
All things being equal, he's right---the commercials have to go somewhere.
Unless---they're not selling enough time.
That was an old trick we used to do in the 70s...find the dayparts where we weren't even close to filling the logs and spread those spots around several hours. Then---"30 in a row!"----or "Ninety minutes of non-stop hit music!"
First of all, there's no link to the specific article where the writer talks about break length. All I have is what's in post #2.
If that's all he wrote, there are no facts or statistics with that comment. Just his personal opinion.
Radio programmers base break length on the behavior they see from listeners.
If that's all he wrote, there are no facts or statistics with that comment. Just his personal opinion.
Radio programmers base break length on the behavior they see from listeners.
Big a I get his columns on Friday. I didn't want to post the link due to copyright laws and the fact Richard probably would not want to see it here just saying
No copyright problem if you post a brief quote with a link. We do that here all the time.
Link to Richard Wagoner's L.A. Daily News article - pertinent info is in the 2nd story in the column:
www.dailynews.com
Wagoner does clarify the reasoning for commercial free hours: Spots are sold on the average rating of the *entire* shift.
Radio: Remembering DJ, TV reporter and actress Francesca Cappucci
The former KIQQ on-air personality was a longtime entertainment reporter on KABC/7.
www.dailynews.com
Wagoner does clarify the reasoning for commercial free hours: Spots are sold on the average rating of the *entire* shift.
The article contains no specifics, as in, he doesn't say which stations sell this way. He just makes a general statement about radio as though all stations do things the same way. They don't. He also says that commercials are sold for less money when grouped this way. That's not true, and I don't know where he gets this information. On the one hand, the commercial free block attracts more listening, and then he says those commercials are worth less because they're grouped together. That doesn't make any sense. If spots are sold on the average rating, then the price would be higher, not lower.
Then he ends his article by saying "No wonder radio is suffering." If you base your opinion on false generalizations with no specifics in order to prove a negative point, it's no wonder he reaches that conclusion. What his conclusion ignores is the presence of non-commercial radio stations such as KPCC or KKJZ. If his theory is that grouped commercial breaks are the cause for radio's problems, then stations such as KPCC or KCSN or KCRW should be booming.
The bottom line is that commercial radio stations have only one revenue source: advertising. That's it. If people paid subscriptions for KIIS as they do for KUSC, things would sound different. People will tune out regardless of how the commercials are grouped. If stations could make more money by playing one commercial between every song, then that's what they'd do. Advertisers are offered the option of sponsoring entire hours, and they prefer the current system of multiple spots. Advertisers know what they're buying. None of this has anything to do with whether or not radio is "suffering."
Maybe he meant that the more spots a company buys, the cost per spot is less?
Nope, that's not what he said. He said the spot sells for less money because it's grouped with 10 other spots. He said that with no examples or proof. But he also said the price is based on the ratings for the shift. So if two hours of that shift are commercial free, and therefore attract higher ratings, then the spot price for the entire shift is higher. That's assuming that his statement about ratings and shifts is true.
I haven't read Richard's column regularly for a long time, but I do remember that he has from time to time made reference to being an intern decades ago at a station here in Los Angeles, and that he was invited to host an hour playing his favorite music on the original "100.3 the Sound" shortly before the station was sold a few years back. I think he is a "full time" freelance writer. Mr Wagoner should join us on this forum and clarify a few things. I think it would be interesting to hear from him.
Congrats on the new grandchild! Many, many years ago I could never imagine that I would ever be a Granddad. But now that I have been for the past few years...it's great ! Love that little Munchkin !
In TV you hear all of the above in about 20 minutes
Not sure who it was (possibly Kasey Kasem ??) who always tagged the end of his weekly national Top 40 Show "Be nice to the people on the way up, because you're gonna see the same people on the way down!" (Just like my mother once said: Don't burn your bridges!)
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