Dead air on WQKC 1450

[radiofan502]

I've noticed a lot of dead air recently on WQKC 1450 "The Ticket". Wanted to listen to The Cincinnati Reds tonight, but dead air again. A lot of time there is dead air between innings and dead air when station ID is supposed to be given,but tonight total dead air.
Around 2 P.M they went dead,and when I checked around 8 P.M. for The Reds,still dead.Wonder if they were off all that time?
Just checked at 9:15 P.M. They are back on, but for how long? This is happening a lot lately.

 

[greg.hahn]

I've noticed a lot of dead air recently on WQKC 1450 "The Ticket". Wanted to listen to The Cincinnati Reds tonight, but dead air again. A lot of time there is dead air between innings and dead air when station ID is supposed to be given,but tonight total dead air.
Around 2 P.M they went dead,and when I checked around 8 P.M. for The Reds,still dead.Wonder if they were off all that time?
Just checked at 9:15 P.M. They are back on, but for how long? This is happening a lot lately.

Cumulus had a pretty good engineer that lived and worked in Indianapolis, but also covered several other markets for them, including Louisville. Well he moved on to greener pastures, probably where he didn't have to drive all over creation.

Now I it seems some guys from Illinois are taking care of the Louisville market, and I don't know where they may be, but they own stations in Rockford, which is up north- at least a 6 hour drive from here. The previous guy from Indianapolis had to take care of Rockford, so maybe now the Rockford guys are taking care of Louisville?

I don't know, but any way you look at it, it's not surprising they have troubles without someone in the area to take care of things.

Cumulus ought to sell those stations to someone that will operate them.

 

[Bengalsfan]

I don't know, but any way you look at it, it's not surprising they have troubles without someone in the area to take care of things.

If they would pay someone a decent amount, they wouldn't have a problem finding someone. I'm also assuming they still don't have a full time engineer in Lexington?

It also appears there is an STA in effect. They are operating at 150 watts because of high VSWR.

 

[WildcatGuy]

Sometimes I wonder how many people in radio today actually listen to their own stations.

Years ago, if a transmitter acted up, or a cart machine was pulling slow, or anything was not quite right, somebody would notice immediately, because they were actually listening. Heck, even sales people would report technical problems.

I know staffs are much leaner these days, and you have people overseeing several stations at a time. Still, I not only hear stupid mistakes on radio stations, I also hear them repeated. That just tells me no one is listening or paying attention.

This begs the question: if the people working at a radio station don't bother to listen, why in the world should anyone in the public bother?

 

[radioville]

I've heard dead air on 1450 too many times to count. 8am on a Sunday morning when I wanted to listen to espn national host John Kinkade, dead air. Later on that day when I wanted to hear Jim Kelch work on the Reds game, still dead air.

 

[radiotrumpet78]

I have even noticed that they let their FM station (93.9) sit on dead air for long periods of time.

Obviously they don't have a 24/7 board op... and like it was already stated, no one from the station is listening either. Wouldn't that tell you something about your programmng? BORING!

I like their FM station's music, but not their imaging. They need to copy their sister station up in Cincinnati WGRR!

 

[BuckyBadger]

I called there and talked to a very friendly guy who I think hosts the local afternoon show there. He basically said that the problems lately have been "outside of the studio" (I think he said "T-1") and assured me that there were engineers working on it.

I asked if they had an in-house engineer, and he said that they don't, but that the engineer they have right now is "very hands on."

Let's hope it gets straightened out soon.

 

[greg.hahn]

Sometimes I wonder how many people in radio today actually listen to their own stations.

Years ago, if a transmitter acted up, or a cart machine was pulling slow, or anything was not quite right, somebody would notice immediately, because they were actually listening. Heck, even sales people would report technical problems.

I know staffs are much leaner these days, and you have people overseeing several stations at a time. Still, I not only hear stupid mistakes on radio stations, I also hear them repeated. That just tells me no one is listening or paying attention.

This begs the question: if the people working at a radio station don't bother to listen, why in the world should anyone in the public bother?

That's because years ago there was someone paid to listen to each station, 24x7x365.

Now it's often one person per cluster of 3,4,5, or 8 stations. That guy doesn't know what's going on. So when WLRS has the satellite mess up in the middle of a newscast, nobody knows it because nobody is listening.

WAMZ can play that Urban "Keith Sweat Hotel" for ten minutes before someone catches it. In the old days of radio, that would have gotten you fired on the spot. Now it's OK, because "well, nobody was listening" and it really is OK that nobody was listening.

That is total BULLCRAP.

