Message for WABC's Phil Boyce

[RADIO TRUTH]

Before I get into the main part of this message, I want to say the following.....WABC, between the years of 1960-1981 was a dynamic radio station especially between the years of 1964-1967.

Having said that, I think it is time to get rid of that sorry Saturday night oldies show on WABC. The only people who listen to it are the same 20 radio groupies who post senseless drivel on various radio message boards. The show does not sound anything like 1960s WABC but, just some kind of groupiefest. The show is extremely slow moving and hearing the interviews with, for example, an aged Dan Ingram, are not fun anymore. The stories were fun and entertaining the first hundred times but, not anymore. Also, the lengthy commercial breaks are a big negative on this show. The only other alternative, if you are dead set on keeping this show, is to make it much faster moving than the two mile an hour pace that it currently has. Since I don't think that this is likely, it would be better to let this show have a peaceful demise. I, also, think it is time to get rid of the yearly WABC Rewound. It was fun the first few times but, it seems that there is very little left in the way of 60s airchecks to hear. You have again been duped by 20 groupies but, the general public does not really care either way. When you make programming decisions based on the rantings and ravings of 20 groupies, you are only satisfying 20 groupies and nobody else.

 

[LinoNYC]

Before I get into the main part of this message, I want to say the following.....WABC, between the years of 1960-1981 was a dynamic radio station especially between the years of 1964-1967.

Having said that, I think it is time to get rid of that sorry Saturday night oldies show on WABC. The only people who listen to it are the same 20 radio groupies who post senseless drivel on various radio message boards. The show does not sound anything like 1960s WABC but, just some kind of groupiefest. The show is extremely slow moving and hearing the interviews with, for example, an aged Dan Ingram, are not fun anymore. The stories were fun and entertaining the first hundred times but, not anymore. Also, the lengthy commercial breaks are a big negative on this show. The only other alternative, if you are dead set on keeping this show, is to make it much faster moving than the two mile an hour pace that it currently has. Since I don't think that this is likely, it would be better to let this show have a peaceful demise. I, also, think it is time to get rid of the yearly WABC Rewound. It was fun the first few times but, it seems that there is very little left in the way of 60s airchecks to hear. You have again been duped by 20 groupies but, the general public does not really care either way. When you make programming decisions based on the rantings and ravings of 20 groupies, you are only satisfying 20 groupies and nobody else.

Replace the oldies show with what.. the infomercials that used to run there? That is what you'll get.

I don't often get to hear the show and while I don't care for Mark Simone's stonehead political opinions, the show does strike the right balance in creating a sense of community around a station that still has some music credentials and a somewhat more expansive playlist than you'll hear elsewhere. Fewer of the knucklehead callers would be an improvement.

Rewound is a device for giving everyone Memorial Day off. What would you preferr, a "best-of" the usuall reactionary bilge the station normally serves.

Lino

 

[BACKnUSSR]

Before I get into the main part of this message, I want to say the following.....WABC, between the years of 1960-1981 was a dynamic radio station especially between the years of 1964-1967.

Having said that, I think it is time to get rid of that sorry Saturday night oldies show on WABC. The only people who listen to it are the same 20 radio groupies who post senseless drivel on various radio message boards. The show does not sound anything like 1960s WABC but, just some kind of groupiefest. The show is extremely slow moving and hearing the interviews with, for example, an aged Dan Ingram, are not fun anymore. The stories were fun and entertaining the first hundred times but, not anymore. Also, the lengthy commercial breaks are a big negative on this show. The only other alternative, if you are dead set on keeping this show, is to make it much faster moving than the two mile an hour pace that it currently has. Since I don't think that this is likely, it would be better to let this show have a peaceful demise. I, also, think it is time to get rid of the yearly WABC Rewound. It was fun the first few times but, it seems that there is very little left in the way of 60s airchecks to hear. You have again been duped by 20 groupies but, the general public does not really care either way. When you make programming decisions based on the rantings and ravings of 20 groupies, you are only satisfying 20 groupies and nobody else.

