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Now I get it.

V

vjm

I can now understand why there there is so much venom on this board spewed about Micheal Luszak (PD of WKNR/WHK/WHKW):

He's a moron.

Greg Brinda had him on as a guest on his show today, and he spilled forth some rediculous B.S. such as:

Getting all weepy and referencing "Dances with Wolves" when going on an anti-Chief Wahoo rant

---I'm locking that Pandora's box before it opens, this isn't the forum on which to go there---

Saying the Browns would be a better team if Kieth "the walking corpse" Richards was brought in instead of G.E. Smith (who does suck by the way).

Saying John "I can't beat Michigan or win a Bowl game" Cooper should be brought back to Ohio State,

Saying St. Ignatius should fire Chuck Kyle because of a couple of down years-Probably not knowing that Mr. Kyle is also a respected English Teacher as well, and it's not like in college or the pros where coaches come and go all the time.

I heard about his track record for making every staion he comes to worse then before he came, now I see why.

He's clueless.

Where has he had any success as a PD that made WMMS bring him here to start with?

And on top of that, what does Salem see in him that they made him PD of their AM cluster.

I don't know if he is involved with "The Fish" or not but it would say something if even Salem kept him away from their golden child in the market.
 
> I can now understand why there there is so much venom on
> this board spewed about Micheal Luszak (PD of
> WKNR/WHK/WHKW):
>
> He's a moron.
>
> Greg Brinda had him on as a guest on his show today, and he
> spilled forth some rediculous B.S. such as:
>
> Getting all weepy and referencing "Dances with Wolves" when
> going on an anti-Chief Wahoo rant
>
> ---I'm locking that Pandora's box before it opens, this
> isn't the forum on which to go there---
>
> Saying the Browns would be a better team if Kieth "the
> walking corpse" Richards was brought in instead of G.E.
> Smith (who does suck by the way).
>
> Saying John "I can't beat Michigan or win a Bowl game"
> Cooper should be brought back to Ohio State,
>
> Saying St. Ignatius should fire Chuck Kyle because of a
> couple of down years-Probably not knowing that Mr. Kyle is
> also a respected English Teacher as well, and it's not like
> in college or the pros where coaches come and go all the
> time.
>
> I heard about his track record for making every staion he
> comes to worse then before he came, now I see why.
>
> He's clueless.
>
> Where has he had any success as a PD that made WMMS bring
> him here to start with?
>
> And on top of that, what does Salem see in him that they
> made him PD of their AM cluster.
>
> I don't know if he is involved with "The Fish" or not but it
> would say something if even Salem kept him away from their
> golden child in the market.
>

Jeez give the guy a break! So you don't agree with him about SPORTS so he must be a moron?!??! why cause he dosn't agree with YOU?

btw, he's NOT PD of WHKW, check your facts MORON.

I just hate when people go off on other people because they don't agree with some sports take they have, big friggin deal, it's a GAME!!!!
 
> >
> Jeez give the guy a break! So you don't agree with him
> about SPORTS so he must be a moron?!??! why cause he dosn't
> agree with YOU?
>
> btw, he's NOT PD of WHKW, check your facts MORON.
>
> I just hate when people go off on other people because they
> don't agree with some sports take they have, big friggin
> deal, it's a GAME!!!!
>

WHOA!

Easy there, bunky!

While it's true that I don't think much about his sports takes, the fact that he said such nonsense, (to even the point where Brinda was wondering what planet he was on), and that he got this extended time to pontificate, got me to thinking about reading all of the comments that others before me have written about Luszak.

The mere fact that WMMS went through it's worst period when he was there, and that WKNR has lost some of it's luster since he joined them, and that WHK has done nothing to distinguish themselves should say something about his performance.

I will concede that I was wrong about WHKW, as I was under the assumption that all of the AM's were under one blanket.

But I will go back to an earlier point, The fact that Luszak isn't part of "The Fish", which is undoubtedly the crown jewel of the Salem cluster, should tell you that even Salem dosen't trust him enough for their baby, while allowing him to trudge along on their two afterthought stations.
 
In Defense of WKNR's You Know Who

> While it's true that I don't think much about his sports
> takes, the fact that he said such nonsense, (to even the
> point where Brinda was wondering what planet he was on), and
> that he got this extended time to pontificate, got me to
> thinking about reading all of the comments that others
> before me have written about Luszak.

Hold onto your hats here, folks...I'm about to defend Michael Luczak. Pigs are indeed flying.

I don't see what his own personal sports knowledge or opinions have to do with his ability to program even a sports station. The basics are pretty obvious to Mr. Luczak and anyone who lives here...certain teams and sports topics are popular and get listeners to keep listening. Anyone in this market knows the answer to that question. Certainly, he does.

His opinion on who should be coach of the Buckeyes or St. Ignatius doesn't have any bearing on how he, as a radio programmer, runs his sports radio station. At last check, he has no power to hire or fire the coaches involved. No, no matter who coaches Ohio State, it doesn't matter what the PD of their Cleveland affiliate thinks of their coaching staff...as long as the station runs and properly promotes the games.

Now, if he were to get on there and say that no one wants to listen to talk about the Browns or Indians or Buckeyes or Cavs, and that WKNR should focus on women's field hockey and badminton instead, then he'd be nuts. :D

I know he's oversensitive to the comments, but often we get into a mode where folks automatically bash Mr. Luczak because, well, he's an easy target. This one wasn't warranted, IMHO. (BTW, he is not PD of WHKW, but he is of talk sister WHK/1420.)

BTW, vjm and others - PLEASE use more descriptive subject headers on this board. "Now I get it" tells a reader nothing about the subject at hand...thanks!

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
> > >
> > Jeez give the guy a break! So you don't agree with him
> > about SPORTS so he must be a moron?!??! why cause he
> dosn't
> > agree with YOU?
> >
> > btw, he's NOT PD of WHKW, check your facts MORON.
> >
> > I just hate when people go off on other people because
> they
> > don't agree with some sports take they have, big friggin
> > deal, it's a GAME!!!!
> >
>
> WHOA!
>
> Easy there, bunky!
>
> While it's true that I don't think much about his sports
> takes, the fact that he said such nonsense, (to even the
> point where Brinda was wondering what planet he was on), and
> that he got this extended time to pontificate, got me to
> thinking about reading all of the comments that others
> before me have written about Luszak.
>
> The mere fact that WMMS went through it's worst period when
> he was there, and that WKNR has lost some of it's luster
> since he joined them, and that WHK has done nothing to
> distinguish themselves should say something about his
> performance.
>
> I will concede that I was wrong about WHKW, as I was under
> the assumption that all of the AM's were under one blanket.
>
> But I will go back to an earlier point, The fact that Luszak
> isn't part of "The Fish", which is undoubtedly the crown
> jewel of the Salem cluster, should tell you that even Salem
> dosen't trust him enough for their baby, while allowing him
> to trudge along on their two afterthought stations.
>
---------------

Ok, first of all didja ever think that WKNR lost it's luster because salem won't put any money into it? They fired the majority of their talent on the spot after the takeover, and replaced them with... well, noone. WKNR does what it can with the resources it has. Remember, KNR has the OLDEST equipment in Cleveland radio and the SMALLEST budget of any 50,000 watter in the surrounding area. Yet, they're on remote nearly every day, have tons of promotions, and apparently make lots of money. No, Luczak (btw that's how you spell it) isn't the PD of WHKW or the Fish, Sue Willson is. but from what I hear she's on her way out. She doesn't do the voice work she used to, and she's the only FM pd around that isn't on the air (that I can think of). If they blow out anyone in the Salem cluster, it won't be Luczak, from what I hear he works cheap, and he does the voiceover work on KNR too. Plus, it's known that he's friends with the GM... which sorta doesn't jive with the fact that you say he's not trusted... Plus, the Fish has a wierd demo. It requires a PD with knowladge of christian habits and music... Why WOULD they give it to Luczak? He's a rocker with a blues band, not a christian hipster.

Secondly, many of his takes sounded tounge-in-cheek... Don't take it so seriously, it's radio you know?
 
She doesn't
> do the voice work she used to

MOST PD's AREN'T the station VO. Sue is pretty good. WHKW was using Mike Urben out of Raleigh. He's on many of the other Salem AM's, including ATL.

Even WZOO/Ashtabula doesn't have the PD as the station VO, nor WKFM/Sandusky, both unrated markets.

Cleveland is market 25. Salem NEEDS to have a professional VO talent to solidify it's audio brand. This is not a shot at Michael Luczak. I'm sure he's got a decent voice. That doesn't mean he can convey the reads needed.


, and she's the only FM pd
> around that isn't on the air (that I can think of).

MOST Cleveland PD's AREN'T on the air full-time. And in some cases not at all. Not all PD's are good air talent (Sue is good). Some are better strategists.


If they > blow out anyone in the Salem cluster, it won't be Luczak,
> from what I hear he works cheap, and he does the voiceover
> work on KNR too.

