Weekend Programming

[J C DITHERS]

Good Afternoon Young'ins,

As I sit here with my lovely wife Mrs. Dithers of 51 years snacking on my favorite Ritz Crackers I am once again reminded just how much my industry has degraded.

I'm listening to KLIF on the Internet since 8am this morning hearing one show after another with sub par talent begging for phone calls. Hour after hour i hear these people beg for phone calls. Why isn't anybody calling? Because the subject matter stinks!

Back when i was programming we had shows that were compelling, interesting. For instance instead of another financial show which most listeners have no reason to listen to why not a Psychiatrists. Lot's of people out there with problems.

How about legal Advice. People flock to shows that give out free legal advice. Put on a Veterinarian or a family Doctor. These are basic components to successful weekend programming. I'm not picking on just KLIF. I've heard the same lousy programming on KRLD and WBAP.

Mrs. Dithers is calling now and I must go. She has a delicious sandwich ready for me. Thank You and Goodnight Young'ins.


PS: I am saddened by the passing of a very dear friend of ours Don Day. Don was a Man of Christ and a wonderful family man. He also was one hell of an announcer with more passion and excitement in his voice than anyone I ever met.

Mrs. Dithers and I send our condolences to the Day family.

 

[gordontalk]

A lot of these stations are going to be screwed when the people buying the air time realize that no one is listening.

 

[copydesk2]

Eventually that's going to happen, Gordon.

 

[gordontalk]

It almost seems as if the majority of some stations revenues come from the airtime purchased on the weekends. How many real-estate programs can you have on one station? And some of these people will buy spots on several stations like that Ken guy who's on KRLD and WBAP. I wonder if his shows are done live or prerecorded at some point? He's always refering to his producer Jack, whoever that is.

 

[Paul Boomer]

Julius C. Dithers bemoaned:

I am once again reminded just how much my industry has degraded.

Ain't that the truth.

I have fond memories of turning the radio on Friday evening and pretty much leaving it on all weekend long, day and night. Whether partying, working, or studying, the radio was always on in the background, providing the soundtrack for my well-enjoyed weekends.

Now, weekend radio is so awful that I almost exclusively listen to Internet streaming.

If my house ever needs foundation work, my credit gets bad, or I require plastic surgery, I know that all I need to do is turn to almost any weekend radio broadcast to hear an all day infomercial on the subject.

Until such need arises, I'll stick with the Internet and my iPod.

Best regards to Cora, Mr. D.

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

Do I hear an "AMEN"?

CONsultants need to hear the message,not try to deliver one.

 

[theshadow]

Do I hear an "AMEN"? CONsultants need to hear the message, not try to deliver one.

Preachin' to the choir here Plex...

Consultants fell out of the boat a long time ago....swam
to another island, and started a colony of their own. They
fit right in there with lawyers, circus freaks, and criminals. ;D

 

[TheLaffer]

Do I hear an "AMEN"? CONsultants need to hear the message, not try to deliver one.

Preachin' to the choir here Plex...

Consultants fell out of the boat a long time ago....swam
to another island, and started a colony of their own. They
fit right in there with lawyers, circus freaks, and criminals. ;D

I'll second that AND give you an AMEN!

 

[little1]

Laughing at your little echo chamber here...

I've worked at a number of different stations in town...and almost without fail the consultants have HATED that type of weekend programming...

Hell, most PD's I've known have hated it- but it also brings in an (to use a technical buisness term) 'assload' of money for most stations...

This problem is the 'suits', not the consultants...But don't let a little things like facts get in the way of your anti-consultant jihad...

 

[copydesk2]

Anyway you cut it and whoever's to blame, weekend programming is baaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

 

[little1]

Agreed.

But look at the economics of it. Those bozos are paying hundreds, into the thousands of dollars an hour....Most of the stations that carry paid programming can barely sell their prime weekday spots (WBAP being the one exception)...Do you really think they're getting top dollar for early Saturday AM spots?

I've analyzed my fair share of traffic logs. I've seen weekend days that didn't make as much as a really good weekday hour...Now put yourself in that GM's spot... If your choices are an easy grand from some mortgage broker, or syndicated program from out-of-market that you can't really sell, what do you do...

And bitch all you want about how radio's just turned into a commodity, it's run by the suits, blah blah blah...Unfortunately that's the truth...and you can either learn to deal with it or sit in your corner and whine...

 

[jacojunkie]

Paid Programming is the worst, hands down, end of story. Some of the names mentioned earlier like Ken Moraif, for example, is a dreadful listen. The sound effects are 9 out of 10 times delayed or non-existent and the music is corny and destroys classic songs from "The Rat Pack." Anyone who makes that kind of a mockery of Sinatra needs to be taken out back and beaten.

The saddest part: he's on three stations in the area (WBAP, KRLD, KAAM). He's on KRLD TWICE a weekend ... once on Saturday, and again on Sunday. The show is obviously pre-recorded, as I'm sure he's far too important to drive to Fitzhugh to do the show live, TWICE.

Most of the people buying this airtime at various stations have the personality of a wet rag, and they think that radio is just a play thing for them. Their people who roll up in the studios every week think they own the place and the actual employees of the radio station have to kiss up to them.

I don't know if they actually make enough of a return to justify spending the money needed to keep that rolling, but more power to them if they do.

The only paid program I've been able to agree with is Neil Sperry's show on KRLD. He separates the advertisers from his own advice. He does a paid show like you should, it's not a three-hour brag fest, but instead three hours of actual content.

