V
vadar
Guest
Must be great radio in Jacksonville, Gainesville and Ocala. Not a peep about the 50th largest radio market since mid-February.............
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vadar said:
Vadar, I have little knowledge about the Gainesville/Ocala market, but I do have some strong opinions about what has been happening, or more correctly, NOT happening, in Jacksonville Radio. Unfortunately, I think your question, and the lack of response, speaks more loudly to the issue. IMHO, with the current business model in place, the talented people who remain employed, are not going to make any significant changes/tweeks, unless approved by corporate. It's all about job protection. What comes out of the speaker is not as important as it used to be. The stations that can afford to subscribe to Arbitron, program to the PPM, not to the listeners. It's all about Arbitron and keeping clients happy. Of course, I realize radio IS a business, and profit is the goal - nothing wrong with that. But the current business climate has put the talent and the listener in an unfortunate place. Talent, in many cases, is regarded by management as a necessary evil, and there seems to be little regard for the listener as well, unless they happen to be one with a PPM device!
Participation on these boards is voluntary. When I first discovered this website many moons ago, I felt like I was a kid in a candy store. In the non-radio world in which I live, I literally have no one to talk to about the business of radio. Here, I was able to say things my friends had no interest in hearing and really they had no idea what I was saying. Over the past year or so, I went as far as posting subjects only to hit the “X” to just scrap the whole damn thing. It was just less frustrating that way.
I look at our friends in the Panhandle and even Gainesville/Ocala and I have to admit being a little envious seeing the majority of strings get page after page of response. It’s perfectly normal for posters to want to talk about what interests them. But I’m really clueless as to what that might be.
But to be honest, I didn’t need any more convincing until I saw a 3 decade plus legend in our market being shown the door and that news was met with just one very, very brief response. I refrained from saying anything because I was angry. I expected that decision to be made and that is not what angered me. I’m having lots of issues being enthusiastic about an industry that is so damn cold.
Since I’ve injected myself in this conversation, I have to bring up one of today’s buzz words – relevance. For those of you over 54, you will probably relate to what I am saying here. I see radio differently and I still see so much lost opportunity in our market alone. Am I a dinosaur in my thinking as I do or do I bring to the table some well thought out ideas? I’m having some self-doubt and maybe I’ll snap out of it soon.
Overall as far as the Jax radio market goes, I believe there is concern about what goes out over the speaker, but there is little anyone can really do about it. Across our three main station owners, there are lots of very hard working and dedicated people. It may not be newsworthy but I appreciate what they do. However, \for a business that is supposed to be about listeners, there is very little listening to even those who may have proven themselves credible. After many years of not having a radio home, I now have one. I love music and I listen to a very extensive personal stash. I'm old enough to have a lot of great memories of radio. Life IS good.
I look at our friends in the Panhandle and even Gainesville/Ocala and I have to admit being a little envious seeing the majority of strings get page after page of response. It’s perfectly normal for posters to want to talk about what interests them. But I’m really clueless as to what that might be.
But to be honest, I didn’t need any more convincing until I saw a 3 decade plus legend in our market being shown the door and that news was met with just one very, very brief response. I refrained from saying anything because I was angry. I expected that decision to be made and that is not what angered me. I’m having lots of issues being enthusiastic about an industry that is so damn cold.
Since I’ve injected myself in this conversation, I have to bring up one of today’s buzz words – relevance. For those of you over 54, you will probably relate to what I am saying here. I see radio differently and I still see so much lost opportunity in our market alone. Am I a dinosaur in my thinking as I do or do I bring to the table some well thought out ideas? I’m having some self-doubt and maybe I’ll snap out of it soon.
Overall as far as the Jax radio market goes, I believe there is concern about what goes out over the speaker, but there is little anyone can really do about it. Across our three main station owners, there are lots of very hard working and dedicated people. It may not be newsworthy but I appreciate what they do. However, \for a business that is supposed to be about listeners, there is very little listening to even those who may have proven themselves credible. After many years of not having a radio home, I now have one. I love music and I listen to a very extensive personal stash. I'm old enough to have a lot of great memories of radio. Life IS good.
