1170 am to possibly go back to "Classic country"!

[dcmdfw]

That would be awesome I miss 1170 and there overnight shows such as the midnight truckers hour! I Think they should go back to the good ol days, old country and as stated above put back on the midnight truckers hour! .........And for god sakes get rid of that wicked witch Gwen Freemen, she is about as fake as it gets and for god sakes Chris Medlock he knows how to be a city counselor not a DJ!

 

[GeneSavage]

Why would they do that if KFAQ is making money and Big Country 99.5 is making money?

I wish they'd NEVER killed off the Voice Of Oklahoma, but things are the way they are. 1170 has had some good numbers (ESPECIALLY in the mornings you were so vocally against) and I assume makes a pretty good living, and 99.5 was scary-high in the 12+ numbers a few books back.

This sounds like wishful thinking... you can wish... but the economics aren't likely to make it so.

 

[BehindTheLines]

Again...the little messageboard that cried "flip."

Seems like there's a new flip rumor every two weeks on here.

Ever notice that the flips that actually happen are never announced here before hand?

Might be a good rule of thumb to avoid the board if you want folks to take your rumor seriously based on the track record of accuracy. =)

 

[pbf1]

Huh?

Seems like there's a new flip rumor every two weeks on here.

Oh, maybe a little more often than that!

 

[Zero Zagnut]

Or maybe they're returning to the format of their pre-country era? A duke's mixture of a "music of you life" format? Rosemary Clooney lives!!!

 

[milton77]

Or maybe they're returning to the format of their pre-country era? A duke's mixture of a "music of you life" format? Rosemary Clooney lives!!!

Don't forget farm reports & Bob Wills.

Actually, didn't KVOO start in Bristow?

 

[GeneSavage]

"THE TEXAS PLAYBOYS... ARE ON THE AIR!!!"


CORRECT, KVOO (on 1170) started out in Bristow. They used to have a jingle that talked about "movin' up the 'pike" or something like that. Seems like they were much lower power in Bristow, too, and maybe went up to 25KW on the move to Tulsa... not sure on outputs and dates...

"Music of Your Life" is already on 1270, so I can't see the point in going back THAT far... and there's little about that format specifically tied to Oklahoma... the classic country (with live jocks who know the music, PLEASE) would be very appropriate, especially on the centennial...

..but AGAIN, why change if they think what they have is working? Heck, they're going the OTHER way, getting rid of all local shows on 98.5, too:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/article.aspx?articleID=071110_8_H6_spanc46062

Would I do it that way? Could I sleep at night knowing I had dismantled a 75+ yr Oklahoma tradition?

Well, we've lost Penningtons, The Great Raft Race, KELI, KAKC, KVOO-TV, Bell's Amusement Park...

...why not?

 

[Radio55]

Well, as the great Tommy Duncan once sang.... "Time Changes Everything."

It would be great to see the return of a Tulsa giant. Imagine, a full-service KVOO-AM playing Classic Country. I don't see it happening as long as KFAQ is pulling in the cash. Even though I hear they are having some problems, I can't see Journal backpeddling to something that they could have simply left alone and just rolled in the dough. Brings to mind the previous owners of KVOO, Mike Oatman and Mike Lynch, who understood the history of the station (and in fact made it a point to try to buy stations that HAD a history). Now here are a couple of guys who kept KWHK in Shreveport even though is was losing money because Oatman/Lynch were worried everyone would lose their jobs if they sold the station. Great Empire Broadcasting is one of the last of the great real radio owners. "The Mikes" as they were known, didn't over-think radio. They understood the basics--news, weather, sports, great music, and let it roll. KVOO under Great Empire was the best. Radio will never be that good again.

 

[GeneSavage]

Radio55, agreed on pretty much all points.

One further reason they can't flip 1170 back to classic country is that it would bite into 99.5's audience... and they wouldn't be likely to flip 99.5 since #1 it's working and #2 what would they flip IT to?

I've heard stories that suggest Great Empire was made of humans and could miss as well as hit with stations, but you're right that in general they created stations with distinct personalities. I spent six months doing weekends there and was just blown away at the history and the heritage and the loyalty of the audience.

I still find it hard to accept KFAQ is pulling what KVOO-AM was... I've heard it claimed the #6 12+ numbers were all over 65, but I have a difficult time buying that...

Based on nothing but theory, I think Journal was initially embarrassed to say they owned a 75 year old classic country station (this was before Classic Country was cool), and so with Mickey D's encouragement, they went to take a piece of KRMG's pie... apparently not considering how many other talk stations have come and gone in Tulsa in the past, or that KRMG was a 50 year old station with similar heritage.

