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KJR AM - The Lights Are On, But No One's Home...

C

CorporateSuit

Call me old-school, but I was listening to KJR AM this past weekend and I believe it was around 1:30 pm on Saturday (can't be sure), but while they were in Fox Sports syndicated programming, coming out of a spot break, there was dead air. A LOT of dead air. Like 7 minutes of dead air. Suddenly another spot set started, but I had already punched over to 710 ESPN.

Then, yesterday afternoon, about 4:30 --- drive time, mind you --- KJR AM was broadcasting the first NCAA games for March Madness on WestWood One. The play play called for "local station identification, this is the Westwood One Radio Network!"

15 seconds of dead air.

Back to the game.

Is Seattle radio so sloppy that these things just don't matter any more? I understand that weekends are throwaways except if you carrying a local major league sport, but would any PD tolerate huge gaps of dead air? And would a PD tolerate an opportunity to get their call letters on the air in PM DRIVE TIME? Even during a national NCAA game wiht no big relevant impact?
 
I'm replying to my own post... ;D

And one more thing: I constantly hear the promo on the weekends and during Fox Sports syndicated programming that lets you know that you ARE syndicated programming, but it slams Fox Sports. KLAC in Orange County LA is the flagship station that provides programming. They have Jim Rome in the morning, "The Loose Cannons," (Steve Hartmann, Vick the Brick), Tony Bruno....but KJR's copy says that since CA is known for selling medical marijuana, they "don't know what the hell they're talking about."

Excuse me? LA is a totally different sports beast that Seattle, but the talent level at KLAC surpasses anything KJR has on the air.
 
Hey corporate suit. Your name is apt. Having worked with both the KLAC staff and the KJR AM staff,
the KJR AM staff is far superior. People in LA don't even like KLAC.

Also Clear Channel moved offices a few weeks backs. I hear they are still having some challenges.
Most people on this board have no clue how much work moving buildings is. It is not just connecting
a USB to your laptop.

KJR AM is still one of the top content driven local sports stations in the USA. Considering how badly our
sports teams perform, I think you owe them some respect. To state that KLAC is better is simply ignorant.

The nicest guy ever is Dave "Softy" Mahler. Name one guy on KLAC that comes close to Dave.
Not gonna happen. Not even close. Get your facts straight.
 
I believe I have my facts straight. LA is the 2nd largest market in the US. Are you saying that Softy could make it in LA and/or on KLAC? Don't think so. Are you saying that he is better than Jim Rome and the rest of the staff?

Remember, Softy is the one who said a few years ago when KJR was still an ESPN affiliate, that, when they broadcasting ESPN content during the Christmas/New Year's break and Tony Kornheiser was still doing radio. Softy came on the next day and said that "Tony Kornheiser is terrible and should never be on this radio station again!"

I think Softy (and you) need to get your facts straight.
 
And, oh, by the way, I was there when Fisher moved KVI/KOMO/KPLZ from The Tower Building to Fisher Plaza, so I DO know something about moving studios.
 
CorporateSuit said:
Call me old-school.....

Is Seattle radio so sloppy that these things just don't matter any more? I understand that weekends are throwaways except if you carrying a local major league sport, but would any PD tolerate huge gaps of dead air? And would a PD tolerate an opportunity to get their call letters on the air in PM DRIVE TIME? Even during a national NCAA game wiht no big relevant impact?
Click to expand...

If that's all there is to complain about KJR-AM, I'd say they're doing a pretty good job.


CorporateSuit said:
And, oh, by the way, I was there when Fisher moved KVI/KOMO/KPLZ from The Tower Building to Fisher Plaza, so I DO know something about moving studios.
Click to expand...

KOMO was in the Tower Building?
 
AQH said:
CorporateSuit said:
And, oh, by the way, I was there when Fisher moved KVI/KOMO/KPLZ from The Tower Building to Fisher Plaza, so I DO know something about moving studios.
Click to expand...

KOMO was in the Tower Building?
Click to expand...

YES...When Fisher bought Golden West, KOMO radio moved over to Tower (KVI, KPLZ already there). Then all moved back to rejoin TV, Corp, Satellite,etc. when Plaza was finished.
 
hey corporate suit. You are a troll and obviously know nothing of how radio works.
Did you ever work in this business? Did you work in LA with those guys? I did.
Did you ever work with Softy? I have so just shut up. KLAC is a dog station in LA.
LA people don't even like it. Have you monitored their ratings over the last few years?
How about their lineup changes? Do you know Don Martin?
You bring up the fact that LA is the 2nd largest market.
What does that have to do with anything? There are plenty of average and bad stations in LA.
You provide no facts other than some dead air.
I have also moved clusters before. Yes, when CBS moved clusters in LA
we did it over the weekend. Times were a bit different in 2005.

