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Irma Blanco Out Of KBIG Morning Show
- Thread starter pjc1961
- Start date
calguy said:
It's interesting how those playing the best game are sniped, while the dismal results of KTWV, KSWD and, particularly, KKGO, go either unnoticed or the subject of praise.
KBIG is the #1 25-54 station in the market. I would guess that there is a certain logic to their moves...
Well, in this case David, your guess is just that, a guess. You seem to forgive a lot when a station has good ratings, but good ratings say nothing of working conditions or how well you are treated there. You can't "stat" away bad treatment. KSWD, KKGO and KTWV have nothing to do with this thread, it's not about them.
calguy said:
Ultimately, the worst treatment is to be at a losing station where the entire staff is replaced as the format shifts.
I was using "guess" sarcastically... nobody becomes #1 25-54 in LA by accident.
You are focusing on station performance David. I'm not, not in this thread. That's not what it's about. You are on the outside on this one. It's a fact that they are doing very well in the ratings, but it is irrelevant to this story and we could focus on ratings, but that wasn't my point. In this case the stats have zero to do with how well someone is treated. An entire staff losing their jobs is tragic, but it still says nothing of working conditions. If during your time at a station you are literally tortured by management ratings won't matter much to you.
This is about Irma losing her job, which quite frankly many thought would've happened long ago. She was already in place during the previous morning show with Charlie Tuna and was thrust upon Valentine. She was always a trooper, but Valentine already had his staff before arriving at KBIG, so she held on for quite a while, a testament to her talent and perseverance. Add to that working for someone who just about anyone who has worked at KBIG will tell you is pure torture. But as is typical, you ignore that aspect in favor of ratings and IMOHO with the current supply of music for this format there are a multitude of PD's who could achieve success and do without all the BS.
This is about Irma losing her job, which quite frankly many thought would've happened long ago. She was already in place during the previous morning show with Charlie Tuna and was thrust upon Valentine. She was always a trooper, but Valentine already had his staff before arriving at KBIG, so she held on for quite a while, a testament to her talent and perseverance. Add to that working for someone who just about anyone who has worked at KBIG will tell you is pure torture. But as is typical, you ignore that aspect in favor of ratings and IMOHO with the current supply of music for this format there are a multitude of PD's who could achieve success and do without all the BS.
calguy said:
The fact is that in a transactional (ratings drive sales) market like LA, anyone who works in radio should know that their job is based to a large extent on either ratings directly or the effect that ratings have on revenue.
Behind the scenes are not only those cost cutting budget meetings, but also reviews of perceptual research where listeners often tell us that our pet ox is being gored by listener opinion. Talents we like can be singularly unliked by the audience, just as features, bits, sidekicks and songs. The TV world examples of constant pilots, cancellations, cast changes and time period changes shows how volatile this whole entertainment thing is... I have a neighbor who was on cast for one of the season's "Big Network" shows and when it was not renewed for the second set of 12 episodes for the year, about 80 people were out of a job. While good gaffers and best boys tend to snap back quickly, character actors and actresses may spend another year or two at the California Pizza Kitchen on "The Boulevard" waiting for a good casting call.
I don't know Irma. But I know her story. I have lived her story. We woke up one day, thinking we were appreciated and valued,and we went home with our shit in a box after being told it was not so. Our friends make funny jokes about looking up "Ego Repair and Refinishing" on Craigslist or Angies List, and we get a diminishing number of lunches of the oh-I-feel-so-bad-for-you kind that gradually dwindle off with the first ones having a bottle of something Napa on the table, and the later ones having a pitcher of iced tea...
Were it so simple to do the format in question, everyone would be a PD, and there would be constant turnover provoked by the smallest infraction. Ohhhhh, muyyyyyy God. You wore Uggs to the meeting. That doesn't mean you are cool anymore. Thjat´s embarassing. Did the sheepskin show at the sides of the shoe? How gauche. I don't believe you did that. Why, that is worse than sticking your finger in the chocolate fondue pot!"
Sure, there is good music... but it takes glue to piece a station together. That glue comes from the PD. Some of the staff may resent getting adhesive on the fingers... or tongue... in the process.
