KFEYEEEE MOVING TO FM

[DrAkbar]

Anyone pay attention to who was guest host on 550 yesterday afternoon? Casey Bartholomew. A guy who has done FM talk for a load of years.

Plus Jim Sharpe has done FM talk and Glenn Beck used to be on FM in the Valley. hmmmm...the Nurse and I are thinkin' there might be a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon thing goin' on at KFWhyEye!

 

[EricStein]

Does TNBO Yound know how to talk in stereo?

Anyone recall if the LA Airforce library was recorded in stereo? Imagine how good that fake studio audience will sound in FM Stereo on 95~Five? (clap-clap-clap-clap)

Or they could go "mono-a-mono" with 92.3.

 

[indieradioguy]

If KFYI moves to FM, then KTAR, with its increasingly-embarrassing "no-caller" policy and no "breaking news" after 7pm or weekends, is officially toast. Feel free to quote this message when it inevitably happens.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the "no-caller" policy is not a net negative.

Have you ever tried to call in to a talk radio program?

If you're lucky, you'll get something other than a busy signal. If you're interesting enough to the phone screening person, you might get put on hold. If you get that far, it is only 20 or minutes until you might get to talk on the radio for 30 seconds.

In an era were Facebook and Twitter offer instantaneous interaction, this is as out of style as an I Phone 4.

Talk radio without listener calls isn't "talk radio." As long as there are people willing to wait on hold (longer
than a half-hour in most cases), which there are - and as long as those same people are willing to make idiots
of themselves and help make for entertaining radio - it will never go out of style, not even in the Facebook era.
Every major market needs to have a flagship "talk radio" station - Bonneville has made it abundantly clear that 92.3 is
a vaudeville/variety/sports hybrid and has left the *real* entertainment to Clear Channel, which is too bad, because
the FM dial needs Limbaugh and Beck like we need another station playing Bieber. Bonneville should get out of the
"talk radio" and go all sports for both 620 and 92.3 since they have obviously squandered a once-respected brand.

 

[Ford]

Talk radio without listener calls isn't "talk radio."

Horse hockey. Television has "talk shows" on every network, every morning and every night, and none of them take calls. Some might read an email or tweet from a viewer, but there is no interaction whatsoever.

Every major market needs to have a flagship "talk radio" station

Why?

The idea that a radio market is not complete unless it has a "flagship" station in one or another format is out dated.

 

[indieradioguy]

Talk radio without listener calls isn't "talk radio."

Horse hockey. Television has "talk shows" on every network, every morning and every night, and none of them take calls. Some might read an email or tweet from a viewer, but there is no interaction whatsoever.

Every major market needs to have a flagship "talk radio" station

If it's outdated, then how do you explain the fact that whenever a "talk radio" host appears on a local TV news show,
the anchor always - always - asks him or her what callers are saying about a local news story? We all saw that (again)
just last week with the NFL. Also, television "talk shows" interact with their audience, and there's no semblence of
audience interaction on 92.3 (what proof do you have those tweets and Facebook posts are from actual listeners and
not some producer or intern?), so it's not really a valid comparison. Consequently, a lot of us had have simply fled
to 91.5 and NPR, whose shows frequently take listener calls, including the puzzles on Weekend Edition. Can you
imagine NPR playing puzzles among themselves? Yet, Dumb & Dumber exclude listeners from playing "Fact or Fiction"
and nobody even notices anymore. I guess Bonneville thinks Aunt Edna is hep to entering stupid code words for a
chance to win a prize. (Today's code word is "Depends," with a capital D.) I wish I could one day understand the
rationale guiding Bonneville's business decisions.

 

[radiowizard101]

Mr Ford. Television Shows usually have a live audience and lots of guests. When I listen to KTAR, it's usually two people blathering aimlessly. Phone calls and some sort of focus would be welcome. The station has become unlistenable.

 

[DrAkbar]

So when will KFWhyEye give Eva the boot and take over 95~Five?

Los Buckeye Boyz are offering a semester of free classes at the Media Hut for the person who guesses correctly. Second place prize is two semesters. Enter early, enter often as you could be the lucky one soaking up our wisdom while pursuing employment in a dead end career. Not since "Guess the first 100 degree day of the year" has there been a contest this inconsequential!

What's your guess?

 

[landtuna]

Television Shows usually have a live audience and lots of guests.

Not the "serious" ones (those that are not entertainment-focused). There are usually between 2 and 4 people talking about issues in a round-table format. No tweets, no texts and no phone calls.

I personally deplore radio shows, talk or otherwise, who take phone calls. It reinforces my already held strong belief that most people are idiots and makes me want to do severe bodily harm to my ears.

