WHAS is pityful.

[Bengalsfan]

So I'm driving back home last night about midnight from Cincinnati and I hear WLW mention on their TOH newscast about possible accumilating snow Thursday into Friday. So I figured I'd check WHAS right quick to see what they are forecasting.....or so I thought. After the obligatory 2 minute newscast from Fox News, they go to a break. I figure I have a minute to get back so I check in on other stations. WSM had a newscast, WSB had a newscast, WWL had a newscast. Back to WHAS, still in a break. So I check around some more. WCBS was in news, WABC was in news, WLS was in news. Back to WHAS, still in a break. Checking around some more, WBAP was in a local newscast, WOWO was in a newscast tossing to traffic, WJR was in a traffic break. Back to WHAS, jingle then the opening of the Willie Cunningham show. So what we had was WHAS aired the 2 minute Fox News broadcast, then a 4 minute break. No local news!

Here's hoping nothing major happens in Louisville outside of office hours and on the weekend.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

This has irritated me since I was northbound on I-65 from south of Louisville late on a Sunday afternoon maybe 3-4 years ago & suddenly found traffic had stopped. My instinct was to go to WHAS...what a waste of time. Top of hour ID...2 minutes of Fox News, a spot & then 2 minutes of Kentucky News Network telling about (I kid you not) cows loose on a highway in SE Kentucky. People DIED on I-65 that day, yet WHAS was pre-occupied with breaking bovine news. And they have the unmitigated gall to say "Depend On It". A CB radio would have run circles around their news department that day.

 

[KR4BD]

Here in Lexington, Local News on WLAP is virtually non-existant anymore. Our local Cheap Channel News-Talk 630-WLAP fired all the news staff (all one of them) about a year ago and we now get "localized" news from WHAS or local TV stations during drive times...

When Cheap Channel started all their personnel reductions, they gloated about all the profits they made. For a while it worked, but now, with little product to offer, listeners have gone elsewhere and CC wonders why they can't make money anymore. I doubt they can ever bring back profitable local radio now. It's too far down-the-road...

 

[Bengalsfan]

Something is going to happen here one weekend. Such as a tornado (they don't keep banker's hours), and all WHAS is going to have is alerts from the Weather Bureau relayed via the EAS box. I was coming home from a Bengals' game last year when the wind storm hit. I think they just hit it lucky that day with someone at the studio. If that storm had of come through after about 8pm, they would have missed it.

I have heard such good things about WHAS, both radio and TV, back when they was owned by the Binghams. It would not take much for another station in Louisville to knock 840 off their throne. WFPL does a pretty respectable job. I just can't believe that every other clear channel (lower case) station I could hear last night had local news at the top of the hour EXCEPT Louisville's station. And it was nice being able to hear WBAP again now that WHAS has turned off their pink noise generator.

 

[greg.hahn]

o I'm driving back home last night about midnight from Cincinnati and I hear WLW mention on their TOH newscast about possible accumilating snow Thursday into Friday. So I figured I'd check WHAS right quick to see what they are forecasting.....or so I thought. After the obligatory 2 minute newscast from Fox News, they go to a break. I figure I have a minute to get back so I check in on other stations. WSM had a newscast, WSB had a newscast, WWL had a newscast. Back to WHAS, still in a break. So I check around some more. WCBS was in news, WABC was in news, WLS was in news. Back to WHAS, still in a break. Checking around some more, WBAP was in a local newscast, WOWO was in a newscast tossing to traffic, WJR was in a traffic break. Back to WHAS, jingle then the opening of the Willie Cunningham show. So what we had was WHAS aired the 2 minute Fox News broadcast, then a 4 minute break. No local news!

Well, your problem was you were listening at midnight on a Monday morning, when the WHAS news department is closed. Yessir, they close it up around 7pm on Friday evening and don't open it back up until 5am Monday morning. That is, unless something happens. In that case, phones start to ringing, and somebody drives down to the radio station to give a report.

Sounds like something right out of Green Acres, doesn't it? But the sad part is- it's the truth.

 

[Tri-State Media]

Wow, if that's really how they operate down there in Louisville...sheesh, remind me to never tune to that station on a weekend. I mean, seriously...news doesn't just happen on weekdays. Yet, apparently, WHAS acts like it does.

Good thing my next trip down is gonna be in the next week or so. I was going down tomorrow but, I don't have the time with a lot going on this week, mom being off work due to recent heart trouble, etc..

