UNDER THE BOARDWALK NOW "NIGHTS WITH MICHELE"

[fred flintstone]

Name of new show posted on NJ1015.com website.
Michele Pilenza has the gig.
Update: Michele announced on-air at 6:42 she is new host.
First thing she did was call her husband.
She says they are still talking about money but she won't give specifics.
She says she has been sworn to secrecy.

Carton says Deena never signed a contract. If she had, he told Michele, "you wouldn't be here."
Carton played a tape from another applicant nameed Cornelia who said she has no radio experience (she's a teacher) but she likes to talk to people. Carton says it was between her and Michele.
Michele says, "I want this job. I'm very excited."

C&R had promoted a hot dog eating contest with Michele (eight hot dogs in her mouth at one time) but PD Eric Johnson said not to do it on the day of her announcement ("don't embarass her today, do it tomorrow").
Carton told Michele to sign the contract within seven days or Michelle Jerson will come back and she will do the show for half as much money.


Few minutes later, Carton says "she had some balls turning down 30 thousand dollars."
Adds, "she's never done talk and she says no to 30g's."

 

[NJ VET]

Nice get for NJ 101.5 - tough loss for SOJO 104.9!

 

[SoulCrusher]

Nice get for NJ 101.5 - tough loss for SOJO 104.9!

SoJo 104.9 = Most useless station in South Jersey. Who needs it? Put a station on this frequency that will be unique that can't be heard in most surrounding markets - like Active Rock or Alternative.

And, oh yeah, congrats to Michele. Listened to the show the other night and she sounded like she was in her element doing this show. I'm sure she will retain the current audience at the very least.

 

[NJ VET]

Active Rock and Alternative has failed consistently and has proven time and again across this region to attract a small (very loyal) male dominated audience - but not enough revenue.

Simply put - they lose money, or don't make "enough" money. SOJO is making good money = more mass appeal/female oriented.

Your passion for Active Rock and Alternative is admirable. However there aren't enough of you, in the minds of station owners to justify trying again.

There's always satellite...

 

[SoulCrusher]

Active Rock and Alternative has failed consistently and has proven time and again across this region to attract a small (very loyal) male dominated audience - but not enough revenue.

Simply put - they lose money, or don't make "enough" money. SOJO is making good money = more mass appeal/female oriented.

Your passion for Active Rock and Alternative is admirable. However there aren't enough of you, in the minds of station owners to justify trying again.

There's always satellite...

SoJo is making good money? Maybe right now they are, but mark my words - barring some miracle, it will not continue. If I had a business, I would not want to advertise on a station that rates as poorly as SoJo, especially with its flamethrower signal.

It's been said that SoJo is aimed at the fringe markets as opposed to the market it's located in - namely, Philadelphia and to a lesser extent Monmouth/Ocean. However, the books indicate that people are not listening outside of the market either - they did not even rank in either place! There's too many stations that sound just like SoJo out there right now - WAYV in AC/Cape May, WJLK in Monmouth/Ocean (WPLJ reaches quite well, too), and a bunch of stations in Philly (take your pick).

Take a look at the charts, if you will. Lots of bands that are generally exclusive to the Active and/or Alternative formats have topped the charts in the past year or two (Tool, System Of A Down, Korn, Deftones, Breaking Benjamin, Mudvayne, Slipknot, The Strokes, Thom Yorke, and Nine Inch Nails, to name only a few). Then look at the the markets in question: AC/Cape May has a good Active/Alternative (WJSE) with a weak signal, Philly has a Heritage Rocker (WMMR) and a station that devotes maybe 1/3 of its programming to Rock (WYSP), and Monmouth/Ocean has a good Alternative if you like the softer side of things (G Rock Radio) and a Heritage Rocker that doesn't cover the whole market (WRAT). Basically, if you are a fan of may of the bands listed above, you probably won't be satisfied with any of these stations (aside from maybe WJSE, but you probably can't even hear them).

I don't know how it would bill out of the gates, but an Active Rocker or Alternative (one that plays the edgy stuff that G Rock excludes) on 104.9 would definitely rank in Philly and Monmouth/Ocean (the word would spread like wildfire, and that would certainly help), and the ratings would improve as well - let's face it, AC/Cape May has never had an Active/Alternative station that covers the whole market, and I would expect at least a 4 share with this format if it was programmed correctly (as in, good amount of currents and diverse library with not much repetition, 30 spins tops for the currents and no more than 5 for each gold title). I don't think we'll ever get to find out, but we can always imagine.

As far as satellite goes, how long will it be before XM and Sirius decide to jump ship? It's been a losing proposition for both ever since they launched, and while it's a great idea for areas like Monmouth/Ocean with a highly limited amount of radio formats to choose from, it's a very expensive operation that continues to take a financial toll on both companies today. I could sign up for it today, and they could sign off tomorrow. I don't buy into the hype - this medium is not going to replace terrestrial radio ... heck, it's not even making money yet! Maybe it will eventually turn a profit, but I am not investing in satellite radio until I find out that it has.

 

[fred flintstone]

SoJo is making good money? Maybe right now they are, but mark my words - barring some miracle, it will not continue. If I had a business, I would not want to advertise on a station that rates as poorly as SoJo, especially with its flamethrower signal.

It's been said that SoJo is aimed at the fringe markets as opposed to the market it's located in - namely, Philadelphia and to a lesser extent Monmouth/Ocean. However, the books indicate that people are not listening outside of the market either - they did not even rank in either place! There's too many stations that sound just like SoJo out there right now - WAYV in AC/Cape May, WJLK in Monmouth/Ocean (WPLJ reaches quite well, too), and a bunch of stations in Philly (take your pick).

Excuse me. SoJo is NOT - REPEAT, NOT - in the Philadelphia radio market.
Not in the Monmouth-Ocean market either.
It barely qualifies as a rim-shot in either.
SoJo is in the Atlantic City-Cape May market, where it is ranked 10th.
The transmitter is in Egg Harbor City, NJ (AC Expressway Exit 17, near the toll plaza).
They are a B1 FM station with an ERP of 10kw.
Not a flame thrower; more like a Zippo.
Their studios are in Trenton, where the station can not be received.

 

[NJ VET]

SOJO is attempting to "create" a radio market where there was not one before - "South Jersey." Ratings in AC/Cape May really aren't that important and only a little piece of a much bigger regional picture.

The South Jersey geography is a proud one and embraces anything aimed specifically at them...and not Philly servicing the area as a secondary thought...also allows local South Jersey businesses to utilize the power of radio to reach their local core South Jersey customers...without having to pay high major market/Philly advertising rates...

It's basically a page from the same play book used when New Jersey 101.5 was created in the shadow of NYC & Philly...and we can all see how well that has worked. I say good luck to SOJO - from what I hear they seem to be doing great = a lot of nice regional type clients and a huge South Jersey street presence. Most of all music, imaging, jocks, promotions, news, traffic, etc = all solid. Not at all like so many of the very small sounding stations I hear on the coast...

FYI - their station marketing claims coverage in the counties of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, Cape May, Atlantic and Ocean South. The studios are in fact located in Trenton, with sister station NJ 101.5 - administration office is in Mt. Laurel - it's all on the web site - which is also pretty strong.

 

[SoulCrusher]

I definitely respect the effort they're putting into being "South Jersey's Own" radio station, along with the polished presentation, good personalities, and whatnot (the jingles are a little cheesy, though - they sound more like something you would hear on WFPG or WOBM).

However, at the end of the day, it's the format that people are listening for, and it's Hot AC, which is being done to death. In particular, they're going head-on with one of the most popular stations in the market, WAYV/WAIV. One would be hard-pressed to find differences between these stations musically. I assume that the majority of this station's audience is located in the western sections of NJ where WAYV's signal may be a little lacking.

For all of Millennium's resources and the great signal it has going for it (besides maybe WMGM, is there a stronger FM in South Jersey?), it will be an uphill battle going against the station with all the heritage. But given the criticism toward the automation and repetition at WAYV, this station may wind up building a following.

It's a better idea than the tired Classic Rock or AC formats. Is WCZT (98.7 The Coast) a success with WFPG in the market? Unless it has excellent presentation and a strong local presence behind it, I fail to see the need for a station like that.

 

[fred flintstone]

So, Millennium has Michele Pilenza do the evening chick talk show on NJ101.5 AND middays on SoJo.? ???

How cheap is that?
Or did Michele want more money and the deal they made was for her to take a double shift each day.
On her first day after she announced that she had the evening gig permanently, she talked about how now she had more time during the day to go around and look a sweaty, muscular blue collar guys who, she said, ring her New Jersey chime time. Maybe the next day they came up with this deal and now she doesn't have time for much of anything.

It's not like they don't have talent available who could middays on SoJo.
They pulled Michele out of the news department to do the morning show.
They've got all the applicants/contestants they did not pick for Under The Boardwalk - plus permanent guest host. Maybe none of them was quite right for the evening passion phones format but they might do just fine with a midday music format. I was glad to see you get the gig, Michele, but do you really need the money that bad to take an opportunity away from someone else?
Michele once worked for the most self-centered individual in radio. Too bad if some of that wore off.

