The end of an era

[del_griffith]

Long shot here, but I've got to wonder if Shawn Ireland is in the morning mix somehow.

oh god i hope not

She said a few times on Facebook she has a major announcement coming soon. Since we are nearing the first of the year and the typical times for format/personality changes, I thought I'd throw it out there.

She's doing a show on WINK-FM, so maybe that's the big announcement?

http://www.autosmartsmedia.com/

I don't think so. The "big announcement" comment was made in the last week or two. Her WINK show has been on the air for a while.

 

[gabigley1]

I discovered her WINK-FM show a couple of weeks ago. Its on Sunday morning around 9:00 AM. Thought Shawn Ireland would be a good candidate
for the new WTVN morning show a couple of weeks ago but then dismissed that thought.

Any idea when Clear Channel will make the big announcement on Bob Conners new replacement. It should be shortly after new year.
Has anyone seen a job posting in the trades for a new WTVN morning host? Things have been quiet on this.

 

[gabigley1]

CC Columbus posted this ad on BC replacement:

http://www.clearcareers.com/Jobs/JobDetail.aspx?JobPostingId=17514

MORNING SHOW HOST-WTVN
Clear Channel Communications - Columbus, OH

This position hasn't been open for 40 years. Are YOU the one to fill the big shoes left by a heritage talent? We're looking for a hip, pop culture-aware candidate who can connect and relate with our information-hungry audience. The ideal candidate will present an "A" topic-focused, fast-paced, information-packed show that includes relevant interviews with newsmakers and opinion-based monologues. Can you embrace our online goals as strongly as our on-air goals? Do you understand the importance of social networking in today's culture? If so, you will have a rock-solid supporting cast of news, traffic and sports anchors at your disposal to help take this well-branded heritage radio station to the next level. Send resume and work sample to: Mike Elliott, WTVN Program Director, 2323 W. 5th Avenue, Suite 200, Columbus, OH 43204-4899.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Holy EEO Requirement, Batman!



My gut up here in NE Ohio says they go with Joel Riley, unless they give him such a low-ball offer that he walks.

 

[del_griffith]

Holy EEO Requirement, Batman!



My gut up here in NE Ohio says they go with Joel Riley, unless they give him such a low-ball offer that he walks.

What's funny is that the job was posted 11/21, almost a month after BC announced his retirement and the announcement of Joel as the interim replacement.

My gut tells me that if Joel is given the job even at the same $$$ as he is now, he stays. With radio in the situation that it is in with regard to jobs, where does he go? And he is extremely loyal to the area with family here.

What would be horrible for Joel but sort of ironically funny is if they pay him mucho less than BC BUT he is more successful keeping an audience and at attracting advertisers willing to pay a higher rate to be in his daypart.

 

[gabigley1]

Holy EEO Requirement, Batman!



My gut up here in NE Ohio says they go with Joel Riley, unless they give him such a low-ball offer that he walks.

Joe Riley is going nowhere else, regardless if he gets the pernament gig or not. Don't think he can fill the big shoes left by BC's retirement
and I also doubt he will be offered the position anyway.
Personally, I will change the channel to Q96FM in the morning if CC Columbus gives him the the pernament morning show position. They need
to give it to someone with a lot more name name recognition then Joel for the morning show to continue to have the great success it had with BC.
Unless they will settle for lower ratings in the morning by paying Joel less money to do the show. Even Joel has admitted on the air he won't be able pull the consistently high ratings BC had if he dose happen to get the gig.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

I will change the channel to Q96FM in the morning if CC Columbus gives him the the pernament morning show position. They need
to give it to someone with a lot more name name recognition then Joel for the morning show to continue to have the great success it had with BC.

OK, who? Name some names.

There may be no one who can replace BC...ever. But WTVN has to have someone on the air weekday mornings, and whether you like Joel or not, or think he can't bill BC's shoes, well, they can't run BC tapes from 6-9 AM.

 

[del_griffith]

Holy EEO Requirement, Batman!



My gut up here in NE Ohio says they go with Joel Riley, unless they give him such a low-ball offer that he walks.

