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Difference in a news champion and a wannabe

  • Thread starter Freebird Fantasia
  • Start date

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Freebird Fantasia

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This morning:

WSB AM 750: extends live local morning show for 90 minutes because of tragedy in Atlanta involving the college baseball team. Had all angles covered. Scott Slade handled coverage like a pro.

WGST 640 AM: No extra coverage. Simply went to canned syndicated talk show host because it's cheaper than having a live person in Atlanta. No angles covered.
 
It's a scary thing isn't it? WSB is a real news champion. WGST is a wannabe for sure! Scott and the team are real pros. Congrats once again to WSB for a job well done.
 
One assumes that WGST is even trying to compete wth WSB. They're really not, and the changes of the last few years should make that painfully obvious.
 
I guess you're right about WGST not even trying anymore.

This really goes all the way back to the Planet Radio fisco that was handled by a program director who fired veteran news journalists. Program director then goes on maternity leaves and never returns, leaving destroyed station in her wake. The station has never, and will never, recover.
 
I don't disagree that if there is breaking news in Atlanta, WSB (both radio and TV) generally has the best coverage. They are professional news folk -- unfortunately, the 95% of the time when nothing of great import is going on, WSB radio is abysmal at best -- boring, predictable -- can't even get sports scores if you're after anything other than UGA, Hawks & Braves.

Scott Slade's morning show spends more time telling you what they're going to tell you, than actually telling you. They could cover twice as much stuff if they'd can the teases. If WSB broadcast the exact same drivel and only had 640's signal, they'd be in the tank, too.
 
'GST was going to devote more coverage to this story but during an interview with one of the victims, it was revealed that all on the bus believed in Global Warming.
 
Neil Millman said:
'GST was going to devote more coverage to this story but during an interview with one of the victims, it was revealed that all on the bus believed in Global Warming.
Click to expand...

Zing! ;D
 
Scott Slade's morning show spends more time telling you what they're going to tell you, than actually telling you. They could cover twice as much stuff if they'd can the teases. If WSB broadcast the exact same drivel and only had 640's signal, they'd be in the tank, too.
[/quote]

Bingo... its sickening. especially considering that they are on a 15 minute repeat clock. It gets really old, really fast. I can't listen.

BD
 
WSB does have a local focus, but they do sensationalize it a lot. I was listening to Clark Howard a few weeks ago discussing important information about tax refunds. They decided to interrupt him in favor of important information about Anna Nicole's funeral. They have also interrupted in the past for Jean Benet's killer getting arrested, a child being kidnapped in South Georgia, James Kim, and Ray Nagin winning re-election in New Orleans. I can understand them interrupting for a 9-11 type of event, but can Anna Nicole not wait until the top of the hour newsbreak?

WGST puts their audio newscasts and other information on their website for those interested. Cox has long been a holdout against podcasting!

I understand that, like all stations, WSB has to appeal to the greatest common denominator of the population to keep their ratings up. Unfortunately, this means dumbing down the content to pander to those that enjoy Hollywood scandals and sensational dramas. Please understand that I hate when something bad happens to somebody, it's worse when WSB tries to cash in on it.

Fox News Radio would have been a better fit for WSB than WGST!
 
Freebird opines:

"This really goes all the way back to the Planet Radio fisco that was handled by a program director who fired veteran news journalists. Program director then goes on maternity leaves and never returns, leaving destroyed station in her wake. The station has never, and will never, recover."

[EDIT] That was 8 months of programming that happened 10 years ago! Stop obsessing. WGST sucked for a long time after Planet Radio went away...as a matter of fact, the AQH of Planet Radio's worst days are about triple what WGST Grumpy Hughes and Kimmer had 2000-2006.

[EDIT]

[EDIT-inflammatory]
 
It was Paul White, the mean linchpin of CBS Radio News who developed the fomrula of "tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them" that WSB Radio clings to. In most instances when listernship is only for the commute in and out of town, it works. It does not come across well if you are a long-form listener.

