Standards Listeners Are Such Spoiled Brats

[kenhawk1160]

This a pretty interesting discussion with good points made by all, but the red letters, especially when they are against the gray background really are hard to read.

All right. I'll just italicize my text...just for you. Is that better? I preferred the red to make it easier to read, but I digress.

 

[fred flintstone]

All right. I'll just italicize my text...just for you. Is that better? I preferred the red to make it easier to read, but I digress.

All sorts of studies have been done on contrast of background colors and text colors and readability. Red and Gray don't contrast well. Look and see for yourself.
Italics are for emphasis. Blocks or italics are also less readable.
Maybe you want your posts to stand out and therefore don't want to use the standard format.
I don't think that's necessary but OK, if you insist.
All I ask is really look at what you want to do from the point of view of someone trying to read it on a screen.
If you come up something better than the standard format here, I'll happily try it myself.
But, so far, the standard format works fine and besides everybody's used to it.
I don't buy into doing something different just to be different.
Once somebody is into a thread, you already have their attention; then it's all about readability and only about readability.
If some thing's not easy to read (for any reason), people not especially invested in the topic are not going to bother with it.
If you care enough to write something, care enough to make it worth reading.
After all, we are in the communication business.

And no, my eyes aren't what they used to be. Are yours? That was a cheap shot - especially for a board devoted to a music format with an older demo.

 

[kenhawk1160]

And no, my eyes aren't what they used to be. Are yours? That was a cheap shot - especially for a board devoted to a music format with an older demo.

All right, just settle down. I put the emoticon in there to let you know I was kidding. Apparently you regard it as a poor attempt at humor. Let's put this past us and get to the subject at hand, OK?

 

[fred flintstone]

OK. Topic at hand...
Right now, I'm listening to Frank's Place on XM
Before, I used to listen to Westwood One's former AM Only format, Music of Your Life or the original version of ABC Stardust.
There was also a local Standards station which I didn't like much. Jocks who'd been with former Top 40 or MOR stations in the market forever. They talked a lot (mostly about themselves) and the playlist wandered all over the place.
It's tough to maintain "personality" and keep a tight, listenable format.
Now I listen to satellite radio.
It sounds a lot like the old 24/7 satellite delivered formats various stations around me used to carry.
The only difference is I can access the satellite directly and not go through a station with a crappy AM signal.
I have eliminated the middleman.
And I don't miss the stations with the local personalities who were occasionally interesting and mostly didn't know when to shut up. I don't miss the trivia about their families, past jobs, friends and personal appearances. I don't miss the oily way they'd read the commercials (like the advertiser was their best friend). I don't miss all the shout-outs.
And I'm talking about guys with 30 or 40 years in major market radio (a market larger than Seattle).
Local radio (with local news, weather, sports) is better IMHO without the music.
And the music is better without local radio and most of the so-called "personalities."

 

[kenhawk1160]

There was also a local Standards station which I didn't like much. Jocks who'd been with former Top 40 or MOR stations in the market forever. They talked a lot (mostly about themselves) and the playlist wandered all over the place.
It's tough to maintain "personality" and keep a tight, listenable format.
And I don't miss the stations with the local personalities who were occasionally interesting and mostly didn't know when to shut up. I don't miss the trivia about their families, past jobs, friends and personal appearances. I don't miss the oily way they'd read the commercials (like the advertiser was their best friend). I don't miss all the shout-outs.
And I'm talking about guys with 30 or 40 years in major market radio (a market larger than Seattle).
Local radio (with local news, weather, sports) is better IMHO without the music.
And the music is better without local radio and most of the so-called "personalities."

When you talk about true MOR music, it's difficult, if not impossible, to keep a tight, listenable format, like you say. As for the personalities, right there is your proof that they haven't changed with the industry. They're so out of touch with the needs of listeners today that it's a wonder they survived this long. The argument is that this is what their listeners expect from them. I don't buy that. Consultants have always barked "one thought per break with a twist", and keep your breaks to a minute or less. Those are there for a reason. As far as local radio being better without the music, I'm not sure I agree with that...I see the music as an added bonus to the full-service elements.

