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Anyone want to be a Fisherman?

J

JohnnyMorganWXJX

Guest
WFHM, The Fish, Salem's pseudo-secular "non-offensive music" station, is looking for a Morning Show co-host. That's interesting because Robin Swoboda and Len Houser are well-established there.

Oh well, here's the announcement

The details:

Salem Communications in Cleveland, Ohio has a rare opening for a morning show co-host for our Christian AC. We’re seeking a creative self-motivated professional with a great sense of humor. Must have the ability to connect with the audience and work in an entertainment-driven team environment. Previous on-air experience a plus. Audition demo (tape, CD or MP3 file) with resumes to WFHM 95.5 The Fish 4 Summit Park Drive, Suite 150, Independence, Ohio 44131. Attention: Sue Wilson. MP3 to [email protected] . No phone calls.


Who's leaving--Robin or Len? If it's Robin, that would make, what, 800 stations she's up and packed from, both TV and radio?

Or are they going with the new trend I like to call "too many people in the studio"?
 
If I wanted to fish, I'd get my Zebco, climb aboard the Jet and go to Put-In-Bay<P ID="signature">______________
Henry Aaron hit 755 career home runs. How many of these were of the "inside the park" variety ?</P>
 
> I'm too busy catchin' Trout on weekday afternoons.
>
> Sorry....couldn't resist.
>

"Today's Hottest Music, Hot 101, John Trout, you're catchin' Trout on a late afternoon Wednesday"

Will he ever stop using that? I doubt it.
 
As if we need Trout to tell us what day it is.

> > I'm too busy catchin' Trout on weekday afternoons.
> >
> > Sorry....couldn't resist.
> >
>
> "Today's Hottest Music, Hot 101, John Trout, you're catchin'
> Trout on a late afternoon Wednesday"
>
> Will he ever stop using that? I doubt it.
>
 
"Previous on-air experience a plus"...wouldn't you think a morning show in a top 25 market would DEFINATELY want someone with experience? Maybe not if all you're lookin' for is a comedian perhaps...
Say what you will about the format...It may not be your cup of tea, but it probably pays fairly well and it would be great large market experience/exposure. Are they still running those commercials featuring Swoboda and Houser?


WFHM, The Fish, Salem's pseudo-secular "non-offensive music"
> station, is looking for a Morning Show co-host. That's
> interesting because Robin Swoboda and Len Houser are
> well-established there.
>
> Oh well, here's the announcement
>
> The details:
>
> Salem Communications in Cleveland, Ohio has a rare opening
> for a morning show co-host for our Christian AC. We’re
> seeking a creative self-motivated professional with a great
> sense of humor. Must have the ability to connect with the
> audience and work in an entertainment-driven team
> environment. Previous on-air experience a plus. Audition
> demo (tape, CD or MP3 file) with resumes to WFHM 95.5 The
> Fish 4 Summit Park Drive, Suite 150, Independence, Ohio
> 44131. Attention: Sue Wilson. MP3 to
> [email protected] . No phone calls.
>
>
> Who's leaving--Robin or Len? If it's Robin, that would
> make, what, 800 stations she's up and packed from, both TV
> and radio?
>
> Or are they going with the new trend I like to call "too
> many people in the studio"?
>
 
> "Previous on-air experience a plus"...wouldn't you think a
> morning show in a top 25 market would DEFINATELY want
> someone with experience? Maybe not if all you're lookin'
> for is a comedian perhaps...
> Say what you will about the format...It may not be your cup
> of tea, but it probably pays fairly well and it would be
> great large market experience/exposure. Are they still
> running those commercials featuring Swoboda and Houser?

Great large market experience I'll agree with, yes.

But Salem "pay[ing] fairly well"? Hardly. It's the cheapest operation I've ever seen; they have less than 12 full-time local on-air staff, between 4 stations. The reason is not lack of quality--it's because they're cheap. They farm out news updates and sports updates to Metro--even sports updates ON THE SPORTS STATION!