In the 1970s, if I had walked out of the radio station for 10 minutes to get a sandwich while a 30 minute tape played and something happened to that tape while I was gone, I would have been fired. No doubt about it. And I was in a market that wasn't even rated!

Managers who want to cut people to the point that nobody is paying attention to what's going out over the air don't really care about their product. And it shows.

 

[Bengalsfan]

That's because years ago there was someone paid to listen to each station, 24x7x365.

Yes, they were called disc jockys.

Now it's often one person per cluster of 3,4,5, or 8 stations. That guy doesn't know what's going on. So when WLRS has the satellite mess up in the middle of a newscast, nobody knows it because nobody is listening.

Actually, they are paid to watch silence alarms. WDJX's Chucky B will tell you that. When he was on the air at DJX, there were six lights in front of him. They were tied to silence sensors for the other stations. He could only respond if one of the others went off the air. Not if it was playing two sources at once, or a song that was out of format. Now, there is just nobody watching. I doubt there is anyone at those stations or the CC stations overnights and weekends. I know there is someone at the public stations since FPK has a live jock. They are about the only ones anymore.

In the 1970s, if I had walked out of the radio station for 10 minutes to get a sandwich while a 30 minute tape played and something happened to that tape while I was gone, I would have been fired. No doubt about it. And I was in a market that wasn't even rated!

It happened to me. I put on a song and walked out front to strech my legs and check the weather. The door locked behind me! It was a Saturday morning. Before cell phones. I had to hoof it a quarter mile to the next house and call the owner. I didn't get fired, but I sure got my butt chewed. From then on I NEVER left the building.

Managers who want to cut people to the point that nobody is paying attention to what's going out over the air don't really care about their product. And it shows.

And they shouldn't be surprised when listeners leave.

 

[bhearion]

That's because years ago there was someone paid to listen to each station, 24x7x365.


I doubt you could pay anyone enough to listen to a Cumulus programed station.

 

[radiorob2.0]

Sometimes I wonder how many people in radio today actually listen to their own stations.

Years ago, if a transmitter acted up, or a cart machine was pulling slow, or anything was not quite right, somebody would notice immediately, because they were actually listening. Heck, even sales people would report technical problems.

I know staffs are much leaner these days, and you have people overseeing several stations at a time. Still, I not only hear stupid mistakes on radio stations, I also hear them repeated. That just tells me no one is listening or paying attention.

This begs the question: if the people working at a radio station don't bother to listen, why in the world should anyone in the public bother?

That's because years ago there was someone paid to listen to each station, 24x7x365.

Now it's often one person per cluster of 3,4,5, or 8 stations. That guy doesn't know what's going on. So when WLRS has the satellite mess up in the middle of a newscast, nobody knows it because nobody is listening.

WAMZ can play that Urban "Keith Sweat Hotel" for ten minutes before someone catches it. In the old days of radio, that would have gotten you fired on the spot. Now it's OK, because "well, nobody was listening" and it really is OK that nobody was listening.

That is total BULLCRAP.

In the 1970s, if I had walked out of the radio station for 10 minutes to get a sandwich while a 30 minute tape played and something happened to that tape while I was gone, I would have been fired. No doubt about it. And I was in a market that wasn't even rated!

Managers who want to cut people to the point that nobody is paying attention to what's going out over the air don't really care about their product. And it shows.

Years ago I remember a long moment of dead air involving 790. Granted it was Christmas Eve 2000 but the carrier was silent from the first time it hit scan going into Jefferson County to the end of the night signal at the Tell City exit on I-64. If this had happened ten or twenty years earlier there would have been a job opening at 790.

Silence sensors exist in every form that do everything from alerting a human via automated voice or email to replacing programming with back up audio. Hell, some of the programs are free on line. Then comes the VPN's and virtual desktops so a responsible person is able to control programming from a remote location. I had this technology on an internet radio station with little budget. So you can understand why I am amazed why only a handful of stations employ these fail safe methods.

 

[KyDXIn]

This begs the question: if the people working at a radio station don't bother to listen, why in the world should anyone in the public bother?

That's because years ago there was someone paid to listen to each station, 24x7x365.

In the 1970s, if I had walked out of the radio station for 10 minutes to get a sandwich while a 30 minute tape played and something happened to that tape while I was gone, I would have been fired. No doubt about it. And I was in a market that wasn't even rated!

Managers who want to cut people to the point that nobody is paying attention to what's going out over the air don't really care about their product. And it shows.

Be it Congress, a local radi station, or the store down the street, it all deals with ACCOUNTABILITY. if there are no consequences WHEN THINGS CONSTANTLY go awry, then nothing will change.