Could you really call KOMO all news anymore?

[Rob Piotrowski]

I really don't like the latest imaging on KOMO, especially the traffic sounder. Before, it seemed to scream "Hey, you tuned in for traffic, so pay attention!" Now it just sounds like they said "Ok, we need some bumper music for traffic, let's use this." It doesn't sound urgent at all. If KXL in Portland were an all news outlet I'd really like them, I really liked that clock a lot better than KOMO.

Thank the con-sultant for that. They jettisoned the "rock and roll news" theme Paul Duckworth put in place for the "softer sounds of news" wimpy stuff running now.

Some also feel by not saying everything in a single report, it makes each report sound more fresh.

Or it could be the simple incompetence of the local Total Traffic team (excepting Paul Tosch - who's the best in the business) to report actual traffic tieups. Time and again they're 20-30 minutes late to a blocking problem.

 

[KMan]

Thank the con-sultant for that. They jettisoned the "rock and roll news" theme Paul Duckworth put in place for the "softer sounds of news" wimpy stuff running now.

Or it could be the simple incompetence of the local Total Traffic team (excepting Paul Tosch - who's the best in the business) to report actual traffic tieups. Time and again they're 20-30 minutes late to a blocking problem.

Well, they need to get a new consultant to work on the station imaging... KOMO should sound a lot better than it does, and as I've noted before, after the cutbacks a few years ago they have added back some reporters to the line-up. But while Manda and Gregg could work drive time in any top ten market in the country, the PM drive team just isn't good (though Jaffe is not bad).

Meanwhile, as you noted, the quality of talent at Total Traffic has fallen drastically over the last few years.

 

[Rob Piotrowski]

But while Manda and Gregg could work drive time in any top ten market in the country, the PM drive team just isn't good (though Jaffe is not bad).

Never could figure out why Tom Glasgow got named PM anchor. He's a great sports guy but sounds very uncomfortable outside of that realm. Elisa Jaffe is a jewel, however. You couldn't have picked anyone better to sit in Jane Shannon's chair.

Maybe they'll move Herb Weisbaum back to PM drive (where he was initially) - that would be a big upgrade. Who knows.

 

[KMan]

Never could figure out why Tom Glasgow got named PM anchor. He's a great sports guy but sounds very uncomfortable outside of that realm. Elisa Jaffe is a jewel, however. You couldn't have picked anyone better to sit in Jane Shannon's chair.

Maybe they'll move Herb Weisbaum back to PM drive (where he was initially) - that would be a big upgrade. Who knows.

Yeah. Elisa Jaffe, for a career TV reporter/anchor, sounds really good on radio. There are few that can seamlessly make that transition. But she's dragged down by Glasgow, who not only has an awful voice (he's fine for a 90 second sports report but any longer, like doing play-by-play on a football game, gets grating) but, as you noted, seems really out of his element covering news.

Herb Weisbaum has been with KOMO AM in a variety of roles since it launched in 2002. His best role, hands down, is as a news anchor. He's spectacularly good. Letting Glasgow go back to doing sports full time and slotting Weisbaum (or Art Sanders, for that matter) into the PM drive would help the "sound" on that newscast tremendously.

 

[fordranger797]

Or it could be the simple incompetence of the local Total Traffic team (excepting Paul Tosch - who's the best in the business) to report actual traffic tieups. Time and again they're 20-30 minutes late to a blocking problem.

Is it the fault of management (for not providing the tools to accurately report), or the fault of the reporters?

 

[KMan]

And just a more general note. I don't think All-News as a format is dead. But with radio's continued slide, it becomes very difficult (seemingly) for these stations to pay for a slate of top talent. Sometimes it feels like, with the rest of radio, we're in a death spiral. The top talent leaves, or is laid off, and replaced by journalists that aren't as good, but will work for less. The product suffers, and listeners depart, because the newscast just isn't as good. Now revenues are down, and it gets harder and harder to even keep what you've got.

I have a pretty good understanding of corporate finance and strategy, but have no idea what the individual P&Ls look like for these stations. Regardless I'm not ready to believe that we're left with a choice between a mediocre all-news station, or none at all.

 

[KMan]

Is it the fault of management (for not providing the tools to accurately report), or the fault of the reporters?

Laurie Hardie cannot get through a single traffic report without tripping over her own tongue. Total Traffic has access to the WSDOT cams, police scanners, and the view out of their top floor windows. How many more resources do these reporters need?

 

[TheBigA]

I have a pretty good understanding of corporate finance and strategy, but have no idea what the individual P&Ls look like for these stations. Regardless I'm not ready to believe that we're left with a choice between a mediocre all-news station, or none at all.

At one time, people thought more competition would be good. This is what the world is like when you have an infinite radio dial, with lots of choices, and no one making money.

The real question is what happens when not only news radio goes away, but what happens when newspapers go away, and the only source you have for what's going on is Twitter and other user-generated content. That could happen in the next 5-10 years.

My view is what's killing news radio is aging demos and the fact that it's mainly on AM. People under 50 simply don't care about news radio. You can spend all the money in the world on talent, as they do at NPR, and you still can't change the fact that the audience is old and unsellable. If the listeners don't pay for it, it will go away.

 

[fordranger797]

Laurie Hardie cannot get through a single traffic report without tripping over her own tongue. Total Traffic has access to the WSDOT cams, police scanners, and the view out of their top floor windows. How many more resources do these reporters need?