 

[board monkey]

Weekend Programming in this Market is like cruisin Harry Hines Blvd. Nothin but skirts in the wind waiting for the next Joe to come along with enough cash to insert their pre-recorded cd in the time slot. The suits stand over the sales weasels screaming "revenue" and then the weasels fetch whatever nuts they can gather and give them an hour. I've had the unfortunate task of having to be the board-op for some of these that cant even take it to break. These are the shows that get no phone calls. They then want to know why they get no phone calls. I always love the look on their face when you tell them they suck. Its so funny to see these pompas jackazzes faces when they have been b*tch slapped. Good paid programming can be done. There are simple formulas that just work. Like the ones mentoined in previous comments. In this market there are few that have remained in radio because they are good shows that provide a service and make a profit for themselves and the station. I've worked with some of these shows. There is also the rogue shows that will pre-record and run that the entire month and show up late to every show when they do show up. Some of these yahoos show up with an entire 40 person posse at the station and want room for every one. I dont care how much you pay for 1 or 2 hours, that dont fly. I understand that stations are a business and have to in the end look out for that bottom dollar, but the listener shouldn't have to suffer through another financial or mortgage show. Its seems that the ever going battle between sales and programming will forever go on as long as the weasels dont get outside of the local jungle and find something interesting to sell. Now that I'm done throwing my 2 cents worth ....back to my tree for more bananas.

 

[TheLaffer]

Weekend Programming in this Market is like cruisin Harry Hines Blvd. Nothin but skirts in the wind waiting for the next Joe to come along with enough cash to insert their pre-recorded cd in the time slot. The suits stand over the sales weasels screaming "revenue" and then the weasels fetch whatever nuts they can gather and give them an hour. I've had the unfortunate task of having to be the board-op for some of these that cant even take it to break. These are the shows that get no phone calls. They then want to know why they get no phone calls. I always love the look on their face when you tell them they suck. Its so funny to see these pompas jackazzes faces when they have been b*tch slapped. Good paid programming can be done. There are simple formulas that just work. Like the ones mentoined in previous comments. In this market there are few that have remained in radio because they are good shows that provide a service and make a profit for themselves and the station. I've worked with some of these shows. There is also the rogue shows that will pre-record and run that the entire month and show up late to every show when they do show up. Some of these yahoos show up with an entire 40 person posse at the station and want room for every one. I dont care how much you pay for 1 or 2 hours, that dont fly. I understand that stations are a business and have to in the end look out for that bottom dollar, but the listener shouldn't have to suffer through another financial or mortgage show. Its seems that the ever going battle between sales and programming will forever go on as long as the weasels dont get outside of the local jungle and find something interesting to sell. Now that I'm done throwing my 2 cents worth ....back to my tree for more bananas.

Yes paid programming CAN work. GOOD programming. There are a few on the air.

My top 3:

ED WALLACE

CAR GUY w/Kevin McCarthy

The Doctor of Dirt

 

[VOXPOP]

Yes paid programming CAN work. GOOD programming. There are a few on the air.

My top 3:

ED WALLACE

CAR GUY w/Kevin McCarthy

The Doctor of Dirt

I agree with the Laffer. I don't garden but I'd put Neal Sperry on that list.

 

[VERITAS DE VOCE]

VOXPOP, you are dead on. Sperry has made a friggin career off of that... stations donate time to that dude now. And paid programming on radio was the forefather to all of those lovely beat down shows on Sunday like Hot On Homes. Radio, although dying a miserable death, was the creator at one time.

 

[little1]

Ed Wallace isn't paid programming, if I've been told correctly- a former KLIF employee told me he gets % of the spots sold, he's not buying that time at all...

 

[stinker]

my weekend listening includes:

some Neil Sperry, some Orphanage, some Tom Tynan, and some Bob Brinker.

Neil has been on Sat and Sun for 27 yrs., though it's now paid programming.

Tynan is like Home Depot Radio. It's informative, but not for everyone.

Brinker is the best syndicated money show there is.

 

[adguy]

Paid programming is broadcast's biggest connumdrum for both radio and TV. Once these stations get a taste of the drug, it's hard to give up. I sold countless hours as both a rep and manager for years. None of it ever contributed to ratings, on the sales end, but it was the bottom-line that ultimately made the decision as to whether or not the station would take it. As for bad radio, I totally agree that there is an over abundance of ill-informed paid hacks, but there are a few making it. I like Del Walmley on BizRadio in both DFW and Houston. He's paying for M-F however and his ratings are the highest on both stations. Don't know if that means he's that good or the programs around him are that bad. Probably a combo of the two. BizRadio is taking the drug Mon-Sun, but as they have shown, you get a compelling host with the promise of a dream and some word-of-mouth, you have the formula to succeed for yourself and the station.

 

[country24]

Another good paid program is John Wolfe's 9:00 AM Saturday show from his Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ford-Mercury dealership in Vernon. The program is heard on Cumulus' 50 kw KOLI 94.9 Wichita Falls and syndicated by internet to five or six small West Texas, Oklahoma and soon New Mexico stations.

He mostly talks with callers who are interested in buying, selling or trading automobiles or trucks. He often tells them what he will give for their vehicles and quotes them a price on anything he has in stock that they're interested in. Believe it or not, he actually makes it entertainging. And he gets more calls than he can handle in the hour. His co-host and board ops is KLUR Evening DJ Scotty Preston who used to be in the car sales buiness.

You can hear the show live when it's on the air, or recoreded any other time, on line at http://www.gowolfe.com.