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All News on the Cheap

D

Dighton Rockhead

Today's Tom Taylor online newsletter points out a story of a station in Florida that is flipping to all-news, and doing it in a relatively inexpensive way....by hooking up with the news operation of a local TV station, and a couple of area newspapers.

If you're Clear Channel or Citadel....wouldn't this sound like an attractive alternative to actually TRYING to format an under-performing am-er?

"News-Radio 790"....or...."News-Radio 920", anyone?
 
I would absolutely love this market to have an all News station. News-Radio 790 has a particularly nice sound to it. People have argued that this market is not big enough for such a format. I've also heard that it would take to many resources and be to expensive to run. However I think there are ways to cut corners and still have a very professional sounding product. I am telling you right now that I would be an instant fan of such a station. I think I would listen fairly often. Cover everything from New London Connecticut to Fall River Mass and everywhere inbetween. There would be plenty of material to work with. No lack of News happening around here. Plenty to report on 24/7. It would be good. I know it!
 
If done the right way it could work. Remember that 790 was an affiliate of NBC's News and Information Service(NIS)in the '80's. 1110 also tried it as WWRX-AM using CNN's Headline News. Both stations won awards by the boatload but ultimately tanked in the ratings. I believe VelvetR, in another post, mentioned about a statewide news network in the '50's.Maybe that would be the way to go...
 
DG02816 said:
If done the right way it could work. Remember that 790 was an affiliate of NBC's News and Information Service(NIS)in the '80's. 1110 also tried it as WWRX-AM using CNN's Headline News. Both stations won awards by the boatload but ultimately tanked in the ratings. I believe VelvetR, in another post, mentioned about a statewide news network in the '50's.Maybe that would be the way to go...
Click to expand...
1110 WWRX & 1180 WCNX both used Headline News which sounds terrible on air as do all TV stations' audio. TV uses nat sound which we don't as well as different processing. It sounds weird & bad on radio.

As for an all-news station, around the time I was born, 790 was all-news as 79/WEAN. I think it was owned by the Urinal, er, Journal. Considering 920 apparently still gets ratings & 790 doesn't, that may not be a bad idea for them. As for a state-wide network, I'd rather see something akin to FNN in Florida (it used to be FRN: Florida's Radio Networks) where they would do a 2-minute newscast @ the bottom of the hour. Question is, who would run it? I can see WADK & WBLQ. Not sure about which Woonsocket station would. Then you'd probably need the middle of the state & Providence. If WALE flirts with all-news that's a possibility for Providence. As for the middle of the state, all you have there are 1450 & 1590. Neither are doing anything news-related.

FRN also used to do sports updates @ :45 as well as supply the feeds for games. HOWEVER, they were on C.C.'s satellite. For R.I., all you'd probably need is an H.F. R.P.U. (26Mc.).
 
There is a lower-powered AM station in upstate New York that runs the audio of Time-Warner's Regional News TV Network. (I'm too lazy too look up the calls/frequency of the AM station and too lazy too look up the name of Time-Warner's Regional News Network).

Imagine a station running NECN 24/7. Of course they would have to run alternate programming Saturdays and Sundays 1:30PM-5PM when NECN runs Infomercials.
 
Marc,
You're thinking of WUAM 900 in Watervliet NY. Owned by Ernie Anastos, it runs 400 watts day, 70 at night.
 
Dighton Rockhead said:
Today's Tom Taylor online newsletter points out a story of a station in Florida that is flipping to all-news, and doing it in a relatively inexpensive way....by hooking up with the news operation of a local TV station, and a couple of area newspapers.
Click to expand...

One of my clients is a radio network built on open-source software where the announcers voice track from home. I've been thinking that the same technology could be used to create a nice all-news format for fairly little money.
 
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