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Marconi Effect

S

SirRoxalot

What's that whirring sound? I suspect that it's Marconi spinning in his grave.

An award named after Guglielmo went to WGR as a paragon of Sports stations at the NAB. Good grief - does anybody LISTEN to stations before doling out awards? What - are they the ONLY sports station in the country that's only syndicated HALF the time? The rest are full time?

If you check their ratings, then I expect that Entercom will ship that statuette directly to the Sabres - or give it to Rick Jeanneret for his mantlepiece.

Kudos to whoever put together the demo tape that voters heard before selecting WGR. I feel for ya, man. I don't know how many hours of tape were required to make that station sound like the premiere sports station in the country. It's a testament to the idea that ANYBODY can be good for a minute once in a while.
 
Looking at the list of Marconi winners, it seems NAB loves a winner. Other than the pleasant surprise of the underrated KKOB being named Legendary Station, most of those winners have won big before, most notably WIBC, WLW, and WGN. Granted those are good stations but still...
 
Marconi Judges Face Substance Abuse Probe​
Informed sources say the judges have been ordered to undergo tests for "foreign substances" after the selection of WGR as Sports Station of the Year. Doping scandal imminent.

-Developing...​

_________________________________________________

It's a joke. In more ways than one.
 
Congrats to Andy Roth and the WGR team of hosts, producers and reporters. Shame on Rox and the rest of you for not being proud of a Buffalo Success story. You want local radio, local radio wins - with local sports, great web content, hard working hosts and producers....and you belittle them and the Marconi Awards. The effort and cost of a station like this is tremendous, and they do a great job.

You may not like the station, but you should be proud of the effort and the City. The people at WGR are what make it special. Hard working broadcasters who's work has been recognized by a prestigious national award. I had the joy of sitting next to Andy when they announced it, and I applauded him the loudest as he accepted on behalf of the staff of WGR. This has nothing to do with the ownership. For once, set aside your silly hatred of all "things corporate" long enough to realize that the people of WGR deserve this moment, and you are a putz for tearing them down. This is not an Entercom Award, this is an award for the work of the people at WGR - people who you deserve a moment of praise.

Just my 2 cents, but then I am one of those corporate suits that everyone hates.
 
Well pardon those of us who listen for having an opinion about the quality of sports broadcasting on WGR. This is NOT a diatribe against corporate radio in general, or specifically Entercom. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Entercom is the best of the local bunch of corporate players. Citadel is on death watch. Regent is struggling. Entercom is above water, thanks to the efforts of a lot of people both locally and nationally. They have more live and local content than any of the competition in Buffalo - and are rewarded for it by being the #1 biller locally in spite of an arguable disadvantage when it comes to signals.

With all that said, you can't convince me - or anyone who listens to sports radio - that WGR is the best sports station in the country. Take one look at their numbers when they don't have the Sabres and the falloff is obvious. The fact is that they have TWO live and local dayparts Monday through Friday - hardly what should represent the "Sports Station of the Year".
 
mdoyle said:
Congrats to Andy Roth and the WGR team of hosts, producers and reporters. Shame on Rox and the rest of you for not being proud of a Buffalo Success story. You want local radio, local radio wins - with local sports, great web content, hard working hosts and producers....and you belittle them and the Marconi Awards. The effort and cost of a station like this is tremendous, and they do a great job.

You may not like the station, but you should be proud of the effort and the City. The people at WGR are what make it special. Hard working broadcasters who's work has been recognized by a prestigious national award. I had the joy of sitting next to Andy when they announced it, and I applauded him the loudest as he accepted on behalf of the staff of WGR. This has nothing to do with the ownership. For once, set aside your silly hatred of all "things corporate" long enough to realize that the people of WGR deserve this moment, and you are a putz for tearing them down. This is not an Entercom Award, this is an award for the work of the people at WGR - people who you deserve a moment of praise.

Just my 2 cents, but then I am one of those corporate suits that everyone hates.
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Now, now Mr. D, nobody hates you. Nobody wants to do you physical or emotional harm. Somebody's gotta be the RVP, make the tough calls and from what's been seen said by those in the business, you're doing a fine job. It's even more delightful to know that you're doing the job so well rather than somebody else who might have been given the RVP stripes.

And yes, in Buffalo, We're Talkin' Proud, talkin' prouuuuuddd, talkin' prroouuudd! How did she do that leaning back thingie. Gimme some Advil, quick.

