...the road resembles a pass through the Alps rather than an Interstate Highway. It is not easy and the talents tend to think they are indispensable long before their training and coaching makes them so.
This
thread has been like "a pass through the Alps," yet a good discussion has ensued.
I do not argue the point that a national show can exceed the impact as a local show, but here's some 716 Perspective. Two things: Steve Harvey is on WBLK, a legacy urban format with deep, generational heritage in the African-American community. There is no substantial
in-format competition. Locally owned urban-gospel (kilowatt day timer) WUFO 1080 and its minuscule-powered translator on 96.5, sandwiched between Class B 96.1 and 96.9, offers scant
direct competition to WBLK. This is not to discount the value of WUFO to the African American coimmunity, nor the multi-generational breadth and appeal of Steve Harvey's show and nationally known brand. Harvey proabably appeals (depending on topic and timeliness) to a segment of Kiss 98.5 or New 96.1 listeners ... but the fact is, Harvey has all four lanes of the Urban superhighway to himself.
Now then, Howard Stern: When he was in Buffalo on WBUF (then owned by Infinity) and WWKB-AM (then owned by ... Kemarket?), Stern made an impact but did
not dominate the competition as he did in many other (larger) markets. In Philadelphia, for example, John DeBella ("the Morning Zoo master") on WMMR was quite literally physically and emotionally wrecked by Stern on (Infinity's) WYSP (and his cadre of antagonistic often malicious in-show sycophants. But in Buffalo, the 97 Rock morning show with Norton and supporting cast, survived the onslaught and often beat Stern on WBUF ("Howard Stern in the morning, Classic Rock all day.") Stern was less impactful when he was on WWKB-AM (although he was the main attraction) which offered a patchwork of guy-talk, including Don and Mike in the afternoon.
In Cleveland, John Lanigan (doing Oldies, but still the dominant morning man in the market) survived in the face of Stern's constant harassment. Lanigan stayed above the fray, did his act, and remained quite robust. These are two markets where localism and local shows, combined with the all important steady promotion and street presence, fended off the competition from the often obnoxious ... although entertaining ... national interloper.
When Shredd & Ragan moved from WEDG to 97 Rock, they replaced a morning show that was in reasonably in good shape until the "toast" debacle. That mess was damning, far more on the revenue side than on the programming side. The show had zero chance of weathering the economic pushback. Account executives lost thousands of dollars in billing and substantial income as their commissions shrank due to client cancellations. I don't have the count and amount ("from the top"), but it appears from sporadic listening that most of the clients who cancelled are back with Shredd & Ragan in the time slot.
Some irony, Stern often got away with bits that were far more crude and contextually racist than the "toast episode" that aired on 97 Rock. Times and technology have changed, as has Stern who often disavows his bellicose past. He's all "growed up" now and credits psychotherapy for making him a better man. Ahem.
As to the personalities involved in the "toast debacle," that bit will likely be the albatross about their necks. They were a talented lot, and arguably decent people who made a grossly stupid mistake, enhanced by the further mistake of putting the bit on the station's website where it received national scourge.
One might think that after all this time the offending morning personalities have been rehabilitated and the advertising and African American communities would be forgiving, but with (Buffalo) radio facing strong economic headwinds, there are few if any stations will risk the threatened and potentially real loss of revenue.
Wait ... WEBR and WLVL? Something to bring much attention to two frequencies that have little if any recall among radio listeners. Umm, no.
