"Top Secret" 99X Meeting

[TopicA]

99x held a staff meeting yesterday and some interesting things were brought to light:

1. Toucher will be leaving the morning show. (Phoenix maybe?)
2. Axel will be his replacement and will do mornings with Jimmy.
3. (Not dicussed in meeting) but Jimmy's contract is not official & he has been "shopping" elsewhere.
4. The station will be targeted older and will try to recapture 99x listeners from the early 90's.

Mixed emotions filled the room, and probably the market...

And now!!! we discuss...

 

[RTibbs02]

> 99x held a staff meeting yesterday and some interesting
> things were brought to light:
>
> 1. Toucher will be leaving the morning show. (Phoenix
> maybe?)
> 2. Axel will be his replacement and will do mornings with
> Jimmy.
> 3. (Not dicussed in meeting) but Jimmy's contract is not
> official & he has been "shopping" elsewhere.
> 4. The station will be targeted older and will try to
> recapture 99x listeners from the early 90's.
>
> Mixed emotions filled the room, and probably the market...
>
> And now!!! we discuss...
>
A needed change at this point the fact of the matter is new rock/alternative does not generate the hits and buzz(no pun intended) that it did in the 90's so there is not a lot their to attract the younger listeners. The big names from the 9-'s seemed to come from this genre Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder the Gallagher Brothers Gavin Rossdale. Now try to name some of the personalities from this generation of alternative. They are not names like they were then. you don't see them on the cover of Rolling Stone. The bigger names now are more likely Kanye, Fergie and Usher. Interestingly enough Q100 bread and butter so it is ashame they don't break out in the ratings more.

Off the top of my head I say the change and migration away from 99x can probably be charted as the inverse of Eminem's popularity. It may sound stupid but think about it. The white rapper took a generation of suburban teenagers away from 99x and moved them down the dial. Just like Nirvana and Pearl Jam brought them in. 99x played Eminem but they did not play a lot of other music in that genre.

A lot of people thought Axel should have or would have gotten the job when Barnes left. They probably made a decision to skew younger and combat The Regular Guys so they went with Toucher. Toucher was not bad but his mix with Jimmy and Leslie was probably a mistake.

99x, Classic alternative. I will listen more than I do now. Jimmy will stay is my guess. I don't think he has a lot of choices in this market at the moment and my guess is he not wanting to leave Atlanta at this point. Shopping himself around will help his negotiations so he might as well try.

 

[404RadioFan]

> And now!!! we discuss...
>

Horse hockey! It was a benefits meeting related to the buyout. Nothing remotely close to any format changes for any jock movement was discussed.

Pull your head out of your arse and stop trying to start stuff.

 

[VegemiteJohn]

> 99x held a staff meeting yesterday and some interesting
> things were brought to light:
>
> 1. Toucher will be leaving the morning show. (Phoenix
> maybe?)
> 2. Axel will be his replacement and will do mornings with
> Jimmy.
> 3. (Not dicussed in meeting) but Jimmy's contract is not
> official & he has been "shopping" elsewhere.
> 4. The station will be targeted older and will try to
> recapture 99x listeners from the early 90's.
>

Well, IF this staff meeting were actually held and IF these subjects were actually discussed, then...

1. Good riddance to Toucher. His incessant rants, know-it-all attitude, I'm-right-you're-wrong banter wore out its welcome the second week he was on the show. Phoenix's "gain" is ours as well. IF he does set up with Crash and Rich Shirtenleib, its too bad. Rich would have been a very WELCOME addition to 99x morning show had they been able to negotiate something with him a few years ago when Barnes left. Instead, they took Toucher and it doesn't appear to have been the best decision.

2. When Axel "fills in" for Toucher, he does a GREAT job. Toucher on a cruise next week is music to my ears! I'll start listening again on a more consistent basis rather than just flipping over to listen to the music and catching bits and pieces of Toucher's ramblings.

3. With all due respect, Jimmy Baron is not a "big fish" in the radio world unlike Leslie Fram who apparently is one of the most respected Program Directors in her field. We're lucky to have her here in Atlanta. Jimmy can shop all he wants but, in my opinion, would be hard-pressed to find a gig like he has here. My bet: he stays.

4. No specific comment. Find some new cutting edge bands and win your old listeners back while satisfying your loyal listeners. I've never had a problem with the music that 99x plays, just some of the personalities (see #1 above).

If Toucher leaves (from my lips to God's ears), what becomes of Wally? Back to Radio Disney?

 

[digitaldevil23]

> 99x held a staff meeting yesterday and some interesting
> things were brought to light:
>
> 1. Toucher will be leaving the morning show. (Phoenix
> maybe?)
> 2. Axel will be his replacement and will do mornings with
> Jimmy.
> 3. (Not dicussed in meeting) but Jimmy's contract is not
> official & he has been "shopping" elsewhere.
> 4. The station will be targeted older and will try to
> recapture 99x listeners from the early 90's.
>
> Mixed emotions filled the room, and probably the market...
>
> And now!!! we discuss...
>

2. IMHO, Axel and Steve are the top talents on 99X. Steve is one of my favorite radio DJs, period. I always tune in Steve's show and try to catch at least a little bit of Axel each week. If this is all true, then kudos to Axel! This is well deserved and he's paid his dues to get this.