But oh, the irony! WGR's daily stock in trade (more often than not) is ripping and skewering coaches, teams, managers, management, players, play calling, line changes, the NFL, MLBB, the NHL, the NCAA and occasionally the NBA. All in good fun, of course. Nuthin' pers'nal.

Haters? Us? I think not!

For the record, WGR received huge props from this keyboard critic for its coverage of high school basketball. Even the loquacious Jeremy White got some love for a good line and his near dead-on imitation of Yankees PBP man, John Sterling. White's Monday "John Facenda" bits, however, are often too hip for the room and take up valuable time that could be better given to Howard Simon... you know, that other guy on the morning show.

But I digress.

Sports station of the year? Fine. Every dog has his day in the sun.

Let's give it up for the staff, the producers and board-ops and the grunts who make it all work. Congratulations guys, ya done good. Take a bow. You deserve the recognition more than some of the toggleswitches on the air. Seriously. Enjoy the moment. Bask in it. Take it all in.

Now break out the Dom! Produce the promos and spread the word, "Hey everybody, look at us! We're the biggest and the best!" Surely, Entercom will give everybody raises in recognition for a job well done. Yes, I know, "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit," but it seems to fit here so well.
 
Personally, I don’t give much credence to anything the NAB has to say.
 
I WANT to like WGR but depending on his mood I find Schop and the Bulldog to be unlistenable at times, and I know I'm not the only one to feel that way. I like Howard Simon but was turned off a couple months ago when the discussion on the Monday morning after The British Open was not Tom Watson's near historic win, or Usain Bolt's 100m sprint record but whether or not people would be watching the T.O. show on VH1. I know T.O. is a big local story but ignoring two historic sports events to talk about a non-sports non-event really irked me. So, props to WGR and local sports talk but I too fail to believe they're THE best sports-talk station.
 
WGR has been one of or the highest rated sports stations in the country a couple of times in the last few years. Which, A) gets you noticed for such an award and B) we must really like sports here. No?
 
ThePickleReport said:
WGR has been one of or the highest rated sports stations in the country a couple of times in the last few years. Which, A) gets you noticed for such an award and B) we must really like sports here. No?
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Yes on both counts. But keep in mind that WGR's best numbers came in a Spring book when the Sabres were in a playoff run and seemed destined to win The Cup. The Sabres can do amazing things for a radio station's cume, leading to higher TSL and AQH Share. Take a look at Oldies 104 when they had the Sabres. The games generated (IIRC) about 25% more cume to the station's already healthy cume. The additional cume lead to increased quarter hour share.

Another advantage is the residual benefit for morning drive. WGR's numbers can be deceiving; not that it doesn't deserve the high ratings it gets during Sabres season. But you sometimes wonder what might happen if an FM male dominant station like the Edge went Sports and returned the Sabres to a strong FM Stereo signal that covered the market day and night.
 
I have got to chime in here. People are mocking this award, and it is obvious they don't even know what the award means. Rox, if you can recite the meaning of "Sports Station of the Year", then i will listen to you, but you can't. Who said this award has anything to do with ratings, or local billing, or whatever else you were mentioning. You happened to leave off the community support WGR provides, the fans, the humans beings that work there, Hunter's Hope radiothon, charity golf, etc.

Just becuase you guys were blown out of our industry for some reason or another, you should not continue this bitterness. For any newbies coming onto this board, i would advise you not to listen to the perils of people who have not survived the industry, or who are bitter about corporate radio. Radio has, is, and always will be a great industry for talented people. I would ABSOLUTLY recommend a career in radio to anyone who has passion for being creative. It is very obvious to see that you are jealous. For once, like Mike said, we get recognition for our region, and you poo-poo it Rox, most likely becuase you are not invloved.....and won't be. My 2 cents!!
 
superset weekend said:
Just becuase you guys were blown out of our industry for some reason or another, you should not continue this bitterness. For any newbies coming onto this board, i would advise you not to listen to the perils of people who have not survived the industry, or who are bitter about corporate radio. Radio has, is, and always will be a great industry for talented people. I would ABSOLUTLY recommend a career in radio to anyone who has passion for being creative. It is very obvious to see that you are jealous. For once, like Mike said, we get recognition for our region, and you poo-poo it Rox, most likely becuase you are not invloved.....and won't be. My 2 cents!!
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Uh, I can't speak for others, but I haven't been "blown out of the industry". I'm quite comfortable with my career, thank you. As far as "jealous" is concerned, that's a convenient refuge for people who don't like anybody criticizing them.

