• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

This Is A Bit Disturbing: Whats With All The Q-92 Canton Bashing On The Cleveland Board?

C

CHRles

This Is A Bit Disturbing: Whats With All The Q-92 Canton Bashing On The Cleveland Board?

http://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=698402&Board=cleveland

Just b/c Q-92 plays certain records that few other CHR/Pop stations are playing doesn't mean that there's a need to bash the PD. Somebody's gotta break certain records, right? And whats wrong with having Daniel Powter "Bad Day" as your most played song? It's Top 5/Top 3 at a number of prominent CHRs:
http://www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/AllAccess/Details.asp?sngcde=POWTBD++

Besides, the most played song at WZKL only got played 66 times, which isn't exactly overkill like some CHRs.
This station is trying to hold its own rather then having a sheep following the herd mentality.

The station had ONE weekend where it pretty much went Jack FM, but a true Jack FM - playing all the hits a CHR would play/played during the 80s and 90s. This is obviously an attempt to tap into some of the station's older demos, giving them something special on the weekends they could cherish/put a smile on their face. They played listener requests, just like some CHRs have an anything goes approach once a year during a telethon for a good cause.
Oh no, so they played an AC/DC or a Kansas record. Songs which station X in market Y would never dare play. But this is Canton, and maybe you CAN get away with that on a Canton CHR during the weekends. Hell some of the heritage CHRs in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania play some Classic Rock. And what about 93.7 STW in wilmington? Or some of Ohio's small market CHRs?

What is Q-92 so guilty of aside from thinking outside the box, and adding certain records with crossover appeal that few other CHRs have begun playing?

http://www.q92radio.com/
http://www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/AllAccess/Stations.asp?c_let=WZKL-FM
 
Re: This Is A Bit Disturbing: Whats With All The Q-92 Canton Bashing On The Cleveland Board?

http> ://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=698402&Board=cleveland
>
>
> Just b/c Q-92 plays certain records that few other CHR/Pop
> stations are playing doesn't mean that there's a need to
> bash the PD. Somebody's gotta break certain records, right?
> And whats wrong with having Daniel Powter "Bad Day" as your
> most played song? It's Top 5/Top 3 at a number of prominent
> CHRs:
http:/> /www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/AllAccess/Details.asp?sngcde=POWTBD++
>
>
> Besides, the most played song at WZKL only got played 66
> times, which isn't exactly overkill like some CHRs.
> This station is trying to hold its own rather then having a
> sheep following the herd mentality.
>
> The station had ONE weekend where it pretty much went Jack
> FM, but a true Jack FM - playing all the hits a CHR would
> play/played during the 80s and 90s. This is obviously an
> attempt to tap into some of the station's older demos,
> giving them something special on the weekends they could
> cherish/put a smile on their face. They played listener
> requests, just like some CHRs have an anything goes approach
> once a year during a telethon for a good cause.
> Oh no, so they played an AC/DC or a Kansas record. Songs
> which station X in market Y would never dare play. But this
> is Canton, and maybe you CAN get away with that on a Canton
> CHR during the weekends. Hell some of the heritage CHRs in
> Northeast and Central Pennsylvania play some Classic Rock.
> And what about 93.7 STW in wilmington? Or some of Ohio's
> small market CHRs?
>
> What is Q-92 so guilty of aside from thinking outside the
> box, and adding certain records with crossover appeal that
> few other CHRs have begun playing?
>
> http://www.q92radio.com/
http:> //www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/AllAccess/Stations.asp?c_let=WZKL-FM
>
I always liked WZKL.<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
No, "Disturbing" is the Best Word to Describe the Radio Station

CHRles and Jeremy:

Try actually hearing the station sometime.. you'll see what so many of us are talking about in that thread. The presentation sucks, the "talent" is way below what it should be for market 128 (www.rentdeluca.com, visit it sometime, it's the website of their former night jock who thought that everyone should be so graced with his "bonus hour" because he liked to put ten year olds on the air.. he's now their morning jock), and the station just is not what it should be.

