Smooth Jazz Not Dead

[Rusty Muck]

When does Rubber City take over? Thursday? Friday?

The deal passed through the FCC, and the money should formally be exchanged by Friday. Ergo, why Mike, Ravenna, Rocco and Brad will all sign off for good on Friday. I'd have to say that was planned by ELBC anyway, probably more so for timing purposes because of the end of the year... remember that for many business, this is the last full working week of 2011.

Whenever RCRG can get the new studio for 107.3 completed in time for the move is the big question. I'd have to assume the biggest task at hand would be making sure the STL equipment and automation systems are in good working order at the Akron Radio Center. If there IS a problem, that could hold up the official consummation of the deal for days, if not weeks.

But don't expect an immediate flip. I wouldn't be shocked to see 107.3 just utilize the "V" database for the next few weeks as a placeholder until everything is up and running, then flip in early January. That could make things easier if there is a delay in moving, as "V107.3" would be all-automated starting on Saturday anyway. So the STL switching over to the Akron Radio Center could take place quietly, with no fanfare at all.

 

[BoredOp930am]

Nate and Capulet-

C'mon! Let's be civil. As some of you know, I worked the AM side for almost 10 years(2001 to 2003, then 2004 to 2010).

In defense of Nathan, he knows a lot of radio & has a lot of good contacts. Capulet, I think you & him should agree to disagree on what happened with V/Boom, & wffm78, don't get involved in this "match" either. Your input didn't really help.

V/Boom failed to catch on because of little to no promotion, a bi-polar playlist, boring airstaff, even more boring presentation, numerous bad moves & a stubbornness when it came to filling a void (they should've flipped to Alternative after 92.3's switch). The station was doomed from day one.

The Wave will likely put a dent on both WDOK and WZAK. I do wish the new station success. Rubber City knows what they're doing.

I personally think "CleveFan" pretty much hit it on the head. I also think that program directors put WAY too much faith in the PPM, instead of remembering that all that is just a GUIDE.

I also don't think that "Uncle Bernie" was as squeeky clean as you would like to think, Nate. He did limit the jocks as to how much and what they could say on air, which was a detriment to the overall listenability of the station. IF he would have let the jocks be more personable, then it would've definitely helped, but-most, if not ALL radio stations are abandoning the very foundation of their existance, which is that radio is a SERVICE. Oh, well...

And, instead of trying to chase WDOK, and playing a lot of the same songs that 102.1 played, Bernie and Angie should've included more stuff such as the music that the Weather Channel plays during the "Local On The 8s" segments. But, what do I know? I was just a "bored operator"...

Well, no matter now. It's all a done deal. I'm just glad that I'm out of the radio business; I have NO desire spending the rest of my life stuck as a board op. On to bigger and better!

 

[Cynyster]

I also don't think that "Uncle Bernie" was as squeeky clean as you would like to think, Nate. He did limit the jocks as to how much and what they could say on air, which was a detriment to the overall listenability of the station. IF he would have let the jocks be more personable, then it would've definitely helped, but-most, if not ALL radio stations are abandoning the very foundation of their existance, which is that radio is a SERVICE. Oh, well...

I believe you are right. However, compared to the level of incompetence shown with this "experiment" even a devil in a blue dress would seem like an angel. :-\

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Don't tarnish the brand name of Ohio Media Watch as its "secondary voice" by getting into a low end pissing match on a chat board.

Or, as Nathan has in his own signature file:

The views, opinions, claims or representations expressed by me in this post do not reflect the views of the Primary Editorial Voice(tm) for Ohio Media Watch.

Nathan often has strong opinions on this board, which is his right. I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind people (as per his signature file) that I'm not involved on any side of this.

 

[1sttimecaller]

Well smooth jazz/AC it is.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

I'm getting rather nasty mail from Elyria as a result of Nathan's posts here.

Once again, Nathan's opinions here are his own, and are not necessarily those of Ohio Media Watch, your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) (me) or anyone but Nathan.

He's nice enough to help us out filling my hiatuses (hiatii?) on the blog, but he also knows this stuff will not be approved if he writes it for the blog. Here, I can't do anything about it. He has free speech, and I don't control this message board. It is owned and operated by In3Media of Chicago, and has no connection to OMW other than the fact I occasionally post here as a user.

I write this here primarily because the mail in question came from a WNWV staffer, and they've apparently already shut his work E-mail down.

 

[CleveFan]

How upset are they about Nate's posts? They probably didn't want certain info getting out.

