The Buzz 1370

[RayThomas]

My point EXACTLY! Make the music mass appeal, familiar, adult-friendly and workplace friendly, and you'll appeal to as many people as possible who listen to keep up on Pottstown's local news, local sports and local community information!

 

[Seltzer]

Choose a format and play the hits. Keep all the community programming on.

 

[Radio Wreck]

In theory I agree with the statements about the station focusing on local elements, but the problem is it isn't 1960 anymore. Most people don't go to the radio for this type of information, especially the AM radio.

 

[Tommy Roberts Jr]

They should just hit the Plate Off button.

 

[RadioFanBoy]

As a regular listener and playlist contributer to WBZH - The Buzz, I hate to burst bubbles, but it just doesn't seem like the sky is falling around Maugers Mill Road in Pottstown, PA. First, about "lack of advertising"

On a Mon-Fri basis, I hear from, several times; Two car dealerships, a pet store, a dentist, a bakery, a deli, a place that converts old pics, films, and tapes to DVD, A bar & grill that do a brokered show on Saturdays (It's a full-on ad, the saturday show is very briefly mentioned), two physic readers, an AC/Heating dealer......and that's off the top of my head. Then there are the "buy local" spots where 3 local busniess' go in 1/3 each on a 30 second spot for a busniess-card like mention. Pretty clever actually for those with smaller budgets. And I head what I'm sure is a new commercial I had not head before (sorry, can't remember who)

The music: Between 6am and 7pm, it's about 70% classic rock/alternative/hits from the 70's on up with a few 60's songs, mostly Beach Boys and Beatles. And 30% new music, which is introduced and re-introduced by the DJ's. It's not obscure. Can be heard on most Alternative rock and AAA stations: Of Monsters and Men; Regina Specktor; Fun ("Some Nights" the song that didn't get discovered by Glee, plays here) And it keeps getting played mostly because us darn pesky listeners keep asking for it via phone calls and Facebook (Granted their phone system is one caller at a time, but it's small town local radio) They one
'obscure" artist I can name is Lenka ("Heart Skips A Beat" " Everything is OK") She's an import from Australia, might be on some AAA stations, I'm not sure. Really good music that I guess does not chart here, because again, If your song doesn't get covered by Glee, or you didn't appear on American Idol, your music just will not play in the states.

The local music does get played perhaps once or twice an hour to promote an upcoming gig or.....if it gets requested (again.....pesky listeners)

The weekends are brokered with hosts who secure their own sponsors. Happliy, it's mostly music....The nighttime hours arte filled with specialty shows on CD. Saturday nights programs come from ARfm in the UK.

Local Sports: Boyertown Bears Baseball and Pac-10 High School Sports. Iron Pigs Baseball that WNPV has to farm out.

It's still a new station. They have only been WBZH since November 2011. And the T-Shirts just came out

This sound like a dying station to you?

 

[emeraldsounddjs]

Nope, doesn't sound like one to me. I guess some people just like picking on the small stations for something to do.

 

[klutch00]

I'm rooting for this station. There still is a niche for local community radio! The biggest problem they have, aside from the serious technical issues, is the totally obscure selection of music! My family is from near Pottstown and I listen every time I'm in the area. It never fails, I turn it on and they are playing some song I've never heard of! And I've been a PD and/or music director (both country and pop) for over 35 years! If I've never heard of it, how many listeners have?? Pick an AM-friendly, adult-friendly format like Oldies, Soft AC, or Classic Country. And stick to it! Play ALL FAMILIAR HITS! Nothing wrong with a few specialty shows like a Polka show or a Bluegrass show on the weekends. But for the most part, PLAY THE HITS!!

In a small or outlying town, having an AM station doing oldies, MOR (soft AC/standards) or classic country probably would be good. Westminster MD's WTTR is proving that doing a locally produced oldies format can still work in a community about 36 miles northwest of Baltimore. Maybe WBZH could've pursued that route, but remember: When the WPAZ preservation authority obtained the station in late 2010, I don't think they had just your average 'run of the mill' music station. They wanted something different.

And all due respect for local music, I came from a family of musicians. But a FORMAT of mostly local, mostly unfamiliar music simply won't attract very many listeners. Large market stations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars doing focus-group testing of music to determine what to play. That's how important playing mostly-familiar music is to attracting an audience! That's not to say you can't have a "home grown" show as a weekend feature or play a cut by a local band once an hour, if it is properly promoted and pre-sold. (and fits the format) Even in the golden era of Top 40, stations played a "hitbound" new record once or twice an hour and all the rest of the music was proven and familiar!

To summarize, the music the station plays MOST OF THE TIME should have a cohesive identity to it...adult contemporary, country, classic hits, soft AC, whatever it is. A folk show followed by a heavy metal show followed by an alternative rock show just won't work. The days of block-programmed radio were over in the 60's or before. The only stations with this kind of format today are college radio stations. And they are usually non-commercial and have few listeners beyond the kids on campus. If you want to have advertisers to pay the bills who keep coming back because they get results, you must appeal to a mass audience. That only comes with a predictable, mass-appeal format.

The problem is when you're running a small AM operation in today's day and age, you must innovate! With AM becoming more and more alien to many listeners, especially younger ones, you must offer something that people will be willing to go out of their way to flip that band switch over to your station! The smaller the station, the greater the need for innovation!

Which brings me to my next point: When 'block programmed' radio was being done in the 1960s, remember that most of these stations were on FM, which had yet to become mainstream. With overhead much lower compared to many if not most AM stations at the time, broadcasters had greater freedom to do what they wanted. With many if not most AM stations (especially smaller ones) being in the state that they are now and with advertiser resistance being what it is, it probably would behoove such broadcasters to consider less conventional programming. Moreover, they should consider sources other than or in addition to advertisement for a station's income. This could and should donations; sponsoring a dance, concert, auto/bike show or other event.

I think when it comes to marginal AMs in larger communities, going to a less mainstream format or block programming and utilizing hybrid or non-commercial revenue may be one of the better options. WNWR probably would be a good candidate for this.

 

[DToTheJ]

Add an FM translator, and WBZH's fortunes might change for the better. But they appear to be holding their own at the moment, based on the previous posts...