We'd probably leave it alone if their PD (John Stewart, aka JStew) didn't respond to every little post on the Cleveland board crtiquing the radio station and if he didn't react so hard to records being added by WKDD and WAKS, neither station -- of course -- being IN CANTON. He tries to quote numbers illegally and make big boasts that he's beating WAKS, which he is, but as I pointed out in the thread on the Cleveland board, WAKS doesn't give two rats asses less about Canton.

The other big draw to slamming on WZKL is the fact that their owner, Donnie Peterson III, likes to create numerous screen names on this site pretending to be "random listeners" in the market and "well informed sources" about alleged format flips and theories of what station X should do to better serve market Y.

Basically, that station gets slammed because its management is a joke, its jocks aren't too far behind, and we're all waiting for the day that DPIII eventually sells to a corporation because THEN Canton would have a decent CHR.<P ID="signature">______________
"Random CHR Programming Mind"
</P>
 
Re: No, "Disturbing" is the Best Word to Describe the Radio Station

> CHRles and Jeremy:
>
> Try actually hearing the station sometime..

I have heard it. Many times.
<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
Re: No, "Disturbing" is the Best Word to Describe the Radio Station

> > CHRles and Jeremy:
> >
> > Try actually hearing the station sometime..
>
> I have heard it. Many times.
>


Really? Considering they don't stream and you've never shown any sort of knowledge of the Cleveland/Northeast Ohio area, I'm inclined to believe you're confusing WZKL with WKZL, which does stream.<P ID="signature">______________
"Random CHR Programming Mind"
</P>
 
Re: No, "Disturbing" is the Best Word to Describe the Radio Station

> I have heard it. Many times.
>
And given your many...umm...unknowledgeable responses in regard to CHR, I think that says enough.

There's many VALID reasons to the bashing this station recieves and it deserves, as duly noted by CHRProgrammer. This station has a history over the past few years that is nothing to jump up and down about. At one point, this station was an oldies powerhouse in their market and surrounding signal area.
 
Re: No, "Disturbing" is the Best Word to Describe the Radio Station

> > > CHRles and Jeremy:
> > >
> > > Try actually hearing the station sometime..
> >
> > I have heard it. Many times.
> >
>
>
> Really? Considering they don't stream and you've never
> shown any sort of knowledge of the Cleveland/Northeast Ohio
> area, I'm inclined to believe you're confusing WZKL with
> WKZL, which does stream.
>
Nope. WZKL 92.5FM. I pass through the area once a year. WZKL is usually the station I have on. Let's just say its more interesting to listen to then WAKS which is the same blah I get around here. Hot 101 isn't much better either. <P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
Re: No, "Disturbing" is the Best Word to Describe the Radio Station

Didn't someone on the Cleveland board tell John Stewart the Ashley Parker song was a stiff? Then why is the song big at Z-100 NEW YORK?
Weren't there people on here two months ago were saying how James Blunt and Daniel Powter don't belong on CHR/Pop radio? Then you come to find out how strong of a record it was on stations like Kiss 108 Boston, Z-100 NYC (there's that station again), and even a few Rhythmics are playing James Blunt.

And so what if they're playing Chamillionaire. It's a huge record on Rhythmic CHR, several CHR/Pop stations air it, and besdies it's not exactly a Power on WZKL.

Do you really want this station to sound like an automated Kiss FM like the one in Rochester? Or thhe awful Channel 945 Dayton you guys all have a hard on (with its always low ratings)? Would that make you all happier?

So the jocks aren't that great acfording to a number of you. Compared to whom? The jocks in Cleveland? Well duh Celveland is a far bigger market. The jocks over in Riverside aren't as good as those in L.A. either last time I checked. Or maybe you mean that all the jocks in marketes 120-140 aside from Canton have much better CHR talent?