I can't help but think that the person (Anatasia) who wrote the article on Scene is upset that V is going away despite no formal announcement from Rubber City (she sure didn't hide it either), and many on FB are upset the format is going away. I can't help but think the Scene article is very biased with many people commenting on the upset. One commenter was very nasty toward another one. Check out the link for yourself: http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...12/08/v-1073-to-return-to-snooze-music-format

I do not like how Anatasia wrote the article. Her dislike for the change was clearly shown, and the comments are getting kind of out of hand. (You should see what "Kay" wrote) Reminds me of the FB posters on the now-defunct Radio 92.3 page.

BoredOp930am, thank you for compliment. That was based on what I heard on station from listening for the past two years.

How ironic that two years ago, it was announced The Wave was going away. Now around the same time this year, it might be coming back. How weird?

If it is a new version of The Wave, I think it will be run better with Rubber City.

 

[Rusty Muck]

I'm getting rather nasty mail from Elyria as a result of Nathan's posts here.

Once again, Nathan's opinions here are his own, and are not necessarily those of Ohio Media Watch, your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) (me) or anyone but Nathan.

He's nice enough to help us out filling my hiatuses (hiatii?) on the blog, but he also knows this stuff will not be approved if he writes it for the blog. Here, I can't do anything about it. He has free speech, and I don't control this message board. It is owned and operated by In3Media of Chicago, and has no connection to OMW other than the fact I occasionally post here as a user.

I write this here primarily because the mail in question came from a WNWV staffer, and they've apparently already shut his work E-mail down.

And also note that I actually haven't filled in for the Primary(tm) in several months. Last major involvement I've had was with helping assemble the info into "The Fan's" launch back in late August, but I didn't write anything specific for it. That was ALL put together by the Primary(tm).

If I post anything on Twitter, it's generally independent of OMW and the Primary. Yes, I teased on Twitter that there would be "LOTS o' change" coming to "a certain FM station," but was intentionally vague... kinda like the white smoke that precedes the selection of a new Pope.

I guess it's because that I'm more public about my identity that invites me scrutiny. But note, too, that I've received warm reception from many people in the business. One even came up to me and said the article I wrote about said person's recent dismissal from a local media outlet was the nicest thing written about them that they had ever seen.

Look at DCRTV.com. The guy behind it, Dave Hughes, is deeply opinionated, and has a big section of his website devoted to rants about what he feels does and doesn't work in the local media scene. But he has contacts, sources, subscribers and fans that read like a who's-who of the national media scene. Outside of Scott Fybush, Dave is the best in the business.

 

[Rusty Muck]

I can't help but think that the person (Anatasia) who wrote the article on Scene is upset that V is going away despite no formal announcement from Rubber City (she sure didn't hide it either), and many on FB are upset the format is going away. I can't help but think the Scene article is very biased with many people commenting on the upset. One commenter was very nasty toward another one. Check out the link for yourself: http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...12/08/v-1073-to-return-to-snooze-music-format

I do not like how Anatasia wrote the article. Her dislike for the change was clearly shown, and the comments are getting kind of out of hand. (You should see what "Kay" wrote) Reminds me of the FB posters on the now-defunct Radio 92.3 page.

To be fair, and as pointed out by the Primary(tm) today, "the ratio of rock music fans vs. smooth jazz/AC fans in its readership is probably 50,000 to one."

You know what you're going to get from an alternative weekly paper like the Scene.

 

[BoredOp930am]

How upset are they about Nate's posts? They probably didn't want certain info getting out.

I can't help but think that the person (Anatasia) who wrote the article on Scene is upset that V is going away despite no formal announcement from Rubber City (she sure didn't hide it either), and many on FB are upset the format is going away. I can't help but think the Scene article is very biased with many people commenting on the upset. One commenter was very nasty toward another one. Check out the link for yourself: http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...12/08/v-1073-to-return-to-snooze-music-format

I do not like how Anatasia wrote the article. Her dislike for the change was clearly shown, and the comments are getting kind of out of hand. (You should see what "Kay" wrote) Reminds me of the FB posters on the now-defunct Radio 92.3 page.

BoredOp930am, thank you for compliment. That was based on what I heard on station from listening for the past two years.

How ironic that two years ago, it was announced The Wave was going away. Now around the same time this year, it might be coming back. How weird?

If it is a new version of The Wave, I think it will be run better with Rubber City.

One thing I can say about nate is that he IS very passionate about this industry. I've never met him, but I think he'd be very interesting to sit with. And to CleveFan, you're quite welcome. My personal take on all this is that when Lonnie came to ELB he wanted to do what he thought was right, and to at least try to do something unique, and new. However, as the General Manager, he's taken a lot of heat for the failure, which I don't think is fair or right; everybody involved has his/her share, right down to the "boring airstaff". As to "Alternative" fans outnumbering "Smooth Jazz" fans 50 grand to one, well-I don't think the number is quite THAT high...