4. Again, if this is true, then I think they're kinda missing the point. They should try to focus on the audience they have now, but maybe change their marketing strategy a bit to refine their music selection. Narrow the gap, don't try to change or expand it. But, what do I know...

-Andy from 88<P ID="signature">______________
Album 88 - 88.5FM
Psychobilly Freakout Mondays from 8-10pm</P>

 

[TopicA]

> > And now!!! we discuss...
> >
>
> Horse hockey! It was a benefits meeting related to the
> buyout. Nothing remotely close to any format changes for
> any jock movement was discussed.
>
> Pull your head out of your arse and stop trying to start
> stuff.
>
Sure..."benefits meeting". That's good. In a couple of weeks, I'll expect a repost from you with a "ok...TopicA, you were right...I'm sorry". Of course, all of this is a nice transition into Atlanta Country 99...unless Dave becomes Free FM.

 

[RTibbs02]

> > > And now!!! we discuss...
> > >
> >
> > Horse hockey! It was a benefits meeting related to the
> > buyout. Nothing remotely close to any format changes for
> > any jock movement was discussed.
> >
> > Pull your head out of your arse and stop trying to start
> > stuff.
> >
> Sure..."benefits meeting". That's good. In a couple of
> weeks, I'll expect a repost from you with a "ok...TopicA,
> you were right...I'm sorry". Of course, all of this is
> a nice transition into Atlanta Country 99...unless Dave
> becomes Free FM.
>
I don't think they are afraid to go head-to-head with Dave. It is fight they would no doubt win. Dave has one commodity, Mara and she is stuck doing mid-days. Barnes show is boring. Eric the afternoon guy sounds like he should be doing overnights. I am sure he is really happy that he no longer works the rush hour shift on Fridays. That must do a lot to boost his morale. Eric is gone from afternoon by the end of the year.

99x has a lot of history with the music they might move to and they still have jocks like jimmy, steve and axel regardless of your opinion of them that still have lots of fans.

 

[deadman]

> 99x held a staff meeting yesterday and some interesting
> things were brought to light:
>
> 1. Toucher will be leaving the morning show. (Phoenix
> maybe?)
> 2. Axel will be his replacement and will do mornings with
> Jimmy.
> 3. (Not dicussed in meeting) but Jimmy's contract is not
> official & he has been "shopping" elsewhere.
> 4. The station will be targeted older and will try to
> recapture 99x listeners from the early 90's.
>
> Mixed emotions filled the room, and probably the market...
>
> And now!!! we discuss...
>

Do you know when is this going to occur?
Fred is heading on a cruise and will be off next week.
Has he already sailed away from 99x?

 

[RTibbs02]

> > 99x held a staff meeting yesterday and some interesting
> > things were brought to light:
> >
> > 1. Toucher will be leaving the morning show. (Phoenix
> > maybe?)
> > 2. Axel will be his replacement and will do mornings with
>
> > Jimmy.
> > 3. (Not dicussed in meeting) but Jimmy's contract is not
> > official & he has been "shopping" elsewhere.
> > 4. The station will be targeted older and will try to
> > recapture 99x listeners from the early 90's.
> >
> > Mixed emotions filled the room, and probably the market...
>
> >
> > And now!!! we discuss...
> >
>
> Do you know when is this going to occur?
> Fred is heading on a cruise and will be off next week.
> Has he already sailed away from 99x?
>
Hmm and Wally was on a cruise last week. I did not listen a lot this week but when I did I did not hear him. Has he also sailed off into the sunset. Is taking a cruise the same as taking a vacation used to be at Clear Channel Atlanta. Remember Christopher Rude. Oh wait Kimmer was on "vacation" last week but he did make it back. How many lives does that cat have?

 

[deadman]

> > > 99x held a staff meeting yesterday and some interesting
> > > things were brought to light:
> > >
> > > 1. Toucher will be leaving the morning show. (Phoenix
> > > maybe?)
> > > 2. Axel will be his replacement and will do mornings
> with
> >
> > > Jimmy.
> > > 3. (Not dicussed in meeting) but Jimmy's contract is
> not
> > > official & he has been "shopping" elsewhere.
> > > 4. The station will be targeted older and will try to
> > > recapture 99x listeners from the early 90's.
> > >
> > > Mixed emotions filled the room, and probably the
> market...
> >
> > >
> > > And now!!! we discuss...
> > >
> >
> > Do you know when is this going to occur?
> > Fred is heading on a cruise and will be off next week.
> > Has he already sailed away from 99x?
> >
> Hmm and Wally was on a cruise last week. I did not listen a
> lot this week but when I did I did not hear him. Has he also
> sailed off into the sunset. Is taking a cruise the same as
> taking a vacation used to be at Clear Channel Atlanta.
> Remember Christopher Rude. Oh wait Kimmer was on "vacation"
> last week but he did make it back. How many lives does that
> cat have?
>

I think Jimmy Baron could do afternoon drive talk show on GST. Kimmer needs to go.

