Blood Bath at ABC Radio (Citadel)

[EbolaMonkey]

The bankers on Wall Street get paid a lot of money and work in luxurious surroundings. I would not consider them to be high class.

I agree. Same goes for corporate radio execs.

But there's a difference. Bankers intended to hose their industry. Radio execs had no idea what they were doing.

P.S. Radio was headed directly for the toilet long before YouTube had anything to say about it.

 

[TheBigA]

I agree. Same goes for corporate radio execs.

Care to compare salaries of ABC Radio execs with Citadel? Care to compare the size of corporate bureacracy that ABC Radio had vs. Citadel?

High cost does not equal high class. All your spin doesn't change that.

 

[TheBigA]

This has to do with spending money wisely. Not whether to spend it or not.

ABC Radio didn't spend money wisely. They're now being cut down to size. That's a bitter pill to swallow. But the reality is that ad rates are falling, and more spending won't fix that.

In my experience, the people who don't know how to spend it have run off the people who do.

Radio no longer has the luxury to live as it did 5 years ago. It's time to get back to basics, not spend money. Creating great programming doesn't involve spending money. It involves being creative, understanding what the audience wants, and responding to them. If people are being "run off," perhaps one should question their dedication. Was it to creating great and responsive radio? Or was it to themselves? And the real question is: Where will they run off to?

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

Here's the ugly truth: The ABC 24/7 formats were designed to provide cheap national programming for small local radio stations, rather than hire local air talent. This is the kind of "repeater radio" that local radio advocates hate. They were based in Texas because it's a right to work state. I don't see how any of that is high class.

Give this man a cigar. This statement is exactly correct. The ABC Radio Networks 24 hour networks based in Dallas never focused on quality but, just focused on being cheap. That is why they are located in Dallas, Texas, a nonunion state. They picked from a local Dallas pool of poor to mediocre disc jockeys and paid them next to nothing to babysit the affiliates with small market type programming. All of the stations across the country that ran these networks had one foot in the grave and one foot on a banana peel. They could not survive paying local talent. If these affiliates were that financially pathetic, better they should sell the stations or go dark. The ABC Radio Networks 24 hour networks based in Dallas were ahead of their time in ending localization in radio which is now taking place in major markets. Don't ever confuse the ABC Radio Networks 24 hour networks based in Dallas with any type of quality programming. They were just an alternative to all of these nowhere radio stations across the country going dark. The firings at the ABC Radio Networks 24 hour networks based in Dallas are no big deal and were long overdue.

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

Radio's not dead; it's just changing. Look what's happening in Washington:

"House Advances Measure to Create Hundreds of New Low Power FM Radio Stations

The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 is on its way to a full House vote after sailing through the Energy and Commerce Committee with little opposition. The measure would repeal legislation which requires the FCC to protect full-power broadcasters from interference from Low Power FM stations being placed on third-adjacent channels. We speak to Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle, a co-sponsor of the bill; and Cory Fischer-Hoffman, campaign director of the Prometheus Radio Project. [includes rush transcript]"

The law of supply and demand says otherwise. This just means more stations going for an ever shrinking revenue pie with additional technology competition. All of these lower power stations are doomed to failure. What made radio great in the 60s? There were less stations. They made more money. They spent more money on programming, promotions and sales. It is an issue of quality versus quantity. I don't know about you but, I would rather have one great station than twenty lousy stations.

 

[gr8oldies]

Problem is, each individual has their own idea of "great" and "sucks", especially now when everyone has more and more choices to get the exact content they want. We could build the "perfect" 1977 radio station and you'd have a heck of a lot of listeners who would yawn, or say the DJs talked too much, or talked over intros when they didn't want them to. Even on a board like this, I'm can just imagine "KXXX goes live 24/7 and all the jocks suck!"

