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WHAT changes format
- Thread starter Kyle D
- Start date
F
fred flintstone
Guest
Kyle D said:
Now that says something right there.
Suppose they flipped a station and nobody on the radio board noticed?
If a station flips and nobody notices, has it really flipped?
WHAT changes format.
WHO gets fired.
I DON'T KNOW plays Christmas music.
F
fred flintstone
Guest
People must have fallen asleep around here - even (maybe especially) Julius.
The Philly Arbitrons were posted yesterday and nobody has said a thing.
Guess what "bad station" is in third place.
The Philly Arbitrons were posted yesterday and nobody has said a thing.
Guess what "bad station" is in third place.
W
WTUX
Guest
Read the article in the Daily News. The entire staff was fired, office, sales, on-air - everybody.
WHAT is a Black station, so you know this board deals with that format.
WHAT is a Black station, so you know this board deals with that format.
F
fred flintstone
Guest
Julius May said:
If they'd listened to him, maybe this wouldn't have happened.
J
Jul
Guest
Today's Philadelphia Daily News has an article about the format change: http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/16442584.htm
F
fred flintstone
Guest
Tig1150 said:
Mary Mason had her following and I'm sure those people will miss her show. It's sad there is seemingly so little room for local-live talk radio in Philly.
However, WHAT has been cursed with stumble-bum management and inconsistent, hodge-podge programming.
They had a mix of Black hosts and gospel.
They canceled that for a mix of Mary Mason, progressive talk and gospel.
Then they dropped progressive talk - which never stood a chance given zero promotion, a crap signal and a hodge-podge schedule - and brought in some new Black hosts plus Mary Mason and Gospel.
Now Inner City Broadcasting (owned by a handful of New York politicians who didn't make enough from their city jobs to start buying radio stations) has sold WHAT to somebody nobody ever heard of. And what has he bought? Terrible signal. No format. No audience. No sales book. What's coming? All bowel cleanse, all the time?
B
blueboy
Guest
It's funny that so many on this board wonder what could happen to a station if only a JOCK bought it. Well, one did. At least a former jock. Tom Kelly owns his own music testing company in Philly. Before that he was a jock in the region. I never heard him on the air but I do know that he worked in Allentown (WZZO I think). Let's see what he has up his sleeve before we tar and feather the guy. Think about it...could he really do any worse with the station?
F
fred flintstone
Guest
blueboy said:
There's only one way for the station to go.
We have seen what would happen when a jock buys a station. Kevin Hennessey, who used to post here, bought one. He worked hard. Struggled. Tried to make a go of it. And sold out before the thing killed him - and went to work as a production manager for Salem in New York.
What I see people doing is fantasizing about having their own station to play with some day.
Radio is a business, not a hobby. We have seen the terrible results when people to try to make it a hobby, a means of personal or artistic self-expression or a way to influence elections.
And there is a reason owners usually promote people to management from sales.
Hy Lit started his career at WHAT for program director Charlie O’donnel (now the announcer for ‘Wheel of fortune’
under owner Dolly Banks.
(Excerpt from the forthcoming Hy Lit autobiography):
On a visit home for the holidays, I found myself in a basketball game in the gymnasium at West Philly High. It was the ‘Philadelphia Players’ against an assembled ‘radio industry' ball team. During that game Charlie O’Donnell (currently the announcer of Wheel of Fortune) fouled me with a slap, and remarked, excuse me. Later down court, when I returned the abrupt foul and promptly replied, "Ex-cuuuse Me", Charlie commented by saying “Hey, that’s quite a voice you have!". Subsequently after the game, we struck up a conversation. While ascertaining my status as a communications major at Miami University, Charlie indicated that he was the program director for 1340/WHAT, a rhythm and blues soul station, and that he had a time slot to fill Saturday morning. Would I be interested? Before I knew it the next day I was at the microphone.
My first record was Beyond the Blue Horizon, by Earl Bostic. I played it at Mickey Mouse speed, and then I opened the microphone, and said “Ahh sh-“. Charlie came rushing into the studio, and said, “You’re gonna be great!” Well the phones lit up. My first request was to dedicate a boss record called Tutti Frutti by the golden voice of the airwaves, Little Richard. So I got on the air, copying the hip style of the listener, and said “Here’s a boss record by Little Richard and dedicated to Baldy Bill, from Drexel Hill”. Little did I know that Baldy Bill was a school principal. I’d hear about this later on. As more requests came in I picked up on the listener’s crazy jargon, and slang, and sent it back out on the air with a rhyme.
