KYW NewsRadio needs to remodel its news format

[Jul]

I do not get why Philadelphia Radio doesn't air the radio broadcast of "60 Minutes". KYW 1060 AM should start airing this show. The other top radio markets in the USA air this show on the radio, why it can't air on local radio here? Also KYW NewsRadio needs to remodel its format to sound similar like WCBS, KNX and or KCBS before the news format they are using is to me is flawed and not good. That is why they are 3rd right now. The PD of that station needs to go.

 

[AdamfromPhilly]

Julius,

You could not be more wrong, in fact you could be, but I can't fathom how....

KYW does not need to sound like any other newsradio station, why must you find fault in everything?

I have been listening to Philly radio for a long time and yes I do realize that somethings need to change, but not all the things you think.

Julius, you are very repetive and predictable. I wish you could see what others see. PLEASE consider thinking about this.

 

[Jul]

Julius,

You could not be more wrong, in fact you could be, but I can't fathom how....

KYW does not need to sound like any other newsradio station, why must you find fault in everything?

I have been listening to Philly radio for a long time and yes I do realize that somethings need to change, but not all the things you think.

Julius, you are very repetive and predictable. I wish you could see what others see. PLEASE consider thinking about this.

I do and I have. I've been complaining about this station for years even though they are making money and having good ratings but I stand by what I'm saying about this station. I understand that everyone disagrees with me about this and that's OK.

 

[Frasier]

I do not get why Philadelphia Radio doesn't air the radio broadcast of "60 Minutes". KYW 1060 AM should start airing this show.

Think it would be ideal for them to air tonight's edition at 7 PM while CBS is busy airing the NFL playoff game whose play-by-play should be carried on the radio too?

 

[fred flintstone]

I do not get why Philadelphia Radio doesn't air the radio broadcast of "60 Minutes". KYW 1060 AM should start airing this show. The other top radio markets in the USA air this show on the radio, why it can't air on local radio here? Also KYW NewsRadio needs to remodel its format to sound similar like WCBS, KNX and or KCBS before the news format they are using is to me is flawed and not good. That is why they are 3rd right now. The PD of that station needs to go.

Julius, If I were to make a list of everything not to like about KYW, 60 Minutes would not even make the list.
You seem to think that because something is on TV it should be on the radio. Football games not involving local teams. Press conferences. Speeches. Why, I have no idea.

When you say other top markets air the show, have you checked? Do you know that for a fact? Exactly which markets? Let's have some proof for these blanket statements.

The stations you mention were CBS stations. KYW was a Group W station and like WINS and KFWB follows the Group W format. CBS tried their format on WCAU and it bombed - disappeared without a trace. Have you noticed that in New York, 1010 WINS gets higher ratings than Newsradio 88 despite a poorer signal in much of the market? People are used to KYW. While there is a good deal of room for improvement in the execution of the format, there is no basis for wholesale changes. KYW was once a great station within this same basic format.

Julius, you are unemployed. I agree with Steve. It ill behooves you to go around saying other people should lose their jobs. It's also one thing for you to express personal preferences as a listener. It's quite another for you to tell stations what they need to do as if you were an expert or in a position to make demands. People in radio resent it, as I'm sure you would if you were in their shoes.

 

[Irishfl]

Didn't we go over this same topic a month ago? Wasn't it you Julius who posted this same topic aswell? Why exactly did you feel the need to post the same topic so soon? Its basically the same members, so at best your gonna get the same responses.

To recap the thread from a month ago.

KYW top rated station each book since the 60's
Wins kicks WCBS's butt
WCBS is not a top 3 station every book
Nobody cares about hearing 60 minutes on the radio
People would care if traffic wasn't on the 2's.
WCBS has traffic on the 8's, because they're 880 AM

Did I leave anything out from the last KYW format debate?

 

[rdcuffpa1]

To recap the thread from a month ago.

KYW top rated station each book since the 60's
Wins kicks WCBS's butt
WCBS is not a top 3 station every book
Nobody cares about hearing 60 minutes on the radio
People would care if traffic wasn't on the 2's.
WCBS has traffic on the 8's, because they're 880 AM

I've spent time in San Francisco, LA and NYC over the years, which has given me the opportunity to sample the various wrinkles in the CBS / Group W formats. Each is somewhat different, adapted to local tastes and experiences. It's tough to sort out whether what works on KCBS would work on WCBS.

Perhaps 10 years ago I would have agreed that having 60 minutes on the radio would be worthwhile, but nowadays, with live webcasts, on-demand audio, and podcasts, it doesn't matter much.

I'd love to hear Bill Gregory, Bill Bransome, Dick Covington, and Harry Johnson all back on the air, but it won't happen. They're all dead...

Sure, KYW has changed in subtle ways over the years, as its owners tweak the product and tweak the bottom line.

I'm grateful Phillly still *has* an all-news station that is audible in Allentown and Reading.

I won't take the bait regarding granular changes in KYW's format...much the same way the "Hawk" vs. "'MGK" debate bores me to tears.

Richard in Allentown

 

[JohnnyPancakes]

Julius, KYW needs to do NOTHING to their format. The program director does NOT need to be fired. You need to stop beating a dead horse. Please stop it. Please. Please. Please. Stop it.

 

[DG02816]

Again, Julius is posting for posting's sake. Were he to go to 5th and Market with his ideas, he at the least would be laughed out of the place. 1060 does very well with the format it has; if it ain't broke, then why fix it??? In an earlier posting I compared WINS' almost-Top 40-style pace and intensity with KYW's more MOR'ish approach. I also said KYW was much like your favorite pair of loafers. I have them on in the car as company, as the anchors do bring their own personalities to the all-news approach. I at least know 1060 won't flip format any time soon.

