News Radio

[azenergyfan]

Latley I am kinda liking the idea in NYC and Chicago of an FM News station. Not News and Talk just News. There are so many times when I get in my car and all I want is news. I have podcasts of the talk shows I like, I have my Ipod for the music I want to hear but sometimes just want News.

I started checking out ARNN (Americas Radio News Network) and I like their delivery. It is fast, concise, up to date and it flows nicley. I also like that they have three hour blocks from 9am PST through 6PM PST. Pretty much the entire day.

Got me to thinking, I wonder if any station in Phoenix would do something like this. I would say it would be ideal and very cost effective if a FM station linked up with a local tv station to simulcast all of their local news programming. Along with having national news from ARNN and possibly using headline news feeds or something, it might be something that could work.

Yes I agree it is not going to be the most listened to station in the valley but I do think enough people would tune in and get their news throughout the day. They also could spin the station as being the only station in town doing news and nothing but the news.

Everyone on here probably thinks I am crazy and will blast this idea but what the hell.. let me have it ;-)

 

[w9wi]

Got me to thinking, I wonder if any station in Phoenix would do something like this. I would say it would be ideal and very cost effective if a FM station linked up with a local tv station to simulcast all of their local news programming. Along with having national news from ARNN and possibly using headline news feeds or something, it might be something that could work.

Ouch.

CNN Headline News used to do that -- to be simulcast on some radio stations. It was a train wreck.

TV sound is not radio. TV writers assume their audience can see the pictures, which leads to radio-unfriendly lines like "you can see behind me just how high the flames are" and "over there you can see what happened to the car that was struck by the train" etc. etc... You can't have the TV writers rewrite for radio, or they'll drive their TV audience batty explaining things the viewers can plainly see.

Sharing the news with TV could be a good idea. (if you can make the economics work out) Sharing the actual TV audio with radio is not such a good idea...

 

[indieradioguy]

KTAR did audio of Larry King for *years* (they still do the audio of 'Meet The Press' when it's not pre-empted.) To the issue at hand, it reminds me of the whole JFK/Nixon debate thing: there will always be people who simply prefer radio to television. Why else are ball games broadcast over radio? And how are play-by-plays *not* radio-unfriendly? I think sharing audio feed would be more cost-effective in some cases than paying for another canned syndicated show.

 

[KeithE4]

KTAR did audio of Larry King for *years* (they still do the audio of 'Meet The Press' when it's not pre-empted.) To the issue at hand, it reminds me of the whole JFK/Nixon debate thing: there will always be people who simply prefer radio to television.

Sometimes it works - in cases like Meet The Press and the other Sunday talking-head shows, and Larry King Live, where there is little video other than those talking heads. Some stations around the country simulcast local TV news over radio (not here). Since local news is much more video-centric than a panel or interview show, I don't think it would work too well.

Why else are ball games broadcast over radio?

Sports PxP is the last remaining viable nighttime broadcast on AM. People still want to listen to games, especially in the car. In the case of Phoenix, the radio guys are far better than the TV guys anyway.

And how are play-by-plays *not* radio-unfriendly? I think sharing audio feed would be more cost-effective in some cases than paying for another canned syndicated show.

The Suns used to simulcast KTAR's audio feed over Channel 45 when it was owned by Chris-Craft. IIRC, that ended when Fox bought the station and made Tom Leander the PxP guy. They should do it again now that Gary Bender retired and all games are on FSN - Leander is mediocre at best, while Al McCoy is a legend.

 

[justthenumbers]

The Suns used to simulcast KTAR's audio feed over Channel 45 when it was owned by Chris-Craft. IIRC, that ended when Fox bought the station and made Tom Leader the PxP guy. They should do it again now that Gary Bender retired and all games are on FSN - Leander is mediocre at best, while Al McCoy is a legend.

Wasn't the KUTP/KTAR simulcast the other way around? I remember hearing the KUTP "Suns theme song" leading into commercial breaks.

 

[lp]

A 24/7 local news station would be awesome. Won't happen though. They're very expensive to run.

 

[KeithE4]

A 24/7 local news station would be awesome. Won't happen though. They're very expensive to run.

Not to mention that they are nonexistent in the Sun Belt except for LA and SF. It's been tried several times in Phoenix (KPHX, KTAR, and KRUX in the '70s, and KNNS in the early '90s). All failed.

If it were to be attempted today, it would have to be on a South Mountain stick owned by SeeBS or TMISU (the only companies with successful all-news stations anywhere in the country). Neither has a failing FM, and KTAR-FM is already all-news in the AM.

 

[azenergyfan]

My point though is it wouldn't be expensive to run if you used a network news feed (Americas News Radio Network) and linked up with a local tv station for the local stories. I agree translating tv to radio could be tricky but no reason why there couldn't be "local" shows on the station by the TV reporters.

 

[KeithE4]

The Suns used to simulcast KTAR's audio feed over Channel 45 when it was owned by Chris-Craft. IIRC, that ended when Fox bought the station and made Tom Leader the PxP guy. They should do it again now that Gary Bender retired and all games are on FSN - Leander is mediocre at best, while Al McCoy is a legend.

Wasn't the KUTP/KTAR simulcast the other way around? I remember hearing the KUTP "Suns theme song" leading into commercial breaks.

IIRC, the Suns owned the broadcasts and the stations produced them the way the Suns (read: Jerry Colangelo) wanted them. I believe Al McCoy was directly employed by both the Suns and KTAR, with KUTP as a subcontractor. I'm not 100% sure about that, but other teams and stations hired their announcers this way.

