News 92-1 is now B92

[Theater of My Mind]

I think that's a contradiction. The talent IS the execution.

Not necessarily. They have to follow the template and direction given to them. That was one of the things that doomed FM News in New York. There were some good people there being directed to do some terrible infotainment instead of real news.

Perhaps they were TOO serious, too wonky, and too hardline. That's what NPR does, and Houston already has an NPR station if people want hardline news.

NPR's style is not at all similar to top commercial all-newsers like 1010 WINS, WCBS, WTOP. NPR has very little production, a drier delivery, longer stories, more focus on foreign affairs and at the risk of stereotyping, they tend to be less mass-appeal, targeting a smaller, more intellectual audience.

 

[Drucifer]

The talent was proven and, without question, the best the market has EVER put together.

 

[frankberry]

As an Engineer, I can see that the location of their transmitter is probably a big issue. The location was a poor choice.

 

[stevenNOLA]

As an Engineer, I can see that the location of their transmitter is probably a big issue. The location was a poor choice.

Given the current transmitter location, wouldn't the signal perform better in the city (building penetration, etc.) at 100kw and 299m (C1 max), assuming spacing allows?

 

[frankberry]

The transmitter needs to be moved closer to Houston.

 

[TheBigA]

Not necessarily. They have to follow the template and direction given to them.

.

Then that's not talent. That's a script reader. REAL talent does what it knows, and that's cover the news. The people hired for FM News in NYC weren't of the same caliber as the people in Houston. If you're saying the Houston people were told to do "terrible infotainment," then maybe they weren't as good as you think. Because if I was told to do crap, I'd quit. Period. Blaming bad work on management is a cop-out.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

If you're saying the Houston people were told to do "terrible infotainment," then maybe they weren't as good as you think.

I didn't say they did terrible infotainment or that the management was bad. As I said a few posts up, I never heard the station so I was asking people in Houston how it sounded. By most accounts the talent was great, but purpledevil suggested the presentation had problems. Also, Inside Radio pointed out that they ran paid programing (infomercials) on the weekend, which could not have helped with the station's image.

I'm just trying to understand why the format failed in market #6 when it does so well in other major markets.

 

[rageradio]

Yeah that's not going to happen.

 

[scotiafilio]

A great many of these people who've been laid off worked at KTRH Newsradio for many years until Clear Channel bought it. They are all experienced radio veterans who did their jobs precisely the way management wanted it done. They had to use tightly written format language to get into and out of news segments and ad libbing was forbidden. I know this is true because I was there too as an anchor, reporter and editor. Even with those on-air constraints, KTRH had the best and finest commercial news department I ever worked for. People knew where to tune when news was breaking somewhere. That all ended when CC bought the place and turned KTRH into just one more loud mouth talk station.

 

[purpledevil]

^this.

We're talking about J.P. Pritchard, Mike Barajas, Carolyn Campbell, and other longtime, well qualified journalists here. Their talent is unquestionable, in my view. They wouldn't have lasted in this market for the many years that most of them have served this City if they didn't possess talent.

What I feel inhibited the effort of the journalists was the very detail oriented presentation that Filio mentions. KTRH once had it, and it involved many of the same players. With their delivery, and that newsroom structure, KTRH dominated.

The talent was there at KROI, I don't question that at all. The attention to detail, and overall presentation of the news should be structured by station management. Apparently it wasn't, and this is the result.

Theater brings up a good example by mentioning the weekend infotainment. News 92's moniker, "100% news, 0% spin." Really? But you run infomercials, how is that 100% news? That example is a direct result of a management decision, not the talent involved with providing the news stories or the voice used to read them. You do make a fair point, Big A, and I can see where you are coming from, just not when it involves this cast with this much experience within their market.

Frankberry: there's a little classical station owned by the University of Houston at 91-7 that stops any move northward of KROI into Houston. The last time 92-1 upgraded, Michael Stude actually had to pay to move then KTRU from the Rice campus and upgrade it to 50 kilowatts.

