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T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a "Jack-FM"

M

Magnum

Guest
Would anyone else agree that T102/Pottsville is sort of like a "Jack-FM"/variety hits format? I know that the station should be considered a variation of the Hot AC format, but they sure do play a wide variety of music. They include music from the 70s through today, but their overall sound does lean more with today's music. Earlier tonight, I heard D.H.T. and Lynyrd Skynyrd (sp?) in the same song set. Not too many stations will play that wide of a selection! I must commend T102 for playing the dance version of D.H.T. "Listen To Your Heart" and a dance remix version of Pussycat Dolls "Don't Cha." It's hard to find those versions on even the Philly stations! T102 is one cool radio station with a great variety of music.
 
> Would anyone else agree that T102/Pottsville is sort of like
> a "Jack-FM"/variety hits format? I know that the station
> should be considered a variation of the Hot AC format, but
> they sure do play a wide variety of music. They include
> music from the 70s through today, but their overall sound
> does lean more with today's music. Earlier tonight, I heard
> D.H.T. and Lynyrd Skynyrd (sp?) in the same song set. Not
> too many stations will play that wide of a selection! I must
> commend T102 for playing the dance version of D.H.T. "Listen
> To Your Heart" and a dance remix version of Pussycat Dolls
> "Don't Cha." It's hard to find those versions on even the
> Philly stations! T102 is one cool radio station with a great
> variety of music.
>

Thanx... we brought back the Monday Miniconcert at 8pm, and the Time Machine mon-thurs at 10pm.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

Are you kidding me? T-102 is the worst station I have ever heard. The only reason they are so popular is everything else starts to fade out when you get up around the Pottsville parts. They have the worst jocks. That Courtney chick in the middays makes me wanna fall asleep. RC all he ever did is yack and now he is on Morning Drive, think I'll pass. The music format sucks, you can't play the Marshall Tucker Band and then follow it up with Britney Spears. Oh and did I metion the sports! This is what AM radio is for. FM's 9 out of 10 times have a stronger signal. So why would you put a Pottsville High School B-Ball game on the FM for people in Allentown to hear? Allentown doesn't care about the Pottsville B-Ball team. Hire some jocks with talent, that actually don't scream in the radio like whoever the clown is that does the super saturday morning show. T-102 in one word SUCKS!!!!!!!!!
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

That one's gotta hurt, Travis! You know, T102 isn't the most 'professional', slick-sounding radio station in the world. Why is that such a bad thing? It's also not a cookie-cutter, Clear Channel owned, boring and repititious radio station. Isn't that what we always bitch about? Too much of the same thing, nobody does anything different? For your information, they're not putting a "Pottsville High School basketball game on the FM for people in Allentown to hear". They're serving their market and putting that game on for people in their community to hear. I got news for you: people in Pottsville don't give a rat's *ss about what you want to hear in Allentown! For most people in that area, Allentown is a far away and distant place. They'd rather not bother with 'city' people and prefer that we keep out of their business as well.As far as the talent goes, yeah some of them are brutal. I sure am glad nobody has a reel to reel machine to hear airchecks from my first few years! They're finding their way, and hopefully somewhere along the way they'll get some coaching and get better. I get the feeling you've never actually been hired as talent anywhere, or you wouldn't be nearly as critical.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

I have an Otari reel to reel machine and would love to hear those airchecks you speak of. I just recently found the staff holiday greetings from 1989 & 1990. Thank god I saved them. What a riot! And what a laundry list of names from back then.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

Well just to clarify I used to be the PD of 2 stations before I moved here. Then again I was naver hired as a talent anywhere so I wouldn't know what I was talking about! Thanks for your insight though. With the right tweaks T102 could be a powerhouse!!!!!
 
Not a real Otari!

