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Feder Laments About Lite-FM In Age Of Voicetracking

DToTheJ

DToTheJ

Excerpt:

"I’m not saying you have to be born and raised in Chicago in order to talk on the radio here. It’s true that many of our greatest broadcast legends came from somewhere else. But unlike the current crop of carpetbaggers at a certain news/talk station in town, they all paid their dues, learned about the market, and got to know the audience before stepping into the most lofty positions..."

Full article:
http://blogs.vocalo.org/feder/2010/09/clear-channel-dims-lite-fm-luster-by-outsourcing-talent/38286
 
If you are a CC follower watch how they handle WSIX Nashville TN after “The House Foundation” leaves in December. I know it is a much smaller market, but if you are doing “Country”, Nashville is important ego wise.
 
The certain news/talk station in town Feder refers to IMHO is WLS. The difference between WLS and Citadel flagship WABC is that WLS is more local than its big sister in NYC.

I largely agree with Feder but I'll give credit to WLS where it's due. :)
 
No Feder is talking about WGN. He's had a burr up his a$$ for months about Randy Michaels and their crew attempting to bring the stations sound more into line with what today's audience <most of them> want to hear.

I enjoyed the old WGN style too but it just wasn't cutting it anymore. Feder won't be happy til Mike Rapcheck <sp?> comes back. I just discount anything he says anymore.
 
The implication is that if the station was owned by someone else, that it would be live and local 24/7. I don't think that's true. This is a station that is built around one thing, and the name says it all: Lite hits. That's it. Simple concept. Not a lot of complication. The original Lite Hits idea, which began over 30 years ago, was simply Muzak for younger people. That's what it was then, and that's what it is now. You want local hosts? There are lots of other stations for that. Maybe not playing the exact mix of music, but that's the trade-off. People are supposed to make those decisions and choices.

Radio is changing. It's not the 70s any more. That bothers boomers like Feder, who want things to stay the same. They won't. To him, it's all because of ownership. To me, it's because of obvious changes in the audience. A growing segment of the audience doesn't want what Feder wants, or doesn't want it at every station. He's going to be upset about that. A lot of newspapers are getting rid of professional critics, replacing them with reader comments and blogs. That affects Feder too. There will be many more changes in media, and Feder will continue to complain. If you agree with him, then it's relevant. If not, then it doesn't matter.
 
secondchoice said:
If you are a CC follower watch how they handle WSIX Nashville TN after “The House Foundation” leaves in December. I know it is a much smaller market, but if you are doing “Country”, Nashville is important ego wise.
Click to expand...

Too many people focus on companies, and not enough on audiences. Communication is about the interaction that takes place. Where the rubber meets the road. So to me, what will be more interesting is how the audience reacts to any changes that happen. Will they still listen? Has the station built a community that listens for the overall presentation, both on air and off? Or was it all about one specific host? Because if it is, then whatever they do after House will be a disappointment, regardless if it's live & local, syndicated, or whatever. Because it will be DIFFERENT.
 
DJJack1 said:
No Feder is talking about WGN. He's had a burr up his a$$ for months about Randy Michaels and their crew attempting to bring the stations sound more into line with what today's audience <most of them> want to hear.

I enjoyed the old WGN style too but it just wasn't cutting it anymore. Feder won't be happy til Mike Rapcheck <sp?> comes back. I just discount anything he says anymore.
Click to expand...

Even though I'm now in their former demo (aka "an old geezer of 55" ;D ), I like what WGN is doing. They can't go on FM, but they do have a smartphone app that works quite well - a necessary item in 2010. Their shows are topical, well done, and aren't pandering to "Aunt Edna in Palatine" and her peers, like Wally Phillips and Roy Leonard used to do back in the day.

They're going in the right direction - younger but not too young. WGN can't live by the Cubs & Black Hawks alone. If they stayed "old," that's what would eventually happen.
 
Feder? Humm... I'm trying to remember....where was it that Feder worked in radio, learned the craft and the ins and outs of creating great radio? Trying to remember his creditentials.....?? Also, trying to figure out why any one with an ounce of radio savy would ever pay any attention to him. He could care less about radio...all he wants to do is "sell papers" or whatever platform is williing to carry his column. ;D
 
Bob enjoys getting his (This is Chicago big time radio) axe out to grind occasionally. He believes in a market this size radio should be live and local. The funny thing about the WLIT change is the going from voice tracked to voice tracked.

Bob also likes to think that new morning shows in Chicago should be up and coming radio stars. That hasn't happened for 20 years.

I think CC puts on a very good AC station. However they don't do it Bob's way. I would appreciate a few articles from Bob about something that actually matters.
 
Bob enjoys getting his (This is Chicago big time radio) axe out to grind occasionally. He believes in a market this size radio should be live and local.
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And lots of it is. That doesn't make it good. Heck WVON is live and local all day, and who cares? You don't see Feder praising them, do you?

The point is to make good mass appeal radio, and that usually means hamburger, not filet mignon. I don't know anyone in radio who programs to the critics. If you talk with the listeners, they tell you what to do. All you have to do is listen. It's pretty easy. WLIT has been listening a long time, and they get it right.
 
secondchoice said:
If you are a CC follower watch how they handle WSIX Nashville TN after “The House Foundation” leaves in December.
Click to expand...

The show is "leaving" (wink, wink) because the owners have seen the first two PPM "pre-currency" books and know that WSIX in the sales demos is 7th overall and not doing well at all in mornings.
 
TheBigA said:
secondchoice said:
If you are a CC follower watch how they handle WSIX Nashville TN after “The House Foundation” leaves in December...
Click to expand...
...whatever they do after House will be a disappointment, regardless if it's live & local, syndicated, or whatever. Because it will be DIFFERENT.
Click to expand...

We are all aware about how that "Free-FM" thing fared after Howard Stern went to satellite radio...
 
DToTheJ said:
We are all aware about how that "Free-FM" thing fared after Howard Stern went to satellite radio...
Click to expand...

We're also aware how Stern's visibility went down after he went to satellite.

But yes, the public didn't care who replaced Stern. They didn't like it. And most of the stations that carried Stern had nothing else in the rest of their day. Stern's contract forbade them from hiring other talk shows like Opie & Anthony, Mancow, or Bubba the Love Sponge. So Howard leaves, and there's no one there. Not exactly the case at the station in question. In fact, it's getting better ratings in key demos at other times of the day.
 
DJJack1 said:
No Feder is talking about WGN. He's had a burr up his a$$ for months about Randy Michaels and their crew attempting to bring the stations sound more into line with what today's audience <most of them> want to hear.

I enjoyed the old WGN style too but it just wasn't cutting it anymore. Feder won't be happy til Mike Rapcheck <sp?> comes back. I just discount anything he says anymore.
Click to expand...

I guessed wrong! Sorry! :)
 
I listened to Mike McConnell on WLW for years and do on WGN's stream when I can. There's a very vocal group on WGN's page that has bitched and moaned about him every day he's been on...even if the post is "Mike McConnell talked about" the comments are all blasting "this dumb*** from Ohio" and demanding the return of the old WGN
 
I wouldn't think that many of WGN's old audience had figured out how to post on a website using their dial telephones.

McConnell, Williams and Meier are very entertaining, local and current. Kathy & Judy were two very nice women, but as boring as watching paint dry. Cochran was so full of himself and so unprepared that a tape of his show played two months later and in another town wouldn't sound out of place. The station is much better today without them.
 
"The station is much better today without them."

Totally agree. Where I'm at in Michigan, WGN is a good listen. The local stations here are atrocious.
 
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