1450 WCTC flips back to Talk

[satech]

As of today, New Brunswick's 1450 WCTC has flipped from Oldies back to Talk. The new weekday lineup is:

Jack Ellery (local)
Laura Ingraham
Bert Baron (local)
Mancow
Alan Colmes
Midnight Radio Network

I'll miss the Oldies music in AM Stereo -- WCTC was among the best-sounding AM station I've ever heard -- but it's nice to see them return to talk radio, with at least some local content, and an attempt at a balance between right-wing, left-wing, and non-political syndicated talk.

 

[Burt]

This is yet another among the many examples of hard-won audience loyalty amounting to ****, as WCTC's "vindicated" talk audience will eventually discover too. There are more than enough news/talk outlets to fill the need, but never mind the thousands of other listeners who might still want a wider choice of formats. They/we can just move on to Internet radio, where the full range of programming has gone (forever, I suppose). Way to go, WCTC.

 

[MattParker]

I don't see much balance between right-wing and left-wing talk with Fox's Alan Colmes (Hannity's former stooge) as the sole "progressive" and on after 10pm.

 

[satech]

I don't see much balance between right-wing and left-wing talk with Fox's Alan Colmes (Hannity's former stooge) as the sole "progressive" and on after 10pm.

WCTC's Jack Ellery is a well known liberal, although he hasn't been as vocal about it on the air, as he was during the Bush years.

They seem to be getting all their syndicated programming from Talk Radio Network (TRN), which probably restricts the choice of what shows to carry. I tried, but I just can't "get" Mancow. He's not even remotely funny, has constant irritating music playing in the background, and keep jumping around from one topic to another. WCTC would be much better off with a local host in that time slot, such as Allan David Stein, who has been Ellery's fill-in in recent years.

 

[TheBigA]

This is one of these stations that simply can't find an audience. The Oldies folks simply prefer WCBS-FM. The talk listeners prefer either WABC or WOR. Surprised GM hasn't also flipped WMTR in Morristown. That station has been running on fumes for years too. All those folks who think live & local is the key to success should really study this station. Any money spent is money down the drain. It's a loss leader for GM, who thankfully have several successful FMs in NJ that pay for these all-but-dead AMs.

 

[MattParker]

This is one of these stations that simply can't find an audience. The Oldies folks simply prefer WCBS-FM. The talk listeners prefer either WABC or WOR. Surprised GM hasn't also flipped WMTR in Morristown. That station has been running on fumes for years too. All those folks who think live & local is the key to success should really study this station. Any money spent is money down the drain. It's a loss leader for GM, who thankfully have several successful FMs in NJ that pay for these all-but-dead AMs.

I agree. It's been said before: An AM station (especially a weak stick toward the high-end of the band) can keep and audience but it can't get an audience. Not any more. They had a local-live audience and they threw it away. It's not coming back. Shut it down; too many Class Cs anyway.

 

[TheBigA]

They had a local-live audience and they threw it away. It's not coming back. Shut it down; too many Class Cs anyway.

They didn't "throw it away." It went to WMGQ or NJ 101.5. It went to FM. It happened 30 years ago. You can't "keep" an audience. It's always in flux. It's always in change. Meanwhile they have the same morning guy my grandfather used to listen to. And he's no longer alive. Get over it.

 

[MattParker]

They had a local-live audience and they threw it away. It's not coming back. Shut it down; too many Class Cs anyway.

They didn't "throw it away." It went to WMGQ or NJ 101.5. It went to FM. It happened 30 years ago. You can't "keep" an audience. It's always in flux. It's always in change. Meanwhile they have the same morning guy my grandfather used to listen to. And he's no longer alive. Get over it.

NJ101.5 has been around for about 20 years, not 30. Yes, some listeners may have drifted off before the flip. Some may have died off. But everybody listening when the flip occurred was thrown away.

 

[TheBigA]

But everybody listening when the flip occurred was thrown away.

I disagree. It was inevitable. No one purposely threw away the audience. There was nothing WCTC could have done. No staff they could have hired, no programming changes they could have made. It just was time. For years, they were the dominant station in Central Jersey, and that time came to an end.

