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Newspaper columnist's take on Death of 96 Rock...

  • Thread starter Freebird Fantasia
  • Start date

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Freebird Fantasia

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I found this column while looking for articles about 96 Rock. I found it to be right on the mark! I e-mailed the writer and told him it was an excellent column. I encourage others to do likewise.




Death of 96 Rock leaves void in my radio pleasure

By Chris Bridges
The Banks County News
Homer, Georgia
www.mainstreetnews.com

The day before my old friend passed away, I received a warning it was going to happen. While traveling in my vehicle, (to where I’ve since forgotten) I heard a promo on my favorite radio station that something big was going to happen the next day.
My reaction, “Uh-oh.”
Sure enough the following day when I put the station on my car radio where 96 Rock had been programmed, I heard music that I knew wasn’t normally on the station’s playlist. Then another song played which matched the same description. Suddenly, the recorded voice was telling me I was listening to something called “Project 9-6-1,” and I knew it was all over for 96 Rock.

[EDIT]

Chris Bridges is a reporter for The Banks County News. Contact him at 706-367-2745 or e-mail comments to [email protected].

[EDIT-post truncated because originating material is copyprotected. Unauthorized use of copyrighted content is in violation of Radio-Info's TOS. PLEASE PROVIDE LINK(S) TO CITED MATERIAL.]
 
Umm..it's pretty obvious why this guy works for the size of newspaper he works for. The Project is filled with that crazy grunge music that he hates so much. Has anyone even used that term in the last 5 years. And Project plays the music he grew up on too. And, Clark Kent, you can still get your Steve Miller et al on the River
 
Uh yeah, The river, Rock 101, etc. It sounds like this guy is lost in the 80's and was kicking and screaming when alternative took the airwaves, and rock music, by storm.

Face it, Atlanta's needed an active rock for years and it finally got one.

I guess some folks can't let go of hearing Elton John's 'Daniel' ten times a day.
 
I have noticed that many people here are upset that 96 Rock is no more. Is 97.1 The River that much different from the most recent version 96 Rock before it went off the air? Or, are these people just mad that 96 Rock the casualty to make room for 105.3 El Patron? I am not a loyal listener to either station but it seems that their playlists are similar.
 
I think most people are upset that 96 Rock is gone since it was a heritage rock station since 1974.

To tell you the truth, I'm surprised (well maybe not that much) that Clear Channel didn't keep the name and just beign feeding more hard rock and alternative songs. Many long time rock stations have tweaked and adjusted over the years from classic to active to modern, etc. Even more surprising, is Atlanta doesn't have a full fledged classic rock station at the moment. The river is coined 'classic hits' though the mix I hear on that station sounds more 'classic rock'. I thought The River sounded pretty darn good when I was last there (I'll be back in a week).

Needless to say, the Atlanta radio market had improved significantly with many new formats across the board. Five years ago, a Triple A, an active rock, and a Spanish FM would have been unheard of.

Of course, some hold outs from another era will keep crying foul.
 
The danimal said:
I think most people are upset that 96 Rock is gone since it was a heritage rock station since 1974.

To tell you the truth, I'm surprised (well maybe not that much) that Clear Channel didn't keep the name and just beign feeding more hard rock and alternative songs.
Click to expand...

Well, it's certainly a valid argument to assert that heritage call letters and monikers (such as 96 Rock) carry marketing value, when targeting the loyal, long-term, original fan base of 96 Rock. However, from a marketing standpoint, Clear Channel is trying to market a new brand of rock (Active Rock) to an entirely different group of rock consumers. The new brand name (Project 96.1) is necessary to facilitate the new image of the new brand to the new base of listeners.

I'm not sure why rock fans are upset when there are still at least two (2) other radio stations which play virtually the identical playlist of the old 96 Rock. And, until Project 96.1 was born, there was NO mainstream Active Rock in Market #10.
 
itburns said:
The danimal said:
I think most people are upset that 96 Rock is gone since it was a heritage rock station since 1974.

