KDKA IS 90 THIS YEAR!

[Parttimer]

What else can they do? At least they have an on-air staff. They report the news. They have a local person doing a talk show. That's better than alot of the FMs.

More interesting hosts who appeal to 25-54s would be a start. The guys on the morning show are pretty much just traffic cops, getting in and out of segments. Marty Griffin is, well, Marty Griffin. And the evening shift could be lighter and more entertaining... not devoid of politics or controversy, but a little more relaxed. John Hancock, who does evenings on WBT in Charlotte, is great at this. Steve Hansen also acquitted himself pretty well in the brief times he was on the air there (although it was a riot to hear the old folks who had NO CLUE who he was, or that he had been on the air here for years). Scott Paulsen, anyone?

And how would that help? It's not like people 25-54 routinely change their radios to AM and surf through the dial. No matter what KDKA puts on the air, the only people who are going to hear it are people who already listen to KDKA. The days of rotary tuners sliding through every station on the dial are gone.

As for the evening shift, why would anyone aged 25-54 turn off the TV and turn on the radio, especially AM radio?

You're right. They should shut it down and turn in the license. After all, no business in history has ever reinvigorated or reinvented itself.

 

[Talk_Dude]

What else can they do? At least they have an on-air staff. They report the news. They have a local person doing a talk show. That's better than alot of the FMs.

More interesting hosts who appeal to 25-54s would be a start. The guys on the morning show are pretty much just traffic cops, getting in and out of segments. Marty Griffin is, well, Marty Griffin. And the evening shift could be lighter and more entertaining... not devoid of politics or controversy, but a little more relaxed. John Hancock, who does evenings on WBT in Charlotte, is great at this. Steve Hansen also acquitted himself pretty well in the brief times he was on the air there (although it was a riot to hear the old folks who had NO CLUE who he was, or that he had been on the air here for years). Scott Paulsen, anyone?

And how would that help? It's not like people 25-54 routinely change their radios to AM and surf through the dial. No matter what KDKA puts on the air, the only people who are going to hear it are people who already listen to KDKA. The days of rotary tuners sliding through every station on the dial are gone.

As for the evening shift, why would anyone aged 25-54 turn off the TV and turn on the radio, especially AM radio?

You're right. They should shut it down and turn in the license. After all, no business in history has ever reinvigorated or reinvented itself.

That would be a stupid thing to do! Though AM radio is dying, it ain't dead yet. They can still milk the dying cow for a bit longer. I'm also confident that KDKA's parent company will reinvigorate and reinvent itself. Just because terrestrial AM broadcasting's days are numbered doesn't mean that the companies that run terrestrial AM radio stations can't transition to other profitable enterprises.

Just yesterday I was reading about how the Studebaker company, which was founded before the Civil War to make horse drawn wagons, reinvigorated and reinvented itself as an automobile and truck company, and lasted another 50 years before going under. AT&T used to stand for American Telephone and Telegraph company. They don't do telegrams any more, and they're wireless phone division is now a major part of their business. General Electric and Westinghouse used to be in the business of making appliances and other electrical products, like light bulbs. Kodak used to make chemical based photographic film, now they concentrate on digital cameras and digital printing. Of course, Polaroid tried to reinvigorate and reinvent itself, and went into Chapter 11 instead.

So, I don't know where you're coming up with the idea that KDKA can't "reinvigorate and reinvent" itself, because clearly it can. But to do that, it needs to do more than attempt to recapture the past. The past is gone. It's over. The "good old days" are done, and they are never, ever coming back. Terrestrial AM radio has about as much future ahead of it as vaudeville had once AM radio came along, or as silent movies had when talkies came along.

 

[Parttimer]

Thanks for that.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

I am a rotary tuner

 

[Talk_Dude]

I am a rotary tuner

Why am I not surprised?

 

[Talk_Dude]

Thanks for that.

You're welcome. I admit that I was amazed that you didn't know about businesses reinvigorating and reinventing themselves. I thought you were better informed than that. I was also taken by surprise that you thought I was advocating CBS throwing in the towel on KDKA when anyone could see that even though it's dying, there's still some money remaining to be squeezed from it.

 

[Parttimer]

You probably stay up nights trying to come up with this stuff.

 

[Talk_Dude]

You probably stay up nights trying to come up with this stuff.

No, I stay up nights watching old movies on TV.

 

[KeyTimes950]

I have had a number of associations with KDKA over the years, all on a free-lance basis. I have seen the evolution of KD over the past half-century, from newly-independent-from-NBC to its more-recent CBS owned-and-operated life. It isn't the KDKA of 1960 but what station around since then still is its 1960 self? I wish it did weekend news, but take away that deficiency and you still have the most full-service of any Pittsburgh radio station. On one hand it seemed to rest too long on its past laurels, but on the other one would wonder at times if KDKA really remembered its past. It is still the most intriguing station in Pittsburgh, and I believe it is still the one to which most will go if breaking news is happening in the Tri-State area. But what do I know?

 

[Boss Radio]

I get what you're saying, Mr. Key, but it doesn't take much to be more full service than anyone else since everyone else is practically no service.

I give KDKA credit for a rock-solid afternoon news block. But the talk shows are tired and dreadful, and the morning show is a train wreck.

 

[secondchoice]

IIRC Am was going to die in the 1980’s once the automakers put FM on every car radio. Since then, hundreds of AM owners have spent millions of dollars upgrading their AM signals. (That could be the problem along with HD but that is another thread.). Where there are competitive AM “signal wise” markets like Chicago and NYC, AM does ok.

There is a story I call the 2 bars in one town. The bars will do better located close together on the same side of town rather than on opposite sides of town. People will go to that side of town then decide which bar to visit, some times (in my case) both. If your station is the only “bar” in a band AM/ FM (or side of town) the only reason any body will go to that band (or side of town) is for you. If there and a bunch of stations “bars” on the other side of town (band) people will go to that side of town (band) then make up their minds which bar “station” to visit. IMHO if Pittsburgh had 2 or 3 other AM stations that covered the market 24 hours a day, they all would do well. Especially with the hilly terrain and the class “B” power limitations on FM.

In the Atlanta market WSB is now duplicating on 95.5 FM. WSB is the only AM that covers the market 24 hours a day (bar). The poor ground conductivity makes 50KW on the lower half of the band struggle to cover the “urban sprawl” that is Atlanta. (Some of the moves in class C2 & 3’s have some coverage issues too.) The other Atlanta AM stations (bars) barely cover a third of the market at night or during winter month’s morning drive that starts at 4:30 or 5 AM.

 

[corporateradiosucks]

AM radio and print newspapers have been dying the whole time I've been alive. If a terminal patient got that sort of prognosis, I think he'd be a pretty happy camper.

 

[Talk_Dude]

AM radio and print newspapers have been dying the whole time I've been alive. If a terminal patient got that sort of prognosis, I think he'd be a pretty happy camper.

If you're going to use an aging and sick person as a metaphor, bear in mind that most predictions of death include some measure of odds or chances. A forty-something might have a heart attack, and be told that if he doesn't change his lifestyle, he might die. That's the position AM radio was in when they were required to put FM radios in cars. When that same person becomes a fifty-something, he might develop type 2 diabetes, and be told that he's likely to die if he doesn't change his diet. That's the situation AM radio was in back in the 90's. When that same person hits his late 80's, he might be told that he has inoperable cancer, but he might survive with chemotherapy and a miracle. That's the condition AM radio is in now.

AM has been sick in the past, but not fatally so, and by making the right changes, it managed to survive. But as it gets older and older, and the problems get bigger and bigger, and the competition gets stronger and stronger, the chances of dodging a bullet get tougher and tougher. Terrestrial AM radio is going to die. Period. The only question is when.

Some clever person might think of some kind of miracle idea to buy terrestrial AM a few more years. If someone can think of some new miracle programming concept that will buy AM another decade or two of life, more power to you. That miracle will not be simply replace a few on-air people here and there with different people doing basically the same things.

Face it, everyone is dying from the moment they are born. Institutions like entertainment media aren't much different. There were predictions that vaudeville would die soon for as long as vaudeville was around. Most of the predictions were wrong, all but the last one, as eventually it did die. There have been predictions that print newspapers would die going back to the early days of radio. Print newspapers haven't died yet, but they are very, very sick, with fewer and fewer companies in the business, and more and more of those companies making the bulk of their profit from their on-line versions.

