Treasure Coast Another Holiday Post

[John FL]

Happy Holidays!

On Thursday, a week before Thanksgiving, I was in Palm Beach County and heard numerous teases for Sunny 107.9’s (WEAT) usual flip to Christmas/seasonal music. It brought a smile to my face, not only because I get a kick out of all it, but because it’s such a departure from all the cloak & dagger stuff once associated with the seasonal format. By noon that day, the music reflected “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

When going wall-to-wall holiday music was a new concept, it was often used like a Trojan Horse. Once Christmas was over, there would be a change in format, not always, but it was especially the reality that befell oldies formats 20+ years ago now.

With the cat out of the bag, there’s some return to normalcy. We don't see the playing of Christmas music as a strategy to get rid of something but to enhance what already exists. Again, not always but mostly. The expectation is that an AC format that has established itself as THE holiday music station in the listeners’ mind, will flip for X number of weeks generating a lot of buzz and receiving a nice uptick in the ratings.

Here on The Treasure Coast, 97.1 Ocean FM (WOSN) makes its seasonal flip the day after Thanksgiving like clockwork. There are no surprises, no other radio station jumps the gun in the 8 years I’ve lived here. For a short time, iHeart offered an oldies format via translator and heard on 107.9, the same frequency as WPB's Sunny. Perhaps a couple years ago now but they featured continuous “holiday favorites.” Just a terrible signal and so none of that mattered to either the listeners and certainly WOSN.

Before iHeart got that translator, the 107.9 signal from West Palm was heard nicely in all the coastal Treasure Coast and into around Melbourne in Brevard County as I recall. In my view, Hubbard Broadcasting does an outstanding job with the classic hits format it normally carries. Their playlist with some AC lean and interesting personalities are both entertaining and interesting. Their execution and programming is how I view the classic hits format and not one that’s more classic rock than anything else.

With just a 10-mile trek south on I-95, I can pick up Sunny 107.9 nicely. And so, for a good portion of The Treasure Coast, older adults have options from Ocean FM to Sunny 107.9 and to iHeart’s Classic Hits WQOL @ 103.7. It's an interesting part of Florida from a radio perspective. Change is always constant but older listeners do figure in advertising. I hear it all the time.

When I hear holiday classics on the radio, I also can’t help but think of stunting. Early on, we didn’t know it was even that when oldies formats were suddenly playing non-stop Santa and winter weather tunes before they got the axe.

We probably all have our favorites when it comes to stunting. For me, it was likely non-stop Beatles tunes. And sometimes, stunting was done in a way that I didn’t think was very professional or could even be considered mean-spirited.

Stay tuned for that & more.

 

[John FL]

To be a fly on the wall listening in to discussions regarding format flips would be highly interesting to say the least. It would not surprise that all involved are cautioned to keep quiet, it’s business as usual etc. That’s some of the cloak ‘n dagger aspects of radio.

Then there’s reality. Those in the business probably know a lot more as to what is happening with the competitor across the street than they are given credit. After all, many are privy to ratings and revenue reports. There are performance opinions. Even in the relatively small number of radio people I’ve encountered, they just love talking about others in the business, and not always in a favorable light.

The bottom line is while format flips give the impression of being surprising, to include stunting which sometimes looks like simple tweaking, it can get very predictable. The press releases that follow all read the same. It’s like one big ego fest. Everyone involved in the change is brilliant. What’s true is some things work and some things don’t. There’s many variables.

Over the years, I read much about stunting on the radio boards. There were also a lot more format flips in the past than we see today. Kudos to creativity. There were some clever ones. It was clear what listeners were hearing was all temporary. Often, announcements were made that a new format was on the way. Sometimes there was a different format each day. Even the most casual listener had to figure something was up.

Stunting that gave the impression that there was a new format or even a continuation of what already existed but with tweaks surfaced here and here. I didn’t think it was very professional to engage in that sort of thing. There was obvious little regard to the listeners who perhaps were happy in what they were hearing, setting presets etc. We'll discuss more of that in the next segment.

Decade-specific formats have an obvious shelf life. Many of you may remember “The Point” brand. This was an 80s based format. Both Tampa and Jacksonville, under CMG ownership, carried the format. Once, classic rock hits “Eagle” came along, ratings slid for The Point. Their playlist eventually included 90s songs too, but it was obvious The Point brand/format was on borrowed time. The eventual flips didn’t surprise anyone.

WPOI (The Point in Tampa) had an interesting stunting in that it was extremely brief (like an hour). There were random song clips followed by a new format, CHR. That lasted from 2011 to 2023. Much has been discussed about Top 40 formats. They don’t have the popularity as they had in the past. Today, WTBV (new calls) is an Urban (Adult R&B). Stunting involved playing Mary J. Blinge’s “Just Fine” repeatedly in a loop. That would be torture and not very imaginative but that’s what happened.

Over in Jacksonville, “The Point” there met what I call an unusual fate. But for a market that I long considered illogical, it probably made sense to those in management there.

Mean spirited has no place in radio. That’s upcoming!

 

[ted chittenden]

Actually, all-Christmas music is still used for stunting purposes. This year, the station in Deer Park, WA, is doing exactly that as it has traded owners and the former owner is now going down to 89.5 mHz and putting the oldies format formerly on KPKL-FM on KEWU's signal. Unless @lanceventa has published it elsewhere, we don't know yet who the new owner is and what the new format come January might be.

As for good and bad stunting (and I have written this elswhere on this site), the absolute worst format flip I ever heard was when KZZP in Mesa, Arizona (Phoenix market) flipped to KVRY in 1992. The problem wasn't the stunting mechanism itself (the station used a countdown clock for a week before introducing the new format) but the timing of when that clock began. It happened near the very end of "American Top 40," with Shadoe Stevens, i.e. between songs #6 and #5. As a person who was keeping track of the Billboard charts at that time, I thought it was the looniest placement for beginning a format stunt--it should have been started at the end of the show!

The best format flip I ever heard (and I've also noted this in an earlier post on this site) was the flip on Tucson, Arizona's 830 kHz from religious to oldies. Family Life Radio had sold the station to a commercial outfit. To launch the new oldies format, that outfit decided to play a weekend of 1950s and 1960s novelty tunes, such as Ray Stevens' "Gitarzan," and The Coasters' "Yakety Yak." Now *that* was a fun listen!

 

[John FL]

Ted, your story telling and recollections are so nice to hear. I enjoy them. Hopefully, the readers agree.

I didn't want to infer that Christmas music isn't still used for stunting purposes. It certainly is but it's not like it was say 20 or so years ago in regards to "what to do" with oldies formats. I think there's something else to be said here about communications and how it's come to this instantaneous reporting age.

The first time I was exposed to and became aware of all-Christmas format would have been in 2004. I mentioned this a lot over the years but it was radio station WKQL in Jacksonville (Cool 96.9), an obvious oldies format. When this took place, I spoke to one of the jocks who was on the air at night back then. I asked questions about this format and basically he didn't have a clue either that this even existed elsewhere. Now, here was a guy who was in radio since the 70s so it's not like he was some newbie.

His PD who I considered a condescending type mentioned how everyone everywhere was jumping on this. Perhaps true. But if we think back to 2004 we weren't as attached to mobile phones, perhaps technology too, as we are today. And so it's quite probable that listeners didn't think a format change was in the works if even those in radio didn't really know it.

Maybe it was a few years later when I became aware of other stations across the country flipping to Christmas music that I noticed some interesting listener
comments in the stations' social media pages. It went along the lines of "I hope my favorite radio station isn't going away." The use of Christmas music for change of format purposes became more common knowledge as communications became quite amazingly fast.

As time went on, I noticed format flips after the playing of Christmas music weren't immediate but even a few months later. It was another form of cloak 'n dagger to throw competitors off. Anyway, they'll probably be an example of all that as we keep yapping.

 

[John FL]

While driving around and stopping here and there this weekend, I heard holiday music just about everywhere. And it's not just on the radio. There's alternatives such as SiriusXM that I've been hearing. It got me thinking about a lot of things. Platforms that don't air commercials are a safer bet for some businesses. I was at a car dealership for a couple hours yesterday getting service. There was wasn't one customer, from what I could tell, in their sales area.
To hear a competitors commercials - not a good thing.

Honestly, I've been quite content listening to WOSN (Ocean FM). What's interesting about holiday programming is that it can go in a lot of directions. Perhaps it's an age thing but I much prefer hearing the Christmas classics from artists whose hayday was many, many decades ago. And that's what 97.1 The Ocean plays.

As I also think about how much holiday music plays into strategies, I'm reminded too that Treasure Coast Radio will most likely be experiencing changes in the not too distant future. While I don't want to take away or repeat sentiments from another string on this board, I also can't help but think that as humans we don't always embrace change well. But there are also realities that all things must come to an end.

With a new owner on the horizon who will oversee 5 stations/formats, one can only hope for at least professionalism. My gut tells me that stunting will probably not be necessary. While that's existed in a lot of different sized markets, somehow I don't think of The Treasure Coast in that way. I've seen both stunting and format flips done in ways that have left a rather bitter taste in my mouth. I've promised to discuss my experiences with all that but it will have its own segment.

Often times flips are not necessary. It's quite amazing experiencing all the changes to date that have taken place on iHeart's Classic Hits station WQOL. It wasn't that long ago that they carried the oldies brand. Then it was 103.7 WQOL. Now it's Coast 103.7 - Variety from the 80s & 90s. And yes, 70s still get some spins. But it's like a brand new radio station. There wasn't a Christmas flip at any time and programming changes when the holidays were over. I suppose that was one option but they took a slow and deliberate course, one that I favor.

For what it's worth, I'm comfortable living in a Top 100 radio market. Not much happens in radio on The Treasure Coast and I kind of like it that way if that makes sense. My relationship with radio has been like being on a roller coaster. There's the good and the bad. Monday is probably more appropriate to bring up radio decisions that really pissed me off. Enjoy the remainder of the weekend!

 

[K.M. Richards]

I have an entirely different take on the programming of Christmas music, which comes from several factors taken into consideration:

1. I program a decades-centric Classic Hits format, so songs like that Mariah Carey one are out of consideration as being too far from the basic format. I do play the Bing Crosby/David Bowie duet from 1977 because ... well, it's Bowie's voice that is dominant. I also have a little over a dozen songs by artists who are well known from their hits in the 80's but didn't record Christmas songs until the 90's.
2. My personal philosophy, shared by KRKE's owner, is that Classic Hits shouldn't beat the listeners over the head with Christmas music. Let the heritage AC in the market do that, and let any of their audience that we share come listen to us if they feel overwhelmed.
3. Classic Hits is a format that is based on listener familiarity with the hits, be they Christmas or not. The ACs that do all-Christmas play a lot of songs by artists that they don't even play the rest of the year (e.g., when was the last time you heard Johnny Mathis on any of those stations outside of December?).
4. There is nothing wrong with taking a gradual approach and position the station as an alternative by acknowledging the season by playing a handful of titles in moderation and adding to that category gradually as you gradually increase play frequency.

So, here's what I do, and I am comfortable sharing it openly because any competent programmer would do likewise even without me as an example:

The day after Thanksgiving, I put the dozen or so most demographic-focused Christmas songs (U2, Hall & Oates, Wham!, Madonna, etc.) once every three hours. Just enough to start getting people in a holiday mood, not enough for them to start saying "oh, no ... not that song again!"

After about a week or so -- exact length of time determined by the juxtaposition of Thanksgiving and Christmas on the calendar each year -- I add about another 12 songs, by familiar artists, and go one every other hour. One week out from Christmas, one every hour, another six to ten songs added.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I add a second song per hour and that's where I have about a dozen classics from pre-1980. (Yes, I even play The Chipmunk Song and der Bingle's chestnut). And then on Christmas afternoon, I play the last Christmas countdown the late Casey Kasem did before his death, and that's the only time that I play any of the AC titles. Honestly, I use that to promote the Sunday airings of the classic AT40 shows, and no one ever complains about a Casey-hosted Christmas show.

