Indeed, one time I was visiting my Dad who lived in Osterville at the time and I was tuning in to hear Donna Halper on the Jordan Rich show. It was weaker than I expected.
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Boston Job listing for news/sports/traffic - format flip coming?
Eli Polonsky said:
WBZ is directional by choice, one of two former I-A clear channels in that category.
The FCC licenses AM stations by transmitter power output (give or take a slight adjustment for inefficiency in a directional phasor), and as a result, not all "50 kW" signals are created equal. Put 50 kW of transmitter power into a highly-efficient 190-degree tower like WBZ and you get a greater field strength than you do by putting that same 50 kW of transmitter power into a shorter tower like those of WRKO or WXKS.
More to the point in this case: put that 50 kW into a non-directional tower and you get the same field strength in all directions. That's great if you're WABC and you have in-market population in all directions. That's not so great if you're WBZ and the vast majority of your market's population is concentrated in one direction. Add some directionality to the pattern and you're not just nulling the signal in a direction where there's mostly water. That power has to go somewhere else as a result, and the result is a significantly stronger signal over Boston than WBZ would have as a non-directional signal. Yes, the tradeoff is a weaker signal in Provincetown; it's well worth it.
(It didn't necessarily have to be that way: a Westinghouse plan in the 1950s to boost WBZ to 750 kW (!) would have moved the transmitter to Provincetown and would have barbecued the entire Cape with signal.)
That would have been nice to have WBZ blast it's station from Provincetown toward Boston with 750K watts.
How many AM's are megawatted like that?
I always felt that if the other 50K stations that serve Boston, were to move their towers significantly further west, adjacent to a swamp/river, or lake with the same pattern they have now, then the center of Boston metro would be better served at night.However, I'm sure that's been considered, proposed, and shot down
In NY, WABC has it's tower in Lodi, which is in the Jersey flood plain, and WCBS's tower is on High Island just north of City Island in the east river. Those 2 have a booming ground wave through the tri state area
How many AM's are megawatted like that?
I always felt that if the other 50K stations that serve Boston, were to move their towers significantly further west, adjacent to a swamp/river, or lake with the same pattern they have now, then the center of Boston metro would be better served at night.However, I'm sure that's been considered, proposed, and shot down
In NY, WABC has it's tower in Lodi, which is in the Jersey flood plain, and WCBS's tower is on High Island just north of City Island in the east river. Those 2 have a booming ground wave through the tri state area
Scott Fybush said:
Meanwhile talking about all news, Atlanta is about to get its first all news station, and it's on FM:
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2012/04/27/all-news-radio-to-debut-in-atlanta-on.html
But note:
>>"(Cumulus) will look to attract a broader listenership than the predominantly male, 50-plus audience that tuned into all-news stations 20 to 30 years ago when the content was strictly hard news. “Pop culture, celebrity news and entertainment news has really become news today,” he said. “That has intermixed with hard news to create a different product.”
Swell. We'll be back with more alleged news in a moment.
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2012/04/27/all-news-radio-to-debut-in-atlanta-on.html
But note:
>>"(Cumulus) will look to attract a broader listenership than the predominantly male, 50-plus audience that tuned into all-news stations 20 to 30 years ago when the content was strictly hard news. “Pop culture, celebrity news and entertainment news has really become news today,” he said. “That has intermixed with hard news to create a different product.”
Swell. We'll be back with more alleged news in a moment.
reelyreal said:
You are correct, sir. WLW was the only one to even get an experimental authorization for superpower, and that ran out during WWII. The clear channel (small "c") broadcasters fought a valiant (and expensive) fight to keep the dream alive well into the 1960s, but the FCC ultimately concluded the public interest was better served by adding more signals out west than by giving the eastern clears superpower.
Norm is correct that site changes could benefit stations like WRKO and WEEI. Today, of course, you'd never get new towers built in a location like Dover where such a directional array could be beneficial - and back in the pre-NIMBY days when you could, you were hampered by a now-gone FCC rule that mandated that stations put 25 mV/m over the main post office of their community of license. That rule made it hard to move an AM station too far out of town.
