New FM News Station

[radiogooroo]

They weren't tuning J. P and Lana out. They were tuning KTRH out. Those two did an excellent moring news show for years; until someone started monkeying around with the format. You gradually heard less and less real news and more non-news fluff and fill material.

Well, we'll get to see if this assertion is correct or not soon enough, won't we?

 

[equalinercard]

Would the listeners support it? If done correctly, Yes!

Would the advertisers support it? same answer!

Will anyone do it? Highly unlikely because of the start up costs! Only CC with KTRH has a reasonably close assemblege of bodies/talent in place because of KTRH, but they have no FM to put it on. KODA, KTBZ and KKRW are all profitable (KODA and KTBZ ooze cash flow). Yes, the debate on KKRW versus Eagle could come into play here, but they won't sacrifice the profitability of KKRW for a shot at news. Beside, except at WLW, that company doesn't have any expertise in the format.

CBS does have the expertise, and the money to do it (plus that would put Mix out of it's misery) but won't, again because of the start up.

Bonneville (now Hubbard) launched their news station in DC with plenty of funding for everything, people, gear, vehicles, marketing, etc. And they waited for a few years to reap the profits. They could because they were a private company not subject to the scrutiny of CBS shareholders, nor the scrutiny and impatience of the flash drive mentality of the Thomas Bain MBAs. Hubbards success in DC has made all these also rans THINK they can do it, but they never reviewed the costs, the waiting period and the amount of red ink bleeding until it takes hold.

Dream on, but it will probably not happen here.

Bonneville did NOT launch an all-news station in Washington D.C.

WTOP was an all-talk radio station at 1500 AM owned by the Washington Post.

In the late 1960's The Washington Post flipped WTOP-AM from talk to all news. It had a great deal of success as an all-news station on the AM band and the Washington Post eventually got out of the radio business.

WTOP-AM went thru several ownership changes, but always remained an all-news station since it's format flip in the late 60's.

Bonneville purchased the station in the early 90's and because the suburbs had grown so dramatically in the DC area, the AM signal was no longer reaching many important suburban communities, especially on night pattern. So Bonneville began simulcasting on an FM signal and eventually moved entirely to FM.

But the all-news format on WTOP was in place long before Bonneville owned the stations.

 

[schmave]

They weren't tuning J. P and Lana out. They were tuning KTRH out. Those two did an excellent moring news show for years; until someone started monkeying around with the format. You gradually heard less and less real news and more non-news fluff and fill material.

I noticed it just in the two years (2007-09) that I lived there. KTRH became unlistenable for me outside Astros games.

 

[radiogooroo]

I noticed it just in the two years (2007-09) that I lived there. KTRH became unlistenable for me outside Astros games.

And it's unlistenable for me during Astros games. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Drucifer]

We can split hairs for a hundred years over the success, necessity, ratings, revenue, the power, whatever for AM right-wing talk. Houston has an abundance of this crap (IMHO) on Clear Channel's talkers and even on some of the non-Clear Channel talkers in this market. There is an audience for News/Traffic/Weather on the radio. There is an audience in every big market in the country and most do well. Clear Channel has slowly and systematically destroyed KTRH as a legendary news outlet. It started some years ago when Erickson and company began downsizing the news department and continued when ego's like Michael Berry swept into management positions further dismantling the newsroom in favor of lunatic's like Glenn Beck and making even more room for Berry's oversized ego.

It doesn't matter to me, anymore, what KTRH does. I have not listened to them outside of AM drive for several years and have not listened outside of morning drive since Lana and J.P. left except for one morning for all of 20 minutes to hear Matt Patrick and Lois (whatshername) talk about superhero costumes and what color lipstick she should wear to some event. KTRH is crap. It provides nothing outside of right wing flame baiting that, at this point, is ponderous and boring.

