CC Sale

[kentuckymedia]

Using the best they have to offer is NOT ABC Radio Networks. ABC Music stations are tanking all over the united states....why would you use an ABC Music feed?

ABC/Citadel or whatever it is right now knows News/Talk and Sports....and thats about it! Maybe a small tiny bit of Rock.

ABC never inserts local promotions on their stations, they have dead segues atleast 3 or 4 times per hour and it sounds terrible. I mean, even the shows operate on Central Time Zone. Mornings start at 7AM-11AM and Mid-Days go from 11-4 or something like that....terrible!

If they wont switch satellite to something a little better. Buy this really cool program called SELECTOR. Then you hire someone to live in Mount Vernon or Fremont and they schedule music for ALL four stations each day. No, you wouldnt have talent...but that might be better than the crap on ABC or WW1.

Seriously check it out Jim, Tom and Jeff.....www.wrnonline.com

You might like what you hear

 

[RF Man]

Jimbo,

I'm not a confrontational person, but you need to make sure your facts are straight.
There's not really any difference between being fired, let go, or not picked up by new ownership. In any of those cases, you're out of a job.
The sports personality wasn't picked up by BAS, THEN left to work at Fostoria radio. He left, after he wasn't "hired" or retained by the new ownership.

While the number of radio stations that program music locally is shrinking, it's still done.

I seem to remember hearing and reading about a big public outcry, when new ownership took over.
The Fremont newspaper had a scaithing editoral as well, which is odd, because the paper and the radio station compete for ad dollars.

I'm wondering since when was any person promised anywhere in radio a permanent job? None of those people had any kind of a contract with WFRO nor do any of the people working for BAS. I would fully expect to compete for my job if a new owner takes over my stations.

In this part of Ohio when something changes that has been the status quo for many years, people complain. People in general don't like change in small towns. BAS however has proven to be a good neighbor to the area and treats their employees with respect and courtesy. Maybe this is why so many people wish them well.

 

[kentuckymedia]

BAS has been known as a good neighbor and thats something that we should be all proud about...as well other companies such as Saga, Maverick, Radioworks, Susquehanna, etc. Certain companies should be proud of their accomplishments in their communities.

The only thing BAS is doing that could be improved is getting more involved in their programming (ie, dumping ABC Satellite Networks).

 

[Shelloutfalter]

One thing BAS takes very seriously is providing top-notch local news coverage. While other stations are stripping down their news departments and their offerings, BAS is beefing up.

In Mount Vernon, home to WMVO and WQIO, there's two news directors - Dave Bevington and Ops Manager Adam Taylor. Also on the news team is Marty Trese and Joe Daniels, as well as two other personalities with radio news experience that can step in for special events like election coverage or some other big happening.

The news coverage of WMVO and WQIO is comprehensive and well composed. While many stations use primarily "rip and read," the guys in Mount Vernon beat the pavement to compose their own in-house news with good clean actualities and cover topics that matter to the community.

Let us not forget that WMVO-AM is perhaps the most unique station in the BAS family, as it does have local news/talk programming from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each weekday, in addition to sports and special event coverage.

 

[kentuckymedia]

Why not make WMVO even better and go all News/Talk/Sports. Research says....IT WORKS HERE! When WTVN is beating WMVO in all key demos, that says something.

 

[jimbo60]

Radiotops: Lets see, a Newspaper writing a scathing report on a radio station. Hummm ! I'm sure they were fair and balanced. The Ganette group doesn't qualify to be called a newspaper. Rag yes, newspaper no ! Also, get your facts straight. Just because one company buys another company doesn't give anyone the right to be guaranteed a job. You're not buying the people your buying the assets of a company. Are the current people important ? Yes they are and they deserve to be treated with respect. However, I'm sure it's OK if they decide to leave for whatever reason and could care less if they are a key player and leave the company in a bind. That would be fine, right ? It's a ruthless world out there. In todays competitive world every company that wants to survive and make a profit needs to access their needs and make moves to insure profits and a future for everyone there. I can tell you from experience, I've been sold, I've been bought, I've had to be the one to bring down the hammer and none of it is pleasant. It's never personal, it's just business. If you don't do your job someone else will replace you. Then you still have your pride and unemployment checks to cash in on. Is it fair ? Hell no ! J60

