Parttimer said:
Jax is way too small a market for CBS to be interested at this point. They don't even really want to be in Orlando.
CC and Cox will continue to dominate, and aside from that I think the market will see more entrepreneurial sorts of ventures like 1010.
I can appreciate your points but Jax radio is what it is in terms of ownership and overall quality because I believe it has more to do with perceptions than it does with market size alone.
If you consider other markets to our south such as West Palm/Boca #46 (Practically same size as Jax) and Ft. Pierce/Stuart #96 and look at the format variety and the big players, including CBS Radio, who make up the ownership pie, it almost begs to ask why that is.
Perhaps the following will explain part of the problem. In our recent past Jacksonville hosted a superbowl. It wasn't easy to accomplish and kudos goes to all the city leaders who made it happen. In the end, we offered something different like getting cruise ships here to help with accomodations, we spruced up downtown and added some attractions. Personally, it bothered me when I heard various national sportscasters and sports writers snicker at our town. When I lived in South Florida, I can't tell you how many times North Florida gets laughed at by the media, one local talk show in particular I used to listen to, especially around election day when we vote "wrong." The entire area is broadbrushed as being redneck hicksville. Before I moved here, I thought that too.
My only experience with Jacksonville was driving through it along I-95 when I used to make a lot of trips between NJ and South Florida. I wasn't impressed with what I saw along the highway. But that changed when I did some work here and saw some really upscale neighborhoods and the makings of a great metro area. Today, the city has exceeded expectations of those who have visited me from other places. They had thought we were something else too.
So I do believe if outfits like CBS Radio can be in West Palm, they can be here too. It's going to take someone with vision and to be a free thinker and to look at the community for what it really is and not a sterotype of what may have been many years ago. I believe there is potential here and I also believe if radio can offer more to listeners, advertisers will have more of a reason to invest in it.
None of this will happen anytime soon especially in the economic and political climate of the country. Cox Radio in particular made a business decision even when the times were good to strip its' cluster of talent and make their stations sound like nothing more than a jukebox. No emotional attachment and little incentive to listen. If I were an advertiser, I think I'd shy away from spending $$$ on their product. I'm not sure how much $$$ is dervived from local small business for stations in this market but there could be negative impacts if small business has more challenge on their profitability in the next administration.
There's a lot at stake and again and nothing will change overnight. Out of all the major players in Jax, at least we have CC. I realize they aren't perfect but I do believe their stations overall have more excitement/better overall non-cookie cutter programming about them than Cox Radio. Renda has some fine people but they spend so little money marketing and promoting that they just have a small town mentality. And back to my original thought, I still wish someone down the road can come here with the financial capital to make make an investment in Jax radio and to recognize there is opportunity here to make a buck. Nothing is impossible.
