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In Atlanta - Cheap Channel kills another rock station

After looking at Yes.com, it looks like it went from Classic Rock to Active Rock/Alternative.

The Buzz with a Guns 'N' Roses and AC/DC thrown in once an hour.

Why didn't 103.7 start off with this kind of format?
 
Jay, are you delusional with the XM crap? Look at XM and Sirius numbers. It's not like people are flocking to it. 96 rock blew. It sucks Whip is without a job, but it's not like he was EVER happy working.... well for pretty much anyone. He complained when he was in Denver, complained when he was in Houston, complained when he went to Arizona and complained in Atlanta. He's got plenty of talent, but cannot ever seem to find anywhere to make him happy. It's easy to blame Clear Channel, but he worked for them 3 seperate times... must not have been so bad.
Maybe the super powers behind the laughable RockAid can come to the rescue of Atlanta and get the genius of programming called Pat Fant to save them all... just like he did in Houston.
 
Man, I just get out of bed, still mourning Denver getting beat last night, scratching the nut area and up pops an email from Jay about the Houston radio board. Just to set some things straight...Fo Fo, man, you really know my career well. Thank you. I did complain alot in most of those places. I was frustrated because I thought I was being held back and acted like a spoiled child. Wrong. But that was never the case here in Atlanta. When they canned my sagging ass the other day the 1st thing they said was "we're gonna do everything in our power to place you somewhere else ASAP". All was good here and it just came down to money. Not me misbehaving or bitching. I finally saw the light on that. The new station in Atlanta is paying PT wages to the night guy, the PD does afternoons, and the middayer is the APD/MD. You have to work cheap and multitask or...you wind up with your nose pressed against the glass looking in. Great lesson to learn b'casting neophytes. So Fo Fo continue to rip me up. That is fine. But in this case you are wrong. Good luck to you! Man, I should've never left Houston.
 
Whip, I never ripped on you. I said 3 things.

1. You've worked for CC multiple times.
2. You complained everywhere.
3. You had a lot of talent.

Which one of those isn't true? My post had very little to do with you actually. More with people wanting to blame CC for every wrong in the industry. I've worked for almost every major radio company and stations owned by a husband and wife combo... the same rings true for every place. The same complaints can be stated in every situation. It had nothing to do with who owned stations. People want someone to blame... blame the city the station was in. I blame Houston for abandoning KLOL, Miami for Zeta, San Jose/San Fran for KSJO... and yes... I blame Atlanta for abandoning 96 Rock. Drive across the country... there are hundreds of badly programmed radio stations that can seem to hold an audience.. these cities abandoned their stations.. and then try to turn around and cry about stations that went away because no one was listening to them.
 
Yes. Please place the blame in its proper place...if the listeners had never busted up S&P, voicetracked Uncle Nasty from Denver, or gotten Ken Charles tossed out of the station's main advertiser's business establishment, none of this would have ever happened.
 
You have a very narrow view of the radio business. There's a lot more out there outside of Houston.
 
Really? And blaming the listeners for any station's failure and mismanagement constitutes a broader view?

I see. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
 
No, I meant taking what you know about Clear Channel (pretty much just Houston) and using that as a basis for your opinion... but then again... you were on a radio board seeking stock advice.. I should have known better.
 
Man…see what happens when I’m gone. Yep…call me the instigator on this one. I had to let Whip know what was being said behind his back. I just made a point about how CC was trashing another station (or 2).

I’ve followed Whip since he was on the Buzz. I enjoyed his comments about everything in general, his knowledge of music, and not following the heavy handed PD with liner cards. One of the last true “radio personalities” Houston and the Buzz had. The resume might be checkered, but Whip now has a following in every market he’s worked. And he took the Atlanta-CC Buzz and made it a strong contender by taking down the competition of 99X.

And the other comments FoFoFo, I’ve thought about over the weekend. It clearly sounds like you are a suit and tie guy over on Post Oak, who drinks from the kool-aid in the water cooler. We’ve tried to guess who you are to no avail. And your replies are knowledgeable, but you keep up the slams of XM and Pat Fant.

I use my real name on this board. It’s easy to make comments on here with a fake name and not have to worry about negative fallout. I do it on other boards from time to time. I’ve been around here longer than you have, way back since these radio boards started. I’m a radio listener who got fed-up, wanted to know what happens in radio and this website sorta became a hobby. I’ve worked in college radio and know from behind the mic, how tough it is.

XM covers everything I want in radio….music and format variety, open playlists, limited repetition, news, sports. Your only beef is it’s not local. When the Buzz adds the Ramones, Clash, Replacements, Muse and the Decemberists and drops the non-stop 5-10 year old same songs from 311, Limp Bizkit, Bush and even Metallica, I might come back with my new HD2 receiver.

enough soapbox but that’s my .02 rant the day.

-jay
 
Fo-Fo-Fo-Hye said:
Maybe the super powers behind the laughable RockAid can come to the rescue of Atlanta and get the genius of programming called Pat Fant to save them all... just like he did in Houston.
Click to expand...

