Pig Station

[BigSteveG]

I noticed on Radio and Records today that San Francisco area now has a Triple A station KPIG. I went onto their website. They play a wide variety of music anywhere from B.B. King to Greg Allman. It reminded me a lot of Memphis Pig with a little more promotion. I wonder if that market will support it. Showing us how Triple A is done waits to be seen. There was minimal chatter about the station on The S.F. board on this site.

http://www.radioandrecords.com/Newsroom/2005_07_28/pigcomes.asp

 

[desechado]

> There was minimal chatter about the station on The S.F.
> board on this site.

Perhaps because there is minimal interest in this station...ya think?<P ID="signature">______________
Leonard Lawrence</P>

 

[BigSteveG]

> Perhaps because there is minimal interest in this
> station...ya think?
>
I knew that. I was making an observation. The station went on the air Wednesday. Maybe people are just now turning in. I am sure The Memphis Pig wasn't a conversation piece at first. I hope they warm up to it. They seem to have a descent playlist.

 

[RealDeal]

> > Perhaps because there is minimal interest in this
> > station...ya think?
> >
> I knew that. I was making an observation. The station went
> on the air Wednesday. Maybe people are just now turning in.
> I am sure The Memphis Pig wasn't a conversation piece at
> first. I hope they warm up to it. They seem to have a
> descent playlist.
>
Probably, there are real radio broadcasters running the pig in California, not a radiologist from Methodist Hospital, aka George Flinn. When he had the format on 107.5, he kept constantly tinkering with it. In the legitmate broadcast world, it's all about the money. Only some local, independant operator like Flinn would put on a format that would lose money. He has no investors or stockholders to deal with. And it probably gives him a thrill to talk about "his stations" at church and the doctor's lunch room.

 

[foreverchanges]

> > > Perhaps because there is minimal interest in this
> > > station...ya think?
> > >
> > I knew that. I was making an observation. The station
> went
> > on the air Wednesday. Maybe people are just now turning
> in.
> > I am sure The Memphis Pig wasn't a conversation piece at
> > first. I hope they warm up to it. They seem to have a
> > descent playlist.
> >
> Probably, there are real radio broadcasters running the pig
> in California, not a radiologist from Methodist Hospital,
> aka George Flinn. When he had the format on 107.5, he kept
> constantly tinkering with it. In the legitmate broadcast
> world, it's all about the money. Only some local,
> independant operator like Flinn would put on a format that
> would lose money. He has no investors or stockholders to
> deal with. And it probably gives him a thrill to talk about
> "his stations" at church and the doctor's lunch room.
>

KPIG has actually been on 107.5 in Freedom, CA for years. I have an aircheck from 2003 and it's great. You should hear the fake commercials they throw in with the real ones ("You won't be able to leave at all when you shop Gargantua Mall!" They just got a translator to sort of get them into SF. They're 1000 times better than our Pig could ever have been.

 

[MemphisMitch]

> Probably, there are real radio broadcasters running the pig
> in California, not a radiologist from Methodist Hospital,
> aka George Flinn. When he had the format on 107.5, he kept
> constantly tinkering with it. In the legitmate broadcast
> world, it's all about the money. Only some local,
> independant operator like Flinn would put on a format that
> would lose money. He has no investors or stockholders to
> deal with. And it probably gives him a thrill to talk about
> "his stations" at church and the doctor's lunch room.
>

Okay I have been reading post putting down Doc for about four years now. He pissed me off because when I returned from vacation I was fired. I was making too much money! "The guy who was sitting in for you is only making $10 an hour, and he doesn't sound THAT bad. So we're going with him." Is what I was told by the PD, Steve Reynolds. I don’t know if the decision was made by Doc, Steve or Donald but I do know that Doc gave it his blessing. No, Doc does not come from a broadcasting background, but he has a passion for Radio. It's not about bragging rights, he loves it. Did he play with the music too much? Yes, he did. Was it a power trip? No, it was not. He did everything he could to see that the Pig was successful and that may have been what did Porky in! Has he made mistakes? Lots of them some may say but that does not make him a bad person. If I had the money before I got into radio to buy stations I would have. If it was my station and I believed I knew what was best for my station I would do it. Doc grew up listening to MPS and HBQ and then bought the call letters because he loved those stations. What Doc should have done is surround himself with professionals that could give him good broadcasting advice instead of taking people he trusted from other fields. Does that frustrate those of us who know broadcasting from years of experience, of course it does. But again, that does not make him a bad guy. I sat in those meeting talking about the music, promotions and the overall sound of the station. I saw the fire in his eyes and heard the passion in his voice. I’m tired of him being this site’s whipping boy. When we did the concerts on the roof of the Peabody, they were always jam packed and to get there you had to register on line. It wasn’t word of mouth, it was our listeners. I think the music was great and even after I was fired, I was still a listener. There are a lot of people that loved the format. Was it for the masses? No. Did that matter? No again. When I was in Las Vegas there was a station called the Key. They also had a different music mix. They were never #1 in ANY demo, but the billing was excellent. I think that is what Doc was going for. So I don’t expect you to be a fan of George Flinn, but at least accept the fact that although he makes mistakes, he is not mean spirited. My mother, now she’s mean spirited! Doc, just because I came to your defense doesn’t mean I’m not still pissed at you. One of your biggest BAD decisions was to let some jerk from Jersey fire me! Let the bashing begin.<P ID="signature">______________
Experience is a tough teacher; you have to fail the test before you can learn the lesson.</P>

 

[Chatham5150]

Well, as someone who hasn't worked for the good doctor, I can only theorize. I have worked for a similar owner who is known for similar knee jerk decisions (won't say who though.) It seems like he just doesn't understand that the key to winning in radio is consistency. Yes, occasional tweeking is necessary to prevent burn factor, but you've got to have good people and let them do their jobs. I had a PD who was quite the mentor to me, and he felt helpless, because the owner told him to change things if we had the slightest down trend. He basically had to make these drastic changes or else.

As for The Pig, as an outsider and a jock who had interviewed to work there (didn't get the gig), I saw a lot of momentum and potential. I loved listening online and the music mix was great in my opinion. The Peabody roof concerts looked packed from the pictures I saw, and that's what made me want to work there in the first place.

Like I said, I can't speak from experience since I haven't worked there, but that's how it all looked in my eyes.

 

[MemphisMitch]

> Well, as someone who hasn't worked for the good doctor, I
> can only theorize. I have worked for a similar owner who is
> known for similar knee jerk decisions (won't say who
> though.) It seems like he just doesn't understand that the
> key to winning in radio is consistency. Yes, occasional
> tweeking is necessary to prevent burn factor, but you've got
> to have good people and let them do their jobs. I had a PD
> who was quite the mentor to me, and he felt helpless,
> because the owner told him to change things if we had the
> slightest down trend. He basically had to make these drastic
> changes or else.
>

Doc in my opinion was a little too hands on for someone who has never worked in radio. I agree with what you said about consistency, the only complaint I have is the personal attacks on him. He is trying to do the right thing, he just needs more pros in upper Management and he needs to listen to them and learn from them. I think the format and playlist were great when I was there and he was like the owner you were talking about. I think Radio is a business where you should ACT not RE-ACT. Yes there are times to make changes, but not as often as we did. I don’t what to get into name calling with anyone and I know that there are those who think Doc is a wealthy kid with big toys, but having worked for him I don’t think that is true. I do however respect you opinion, I just disagree with it.


> As for The Pig, as an outsider and a jock who had
> interviewed to work there (didn't get the gig), I saw a lot
> of momentum and potential. I loved listening online and the
> music mix was great in my opinion. The Peabody roof concerts
> looked packed from the pictures I saw, and that's what made
> me want to work there in the first place.
>
> Like I said, I can't speak from experience since I haven't
> worked there, but that's how it all looked in my eyes.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
Experience is a tough teacher; you have to fail the test before you can learn the lesson.</P>

 

[MemphisMitch]

> KPIG has actually been on 107.5 in Freedom, CA for years. I
> have an aircheck from 2003 and it's great. You should hear
> the fake commercials they throw in with the real ones ("You
> won't be able to leave at all when you shop Gargantua Mall!"
> They just got a translator to sort of get them into SF.
> They're 1000 times better than our Pig could ever have been.
>