When they realized classic country could be a money maker (and young country was dead or dying and eating into 98.5's numbers), they put the format back on 99.5... with a library extending into the 80s when country became pop, which makes no sense to me at all.

Now 99.5 is a hit... what do you do? Kill 99.5 and 1170, and lose 99.5's revenue and after you've driven KVOO-AM's listeners away?

They're in a catch 22, and I don't know WHAT I'd do with 1170 (if I had no conscience). I think ANYTHING that would make the programming more local would be a good thing, and I've heard it said the talk programming is more expensive that automated music... why not plow that cost into local content of some kind?

...Except Journal has made it clear they want the opposite.

:-\

 

[Radio55]

NightAire, you really have my thoughts churning here.

Excellent point re Journal being embarrased about KVOO. My gosh, they could have done just a LITTLE homework and learned about what a treasure they had. Tweaked it just a bit, and man, what a monster it could have been. But it would be pointless to go back to Classic Country on 1170 now, 99.5 has the franchise there (and it really could be better music wise). What was really funny was that I heard that when they decided to go classic country on 99.5 and call it "Big Country", the immediate response from the staff was "Oh, like KVOO was years ago." Management's eyes glazed over--never knowing that 1170 was Big Country at one time. And what was even funnier was that people THOUGHT they were listening to KVOO when they were listening to 99.5. Again... if they had only done a LITTLE homework. And I always had a hard time buying the "upper demo" dilemma. Agencies and stations selling 25-54 always bewildered me (tell me what a 25 year old has in common with a 54 year old?). I used to see a lot of 50+ folks driving $45,000 pick-ups and Cadillacs. Sounds like a pretty good market to me. I guess there are some things I'll never understand.

 

[GeneSavage]

...you mean to tell me they named 99.5 "Big Country" NOT KNOWING THAT WAS 1170's SLOGAN?!?

holy crud...

[/shakes head]

And I agree; why advertising agencies won't look at 55+ is a little beyond me. Boomers are moving there now, LOTS of freed-up money with the kids gone, lots of free time to spend it with retirement... what's not to like about THAT demo? And don't tell me they have unwaivering brand loyalty; I watch my mom comparison shop every single week and switch products based on price, flavor, ingredients, etc. She responds to ads both on the radio and the TV... and she's SIXTY five!

Radio will have an uphill battle changing advertisers' perspectives on the demo, but it seems like if you had a 50,000 watt clear channel stick to beat them with, it might HELP.

...Too late now...

 

[Radio55]

Very hard to believe, but they apparently had no idea the station was Big Country in the 70's.

 

[Bob Oshea]

NightAire, you really have my thoughts churning here.

Excellent point re Journal being embarrased about KVOO. My gosh, they could have done just a LITTLE homework and learned about what a treasure they had. Tweaked it just a bit, and man, what a monster it could have been. But it would be pointless to go back to Classic Country on 1170 now, 99.5 has the franchise there (and it really could be better music wise). What was really funny was that I heard that when they decided to go classic country on 99.5 and call it "Big Country", the immediate response from the staff was "Oh, like KVOO was years ago." Management's eyes glazed over--never knowing that 1170 was Big Country at one time. And what was even funnier was that people THOUGHT they were listening to KVOO when they were listening to 99.5. Again... if they had only done a LITTLE homework. And I always had a hard time buying the "upper demo" dilemma. Agencies and stations selling 25-54 always bewildered me (tell me what a 25 year old has in common with a 54 year old?). I used to see a lot of 50+ folks driving $45,000 pick-ups and Cadillacs. Sounds like a pretty good market to me. I guess there are some things I'll never understand.

There, there my dusty little trail pal. You are so right!!!!!! No attention to detail and even more disgusting, Journal didn't care. They have the attitude that we're just a bunch of "dumb Okies" who never mattered anyway.

Yes, it is true. They never knew we were Big Country AM 1170 KVOO. I know. I did the last live country music broadcast on KVOO AM. They kept poking their heads through my studio door, wondering why I kept using the Big Country AM 1170 moniker. What an absolute bunch of geniuses. They thought Big Country was reserved for 99.5 and "it's supposed to be a Big Secret!"

These broadcast luminaries never considered the possibilities before making the blind leap into hate radio. Godfrey Daniels! That one sure came back to bite'm on the ass! When their morning star Michael Delgiorno went super nova, they and their lawyers were probably wishing they'd never come south of the Wisconsin border. They'd a had better luck with a cheese factory. Just another reason why newspaper people should stay the hell outa radio!

Bob By God O'Shea!

