NorthEast Broadcasting

[OM]

So I see MP103 took an upward move in the 12+ - seems as though they must be doing something right at NE.
Looking for a little history on the company - met one of the VP's once seemed like an ok guy.
What's the rest of management like? Are they healthy $$$

 

[redneckriviera]

So I see MP103 took an upward move in the 12+ - seems as though they must be doing something right at NE.
Looking for a little history on the company - met one of the VP's once seemed like an ok guy.
What's the rest of management like? Are they healthy $$$

Unusual group. Their Boston rimshot (WXRV, Haverhill/Andover) most likely churns out enough profit to allow them to play radio in northern Vermont--major market FM sticks are money machines--and The Point provides enough to give them a local cushion. Their technical moves--shifting sites and upgrading signals--border on being brilliant. But operationally???? Well, somebody up there understands Triple A well enough, but beyond that there doesn't seem to be any real programming savvy... or any strategic inkling of how all those signals could work together. Owned by a lawyer who probably wishes he was a radio guy, but just doesn't get it. A sad situation, in a lot of ways. MP 103's "success" (at 25% the share of the market's #1 station) just shows how low the bar is set in Burlington--and what a huge format hole still exists for anything resembling a true... well, let them figure it out.

 

[edradio]

Their money was made with cell phone towers... The owner is a quack who spends his days in a cow field, for what reason I don't know. He'll call a cluster pretending he's somebody else just to make sure they're answering the phone right.... Low budget cost cutting company wide. They spend money on NOTHING including talent. They get by, barely... MP103? They got lucky in that nobody else did it first. It's not like the format was an idea original and unique to NE.

As far as the VP's go... one's a pretty decent guy. The other would stab his mother in the back. The former knows a thing or two. The later, radio left him years ago and he never caught on to the trends...

Who did you meet?

 

[NHRadio]

FWIW, I've never heard anyone say anything good about the work environment at Northeast's stations. The revolving PD chair at WXRV also says something.
My first full-time gig was at WHAV in the early 80's...I was there 17 months and had 5 PD's. When I went back in 1992 or 93 nothing had changed in the AM studio and there was a barebones FM studio that wasn't there before.
The thing I remember most was the way WHAV got its Red Sox feed...by a boombox tuned to then-flagship WPLM. If nothing else it was a great lesson in how to board-op. The boombox was on top of a patch panel rack just outside the studio. How it got good reception is still a mystery.

 

[Ray D. Oh]

I am not too sure many of the people (except some of the long-timers at WNCS and even those are dwindling) feel a great love for the company. I will agree they have made some great technical moves but it's impossible to work for the owner over a long period of time. He is a person who just wears you out. There are too many mind games which are not backed up by decent budgets for talent, promotion and overall programming. He says he isn't in the game to sell. A shame if you're a listener who could have a smart owner really doing something with the frequencies. A good thing if you are a competitor as the group has never been, and never will be under current ownership, a revenue or ratings threat to anyone.
It won't change anytime soon. He says he is great because he is a local owner who never sells. He'd be great if he were a local owner who never sold AND provided quality radio in a good working atmosphere where people could make a decent living. That is not the case. He shouldn't be so fast to pat himself on the back.

 

[ken gilbert]

Ken Squier tried to slide me off the plate to them when he sold WVAA in Burlington. Luckily, I was the only one Ken Squier and Eric Michaels held on to. I was offered a contract by the new owners. After reading, It looked like Swiss Cheese. I handed over my unsigned contract and keys to the new facilities in Burlington.As far as Bob Rowe, the seemingly nice guy. Watch it, he's a Lawyer. After e-mailing some friends I worked with in Hartford, CT radio as well as Boston friends and some folks in NH. They all said, "Turn the other way and run as fast as you can." They called me one night at about 9 or 10 and told me they would make me the OP. I said "No thanks." they called me 2 nights later about the same time and asked me to accept a $5,000 sign on bonus. I said, "No thank you." One of the best things I said in a long time. Remember, when you hear that name, remember what everyone told me. Run!

 

[edradio]

I agree 10000000000000000000% about Bob Rowe. He is a man who has an amazing way of pretending he likes you just to get what he wants. Worst of all, he's nothing but a puppet for the actual decision makers in the company. There's a scary though... decision makers at Northeast. Best advice in radio; Never work for Bob Rowe, never work for Northeast, unless you want to get treated poorly for no money.

 

[argytunes]

I've never had the pleasure(???) of working for Bob Rowe....but I'm sure that his radio bad habits aren't exclusive?

I'll bet there are at least one or two other owners, general managers or sales managers out there who love anybody---as long as they're willing to work 12-16 hour days---7 days a week---for very little money?

argytunes

 

[edradio]

Of course... every company, each cluster, every individual station will have "that guy/girl." What makes it different in this case and I'm in the case of many others, is that Bob Rowe and NEB as a whole has their own brand of idiocy and backhanded ways of treating their staff and even worse, their clients. I've NEVER seen anyone who could care less about advertisers more than Bob Rowe. Again, he'll pretend to love ya, then talk about you behind your back. So does every company have their problem children, yes, but Bob and NEB spin it into a totally different direction all their own and somebody, they're going to spin themselves right into the ground. I'll be watching! ;D

 

[ken gilbert]

Hey edradio,
I'll wait and watch as well with you...... That group can't keep a decent salesperson. How are they going to keep their integrity?

 

[Jack2525]

Hi there everyone,

I know the Northeast Broadcasting topic has been flogged to death but I'd appreciate any new information available. I see lots of negative comments about Northeast. Any positves out there?????

Thanks.

Jack2525

 

[NO DAG]

Northeast seems to be buyers of stations, and hardly sellers. WKBR-AM in Manchester and WHAV AM in Haverill are the only ones they sold, I believe. Northeast seems to be shrewd buyers. What was MP 103 before Northeast bought it ? It was a holy roller licensed to Waterbury. They bought what was the Middlebury stations at an attractive price, and made a swap to get the 93.7 frequency. The Point network was made out of one dark station in St. Jay, and a 'window' that was created in Royalton by upgrading 103.3 in Waterbury and creating 103.1 in Royalton. Silberberg has owned both WXRV and WNCS for years, especially WXRV which he owned first. In most cases, this company has been able to turn some tough properties around and make them into something. The company seems to be committed to the AAA format, and their airwaves are relatively free of clutter.

 

[raydioaydio]

Jack,

Run... run away... don't look back! Silberberg is evil... make that Evil with a capital E.

You're asking for good and can't even get anything.

If you like an owner who enjoys making his employees cower and cry, this is your company,