I figured you would have an Otari in the basement Gene! I did 'live-assist' mornings at T102 when it was still automated the rest of the day. That was probably around '83. I only did it for a few months, kind of on a trial basis and then I moved to Delaware. Skip Carr was doing sales and I did sound for a band that Skip was in. That's how I got hooked up with it. I had been out of radio for a year or so at that point. That was when the 'stereo pair' went by two different routes to the transmitter site. In those days I guess it was all about making the "ST" indicator come on! Geez, I feel old all of a sudden...
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

ameyer said:
Well just to clarify I used to be the PD of 2 stations before I moved here. Then again I was naver hired as a talent anywhere so I wouldn't know what I was talking about! Thanks for your insight though. With the right tweaks T102 could be a powerhouse!!!!!
Click to expand...
...yeah...and G101 in State College (one of the stations you "programmed") is any BETTER than T102?? I don't think so. The person who said that T102 carries football to cater to Pottsville is 100% correct. THEY ARE LOCAL!!!Weak talent? Perhaps. Suspect playlist? Maybe.But at least they are talking to their community...unlike G101's two major dayparts for CHR (AM Drive & Nights)...Ace & TJ - nice touch with the Southern accents...and Romeo's playhouse - good show if you actually run the local id's. You just left there a month ago, so don't pass these fuster clucks off on someone else, either!
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

wow! Jack-FM? Not quite sure I would agree. As far as any kind of "coaching" their jocks......it certainly would not hurt. I was there for years and I know Gene and RC would agree, there was NEVER any direction. Working for a family operated business is tough. I enjoy listening to RC....he is funny, on top of current events and knowledgeable with his trivia. The music is good, it's a GREAT variety and I do mean a variety. Courtney was great when she first started, very natural......then I listened a few months later and she Jacked it up with a "radio voice" Here in Reading we may have years of radio experience but there is plenty of room for improvement which is why we meet on a regular basis with our program director. We certainly realize this market is still a stepping stone and we all have time to expand to better opportunities, it's great to know some things never change! Hey Round Mound....save me some of those clips from the old days!
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

Would this happen to be the air talent that followed me on the air for 5 years? If so, I also found a vintage "Beltbuster Theme" If it's you "Molly Ringtown" you'll know what I'm talking about. If not, sorry for the blurb.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

Of course it's me Gene! I never thought I would say this....I miss George Stoddard and my Molly Ringtown days! I miss RC and his 21st birthday too! I can't stand the fact that it's been 22 years!
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

The fact is...there was some very good radio on 101.9 in Schuylkill County from around 1989 through about 1993. Right about the time George Stoddard was doing mornings through about the time that Skip Carr left. True there was very little direction and absolutely zero guidance from the PD or anyone else for that matter. I can honestly say that in the 10 years (gulp!) that I worked there, I had exactly one aircheck critique and that came in the form of a note from the PD who said everything was fine, keep up the good work.Fortunately we were able to police ourselves fairly well. Usually all it took was some razzing from a fellow jock about what you did or said on the air to keep whoever the culprit was in check. We were all very creative and didn't even need to be. We had the market wrapped around our finger and knew it. Somewhere around the mid-90's management got the notion that they needed to tinker with the sound. Notice I said tinker, not improve. I believe this was done mainly to keep the jocks on their toes and make them feel insecure about their jobs. After all, sometimes it's tough to find someone to work for those wages. Once in a while someone would get fired to be made an example of (see Kevin Sibbett, Mike Donley and Jeff Jordan), and the reason given was lack of performance/time for a new direction. Uh, excuse me, don't you first need a direction in order to change it? I'm so tired of their promos every 6 months proclaiming to have altered their music mix because that's what Schuylkill County wants. When was the last (or first for that matter) time that they had any research? The long and short of it is, WAVT has been a cash cow for years and will continue to be so. At least until someone with some money can start a competing frequency with the signal/cash/know-how to hit all of the nooks and crannys that 101.9 gets to. As far as the sound goes, management cares about what they sound like only to a point. I've said for years that management's #1 priority is to make sure that the monkey behind the board (and with voice tracking they don't even need that now) knows how to press the buttons to play the spots and make checkmarks on the log so that the commercials get played and paid for. If they happen to sound great, that's just gravy. They believe the quality of the format or jocks will not affect their bottom line. Seems like a crime but quite frankly, I think that 9 out of 10 independent owners would handle the situation the same way and I can't blame them. It's just a shame. I honestly think that with a more talented airstaff, programmer, and cash outlay, T-102 could give Y-102 a good run and better compete for Northern Berks ad dollars. No knock to you DJJAX, it would take a long hard fight to give any CC station a serious battle. Just my thoughts. Not meant to knock anybody. Don't mean to offend.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

i agree with you 100%

if some one were to open up a real station in pottsville, T-102 would be screwed...i will NEVER listen to T-102 even if their playing my favorite song...

