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G101 and B94.5 - how about a serious comparison

I heard 3WZ's new slogan "The 90's, 2K and Today". It seems like a deliberate attempt to be hip. You are either hip or not, and when you try to be hip, that means you're not. It really comes off as awkward.

Then I heard some hip-hop song right into Hootie and the Blowfish. Awkward again.

They were doing what they did very, very well. Why make the change? It just doesn't sound good now.
 
Spackler1 said:
I heard 3WZ's new slogan "The 90's, 2K and Today". It seems like a deliberate attempt to be hip. You are either hip or not, and when you try to be hip, that means you're not. It really comes off as awkward.

Then I heard some hip-hop song right into Hootie and the Blowfish. Awkward again.

They were doing what they did very, very well. Why make the change? It just doesn't sound good now.
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Could it be that Merf has worked so well for them in Lewistown and however it fares in Huntingdon that they feel the formula can work elsewhere? Of course, I am not a Merf fan anyway...I think Rocco programmed a far superior station when he was at the helm of WLAK in huntindgon when it was a standalone operation. And what does a Dog have to do with Top 40 anyway....and why does Merf mean Variety???

But I digress...Anyway, been checking out 3-WZ on occasion a bit more since people have been bringing things up. I used to like 3-WZ...thought it was well programmed (although not my cup of tea)...the Jocks were good...the music fit the image. But now, they sound like they have no idea who or what they are. They want to keep the adults they had, yet appeal to the younger hipper demo at the same time. Seems when Hot went by the way-side everyone is trying to grab at their piece of the pie...only trouble is you can only cut that pie so thin. Someone will lose out. Only time will tell if its 3-WZ, G101 or B94.5...but there sure as heck is not enough room for 3 CHR's in this town.
 
revbabe said:
I remember a few years ago the guys from another station were in a parade that we were in. We were revolution at the time. We had the hummer full of fun outgoing people throwing candy and shirts out. The other stations people were two middle aged plump men with too tight radio guy shirts. They both wore caps pulled down and were hiding behind facial har and sunglasses. (I think one even had a pleather Members only jacket on) They drove the traded mercedes and looked straight ahead never moving at all. The driver even wore driving gloves like it was part of his image. I remember that that year was a good year for us, and not so much for them as they claimed.

My point here is that that day I looked at the two pudgy uncomfortable little guys and understood that they were casting off the whole "I dont care to be here " and "I am a radio -insert angels singing here- personlality"

To this day it stuck with me that they failed that day. They could of taken off the dark shades and mixed with people.
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Revbabe, that is indeed an interesting observation. I recall one time in the PSU Homecoming parade the staff decided it would be a good idea to get out of the van and walk beside it to toss candy and wave to the crowds, etc. At that time, every station in town was there and we noticed how all the others just sat in the van....maybe occasionally smiling a little, but for the most part, looking straight ahead or talking amongst themselves as if the people were not even present. We even had the marti hooked up (talk about old-skool) and ran a cordless mic out into the crowd to get passers-by on the air...we did live drops FROM the parade as it happened. Real theatre of the mind stuff so if you were not there...you knew something very PSU was going on that you were missing. We were indeed Penn State's Station and we had a blast.

These people seem to forget that cracking the mic is only a small fraction of what makes a good station great. Its the music mix, its imaging, its how you get involved with the listeners be it phoners, or going to the parades, or charity events, etc. All things that so few stations even try to do anymore. Other than Froggy, the Bus and G101...is there anyone else in this market who even uses a professional liner guy (or girl) anymore? Some of the market's imaging is awful at least by my assessment and hardly anyone does anything in the community these days.

I was just talking to an old friend the other day who was a voicetracker for a station I will not mention out of respect to his privacy and we both ended up saying "things sure aren't like they used to be are they"?
 
revbabe said:
I remember a few years ago the guys from another station were in a parade that we were in. We were revolution at the time. We had the hummer full of fun outgoing people throwing candy and shirts out. The other stations people were two middle aged plump men with too tight radio guy shirts. They both wore caps pulled down and were hiding behind facial har and sunglasses. (I think one even had a pleather Members only jacket on) They drove the traded mercedes and looked straight ahead never moving at all. The driver even wore driving gloves like it was part of his image. I remember that that year was a good year for us, and not so much for them as they claimed.
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I get your points, they all have merit. But with that specific description, why not just say it was Steve Biddle and Jeff Brown from The Bus in the Mercedes?
 
Yes you are so right! I had no point at all. I just was jealous! Pilot you cant do anything but crash. Do you ever make a point or just rip at the people at one station? You sound like you should call yourself mrpilot or something. File a flightplan for VFR into making a point just once.
 
BTW,

I did NOT say what station it was at first till somebody mentioned another station that was incorrect. Listening to 3WZ now is kinda funny if you think about the big hole in the market as they chase the CHR audiance that nobody claims to want. GMR ro Joe should switch to hot AC!

Maybe they can get a trade for a convertible and some guys to stare straight ahead....
 
All of us that know the markets, that sit back and read the posts would love to truly see a serious comparison of the radio stations in your markets. Except for shilton, there is rarely an intelligent post. Some of us are from that area, but can't hear the stations. We'd love to even occasionally see an update of what both stations are doing as they compete.

Not being rude, but trying to make a point!
 
I'll take Lash's lead and chip in from the sidelines.

The two stations being compared have struggled for quite some time. I believe they're currently ranked 9th and 10th overall.