Perhaps the problem is that when it comes to institutions like vaudeville, print newspapers, or AM radio, "dead" is a bit of hyperbole. It's an exaggeration. We're not talking "dead" as totally and completely ceasing to exist. Those little transmitters near construction sites that advise you to tune to an unused frequency when the lights are flashing will probably hand around for a while. Some trivial, rudimentary, vestigial remnant of terrestrial AM radio might survive. But it will be "dead" as far as being a significant mass communications medium is concerned.

 

[Boss Radio]

Take a look at the ratings and the demographics. WJAS gets a respectable 12+ share, but it's almost all 60+ and hard to sell. With more talk migrating to FM, AM will sink even further.

IIRC Am was going to die in the 1980’s once the automakers put FM on every car radio. Since then, hundreds of AM owners have spent millions of dollars upgrading their AM signals. (That could be the problem along with HD but that is another thread.). Where there are competitive AM “signal wise” markets like Chicago and NYC, AM does ok.

There is a story I call the 2 bars in one town. The bars will do better located close together on the same side of town rather than on opposite sides of town. People will go to that side of town then decide which bar to visit, some times (in my case) both. If your station is the only “bar” in a band AM/ FM (or side of town) the only reason any body will go to that band (or side of town) is for you. If there and a bunch of stations “bars” on the other side of town (band) people will go to that side of town (band) then make up their minds which bar “station” to visit. IMHO if Pittsburgh had 2 or 3 other AM stations that covered the market 24 hours a day, they all would do well. Especially with the hilly terrain and the class “B” power limitations on FM.

In the Atlanta market WSB is now duplicating on 95.5 FM. WSB is the only AM that covers the market 24 hours a day (bar). The poor ground conductivity makes 50KW on the lower half of the band struggle to cover the “urban sprawl” that is Atlanta. (Some of the moves in class C2 & 3’s have some coverage issues too.) The other Atlanta AM stations (bars) barely cover a third of the market at night or during winter month’s morning drive that starts at 4:30 or 5 AM.

 

[almaniac27]

I can see American AM radio going the way of American shortwave radio, just used by crazies, homophobes, racists, and conspiracy theorists. Come to think of it, it's starting to head in that direction now!

 

[Talk_Dude]

I can see American AM radio going the way of American shortwave radio, just used by crazies, homophobes, racists, and conspiracy theorists. Come to think of it, it's starting to head in that direction now!

I had forgotten all about shortwave broadcast radio. Does it still exist? Are there still shortwave radio stations on the air in the US?

 

[almaniac27]

I can see American AM radio going the way of American shortwave radio, just used by crazies, homophobes, racists, and conspiracy theorists. Come to think of it, it's starting to head in that direction now!

I had forgotten all about shortwave broadcast radio. Does it still exist? Are there still shortwave radio stations on the air in the US?

The big one left is WWCR out of Nashville. They let pretty much any nutcase with enough money on, I was listening once and some guy goes on a rant claiming that the secret world government is run by a cabal of lesbians.

 

[Talk_Dude]

I can see American AM radio going the way of American shortwave radio, just used by crazies, homophobes, racists, and conspiracy theorists. Come to think of it, it's starting to head in that direction now!

I had forgotten all about shortwave broadcast radio. Does it still exist? Are there still shortwave radio stations on the air in the US?

The big one left is WWCR out of Nashville. They let pretty much any nutcase with enough money on, I was listening once and some guy goes on a rant claiming that the secret world government is run by a cabal of lesbians.

So, we have a preview of what AM will be like in the future.

 

[FreddyE1977]

The big one left is WWCR out of Nashville. They let pretty much any nutcase with enough money on, I was listening once and some guy goes on a rant claiming that the secret world government is run by a cabal of lesbians.

So, we have a preview of what AM will be like in the future.

That actually sounds like a few AM talk shows (and even a few morning shows) I could point to.

Didn't Howard Stern do a show about a secret world government run by lesbians?

 

[Talk_Dude]

The big one left is WWCR out of Nashville. They let pretty much any nutcase with enough money on, I was listening once and some guy goes on a rant claiming that the secret world government is run by a cabal of lesbians.

So, we have a preview of what AM will be like in the future.

That actually sounds like a few AM talk shows (and even a few morning shows) I could point to.

Didn't Howard Stern do a show about a secret world government run by lesbians?

Which proves that the process has already begun.