For God's sake, they have the PD doing imaging and production!

So, in that respect, they probably don't pay well.

If given to me, however, I'd take the job. AM drive is AM drive--but I'd demand a billboard on the bridge. :)
 
Don't Get Me Started..

"Today's Hottest Music, Hot 101, John Trout, you're catchin' Trout on a late afternoon Wednesday"


Or worse yet, "Today's Hottest Music, Hot 101, 4:39, you're catchin' Trout on a late afternoon Wednesday..."

So not only does he use an annoying crutch phrase... not only does he do a time-check on a CHR (which is totally unnecessary).... not only does he tell us that it's a late afternoon [fill in the day of the week here]... But he reminds us of it all in one joyous phrase!

(Did ya note the dripping use of sarcasm?)

<P ID="signature">______________
Aaron Tyler
Afternoons / MD
WVZA / Marion - Carbondale, IL
www.kissfm927.com

Weekends / Swing
KSLZ / St. Louis
WAKZ / Youngstown, OH
</P>
 
Re: Don't Get Me Started..

Another reason why Trout and his station get spanked by WAKZ in the key 18-34 demo. They are totally unrelatable to the audience they attepmt to serve and entertain.

What complete and total wastes of breaks below. He would be better off not even cracking the mic at all.

It's 2005, not 1975. Bossjocking it in CHR doesn't cut it anymore, I don't care what market it is.


> "Today's Hottest Music, Hot 101, John Trout, you're catchin'
> Trout on a late afternoon Wednesday"
>
>
> Or worse yet, "Today's Hottest Music, Hot 101, 4:39, you're
> catchin' Trout on a late afternoon Wednesday..."
>
> So not only does he use an annoying crutch phrase... not
> only does he do a time-check on a CHR (which is totally
> unnecessary).... not only does he tell us that it's a late
> afternoon [fill in the day of the week here]... But he
> reminds us of it all in one joyous phrase!
>
> (Did ya note the dripping use of sarcasm?)
>
 
Not that familiar with Salem...know who they are and what they're about but never met anyone who worked for them. I thought perhaps their frugality applied only to the bastard-child sports station. Some companies have been known to give certain stations in their cluster "preferential treatment" to say the least. Really is too bad. Some people would give just about anything to get their hands on that station.


> > "Previous on-air experience a plus"...wouldn't you think a
>
> > morning show in a top 25 market would DEFINATELY want
> > someone with experience? Maybe not if all you're lookin'
> > for is a comedian perhaps...
> > Say what you will about the format...It may not be your
> cup
> > of tea, but it probably pays fairly well and it would be
> > great large market experience/exposure. Are they still
> > running those commercials featuring Swoboda and Houser?
>
> Great large market experience I'll agree with, yes.
>
> But Salem "pay[ing] fairly well"? Hardly. It's the
> cheapest operation I've ever seen; they have less than 12
> full-time local on-air staff, between 4 stations. The
> reason is not lack of quality--it's because they're cheap.
> They farm out news updates and sports updates to Metro--even
> sports updates ON THE SPORTS STATION!
>
> For God's sake, they have the PD doing imaging and
> production!
>
> So, in that respect, they probably don't pay well.
>
> If given to me, however, I'd take the job. AM drive is AM
> drive--but I'd demand a billboard on the bridge. :)
>
 
Johnny Morgan wrote:
"For God's sake, they have the PD doing imaging and production!"

That's not a correct statement.

Sue Wilson is the PD at The Fish and she also does freelance imaging, which the station used for a time. Production is handled by the Production Director.

As far as cheap. Pay is fare and based on experience, talent, and what the market will bear.


Johnny Morgan wrote:
"If given to me, however, I'd take the job."

I don't know, but if it were my call to hire someone, I doubt that I would choose someone who spent their energy slamming the station on a public board.