Freddy Snakeskin also does a special edition of Flashback Weekend on Christmas night, which features a bunch of Alternative/New Wave "classics of the season".

I don't tend to lose much audience to the all-Christmas station in the market.

 

[John FL]

We continue...

Long time WPTV Channel 5 Meteorologist, 27 years to be exact, Steve Weagle, left the station on Friday to begin retirement. But before leaving, he visited “friends,” Mo & Sally of West Palm’s AC WOLL. It got me thinking about the relationship radio and television have with each other. I also thought of their differences.

Mo & Sally’s long-tenure in the market has paid dividends. They also have a VT’d morning show here on The Treasure Coast on Classic Hits WQOL. There’s a wide variety of celebrities, politicians, and those in the news who have wound up on the air with the married couple. They just know a lot of people personally. Obviously too with this being a hurricane-prone area, radio has on many occasions aired TV news broadcasts.

Not all long-term radio personalities are given an opportunity to say goodbye to their listeners. Some are given their due. One I distinctly recall is when the late Rick Shaw was given a very nice send-off at Miami-Ft.Lauderdale’s WMXJ. For those not familiar with Rick, he was a powerhouse in AM hit radio days from Beatlemania to overseeing a very successful FM oldies/unique type AC format for many years.

There are those, like me, who find radio lacks warmth and compassion overall. A lot depends on the local management. There are inconsistencies with the same company from market-to-market. Personal ambitions can also get in the way of doing the right thing for both the listeners and the advertisers. To me, the best way to get noticed and advance in the company is to work hard, be a team player, be respected by all the employees, and develop a track record of winning. And most importantly, achieving success via professionalism.

I’ve long considered those who work in radio to be in a noble profession. In my time in Jacksonville, I learned of a term known as “Guerilla Warfare.” CMG decided to attack iHeart’s “Planet Radio” with a lot of derogatory comments about their jocks, the music, the number of commercials…you name it. CMG introduced another alternative format to the market which wasn’t needed. Planet Radio performed well in the ratings up until the attack.

To cut to the chase, Planet Radio wound up exiting. It’s returned some years ago now. So it was all for naught. And in time, with no surprise, CMG’s X102.9 began descending in the ratings. Alternative formats tend to have a young but rather limited number of listeners. Today, it broadcasts from a translator. To bring all that chaos and disruption to the market for a format that's now on a translator did bring something else – lots of stories in the radio trades about how CMG “won the battle.” Apparently, that’s the bottom line for some. You can work on your next job in a bigger market, but take the high road – always.

Bad mouthing a competitor on the air is nothing new. I’ve seen it in radio talk shows. Cable News badmouths someone on another network all the time. It’s kind of business as usual. And yes, viewers and listeners seem fine with it. Still, if I were a GM overseeing a radio cluster, I wouldn’t allow talking about others in the business or competing radio stations in a negative way.

Mo & Sally don’t do that sort of thing, and it’s given them access to a lot of very influential people in the market. It makes for interesting radio listening as well. IMO, that’s a key element to long-term success. I also have to smile. Some of you may remember my past posts about bringing Mo & Sally to Jacksonville when iHeart/Clear Channel brought Classic Hits WJGH to market. The format remained jockless for a few months which proved costly. Even though Jax listeners didn't know them, I felt they would have caught on pretty quickly. It would have been economically feasible too so as much is a repeat of the previous days' broadcast. I know a winner when I hear it.

Next: Stunting incognito.

 

[John FL]

As far as radio stunting goes, I was curious how it's defined in simple research. Here's what A.I. says about it:

“Radio stunting is a marketing tactic where a station temporarily changes its programming to something unusual, repetitive, or quirky (like playing one song non-stop or a bizarre theme) to generate buzz, curiosity, and word-of-mouth before a major format switch, rebranding, or ownership change, effectively grabbing attention in a crowded market. It's a disruptive stunt designed to get people talking and tuning in to find out what's next.”