So you have some secret audience measuring tool that tells you exactly who is listening to the Rewound Show...and the Rewind weekend? Should we count you as one of the 20 groupies since you obviously have
listened or are you the 21st listener? And sorry to hear that you have a distaste for interviews with an "aged Dan Ingram". I'm sure Mark would be happy to interview a "young Dan Ingram"...but there aren't any around unfortunately.

 

[cawasinnj]

Pay attention. Bob Whitney is a one man expert on everything. Just ask him.

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

There are a few different issues here.....
1-The fact that WABC has infomercials on at all should tell you either one of two things. It either says that WABC's current sales and promotion staff is so incompetent that they can't sell spots at the times the infomercials run or it tells you the sad state of radio. I will go with the sad state of radio when a major market 50000 watt station can't get somebody on the air all night to garner enough audience to sell spots. Maybe they can reopen Dennison Clothes, Route 22, Union, N. J. Considering that New York television stations are running infomercials in day parts where spots used to be sold, radio is obviously in equally desperate shape.

2-As far as the Saturday night oldies show and rewind go, the Saturday night oldies show is not even a shell of what WABC once was. It would be different if it was a real dj doing real personality radio. This show lives on with the premise of, "Do you remember what you were doing at Palisades Park in 1963". Other than groupies, nobody wants to be reminded how old they are. It's not the show itself, it's the poor execution. Again, judging by the message board for the show, it's the same 20 groupies getting off on this show. The general public does not care. In response to the above, I don't like the interviews at this point in history either. Once you have heard the same stuff over and over again, it gets burned out. Rather than interview a
retired Dan Ingram, Harry Harrison, Herb Oscar Anderson, Ron Lundy or anyone else, why not have a dj play music, do humor and really recreate the sound of the station. This might attract more audience than reminding people how old they are over and over again with a guy who is not well suited to be a dj but, better suited for talk radio. If I want to relive WABC's past, I can look at the old WABC surveys and watch week by week as Cousin Brucie's hairline recedes and then, like a miracle, all of a sudden, he has hair (I always like the
perm wig).

3-As far as the yearly rewound goes, airchecks are a finite resource. Judging by the last few years, the supply is drying up especially from the 60s, the greatest period in the station's and music's history. If all that is left are airchecks from 1970 to 1981, WABC's greatness eroded a little every year until the ugly end. I don't want to hear WABC playing disco or out of desperation, hearing Ingram do mornings or hear Ross and Wilson. I want to hear the station at its mid 60s peak and unfortunately, there seem to be a dearth of those airchecks at this point in history. Rewound was interesting when the airchecks were interesting but, those days are long past. It is time to get rid of it rather than hanging on with almost no new material.

4-What they replace the Saturday night oldies show and Rewound with, I don't really care. I'm not that crazy about any talk radio currently, whether political or sports. Put on infomercials. Put on a 1000 cycle test tone.
It doesn't matter to me.

 

[LinoNYC]

4-What they replace the Saturday night oldies show and Rewound with, I don't really care. I'm not that crazy about any talk radio currently, whether political or sports. Put on infomercials. Put on a 1000 cycle test tone.
It doesn't matter to me.

Why did you even bother starting this thread? I was going to respond to your points but after that last paragraph, I realize it is a waste of time.

Lino

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

The thread was started to state the lack of validity or need for WABC Rewound or the Saturday night oldies show. What the station would do to replace the time slots, makes no difference to me.

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

The thread was also started to state that making programming decisions and catering to the wants and needs of radio groupies is idiotic.

 

[BruceS8852]

The people who listen to Saturday Night Oldies are not groupies. Even though only 20 or people regularly post to the message board there are thousands who listen to the show regularly. I would like to thank Phil Boyce and the WABC management who initiated the show in repsonse to the hijacking of WCBS-FM in June 2005. It is more than just the music of that era. Baby boomers are very nostalgic of the popular culture of the era when WABC was the premier top 40 station. To quote Sly and The Family Stone "Different Strokes for Different Folks". If you do not like the show, just don't listen.

