Happy with radio????

[musicmanjon]

I'm just curious if everybody is in general happy with the way radio sounds??? Do you like the way big companies dictate to on-air personalities??? Or would you rather see the DJ's program the shows like it use to be in the 50's and 60's??? Just a question.......happy???

 

[sbe]

I was a disc jockey in the late 60's early 70's before getting into the technical end of radio. The format was very tight. We had a 16 song playlist of currents which were put in strict rotation by the MD. When we reported for our airshift, we would find a box with liners, live reads, a rotation order for the currents and several 45's or LP's (remember those?)re-currents. We could take requests so long as they were on the playlist. Remember telling the teeny boppers when they called that you would play their song? Some of them would promise you some rather interesting payola in the backseat of your car too... Usually, they had a face for radio...some, though.... Oh well, what I was trying to say is that some of the more popular top 40 stations of the day, had very tight playlists, and get caught deviating one would catch all kinds of hell...Today, what on air personalities radio has is being told what to do for the most part. And other dayparts, the Prophet system also does what it's told. Not a whole lot has changed except there are a whole lot more stations with all kinds of niche programming.



> I'm just curious if everybody is in general happy with the
> way radio sounds??? Do you like the way big companies
> dictate to on-air personalities??? Or would you rather see
> the DJ's program the shows like it use to be in the 50's and
> 60's??? Just a question.......happy???
>

 

[Ivan]

Yes.

As much as we criticize the big companies, on this board, the big companies have been good to Tampa. In the old days you had two or three stations fighting for the AC or Rock segment of the audience and all minorities were completely shunned. In Tampa there was no black radio (still isn't unless you count 96.1)but at least 95.7 caters to them. Latin radio would never have been on FM. We did not have a good Top 40 until Power 93 came on the air. Folks, Q105 was always an Adult Top 40 and us teens hated the station like poison. Wild 98.7 signed on and we really heard what Rhythmic Top 40 is.

I have noticed that in the large markets, the big companies have diluted the local sound. New York is the best example. They have seen heritage stations WNEW, WCBS) change into formats where their ratings have actually dropped. WKTU is a shadow of its former self and so is WXRK.

Some stations do not allow their DJs to shine. Cox is probably most guilty of that and it is a shame. CC has the nost personality and it keeps me coming back.

OK marketing types, take note. I do not care for 970 WFLA. It is the Bush party line as far as I am concerned. Yet, all the local guys (Jack, Tedd, Sharon), not Schnitt, provide me with a confidence that when there is bad weather or national tragedy I can listen to them for non-exaggerated facts.

Other noteworthy jocks that, I believe, do a great job of connecting with the audience are as follows:
(Currently on the Tampa airwaves)

Mason Dixon (and the rest of his crew).
Nancy and Mike
Nick Van Cleave
Carson Cooper
Big Boys (98 Rock)
Fisher
Scant

Historically:

Scott Shannon
Cleveland Wheeler
Russ Albums
Ron and Fez

There are more, these are the names that come to mind at this moment.

 

[sbe]

Re: Yes.

Other than WFLA, you did not mention any other stations on AM as though only FM counted. WWBA is doing a pretty good job going up against WFLA with syndicated talk. WE have the new Salem twins on 860 and 930. AM serves the black community with WTMP, WRXB, the hispanic community with several stations, the religious with numerous stations. Many of those stations are handicapped by signals that dont cover the entire market, but they eke out a living somehow.
Some of the best disc jockeys that really connected were Scott Robbins and Howard Hewes in the WHBO days. That was a great station. Probably one of the last not run by consultants. I agree the original Q Zoo with Scott Shannon and Cleveland Wheeler was good. It was carried by Scott, but Cleveland was good with his cast of characters. Remember Johnson the maintenance man? That I think was the last time an FM station had such high ratings. Course now they've taken all those nice local class A FM's, upgraded them into Tampa rimshots and there are not a lot of smaller stations serving their communities. I disagree that the big companies have been good. We now have less competition, far fewer on air personalities and blandness in radio unheard of. Do you think Clear Channel would have a Randy Michaels create a Power Pig today? I dont think so.



