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Bruce Bond

T

The Amish Terp

as I mentioned in a previous thread a week or so ago, he has been the only truly entertaining radio personality in this market in the last 15 years or so....

he proved today on WHP that he should be back on the radio somewhere in this market. good interview by Frank Schofield going over what happened to him with his prison stuff etc

he needs to come back because this market sorely lacks someone like him
 
No denying Bruce's talent. He'd be the perfect anchor for a FM Talk station.

Yo...Dickey boys. Ya might want to consider that when you acquire all of the Citadel stations soon.
 
Although I think Bond is a talented guy, he didn't sound at all contrite about what he did. Before anybody will think of offering him a job, he needs to admit his wrong and what he learned from it. That will give him credibility and allow him to launch Bruce Bond 2.0. As I listened to him on WHP on Friday, here's my assessment of Bond:

He has a very easy-to-listen-to style of communication. However, much of what he did on the air throughout the years was the equivalent of a kid throwing stones at a house on the way home from school. Many people walking by ("listeners")would stop and watch (listen)...would he break windows? Would a neighbor come out? Would the police be called? I don't think Bond's act would play anymore, either from a corporate point of view or even listeners, except those who are nostalgic about the way things were.
 
As mentioned previously, he could not even cut it in New Orleans after leaving Harrisburg...back then. What worked then in Harrisburg may not work anywhere now. Sorry, but he did not impress me much way back when.
 
A couple points...
1. As a former GM, I'd hire Bruce in a NY second ~ all puns intended
2. Quick name 1-2 or ANY afternoon folks in the market at his level
[ok I'll amend...name anyone out there, there are how many signals
invading H,L,L & Y? Half the shifts are voice tracked...there are
very few personalities in the market] Ok RJ I count you!

Now for the big one folks...step outside and inderstand this one:
just like Stern, Charlie Sheen, and others: Bruce is an entertainer...
an actor...the schitck could work very well.

Screw his past, we give Michael Vick, Charlie Sheen, politicos a pass...
why not B 2 ? Debt is paid...chapter closed...next!
 
Bond was truly great. However, he's worn out his act and his welcome in Harrisburg. Seriously, if he was still the "goldmine" he was in the 80s and 90s, somebody would've have already hired him. Every entertainer evolves and he must if there is ever a chance that he works in radio, at least doing his high-profile schtick. He can be a bit more human without losing his edge.
 
Rinfoguy is right, on all counts. But let me add one more.

BB means ratings in Harrisburg, and that means money. For a mid-pack performer he can help make them top-tier.

Higher ratings... higher rates... higher billing... greater cashflow. An extra million in billing... an extra $400K in cashflow... and in his current low-leverage position, he'll cost a fraction of that. Even if your insurance premiums go up a bit.

Radio is all about money. And this one ain't brain surgery. Bond is a bargain. And a chance for some Harrisburg radio exec to look like a genius in the eyes of his CFO.
 
Face it, corporate radio is too cheap to hire someone like Bruce. They'd rather pipe in some drivel via syndication rather than create their own. Wasn't that the real reason he was cut loose in the first place?

Plus, unlike the 80s and 90s, everything is too buttoned down now. He may be entertaining for a lot of people, but not too many corporations in this world like employees who do their own thing.

He's probably better off on some sort of internet gig.
 
Here's what's changed since the nearly 10 years Bond was on WNNK: Debt through the roof, radio station values through the floor. Even if Bond were successful, which I'm not totally sure would be the case in 2011, you still couldn't make the numbers crunch. You certainly couldn't afford the supporting cast of the past. The radio revenue ain't what it was 10 years ago and even if Bond had the same numbers as in his hey day, he wouldn't be the cash cow he was once reputed to be.
 
as mentioned above. He would not command the $$$ he used to and he wouldnt be coming with a "cast" again.....maybe just a sidekick.....

listen, its s real simple question for a radio company. do you want to make $$ yes or no? if the answer is yes, then you hire him.

there is such a pile of crap in this market right now. He would still be gold.

as an aside.....there hasn't been a single PMS show(105.7) promo ad that they play that has made me laugh....most of them are awful....isn't the point of those 15 second spots supposed to make you want to tune in? the show is mediocre at best but I am sure through out the 3-4 hours there HAS to be one funny moment right?
 
Wow how about that people agreeing on these pages!

Since the words cash flow, profits, costs and CFO's entered the discussion...
allow me a thought after listening to the on-air interview.

WWBD? That is What Would Bruce Do?

I get the feeling Bruce would work cheap...with a promise of more to come
when he hits a ratings bonanza down the road. Let him build it ~ they will come.

Memo to the station that does pick him up:
Rerun the s*** of him. If he does AMD, put him on at nite too...weekend
reruns too! At the risk of saying it...if Vick can be the franchise so can BB!
And for gawd sake PROMOTE him...there's been lots of time gone by but
it would be well-invested $$. Annnnd ... get him out on the streets pressing
the flesh, talking it up, renewing old friendships.