It's nothing new. I was reading 1940's Billboards over at Chez Google,and they portray backstabbing, me before you, get out of my way desire for roles that would put to shame today's practices.
Before getting into the Biz, it's important to recognize that you are either talent or seen as talentand and are competing with new talent constantly.
Much of what you are saying is correct, but really has no bearing here, you've missed the point totally. We both know this wasn't about ratings. It's about money, and knowing about how a particular manager operates. He's no genius, and there are many "talented" and "experienced" PD's who could have pulled off this ratings rise as well or as I feel, better than the current manager. I also know all the unnecessary crap they have to deal with because of him. I've been privy to stuff that would make your head spin. We work in radio, so at one time or another we've all been screwed and my heart goes out to Irma who put up with a lot there.
DavidEduardo said:
I have no comment beyond - what a great post, David. I read it 3 times and will probably come back to it later.
calguy said:
There are plenty of managers who are not "bothered" by making friends at work who achieve financial goals while not creating the most employee-friendly workplace. Over the years, there have even been owners with such "qualities."
The industry is filled with examples of both good and bad managers and supervisors, just as, I'm sure, the power tool or insurance industries are.
We don't know that.
If we have taken a dislike to a particular person, we are comforted by thinking this, though.
The fact is that KBIG is the #1 25-54 station in the world's largest radio revenue market and it seems to just get stronger and stronger.
Perhaps it's the good music there, or mistakes by competitors or finding a "perfect" niche for today's cost-cutting environment. Or perhaps, too, it is intelligently programming and managing in a hostile environment... something certain to annoy at least a few of those involved.
This is a little off topic, but since KBIG is #1 in 25-54 and "keeps getting stronger and stronger" why hasn't CBS been faster at evolving KTWV to AC and then over to Hot AC?
It seems to me that KBIG is ripe for competition and KTWV has almost nowhere to go but up in the demo. If the evolution was carried out well, you could probably hold on to some of KTWV's listeners who like the softer end of Hot AC, especially if KTWV foregoes some of the rhythmic stuff that KBIG has added and is most likely a turn off for a certain segment of their audience who doesn't want to hear an Eminem or a Kanye West song on a Hot AC.
Or is the audience of middle aged white people who like Christina Perri and Bruno Mars just too small in this market?
It seems to me that KBIG is ripe for competition and KTWV has almost nowhere to go but up in the demo. If the evolution was carried out well, you could probably hold on to some of KTWV's listeners who like the softer end of Hot AC, especially if KTWV foregoes some of the rhythmic stuff that KBIG has added and is most likely a turn off for a certain segment of their audience who doesn't want to hear an Eminem or a Kanye West song on a Hot AC.
Or is the audience of middle aged white people who like Christina Perri and Bruno Mars just too small in this market?
justpassingthough said:
Those are good questions. I've wondered why some station does not come after KBIG.
Here are the debate points:
Does research reveal that the "Wave" name and KTWV calls carry too much "old demo" baggage?
If the name changes, would the ad community perceive this as a format change, thus pressing the reset button on revenue? (It can take 12 to 15 months to even start recovering former billing levels... as CBS-FM in NY showed).
Is CBS willing to go to near-zero billings and lose $10 to $15 million in revenue while building a competitor to KBIG? Or do they make enough now so that there is no logic there?
Have perceptual studies been done on KBIG to determine vulnerability... and do they show that the station is "good enough" to make getting a position against them quite difficult?
Is CC's ability to tweek KOST and KBIG along with flanker KHHT enough a threat of blocking that trying is not seen as worth it?
DavidEduardo said:
Like the company or not, CC sure has an enviable hold on the mainstream pop music continuum with KIIS-KBIG-KOST. Throw in flankers KHHT and KYSR and the hold looks even firmer. CBS has a big stick with KTWV that is currently underutilized. At some point, the revenues there will dip below some arbitrary line in the sand and somebody at CBS management will insist it's time to make an aggressive change, as they did with KLSX-to-AMP.
As for Irma, I do not know her, but the radio business, or entertainment business in general, is no different than every other business. People decisions, sometimes very cold hearted decisions, get made all the time. From time-to-time, those decisions backfire and management looks bad but most times, things just continue to move along...
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