I would much prefer listening to one or several knowledgeable people discuss issues in a calm, purposeful manner without shouting, interrupting or talking over each other.

 

[desertskies]

Television Shows usually have a live audience and lots of guests.

I would much prefer listening to one or several knowledgeable people discuss issues in a calm, purposeful manner without shouting, interrupting or talking over each other.

So, no M&G on landtunas radio?

 

[landtuna]

Television Shows usually have a live audience and lots of guests.

I would much prefer listening to one or several knowledgeable people discuss issues in a calm, purposeful manner without shouting, interrupting or talking over each other.

So, no M&G on landtunas radio?

Nope.

 

[Ford]

I personally deplore radio shows, talk or otherwise, who take phone calls. It reinforces my already held strong belief that most people are idiots and makes me want to do severe bodily harm to my ears.

I don't have a problem with shows that take phone calls in general, but the notion presented earlier that talk shows *must* take callers in order to be legitimate is ridiculous.

I would much prefer listening to one or several knowledgeable people discuss issues in a calm, purposeful manner without shouting, interrupting or talking over each other.

So would I. Charlie Rose has one of the best talk shows, and there's no shouting whatsoever. Or idiots on the phone.

Some folks around here think shouting and idiots on the phone doesn't work on AM anymore, and must be moved to FM in order to succeed, but the problem is not the type of modulation, but the format. The demographics are shifting. The number of people who will hang on hold for 30 minutes in order to get on the air for 30 seconds is dwindling. The audience that wants shouting and idiot callers from their radio is getting older. The outlets for interactivity are far more diverse. The younger generation looks at their phone as a way to check Facebook and Twitter more than a vehicle for calling some angry old radio host. I'll be leaving the25-54 demo myself soon, and even I use my phone more for surfing the web, taking pictures, and checking in than I do for making phone calls.

The media landscape is shifting dramatically. KTAR deciding not to take calls is an acknowledgement of that change. Are their shows strong enough to exist without callers? Maybe not, but at least they're trying something different. It may not work, but they've apparently realized that being your dad's news/talk station *Now In Stereo!* isn't enough. If KFYI is to succeed, it has to become something more than "Rush Limbaugh...Now In Stereo!"

 

[indieradioguy]

I personally deplore radio shows, talk or otherwise, who take phone calls. It reinforces my already held strong belief that most people are idiots and makes me want to do severe bodily harm to my ears.

I don't have a problem with shows that take phone calls in general, but the notion presented earlier that talk shows *must* take callers in order to be legitimate is ridiculous.

What's ridiculous about it? We live in the PPM Era, not the "Oh, Gee, Will Callers Want to Wait 45 Minutes On Hold" Era, and 92.3 killing off listener calls has been the gift that keeps on giving -- to KFYI. It's called a FORMAT for a reason: just like KOOL can't retain its format without playing "Brown Eyed Girl," neither can "talk radio" continue to be a profitable format for KTAR if they quite literally write off weekdays for day-long Cards coverage on Sundays because those are they demos they *really* want. If they don't want the toaster talk and Aunt Edna, they should drop the facade of being a "serious" talk radio station and flip to all sports - on both 620 and 92.3. Because, news flash: PPM favors *dialogue*, not boring, cringe-inducing *monologue*.

 

[Ford]

What's ridiculous about it?

What's ridiculous about it is the idea that a format...sorry...FORMAT cannot change one tiny bit from a narrow interpretation of what that FORMAT must entail.

You mentioned KOOL. Not long ago, the idea of an "oldies" station completely dropping 50's music and playing 80's would have been considered blasphemy. I remember hearing "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys on KOOL once and thinking "what the heck? This song came out in the 80's!"

Now, KOOL plays the likes of Madonna and Duran Duran alongside "Brown Eyed Girl." 10 years from now it might not make sense for them to play Van Morrison at all.

Almost all formats change with the times. What you seem to be saying is that talk radio need not change at all, but instead needs only to transplant what they've been doing the same since 1995 onto FM, and problem solved!

 

[landtuna]

Because, news flash: PPM favors *dialogue*, not boring, cringe-inducing *monologue*.

I don't know if that's true or not. What I do know is that Rush has a ton of listeners and his show is basically a boring, cringe-inducing monolog.

It seems to me the format is less important than the content. If it is interesting to your target demo then you will have an audience. Otherwise, no. You might want to hear Aunt Edna. I don't. Different strokes for different folks and no one format will fit everyone.

 

[davideduardo]

Because, news flash: PPM favors *dialogue*, not boring, cringe-inducing *monologue*.

