102 Jamz Is Back

[SomeRadioGuy]

SHHHHHH! Don't tell the listeners they don't actually want big playlists full of stiffs!

no no, dont tell radio nerds that...... they seem to think thats what listeners want .. lol

 

[austingrace]

Just going to say it. 102 JAMZ is one of the best stations in town right now. I have heard songs I have not heard in years or not before. I love it man!!!!!! I honestly missed this station so much and literally grew up with it.

 

[DJ Mo]

I have to agree. Whoever is scheduling music for 102 Jamz right now has been plucking songs off my own playlist. Now I have to work harder to dig even deeper in my personal collection, so I don't end up playing what they play anymore. I know that their ratings is probably still upticking, & the reason why they don't have any on-air talent, is because in this particular format, the music speaks for itself. Once the ratings start to taper off, then I think adding on-air personality or mix shows can help keep it up to where it will plateau, or grow even more.
I applied to their job posting over a month ago & never got any response. I will not apply to any more corporate FM radio stations after this, because I've been trying 19+ years for my one shot. It will be WPRK 91.5FM until I die from this point forward. Those who think I "play stiffs" have never heard my show, or are even aware with what ORLANDO listeners want that corporate radio doesn't play, or consultants don't even know about. You may only have heard of me through this board, but I have been a professional DJ since 2005 & gained a cult following. I've been tagged in one of 102 Jamz's posts by one of my loyal listeners. Because of the similarities in our playlists, & the platform where 102 Jamz & I can BOTH grow, that is the main reason why I applied. I would of never seen their job posting if it wasn't for the tag. I see other tags, but they are probably already told to tag the candidate many times to help them get a job there. I don't do the popularity contest thing or show off. I let my on-air presentation speak for itself. If I don't get recognition for it, so be it. At least I keep my integrity.
But yeah, I still tune into them regularly, especially when they play something from before 2005, so that I can both enjoy & adjust my own radio show. The only thing that will hinder them from growing more is the amount of commercials, but I know for commercial stations, it's a business. That's the main reason that my listeners have flocked back to me on Fridays 5-7pm after August. I did notice a lull in listener interactions & streams last month, but they were definitely back in full swing last Friday, still equally as excited after many years, so I'm good at WPRK 91.5FM if they don't end up hiring me. If you are trying to look in subscriber Nielsen ratings, the encoder on the racks inside the WPRK studio where I broadcast live has been OFF for years, so unfortunately, I cannot prove myself (with ratings) until I get on a station who subscribes. I do, however, see how many are listening online while doing my show. The DJ after me sometimes jokes to me about the online listener dropoff when they are on. 😄

 

[davideduardo]

If you are trying to look in subscriber Nielsen ratings, the encoder on the racks inside the WPRK studio where I broadcast live has been OFF for years, so unfortunately, I cannot prove myself (with ratings) until I get on a station who subscribes. I do, however, see how many are listening online while doing my show. The DJ after me sometimes jokes to me about the online listener dropoff when they are on. 😄

However, you should know that Nielsen and the radio industry want every operating station in a PPM market to encode, as that makes radio's "PUMM" (Persons Using Mass Media) look better. The higher the PUMM, the more impact radio seems to have to advertisers.

So even if your station does not subscribe, it can and should encode. And the subscribers get the results for all stations that meet the minimum requirements of listening levels.

 

[DJ Mo]

I understand that, but it's not my decision regarding technical issues. I do, however, report anything that needs attention from time to time. We currently use the same engineer who also works for the Z88.3 family of stations, who obviously has not been encoding. The green light on the encoder was on for a bit when we first moved into the new studio back in 2020, but the past year or 2, it's been off. I'm not sure if a subscriber can go all the way back & see when WPRK last met the minimum requirements of listening levels, & I'm not sure if you can see listening levels down to the hour, or even by the minute.
It's funny, because I received a mail with $1 bill from someone at Nielsen earlier this year, asking my household to carry the device. Obviously, I did not partake in acquiring a PPM meter for legal reasons, but it would of been cool to see what one of these PPM devices looked like. The radio nerd in me thought about it for a bit, but I know curiosity killed the cat, so I smartly did not proceed. 😸

 

[davideduardo]