(And in fairness, the rule made some sense: as WBZ discovered when it tried to serve Boston with 50 kW from Millis in the 1930s, the region's craptastic ground conductivity resulted in a signal in Boston proper that was weaker than expected. Anyone moving out there nowadays, if they could somehow overcome the NIMBYs, would face that same issue.)
WBZ's news format is terrible. It's almost as bad as the yakk format at night, and the infomercials on weekends, I've never heard so many mispronunciations, stupid study results, dumbed down reporting, overhype, and puking vocal style on one station.
I thought you were going to school me on why I was ‘so wrong.’ Instead, I get your opinion. I’m not sure how announcer articulation and pronunciation, stupid study results, etc are format problems. Well, we’ll just have to disagree, I guess. I think it’s a hoot that you seem to take their programming is a personal affront.
For a news station, they kind of zip through stories,
Not necessarily bad, especially in an age when attention spans are heading toward nanosecond land. I’ve always considered 1980’s WHDH’s Bob Pilante’s “Fire. Back Bay, Many trucks” to be one of, if not the, greatest news story in Boston radio history. Tells you everything you need to know in less than two seconds. Not one wasted electron.
Newspapers and magazines are where people turned for truly in-depth coverage, because they can devote pages to a topic that appeals to a certain narrow audience. Nowadays, that function has been largely assumed by the internet and cable news channels. Radio news has traditionally been a ‘headline service’ since Matthew Culligan invented the top-of-the-hour newscast in the ‘50s. All-news stations just have more headlines.
and I find myself needing more info, and follow up which never comes.
Boston is supposed to be a bit more intellectual, than the rest of the country, why does WBZ have to phonectically pronounce ethnic names when they can pronounce them the correct way?
Fortunately for WBZ, folks who want their news in a MEGO format are already listening to NPR 24/7. Interestingly, the guy I was originally responding to was complaining about some long-form in-depth programming during the all-news day. Go figger.
Examples:
Manuel- Manual ( like owners manual)
Franco- Frank O
Has anyone noticed that?
Does it bother you that EVERY newscast, radio and TV, on every outlet, mispronounces Vladimir Putin’s and Hosni Mubarak’s name? I will guarantee you that every news report you’ve ever heard mentioning Marrakesh, Morocco, got the pronunciation wrong. Under your rules, you’ll soon be getting all your news from the OED.
A Little humor is OK, but the cross between the traffic reporter and Rod Fritz is just plain juvenile. Gary Lapierre, didn't you retire several years ago? Why do you insist on giving a time check every day at 12:06? and the " caring law" spots are getting old. Get some rest, play some golf,or shuffleboard.
This is just silly.
Yeah, I know, but does the entire late night news programming programming have to be recorded? Oh wait, the CBS brass in New York did a very painstaking cost/benefit analysis, and determined that dayparting the news format would prevent an absolute financial disaster here at WBZ.
I believe those execs have a fiduciary responsibility to run the stations in a rational way. Seems to be working so far. Or, do you think they can ignore the economic realities of the broadcast advertising business?
And Jeff, I don't get involved with the bottom line, I don't know what is not cost effective, nor do I care, I let the suits at the stations I've worked at, and work at, worry about that boring shit.
When you don’t have to consider the economic realities, anything is possible. Heck, CBS could have their own space program. The “if I close my eyes and don’t see the bottom line, it doesn’t exist” rationale isn’t something you see very often in adults. I’m pretty sure they don’t plan on committing financial suicide to keep the fringe listeners happy.
This is CBS, they have money to burn
Actually, they don’t. Traditional spot advertising is a category in continuing decline. The only innovations which make sense, and showing revenue gains, are in “non-traditional”, which doesn’t reflect on the air news product.
and they have taken risks in cities that are smaller than Boston metro, and believe it or not more provincial, if that's possible. It's a big company, they write it off if it doesn't pan out.
They can write it off even if it does pan out, since business expenses are deductible. Unfortunately, tax write-offs aren’t necessarily the magic bullet the uninitiated think they are – every vacant storefront, every internet start-up that cratered, every company which is now out of business, had lots of them. When you’re selling dollar bills for 70 cents, you don’t make it up on volume.