 

[jimbo60]

Radiotops :

 

[jimbo60]

Radiotops: One last correction. The sports personality was picked up by BAS. He stayed 6 months and left on his own. Was it perhaps because he didn't have things totally his way ? Don't know. But he left he wasn't fired. If we had more companies like the folks at BAS the Broadcast business wouldn't be in the mess it's in right now. Companies like CC and Cumulus wouldn't be using people as throw aways and everyone could get back to doing what they do best. RADIO ! J60

 

[kentuckymedia]

Jimbo, your right. The person left on his own from what I have been told.

No one has to keep the current employees. Some of the clusters goodradio.tv is taking over they are going to ask for everyone to reapply for their current positions. They will weed out a few people and keep a few. Not sure which markets, but I heard a couple in Ohio are going to be doing this.

Bas is a great company. My biggest pet peave is they think running stations on ABC is going to take them to the top. ABC has been known as one the most terrible localization satellite providers in the country. Its cheap to run, thats why so many like it...but is sounds awful. Its kinda like winning the ugliest baby contest.

My hope and goal would be for both Eagles to get one live jock in morning drive or afternoon drive, run the rest off WAITT RADIO NETWORKS. Same with Wolf. Atleast you would sound a bit more credible.

In Sandusky WCPZ might be voicetracking, but their eating FRO's lunch, same with MJK.

In Mount Vernon WMVO is pretty solid if it keeps growing its local news/talk approach. The oldies format is really useless with 101.7 and 107.9 in the fringes. WQIO just needs to be a bit more competitive. With Saga picking up Mansfield, they are really going to toy with WQIO. They will see it as a major weak link and run hard and fast gobbling up Knox County.

Think about it like this. Saga will most likely open a Mount Vernon sales office. These people can sell Knox County Businesses on 98.3, 107.7, 105.3, 101.3 and 94.7, 103.5, 107.9

Just my 2 cents. I think BAS is a great business, just please work on getting a different music box!!!!!

 

[radiotops]

jimbo60,

I'm not trying to ruffle feathers here, and if I've done so, I apologize.
Apparently, I was misinformed about the personality we've talked about.

I really don't have anything against BAS. I just wondered aloud if the station was considered local, since seemingly much of the program is done via satellite.
Perhaps it was a silly question. In many, many ways, WFRO certainly is much more locally responsive than a number of CC-owned stations.

The former WNRR seems to be better off, although the area seems to be saturated with Classic or Classic-type rock stations. Still, it sounds much better than the former on-air product.
I don't really know much about BAS's other stations, but it seems like they're doing well.

Again, I apologize if I've upset you.

 

[Shelloutfalter]

Kentuckymedia,

Believe me when I say that I'm with you on the desire to see WMVO go all news/talk. The problem is the old folks that are the lifeblood of the station would have a heart attack at the idea of it.

But from a standpoint of serving the community, I'd venture to say that there are few small-market stations left in this country that cater to the public's informational needs like WMVO does. Besides Tradio, which we can all get a great laugh out of each weekday morning, there's two hours of all-local public affairs programming in the form of AM Knox County. Guests range from high-profile politicians like the district's senator and state rep, congressman and local service clubs and organizations.

Add to that the local-flavor of Dave Bevington in the afternoons jamming the phone lines pretty solid most days and WMVO is an excellent hometown station. When you compare their informational offerings to any nearby CC station, I think WMVO holds its own quite well.

The CC Mansfield Cluster's news isn't all that great or plentiful, and even "News Radio" 610 WTVN has cut its news back to damn near bare bones rip and read stuff.

 

[kentuckymedia]

I agree 100%. I just think by expanding their current local swap/talk programming and making it a part of the line up until atleast 6PM would help the station in its overall growth.

I have a book in front of me for 2006 County By County and WMVO shows up at #7 in Knox County. While I understand BAS doesnt really care at all about ratings, you think that they would dump the stardust by now. Its time for it to....pardon me as I say this....its time for Stardust to "die". Whats keeping WMVO afloat is the morning and mid-day programming it currently has on-air, besides a few games here and there.