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throughthewalls
Guest
I've been a visitor to this board many times and finally decided to register after I heard something interesting late yesterday afternoon. Everyone in NF radio knows the February book arrives today for Jacksonville. With the ethnic audience stabilized, rumor has it Cox could dive into the Adult Urban format as early as Friday.
throughthewalls said:
With what station??? Rock 104-5?
I'm happy to see a discussion happening about Jacksonville and Northeast Florida radio. While my previous post may have seemed maybe too harsh or negative, it was just my humble opinion as an observer/listener. Note to JohnJax: Yes, what comes out of the radio speaker is still important, and as I previously stated, there are still several TALENTED people at the wheel, but the reason I feel that what comes out of the speaker doesn't seem as important, is because, with the current group ownership reality, there are FEWER people programming and music scheduling SEVERAL radio stations, in a group. There's no doubt that those remaining in today's radio industry are working harder, and wearing more hats, than before! But unless radio re-invests in some personnel, eventually, attention to detail, and radio's unique ability to relate to the listener "one-to-one", may increasingly suffer. That's my concern.
On another note...Joy 92.5 the black gospel station has been sold...and they are moving to 1320 on the AM..not sure what the new format will be on 92.5 but we will find out April 1.
younglee981 said:
92.5 would be a great addition for WBOB-AM.
throughthewalls said:
Well, I guess it may not be so quiet in Jacksonville after all! Since Cox already programs a very successful Urban AC station in Atlanta, it might make sense for them to do it here. If it happens, I'm sure they'll get Clear Channel's attention!
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ThatGuyOnTheRadio said:
I'm a little confused on this one! Remember WBOB-AM moved almost 2 years ago from 1320 to eventually 600. If it does turn out to be the WBOB-AM format that might be flipping to FM, that might be a good option, since, IMO, that's the only way they would be able to get a decent showing in the ratings. With the noise level on the rise, and the lack of interest with the younger demos, the AM band is becoming more problematic here in North Florida. (Actually EVERYWHERE)!
V
vadar
Guest
Urban AC to Jax would have a strong competitor in V1015. Would hate to see Rock 1045 flip, legendary heritage station.
Should be interesting.......
Should be interesting.......
its going to be 1010XL going to the FM Signal
As of this morning, the programming of 1010 XL is also on 92.5. The gospel format and programming that was formally on 92.5 is moving to 1320AM (WJNJ) and 103.7 FM (FM translator W279AG Atlantic Beach, FL), which is a station owned by New Covenant Ministries, a local church in Jacksonville. However, there are some problems with the signal of 103.7 FM, especially on the southwest side of Duval County and the Orange Park area. The problem is primarily caused by a huge null in the station's coverage pattern, which cannot be fixed because of WRUF 103.7 FM in Gainesville. According to the FCC rule, a translator (W279AG) cannot cause interference to a full power station's (WRUF) primary coverage area. As a result of this, the engineers had to design a coverage pattern so they won't cause prohibited interference to WRUF. The only way to fix this problem is to move to another frequency that is "free and clear" of existing stations, stations that are under construction permits, or stations that have pending applications, which is almost impossible to find in the Jacksonville area. However, I have a plan to address this situation, which involves FM translators W279AG Atlantic Beach, FL (103.7 FM) and W271AP Jacksonville, FL (102.1), which is one of the translators owned by Christian non-commercial Reach Communications and rebroadcasts programming on WREH (90.5 FM/Cyprus Quarters, FL, a city located near Lake Okeechobee in south Florida). The plan will take place after the signal of W271AP moves to the adjacent frequency 102.3 and is upgraded from 7 watts (935 feet HAAT) to 99 watts from the same height. The station will still broadcast from its current radio tower, which is the one near the Channel 12 studios and EverBank Field in downtown Jacksonville. After the upgrade and move, the station will have decent coverage throughout most of metro Jacksonville and it will not have the null on the Westside of Jacksonville that W279AG (103.7 FM) currenly has. This move is necessary because the majority of the listeners of urban gospel are African-Americans and most of them live on the Northside and Westside of town as well as the Arlington area and the older parts of the Southside area, which will be covered adequetely after the move and upgrade of W271AP. (Coverage map of W271AP 102.3 Construction Permit is available here: http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=W271AP&service=FX&status=C&hours=U_). On the other hand, it is difficult to find an accurate coverage map of W279AG (103.7 FM) Atlantic Beach because the map that is available on the FCC website is not even accurate. After the upgrade and move of W271AP is complete, there should a frequency swap between Reach Communications and New Covenant Ministries, which means that New Covenant Ministries will take over the ownership of the new 102.3 and Reach Communications will take over the ownership of 103.7 FM. The new 102.3 will rebroadcast the programming of 1320 AM just like 103.7 does currently and it will provide better signal coverage in Jacksonville's African-American community, which will ensure the success of FM black gospel in Jacksonville in the long term.