Unless this start up falls flat on it's face (bad producing, reporting, clocks, anchoring), I don't see it failing...at all. The talent alone is enough to get it started with instant credibility and is certainly enough for me to give it a listen and pre-sets on my radio. For 92.1 to succeed, it was have to be dependable and I have no doubt that's where they are headed!

 

[gabigley1]

Alot of buzz about a new FM news station coming soon to H-town. Word is Radio One is flipping Praise FM to all news format and hiring ex KTRH staffers including JP & Lana. Look out Clear Channel!

Found this article and this quote is of interest to me:

http://houston.culturemap.com/newsd...24-hour-all-news-radio-station-comes-to-life/

A DREAM TEAM ROSTER

With Texas radio legends J.P. Pritchard & Lana Hughes on board, a new 24-hour, all-news radio station comes to life
By Whitney Radley
11.07.11

The team met in secret for three months, before coming out into the open with the plans in late October. The energy level is high as anchors, reporters and technicians prepare for Saturday's broadcast debut of the new News 92 Radio station.

My point, this was a secret until late late October. The readers of this thread knew about this at least three weeks in advanced. How many believed this when it was first posted here on this thread? Not ME!!!

 

[gabigley1]

What time will the station sigh on the air for the first time?

 

[johndavis]

What time will the station sigh on the air for the first time?

Per Lanny Griffith's post on Facebook, 11/17 at 5 AM.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Would the listeners support it? If done correctly, Yes!

Would the advertisers support it? same answer!

Will anyone do it? Highly unlikely because of the start up costs! Only CC with KTRH has a reasonably close assemblege of bodies/talent in place because of KTRH, but they have no FM to put it on. KODA, KTBZ and KKRW are all profitable (KODA and KTBZ ooze cash flow). Yes, the debate on KKRW versus Eagle could come into play here, but they won't sacrifice the profitability of KKRW for a shot at news. Beside, except at WLW, that company doesn't have any expertise in the format.

CBS does have the expertise, and the money to do it (plus that would put Mix out of it's misery) but won't, again because of the start up.

Bonneville (now Hubbard) launched their news station in DC with plenty of funding for everything, people, gear, vehicles, marketing, etc. And they waited for a few years to reap the profits. They could because they were a private company not subject to the scrutiny of CBS shareholders, nor the scrutiny and impatience of the flash drive mentality of the Thomas Bain MBAs. Hubbards success in DC has made all these also rans THINK they can do it, but they never reviewed the costs, the waiting period and the amount of red ink bleeding until it takes hold.

Dream on, but it will probably not happen here.

Bonneville did NOT launch an all-news station in Washington D.C.

WTOP was an all-talk radio station at 1500 AM owned by the Washington Post.

In the late 1960's The Washington Post flipped WTOP-AM from talk to all news. It had a great deal of success as an all-news station on the AM band and the Washington Post eventually got out of the radio business.

WTOP-AM went thru several ownership changes, but always remained an all-news station since it's format flip in the late 60's.

Bonneville purchased the station in the early 90's and because the suburbs had grown so dramatically in the DC area, the AM signal was no longer reaching many important suburban communities, especially on night pattern. So Bonneville began simulcasting on an FM signal and eventually moved entirely to FM.

But the all-news format on WTOP was in place long before Bonneville owned the stations.

WTOP moved exclusively to FM for two reasons:

1) The AM 1500 signal, even at 50,000 watts, is highly directional and greatly compromised to the west of DC, and misses the fast-growing suburbs in Northern Virginia.

2) It replaced WGMS, a classical music station that, while still in the Top 10 overall, naturally had the problems all commercially-run classical music stations face. (WGMS itself moved to a pair of rimshot signals, and its' intellectual property eventually wound up in the hands of the market's primary NPR member station.)

But the results speak for themselves. WTOP is the top-rated (pun intended) station in the market, and now has the highest billing of any station in the country by a wide margin. So much so that CBS has even considered either launching a competing FM all-newser in DC, or re-acquiring WTOP (which was a CBS O&O in the 30s, 40s and early 50s, prior to the WaPo).