And they are so wedded to CNN that when they break news, SB feels they oght to do so as well. That's because they don't have anyone with a sense of news judgment independent of CNN.

And if you think they are bad about repeating -- ever listen toCNN Radio for more than 40 minutes?

When WGST had ties to CBS and ABC Radio, their news department flourished. Once Jaycor and then Clear Channel gutted that, there was no hope.
 
Local TV news is also notorious for spending a lot of time telling viewers what's coming up. And TV newscasts sometimes emphasize the more sensational stories. I remember in the nineties, when WXIA-TV was known for the more sensational stories, The Kimmer used to call them "11 Dead or Alive."
 
That's good that Cox is doing on-demand content now. They have been opposed to it for a long time and would not allow Clark Howard to do a podcast of his show. They still run a cartel by not allowing their content to be broadcast over XM or Sirius. At least they are not as bad as Infinity who did not allow any stations to stream online until recently. Clear Channel does seem to be a leader when it comes to embracing new technology.
 
Why do stations not go out of their way to broadcast their shows and commercials everywhere possible? Isn't that like having a certain wattage available at a tower but only using a little bit of it? I've heard that voice actor unions could have a role in preventing non-air broadcasts but c'mon, it's been 10 years with other mediums to broadcast and nobody has figured out a way around archaic union BS?
 
WSB's mornings are 7 half-hour newscasts. Do you people not realize this? If you're listening for more than an hour in the morning, then you clearly need professional help. The morning format isn't intended for the pathetic, radio broadcaster wannabes on here who listen 24/7, then nitpick a station they'd give their right arm to work for.

I ran an all-news station in West Palm for 3 years and people there understood; a repeat format is intended for a transitional audience. Atlanta, the commuter capital of the south, is the champion of transitional audiences. That's why there are so many look aheads, and why the repeat the news every half hour format works. Everyone in radio understands this.

Unless you're a house bound agoraphobe with a radio obsession who lives for posting on internet boards.
 
*Just Damn*! Knowznews.....sounds like the sisters made you eat their fruitcake last night!
The average Atlanta commute is approaching 50 minutes. 30 minute cycles seem short. Repetition *might* be an issue.
I, personally, listen mostly for traffic and weather which repeats every six minutes. There just can't be enough traffic breaks-Atlanta is so large and the traffic so messy.....there could be a "traffic only" format for drivetimes!
I'm biased....I worked for Herb years ago when he ran a station....but I think Herb Emory is, by far, the best traffic personality in town-and one of the best in the country.
Kurt Mellish is simply the most accurate meteorologist in Atlanta media.(I should mention Ken Cook, now on WGST, is just as accurate. Ken used to be a severe weather specialist with the National Weather Service.)But I could listen to Kurt's ramblings all day.....I'm sure most people just want to know what the temp is and will it rain....but I like the forecasting insight he shares occasionally. He never sensationalizes weather events.....always a cool head in dangerous weather situations.
Scott Slade is excellent. Perfect presentation consistantly day to day. How could he be improved?
I grew up in Atlanta and with WSB radio in the morning(I'm 49)....old habits die hard. But I can't think of a way to make WSB a better radio station.....I think it's a GREAT station, in every way!
 
middlega said:
taylorengineer said:
The average Atlanta commute is approaching 50 minutes.
Click to expand...

Psst ... Tom ... the 28 county metro average is almost exactly 30 minutes
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Ranking/2003/pdf/R04T050.pdf
http://www.platformsforprogress.com/regional_g101.php
Click to expand...

I have to go with Tom on this one. I dont care what the census says, you cant get through the connector at anytime during drive time in 30 minutes or less.

From my personal experience, I would assume the actual 'mean average' at 40-45 minutes, minimum.

If the census numbers are correct, wouldn't it make more sense to break up the newscasts into 15 minute repeating segments?
 
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