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WERE update, of sorts...

N

nate81

Guest
OA has an update of Radio One's implementation of "Urban Talk" on select AM outlets, including WERE/1300. They may not be ready until late January:

http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com/2006/01/were-urban-talk-start-date.html

Egyptian mummies weren't wrapped up this good.

There was a likely reason why the January 16 date was mentioned by Julie Washington in her PD article - it IS Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, after all. But it probably is a generous estimate.

And of course, who - or what - will be WERE on from 6a-10a and 10a-1p? I did hear a few prospective local hosts try out on WERE. They include Michelle Bee and... WOIO/19's Harry Boomer! Michelle even read liners that said "You're listening to WERE 1300 - home of The Urban Talk Network" on her show.

Purportedly, Ronnie Duncan also auditioned for WERE. Is it possible that Radio One could possibly hire two - or more - local hosts? That would be neat.


To this end, I've undergone a significant risk and actually LISTENED to snippets of WERE programming in the past few weeks. Like flies, almost ALL of their brokered shows are being dropped. Some for good, others just moved to WHK/1420. (Not that anyone's noticed ;)

That means WERE is now on autopilot with USA Radio for a great deal of the broadcast day (8a-12p M,W,F; 9p-7a S,M,Tu; 8p-7a W,F; and 6p-8a Th). True crap runs in the evenings like "Jim Sumter," who sounds like a really bad Savage impersonation.

I expect "Your Music" (1p-5p) and the AFL-CIO hour (7a-8a) to be dropped at the end of this week or next. That would mean nothing but USA Radio, all the time, until the actual flip.


SOAPBOX ALERT:
If anyone at Radio One is listening, at all costs, drop USA Radio as of the 16th. WERE should play nothing but music as a stunting phase. "Solid Gold Oldies," WJMO's previous format pre-gospel, would be interesting. I'd not side on standards, because of the twin deaths of WRMR in four years.


BTW, who knew that WERE currently uses portions of what was once the transmitter for WQXR/WQEW in New York? Check this out:

http://hawkins.pair.com/wqxr.html

- Nathan Obral
 
WOIO/19's Harry
> Boomer!

Not completely unheard of..Harry Boomer did mornings on Urban formatted WBXT-900 AM in Canton.In the period between WTOF-AM and WCER before moving to Cleveland TV
 
> WOIO/19's Harry
> > Boomer!
>
> Not completely unheard of..Harry Boomer did mornings on
> Urban formatted WBXT-900 AM in Canton.In the period between
> WTOF-AM and WCER before moving to Cleveland TV

Plus, he's an alumnus of WCPN.
 
Thanks for the nod, Nate...and now, this update of our update:

<a target="_blank" href=http://www.radioandrecords.com/Newsroom/2006_01_12/radioones.asp>http://www.radioandrecords.com/Newsroom/2006_01_12/radioones.asp</a>

Radio & Records calls the Miami station "the first" of the new urban talk format, with a January 30th launch. Now, it couldn't be "the first" if WERE is still going on next Monday, could it? :D

Of course, R&R earlier this week speculated that Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's new media company (Red Zebra Broadcasting) would be buying EVERY SINGLE Redskins Radio affiliate, or stations in all 28 of those affiliate markets...so who knows if they're right about this one.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Correct WERE flip date

> Thanks for the nod, Nate...and now, this update of our
> update:
>
http://www.radioandrecords.com/Newsroom/2006_01_12/radioones.asp
>
>
> Radio & Records calls the Miami station "the first" of the
> new urban talk format, with a January 30th launch. Now, it
> couldn't be "the first" if WERE is still going on next
> Monday, could it? :D

Julie Washington wrote today in the PD that the date for WERE's format flip has been pushed to January 30, too. If they aren't alongside WVCG-AM as "the first" such station, they're darn close.

BTW, this was according to OM Jim Davis.

One thing too to mention, as I pointed out in the initial post: what will WERE air post-7pm on a regular basis? Some brokered shows and infomercials will certainly remain, but they can't just dump USA Radio feeds on the overnights?

- Nathan Obral
 
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