I'll try here...
I have been listening to WVLT in my car lately, because WOGL has been playing a lot of crap lately.
I hear you, but "playing a lot of crap lately" isn't a WOGL exclusive. It's the nature of terrestrial radio programming in an era of satellite radio, iPods, and the availability of thousands of free internet audio stations. Major market terrestrial radio finds itself in a position of having to cater to the "lowest common denominator" listenership, and playing the same 400 safe songs over and over and over and over again unfortunately is the most effective way to get that job done.
They have also upped the number of commercials considerably since Sunny's demise.
According to my ears, WOGL has always had a really heavy spotload. The station also seems to run a lot more contest promos than other Philadelphia music FM outlets. And they're long, annoying promos run very frequently. That doesn't help the perception of the station's playing a lot of commercials. Can anyone confirm whether or not the station has indeed hiked its spotload since Sunny disappeared?
92.1 plays a great variety of oldies from the 50's-70s, and their playlist is reflective of what WOGL should sound like.
It's only "a great variety" if the songs involved are ones you personally like. To most listeners, they're either totally unfamiliar (a major NO-NO for effective radio programming) or major klunkers. And as someone who tends to love a good Billboard flop, at least 90 percent of them were klunkers for a reason.
Whenever anyone on any of these boards uses phrases like "We NEED" or "SHOULD sound like", chances are it's based on the personal tast of the author and not necessarily an objective analysis of proper programming techniques, the market in question, and of course, respect for the fact that terrestrial radio is a multi-billion-dollar BUSINESS (as opposed to a free jukebox service).
I heard Dave Fleetwood (WOGL alum) play Gerry & the Pacemakers' "How Do You Do It?", a record I haven't heard in years on the radio.
There's a reason you haven't heard it in years. While it was a top-10 hit in its day (actually a year after it first came out), it like thousands of other decent records fell thru the cracks of Oldies radio in the past decade-and-a-half as more and more Oldies stations realized easy programming success by forcefeeding Motown onto their playlists. Much of the Motown library, I believe, tests well even when focus group participants have never heard the songs presented because of their familiar, comfortable sound. The Gerry And The Pacemakers song you mentioned, while not a bad record, does not test well anymore precisely because it's been so long since anyone heard it. And good luck getting any unfamiliar song from 1964 (and some stations were actually spinning it in 1963 before it charted) to test well in any demographic under 60.
WVLT is a station totally out of control, and for the owner's sake, that's okay because it is still making tons of money (mainly thru its unlistenable brokered programming). There seems to be no methodology to the programming at all (there really hasn't been since I stopped doing it there six years ago), other than the personal tastes of the ones selecting the songs. Not good. You may like it, and that's great. As bad as I say WVLT is, radio-wise, I enjoy listening to it (the few times I can get any trace of the signal) much more than WOGL. But that's just my personal musical tastes, and believe me, I'd never use THAT as a guide to programming good radio.
1) Why can't WOGL's PD, along with the other suits, get their heads out of their asses and get a decent playlist together for the station's 20th anniversary?
While I cannot vouch for the CBS Radio suits' head locations, I can assure you the station's 20th anniversary is probably the last thing of concern on their minds. Maybe they'll think to use the anniversary for some cheap and easy promotional marketing at the time, but it has nothing to do with the music. I cannot stand listening to WOGL (as well as most other terrestrial music stations), but the numbers are still rather healthy and more importantly the station continues to bill well for CBS Radio. Then again, WCBS-FM New York still billed well, and when CBS Radio finds something for 98.1 that'll make more money than the current programming, WOGL will disappear just like New York's Oldies did last year.
I switched to WVLT in the car because WOGL does nothing except play the same 70s crap over and over.
Sad, but this is what the majority of terrestrial radio listeners want and expect. I'm sorry, but our musical preferences are too sophisticated for today's terrestrial radio. That's why XM and Sirius have millions of paying subscribers just a few years after their launches. That's why iPods take up more of kids' pocket room than lunch money. And it's why internet audio listening continues to suck listeners away from terrestrial radio. (If you like some of the "different" songs on WVLT, and have broadband, you're about to soon have a few really good choices for great music. One is already available, from the legendary Hy Lit!)
2) Why can't WVLT pump up their signal a little? For a station based in Vineland, which is just across the bridge, their signal sucks. I can only get them in my car.
No station can just "pump up its signal a little". And in the case of WVLT, it already has-- twice. The station was originally allocated for Cumberland County, and for most of its life (as WDVL-FM and later WKQV), that's pretty much all it covered. A major upgrade took place in the mid '80s, and just a few years ago it joined most other "Class A" FM stations in America by doubling from 3000 to 6000 watts ERP. That's it. The station won't be able to do anything else anytime soon, and nearby dial neighbor WXTU's running so-called "HD Radio" doesn't help.
WVLT IS NOT A PHILADELPHIA STATION. It was never intended to be, it never was, and it never will be. I realize this comes as a shock to many who have shows there, but it's true.
Vineland isn't "just across the bridge", especially for a lower-powered station. And in Vineland, 92.1 is "Class A" allocation (meaning it's not comparable to the big city signals in coverage area). For the station's power and tower height, I think the station gets out quite well actually.
Why does everyone pick on poor Julius May so much?
Because, unfortunately, many people attracted to radio are quite insecure. Many are also cruel, and feel the need to try bringing others (who have kind hearts and mean no harm) down to their levels rather than improving their own feelings of self-worth. Many are also lazy; it's easier to obsess over others' faults than it is to personally become better people.
