Newsradio WMNI Launch - Worst Flip Ever?

[Al Timiter]

But, commercial radio stations, like WMNI, EXIST to make money for the owner(s). Period. Anything else is a side effect.

Actually, according to the Federal Communications Commission, they are to operate in the "public interest, convenience and necessity." However, many, but not all, owners took that as a license to print money and thus through years and years of short-sighted profit-taking, here we are with a lovely mess of an industry.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

But, commercial radio stations, like WMNI, EXIST to make money for the owner(s). Period. Anything else is a side effect.

FM radio stations do not exist to give ohgary his favorite music choices.

Which is why they will go the way of the dinosaurs. Unfortunately as in most business, its no longer acceptable to make a profit, but you must now squeeze every dollar out even so far as to squeeze the life out of the product.
With cheaper and cheaper wireless data plans available the days for RF radio is going away..

I don't disagree with a lot of that, though we have a lot of excellent examples of good radio stations here.

But the stations still don't exist solely to provide YOU and people who think like you with your favorite music. They are in business (yes, business) to garner a set of listeners that they can profitably sell to advertisers.

The big problem with discussing stations on this and other message boards? Too many people filter their views based on the programming/music THEY like.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Actually, according to the Federal Communications Commission, they are to operate in the "public interest, convenience and necessity." However, many, but not all, owners took that as a license to print money and thus through years and years of short-sighted profit-taking, here we are with a lovely mess of an industry.

Again, I don't necessarily disagree with some of your points, but the REALITY of commercial radio in 2012 is that stations are there to produce a profit for the owner(s).

In a perfect world, that comes from excellent programming that appeals to a wide base of listeners, but this is not a perfect radio world.

I was just commenting that ohgary's comments here were typical of the Radio Message Board debate: if the poster doesn't like the music (or programming, re: news/talk/sports on FM), it "sucks".

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

I was just commenting that ohgary's comments here were typical of the Radio Message Board debate: if the poster doesn't like the music (or programming, re: news/talk/sports on FM), it "sucks".

I see where you're coming from, but ohgary specifically pointed out that he was speaking as a listener.  If he thinks talk on FM "sucks" he's perfectly entitled to voice that opinion here.  This board isn't restricted to people who are supposed to think like owners and programmers (and we all know that personal tastes often influence their decisions as well, though they need to build a reasonable case for what they're doing and maintain a good track record).

 

[jakej]

I was just commenting that ohgary's comments here were typical of the Radio Message Board debate: if the poster doesn't like the music (or programming, re: news/talk/sports on FM), it "sucks".

Personally, at this point I couldn't care less how the stations choose to pass their time, because my dream show is already on the air, I created it, and it's available to anyone else who wants to hear it on their radio or computer. In fact, if any of the companies ever DID choose to do what I'm doing and call it the same thing, then they'd have a lawsuit on their hands because a long time ago I took the precaution of trademarking its name. No one in Columbus or anywhere else in this country can legally use those three words but me. (By the way, I'm finally back in business after my little Guillain-Barre setback -- new episodes tomorrow night and Friday! )

 

[DoverJones]

"...don't feed the troll, don't feed the troll, don't feed the troll..."

 

[Allfirdup]

"...don't feed the troll, don't feed the troll, don't feed the troll..."

What??

 

[recto101]

"Because FM news is an oxymoron"
Tell that to Hubbard Broadcasting who operates WTOP (and two FM satellites) in Washington. They're only the top-billing station in the US.

Tell that to KCBS in San Francisco they are on 106.9FM simulcasting 740AM in the market and its in the top 3 in the San Francisco ratings. and WBBM in Chicago they are on FM and they are on the top 3 in the Market and KOMO in Seattle and the jury is still out on KROI in Houston, WYAY in Atlanta.

Merlin screwed 101.9 in NYC.

 

[DoverJones]

Being facetious towards repetitive posts concerning a (copyrighted) revolutionary broadcasting concept and my wish to not inspire more of those posts.

Feeding the troll: When you reply to a troll on the internet, usually angrily and while showing signs of being offended.

Altough, at least jakej gives me something to read and complain about. Give us ALL the ratings arbi-suck!

