Buffalo WGR -1975 vs 2025

[BuffaloRadioFan]

I was listening to an unlistenable Saturday morning show on WGR550 the other day. The quality of the announcers, the lack of preparation (just winging it) and overall amateur hour feel to it was striking. While I realize the station formats are different between 1975 (AC/Oldies) vs. 2025 (Sports Talk), what is striking is the difference in the quality of the on-air talent.

1975 - Stan Roberts, Larry Anderson, Frank Benny, Shane, John Otto
2925 - Jeremy & Joe, The Extra Point Show, Sabres Live, One Bills Live, Schoop and the Bulldog

Compare the airchecks from the eras and those guys back in ‘75 would blow the doors off these clowns.

 

[Gregg.]

I didn't hear this show. But I'm usually impressed with the quality of local sports talk programs. It isn't a format I tune in frequently. But these days, most shows feature hosts who can riff about the local teams and how they're doing. Unlike sports talk shows of the past, they don't rely on callers that much. They've got their own agenda most of the time.

In many markets, most talk stations only have a local morning show or maybe a local PM host. The rest of the day is syndicated talk. But even in medium markets, sports stations seem to be local and live from morning to evening. Maybe they take a break for Jim Rome or Dan Patrick. But in some markets, the top sports station stays local most of each weekday. And the hosts are usually good. In most markets from #10 to #75, there are probably more sports talk jobs than there are talk radio jobs.

 

[SirRoxalot]

"Modern" sports talk is more patterned after Barstool Sports, with a couple of jamokes opining about about local teams without the benefit of a lot of research or expertise. Often, they echo some of the national pundits who blather on without doing enough research about any individual team. They're supposed to be entertainers, not experts.

Since WGR is THE local sports outlet, some of the on-air people do have links to the local teams. In general, they're better informed than some of the others. They're also sometimes accused of being "homers" by some of the less informed and louder critics of the teams. In all, it's a very different programming direction than the '70s.

 

[TheBigA]

It's an interesting comparison. Keep in mind that being on the radio then was a different kind of thing in the 60s and 70s. There were a lot fewer radio stations, so talent was less diluted. The people with real talent wanted to work for the biggest stations. Doing radio then required an expensive studio with a tower & transmitter. People couldn't do real radio from their basement. Buffalo was a bigger and more important market then too. Today, a talented talker can make more money and get more attention owning his own gig and promoting himself through a variety of outlets. The goal of talent is to play for the biggest audience possible, and in today's environment, local radio is putting a limitation on the size of your audience. The place to go in radio is some form of syndication. But even then you want to augment it with other outlets.

 

[davideduardo]

It's an interesting comparison. Keep in mind that being on the radio then was a different kind of thing in the 60s and 70s. There were a lot fewer radio stations, so talent was less diluted. The people with real talent wanted to work for the biggest stations. Doing radio then required an expensive studio with a tower & transmitter.

Not really. Maybe to "do it right" in a bigger market. But in the 60's in smaller ones, you could put a 1 kw AM that was not directional on the air for $20,000 or less.

In 1964 I put my first station on the air... 1 kw on 570 with brand new all-Gates studios and with cart machines, customs duties, Audimax, Volumax, FM STL, music library, custom jingles, legal costs, remodeling of an apartment into office space, 4 acre transmitter site with power lines brought in... and 6 months of operations with no revenue for well under that $20 k. And that was in a market of just over a million.

People couldn't do real radio from their basement.

I did the first operation from a converted apartment in a residential building. One of the studios had the wall covered over where the kitchen sink and cabinets had been.

Lots of smaller stations in smaller markets did the same... even for less by buying used gear. Lots were in converted houses, barns, motels, even one I saw in an abandoned grain elevator. I'm sure Mr Fybush can tell more such stories.

 

[TheBigA]

Maybe to "do it right" in a bigger market. But in the 60's in smaller ones, you could put a 1 kw AM that was not directional on the air for $20,000 or less.

My point is people don't need the transmitters or towers now to reach a lot more people. It's diluted the talent level.

It's had the same effect on the music industry. All the talent development is done online. Not by labels or in studios.

 

[SirRoxalot]

My point is people don't need the transmitters or towers now to reach a lot more people. It's diluted the talent level.

It's had the same effect on the music industry. All the talent development is done online. Not by labels or in studios.

The problem now is that the number of outlets and the number of participants makes it a lot harder to stand out from the crowd. Radio stations are using their towers and transmitters to promote their online programming. GOOD radio stations pay close attention to their streams and consider them as important as their OTA signal. In some cases, they offer alternate streams as well to either expand their reach, fill in gaps in the market, or dilute other people's programming. Radio's reach is still one way of getting your programming noticed. Whether it attracts listeners is then based on your talent and what your programming offers that people can't get in a million other places.

 

[TheBigA]

Radio's reach is still one way of getting your programming noticed. Whether it attracts listeners is then based on your talent and what your programming offers that people can't get in a million other places.

As I said, this is affecting the music industry as well as broadcasting. At one time, a musician had to sign with a record label to be heard. Not anymore. Yes, that throws them into the pool with millions of other people. But they own their own music and get 100% of whatever money their music makes.

One name I'll mention is Ben Shapiro. He has a very popular newsletter and podcast. For a few years, he also had a broadcast deal with Cumulus. That brought him to the attention of more people. When that deal was over, he returned to his own service, but he was able to take his radio audience with him. He's not the only one who's done this. Howard Stern took his broadcast audience to Sirius. What I'm saying is the power is in the hands of the creators. They choose how they want to reach an audience. Radio & TV are delivery systems. In some cases, they own the content, but in others, they don't. That option really didn't exist in 1975.