98.9 & 103.9 bottom of the December ratings.

[pbf1]

One could argue that Salem doesn't need ratings to succeed at what their doing with 98.9 FM...

Agreed. And such is the case with almost, if not all, of their other stations....

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

One could argue that Salem doesn't need ratings to succeed at what their doing with 98.9 FM...

Agreed. And such is the case with almost, if not all, of their other stations....

Whenever the Columbus contract R1 had with Arbitron expires, I assume 98.9 will disappear from the published ratings even if they somehow continue to generate enough listening to show up.

 

[SonoSational18]

One could argue that Salem doesn't need ratings to succeed at what their doing with 98.9 FM...

Agreed. And such is the case with almost, if not all, of their other stations....

Whenever the Columbus contract R1 had with Arbitron expires, I assume 98.9 will disappear from the published ratings even if they somehow continue to generate enough listening to show up.
Even if a station doesn't subsdcribe, they'll still show up in the ratings so long as they encode their signal. Here in CLE WKNR doesn't subscribe but they're listed. While they'll be deleted from any news coverage, the media buyers and all the other stations that subscribe to Arbitron will see the numbers. I'm sure the Salem folks will, too but they'll get sued if they quote them.

 

[CPSteinmetz]

It's also interesting to note how far WTVN has fallen over the past few months. News/talk just doesn't do well in this town anymore and there are a lot of stations trying to take a bite out of a pie that's just too small. I wonder if the O.2 that 98.9 is showing came directly from 103.9.

I have to agree with the comments about 103.9/920 not being local. Even their brief local segments contain way too much national news. Local segments should be just that: local. National news is way too easy to get via the Internet.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

One could argue that Salem doesn't need ratings to succeed at what their doing with 98.9 FM...

Agreed. And such is the case with almost, if not all, of their other stations....

Whenever the Columbus contract R1 had with Arbitron expires, I assume 98.9 will disappear from the published ratings even if they somehow continue to generate enough listening to show up.

Even if a station doesn't subsdcribe, they'll still show up in the ratings so long as they encode their signal. Here in CLE WKNR doesn't subscribe but they're listed. While they'll be deleted from any news coverage, the media buyers and all the other stations that subscribe to Arbitron will see the numbers. I'm sure the Salem folks will, too but they'll get sued if they quote them.

Yeah, I meant to say that at some point 98.9 will disappear from the *publicly* published ratings.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

It's also interesting to note how far WTVN has fallen over the past few months. News/talk just doesn't do well in this town anymore and there are a lot of stations trying to take a bite out of a pie that's just too small.

Totally agree, and a WTVN move to FM probably wouldn't make much difference.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Totally agree, and a WTVN move to FM probably wouldn't make much difference.

A TVN Move to AM would only do one thing.. Give Clear Channel TWO AMs at the bottom of the PPMs... I don't see Clear Channel wasting an FM signal in this market on a simulcast of WTVN yet... People can say what they want about Clear Channel but their not that dumb!

 

[Goldilocks94941]

I don't know how some of you can claim that "news-talk" doesn't have an audience in Columbus. Sure, the whacko malarky that Salem and CC put out has its loyal, if thumbless, followers. But even if you count WTVN's numbers, that's still a small fraction of the population. Maybe Salem numbvers are so small because only a handful of their 'true believers,' ie, angry old white men who still don't understand why they don't get to run plantation like their great grandpappy did, can stand to listen for long.
I'd say a good chunck of WTVN listeners aren't "dittoheads" who listen to the right wing talkikng points that their hosts drum out over and over and over, hoping that listeners will get bitten by their neuroses and, like, vampires, keep coming back, looking for more blood. I'd say, in contrast, most listeners still need the news, traffic, and some sort of check in with reality, and the rest of the hour is just for a laugh, even if it isn't really funny.
But there are plenty of other options for "news" and "Talk" that you AREN'T getting on the dial in central Ohio. Options that, given a good signal, and being featured on a station that operates consistently, and includes the "extras" like up to date weather, traffic, and some local news -- well, that station can still do very well, if given a little time to catch on. And it needs a sophisticated multifaceted promotions campaign (not just billboards or TV trade outs, but social media now has to be part of the promotions mix).

