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FYI, Bob Dickey tribute

K

KeyTimes950

From KQV ...

TO HONOR PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER ROBERT DICKEY, WHO PASSED AWAY CHRISTMAS EVE AT THE AGE OF 84, KQV ANCHOR PJ MALONEY HAS PRODUCED A FIFTY MINUTE RETROSPECTIVE OF A MAN WHO DEDICATED HIS PROFESSIONAL LIFE TO RADIO. THIS SPECIAL WILL INCLUDE TRIBUTES FROM BROADCASTERS, STAFF, FRIENDS AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS… PEOPLE WHO HAVE KNOWN AND WORKED WITH BOB DICKEY IN HIS 60+ YEARS IN BROADCASTING. THIS PROGRAM WILL AIR AT 10:10AM THIS FRIDAY MORNING FOLLOWING THE ABC NEWS. THE 50 MINUTE TRIBUTE WILL BE REBROADCAST AT 11:10 SO AS TO ALLOW STAFF TO ATTEND THE FUNERAL MASS AT ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL AT 10:30. IT WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE ON www.kqv.com
 
I heard the tribute. It sounded like he was an ill-tempered tyrant whose management style was as outdated as the sound of his radio station.
 
Gee, don't mince words. Tell us how you really feel.

I did not get a chance to hear it so I can't make a judgment one way or the other. I would say this, KQV is hardly a perfect radio station but it and WJAS are as much ... in terms of style, not necessarily in either case in strictest format ... a pair of throwbacks to old-fashioned full-service radio as you will get in this market. (I don't necessarily give KDKA a similar kudo but I find KDKA in many senses a good example of modern-day full-service, though I wish it did local news as well as have weather and live talk almost 24/7.)

Is KQV really that outdated? In a city and region with an older demographic, it is nostalgic in many ways. For an area that needs a 24/7 news voice, KQV is about as good as this market is going to get, even amid the old-time radio shows, the sports play-by-play that does not include any of the major Pittsburgh sports teams but does fill a niche, and a trendsetting amount of infomercial broadcasting that was being done long before KDKA and WPGB jumped in (and in some cases grabbed KQV fare, as WPGB did with one elder-law show and the Pittsburgh Technology Council).

Bob Dickey an ill-tempered tyrant? How about an old-fashioned hands-on owner (with silent partner Richard Mellon Scaife, who has kept KQV from going down, say, the WEDO route of all-barter). Perfect owner? Hardly. Caring owner? From what I recall, yes. Family man to boot.

May he rest in peace. And his legacy continue to be a station that seeks to serve Pittsburgh.
 
I didn't know Bob Dickey. Never met the man. I'm just telling you what was conveyed by the tribute show.

KQV is essentially all-news from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. KDKA is news heavy in the same hours and does a much more thorough job than KQV does in afternoon drive.

It sounds nostalgic to you; I'll call it old and tired and, ultimately, inadequate.

I'm not giving points to any station that set the trend with infomercials. Those are just the brokered hours that used to be exclusive to Sunday mornings in small markets.
 
I never worked for Bob, but I knew him and found him to be a delightful gentleman. Say what you will about KQV, they are not automated and they have a paid staff. They also have a small but loyal audience and they sell a few commercials.
 
I listen to KQV at least once everyday, and am better for it.
 
Boss Radio said:
It sounds nostalgic to you; I'll call it old and tired and, ultimately, inadequate.
Click to expand...

Different strokes for different folks.

At the hour of day I usually turn one or the other on (that hour is wee and small) I'll take KQV.
 
Boss Radio said:
I didn't know Bob Dickey. Never met the man. I'm just telling you what was conveyed by the tribute show.

KQV is essentially all-news from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. KDKA is news heavy in the same hours and does a much more thorough job than KQV does in afternoon drive.

It sounds nostalgic to you; I'll call it old and tired and, ultimately, inadequate.

I'm not giving points to any station that set the trend with infomercials. Those are just the brokered hours that used to be exclusive to Sunday mornings in small markets.
Click to expand...

Won't argue any of your points. I'd love to see KQV have more staff, make more use of Tribune-Review reporters, have an FM-HD channel somewhere so I and others who shelled out good money for HD receivers can listen to it along with KDKA-AM (HD via KD-FM), WPGB and WESA, and make a real TV connection, say with WPXI (since Scaife's papers exchange material with Channel 11 anyway).

Still, for what it has in resources, I believe it does an adequate job. Including weekends when KD-AM does not do local news.
 
I have sampled various incarnations of their day-time all-news offering over 35 years. It was usually presented professionally, so it is a little puzzling that they never seem to have approached the success of all-news in other markets.

I have to assume their weak signal after dark hampers them & carries over to days. I am part of an organization that moved its night-time outreach program from an hour on KQV to a half-hour on KDKA at triple the cost. It just made sense, in order to break through that low listenership threshhold, and cost per listener plummeted.

Frankly, I wan't thrilled with the sales support on either side.
 
tce said:
I have sampled various incarnations of their day-time all-news offering over 35 years. It was usually presented professionally, so it is a little puzzling that they never seem to have approached the success of all-news in other markets.
Click to expand...

Yes, KQV is a good station, with a dedicated staff, but methinks that there should be an all-out effort to make it a contender, such as KeyTimes950 mentioned: more resources, more reporters, etc.

The thing that has always been my burr in the saddle is why can't some of the station's announcers be trained in elocution when they present their stories on the air. This isn't the 1950s, and the way they speak sounds like they came out of a brodcasting school from that era.

Just an opinion....
 
tce said:
I have sampled various incarnations of their day-time all-news offering over 35 years. It was usually presented professionally, so it is a little puzzling that they never seem to have approached the success of all-news in other markets.
Click to expand...

That's because of KDKA.
 
Although KDKA is news-talk & all talk until late afternoon, I guess KQV's all news competes for the same auduence? I have to say I don't remember KQV sounding as bright and up-tempo as Top 10 market all news outlets.
 
The biggest audience for news is in morning and afternoon drive. That's basically what KDKA programs in those hours. Most people have no need for what KQV is offering.

KDKA's afternoon news block is far more comprehensive and superior to what KQV has.
 
Boss Radio said:
I heard the tribute. It sounded like he was an ill-tempered tyrant whose management style was as outdated as the sound of his radio station.
Click to expand...

Bob Dickey was anything but an ill-tempered tyrant. Tough and straight-forward, but not ill-tempered, and by no means a tyrant. He also accomplished more in radio, as outdated as it may have become, than almost anybody else in this market...ever.
 
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