Detroit's Bizarro Ratings

[kilamanjero]

Detroit
RACE
White 116,599 12.3 %
Black or African American 775,772 81.6 %

SO, WITH THIS BEING SAID, I have a question:

Lets say that this breakdown is accurate. If Detroit has that high of a black population, then how come all those rhythmics and chr's are thriving there IN ADDITION TO also featuring electro dance & urban dance within their programming, BUT the same "can't happen" in Atlanta? I'm baffled... and need an explanation to why Detroit can do it, but Atlanta "can't".

Market tastes is usually the reason. The same question was just posed about Washington as well. Even with the ethnically diverse populations in those places still seem to lean more towards the typically clear urban music oriented stations rather than rhythmic ones.

 

[MattParker]

I agree with Nathan and Goldilocks. 'JR had its greatest success when it was most different from what everybody else in radio was doing - when it broke all the programming rules. They once called themselves "one of a kind." Now they are like all the other syndicated, right-wing talk blow-torches. Disney and Citadel basically destroyed the station. And let's face it, Paul W is not JP (more like another Jimmy Launce, not bad but not must hear radio).

 

[BlackCowboy]

I don't think WDFN and 97.1,The Ticket can survive as distinct sports talk stations,and opine that in '11,WDFN will join WJR as a right-windbag outlet.(Remember,they didn't re-hire comparative leftists Jamie Samuelsson and Mike Stone/Bob Wojonowski,but paired right-wingers Sean Baligian and Tom Kowalski(morning drive)and "Pompous Pilate" Drew Sharp and small star-boarder Matt Sheppard("Shep and Sharp") afternoons.Sharp kisses ALL SORTS
of establishment a***,while Sheppard is a younger,less abrasive Frank Beckmann.So,I can picture DFN swinging to EXTREMELY hard right-wing talk,as I believe it's lost most of the "dude generation[eighteen-34-year-old males or
"dudes"]to 97.1.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

The Detroit Radio Market is not just the City of Detroit. There's at least 75% of the people outside the city. The statistics quoted are for the City of Detroit. If the market were the city, the ratings would seem strange indeed.

 

[adub]

3) Detroit is not much of an Urban market. That's the biggest surprise of all. During diary days, WJLB and WMXD would vie with WJR in the top 3. Usually a couple of other stations aimed at the African-American community and Smooth Jazz WVMV, with a sizable black audience, would all be in the top 10. Now WJLB is tied for #6, WMXD is #10 and WVMV is #11 as a Top 40 station, no longer playing Smooth Jazz.

If virtually no Blacks get the meters then Urban suffers. Had the same thing in Dallas until all hell was raised. The amazingly when more meters were distributed to blacks. Urban bounced back.

 

[ruger22com]

Two...count them..TWO factors are why ratings today and "back then" have changed so much.
1. The city has changed. For those who don't remember...back in the 1960's 99.9% of the people who lived between six and eight mile roads were working WHITE. I use this as an example because today I doubt you could find a single white family not on welfare in that two mile stretch. That is just one example. While the burbs have stretched way north or the city where it used to be mostly farm land (troy, etc) the city of detroit proper has lost well over 50% of its population and the ethnic demos have also changed greatly.
2. The entire way radio is done has changed due to the fcc deregulation of the 80's. Before that time, PROGRAMMERS rulled the formats and station operations. but when deregulation came and the 7-7-7 rule was dropped (when one company could only own 7-fm 7-am & 7-tv stations nationwide and no more than 1-am 1-fm and 1-tv in any market) two or three massive companies (cumulas, etc.) moved in and bought up all the stations, allowing sales manager types to take over and run the stations as rating were no longer anywhere near as important anymore (when you could group sell the 8 or 10 stations you owned in one market), and the top personalities either retired or moved to the birds in the sky as those sales managers then reduced overhead by firing personalities, advancing computer automation, and combining station staffs (why have ten seperate news departments when you could only pay for one and use it on all your stations?).

Back in the day you "lived and died by the book". That is not the way radio runs anymore, and also is the reason that sales have dropped over the years as have station valuations, and why on-air radio is no longer a great career as it used to be for those who really worked at their craft. All thanks to the FCC.