 

[hotpatrick2004]

On a related topic the fox 93.1 and kiss 98.9 are just as bad meaning nothing local all piped in with that terrible premium choice crap on both stations no local flavor at all anymore so same priniciple on whas. But wait at least you still have local sports show and terry meiners and francene. I bet cc would love to terminate terry but he brings alot of coin into cc.

 

[radiorob2.0]

(sarcasm on) Somebody has to think of the VP's end of year bonus, that is the priority over some silly news story. (sarcasm off)

WHAS has been reduced to a program delivery system. There will be a time when relying on the EAS box will fail.

Of course, isn't just WHAS. If you go back twenty years ago WHAS along with WVLK Lexington and WVJS Owensboro had news departments that were proactive covering news. Back then, they competed with other media (TV and newspaper). Today, the other media is the news source because it's cheaper to have a "media partner".

Lexington and Louisville are lucky to have TV news. Owensboro's source of news is the Messenger-Inquirer. WVJS today has one news person with no news wire and an owner who feels rewriting a news release is hard hitting journalism. The one news person does the best with what is around him but the results are far from the days of Jim Parr and a news staff. WOMI/WBKR eliminated news so upper corporate management could receive their just deserved bonuses for whatever it is they do; like making sure the stock price remains under a dollar. They rely on WEHT Evansville, Indiana.

Today WVLK wins but only because they air more local programming than the other two.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

(sarcasm on) Somebody has to think of the VP's end of year bonus, that is the priority over some silly news story. (sarcasm off)
WHAS has been reduced to a program delivery system. There will be a time when relying on the EAS box will fail.

The EAS box works fine for severe weather, but does nothing for traffic jams. In the case I mentioned in an earlier post, people died and many thousands were inconvenienced. In a typical Severe Thunderstorm, no one dies & few are inconvenienced. The EAS box covers the latter one, while the one that landed on the front page of the next days Courier Journal got nary a peep from the EAS box or the WHAS news staff. In today's world, it amazes me that the news staff at one of the local TV stations doesn't have a way to insert breaking news on WHAS.

 

[Bengalsfan]

The EAS box works fine for severe weather, but does nothing for traffic jams.

Yes, the EAS box works fine. Until, the power supply craps out.

It appears they not only close the newsroom down on weekends, but overnights as well. I was driving back from Cincy again late last night and just had to check when 1 AM rolled around. Sure enough, 2 minutes of Fox News, 4 minute commercial break then back to Coast to Coast AM. New Orleans is roughly the same size of Louisville. WWL had local news, yet WHAS feels the need not to.

"Depend on it"? Hardly.

 

[radiorob2.0]

(sarcasm on) Somebody has to think of the VP's end of year bonus, that is the priority over some silly news story. (sarcasm off)
WHAS has been reduced to a program delivery system. There will be a time when relying on the EAS box will fail.

The EAS box works fine for severe weather, but does nothing for traffic jams. In the case I mentioned in an earlier post, people died and many thousands were inconvenienced. In a typical Severe Thunderstorm, no one dies & few are inconvenienced. The EAS box covers the latter one, while the one that landed on the front page of the next days Courier Journal got nary a peep from the EAS box or the WHAS news staff. In today's world, it amazes me that the news staff at one of the local TV stations doesn't have a way to insert breaking news on WHAS.

I rant about this subject since the NAB, KBA, and others sing happy songs about how their stations "serve the community" and that "darn satellite radio doesn't". Stations like WHAS have become a a glorified RF modulator of satellite radio. Yes, they have snapped to attention in the worst case scenario. But for years WHAS trained the listener they were the one for information. Today that isn't quite the case.

If the EAS box is compliant, and that is a whole other kettle of fish, then you hear the warning once. If you tune in after the message is relayed then it is regular programming. I've been told WHAS has the EAS set to "auto" as to make sure the message is aired, as far as they know. A far cry from the days of a live person that kept you informed and updated.

 

[MikeStandardsFromIndiana]

im surprise they just dont get the WLW Anchor to feed over a taped 2 minute report. i remember at one point WLW use to do that over at WLAP in Lexington except it was a full newscast at that time

 

[greg.hahn]

The EAS box works fine for severe weather, but does nothing for traffic jams.

Yes, the EAS box works fine. Until, the power supply craps out.

It appears they not only close the newsroom down on weekends, but overnights as well. I was driving back from Cincy again late last night and just had to check when 1 AM rolled around. Sure enough, 2 minutes of Fox News, 4 minute commercial break then back to Coast to Coast AM. New Orleans is roughly the same size of Louisville. WWL had local news, yet WHAS feels the need not to.