Hey loser, you suck!
How do you like it?

Just what would you do to unscrew the situation?
No pay, unhappy listeners, increasing advo dollars, halting sell-offs and so forth.
Please enlighten us.
 
The laughable Rockaid stood up for their rights and bucked the system. An idea you gave them when you launched the "Save the Buzz" campaign in 2000. You (and the rest of the geniuses at Clear Channel) are responsible for planting the idea in listeners heads, that if they made phone calls, petitioned and yelled loud enough, Clear Channel would listen. From this basic concept, Rockaid was born, linking together thousands of listeners to solicit other broadcasting companies to revive KLOL, much like what was encouraged when Clear Channel switched the frequency of The Buzz from 107.5 to 94.5. For those that don't know, there was never..never any plan to do away with The Buzz.

Laughable website, ultimately created by a laughable marketing ploy.

Sorry Kendro, I had to step on your toes there, and respond before you could. I agree with Fo-Fo on a few things, disagree on others, but the basic concept that you guys were founded on initially is not something that should be termed "laughable". Your direction is long gone, but the original idea was inspiring, to say the least.
 
Yes, Fo-fo, I did ask several knowledgable media people about my CCO stock. I'm sorry it hurt your feelings that you weren't one of them.

As for the rest of your statement, it seems I'm not the one with a narrow view of radio, if you think Clear Channel's mismanagement and subsequent loss of a 34-year heritage station (and its listeners) is an event isolated to Houston. I'm pretty sure Apple appreciates your company's dedication to denial. After all, they've sold over 40 million iPods; iTunes reports that as of September 2006, there have been over 1.5 billion song downloads. Let's get back to blaming the listeners! It's their fault they're too smart to remain stuck with 200-song playlists, screaming furniture ads, voicetracked nights and weekends, and national contesting.

I just find it hilarious that anyone in the media business can fault the listeners for failing to be entertained. Please don't take it personally, big fella. It's just that when you find yourself typing sentences like that, it might be time to check your perspective.
 
Aunti, I don't think downloads have ANYTHING to do in regards to radio sucking. More in the realm of a lot of music sucking. When you can get the 2 or 3 only good songs on a cd for 99 cents each versus 9.99 or more for the entire cd, not to mention not having to deal with retail and the traffic on the way to the store... that's why I get music from ITunes. It has nothing to do with radio.. and more to do with music. Sorry to shatter your idea, but it's rather assuming on your part to attribute all of iTunes music sales to radio being weak. The music coming out today is for the most part weak when it's taken as a whole. If you can't see that, keep your head in the sand. I couldn't care less about your CC stock. Personally I'd have held it a little longer (at least that's what the guy I pay to make the right decisions said for me to do). I do blame the listeners. They let the jocks get lazy and the music get old. People still say they loved KLOL and all of the jocks, but they didn't bother to follow any of them over to KIOL. How can you explain that? I can. People look back and think of the glory days of the station... a station they stopped listening to long before Clear Channel had anything to do with KLOL.

Kendro. Rock-Aid is a great idea.... in 1965, when things like petitions and letters could make a difference. The idea is good... but in the end, it had people thinking they had accomplished something (with the launch of KIOL) when in fact, they're still left scratching their heads at the waste of a radio station that exists on 103.7. The part of Rock-Aid that I found laughable was the message board where people patted themselves on the back and claimed victory. They made Cumulus out to be some "for the people" company, when in fact the company is even more heartless and void of personality that Clear Channel. It's funny to me, the people that claimed Cumulus listened to them and they had won, now say the exact same things about the company that they first said about Clear Channel. That's the part I find laughable. Your idea behind it was based on a model that has long since expired.... however well intentioned, it doesn't apply to current business.

How would I have fixed KLOL. I'm not sure that would have been possible. There was good heritage there, and a passionate love of the station by most of the staff, but the staff got lazy. It happens when you can ride heritage, but without a passionate staff that wants to continually grow and evolve, you will get stale and boring. Is that CC's fault. Some of it, but it is also the responsibility of the jocks to want to make themselves better. You can keep an audience through so-so music if what you do between the records is good enough... what was happening on KLOL wasn't good enough. You can only ride heritage for as long as your listeners will accept you not working harder and smarter. Then, one day, the jig is up and your listeners leave you, as they did with KLOL. I don't know if there was a fix for KLOL, other than blowing it up. The heritage had turned into more of a negative one than a positive near the end. I'm assuming it was the same deal in Atlanta. I think people just like to complain. Radio is a business and has been since the late 40's. People who think playlists only came about when Clear Channel took over need to study history. There were playlists (nationwide) in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Also, for the record... there's aren't "Corporate Playlists" in play with Clear Channel, Entercom, and CBS. Anyone who says differently obviously has never worked for these companies in any position where you would have access to the right information.