I still find it difficult to swallow that a station that has TWO live and local dayparts M-F is the "Sports Station of the Year". More than two thirds of their programming is syndicated. Their recent foray into high school football - an effort that I applaud - came long after they came under consideration for the award.
 
SirRoxalot said:
I still find it difficult to swallow that a station that has TWO live and local dayparts M-F is the "Sports Station of the Year". More than two thirds of their programming is syndicated. Their recent foray into high school football - an effort that I applaud - came long after they came under consideration for the award.
Click to expand...

Gotta agree---unless every other sports station in the country has only 2 live dayparts and are affiliated with a sports team that locals obsess over.

Now THAT would be a fair fight.
 
Not sure what the fuss is about over some people disagreeing about the win. Congrats are in order for sure for WGR but that doesn't necessarily mean everyone has to agree with the outcome. Like a McCain supporter congratulating their Obama supporting friend.
 
You want quantity or quality?

I imagine community service and involvement are major factors in these awards. A good radio station should go beyond what people hear on the air.
 
superset weekend said:
I have got to chime in here. People are mocking this award, and it is obvious they don't even know what the award means. Rox, if you can recite the meaning of "Sports Station of the Year", then i will listen to you, but you can't. Who said this award has anything to do with ratings, or local billing, or whatever else you were mentioning. You happened to leave off the community support WGR provides, the fans, the humans beings that work there, Hunter's Hope radiothon, charity golf, etc.

Just becuase you guys were blown out of our industry for some reason or another, you should not continue this bitterness. For any newbies coming onto this board, i would advise you not to listen to the perils of people who have not survived the industry, or who are bitter about corporate radio. Radio has, is, and always will be a great industry for talented people. I would ABSOLUTLY recommend a career in radio to anyone who has passion for being creative. It is very obvious to see that you are jealous. For once, like Mike said, we get recognition for our region, and you poo-poo it Rox, most likely becuase you are not invloved.....and won't be. My 2 cents!!
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You tell 'em Supe!

All those old, untalented, loser displaced radio people who "were blown out of our industry for some reason or another." News directors, PDs, jocks, talk show hosts, production men and women --- what the hell do they know about radio and the "humans beings" [sic] that work at WGR. If you've been blown out, if you were in but chose to get out, if you dabbled in radio and found something better, you have no business posting on this here fine radio message board.

C'mon, Supe.

Did you ever stop to consider that Clear Channel nuked about 18 hundred people in one day not because the people were losers, shirkers and incompetents but because Clear Channel was so fugged up by bad economic decisions that the debt service was killing them and the easiest way to ease the stress was to (tah-dah, wand and fairy dust) cut personnel.

Good, talented jocks, pds, news people and production people. Bam! Gone! Buh-bye! All in a day's work.

Yup, Supe. If those sorry bastages were any good, they'd still have jobs working for Entercom, Citadel, Cumulus, Clear Channel and all those other outstanding radio companies that are hair's breadth (or hare's breath) away from insolvency. Those fine companies dedicated to serving in the public interest, convenience and necessity --- those wonderful companies lead by outstanding men and women who made brilliant financial decisions that put them in the positions they're in today! Those companies dedicated to treating their employees as "their most valuable resource."

How could anyone here dare criticize!

Ain't bitterness that drives commentary here any more than it drives the sports commentary on WGR. Ooops --- Okay --- given that analogy, maybe some posters are bitter --- but it's a constructive bitterness. Posters only want the radio station to be better because they care so much about it.
 
TheBigA said:
Element9 said:
Ain't bitterness that drives commentary here any more than it drives the sports commentary on WGR.
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If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's a duck.
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For heaven's sake have you LISTENED to WGR??? I mean on a regular, or even semi-regular basis.

You don't even LIKE "upstate" NY - as you've stated more than once. The fact that you were apparently stuck within a couple of hundred miles of Buffalo/NF/Rochester decades ago hardly gives you local perspective. Your opinion here on local issues is meaningless. Why do you bother to post here - especially on topics regarding stations that you know little or nothing about?
 
You have to remember, in WGR's case, you have to be a member station in NAB in order to be nominated station of the year. I would guess that would eliminate at least 50% of the stations to begin with. Yes, you are right. It is very sad when a station wins an award (even a self congratulatory) when two thirds of its broadcast day is syndicated.
 
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