Do companies think listeners won't notice?

[Mikey Radio]

In the mid-80s I worked at an FM station that was a Transtar Format-41 affiliate. One of my jobs was to dub the network talent liners/magic calls/etc. to carts.

Whenever the network hired a new talent, we'd get a reel with the new guy's cuts and I would dub them to a set of carts. On at least one occasion, we got a reel with just gobs of hiss behind the talent's voice. Maybe about 6 dB down. I was handed the reel on a Friday night and the guy's first shift was the next day, so I had no choice but to use it.

And yeah, it sounded like @$$ on the air.

Another joy of working at a station where the programming was delivered via satellite and the local liners, positioning, etc. were pre-recorded and loaded into the automation system was when the provider would publish the wrong schedule or there was a mixup of some sort (especially in the days before the internet). Local station personnel (if there was anyone actually working the station facility, and if they were actually listening and noticed the mixup and if they had a clue which jock was actually hosting at that point try and match up the jock with the local drop ins they'd voiced) had to scramble to reprogram the automation system so it'd play the drop ins voiced by the talent currently hosting, vs. the one that was incorrectly listed on the schedule they'd been given.

 

[gr8oldies]

Because this isn't a new thing. Stations have been using some form of syndication and voicetracking for over 30 years. The other alternatives aren't any more local. So if they're unhappy about the loss of local DJs, moving to Sirius isn't going to fix that.

For years stations would say they can't run a syndicated host in morning drive because listeners need local information. Then Howard Stern and Steve Harvey came along, and the listeners didn't care. So no, the listeners have shown how they feel about syndication on the radio. If they like the host, they don't care where he is.

I saw my first broadcast automation system before I saw my first live studio. This was in 1968 at WMER, Celina, Ohio, carrying Drake-Chenault's Hit Parade '68. The station was built by the owner of the Celina Music Store, and for a short time the automation system was in the back of the store, with the bulk of the station upstairs (as the present-day WKKI still is....with the Music Store still there and owned by descendants of the original owner of the store and station (the station has been sold a number of times since 1968).

 

[bobdavcav]

In the case of Seacrest, he has credibility. He is known for actually knowing and socializing with the artists and stars and is highly visible due to his TV presence. And his show is "lifestyle" and not just entertainment news... but his listeners tend to have a lot of interest in music, TV and Movie stars and that is what he is good at and... that is where he has "insider" contacts, friendships and involvement.

There's nothing wrong with that, it just feels like there's a lot of that on CHR radio though. For instance, lots of CHRs have a celebrity dirt segment somewhere in their broadcast day whether it comes from Seacrest or some other source, and if I remember right, Billy Bush was similar, as is Pop Crush Nights, and that show that Cumulus tried to replace Bush with several years ago.

 

[TheBigA]

There's nothing wrong with that, it just feels like there's a lot of that on CHR radio though. For instance, lots of CHRs have a celebrity dirt segment somewhere in their broadcast day

Do you know why? Because the audience is interested. Maybe not you, but the majority is. Especially young women.

 

[CTListener]

Do you know why? Because the audience is interested. Maybe not you, but the majority is. Especially young women.

Who apparently have better things to do with their lives than grouse about radio format minutiae on the internet!

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Another joy of working at a station where the programming was delivered via satellite and the local liners, positioning, etc. were pre-recorded and loaded into the automation system was when the provider would publish the wrong schedule or there was a mixup of some sort (especially in the days before the internet).

Yep. A satellite format can be pretty convincing, if it is executed perfectly.

But actually executing one perfectly took a lot of awareness and diligence on the part of local station staff. One station near me used to run Stardust. They had recorded their own imaging and attached it to the magic call closure... but it was too long. It ran that way for months, if not years. Obviously no jock is going to start talking over the imaging, so that tells you something is up.

 

[fordranger797]

It depends on how well it’s executed and how much control the host has over it. I once worked for a radio station that had automation software that did not allow for any changes. Good luck if you run into a song with a long outro, your voice track starts when the trip cue is set. In contrast, I used other software that allowed the host to control everything, making each break a breeze.

Back on topic, I think iheart does a pretty good job with some of their syndicated shows. Martha Quinn comes to mind.

 

[bobdavcav]

I do think iHeard does a good job in the bigger markets. In smaller markets however, you get a lot of spaces where the jock is just dropping in a station tag. The station that originally started this thread was owned by Townsquare, which really surprised me as Townsquare isn't usually known for things like this.

 

[Radio-Bored-Op]

A variation of this: the PD recorded the news, early in the morning and left for the Saturday afternoon high school football game.
Then I would board op remotes leading up to the game, say late morning very afternoon and would call to ask the news/PD something, I say he wasn't here and they didn't believe me.

I once tripped the security alarm when I was going to the local pizza place and on returning to the station, the police officer greeting me.... he was even skeptical as he said, have the "owner ' come out of the newsroom, or we will need to take you to the station for questioning. ( police, not radio station ) .

I was trying to show him the pre recorded news ... and fortunately for me, The PD returned to the station because the batteries in the headset / wanted a better ( favorite ) mic for the broadcast for high school football

 

[Radio-Bored-Op]

The other thing people / non radio folks say:

It's all run by computers, and they almost always proceed to almost explain, usually by hand gestures REALLY ginormous operating satellites being used, as stations have millions in operating equipment.

or, some more it alls, say it's all computers nowadays. An attempt to explain the simple process, and the response:
" like I said, a computer " as if there is one central computer at the FCC, because that's the only logical location, that runs it all

 

[Radio-Bored-Op]

The other thing people / non radio folks say:

It's all run by computers, and they almost always proceed to almost explain, usually by hand gestures REALLY ginormous operating satellites being used, as stations have millions in operating equipment.

or, some more it alls, say it's all computers nowadays. An attempt to explain the simple process, and the response:
" like I said, a computer " as if there is one central computer at the FCC, because that's the only logical location, that runs it all

some know - it - all's,

 

[Radio-Bored-Op]

Mid size cities, such as here in Buffalo,
.....drink some kool aid from a local politician that we're growing, and say, yeah now we have Ryan Seacrest middays...

( the thinking is, he is so busy, he won't have time for just any vcity ) he picked......
....... Buffalo