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ARN - News Network

A

azenergyfan

Guest
Over the past few months ARN has expanded from one three hour block to four three hour blocks. They now fill the day between

6-9 am PST 9-12 pm EST
9-12pm PST 12-3pm EST
12-3pm PSt 3-6 pm EST
3-6pm PST 6-9pm EST

Plus stations have the Americas Morning News show from
3-6am PST 6-9am EST

This is 15 outof 24 hrs a day of news.

I have read stations are picking up news as the new "IN" thing as people just want the news and don't want to hear all the back and forth yackity yack on what the president is or is not doing.

What does everyone think about this new trend and having a almost 24 hr news network.
 
To me, the biggest obstacle to this is one of the most important parts of keeping any radio station relevant: being local.

To simply have news on most of the day from a satellite won't guarantee you'll become a great biller like WTOP/Washington. The best news stations are the best due to content, most of it hyper-local. Heavy emphasis on traffic and weather, for example.

Stations have tried to use satellite news networks as formats for decades (Business Radio Network, CNN Headline News audio on radio), and have failed. That's because most of them don't have the resources (or have them and don't dedicate them) to provide the staffing and equipment needed to cover the most important news, and that is what's going on in their own communities.

Thus, you're left with national headlines, stories and interviews, when, all the while, there's severe weather brewing and since no one is in the building the only way your listeners will know is when the EAS system goes off. If it's working. :( And then the important information will be given to your listeners by that king of all radio personalities, the EAS-generated computer voice.

And we wonder why radio is deemed irrelevant by so many under 35......
 
azenergyfan said:
This is 15 outof 24 hrs a day of news.

I have read stations are picking up news as the new "IN" thing as people just want the news and don't want to hear all the back and forth yackity yack on what the president is or is not doing.

What does everyone think about this new trend and having a almost 24 hr news network.
Click to expand...

I've got NEWS for you -- ARN IS the same as the "back and forth yackity yak", just without the yaking. ARN is delivered from the same worldview as conservative talk radio. It has no actual reporters and gets all its sound bites from cable TV, unlike genuine all-news radio in the WTOP/WCBS/WINS mode. Its story count is low because it spends too much time on interviews -- mostly of "experts" from the Heritage Foundation, the Washington Times, and Fox News -- all right-wing sources that talk radio often relies upon. Its story selection smacks of a right-wing bias -- as in its "story" of a Republican congressman smacking down an MSNBC anchor who didn't get his resume right. Who would care about that "story" other than a conservative who wanted to see MSNBC embarrassed for having a more liberal tilt than Fox News? ARN is just conservative talk radio carried on by other means. The naive and airy take of the original poster leads one to suspect that he may be a troll/shill for the ARN syndicator.
 
The ARN production sounds like it was cheaply produced in 1976. The echo/flanging and over compression is a by product of CHEEZY car ads and is featured prominently on the ARN. I don't think you will hear any insighful nooz there. It lives up to its name... All CRAP all the time for the GOP (grump old people).
 
I agree the network covers too few stories and there are far too many interviews. I love the concept if you give me 15 minutes I will give you the world. The interviews ought to be with their reporters (which don't seem to have).

I also agree the production value of the network sounds like something from the 70's.
I believe that for this format to be a viable one the stations must have as much local content as possible. This means a local morning show and perhaps a one hour afternoon drive local show.
Even when the network is on you must be hitting hard with the local news segments, traffic and weather.

I am also interested what do you do with the format on the weekends. I have used the week ends to bring in added revenue and cross promote my weekly programming. I need more than brokered shows or putting on Sporting News Radio or FOX Sports. to accomplish this. You have to put on some solid week ends so there is an audience if you have a paid remoter so there is a good chance that the client will get something out of buying the time.

What are your thoughts?
 
smedge2006 said:
...ARN is just conservative talk radio carried on by other means. The naive and airy take of the original poster leads one to suspect that he may be a troll/shill for the ARN syndicator.
Click to expand...

azenergyfan
Posts: 1241

Had this poster had, say, about 1,240 less posts on his post count, I might buy your theory, Smedge.
 
You're right, a good local news presence is essential. ARN also allows you to take the entire last quarter hour of every hour for local content.

As far as weekends are concerned, sports is one good alternative. But some news presence on the week-end would be important. And all the sports networks have two minutes of sports headlines at :00, :20: and :40. That doesn't even leave room for five minutes of news at the top and bottom of the hour.

ARN is planning to add still another three hour block from nine to midnight. I think they'd be better served by a couple of blocks on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Check out the programming on WWBA Tampa and WVIE Baltimore.

They're a new network entering a challenging field. Hopefully their production and delivery will improve as time goes by. I remember when NBC radio entered the all news format. They made a lot of mistakes. I think ARN is doing better.

They aren't WCBS, WINS, WBBM or WTOP. But those stations have huge budgets that just aren't possible outside top five or top ten markets. At least ARN makes it possible for stations in markets where most Americans live to do all news.
 
and ARN can give America a squewed right wing (wait i'm being redundant) slant on news which the powers that be love !
 
ARN is definitely poorly produced. But my biggest issue with ARN is that they provide far too much content for a station to succeed in all-news: even if an affiliate just pumps in Metro Networks every 10 minutes and has weather from a local TV meterologist: 16 minutes of local content per hour (including local ads) is NOT enough local content to serve the market well. I have nothing against the ARN concept, in fact I think it's a great idea - even with a conservative bias in some markets - I just think it's poorly executed.
 
When I hearit it is on a low rated station or on late night or on weekends. One person with a computer and a TV and shortwave radio could do the same quality. Allowing forthe local content is a good idea.
 
ARNN was picked up this week by WMNY-1360 in the Pittsburgh market (McKeesport). It previously was heard only in morning drive from WAVL-910 east of the city (Apollo).

WMNY retained an afternoon-drive local bartered business-talk show. It actually cut from two hours to one its simulcast of the morning-drive WTAE-4 news to pick up ARNN's morning-drive show.

Biggest problem with ARNN to me: Too much happy talk. Their anchors sounded like they were smiling while reporting a double-murder.

Interestingly enough, WMNY cuts out the first five minutes of ARNN each hour for CNN News. WAVL is an ABC affiliate.
 
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