 

[PhilGalasso]

SoJo 104.9 = Most useless station in South Jersey. Who needs it? Put a station on this frequency that will be unique that can't be heard in most surrounding markets - like Active Rock or Alternative.

Or standards. I STILL miss my WRDR on 104.9 and have no use for the Bible thumpers on the present-day "WRDR" on 89.7 in Howell.

If you live in northern Ocean or Monmouth County, you can hear active rock on WRAT (95.9). Alternative may be had as "AAA" on WBJB (90.5). Farther south, give a listen to WJSE (102.7). That station has a good signal into Atlantic and Cape May Counties. In addition to WBJB, a lot of college stations play rock that is never heard on commercial radio. You need only to tune to the left side of the FM dial...

 

[SoulCrusher]

SoJo 104.9 = Most useless station in South Jersey. Who needs it? Put a station on this frequency that will be unique that can't be heard in most surrounding markets - like Active Rock or Alternative.

Or standards. I STILL miss my WRDR on 104.9 and have no use for the Bible thumpers on the present-day "WRDR" on 89.7 in Howell.

If you live in northern Ocean or Monmouth County, you can hear active rock on WRAT (95.9). Alternative may be had as "AAA" on WBJB (90.5). Farther south, give a listen to WJSE (102.7). That station has a good signal into Atlantic and Cape May Counties. In addition to WBJB, a lot of college stations play rock that is never heard on commercial radio. You need only to tune to the left side of the FM dial...

WRDR was terrific. When I heard about Press Communications and the launch of "The Breeze" along with the "unforgettable favorites" tagline, I was really hoping that it was going to be along the lines of WRDR. Instead, it's a diverse Gold-based AC that plays music from the '60s through the '90s. The 104.9 frequency has been home to Latin, Country (stunting), Smooth Jazz and Hot AC over the years, but no format was as successful as WRDR. I'm sure a station that featured Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole and others would be very popular around here if given another chance - the reason we're not seeing it is because three companies operate every commercial FM in Monmouth/Ocean. Who knows - if anyone other than Press operated the 98.5 frequency, maybe they would have tried an Adult Standards format instead of Country.

WRAT is a good rocker with an engaging 24 hour airstaff. My only criticism is that they don't play enough Currents - only about 15-20 last time I checked. But that's the tight programming of Greater Media - WMMR and WDHA are similar in that respect.

I'm definitely a WJSE fan and listen if I can tune it in. They're almost too diverse (they'll play AC/DC into emo/pop band Say Anything, for instance), but I personally enjoy the wide variety. If there's one thing they can improve, it would be having an on-air person come in to do overnights (12 AM to 5 AM) after the Late Night Leak.

I still have to check out WBJB, which if I'm not mistaken is Brookdale Community College radio. I've heard a lot of good things about the station. Occasionally I manage to pull in the station from Burlington County College (WBZC - not sure of the frequency at this time), and they play an interesting mix of blues and alternative. Some of the best stations out there are on the left of the dial - however, in the area of Southern Ocean, you get bombarded with all of those "Bible thumpers" out there on stations like 90.7 WYRS. We even have a Christian CHR piped in from somewhere in the Carolinas (if I'm not mistaken) as well. There are lots of people out here trying to spread The Word, that's for sure.

 

[VeteranPD]

My gripe with SoJo is that it is NOT a South Jersey station...It's a South Jersey TRANSMITTER. What a joke. It's down the hall from 101.5 Shame on the FCC for getting so loose on the COL issue. I have no gripe with the format....just the location. Looks like FCC will let you mail it in from anywhere these days.
Pilenza? Most annoying voice that ever went through a loudspeaker. I suggest listening with a high end roll off.

 

[SoulCrusher]

Pilenza? Most annoying voice that ever went through a loudspeaker. I suggest listening with a high end roll off.

Perhaps, but is her voice any more annoying that Mary Walters? Considering how long her show ran despite her cackle of a voice, anything that replaces it can almost be considered an upgrade as far as voices are concerned.

 

[Starscream]

My gripe with SoJo is that it is NOT a South Jersey station...It's a South Jersey TRANSMITTER. What a joke. It's down the hall from 101.5 Shame on the FCC for getting so loose on the COL issue. I have no gripe with the format....just the location. Looks like FCC will let you mail it in from anywhere these days.
Pilenza? Most annoying voice that ever went through a loudspeaker. I suggest listening with a high end roll off.

Oh please. They have an office prescence in "real" South Jersey, their street team is consistently in the area, and they serve the South Jersey public interest.

For your quibble about the studio, since (609) is technically considered to be "South Jersey", as Mills Lane once said, "I'll allow it!" It's not like they are being piped in from East Rutherford.