I just finished listening to the 7:30 AM news on WILK. It consisted of a story lifted from WNEP, with attribution. It was followed by a story lifted from the newspaper, with attribution. The rest of the 'cast was filled with wire copy and network stories. Nothing against Bud Brown. He has nothing to work with. What happened to radio news in this market?
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Morning News
- Thread starter NigelWick
- Start date
3
31POWER
Guest
> I just finished listening to the 7:30 AM news on WILK. It
> consisted of a story lifted from WNEP, with attribution. It
> was followed by a story lifted from the newspaper, with
> attribution. The rest of the 'cast was filled with wire
> copy and network stories. Nothing against Bud Brown. He
> has nothing to work with. What happened to radio news in
> this market?
>
It is sad to see that the bean counters have killed what made our industry great. You have to be with it, you can only ripoff other outlets so long ... soon we will wake up and wave to the train as it passes us by.....The other opportunities for infotainment and commentary are vast and only going to fragment the market even more.... Have a great day!!!!!!!!!
> consisted of a story lifted from WNEP, with attribution. It
> was followed by a story lifted from the newspaper, with
> attribution. The rest of the 'cast was filled with wire
> copy and network stories. Nothing against Bud Brown. He
> has nothing to work with. What happened to radio news in
> this market?
>
It is sad to see that the bean counters have killed what made our industry great. You have to be with it, you can only ripoff other outlets so long ... soon we will wake up and wave to the train as it passes us by.....The other opportunities for infotainment and commentary are vast and only going to fragment the market even more.... Have a great day!!!!!!!!!
Y
yonkstur
Guest
> > I just finished listening to the 7:30 AM news on WILK. It
>
> > consisted of a story lifted from WNEP, with attribution.
> It
> > was followed by a story lifted from the newspaper, with
> > attribution. The rest of the 'cast was filled with wire
> > copy and network stories. Nothing against Bud Brown. He
> > has nothing to work with. What happened to radio news in
> > this market?
> >
> It is sad to see that the bean counters have killed what
> made our industry great. You have to be with it, you can
> only ripoff other outlets so long ... soon we will wake up
> and wave to the train as it passes us by.....The other
> opportunities for infotainment and commentary are vast and
> only going to fragment the market even more.... Have a great
> day!!!!!!!!!
>
The bar has gotten lower. Way lower. No one, not even
Shamrock who has multiple news sources via their newspaper
empire is even making an attempt because they view news as
a luxury, or worse yet, a ratings killer. It's funny when
WICK, which I love, is promoting themselves as the largest
radio news organization in the market. Are they besting WILK
by 1/2 a guy? Even WVIA FM, a public radio station
is failing to deliver in this market. Pamela Talbot seems
hellbent on imitating Rita Crosby with her voice but you need
more than presentation to make a 2 day old story interesting.
Bud does a great job with what he has but the fault lies in
the corporations who "bottom line" everything. "Community
Service" or the words "loss leader" is not only in their
vocabulary but not even a fleeting thought in their heads.
I think the haycion days of news departments competing against
each other, WARM's Jerry Heller, WBAX's David Kush, WILK's
Kevin Jordan and WMJW's David DeCosmo are like WARM's
"Sensational 7", a fleeting moment in time remembered by
many, cherished by a few and forgotten by the majority.
Yonkstur
>
> > consisted of a story lifted from WNEP, with attribution.
> It
> > was followed by a story lifted from the newspaper, with
> > attribution. The rest of the 'cast was filled with wire
> > copy and network stories. Nothing against Bud Brown. He
> > has nothing to work with. What happened to radio news in
> > this market?
> >
> It is sad to see that the bean counters have killed what
> made our industry great. You have to be with it, you can
> only ripoff other outlets so long ... soon we will wake up
> and wave to the train as it passes us by.....The other
> opportunities for infotainment and commentary are vast and
> only going to fragment the market even more.... Have a great
> day!!!!!!!!!
>
The bar has gotten lower. Way lower. No one, not even
Shamrock who has multiple news sources via their newspaper
empire is even making an attempt because they view news as
a luxury, or worse yet, a ratings killer. It's funny when
WICK, which I love, is promoting themselves as the largest
radio news organization in the market. Are they besting WILK
by 1/2 a guy? Even WVIA FM, a public radio station
is failing to deliver in this market. Pamela Talbot seems
hellbent on imitating Rita Crosby with her voice but you need
more than presentation to make a 2 day old story interesting.
Bud does a great job with what he has but the fault lies in
the corporations who "bottom line" everything. "Community
Service" or the words "loss leader" is not only in their
vocabulary but not even a fleeting thought in their heads.
I think the haycion days of news departments competing against
each other, WARM's Jerry Heller, WBAX's David Kush, WILK's
Kevin Jordan and WMJW's David DeCosmo are like WARM's
"Sensational 7", a fleeting moment in time remembered by
many, cherished by a few and forgotten by the majority.