I understand that, but it's not my decision regarding technical issues. I do, however, report anything that needs attention from time to time. We currently use the same engineer who also works for the Z88.3 family of stations, who obviously has not been encoding. The green light on the encoder was on for a bit when we first moved into the new studio back in 2020, but the past year or 2, it's been off. I'm not sure if a subscriber can go all the way back & see when WPRK last met the minimum requirements of listening levels, & I'm not sure if you can see listening levels down to the hour, or even by the minute.
It's funny, because I received a mail with $1 bill from someone at Nielsen earlier this year, asking my household to carry the device. Obviously, I did not partake in acquiring a PPM meter for legal reasons, but it would of been cool to see what one of these PPM devices looked like. The radio nerd in me thought about it for a bit, but I know curiosity killed the cat, so I smartly did not proceed. 😸

Give me a little reminder tomorrow when I am at home, and I will take pictures of both the first and second models of the PPM. I have one of each which Arbitron gave me, suitably, neutered internally, so that I could use them in presentations at Hispanic broadcasting corporation, and at Univision.

Basically, they look a lot like old-fashioned pagers such as you still see doctors carry around.

 

[DJ Mo]

It would be cool to see, & maybe a YouTube demonstration video of how it works & registers, for those who don't have the privilege to attend one of your presentations. I haven't seen a pager in years. 😄

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

It would be cool to see, & maybe a YouTube demonstration video of how it works & registers, for those who don't have the privilege to attend one of your presentations. I haven't seen a pager in years. 😄

id almost have wagered youre too young to have ever seen one.

get off my frozen tundra lawn you whipper snapper

 

[DJ Mo]

I am a/an Xennial. Oregon Trail was in 8" floppy's when I was in elementary school. I am old enough to also tell kids to get off my lawn.

 

[davideduardo]

get off my frozen tundra lawn you whipper snapper

"Don't trample my tundra" is a good yard sign idea.

 

[davideduardo]

I am a/an Xennial. Oregon Trail was in 8" floppy's when I was in elementary school. I am old enough to also tell kids to get off my lawn.

Ha! My System 34 that IBM gave me instead of recycling the material in 1976 had a a pair of 8" floppy drives and the legitimate IBM branded disks were over $300 for a box of 12.

 

[davideduardo]

It would be cool to see, & maybe a YouTube demonstration video of how it works & registers, for those who don't have the privilege to attend one of your presentations. I haven't seen a pager in years. 😄

I'm too ancient to do videos, but I will snap pix of the PPM units.

This is the second generation PPM device:


This is the prototype for the wristband PPM, the third generation.




Article about the wearable: Meet Nielsen’s New PPM “Wearables” - Radio World

And here is a classic "unboxing" video about "something you can't buy"

 

[DJ Mo]

Cool. Thanks for the pics & for finding a video of when Nielsen was Arbitron. I would of loved to have been a device wearer, so I can finally make my first penny in radio after 19+ years. I have been doing this as a labor of love.

 

[davideduardo]

Cool. Thanks for the pics & for finding a video of when Nielsen was Arbitron. I would of loved to have been a device wearer, so I can finally make my first penny in radio after 19+ years. I have been doing this as a labor of love.

Glad you liked that. I admire your love of radio. After 66 years in the business, I still think of it more of a hobby than a job.

 

[randysradioarchives]

Recently DJ D Strong returns to 102 JAMZ, he previously worked for 106.7 and 104.5 the beat. He was the program director for 104.5 the beat but as of this year, he left Being a program director and personality for 104.5 the beat, And left 106.7 to work for 102 Jamz as of today

 

[DJ Mo]

It's interesting to see how things go around full circle. Great to see them hiring someone who was with the original 102 Jamz. With the huge ratings spike in the most recent ratings, & the constant adds of throwback songs in the playlist to keep it sounding fresh, I'm sure that this station will stick around for many years to come. I'm finally glad that a full-time station that's close to Classic Hip Hop is in this market. I just wish they'd play more '90s, but if the ratings say otherwise, then the Millennials win, & unfortunately, the music I really do like that used to play on the radio will never make it to commercial FM radio again. (I am a rare Xennial.) I will continue to fill this format hole with my own radio show, while trying not to play what they play. Whoever's adding the music is doing a good job refreshing the playlist every so often, so I have to continue monitoring them for the sake of the relevance of my own show.

 

[Mykel the Radio Fan]

he left Being a program director and personality for 104.5 the beat, And left 106.7 to work for 102 Jamz as of today

D Strong was actually fired from WTKS-HD2. He was part of iHeart's August layoffs.