Mark, I understand where you are going and while I am an active observer and not an insider, I see things differently. This is a very, very complex subject and I could probably write volumes but given the nature of this forum, I will do my best to be to the point but I can't be brief either to give this important subject justice as it comes down to radio's survival. So y'all take a bathroom break before reading this as I have a lot to say and I'm as mad as hell.
For the easy part, yes, the Jacksonville progressive talker is on a "small signal stick." I'm signal challenged so that's all I will say on that.
The other day I lost myself listening to airchecks of some of the AM giants of the 60s and 70s. What a transformation in just a generation as AM is now virtually dead. In almost every market there are just a handful of stations that even make a book. We will never know if anything else could have been done differently that would have prevented what we have now but be advised of this. It seemed everyone and his uncle went the talk route by the 80s and it was too much of one type format. The audience was dispersed too much and is the nature of revenue; advertisers could not support more than one or two of the formats. Others eventually died on the vine flipping again and again trying to find something that would catch on. If we take this same approach with FM, citing the masses are going elsewhere for music as they said with AM VS. FM and more and more FM talkers emerge, history will once again be repeated. In order to prepare for the future, we should look at the past.
Before FM caught on, the band had a ton of what was then called beautiful music stations. Later, it seemed everyone wanted to do album rock featuring DJs that sounded nothing like their AM counterparts. It all failed and FM stations were sold on the cheap. It wasn't until those who had a vision, people such as Bill Drake, recognized the commercial powerhouse stereo broadcasting would become. Stations became focused and tight and there was a lot of variety in the formats. Yes, fragmentation began but radio was inclusive and offered listeners a lot of choice. It worked and listeners changed their habits and the move to FM began.
I envision things differently for now and the future and it's based on what separates radio from other alternatives and it's greatest strength is that it can be tied to the local community. In the current thinking, a lot of what a listener hears could just as soon be coming from thousands of miles away, it sounds remote, cold and it's just ho-hum. If this is how we fight for an audience that has alternatives at their fingertips, I must be missing something.
While I acknowledge a typical station can no longer support a full roster of talent, what has been allowed to happen to them is in a word reprehensible. Over the last few years, the audience has been cleverly manipulated to not even expect to hear anyone on the air. I recall WSOS, as an example, had voice tracking on the weekend and I would comment to myself why they even bothered. Announcing what just played or repeating sweeper lines is a waste of time and it does not positively impact listening impressions. So no one should be surprised decisions are made to do without talent. It’s ridiculous; the talent is doomed from the start because they are given no programming support and are given just enough time to just repeat a sweeper.
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We hear about operating budgets a great deal but you don’t have to spend extra money to be creative in your programming. Radio has to be in the business of making an impression on the listener to keep them as a “customer” while acknowledging they are being shared with alternatives. If we use the WSOS example, they could have easily goosed the format, even if once an hour featuring light songs from a particular year for that day, artist or a lost hit, the possibilities are endless. But the talent would have been supported in that they would have something to talk about and the station would sound less mechanical. It may not make a big difference in ratings but it has more to do with making favorable impressions that I believe is the strategy to co-exist.
So now where do we find ourselves in Jacksonville radio? If you are over 35, you are generally SOL in hearing your favorite DJ on a music station as what often remains is automated and terminal. The bucks are all in one basket ironically going after the very people who are going elsewhere. WAPE has a new PD, there is L&T, Bubba and MJ going head-to-head, 18-25 year old male punks have choices, the rest of us make due. This is a very risky way of doing business for the long run. Younger demos are not loyal to radio if the star moves on. The advertising rules treat older demos like they are lepers yet they are the loyal listeners no one wants. What a freakin mess this is.
We don’t learn from the past. Even with tight operating budgets, a lot can be done to make programming more exciting and making positive listener impressions by being more community oriented. Recognizing budget issues, there is nothing wrong with sharing talent among like-formatted stations especially in the same time zone. There is a lot of inconsistency in radio. Every time I hear Rush go to commercial by announcing another obscene profit time-out. I have to laugh how no one seems to mind all the old farts who are listening.
I’m beginning to think a lot of you are running things can post for a position at AIG. My friends, look at the past, everybody doing the same thing or going after the same demos is doomed to fail. Peace.