Yonkstur
T
TomCarten
Guest
What does anyone expect around here? I watch WBRE news and it's filled with stuff that's in the morning's CV -- which means it happened the day before. Actually, the only time I watch 28 is when The Daily Show is on vacation; why miss TDS at night when I've already read the news in the morning?<P ID="signature">______________
Use "Radio-Info" in e-mail subject line.</P>
Use "Radio-Info" in e-mail subject line.</P>
Y
yonkstur
Guest
> What does anyone expect around here? I watch WBRE news and
> it's filled with stuff that's in the morning's CV -- which
> means it happened the day before. Actually, the only time I
> watch 28 is when The Daily Show is on vacation; why miss TDS
> at night when I've already read the news in the morning?
>
And let's not forget the complete dearth of proper English,
pronunciation and facts attached to a story. Don't you love it
when they cover a story like, "3 men were killed today in
Cleveland when a wild animal attacked them in a rib joint.
Police said the men provoked the animal". That it, on to
the next story.
What type of wild animal was it? Why was it in a rib joint?
How did it get to the rib joint? Was there a connection to
the guys in the restaurant and the animal? How was it
provoked? I have lost my voice more than once yelling
those questions at the TV.
Yonkstur
> it's filled with stuff that's in the morning's CV -- which
> means it happened the day before. Actually, the only time I
> watch 28 is when The Daily Show is on vacation; why miss TDS
> at night when I've already read the news in the morning?
>
And let's not forget the complete dearth of proper English,
pronunciation and facts attached to a story. Don't you love it
when they cover a story like, "3 men were killed today in
Cleveland when a wild animal attacked them in a rib joint.
Police said the men provoked the animal". That it, on to
the next story.
What type of wild animal was it? Why was it in a rib joint?
How did it get to the rib joint? Was there a connection to
the guys in the restaurant and the animal? How was it
provoked? I have lost my voice more than once yelling
those questions at the TV.
Yonkstur
N
NokmoTrue
Guest
> I have lost my voice more than once yelling
> those questions at the TV.
> Yonkstur
Yeah but that's the thing Yonk, you and some of the folks who opine here who are by and large those involved in the business in one way or another, do... but most people DON'T yell those questions at the TV. They turn on the TV and it's like a mind ray and they just watch. They watch and they take what they get and that's good enough. Joe Viewer-Listener? Gorilla in Cleveland? Who cares? Next story. And ya know, you watch enough TV and it somehow truncates the attention span not to mention lowers expectations. The more you watch, the more you can watch...without yelling those questions at the TV.
So in a roundabout way, that's why morning radio news is viewed as not worth sinking a lot of money into.
> those questions at the TV.
> Yonkstur
Yeah but that's the thing Yonk, you and some of the folks who opine here who are by and large those involved in the business in one way or another, do... but most people DON'T yell those questions at the TV. They turn on the TV and it's like a mind ray and they just watch. They watch and they take what they get and that's good enough. Joe Viewer-Listener? Gorilla in Cleveland? Who cares? Next story. And ya know, you watch enough TV and it somehow truncates the attention span not to mention lowers expectations. The more you watch, the more you can watch...without yelling those questions at the TV.
So in a roundabout way, that's why morning radio news is viewed as not worth sinking a lot of money into.
N
namenotneeded
Guest
It surprises me that all-news radio can't survive here. You'd think this market would be perfect for it, but apparently not. Sunbury, a tiny Arbitron market, is somehow able to support a decent all-news station (WKOK). Why can't Wilkes-Barre/Scranton do the same?
> > I have lost my voice more than once yelling
> > those questions at the TV.
> > Yonkstur
>
> Yeah but that's the thing Yonk, you and some of the folks
> who opine here who are by and large those involved in the
> business in one way or another, do... but most people DON'T
> yell those questions at the TV. They turn on the TV and it's
> like a mind ray and they just watch. They watch and they
> take what they get and that's good enough. Joe
> Viewer-Listener? Gorilla in Cleveland? Who cares? Next
> story. And ya know, you watch enough TV and it somehow
> truncates the attention span not to mention lowers
> expectations. The more you watch, the more you can
> watch...without yelling those questions at the TV.
>
> So in a roundabout way, that's why morning radio news is
> viewed as not worth sinking a lot of money into.
>
This is what our problems are all about. This started as a discussion of a radio issue. It evolved in to a television thread. If we don't want to come up with a solution to our own problems, we're in big trouble.
> > those questions at the TV.
> > Yonkstur
>
> Yeah but that's the thing Yonk, you and some of the folks
> who opine here who are by and large those involved in the
> business in one way or another, do... but most people DON'T
> yell those questions at the TV. They turn on the TV and it's
> like a mind ray and they just watch. They watch and they
> take what they get and that's good enough. Joe
> Viewer-Listener? Gorilla in Cleveland? Who cares? Next
> story. And ya know, you watch enough TV and it somehow
> truncates the attention span not to mention lowers
> expectations. The more you watch, the more you can
> watch...without yelling those questions at the TV.
