A Gas Station On Every Corner

[Laurence Glavin]

When I was a kid, seversl intersections in the Merrimack Valley sported a gas station on every corner. They made a few cents per gallon on the gas they pumped, did repairs, sold tires and even snacks. Then oil companies merged and put the squeeze on stations they didn't own, or on lessees occupying the outlets they did own. Sears was always there for some auto repairs, but primarily at the stores in the malls on the edge of town, but along came big-box repair shops like Pep Boys and NTW. Nowadays, there are fewer gas stations and many if not most in some areas are self-serve. There was a time when AM radio prospered, and nearly all the full-time AM stations in the Boston area got some kind of ratings: WEEI when it was at 590; WNAC then WRKO; WHDH when it was on 850; WBZ of course; WCOP-AM 1150; WVDA, then WEZE-AM 1260; WMEX-AM 1510. There was one niche broadcaster, and some of you may gasp when I reveal that WCRB was once a classical music station, and it simulcast on 1330 AM. The other full-time AM station with a signal over Boston was WVOM/WBOS/WUNR at 1600...possibly the radio station to which George Carlin referred when he talked about radio stations "up by the police calls" (Carlin worked in Boston for a while). So what possible function could WVOM/WBOS/WUNR fulfill? Why brokered- or leased-time, usually foreign language. And as Dan.Strassberg recently noted, they got very good at it. But many years have passed, and AM radio, except for the big boys with matching high electricity bills, has declined in popularity and relevance. Yikes...what to do? Why brokered- or leased-time...yeah, that's it! So year after year, the incidence of such outlets both IN Boston and nearby burgeoned. But like the overabundance of gas stations, this growing overabundance of AM stations with a brokered- or leased-time format could be like the farmers in drought-stricken areas sucking their aquifers dry. It's difficult to tell how the foreign-language outlets are doing, but if WWZN's experience is indicative at all, there may be a limit to how big the money pool from which they and the others draw really is. When you're down to Brother Stair overnight and sharing the redoubtable Roy Master with WROL, it's the equivalence of a dry hole. I mean, what if Stair notices he gets NO checks from Boston (which may very well be the case), he could easily jettison the station! So, while brokered-time may have been a lucrative way for a station to make money in prior years, and even decades, that well could be running dry for some in the business. I've heard that some people at the cusp of the New Year would indulge in predictions for the radio business, but I'm not inclined to do so except to consider the possibility that one or two brokered-time outlets may have to adopt a coherent format to derive income. We'll see what happens when all the stations licensed to 750 Sawmill Brook Parkway begin operating from there.

 

[FPB]

Actually, I see brokered time as a possible way to save radio.

Think of it. What makes the college stations so much more interesting than what passes for entertainment as Clear Channel defines it? College and community stations are populated by citizens who actually have something to say, or who actually have a passion for a style of music. This is what stations which offer brokered or bartered time could become.

The problem as it stands now is that these stations charge confiscatory rates. You have to be supported by a group in order to pay the rent. That's why so many bartered shows are religious, be they in English or foreign; they're paid for by churches.

People can create shows on the new media. But is it because they're so in love with the new media, or is it because that's what they could afford? My belief is that if they could pay to be on a radio station - even with a lousy signal, they would do it.

I would love to see these stations reduce their rates to the point where the average person could pay their rent without going broke in a month. If that happened, maybe - just maybe - AM radio could once again become the exciting media it once was.

 

[JIBGUY]

Actually, I see brokered time as a possible way to save radio. The problem as it stands now is that these stations charge confiscatory rates. You have to be supported by a group in order to pay the rent. That's why so many bartered shows are religious, be they in English or foreign; they're paid for by churches. I would love to see these stations reduce their rates to the point where the average person could pay their rent without going broke in a month. If that happened, maybe - just maybe - AM radio could once again become the exciting media it once was.

 

[JIBGUY]

Actually, I see brokered time as a possible way to save radio. The problem as it stands now is that these stations charge confiscatory rates. You have to be supported by a group in order to pay the rent. That's why so many bartered shows are religious, be they in English or foreign; they're paid for by churches. I would love to see these stations reduce their rates to the point where the average person could pay their rent without going broke in a month. If that happened, maybe - just maybe - AM radio could once again become the exciting media it once was.