If you look at how steadily WOSU-FM has been gaining ground since switching to an all talk/news format a couple of years ago, you'd understand that the content is what counts. And you'd see that's where more people are turning for the "full service" kind of radio they can't find elsewhere anymore. Maybe WCBE, too.

 

[mxyzptlk]

How does somebody like Hal Fish keep his job? He fails miserably time after time and somehow he's still there.

Matt LOVES the format. This one isn't on Hal.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

How does somebody like Hal Fish keep his job? He fails miserably time after time and somehow he's still there.

Matt LOVES the format. This one isn't on Hal.

If Matt is so smitten with the format wouldn't that be all the more reason for him to blame Hal for its pitiful performance?

 

[Chuck Douglas]

Ok, I'm gonna say this and be done with it. Talk and News/Talk work when the AUDIENCE can particiapte. It's not LISTEN radio, it's TALK radio. Of course there are the Limbaugh-esque hosts now and then that have built such a head of steam that they can carry a show on their own, but more often than not, in my opinion, talk works when people can voice opinions, concerns, dissent or just generally get a chance to feel like they are being heard on the issues and news of the day. After a crappy day, they can call and gripe. The street is a sheet of ice, they can call and gripe. The city spent $60million on a $20million project, they can call and gripe. They get things off their chests and feel empowered because someone other than the family dog heard their pain.

Secondly, if "talk radio" as a societal industry thinks they are going to change the world, they have to expand their selection of messengers. Think about the hosts that are on the air in Columbus. find me the non-white people...findm e the women. There are women and blacks and latinos that could bring a whole new audience to the message, no matter what the message is, but as long as talk stations continue to serve the dead and dying, the format will be dead and dying. The forum MUST expand it's audience by expanding it's selection of hosts or it's doomed.

Radio in general is now a bean counter business. The reason(s) people listen faithfully is (are) because 1. You provide what they want as no other station provides it, and/or 2. They have a personal allegiance to the people they hear on the air, and/or 3. The station runs a great promotion to bring in new listeners, like a big cash prize, trips, free gas, etc. When was the last time you saw a radio station doing a live remote broadcast (except for music stations in bars)? It doesn't happen all that often. When a person comes to the car dealer on Saturday morning and meets the on-air person, they will feel a kinship. When the on-air person shows up at their kids' school to judge a talent show, they remember and appreciate it. Not every time, but many times, those people become a loyal audiece member. When was the last big contest run in Columbus by a radio station? I'm not talking about the national CC stuff, I mean LOCAL.

There was a time when radio related, interacted, involved itself in the lives of listeners and in return, the listeners listened.

I know I am talking old school...that's when radio worked. Those that forget the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. Those that ignore the successes of the past are continually reinventing the wheel...and it's becoming square.

Again, just my opinion...there was no show to call so I posted it here.
;D

 

[del_griffith]

Things have changed. Some for the better. Some not so much.

If there is a real passion to do what you presented, there are at a minimum 2 hours before Shawn Ireland on Sunday afternoon and 2 hours before the new car repair show on Saturday on 610. Buy the time like Shawn. If she can find advertisers to underwrite her efforts, then any program that connects with the audience in the way you describe should be able to. And 610 isn't the only stop. I'm sure 98.9 will have weekend time, at a minimum, available too. Some retirement guy is already on. Lancaster and Heath also may be stops to make it work.

Just have enough money in those commercials to make your time worthwhile.

 

[justhere]

That's funny Chuck. I miss you on the air!

 

[Chuck Douglas]

Things have changed. Some for the better. Some not so much.

If there is a real passion to do what you presented, there are at a minimum 2 hours before Shawn Ireland on Sunday afternoon and 2 hours before the new car repair show on Saturday on 610. Buy the time like Shawn. If she can find advertisers to underwrite her efforts, then any program that connects with the audience in the way you describe should be able to. And 610 isn't the only stop. I'm sure 98.9 will have weekend time, at a minimum, available too. Some retirement guy is already on. Lancaster and Heath also may be stops to make it work.

Just have enough money in those commercials to make your time worthwhile.

