ThatGuyOnTheRadio said:
All Jax needs now, is a powerhouse country station to give WQIK a run for it's money. Gator is doing a decent job, but I think this may be a job for Cox as well. (They do country very well)
I was hoping someone would have jumped on this especially given how often I'm misunderstood by certain members of the Renda talent family. So I will attempt to choose my words as carefully as I can to make my points. To preface, this is not directed at the Renda talent pool.
Jacksonville is not unique in that a model is followed where the strategy is to tear down competing heritage radio stations. I just don't understand the comment about giving WQIK a run for its money. They are down several shares from where they once were so obviously they are loosing listeners and are taking hits in revenue as a result. While I understand the nature of competition, I just cannot accept how this is being done. Perhaps many of you will consider me naive but let me at least try to explain why I feel the way I do.
This thread was started to offer congratulations to Cox Radio for doing, what I consider a real bang up job in launching an Alternative “alternative.” Reasonable time has passed and the ratings, the ultimate report card, show the right decisions have been made and they apparently have filled some kind of void. And, Cox Radio didn’t require
two stations to be directed against Planet to gain dominance. Now, Planet Radio needs to work harder to stay viable. Often, good competition can make everyone better. If not, it’s survival of the fittest.
I always thought Gator was performing well against the long-established market leader. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough, even with the old Rooster acting as some kind of protection. If Gator had decided to be innovative in their programming and mixed currents with legends/favorites similar to how WEJZ has long worked and they overtook WQIK, I would be the first to congratulate them. But they didn’t succeed in the way they apparently wanted, so they did what they did. Why do I get the feeling all this was done to satisfy a performance appraisal and not really the interest of the average listener?
Where I grow tired is in the hypocrisy one finds on these boards. So many opine about talent who looses their jobs for one reason or another but yet they support peeling listeners without thinking of their peers. Should Robbie, Boomer or Toni find themselves displaced due to budget cuts because of dropping revenue and ratings, I really do believe Jacksonville as a radio community will loose something very special. Would we really be better off loosing another, long-established program where listener impressions take yet another hit?
I guess it comes down to how success is measured. Many, I’m sure at the Renda family are happy with their results. Again, many of you may think I’m naïve but there are a lot of other ways to earn success. For those reasons, I just can’t congratulate this bunch on the country front.
WQIK is as heritage as you can get around here and I hope they fight as they have never fought before. I wish them well and I'm routing for them! Peace.