Tell that to what is likely the most successful AM talker in reaching the 25-54 demo: KFI.

The high-rated weekday local shows, while engaging in an occasional amount of phone call-ins, are predominantly filled with... uh... monologues.

 

[indieradioguy]

Because, news flash: PPM favors *dialogue*, not boring, cringe-inducing *monologue*.

Tell that to what is likely the most successful AM talker in reaching the 25-54 demo: KFI.

The high-rated weekday local shows, while engaging in an occasional amount of phone call-ins, are predominantly filled with... uh... monologues.

Of course KFI is successful with the 25-54 demo: KFI keeps the same format 24/7, including - as you correctly state - "an occasional amount of phone call-ins." KTAR, OTOH, has more multiple personalities than Sally Field in "Sybil." It's an all-day sports station on Sundays, openly evangelical Ramsey preaching Bible verses every weeknight, parenting tips with Dumb & Dumber on drive time -- no listener phone calls except for the crumbs they toss Jay. Where, oh, where are the "occasional amount of phone call-ins" on 92.3? I'm all for content evolving and adapting to the Twitter era, but if KTAR isn't my dad's talk radio anymore and it sure as heck ain't mine anymore (since I've fled to KJZZ/NPR and KWSS-LP's weekend programming), then whose talk radio is it these days? Sports fans who like Calvisi yukking it up with Ned on their way to work? Choosy moms who feel they can relate to Kari? KFI, like KFYI, is also owned by Clear Channel, who are obviously more serious about running a profitable "talk radio" station - so thanks for illustrating my point for me.

 

[asugeorge1]

Because, news flash: PPM favors *dialogue*, not boring, cringe-inducing *monologue*.

Tell that to what is likely the most successful AM talker in reaching the 25-54 demo: KFI.

The high-rated weekday local shows, while engaging in an occasional amount of phone call-ins, are predominantly filled with... uh... monologues.

Of course KFI is successful with the 25-54 demo: KFI keeps the same format 24/7, including - as you correctly state - "an occasional amount of phone call-ins." KTAR, OTOH, has more multiple personalities than Sally Field in "Sybil." It's an all-day sports station on Sundays, openly evangelical Ramsey preaching Bible verses every weeknight, parenting tips with Dumb & Dumber on drive time -- no listener phone calls except for the crumbs they toss Jay. Where, oh, where are the "occasional amount of phone call-ins" on 92.3? I'm all for content evolving and adapting to the Twitter era, but if KTAR isn't my dad's talk radio anymore and it sure as heck ain't mine anymore (since I've fled to KJZZ/NPR and KWSS-LP's weekend programming), then whose talk radio is it these days? Sports fans who like Calvisi yukking it up with Ned on their way to work? Choosy moms who feel they can relate to Kari? KFI, like KFYI, is also owned by Clear Channel, who are obviously more serious about running a profitable "talk radio" station - so thanks for illustrating my point for me.

Also important to keep in mind, KFI is a 24/7 50,000 watt non-directional AM station that can be heard clearly throughout the Southland and beyond (including San Diego). There is no AM station that comes even close to that kind of coverage here in Phoenix (even the FM South Mountain sticks have signal limitations in certain fringe areas of the valley where mountains block out the signal).

My take, KTAR-FM should go all news 24/7 (I know it's expensive, but it's one of the most listened to formats in the country where it is available) and KTAR can throw in the occasional sports on the weekends ala WBBM in Chicago with their Bears coverage. It'll never happen, but KTAR-FM might as well be an all-news station since they don't take listener calls anymore except during the Lovable One's show and Cardinals coverage.

Also, spoiler alert: Cardinals coverage will be coming this Thursday afternoon to KTAR-FM with their pre-game coverage starting around 2 in preparation for the Thursday night game in St. Louis at 5:20 P.M. The only positive, we won't have to listen to Chuck and Chick for a full three hours and there will be no Dumb and Dumber on Thursday!

 

[DrAkbar]

Also, spoiler alert: Cardinals coverage will be coming this Thursday afternoon to KTAR-FM with their pre-game coverage starting around 2 in preparation for the Thursday night game in St. Louis at 5:20 P.M. The only positive, we won't have to listen to Chuck and Chick for a full three hours and there will be no Dumb and Dumber on Thursday!

Nurse Jeff and I've already sent a thank you card to the Bidwills!

 

[tangledup7]

Does it help or hurt a station like KFYI to broker shows on the weekend? Or does it even matter, ratings-wise?

 

[DrAkbar]

According to the latest from Zager and Evans Research, Nurse Jeff and I've learned KFWhyEye will move to FM in 2525.