Joe Riley is going nowhere else, regardless if he gets the pernament gig or not. Don't think he can fill the big shoes left by BC's retirement and I also doubt he will be offered the position anyway.
Personally, I will change the channel to Q96FM in the morning if CC Columbus gives him the the pernament morning show position. They need to give it to someone with a lot more name name recognition then Joel for the morning show to continue to have the great success it had with BC.
Unless they will settle for lower ratings in the morning by paying Joel less money to do the show. Even Joel has admitted on the air he won't be able pull the consistently high ratings BC had if he dose happen to get the gig.

I think WTVN mornings, and this is in no way to diminish what Bob was as a contributor, had become a rote habit for the listeners and even worse a plug and play commodity that has become something largely anyone could host the program. Bob was more of a legend for what he was in the past rather than in the present. Think about it. More people remember Bob for Sammy of Sammy's Bar and Grill than something Bob has done in recent years.

Joel is not my 1st choice to fill the chair. But I can live with him. He has become familiar with the WTVN audience. More importantly the morning audience. And that audience feels comfortable with him. I don't think they are looking for someone to be controversial in the morning. I don't think they want someone who has a high bit production program with the Instant Replay firing every 10 seconds. Look at Cleveland and Cincy. Jim Scott, Bill Wills and Joel Riley could trade chairs and most people would still be happy.

WTVN wants someone who will be an assured thing and safe. So even if it isn't Joel, it will be someone like Joel. They want someone who can keep the elements moving, keep the elements edgy but safe and keep the tradition going and safe.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

I still believe they have no intention of making Joel Riley the permanent replacement.  Most likely candidate:  Woody Johnson. Dave Kaelin might be a surprise possibility.

On a related note, I was intrigued by a recent national PPM study that showed afternoon drive (and maybe even middays, IIRC) now cumes higher than mornings. But I still don't think they'll settle for Joel, even though he's certainly a fine air talent overall.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Hasn't Woody already made it clear he doesn't want the gig?

I think del's on the right path, here.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Yes, Woody said he doesn't want it, but you know how sometimes months later things "change."

 

[XtraXtra]

Holy EEO Requirement, Batman!



My gut up here in NE Ohio says they go with Joel Riley, unless they give him such a low-ball offer that he walks.

He seems like a nice enough guy, but he's just not right for the job. There's just something about how he does the show, how he sounds, the comments he makes, the questions he asks that just doesn't flow well. He has a real flair for the obvious. Connors did a good job being a Clint Eastwood of sorts - not saying much and letting the show present itself. Joel is trying to do that, but isn't pulling it off. I've tried to listen to him, but I just can't.

 

[XtraXtra]

Joel is not my 1st choice to fill the chair. But I can live with him. He has become familiar with the WTVN audience. More importantly the morning audience. And that audience feels comfortable with him. I don't think they are looking for someone to be controversial in the morning. I don't think they want someone who has a high bit production program with the Instant Replay firing every 10 seconds. Look at Cleveland and Cincy. Jim Scott, Bill Wills and Joel Riley could trade chairs and most people would still be happy.

Absolutely do not agree. Joel Riley has nowhere near the polish of either Jim Scott or Bill Wills. He seems like a nice enough guy, but there's just something about him that seems small market. Maybe its the voice, but some of the questions he asks really make me cringe. Bob generally got out of the way and let the show present itself.

 

[gabigley1]

Joel Riley is a excellent fill in host but that is about it. Joel said on the air he's always done what his bossed have asked him to do.
That is why he is liked by CC and why he is still around after all these years.

 

[del_griffith]

I'll never argue that Joel is the perfect replacement. But he is adequate. Maybe even a little more than adequate. But in a perfect world, would he be my first choice? No.

But can he do the job? With the plug and play type format the morning show has become, just about any decent radio host could plug into the format and do a good job. Joel fits that. The show, over time, has become less about the personality and more about the elements. I'm going to guess it is that was by design. You could pretty much predict the questions Bob was going to ask of the guests, especially the regulars, and Joel is pretty much the same way.

Again, over time, I was less surprised by something Bob said to get someone to talk. Even during times when a guest may have backed out or wasn't booked, Bob wasn't letting loose with something of great interest or saying something profound or entertaining. Bob had simply become a solid and trusted anchor of the elements of the morning show. He was far more entertaining and creative during his disc jockey years. And WTVN has never been a big risk taker with regard to creativity except for the short period Adam Kontras was there and he was buried in the late night. Bob had become our Uncle Walter. Time tested and trusted.

