Tampa's News/Talk station

[talkproducer]

I'm glad I don't live in Tampa. Looks like the News/Talk stations there are horrible! Where's the local programming? 970 is almost all syndicated! I don't see how a market in the 20's can get away with this. I'm in Louisville and our biggest news talk station is live and local all day except Rush and Noory! Doesn't this make you guys angry?

 

[MichaelCrose]

yes



Once the home of the countys BEST talk radio, now the home of the Mj & Bj afternoon morning show.


sad

 

[FiveStar]

So what's your point? However anyone who posts on this board may feel about it, I can guarantee that NO ONE, who makes any key programming decisions at 970 WFLA reads this boards or cares what is posted on it. The people to whom they answer are much more concerned with the bottom line than the sensibilities of posters on a radio oriented bbs. They are going to be much more concerned with the ratings and if you look at the latest Arbitron 12+ numbers in All Access from their standpoint they can argue that they are doing a lot of things right.

In fairness, I will say one thing, right now upper management does have other things on their collective minds. With the ownership situation completely up in the air, they can't be confident about making their budgets, let alone making major programming decisions. So, even if they wanted to make changes, they might not be able to.

 

[smedge2006]

As long as Salem continues to operate under its gameplan of using hypercentralization to send out boring third-rate conservative talk without any sort of localism, as long as Genesis keeps slipping on banana peels, and as long as Cox and CBS see no reason to start an FM talker, and as long as CBS continues to program 1010 for an "inside the building" audience, there is no reason for change. Long-term, yes, as the last AM-friendly generation ages out of demographic desirability.

Competition has always made 970 better. Outside of Rush's daypart, 620 WSUN with Ron and Ron and Lassiter came this close to wiping 970 out. (620 did defeat 970 in 25-54 in the last full book before Cox pulled the plug.) Without meaningful competition, 970 has always tended back toward bland complacency. It was true in the days of Paul Gonzales and it's true today.

 

[MusicMan11]

i lived in orlando for a time and was a fan of real radio. they had three local talk shows and howard stern at the time i listened. It was nice to hear local talent kick around topics pertinent to the area where i lived. I can't even turn on the talk stations in this market - except for the sports animal.

Why not have more locally generated talk shows? i guess those end up on stations like WTAN????

 

[talkproducer]

The only reason I brought this up is b/c I will be visiting family in Tampa next week and decided to check out what's on the airwaves. It just blew my mind how good 970's ratings were with all that syndication. Looks like I'll be listening to 620.

 

[livingfruitvirus]

The only reason I brought this up is b/c I will be visiting family in Tampa next week and decided to check out what's on the airwaves. It just blew my mind how good 970's ratings were with all that syndication. Looks like I'll be listening to 620.

Over in Orlando there's the mostly local talker WTKS and the almost-all-syndicated-except-the-morning show talker WDBO, and WDBO has been beating WTKS book after book.

 

[AMandFM]

talkproducer, you would have loved 620 and 970 back in the early-to-late 90's. I had the great fortune to work at 620 during their talk heyday, and it was a magical experience for a longtime talk fan and a newbie in the radio biz. Now 620 and 970, despite whatever successes they may boast of, are unlistenable to me, ruined with yet another sports format for 620 and almost-complete syndication for 970.

Go to boblassiterairchecks.com for a taste of what you missed, talkproducer. Bob was a master, and he is sorely missed.

Speaking of the dearly departed...checked bloglassiter.com the other day. Some moron hacked in and placed about a thousand ads on the comments section of Bob's last post. Wonder if he's getting any hits?

 

[smedge2006]

Over in Orlando there's the mostly local talker WTKS and the almost-all-syndicated-except-the-morning show talker WDBO, and WDBO has been beating WTKS book after book.

12+ or 25-54? I suspect there's a lot of 55+ in DBO's overall numbers, as with most heritage AMs...

 

[RMarino]

Over in Orlando there's the mostly local talker WTKS and the almost-all-syndicated-except-the-morning show talker WDBO, and WDBO has been beating WTKS book after book.

Apples to Oranges... AM talk and FM talk have completely different audiences. If you want to make a comparison, then compare WDBO with WFLF.

 

[livingfruitvirus]

Over in Orlando there's the mostly local talker WTKS and the almost-all-syndicated-except-the-morning show talker WDBO, and WDBO has been beating WTKS book after book.

12+ or 25-54? I suspect there's a lot of 55+ in DBO's overall numbers, as with most heritage AMs...

Over in Orlando there's the mostly local talker WTKS and the almost-all-syndicated-except-the-morning show talker WDBO, and WDBO has been beating WTKS book after book.

Apples to Oranges... AM talk and FM talk have completely different audiences. If you want to make a comparison, then compare WDBO with WFLF.

But the argument being made is how much the locals want local appeal. I don't remember that being exclusive to certain age groups. The truth is, people don't care about local content as radio nerds who visit these forums do, because said forum-goers are more interested in restoring a status symbol than good content. I do think the locals care about local news and information, which is something 970 WFLA has plenty of.

 

[coolaid213]

But the argument being made is how much the locals want local appeal. I don't remember that being exclusive to certain age groups. The truth is, people don't care about local content as radio nerds who visit these forums do, because said forum-goers are more interested in restoring a status symbol than good content. I do think the locals care about local news and information, which is something 970 WFLA has plenty of.

What's wrong with people wanting to restore Tampa's status as a great market for radio??? Interest in local content isn't exclusive to any particular group. I think it's obvious to people of any age group that lack of local content is alienating potential listeners. That goes for all formats. In an age of Ipods and satellite radio, the only way for terrestrial to radio remain relevant is to appeal to the local audience. If YOU are satisfied with the local content on the radio here, you are either naive, or very shortsighted.