To me it seems like Q-92 is not trying to sound like Cleveland, or like Peoria - it's trying to sound like Canton. That's why the PD is boasting about his station's success over the Cleveland CHR - he's saying that even though his listeners have the option to listen to a big market CHR/Pop (and one which is run very well) the folks in Canton enjoy listening to their hometown CHR. It sounds like the music mix is customized for its market, and the staff is having fun too. Imagine that!
 
Re: No, "Disturbing" is the Best Word to Describe the Radio Station

> Didn't someone on the Cleveland board tell John Stewart the
> Ashley Parker song was a stiff? Then why is the song big at
> Z-100 NEW YORK?

Newsflash CHRles: EVERYTHING is a hit at Z100. WHTZ isn't exactly the hardest add to get in the Top 40 format. Not to mention that what works in NYC isn't really the best barometer for what will work in the midwest, otherwise you'd see Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland and Pittsburgh bangin' freestyle records in their Gold categories. They don't.

> Weren't there people on here two months ago were saying how
> James Blunt and Daniel Powter don't belong on CHR/Pop radio?
> Then you come to find out how strong of a record it was on
> stations like Kiss 108 Boston, Z-100 NYC (there's that
> station again), and even a few Rhythmics are playing James
> Blunt.
>

There you go again. It's not 1989. Not every programmer says "OH GOSH, IT'S ON Z100, I HAD BETTER PLAY IT!" Come on now!


> And so what if they're playing Chamillionaire. It's a huge
> record on Rhythmic CHR, several CHR/Pop stations air it, and
> besdies it's not exactly a Power on WZKL.

You defend the station for being so fast on the vanilla pop, now you're saying it's okay for them to jump on an urban record that should be towards the bottom of the stack when it comes to that genre. There are other records they should be on instead of the Chamillionaire.

>
> Do you really want this station to sound like an automated
> Kiss FM like the one in Rochester? Or thhe awful Channel 945
> Dayton you guys all have a hard on (with its always low
> ratings)? Would that make you all happier?

How is Channel 945 awful? Because they have a rythmic lean and you don't like that? Because they don't sound like Z100? Here's what we want. For Q92 to reach it's full potential and sound good. They don't right now quite frankly, and since you've never heard them (and Jeremey hears them "once a year" LOL) you don't know what you're talking about or defending.

>
> So the jocks aren't that great acfording to a number of you.
> Compared to whom? The jocks in Cleveland? Well duh Celveland
> is a far bigger market. The jocks over in Riverside aren't
> as good as those in L.A. either last time I checked. Or
> maybe you mean that all the jocks in marketes 120-140 aside
> from Canton have much better CHR talent?

Again, you're defending a station and jocks you've never heard. Remember that.

>
> To me it seems like Q-92 is not trying to sound like
> Cleveland, or like Peoria - it's trying to sound like
> Canton. That's why the PD is boasting about his station's
> success over the Cleveland CHR - he's saying that even
> though his listeners have the option to listen to a big
> market CHR/Pop (and one which is run very well) the folks in
> Canton enjoy listening to their hometown CHR. It sounds like
> the music mix is customized for its market, and the staff is
> having fun too. Imagine that!

You act as if Canton is in some hick-state in the South or something; thus making it "okay" to play freaking KANSAS. It may be a smaller market, but why should they SOUND like one? Being #128 makes it "okay" to play Classic Rock? WTF????

I am losing respect for your opinions, CHRles. You're slipping.
 
Re: No, "Disturbing" is the Best Word to Describe the Radio Station

> Newsflash CHRles: EVERYTHING is a hit at Z100. WHTZ isn't
> exactly the hardest add to get in the Top 40 format. Not to
> mention that what works in NYC isn't really the best
> barometer for what will work in the midwest

You can use the same logic with WZKL. It may work for them but not for other stations in the Midwest.