93.3 wmmr comes in up there ok, so i listen to that

ameyer said:
Are you kidding me? T-102 is the worst station I have ever heard. The only reason they are so popular is everything else starts to fade out when you get up around the Pottsville parts. They have the worst jocks. That Courtney chick in the middays makes me wanna fall asleep. RC all he ever did is yack and now he is on Morning Drive, think I'll pass. The music format sucks, you can't play the Marshall Tucker Band and then follow it up with Britney Spears. Oh and did I metion the sports! This is what AM radio is for. FM's 9 out of 10 times have a stronger signal. So why would you put a Pottsville High School B-Ball game on the FM for people in Allentown to hear? Allentown doesn't care about the Pottsville B-Ball team. Hire some jocks with talent, that actually don't scream in the radio like whoever the clown is that does the super saturday morning show. T-102 in one word SUCKS!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

Well i for one am a out or towner, and during the spring and summer months we travel to Mountain SPeedway in what i believe is St. Johns PA. ANd the track usually has T-102 playing. I must say its a refreshing sound to the radio, since the only thing around here in the NY area i hear is cookie cutter stations. The only exception is PArty 105, and the Bone. We have a overkill of AC which all suck. The only thing i would like is a HOt AC to kill all the AC's so called variety. But i think T-102 is a pretty unique station, and has me tuning in when i travel to PA.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

Unique???? You only think that because they have zero direction. It's kind of like hopping in car, turning the key, hitting the gas but with one rule...you're not allowed to touch the steering wheel and the brakes don't work. You may travel down some roads you've never been on before, but eventually you'll CRASH! In other words, the reason they sound unique is because you don't know what they'll do next...THEY don't know what they'll do next. My favorite is the Saturday morning show. He says "S-S-M-S" and 95% of the people don't know what the hell he's talking about! Then when he says, "Another 10 in a row coming up" I don't know if he means songs or spots???? It's true. Count the spots in one of his breaks sometime. I've already heard him go almost a half-hour between songs. That's OK if you tell the listener that's what you are, but he promotes how much music he plays all the time. It's alright if you like that much unpredictable-ness in your listening tastes and I'm glad you enjoy them, but it's nearly impossible for them to maintain a core audience. You can literally hear "Ring Of Fire" and "Sexyback" back-to-back. Then there's the "contests". How long can you get away by giving away free $4.99 lunches? I especially love the "kick for cash". Nothing like giving me a chance to win a chance to win a chance to win a chance to kick a 50 yard field goal for the real prize. Or the car giveaway? Let's see... if I enter I need to do this, then this, then this, then this, then this, and then WOW! I'll be one of 102 people who can win a Kia... A KIA!!! How about the Saturday night guy? Every single phone break/request sounds identical, and he plays the same 62 songs every week. Does anyone ever tell him to edit the part of his calls where his says "goodbye" to the caller? No. Why? because NO ONE CARES. The advertisers keep buying the spots (without results that merit the rates I might add), they keep filling the airwaves with $9 an hour ham & eggers, and once in a while an actual star passes through. It pains me to write this, because there are many people who work there that I like very very much. But oh boy, what I would do if given the chance to steer that ship. T-102 is like the Queen Mary at sea on gorgeous day, only there's a huge tarp with holes in it covering it. What could be. Sorry. I'll go back to my lucrative desk job, remembering why I left there in the first place, and promise to stop getting so angry over bad radio. After all, it's not like I have the power to change anything at T-102. And for the record, this is not to say that I would ever want T-102 to sound like a cookie cutter CC or Citadel station. Quite the contrary. It's just that I would have them sound "unique" in the true sense of the word, while still giving the listener comfort in knowing what to expect within a reasonable scope.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

Respectfully GWJR...

