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107.7 the lake

M

misicgeek

Guest
all I ever here on these posts is how some of you, think that the lake is a poor radio station, I can understand about Mr. Prozak, which happens to be the voice of one of the morning guys at Entercom's Seattle radio station, 103 FM, The Mountain. I think the Lake has far more informative DJ's than WHTT,I never hear any stories about the music over there. There are people who are out there, that do like hearing deeper cuts, and maybe someting they don't usually hear. Wether you know it or not, The Lake has a strong listener base, who support the station, they may be small, but they are loyal. Plus The Lake plays local music,which no other station does as much on that front, as The Lake
 
To-may-to, To-mah-to

If you like The Lake, that's fine. They have their niche in the market, and you apparently fit in that niche.

As far as "informative" is concerned, I guess that reading liner notes twice and hour is informative for some people. As far as WHTT is concerned, I hear music information from time to time, and I also hear traffic, weather, and comments about things going on in BUFFALO - like performers who are coming to/in town, events that are happening around town, and information about station events. Sometimes that information comes over music intros, sometimes in promos, and sometimes live by jocks.

The two stations have different approaches to entertainment. You listen to the approach that you prefer. I find the gap between songs and the chirping crickets annoying, and some of the music so obscure that it quickly loses any "Gee, I haven't heard that in a long time" interest. Sometimes, a deep cut is just album filler from an artist forced to put a record out sooner than they would have preferred.

On the other hand, WHTT is sometime more repetitive than I would like, considering that they now appear to have 30 years of music pick music from.
 
I do prefer a station that doesn't clutter their air sound with a lot of commercials,traffic and mindless jock chatter about themselves. I think you are a little biased about WHTT, they sound desperate now, since they've changed to The Mix, trying to add some different songs to copy Jack and The Lake. The Lake's jocks do talk about local stuff all the time, they have a local show that supports the Buffalo Music Community, inform the listeners about local bands, and play local bands in regular rotation. I have also heard that they have a very strong TSL.
 
The Lake sounds like a niche station that caters to a select audience of music lovers and baby boomers like me. I listen to it, though not as much now as I did a year or two ago. Still it's on my car radio and the buttons on my office radio. The low key presentation sometimes seems rehearsed, as if the people on the air have to cap their enthusiasm. The stories about the music are sometimes interesting, sometimes trite. Still, it's not a bad station for what it is. It would be better if I could hear it in my office in Buffalo when I want some music and want a background station just to fill the void. I'll tune in WJYE, but not while it's playing all Christmas music. Now I'll listen to WYRK or WHTT because their signals come in well. WYRK is a fun station to listen to and WHTT sounds like a 70s or 80s Top 40 station with adults. To break the pattern, I'll listen to jazz on WBFO.
 
misicgeek said:
I do prefer a station that doesn't clutter their air sound with a lot of commercials,traffic and mindless jock chatter about themselves. I think you are a little biased about WHTT, they sound desperate now, since they've changed to The Mix, trying to add some different songs to copy Jack and The Lake. The Lake's jocks do talk about local stuff all the time, they have a local show that supports the Buffalo Music Community, inform the listeners about local bands, and play local bands in regular rotation. I have also heard that they have a very strong TSL.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you like The Lake's presentation. I find it stilted and boring. As far as WHTT copying Jack & The Lake, you're hearing something that I'm not. WHTT plays hits. The Lake occasionally plays hits between obscurities.

As far as TSL is concerned, you might be surprised to learn that The Lake's TSL is 20TH in the market - far behind WHTT and most other stations in the market. That's one of the reasons that The Lake doesn't have to worry about the "clutter" caused by commercials. As far as traffic is concerned, I find it very useful to know where the tie-ups are when I'm trying to get to or from work.

The Lake's support of local music is admirable, but I'm not sure that it contributes much to either the listening audience or the local music community. How many local cuts do they play in a day? They list 30 local cuts on their multi-thousand song playlist. Their local music show is one of the few sponsored special shows that they do on a weekly basis. It's there more as a money-maker during what is normally unpaid time for them than a public service.

You're free to listen to what you like. I assume that you'll extend the same courtesy to me.
 
Please, don't get me wrong, nothing to disrespect here,there are lots of other things that are worse in this world than arguing about radio. I just don't understand why radio stations cannot make money and be popular with concentration on music.When I grew up in the 70's, jocks got to choose their own playlists,the music flourished,and some great music was played,then somehow towards the end of the 70's , it changed towards corporate. I thought people listen to music radio stations because they like music.
 
misicgeek said:
Please, don't get me wrong, nothing to disrespect here,there are lots of other things that are worse in this world than arguing about radio. I just don't understand why radio stations cannot make money and be popular with concentration on music.When I grew up in the 70's, jocks got to choose their own playlists,the music flourished,and some great music was played,then somehow towards the end of the 70's , it changed towards corporate. I thought people listen to music radio stations because they like music.
Click to expand...

