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Monthly Arbitron rankings in Atlanta. Praise, Fish, Regular Guys, GST up

Once again, The Bull finishes out of the money in all demos, dropping even further.

Justify the incineration of one of the few market-grade signals for a format for which there never was a hole. The $20 million in cash flow lost re-branding from Peach to Lite to The Bull. The people who lost jobs because of it. The way Project was thrown under the bus when the Braves were re-tasked to 96.1.
 
bnaivar said:
How the Hell did WGST crack the top 20 in 6+? ???
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I believe that is during the Beck/Limbaugh hours... once you've heard everything Clark has to say once (or twice), there is no need to listen any longer.
 
WSB is suffering from Boortz and others taking a lot of time off in February. Boortz's less than stellar fill-in coverage is career securing for Boortz, but very dull for listeners- and the general "same thing every day" dullness. The energy and spark is not what it used to be over there.

Moving to Florida and effectively retiring is about a third of what he talks about now. Sure, he's earned it. But he's simultaneously saying how awful the country is right now, and how comfy he is personally. It's a weird message.

Not sure how GST is escaping that same fate with Rush and Beck though.
 
nightmanager said:
WSB is suffering from Boortz and others taking a lot of time off in February. Boortz's less than stellar fill-in coverage is career securing for Boortz, but very dull for listeners- and the general "same thing every day" dullness. The energy and spark is not what it used to be over there.

Moving to Florida and effectively retiring is about a third of what he talks about now. Sure, he's earned it. But he's simultaneously saying how awful the country is right now, and how comfy he is personally. It's a weird message.

Not sure how GST is escaping that same fate with Rush and Beck though.
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I've been listening to Beck more than Boortz. Boortz seemed to have lost his mojo a few years back, while Beck seems to have undergone a transformation from the dry wannabe he used to be to someone who can talk engagingly about issues (although some of Beck's monologues go off in a conspiracyish direction more appropriate for Kook To Kook AM).

Boortz is almost becoming an older, AM, G-rated version of Howard Stern, where the show becomes a radio bull session of inside topics, versus discussing various political/current events topics. And he still has that baby boomer affliction of periodically bashing those younger than him as being Not Worthy. Is this what the boomers will all become when they reach Grumpy Old Man age?

I like Herman Cain, but I do admit he is repetitive. Is he (or someone) not doing his show prep to give him a wide and deep slate of things to discuss? Great talent on the air, but his show prep is horrid. You can't make a 3-hour show out of the FairTax and small business issues, day in and day out.

Rush usually has top-notch substitutes, like Walter Williams and Mark Steyn.
 
The news article said "the Groove had fewer people listening for a longer period of time." Could this be because their all over the map music format is not really turning anybody on? You hear one or two songs you like and then it's "Funky Cold Medina" time again.
 
nightmanager said:
WSB is suffering from Boortz and others taking a lot of time off in February. Boortz's less than stellar fill-in coverage is career securing for Boortz, but very dull for listeners- and the general "same thing every day" dullness. The energy and spark is not what it used to be over there.

Moving to Florida and effectively retiring is about a third of what he talks about now. Sure, he's earned it. But he's simultaneously saying how awful the country is right now, and how comfy he is personally. It's a weird message.

Not sure how GST is escaping that same fate with Rush and Beck though.
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WSB is suffering from Boortz being on the air. And Clark, too. Those two clowns are bringing the station down, while the news numbers keep staying up. Look for some "retirement" announcements soon.
 
it's the Tax Man thing (Beatles).
Boortz and Limbaugh "have to" spend
51% of their time in the Flamingo state
to avoid (not evade) income taxes.
i would, too, if i could.
Koo koo kachoo.
 
carnivaltrash said:
WSB is suffering from Boortz being on the air. And Clark, too. Those two clowns are bringing the station down, while the news numbers keep staying up. Look for some "retirement" announcements soon.
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Meanwhile, the AJC has hired Boortz to do a weekly opinion column where he rehashes radio segments he did a couple of days earlier or he just recycles random thoughts he had 10 years ago.

And the newspapers wonder why their subscribers are fleeing in droves.
 
carnivaltrash said:
WSB is suffering from Boortz being on the air. And Clark, too. Those two clowns are bringing the station down, while the news numbers keep staying up. Look for some "retirement" announcements soon.
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Does someone have the actual numbers? I'd like to see how Boortz is trending vs. Beck and Rush and Clark Howard vs. Rush and Dave Ramsey. Of course, Howard and Ramsey have been repetitive for years, as opposed to the folks in the AM.
 
carnivaltrash said:
nightmanager said:
WSB is suffering from Boortz and others taking a lot of time off in February. Boortz's less than stellar fill-in coverage is career securing for Boortz, but very dull for listeners- and the general "same thing every day" dullness. The energy and spark is not what it used to be over there.

Moving to Florida and effectively retiring is about a third of what he talks about now. Sure, he's earned it. But he's simultaneously saying how awful the country is right now, and how comfy he is personally. It's a weird message.

Not sure how GST is escaping that same fate with Rush and Beck though.
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WSB is suffering from Boortz being on the air. And Clark, too. Those two clowns are bringing the station down, while the news numbers keep staying up. Look for some "retirement" announcements soon.
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With that huge signal and a morning news block already in place, WSB's next logical step would be to pull the trigger and give this market it's first full power, quality all news radio station. With the WSB-TV news gathering infrastructure already in place, the only thing they'd need are anchors. Lynne Russel comes to mind. So does David Goodnow and Mark Losure. The former Headline News dream team. Based on the CBS newsradio model I think they'd have a decent shot at success. Move the talkers over to an underperforming FM signal and simulcast the morning news block. All news operations are some of the highest billing in the country, and removing the political slant, clients that wouldn't place a buy before wouldn't automatically exclude them.