> There you go again. It's not 1989. Not every programmer says
> "OH GOSH, IT'S ON Z100, I HAD BETTER PLAY IT!" Come on now!
>
Which is why WZKL doesn't sound like Z-100, but it is influenced by it (as are many other CHRs in major to small markets).


> > And so what if they're playing Chamillionaire. It's a huge
>
> > record on Rhythmic CHR, several CHR/Pop stations air it,
> and
> > besdies it's not exactly a Power on WZKL.
>
> You defend the station for being so fast on the vanilla pop,
> now you're saying it's okay for them to jump on an urban
> record that should be towards the bottom of the stack when
> it comes to that genre.

No, I'm defending the station for adding a song regardless of whether it's coming from the Rhythmic side or the AC side. I don't defend the station at all for being so vanilla Pop b/c it's NOT :)

> How is Channel 945 awful? Because they have a rythmic lean
> and you don't like that? Because they don't sound like Z100?

No b/c this station simply sucks. A good Rhythmic leaning CHR is WSNX in Grand Rapids. A very well executed CHR in general. Can't say the same about the Dayton CHR. It's just nothing to write home about, and yet you guys on here constantly hype it up. Z-93 is the better CHR over there - always has been and prolly always will be.

> Here's what we want. For Q92 to reach it's full potential
> and sound good.

No you want to program the station and seem to be jealous of those running the show.
 
From Somewhere Else Without a Clue

> You can use the same logic with WZKL. It may work for them
> but not for other stations in the Midwest.

Dude...this is the problem with people like you who simply go by what you see on Mediabase and have never ever heard them. The people who bash the station have heard them. This is a station that has been CHR for almost 3 years now and has YET to have an identity.

The fact is, WZKL is more concerned about what the ROCK station and HOT AC station in the market are doing, instead of focusing on their own product and building P1's. This is exactly why BOTH the ROCK (WRQK) and HAC (WKDD) have been cleaning WZKL's clocks -- hands down -- for a long time.

> No, I'm defending the station for adding a song regardless
> of whether it's coming from the Rhythmic side or the AC
> side. I don't defend the station at all for being so vanilla
> Pop b/c it's NOT :)

Chamillionaire is being played because KIDS are blowing up their phones with this song. When it comes to KIDS, this station does well because their former night guy (and weekenders) would put nothing but kids on the air. Kids are nice to have, but there is not one CHR in the country (that I know of) that is going to put only 11-14 year olds on the air. Nothing chases your twenty-something women (CORE!!!) away faster than that!

Plus, this market is so damn white-bread, it's not even funny. Nothing chases away faster that core demo this station should be aiming for that some hard-core urban record.

Or some classic rock song that came out in 1976. Gee...playing Wild Cherry would be somewhat relatable as their core demo would actually recognize it from the clubs.

> No you want to program the station and seem to be jealous of
> those running the show.

Huh? Do you even know what the hell you're talking about? If there were other people running the show at WZKL/Canton, OH, it would be kicking ass and be a decent sounding CHR. The problem is -- and has been for years -- is this station is sitting on a fence and can't decide which side it wants to fall on. The talent sucks! There are plenty of decent sounding jocks that actually know the format that are in a driving distance of this station. Instead, they'd rather hire people who don't know the format (to match the ignorance of the PD).

Hot AC (again where it was embarassed big time pre-current CHR). Or CHR. Pick one and do it.

SO, until you actually HEAR the station, you can't fully critique a station based on sample playlists from Mediabase.
 
Re: No, "Disturbing" is the Best Word to Describe the Radio Station

> Nope. WZKL 92.5FM. I pass through the area once a year. WZKL
> is usually the station I have on. Let's just say its more
> interesting to listen to then WAKS which is the same blah I
> get around here. Hot 101 isn't much better either.
>

Once a year? That hardly qualifies as having "heard it many times," Jeremy. You have this bad habit of pretending to know more about things than you really do, kind sir. Perhaps you should leave the discussion of WZKL to those of us that have heard it more than just "pass(ing) through the area once a year."

And oh yes, we all know WHOT is terrible, you don't have to remind us. Thanks.<P ID="signature">______________
"Random CHR Programming Mind"
</P>
 
Re: From Somewhere Else Without a Clue

I'm looking at some of your responses on the Cleveland board and you're the one who should be embarassed. You can't post a reply without calling some a dumbass? Or psychotic? A moron? And of course a small market no talent. This all in ONE POST. Do you have something personal against this PD?
http://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=701205&Board=cleveland

NEWSFLASH: A lot of CHRs, big or smnall, have Retro lunch hours.
Most CHRs do really well with teens at night, like Q-92 does, and tend to be more music-intensive, and more Rhythmic leaning during nights.

All your bad comments on Q-92 make no sense. 104.3 ZYP, a legend in the Huntsville area, isn't all that different. This station still does all 80s on Friday nights, and I believe so does 107.1 A1A Melbourne/Titusville. I guess the kids don't mind it, and the Adult Females love it. So as you can see Q-92 is not the only station to try out something "crazy" like a Retro weekend or a Retro night. If it works for them, then more power to them.

And a lot of stations straddle the line between Hot A/C and CHR/Pop. 97.9 NCI Columbus did it for years, ZYP still does it. Woohoo 107 over in Bowling Green is Hot A/C by day and more CHR/Poppish at night. 106.9 Kicks FM Cookeville is CHR/Pop by day and CHR/Rhythmic by night.

92 Pro Providence is another legendary CHR that msically doesn't sound all that different from Q-92.
As for your comments about Q also being influenced by the rock station in town, well what about stations like 93.7 STW Wilmington and nearby 97.5 PST Wilmington? Or the CHR out of Sunbury, PA?

Maybe the problem isn't that I haven't listen to Q-92. Maybe the problem is that you haven't listened to a lot of other CHRs other then Q-92.
 
Re: From Somewhere Else Without a Clue

"I'm looking at some of your responses on the Cleveland board and you're the one who should be embarassed. You can't post a reply without calling some a dumbass? Or psychotic? A moron? And of course a small market no talent. This all in ONE POST. Do you have something personal against this PD?"

I can't speak for this particular person, but if you were to search JStew's user name, Charles, you would see that those "adjectives" are very accurate to describe his on-board antics. For a Program Director, he responds to entirely too much that is posted on that board. Often times, what he has to say is laughable and beyond stupid. He deserves all the criticism that he gets.


"NEWSFLASH: A lot of CHRs, big or smnall, have Retro lunch hours. Most CHRs do really well with teens at night, like Q-92 does, and tend to be more music-intensive, and more Rhythmic leaning during nights."

Yes, a lot of CHR stations have some kind of throwback lunch. It's the most common crutch in CHR, outside of the night jock's countdown. The <u>difference</u> between the show that WZKL does and some of the good shows is the talent of the person doing the show and the focus of the show. Nikolina, although talented in her own right, is very weak overall as an air talent. I can't say too much about that, because I'm pretty sure she started at WZKL and has never had a quality programmer aircheck her. So, I'll let that slide just a bit.

Yes, CHR stations tend to lean Rhythmic at night, you're absolutely correct. But again, the difference between the good stations and WZKL is the <u>talent</u>. I have not heard the station since Igor took over for DeLuca (now doing mornings, I'll touch on that in a sec) at night, so I'll hold judgement there.

DeLuca, on the other hand, is a joke. Plain and simple, end of story. He pukes all over the microphone, he thinks that putting ten-year-olds on the air saying how much they love their boyfriend nonstop for five hours is a great night show, and his content is very lacking. He has a Howard Stern complex in that he thinks he's Canton's version of Stern, all the way down to his delivery. The fact that WZKL believes he is their new savior in mornings is both frightening and disgusting to me, as well as others, I'm sure.


