J
jimerrico
Guest
The backlash against Infinity for killing Oldies in NYC and Chicago is truly unprecedented. Petitions are being passed in NYC and New York Radio Message Board webmaster Allan Sniffen has now compiled over thirteen pages of messages protesting the death of WCBS-FM after 31 years of serving the New York market with oldies.
Over here at Radio-Info, there are nearly three pages of messages on the death of WJMK, and I venture to guess the majority of those are negative. WJMK served Chicago for 21 years at 104.3, and for the most part the station`s ratings were always above average and listenership remained loyal.
What did you get for that loyalty? As expected from Corporate America, a kick in the face. As a reward for all those years of listening, here`s a lousy little Internet stream that will only work if you have Broadband. If you`re stuck on a dial-up, forget your fix of oldies. Instead of broadcasting to tens of thousands, Fred Winston will have to make due with about a hundred, if that.
I can`t recall how many times I`ve stressed over the years on these boards that commercial radio has a death wish. They don`t see it as such because they`re so blinded by their arrogance and their rush to be first with whatever half-assed format idea the genuises have grabbed on to save their sorry fortunes. Since everyone likes the Internet and I-PODS, let`s give them more "variety," let`s say "we`ll play whatever we want," even though, in reality, we`re just giving them more of the same watered-down dreck, this time from a different twenty-five year time span than before and with a slightly larger playlist. Now it will take thirty hours before you hear All She Wants to Do is Dance or She Works Hard for the Money repeated. And, as an added bonus, we`ll take away all the personalities, all the legendary voices we`ve heard for a large part of our lives and replace them with smart-aleck bumpers and sweepers declaring how "JACK" is the coolest thing in radio, when it`s only the latest vehicle designed to fail.
I wish I could say the petitions and postings will work and the corporate suits will see the error of their ways, but I have very little hope. As for those of you who enjoyed the oldies of 104.3, you unwittingly committed the moral sin of aging. Ad agencies do not want to deal with people over 50, once you hit that magic signpost, the only thing you`re a candidate for is Medicare and a nursing home. They`ve deemed us to be "irrelevant," and not worth the effort. Consequently, they`ll offer us an Internet stream and the promise of a grand HD Radio receiver somewhere down the line and, don`t forget, AM1690, WRLL. Don`t you love the dial position of Chicago`s only remaining oldies station? It`s almost like it`s an afterthought, which I assure you, it is. It`s a daytime station and when winter arrives the station becomes a non-entity after 5PM in the evening or before 7AM in the morning.
Hopefully, some fully-signalled downtown stick will come along to serve all the disenfranchised oldies listeners, but it has yet to occur in the other markets where Infinity has pulled the plug on oldies. It would be nice to be proven wrong.
Over here at Radio-Info, there are nearly three pages of messages on the death of WJMK, and I venture to guess the majority of those are negative. WJMK served Chicago for 21 years at 104.3, and for the most part the station`s ratings were always above average and listenership remained loyal.
What did you get for that loyalty? As expected from Corporate America, a kick in the face. As a reward for all those years of listening, here`s a lousy little Internet stream that will only work if you have Broadband. If you`re stuck on a dial-up, forget your fix of oldies. Instead of broadcasting to tens of thousands, Fred Winston will have to make due with about a hundred, if that.
I can`t recall how many times I`ve stressed over the years on these boards that commercial radio has a death wish. They don`t see it as such because they`re so blinded by their arrogance and their rush to be first with whatever half-assed format idea the genuises have grabbed on to save their sorry fortunes. Since everyone likes the Internet and I-PODS, let`s give them more "variety," let`s say "we`ll play whatever we want," even though, in reality, we`re just giving them more of the same watered-down dreck, this time from a different twenty-five year time span than before and with a slightly larger playlist. Now it will take thirty hours before you hear All She Wants to Do is Dance or She Works Hard for the Money repeated. And, as an added bonus, we`ll take away all the personalities, all the legendary voices we`ve heard for a large part of our lives and replace them with smart-aleck bumpers and sweepers declaring how "JACK" is the coolest thing in radio, when it`s only the latest vehicle designed to fail.
I wish I could say the petitions and postings will work and the corporate suits will see the error of their ways, but I have very little hope. As for those of you who enjoyed the oldies of 104.3, you unwittingly committed the moral sin of aging. Ad agencies do not want to deal with people over 50, once you hit that magic signpost, the only thing you`re a candidate for is Medicare and a nursing home. They`ve deemed us to be "irrelevant," and not worth the effort. Consequently, they`ll offer us an Internet stream and the promise of a grand HD Radio receiver somewhere down the line and, don`t forget, AM1690, WRLL. Don`t you love the dial position of Chicago`s only remaining oldies station? It`s almost like it`s an afterthought, which I assure you, it is. It`s a daytime station and when winter arrives the station becomes a non-entity after 5PM in the evening or before 7AM in the morning.
Hopefully, some fully-signalled downtown stick will come along to serve all the disenfranchised oldies listeners, but it has yet to occur in the other markets where Infinity has pulled the plug on oldies. It would be nice to be proven wrong.
