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Death of Smooth Jazz - Sad & unnecessary, but no surprise...

M

Media_Maven

Been silently reading your posts for months about the demise of SJ stations in Dallas, NYC, D.C., Calgary, Alberta (you missed that one), Denver, and now in Houston. As I type this, I'm recording an hour of WJZZ Atlanta, which is likely to be lost next, looking at its plummeting ratings, and knowing what I do about Radio One and their (lack of) commitment to the format.

While it's very sad for those of us who've enjoyed the NAC/SJ format for years (been an avid listener since '87, at age 15), the demise of the format shouldn't be a surprise to any of us who've been bemoaning its direction for quite some time. Many of you -- Double D, AnotherCat, Nock, cklw800, WTUX, Phil, fang39, MRFLASHPORT, and others (sorry if I've neglected your name) -- have shared insightful & instructive comments. But have Ms. Archer or Mr. Kepler taken any of it to heart? Have any of you heard from them? I know I haven't, and I've tried getting through to them for YEARS. Do they care about what we think? We represent the P1s, don't we? Can a format survive if it disregards its P1s? No, Archer & Kepler are the experts -- they know what's best for us & for the format. We should leave it to them; I'm sure they've got everything under control.

This, gang, is what happens when an industry feeds on its own ego & arrogance, and locks out fresh thinking from capable individuals. It's what happens when the oligopoly that runs the industry loses touch with those it was meant to serve, and ends up serving only themselves. I hate to say this, because I care deeply about the hard-working & talented programmers, personalities, and artists who will be hurt terribly by the demise of what in my opinion is (or was) the only listenable radio format on terrestrial FM radio in today's pathetic radio landscape. It's a REAL shame. It didn't have to happen this way -- especially to such a viable format, and one that has attracted such a desirable demographic audience.

However, what we're watching with SJ is just a symptom of what's happening to the entire industry, an industry that is now reaping what it has sown by abandoning its audiences and catering to the lowest possible denominator for over a decade, at least.

I encourage all of you to support the few, smaller broadcasters who care about their listeners -- listen to & send an email to stations carrying Jones' SJ, thanking them for doing the format right. Send an email to the President of Jones. Listen to www.wave947.fm, and if you like what you hear, send an email to Mary & Doug Kirk who put their heart & soul into the format for their listeners. And join me in saying to Allen Kepler & Carol Archer, "You're getting what you deserve. Maybe this will teach you to give a darn about those of us you've driven away from the format for the better part of a decade. We actually wanted to support you, but you shut us out and gave us the middle finger, and now you're paying the price".

Had to get that off my heavy heart. Thanks for reading.

- A Media Maven in Michigan
[email protected]
 
I don't really consider Carol Archer part of this gang, although she can't cover anything that criticises BA in RnR because RnR is extremely status-quo and BA spends a lot of ad dollars with the publication. She can agree with you silently but not use RnR as a forum..I remember in the mid 90s when everyone was on a BA high if you were competing with a BA station and beating them RnR would not cover it. There were several of us with brunch shows who were doing just that. I do consider Michael Fisher part of this crew and now he is blogging about innovation but he spent 15 years working counter to that and what you do is always more of an indication of who you are than what you say is.

Too much power in too few hands is never a good thing. An open exchange of ideas is how you continue to grow and remain interesting to your audience. If you listen to the BA SJ Network you can tell these guys are coasting on what they've done in the past..and every day it gets a little bit older and more tired.
 
Media_Maven said:
Been silently reading your posts for months about the demise of SJ stations in Dallas, NYC, D.C., Calgary, Alberta (you missed that one), Denver, and now in Houston. As I type this, I'm recording an hour of WJZZ Atlanta, which is likely to be lost next, looking at its plummeting ratings, and knowing what I do about Radio One and their (lack of) commitment to the format.

While it's very sad for those of us who've enjoyed the NAC/SJ format for years (been an avid listener since '87, at age 15), the demise of the format shouldn't be a surprise to any of us who've been bemoaning its direction for quite some time. Many of you -- Double D, AnotherCat, Nock, cklw800, WTUX, Phil, fang39, MRFLASHPORT, and others (sorry if I've neglected your name) -- have shared insightful & instructive comments. But have Ms. Archer or Mr. Kepler taken any of it to heart? Have any of you heard from them? I know I haven't, and I've tried getting through to them for YEARS. Do they care about what we think? We represent the P1s, don't we? Can a format survive if it disregards its P1s? No, Archer & Kepler are the experts -- they know what's best for us & for the format. We should leave it to them; I'm sure they've got everything under control.

This, gang, is what happens when an industry feeds on its own ego & arrogance, and locks out fresh thinking from capable individuals. It's what happens when the oligopoly that runs the industry loses touch with those it was meant to serve, and ends up serving only themselves. I hate to say this, because I care deeply about the hard-working & talented programmers, personalities, and artists who will be hurt terribly by the demise of what in my opinion is (or was) the only listenable radio format on terrestrial FM radio in today's pathetic radio landscape. It's a REAL shame. It didn't have to happen this way -- especially to such a viable format, and one that has attracted such a desirable demographic audience.

However, what we're watching with SJ is just a symptom of what's happening to the entire industry, an industry that is now reaping what it has sown by abandoning its audiences and catering to the lowest possible denominator for over a decade, at least.

I encourage all of you to support the few, smaller broadcasters who care about their listeners -- listen to & send an email to stations carrying Jones' SJ, thanking them for doing the format right. Send an email to the President of Jones. Listen to www.wave947.fm, and if you like what you hear, send an email to Mary & Doug Kirk who put their heart & soul into the format for their listeners. And join me in saying to Allen Kepler & Carol Archer, "You're getting what you deserve. Maybe this will teach you to give a darn about those of us you've driven away from the format for the better part of a decade. We actually wanted to support you, but you shut us out and gave us the middle finger, and now you're paying the price".

Had to get that off my heavy heart. Thanks for reading.

- A Media Maven in Michigan
[email protected]
Click to expand...

I e-mail Carol Archer every day. She e-mails me back. I even call her on the phone. We have been talking to each other for almost 10 years. Ms. Archer feels taht the format is not dead or going to die. When she started writing NAC back in 1987 she has seen SJ radio stations come and go all the time. She told me that WQCD has been unprofatable for many years.
 
Steve Wiersman.
 
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