 

[BruceS8852]

Johnny Donovan, Peter Kanze, Rob Frankel and others have put in a lot of work in producing WABC Rewound over the last several years. True, the novelty of it has worn off, but it is still enjoyable. I think there may be very few new tapes available, but you never know when something new will surface. As I said in my previous post, if you don't appreciate WABC Rewound, just don't listen on Memorial Day. Listenership to any talk radio station is low on a major summer holiday anyway. Likewise, if the political talk on WABC is too conservative, just don't listen.

 

[therealjm12]

WABC's Saturday Night Oldies show is a treat for me. Problem is, it seems everytime the skywaves co-operate here in the wilds of upstate N. Y. hockey is on.
I grew up listening to WABC in the 60's& 70's on those skywaves and consider WABC one of the greatest radio stations of all time. WABC was a major influence on me as a youth and, yes, I did go into radio and proud to say, still am on the air 35 years later. In fact, I tune in after my airshift on Saturdays.
I am certainly not one of the 20 groupies. Times change and I appreciate the fact WABC had to, too. So the little four hour a week show is a very pleasant flashback for me. Keep it up WABC. Don't listen to those sour knuckleheads.

 

[curtinrod]

Exactly rock did you crawl out of? Since WCBSFM was discontinued with the oldies format WABC was gracious enough to fill the void that was left for your so called groupies-NOT!If you do not like the format/program there such as a thing as a on/off button on your radio. Which even the cavemen know that. You can fiddle around with the computer or watch T.V. for the duration of Mark's show.But it is highly insensitive of you to refer to loyal listeners as "20 or so groupies" If you have nothing good to say/write DON'T. All Ican suggest is intstead of "Radiotruth" for an I.D. you should have "Radioopinion" because my friend that's all your foolish rant is. Which especially sad to have around Christmas time.
As Johnny Carson would say " may a bird fly up your nose"....By the way that show is heard worldwide.

 

[adma]

The thread was also started to state that making programming decisions and catering to the wants and needs of radio groupies is idiotic.

Under the circumstances, no more idiotic than making programming decisions and catering to the wants and needs of ugly, angry old Archie Bunkers--which is a common impression of WABC the rest of the time, anyway.

I guess it's part of the organic continuum from music to talk that WABC has nurtured as a "heritage" station, but I don't know of anyplace else out there in North America where oldies has been so aggressively framed as "conservative music radio"--that is, Saturday Night Oldies and Rewound as the "Those Were The Days" intro to an "All In The Family" episode...

 

[pas]

Hi Phil, Just wanted to state that the best thing you have done is hire Mark Simone super sub and a great talk show host. I am a true fan and not alone. I lov e SNO. It relaxes me and makes my week plus I have made alot of great friends. I guess I am a groupie and proud of it. So if anyone disagrees and you know who you are, we don't want you listening. This is my first post on this board and I feel better now getting it off my chest. Thanks Phil for everything and Happy New Year to a great station WABC. Phyllis Steward

 

[Board Editor]

Some posts in this thread have gone off-topic and have been moved to Take It Outside.

[iurl=http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=88634.0]http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=88634.0[/iurl]

 

[MORE RADIO TRUTH]

Who Am I? These days I am heard week on Saturday mornings on WABC Radio (6-10) then again at 6-10 PM doing Saturday Night Oldies.

(in just 2 years, our Message Board is closing in on a million hits)
http://www.musicradio77.com/wabcboard/wwwboard/wabcboard1.html

I have mastered NY radio at legendary stations such as WPIX, WMCA, and WNEW (its final host on December 11, 1992), as well as in New England (WPRO, Providence RI). I had the rare privilege of teaming up with late greats Steve Allen on the NBC Radio network, and Tom Snyder on the CBS Radio Network.

My radio guests and friends run the gamut from Dennis Miller, Ed Koch, Frank Rich of the NY Times, Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, Simon Cowell, and Freddie Roman to presidential hopefuls and, yes, Blondie's Debbie Harry. Last week I was a guest with Jonathan Schwartz on WNYC.

Larry King, Mike Wallace, and Regis don't interview me. I interview them.

Curtis Sliwa nicknamed me "Supersub" as I frequently sit in for Sean Hannity, and Mark Levin and Curtis, among others. Early morning hours have never bothered me. (This week I'm in for the vacationing Don Imus.)