Dave Gardiner

WVCH 740/WNWR 1540

Philadelphia

 

[fred flintstone]

I do and I have. I've been complaining about this station for years even though they are making money and having good ratings but I stand by what I'm saying about this station. I understand that everyone disagrees with me about this and that's OK.

Since you listen to newsradio a lot, maybe you've noticed: Stay the course has not been working that well.

Also consider the definition of insanity: Continuing to take the same actions while expecting a different result.

Not everyone disagrees with everything you say. You have made valid points and people have said so. Please read - really read - the responses you get. A lot of people take their time to reply to you, including people with a good deal of radio knowledge and experience. If nothing else, you should appreciate that.

 

[JimWilliams]

You know the sad thing is I defend Julius on other boards. We know he, how politely can I say this...pounds to the beat of a deaf drummer, but he's friggin' passionate. And, I try to defend that and I'm sure others in here do that. But, it's awful tough to defend this stuff.

Hey Julius, did you know WSNJ, a station that uses CNN Radio for news, up until about the time I joined the station aired Larry King at 9pm? We don't do that anymore. Should we pick him back up? Why or why not? Wait, don't answer, because I know what you'll say.

Bottom line on KYW: They're successful. They've carved their niche. No need to really tweak it by throwing in national stuff.

 

[trolleyk]

This guy Julius just likes to hear himself talk. Remember tin cans make the most noise.

 

[fred flintstone]

Bottom line on KYW: They're successful. They've carved their niche. No need to really tweak it by throwing in national stuff.

This view is as short-sighted as the one Julius' presents, but somebody always makes it anytime KYW is criticized.
KYW is not as "successful" as it was. It shows all the signs of a station in slow decline.
But management is willing to sit fat, dumb and happy and say "What, me worry?"
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is the idiotic philosophy that allowed the Japanese among other to dominate automobiles, consumer electronics, photography and dozens of other product categories.

 

[WTUX]

Julius,

KYW does need to do anything different. Period.

When Tom Bigby was running KYW and 1210, I felt he was unaware of how to properly run news and news-talk stations. Since he has been gone, both stations are doing quite well, thank you.

 

[JimWilliams]

Bottom line on KYW: They're successful. They've carved their niche. No need to really tweak it by throwing in national stuff.

This view is as short-sighted as the one Julius' presents, but somebody always makes it anytime KYW is criticized.
KYW is not as "successful" as it was. It shows all the signs of a station in slow decline.
But management is willing to sit fat, dumb and happy and say "What, me worry?"
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is the idiotic philosophy that allowed the Japanese among other to dominate automobiles, consumer electronics, photography and dozens of other product categories.

Were we looking at the same trend? I can't imagine KYW slipping down to the basement of the ratings anytime soon. Yes, they're not Philadelphia's most listened to station, but they're on so many car radio presets in the Delaware Valley as is. They're the only game of their type in town. Do they need to make changes, sure. But, not the sentence was that they don't need to tweak by adding national stuff. Tweak the local stuff a little maybe.

 

[fred flintstone]

Were we looking at the same trend? I can't imagine KYW slipping down to the basement of the ratings anytime soon. Yes, they're not Philadelphia's most listened to station, but they're on so many car radio presets in the Delaware Valley as is. They're the only game of their type in town. Do they need to make changes, sure. But, not the sentence was that they don't need to tweak by adding national stuff. Tweak the local stuff a little maybe.

Not anytime soon. But do you want them to wait until they get to the basement to do something?

Tweaking is what they've been doing. Two anchors. Voicers in the headlines.
But the station is not essential listening as it once was.
It's not on top of local stories as it once was.
It's not breaking news as it once was.

Now it's same old, same old.
Have somebody drive around in an SUV and talk about the weather.
Send somebody to a diner and get sound bites.
Send somebody out where nothing is happening to read a press release so you can say "live."
Three networks and they keep running the same wraps for 12, 18 hours.
The mortal sin for a news station is being predictable and KYW is that - in spades.

When you tune to KYW you should know exactly what you are going to get and be surprised at what you hear.
When was the last time that happened?

 

[8638]

I don't know. Seems to me that Julius may have a future in management with CBS radio. They seem to like to blow up successful radio stations!

I think most of us agree that KYW's strength is its consistency. When you punch up 1060 Khz, you KNOW what you are going to get. I do agree with Fred that they used to do more in-depth reporting, which I liked. They do NOT need to run 60 Minutes' audio.

 

[fred flintstone]

Julius seems to forget that if - IF - running 60 Minutes on the radio is worthwhile, CBS Radio has another station in town which might be a better place for it: WPHT. Of course, he wants them to be running Westwood One football games, so there would be the same schedule conflict on radio as on TV.

Wait a minute. Julius says he wants 60 Minutes on the radio because the show has gotten delayed on TV for football games. But he says he also wants those same football games on the radio. [EDIT]

[EDIT-inflammatory]

 

[imhomerjay]

Nothing--repeat nothing--is going to make "news radio" relevant to many younger listeners. What KYW has done is probably the best anyone can do to maintain as large an audience as possible in a world filled with on-demand content of the specific news people want.

 

[fred flintstone]

Nothing--repeat nothing--is going to make "news radio" relevant to many younger listeners. What KYW has done is probably the best anyone can do to maintain as large an audience as possible in a world filled with on-demand content of the specific news people want.

What they seem to be doing makes business sense. Keep the familiar format. Hold onto a dying and declining audience. Keep costs down. They could read some headlines off the wire, and keep plugging away with traffic, weather and ball scores and people would still listen. Then again, that's pretty much what they are doing.

But it's not the best anyone can do. The best anyone HAS DONE is probably WTOP (now on FM).