Warm 93.9 Airstaff

[LTLFTC]

Any word on if or when Cumulus is going to add a full airstaff to Warm 93.9? Putting their Ops Mgr on in the afternoon seems like an indicatin they're gonna go cheap.

 

[ginkgotree]

I've listen a couple times this week to PM drive....sounds voicetracked to me.
Maybe still in transition...but it seems by now if they want this to take off they
need some on air staff. What's going on in mornings?

Wood is a great guy...but PM drive?

 

[RDO]

I heard Fritz on the other day.

Also, I noticed they changed call letters, too.

 

[EStreeter]

There are a lot of good jocks that would be a really good fit over there. I think some of the old TPI jocks might have that sound they are looking for. Indy radio is scattered with plenty of people looking for work.

 

[Steppenwolf]

There are a lot of good jocks that would be a really good fit over there. I think some of the old TPI jocks might have that sound they are looking for. Indy radio is scattered with plenty of people looking for work.

Which means the starting salary will be around $17,500 per year.

 

[bigtime]

They did the talk thing about as cheap as possible. They'll probably do this the same way.

 

[EStreeter]

There are a lot of good jocks that would be a really good fit over there. I think some of the old TPI jocks might have that sound they are looking for. Indy radio is scattered with plenty of people looking for work.

Which means the starting salary will be around $17,500 per year.

Welcome to the 21st Century version of Radio. I'd be surprised if they even went with air personalities. If you aren't a talker, what is the point? Jack proved by beating my former station that a computer can do just as good as live bodies at a fraction of the price.

If you aren't going to do personality radio, as few in this city seem to be willing to put the effort in to, why even have people there taking up air time? Listners know the time, they know the temp, and they have computers to get the news. Indy desperately needs personality driven radio. Then jocks become relevant.

 

[mouseman]

This station is meant to be on "auto-pilot." Chris Wheat pretty much said so in the media recently; to paraphase "....this is a format that we're committed to, that we know will take some time to build...." Read we know that this is a passive format, with little personality, and will take some time to build any following, let alone start to erode a competitor's audience, say B105. And how 'bout that aggressive outdoor campaign? "Refreshing, Relaxing, regurgitating...." You can put 100 boards up across the market, but there's nothing compelling here at all. Hell, FM talk radio was more interesting, more compelling.

This is not about programming to fill a hole in the market, or to hit a home run with a large immediate audience winner.

What this station is [WARM] is easier to package sell than FM Talk or Contemporary Christian. You'll have buyers fuss less about a completely passive station, with no talk show controversy, no religious overtone. You'll get better acceptance of the station as an add on to the cluster buy, even with less ratings, but less reluctance from the buying community, especially if it's priced as an add on to big ratings brothers WFMS and JJK.

You might eventually see some local talent on air; however the fact that Cumulus has demanded it's OM take an air shift might suggest they don't see any return on investment in on air talent. You might also see this company eventually downsize on the sales side, consolidating separate JJK and Warm staffs into a single combo staff [if this isn't already in place]. Lee Anne Brooks ran mostly cluster sales staffing at Clear Channel, with very few station-specific sellers. WARM could be looked at like WNDE in the CC camp; a packaged in property with very few resources spent on it, and positive cash flow because it was cluster sold.

 

[reformed]

I have a question. I have read several threads here over the last couple of days and there seems to be a consensus that most of the air talent in Indy is sub-par, or at the very least constrained to the point of mediocrity. My question is: what do you want to hear? What sort of personality would you like to hear on Warm or Track or Oldies? Would you rather hear quick produced liners and more music or do you really want to hear someone talk between songs?

I've seen a great deal of comments talking about how the newer talent is not in the same league as established personalities who have been on air here for decades.... what would we be saying about them at the start of their careers, given this forum?

Just curious - please don't flame. ;D

 

[bigtime]

Go to New York or L.A. and you won't find a big difference from Indy in the overall talent level. There may be a few standouts but on average bigger markets don't sound all that much better than medium or even some small markets.

 

[richmcdonald]

I have a question. I have read several threads here over the last couple of days and there seems to be a consensus that most of the air talent in Indy is sub-par, or at the very least constrained to the point of mediocrity. My question is: what do you want to hear? What sort of personality would you like to hear on Warm or Track or Oldies? Would you rather hear quick produced liners and more music or do you really want to hear someone talk between songs?

I've seen a great deal of comments talking about how the newer talent is not in the same league as established personalities who have been on air here for decades.... what would we be saying about them at the start of their careers, given this forum?

Just curious - please don't flame. ;D

You are correct, the on-air folks in Indianapolis get beat up on badly on this board. It's like the old saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That holds true with the person listening too. The fact is that their are some great broadcasters left hear in Indy. Their are some very bitter folks that post on this board hiding behind a username. Not only are they spineless, but inaccurate. The stations that have any listeners at all have had the same airstaff for many years now. So I dont know what they are listening to. Grant it, we all know that the quality of traffic reports have dropped ever since I quit.

What I always enjoy hearing in an announcer is; good diction, enunciation, proper pronunciation, the absence of regionalism, personable, the feeling of one to one interaction. Not having a lazy mouth, smile in the voice, not breathy but a clear and crisp delivery. Good preparation, not stammering and saying “uh” every other word or sound like they are reading. Not trying to sound like a “DJ” but using their natural voice or screaming into the mic. Also saying in one sentence what would take most people a paragraph to say. When they do speak they say something to get your attention and hold it. Oh, and great phones too.

People I think that have this nailed are the energizer Jeff Lewis, Darren Tandy, Scott Wheeler
Dave Decker and several others if I thought about it long enough. It is a skill that I really admire and enjoy hearing when I listen to the radio. Personally, I would rather hear a good announcer and fewer songs.

But, this is just what I enjoy hearing others would have a difference of opinion. I do agree that it is a craft that is becoming obselete at least in the radio business. Not many young people are interested in the profession like they once were. Many great announcers realized that they can earn far more money as a voiceover person than they could working several years for a radio station. Big demand for great announcers right now and these people are writing their own paychecks.