You mentioned something...or maybe let it slip, or maybe you didn't realize the importance of something you said in your last post. "You don't know if T-102 is going to play 10 commercials in a row" {Paraphrase} From a business standpoint, and radio is a business, show business albeit, but it's nothing more than a business, it sounds like T-102 has it all figured out. Apparently, T-102's show's are all sold out...their clients and their listeners have voted, and T-102 wins. Apparently, T-102 plays in Schuylkill County, and THAT'S really all that matters. They are doing better than probably 50% of the FM stations in the country, if indeed they are playing that many commercials. And some people from outside Schuylkill County like their approach to boot! Bonus! I am in radio too (I think we have met) and I can respect great imaging, skilled jocks, and a music selection that's predictable enough to create a brand but not overly predictable so as to create boredom, but if the owners of that station are raking in the dough, and it's creating a place for young people (see above posts about lower than average jocks) to actually start a career in radio, and they are playing well to their county and their advertisers, then if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it. The small-towniness of radio is what all us radio guys and girls wax nostalgic over on all these boards. Nobody remembers whether we played 3 currents or 4 currents an hour 15 years ago.

I think you mentioned you worked there, and then went on to bigger and better. Good! That's what's supposed to happen! No sense putting down people who are trying their best at a small town station though, and it sounds like they are pulling it off too.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

Fair enough wireless...and a well written response. Nice to see a true debate without the name-calling and mudslinging that runs rampant on so many of these boards.
I must admit that you raise many points that you are correct on. The bottom line never seemed to be an issue when I worked there, and I'm sure it isn't today. A large part of their spot load is what they are charging for their spots, and how easily they cave in to agency demands. When I was there, they never "sold out". I can remember hours with 25 spots. You won't find many private business owners or non-agency spots on the air anymore, except during their H.S. sports broadcasts. The only point I really debate is "the people voted...and T-102 wins" T-102, much like my current employer, (which is not broadcasting but media based), has the approach that Schuylkill Countians live in a fishbowl. They treat their listeners, as we treat our customers, as if they will always love us because they don't know of any alternative. If you go into most businesses or public areas where an alternative means of reception/music is available, you'll find that there are very few places with T-102 on. I'm still friends with some of their salespeople, and they will tell you what a tough time they're having on the streets. The exceptions are the two sales managers, who sit back and fill out the orders from agencies without contracts and are paying about 1/2 of what the little guy is. Then they collect their six figure paychecks. Where's their sense of serving the community in that case?
All that said, I must admit that I am a bitter old radio guy that left the business too soon and wishes I were still in it. That's my fault. Then it doesn't help matters when I hear what I'm hearing and know that, 1)I could do better, more importantly, 2)could/would be willing to help everyone sound better, and lastly 3)give the people of Schuylkill County a station they could really forge a bond with. It's just so hard to listen to a moron that doesn't appreciate a job you had, wish you had again, all the while sitting on the sidelines knowing you could do so much better.
I didn't realize I was putting down the people. I guess you're right and I'm sorry. What I meant to say is that I wish I had the opportunity to lead and help their staff out. The only people I mean to criticize are those that have the ability, experience, and the power to make the station and it's personalities sound better but choose not to. Thanks again for bringing me back into focus, and I'd be very curious to know who you are so we can catch up on old times. Regards.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

As a radio guy, I've heard T102 and I find it impressive. I am so tired of stations that are trying too hard to sound big and slick and have no soul left. T102 has a great music mix and a real human, authentic sound that most stations don't have when they gave up trying to be local. I'll take them over bland, short playlisted, over-produced Clear Channel stations any day. And as someone employed in the business, I'd rather take LESS money to work at a station like T102 that sounds fun and local than get paid MORE to be somewhere absolutely stiff, repetitive and boring.
 
Re: T102/Pottsville, PA... kind of like a \

I was in A-Town and Reading for 2 weeks, and I gave T-102 a second chance and I still think it sucks. Who is the clown that does the news in the afternoon...Maybe somebody should teach him how to read the news on the air without the dramitic pause and the emphasis at the end of each sentence. RC's prank calls aren't even funny!!!! Spotloads are outragous, when you can listen to 2 fulls songs on another station and then come back and they are still in commercials that is bad...4 Minutes Top...Oh and people buy cause there is NOTHING ELSE in the area radio wise to buy. Put another station in Pottsville that actually has direction and watch T-102's revenue head south very quickly.....
 
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