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First Media Radio...

Short staffed can be legit if money is tight or it can mean greed if companies are trying to run multiple stations with one staff. I understand tight times but the short staffed deal is more of a philosopy with some than a true need to save money. Again any business is all about people and the morale of the staff and trying to run 3 or 4 stations with one staff usually doesn't help morale and productivity suffers. Maybe these big companies who are losing money will have no choice but to sell back to individual owners with a real love and passion for the business and not those who just see radio as only dollars and cents but I do understand radio is a business first and foremost..

Allen
 
I dunno if y'all can make that case against First Media in Rocky Mount, man. Both WDWG and WPWZ are vastly improved radio stations since they bought them and at least they're trying something different with ZAX. The little AM is a little AM. But the entire technical side is light years better that what they had before. And as somebody said earlier, they seem to be great people to work for. Where's the problem? Voice tracking? Everybody does voice tracking, nowadays. Everybody. And it's not exactly as though Rocky Mount or Wilson (or Roanoke Rapids, for that matter) is a fountain of free-flowing cash. These are poor towns compared to just about everywhere else in America.

The real scandal with network programming and voice tracking is in the big markets. And you don't have to look any further than WPTF, where they plug into the net for at least 14 hours of every 24-hour day. That's 58 percent of their programming achieved by flipping a switch and propping their feet up.
 
redneckriviera said:
Both WDWG and WPWZ are vastly improved radio stations since they bought them and at least they're trying something different with ZAX. The little AM is a little AM. But the entire technical side is light years better that what they had before. And as somebody said earlier, they seem to be great people to work for.
Click to expand...

Yes the technical side is that thanks to Mr. Matt Lightner who installed it all and keeps us going as well. And Dawg and Power are doing quite well. ZAX did not move in the ratinga at all despite a format change. Now some would say that it should have done better, but didn't adn WRMT actually went down in the ratings a mere .4 but still went down. I guess the real problem is no one is trying anything unique and differnt. Jammin' is loosely based on a station out of Wilmington. Some have said that Rocky Mount doesn't need another black oriented format. This may or may not be true. WZAX is somewhat signally challenged at only 6,000 watts vs. 25,000 watts each for both Dawg and Power (I know I work at all four stations). Yes there are some great people working here and I include myself as well. As to what the problem is I am not fully sure myself.
 
Listening to WZAX is painful!

The music library hard-drive compression is worse than my portable mp3 player.
There's a boring 7-second computerized liner between every darn song.
And every tune on the playlist is something that I already own and have pretty much burned-out on.

But those liners!!
Constant bad liners interrupt natural flow, and remind listeners less of dial position and more of lifeless automation.

WZAX sounds like what it really is - a life-less computer shoved in a closet.

On the positive side...
I love the live morning show.
And the weekend specialty shows sound great (less compression, more music variety, happy jocks).

Someone at 1st Media, please give the WZAX staff some freedom to make great radio.

Even the much maligned WGTM is at the least live and local.
But, 99.3 WZAX has no spirit/magic/life left whatsoever.
 
redneckriviera said:
The real scandal with network programming and voice tracking is in the big markets. And you don't have to look any further than WPTF, where they plug into the net for at least 14 hours of every 24-hour day. That's 58 percent of their programming achieved by flipping a switch and propping their feet up.
Click to expand...

PTF has board-ops during the day. It's still the equivalent of being live and local.
 
w00t said:
PTF has board-ops during the day. It's still the equivalent of being live and local.
Click to expand...

C'mon!!!! Hiring minimum-wage board-ops to babysit national programs is hardly the equivalent of "live and local." That's just complete nonsense. In talking about WPTF, we're talking about a radio station that spins off millions in pure profit all by itself and can easily afford to hire excellent local talent to fill those slots and provide great local radio 24/7--but chooses not to. Why? So the guy at the top can make $5.5 million a year instead of just $5 million a year? Gimme a break.
 
ToddJenkins said:
And the weekend specialty shows sound great (less compression, more music variety, happy jocks).
Click to expand...

Actually they use the same compression as the music. They are ripped directly in the system from the CDs they provide. Music is also ripped directly from CD where possible. I know I've ripped them in on occasion. The air processing chain uses an Optimod 8200 recently installed. I think the audio sounds just fine to my ears. As to the music library, yes it could be expanded and from what I understand will be. The liners sound much better than the ones we used to have when we were Classic Top 40. This new guy sounds better and gives it more of a BIG sound. There also isn't a liner after every song. Sometimes there are two back to back songs without any liner in between.
 
John,
Are they really gonna expand the playlist?? The format has been on over a year and still not making any real noise in the market. Expanding the playlist needs to be at least another 1,000 songs right off the bat in my opinion. The current programming philosopy on WZAX hasn't yielded any results. Things must change
is the station is ever gonna make any noise..Just my opinion...

Allen
 
Why does a station have to copycat anyone.??What ever happened to creating your own unique,local and compelling programming that is different?? I would be embarrassed to say my station is based on anything but the hard work and forward thinking ideas of those I trust within my company who refuse to copy anyone and carve out an identity away from what anyone else may be doing..

Allen
 
allenv said:
John,
Are they really gonna expand the playlist?? The format has been on over a year and still not making any real noise in the market. Expanding the playlist needs to be at least another 1,000 songs right off the bat in my opinion. The current programming philosopy on WZAX hasn't yielded any results. Things must change
is the station is ever gonna make any noise..Just my opinion...

Allen
Click to expand...

Well I was "told" a while back that it was going to expand, but I too haven't seen that yet. I guess that was just smoke and mirrors....
 
redneckriviera said:
w00t said:
PTF has board-ops during the day. It's still the equivalent of being live and local.
Click to expand...

C'mon!!!! Hiring minimum-wage board-ops to babysit national programs is hardly the equivalent of "live and local." That's just complete nonsense. In talking about WPTF, we're talking about a radio station that spins off millions in pure profit all by itself and can easily afford to hire excellent local talent to fill those slots and provide great local radio 24/7--but chooses not to. Why? So the guy at the top can make $5.5 million a year instead of just $5 million a year? Gimme a break.
Click to expand...

So, you think that
1) There is enough content in the Triangle to talk about all day, and
2) The Triangle is big enough to get a talker that is better than Rush?

Sorry but no... there are people who all but worship Clark Howard and Rush will be the king of talk radio for the foreseeable future. WPTF is doing quite well as it is. Where I come from we're lucky to have local shows at all, much less board-ops who at least give you the temperature coming out of a break...
 
You don't need a board op to give the temperature. Automation systems can do that quite well. The value of a local board op is to be be there when the s__t hits the fan! The computer can't make the decision to go to the network or newsroom for breaking news - not to mention all the technical issues the computer can't handle.
 
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