Atlanta's Lack of News on the Radio

[wpb1999]

I was reading the Boston board and they were talking about all news and we were mentioned. They said that we are the largest Top 10 Market with no all news (Houston will get one next year). The only thing we have is ATL's Morning News on WSB. That is 3.5 hours, plus 4 minute newscasts every 30 minutes. What my question is is why does Cumulus or CBS or Cox see a need for all news. I think a WTOP-like all news station would do well. CBS is extremely well known for their all news. Why not bring in semi-known personalities and put together an all news.

Cumulus I think they could put all news on a 106.7 or 100.5.

CBS As I have said in an earlier post, 92.9 should be all news after the New Year.

Cox Radio All news 104.1 or 97.1 is awaiting! Actually, you could put simulcast it on WALR andWXKT (Gainesville/Athens Cox Station) to expand the areas it would reach.

Just Random thoughts...Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

 

[llewow]

I have actually enjoyed listening to WCFO and America's Radio News Network while driving home. It's from Talkradio Network. Now, is it as good as the old WGST and Dennis O'Hayer's afternoon news block? No, not even close. But, given there is no other station running such a large chunk of the day to news reportage, it's better than nothing. I also like the CBS News Updates on the hour.

 

[jabba17]

Cox Radio All news 104.1 or 97.1 is awaiting! Actually, you could put simulcast it on WALR andWXKT (Gainesville/Athens Cox Station) to expand the areas it would reach.

Why would Cox cannibalize WSB if nobody else is taking share from them? Cox sorta tried that already when they were LMAing WCNN from Dickey and had Tom Hughes in the AM.

And why would Cox blow up WALR, one of their highest rated stations in the market? River is on a roll, too, in their cage death match with Rock100.5.

 

[littlejohn]

Why would one try to compete with the percieved legacy station in the format, which format is the most expensive to produce? Why not rather, if one had a decnet signal, take a look at what is lacking both in perception and reality, and go after that. There are six or seven country shares, two not - very - good players, and it's a relatively inexpensive format to implement. Just to pick one, there are others.
As long as WSB holds the perception, they will sell well and it would be extremely hard (read exensive) to top them.

 

[taylorengineer]

I have to agree with Littlejohn.
News is too expensive and the demos skew too old.
Country is the real hole in this market. Both country stations are just cookie cutter stations with little to no effort made to do anything beyond play music. I can use Spotify if I just want to hear music.
My "expert" opinion is: bring back the Bob Neil Y106 country approach. You could probably hire Bob to consult or personally put it together. High intensity, show biz country with real personalities. Tight formatics.....glitzy imaging.....personality jocks......and find someone to put together a digital effort unlike any other. And skew the music younger - especially at night.
Y106 was an exciting station in every way. Even the audio processing was exciting.....it was very, very loud and sizzly.....it, too, helped create the "showbiz" presentation of the station. Just like Disneyworld, attention was paid to every detail....and it paid off.
We have an industry of programmers who are very good at the mechanics of programming. They have degrees in statistics and can spin research like a Hillary Clinton pollster. They dutifully do their testing, crunch the numbers, and wow management with their Power Point presentations.
But they really don't get "entertainment." They don't understand the mechanics of "showbiz." They can count beans and meters but don't have a clue as to what fires up listeners. For all their research they still can't accurately determine what their "customers" really want.
And the customer him/herself often can't answer that question either.
We need leadership in programming - people with "gut" instincts......people who can "feel" it because they "know" it. People who understand the essence of radio and the "bully pulpit" they have charge of. We need real communicators - the quintessential conversationalist - people who have given thought to the science of communications - who have studied and know the mechanics/principles of human interaction. Until we change the paradigm we will get more of the same.

 

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

The country pie is already well sliced. 92.3/92.5/94.9/99.3/101.1/101.5/104.3 (rock & country)/106.1/107.1 and until recently 105.1, which is now silent. I know I missed at least one or two. I could get 99.1 out of Macon when I lived in Lawrenceville. I think the 93.5 translator in Gwinnett was to be country? 105.1 was my favorite. I admit the signals in city are not the best, but it is high risk to take on Country. You would have to invest in it and the goal of radio today is what can you do with the least money to make the most money. Trying to cut another slice of this already over sliced pie isn't the answer. I don't think there is an easy money maker right now. Those holes are filled and have a competitor. You would need money to establish yourself and stand-out. This is why we haven't seen many format changes. It's cheaper to tweak on a crowded radio dial than to start over and take on established competitors. And people do listen signals on the edge of the market. If you can find it scanning and you like it, it doesn't matter if it screams Atlanta or North Georgia.

 

[jabba17]

Once Radio One moves 107.5 from the Perimeter Mall area to the site of the old "Gwinnett is Great" water towers, 107.1 is going up to 100k and will get more of the northside. See http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=197366.0 and http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WTSH&service=FM&status=C&hours=U

If Y106 was still around, neither Kicks nor Bull (especially Bull) would be doing as well as they are.

With the triangle of WEKS/Bear, 106.1, and 107.1, the suburban/exurban area gets one more strong country station besides Bull and Kicks.

 

[taylorengineer]

None of these country stations are taking the formatic approach I'm suggesting.
Those who have lived in Atlanta a while will remember the original "Y-106." It was programmed by Bob Neil and totally kicked a** for a country format. Very high energy....all programming elements very tight, glittery, and in your face. It was the "KISS-FM" CHR approach.........with country music.
Y106 was a consistent and deliberate sound - it did very well in both ratings and revenue. And it kicked KHX's butt.....those guys freaked when 106.7 appeared on the dial.
All Atlanta country stations are soccer mom stations. Take my approach, make the music younger and more countro-aggressive, and you'll have a contender.

 

[jabba17]

None of these country stations are taking the formatic approach I'm suggesting.
Those who have lived in Atlanta a while will remember the original "Y-106." It was programmed by Bob Neil and totally kicked a** for a country format. Very high energy....all programming elements very tight, glittery, and in your face. It was the "KISS-FM" CHR approach.........with country music.
Y106 was a consistent and deliberate sound - it did very well in both ratings and revenue. And it kicked KHX's butt.....those guys freaked when 106.7 appeared on the dial.
All Atlanta country stations are soccer mom stations. Take my approach, make the music younger and more countro-aggressive, and you'll have a contender.

You have a point. Country is forever trying to tap into the AC market...and Y106 had success tapping into the AOR market with their "young country". Of course, that was the 90s and country was booming.

 

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

I remember Y104/106. The 90s was a different time. It was country, AC and alternative. Atlanta also only had half the signals it has now. We're talking about 107.5 today and it was a 10 watt religious translator for Chattanooga's 88.9 back then. There was nothing above 106.7. The market was under signaled. Today you need to broaden the listener base and don't give anything up to the competitors. Narrow it and the pie slice is smaller. It's a chance. I wouldn't take it on a full flip, but would try it at Kicks or the Bull as a tweak if the numbers declined. "Pop" country was big in the 90s, when CHR declined. Country was crossing-over. However, like Disco, pop country formed a strong negative view among long time country listeners, so go into slowly.

 

[taylorengineer]

Build a format the kids like. Don't make it abrasive...and the soccer moms will follow. If you have teen girls in your household you will find the mothers know ever artist played on Q100 and Wild. They take excessive joy in embarrassing their daughters in the school pickup line by singing Lady Gaga songs into a hairbrush......
All the kids love Taylor Swift, Colt Ford, and Luke Bryan. I think I have heard Luke Bryan's "Country Girl Shake it for Me" on Q100!
There is a whole new "alternative" country music scene and if someone came along and positioned the format correctly it could go mass appeal. Just like Hip Hop has become mainstream. Market this stuff correctly and it will sell.....and big!

 

[atlantaboy]

Seems like Cumulus would have nothing to lose by flipping Rock 100.5 to All-News - all that music is covered on other stations anyway

Does Cumulus have any FM News stations though?

 

[jabba17]

Seems like Cumulus would have nothing to lose by flipping Rock 100.5 to All-News - all that music is covered on other stations anyway

Does Cumulus have any FM News stations though?

The current tweak of Rock100.5 has very little overlap with River or Project. Very little classic rock--mostly 80s/90s AOR.

 

[trusty]

Years ago, as the threat of a hurricane was drawing near, I was watching a satellite raw feed from a reporter on the beach in North Carolina give the latest conditions. At the end, he went through a list of stations with tag lines that sounded something like this:
"...3...2...1... from North Carolina, this is John Smith, Action 7 News."
"...3...2...1... from North Carolina, this is John Smith, Eyewitness News."
"...3...2...1... from North Carolina, this is John Smith, Channel 13 News."
"...3...2...1... from North Carolina, this is John Smith, Channel 4 Action News."
etc.

The viewers, of course, thought the guy on the beach was their reporter from their hometown. It worked as planned.

CNN did the same thing with "their" reporters all over the globe.

--

Now, if a station wants to do all news, and do it right, the station needs deep pockets. But its "pockets" don't have to be filled with money - just resources.

And if the station has resources - like reporters in other news-only stations in different major markets - the station doesn't have to pay out of its "pocket". Just do the news - collectively.

Granted, it would be more national and worldwide-focused than local, but most of the upscale listeners are more interested in where their money is spent in Washington that the explicit details of a mugging downtown or an apartment fire in another suburban county or the sex activity of a police officer. Locally, it can focus on traffic and weather.

And who has the resources to do this properly and get the most bang for its buck?
CBS.
And where is news moving for sound quality, no static, penetration in buildings, and no worry over poor ground conductivity or listenability during critical hours or nighttime?
FM.
And which CBS FM station in Atlanta is screaming for ratings?
(Kinda like a no-brainer here.)

You can get music anywhere. You can't get news anywhere. If CBS jumps to all-news in Atlanta, you will immediately have reporters in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Washington, etc...

...with just a proper tag line.

 

[jimbubba]

Does anybody remember when Deborah Richards did the news on the KICKS morning show and nobody tuned it out. If on-air people know who they're talking to, the news and info segments can be tailored to the listener, not just the format and whatever tunes they are told to hype. It's called personality radio, and it combines art and science. Gary McKee, 96 Rock, Moby in the Morning The Bert Show all know their listeners and it showed.
The strength of Y-106 was a lot more than compression, it was Rhubarb Jones. When exactly did radio decide en masse to give up and just pimp for the music industry?

 

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

If anyone could do news right at a good price, it's Cox. They have the unfair advantage of a top rated TV news team and a newspaper I'm waiting for right now. The "LOCAL" news team is already there and so is the weather from the market's most respected weather team and traffic reports from their own traffic team. Don't forget cross promotion on TV, newspaper and other popular radio outlets they own for free. The only question is what signal? Do you try it on a translator and if so, where? I expect bad numbers, based on previous attempts in different markets. I wouldn't do it, but if anyone could, it's Cox.

 

[smedge2006]

Now, if a station wants to do all news, and do it right, the station needs deep pockets. But its "pockets" don't have to be filled with money - just resources.

And if the station has resources - like reporters in other news-only stations in different major markets - the station doesn't have to pay out of its "pocket". Just do the news - collectively.

Granted, it would be more national and worldwide-focused than local, but most of the upscale listeners are more interested in where their money is spent in Washington that the explicit details of a mugging downtown or an apartment fire in another suburban county or the sex activity of a police officer. Locally, it can focus on traffic and weather.

And who has the resources to do this properly and get the most bang for its buck?
CBS.
And where is news moving for sound quality, no static, penetration in buildings, and no worry over poor ground conductivity or listenability during critical hours or nighttime?
FM.
And which CBS FM station in Atlanta is screaming for ratings?
(Kinda like a no-brainer here.)

You can get music anywhere. You can't get news anywhere. If CBS jumps to all-news in Atlanta, you will immediately have reporters in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Washington, etc...

...with just a proper tag line.

First of all, CBS can't just move its CBS Radio News (which is actually distributed to Dial Global)
to one of its stations if it's contracted in the Atlanta market. It has to wait till the contract runs out with the current affiliate (1690?). In Washington, CBS will have to wait out the contract with WTOP.

Secondly, if you've ever listened to the CBS all-newsers, their news actually has very little national content. They use a very small fraction of what might be available to them on a news feed. They leave most of that to the top of the hour casts. They realize that this is how they achieve relevance to their audiences.

Upscale listeners care about Washington and world markets. They also care about decisions made by the mayor of Atlanta, the Georgia Legislature, the heads of Coca-Cola and Delta, business development, and many other things. They don't care about some kicker story from Chicago, which is what you'd get 90 percent of the time from those far-flung out-of-town newspeople. That's mainly the province of ideology-driven cable news, which can turn it into a talking point for one side or the other.

Local news is a lot more than who mugged who at 3 a.m., if you're doing it right. (Few are.) It's combing the court records and the legislative hopper and buttonholing people at city hall, among other things. If an "all news" station is focusing nationally because of limited resources, while WSB with what little news content it has stays focused on Atlanta, not much chance of moving the needle.

 

[FLjack2]

First of all, CBS can't just move its CBS Radio News (which is actually distributed to Dial Global)
to one of its stations if it's contracted in the Atlanta market. It has to wait till the contract runs out with the current affiliate (1690?). In Washington, CBS will have to wait out the contract with WTOP.

Actually, yes they can. They pull the affiliation and move on. In the case of WTOP, CBS does not want to screw up that relationship. Who has the CBS Radio News affiliation in Atlanta? It looks like WOAK, which is already a CBS station. And, I'm guessing they probably only clear the commercials for it -- not actually air it. They already even have the website ready to gov. http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/

 

[RoddyFreeman]

First of all, CBS can't just move its CBS Radio News (which is actually distributed to Dial Global)
to one of its stations if it's contracted in the Atlanta market. It has to wait till the contract runs out with the current affiliate (1690?). In Washington, CBS will have to wait out the contract with WTOP.

Actually, yes they can. They pull the affiliation and move on. In the case of WTOP, CBS does not want to screw up that relationship. Who has the CBS Radio News affiliation in Atlanta? It looks like WOAK, which is already a CBS station. And, I'm guessing they probably only clear the commercials for it -- not actually air it. They already even have the website ready to gov. http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/

According to DCRTV.com, WTOP has over a year left on its contract with CBS. The contract may or may not include a right of first refusal for WTOP. But at least until the end of the current contract, CBS cannot pull the affiliation.

Whether CBS can pull the affiliation in Atlanta depends on whether the current station (I thought it was WMLB) has a contract with CBS and if so, what it stipulates. Not adhering to a contract is not a radio issue but a legal issue.

 

[secondchoice]

Just a couple of wild thoughts.

#1 If Radio One succeeds in Houston (I personally give them a better them a better than 75% chance) would they give it a try in Atlanta? Which is billing better 107.5 or 107.9? Praise's signal would never cut it.

#2 What if the 1010 AM proposed night time 25 KW signal works out to cover most of the market at night* would CBS buy or LMA it for all news? I personally think 92.9 would work better but for some reason ( I guess somebody has pictures of somebody doing something) CBS still trying music.

*I personally feel it could. 1010 in NYC works and they are closer to Canada.