 

[RTibbs02]

> > > > 99x held a staff meeting yesterday and some
> interesting
> > > > things were brought to light:
> > > >
> > > > 1. Toucher will be leaving the morning show. (Phoenix
>
> > > > maybe?)
> > > > 2. Axel will be his replacement and will do mornings
> > with
> > >
> > > > Jimmy.
> > > > 3. (Not dicussed in meeting) but Jimmy's contract is
> > not
> > > > official & he has been "shopping" elsewhere.
> > > > 4. The station will be targeted older and will try to
>
> > > > recapture 99x listeners from the early 90's.
> > > >
> > > > Mixed emotions filled the room, and probably the
> > market...
> > >
> > > >
> > > > And now!!! we discuss...
> > > >
> > >
> > > Do you know when is this going to occur?
> > > Fred is heading on a cruise and will be off next week.
> > > Has he already sailed away from 99x?
> > >
> > Hmm and Wally was on a cruise last week. I did not listen
> a
> > lot this week but when I did I did not hear him. Has he
> also
> > sailed off into the sunset. Is taking a cruise the same as
>
> > taking a vacation used to be at Clear Channel Atlanta.
> > Remember Christopher Rude. Oh wait Kimmer was on
> "vacation"
> > last week but he did make it back. How many lives does
> that
> > cat have?
> >
>
> I think Jimmy Baron could do afternoon drive talk show on
> GST. Kimmer needs to go.
>
I agree and quite sure he will be there in 3 - 5 years. Both GST and WSB have each started a new local talk show recently, I don't see GST getting rid of Kimmer quite yet. The King willl be gone withn in a year I say if not sooner but I don't think they will get rid of Kimmer yet. They need to consider another voice on the show. not a co-host but someone to take the role Gosset had but I don't necessarily mean someone who does impressions

I have to say I am not a big Leslie fan. She has been mailing it in, doing mornings for a few years now. Axel jimmy and maybe another female voice that is fresh. They don't hsave to be the same footing but someone who maybe does the news, traffic and sits in on some segments.

 

[tchrfan]

> > 99x held a staff meeting yesterday and some interesting
> > things were brought to light:
> >
> > 1. Toucher will be leaving the morning show. (Phoenix
> > maybe?)
> > 2. Axel will be his replacement and will do mornings with
>
> > Jimmy.
> > 3. (Not dicussed in meeting) but Jimmy's contract is not
> > official & he has been "shopping" elsewhere.
> > 4. The station will be targeted older and will try to
> > recapture 99x listeners from the early 90's.
> >
> > Mixed emotions filled the room, and probably the market...
>
> >
> > And now!!! we discuss...
> >
> A needed change at this point the fact of the matter is new
> rock/alternative does not generate the hits and buzz(no pun
> intended) that it did in the 90's so there is not a lot
> their to attract the younger listeners. The big names from
> the 9-'s seemed to come from this genre Kurt Cobain, Eddie
> Vedder the Gallagher Brothers Gavin Rossdale. Now try to
> name some of the personalities from this generation of
> alternative. They are not names like they were then. you
> don't see them on the cover of Rolling Stone. The bigger
> names now are more likely Kanye, Fergie and Usher.
> Interestingly enough Q100 bread and butter so it is ashame
> they don't break out in the ratings more.
>
> Off the top of my head I say the change and migration away
> from 99x can probably be charted as the inverse of Eminem's
> popularity. It may sound stupid but think about it. The
> white rapper took a generation of suburban teenagers away
> from 99x and moved them down the dial. Just like Nirvana and
> Pearl Jam brought them in. 99x played Eminem but they did
> not play a lot of other music in that genre.
>
> A lot of people thought Axel should have or would have
> gotten the job when Barnes left. They probably made a
> decision to skew younger and combat The Regular Guys so they
> went with Toucher. Toucher was not bad but his mix with
> Jimmy and Leslie was probably a mistake.
>
> 99x, Classic alternative. I will listen more than I do now.
> Jimmy will stay is my guess. I don't think he has a lot of
> choices in this market at the moment and my guess is he not
> wanting to leave Atlanta at this point. Shopping himself
> around will help his negotiations so he might as well try.
>
I for one, will miss Toucher. I think he's the kind of personality, you need in the morning,but if things do change , I sure hope they stay Alternative. The pendulum will swing away from Hip-hop (it may be doing so already), and there is a whole new generation of musicians rejecting the shallowness of the hip hop movement. They will be the new Alternative wave!