I really think BAS Mount Vernon has quite the opportunity to do some great things, and all they need to do is step up their game in the programming side. You have director of FM Operations Erick Klausten who has really kept Eagle as fresh as possible. Then AM Operations is Adam Taylor, along with Marty Tracie and Dave Bevington. I think all 4 do a fantastic job and the company should step up and applaud them. Especially Erick for all the hard work keeping that FM afloat.

There are a lot of older people in the county, but if you fed them their tradio, local community things and some Rush Limbaugh you would make them happier than when they get pie. Besides after 7PM you cant hear WMVO past the Wal-Mart. So running Fox Sports would suit the station just fine after 6p.

The FM should also get a little enhancement. First and foremost, they need to switch satellite providers. I mean, ABC Favorites sucks. In all honesty, they need to dump it and get a local morning show. Move John Tesh to afternoon drive and fill the gaps with a better sat and sports.

I would love to have come in and prime the station to become the flagship of Kenyon Athletics. Build it up to an all time high and brought in a local morning show. Move the music to the 1991 average era and repackage the station. If it was done with a little bit more TLC you could really make that station shine again. I remember when Super Q was eating WNCI's lunch in Delaware and Licking Counties. Position it to really go after WVNO from the north and WBNS from the south. Make people change their channels to you Knox, Delaware and Licking counties.

Oh well, just my thoughts.

 

[kentuckymedia]

Plus, I really think Saga is going to invest a pretty penny into that Mansfield Cluster. I mean, that will become a Key market for them.

Oh, has anyone else heard the news....rumor is Saga is getting Ashtabula....is that true?

 

[Allfirdup]

Plus, I really think Saga is going to invest a pretty penny into that Mansfield Cluster. I mean, that will become a Key market for them.

I would be surprised if the dump a bunch of money in them, they just put WJZA/WJZK in Columbus on satellite. B107.9 is heavily voice tracked, and Sunny is loosing listeners.

also why dump a bunch of money in a small market like Mansfield, i'm sure ad dollars are tight there like all other small markets

 

[Shelloutfalter]

I agree 100%. I just think by expanding their current local swap/talk programming and making it a part of the line up until atleast 6PM would help the station in its overall growth.


The FM should also get a little enhancement. First and foremost, they need to switch satellite providers. I mean, ABC Favorites sucks. In all honesty, they need to dump it and get a local morning show. Move John Tesh to afternoon drive and fill the gaps with a better sat and sports.

A local morning show would probably do the station a lot of good, and I've heard from the owners of BAS that they would be receptive to that idea when the company grows to a comfortable level. I mean, heck, that station has some top-of-the-line equipment in it. The boards in the AM and FM air studios are the same boards used by many big market CC stations. Not to mention, both stations are running NexGen.

I would love to have come in and prime the station to become the flagship of Kenyon Athletics.

Here's where we disagree. In my opinion, that would be a waste of transmitter. Kenyon has very little desire to want to be a part of the community, and most listeners that would be affected by that realize that very fact. I don't see Kenyon really being much of an asset to the airwaves. The Mount Vernon Nazarene University has more local interest in its sports than Kenyon.

I remember when Super Q was eating WNCI's lunch in Delaware and Licking Counties. Position it to really go after WVNO from the north and WBNS from the south. Make people change their channels to you Knox, Delaware and Licking counties.

I remember that era, too. The station was actually once ranked at no. 7 in the Columbus market under the direction of then PD Rod Staats (son of veteran AM broadcaster Ron Staats). He was really gunning hard to mow over Sunny 95, first and foremost.

Touching back on an issue previously mentioned, and that being Eric Clouston -- his production skills have created an imaging package for WQIO that make even an ABC satellite station sound very local. While I have mixed feelings about ABC Radio Networks, I think they actually do a better job than you're giving them credit for.

I went to WAITT's website and was impressed by what I found, but I'm still not sure what would make using WAITT that much more advantageous than ABC. ABC offers customized voicework from jocks and there's a customized jingle package. Specifically, what makes WAITT so much better of a choice?

