Is this board a reflection of the state of Providence area radio?

[OldSchoolCool]

I used to have the name RadioJay1 on the boards. With no new posts in a month, I can see I am not the only one who has not found anything exciting to talk about in local radio. Did everyone decide to get Sirius XM? I've had Sirius XM now for over a year and it was the best decision I ever made to hear my favorite music and other great programming. Like some others on this board and the Boston board, I used to complain about the lack of music variety on local radio. I thought I would have some fun changing some programming and formats Providence radio dial. Stations not mentioned would stay the same. I know the corporate bigwigs running the commercial radio stations could care less what I think or anyone not in the target demos, and having Sirius XM is my way of saying to them, play what you want, I will listen to what I like. Have fun with these ideas for local radio.

630 WPRO Liberal local news and talk, syndicated liberal talk
790 WPRV Sports talk for New York team fans and Yankees and NY Giants games.
920 WHJJ Conservative local news and talk, syndicated conservative talk
990 W--- French Canadian local programming and music serving Woonsocket and the surrounding area.
1110 WPMZ Classic country of the 70's, 80's, and 90's

93.3 WSNE The Beat - 70's, 80's, and 90's disco, dance, and pop
94.1 WHJY Rock from the 90's to today
101.5 WWBB Classic rock from the 60's to the 80's
106.3 WWKX Back in the day hip-hop and R&B from the 80's, 90's, and 2000's

 

[OldSchoolCool]

Local radio is one thing, but now is everyone bored of the board?

 

[ScottBurns]

The problem is that for us radio dorks, there isn't a station that sounds as good as it did in its heyday. Heck, there isn't a station that sounds as good as it did 20 years ago. Some examples:
1. PRO-FM: while the imaging and music is good, the night show is voicetracked, the weekends feature marathon voicetracked Davey Morris shifts, and there's little that is interesting about the station - even the morning show.
2. Coast: it is much, much improved from recent years. But again, the voicetracked Kristen makes for a boring afternoon show. And while most shifts are local, the breaks are painfully short and PPM friendly (good, perhaps, for the average listener, but bad for us radio nerds). Also, there is not much variety in the music.
3. 'HJY: while Doug and Scarpetti and Charles provide some entertaining content, this was a station that was built on the personalities of its jocks. 'HJY has the most talented stable of jocks in the Providence market. However, because of PPM and voicetracking, those jocks do not get to use their talent.
4. Cat Country: the morning show, with its chopped up, PPM-friendly phone bits, is unlistenable. In the afternoon, all the talented Kevin Lawrence does is read traffic reports. The music variety has also declined.
5. Lite: in terms of personalities and music, the most boring station in the market.
6. Hot: the voicetracked midday show - from Indianapolis - is not sufficient. The night show is often clearly voicetracked.

There's no creativity anymore. Remember when 'HJY had the Hangover Cafe? Even the live shows feature very little listener interaction.

I know these problems are not unique to Providence. But they have brought radio to a sad place.

 

[Jacko]

It's been a while since I've posted on this board. The state of RI radio is pretty sad, and there really isn't too much to talk about. ScottBurns mentioned HJY; the bits of Paul and Al that I've heard lately are also stale, much shorter, and sound clunky (for lack of a better word). Top 40 and other currents-based stations can get away with the faster, shorter breaks approach, but rock stations can't. It's the nature of a changing public and a changing industry. People don't need radio to hear the latest songs anymore. Most "rock" listeners don't even want to hear what's new anymore. WAAF doesn't even play currents, aside from the occasional mega-band new release from, say, Metallica. WBRU may be the only remaining rock music refuge in RI.

Jacko

 

[TheBigA]

The problem is that for us radio dorks, there isn't a station that sounds as good as it did in its heyday.

You probably can't run as fast as you did 20 years ago either. So what?

What you thought was "creative" was dull and boring to people 30 years older than you. Consider the Golden Age of radio. They didn't play records. They had live orchestras. What's creative about playing a record? Nothing. It's all relative. So certain things were creative to you, and today, people think Pandora is creative.

 

[ScottBurns]

Well, if you find radio to still be compelling, then that is your right. I don't.

Great point, Jacko. And as I mentioned earlier, if you want to find a clunky sounding Morning show, try Cat Country. The bits are designed to take seconds, and the edited calls cannot sound worse.

 

[TheBigA]

Well, if you find radio to still be compelling, then that is your right. I don't.

Obviously your neighbors do, because those are among the most popular stations in town. Your problem isn't with radio, but with the people who listen.

 

[BoredModerator]

What's going on at HJY? Paul and Al seem more like Paul or Al....are one of them out most of the time? Seems rare they are both on together. Doug and Ginger sound like they pre-record their breaks around noon.

 

[ScottBurns]

"TheBigA," instead of making it personal, consider the fact that listeners have no other choice when it comes to terrestrial radio. These types of stations are, in effect, the only ones from which to choose in the market.

BoredModerator, the amount of voicetracking at WHJY is astounding. I don't know why Paul and Al cannot be live more often. It is not uncommon to hear parts of Paul and Al'S 6 AM hour - including the exact same bits - simply replayed later during the show (especially during the 9 AM hour). Besides the parts of Paul and Al'a show that isn't voicetracked, nearly the entire rest of the day is voicetracked on WHJY. At least it's still local (other than 9 PM-12 AM).

Obviously your neighbors do, because those are among the most popular stations in town. Your problem isn't with radio, but with the people who listen.

 

[TheBigA]

"TheBigA," instead of making it personal, consider the fact that listeners have no other choice when it comes to terrestrial radio. These types of stations are, in effect, the only ones from which to choose in the market.

Consider the fact that listeners who choose those stations have a completely different opinion about them than you. How is that possible?

 

[TheBigA]

My point is these stations aren't programming to people who are comparing them to 30 years ago. They're programming in the present day to compete against other stations in the market now. You're basing your opinions on your memories of what radio was like when you were younger. Not exactly the most effective comparison.

 

[ScottBurns]

That is certainly possible. But have you ever met someone who believes that the quality of radio is better today than it was, in, say, the 1990s? I understand that the average person does not even think about radio. However, the reason that the competition is so homogeneous is because, in most markets, radio stations are owned by 2-3 corporate behemoths. They all want to reduce expenses as much as possible. Hence the quality of the products.

 

[TheBigA]

That is certainly possible. But have you ever met someone who believes that the quality of radio is better today than it was, in, say, the 1990s?

It really isn't a topic of conversation. You either use it or you don't. That's what happens when you have lots of options, which is the situation now, as compared to 20 or 30 years ago. The fact is the percentage of people who use traditional radio is largely unchanged from what it was 20 or 30 years ago, regardless of your perceived quality differences and the multiplicity of options. That's really all that matters.

 

[BoredModerator]

What's going on with Depetro? Leave of absence?