There shouldn’t be any doubt that what is being heard on the radio is only temporary. Interestingly, changing programming to something unusual once was the playing of holiday music. It’s because no one was doing wall-to-wall seasonal music in large enough numbers. Early on, we didn’t know what to make of non-stop Christmas music. I for one never made the stunting connection.

Perhaps there is a fine line between getting attention and being mean-spirited.

The old North Florida Board had, what I would consider, a good deal of criticism of CMG management from the posters and members of the radio community. There were many things that contributed to this sentiment, and it happened over several years as well.

Even prior to CMG’s decision to go into guerilla warfare with adding Alternative X102.9 (WXXJ) in 2009, there were lots of discussions about the need for a lighter AC in the market. What we envisioned was a format that was similar Tampa’s “The Dove” when it was unique to virtually everything else. Of course, there's always room for appropriate market-specific differences.

Well, we got our wish. Or so we thought. Prior to Power 106.1, a Hip-Hop format, being introduced, there was a stunt that gave the impression a new format, a Soft AC with “The Dove” branding was born. There were jingles and sweepers and the music was very much just like one would find on The Dove, back in the day.It also looked liked the company spent some money on this. It certainly sounded like the real thing.

I tried to make sense of it all because this was broadcast via translator with WJGL-FM as the parent station. Certainly, any type of AC format deserved a better signal if it was to play in a strategy such as peeling off older listeners from AC WEJZ. So, I rationalized that “they” were testing the waters and perhaps in time The Dove would land on a better signal.

That never happened. A smart poster figured out it was a continuous loop as the same songs in the same order played on and on. It wasn’t too long after that discovery and postings on the board that the stunt ended and another Urban format was born.

There were many lessons I learned from that experience. One was that bias and insecurity truly does exist in some radio people. Say or think as you will, but I got the impression this stunt was all designed as retaliation to all the negative commentary about CMG & pushing an AC format on the former North Florida board.

It was about the only thing that made sense. I also asked the question, “Would CMG have stunted using what appeared to be a real Hip-Hop format only to discard it a week later?” Fans of that kind of music who discovered the station would have been pissed off if suddenly soft hits played instead. Well, some of us were in our right to be pissed off too.

I’d think senior management would have needed to sign off on this kind of stunt. While the local management may have lacked integrity, what does it say about the higher ups? It just wasn’t the right thing to do. You may disagree but they should have just flipped and been done with it or engage in an obvious stunt.

When we live through events, we may not see the forest for the trees. It’s only when we can reflect to past events and probe to see if decisions truly made sense or were logical.

In that light, we’ll discuss a kind of delay tactic stunting. I’d also like to swing back to The Treasure Coast for an honorable mention or two.

 

[K.M. Richards]

It was about the only thing that made sense. I also asked the question, “Would CMG have stunted using what appeared to be a real Hip-Hop format only to discard it a week later?” Fans of that kind of music who discovered the station would have been pissed off if suddenly soft hits played instead. Well, some of us were in our right to be pissed off too.

Often, the stunt is specifically designed to blow off the existing audience so as to start fresh. Better to get all of the disgruntledness of the old listeners out of the way before the launch than to have to deal with them while building the new audience.

Here are a few things I have done as stunts:

• An electronic "tick-tock" sound effect 24/7, punctuated with acapella jingles every couple of minutes with the station's frequency preceded by a different letter of the alphabet (I have a lot of these in one of the promo production libraries I have licensed for my use on any station I program or consult), so "B107" might be followed two minutes later by "Q107" and then by "Z107" and "Q107". Nobody can guess what you're going to really do from that.
• A one hour loop of Weird Al Yankovic novelty covers of recognizable hit songs.
• A 24-hour marathon of Casey Kasem's various Christmas specials, with the blessings of Premiere Radio Networks (who agreed with me that it was also a good way to promote the classic AT40 broadcasts on one of our sister stations).