101.1/WGMR has been owned for decades by the Simpson family. It enjoyed some success as an alternative rocker, but moved into CHR a few years ago. They run a networked morning show and a networked evening show, so are locally programmed from 10 AM to 6 PM. And maybe overnight? The two local jocks doing mid-day and PMD are good, solid air talents. I'd have to leave musical analysis to the more knowledgable. All in all, they sound fine, but the station has never done a whole lot of business. So as a result, the local segments are very music intensive.

94.5/WBHV was owned by Forever until early this year. When 99.5 was moved in from Mount Union, 94.5 was sold to 2510 Licenses, but its format, call-letters & (I believe) sales revenue stayed with Forever. 2510 renamed it WSMO and ran "Smooth Jazz" until this summer and then flipped it to CHR and resurrected the WBHV call letters. AMD and PMD are voiced locally, by jocks who seem to be on-par with the two guys at WGMR. The young lady in morning drive does not sound terribly experienced, but seems very enthusiastic. Since this station just began around Labor Day, there are still very few commercials to interrupt the music.

So both stations are very music intensive.

I've noticed several of the participants have mentioned that longtime "Hot" AC 3WZ may also be leaning more toward CHR, but when I've sampled it, I haven't heard it. I gather they changed their slogan, dropping reference to "the eighties," but the music sounds the same to me. Pop. My understanding of "Hot" AC has always been that it's sort of a AC/CHR hybrid, anyway. Then again, I'm old.

Somone with more music savvy may want to weigh in on the comparative music approaches.
 
lash said:
All of us that know the markets, that sit back and read the posts would love to truly see a serious comparison of the radio stations in your markets. Except for shilton, there is rarely an intelligent post. Some of us are from that area, but can't hear the stations. We'd love to even occasionally see an update of what both stations are doing as they compete.

Not being rude, but trying to make a point!
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Thank you for the kind nod! I do not claim to know it all and I am sure I have made mistakes (and mis-calls) on some of my predictions. Ask AJ how many times I have told him something is not going to be a hit only to later eat my words. But when I talk, I try and talk from the gut and I pull no punches....I call it like I see it. Maybe I see it incorrectly sometimes, but at least I take a decent stab at it.

I still read the boards, but I post less and less often as it seems people only want to insult each other rather than get involved in good spirited debate on the subjects posted here.

As for G101 and B94.5, I will keep my comments to myself, as everyone would only say I am biased anyway...but I'd love to see more comparisons and contrasts posted by my fellow broadcasters who are not as tied into it as I happen to be as a staff member of G101.
 
I think it's interesting that we have four pages on this thread and only a few attempts to actually compare the two stations. Thanks to those who took a shot at it.
 
Okay, let me chime in and see if I can do it without getting tagged by the Rude Police for bad mouthing in a Politeness Zone.

G: I can understand 80 percent of the lyrics to 80 percent of the songs, which is not necessarily a good thing since so many are artless or expressions of raw emotion that no one by the performer cares about -- or should.

The DJs sound like real people, but not necessarily real people you'd like to know.

B: I can't understand most of the lyrics to most of the songs, but at least they're consistent -- as most have no melody, either.

The DJs sound automated even when they're live, which is comforting since I know when the music stops I'm not going to be startled by someone who sounds like he's trying out for the part of a street punk holdup artist in a 1970s made-for-television movie.
 
Okay, let me chime in and see if I can do it without getting tagged by the Rude Police for bad mouthing in a Politeness Zone.

G: I can understand 80 percent of the lyrics to 80 percent of the songs, which is not necessarily a good thing since so many are artless or expressions of raw emotion that no one but the performer cares about -- or should.

The DJs sound like real people, but not necessarily real people you'd like to know.

B: I can't understand most of the lyrics to most of the songs, but at least they're consistent -- as most have no melody, either.

The DJs sound automated even when they're live, which is comforting since I know when the music stops I'm not going to be startled by someone who sounds like he's trying out for the part of a street punk holdup artist in a 1970s made-for-television movie.
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Finally some good input. The truth. Gentleman thank you. All your points are well thought out and true. It also sounds like you all know from the inside. No petty "they suck" but usefull points and honesty
 
If you mean my sorry and duplicated post (the second version corrects a typo,) thank you. I am no insider, at least not around here. Just a guy with a lifetime in the business (and a pretty long lifetime, at that,) who knows what he likes, what often works, and what doesn't.

I am trying to compare these two stations as a listener, understanding all the while that (a) that's not really possible and (b) that I am well out of the demographic either of these stations seek.

At root, there's nothing terrible or super about either of the stations. They play to the same crowd in slightly different ways. All these judgements are subjective: yours, mine and the owners.

I don't yet understand the dynamics of this area's radio playing field, but it seems to me that there are too few players, and that each of them has too few people trying to do too many things at once.

I'm old school enough to believe that you can't be a music or program director for more than one station at a time, that you can't be a high performing member of both the sales team and the air team at the same time, and that most people will listen to anything provided it comes in well and is not off-putting in some significant way. (Again, dependent on the subjectivity of the listener and the quirks of physical coverage.)
 
We all know that its hard to program a radio station and now were are instructed that one has to "program" the website too...
 
revbabe said:
We all know that its hard to program a radio station and now were are instructed that one has to "program" the website too...
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You just aren't going to let the web site thing go, are you? ???
 
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