B
BillShanks
Guest
Since it was reported here when I was laid off from Cumulus, I thought I would let everyone know that my show has been picked up by Clear Channel Macon. The Bill Shanks Show will start on Monday, March 23rd at 3:00 pm on WFSM Fox Sports 1670.
The public response to the cancellation of my show on WIFN in Macon was remarkable. Fans of the show who loved local sports talk were outraged. That alone made me know what we had to do: we had to get the show back on the air in the Macon market.
On our previous show, we averaged close to 20 calls per day for a two-hour program. Local participation was key, and when it was taken away the sports fans in middle Georgia made me know we had to get the show back.
I saw the discussion on the previous topic about the death of local content. Let me add a bit to that if possible. Our show on WIFN was cancelled because the management and sales team at Cumulus Macon refused to make selling our show a priority.
Now believe me, I'm not bitter, since I'm happy as hell at how things have turned out. But I do want people to know. Even when you're laid off, people wonder if you did something wrong to warrant the decision. But we did our job - others just didn't do theirs.
In November of last year I found out the average monthly revenue generated for WIFN, a huge FM station that covered a 75-mile radius around middle Georgia, was pathetically low. I told the market manager there that the people in Atlanta at corporate would fire me if that didn't improve. They could care less about how good my show was, and probably didn't even know how popular it was. The bottom line was bad, and therefore that put my job in jeopardy.
Management laughed off my concerns, but I knew better. I pleaded with the sales team to do its job - to sell my show. But it was simply never a priority. After we were let go, we heard a number of stories about how hard it was for an advertiser to even try to advertise on our show.
We heard that an advertiser in Dublin wanted to specifically advertise on my program. The Cumulus sales rep tried to get him to spread around his spots on Mike & Mike, Colin Cowherd, and Dan Patrick - along with my show. But the business owner wanted to only be on my show, since he knew people in Dublin listened and called into my show, and therefore those would be the people whom he would want to come to his business.
When the Cumulus sales rep refused to present a package that featured the business to only be on my show, they turned down the business. They told this business owner no.
We also heard about someone who called Cumulus to try and advertise on our show, but since there is no receptionist they had to leave a message for a sales rep to call them back. Unfortunately, the potential advertiser never received a return call and therefore the business was lost.
And those type decisions are what got me and my producer laid off.
Heck, I don't even blame the corporate people at Cumulus for making the decision. But I hope they asked why that show, and that station, were not doing better financially. It's not that the sales team tried to sell it and failed. They simply did not even try to sell it. And that is a problem.
But, believe me please, I am so happy to be joining Clear Channel in Macon. The operation there is head and shoulders better than the previous place. It is amazing how something like being laid off can turn into something so positive. They are making this show a priority, even with it being my show. My producer and I now have to sell it, and we can't wait to get out there and call on businesses for the first time. And Russ Brown and I have been amazed at the difference between our new employer and the previous one. We feel we can take this show to the next level at Clear Channel.
Our show will be on from 3-6 pm ET, one hour longer. It will air online at www.foxsports1670.com. The AM signal for 1670 is remarkably good. I've heard the signal in Waycross and in Brunswick, and the area covered by the FM signal we were on before will be able to hear the new show on AM 1670.
We are very excited about having the show back on the air. It's the most fun I've had in my career, and the support the fans have showed in the last six weeks has made me even more excited about the future of the program. Local sports talk does work, and we proved that. Now we'll have everyone pulling in the same direction and make the show even more successful.
The public response to the cancellation of my show on WIFN in Macon was remarkable. Fans of the show who loved local sports talk were outraged. That alone made me know what we had to do: we had to get the show back on the air in the Macon market.
On our previous show, we averaged close to 20 calls per day for a two-hour program. Local participation was key, and when it was taken away the sports fans in middle Georgia made me know we had to get the show back.
I saw the discussion on the previous topic about the death of local content. Let me add a bit to that if possible. Our show on WIFN was cancelled because the management and sales team at Cumulus Macon refused to make selling our show a priority.
Now believe me, I'm not bitter, since I'm happy as hell at how things have turned out. But I do want people to know. Even when you're laid off, people wonder if you did something wrong to warrant the decision. But we did our job - others just didn't do theirs.
In November of last year I found out the average monthly revenue generated for WIFN, a huge FM station that covered a 75-mile radius around middle Georgia, was pathetically low. I told the market manager there that the people in Atlanta at corporate would fire me if that didn't improve. They could care less about how good my show was, and probably didn't even know how popular it was. The bottom line was bad, and therefore that put my job in jeopardy.
Management laughed off my concerns, but I knew better. I pleaded with the sales team to do its job - to sell my show. But it was simply never a priority. After we were let go, we heard a number of stories about how hard it was for an advertiser to even try to advertise on our show.
We heard that an advertiser in Dublin wanted to specifically advertise on my program. The Cumulus sales rep tried to get him to spread around his spots on Mike & Mike, Colin Cowherd, and Dan Patrick - along with my show. But the business owner wanted to only be on my show, since he knew people in Dublin listened and called into my show, and therefore those would be the people whom he would want to come to his business.
When the Cumulus sales rep refused to present a package that featured the business to only be on my show, they turned down the business. They told this business owner no.
We also heard about someone who called Cumulus to try and advertise on our show, but since there is no receptionist they had to leave a message for a sales rep to call them back. Unfortunately, the potential advertiser never received a return call and therefore the business was lost.
And those type decisions are what got me and my producer laid off.
Heck, I don't even blame the corporate people at Cumulus for making the decision. But I hope they asked why that show, and that station, were not doing better financially. It's not that the sales team tried to sell it and failed. They simply did not even try to sell it. And that is a problem.
But, believe me please, I am so happy to be joining Clear Channel in Macon. The operation there is head and shoulders better than the previous place. It is amazing how something like being laid off can turn into something so positive. They are making this show a priority, even with it being my show. My producer and I now have to sell it, and we can't wait to get out there and call on businesses for the first time. And Russ Brown and I have been amazed at the difference between our new employer and the previous one. We feel we can take this show to the next level at Clear Channel.
Our show will be on from 3-6 pm ET, one hour longer. It will air online at www.foxsports1670.com. The AM signal for 1670 is remarkably good. I've heard the signal in Waycross and in Brunswick, and the area covered by the FM signal we were on before will be able to hear the new show on AM 1670.
We are very excited about having the show back on the air. It's the most fun I've had in my career, and the support the fans have showed in the last six weeks has made me even more excited about the future of the program. Local sports talk does work, and we proved that. Now we'll have everyone pulling in the same direction and make the show even more successful.