To tell you the truth, I'm surprised (well maybe not that much) that Clear Channel didn't keep the name and just beign feeding more hard rock and alternative songs.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure why rock fans are upset when there are still at least two (2) other radio stations which play virtually the identical playlist of the old 96 Rock. And, until Project 96.1 was born, there was NO mainstream Active Rock in Market #10.
Click to expand...


If you don’t understand why some of us are sad to see 96Rock re-branded as planet 961, nobody can explain it to you.
 
And, Clark Kent, you can still get your Steve Miller et al on the River

Somebody call me? Grin

I don't even like Steve Miller...

:D
Ha, I didnt even know there was a Clark Kent on the board. Sorry. It was a reference to the mild mannered reporter out there in the sticks.

If you don’t understand why some of us are sad to see 96Rock re-branded as planet 961, nobody can explain it to you.

I get it, your brand loyalty is incredible but what really differentiated 96 Rock from the River in the end? Not much. Take out the Reg. Guys and 96 Rock was equally bland.
 
the station that died 2 weeks ago was not 96 rock! 96 rock died a few years earlier when cc bought it. it bit the bullet when it changed to full on classic rock cc style after z commited suicide and in the afterlife became dave fm. it really didint matter that 96 flipped. it was not 96 rock anyway. so long clear channel!
 
smashedcd said:
the station that died 2 weeks ago was not 96 rock! 96 rock died a few years earlier when cc bought it. it bit the bullet when it changed to full on classic rock cc style after z commited suicide and in the afterlife became dave fm. it really didint matter that 96 flipped. it was not 96 rock anyway. so long clear channel!
Click to expand...

That's a good point. I never got the chance to listen to 96 Rock before Clear Channel took it over. While I understand the loyalty that 96 Rock listeners had to the station, I think most people are upset because this shuts out any chance that the Regular Guys will return like they did before. Apparently, 96 Rock's ratings were in steady decline and the Regular Guys were the only thing holding them up. Z93 also had declining ratings before the format change to Dave. The River has held its ground very well in the ratings. I think people are surprised that the Buzz made it through the cuts and 96 Rock didn't.
 
smashedcd said:
the station that died 2 weeks ago was not 96 rock! 96 rock died a few years earlier when cc bought it. it bit the bullet when it changed to full on classic rock cc style after z commited suicide and in the afterlife became dave fm. it really didint matter that 96 flipped. it was not 96 rock anyway. so long clear channel!
Click to expand...


Bingo .....it was a slow...painful death.
 
I love the music on Project 9-6-1 but I must go along with some of the others on this topic. It would be PERFECT if it were the current play list with the legendary 96Rock logo. :-\
 
Bet you a paycheck that 96.1 will revert back to 96 rock within 18 months. The current CC bunch will be toppling other monuments, and the new market manager will say 'why did the old guys change this in the first place?'

Just as a guy in the back office can destroy a 32-year-old brand, his replacement can resurrect it. That's the thing about radio. There are so many local stations, and programming/marketing philosophies are so fluid and ever-changing, no one really remembers who changed what when and why.
 
Does anyone know what Jennifer Reed is doing now? She'd me more than welcome back in Memphis....but Clear Channel has blown up in Memphis too....so has Entercom and Citadel. What in the hell happened to the radio business that most of us used to love so much?
 
96 Rock will return. Those trained monkeys over at CC think they are so clever. Take something away, create talk, bring it back by popular demand. It's all about the spin. If they use the "New Coke" analogy when 96 Rock returns, I will not be surprised. Not the most creative bunch over there (or down in Tampa where this is all being hatched from).
 
BackRib said:
96 Rock will return. Those trained monkeys over at CC think they are so clever. Take something away, create talk, bring it back by popular demand. It's all about the spin. If they use the "New Coke" analogy when 96 Rock returns, I will not be surprised. Not the most creative bunch over there (or down in Tampa where this is all being hatched from).
Click to expand...


Does the Braves contract call for CC to air the games on "96Rock" or just an FM station?
 
Since it's a contract, I would guess that the Braves are scheduled to air on WKLS, whatever form it may take. It is also possible that no individual stations are named, or that there are provisions for format changes.
 
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