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My, How Times Have Changed!

S

soundesigner

There was a time when New Orleans was considered a significant radio market; big talent was incubated in the Crescent City and many a well-known radio jock passed through New Orleans on the way up (or sometimes down). Some radio formats had their starts--or at least their infancies--in New Orleans radio: think WTIX's role in the development of Top 40 or the "flowering" of rock on FM via WWOM-FM; heck...go back even further to WWL's Blue Room broadcasts on CBS.

So, now...what's New Orleans radio offering? An amalgam of corporate-programmed sludge, pass-throughs of syndicated shows, and a few oases of "real" radio?

To top it off, here on Radio-Info.com, while some radio markets with far less broadcasting heritage--and in some cases smaller size--than New Orleans garner their own sections, the Big Greasy rates "For discussion of radio in New Orleans and all of Louisiana" in the States section.

Mind you, I'm not doing the usual inferiority/superiority complex thing that many Orleanians exhibit when talking about their city; I'm not sure New Orleans radio rates a section of its own. And, maybe there is no significance to this at all...but, it somehow seems an indirect commentary on the state of radio in New Orleans that it is classified on this forum in the way that it is.

Thoughts?
 
I live in Northeast Louisiana and I was just commenting to someone last week about how I used to go to N.O. and listen to the radio. I actually think I have a better product that they do now...
 
I think it amounts to the amount of traffic if it warrants it's own section compared to being lumped in with the rest of Louisiana...

But I think personally corporate buy up and the homogenizing of radio nationwide is what befell NOLA... With national corporations owning basically all the stations on the FM except 2 in New Orleans (WPRF 94.9 is owned locally by , this is what you get... Cookie cutter radio, MDs who don't want to research the listener wants but waits for it to hit elsewhere before adding it.. and you wonder why we wax nostalgia on here.

Actually, Even our commercials are getting national spotlight.. The local Frankie and Johnny furniture spots that used to play adnausium on saturday and sunday afternoons just got discovered by Conan Obrian and brought nationwide attention to a New Orleans media landmark if you will

But I agree with Chris, if you find a team who may not get the big bucks but are proud of what they do and where they work at, their on-air product in the middle of farmville many times rivals and beats big town radio espcially for someone like me who is a lover of discovering new acts on my favorite stations.
 
Have we thanked Clear Channel and Cumulus lately? Let's see if we can squeeze Kid Kraddock or Ryan Seacrest in just one more market.Don;t worry about Selector,it just repeats the same 300 songs.As a proud member of the Krewe of TIX in the late 60;s, i can say radio isn't what it use to be and nowhere near the fun and good times!I remember when B 97 came on board,Mercy what a station and excellent image and programming.It had several horses come thru there,too..Fun times,no more..
 
I program an Urban (KRVV) and CHR (KNOE). I used to go to N.O. and listen to Q93 thinking how great they were. They are a shell of the station they used to be. Clear Channel did a number on them.
 
Shows what happens when I hit the button too soon

Basically in the Commercial (92-108) FM New Orleans market:
94.3 WTIX is owned basically by Michael Costello (Local owner) and GHB broadcasting (regional cluster back in NC and owns WIST)
94.9 WPRF is owned by Dowdy from Mississippi... they are a regional chain but still local
100.3 KLRZ is not targeted anymore at New Orleans but has a city grade signal and is owned by State Rep. "Truck" Gisclair
107.5 KXMG is not in the metro yet but should be by end of the year and is owned by Texas based Sunburst media that only owns the cluster centered in Houma/New Orleans area

Everyone else on the commercial dial is owned by conglomerates Clear Channel, Citadel, or Entercom
 
Great New Orleans radio...."Moonglow with Martin....a hassle of disc's and data...." Anyone remember? Hint. Was listened to by college students all over America.
 
This got me to thinking what was B97's original lineup when they dumped the disco and went full force CHR.
Cajun Ken Cooper (Reverend Shamus Onyou) in AM Drive with David Blake doing news. Ugly "Jock" Lousteau in evenings. Don't recall who else was there in the beginning, although I do recall Jack Da Whack, Terry Young, Skinny Tommy, Brother Dave Nichols, Bryan Pierce, Boomer, and Fast Eddie.
B97 in the 80's had a tight well-researched playlist, excellent production and imaging, big time contests and giveaways and the on air sound was well-processed (I saw the audio processing rack).
 
"Moonglow"...yes I listened as a High School student...smooth as glass...on WWL. Na Orlans.
And the ads for T. Pittari's made the mouth water...memories!
 
JBoyd it may inerest you to know I played for Leon Kelner in his post Blue Room years. This was at the Broadwater Beach Hotel in Biloxi, MS during 1971-1974. I learned more about music in that short time than I had learned my entire previous life.
 
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