Finally: Wow can you all imagine the field day Bruce could have with the current
mayoral situation with HerHonor Linda T? It could be OUT-standing!
 
With all due respect, not everyone thinks this is a good idea. There is a reason he was blown out at Wink and it wasn't money. He would be a cancer to any staff. Most staffs of today's market don't know his history. Oh sure they've most likely heard of him and his dominance but it wouldn't take long before the ego became intolerable...again. Will Bruce hang out at the station and help his co-workers with production? Dubs? How bout come in on the weekend and pull a shift for someone who got sick? Will he be a team player? Would boyish pranks fly from a middle aged man? Do the agency's that place buys know or care who this character is? How'd that last stint at 102.3 pan out? He'd be a curiosity factor the first week and then he'd be a liability with no ratings.

It's been over a decade. Radio has changed too much to the disappointment of all of us but the fact is that it has. No longer does that kind of shtick play.

Just my thoughts on the matter.
 
WinkerFunk, you are on the mark with your thoughts. I've never worked with BB but I've been in the business/market for over 25 years and I've worked with some great personalities and some not so greats. And I've seen how this industry and market have changed since the mid 80's.

What played in the 80's and 90's doesn't necessarily play now. What we had available to us in the 80's and 90's (as in staffs fat with support staff) aren't here anymore. Technology has given us amazing ability to download spots in a flash, replay great bits or even whole shows, etc but it has also given us the staff cut backs as we voice track entire shifts (entire days?) In addition, listeners are much more fickle than they were 15-25 years ago. It's easier to punch up another station on the car radio, plug in an iPod or go online to your favorite station in another market (Philly, NY, Paducah)

BB is not coming back to the same market he left, nor is it the same audience.

Amish Terp, please stop living in the past. The present and future might not be perfect but it's what we have.
 
Well said Sprtschick and Winkerfunk. I get that a lot of folks are nostalgic for a return to the days when a radio station could invest such amounts in return for an even greater pay off.Those days are gone...at least until radio stations become affordable again. Bond ain't working, is he? I'm sure if he was considered valuable, somebody between Allentown and Harrisburg would have given him a shot by now, even if it were only part-time.

Bruce needs to re-invent himself. He has talent...he is very talented.
 
It becomes obvious which contributors are still working in the business today, survived the changes that have happened in the last decade and understand how things have to work now in this type of economy just so that those who still have a job in radio can keep that job. I work with multiple markets up and down the entire east coast and have seen the changes all over the industry. Even today you have markets that are just barely surviving in some regions, some on the come back and still there are markets that are in the toilet money wise with no relief in site. There still could be more layoffs and consolidation, automation, voice tracking to come in those areas. To those who "used" to work in the business, including BB, there may be a reason why you "used" to be in the business.
 
Never say never. There is a way for Bruce to get back in the business....but that's up to Bruce. He would have to be willing to accept what a station can afford to pay, perform duties other than just his airshift, and do anything that is needed to be done at the station. He also needs to forget about the fact that he is Bruce Bond and that he was a star in this market....and understand that things are much different in 2011 than they were in the 80's and 90's. It has been mentioned that he does have talent. Can he adapt that talent to the listener of today? As another poster put it....can he reinvent himself? C'mon Bruce......I think you can do it. At least I think it's worth a try!
 
Loved Bond on WHP...

FM Talk 106.7

Matt Brouillette and that Epstein guy for PM drive to go up against Durgin (3-7PM). They have filled in for him in the past... they seem to work well together, good flow and good balance on the issues. Give Bruce Bond a night shift (7-11PM) that way he can do his "controversial" shtick.

Maybe Smerconish for early afternoon? Find somebody local for mornings.
 
sprtschick said:
WinkerFunk, you are on the mark with your thoughts. I've never worked with BB but I've been in the business/market for over 25 years and I've worked with some great personalities and some not so greats. And I've seen how this industry and market have changed since the mid 80's.

What played in the 80's and 90's doesn't necessarily play now. What we had available to us in the 80's and 90's (as in staffs fat with support staff) aren't here anymore. Technology has given us amazing ability to download spots in a flash, replay great bits or even whole shows, etc but it has also given us the staff cut backs as we voice track entire shifts (entire days?) In addition, listeners are much more fickle than they were 15-25 years ago. It's easier to punch up another station on the car radio, plug in an iPod or go online to your favorite station in another market (Philly, NY, Paducah)

BB is not coming back to the same market he left, nor is it the same audience.


Amish Terp, please stop living in the past. The present and future might not be perfect but it's what we have.
Click to expand...

oh, please, I am actually living in the PRESENT....as in PRESENTLY the majority of the local shows in this market lack an entertainment value. I apologize if you are a part of one of them, but I am just speaking the truth.

You seem worried or something that he may come back. why is that? he provides ENTERTAINMENT.....always has and always will.......his audience is still here and will still listen.

and yes, listeners are fickle....which is why they would love someone to make them not HAVE to flip stations in search for someone to entertain them.

you can write 1000 more words talking about this or that, but that is the problem. its all very simple. he entertains people
 
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