• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Samantha leaves KOAS as a program director. What does this mean?

S

SJFAN

Samantha Pascal was layed off at KOAS this morning. Does this mean the end of the Las Vegas Smooth Jazz station?
 
Wasn't she basically someone who had no background in the format and was at an A/C station then got mentored by Paul Goldstein who put her on staff at KKSF, essentially there just to do as she was told in an assistant capacity. I seem to recall comments in RnR when she got the gig that she was good at details and "executing directives" or something like that. Probably all it means is that they didn't need an extra person on the payroll whose job was just to do what she was told. The person that was telling her what to do in the first place could "execute directives" himself and save some cash.
 
Keep an eye on this station. They're local 24/7. BA is on the hunt for these stations for clearance especially if ratings are so-so. OK ratings her but way down from a year ago and still paying the same 24/7 staff. I mentioned elsewhere that possibly Samantha's GM fell for the BA pitch and she said she wasn't having it. Look for and R&R headline:

The Sky Is Not Falling! Ramsey and Koz A Sure Bet For Las Vegas!

KOAS GM: "We're thrilled and excited to be bringing Ramsey Lewis' great blend of on-air talent to Las Vegas! Also having Dave Koz to bring our listeners home with his great experience in this format! He's the Ryan Seacrest of Smooth Jazz! If he can be #1 in Chicago, he can be #1 in Las Vegas! I'll gamble on that!"

With the PD out this is definately significant. It would be nice to see MD Lynn Briggs get the nod but I'm not sure if she wants to be plugging in voice tracks all day and rotating the BA playlist. Something to watch!
 
that's too bad...in the quotes i saw from her on R&R, it sounded like she had strong ambitions for this format. even mentioning how she wanted to get to #1 +12. sadly in the wrong format for that.
 
If both your prime dayparts are network there's no reason to have a full-time off air PD in the budget. L. Lewis is on the air in Baltimore and Tozzi does shows in Philly but one wonders how long their salary/benefits will be seen as justified by penny-pinching owners who are getting the hard sell pitch from BA. I was under the impression from the articles I read about Samantha in RnR that she was part of the BA crowd and totally on that bandwagon. Of course even the true believers have begun to defect or at least question and when you lose human beings at your station for satellite delivered pre-recorded pleasantries. Pascual and Lewis were both groomed by hardcore BA guys (Goldstein and Kepler) but possibly the more they heard the music, met the listeners, and learned the format the more they began to have (gasp!) independent thoughts...which does not bode well for future employment in the mainstream of this format.
 
As long as they don't lay Lynn Briggs off. She is the music director, and she has done a good job with the station. Plus I love her Oasis Lounge show on Saturday nights. I can't believe that the program director was laid off. Looking at the ratings, the station seems to be doing good, especially with all the recent format flips.
 
Could mean possibly that the new PD will either head a flip to Ramsey/Koz or a flip to another format. But his comments sound like Lynn Briggs and the station might have a future. So I'm leaning more to a Ramsey/Koz announcement. This will be less overwhelming for him and other cluster personnel can load in the voice tracks. He can just manage the music and the remain staff and work with his other stations. He definately can't handle a 24/7 staff with the other cluster responsibilities.
 
PD announcement in RnR really affirms that the company is cutting back the budget. They are handing the PD gig to the guy who is PD and AM drive at the sister station which is Alternative. Guy probably won't get much extra money for adding the gig either. So now he's PD at 2 stations and AM Drive at one. Lynn is the APD/MD.
 
They are going with Koz in the afternoon starting at the end of the week according to RnR, replacing long time personality Cat Lee. AM driver was also cut with "replacement to be announced." I'd say Ramsey Lewis
'
 
cklw800 said:
Keep an eye on this station. They're local 24/7. BA is on the hunt for these stations for clearance especially if ratings are so-so. OK ratings her but way down from a year ago and still paying the same 24/7 staff. I mentioned elsewhere that possibly Samantha's GM fell for the BA pitch and she said she wasn't having it. Look for and R&R headline:

The Sky Is Not Falling! Ramsey and Koz A Sure Bet For Las Vegas!

KOAS GM: "We're thrilled and excited to be bringing Ramsey Lewis' great blend of on-air talent to Las Vegas! Also having Dave Koz to bring our listeners home with his great experience in this format! He's the Ryan Seacrest of Smooth Jazz! If he can be #1 in Chicago, he can be #1 in Las Vegas! I'll gamble on that!"

With the PD out this is definately significant. It would be nice to see MD Lynn Briggs get the nod but I'm not sure if she wants to be plugging in voice tracks all day and rotating the BA playlist. Something to watch!
Click to expand...
 
I am very familiar with this station and can tell you for certain that Kepler will never let anyone but BA program the playlist. How long was Samantha with KOAS? Didn't they move her over from L.A?
 
I remember a big piece in RnR when she took the PD gig. I think she was Paul Goldesteins administrative assistant or some type of programming assistant at the WAVE, and the station he was at before that and he recommended her for the job. They made a big deal in the article about her having a lot of A/C background and not much smooth jazz and that was good because she wouldn't bring her personal tastes into music scheduling and research.
 
That makes perfect sense, BA does not want to work with a PD that 'has a feel for music" I worked at a SJ station where the owners and GM hired BA to consult. Our PD decided he wanted to add Corinne Bailey Rea's "Girls Put Your Records On" and Kepler went balistic. The single had been out for about a week and no other station in the country was playing it. I remember hearing over the speaker phone Kepler screaming at my PD 'How the hell can you add a song that has never been tested?" He had it yanked by that night. Now if memory serves me, that song went on to be Grammy nominated for Song of the Year. That should give you some idea about the instincts that Kepler brings to the table.
 
And when the song broke I seem to recall Kepler saying he found it. ROTFL. Consultants yelling at PDs on speaker phones. Who pays who??
 
12344321 said:
That makes perfect sense, BA does not want to work with a PD that 'has a feel for music" I worked at a SJ station where the owners and GM hired BA to consult. Our PD decided he wanted to add Corinne Bailey Rea's "Girls Put Your Records On" and Kepler went balistic. The single had been out for about a week and no other station in the country was playing it. I remember hearing over the speaker phone Kepler screaming at my PD 'How the hell can you add a song that has never been tested?" He had it yanked by that night. Now if memory serves me, that song went on to be Grammy nominated for Song of the Year. That should give you some idea about the instincts that Kepler brings to the table.
Click to expand...

It's almost scary how some of these Kepler/BA "incidents" mirror one another.

Steve Scott, former PD at the now defunct WJZI-FM, Milwaukee, WI, also had some not-so-favorable comments about his experience with the Kepler/BA cartel at the following (click on the link to read)...

Steve Scott Blasts BA

DD™
 
Wow, it sucks that she is leaving the station, but I'm glad she is trying to get her show syndicated. I love listening to it on Saturday nights and think it would be good fit with some of the other SJ specialty shows like Chill With Mindi Abair and Nick Francis's Quiet Music.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom