BF-T's "Radio Waves" (May 4 Edition)

[BossRadioDJ]

The latest edition of Ben Fong-Torres' "Radio Waves" is online at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/04/PKTS10AHBQ.DTL
or http://tinyurl.com/58uke3

Lead subject: a consultant and several of local radio's leading lights comment on "Creating Powerful Radio." Also on the panel are Lynn Jimenez, business editor at KGO; Dave Sholin, co-host of KFRC's morning show; Melissa McConnell Wilson, veteran DJ and faculty adviser of KVHS Radio at Clayton Valley High School; and Robert Unmacht, a consultant with Radio-Info.com, an "online radio newsletter." (Hmmm. Not familiar with that last one. Remind me to check it out.)

I'll immediately argue one point made in the column:

Sholin, a veteran of Top 40 radio, said that young music fans still do use the radio.

"In New York," he said, "Z100 can sell out five Giants Stadium shows with kids. Hannah Montana is huge, and radio had a lot to do with it."

That's a big, fat batting practice fastball. Radio had next to nothing to do with "Hannah Montana," which was entirely a creation of television -- make that CABLE television -- and the marketing wizards at The Walt Disney Company.

If the "Hannah Montana" concerts had been promoted in New York on a 100-milliwatt pirate station operating out of some guy's basement in Canarsie, they still would have sold out every show and the tickets would still have sold for $1500 on Ebay.

Is "Hannah Montana" music played on radio anywhere in the Bay Area ... besides KMKY/1310?

DJ

 

[LKellerIII]

"Is "Hannah Montana" music played on radio anywhere in the Bay Area ... besides KMKY/1310?"

I doubt it. My daughter is 13, and what little time she spent listening to Radio Disney ended a couple of years ago. She likes Wild 94.9 and KMEL, and I doubt they play Hannah. Besides, radio is a tiny part of her life..mostly she listens in the car, when she can convince me to put on one of those two stations. She did spend a couple of hours yesterday down-loading songs from e music onto her MP3 player.

She loves Hannah Montanta and the other Disney Channel shows - but radio played no part in her awareness.

 

[WordLife]

I think I heard a Hannah song, sorta upbeat...on Movin'...

 

[DavidKaye]

Lead subject: a consultant and several of local radio's leading lights comment on "Creating Powerful Radio." Also on the panel are Lynn Jimenez, business editor at KGO; Dave Sholin, co-host of KFRC's morning show; Melissa McConnell Wilson, veteran DJ and faculty adviser of KVHS Radio at Clayton Valley High School; and Robert Unmacht, a consultant with Radio-Info.com, an "online radio newsletter." (Hmmm. Not familiar with that last one. Remind me to check it out.)

If I were giving stock advice I'd give a sell order for all companies that did a majority of their business in radio. Why? Because calling such a conference as "Creating Powerful Radio" admits that radio is in serious trouble. This means it's time to sell the stock and get into something that's on the upswing.

 

[MikeAmatori]

"Local Radio's Leading Lights"

Melissa McConnell? An advisor to a HS station? :

A woman who want's to sell a book about how to fix radio.

A Radio Business reporter...Not a reporter about the Radio Business. :-\

A guy from this website...Which is mostly aimed at fans. ;D

and Dave Sholin, who just got back into radio about a year ago...after years in the music business. :-X



How about some Programers, GM's, News Directors, Production People, Talent agents? I think you
may have be able to find some in the 4th largest market who could have lent a bit more gravitas to this
"seminar"

So, How many "Leading Lights in Local Radio" does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

No, don't tell me...I'll just sign up for the seminar.

 

[BossRadioDJ]

"Local Radio's Leading Lights"

Melissa McConnell? An advisor to a HS station? :

A woman who want's to sell a book about how to fix radio.

A Radio Business reporter...Not a reporter about the Radio Business. :-\

A guy from this website...Which is mostly aimed at fans. ;D

and Dave Sholin, who just got back into radio about a year ago...after years in the music business. :-X

How about some Programers, GM's, News Directors, Production People, Talent agents? I think you
may have be able to find some in the 4th largest market who could have lent a bit more gravitas to this
"seminar"

So, How many "Leading Lights in Local Radio" does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

No, don't tell me...I'll just sign up for the seminar.

That's it, Pink Lady*! Two minutes in the sin bin for abuse of emoticons!


* -- Obscure reference from another thread.

 

[DavidKaye]

Melissa McConnell? An advisor to a HS station? :
A Radio Business reporter...Not a reporter about the Radio Business. :-\
A guy from this website...Which is mostly aimed at fans. ;D
and Dave Sholin, who just got back into radio about a year ago...after years in the music business. :-X

Melissa McConnell actually has a decent track record as a DJ, host, operations manager, etc., and KVHS is a go-getter in the non-comm world. I once worked for her hubby, Tom Wilson, so between the two of them they have some good hands-on knowledge of how to run radio stations.

But it would probably float better to have someone participate who has actually turned around a station in these trying times, such as the folks at Energy 92.7 KNGY.

Not quite sure where Lynn Jimenez fits in here, or the guy who runs this website. Those don't make any sense at all.

How about some Programers, GM's, News Directors, Production People, Talent agents? I think you
may have be able to find some in the 4th largest market who could have lent a bit more gravitas to this
"seminar"

It may well be that the leading lights have either fled the business or are so protective of their turf that they're not going to tell anybody how to "save radio".

The one I'd like to see resurface is Jason W Jennings (Jennings-McGlothlin), who once took marginal stations in the Midwest and turned them around big time, and then gave seminars on how to do it. It wasn't exactly rocket science, either. It was (1) live, (2) local, and (3) sell sell sell. I always thought he was pretty cool. I think he still lives in Sausalito or around thereabouts.