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Ex-WSM-FM PD John Sebastian Launches Consulting Firm

Makes you wonder what's so "secret" about what he does. Is he very exceptional and unique, or the beneficiary of other stations that just get sloppy with the basics? Radio programming has lost some sharpness, and it's so much easier to just blame it all on the big corporation.
Amazing how good guys who love radio and end up doing good radio wind up being left alone, many times, by the corporation who are distracted by those who keep tripping over themselves.
 
Madison is market 97. The station had been flat-lining in the 4s for a year and got a sudden bump up into the 6s in the Winter. Looks like the right time to declare victory and leave the field with honor. John continues to push his "secret" expertise in hybrid formats. As was the case here in Nashville, audiences continue to mostly ignore his station(s).
 
I'm not entirely sold on his ideas but I wish him the best. In all honesty, I've never been impressed by what he's done. Basically the stations that he "rescues" get a bump in the ratings for a short bit then fall off again. Of course, he's gone by the time it all comes out in the wash.
 
I certainly didn't care for his version of WSM-FM. Nothing against classic rock, but I don't want to hear it mixed with current country. I might be in the mood for one or the other but not both at the same time.

John also ruined one of the great AM top 40 stations back in 1978 when he was PD at KHJ in Los Angeles. While it might have been too late for anyone to save KHJ, his version was horrendous. How can one devise a top 40 format that makes Charlie Tuna sound dreadful?

On the other hand, John has been a PD for over 35 years so I'm sure he's had some great ideas and some success. I just personally didn't like the two stations I heard him program.
 
briancraig said:
I certainly didn't care for his version of WSM-FM. Nothing against classic rock, but I don't want to hear it mixed with current country. I might be in the mood for one or the other but not both at the same time.
Click to expand...
So he was behind "the Wolf"? I liked it, but then again, I like classic rock, but don't particularly care for country. But I didn't mind the occasional country song thrown in now and again.

The "Wolf" also claimed to be the first to mix rock and country, but I suppose they forgot about "Rockin' country" back in the early '90s.
 
firepoint525 said:
The "Wolf" also claimed to be the first to mix rock and country, but I suppose they forgot about "Rockin' country" back in the early '90s.
Click to expand...

he claimed the same thing about KZLA when he was PD there, too...
 
He did it in Lexington, KY when he took over WVLK-FM a couple of years before he went to WSM. Same schtick and format. He, and Cumulus, changed the moniker, call letters, and on air staff and it's sitting far down the arbitron list now. Much further down than it used to be.
 
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