"Depend on it"? Hardly.

They've closed down the newsroom overnights for years. what I think is more recent is that they've been shutting it down at 7pm every night.

My take on it is this: Clear Channel long ago bought properties that strategically protected WHAS or WAMZ from ever having any competition in the market. They bought every fulltime AM over 1 KW except one, and they bought every big FM in the market except two- then they made sure that no one company had both of the big FMs.

When your company has one big FM which is your cash cow, and a bunch of smaller ones, you won't blow up the big one to get in a format battle with an established station. And you sure as heck won't go serious news-talk with a lot of salary overhead. So they were safe from ever being challenged. Pretty smart.

So WHAS is still the only game in town and they know it. So why spend extra money on people when people have no place else to go?

 

[Bengalsfan]

So WHAS is still the only game in town and they know it. So why spend extra money on people when people have no place else to go?

They think they have people over a barrel. However, they did not take into account listening habits changing. Folks realize they are not there when THEY need them, so they go to other sources and never come back. How many teenagers today listen to radio compared to our generation? Very few.

They didn't think about WFPL. That's where I have been going. Although even WFPL closes up shop after about 10 pm.

 

[Bengalsfan]

im surprise they just dont get the WLW Anchor to feed over a taped 2 minute report. i remember at one point WLW use to do that over at WLAP in Lexington except it was a full newscast at that time

I was thinking just cut about four or five newscasts and rotate them in the Prophet overnights. Anything but a 4 minute spot break. Com'on guys, at least SOUND like you are making an effort here.

 

[Ken Tucky]

Here's some irony - Try contacting the Big 84 via e-mail & this is what you'll get:



"Thanks for writing.

I am currently out of the office until Monday, 12/7. All messages will be read on my return.

Thanks!

Kelly Carls
Clear Channel Radio"

 

[IUSradiofan]

Sadly, I believe WLRS is not that far behind WHAS in terms of quality newscasts/weather/traffic. They get their weather piped in from AccuWeather, their local news from another source, national news from ABC News, and they do have local traffic. Again, not very local, but just about as good as WHAS, sadly. Just out of curiousity, does anyone listen to WLRS?

Hotpatrick2004 - I rarely listen to WTFX anymore because of the crap they play now. Did they let all of their local jocks go? I know they still do local stuff on Sunday night (whoopie), and I did hear Mud doing commercials on WHAS and voicework for UofL Basketball coverage the other day, but it's sad what local radio has become.

I really wish someone would pose a serious challenge to WHAS on a decent signal. Someone putting in an ounce of effort could beat them. I personally like WLRS because they play fewer commercials than most stations and I like Jerry Doyle and Glenn Beck, but they aren't a serious threat to anyone, really.

 

[BIGradio]

I must admit, I have been listening to LRS and really enjoying Mancom in the morning for the morning drive. I have even traded my bedroom wakeup radio to LRS from WHAS when getting ready. Mancow has transformed his show from all of that "stern" stuff of the past to a really intense take on issues - plus he has a dash of comedy included.

Does anyone know when Mancow is live? Seems as if LRS maybe replaying his first hour from the day before. I thought that when LRS launched, they had him on until 10am. Now he ends at 9.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

I must admit, I have been listening to LRS and really enjoying Mancom in the morning for the morning drive. I have even traded my bedroom wakeup radio to LRS from WHAS when getting ready. Mancow has transformed his show from all of that "stern" stuff of the past to a really intense take on issues - plus he has a dash of comedy included.

Does anyone know when Mancow is live? Seems as if LRS maybe replaying his first hour from the day before. I thought that when LRS launched, they had him on until 10am. Now he ends at 9.

I know Mancow does a local show which leads into RUSH on WLS/Chicago. Mancow is based in Chicago & if I read between the lines correctly while listening to him on WLS, he may actually live in Indiana.

IF WLRS is running canned local news & weather and live traffic reports 24/7--regardless of the source--they are already acing WHAS on the weekends...get them boys on a serious transmitter.

 

[Bengalsfan]

It's not hard to get local news. The folks over at Metro have been doing it for 970 for a few years. The traffic is a little suspect since all they do is sit over in the Kaden Tower and look at the Trimarc cameras. And if WFPL would put their news at the exact top of the hour, they may have a better change of pulling people off of WHAS. 840 is very vunlerable yet nobody wants to seriously take them on.


The 105.1 signal does not cover Louisville. I don't know why Blue Chip insisted on purchasing it and why Radio One kept it over selling the 104.3 signal. Put the talk format on the 104 signal, and it might have a chance.