FPB has a good head on his shoulders, with his/her thoughts. - It would also be a bright exciting AM dial if a few stations separately offered brokered time with themes. Perhaps one station would offer all music programs in English, another- general & political talk in English, another sports in English, etc. There are two problems with this though.....
1) - TelComm-96 changed the ownership landscape, where too many AM's are owned by the same companies... ones generally who want to proliferate phony preachers or anything else like colon-cleaners; that is easy- and plentiful money.
2) - Hopeful station owners who want to do let's say the brokered-time music station, are usually out-funded by large companies who care about one thing: make as much money as possible with the station. Therefore that company will end up buying the station, leaving the more philanthropic owner behind. Philanthropic owners can still make a LOT of money, as they would have a careful balance betweeen making money AND providing a public service by being fair with the people who rent time.
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Right now, I see the biggest problem with current station time-renting is that, as FPB points out, the rates are way too high. A more hidden problem is that most brokered-time stations have a contract clause that says either party may discontinue programming with 60 days written notice. Therefore if the station ownership gets an offer for MORE money, from some phony church in Texas for example, such station would kick the local entrepreneurial renter, and replace his/her/their time with the phony church. Such actions rate low on the ethics-meter, but of course, not illegal.
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You see, a station (covering most of Boston area) could make a million dollars a year if they air "anything". Perhaps they would only make $400k, if they were selective, had lower rates to be affordable to a good portion of the entrepreneurial public. Gee, 400 sounds good to me. 400 plus being a respected broadcaster/station owner is worth more than a million plus having to hide what you do for a living (promoting snake-oil, etc).
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If I didn't have deeply-entrenched success with adult standards on WJIB-740, I would consider such a thing. Real community radio, brokered in English; music, and reasonable rates. AND MAYBE THIS CONCEPT IS EASIER THAN YOU MAY IMAGINE... IF EACH BROKERED SHOW WAS LISTENER-SUPPORTED, eliminating the hassle of beating the sidewalks for nickels and dimes. What a concept!

 

[DanStrassberg]

I've heard that some people at the cusp of the New Year would indulge in predictions for the radio business, but I'm not inclined to do so except to consider the possibility that one or two brokered-time outlets may have to adopt a coherent format to derive income. We'll see what happens when all the stations licensed to 750 Sawmill Brook Parkway begin operating from there.

Aside from Salem, which is a) idologically driven and b) for the most part, does not mix brokered and non-brokered programming on the same signals, the only major station group I can think of that does a mixture of brokered and non-brokered is Beasley. (Here I'm not counting the large number of stations that are not brokered during the week and that cover most of their expenses by running a heavy schedule of infomercials on weekends. WRKO is somewhat in that camp. Greater Media's WPEN in Philly is a very good example.) Even Beasley seems to keep its brokered and non-brokered programming on searate signals. I've never heard KDWN Las Vegas--either before or since Beasley bought it--but I suspect it's not a brokered-time station. In Philly, I believe that Beasley owns an FM that isn't brokered, an FM that is, and and two AMs that are. So from the post to which I am replying and repeated posts he has made in other threads, I'm assuming that Mr Glavin thinks WRCA will flip because of the plethora of new brokered-time competition. WRCA is pretty well established in the business, though. So I don't think WRCA will flip, but if they were to do so, what would they program? Yeah, the GM likes jazz and big-band, but it's not the 80s or even the 90s any more and he's too savvy to try to make a format out of it--on AM, yet.

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

Brokered time is merely one way of adapting to a changing media landscape. Adapt and survive. For many listeners it is the exciting alternative of which you speak!

When you say brokered time is "too expensive" -- what do you think is expensive? It could turn out to be more reasonable than you think... Have you ever actually rolled the dice and tried to make a go of it? Until/unless you try, you just never know...

Yea, I remember WRKO as a top-30 (not 40) powerhouse. Yea, I remember when gas was 25 cents a gallon, they pumped it, checked the air in the tires, water in the battery, washed every window on the damn car, gave you S&H Green Stamps, and maybe a drinking glass to boot. What's your point? That was a looooooooooong time ago...