See this is what I'm talking about. "They're 1000 times better than our Pig could ever have been." I listened to airchecks of all their jocks when I was at the Pig here in 2002 - 2003. I listened to the fulltime and part time jocks and I have to say I disagree with your assessment. They were not 1000 times better than us, 10 tops lol. They did have those commercials that were very good, but I wasn’t that impressed with their airstaff. Both stations by the way had the same consultants and the big difference in the playlist was that we played a lot more blues (Memphis thang) and I give them (the consultants) credit for that. You really can’t say what any station “could ever be”. The Pig you speak so highly of offered me a job there through the consultants, so they didn’t think we were so outclassed by them! Again, let me stress I’m not saying you are wrong, just that I disagree with your opinion.<P ID="signature">______________
Experience is a tough teacher; you have to fail the test before you can learn the lesson.</P>

 

[foreverchanges]

> > KPIG has actually been on 107.5 in Freedom, CA for years.
> I
> > have an aircheck from 2003 and it's great. You should hear
>
> > the fake commercials they throw in with the real ones
> ("You
> > won't be able to leave at all when you shop Gargantua
> Mall!"
> > They just got a translator to sort of get them into SF.
> > They're 1000 times better than our Pig could ever have
> been.
> >
>
> See this is what I'm talking about. "They're 1000 times
> better than our Pig could ever have been." I listened to
> airchecks of all their jocks when I was at the Pig here in
> 2002 - 2003. I listened to the fulltime and part time jocks
> and I have to say I disagree with your assessment. They
> were not 1000 times better than us, 10 tops lol. They did
> have those commercials that were very good, but I wasn’t
> that impressed with their airstaff. Both stations by the
> way had the same consultants and the big difference in the
> playlist was that we played a lot more blues (Memphis thang)
> and I give them (the consultants) credit for that. You
> really can’t say what any station “could ever be”. The Pig
> you speak so highly of offered me a job there through the
> consultants, so they didn’t think we were so outclassed by
> them! Again, let me stress I’m not saying you are wrong,
> just that I disagree with your opinion.
>


Okay, so I exaggerate! (too many zeros!) Who doesn't around here? It's true that I can't compare one station to another after only hearing one for an hour, so I apologize. I do miss our Pig! They were best on FM, sounded like they were having fun, and were usually playing stuff you couldn't hear on the radio anywhere else in town. I never said anyone was outclassing anyone eithier, nor did I attack Doc. And I don't know what any station could ever be, you're right about that. I'm never gonna be in radio myself, I just play a guitar and turn the thing on sometimes.

 

[ElmoreGantry]

Re: Pig Station(and fried pies)

> > > Dontcha just hate rich doctors who try and be cool? Running their own station and all? Makes me wanna drink and smoke bud constantly(seein as how I used to work for that idiot. Peace out!

 

[Chatham5150]

> Doc in my opinion was a little too hands on for someone who
> has never worked in radio. I agree with what you said about
> consistency, the only complaint I have is the personal
> attacks on him. He is trying to do the right thing, he just
> needs more pros in upper Management and he needs to listen
> to them and learn from them. I think the format and
> playlist were great when I was there and he was like the
> owner you were talking about. I think Radio is a business
> where you should ACT not RE-ACT. Yes there are times to
> make changes, but not as often as we did. I don’t what to
> get into name calling with anyone and I know that there are
> those who think Doc is a wealthy kid with big toys, but
> having worked for him I don’t think that is true. I do
> however respect you opinion, I just disagree with it.

Great post Mitch. I agree with everything you've said here. Like I said, my opinion is only that of an outsider looking in. I've never worked for Flinn Broadcasting, so I don't know what it's like. As for the Doc, I've never met him, but a girl in Memphis I used to date knows him through the Young Republicans and says very good things about him as a person.

As for the owner I referred to, would I work for him again? Yes, I would in a heartbeat. He has his critics, but I always felt comfortable around him and I felt taken care of as an employee (even with the low pay his company offers). I don't think I've ever made any "personal" attacks on Doc, but I know I have criticized him in the past. If I've said anything personal, I apologize.

I thought you did an outstanding job when you were at The Pig and I didn't know exactly why you had left until reading one of your posts recently. I interviewed with Steve Richards and really thought I was going to be joining you guys. (I still think that whomever made the sale for y'all to set up at Wang's for Memphis In May was pure genius).

Anyway, since I'm back on the beach as of two weeks ago myself, I'd best get back to the search.

