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CBS

Sad to hear Les Moonves pat himself on the back and talk about how well CBS is doing. Millions saved by getting rid of talented on air people. Takes a lot of talent to do that.
 
TV is different - viewers see a face, a real person. In radio, it's just a disembodied voice, something (in their minds) which is easily replaced or duplicated by another human who can also speak. And unfortunately they try to apply concepts from television to radio - hey, this one person can entertain millions of people across the country in hundreds of markets, why can't we replicate that in radio!
 
Nik said:
TV is different - viewers see a face, a real person. In radio, it's just a disembodied voice, something (in their minds) which is easily replaced or duplicated by another human who can also speak. And unfortunately they try to apply concepts from television to radio - hey, this one person can entertain millions of people across the country in hundreds of markets, why can't we replicate that in radio!

Thar was not my point. My point was, Letterman makes tons and tons of money from CBS. Since CBS is getting rid of all the radio folks who make a lot of money so they can have the Cowboys... make sense now?
 
Define 'a lot of money'.

Because both KRLD's and KLUV's 25-54 numbers are (IIRC) not that great. And since a big chunk of advertising revenue is based off those 25-54 numbers, perhaps CBS is getting rid of people that cost them a lot of money AND don't bring in a lot of money.

I said it about Russ, thatyou can justify a million dollar salary when you're #1 M25-54. Harder to justify that when you've dropped to 5-7th in that demo.

Perhaps the same is true for John Summers, Brad Barton, et al.

Instead of just assuming it's CBS blindly cutting costs, has anybody bothered to look at what KLUV's (or KRLD's) ratings have been like? What kind of billing figures are available for those 2 stations (And even if it's just the 1-2 year old figures posted here a few months back, it'll give you an idea of who's making what)

I'd venture a guess that it's not CBS just cutting high cost folks, it's CBS cutting high cost folks who don't draw the 25-54 numbers like they used too...
 
Since when was someone like Brad Barton REQUIRED to draw the core demos? He was KRLD's Weather expert. You don't cut a guy like him just because he may not have a "regular" show where he's required to pull in listeners. Barton's role as an expert meteorologist was one of KRLD's greatest assets for "serving the public's interest".

Sorry Little1, but I seriously disagree with you on this one.
 
Where did I say Barton was required to draw 25-54?

The point I was making, (which you obviously missed if that's what you took away from my post) was that KRLD is not doing well "overall". Overall declining revenues require overall cuts.

And cutting high priced talent is a bean-counters easy way out. Lot harder to save 10's of thousands of dollars by scrimping on office supplies.

Frankly, I agree with you that Barton is/was one of KRLD's prime assets. I think firing him is like eating the seed corn. But that station draws an incredibly old audience. Only that fact that they have a gazillion commercials per hour allows them to make what they were making. But what I'm told is they're not making what they used to. And that means cuts. Everywhere. With nobody being sacred.

Like I said, I think it's a mistake. Just pointing out that it's KRLD's 25-54 numbers that are probably driving this...
 
CBS is actually doing pretty well - at least in many parts of the country. Guess that kind of explains why all of a sudden networks like NBC are jumping on the pounce CBS bandwagon, and use CBS for whatever other kind of punching bag they seem to need at the moment.

No, I don't work for any networks. Just seeing a lot of it on Radio-info.com as well as hearing it on a radio station all of a sudden over the past month or so. CBS and their associates party on.
 
little1 said:
Like I said, I think it's a mistake. Just pointing out that it's KRLD's 25-54 numbers that are probably driving this...

That statement answers your own question.

The thing is, as I stated previously, Barton was helping KRLD maintain its role as serving in the public interest. They shouldn't have cut him loose, because of that. CBS should have cut overpriced bean counters instead. But as usual, you sales guys will dismiss that because you fail to understand the concept of “acting on behalf of the public’s interest” requirement in KRLD’s license.
 
I don't work in sales, so I'm not a "sales guy", and the public intrest requirement is a joke. When was the last time a station lost it's license because it didn't serve the public interest?

It's like the alamo audit- where the Alamo does it, but the gov's office says they aren't required to keep it, check it, or do anything with it.

The FCC doesn't check it, license renewals are routine, etc. Some stations pay lip service to serving the public interest but realistically stations are no longer MADE to serve the public interest- and if your argument is that BArton was public service, are you suggesting that ALL stations should have to have a meterologist on staff? If Barton is a public service, isn't every station not providing in depth weather coverage failing the public interest requirements?
 
scrtr84 said:
Thar was not my point. My point was, Letterman makes tons and tons of money from CBS. Since CBS is getting rid of all the radio folks who make a lot of money so they can have the Cowboys... make sense now?

Letterman earns a mere fraction of what he brings in. And to start a new television show requires hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. Bad TV shows can be a costly mistake, while a bad radio program is quickly forgotten and a replacement is cheap. Letterman is a winner for CBS.
 
little1 said:
I don't work in sales, so I'm not a "sales guy", and the public intrest requirement is a joke. When was the last time a station lost it's license because it didn't serve the public interest?

I have seen you ask this lameo question around this place so many times, that it's laughable. Once you throw that one out, it's not worth wasting time responding to you.
 
Nik said:
scrtr84 said:
Thar was not my point. My point was, Letterman makes tons and tons of money from CBS. Since CBS is getting rid of all the radio folks who make a lot of money so they can have the Cowboys... make sense now?

Letterman earns a mere fraction of what he brings in. And to start a new television show requires hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. Bad TV shows can be a costly mistake, while a bad radio program is quickly forgotten and a replacement is cheap. Letterman is a winner for CBS.

You are still missing my point. It doesn't matter how much money Letterman makes, it only matters that he makes a lot from CBS. And my point is not just on Letterman. It's on all CBS TV employees. So if CBS cuts all the veteran radio folks just to save a quick buck, then it's only logical TV people could be next. CBS has shown itself to be slash-budget-happy.
 
scrtr84 said:
little1 said:
I don't work in sales, so I'm not a "sales guy", and the public intrest requirement is a joke. When was the last time a station lost it's license because it didn't serve the public interest?

I have seen you ask this lameo question around this place so many times, that it's laughable. Once you throw that one out, it's not worth wasting time responding to you.

Which means you can't name a time a station has lost it's license for not serving the public interest. And what that makes laughable is y'all's obsession with this romanticized ideal of 'serving the public interest'.

Yes, theoretically stations are supposed to serve the public interest. In reality there's absolutely NO enforcement mechanism to ensure that they do, which makes stations able to ignore that at their leisure.

Which makes your concern over stations NOT serving the public interest to your unspecified standards a joke.

But okay, you laid out that Barton is somehow serving the public interest part of KRLD's license. Doesn't that mean that stations that don't have weather guys aren't? Challenging anybody's license over that obvious failure? Yeah, didn't think so...
 
Little 1 you amuse me once more. First off your statement:"Doesn't that mean that stations that don't have weather guys aren't?  Challenging anybody's license over that obvious failure?  "

First rule in high school grammar class, never use a double negative in a sentence.

Second RJ I'll partially give you one, and that being stations don't care about serving the public. At one time they used and had to or their license was in jeopardy. The late 80's changed  that, the mid 90's  have made it worse. You may know which two important items of legislation I am referring to. Lastly you're "joke"comment reflects on radio today overall. It used to be a station cared about its community and what it placed over the air which was quality entertainment and information. Now its quanity. It appears by the declining stats of listeners, they are in the process of  searching elsewhere for the aforementioned. So your radio by AE design RJ is apparently taking on water fast. You best reach for a lifesaver and I am not referring to the candy.
 
thunderradio said:
Little 1 you amuse me once more. First off your statement:"Doesn't that mean that stations that don't have weather guys aren't? Challenging anybody's license over that obvious failure? "

First rule in high school grammar class, never use a double negative in a sentence.

Second RJ I'll partially give you one, and that being stations don't care about serving the public. At one time they used and had to or their license was in jeopardy. The late 80's changed that, the mid 90's have made it worse. You may know which two important items of legislation I am referring to. Lastly you're "joke"comment reflects on radio today overall. It used to be a station cared about its community and what it placed over the air which was quality entertainment and information. Now its quanity. It appears by the declining stats of listeners, they are in the process of searching elsewhere for the aforementioned. So your radio by AE design RJ is apparently taking on water fast. You best reach for a lifesaver and I am not referring to the candy.

Back to high school grammar ...

"Lastly you're "joke" comment ..."

You're is short for you are.

The word is "your".

Tony
Tony Lyndell Williams
 
scrtr84 said:
You are still missing my point. It doesn't matter how much money Letterman makes, it only matters that he makes a lot from CBS. And my point is not just on Letterman. It's on all CBS TV employees. So if CBS cuts all the veteran radio folks just to save a quick buck, then it's only logical TV people could be next. CBS has shown itself to be slash-budget-happy.

CBS Radio/Dallas couldn't use CBS Television's money no matter how badly they wanted it. For the sake of argument, CBS Radio/Dallas is it's own entity that is designed to support itself and send it's earnings upwards through the corporate chain. CBS will not fire a mailroom employee in NYC because CBS Radio/Dallas needs those funds to pay for the Cowboys; it's not how corporations work. If CBS Radio/Dallas needs the dough then they find it within their organization.
 
Maybe Barton will stick around as an independent contractor to do breaking weather coverage for KRLD? If not, it's a HUGE mistake letting him go. KRLD owns weather on radio. Ownership of severe weather coverage on KRLD=large cume. 86ing Barton just means there'll be even fewer listeners to a once mighty NEWS station. WBAP will win weather coverage on radio by default now.
 
kzewdude said:
Maybe Barton will stick around as an independent contractor to do breaking weather coverage for KRLD? If not, it's a HUGE mistake letting him go. KRLD owns weather on radio. Ownership of severe weather coverage on KRLD=large cume. 86ing Barton just means there'll be even fewer listeners to a once mighty NEWS station. WBAP will win weather coverage on radio by default now.
That large cume has them at 23rd in the ratings P25-54 in the June PPM's.

And how can you be sure of your basic premise that severe weather=large cume? Depending on how you think at home/in car and at work office is split up, there's a good chance that 2/3rds of that equation is more prone to watch TV coverage than radio. (at home- Until your power goes out or you lose your TV signal, TV lets you see more than radio can tell you (that whole picture worth a 1000 words thing) and at work is very haphazard as to who has TV access versus who has radio access, etc)

But okay, let's say I agree with your premise that severe weather draws a lot of listeners. How many severe weather days do y'all think we have here? a couple per month at best? Think an influx of listeners who probably don't listen for that long, on a couple of days here and there scattered through a month is really going to help your overall ratings? If you think so, you don't understand basic ratings methodology.

And don't get me wrong, i think KRLD is making a mistake. If I were them I'd get rid of the horrible imaging they have and I'd be promoting the crap out of the weather coverage- but if they're not going to take ownership of weather, I can understand where they're coming from in cutting lose (assumed)-high-price-talent.

Weather is good if you're going to own it. If it's not, it's a financial drain that doesn't really add to your overall ratings...We're just seeing where KRLD thinks they're bread is buttered. And it's not in weather coverage obviously...
 
With all the cross-pollination of CBS radio and TV lately, I'd expect Ch 11's Larry Mowry to be the 'heir-apparent' to the KRLD weather throne.

Speaking of, still just not too clear on why the Ch 11 morning show features hourly cut-ins from Jody Dean and his KLUV morning show. I'd guess they want viewers to tune into KLUV when they get on the road or something. But why wouldn't you plug KRLD instead? (News show plugging a news show.) Or plug the sports station, which could desperately use some listeners.
 
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