LPFM is not going to be any threat to existing broadcasters (and I volunteer for one). The signals don't go far enough and usually there is little to no budget. I volunteer for one of the more successful ones, but when a lot of them are going to be playinfg someone's iPod from a back bedroom, pretty much forget about huge audiences.

 

[TheBigA]

LPFM is not going to be any threat to existing broadcasters

The sad reality is that the people who have the heart, the passion, and the desire to do a great job with these stations do NOT have the patience or knowledge to deal with the government bureaucracy involved in running a licensed radio station. Then add to that the fact that they'll be begging listeners for money, and friends to volunteer for airshifts, and businesses for sponsorships, and the whole thing is simply more trouble than it's worth. It's simply a lot easier for big companies to deal with the paperwork, which is why things are the way they are.

 

[idiggraves]

As these radio companies continue to cut jobs, salaries and ask their employees to take furlough, I get real tired of hearing the words "due to the state of the economy"...

Truth is, these companies haven't been able to balance a checkbook in years. "The economy" was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

[bossbill]

Rural radio stations struggled long before satellite delivery, and before ipods, XM, or internet. The philosophical question is whether it is better to have a broadcast outlet with SOME local programming, or nothing at all. After television emerged as the opiate of the masses, in the 50s, 60, and 70s, radio stations in markets too small to provide sufficient revenue for a full staff could opt for an automation system and/or reduced (specified hours) operation. While playing tapes on a Scully may not be considered local programming, broadcasting the football game may be.
THEM
Satellite-delivered programming and unattended operation allowed these struggling stations to afford to go 24 hours. While one can argue that this is not local programming, it did provide a way to provide local service by way of news, special events, community announcements, etc. Isn't this better than no service at all to the community?

Satellite-delivered network programming filled a need and still does in small rural communities. The travesty is that major market stations, with annual billings 20-50 times greater (or more) than rural outlets, are utilizing the same methods.

One particular small market broadcaster friend of mine struggled for 10 years to provide a local service, maintaining a broadcast schedule by using a reel-to-reel automation system, and signing off at 10pm. We installed for him a digital automation using a satellite network, he went 24 hours a day, and was able to provide better service to his community during emergency situations.

Having utilized satellite programming myself, I will admit that some of the network talent isn't all that great, but some are good, most all of them are better than available in a rural community, and there are some good communicators out there. Unfortunately, more and more of the better ones are being forced out due to irresponsible decisions by the likes of Farid Suleman.

 

[TheBigA]

Isn't this better than no service at all to the community?

There have been numerous proposals made, from community watchdogs groups and at the FCC, that would outlaw voicetracking of dayparts, and require stations to do a large percentage of local origination in order to retain their license. The Localism Task Force at the FCC isn't taking into consideration things like market size. They simply want to outlaw voicetracking, regardless of where it's used.

 

[bossbill]

I suppose the next step would then be to require that all music be performed live?

We don't use voice-tracking locally; we do utilize satellite programming except for morning drive. Each one of my rural stations has a live and local morning show, and we have a fulltime newsman. If we didn't use a satellite service or voicetracking, we could not operate.

I do have a problem with the satellite networks using voice-tracking. They're splitting their cost of operation over 40-50 or more affiliates. They should be able to afford live talent, just like the major market stations that do $20 million or more.

 

[gr8oldies]

I don't know how you write a law that bans voicetracking. You'd have to mandate that a person speak into a microphone x number of minutes per hour? What would the feds require them to say?

 

[gr8oldies]

Ok, next stimulus...The Full Employment for DJs Act

 

[TheBigA]

I don't know how you write a law that bans voicetracking. You'd have to mandate that a person speak into a microphone x number of minutes per hour? What would the feds require them to say?

From what I've read, they're specifically targeting out-of-market voice-tracking, so one can't imply they're in one town, when in fact they're in another. They would also have to say, on the air, perhaps twice an hour, if the host is live or pre-recorded.

