• 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

Untruths and Rumors

The professor is not Rivers, he probably has no clue these sites exist or what a blog is or can pick a hit anymore outside of reading Billboard Magazine oh wait that is now R@R. Course Rivers wouldn't know that cause he used Gavin reports and last time rivers programmed CHR stations were still using carts, all PD's were men and payola ruled. He would have been a solid fit a KBSG, not KBKS. The aging boys on this board that pine for KXRX and the lost days of radio may bow down to the almighty RIvers, but check his track record over the last five years, it ain't pretty boys. The professor lives in the glory days of radio. Today radio is a service mixed with web, ipods, Hd, satellite, video games, blogs, email, texts and millions of other things that draw people's attention. Unique music mixes, sweet imaging elements and an airstaff that compliments the music is the thrust of today's radio. It is a utility the delivers an audience. Times have changed. Rivers, the professor and the boys of the Seattle board need some mamma training on what is real in radio today. Mammaknowsbest.
 
Mama, you laid out exactly the reasons why radio sucks today and why listeners are leaving in droves to I-Pods and alternate means of portable entertainment.
Sheesh!
 
Ok... while you guys duke it out, will someone put on their armchair PD gear and take the prof's list to the next level?

Someone, please spell out HOW these stations can be corrected. Start with am drive and apply your own constructive critism. No blasting, simply state how each station could enter into the arena of Seattle radio greatness. If you feel a show is beyond repair, state exactly what type of show would progressively take its place.

Then... who knows, maybe some programming guru might actually take notice and implement your ideas.

Ratings are on and the clock is ticking!!!! Go! ;)
 
oh yeah, pretend you are filling out comments in the margin of a diary.
 
Well, Ive got to say that in theory I agree for the most part with Radio Professor's points. I do think they were well presented and insightful. However, I do have some differences and a alternative view as to how Seattle metro stations should be graded.
First off, he insists "Seattle is not unique". Well...from what??....it is decidely unique from markets like New York, Los Angeles and Dallas simply due to its ethnic makeup. Another thing that makes Seattle unique is the history of radio in its own market....Alternative has always had a difficult time in New York since there never was a heritage station doing the format there...so no established library to cull from. In L.A. it's different with KROQ. In Seattle, you could get by because of the long history of KNDD and KJET before it.... My point is...Seattle is not peculiar to other markets, but certainly does have its own nuances. Also.... Stern did not perform here at the level he did in New York or Philly.

I agree that AT THE MOMENT Seattle has no OUTSTANDING stations.....although it has in the past (KJR in the mid 70's....KUBE in the mid 80's.....KPLZ in 1990......KISW in 1993.... KNDD in 1996.....KMPS in 1998...KBKS in 2000..... etc)
But the market certainly does still have stations that perform beyond "projected format shares" although fall well short of legendary. Even the great stations cited like KIIS, WXKS, KHKS and KGO have ebbs and flows.

My final disagreement is about air talent succeeding simply due to work ethic, the following of formatics and promoting themselves 24/7...there is the matter of talent. The radio industry has not done a stellar job of training or inspiring the current generation of young people to utilize their talent on the air...as a result, we have a lackluster generation of air personalities. By the way, in this case, its not a problem unique to Seattle. With that said.....here's what I feel is more accurate grade performance. And please excuse the East German judge....you know how that goes.........

92.5: Great move for a radio station that spent a long time toiling in obscurity. Seems a bit too un-aggressive in its on air imaging but could be a long term player if it keeps "movin" and doesnt become stagnant in its playlist. B- Steady.
93.3: Solid morning show although stronger than he should be compared to the overall station.. Station programming remains off the mark. Needs to get back to being a Seattle station rather than a music culture station. B Trending down.
94.1: Excellent radio station. Polished morning show. Heritage station. B+ Steady.
95.7: Like JACK for older folks.....would like to see it step up the personality a bit. Well done. B+ Steady.
96.5: Far from a national joke, JACK has done phenomenally well in Los Angeles, where there is one classic rock station, no classic hits and no current based rock station. The field is more crowded here, but they're doing it well. C+ Trending up.
97.3: KBSG has seemed to have lost its way. I was not a big fan of the rebranding. It has work to do. Music is off. C- Trending down.
98.1: Musically just okay. But even this format needs an identity and some sort of (albeit very mellow) stationality. It lacks that. D+ Trending up.
99.9: Solid Rock Station. Long heritage. Well Imaged. A Steady.
100.7: Decent country station, but not really an alternative to KMPS. Air staff is not a good fit. D Trending up.
101.5: Strong heritage morning show. Good community involvement. The music more than most formats is a slave to the cycles of Top 40 and the record industry....too many bad times along with the good. Great image though. B Steady.
102.5: Solid Classic Rock station. Excellent music for the market.. Strong, heritage morning show. Is what KISW used to be. A Steady.
103.7: One of the better AAA's in America. Looks like new PD is restoring some of the station's personality that had been lacking in the past 3-5 years. Excellent morning show. Strong daypart personalities. B+ Trending up.
105.3: Decent Christian radio station. Good air talent fit. Lackluster marketing & imaging. C Trending up.
106.1: Perfect format for Seattle, less than decent airstaff. Loose formatically. Will change with Rivers. C Trending up.
106.9: Solid station for what it does. Familiar and constant (if not exciting). C+ Steady.
107.7: Has gone from one of the strongest station in the country to one of the weakest in the market. Although living the snowboard lifestyle is a great image, you can't program from one. D Trending down.


