Urban AC on WLTJ?

[clangham]

Was just reading the new issue over at nerw.com and found some interesting news;

"WLTJ (92.9 Pittsburgh) is going urban AC in the evening hours, launching a new evening "Q in the City" show with former WAMO-FM PD Tracey Lee in hopes of picking up some of WAMO's former listeners."

This should prove interesting. Can we all say "train wreck" radio?

I also read somewhere today about Ron Morris (Ch 22) is looking to put a radio station on the air with Urban in the near future.

 

[Parttimer]

In the late 80's - early 90's when I worked at LTJ, we had a good number of African-American listeners. The format was a little different then, of course, but we played more of Luther Vandross, Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder and other Urban AC artists than anyone else did. Their sound is less diverse now, but there is a hole for it in the market, and why go heads-up with Delilah on WSHH?

 

[Knisha1]

They got nothing to lose with the move.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

Under the circumstances, it sounds like a very good move. Nobody said "trainwreck" about KDKA (except teen-agers) when they had three formats going at once. MOR, TOP 40, and talk from 8-Mid. I presume they were the market leader most of the time with KQV a close second . I think WLTJ going in this direction with a real person at night is better than canning the morning show and replaying it at 7PM or whatever. I for one hope it succeeds because if this other organization finds a station to program to the African-American Community ( what station?) it will probably be Hip Hop and I spend as much time listening to Hip Hop as I do to the X in PIttsburgh or the X in Tampa which is zero minutes. But that is just me. Do they stream? I guess that means that Star is safe . WHEW!

Of course CC flipped Modern/HOT AC Star 95.7 to Hip Hop in Tampa several years back to compete with Churban WILD 98.7 (now 94.1) from CBS and their own CHR 93FLZ so I still think anything is possible. CC flipped 106.5 to the Beat format in Richmond when Radio One already had the market leader in Power 92 and actually pulls a better book 12+ as far as I can see.

WLTJ has that stilted "canned" sound that those of us in the South have come to associate with Cox Radio. Maybe this will add some life to the station.

 

[Boss Radio]

Under the circumstances, it sounds like a very good move. Nobody said "trainwreck" about KDKA (except teen-agers) when they had three formats going at once. MOR, TOP 40, and talk from 8-Mid. I presume they were the market leader most of the time with KQV a close second .

The Ed Sullivan Show did well in 1964 featuring a rock band, a circus act, a comedian, mimes, a magician and a production number from a Broadway show. That kind of show wouldn't have a snowball's chance today.

It's a different world. What worked for KDKA 40 years ago isn't relevant today -- not even for KDKA.

 

[fromtheinsideout]

She may have held both titles, I am not sure, but I believe that Tracey Lee was the PD for the AM station, not the FM side. The difference being that the AM side tended to more of the older, R & B sound than the FM counterpart. That particular style of music might actually play well on LTJ, especially if the alternative is John Tesh. And kudos to LTJ for not just farming the opportunity out to some piped in format but actually offering a job in this market. Those are becoming fewer and farther between these days.

 

[cingram]

The Ed Sullivan Show did well in 1964 featuring a rock band, a circus act, a comedian, mimes, a magician and a production number from a Broadway show.

Gosh, it sounds like an iPod on shuffle.

C.

 

[clangham]

I also read somewhere today about Ron Morris (Ch 22) is looking to put a radio station on the air with Urban in the near future.

I gotta quit posting in the wee hours. I meant Eddie Edwards.

 

[Boss Radio]

The Ed Sullivan Show did well in 1964 featuring a rock band, a circus act, a comedian, mimes, a magician and a production number from a Broadway show.

Gosh, it sounds like an iPod on shuffle.

C.

Doubtful. My iPod is loaded only with music I like, and that's a fairly narrow range, as it probably is for a lot of people. No country, no hip hop, no classical, no opera, no big bands. My guess is you could stop 1,000 iPod wearing people on the Pitt campus tomorrow and wouldn't find a single Herman's Hermits track.

 

[cingram]

My iPod is loaded only with music I like, and that's a fairly narrow range, as it probably is for a lot of people. No country, no hip hop, no classical, no opera, no big bands. My guess is you could stop 1,000 iPod wearing people on the Pitt campus tomorrow and wouldn't find a single Herman's Hermits track.

You're probably right, given the venue and the demographic. But you might well find the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and some other popular acts from 1964.

C.

 

[corporateradiosucks]

"WLTJ (92.9 Pittsburgh) is going urban AC in the evening hours, launching a new evening "Q in the City" show with former WAMO-FM PD Tracey Lee in hopes of picking up some of WAMO's former listeners."

Am I the only one who thought of Quagmire's "Midnight Q" cable access show on Family Guy??

 

[corporateradiosucks]

I listened to this last night on the way back to the Burgh. Props for playing the 5 day long version of Johnny Gill's "My, My, My" but the announcing of the songs (even with a more "urban" sounding voice) is really a buzzkill, and the flow is just not there.