I would listen to a small-market station before any of these big-city stations because they have a lot more character than those guys ever had, or will.

 

[tjthedj]

I LOVE Jeff Rollins (and I'm not even a US Senator). He's funny and deals with the music well, as Dan Ingram did on WABC.

Sadly, the MOYL and Westwood stations have both disappeared here. I have 10,000 songs (standards and beautiful music) in my I-pod. The local "information"station is too unprofessional for me, so I listen to WGN, Chicago.

I find WGN SUPERIOR to everything else on the radio. It's been a 50 year guilty pleasure for me, and is in part responsible for my 25+ year radio career (ownership, programming , etc). The "local radio" here is all on the bird or sounds worse than when I "played radio" in my basement when I was 9 years old (pretending it was WBBM).

PS I'l be DAMNED if I EVER PAY for radio and make a CREEPY SLOB like Howard richer.

 

[fred flintstone]

I LOVE Jeff Rollins (and I'm not even a US Senator). He's funny and deals with the music well, as Dan Ingram did on WABC.

Sadly, the MOYL and Westwood stations have both disappeared here. I have 10,000 songs (standards and beautiful music) in my I-pod. The local "information"station is too unprofessional for me, so I listen to WGN, Chicago.

I find WGN SUPERIOR to everything else on the radio. It's been a 50 year guilty pleasure for me, and is in part responsible for my 25+ year radio career (ownership, programming , etc). The "local radio" here is all on the bird or sounds worse than when I "played radio" in my basement when I was 9 years old (pretending it was WBBM).

PS I'l be DAMNED if I EVER PAY for radio and make a CREEPY SLOB like Howard richer.

Westwood sold their satellite delivered formats to Excelsior Radio Network. Even before that, "AM Only" became "Adult Standards" and the playlist became AC Oldies. Much the same happened with ABC's Stardust. Jones' MOYL remains more of a Standards format. Nobody seems to be doing the Nostalgia (original hits from the 40s, 50s and 60s) any more - except satellite radio.

Whatever you do, you make somebody rich.

Get XM Radio. Sirius is not much for Standards and I really am getting to like XM's Frank's Place channel (as well as XMs 40s, 50s and 60s decades channels). And Howard won't see a dime of it.

I assume you are talking about WBBM. I really don't get it. Even compared to other CBS all news stations it's way too much chatty-Kathy, happy talk and fluff. Even WMAQ as a Group W all news station tended that way and did not sound at all like Group W all news. A town with a journalistic heritage like Chicago deserves better from radio.

And yes (IMHO), WGN (along with a handful of others like WLW and KGO) is what major market local radio should be, could be and once was. These few stations are the only reasons for keeping the AM band alive.

 

[tjthedj]

Fred Said; Whatever you do, you make somebody rich.
Yes, well Fred, I would rather urinate in Howard's mouth (it's a toilet anyway, right?) than have any connection (even as a listener) with a company that PAYS a creep like him.

Not interested in satellite radio at all. I said, I have an I-pod and am very happy. Except for WGN, I'm DONE with radio. I made a good living from 1969 to 1985 then sold for more than a million. I can afford to be done.

Fred said; "I assume you are talking about WBBM."
Nope. BBM is 150 miles from where I live. I was referring to WOOD (am). iT'S A LAZY dog. The next closest "news-talk" is WKZO, which I like ALOT better, BUT IT'S NOT LOCAL.

Wbbm AND maq (when it was news) had to COMPETE with WGN, a "chatty" news/talk" station that can really have it's own way. News when you need news and talk when there is little news, and an array of interesting PEOPLE who can keep your interest, even with 18 minutes of ads and alot of live reads every hour 24/7. It's a jewel!

 

[kenhawk1160]

PS I'l be DAMNED if I EVER PAY for radio and make a CREEPY SLOB like Howard richer.

Amen, Brother TJ!

 

[vchimpanzee]

Westwood sold their satellite delivered formats to Excelsior Radio Network. Even before that, "AM Only" became "Adult Standards" and the playlist became AC Oldies. Much the same happened with ABC's Stardust. Jones' MOYL remains more of a Standards format. Nobody seems to be doing the Nostalgia (original hits from the 40s, 50s and 60s) any more - except satellite radio.

AM only updated their sound a few years back but it changed back. It still has a lot of AC oldies, but it's more standards now than Stardust is.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Once they hear MOYL they will shut and listen. It's a great satellite service!

Satellite personalities are the best. I've known this for years.

I think Stardust has the best personalities, though. Unfortunately it currently has the worst music of the three radio satellite services.

 

[GaryOmaha]

AM only updated their sound a few years back but it changed back. It still has a lot of AC oldies, but it's more standards now than Stardust is.

Well, then perhaps they have two services, because the Omaha station plays some drek format that's a far cry from what AM Only used to be. Every other song is some AC tune from the 70s or 80s, and there are far fewer standards then they used to have. I tuned out as a regular listener long ago, but check it out monthly or so 'cause I'm a hopeless optimist. Nope -- same drek.

However, I do agree with an earlier correspondent here -- Jeff Rollins makes it more listenable than it would otherwise be.

 

[vchimpanzee]

AM only updated their sound a few years back but it changed back. It still has a lot of AC oldies, but it's more standards now than Stardust is.

Well, then perhaps they have two services, because the Omaha station plays some drek format that's a far cry from what AM Only used to be. Every other song is some AC tune from the 70s or 80s, and there are far fewer standards then they used to have. I tuned out as a regular listener long ago, but check it out monthly or so 'cause I'm a hopeless optimist. Nope -- same drek.

However, I do agree with an earlier correspondent here -- Jeff Rollins makes it more listenable than it would otherwise be.

Jeff Rollins is on the format I listen to. Chick Watkins and Ed Brand too. Maybe after so many years of standards evolving in this direction I'm happy to have anything. Believe me, they sound better than in 2001. I didn't hear them again for a year because the only AM Only station I knew was in the mountains.

Anyway, except for the new songs (Michael Buble, Ronnie Milsap, Rod Stewart, etc.), Stardust isn't even trying to do standards. Everything else would fit in either the oldies format of 10 years ago or soft AC.

 

[vchimpanzee]

It's still true, regardless of how much 70s and 80s AC this format has, that I'm hearing more of Al Martino, Matt Munro, Steve Lawrence, Tony Bennett and of course Sinatra than on Stardust. I am surprised at the AC classics I'm hearing now.

But I once heard Steve followed by Dean followed by Frank and that was when I turned it on.

 

[klutch00]

The notorious thread reviver has struck again and I thought I'd ad my $.02 for what the hell it's worth!

As 'spoiled' as standards listeners may have become, I think B/EZ listeners were spoiled even more. I think that because this format was mostly FM and that few commercials were needed to keep the format afloat as there was little debt to service, their listeners got seduced by this and therefore took it all for granted. When the format was imploding in the early 1990s, listeners seemed reluctant to go to AM stations and syndication services wouldn't carry this format with the possible exception of JRN, which I don't think would've qualified as a traditional-EZ.

With standards, you at least have some syndication services available, some broadcasters willing to do that format as you have about two- or three-hundred stations doing the format. By contrast, with B/EZ you have only about two dozen or so stations left, virtually no ability to attract younger listeners, no syndication services exist, little if any quality material and a great reluctance by broadcasters to go to this format. True, about half a dozen non-comms. are doing the format, but that's it! Even WKTZ, probably the most notable example of such is experiencing thinner finances than in years past and could be history in the not so distant future should trends continue. For more information on this, go to: http://jacksonville.com/lifestyles/2009-08-04/story/jones_college_radios_manager_a_believer_in_easy_listening

 

[RBW]

Even WKTZ, probably the most notable example of such is experiencing thinner finances than in years past and could be history in the not so distant future should trends continue. For more information on this, go to: http://jacksonville.com/lifestyles/2009-08-04/story/jones_college_radios_manager_a_believer_in_easy_listening

Interesting story/video!

Our cable (digital music channels) has a beautiful music channel on there now which I've tuned in from time to time. I remember back in the 80's when living in New England, my mom & dad used to love WZID from Manchester, NH which was beautiful for many years. I also recall when WRHP 106.9 (Syracuse/Auburn, NY) did a fairly good job with it.

It's a radio dinosaur that's for sure!

 

[klutch00]

Even WKTZ, probably the most notable example of such is experiencing thinner finances than in years past and could be history in the not so distant future should trends continue. For more information on this, go to: http://jacksonville.com/lifestyles/2009-08-04/story/jones_college_radios_manager_a_believer_in_easy_listening

Interesting story/video!

Our cable (digital music channels) has a beautiful music channel on there now which I've tuned in from time to time. I remember back in the 80's when living in New England, my mom & dad used to love WZID from Manchester, NH which was beautiful for many years. I also recall when WRHP 106.9 (Syracuse/Auburn, NY) did a fairly good job with it.

It's a radio dinosaur that's for sure!

Actually WRHP was at 107.9. It began doing traditional easy listening in 1988 and would continue until late-1992 or so. This station was owned by Park Communications, which from 1988 to 1990 transformed some of its FM stations (including WRHP, WTVR-FM Richmond VA, and KEZX-FM Seattle) to traditional-EZ. Methinks this was probably an effort by the powers that be to better amortize costs being borne by the EZ formats on WPAT and WNCT. With the departures of the last EZ formatted stations in their respective markets just beginning, I think that Park saw an opportunity to defy that trend and chose to put the format on some of their O&O FM stations. Of course it wasn't to last as WTVR-FM would segue to some form of AC by 1990 or so, KEZX would only last about a year before going to a light jazz-like format and of course WRHP, WPAT and WNCT would be gone by the end of 1992 or so.

 

[northwoods]

I remember back in the 80's when living in New England, my mom & dad used to love WZID from Manchester, NH which was beautiful for many years.

Where I grew up in New England, my dad used to listen to WLKW 990/101.5 (not sure if they were simulcast or two different stations playing the same format) in Providence, which had the beautiful music format. With the AM station going by the wayside, the FM station retained its format until shortly after Christmas in 1989 when it flipped to an Oldies format (WWBB/B101-originally B101.5). He wasn't happy about it. I was thrilled about it at the time (even though I had Oldies 103 out of Boston to listen to).

 

[northwoods]

OTHER OPTIONS AVAILABLE

If it's just about the music, check out the following link to the Easy Listening stations on Live 365
http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?genre=easy listening. Most are free to listen to. You may be required to sign up, which is free. Some stations require VIP membership to listen to(if one choses) which is $5.95 per month.

There's bound to be something listed one can find and enjoy.

 

[vchimpanzee]

But, then, is your belief that station owners should not spend money on air talent? How, then, is a terrestrial station any better than satellite (or an iPod)? My point was, to return radio to its uniqueness and attractiveness, bring back the personalities. Yes, that will cost money -- but it could save the medium.

The problem with that concept is that many stations is surviving on a very thin thread as it stands right now, thus the money isn't available to pay a full contingency of on-air people. This is why a format like Music Of Your Life works. Most of the on-air talent on the air are already household names...Wink Martindale, Gary Owens, Pat Boone, etc., thus making for a very relatable format.

Another option could be to offer some retired professionals in the community a chance to be on the air with their own show. Someone who did a lot of public speaking while they were working, and if they sound half decent on the air, maybe this could be a chance for them to shine. Money wouldn't be an issue since they're only allowed to make so much under Social Security regs. Even if it's only for drive periods.

Did Wink Martindale come back? I heard he left.