 

[asugeorge1]

I would love to have an all-news station here in Phoenix, but I don't think it's ever going to happen. Why? The main problem is the cost and the other problem is that Phoenix does not have a strong AM radio station that could carry the format. With just a few exceptions (namely Washington D.C.), the all-news stations in the United States are on AM. If they are on FM, they are a simulcast of the AM feed. It is true that the all-news stations have been successful on FM, but it's because the resources were already there on the AM side. On top of this, the predominant owner of all-news stations throughout the United States is CBS, and, at least here in Phoenix, CBS doesn't own any AM stations (one of the reasons why listeners in Phoenix can't hear CBS radio network news). Really the only viable owner who could pull it off is Bonneville with KTAR, but even they don't have a stellar history running an all-news station. If you remember, they recently sold their all-news radio station in Washington D.C. and, as far as I know, they don't run an all-news radio station elsewhere in the U.S. The closest thing is KSL in Salt Lake City and KTAR here in Phoenix. Finally, keep in mind that most of the existing all-news stations have been around for years, i.e. KNX in L.A., KCBS in S.F., WCBS in New York, and WBBM in Chicago. Perhaps the only glimmer of hope is KOMO 1000 in Seattle where they just turned all-news in 2002. Since that time, they have been successful with the format, but Seattle has a much different radio audience than Phoenix. If Bonneville could pull that off here with KTAR, perhaps all-news could work in Phoenix.

Long story short, all-news in Phoenix would be great, but unless Bonneville decides to take a HUGE gamble and use it's current existing resources with 92.3 FM and 620 AM to make it work, we'll never see the format again here in Phoenix. Needless to say, I'll be one of their biggest fans if they do decide to do it! ;D

 

[DrAkbar]

Aint gonna happen in a Gremlin's lifetime! This topic comes up at least once a year as memories fail to recall the many reasons why all news radio won't work in the Valley. KT'R was so unsuccessful with news in PMD, they replaced it with Dumber & Dumbest and the ratings went through the roof!

 

[multiplex]

I wish there was a viable network news option. IMHO, America's Radio News Network is too chatty, too much like talk radio, and too biased. (Its bias is obvious when anchors use slanted words like "obamacare."
I think the ideal radio news network was NBC's News And Information Service, offered from June 18, 1975 to May of '77.
Unfortunately, it cost the network lots of money, and they dropped it just as affiliates were beginning to get some decent ratings.
To run NIS properly, stations would hire newsreaders and a significant newsman or two to cover the local angle, but the network provided the national resources.
The timing is right for a national service, and although I don't much care for the sound of ARRN, they have the right idea; every market has stations with time to fill; why not cater to news junkies who aren't talk radio fans?
I just hope someone else does this niche programming better than ARRN, or that ARRN emphasizes information more than the "happy talk" approach of TV news.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't want to hear the anchors' opinions, or stunning expressions like "Wow!" Just give the facts, without the bias, and let listeners make up their own minds.
A smart news operation should air opinions from all sides; NIS had diverse commentators with short-segment editorials and interviewed both major political parties about equally.)
The time is right. And ARRN may just benefit from that timing. Too bad it still sounds like talk radio masquerading as news radio.
I agree that it's viable. But any network or affiliate must be in it for the long haul. It takes at least two years for news formats to gain traction.
Around 1984 KOGO in San Diego had one of the best-sounding news formats I ever heard; they gave it six months. But like many good things that gel slowly, the rewards are there for those who are patient. Alas, patience is rare these days.

 

[Wildstyle K]

I sort of wish there was an all day Wall Street Journal Report.

 

[brian4]

I sort of wish there was an all day Wall Street Journal Report.

Does Money Radio 1510 do anything for you? The only time I ever listened to KFNN was when Bill Heywood did a show for several months.

 

[asugeorge1]

I sort of wish there was an all day Wall Street Journal Report.

Does Money Radio 1510 do anything for you? The only time I ever listened to KFNN was when Bill Heywood did a show for several months.

Money Radio is a joke. The only personality worth listening to is Clark Howard, but, unfortunately, he's only on late at night. Come night-time, at least here in the East Valley, Money Radio becomes Mile High Sports 1510. Instead of Clark Howard, we get to listen to Denver Nuggets play-by-play! :

 

[DrAkbar]

Money Radio is a joke. The only personality worth listening to is Clark Howard, but, unfortunately, he's only on late at night.

Clark Howard? YIKES! Try Ray Lucia mid-morning. Knowledgeable and never speaks down to listeners like that twit on at night on KT'R. And if you think The Nearly Bald One is the only talker who can get 60 minutes out of a five minute topic, try Gary Kaltbaum in the afternoon on 15~Tin.

 

[phil]

I agree with the Doc on Ray Lucia. One of the best financial advisors on the air. I like his back-up team, a lawyer and a tax man.

My car radio is always on 1510 all day. Might as well try and learn something as you drive.

 

[brian4]

Another great all-news station is WWJ News Radio 950 out of Detroit. Started in 1920 and had many firsts including first to broadcast news regularly. Anytime I'm in Detroit visiting family, I listen to WWJ all the time while I'm driving.

I gave up on News Radio in Phoenix when the Big 2 (KTAR and KFYI, sorry other stations) started toning down their news in favor of more talk.

Similar to FM Sports Talk, I don't think News Radio will make it in Phoenix. This is an interesting radio town.

 

[fusejockey]

I sort of wish there was an all day Wall Street Journal Report.

With the recent Murdoch disclosures of shady dealing, WSJ might be a little on the Fox side of Republican bias? Just sayin'-

 

[DrAkbar]

With the recent Murdoch disclosures of shady dealing, WSJ might be a little on the Fox side of Republican bias? Just sayin'-

Just sayin' WSJ has always been a conservative publication and News Corp hasn't made it any more right of center than where it's always been. But back to topic: All News will not work in Phoenix. End of subject.