I too have left out the AM stations, since they weren't really addressed much in this thread. Another story for another day though.
 
Cant agree more about the new talent today. They are beat down by the pd's of the world soooo badly that they just do the formatics to keep their jobs. More and more of these over paid bosses keep saying 'people want music, shut the F up and play music'. And then wonder why they lose their audience to I-Pods. Guess what, if your jocks arent able to show PERSONALITY why should they listen to you, when they can get the exact music they want through another medium. So, I say, buck the system young ones. Tell your OM to shove it and do a show. And then get ready for them to replace you with a robot that will follow their 'formatics'. ;D

Now, onto the stations. Just the ones I listen to.

92.5 Music wise they are more on point than other movin's. You could fool me if you said they had jocks. I never hear them. And when I do it seems pretty liner. Seems to be the stations thing, more music less talk. C+

93.3 HUGE trend for them. Its obviously due to the heritage. I really think if someone did a solid rythmic or even better a full blown urban they would force them to better them selves. But for now they will keep the non-format fitting morning, midday & afternoon show they have. B

100.7 Love the fact that country doesnt have to be 'country'. I think if they tone it down a little, they do sound a bit 80s boss jock right now, they can become the new country leader. B+

106.1 Blow er up. Im sorry, its been what, 8 or 9 years? If you havent worked it out by now, you never will. People have it branded as to what the station is about. At the least, big tweak. Change the name. Maybe Q106? Z106? I dont know. Relaunch. Then you will have a shot. C

107.7 Love the full blown personality. Middays and afternoons are the strongest. I would bump a syndicated morning show for either No Name or Lazlo. I would bank more on the heritage of the station since rock isnt the monster it once was. I think with some focusing they could come up out of the basement. B
 
Fascinating discussion, folks. I'll try to keep this short. I don't feel qualified to assign grades, but I can sign on to the "personality" argument. Radio needs more, not less, and more real talent, not just more pottymouth practitioners. Look how this board has brightened up with a few "personalities" expressing themselves -- the "prof" as haughty authority, "Mama" as token feminist...etc. Lively participatory programming.

But hey, leave KING-FM out of this discussion. They've had their "consultant" in every few years...but they don't really need to be burdened with mainstream music radio's questionable formatic values. Classical's something else. I'm not crazy about their voices, but cut 'em some slack.

And the ratings success of NPR stations nationwide inspires nothing but silence from all you music-radio jocks. Hmmm. Could KUOW and KPLU just be what radio ought to be? Analyze this.
 
Glad you're speaking up, Dave!

I suspect one reason NPR is so popular is its depth. Several markets have ratings leader in the local information stations; yet the biggest complaint of most of these is their "repetitive" nature. You tune in like you'd read a morning newspaper ... but after about ten minutes you're back on the next cycle of same thing. Same with morning TV.

Talk stations supposed to provide this depth ... but they seem to have gravitated to "lowest common denominator" the same way music stations have. Music is about "shut up and play the tunes" -- no banter that might offend (shows like Howard being the exception) ... so it's pretty bare-bones now. Only banter is internal station promos & music teases. Gravitate to talk ... and you get the right bashing the left .. the left bashing the right ... and the message rarely changes. Conceptually no different than tight music rotation with regard to wearing out its welcome.

So NPR attempts to fill a gap --- and gets some following, but not necessarily noticed because of the non-comm status.

Problem is doing DEEP local formats is ... how you say .... expensive, and today's corporations hate that word as much as high school jocks hate deodorant.

Media and entertainment issues aside ... I'm just worried that mainstream is taking away teaching people how to (a) listen to differing points of view; (b) make relevant, educated decisions about issues because it has become so shallow. Should it scare us that so many in younger demographic consider "Daily Show" a primary NEWS source? I do know that trend clearly freaks out the people who ... run the daily show!!!

This is same issue you're pondering on the other post about local community events ... trash 'em if not profitable. That SHOULD scare us. Understand that it does happen ... but I really wish we had a longer dance with responsibility than JUST when Dorothy Bullitt was alive and taught us that we have to SERVE as well as EARN. Just think .... if doctors made their decisions the same way media heads are expected to make theirs', I think we'd all be better off with a tribal witch doctor!!!
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom