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The story of WGSO. What is the story with WGSO?

Ken Trehan is running that operation? WOW!

I'd like a single day to revise completely their entire on air staff. I would keep maybe one person they have on currently. The rest I would jettison into the lake on the north shore without any boats.

I'd bring in a bunch of hungry go getter talk radio people with lots of things on their minds and lots of things to say. I'd have a news talk guy or gal, in fact 2 of them. I'd have a guy to talk up sports. I'd have people who would shake up the market seeing how there is nobody doing that right now. I'd look for interesting people who could actually hold an audience and appeal to an advertiser.

In the end in 24 hours I'd have the hottest lineup of talkers in New Orleans and although the numbers wouldn't compare with WWL, but the talent on my station and the personalities would be the best in the city without a doubt. Right now they are simply wasting time and should sell the thing as soon as possible. IMO this group hasn't a clue of the magnificent opportunity that they have in their hands. NOLA is DYING for the sort of a talk station I would put together and that this signal could really be.

It's a mess of gigantic proportions.

The one thing I'll disagree with though is when people talk about the WGSO signal. Its city grade signal is fine and the power is capable enough to be a serious player in the Nola talk radio wars...if that's what you can call them.
 
Garret,
I am not at all posting you up, just asking questions since you posed a premise for success for WGSO.
1) Where would YOU find these talented people? Certainly the deep pockets of CC and Entercom have looked. Heck, CC just paid a boatfull of money to find what amounts to on air dreck.
2) Have you done this before? Successfully program a talk radio station before? Where?
3) We all think we are brilliant judges of talent, but I think being a talk programmer has to take the thickest skin in the world. Do you REALLY have the onions for the kind of judgement that comes with THAT job? I honestly am not sure I do.
4) You have from time to time in your posts mentioned that WGSO's "city grade signal is fine and the power is capable enough to be a serious player in the Nola talk radio wars..."
"City Grade" WAS good enough in the '60's and '70's when "urban sprawl" meant New Orleans East, the West Bank and Metairie, but no more. Even before Katrina, the sprawl meant points further than even St John and St. Charles. Now urban sprawl means Assention Parish, Livingston Parish, East Baton Rouge, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa etc. Katrina only accelerated that sprawl. Someone on another thread made the comment that station "footprint" is no longer important and thinking it is is "old thinking." I disagree. People want to have a station that they can hear all the way from home to work and back. In todays world WGSO, in your words, is "a mess of gigantic proportions."
 
Great questions.

I'm 67 years old and have been retired form the radio industry since 1999. Radio wasn't my primary business mind you, however I invested in three stations, all of them in the southeast, and made money in each situation. I am no expert mind you, but I have instincts that have always served me well, telling me what will work and what won't work. Does someone really need to be a "radio person" to understand that a Bernie Cyrus should be nowhere near a microphone, especially in what could be a lucrative PM drive position, doling out nothing, saying nothing, and putting to sleep every fish in the lake in the process?

There is talent to be found, but the process of finding talent today has changed from years previous. The problem with "talent" these days is in the fact that the talk show people have been weaned to become robotic instead of being individuals with unique and special abilities that differentiate them from the person over at the other station(s). If a person really wanted something different and not the usual suspects, they can be found.

The signal is good enough even with the points you raised. Wit their stick they should be able to do some very good things from not only an on air point of view, but as I said before, in the way of doing business with sponsorships, WGSO has a signal capable enough of reaching enough of an audience to make money in the process of going on the air every day.

WGSO should scrap their one year plan of going nowhere under the current system they have in place and enter into a new game plan that if enacted would provide them with more substantial returns on however much money they have invested, and lost, to this point.
 
