Tifton Radio is a disgrace

[Radio Lawyer]

WTIF NEVER had anyone who did just one job except for two salespeople. Al Cohen ran the station, did the morning show, sold and did production. I was news director but also did high school football, ABAC basketball and a Sunday afternoon or evening shift. Allen Tibbetts did mornings, much of the weekend and production. The two other fulltimers did midday and afternoon, respectively, as well as sold ads. One person worked out front as receptionist, bookkeeper and log person. We usually had a high school or college student or two fill in the gaps. The staff at WLBB was larger but it also involved everybody with multiple jobs.

It's been 27 years since I worked there fulltime but the station was still a good operation until the last two or three years. I'm not "living in the past." If you're going to do contemporary Christian or any other format, do it live, do it local and do it right.

 

[olhankster]

Hank:Your old homestead WDMG AM will be changing formats next week to News/Talk.

This is going to be a good station and good market for them. All I can say is I am aware of the plan and I think it will work. The key to News/Talk on stations in small towns is to continue to feature items that fit the local market. Ratings are not a big deal, but the content is. Small town businesses want cheap rates and results, as long as they like the station or the salesperson. On WDMG, this will work with their plans. You can't just run from a bird and expect everything to flow together. It's what you do with it during your avails and extra programming that makes or breaks you.

Douglas is a conservative area, not as much as up here. The format will do well...just like if that station I once managed went Country...

 

[tiftonpd]

I am totally with you, doing it local, doing it live. The current PD for WTIF would LOVE to put a afternoon drive and night show. But corporate money can go so far.... I end this rant about this by just stating these indisputable facts: (really my opinion, but I see no other way to make the station fly, but it would take the right people, like Mr Sutton said and the right owner with enough BALLS (money) to make it happen!)

Small market needs to take a lesson from large market radio: NY, LA, Chicago, Atlanta

In this respect small market has got to spend the money and get these positions doled back out to the right people. If you walked into Z100 right now you would find a Program Director who, guess what, Programmed! He picks the station image, format, jocks, personality, demographic etc. If the station doesn't sell, guess who gets canned? [You would also find a News Director, you would have a imaging director (yet he may image all the stations) you would find a PSA director for God sakes! You would find a GM who GM'd! You would find a traffic director!]

All this being said, he also has help from past experiences of past PD's, consultants, general direction from management, etc

This is how I would like to be able to walk into a station and be able to do. Also EGO is OUT the door. I am not any better then any body else, but I think I have fresh ideas, a fresh attitude, a fresh way to attack the competition and get the station sold. I have no ego to bruise. Go ahead, flame me.

In this situation you live or die by your stations ability to sell and arb ratings etc. Another thing that small market has to realize is your station must have a personality that the population wants. If it is a personality to localize then it needs to localize. Remember we must imagine our listeners to be ONE person. Rebecca needs to be entertained but keep her kids occupied on the ride home, Stacy needs to get down and get loose on friday afternoon because she has had a long day at work and needs to unwind to the good country music you may or may not be playing, if not she will ipod it or XM it.

I love radio. I love the theatre of the mind.

 

[tiftonpd]

Another point to make which was pointed out to me today, Mom and Pop stores arent around any more to pay for what they like. You cant walk into Red Lobster in Tifton and expect to sell. Corporations want NATIONAL numbers. Yeah you got "The Big Store" in Tifton and granted there are the other small business's. But it is not mom and pop any more and most clients don't know a thing about radio because most Account Executives DONT know squat about it so they educate the client with the wrong idea about what local radio is supposed to be about.

Tifton gazette reported that only 6% of the registered voters in Tift county came out to vote in the last election, what does that tell you? It tells you that even if lets say 5% of the voters who voted actually were paying attention to politics, what does that tell you about the radio? I think the people in Tifton for the past 5-7 years have not been really listening. Why would the last owner sell if it was not losing money?

BTW, Al Cohen, Mr. Allen, David Haire, Mr Sutton are ICONS of the old guard, old school weather they like it or not

I pay attention to Al Cohen when he was doing his last remote at a local bank. He does it RIGHT but he also does it really old school. I got the pleasure and privilige to see the last of the old guard doing a remote, the RIGHT way!

 

[tiftonpd]

I think the people in Tifton for the past 5-7 years have not been really listening. Why would the last owner sell if it was not losing money?


I do not guess any one can answer this question...... Maybe it is true that it was losing money and I guess the last owner was losing money.. when he sold WJYF, he had to package WTIF AM/FM into the deal... the interested buyers didnt want it.... what does this say?

 

[BSteve]

I can hardly stand to listen to Macon radio anymore.
Worked there for years....it hurts to listen.
Glad to know Marcia Shipley is still around. Was working in Macon when she was first getting into radio

 

[radionut925]

I can hardly stand to listen to Macon radio anymore.
Worked there for years....it hurts to listen.

Same things apply to radio pretty much everywhere these days.