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Small stations

R

RadioRatDude

Guest
Atlanta has a lot of small stations that do nothing. No creativity and take no chances at all. Is it that they think small? Do the pd's program out of fear? Nobody in this town takes any chances at all to achieve stardom. I guess that is why they work at small stations and make small salaries. Take some chances and maybe you will get an audience.
 
Do you work in the business, or are you someone who's just interested in it? if you work in it, then you'd know that "taking a chance" with multi-million dollar sticks isn't exactly in the cards with any owner...sorry, but that's the truth.

People tend to think that adventurous, new, genie-in-a-bottle formats or execution will set a new standard and drive ratings and revenue success. Sorry, but reality is different. People like and want what they already know and are comfortable with. Commercial radio is like commercial fast food: you go with what the market wants, or you go out of business. And the market wants stations to play the hits (irrespective of format--each has their own "hits").

--"Deep cuts" doesn't work -- people say they want it, but their behavior as reported in Arbitron belies that
--Broad playlists don't work. They actually result in lower ratings. If you've worked in the business for any length of time, you'll know why.

It doesn't mean that stations have to sound boring. But they do need to be familiar to their target audience.
 
Do you work in the business, or are you someone who's just interested in it? if you work in it, then you'd know that "taking a chance" with multi-million dollar sticks isn't exactly in the cards with any owner...sorry, but that's the truth.

People tend to think that adventurous, new, genie-in-a-bottle formats or execution will set a new standard and drive ratings and revenue success. Sorry, but reality is different. People like and want what they already know and are comfortable with. Commercial radio is like commercial fast food: you go with what the market wants, or you go out of business. And the market wants stations to play the hits (irrespective of format--each has their own "hits").

Your argument is weak and you must not be in the business​

"taking a chance" is not in the cards - are you kidding me? Sitting on your million dollar investment and doing nothing, is that taking a chance? Any incompetent slug could do that.

You also say the Commercial radio is like commercial fast food: You go with what the market wants. Is GST going with what the market wants? How about WGKA, are they giving the market what they want?

And I agree, the small station pd's, and I include GST, do not have what it takes to become a player. Big kabukas might help. Take a risk, throw the dice, put the money on double zero.
 
atlantascum said:
And I agree, the small station pd's, and I include GST, do not have what it takes to become a player. Big kabukas might help. Take a risk, throw the dice, put the money on double zero.
Click to expand...

Wow...after all these years...all I have to do is "throw the dice"?
WHo knew it was that simple?
 
atlantascum said:
And I agree, the small station pd's, and I include GST, do not have what it takes to become a player. Big kabukas might help. Take a risk, throw the dice, put the money on double zero.
Click to expand...

No...Unless you're doing radio as a hobby (which is very rare) you DONT put the money on double zero. You put the money where you can makes the most profit. If the most money-making format is bubble-gum pop, that's where you go. If the best money-making format is a broad-based alternative, that's where you go. That's business, and that's just the way America works.

Radio-X
 
radiodxrichmond said:
No...Unless you're doing radio as a hobby (which is very rare) you DONT put the money on double zero. You put the money where you can makes the most profit. If the most money-making format is bubble-gum pop, that's where you go. If the best money-making format is a broad-based alternative, that's where you go. That's business, and that's just the way America works.
Click to expand...

Joe Weber is doing radio as a hobby.
 
Re: Atlantascum reply

Your argument is weak and you must not be in the business

Lessee---33 years doing radio and TV, have done on-air full-time in every daypart except overnights, was a PD in 3 top 10 markets, 5 total PD jobs all in top 20 markets, worked for CBS, ABC, Susquehanna, was an AE, too.

You're right, my argument is weak, and I must not be in the business. ;D
 
I've been listening online to what I guess would be considered a "small station" on Long Island, NY - WLNG ( www.wlng.com ). They are live and local most of the day with several oldies programs at night.

Considering that most major stations can't seem to provide decent community service without going broke, just how are these guys in New York making it work?
 
trusty said:
Considering that most major stations can't seem to provide decent community service without going broke, just how are these guys in New York making it work?
Click to expand...

I can't help but think that having The Hamptons as your target market might push the cost of a holler a little bit higher than the norm.
 
I was just listening to WLNG's stream and they are doing a Swap-n-Shop. They have to be in a really good position. If the format is right, you have a pent up demand from advertisers. According to radio-locator.com there are only six FM commercial signals in that area. They have populatioin, good demographics, and are making it by spending money on warm blooded bodies.

When I was young in the late 70s, I worked at a local station in Dallas, GA that was doing all of those things. We traveled around broadcasting the bluegrass festivals, football games, business remots, and did one full hour of live, local news at 12:00. I have always wondered if the format had been tweeked some and the station kepted doing what it was doing... would it be viable today?
 
WLNG has been around FOREVER... they are constantly booked for remotes, commercial time is frequently sold out, two of their people have been there 40 years, a few have been there 30 years..... their people have popularity, they know the market and their listeners.......,

It has alot more to do with just "doing local" radio and getting it right... it takes work.
 
Ishould add, I used to listen to The "Big" 92.1 LNG years ago, several times a week.. and it's so cool to listen to a station with original jingles and reverb/echo.

They have a killer 6KW Class A signal too!!
 
This is my point. Somehow, a lot of us have fallen into the mindset that you could
A: serve the community (live, local, shop, sports remotes, etc.) and lose money
B: don't serve the coommunity (jukebox, syndacated shows, etc.) and make money

Seems that there is at least one station that can show the suits that you can serve your community and make money at the same time. Of course, that station is not having to pay the salaries of the suits! ::)

Bottom line: There is NO reason to lower our expectations of the broadcast industry - whether on Long Island or in Atlanta. Good radio CAN be done with no excuses, and I don't apologize if my demand for excellence exceeds perceived limitations of talent or management.

If poor radio continues, it continues with greed and laziness.
 
When my parents were kids, announcers made a lot of money. When I was growing up, they were
paid like school teachers. Todays jock gets $6 to $10 an hour.

And many stations can't make it doing that.

What happened? Super stores came into communities. They put out of business the mom and pop
stores that advertised on mom and pop radio. And they don't need to advertise.

So, who is to blame? How about you and me! We shop there to save a buck. And down it all
goes.
 
There is the truth! Listen to the Alan Jackson song "Little Man". It explains it just as it has happened.
 
trusty said:
Seems that there is at least one station that can show the suits that you can serve your community and make money at the same time.
Click to expand...

A nice romantic notion, but not one that I believe any reasonable person would consider "proven" by using a county with a median HH income of $65,214 as an example.

There are places it can be done (and without benefit of such a statistical anamoly) but this isn't exactly the best example for trying to make your point IMO.
 
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