 

[satech]

Bringing back Jack Ellery was the best decision WCTC ever made. Unfortunately, since then they've followed that with some of the worst decisions they've ever made, such as trying to turn the station into a carbon copy of NJ101.5. Central NJ can and should support its own local full-service news/talk/sports station, but the problem is that requires comptent management, and that's the one thing Greater Media is famous for lacking. Most GM stations are successful in spite of their management, not because of it.

 

[TheBigA]

the problem is that requires comptent management, and that's the one thing Greater Media is famous for lacking.

No, it requires listeners, and no amount of management can make people listen to something. This is not a management issue. This is an area that has given up on low power AMs. Name ONE low power AM station, with any management or owner, in the entire state that is successful. Hiring a 70 year old morning guy isn't going to revive this station in the eyes of anyone under 55.

But I'll say this: If you're going to carbon copy a station, a good example is NJ 101.5. The problem is that this station isn't on FM.

 

[ansky212]

Name ONE low power AM station, with any management or owner, in the entire state that is successful.

What about WMTR 1250 in Morristown? They have been doing oldies for a while.

 

[TheBigA]

Name ONE low power AM station, with any management or owner, in the entire state that is successful.

What about WMTR 1250 in Morristown? They have been doing oldies for a while.

It's the 15th ranked station in Morristown. I wouldn't call that a success.

 

[satech]

It's the 15th ranked station in Morristown. I wouldn't call that a success.

Nonetheless, WMTR claims to be NJ's "most listened-to AM radio station".

1510 WRNJ up in Hackettstown also seems to be doing quite well, although they now have two low-power FM translators.

1500 WGHT also continues to defy the common knowledge that nobody listens to AM anymore -- especially being a independently owned daytimer.

 

[TheBigA]

Nonetheless, WMTR claims to be NJ's "most listened-to AM radio station".

That's a bit of a left-handed compliment. They have a 1.7 in Morristown. WCTC has a smaller share in Middlesex-Somerset, which is a much bigger market. None of these stations are doing well, and they're simply stations whose time has passed. Don't blame management or programming. Blame the march of time.

 

[satech]

That's a bit of a left-handed compliment. They have a 1.7 in Morristown. WCTC has a smaller share in Middlesex-Somerset, which is a much bigger market. None of these stations are doing well, and they're simply stations whose time has passed. Don't blame management or programming. Blame the march of time.

GM could always sell or LMA WCTC to the EBC Radio folks, since it would be the ideal signal for their target demographic (as compared to daytime-only WWTR), but bringing back the talk format implies at least some hope in recovering the lost ratings. But with the current programming lineup (including an "encore presentation" of Laura Ingraham at 3-7 PM), I'm not so confident in that; after all, boneheaded programming decisions is a large part of what drove away WCTC's audience in the first place. (WINS has a weaker signal than WCTC in most of the area but gets better ratings, so you can't just put it off by saying that the audience for AM radio has disappeared.)

 

[satech]

(including an "encore presentation" of Laura Ingraham at 3-7 PM)

Actually make that 7-10 PM; 3-7 is the tape delay of Mancow.

 

[bigtom101]

GM could always sell or LMA WCTC to the EBC Radio folks, since it would be the ideal signal for their target demographic (as compared to daytime-only WWTR), but bringing back the talk format implies at least some hope in recovering the lost ratings. But with the current programming lineup (including an "encore presentation" of Laura Ingraham at 3-7 PM), I'm not so confident in that; after all, boneheaded programming decisions is a large part of what drove away WCTC's audience in the first place. (WINS has a weaker signal than WCTC in most of the area but gets better ratings, so you can't just put it off by saying that the audience for AM radio has disappeared.)

GM has been approached before about selling WCTC from various parties recently, but the two parties could never agree on a price.

 

[MikeF]

Name ONE low power AM station, with any management or owner, in the entire state that is successful.

WOND....#6 in AC/CM, ahead of most of the FMs in the market


Couldn't resist...

 

[NJMark]

The replay of Laura Ingraham may be because WCTC has a lot of sports programming (Rutgers basketball, high school playoffs, and in a few weeks, Somerset Patriots baseball). It's a lot less disruptive to dump out 30 minutes into a replay than to advertise a regularly-scheduled program, but constantly preempt it.

(Well, at least, that's my theory.)