Cheers!

MC

 

[ticoSD]

> Well, as someone who hasn't worked for the good doctor, I
> can only theorize. I have worked for a similar owner who is
> known for similar knee jerk decisions (won't say who
> though.) It seems like he just doesn't understand that the
> key to winning in radio is consistency. Yes, occasional
> tweeking is necessary to prevent burn factor, but you've got
> to have good people and let them do their jobs. I had a PD
> who was quite the mentor to me, and he felt helpless,
> because the owner told him to change things if we had the
> slightest down trend. He basically had to make these drastic
> changes or else.

Good ole' Fast Eddie. I remember those days and I never worked there a day in my life.<P ID="signature">______________
"...and the countdown continues until the neanderthals that govern college football do something about their pathetic postseason."--Tim Brando, Sporting News Radio</P>

 

[ticoSD]

> > There was minimal chatter about the station on The S.F.
> > board on this site.
>
> Perhaps because there is minimal interest in this
> station...ya think?
>

Considering it's a Monterey-Salinas area station and not a Bay Area station, that's probably why there's mimimal interest on the SF board. KPIG's signal also takes in the ultra-liberal Santa Cruz and AAA tends to do well in liberal places. KPIG is #7 in the most recent Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz Arbies, so it'd not doing too shabby, but has steadily declined since the fall of '04.<P ID="signature">______________
"...and the countdown continues until the neanderthals that govern college football do something about their pathetic postseason."--Tim Brando, Sporting News Radio</P>

 

[RealDeal]

> > KPIG has actually been on 107.5 in Freedom, CA for years.
> I
> > have an aircheck from 2003 and it's great. You should hear
>
> > the fake commercials they throw in with the real ones
> ("You
> > won't be able to leave at all when you shop Gargantua
> Mall!"
> > They just got a translator to sort of get them into SF.
> > They're 1000 times better than our Pig could ever have
> been.
> >
>
> See this is what I'm talking about. "They're 1000 times
> better than our Pig could ever have been." I listened to
> airchecks of all their jocks when I was at the Pig here in
> 2002 - 2003. I listened to the fulltime and part time jocks
> and I have to say I disagree with your assessment. They
> were not 1000 times better than us, 10 tops lol. They did
> have those commercials that were very good, but I wasn’t
> that impressed with their airstaff. Both stations by the
> way had the same consultants and the big difference in the
> playlist was that we played a lot more blues (Memphis thang)
> and I give them (the consultants) credit for that. You
> really can’t say what any station “could ever be”. The Pig
> you speak so highly of offered me a job there through the
> consultants, so they didn’t think we were so outclassed by
> them! Again, let me stress I’m not saying you are wrong,
> just that I disagree with your opinion.

Way to go Mitch! Enjoyed your take on the Pig situation. George Flinn is not mean spirited, he is getting bad information from the management people he has working for them. Didn't he hire one Sales Manager out of the plumbing or electrical business? I heard that he never spent a day inside a radio station before the Doc hooked him up. Wasn't that the same guy who's ex works for George?

If true, you gotta love George for wanting to take care of his employees, but maye he should try to get some legitimate broadcasters that have been around the block to help him. George's ego won't let him take any advice, since he thinks he knows broadcasting because he owns some stations.

George has broadcast licenses for a group of stations in small markets around the country, but he is smart enough to LMA those properties to real broadcasters. Yet, because of ego, he continues to try and run the Memphis stations with sub-par management. Not one of his managers probably would even be considered for any position with a real broadcast company.

The sad episode of the George Flinn story is that a lot of good air talent have passed through the doors, with the expectation that things would change or that he would not tinker with the formats. He has a passion for radio, no doubt, but he should stick to reading x-rays, don't you think?