 

[jackd]

NightAire, you really have my thoughts churning here.

Excellent point re Journal being embarrased about KVOO. My gosh, they could have done just a LITTLE homework and learned about what a treasure they had. Tweaked it just a bit, and man, what a monster it could have been. But it would be pointless to go back to Classic Country on 1170 now, 99.5 has the franchise there (and it really could be better music wise). What was really funny was that I heard that when they decided to go classic country on 99.5 and call it "Big Country", the immediate response from the staff was "Oh, like KVOO was years ago." Management's eyes glazed over--never knowing that 1170 was Big Country at one time. And what was even funnier was that people THOUGHT they were listening to KVOO when they were listening to 99.5. Again... if they had only done a LITTLE homework. And I always had a hard time buying the "upper demo" dilemma. Agencies and stations selling 25-54 always bewildered me (tell me what a 25 year old has in common with a 54 year old?). I used to see a lot of 50+ folks driving $45,000 pick-ups and Cadillacs. Sounds like a pretty good market to me. I guess there are some things I'll never understand.

There, there my dusty little trail pal. You are so right!!!!!! No attention to detail and even more disgusting, Journal didn't care. They have the attitude that we're just a bunch of "dumb Okies" who never mattered anyway.

Yes, it is true. They never knew we were Big Country AM 1170 KVOO. I know. I did the last live country music broadcast on KVOO AM. They kept poking their heads through my studio door, wondering why I kept using the Big Country AM 1170 moniker. What an absolute bunch of geniuses. They thought Big Country was reserved for 99.5 and "it's supposed to be a Big Secret!"

These broadcast luminaries never considered the possibilities before making the blind leap into hate radio. Godfrey Daniels! That one sure came back to bite'm on the ass! When their morning star Michael Delgiorno went super nova, they and their lawyers were probably wishing they'd never come south of the Wisconsin border. They'd a had better luck with a cheese factory. Just another reason why newspaper people should stay the hell outa radio!

Bob By God O'Shea!

Amen & Amen...preach it brutha Bob O'Shea!!!! That place left a nasty taste in my mouth too!!! Hope you're doing good, Bob!!! Thanks for all the pep talks back in the day.

May "The Bull" days RIP!!!
Jack Davis

 

[Bob Oshea]

1170 AM is never going back to classic country unless they change the calls back to KVOO. Big Country 99.5 is doing a great job with classic country. Why mess up another good thing?

If I was the guy making the decision, with my own money on the line, I would seriously consider a full service Blues station. It would automatically have national attention, national advertising, a multi-cultural audience, mass appeal, an 800 number request line as well as a local. I would use the station as a platform for interviewing the great blues people still living as well as the great blues people who are on their way to the top. I would include programming that would add to the once great Tulsa radio market rather than demolish. In a perfect world, I would save the Brady theatre and make it an exclusive venue for the Blues acts that my station would bring to town. Also, I would have personality air talents. If you have to read a cue card, don't bother sending a resume'!

Well, a girl can dream.....

Bob O'Shea

 

[mattbradley]

What's a personality air talent?

 

[Bob Oshea]

What's a personality air talent?

He or she would be an intelligent, quick witted, fast thinking smartass with an artistic bent who, for reasons known only to God, went into radio instead of becoming a lawyer or a doctor. Someone like you Matt. You're still young enough to career jump and make a real living. You're one of the rare few who could have fit right in with 60's & 70's radio. Too bad to see a true talent like you waste away in a dark swirling eddy of despair like todays radio.

O'Shea

 

[Les Stock]

A "personality air talent" is what we had in radio before the days of "fifty minutes of music every hour with less talk and fewer commercials."

 

[BehindTheLines]

A "personality air talent" is what we had in radio before the days of "fifty minutes of music every hour with less talk and fewer commercials."

I've heard great jocks like Chuck Stevens and Kevan Seal make a 50 minute music hour pretty entertaining at times.

I think if a jock is determined...there are plenty of ways to infuse a 50 minute music hour with personality.

I think a lot of jocks just use the 50 MMH as an excuse to phone it in. It's a work ethic problem in many cases. It IS easy to just phone in a shift like that. But you don't have to.

 

[Radio55]

Kevan and Chuck are two of Tulsa's best jocks. Absolute pros. If you want to hear some of the personality radio Bob is talking about, check out a website called 79waky.com. It is a tribute site to two of Louisville's Top 40 stations from the 60's. There are two stations, WAKY and WKLO, the KAKC/KELi of Louisville. There are many early airchecks and the kind of radio that is missing today. Another top shelf jock was the late Rick Alan West... God bless him.