In that case, I wonder why the stations who utilize Total Traffic don't just end their contract and try something else.

 

[TheBigA]

I wonder why the stations who utilize Total Traffic don't just end their contract and try something else.

Because in most cases the company that owns Total Traffic also owns those radio stations.

 

[Rob Piotrowski]

Is it the fault of management (for not providing the tools to accurately report), or the fault of the reporters?

"Tools" is an interesting word choice. I'll leave it at that... Seriously, it's not the information sources that's the problem. Heck, a teenager could do better reporting using just the DOT's website and Twitter.

I have a pretty good understanding of corporate finance and strategy, but have no idea what the individual P&Ls look like for these stations. Regardless I'm not ready to believe that we're left with a choice between a mediocre all-news station, or none at all.

Believe it. Especially with the new owners. They sold off their radio properties in 1999. They only are in radio because the 3 stations came along with the package. If they could find a buyer that will pay what they want, those stations would be gone tomorrow.

Because in most cases the company that owns Total Traffic also owns those radio stations.

Most of the TTWN clients in Seattle aren't owned by iHM. Not surprised you didn't know that, A.

 

[TheBigA]

Most of the TTWN clients in Seattle aren't owned by iHM.

Perhaps they were clients of the old Metro Traffic, which was bought by iHeart. Regardless, it's basically a barter deal for the stations, and a sellable feature.

 

[fordranger797]

a sellable feature.

Well there is also one little issue that remains: the reporters on Total Traffic still service many stations at once and have difficulties keeping up, or keeping what station they are on straight. I'm sure that even the more casual listeners on this board have been exposed to these issues before. Seems like it would be a tough sell.

 

[KMan]

Believe it. Especially with the new owners. They sold off their radio properties in 1999. They only are in radio because the 3 stations came along with the package. If they could find a buyer that will pay what they want, those stations would be gone tomorrow.

Hypothetically speaking here, say Sinclair finds a buyer for the cluster.

KOMO radio obviously has unbelievable synergies with the TV news operations.

A new owner would lose access to much (if not all) of those synergies (I could see a content licensing agreement, for a while, but...)

It'd be interesting to know if a new owner, who invested in the radio newsroom at KOMO, would be able to grow the revenues under that model to a point where the station could standalone in Seattle without at full-fledged TV newsroom backing up the operation.

 

[boombox4]

At one time, people thought more competition would be good. This is what the world is like when you have an infinite radio dial, with lots of choices, and no one making money.

The real question is what happens when not only news radio goes away, but what happens when newspapers go away, and the only source you have for what's going on is Twitter and other user-generated content. That could happen in the next 5-10 years.

My view is what's killing news radio is aging demos and the fact that it's mainly on AM. People under 50 simply don't care about news radio. You can spend all the money in the world on talent, as they do at NPR, and you still can't change the fact that the audience is old and unsellable. If the listeners don't pay for it, it will go away.

I think you're already got social media dominating the portal for "news" -- a recent newspaper article mentioned that 30% of U.S. media consumers get their "news" from Facebook.

It's just another step in the dumbing down of America. A lot of "news" I've seen on FB is quotes from opinionated blogs or memes -- and half of those memes are faulty at best, and downright lies at worst.

 

[Rob Piotrowski]

It'd be interesting to know if a new owner, who invested in the radio newsroom at KOMO, would be able to grow the revenues under that model to a point where the station could standalone in Seattle without at full-fledged TV newsroom backing up the operation.

There's not a company around that would "invest in the radio newsroom at KOMO". Any buyer will be in it to get Star and its billing numbers. The AMs would become satellite talkers, generating enough revenue to keep the transmitters humming.

Sorry to be so negative. I'd LOVE to have a KNX or WCBS-type all newser here. 14 years ago KOMO was like that.

 

[TheBigA]

Seems like it would be a tough sell.

Depends on who you're selling. The advertisers seem to like it. If you're selling people who use this board, maybe you're right.

 

[TheBigA]

14 years ago KOMO was like that.

14 years ago, the audience for the station was 14 years younger, and a lot more attractive to advertisers.

News radio is becoming like radio drama of the 1930s.

 

[KMan]

There's not a company around that would "invest in the radio newsroom at KOMO". Any buyer will be in it to get Star and its billing numbers. The AMs would become satellite talkers, generating enough revenue to keep the transmitters humming.

This implies that the current margins at KOMO radio are so thin, that any additional overhead and operating costs from being a stand alone station would destroy any remaining free cash flow. Yes/No?

Or is the above statement more a reflection of the large conglomerates that dominate radio and have had a hard time reinvesting in their product due to the debt service from ill-advised acquisitions a decade ago?

I'm not being argumentative for the sake of it... this is one of the most interesting discussions on this board in quite a while. Just looking for a deeper understanding of some of the issues.

 

[TheBigA]

Or is the above statement more a reflection of the large conglomerates that dominate radio and have had a hard time reinvesting in their product due to the debt service from ill-advised acquisitions a decade ago?

I really get sick of this point of view. It only involves two companies, neither of which own KOMO. Debt service isn't a problem for Sinclair. They're buying up stations all the time. They're investing in lots of things. But none of that changes the fact that the audience for all news radio is too old for most advertisers. That's what the problem is here. Ask your kids about news radio. Tell me what they say. That has more to do with this discussion than debt service.