>

 

[noisebox]

l<P ID="signature">______________
"...on a scale of 1 to 10, I give her a 2 - that's only because I've NEVER seen a 1."</P>

 

[MemphisMitch]

> > Doc in my opinion was a little too hands on for someone
> who
> > has never worked in radio. I agree with what you said
> about
> > consistency, the only complaint I have is the personal
> > attacks on him. He is trying to do the right thing, he
> just
> > needs more pros in upper Management and he needs to listen
>
> > to them and learn from them. I think the format and
> > playlist were great when I was there and he was like the
> > owner you were talking about. I think Radio is a business
>
> > where you should ACT not RE-ACT. Yes there are times to
> > make changes, but not as often as we did. I don’t what to
>
> > get into name calling with anyone and I know that there
> are
> > those who think Doc is a wealthy kid with big toys, but
> > having worked for him I don’t think that is true. I do
> > however respect you opinion, I just disagree with it.
>
> Great post Mitch. I agree with everything you've said here.
> Like I said, my opinion is only that of an outsider looking
> in. I've never worked for Flinn Broadcasting, so I don't
> know what it's like. As for the Doc, I've never met him, but
> a girl in Memphis I used to date knows him through the Young
> Republicans and says very good things about him as a person.
>
>
> As for the owner I referred to, would I work for him again?
> Yes, I would in a heartbeat. He has his critics, but I
> always felt comfortable around him and I felt taken care of
> as an employee (even with the low pay his company offers). I
> don't think I've ever made any "personal" attacks on Doc,
> but I know I have criticized him in the past. If I've said
> anything personal, I apologize.
>
> I thought you did an outstanding job when you were at The
> Pig and I didn't know exactly why you had left until reading
> one of your posts recently. I interviewed with Steve
> Richards and really thought I was going to be joining you
> guys. (I still think that whomever made the sale for y'all
> to set up at Wang's for Memphis In May was pure genius).
>
> Anyway, since I'm back on the beach as of two weeks ago
> myself, I'd best get back to the search.
>
> Cheers!
>
> MC
>
I think this is what the board should be, expressing opinions without making personal attacks on those who disagree. When I spoke of Doc being the whipping boy on this site I was talking about the site in general. I wasn't talking about any one person. When I was fired my life sucked! I tried several sales jobs that ended up costing me money instead of making me money. Now I have recovered and I'm making more money than I've made and life is good again. I know what you're going through. If you need some extra cash while you are waiting to see what your next radio gig contact me at memphismitch2000@yahoo or Rmm@aol and I'll show you what I'm doing. Thanks for the exchange of ideas and being professional about it.

Mitch


<P ID="signature">______________
Experience is a tough teacher; you have to fail the test before you can learn the lesson.</P>

 

[noisebox]

Re: Pig Station - memphis beginnings...

excuse me if the points jump around - but:

back in august of 2000, 96.1 WMPS changed from the Phantom into the PIG. guess what station the music (and pretty much everything else) was coming from?
KPIG 107.5 - in freedom, california.

i saw the computer that received ALL the information from the west to play in memphis on 96.1. great idea - technologically. but it put me out of a pretty fun gig. still, a pretty good idea to play americana/AAA/cool music in memphis - why didn't someone else think of it first? evolution and the good dr. eventually made it more local and adding humans and changing frequencies and...well, you know about all that.

now, i've been one to defend the character of doc many times. he's a good guy. he loves radio. it's his money. his licences. he can do what he wants. sometimes he'll tell you that too.

i will not comment on the people that he has working for him, or had working for him in the past. none of them treated me badly, but i do have my opinions and don't really need to share because it doesn't matter. nearly all are pretty good though. (even the "electrician".)

as the phantom, there were die-hard listeners and they increased with the pig (from my observations.) never one to be a big ratings buster because of signal deficiencies, they still listened. and showed up at events. and logged on. even the flyer was/is (?) a fan.

there is a place for the pig in memphis. and consistency is key. if only there was a way to get that point across...maybe the fact that 107.1 @ 2.75kw as a rhythmic station in the top-10 (and sometimes top-5) for how many years now would be a place to start? it bills and they don't usually tinker with that, do they?

my $.02 for today. <P ID="signature">______________
"...on a scale of 1 to 10, I give her a 2 - that's only because I've NEVER seen a 1."</P>

 

[MemphisMitch]

> Way to go Mitch! Enjoyed your take on the Pig situation.
> George Flinn is not mean spirited, he is getting bad
> information from the management people he has working for
> them. Didn't he hire one Sales Manager out of the plumbing
> or electrical business? I heard that he never spent a day
> inside a radio station before the Doc hooked him up. Wasn't
> that the same guy who's ex works for George?
>
If you are talking about who I think you are, he is a GM at one of his stations and he really is WAY to buff to continue talking about him!