It's a top notch station with an amazing team and an excellent PD. Anyone who stepped into the chair would be glad they did.


-Elizabeth
<P ID="signature">______________
RADIOELIZABETH
Pleasant, Passionate, Persuasive
www.radioelizabeth.com</P>
 
> Johnny Morgan wrote:
> "For God's sake, they have the PD doing imaging and
> production!"
>
> That's not a correct statement.
>
> Sue Wilson is the PD at The Fish and she also does freelance
> imaging. Production is handled by the Production Director.

I was referring to the WKNR PD "Mad Mike" Luczak, who most assuredly DOES do the imaging for the sports talk station in town...and does it badly.

> As far as cheap. Pay is fare and based on experience,
> talent, and what the market will bear.

I wasn't referring to pay when I said "cheap"--I was referring to the Salem operation in general. It's a low-quality operation all around.

And the "market" is in a sorry shape, compared to what it was just a few years ago. Clear Channel, e.g., is paying AM show producer, voicetracked overnight talent, and production voice (all one package, all one person) less than $35,000. So there's your market.

> Johnny Morgan wrote:
> "If given to me, however, I'd take the job."
>
> I don't know, but if it were my call to hire someone, I
> doubt that I would choose someone who spent their energy
> slamming the station on a public board.

Who's slamming The Fish? I'm slamming the Salem Communications operation as a whole. I'm sure the Fish itself is a fine station.

It's a moot point because I'm not applying.

Also, just for my curiosity, how often has the interview question come up: "Have you ever slammed this station and/or its owners, management, and imaging voices on a public radio board? If so, what's your screenname?"

> It's a top notch station with an amazing team and an
> excellent PD. Anyone who stepped into the chair would be
> glad they did.

No argument that Sue Wilson is an excellent PD--she was a driving force behind WDOK, before they unceremoniously canned her. Big mistake, in my opinion.

And, again, I'm sure the Fish is a wonderful station, with nice people, etc. But I expect more from my owners than what Salem offers to the Cleveland radio smorgasbord. They have 4 stations, and only have decent offers coming from one and a half (the Fish and 1220, sometimes). The others are wasted. But that's Salem's operation.
 
> Who's slamming The Fish? I'm slamming the Salem
> Communications operation as a whole. I'm sure the Fish
> itself is a fine station.

While I've certainly had my thoughts about how Salem runs its sports station, and even its secular talk station, the Fish is actually the shining jewel of that operation. And you can't argue with the talent and experience Sue Wilson brings to the table.

I'm not a CCM listener, so I don't catch much of them, but they're certainly pros there.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
> And the "market" is in a sorry shape, compared to what it
> was just a few years ago. Clear Channel, e.g., is paying AM
> show producer, voicetracked overnight talent, and production
> voice (all one package, all one person) less than $35,000.
> So there's your market.


Some months ago, a certain programming official sent a feeler out to a friend of mine, who is a 20-year vet in Cleveland. He was offered a major station mid day shift including a sixth weekend day, with two additional daily voicetracks for outside market stations. The total package offer was $30K.

Another major station offered him a 6-hour, once-a-week weekend night show for
$100 flat.

No wonder the dial is filled with grade-Z generics and/or people who sound like they are right out of high school. I heard a traffic report the other day done by a guy who sounded like he was 14 years old! I thought it was a girl until he gave his name.

Pathetic.
 
On WKNR's imaging, and Sue Wilson...

(on imaging within the Salem stations...)
> I was referring to the WKNR PD "Mad Mike" Luczak, who most
> assuredly DOES do the imaging for the sports talk station in
> town...and does it badly.

WKNR is the worst imaged station in the entire cluster. For God's sake (ha!) WHKW/1220 has at least a *professional* imaging voice! WHK even replaced Dan Deely with, IIRC, one of their nationaly-based image voices.

The only reason WKNR has Luczak AS the image voice is because he's cheap. (Hell, he's also WHK's PD!) Luczak replaced a nationally-based imaging voice that was used since 1998. To boot, it sounds as if HE writes the show liners now, and he, well, take a look at the following, which he HAS read on ol' 850:

"Welcome to another live talk show on The Voice of the Fan, Sports Talk 850 WKNR - where we always talk sports. Always. Kenny Roda is heard afternoons from 3 to 7 on WKNR. Now, coming off the bench is WKNR's Bob Karlovec."

"Sports Talk 850 WKNR: Now, here's Broadcast Hall-of-fame Inductee Greg Brinda."

"Back to Jim Rome on WKNR in a minute."

"Welcome to the WKNR Saturday Morning Sports. Now, here's WKNR's Mike Catan and Josh Sabo."

"When you want news, tune to News Talk 1420 WHK at the top and bottom of each hour. News Talk 1420 WHK - where you opinion counts." (said very quickly and sloppily)

And my favorite:
"The comments and opinions heard on this program are not necessarily those of the staff and management of WKNR or Salem Communications. They MAY be, but then again, they may not."

I really feel sorry for WKNR's production director Steve Dole, no? He's been at WKNR since the beginning. He tries his best, but the enviroment around him is pure crap. And Luczak doesn't help.

> > (The Fish is) a top notch station with an amazing team and an
> > excellent PD. Anyone who stepped into the chair would be
> > glad they did.
>
> No argument that Sue Wilson is an excellent PD--she was a
> driving force behind WDOK, before they unceremoniously
> canned her. Big mistake, in my opinion.
>

Wasn't Sue Wilson a co-owner of WDOK and WRMR/850? (as in the Embrescia, Wilson and Pollock group...) Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought she left after the group sold out to Chancellor/AMFM.

Oh, well. WDOK has done nicely with Dave Popovich, then Scott Miller - who hasn't disturbed the Popovich formula ONE bit over the past four years...

> And, again, I'm sure the Fish is a wonderful station, with
> nice people, etc. But I expect more from my owners than
> what Salem offers to the Cleveland radio smorgasbord. They
> have 4 stations, and only have decent offers coming from one
> and a half (the Fish and 1220, sometimes). The others are
> wasted. But that's Salem's operation.

Not only that, but two of the AMer's are very powerful stations in WHKW (50KW fulltime) and WKNR (50KW daytime). "Wasted" is probably the nice way of putting how Salem handles things aside from The Fish. The real word I'd use isn't fit for this website.

In fact, I'll say this: Salem is more likely, IMHO, to sell off WHK instead of WKNR, as we've speculated - and rightfully so - for the longest time. But Salem would move the conservatalk over to WKNR in the process.

- nate81<P ID="signature">______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative
Student Senate
Lorain County Community College, Elyria, Ohio

LCCC Radio - The Duck</P>
 
Re: On WKNR's imaging, and Sue Wilson...

1220/WHK's voice is Mike Urben. I worked with Mike for 5 years at the Clear Channel Raleigh-Durham cluster. He freelances quite a bit. He's now the voice of many Salem NT stations. Mike is an incredible voice actor and a great guy.<P ID="signature">______________
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.</P>
 
> > >
> If given to me, however, I'd take the job. AM drive is AM
> drive--but I'd demand a billboard on the bridge. :)

Robin actually did get a ''billboard'' all to herself...on the Dasher Boards at Barons Hockey games at the Gund..Center Ice Redline to boot :)
>
 
> Or are they going with the new trend I like to call "too
> many people in the studio"?
>

Maybe the "Fish Morning Zoo"??? or maybe more appropriately the "Morning Aquarium"?
 
> Or are they going with the new trend I like to call "too
> many people in the studio"?


Radios return to being fully staffed? Enough people to be live 24/7, except that they put them all on in the morning and VT the rest of the day!!!!!!!!

As Moe would say...... "SPREAD OUT"!!!!
>
 
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