And while Joel will never be Bob, he'll do just fine if what Bob has done on the air for the last few years is what CC wants from WTVN's morning show going forward. And because Joel is a familiar entity, I don't think there will be much if any erosion of the audience. With Joel as a replacement, he does give the show a younger perspective and sound which can mean appeal to younger demos IF they add an FM element without offending the already in place huge older audience.

And let's face it. There are some radios in Columbus where the tuner is stuck on 610 and cannot be moved because the people have listened to that station singularly for so long without ever changing it. ;D

 

[XtraXtra]

I'll never argue that Joel is the perfect replacement. But he is adequate. Maybe even a little more than adequate. But in a perfect world, would he be my first choice? No.

I don't know how to put this in the right words, but I think you will get the gist of what I'm saying. I think you know there are certain people, programs and shows that have a certain knack for putting together things that resonate with an audience. This is hard to explain, but there are certain things you hear and you like them and you know they are good instantaneously. Best way to describe it is like what you see on Fox News Channel or Rush Limbaugh. Love or hate their political narrative, these shows convey a certain energy and that energy is what draws you to them.

I consider myself a pretty good judge of this energy (that is, as a radio buff) and Joel doesn't not only doesn't have it, but there is something repels me from listening to him. I have tried hard to listen to Joel even when he was doing his 9 am to Noon morning gig. I just can't do it. He's okay as a DJ, but he just makes me cringe as a talk show host.

I don't normally react this way. Usually it's an issue of someone being interesting or not interesting and boring me to tears. It's the things this guy says on the radio. Corby doesn't say the most brilliant things either, but I can get over it because I like listening to his voice. I can't explain it, but I figure if I react this way I can't be the only one. I hope they find someone better.

 

[del_griffith]

Maybe it's just perception. As I said, I'm in the Joel is adequate camp. But I generally flip the channel when Corby is on, except when they do the Bass Brothers segment. Once in a while, I find the topics and comments amusing. But that's an exception, rather than the rule.

 

[XtraXtra]

Maybe it's just perception. As I said, I'm in the Joel is adequate camp. But I generally flip the channel when Corby is on, except when they do the Bass Brothers segment. Once in a while, I find the topics and comments amusing. But that's an exception, rather than the rule.

I'm not a big Corby fan, either. I typically like things with a little more entertainment value (I used to like the old Eddie and Tracy show on 700 WLW). But when I do listen (usually when something is going on with the Buckeyes), I really find myself enjoying the sound of Corby's voice. I also appreciate the fact that we still have a local program in that time slot as opposed to being tortured with Sean Hannity.

If you've ever watched Clint Eastwood in "For a Few Dollars More", and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" you will notice that Eastwood says virtually nothing in those movies. That's what Conners reminded me of. Maybe that's why he was so popular - you can't offend anybody if you don't say anything.

I'm typically not a hater - I even like the Cleveland and Columbus NPR radio hosts they replay on the Ohio Channel. Next time I hear an example of something Joel says that makes me cringe, I'll see if I can remember to post it here so you get a better idea of why he's such a turn-off to me.

 

[del_griffith]

I think that would be interesting to see what turns you off about Joel. I will admit that sometimes he sounds like what we used to call a puker on the air.

I too like the fact that Corby is local.

And I don't hate his show. But sometimes his topics are to me juvenile. I'm probably exaggerating, but topics like "did you fart on your first date". That probably has not been a topic, but sometimes it sounds like it. Corby reminds me of the old bar fly at the corner bar. Cigarette burning in an ashtray. A shot and a beer nearby. Sort of sarcastic or has a comment on everything. Probably at one time was something of a jock or could have been. Has done or experienced or claims to have experienced just about everything.

And sometimes the topics have callers that simply can't cut to the chase when telling their story.

I do somewhat like the tradition of endless callers wishing him happy birthday everyday.

 

[XtraXtra]

I too like the fact that Corby is local.

And I don't hate his show. But sometimes his topics are to me juvenile. I'm probably exaggerating, but topics like "did you fart on your first date".

I agree with you there, the topics are pretty dumb not to mention Joe Bradley cackling in the background. His shows are at their best when he has someone there like Earle Bruce. I go back to the old Eddie Fingers show on 700. I understand they weren't everybody's cup of tea, but I thought the two were funny together and Eddie Fingers' broadcast professionalism really made the show flow.