As a former resident of the Boston market, who's been away for a few months, I've been reading about Entercom's recent moves at WRKO with interest. After all, it used to be one of my favorite stations. Last week, I was able to spend a little time listening to Boston market radio for the first time in 6 months (aside from very short visits where radio listening wasn't in the cards).
What I heard was a WRKO that was a shadow of its former self. It sounds HORRIBLE! The news and traffic cut ins have all the quality of a high school production. The bumbling over lines and mispronunciation of local towns was abhorrent. The traffic kid sounded as if he must be from Cincinatti or Charlotte or somewhere other than Boston because he clearly didn't know the roads and was just reading from a card. The Fox News cut-ins are typical network fare that you'd hear on an AMer in West Virginia; the attempts at local news during am and pm rush were just horrendous.
When I read about the dismissal of folks like Listo and Rod, I knew that it couldn't be good. However, the effect surprised even me. The station sounds so bad - so amateurish - right now that it is ridiculous. There are AM talk stations in places like Reading, PA that have a better local news presence than WRKO. The assault on this station in the interest of saving a few bucks is really criminal. As one of the posters here said: "all they have left is Howie Carr." And, that's very true. Howie sounds good and his show continues to entertain. The rest of the station's lineup is a mess.
How can you have a news/talk station without the news???
To Entercom:
Bring back the news staff, give them a raise and do it NOW! Failure to do so will see your 50 kw talker with lower ratings than rimshots from New Hampshire.
A couple of other random notes, while I'm at it:
- Mix 98.5 continues to sound more and more like a CHR-lite. Heard even more rhythmic songs than in the past. They seem to clearly be going after Kiss 108, but without daring to go head-to-head with them.
- As WODS has gone Christmas, the 103.3 frequency was never visible on my radio (I have no interest); but I did listen to North Shore 104.9 and really like that station. Nice mix of oldies and a fairly deep playlist.
- Now that WILD-FM is gone, there's almost nothing rhythmic on FM in Boston. Yeah, there's JAM'N - good talent, but not a not so good music mix. Rap for white kids. It's amazing how lackluster a market is without a bit of diversity. Overall, the FM dial sounds similar to what you'd have heard in a place like Portland or Albany circa 1981! Lots of classic rock in and around the market - and a/c, of course. WZLX still sounds sharp, WROR is still it's usual (confused) self, and Mike even more so (heard Led Zeppelin segue into Dominic the Christmas Donkey!). Does WAAF really need 2 frequencies? Probably not...
- With respect to northern rimshots, Frank 106.3 is BORING and sounds exactly the same as both Frank 107.5's (Portland, ME and Reading, PA) and Frank 105.5 (Mid Coast, ME). McRadio at its worst. A more pleasant surprise was WMLL (The Mill) Manchester, NH. I'm eating crow on this one, as I was mad when Kool 96.5 was blown out for the Mill - but must admit that it's the most interesting classic rocker in the area (for those who can get it).
- I was there for the 99.5/102.5 flip and must state the obvious: the signals no longer serve their primary audiences. What I mean by this is that the 99.5 signal is great in N. Mass and Southern NH, which is where a good percentage of the country-listening audience resides. And, the 102.5 signal is best right in and around Boston/Cambridge, where the largest concentration of classical listeners are. Now, neither audience is well served. It's too bad for all...
- Last quick note: WBZ is as competent as ever. Kudos to them for continuing to sound professional in the face of what's going on in this industry.
What I heard was a WRKO that was a shadow of its former self. It sounds HORRIBLE! The news and traffic cut ins have all the quality of a high school production. The bumbling over lines and mispronunciation of local towns was abhorrent. The traffic kid sounded as if he must be from Cincinatti or Charlotte or somewhere other than Boston because he clearly didn't know the roads and was just reading from a card. The Fox News cut-ins are typical network fare that you'd hear on an AMer in West Virginia; the attempts at local news during am and pm rush were just horrendous.
When I read about the dismissal of folks like Listo and Rod, I knew that it couldn't be good. However, the effect surprised even me. The station sounds so bad - so amateurish - right now that it is ridiculous. There are AM talk stations in places like Reading, PA that have a better local news presence than WRKO. The assault on this station in the interest of saving a few bucks is really criminal. As one of the posters here said: "all they have left is Howie Carr." And, that's very true. Howie sounds good and his show continues to entertain. The rest of the station's lineup is a mess.
How can you have a news/talk station without the news???
To Entercom:
Bring back the news staff, give them a raise and do it NOW! Failure to do so will see your 50 kw talker with lower ratings than rimshots from New Hampshire.
A couple of other random notes, while I'm at it:
- Mix 98.5 continues to sound more and more like a CHR-lite. Heard even more rhythmic songs than in the past. They seem to clearly be going after Kiss 108, but without daring to go head-to-head with them.
- As WODS has gone Christmas, the 103.3 frequency was never visible on my radio (I have no interest); but I did listen to North Shore 104.9 and really like that station. Nice mix of oldies and a fairly deep playlist.
- Now that WILD-FM is gone, there's almost nothing rhythmic on FM in Boston. Yeah, there's JAM'N - good talent, but not a not so good music mix. Rap for white kids. It's amazing how lackluster a market is without a bit of diversity. Overall, the FM dial sounds similar to what you'd have heard in a place like Portland or Albany circa 1981! Lots of classic rock in and around the market - and a/c, of course. WZLX still sounds sharp, WROR is still it's usual (confused) self, and Mike even more so (heard Led Zeppelin segue into Dominic the Christmas Donkey!). Does WAAF really need 2 frequencies? Probably not...
- With respect to northern rimshots, Frank 106.3 is BORING and sounds exactly the same as both Frank 107.5's (Portland, ME and Reading, PA) and Frank 105.5 (Mid Coast, ME). McRadio at its worst. A more pleasant surprise was WMLL (The Mill) Manchester, NH. I'm eating crow on this one, as I was mad when Kool 96.5 was blown out for the Mill - but must admit that it's the most interesting classic rocker in the area (for those who can get it).
- I was there for the 99.5/102.5 flip and must state the obvious: the signals no longer serve their primary audiences. What I mean by this is that the 99.5 signal is great in N. Mass and Southern NH, which is where a good percentage of the country-listening audience resides. And, the 102.5 signal is best right in and around Boston/Cambridge, where the largest concentration of classical listeners are. Now, neither audience is well served. It's too bad for all...
- Last quick note: WBZ is as competent as ever. Kudos to them for continuing to sound professional in the face of what's going on in this industry.