>
> So in a roundabout way, that's why morning radio news is
> viewed as not worth sinking a lot of money into.
>
This is what our problems are all about. This started as a discussion of a radio issue. It evolved in to a television thread. If we don't want to come up with a solution to our own problems, we're in big trouble.
N
NokmoTrue
Guest
> It surprises me that all-news radio can't survive here.
> You'd think this market would be perfect for it, but
> apparently not. Sunbury, a tiny Arbitron market, is somehow
> able to support a decent all-news station (WKOK). Why can't
> Wilkes-Barre/Scranton do the same?
They're afraid. Even if market research showed that it would be viable, when you get right down to it everyone knows that market research and the consultants that come with it are a crapshoot.
> You'd think this market would be perfect for it, but
> apparently not. Sunbury, a tiny Arbitron market, is somehow
> able to support a decent all-news station (WKOK). Why can't
> Wilkes-Barre/Scranton do the same?
They're afraid. Even if market research showed that it would be viable, when you get right down to it everyone knows that market research and the consultants that come with it are a crapshoot.
Y
yonkstur
Guest
> > > >
> This is what our problems are all about. This started as a
> discussion of a radio issue. It evolved in to a television
> thread. If we don't want to come up with a solution to our
> own problems, we're in big trouble.
>
Hey, it's all interconnected. Mediocre education begets
medicore graduates who can't or won't stand up to the
standards of days gone by. It's not only radio, it's the
dumbing down of our culture. The media no longer reports
the news with facts, it reports what might happen. It's not
a radio problem, but a communications concern.
We fix it by getting a corporation to believe in a local
news product, but how can they when the
CEO's and the people in power have no conception of quality.
They have no conception because they were never exposed
to it.
Yonkstur
> This is what our problems are all about. This started as a
> discussion of a radio issue. It evolved in to a television
> thread. If we don't want to come up with a solution to our
> own problems, we're in big trouble.
>
Hey, it's all interconnected. Mediocre education begets
medicore graduates who can't or won't stand up to the
standards of days gone by. It's not only radio, it's the
dumbing down of our culture. The media no longer reports
the news with facts, it reports what might happen. It's not
a radio problem, but a communications concern.
We fix it by getting a corporation to believe in a local
news product, but how can they when the
CEO's and the people in power have no conception of quality.
They have no conception because they were never exposed
to it.
Yonkstur
J
JAFO
Guest
> This is what our problems are all about. This started as a
> discussion of a radio issue. It evolved in to a television
> thread. If we don't want to come up with a solution to our
> own problems, we're in big trouble.
>
I agree, Nigel. I think the main problem is that we all KNOW what's wrong. It's just that none of us are in any position to do anything about it.
We're either not in management positions or, in many cases, not even in the business anymore. Those of us who may be in management may have their hands tied....who knows???
We all long for the days when WARM had a full-time news staff including street reporters, but they weren't bringing in enough revenue to support it.
I, for one, am also very surprised the news/talk format hasn't taken off.
I think it will be up to the smaller stations to take the initiative and try to integrate it back into the market. Maybe Bold Gold will take the step...but I also think they want to keep The River music-heavy....maybe on the AM.
> discussion of a radio issue. It evolved in to a television
> thread. If we don't want to come up with a solution to our
> own problems, we're in big trouble.
>
I agree, Nigel. I think the main problem is that we all KNOW what's wrong. It's just that none of us are in any position to do anything about it.
We're either not in management positions or, in many cases, not even in the business anymore. Those of us who may be in management may have their hands tied....who knows???
We all long for the days when WARM had a full-time news staff including street reporters, but they weren't bringing in enough revenue to support it.
I, for one, am also very surprised the news/talk format hasn't taken off.
I think it will be up to the smaller stations to take the initiative and try to integrate it back into the market. Maybe Bold Gold will take the step...but I also think they want to keep The River music-heavy....maybe on the AM.
T
TomCarten
Guest
>>>If we don't want to come up with a solution to our own problems, we're in big trouble.<<<
Do people have the time and/or attention span these days for a carefully prepared and full-lentgh (3-5 minutes) newscast? When I was growing up, we did. Families were more orderly --at least ours was-- and we could listen to Jack Sterling, John B. Gambling, or Bob Crane and some news. And the news mattered to everyone. Granted, there was a war on (not of our making) and we needed to know what was happening; that may have made a difference.
<P ID="signature">______________
Use "Radio-Info" in e-mail subject line.</P>
Do people have the time and/or attention span these days for a carefully prepared and full-lentgh (3-5 minutes) newscast? When I was growing up, we did. Families were more orderly --at least ours was-- and we could listen to Jack Sterling, John B. Gambling, or Bob Crane and some news. And the news mattered to everyone. Granted, there was a war on (not of our making) and we needed to know what was happening; that may have made a difference.
<P ID="signature">______________
Use "Radio-Info" in e-mail subject line.</P>
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