There are probably as many possibilities for stunting as there are PDs.

 

[John FL]

Often, the stunt is specifically designed to blow off the existing audience so as to start fresh. Better to get all of the disgruntledness of the old listeners out of the way before the launch than to have to deal with them while building the new audience.


There are probably as many possibilities for stunting as there are PDs.

Oh yes, we do see blowing off one audience while attracting another. As far as the many possibilities of stunting goes, there's a lot of forms of it that I'm discussing here. In this segment, it's just the tip of the iceberg.

There’s this other realm that exists that’s not exactly stunting. It can be very Twilight-Zonish. Again, being that proverbial fly on the wall, I can only wish I was able to hear the reasoning given about a format’s future. The reality is it takes time and consensus to make format changes. Funding needs to happen as well.

What I have noticed is that there are events that happen way prior to an actual flip. Promotional dollars will dry up, maybe not entirely but significantly. The music programming gets rather stale. If there was any talent, they disappear. I don’t know if radio has a term for any of this, but I called it “benign neglect.”

I’ve also called it “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” where the format enters some kind of alternative universe or dreamlike state. It can be quite surreal but it’s also revealing when you can clearly see what formats are given the opportunity to succeed and others little to no support.

I’ve also seen some illogical song choices made to the playlist. And sometimes, maybe just a fluke, but ratings can begin trending up a bit. And then bam, the format is gone really quick.

Not all stations in a typical cluster can have the best signal. And while I understand why allocating a lion’s share of promotional dollars to a format that’s not on a full-market signal wouldn’t be prudent, we also shouldn’t be surprised that if the format is not supported at all, we shouldn’t be surprised that it fails.

There are those stations/formats that become the darling of the cluster. I’ve also seen sales teams concentrate their efforts on those stations and not always on the one(s) the prospective client has interest in spending $$ for their marketing campaign.

When it comes to underhanded behavior, a lot has to do with who sits at the helm. I truly believe radio management is not all bad, there’s just some bad apples in the barrel. This exists everywhere.

I never thought about it in this way, but stunting can also give appearances that recent programing changes or even tweaks is the new and improved format. Add Christmas music into the mix and it can muddy the waters even more. In the end, it’s still stunting.

That and more to come.

 

[ted chittenden]

We continue...

Long time WPTV Channel 5 Meteorologist, 27 years to be exact, Steve Weagle, left the station on Friday to begin retirement. But before leaving, he visited “friends,” Mo & Sally of West Palm’s AC WOLL. It got me thinking about the relationship radio and television have with each other. I also thought of their differences.

Mo & Sally’s long-tenure in the market has paid dividends. They also have a VT’d morning show here on The Treasure Coast on Classic Hits WQOL. There’s a wide variety of celebrities, politicians, and those in the news who have wound up on the air with the married couple. They just know a lot of people personally. Obviously too with this being a hurricane-prone area, radio has on many occasions aired TV news broadcasts.

Not all long-term radio personalities are given an opportunity to say goodbye to their listeners. Some are given their due. One I distinctly recall is when the late Rick Shaw was given a very nice send-off at Miami-Ft.Lauderdale’s WMXJ. For those not familiar with Rick, he was a powerhouse in AM hit radio days from Beatlemania to overseeing a very successful FM oldies/unique type AC format for many years.

There are those, like me, who find radio lacks warmth and compassion overall. A lot depends on the local management. There are inconsistencies with the same company from market-to-market. Personal ambitions can also get in the way of doing the right thing for both the listeners and the advertisers. To me, the best way to get noticed and advance in the company is to work hard, be a team player, be respected by all the employees, and develop a track record of winning. And most importantly, achieving success via professionalism.

I’ve long considered those who work in radio to be in a noble profession. In my time in Jacksonville, I learned of a term known as “Guerilla Warfare.” CMG decided to attack iHeart’s “Planet Radio” with a lot of derogatory comments about their jocks, the music, the number of commercials…you name it. CMG introduced another alternative format to the market which wasn’t needed. Planet Radio performed well in the ratings up until the attack.

