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Jump the shark decisions in Atlanta radio

T

tlyle

Looking at the past 40 years in Atlanta radio, what decisions have management made that caused a station to jump the shark and lose listeners? I would like to see discussion on the station, the decision (changing formats, firing talent, etc.), who was involved, and what was the result.
 
In nearly a decade of following Atlanta radio as an outsider, I've seen questionable decisions on nearly every frequency. Having said that, Cox really laid the gauntlet down with the disastrous 97-1 Jamz.

Simply put, the station was a debacle from the word go. Whether Cox merely wanted to siphon a few points from V-103 to keep WSB-A at the top, whether they legitimately thought they could make an impact against V and Hot, or some combination thereof, this was a textbook example of bad decision-making at every corner. Not only was a potentially highly profitable 100kw signal selected for this ill-fated experiment, but they chose the WRONG one (Urban on the north-skewing 97.1?). Throw in liberal amounts of V-103 bashing, unfocused music, and no investment in personality, and the results should go without saying. Cox killed the station after three years and has been considerably more successful with The River.
 
jazz flavours nightly on 94Q.

and then later.. Murphy and McKeever.
 
TheMusicMan said:
In nearly a decade of following Atlanta radio as an outsider, I've seen questionable decisions on nearly every frequency. Having said that, Cox really laid the gauntlet down with the disastrous 97-1 Jamz.

Simply put, the station was a debacle from the word go. Whether Cox merely wanted to siphon a few points from V-103 to keep WSB-A at the top, whether they legitimately thought they could make an impact against V and Hot, or some combination thereof, this was a textbook example of bad decision-making at every corner. Not only was a potentially highly profitable 100kw signal selected for this ill-fated experiment, but they chose the WRONG one (Urban on the north-skewing 97.1?). Throw in liberal amounts of V-103 bashing, unfocused music, and no investment in personality, and the results should go without saying. Cox killed the station after three years and has been considerably more successful with The River.
Click to expand...

Was 97.1 Jamz on that long? Yet another example of Cox's man crush on V-103.
 
Did 96 Rock lose or pick up listeners when they flipped from (then-)current AOR to classic rock in 1984 ("cool it with the heavy metal, we want 'Pure Rock & Roll'")? From the standpoint of musical vibrancy and influence, they certainly jumped the shark there...only to come full circle just over 20 years later when they dumped the classic rock (making fun of Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, and Jethro Tull as not being "rock") for current AOR (active rock) with Project in 2006. But what about the Benjamins all along the way?

Cox buying Fox 97 from Shamrock and changing the format to "good times and eight oldies"

Z93 putting Gary McKee on in morning drive after getting rid of the Greaseman. Gary was a legendary talent, but he was definitely past his prime at that time.

Z93 putting on Moby In The Morning. Yes, Moby had prior AOR experience. No, he had been away from AOR too long.

Heck, you could just put down "Z93, AM drive". Z93 hadn't been a factor in AM drive since Steve McCoy left (who IMNSHO wasn't as good as Ross & Wilson, but that was a tough act to follow), except for some initial success with Grease.

Real Radio 105.7. CC should have left WGST on the FM side.

Anne Cox Chambers trying to make WSB-AM a progressive talk station centered around Mike Malloy to go up against WGST's Boortz and Rush.

Stardust 68 (680s short-lived nostalgia format)

TRG on WGST in AM drive.
 
fussbudget said:
Two words: Planet Radio.
Click to expand...
Except WGST would KILL to have the ratings it got back in the Planet Radio days.
 
Two 99x ones:

1) 99x: New Rock and 90s Alternative

2) There was a brief period I think after "Don Miller" where mornings were billed as something like "Mornings with Toucher and Jimmy"
 
caller10 said:
Two 99x ones:

1) 99x: New Rock and 90s Alternative

2) There was a brief period I think after "Don Miller" where mornings were billed as something like "Mornings with Toucher and Jimmy"
Click to expand...

Toucher, Jimmy and Leslie. Wally was also on with them.
 
It was Toucher and Jimmy for less than two weeks and then Leslie was back on. I think Leslie ruined the show. Irregardless of her lucky to be in the right plsace at the right time credit she received her on-air was not that great in the end. Toucher and Jimmy would have been better.
 
Jacor getting bought by Clear Channel would cover a lot of them.
 
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