Del, you're making it personal. My post is about radio, not about me.

 

[gabigley1]

Things have changed. Some for the better. Some not so much.

If there is a real passion to do what you presented, there are at a minimum 2 hours before Shawn Ireland on Sunday afternoon and 2 hours before the new car repair show on Saturday on 610. Buy the time like Shawn. If she can find advertisers to underwrite her efforts, then any program that connects with the audience in the way you describe should be able to. And 610 isn't the only stop.

Just have enough money in those commercials to make your time worthwhile.

You mean no more Saturday morning open phones over at WTVN radio? This is the last truly open phones radio program in Cbus. :'(

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Ok, I'm gonna say this and be done with it. Talk and News/Talk work when the AUDIENCE can particiapte....

Great post, Chuck.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Things have changed.  Some for the better.  Some not so much.

If there is a real passion to do what you presented, there are at a minimum 2 hours before Shawn Ireland on Sunday afternoon and 2 hours before the new car repair show on Saturday on 610.  Buy the time like Shawn.  If she can find advertisers to underwrite her efforts, then any program that connects with the audience in the way you describe should be able to.  And 610 isn't the only stop.  I'm sure 98.9 will have weekend time, at a minimum, available too.  Some retirement guy is already on.  Lancaster and Heath also may be stops to make it work. 

Just have enough money in those commercials to make your time worthwhile. 

I wonder if 98.9 would sell the time to someone who wants to use it to espouse a politically liberal agenda?  Maybe even attempt to rebut what some of their regular talkers say?

 

[del_griffith]

Things have changed. Some for the better. Some not so much.

If there is a real passion to do what you presented, there are at a minimum 2 hours before Shawn Ireland on Sunday afternoon and 2 hours before the new car repair show on Saturday on 610. Buy the time like Shawn. If she can find advertisers to underwrite her efforts, then any program that connects with the audience in the way you describe should be able to. And 610 isn't the only stop. I'm sure 98.9 will have weekend time, at a minimum, available too. Some retirement guy is already on. Lancaster and Heath also may be stops to make it work.

Just have enough money in those commercials to make your time worthwhile.

Del, you're making it personal. My post is about radio, not about me.

It's only personal because you were writing from your heart. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

But my reply, while related to Columbus, is really for any market where our market changes have occurred. The winds may shift again, but I don't think radio as we knew it a year ago, 5 years ago, anytime in the past will return.

There was a time when WTVN was a chicken rock full service outlet that played instrumentals going into news. A back timed post to the network was an accident rather than a plan. 1230 was rocking and rolling. WRFD was country and heavily programmed with ag. WMNI was a nationally known country station. WVKO was urban instead of urban gospel, and WBNS AM was wearing saddle shoes. As for the FM side of the band, it was mostly classical and elevator music. And with about a dozen fewer stations. Those genies are out of the bottle. That toothpaste is out of the tube. None of that exists any more. And probably never will.

I only say do the pay for play because in today's world, that's the key to getting your vision and passion of radio on the air. That small piece of intimate one to one radio might be be the spark to re-ignite that. I doubt it. But then again, I never for a moment thought Sean Hannity would be the second most listened to talk host.

 

[del_griffith]

Things have changed. Some for the better. Some not so much.

If there is a real passion to do what you presented, there are at a minimum 2 hours before Shawn Ireland on Sunday afternoon and 2 hours before the new car repair show on Saturday on 610. Buy the time like Shawn. If she can find advertisers to underwrite her efforts, then any program that connects with the audience in the way you describe should be able to. And 610 isn't the only stop. I'm sure 98.9 will have weekend time, at a minimum, available too. Some retirement guy is already on. Lancaster and Heath also may be stops to make it work.

Just have enough money in those commercials to make your time worthwhile.

I wonder if 98.9 would sell the time to someone who wants to use it to espouse a politically liberal agenda? Maybe even attempt to rebut what some of their regular talkers say?

Probably not.

 

[markbohach]

Lancaster and Heath also may be stops to make it work.

Just have enough money in those commercials to make your time worthwhile.

Can't speak for Heath/Newark but I'd put our local shows up against anybody's...for serving Lancaster that is.