There are lots of VO talent out there who are very affordable. Sad if Salem can't spring $150-200 a month for a few pages. <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bigwoody on 12/23/05 07:46 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> She doesn't
> > do the voice work she used to
>
> MOST PD's AREN'T the station VO. Sue is pretty good. WHKW
> was using Mike Urben out of Raleigh. He's on many of the
> other Salem AM's, including ATL.
__________________________
I know, but LUCZAK IS the voice of the station, and from SALEM's standpoint they' rather have a multi-use PD then one who is JUST the PD. sue was good, but yeah Mike does all their stuff now... Why? cause 95.5 makes money and they'll put money into their baby.
>
>
> , and she's the only FM pd
> > around that isn't on the air (that I can think of).
>
> MOST Cleveland PD's AREN'T on the air full-time. And in some
> cases not at all. Not all PD's are good air talent (Sue is
> good). Some are better strategists.

-----------------------------
I never said Full time, but unlike Alan Fee, she doesn't even have a shift! Again, Salem prefers to get the most out of their PD's. She isn't doin VO work and she doesn't have an air shift... Smells like a cut is on the horizon! That's my point, she IS good! and after losing Josh in the night shift to John Tesh (ugh) I think it's obvious what's happening here. The Fish is gunna become another salem clone with no local voices cept the PD and the morning show talent.
>
> If they > blow out anyone in the Salem cluster, it won't be
> Luczak,
> > from what I hear he works cheap, and he does the voiceover
>
> > work on KNR too.
>
> There are lots of VO talent out there who are very
> affordable. Sad if Salem can't spring $150 a month for a few
> pages. Scott Fisher out of Phoenix is about $200/mo (limited
> pages). He's great!

Here's the way Salem works though, and you can't argue with WHAT THEY DO, you can offer suggestions, but this IS what they do. They have their PD's (or "program coodinators") do all the voice work (I.E. Joe Sweeny, PC of WHK and WHKW/WHKZ who does just about ALL the VO stuff for them including most of the spots). And they DON'T pay talent fees from what I hear. They have board ops voice spots, or they use the PD's voice. That's just the way they do things, they're cheap cheap cheap... I mean, listen to WHKW some time, ALL the in house stuff is either ex-WZAK voice Chris Mavros OR P.C. Joe Sweeny!
>
 
> -----------------------------
> I never said Full time, but unlike Alan Fee, she doesn't
> even have a shift! Again, Salem prefers to get the most out
> of their PD's. She isn't doin VO work and she doesn't have
> an air shift... Smells like a cut is on the horizon! That's
> my point, she IS good! and after losing Josh in the night
> shift to John Tesh (ugh) I think it's obvious what's
> happening here. The Fish is gunna become another salem
> clone with no local voices cept the PD and the morning show
> talent.

Sue Wilson is an award winning programmer/consultant. 'Nuff said. IF Salem would cut her loose she'd just end up programming against them in some capacity within the market. Doesn't make sense to let her go, unless it's a budget issue. Some ppl have earned the right to do less for more.



>
> Here's the way Salem works though, and you can't argue with
> WHAT THEY DO,

Sure I can argue with it. I don't work for them.

you can offer suggestions, but this IS what
> they do. They have their PD's (or "program coodinators") do
> all the voice work (I.E. Joe Sweeny, PC of WHK and WHKW/WHKZ
> who does just about ALL the VO stuff for them including most
> of the spots). And they DON'T pay talent fees from what I
> hear.

I wouldn't work for anyone who didn't pay talent fees for spots that went out of house. And the station/company doesn't pay the talent fee anyway, the client does. Same as a remote fee, the client pays. Talent fees should be disclosed to the client. If it goes out of house, the client pays. In fact, the client should pay the VO talent, the producer, and the copywriter. If it's all the same person, that's right, all three fees go to that person. That's not only how it's done in a major market, but smaller ones as well. Otherwise it's stealing. Plain and simple.


>They have board ops voice spots,

I bet client's are thrilled with those...


or they use the PD's
> voice. That's just the way they do things, they're cheap
> cheap cheap... I mean, listen to WHKW some time, ALL the in
> house stuff is either ex-WZAK voice Chris Mavros OR P.C. Joe
> Sweeny!
> >

If those two are good, fine. And they should be compensated if the spot goes out of house.

At WMJI/WMMS, in 19-freakin'-98, we got $150 if a spot went out of house. Mitch Todd got $200 for a 30sec. Clients pay if they want the spot. Plain and simple. Salem is diluting the market if they give spots away for free. It's bad for everyone else.

<P ID="signature">______________
Chuck Matthews Voiceovers
[email protected]

http://voices.planetcharley.com
http://chuckmatthews1.voice123.com</P>
 
Did you honestly say WKNR has "tons of promotions?" You obviously don't listen to sports talk radio anywhere else in the continuous 48 states (with apologies to Alaska - am670 used to give away Anchorage University tickets on a nightly basis).

Go listen to 1460 in Columbus if you want to hear a sports station that thrives on promotions. If you want to hear a sports station thrive on Ohio Center of Broadcasting graduates and vanilla drive time radio which inspires nobody - then WKNR is your best bet!!
 
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