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Traffic And Weather Together!

J

Joseph_Gallant

This morning (February 14th), WBZ-1030 made a major change to their daytime all-news presentation.

Ever since going all-news during daytime hours two decades ago, the station had had traffic reports "on the 3's" :)03, :13, :23, :33, :43, and :53 past the hour) and weather reports "on the 10's" :)00, :10, :20, :30, :40, and :50 past the hour, with the :00 and :30 updates being brief along with the top news headlines).

But now, traffic and weather are together at :03, :13, :23, :33, :43, or :53 past the hour.

I am not surprised WBZ has done this; I think they may be the only CBS-owned all-news station where traffic and weather did not air together.

I am surprised that it was on the "3's" and not on the "8's" like several other CBS-owned all-news outlets (most notably WCBS-880 New York).

I am also a bit surprised that WBZ did not tweak their all-news presentation further to put headlines at :59 past the hour to allow the station to carry the CBS hourly radio news every hour 24/7 (and not just in the overnight hours), which could have been followed by traffic, weather, and the top local news stories.
 
They're more of the old Group W style than the CBS. They want the lead story on the hour and not only if it's national. My take anyway.
 
Joseph_Gallant said:
I am surprised that it was on the "3's" and not on the "8's" like several other CBS-owned all-news outlets (most notably WCBS-880 New York).
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I think that WBZ having traffic on the 3's is a nod to the fact that they're 1030 WBZ. It would make sense for 880 WCBS to do theirs on the 8's. I believe 1010 WINS does their traffic reports on the 1's.

Jacko
 
WTIC 1080 does them on the 8's. It's all about the frequency tie-in. I think it's a better tactic. If I don't need the traffic, I'll sit through it and listen to the ad after the traffic because I know the weather's next. If I need the traffic, I'll hang on because I know the weather's coming right up, even if I'm not particularly interested.
 
Jacko said:
Joseph_Gallant said:
I am surprised that it was on the "3's" and not on the "8's" like several other CBS-owned all-news outlets (most notably WCBS-880 New York).
Click to expand...

I think that WBZ having traffic on the 3's is a nod to the fact that they're 1030 WBZ. It would make sense for 880 WCBS to do theirs on the 8's. I believe 1010 WINS does their traffic reports on the 1's.

Jacko
Click to expand...

Jacko is right, it's brand extension. 1, 3, 8.
 
dhoule said:
I haven't heard the traffic and weather together. Perhaps this is about to happen and hasn't happened yet????
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Tune in to WSRS in Worcester. They've been doing traffic and weather together for years.
 
95.9 WATD in Marshfield does Traffic and Weather on the 9's during the South Shore's Morning News with Rob Hakula. They have been doing it that way about 10 years or so.
 
It's going to take a while for me to get used to this, but I don't think it's a bad move.

dhoule is right about WBZ doing things in the old Group W way. Ever since Westinghouse's purchase of CBS, the station has bridged the gap between its Westinghouse past and its CBS present. Despite the CBS moniker, I suspect most of us who are 40+ still think of it as the Group W station for New England, just as WTIC has retained some of the ambience of its Travelers Insurance past. They've continued to engage with the local/regional culture in the way they always have, which I think is actually pretty savvy. I suspect it's the principal reason why neither station carries CBS News at TOH during the daylight hours. Back when 'TIC was owned by Travelers and was an NBC affiliate, most of its daytime newscasts were local, using NBC actualities.

I know CBS still owns the Westinghouse name, but I always thought it was too bad that they didn't retain Westinghouse as the name for the parent corporation. Yeah, I know, change in corporate strategy and emphasis . . . but still, an important historical legacy was lost.
 
DougD said:
...I suspect it's the principal reason why neither station carries CBS News at TOH during the daylight hours.
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I find it odd and disappointing that WBZ, a CBS-owned and operated station, does not carry CBS radio network news, which in my opinion is still the best in the radio business, in daytime. This, and the fact that they have a split personality format-wise (all news daytime, talk at night) really portrays an image that Boston is not a first-tier US city. Are there really not enough interested listeners in eastern New England to warrant a 24/7 news station? Are they not too concerned that in its current configuration they come off as not even your father's, but your grandfather's radio station? Nostalgia may have worked for oldies stations (before they disappeared) but it doesn't cut it for a station that represents itself as a premier source of information.
 
I agree that there is enough interest for a true 24x7 News station.

However the radio professionals on this board (and I'm not one of them) point out repeatedly that 1) It is an expensive format, 2) The talk shows seem to do well and if a news story breaks during the nightime, they have the resources to begin covering the breaking news, and 3) Why fix what isn't broken.

I do think the weekend infomercials should go... :(

On another note, WCRN in Worcester carries CBS news 24x7 unless there is a Red Sox game. In fact, they promote it during their broadcast day.
 
I'm sure there are others out there more knowledgeable about this than I, but my understanding is that there are basically three reasons why WBZ doesn't carry TOH CBS News 24/7: first, its legacy as being Boston/New England's premier news station, with an emphasis on Boston/New England news; second, that there are four other CBS affiliates within the station's primary coverage range --- WHJJ, WCRN, WFEA and WZAN --- that do carry CBS News on the hour; and third,
that the CBS O&Os each enjoy a large degree of autonomy, coupled with the fact that CBS's radio newsfeeds, while produced by CBS News, are actually distributed by Dial Global, so that even the O&Os carry the TOH newscasts on a contractual basis. (Indeed, two of CBS's O&Os don't carry them at all [WINS, KYW].).
 
raccoonradio said:
If you consider 6:30 pm daytime (in times of the year the sun's still out) don't they simulcast
CBS Evening News, though?
Click to expand...

And IMHO, I don't think they should. In many cases, people are still on their way home from work and you're carrying a TV Newscast? Was it a local decision because I don't believe any of the other CBS news radio stations carry it?
 
Am I missing something? Like poster dhoule, I haven't heard this change in the positioning of traffic and weather take place as of yet. Jos Gallant, can you explain this?
 
DavidZ said:
And IMHO, I don't think they should. In many cases, people are still on their way home from work and you're carrying a TV Newscast? Was it a local decision because I don't believe any of the other CBS news radio stations carry it?
Click to expand...
WCBS/New York carries the CBS tv network news (as well as "60 Minutes" on Sundays).
 
I stand corrected. Thanks.

I still think it is a dumb idea to carry the nightly news during what I consider drive time for many of the commuters.
 
Back to the "original topic", WBZ isn't doing "traffic and weather" together. Perhaps, Joseph Gallant was listening to a different station, thinking he was listening to BZ. Not sure.
 
When you think about it, why would WBZ make a change like this on a Thursday? I would think it would have been on a Monday.
 
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