To cut to the chase, Planet Radio wound up exiting. It’s returned some years ago now. So it was all for naught. And in time, with no surprise, CMG’s X102.9 began descending in the ratings. Alternative formats tend to have a young but rather limited number of listeners. Today, it broadcasts from a translator. To bring all that chaos and disruption to the market for a format that's now on a translator did bring something else – lots of stories in the radio trades about how CMG “won the battle.” Apparently, that’s the bottom line for some. You can work on your next job in a bigger market, but take the high road – always.

Bad mouthing a competitor on the air is nothing new. I’ve seen it in radio talk shows. Cable News badmouths someone on another network all the time. It’s kind of business as usual. And yes, viewers and listeners seem fine with it. Still, if I were a GM overseeing a radio cluster, I wouldn’t allow talking about others in the business or competing radio stations in a negative way.

Mo & Sally don’t do that sort of thing, and it’s given them access to a lot of very influential people in the market. It makes for interesting radio listening as well. IMO, that’s a key element to long-term success. I also have to smile. Some of you may remember my past posts about bringing Mo & Sally to Jacksonville when iHeart/Clear Channel brought Classic Hits WJGH to market. The format remained jockless for a few months which proved costly. Even though Jax listeners didn't know them, I felt they would have caught on pretty quickly. It would have been economically feasible too so as much is a repeat of the previous days' broadcast. I know a winner when I hear it.

Next: Stunting incognito.

While I agree with your sentiments on professionalism, I must add that I know a lot of people who don't. And there are some radio stations who bash their format competitors over the head and gain a lot of short-term success. (Your comments on CMG vs. IHeart's "Planet" certainly prove this.) Sadly, this turn of events can be seen in a lot of ways outside of media, especially in today's politics (which is where I think it got started in the first place and which is where I am ending this response).

 

[John FL]

While I agree with your sentiments on professionalism, I must add that I know a lot of people who don't. And there are some radio stations who bash their format competitors over the head and gain a lot of short-term success. (Your comments on CMG vs. IHeart's "Planet" certainly prove this.) Sadly, this turn of events can be seen in a lot of ways outside of media, especially in today's politics (which is where I think it got started in the first place and which is where I am ending this response).

Let me digress a bit so y'all can understand where I'm coming from.

There was a time I wanted to be a political reporter. In fact I wound up being a political science minor in college. Funny how you can come full circle. Today, I can't stomach any of it. As social media grew along with cable news, my interest in politics declined proportionately.

There were several big influences on my life. One was my senior year high school English teacher. I joined the debate club because I thought as a journalist, I needed to be able to articulate news stories and events etc. Like yesterday, I remember some of her pointers. There was to be no mouth-mouthing, finger-pointing, hyperbole, calling your worthy opponent names - stuff like that. She reminded us to come prepared and know your facts to win the argument.

That kind of guidance is so far from reality. "Miss Mahoney" taught us the importance of professionalism and decency but we didn't always make the connection when we were still wet behind the ears.

As far as radio goes, I was too young to have known or understand about all those payola scandals. There were people like Rick Sklar and many others that I would come to recognize who went out of their way to always take the high road.

And yes, I agree to your point that bashing other radio stations can bring success, short-term perhaps as you say. There are those who will do what they do. But what excites me the most are those who bring and find success without being a prick. Most do take that high road.

 

[John FL]

On the subject of stunts and flips, I had planned on talking about specific and actual events. But I have done that time after time. Obviously, there are radio decisions that have made lasting impressions on me. Unfortunately, most soured my disposition toward the business of radio. My recounting of a lot of these events have probably bored most of you as well as evidence by the obvious lack of interest in this string.