In the past spring, I've co-hosted WABC's Rewound special, and attended a cruise with WABC listeners.

When not guesting on CNN and MSNBC, or co-hosting "What a Week" on NY1 TV (with N.Y. Post columnist Linda Stasi), I can be found MCing black tie dinners functions such as a Curtis & Kuby roast, or heading up important charities such as PBS Television pledges, the Police Athletic League of New York, and the National Alzheimer's Foundation Dinner.

If you haven't already guessed, his official web site can be found at http://www.marksimone.com.

 

[oaktree]

I remember, well, Mark from his days at WIP in Philadelphia. One of the good guys and best prepared for the job he does. (Even if Phil would like you to not hide behind the anonymity of a message board.)

 

[Lando Griffin]

Do Phil Boyce and others really need to have to defend themselves on this board? The answer is "no."

While I disagree with "Radio Truth," the Truth is, his posts are his opinions. He has some valid points on the "WABC Rewind" show.

WABC, however, should be commended for trying something different from other talk stations and succeeding. They had the tools and the talent for this. Many of us complain about the blandness of the current crop of cookie-cutter radio. As a fan of the John Mainelli WABC lineup, I have stopped listeneing to WABC because I think of it as generic and bland. On the other hand, it appears that I am clearly in the minority of conservative radio listeners/producers/hosts who like what the station management has to offer. The "Rewind" show also proves that the leadership is willing to go against the grain -- disproving one of my longtime opinions on the current programmers.

Saturday nights are hard to measure, but it would seem that listener response has been good for WABC, and it's at least a more innovative alternative to infomercials and "best of" repeats.

Also, whether you like the show or not, Mark Simone is still great to listen to. Of course, that's my opinion.

 

[Gilbobmore]

I think they should keep the show if it works for them, but they can do better by adding more life to it. I rarely listen because it seems to drag. If there were a lively jock, I would listen more often. Jack Armstrong would be nice to have in there!

 

[Oldiesking]

I think they should keep the show if it works for them, but they can do better by adding more life to it. I rarely listen because it seems to drag. If there were a lively jock, I would listen more often. Jack Armstrong would be nice to have in there!

I would like to reply to you as well as to Radio Truth. I am a loyal listener of SNO and one of the people that Radio Truth calls a "So Called groupie" who post on the SNO Board every week and I am proud of it. As for Jackson Armstrong, I am a huge fan of Jackson Armstrong and I consider Jackson Armstrong a Radio Legend but Mark Simone is the perfect host for SNO. SNO is not meant to be a re-creation of Musicradio WABC nor is it a straight up Oldies Show. It is a nostalgia show where Mark Simone goes back in time and interviews people from our past, talks about Old TV Shows, plays Old Commercials and of course plays Oldies from the time when we were growing up. SNO was created on December 3rd, 2005 6 months after CBS-FM dropped Oldies. The show has been widely accepted by Oldies Radio Listeners and Phil Boyce was smart enough to let the SNO continue when CBS-FM returned to playing Oldies or Classic Hits on 7/12/07. I was on the organizing commitee for a Meet and Greet we had on December 1st, 2007 to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of SNO in NY. We had a total of 80 people at the event who appreciate and love SNO. We would have had more but many people live outside of the NY Area and they were unable to come. I have met many great people who I know consider my freiends through SNO. As for Radio Truth's comments on WABC Rewound, Although WABC is running out of Airchecks from the 60's, I consider Rewound Day the greatest Radio Day of the year. I think all of us should salute Phil Boyce for remembering the great days of WABC when it was the number one music station in America by giving us SNO and Rewound. With exception of WLS which had WLS Rewind for the first time this year on Memorial Day how many stations remember their past like WABC. I can not think of any. I am not in Radio but it has been said that Ratings for Talk Radio Stations are not as high over the weekends as they are during the week so what is the problem with putting on an Oldies Show for 4 Hours on Saturday Night. SNO is making money for WABC and it has a big following all around the country so it is obvious that WABC will be keeping SNO on the air. My advice to Radio Truth and anybody who does not like the SNO or Rewound is just don't listen.-Alan Berman-NYC.