Risky proposition? Yes, and no. With Boortz on the verge of retirement and Clark moving into TV, they're going to have to do something in the not too distant future. Atlanta is a news hungry town, but sadly, has never had a viable outlet. As a huge fan of WCBS-AM, WTOP-FM and WBBM Chicago, I would certainly have it on 24/7. At the very least, they should leverage the news gathering assets they have and do it on FM.

Agree? Disagree?
 
Top ten markets all news stations with ratings rank:

1. New York #4 WCBS-AM
#8 WINS-AM
2. Los Angeles #11 KNX-AM
3. Chicago #1 WBBM-AM
4. San Francisco #1 KCBS-AM & KFRC-FM
5. Dallas/Ft. Worth none
6. Houston none
7. Atlanta none
8. Philadelphia #2 KYW-AM
9. Washington DC #1 WTOP-FM
10. Boston #2 WBZ-AM (news day w/talk overnight)

I wonder if WSB might follow the model of WBZ-AM in Boston. They broadcast all news 5AM-8PM and talk overnights (slighty different schedule on weekends). The morning show on WSB is done at too fast a pace to keep up all day. Also, it repeats too much. The CBS news stations and Bonneville uses a slightly slower pace and lots of features mixed in. I especially enjoy WTOP-FM because they have so many different contributors from newspapers and magazines.
 
InSearchOfGear said:
Atlanta is a news hungry town, but sadly, has never had a viable outlet.
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WGST from the Newsradio 92 through the pre-Planet Radio "News Monster" days held its own, both in quality and ratings. Although they haven't been all-news since the 1980s when they started carrying Rush, Boortz, and Howard.

If news sells, though, why doesn't one of the third-tier talkers, like WGKA or WCFO, flip to a canned, network-fed news format, maybe with some local full-service radio to flesh it out? 680 was also all-news when they flipped from all-talk WRNG Ring Radio to WCNN, using the CNN2 (now Headline News) feed, hence the call letters. When Cox was LMAing WCNN from Dickey/Midwestern, they also tried an all-news format on them again, with Tom Hughes to boot after he got fired from WGST, and tried to sell spots using the WSB sales staff. Why did they disappear? If Cox couldn't do all-news on ATL's second best AM signal, who possibly could?
 
With that huge signal and a morning news block already in place, WSB's next logical step would be to pull the trigger and give this market it's first full power, quality all news radio station. With the WSB-TV news gathering infrastructure already in place, the only thing they'd need are anchors. Lynne Russel comes to mind. So does David Goodnow and Mark Losure. The former Headline News dream team. Based on the CBS newsradio model I think they'd have a decent shot at success. Move the talkers over to an underperforming FM signal and simulcast the morning news block. All news operations are some of the highest billing in the country, and removing the political slant, clients that wouldn't place a buy before wouldn't automatically exclude them.

Risky proposition? Yes, and no. With Boortz on the verge of retirement and Clark moving into TV, they're going to have to do something in the not too distant future. Atlanta is a news hungry town, but sadly, has never had a viable outlet. As a huge fan of WCBS-AM, WTOP-FM and WBBM Chicago, I would certainly have it on 24/7. At the very least, they should leverage the news gathering assets they have and do it on FM.

Agree? Disagree?
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The assumption is that Atlanta is a "news hungry town." Maybe, but what town isn't? And why is that justification to blow up a successful talk radio station to change to all-news in a time where winning brands are valuable and there was no need for an all-news format in this "news hungry" town BEFORE the internet served that need.

The assumption is that the Headline News "Dream Team" is just that instead of what it really was; a low-rated group of teleprompter readers from twenty years ago who are rarely seen today.

Granting all these assumptions, how much more revenue would they make by going all-news and would this occur on day, or even year one in an economy that is on the verge of cratering? The answers are: not much and no. Else they'd have done it.

Formats are not designed for public utility or art. They are designed to attract listeners first. Other considerations are secondary. Also, one might note that the way forward for WSB or any radio station is to nurture new brands and stars as the older ones crest, not reproduce a stale and superficial news format that gives none of the human scope and context that talk radio does.

When Boortz and Clark leave, there are plenty of talents ready to take their places.
 
Mr. Bass. 1st off, and I know it's really difficult to tell on these boards some time, I'm not a radio geek airing pipe dreams. I'm actually IN the business. WAY in the business, so please dispense with the condescending tone.

2nd, I never ever ever ever suggested that WSB blow up the talk format. Re-read the post. It was a forward looking statement. WSB's audience is graying quickly and so are their hosts. It's not gonna last forever. If the economy isn't better a few years down the road when they might want to consider this kind of move, it won't matter what the format is.

With regard to the HNN "Dreamteam", all of the aformentioned people came from New Radio. Close your eyes and listen to the delivery. Hear it? No doubt their acts did not translate to the small screen very well. Not exactly a bunch with oodles of charisma, but they do have 2 really good selling points. They're all still local, and they have a "name", and they're certainly no worse than 100 other radio news talents they could get. Radio no longer just sells on ratings. It markets perception.

And besides, even at her age, Lynne Russel is still hot. ;-)
 
seabass said:
Also, one might note that the way forward for WSB or any radio station is to nurture new brands and stars as the older ones crest, not reproduce a stale and superficial news format that gives none of the human scope and context that talk radio does.

When Boortz and Clark leave, there are plenty of talents ready to take their places.
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Radio companies looking for or developing new talent?  Now THAT is the funniest thing I've heard in a hell of a long time.
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