Then there's KETX in Livingston as a co-channel, and KCOL Groves as a 2nd adjacent which they'd have to contend with. After paying over $72 million for KROI alone, and then add 3 years worth of loss on the news operation, I just couldn't imagine Radio One taking on such a massive undertaking for 92-1.

Filio, what in the world did you do to your name?? I thought I had gone lysdexic for a sec...

 

[purpledevil]

I should clarify, KROI has "upgraded" since then, a drop in power and an increase of height. K-Tru received the 50 kilowatt upgrade when then K-Arts went to 100, if the memory is serving correctly.

 

[TheBigA]

Also, Inside Radio pointed out that they ran paid programing (infomercials) on the weekend, which could not have helped with the station's image.

Infomercials are simply a fact of life in all talk-oriented radio. WINS in New York runs infomercials on the weekends, and still gets great ratings. Lots of stations do. So blaming infomercials is an excuse. The bread and butter of a radio station is Mon-Fri.

You do make a fair point, Big A, and I can see where you are coming from, just not when it involves this cast with this much experience within their market.

They were hired for a reason. They were hired because they had heritage in the market, and they had an audience that believed them. But the audience didn't come. Movie makers cast folks like Tom Cruise or George Clooney because people will go to their movies. That's what heritage talent brings. The minute that talent stops delivering audience, they're done. Ask Burt Reynolds.

The problem with all-news is the audience is mainly older and mainly white/male. Houston's demographics changed ten years ago. Formats for older men are no longer popular. Tale a look at the country stations. They used to top the ratings in Houston. Not any more. Not because the stations suck, but because the audience changed.

 

[stan]

Big A is right. The audience is changed and dumbed down to the point where news doesn't mean anything to them. They'd rather listen to the foil hat wearing nut job hosts on KTRH.

 

[Mediafrog+]

I should clarify, KROI has "upgraded" since then, a drop in power and an increase of height. K-Tru received the 50 kilowatt upgrade when then K-Arts went to 100, if the memory is serving correctly.

KTRU got the 50kw upgrade in 1990. KRTS upgraded from a Class A to a Class C2 equivalent (32kw, don't remember the HAAT) the following year. The further upgrade to a 100kw C1 happened many years later.

KRTS paid for the KTRU move/upgrade, IIRC. I suspect Michael Stude bought two identical transmitters for KTRU and KRTS, and probably got a price break.

 

[Drucifer]

Infomercials are simply a fact of life in all talk-oriented radio. WINS in New York runs infomercials on the weekends, and still gets great ratings. Lots of stations do. So blaming infomercials is an excuse. The bread and butter of a radio station is Mon-Fri.



They were hired for a reason. They were hired because they had heritage in the market, and they had an audience that believed them. But the audience didn't come. Movie makers cast folks like Tom Cruise or George Clooney because people will go to their movies. That's what heritage talent brings. The minute that talent stops delivering audience, they're done. Ask Burt Reynolds.

The problem with all-news is the audience is mainly older and mainly white/male. Houston's demographics changed ten years ago. Formats for older men are no longer popular. Tale a look at the country stations. They used to top the ratings in Houston. Not any more. Not because the stations suck, but because the audience changed.

News is not entertaining. A simple fact compounded by the reality that it IS entertaining to listen to Michael Berry come up with clever nick-names for a certain congresswoman, trash Obama and deliver it all with that eloquent Texas twang.

 

[ContinuousWave]

KTRU got the 50kw upgrade in 1990. KRTS upgraded from a Class A to a Class C2 equivalent (32kw, don't remember the HAAT) the following year. The further upgrade to a 100kw C1 happened many years later.

The 32KW was 184 meters...KRTS originally filed for 100KW C1 (I think 94 or 95) but it was not granted until 1999...they did file for a 50KW C1 CP in 97 which was licensed 2 months later.

 

[scotiafilio]

deleted