 

[bossbill]

There used to be an FCC regulation that required a disclaimer of that sort on a regular basis. Something like "some of the programming on KXXXX is transcribed/recorded".

Maybe somebody remembers the exact wording.

 

[bossbill]

Turns out there still is:

Sec. 73.1208 Broadcast of taped, filmed, or recorded material.

(a) Any taped, filmed or recorded program material in which time is of special significance, or by which an affirmative attempt is made to
create the impression that it is occurring simultaneously with the broadcast, shall be announced at the beginning as taped, filmed or recorded. The language of the announcement shall be clear and in terms commonly understood by the public. For television stations, the
announcement may be made visually or aurally.
(b) Taped, filmed, or recorded announcements which are of a commercial, promotional or public service nature need not be identified
as taped, filmed or recorded.

[37 FR 23726, Nov. 8, 1972]

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

Rural radio stations struggled long before satellite delivery, and before ipods, XM, or internet. The philosophical question is whether it is better to have a broadcast outlet with SOME local programming, or nothing at all. After television emerged as the opiate of the masses, in the 50s, 60, and 70s, radio stations in markets too small to provide sufficient revenue for a full staff could opt for an automation system and/or reduced (specified hours) operation. While playing tapes on a Scully may not be considered local programming, broadcasting the football game may be.
THEM
Satellite-delivered programming and unattended operation allowed these struggling stations to afford to go 24 hours. While one can argue that this is not local programming, it did provide a way to provide local service by way of news, special events, community announcements, etc. Isn't this better than no service at all to the community?

Satellite-delivered network programming filled a need and still does in small rural communities. The travesty is that major market stations, with annual billings 20-50 times greater (or more) than rural outlets, are utilizing the same methods.

One particular small market broadcaster friend of mine struggled for 10 years to provide a local service, maintaining a broadcast schedule by using a reel-to-reel automation system, and signing off at 10pm. We installed for him a digital automation using a satellite network, he went 24 hours a day, and was able to provide better service to his community during emergency situations.

Having utilized satellite programming myself, I will admit that some of the network talent isn't all that great, but some are good, most all of them are better than available in a rural community, and there are some good communicators out there. Unfortunately, more and more of the better ones are being forced out due to irresponsible decisions by the likes of Farid Suleman.

If the only way you can own or run a local radio station in any size market is with 24 satellite programming, you are a boob. You should be embarrassed that you are trying to fool your audience into thinking network programming is local programming. The FCC has always issued broadcast licenses based on serving the community. The 24 hour satellite programming has always tried to deceive local affiliate listeners into thinking they are local. You would be better served getting a local kid to be on the air in all day parts. He might suck for a while but, he would get somewhat better over time. At least this gives you the ability to immediately respond to local weather and police emergencies. If you are that pathetic, that you cannot survive without 24 hour satellite programming, GO DARK!!!!!!!!!!!! The whole concept of 24 satellite programming that originally started with the Satellite Music Network and John Tyler was to give a stay of execution to stations that should have gone dark years ago. Today's technology dictates a better answer. Each small market should have a local internet radio station that can serve the community and be run for a fraction of what an over the air station can be operated for.

 

[grantchester]

"Portions of todays programming are mechanically reproduced, for broadcast at a later time."

Maybe the rule could just require a human being be present, so if the tornadoes come, or the crazies go on a rampage, a civil emergency can be declared.

LPFM for community radio? sounds good, but why do I think it will end up being another couple thousand K-LOVE translators?

 

[gr8oldies]

Well if you think every rural station should be staffed locally by high school kids stuttering through the format and that audiences prefer that, buy a station and do that. You mean you can't pot down an automation system to do a tornado warning?

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

Well if you think every rural station should be staffed locally by high school kids stuttering through the format and that audiences prefer that, buy a station and do that. You mean you can't pot down an automation system to do a tornado warning?

You can't pot down an automation system to do a tornado warning if there is nobody in the radio station 99.99% of the time.