Not in all markets, but in certain places I tended to disagree with virtually all decisions made. It can make you wonder if it's being out of touch. I've long been
an advocate of fairness and decency. I once witnessed the business decision of firing virtually all of a stations' airteam on Christmas Day to make room for a new format. That should never have happened or happen again. Why do something like that? Well, it gets attention. And just like weird or dangerous promotions or stunts that prove to mean-spirited, I don't believe they have a place in radio. But there are those who get recognized as a result. And there just may be desired results too.

Many years ago I listed a personal email address in the signature section here. There were some interesting folks who corresponded with me as a result. Several were from the former Clear Channel. They are retired from radio now but I learned a lot. There was lots of inside stuff I never divulged here. It's just how I operate. In my own profession I came across many self-centered and disingenuous people too. Happily, that's not the norm.

Yes, there are things that are not what they appear to be, especially when it's actual stunting and not tweaked programming that's coming over the speakers.
I'll spare those details but let's just say I was proven right about certain outcomes. Oh, I've been fooled on occasion. But most times when I feel something doesn't sound right or it's illlogical, it usually means an ulterior motive is at play.

Closer to home, on The Treasure Coast, there's an individual I'd like to acknowledge in the next/last post. What new ownership brings to the market remains to be seen. How they conduct themselves will say a lot about them and the state of radio here.

 

[John FL]

In all the times I've traveled through The Treasure Coast, I always listened to 103.7 which for a very long time was an oldies station. This is WQOL and it's been an amazing process to see the station evolve to what it is today. As we see with many radio stations today, especially in smaller markets, the songs we hear on the air are all part of an in-house service. In this case, it's Premium Choice.

They say timing is everything. Unfortunately there were radio stations that carried premium choice programming as required. I knew of one station in Jacksonville (Classic Hits) that did. Part of the day was programmed by the local PD and other dayparts and every other weekend (bizarre) featured Premium Choice programming which was just so-so. It caused uneven programming. The jocks weren't that good either. With diminished employment opportunities, you'd think we'd be hearing the very best.

Much has been a big learning experience. But what is certainly true is there's a lot that hinges on the local management. It probably explains why WQOL has survived and given every opportunity to succeed and its once sister station in Jacksonville wasn't as lucky.

iHeart is the big owner operator on The Treasure Coast. Their biggest competitor is a mom & pop 5 station cluster run by Treasure/Space Coast Radio. As we all know, a new owner will eventually take the reins. I also think a lot of The Treasure Coast's proximity to the larger markets just to our south. West Palm Beach and even Miami/Ft. Lauderdale.

Radio veterans who have a love of radio experience and a great track record can find opportunity being a big fish in a small pond. There comes a time, especially if there's retirement income, little else to prove, and the person managed to save $$, that there would be willingness to work once again in a much smaller market for a lot less $$. That's my personal wish that those who have impressive resumes but who either walked away when the big company took over or who were downsized but would love another opportunity.

There's one thing in our favor. The cost of living, maintaining a home etc. in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale & The Palm Beaches is a lot more expensive than The Treasure Coast. And so, with a new owner on the horizon, perhaps a big name or two can find a place here doing what they love.

There's a current radio veteran here on The Treasure Coast. His name is Hamp Elliott and he's the current AM drive host and PD at WOSN, 97.1 Ocean FM, a station we discuss often here. Whether he remains or not with a new owner is either his choice or the new owner/management. He's been a morning show fixture for over 50 years. There's probably a lot of stories he can tell. Anyway, in a business that has a lot of revolving doors, he's had staying power.

There's another talent at Treasure/Space Coast Radio by the name of Bob Soos who has another very long radio career including managing radio stations in Key West and spending 20 years in Daytona Beach. When you love what you do, it can make work very enjoyable. Perhaps it's a major benefit in working in a small company. Your odds at surviving may be better.

In the end, I especially gravitate to radio people, real radio people who love the medium. I've experienced what bad players can do to radio stations they've managed. That negatively affects the entire market itself. And it takes a long time to recover from bad mistakes of the past.

I tend to have optimistic tendencies and so, at this point, I'll take the position that radio here has no where else to go but up! Thanks for listening.