If a CBS suit decides to double down on an aspect of the business that is a guaranteed lost cause, he won’t, or shouldn't, be a suit for very long. Radio was in competition with newspapers and local cable for advertising dollars. The internet has finished off the newspaper business and independent cable, and is now doing the same to radio. And, it ain’t coming back. Radio was always sold as the ‘targeted’ medium which, unfortunately for radio, is right in the Google/Facebook wheelhouse. The ‘net in a dozen years has overtaken and doubled, in revenue, the entire century old radio business and is sucking all the oxygen out of the traditional radio revenue model. WBZ is the only news player in the Boston radio market, so they don’t have to make any investments to fend off radio competition, but just operate as cheaply as they can to hold on to what they have. If I was working the late night/overnight shift at ‘BZ, I don’t think I’d be making any long term financial commitments.
Why are you all insist on defending mediocrity? WBZ doesn't need your endorsement.
Nope, they don’t. They probably need even less advice on hastening their demise, either. Of course, I don't depend on one source for most of my information.
Now type away, know it alls
Reminds me of the old story about the two campers who were being chased by a bear through the woods. One stopped to change from his boots to track shoes. The other said, “You don’t think you can outrun that bear, do you?” The other replied, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you.”
Regards,
TSB
I thought you were going to school me on why I was ‘so wrong.’ Instead, I get your opinion. I’m not sure how announcer articulation and pronunciation, stupid study results, etc are format problems. Well, we’ll just have to disagree, I guess. I think it’s a hoot that you seem to take their programming is a personal affront.
For a news station, they kind of zip through stories,
Not necessarily bad, especially in an age when attention spans are heading toward nanosecond land. I’ve always considered 1980’s WHDH’s Bob Pilante’s “Fire. Back Bay, Many trucks” to be one of, if not the, greatest news story in Boston radio history. Tells you everything you need to know in less than two seconds. Not one wasted electron.
Newspapers and magazines are where people turned for truly in-depth coverage, because they can devote pages to a topic that appeals to a certain narrow audience. Nowadays, that function has been largely assumed by the internet and cable news channels. Radio news has traditionally been a ‘headline service’ since Matthew Culligan invented the top-of-the-hour newscast in the ‘50s. All-news stations just have more headlines.
and I find myself needing more info, and follow up which never comes.
Boston is supposed to be a bit more intellectual, than the rest of the country, why does WBZ have to phonectically pronounce ethnic names when they can pronounce them the correct way?
Fortunately for WBZ, folks who want their news in a MEGO format are already listening to NPR 24/7. Interestingly, the guy I was originally responding to was complaining about some long-form in-depth programming during the all-news day. Go figger.
Examples:
Manuel- Manual ( like owners manual)
Franco- Frank O
Has anyone noticed that?
Does it bother you that EVERY newscast, radio and TV, on every outlet, mispronounces Vladimir Putin’s and Hosni Mubarak’s name? I will guarantee you that every news report you’ve ever heard mentioning Marrakesh, Morocco, got the pronunciation wrong. Under your rules, you’ll soon be getting all your news from the OED.
A Little humor is OK, but the cross between the traffic reporter and Rod Fritz is just plain juvenile. Gary Lapierre, didn't you retire several years ago? Why do you insist on giving a time check every day at 12:06? and the " caring law" spots are getting old. Get some rest, play some golf,or shuffleboard.
This is just silly.
Yeah, I know, but does the entire late night news programming programming have to be recorded? Oh wait, the CBS brass in New York did a very painstaking cost/benefit analysis, and determined that dayparting the news format would prevent an absolute financial disaster here at WBZ.
I believe those execs have a fiduciary responsibility to run the stations in a rational way. Seems to be working so far. Or, do you think they can ignore the economic realities of the broadcast advertising business?
And Jeff, I don't get involved with the bottom line, I don't know what is not cost effective, nor do I care, I let the suits at the stations I've worked at, and work at, worry about that boring shit.
When you don’t have to consider the economic realities, anything is possible. Heck, CBS could have their own space program. The “if I close my eyes and don’t see the bottom line, it doesn’t exist” rationale isn’t something you see very often in adults. I’m pretty sure they don’t plan on committing financial suicide to keep the fringe listeners happy.
