Island 94.3 MAY be coming around

[mkdanz]

Let not compare Island 94.3 to the old WLIR. They never did make the move to replace it and never will so the comparison doesn't make sense. That said, I think they sound very good lately. I sense some subtle tweaking, fewer 80s cuts with the exception of Malibu Sue's show and the 8:00 80s. The 80s cuts I do hear seem to be just a bit left of center and not the pop 80s nonsense they played way too much of before. The focus seems to be more 90s and current hot AC, which is a vast improvement in my opinion.

Island 94.3 dropped 50% of its dismal spring rating over the summer, making that book a disaster in a quarter I would have expected a hot AC station's numbers to go up. I very much like the changes I've heard, but without some fresh imaging, and something to bring listeners in, is it too little too late? And...does anyone else hear the tweaks, or is it my imagination?

 

[DonRevert]

I voted myself off The Island a while back.

94.3 never came close to WLIR. They hired a few jocks, but Barnstable would never let Jon Daniels program the station to play a lot of the music 92.3 played.

I found a station at 94.7 that is fun and plays a lot of the alternative stuff no one else is playing. Too bad their signal gets chewed up west of Exit 62 on the LIE.

 

[mkdanz]

> I voted myself off The Island a while back.
>
> 94.3 never came close to WLIR. They hired a few jocks, but
> Barnstable would never let Jon Daniels program the station
> to play a lot of the music 92.3 played.
>
> I found a station at 94.7 that is fun and plays a lot of the
> alternative stuff no one else is playing. Too bad their
> signal gets chewed up west of Exit 62 on the LIE.
>
Good comments, but that is the type of thread response I'm trying to avoid. I'd like people to listen and rate WMJC for the station it is, not the station it never became. WMJC isn't an alternative music format so lets try not to go there and please comment on the thoughts in my original post.

Thanks

Michael

 

[Aries328]

> Good comments, but that is the type of thread response I'm
> trying to avoid. I'd like people to listen and rate WMJC
> for the station it is, not the station it never became.
> WMJC isn't an alternative music format so lets try not to go
> there and please comment on the thoughts in my original
> post.
>
> Thanks
>
> Michael
>
A while back, after 'LIR's first death, I actually emailed Island 94.3 and got a response from Jon Daniels about their programming. What he basically said was if more people listened, they could be more adventurous in their music selections. I won't hide the fact that I miss 'LIR, but for the sake of keeping your post on topic, I do think they're moving in a better direction. I receive their surveys as part of the "Listener Advisory Board," and they seem to be mixing in more 80's and 90's songs that you don't typically hear on other stations. It seems they're also staying on top of the new music, too, so I would definitely say give them a chance!

Now if only they would get the transmitter problem fixed so I can practice what I'm preaching! Right now, WYBC is coming in loud and clear, with no sign of Island no matter how I adjust the antenna -- I know it's only temporary, though!

T.J.

 

[DonRevert]

Ah, but you are missing the point. I'm sorry if you are just shilling for Island but I DID listen to WMJC. They had hired Rob Rush, Malibu Sue plus a few other WLIR jocks and I thought that that was the direction they were going. I was wrong.

WMJC became a poor man's WPLJ...hardly a great target as 95.5 makes money but doesn't bring in great ratings numbers. I guess ABC is happy though. For my money, there is more to life than Rob Thomas and Maroon 5.

 

[epete]

I am somewhat happy with what I see on the yes bar on the Island Site. I am looking forward to the stream and hope it is at a high enough bit rate to connect to my Stereo.

I agree they should update their "80's 90's and today" imaging as they really are somewhat of a Modern AC station.

I will hold off on my opinion until the stream, when I can make a fair evaluation.

 

[mkdanz]

> I am somewhat happy with what I see on the yes bar on the
> Island Site. I am looking forward to the stream and hope it
> is at a high enough bit rate to connect to my Stereo.
>
> I agree they should update their "80's 90's and today"
> imaging as they really are somewhat of a Modern AC station.
>
>
> I will hold off on my opinion until the stream, when I can
> make a fair evaluation.
>
More and more, I feel that WMJCs problem is its signal rather than its format. You can't listen to them much further east than exit 64, it’s too noisy. You can't listen to them too much further west Westbury either. I know they have a horrible signal when I worked in Long Beach. They reach a slice of the middle of Long Island, so with competing stations on all ends, they just can't get the numbers. It is not physically possible. My feeling is they make their advertising dollars where the signal can be heard, the book be damned. Short of tweaks, I can't see them making any significant changes. The mix of a super serving an audience with a less popular genre and limited signal reach would not make for a profitable business.

Island has a talented air staff and knowledgeable radio people behind the scenes. Hopefully now that their format is baked in, they will make the proper imaging changes, though I feel that should have been a major part of 'baking in' process.