> If true, you gotta love George for wanting to take care of
> his employees, but maye he should try to get some legitimate
> broadcasters that have been around the block to help him.
> George's ego won't let him take any advice, since he thinks
> he knows broadcasting because he owns some stations.
>

In my opinion, Doc has no ego (remember, he was never in this ego-based business except as an owner); it’s passion that drives him. If I was an owner that had never been in programming and someone told me that what I wanted to do wouldn’t work, I’d have to find out for myself. Wouldn’t you?


> George has broadcast licenses for a group of stations in
> small markets around the country, but he is smart enough to
> LMA those properties to real broadcasters. Yet, because of
> ego, he continues to try and run the Memphis stations with
> sub-par management. Not one of his managers probably would
> even be considered for any position with a real broadcast
> company.
>
He didn’t get into Radio ownership to make a buck (although I’m sure he does want them to be money makers), he loves radio and yes he plays with the Memphis stations because he is here. He is one of the most intelligent men I have ever met; he just doesn’t know radio like someone who has 20 years experience. When most people get into the business, they start in small markets to get the experience and move on. Doc bought into his stations and from the very beginning was criticized for his every move. Would I have done things differently? Yes, but that doesn’t make him wrong, he just took a different road. Believe me he has learned from the mistakes he has made, and won’t make the same ones again. When he decided to get into politics he lost two elections and is now a County Commissioner. When I see him in those meetings I see a concerned man who wants to make a contribution. He learned from his first race what NOT to do. He said so in public and he changed his direction. I think he should be given credit for competing with large corporations. It’s like a small convenience store competing with several large chain stores. All I’m saying is yes he has made mistakes and yes he will make more and so will we, but I disagree with saying it is his ego or that he doesn’t care about the people that work for him. I truly believe that in my case, when I was fired he felt that the money he was paying me could be put to better use to benefit his stations in other areas.


> The sad episode of the George Flinn story is that a lot of
> good air talent have passed through the doors, with the
> expectation that things would change or that he would not
> tinker with the formats. He has a passion for radio, no
> doubt, but he should stick to reading x-rays, don't you
> think?
>


I think that anyone who has a passion for the business should be allowed to pursue that passion. I think at times that this board (no one in particular) acts like I did when I put a sign on my bedroom door that read “No Girls Allowed”. If he is so bad at radio, he is a threat to no one. It’s ok to point out his mistakes, let’s just do it without attacking him personally.

Mitch

<P ID="signature">______________
Experience is a tough teacher; you have to fail the test before you can learn the lesson.</P>

 

[foreverchanges]

Re: Pig Station - memphis beginnings...

> excuse me if the points jump around - but:
>
> back in august of 2000, 96.1 WMPS changed from the Phantom
> into the PIG. guess what station the music (and pretty much
> everything else) was coming from?
> KPIG 107.5 - in freedom, california.
>
> i saw the computer that received ALL the information from
> the west to play in memphis on 96.1. great idea -
> technologically. but it put me out of a pretty fun gig.
> still, a pretty good idea to play americana/AAA/cool music
> in memphis - why didn't someone else think of it first?
> evolution and the good dr. eventually made it more local and
> adding humans and changing frequencies and...well, you know
> about all that.
>
> now, i've been one to defend the character of doc many
> times. he's a good guy. he loves radio. it's his money. his
> licences. he can do what he wants. sometimes he'll tell you
> that too.
>
> i will not comment on the people that he has working for
> him, or had working for him in the past. none of them
> treated me badly, but i do have my opinions and don't really
> need to share because it doesn't matter. nearly all are
> pretty good though. (even the "electrician".)
>
> as the phantom, there were die-hard listeners and they
> increased with the pig (from my observations.) never one to
> be a big ratings buster because of signal deficiencies, they
> still listened. and showed up at events. and logged on. even
> the flyer was/is (?) a fan.
>
> there is a place for the pig in memphis. and consistency is
> key. if only there was a way to get that point
> across...maybe the fact that 107.1 @ 2.75kw as a rhythmic
> station in the top-10 (and sometimes top-5) for how many
> years now would be a place to start? it bills and they don't
> usually tinker with that, do they?
>
> my $.02 for today.
>


I do miss the Phantom...that's one of the craziest stations I've ever heard. Who else would play Depeche Mode bootlegs??