"All your bad comments on Q-92 make no sense. 104.3 ZYP, a legend in the Huntsville area, isn't all that different. This station still does all 80s on Friday nights, and I believe so does 107.1 A1A Melbourne/Titusville. I guess the
kids don't mind it, and the Adult Females love it. So as you can see Q-92 is not the only station to try out something "crazy" like a Retro weekend or a Retro night. If it works for them, then more power to them."

The difference there is that neither of those stations go as far all over the road as WZKL tends to do. If WZKL's strategy was truly "working for them," then they would have a stronger 12+ number in the market than they do, ESPECIALLY considering that they are the ONLY CHOICE for CHR that is home to the market.


"And a lot of stations straddle the line between Hot A/C and CHR/Pop. 97.9 NCI Columbus did it for years, ZYP still does it. Woohoo 107 over in Bowling Green is Hot A/C by day and more CHR/Poppish at night. 106.9 Kicks FM Cookeville is
CHR/Pop by day and CHR/Rhythmic by night.

92 Pro Providence is another legendary CHR that msically doesn't sound all that different from Q-92. As for your comments about Q also being influenced by the
rock station in town, well what about stations like 93.7 STW Wilmington and nearby 97.5 PST Wilmington? Or the CHR out of Sunbury, PA?"

I'm not going to argue with you about WNCI. In fact, I'll reference you back to one of JStew's posts in which he brought up the idea that maybe the radio station should be renamed "NCI East." There is a very fine line between HAC and CHR and if a station is going to attempt to straddle that line, <u>they need to be VERY focused when doing so</u>. As I've already pointed out, WZKL is too far all over the road and needs to be tightened up.


"Maybe the problem isn't that I haven't listen to Q-92. Maybe the problem is that you haven't listened to a lot of other CHRs other then Q-92."

Absolutely, the problem in this instance is that <u>YOU PERSONALLY HAVE NOT HEARD WZKL.</u> A lot of the points RichardHead, myself, and others have been making are ones that you would have to have heard the radio station on a consistant basis to be able to make. Charles, I don't know if you're a football fan or not... but perhaps you should take a trip to Canton, visit the shrine of the sport, hang out, and listen to WZKL for three or four days. I'm 99.9% sure your opinion would change in a hurry. <P ID="signature">______________
"Random CHR Programming Mind"
</P>
 
Re: From Somewhere Else Without a Clue

First of all I'd like to say thanks for replying to me in a civil manner, I appreciate it.
Second of all, your comments do make sense as you want the station to be more focused musically, and with its on air delivery. I'm sure the station has areas it has to improve on, but is it really that bad?

Someone on here claimed that I'm anti Rhythmic, which is total BS. I love stations like WSNX Grand Rapids, and I was one of the few who defended Kiss FM Pittsburgh when someo of the locals shot it down for being too Rhythmic.
So if some people claim WKST to be a poorly programmed CHR/Pop station despite its high ratings, I figured some of the locals in Canton were biased in their negative views towards Q-92. It just didn't seem to me on paper (since I'll admit that I've never heard it) that the station was so bad. They have live personalities rather then one voicetracked talent after another, they have a pretty open music policy, and seem to be doing better then quite a few other CHRs (around the country) in the ratings game.

BTW, I remember a year or two ago listening to 107.1 A1A Melbourne in the afternoon (ie not during the Retro lunch hour) and was shocked to hear Abba's "Dancing Queen". If they can get away with playing the odd Retro/Gold hits then maybe so can Q (especially since Q aired it on a Specialty weekend). WAOA, by the way, has a CHR/Rhythmic competitor, and in a big part of its coverage area listeners can also tune into either XL 106.7 Orlando (especially in the Titusville/Cocoa Beach area) or to Wild 95.5 West Palm Beach (especially around Palm Bay).
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom