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Metheny at NAB

Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

> > On a somewhat related note, when did Bob Serentini stop
> > doing his political statements before his sales pitches?
> I
> > kinda miss them, in a wierd sort of way...
> > Do you think it was impacting his business, or did he just
>
> > grow bored with it?
>
> Probably when he re-named all the dealerships "Serpentini"
> and shaved his 'stache. (Remember, before about two years
> ago, they were Merrick, Banner, Star, etc.)
>
> It was a long-time schtick. He may have just grown bored.
> Or finally paid attention when research showed HE'S
> ANNOYING!
>


Or maybe when the public wised up about his "American, and proud of it!" slogan being a bunch of bull, since the many "American" cars--like the Ford Focus and Dodge Caravan--are actually made in Mexico and Canada, and the Honda is made in Ohio!
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

the
> best example is ''Mark'' on late night Cleveland
> T-V..classic local commercials..that people will talk about
> for years..
> >
>

If you can't get credit in my store, you can't get credit anywhere.
My name is Mark, and you can count on it
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

> the
> > best example is ''Mark'' on late night Cleveland
> > T-V..classic local commercials..that people will talk
> about
> > for years..
> > >
> >
>
> If you can't get credit in my store, you can't get credit
> anywhere.
> My name is Mark, and you can count on it

(sung) 6-8-7...6-teen-60...(/sung)

:D

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

> > If you can't get credit in my store, you can't get credit
> > anywhere.
> > My name is Mark, and you can count on it

------------Hey Mark! I want that ponytail! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!

> (sung) 6-8-7...6-teen-60...(/sung)
>
> :D
>
> -OA
>
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

> > the
> > > best example is ''Mark'' on late night Cleveland
> > > T-V..classic local commercials..that people will talk
> > about
> > > for years..
> > > >
> > >
> >
> > If you can't get credit in my store, you can't get credit
> > anywhere.
> > My name is Mark, and you can count on it
>
> (sung) 6-8-7...6-teen-60...(/sung)
>
> :D
>
> -OA
>

Seriously though... are you even allowed to look that stoned on TV?

Anyways, since there's obviously a fan base, enjoy. :)

http://www.theghoul.com/heynorton/page_01.htm
 
Excuse me while I take this moment to bash Triv some more...

>
> You may not like Trivisonno, but the ratings are there.

You know, I wrote a long, thoughtful rant about this and how awful the show sounds, the crappy production, the missed cues, the whole thing... I went in to how Salem has the only other AM sticks that you can hear outside of Parma and they won't do squat with them... but none of it is necessary, the last paragraph will suffice:

We all know the reality here... It isn't that Triv is good, but there's nothing else on. Until someone else steps up to give WTAM some real competition, you could put a monkey in studio and he could fling his own feces around and we'd listen to it slide down the microphone between the traffic/weather/sports/news updates and they'd still have solid ratings.

... Which, of course, wouldn't be very different from the current situation.
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

> Let's see:
>
> WMJI/105.7: Scott Howitt was canned in the 2001 Valentine's
> Day Massacre; while Mike Ivers moved to Majic from WGAR,
> Action Jackson eventually took the Scottster's slot. He's
> done decently, but Scott still should be there.
>
> WGAR/99.5: Danny Wright was 99.5's top-rated personality
> (!!!) in the PMD slot, but was canned in Nov. 2001. The
> durable Chuck Collier was moved over to Danny's slot, and
> now has to work for both WGAR and WMJI.
>
> WMVX/106.5: Never has had a solid "name" personality in
> their Mix phase though Bob McKay and Lee Anne Sommers have
> come close. Neither are with the station now.

All of the above were competent disc jockeys. None of them were ever "go-to" star quality entertainers. Each had a chance to compete with Trivisonno, who moved to afternoons in 1996. None of them "dethroned" him and, save for WGAR's overall slide in the ratings, suffering the fate of a lot of country stations in the new millenium, the replacements are doing pretty much the same ratings. If Clear Channel beleived that any of these guys and gals were the franchise, they would have either kept them in the slot or moved them to a morning show that needed help. BTW... Danny Wright tried doing talk on 3WE in the 80's. It was gawdafful!!!
>
> WKNR/1220. Geoff Sindelar retired when Jacor took over in
> January 1998, and what did they fill his 5p-7p slot with?
> ESPN Radio's The Fabulous Sports Babe. In tape-delay, no
> less. It was so bad that when AMFM took over, Kenny Roda
> wound up in the slot, which he's held (inexplicably) to this
> day.

Sindelar and Trivisonno went head-to-head and Sindelar lost. The only place that WKNR ever had any ratings to speak of (with the notable exception of Jim Rome, was in or immediately adjacent to the Indians game.

>
> Opie & Anthony on WXTM/92.3 did themselves in with the
> sex-in-a-Catholic-Church stunt, don't anyone forget THAT.
> But if they didn't do that, and were still around today,
> Triv would have been completely dethroned.

Again, O&A went head-to-head with Trivisonno and while they were contenders, they were nowhere near "dethroning" him.

>
> I guess you can go back to the 70's and Gary Dee with his
> several stints at WERE, WWWE and WHK. Plus Pete Franklin at
> WWWE. George Forbes at WERE. Lanigan at the old WGAR/1220.

I agree... they were also genuine "go-to" personalities. In their heydays, I would also put Larry Morrow, Tom Armstrong, Ted Hallaman, Bob James, Fig Newton, Joe Finan, Jeff & Flash, Kid Leo, and a couple more I've probably overlooked also were members of that club. I would also probably add Trapper Jack to that list as well.

> Yes, Triv > somehow has the ablity to gain a following.

That was my point. Perfect execution of formatics is not always the ticket to a win in the ratings. Many of the most successful personalities and stations have always broken the rules and won big.
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

> Again, O&A went head-to-head with Trivisonno and while they
> were contenders, they were nowhere near "dethroning" him.

I'm not sure how you define "dethrone", but I seem to recall that O&A did take over the #1 overall slot from Triv while they were on here, in more than one book. It was a big deal, as I recall.

Of course, O&A blew their show up with that SITC thing, and there's no way to tell if they'd have held onto the ratings they got in Cleveland or anywhere else...if they'd have held onto their show. So perhaps "dethrone" is a bit of a stretch, but they did overcome him at some point.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

> that O&A did take over the #1 overall slot from Triv while
> they were on here, in more than one book. It was a big
> deal, as I recall.
>
Never happened. I've seen the numbers. O&A were never even close. There were two occasions in the last 8 or 9 years that Trivisonno wasn't #1 and both were virtual ties... one with WMJI, andother with WGAR. Both were the results of Trivisonno taking a one book downward spike while the other stations had up books. In both cases, everything was back to normal the next book. Because of Arbitron's archaic methodology (not that it was that great back 35 years ago when it was "state of the art") and just plain statistical wobble, all stations will get unusual upward or downward spikes from time to time. Yes, much was made of it... but 90 days later it was a non-issue.
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

> Never happened. I've seen the numbers. O&A were never even
> close.

That piece of information was widely distributed, and believed, at the time. Where did this come from, if indeed it is not true?

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

> > that O&A did take over the #1 overall slot from Triv while
>
> > they were on here, in more than one book. It was a big
> > deal, as I recall.
> >
> Never happened. I've seen the numbers. O&A were never even
> close. There were two occasions in the last 8 or 9 years
> that Trivisonno wasn't #1 and both were virtual ties... one
> with WMJI, andother with WGAR. Both were the results of
> Trivisonno taking a one book downward spike while the other
> stations had up books. In both cases, everything was back
> to normal the next book. Because of Arbitron's archaic
> methodology (not that it was that great back 35 years ago
> when it was "state of the art") and just plain statistical
> wobble, all stations will get unusual upward or downward
> spikes from time to time. Yes, much was made of it... but
> 90 days later it was a non-issue.
>


I don't remember exactly, but I believe that O & A were #1 men 18-49 or #1 men 25-54....something like that. Those are demos that were always won by Triv. Triv still won #1 12+, but he was damaged in his key demos. Someone must have the numbers.

Ironic that you mention Scott Howitt (WMJI) and Danny Wright (WGAR) as being the only people who seriously challenged Triv for #1 12+. They were both fired.
Gosh....wonder why?
 
Re: As Much As I Hate To Give Triv Props...

There were two occasions in the last 8 or 9 years
> that Trivisonno wasn't #1 and both were virtual ties... one
> with WMJI, andother with WGAR.

Two CC-owned stations that canned their PM talent.

Yes, much was made of it... but
> 90 days later it was a non-issue.
>
Except to the two that got canned.

------
All I am trying to say is that it is a shame that CC has chosen Triv as the host worth protecting in the afternoon. If there was a show worth listening to that had access to the Tribe, Browns and Cavs like WTAM does, radio in Cleveland would be much, much better off.
------
Are any of the talents let go by CC on a par with the others you listed? Of course not, that is why they were doing PM Drive in Cleveland for CC and not in larger markets or on another shift.
------
As simply as I can state it, if you take all of the members of the "B-team" (some of whom have beaten the "A-team") and eliminate them, the "A-team" grows in audience. Maybe not by leaps and bounds, but slowly over time. Combine that with the access to the Tribe, Browns and Cavs and you win...no matter how low the quality drops.
 
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