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2008 - a review...your opionions welcome..

D

DIZ Guy

Guest
Now that the year is almost over, here is my take...

WJRR - a really strange year. We see the Fiasco taken away. That was not a good move and it pissed a BUNCH of people off. Then, they put Crash and LT on and they achieve GOOD ratings, only to be replaced by Lex & Terry....

The music remains alright for the format of the station, and we see some interesting shows appear, however, these shows are hosted by people that have to consult the internet when they decide to talk about the classic metal band that was just played...c'mon guys, KNOW YOUR MUSIC HISTORY!!!!!!!!...Other than that, an alright year for Orlando's premier rock FM...

WHTQ - This station has been playing the same songs for the past 8 years now.......let's try something different....I use this station as a learning tool if I ever meet anybody that has never heard a Joe Walsh tune. The former James Gang leader is played at least every hour on WHTQ. I also use this station for the same purpose for anybody that is unfamiliar with the 1977 Queen tune "We Will Rock You/ We Are The Champions"..This station also comes in handy if you want to hear "Cheap Sunglasses" at least 3 times a day...C"MON!!!!!!!LET"S THROW SOME NEW TUNES IN!!!!!!!!....

WMMO - This station had a great year as usual, but the turn of events of recent times give this station and its management the morons of the year award....The firing of Jerry Stefan was not a good idea...so a big BOO to WMMO...

WDBO - Another great year for a station that gives you all of the Orlando Magic information that you need to know...

WFLA - All over the place this year and not sounding good. I predict this station will not last because it cannot makeup its mind on what kind of a news station that it wants to be...

WTKS - This station continues to stink to high heavens because it is stuck in the 90's..The Monsters talk about stuff that was big in 95', and The Philips Phile sound like they are all excited that Bill Clinton just got elected. Also, 90% of the personalities on this station are awful broadcasters and just awful big-headed people in general,, ( I am talking about YOU Jim Philips, you may be a hot shot here in good ol' Orlando, but you probably would last as long as the Chevy Chase show in any other market, and that includes small markets...)...Somebody needs to take control of this station, take the trash out, revamp it , and make it GREAT!!!!!!!

Sunny 105.9 - This station was a great addition simply because it plays GREAT songs that have been forgotten...Also it replaced a DEAD station that had been running on fumes for about 3 years...

I am not a fan at all of Hip-Hop, Top 40 , or country, so I do not have anything to say about any other stations...HOWEVER, I think that 102 Jamz is one of the most energetic and fun stations broadcasting in the entire country...
 
WJRR has had a crazy year. They lost the Fiasco in January, and in the interm foung out that Crash and LT has great chemistry. Crash has been the mainstay on that station for years. And LT stepped in from promotions and did a great job. When corporate stepped in and put on Lex and Terry they continued their good work in middays. I guess they knew Buckethead would be out soon so they moved the show to afternoons, where it is doing quite well right now....They also picked up Mel Taylor for the defunct O-Rock this year. She has been a great addition and a female voice that the station sorely needed. She is doing great in middays....They also lost Buckethead this year, that is a big loss but it seemes like it is doing ok right now. I personally think they should bring him back and put him on in the morning!
 
WOCL - It was upsetting to lose O-Rock. I never listen to 105.9 now. It was a nice "alternative" to JRR's grunt-rock.

WCFB - What was once my favorite station has morphed into something else. I love 70's R&B and they just don't play enough anymore. They are so heavy on 80's and 90's R&B that I grew up listening to that I really don't want to hear anymore. Granted, it's a great mix of music, just not my flavor. Play more Curtis Mayfield, Bobby Womack, hell...anything form the 70's.

WJHM - Has definately added more R&B into the mix and that's fine...

WMMO - This station continues to bore. When I first moved here in 2005 I thought it was an interesting station..then shortly thereafter I realized it was the same songs over and over and over. Tired of all the Croggy, Kills, Hash & Dung...zzzzz. It's like a dry turkey dinner now. Where is the gravy WMMO?

WHTQ - Getting better... lots of AC/DC more Motley Crue and Judas Priest. There are some things missing, I don't know if I'd like them to be exactly the Bone 102.5 because it gets boring after awhile too. We'll see in January if anything changes...although I wont be listening to the morning show.

WTKS - No more music weekends, removed from presets...I listen to WPRK for alternative now.

WLOQ - Still pretty good, sometimes heavy on Anita Baker and Phil Collins (ugh), but well programmed. And I love the syndicated Everette Harp show on saturday nights with 70's jazz.


My 2009 wish.... A Nostalgia format. Not a lot of old folks here in Orlando but it sure would be a change of pace.
 
johnknapik said:
WOCL - It was upsetting to lose O-Rock. I never listen to 105.9 now. It was a nice "alternative" to JRR's grunt-rock.

WCFB - What was once my favorite station has morphed into something else. I love 70's R&B and they just don't play enough anymore. They are so heavy on 80's and 90's R&B that I grew up listening to that I really don't want to hear anymore. Granted, it's a great mix of music, just not my flavor. Play more Curtis Mayfield, Bobby Womack, hell...anything form the 70's.

WJHM - Has definately added more R&B into the mix and that's fine...

WMMO - This station continues to bore. When I first moved here in 2005 I thought it was an interesting station..then shortly thereafter I realized it was the same songs over and over and over. Tired of all the Croggy, Kills, Hash & Dung...zzzzz. It's like a dry turkey dinner now. Where is the gravy WMMO?

WHTQ - Getting better... lots of AC/DC more Motley Crue and Judas Priest. There are some things missing, I don't know if I'd like them to be exactly the Bone 102.5 because it gets boring after awhile too. We'll see in January if anything changes...although I wont be listening to the morning show.

WTKS - No more music weekends, removed from presets...I listen to WPRK for alternative now.

WLOQ - Still pretty good, sometimes heavy on Anita Baker and Phil Collins (ugh), but well programmed. And I love the syndicated Everette Harp show on saturday nights with 70's jazz.


My 2009 wish.... A Nostalgia format. Not a lot of old folks here in Orlando but it sure would be a change of pace.
Click to expand...

Are you suggesting an Adult Standards formatted station in Orlando? Although I like the music for the same reasons you gave, Orlando has had four Adult Standards radio stations and none of them have produced any meaningful ratings nor billings. WCOT-AM 950 was the first back in 1983 while WPRD-AM 1440 came along later. WHOO-AM 990 tried Music of Your Life, then that format re-surfaced once again on WHOO-AM 1080. For some reason that format has not done so well, for reasons I'm not sure I quite understand. It could be that there are very few sales people in the area that actually knows how to sell the format, or there's isn't enough listenership to garner enough ratings points to get the buys and justify the format from a business perspective.

Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]
 
For an Adult Standards format to work, it would have to be very different from the ones we are to accustomed to. It would have to be on FM, aimed at a younger demographic. It would have to be a lounge style format with maybe some chill/downtempo (Thievery Corporation) where the Celine Dion and James Taylor are typically thrown in. Plenty of Sinatra, Dean, Vic Damone, Billie Holiday, even some cool jazz (NOT smooth jazz), some Bossa Nova. Newer artists like Buble and Peter Cincotti would be fine. Maybe a Doo-Wop show on the weekend. Late nights being chill/downtempo.

I just think if it were marketed right it MIGHT work. Shows like Mad Men being popular, cigar bars, martini bars, all frequented by young people.

But... the more I type this, the more niche I realize it really is and that the success of this dream station would be a miracle. I'll just be happy with my Sinatra 3 Pack on WUCF.
 
1080's power upgrade was useless, and you can barely hear it in Seminole in the day, much less at night

740 went entirely under

540's evening show is awful despite the best efforts of Mike Tuck, a good man

at least Marc Daniels is back on the air, the best sportscaster in this market. Too bad he's paired with a whiner that's a decent writer but awful on the radio

another good man, Brian Fritz is fully and gainfully employed

all and all I'd say pretty poor, and looking worse for '09
 
I agree about Marc Daniels. Mike Bianci's voice on the air is so bad it is actually annoying. Also, the overall sound quality of the show sounds very tinny.
 
2008 was an interesting year. at the beginning we had wocl change to sunny witch is boring as hell now. hopefully they can redeam themselves after this christmas music ends. wjrr has gotten a little better. whtq has not changed one bit. weus is totally unbarible. wixc over in brevard has had like 3 formats on. wmmo has gone way down and i do not listen to them anymore. other than that, i have no comments.
 
For WTKS to return to their glory days, it would require a PD with commitment and access to resources, along with patience to see it through in developing or acquiring new hosts who could revitalize the station.

WTKS is, however, owned by Clear Channel and they didn't make the station successful. Paxson did. And, as is the case in so many sales, what made "Real Radio" a buzz format back in the day is a distant memory.

On the other hand, at least we still have the Love Docs in West Palm.
 
No disrespect intended, just a correction: it was Walter Sabo, Harry Valentine and the folks at Press Broadcasting of Asbury Park, NJ who made WTKS what it was in the early 90s. Paxson inherited what they built. WTKS was originally the sister station to early FM talker WXKW in Trenton, NJ (New Jersey 101.5).
 
I stand corrected. The early Real Radio was a stellar lineup, though.
 
Indeed it was a great listen...even before Stern was brought in. I found great dive places to eat thanks to Phillips and Ed Tyll plugging the joints when they'd bring free food. Rob Milford's newscasts were excellent, right out of the CKLW playbook. The alternative music on the weekend was well done, too.
 
well, something wil happen to wtks. may take a long time. everything sucks on that station. the b.s is ok at times but it all sucks. the minute they got rid of the hideout i never listened again. all the shows have gone down hill. they need new shows. something different... but oh well. that is what the internet is for :).
 
Right now I am listeneing to the best of the Monsters, and that Tiffany chick (who is very attractive) just sounds really awful. She just seems to talk whenever, sounding really BAD....kind of like WTKS.....


Get a new PD for 2009!!!!!!


Dirty Jim just said that Robert Redford was married to Joanne Woodward....

And nobody has realized that this guy is TOTALLY WRONG!!!!!!!!!!....

Somebody just made a fart noise in the background....now Russ Rollins is talking about how he told Robert Redford where the bathroom was at some place that he ran into him at...

One can see that changes are really needed.....
 
WTKS is sitting in the top ten 12+ with a 4.7 share. What's the problem? Obviously people are listening, stop living in the old days.
 
I agree that in my opinion WTKS-FM is stale and boring in comparison to what it used to be 10-years ago when it was new, fresh and positively different. However, at the same time, I cannot argue with the current numbers and ratings since the station still has a reasonble listenership in a very competitive large radio market.

Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]
 
Could someone NOT just post about WTKS, or is that all you people listen to? I thought this was supposed to be a review for all stations.

That said, here's my thorough review:

WPRK 91.5: Still the best alternative to the same mainstream songs played over & over.

WCFB Star 94.5: I still like to listen for the lost 90's R&B & Old School House Party. Just heard D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" this morning. Classic!

WPYO Power 95.3: They're like a Hiphop/Reggaeton station gone a little Pop. Not bad if I want to see what the hottest jams. Their Sunday Night Mixtape is when I usually listen in.

WHTQ 96.5: Not a big Classic Rock fan here, but I tune in every once in a while if I want to rock out to those hair metal & 80's rock. "Fire On High" by ELO is one of my favorite Classic Rock songs I rarely hear.

WNUE Mega 98.1: I tune in every once in a while when I hear a tune I recognize, but in Spanish. I like the fact that they're less on Reggaeton & more on Salsa & other Latin-based genres. Their "Pijama Party" Friday nights is when I usually tune in to get my hips shakin'!

WMMO 98.9: I've noticed they seemed to add a little more upbeat & recent music that's not really "Soft Rock & Roll". Although a great mix of music, I know it's voicetracked from the quality of the DJ's voice. Overall, to me, it's pretty boring.

WJRR Real Rock 101.1: I like that they added more 90's Rock into the mix. I usually tune in to "Skratch-N-Sniff" Friday nights, but don't really listen to anything else on here. Pretty good rockin' variety here since O-Rock left.

WJHM 102 Jamz: Every now & then, I hear a good "Back In The Day" jam. However, they follow it with the usual Akon & new R&B I don't really care for. I usually tune into "Back In The Day Buffet" Weekdays @ noon. I hate that they shortened it from an hour to just 17 minutes.

WLOQ Smooth Jazz 103.1: I have this station on LOCK every so often. I'm starting to get into this music more & more, especially after they started adding Soft AC tunes into the mix. One of my favorite stations!

WTKS Real Radio 104.1: I'll let you all handle this. d=P

WOMX Mix 105.1: No complaints other than that they should make "Saturday Night Party Mix" an actual mixshow instead.

WOCL Sunny 105.9: Started out so fresh. Now they're completely stale & need to add some new classics into the mix. I noticed that they got some new sweepers, but it's not enough to keep me interested.

WXXL 106.7: Same hits, too repetitious. I always go "Didn't these guys just play this song a couple hours ago?!" The best thing they did was add Andy Kovacs from FLZ on Friday & Saturday nights. Orlando needs a Dance-intensive mixshow! Now on "Club XL" Saturday nights, he's on until 4am! Awesome!

WMGF Magic 107.7: I've noticed that the quality of their satellite fed shows (John Tesh, Delilah) isn't as good. I'm assuming it's a mono feed?
 
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