Someone Finally Noticed?

[Nu_Roo_2]

In the past I've seen some not-so complimetary comments on this board about Saga programming chief Steve Goldstein.  But today's Taylor on Radio-Info has the following:

"CEO Ed Christian calls on programming czar Steve Goldstein to talk about two of Saga’s biggest markets, and Steve reports in with personal observations after having spent much of the past three months in Columbus. He found the music at AC “Sunny” WSNY 'too constricted, too predictable' and the morning show off-focus. Now – there’s a new PD and “the vital signs on this station are excellent”, despite competitive threats from Clear Channel’s WLZT, a Christian AC “that’s sometimes top five”, and a hot AC."

WSNY "too constricted and too predictable"?  Someone just noticed??  Can a dead rat be in your office for five years before you start detecting an odor?  Funny, I was listening to Chicago's new "Fresh AC" WCKG.  They actually use "Soft" in their positioner but sound incredibly alive compared to Sunny (and don't even get me started on the disaster that is WLZT, home of the 24-hour graveyard shift).

 

[SeanMGilbow]

Roo, you are spot on.

To be fair, Dino and Shawn are still trying to find their groove. It won't be another Dino and Stacey, but these veterans will find the right chemistry in time.

The playlist, however, is still too narrow and stale. Even with the satellite format from Citadel, Eagle 93.7 out of Mount Vernon still has a larger variety of songs and is more up-to-date on the newer material.

When Delilah is playing new songs before anyone else on your station, it's sure to raise eyebrows. Not that I haven't mentioned this in e-mails to Chuck Knight in the past.

As for 93.3...I liked the "Mix" format it had before Clear Channel moved the station from Chillicothe. It had the newer AC tunes Sunny didn't start playing until weeks (or months) later (if at all), and it also had some stuff 97.1 played. But what I liked most was its community focus by having more news programming (locally oriented) than you would find currently on WTVN. And one of WTVN's news people used to work for Mix 93.3.

How ironic the best programming done by Clear Channel stations has been in smaller markets, where the stations have since been uprooted or placed on the selling block. In the case of Mount Vernon, in spite of poor handling involving longtime announcer Ron Staats, BAS has at least kept the community focus intact, even with the greater reliance on the satellite dish.