All Access: WLIB Leaning Toward Syndication One

[FightingIrish]

I think you're the one holding an ideological grudge. I'm sorry that you think they're doomed to failure because they don't have 300+ affiliates and an obscene amount of revenue. What do you expect a startup to be doing?

You think? Clearly not. But nobody expects thinking out of the South Bend factory for jocks and mouth breathers.

AAR does bad radio and makes stupid business decisions. That's why they deserve to fail.

Your reply is to talk about Salem, Fox, Radio Disney. Apparently, incompetence is OK as long as incompetence has company.

Political ideologues aren't worth hating. Only the truely evil are worth hating. Like the evil cult which funds Notre Dame. They know how to deal with people who think. Burn them at the stake.

YIKES! Now it's wholesale Catholic bashing! Where has this thread gone? And me without my white hood and bedsheets!

And for the record, I have no connection to South Bend/Notre Dame/etc. I just happen to have the username. Perhaps, since I currently live in Wisconsin, I should change it to 'Badger'.

Want me to go on a rant about how Hanna-Barbara has nearly destroyed good animation? ;D

As to being the judge of 'bad radio', hell, I know a lot of people that like AAR, so to each their own. There's a lot of stuff I don't like on the radio, but it has every right to be there. If someone wants to run a 24/7 network consisting solely of farting noises, I say let 'em - it's their money. Who made you the arbiter of taste?

 

[FightingIrish]

dupe

 

[ajhenderson]

The difference between other networks and AAR is that, despite a slowly growing number of Jones and independent shows, AAR is set up as an easy way for affiliates to run liberal talk, by having shows for all dayparts and reruns easy to take off the sat. Premiere, Jones, WW1, et al have no such practice; they syndicate shows in the dayparts they feel are appropriate and make stations fill in the holes for dayparts they don't offer shows for.

Also, there would be 96 15-minutes shows in a day.

 

[fred flintstone]

Also, there would be 96 15-minutes shows in a day.

Only if AAR starts doing shows 24 hours a day. :

You are correct. AAR is set up as an easy for way low-power, marginal, bottom-feeder and small town stations to run liberal talk - all automated, all the time - without having to think about programming. That's whom they target and they've gotten a fair number of such stations to goose their affiliate count. And it is this approach that puts AAR in the same class as Radio Disney, Salem and Relevant Radio. It is this approach that gets progressive talk positioned in the industry as a marginal or niche format. Is that really what you want: AAR as Salem Blue?

 

[Radio_Realist]

Is that really what you want:

From the perspective of the listener, is there any difference between a radio station plugged into a one-stop syndication source, or a station that plugs into nothing but syndicated programs they select a la carte?

 

[fred flintstone]

Is that really what you want:

From the perspective of the listener, is there any difference between a radio station plugged into a one-stop syndication source, or a station that plugs into nothing but syndicated programs they select a la carte?

Only if cherry picking shows results in a line-up local listeners like. The progressive talk stations with decent numbers go local in AM drive AND take Steph instead of Jerry. Stations that take AAR's "easy way" generally have fractional shares.

 

[FightingIrish]

Is that really what you want:

From the perspective of the listener, is there any difference between a radio station plugged into a one-stop syndication source, or a station that plugs into nothing but syndicated programs they select a la carte?

Only if cherry picking shows results in a line-up local listeners like. The progressive talk stations with decent numbers go local in AM drive AND take Steph instead of Jerry. Stations that take AAR's "easy way" generally have fractional shares.

It goes with the saying, 'you get out of it what you put into it'. Latchkeys are often going to have problems. Look at WCKY/WSAI (good thread on the Cincy board, BTW). That thing is an automated nightmare with lots of on-air goofs that should not be occurring. Same with WWAA (now WMLB) in Atlanta. AAR hosts complained about that station's automation for over a year.

This also goes for affiliates of other networks. Many FOX Sports Radio affiliates tend to be latchkeys. And while I thing FSR puts out a great syndicated product (as ESPN Radio has gone somewhat in the crapper), a station with only national sports is doomed to failure. Sports talk is a very good example of the importance of local programming.

 

[evnlee]

It goes with the saying, 'you get out of it what you put into it'. Latchkeys are often going to have problems. Look at WCKY/WSAI (good thread on the Cincy board, BTW). That thing is an automated nightmare with lots of on-air goofs that should not be occurring. Same with WWAA (now WMLB) in Atlanta. AAR hosts complained about that station's automation for over a year.

2 things to keep latchkey's from techical mishaps:
someone listening to the station, monitoring it for trouble
someone present in studio with enough techical know how to fix said error.

In most situations, the operators of the latchkey operation ( this happens in all formates ) entrust the position of 'fix it guy' to one or maybe two people, who don't train the board ops, support personell, or anyone else who may be in studio to fix the problem.... instead the screw up happens, throws off the computer, and then whoever is left at the station has to FIND the fix it guy to get it right.

I can't see how bitching about how poorly your affiliates are dropping the ball helps when you are trying to build a national audience.

 

[raccoonradio]

No second prog. talk outlet in NYC. No black talk (Rev Al, etc.) either. Instead WLIB going to black gospel.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/445270p-374953c.html

I thought they might be doing what WILD (AM) in Boston is doing: black talk network weekdays then
gospel elsewhere (a daytimer btw) but it looks like they're doing gospel and nothing but. And that is the gospel truth!

 

[Radio_Realist]

they're doing gospel and nothing but. And that is the gospel truth!

Let me hear an "Amen!"

 

[RBA]

Black Gospel? They don't have a prayer.

 

[ajhenderson]

I get it... basically 1190 and 1600 are swapping formats. Does this mean Rennie Bishop will be surfacing at 'LIB?

As to AAR NY being live/local in the morning, its been discussed the AARAM show they have now has a "big city" feel to it vs. Schultz, Hartmann, or even a Franken, and that its affiliates are those who are basically too cheap or don't care enough to affiliate with anyone but AAR. Nevertheless, they should be local in NYC.

 

[tombetz]

As to AAR NY being live/local in the morning, its been discussed the AARAM show they have now has a "big city" feel to it vs. Schultz, Hartmann, or even a Franken, and that its affiliates are those who are basically too cheap or don't care enough to affiliate with anyone but AAR. Nevertheless, they should be local in NYC.

AARAM is history as of Sept 1. WWRL is sticking with the existing local programming until 9 AM.

Which is rather amusing, as the existing morning show co-stars Bush administration whore Armstrong Williams.

 

[fred flintstone]

AARAM is history as of Sept 1. WWRL is sticking with the existing local programming until 9 AM.

History in the New York market, or history - period?

 

[dampier]

Re: Randi

Randi wanted to cut back to three hours (or somebody wanted her to). Smart move. Four hours is pretty grueling, especially for a show like hers. Three hours is average for many talk shows (unless your name is Howard Stern).

I doubt Randi was clamoring for three hours instead of four. Randi is stubborn and probably would be the last person to suggest such a thing. Interesting that she's on an unscheduled "vacation" right now, when her usual summer vacation schedule has always been a week during the 4th and then again around Labor Day. She used to do sick-ins on WJNO when managment pissed her off, so do not be surprised if she starts trashing AAR management on her show when she gets back.

One day she unilaterally changed the format of her show and started playing rock songs on WJNO because she felt unappreciated. The phones melted down at WJNO with complaints that she was being "silenced" by management.

Randi, by far, is the most volatile host on AAR (you'd think Malloy, but his on-air persona is not the same off the air). She is always the first to deal with burnout and is very vocal on air about the radio business and AAR. I have noticed Randi getting repetitious (which is not a surprise considering how many actually listen for all four hours in the car) which is usually a sign she is getting a periodic burn out. AAR management may have decided to cut her back an hour to try and force some more even performance from her. But I doubt she is going to be happy about this at all.

 

[tombetz]

Re: Randi

Randi is stubborn and probably would be the last person to suggest such a thing. Interesting that she's on an unscheduled "vacation" right now,

What "vacation"?

She took a weekend promotional trip to Seattle Friday through Monday, emceeing Hempfest over the weekend.

She was on the air Tuesday (shortly after you posted this), and she was on the air today.