For the record, I find it very entertaining to come on here and spark an argument and to mess around with people because they get worked up so easily... but I know my information when I need to. I love the medium of radio (at least good radio). It's been a passion of mine as well as a career for more than half of my life. I'm not one to come here and whine and complain (although I do love messing around with those that do). I'd rather work on my solutions for delivering a better product on the air. Radio message boards (in my opinion) are not the place where the industry is going to be saved. It's a place where those that can't come to spout off about those that are at least trying to. The people I know across this country that are in this business don't come here to solve the problems... they come here to rid themselves of boredom and find entertainment.
 
Temper, temper, darling. So far you've blamed the listeners, the jocks, the recent music (whoops, better tell The Buzz their playlist suxxor), people who blame Clear Channel. Four rather lengthy paragraphs (and I'm sure an entire lifestyle behind them) shucking the blame for running a solid station into the ground.

No mention of budget cuts, staff cuts, playlist cuts, voicetracking, national contesting. Hmm. How can a staff get lazy when their hands are tied? Oh, right. In Fo-fo's world, it's everybody else's fault but the company, ops manager, and program director. You're casting about (rather wildly) for accountability, but in the end, it rests with two people alone. In Vince Richards' and Ken Charles' hands, 34 years of listener loyalty disappeared. But hey, blame the new music. Uh, or the listeners, or, uh, the wallpaper, it was just not inspiring. Damn this Houston heat. Anybody but Clear Channel!

Fact is, KLOL isn't the first station Clear Channel's bumbling, one-size-fits-all manhandling has dismantled, and of course it wasn't the last. A few more paragraphs won't convince anybody else, but they might help you get through your day. Good luck with that.
 
I'd rather work on my solutions for delivering a better product on the air.
Click to expand...

Where are your results? If you've got a hand in what's on Houston radio, then please do us all a favor and quit! You're only making it worse.

Is what they turned KLOL into better? I don't think so. It's just another trashy rap station, but in Spanglish. I'd rather catch a Stevie Ray tune off of KIOL. Houston radio has way too many R&B, rap, and Spanish stations. The few alternatives available stink. You blame the listeners, but when CC flushed KLOL they told us, "This is what we're doing and you have to like it." The companies don't care about the listeners. Why is it their fault when the company gives them a trashy product and the middle finger?
 
Autni, I was actually going to respond... but it really isn't worth it.

HD, my point was people in radio stand around looking to others for some answers instead of putting the time and effort into themselves in the business. It's easier to blame someone when you don't take a risk on yourself and only execute what someone else tells you to do. I'm not talking about choosing music because everyone in radio knows that jocks haven't chosen their music since the 70's. I'm talking about being better jocks.
 
Outlaw Dave and Wendy Miller work very hard but KIOL's numbers remain below the water line.
I don't know what more the jocks can do within the current limits.
Perhaps if they steal some of S&P's Uncle Waldo skits or curse advertisers on air?
 
You just stated the biggest problem KIOL had, has, and will have for the forseeable future. These two jocks can't be the shouldering force of the station. Lisa Kendall, either. They need a COMPLETE line up of on air personalities. KIOL has a lot of issues, and obviously their "research" of this market was the 100 something 35-55 year old bikers that attend the Outlaw Dave functions at Sugar's every Tuesday night.

First off, classic rock is the wrong avenue for KIOL. KKRW has classic rock covered, very well I might add, and has the superior Mo. City stick. This was a mistake. What they initially brought to the table was a hybrid of classic and newer rock. If they would have tweaked the playlist a bit more to include a Tool song here, a White Zombie song there, they may have had something. Instead, break out the Kansas. We're going classic rock. Brilliant.

Secondly, lose Walton & Johnson. They aren't funny, don't remember them ever being funny, and can't see them obtaining funny material any time soon. When KFNC folds for ESPN programming in January, logically, they should reunite Mark Stevens, Jim Pruitt, and Brian Shannon (all of which are already employed by Cumulus) on 103.7 and give them one last run at something original KLOL listeners yearn for. Don't hold your breath. It will never happen, and you can thank Cumulus' extensive "research" for that.

Finally, and I know there will be disagreement all over the board about this. Fire Pat Fant. Pat Fant was a programming guru, and dare I say genius, in the 80's. He was the inspiration behind the glory days of KLOL, including "The Rock and Roll Army" and SAF-O-SHRIMPS, but that was when PD's were allowed to implement their own ideas. As a "yes" man, programming as Atlanta sees fit, he sounds tired, aged, and it shows in the presentation of the station.

KIOL is a joke. I know it's great for the members of Rockaid to feel accomplishment for reviving a once legendary station. It was kind of nice to hear the old familiar voices on the air again after the station signed on, but KLOL it is not. Basically, when Clear Channel flipped KLOL to Mega their advice was to move to KKRW for classic rock and KTBZ for new rock. KIOL was formed to be the alternative for both new and old rock, like KLOL once was. So what happened? Isn't Cumulus basically saying that Clear Channel was right? If this is what KIOL was meant to become, rock listeners should've taken CC's advice and simply moved over to KKRW. Comparing the ratings and billing for both stations, it looks like that's exactly what happened.

Hopefully, a spot will open up for Dave over at KLDE when it's all said and done.
 
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