Otharadioman, You've got an interesting plan to switch the translators, but, after listening to some of the local translator facilities, 99 watts probably won't cover enough real estate CONSISTENTLY to make such a deal worthwhile. PLUS, Reach Communications and Clear Channel Media & Entertainment seem to be VERY cozy with each other, and seem to have some master plan to control several area translators.
nfladxer said:
I think I forget to mention that 103.7 FM will be owned by Reach Communications after the switch and it will rebroadcast Clear Channel's WJGH-HD2, which will be Reach FM. The deal with Clear Channel will be same as before so that Clear Channel and Reach Media can continue their "cozy relationship they've enjoyed. It is the similar kind of deal that Clear Channel and Reach Media has with several translators in the Orlando and Central Florida area. W279AG's 60 dBU contour totally encompasses WJGH (107.3 FM) 60 dBU contour, which is within the FCC's rules and regulations regarding FM translators relaying commercial full-power stations. As for the new W271AP, the signal will be sufficient enough to cover the Jacksonville metro area as well as nearby suburbs such as Orange Park and the Beaches although most of these areas will be within the 50 dBU contour, which is good enough to pick up some of better home stereos and car stereos but the signal will be a bit scratchy though. However, the signal of the new W271AP (102.3 FM) will be strongest in the areas that has the majority of the African-American population in Jacksonville, which is the primary targeted audience and it will ensure that the station is successful because right now, they have serious signal issues on the Westside on 103.7 FM. Also, Reach Communications owns another translator near Baldwin, FL that is currently on 103.5 FM but they plan to upgrade the signal and move the translator to 92.7 FM. Right now, they are broadcasting at a ERP of 21 watts (90m HAAT) on 103.5 but it will be upgraded to 250 watts (90m HAAT) after the move to 92.7 FM. The increased power of this particular translator will help some of the signal issues of 103.7 FM on the Westside. So, its a win-win situation for all of the parties involved. BTW, the coverage pattern of W271AP's construction permit is available on Radio-Locator. com and it will be available under 102.1 FM, which is the frequency the station is currently broadcasting at this moment.
WRKO said:
Yes, it's quite true, AM 600 WBOB does indeed have a presence on FM, actually, WBOB simulcasts on two translators, the one you mentioned, W262AG 100.3 FM, 250 watts, with pretty good coverage around Fleming Island, Orange Park, Argyle, and some of the southern areas of the Westside. Again, the coverage is good, but the signal is somewhat over modulated, and as a result, a bit distorted. WBOB also simulcasts in Downtown Jacksonville, on translator W299BL 107.7 FM, 99 watts. Even though the antenna is mounted on top of the Wells Fargo building, and at a very nice height of over 500 feet, the signal is quite directional, plus the audio on this one is very thin, resulting in a reduced signal. While the translator at 100.3 is the better of the two, when atmospheric conditions get juicy, it's subject to severe interference from a neighboring Class C station on the same frequency in the Orlando market. In the case of 107.7, it's subject to interference from another major Orlando station on the same frequency, AND another one in Brunswick, Ga. So, unless you're located very close to either transmitter, reception can be somewhat unreliable. Also, Jacksonville DOES have ONE AM HD station, 930 WFXJ, was broadcasting in HD today. It's been on and off over the past several months, probably a technical issue. Or, maybe CC decided to fire up the HD since 1010XL just got a metro FM signal simulcast on 92.5!
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