 

[FiveStar]

Like it or not, the old model of "all-local, all day" is all gone. CC has definitely gone overboard with outside syndication. I believe that the new model involves the "right" mix of local and syndicated. If you hit the sweet spot, you should be able to maximize profits while minimizing expenses.

To the original poster: my apologies for coming across too sharply. You have every right to hold the opinion that 970 isn't a great station and I'm not opposed to you saying so. What rubbed me the wrong way was the tone of the post that indicated that anyone here can do anything about it. Programming decisions are conducted at a much higher pay level.

 

[smedge2006]

I think to a certain extent 970 is the victim of its own success as a launching pad for the Glenn Beck and Todd Schnitt shows, both of which had local roots (Beck as a host on 970 only, Schnitt as MJ). 970 has attracted talent that is too good to keep on the farm. Under pre-1990s conditions, another station would have come along and responded with a more-local approach. Two factors have prevented this: the false economies of syndication and the inability of smaller AM operators to gain a foothold in this market.

Integration of syndicators and station ownership creates powerful incentives for stations to clear programming owned by their companies. Also, the marketplace is flooded with syndication. All syndication below the top tier is barter, so there's no price incentive to go local.

Genesis tried to go local but did it badly, with somebody who really didn't get or want to do talk radio. They lost opportunities that would not be regained. David Gold would have worked -- if he were 25 years younger and his voice hadn't given out. I'm sure he would have relocated to Tampa eventually with the attraction of a fulltime gig. I think they would have been better off looking for a hungry 25-to-40 year old willing to work for peanuts for a couple of years and make a name for himself.

The prices of stations and the amount needed to "cover the nut" have also served to discourage localism and just about any experimentation. I've been following the situation with KLSD in San Diego and the threat of pulling the plug on Air America. Until the bottom fell out last book (and were it not liberal talk radio, one bad book would be no reason to panic), KLSD performed fairly well for a second-tier AM. One of the figures allegedly quoted to KLSD fans by CC management was that the station needed to take in five million a year to be viable. FIVE MILLION? To cover the nut on a 5 kW AM with ONE local host? The numbers in the current environment are way out of whack. What will bring back some sort of equilibrium? I don't think the current talk radio listeners will abandon the medium; they'll simply age out of salable demos with no one to replace them, and then it's crunch time...

 

[RMarino]

Like it or not, the old model of "all-local, all day" is all gone. CC has definitely gone overboard with outside syndication. I believe that the new model involves the "right" mix of local and syndicated. If you hit the sweet spot, you should be able to maximize profits while minimizing expenses.

Not everywhere. CC's Cincinnati News/Talker 700 WLW is all local all day and all night.

 

[AMandFM]

"Not everywhere. CC's Cincinnati News/Talker 700 WLW is all local all day and all night."

Would that be their farm for the next batch of syndicated talent?

 

[YEKIMI]

CC's Format Lab is feverishly working on coming up with an artifical intelligence robot talk show host [as opposed to the current no intelligence right wing hosts] that they won't have to pay, to take over when the day arrives that the human hosts retire, drop over dead, etc. They won't have to pay a robot; just give it a couple of quarts of 10W-40 a couple of times of year. It will be programmed to respond when someone mentions a trigger word that has been programmed into its memory. {OMG, I hope they don't read this post, I may have just given them an idea they'd be stupid enough to try} ;D

 

[AMandFM]

CC's Format Lab is feverishly working on coming up with an artifical intelligence robot talk show host [as opposed to the current no intelligence right wing hosts] that they won't have to pay, to take over when the day arrives that the human hosts retire, drop over dead, etc. They won't have to pay a robot; just give it a couple of quarts of 10W-40 a couple of times of year. It will be programmed to respond when someone mentions a trigger word that has been programmed into its memory. {OMG, I hope they don't read this post, I may have just given them an idea they'd be stupid enough to try} ;D

It's happened to me, my friend. But that's another story for another topic.

I've been a 970 listener for twenty years now. I remember when it was exciting and informative and funny. They had the righties and lefties and it was fantastic radio. Now I only tune in a couple of times a week because it is still good for traffic reports and the local news. That's it. None of the syndicated fare keeps me tuned in for very long. Rush has gone nuts, or I grew up, I can't tell. Beck has his moments, but it's usually during that bit he does with the football picks. Schnitt is good for a minute or two (yes, I know he's broadcasting from the 970 studios but he IS syndicated so he's not truly local anymore). Sean Hannity and Mark Levin...do I need to delve into them? For me the only shows worth listening to are AM Tampa Bay and Coast To Coast AM. Why? A diversity of voices.

So maybe it's not the shows after all...it's the programming. I am secure enough in my beliefs that I don't need them reinforced by mainstream media. I read. I write. I think. When I turn on the radio I want to hear either great music or great talk. 970 has ceased, with the aforementioned exceptions, to be that great talk station. I used to listen to them and tune to FM for some music during commercials (hey, I work in the business...I hear enough commercials), but now it's the other way around (if I don't tune to another FM first).

What can we do? I am guessing everyone contributing to this board are either radio pros and fans, for the most part based in this market. How many local radio execs are here? Well, I'm sure they read it...

The only thing we can do to affect change is to "cross over to the dark side": hang up the cans and become a manager and try to make changes from there. How many of us want to do that?

 

[talkproducer]

Does 970 have a live and local news anchor 24-7?

 

[TPAnx]

You might want to check the Lassiter aircheck site...the 'robot talk show" bit was done years ago at 'PLP.
TPAnx