 

[CleveRadioInsider]

Rocco is not a Program Director of a Radio Station. He is an Engineer and an entertaining radio personality at times (Gonzo Radio if you remember). However, in this format or any Alternative rock format he is not entertaining at all. He fits into an AOR format. Not sure why he has hired to run this format?

 

[Tim L]

My two cents (for what it's worth)
I don't listen to the current 107.3 format..Not my kind of music on the radio, but what I've heard of Ravenna Miceli over the years is that she is a class act and would have said good bye gracefully on Friday..I remember hearing WCUE-1150 in 1986 just before the change to Family Radio..The jocks there were pretty nasty, as I recall and trashed the management's decision to give the station away..

 

[ericjbard]

So here is something to chew on. I was talking with a really close friend who also believes that Smooth Jazz is a temporary plug for this super size stick. This is legally one of the biggest signals in Cleveland, why throw a dying format on it. Mandel isn't stupid!

Look at the success of WQMX and WONE as well as Akron News Now. Each of these stations and brands have tremendous cash flow and ratings as well as brand recognition. Akron News Now has been an obvious good move by the part of the company. Smooth Jazz is probably a place holder. AAA was bleeding money for that signal and Mandel had to do something quick before he took over.

Akron has its very own FM Talk station. WNIR typically does very well in ratings and revenue and Mandel sees that. One speculation that a lot shot down in the beginning, but is making a lot more sense as time goes on is an FM NEWS/TALK in Cleveland and Akron. Just speculating, but I have a hard time believing that Smooth Jazz is the end all be all for this signal.

 

[ericjbard]

Another thought on the possible future of the station isn't FM NEWS/TALK but a lifestyle AC. WDOK is a great AC station but it's just that. Does it really embody being a lakefront station in Cleveland or is it just another AC that CBS owns?

Mandel could really sound local and give it a lakefront flair. 107.3 THE WAVE (AC for Cleveland)

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

As to "Alternative" fans outnumbering "Smooth Jazz" fans 50 grand to one, well-I don't think the number is quite THAT high...

I wasn't talking about AAA vs. Smooth Jazz/AC in general, I was talking about within the subgroup of Scene readership. And that may be a low guesstimate. The intersection of the kind of music V107.3 plays, and the kind of music covered in Scene and in its advertising, is pretty heavy.

I'm not at all surprised either by the one-sided article by Ms. (?) Pantsios, or by the comments on their site. Someone's taking away their toy, and they have no interest in "smooth" music of any type. If there is a "smooth jazz newsletter", the reaction would have been the same back in 2009...perhaps a bit more muted.

As far as the missive I got from the V staffer - he didn't seem concerned with the format change getting out, but rather, some of Nathan's rather pointed "inside" comments about how the place is run. (I won't say who it was, but I will say it wasn't Lonnie Gronek.)

I admire Dave Hughes and DCRTV, and read it often. But I'm a different person than Dave, in a different situation. I "dialed down the snark" about 2 years into writing OMW, and I have various personal reasons for doing it like I do.

It's really more of a successor to the newspaper radio/TV columns (Bob Dyer and the like) than a snarkfest.

I just wanted to make it clear to confused readers in Elyria that Nathan is a separate entity, as far as posts on this board go. (My E-mailer did address him directly, even if the E-mail went to the main address. I did forward the mail to Nathan, since it was meant for him.)

Once again, any postings here under "OhioMediaWatch" are mine ("Primary Editorial Voice[tm]") and mine alone. Anything under the OhioMediaWatch login names on Twitter and Facebook - mine, and mine alone.

And any E-Mail from the OMW Gmail account - mine, and mine alone.

Nathan has no access to any of the above. He has "contributor" status on the blog itself, and his entries are tagged "Secondary Editorial Voice". Any entries listed as "ohiomediawatch" are mine, and mine alone.

At the moment, Nathan does not have live post access to the blog. He can write items, but they have to be approved by me to go live. He's had "live" access before in periods of long hiatus on my part.

Sorry to go on and on about this, but there is apparently some confusion...

 

[Cynyster]

Rocco is not a Program Director of a Radio Station. He is an Engineer and an entertaining radio personality at times (Gonzo Radio if you remember). However, in this format or any Alternative rock format he is not entertaining at all. He fits into an AOR format. Not sure why he has hired to run this format?

I would agree with you about the "NOT being a program director". But have to disagree about him being an "actual" engineer.

Entertaining? Well, I guess Mr. Bean is entertaining to some too. :-\

It seems like a very good question as to why he was brought on in the first place.