This is CBS, they have money to burn
Actually, they don’t. Traditional spot advertising is a category in continuing decline. The only innovations which make sense, and showing revenue gains, are in “non-traditional”, which doesn’t reflect on the air news product.
and they have taken risks in cities that are smaller than Boston metro, and believe it or not more provincial, if that's possible. It's a big company, they write it off if it doesn't pan out.
They can write it off even if it does pan out, since business expenses are deductible. Unfortunately, tax write-offs aren’t necessarily the magic bullet the uninitiated think they are – every vacant storefront, every internet start-up that cratered, every company which is now out of business, had lots of them. When you’re selling dollar bills for 70 cents, you don’t make it up on volume.
If a CBS suit decides to double down on an aspect of the business that is a guaranteed lost cause, he won’t, or shouldn't, be a suit for very long. Radio was in competition with newspapers and local cable for advertising dollars. The internet has finished off the newspaper business and independent cable, and is now doing the same to radio. And, it ain’t coming back. Radio was always sold as the ‘targeted’ medium which, unfortunately for radio, is right in the Google/Facebook wheelhouse. The ‘net in a dozen years has overtaken and doubled, in revenue, the entire century old radio business and is sucking all the oxygen out of the traditional radio revenue model. WBZ is the only news player in the Boston radio market, so they don’t have to make any investments to fend off radio competition, but just operate as cheaply as they can to hold on to what they have. If I was working the late night/overnight shift at ‘BZ, I don’t think I’d be making any long term financial commitments.
Why are you all insist on defending mediocrity? WBZ doesn't need your endorsement.
Nope, they don’t. They probably need even less advice on hastening their demise, either. Of course, I don't depend on one source for most of my information.
Now type away, know it alls
Reminds me of the old story about the two campers who were being chased by a bear through the woods. One stopped to change from his boots to track shoes. The other said, “You don’t think you can outrun that bear, do you?” The other replied, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you.”
Regards,
TSB
The internet has finished.....independent cable,
Make that read "independent television".
I remember pitching a job at channel 56 (WLVI) in the late 70s. The GM said to me..."kid, if you can sell independence television you can sell ANYTHING."
It probably never got any easier.
Regards,
TSB
Make that read "independent television".
I remember pitching a job at channel 56 (WLVI) in the late 70s. The GM said to me..."kid, if you can sell independence television you can sell ANYTHING."
It probably never got any easier.
Regards,
TSB
And to amplify a bit on Scott's observations, WSM was also among those who wanted 750 kW. It would be quite a scenario if the legacy Class A's would have gotten that, along with the 3.872 times coverage increase. If you want power levels like that, you need to go outside the US. Trans World Radio has had a station on 800 kHz on Bonaire that ran 500 kW for many years. They were easy copy in RI at night. Mexico has a few big power outlets on its clears such as 540, 730, 800, 900, 1050, and 1220. Europe has serious amounts of superpower on MW: the former BBC outlet on 648 kHz runs 500 kW. Many run in the 1000 kW range, with the biggest signal on the planet coming from Saudi Arabia. The outlet on 1521 kHz puts 2000 klW into a 4-tower array, and in winter during critical hours, WWKB gets blasted away by the 1 kHz howl by the Saudi and the co-channel 500 kW CRI station in Urumqi, China.
Scott Fybush said:
But that should read, "one of two former I-A clear channels STILL in that category." Two other ex-IAs: WFAN (then, WEAF and probably other calls) and WTAM, were also directional but changed to ND roughly half a century ago. The other one, besides WBZ, is WWL. Of these four stations, only WBZ and WWL were--and are--what might be called strongly directional. WEAF and WTAM had very relaxed patterns, and WWL's pattern, unlike WBZ's, is not deeply nulled.
An interesting question is whether the longwires that most ex-IAs used before vertical antennas became de rigueur produced patterns that deviated from circular enough to be called directional. The towers that supported the longwires, though not officially part of the antennas, did produce shallow radiation minima. A couple of the longwires that remained in service until after World War II were KPO (now KNBR) and KOA. KCBS (then KQW), though not a Class I of any kind, also must have used a longwire until it moved from Alviso to Novato in 1951.
aerie said:
Could be; second-adjacent XEPRS is a big problem for KNX. CBS at one point (probably also in the '60s) also proposed making WCAU (now WPHT) directional daytime only. I can't remember the reason, though.
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