 

[dawg4life]

The radio geek in me can't stay away from these boards but I have pretty much abandoned FM because of all of the above reasons. Most if not all of today's formats do "suck" and anyone who thinks otherwise is just kidding themselves. I listen to Pandora, iHeart, SiriusXM, and just today I downloaded the new Spotify app because they offer a better product than most of the FM stations in the country. The Wilks, Saga's, and Clear Channel's of the world have nobody to blame but themselves for an inferior product and I believe it's going to get worse before it get's better.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

I took the precaution of trademarking its name. No one in Columbus or anywhere else in this country can legally use those three words but me.

Trademarking the name was a good idea.  You never know...  The name is catchy, succinct, descriptive, and a clever little play on words, all at the same time.

Who knows, maybe WMNI had planned to use it for a series of investigative exposes on past coverups,

 

[jakej]

Ha! When I met Ed Schultz here last November and mentioned the name of the show to him, I quickly indicated that they were musical secrets that it explored and not political ones. I didn't want him to think that he now had some new competition to worry about!

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

I see where you're coming from, but ohgary specifically pointed out that he was speaking as a listener. If he thinks talk on FM "sucks" he's perfectly entitled to voice that opinion here. This board isn't restricted to people who are supposed to think like owners and programmers (and we all know that personal tastes often influence their decisions as well, though they need to build a reasonable case for what they're doing and maintain a good track record).

Understood, and agreed. But what got me going is the canard that "talk and news BELONGS on AM, music BELONGS on FM".

Not here, for one! We have a station in Northeast Ohio that has been airing talk radio on the FM band since the early 1970s, and it has been extremely successful. Its best known personality suddenly died over the weekend after topping the ratings on a mono FM station for over 30 YEARS.

Personal opinion is fine, but talk/news/sports on FM is NOT GOING AWAY, whether people like it or not...and that local FM talk station here clearly "belongs" on the FM band.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Besides that, the station in question here (103.9) has been through a boatload of music formats - and even a previous incarnation of FM talk.

Just because you're not a fan of 103.9's latest spoken word effort doesn't mean there's some "unserved" music format that's just being held back that would find a successful FM home on that station.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Regardless of which formats or approaches I personally prefer, I always give a station that flips some credit if they try something that's truly new to the market.  Unless I'm forgetting something, all-news fits that criterion.

 

[Buckeyes2001]

So, 103.9 has had the following formats:

'Eagle 103.9' (Classic Rock)1998 until around 2001
'103.9 the Eagle' (Classic Rock-ish Classic Hits) 2001-2003
'103.9 Ted FM' (Adult Hits) 2004-2007
'103.9 Talk FM' (Talk Radio) 2007-2009
'Classic Hits 103.9' (Classic Rock-ish Classic Hits) 2009-2012
'NewsRadio WMNI 103.9 & 920' 2012-

Wiki shows that when 103.9 first signed on in Sept. 1998 that they were WAXV. What was the format when they were WAXV? I can only remember it being WEGE Eagle 103.9 Westerville/Columbus when I started at OSU in Sept 1998.

 

[Nightpattern]

So, 103.9 has had the following formats:

'Eagle 103.9' (Classic Rock)1998 until around 2001
'103.9 the Eagle' (Classic Rock-ish Classic Hits) 2001-2003
'103.9 Ted FM' (Adult Hits) 2004-2007
'103.9 Talk FM' (Talk Radio) 2007-2009
'Classic Hits 103.9' (Classic Rock-ish Classic Hits) 2009-2012
'NewsRadio WMNI 103.9 & 920' 2012-

Wiki shows that when 103.9 first signed on in Sept. 1998 that they were WAXV. What was the format when they were WAXV? I can only remember it being WEGE Eagle 103.9 Westerville/Columbus when I started at OSU in Sept 1998.

Plenty of us remember it as Jazz station WBBY in the 70's. Was AC for awhile too.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

I don't recall the WAXV calls at all, but a check of the Columbus Dispatch archives shows that those were indeed the original calls when 103.9 was revived in 1998, after WBBY was forced off the air following a Supreme Court decision in the early 90's.  Soon after sign-on the station was LMA'd by Nabco, who made it classic rock WEGE Eagle 103.9.  Nabco bought the station in March, 1999.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Yes, the current 103.9 is an entirely different license than the former jazz WBBY.

 

[jakej]

A "boatload of music formats" ???

Maybe if that boat's a dinghy.