Radio is a business before it can be anything else.
It costs alot of money to run a radio station and nothing to turn on the radio.

By letting the dj care for the music, it may or may not work, but it would seem that "Playing it safe" is the way to go today.

Please feel more than free to launch a station of your own in Buffalo that lets the dj play his/her own music, but I believe the best I can do is say good luck.

(and if you do launch a station in Buffalo or Niagara falls area, please let me know so I can also be a dj there too...thanks.)
 
Radio is cyclical. Some may say it's just plain sick. Others may say listeners are sick and tired of it. Some good observations in the thread. It may just happen that SOME day, SOME radio station, having previously explored and burned through every imaginable format and its mutations, might hire a bunch of experienced men and women who know how to speak articulately, relate to the listener and play music that appeals to the station's target demographic.

This, however, would be like hitting the lottery. Chances are, it's not going to happen any time soon.

Sorry to say, most people who come out of college with Communications degrees, despite being welll educated and having a college degree, can't articulate ideas and project those ideas concisely and cohesively, either one on one or to groups. In some cases, they're clueless as to the workings of the business. A friend who deals with young college men and women puts some of the blame on professors who don't even acknowledge the existence of the FCC and its role in the government of the communications industry.

Call me an ageist if you will, but my statement is based on real life observations, whether one works in the building trades or the communications business.

Radio puts an excessive premium on youth. To be sure, there's nothing wrong with youth. Don't most of us wish we were 25 again? But as one writer-philospher once remarked, "the trouble with youth is it's wasted on the young."

Another problem with hiring a staff of seasoned pros that knows how to pick music and relate to an audience is the issue of CONTROL.

Radio and the entertainment busines like to homogenize and control the product. This is not a radical idea and it's not evil. It is, as Bruce Hornsby once remarked, "just the way it is." Hornsby was singing abouth racism and culture in the south when he penned those lyrics, but the line itself is appropriate and applicable to radio formats and the business.

What happens when the station's afternoon guy picks his own music, gets a 30 share, develops a loyal following and demands more money? The jock has the upper hand, the station has less control and as a result is forced to come up with the money or risk the jock wandering off to the competition.

There may come a time when jocks will pick their own songs within the guidelines of a station's format and target demo, but it won't come without certain strictures and controls. With today's technology, it would be quite an easy concept to execute. A jock might get a choice of half a dozen songs in each of several categories each hour during his/her air shift. Once the song is selected, it can't be re-selected for a certain number of days. At the end of the shift or the day, the jock or PD reconciles the data base. It's not a hard concept to work out. The devil, as always, is in the details.

Allowing jocks to select their own songs during their shifts isn't likely to happen any time soon... but as I said earlier, there may some day be that one station in one market with one manager-owner that takes the chance and shows the rest of the business how it can work and how it can also generate substantial doh-ray-me.
 
I find it incredibly naive to actually think this is possible anymore: "afternoon guy picks his own music, gets a 30 share, develops a loyal following..."

Since it isn't 1970 anymore, and people haven't relied on radio as their primary means of entertainment for decades, why does this perception continue to persist?

As if corporate radio is just too stupid to realize this magic formula exists? The fact is, people don't hang on every word their favorite DJ says anymore. We're lucky to have people remember our call letters, let alone remember what song our afternoon DJ played, what he had to say about it, or even what his or her NAME is!

At the top of the ratings heap in every market are the mass appeal formats: Country, News/Talk, AC, Rock. They all have great signals and big marketing budgets. You're dreaming if you think it's anything different.

Today there are iPods, Sirius, XM, cable, CDs, PSPs and TV all competing for the same audience at home and in our cars. Believe me when I say all of us in the business WISH it was 1970 again. Those were the days, but they are most certainly over.

NMC
 
with all respect to you Cowbell, but I think you missed the point that Mr. Radknowski was trying to make. I think he means, that we would like that kind of radio to come back, but it is wishfull thinking. You make valid points, your'e right, some jocks are lucky, if people even know their name, let alone what song they played. I tend to forget that folks don't listen to radio the way we do, we listen to radio, because we love it and know it, the average public does not know that, in case your'e a morning show or a syndicated air personality, you don't get paid much in radio.Part-timers are the most underpaid, some making barely anything over minimum wage. The companies are now either syndicating dayparts or filling them with part-timers, who they know they can offer them almost full time hours without medical benefits.
 
At the risk of appearing pedantic, I'll only offer the line from the second paragraph:

This, however, would be like hitting the lottery. Chances are, it's not going to happen any time soon.
Click to expand...

You're quite right, 'Geek. My scenario was more whimsical than anything else. I'm fully aware of how listeners are clueless when it comes to song titles, call letters ("I heard 'dat on channel 106") contests and just about everything else. Radio is an afterthought these days.

Oh, and puh-leeeeeeze don't refer to me as MISTER Radknowski. Sister Margaret used to do that just before she'd hit me with a brass ruller upside my head. "Thank you, may I have another."
 
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