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PD In and Out at KLOS

Radioresearcher, your comments were buried in a big blue quote thing, but I think you have it right on KLOS versus JACK. KLOS does have Mark and Brian who probably still have an audience out there.

You are also DEAD ON about modern rock being a huge influence here in LA. JACK spins all kinds of tunes that would just not work in almost any other big city: they are basically the songs KROQ made famous from the early 80s through about the mid-90s. Just try and play Oingo Boingo or Depeche Mode on an oldies station in Boston. The LA JACK is really tailored to this market, brilliantly.

What makes JACK a better listen than KLOS is that you're going to get those KLOS songs (most of them) but you're also going to get those old KROQ tunes, plus a smattering of pop songs and newer songs.

And though nobody here will agree with me, THEY PLAY WAY MORE SONGS SO IT DOES NOT GET BORING.

I really wonder what KLOS can do to improve things without abandoning classic rock. Tightening the playlist (for all you fans of boring radio) is not going to work; it's already ridiculously small. Mimicing JACK probably won't work either.

Glad I'm not in this guy Bob's shoes....
 
scooty430 said:
Radioresearcher, your comments were buried in a big blue quote thing, but I think you have it right on KLOS versus JACK. KLOS does have Mark and Brian who probably still have an audience out there.

You are also DEAD ON about modern rock being a huge influence here in LA. JACK spins all kinds of tunes that would just not work in almost any other big city: they are basically the songs KROQ made famous from the early 80s through about the mid-90s. Just try and play Oingo Boingo or Depeche Mode on an oldies station in Boston. The LA JACK is really tailored to this market, brilliantly.

What makes JACK a better listen than KLOS is that you're going to get those KLOS songs (most of them) but you're also going to get those old KROQ tunes, plus a smattering of pop songs and newer songs.

And though nobody here will agree with me, THEY PLAY WAY MORE SONGS SO IT DOES NOT GET BORING.

I really wonder what KLOS can do to improve things without abandoning classic rock. Tightening the playlist (for all you fans of boring radio) is not going to work; it's already ridiculously small. Mimicing JACK probably won't work either.

Glad I'm not in this guy Bob's shoes....
Click to expand...

That's a very good question - and I know what I would do :) They do need to broaden it.
 
This is encouraging:

"I grew up around here," he says. "I remember WPLJ and WNEW. I know what people liked to hear on those stations, and how they liked to hear it.

"That's why we go deeper than a lot of classic rock stations, and why we let the deejays pick some of their own songs. They know our audience, too."

By the way, he took his NY classic rock station from 14th to almost #1. Guess broader playlists work.....
 
scooty430 said:
This is encouraging:

"I grew up around here," he says. "I remember WPLJ and WNEW. I know what people liked to hear on those stations, and how they liked to hear it.

"That's why we go deeper than a lot of classic rock stations, and why we let the deejays pick some of their own songs. They know our audience, too."

By the way, he took his NY classic rock station from 14th to almost #1. Guess broader playlists work.....
Click to expand...

Rita is due lots of respect, she's done a great job for a long time. Why they replaced her is really anybodys guess. However, Bob Buchmann is a programmer who knows how to listen and respond to his audience. He's proven that over and over. I'll also bet that he will not replace any of the full time talent at KLOS. Music tweaks and cleaning up the format, followed by more visibility in the market place would be my guess.
 
scooty430 said:
This is encouraging:

"I grew up around here," he says. "I remember WPLJ and WNEW. I know what people liked to hear on those stations, and how they liked to hear it.

"That's why we go deeper than a lot of classic rock stations, and why we let the deejays pick some of their own songs. They know our audience, too."

By the way, he took his NY classic rock station from 14th to almost #1. Guess broader playlists work.....
Click to expand...

Before PPM.

Now more than ever deeper won't work. I WISH it would work; but sadly, it won't.
 
That entire staff at KLOS just got real lucky. As a man who worked for and is lucky enough to be able to call Bob a friend and mentor... They will never work with someone like him again. Anyone who has ever worked for him will say the same thing. He takes great care of his people and knows that a happy team is a great team. He has programs winners. WBAB and WAXQ are both great Rock stations because of him. Bob... I wish you all the best!!! JP
 
I too grew up with PLJ and NEW back in the '70s, now THOSE were the days of FM. Hey you kids, get off the lawn!

KLOS sometimes ends up on my radio presets but I generally sample and move on. As noted, they are b-o-r-i-n-g! Even someone who absolutely lived for classic rock would have to admit, they always play the same handful of songs! I'm cool with the artists, but not the songs. Depth would really seem to be the solution, along with enough promotion to get people who bailed on them to try them again to see if the depth suits them. How could it not?
 
Zeb Norris said:
scooty430 said:
This is encouraging:

"I grew up around here," he says. "I remember WPLJ and WNEW. I know what people liked to hear on those stations, and how they liked to hear it.

"That's why we go deeper than a lot of classic rock stations, and why we let the deejays pick some of their own songs. They know our audience, too."

By the way, he took his NY classic rock station from 14th to almost #1. Guess broader playlists work.....
Click to expand...

Before PPM.

Now more than ever deeper won't work. I WISH it would work; but sadly, it won't.
Click to expand...

Worked for JACK and K-Earth.....

His station is still around #6 in NYC post-PPM. Not sure when he left.
 
gerald said:
I too grew up with PLJ and NEW back in the '70s, now THOSE were the days of FM. Hey you kids, get off the lawn!

KLOS sometimes ends up on my radio presets but I generally sample and move on. As noted, they are b-o-r-i-n-g! Even someone who absolutely lived for classic rock would have to admit, they always play the same handful of songs! I'm cool with the artists, but not the songs. Depth would really seem to be the solution, along with enough promotion to get people who bailed on them to try them again to see if the depth suits them. How could it not?
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Also hopes he improves the production. KLOS is using stuff generated elsewhere - lots of adolescent sound effects, silly noises, obnoxious dudes yelling. It's irritating, and it's clearly generic material created to be used nationwide.

The JACK production, conversely, is all generated locally, and though I don't care for the content of the humor myself, it is nice to have local references, callers' voices, etc on the air.
 
Well, if I were Bob B, I would broaden the playlist, but not by adding more old songs. Instead, I would start working in some current, mainstream rock songs. The majority of their music would still be Classic Rock, but they could mix in a playlist of 20-30 new songs, the most popular of which would get about 4 spins a day. I guess such a mix would be considered "Rock" by Radio & Records (see KCLB/Palm Springs, KZOZ/SLO, KSHE/StL) rather than "Classic Rock" but there's a thin line separating those two formats anyway. This would put KLOS in between KROQ and Jack, musically, rather than more squarely against Jack with just oldies. Also, the new music might make them become more relevant again.
 
Sad to hear about Rita Wilde go after such a long tenure. Although, interested in seeing what Bob will do. KLOS is such a branded and heritage station. I've been listening forever! Love me some Classic Rock!



Joshua Escandon.com
 
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