In case you haven't noticed, there isn't as much $$$$$ around as there was 6 years ago.
Everything has changed, including the way companies move buildings. By the way KZOK had a minute
of dead air last thursday from 10:21 til 10:22pm, why don't you post that one too?
Why don't you rip Carey Curlop for that?

Because it would be stupid to do that. What is your real hate for KJR AM? You had one post. So you signed up for this site to just rail on a couple minutes of dead air? "Me thinks thou doth protest too much."
 
My bad on this one, Corporate Suit does have over 100 posts.

I do admit when I'm wrong and I also try to only post
on topics I actually have some knowledge on. I've been monitoring the site for years
but I only post when I feel appropriate. I felt it was right to stick up for KJR having
some knowledge of both sides of the situation. By the way, there are plenty of things
KJR can improve upon, but I think they'll eventually figure out the electronic and technical stuff
with the new studios.
 
Any type of extended length of dead air (More then one minute) in a major market like Seattle is just plain disturbing. Even a high school dropout like me knows how to properly program the Prophet automation system. Thanks Clear Channel for all that computer training, it's just too bad none of these 'professionals' who actually still work in the industry care how an automated piece of garbage sounds on the weekend.
 
nwoidaho said:
Any type of extended length of dead air (More then one minute) in a major market like Seattle is just plain disturbing. Even a high school dropout like me knows how to properly program the Prophet automation system. Thanks Clear Channel for all that computer training, it's just too bad none of these 'professionals' who actually still work in the industry care how an automated piece of garbage sounds on the weekend.
Click to expand...

Then why don't you apply and show the professionals how it's done?
 
How would he get hired when radio is firing everyone and their are no jobs except SALES! YEAH! Selling the latest copy of another station's format! Exciting!
 
As a small market broadcaster operating five stations with a minimal staff, I do find it disappointing that we often have a better track record than stations billing 10 or 20 times what we do.

As a heavy user of network programming in off hours, about 90% of the time that we have missing liners or dead air, it is the network's fault, and when I call, I usually find that I'm the only affiliate out of more than 100 that has called to report a problem.

None of us has fool-proof automation systems, but apparently not all of us care enough to track and take care of annoying technical glitches.
 
Now days the jocks can do their liners weather and news breaks in about 1/2 hour per 4 hour shift, load it in the pc, and go home or do other production work, some of them are actually working multiple stations at the same time for the whole shift, but they would not pay attention if they are in the production room, the automation silence sense should have kicked another source on but maybe locked up with the automation, run by a pc probably with windows
So you did not have to suffer thru commercials, just silence, sounds good to me (as a listener)
 
Taking a moment to think about it, life must be in pretty good order for us here in the good old USA, when all we have to rant about is when dead air or a missed top of the hour occurs on some local radio station.

I travel quite a bit for work with many hours spent in a rental car driving through middle America, small to large markets, so I spend quite a bit of time listening to radio. Listening to sports, I frequently hear a PBP announcer toss to a local break or top of hour ID with nothing more than background noise or a network PSA roll. Does it upset me? No, chances are the board op is taking a bio-break or talking with his girlfriend on the phone with the monitor turned down. Do I notice? Sure, but it has no real affect on listening. Someone listening to a particular sports event isn't going to tune out because some board op missed their cue. Listeners listen for content, not call letters or a particular locally-based transition.
 
spectacle said:
How would he get hired when radio is firing everyone and their are no jobs except SALES! YEAH! Selling the latest copy of another station's format! Exciting!
Click to expand...

Radio stations will hire someone if they believe that person can make a difference. Give John Peake or Bob Rivers a call if you don't believe that.
 
Bob Rivers is cool, he interviewed me on kisw, KJR's fm at the time. From my memory I think he was the first with talk radio on KISW
 
As a baby board op years (now decades) back I seem to recall missing a few spot breaks during a the play-by-play of one sport or another. I don't recall getting any real ass-chewings for it but it was personally embarrassing because I cared about my work. I am sure people still care but automation has lulled us into a false sense of security.
 
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