I think you made great points and I agree with much of what you say... not the signal issue.
Even in 1998 they had were a viable signal and when they went to the "Biz Radio" format they actually had an "island" to "own."
Today I feel the signal, if not addressed (maybe moving the stick) dooms them in our now portable society.
I mostly agree with you point concerning talent and get the value of the "gut."
That said, I would say that even though you may or may not like them, Rob Cohig, Garland Robinette, Jim Brown, Spud, are all a bit of out of the box when it comes to the "robotics" of PD's.
But reasonable people can disagree.
What WGSO attempted is unconscionable . Bad signal + bad talent + bad judgement on support staff + bad behavior in the treatment of those people = bad radio, bad will, and truly bad financial results and in the end, all of it is bad for radio.
 
I’ve got some more ideas. I hear Eric Tracy is looking for a job, and Mike Longman is being paroled next week. Oh, and rumor has it that Bruce Kramer wants to make a comeback, and Ken Sasso would move for the right price.
 
Would be a helluva price to offer Ken Sasso, to move him from his grave, where he's been for a few years, to behind the mike again.

A new direction: resurrection radio.
 
nedryerson said:
I’ve got some more ideas. I hear Eric Tracy is looking for a job, and Mike Longman is being paroled next week. Oh, and rumor has it that Bruce Kramer wants to make a comeback, and Ken Sasso would move for the right price.
Click to expand...

Mike Longdong is getting PAROLED next week?
Maybe he can do speaking engagements to young men giving advice on NOT BECOMING A PEDOPHILE........
Sorry, I used to have alot of respect for him until HE GOT CAUGHT WITH CHILD PORNOGRAPHY......
He should NEVER WORK IN MEDIA AGAIN...
 
Some funny stuff here about this...but the reality is that if WGSO does not change, and quickly I might add, the station will soon die off and be remembered for accomplishing nothing in its new incarnation...except losing a lot of money.

Maybe an "insider" can tell us what the walls are saying inside the building?
 
Garrett [EDIT] who are you to judge Ken Trahan, if you think that butt kisser Kenny wilkerson is any better dude you have got major issues i must say.Ken is one of the most well known,well respected sports people i know and also is a greatand deeply religious man. [EDIT]


[EDIT-inflammatory]
 
What in the world does Ken Trahan being religious have to do with the price of tea these days in China?

To make sure you understand me, I have heard Ken for years on the radio and I like his work for the most part.

I got word today that KH is NOT running WGSO, not in terms of decisions that have to do with the programming end of things.

Now engage me in the quality of the product on WGSO as it now stands. Would you listen to that station for any length of time and feel it was worth your time?
 
Garret.


I too like KH and much of the work he has done.

Other than his sanctimonious nature and difficulty to make eye contact, I think he is a fair to good broadcaster in a market our size.

To answer your question directly, obviously from my previous posts, no.

Sportsnut,
I never took garret’s email as a slam of Ken T, but a slam of the station in general.



44
 
Correct and if I mislead anyone my apologies.

KT is a "good" broadcaster in my opinion, not close to being a good talk show host, but a good technical broadcaster in general. He's nuts and bolts, gives you the scores, tells you what's on the agenda, then he signs off with a sense of professionalism.

As for the station itself I believe I have already made mention of my feelings.

WGSO=Train wreck city.
 
sorry, a miss-type. I meant KT. Didn't stretch that finger far enough over!
44
 
quote]WGSO=Train wreck city.[[/quote]

“Train Wreck” implies that something begins to move rather rapidly, has a disaster and stops moving.
WGSO is more like an inert pile of crap that has never moved and will never move beyond the stench that comes from it. It’s a sad case.
 
Good grief, it’s not even good enough to be a pile of crap.

I’ll tell you the worst part - worse even than Bernie and Clancy: Michael Green. What a goofball. I’d rather go to a Bernie Cyrus marathon remote than listen to Green. He is THE WORST.
 
Who is Michael Green? I just can't bring myself to listen, so that's a new name for me. If he's actually worse than Bernie C., he should be nominated to have his portrait placed in the "crapper" of the Radio Hall of Fame. Surely you exaggerate about how bad he is??
 
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