It looked to me like if you were just starting up a station and didn't want to sink a bunch of cash into an operating system like NexGen, then WAITT would be the clear choice. But for a station that's already running such a sophisticated OS, how do you use it in conjunction with WAITT?

 

[kentuckymedia]

The nice thing about running WAITT hand in hand with NEXGEN is that during local shows or even syndicated shows on the FM like Tesh, you can run off of NEXGEN and then throw a switcher that fires it back to WAITT after the show is completed.

I think WAITT is more realistic and local than the other services provided by ABC. WAITT makes their jocks sound live and local which for the average listener, when they mention things like the community dog walk coming up this weekend is going to sound better than talking about requests. Especially for a station that needs it like Eagle.

www.wrnonline.com if anyone wants to check it out.

 

[Shelloutfalter]

The nice thing about running WAITT hand in hand with NEXGEN is that during local shows or even syndicated shows on the FM like Tesh, you can run off of NEXGEN and then throw a switcher that fires it back to WAITT after the show is completed.

For the record, and before I begin, I assert that there's no hostility in my replies. With written communication it's easy to perceive undue negativity, but be assured there's none here. With that being said, I'll reply.

The example you cited above is already done six nights a week on Eagle 93.7. With a simple Tesh to ABC macro and vice versa, the station seamlessly goes from ABC to Tesh and back. In the mornings on WMVO, it goes from ABC's "Timeless Favorites" (formerly Stardust) format to Doug Stephan's Good Day without any interruption in flow.

I think WAITT is more realistic and local than the other services provided by ABC. WAITT makes their jocks sound live and local which for the average listener, when they mention things like the community dog walk coming up this weekend is going to sound better than talking about requests. Especially for a station that needs it like Eagle.

I don't think ABC is the best radio network on Earth, but their satellite formats do many of the things it appears you believe they DON'T do. ABC affiliates are entitled to customized voicework that's easily inserted through NexGen or even something as inexpensive as BSI Simian. The custom jingle packages are great, too.

One downside to ABC is that your music selection is at their mercy. I'd like to be able to have instant access to a music library like WAITT's Storq feature, but if you're just getting into the biz and a satellite format is what you desire, ABC certainly isn't horrible.

 

[nc radio vet]

When did this thread become an argument between ABC and WAITT Radio?

I thought it was about the CC Sale.

 

[sunset77]

Let's get back to the CC sale...and the new owners...GoodRadio....no company is going to come in here and spend a lot of money on improvements till they get the sales up...Make no mistake...CC is selling these stations because they were not making money...period! It does not matter what format they are...what jocks they have or don't have...if they feature a morning show or not...whether they are live or from a bird...or if they have the most listeners or they are at the bottom of the heap...the bottom-line question from the current owners and future owners is and will continue to be......are we making money...are we getting the ROI we expect...if the answer is NO...then expect big changes...if the answer continues to be no...expect more changes or a sell-off....That's business in todays radio enviroment and until the FCC changes ownership rules...it will remain that way...Right now we have FCC commissioners saying that they want more minorities and more Mom and Pops to have an opportuntity to own stations...If GoodRadio is a deal...then CC was successful in selling the majority of the 448 targeted small market stations to consolidators. Another sad day for radio and another example of the need for change!

 

[Speaker of Truth]

GoodRadio counts among its investors former NextMedia founding partner Carl Hirsch, and the most recent NAB President, who recently stepped down..so any ideas of live local radio making any sort of comeback in a lot of these markets is a pipe dream..

So far, Dean Goodman has spent nearly 500 million dollars purchasing radio stations since starting GoodRadio LLC in the fourth quarter of 2006..the Clear Channel stations push the total up over 200..for a company just getting started, their debt load is going to be crushing..

So far, he's said all the usual things to various local media.....no immediate staff changes, etc etc..

KentuckyMedia provides an impressive list of what Dean has confirmed so far..I work at one of those stations on the list..and we've heard nothing since the private jet went wheels up when Dean paid a visit after he wrote the check..

The Moberly, MO station on the list has something in the neighberhood of 50 employees currently on the payroll..the Farmington and Festus stations together have around 40..any guesses on what those numbers will be on 31 December of this year..