> As much as we criticize the big companies, on this board,
> the big companies have been good to Tampa. In the old days
> you had two or three stations fighting for the AC or Rock
> segment of the audience and all minorities were completely
> shunned. In Tampa there was no black radio (still isn't
> unless you count 96.1)but at least 95.7 caters to them.
> Latin radio would never have been on FM. We did not have a
> good Top 40 until Power 93 came on the air. Folks, Q105 was
> always an Adult Top 40 and us teens hated the station like
> poison. Wild 98.7 signed on and we really heard what
> Rhythmic Top 40 is.
>
> I have noticed that in the large markets, the big companies
> have diluted the local sound. New York is the best example.
> They have seen heritage stations WNEW, WCBS) change into
> formats where their ratings have actually dropped. WKTU is a
> shadow of its former self and so is WXRK.
>
> Some stations do not allow their DJs to shine. Cox is
> probably most guilty of that and it is a shame. CC has the
> nost personality and it keeps me coming back.
>
> OK marketing types, take note. I do not care for 970 WFLA.
> It is the Bush party line as far as I am concerned. Yet, all
> the local guys (Jack, Tedd, Sharon), not Schnitt, provide me
> with a confidence that when there is bad weather or national
> tragedy I can listen to them for non-exaggerated facts.
>
> Other noteworthy jocks that, I believe, do a great job of
> connecting with the audience are as follows:
> (Currently on the Tampa airwaves)
>
> Mason Dixon (and the rest of his crew).
> Nancy and Mike
> Nick Van Cleave
> Carson Cooper
> Big Boys (98 Rock)
> Fisher
> Scant
>
> Historically:
>
> Scott Shannon
> Cleveland Wheeler
> Russ Albums
> Ron and Fez
>
> There are more, these are the names that come to mind at
> this moment.
>

 

[Obtuse]

Re: Yes (and No)

Yes: More music formats, catering to a more diverse populus.

No: The current glut of syndicated Right Wing talkers (no thanks to Salem). Surely we've reached critical mass by now.

The increasing "sameness" of stations between markets (McStations?). A Top 40 here pretty much sounds exactly the same as a Top 40 in Nashville, Philly, or Detroit. Used to be each city's playlist had a distinct flavor, and included local breakout artists.

 

[bullet907]

with xm radio i am.

 

[tempora12]

Re: Yes (and No)

>
> The increasing "sameness" of stations between markets
> (McStations?). A Top 40 here pretty much sounds exactly the
> same as a Top 40 in Nashville, Philly, or Detroit. Used to
> be each city's playlist had a distinct flavor, and included
> local breakout artists.
>


I'm not sure I agree with the above statement. In my travels I've found that Top 40 stations sound very different from one another. True the local breakout artists are not getting the airplay, but that doesn't create the distinction.

 

[FloridaBear1776]

Re: Yes.

> As much as we criticize the big companies, on this board,
> the big companies have been good to Tampa. In the old days
> you had two or three stations fighting for the AC or Rock
> segment of the audience and all minorities were completely
> shunned. In Tampa there was no black radio (still isn't
> unless you count 96.1)but at least 95.7 caters to them.
> Latin radio would never have been on FM. We did not have a
> good Top 40 until Power 93 came on the air. Folks, Q105 was
> always an Adult Top 40 and us teens hated the station like
> poison. Wild 98.7 signed on and we really heard what
> Rhythmic Top 40 is.
>

Tampa is probably the most consolidated market for its size in the country. All of the full-market FMs are owned by just three companies. This tends to keep a lot of innovation out of the market until very late in the game, and causes a number of signals to be wasted in "flanking" strategies. Plus the comfort of an unchallengeable troika prevents a lot of the head-on challenges that used to bring excitement to the dial. We get hand-me-down concepts that corporate types sit on, waiting until well after they've been tried in more competitive markets. Aside from WFUS-WQYK, the few challenges seem to be Cox's wars of attrition to dominate fading formats (102.5 and 107.3 versus the old 103.5,
and in the 90's, Oldies 97.1 versus 92.5).

A lot of the format diversity claimed is just splitting broad formats down to slivers. For example, before Thunder went away, 102.5's emphasis on 80's metal versus 70's rock. Probably the number of different songs heard on the radio is the same or less than ten years ago.

> Some stations do not allow their DJs to shine. Cox is
> probably most guilty of that and it is a shame. CC has the
> nost personality and it keeps me coming back.
>

 

[Ivan]

Re: Yes.

Let's see, early-mid 80s:

92.5 Classical
93.3 EZ
94.1 Not a Tampa signal
94.9 AOR
95.7 AC
97.1 Not a Tampa signal
97.9 AOR
98.7 Not a Tampa signal
99.5 Country
100.7 AC
101.5 Religious
102.5 Jazz
103.5 EZ
104.7 AC leaning Top 40
105.5 Not a Tampa signal

Sorry folks, but do you see a pattern? By the way, I remember that the playlists were so much alike that, at times, the same Richard Marx song could be heard on three stations.

Blech. Pooey, Yuck.