Re: Reaction to the Summer Book in Rochester
> >
> > The gulf between the Bee and WHAM is widening, with WBEE
> > clearly in the lead. Can WHAM recover their numbers, and
> > can WBEE keep up this pace?
>
> Anything is possible. What will be interesting is to see how
> WXXI-AM did in the book. If 1370-AM experiences an increase
> in audience I'm sure Dr. Smith will say that increase
> resulted in WHAM's 12+ decline in the summer book. ( Along
> with Bob's opinion that the masses are tired of Rush and
> conservative talk radio
>
The masses may well be tired of it, and that is probably a factor of boredom and repetition of tired old themes and arguments more than anything else. I have no idea if WXXI or other noncomms are well positioned to take advantage of that ennui, however. These stations operate under their own constraints (an inability to opine or attack, a commitment to low-key balanced analysis). Another factor that may inhibit any NPR affiliate's growth is the network's decision last year to boot Bob Edwards, a well-liked personality, from the crucial morning drive daypart and replace him with a pair of anchors who don't project strong personalities of their own. Maybe plain vanilla can work. But if it doesn't, that'll have ripple effects throughout the broadcast day if the show doesn't rebuild.
> Warm 101.3 bounced back well--though I still don't have
> any clue as to why so many people listen to this station.
> Because it is the elevator music of the 21st century.
> Similar to what the old WEZO-FM was during the 80s. It's
> just background music that you hear in most dentist and
> doctor's offices. Plus they promote the hell out of Tony
> and Dee in the mornings.
>
You pretty much answered your question. Tony and Dee are comfortable and well liked personalities, and the station also does well during the workday because it's innocuous background programming that people in most offices and stores don't dislike and don't object to. They get played at work because it's a station no one hates and more people can at least tolerate.
> > WVOR continues to wallow in mediocrity.
Are they live or live-assist? Or are they voice-tracked and automated? Frankly I can't tell. You can tell some stations (WBEE, WCMF, WPXY, Buzz 98.9) are live, and others sound voicetracked. I think 'VOR falls into the latter category, at least most of the day...and it sounds like it.
> WROC up to what I believe are the highest numbers it has
> achieved with the left-leaning lineup.
> Again it will be interesting to see if Air America has taken
> audience away from Public Radio. It's just a shame that
> Allan Harris ended up on the short end of the stick with the
> format change from conservative talk to Air America.
It's clear that the core audiences of the two stations are different, the analytical news consumers 'XXI seems to draw are different from the folks looking for partisan red meat from either the left or the right. When passionate left wing folk had nowhere else to go, some of them put up with NPR, but you got the sense they never felt entirely at home with it, any more than their equally passionate counterparts on the right have been. They were never a reliable part of WXXI's core any more than the conservatives who gravitate to WHAM have been. WROC has probably done about as much damage to WXXI as it's ever going to do (not much, really). WROC's real mission for Entercom is not to hurt WXXI but to slice away a small bit of the audience for commercial personality-driven talk that used to be WHAM's exclusive niche, and weaken WHAM enough that Entercom's own WBEE took away the market's 12+ and 25-54 leadership crown and the extra national spot business that goes with that #1 ranking. Looking at this book, I'd say, mission accomplished.
The way Allan was treated was sad, he deserves to be back on the air somewhere in Western NY. Actually WBEN in Buffalo would do well to bring him in to do a local evening show to replace some of the syndicated stuff that's losing steam. He's a Buffalo native and would fit well on that station.
> > The Nerve barely shows up... How much longer will CC keep
> > this format, or this signal, for that matter?
The station is barely audible in the center of town, and sometimes on the Inner Loop it gets clobbered by a co-channel Canadian country station, so its poor showing in the ratings is understandable. They should move the stick north as far as they can to give it somewhat of a fighting chance because right now it's hard to hear it well if you're much north of Canandaigua.
> Now here is the question I always ask. Why doesn't WYSL ever
> show up in the book?
> Despite what some people may think, you can not convince me
> that absolutely nobody in the Rochester metro area never
> listens to 1040-AM.
Probably not...but the signal isn't great north of the Thruway especially at night and pre-sunrise. The impending power boost to 20,000 watts daytime may make a world of difference to that station, especially if they can follow it up with addition of a couple MORE towers and a boost to 5,000 watts nighttime, even with a tight pattern, as long as it can pound into the city and inner-ring burbs after dark and pre-sunrise.