I took over the 9 pm to 1 am time slot of a show called ‘The Rock ‘en Roll Kingdom’. I was the only white DJ on the station. Practically overnight, it seemed I became the hottest show on the radio. The listeners and I communicated. They called me the Bonnie Prince of Rock ‘n Roll.
I remember, during one of my first weeks, I scooted to the bathroom, and when the door locked behind me, I couldn’t get out. I realized the record was going to end, so I climbed out the bathroom window and raced to the front of the building. I ran in the front door and the guard on duty wouldn’t let me in. I told him I was Hy Lit. He said, “You ain’t Hy Lit; Hy Lit is on the air”. He wrestled me to the ground and I finally convinced him after telling him what happened to the bathroom door. Meanwhile, we were off the air. After I got back on, Charlie called and asked what happened, and I had to tell him. I was getting tired of telling everybody, so to clear the matter up I told the listeners on the air the story of the bathroom door. The listeners were hysterical.
Later, my first interview was with Billy Eckstine, a great blues singer. It was the fastest interview I ever had. My opening question was, “So where do you go from here”?
It was the early days when rock was young and ‘Rock ‘n Roll’ meant rhythm and blues. I noticed a lot of record promotion men were standing around with new records, begging for an airplay. And apparently, they were prepared to go to great lengths to facilitate that airplay exposure with a multitude of creative measures and incentives. In fact, my show became a venerable circus of record promotion men with all kinds of gifts and goodies vying for airplay favors on my coveted time slot. Rock was young, and I was breaking new records, left and right. It seemed anything and everything I played became an overnight hit. And the record stores were selling them out. Let me say this, I only chose the records that were bonafide hits. I never played any garbage, because I respected my listeners too much. So, on the air, when I said this was a hit, it was a hit. And the ratings bare that out. It was many a night, I said “If this ain’t a hit, I quit”.
It was a magical time for radio; the DJ was king and rock ‘n roll was cool. It seemed everyone in the city was listening, and they locked into ‘Hy Lit’s Rock ‘en Roll Kingdom’ for the latest and the greatest.
My first public appearance was at a record hop sponsored by a girl’s sorority. The place was packed. Soon, all my record hops were all sold out as I became the hottest thing in town. Then came my first stage show. It was at The Arena, at 46th and Market sts., next door to Dick Clark’s American Bandstand at WFIL-TV in West Philadelphia. The show had a caravan of early soul recording acts. When it came time to open the show, I walked on stage, and said “Hi everybody, my name is Hy Lit!” It was a black audience and they screamed, “Hey Whitey, get off the stage! Hy Lit is black, and you ain’t Hy Lit! I had a tough time convincing them and the boos the screams and the Jeers were the loudest I ever heard. A fellow DJ great, Georgie Woods, from soul radio rival, WDAS, walked on stage and quieted the audience down. He convinced the audience that this was in fact Hy Lit. So I introduced the acts and the sellout show was a big success.
After that, it seemed the name of ‘Hy Lit’ was everywhere. The newspapers were quick to point me out, the kid from South Philadelphia who had captured a tremendous integrated following with this new thing called Rock ‘n Roll.
After a number of months and taking the 9 pm-1 am time slot into a ratings rocket ride, I went to Dolly Banks, (owner of WHAT with her brother William Banks, **WWDB ) and requested a salary increase commensurate with my performance. Her less than hesitant reply was “Don’t get it from me. Get it from the record companies”. So I did.
**WHAT-FM would become WWDB for William & Dolly Banks after a frequency swap with 96.5/WDAS-FM.
under owner Dolly Banks.(Excerpt from the forthcoming Hy Lit autobiography):
On a visit home for the holidays, I found myself in a basketball game in the gymnasium at West Philly High. It was the ‘Philadelphia Players’ against an assembled ‘radio industry' ball team. During that game Charlie O’Donnell (currently the announcer of Wheel of Fortune) fouled me with a slap, and remarked, excuse me. Later down court, when I returned the abrupt foul and promptly replied, "Ex-cuuuse Me", Charlie commented by saying “Hey, that’s quite a voice you have!". Subsequently after the game, we struck up a conversation. While ascertaining my status as a communications major at Miami University, Charlie indicated that he was the program director for 1340/WHAT, a rhythm and blues soul station, and that he had a time slot to fill Saturday morning. Would I be interested? Before I knew it the next day I was at the microphone.
My first record was Beyond the Blue Horizon, by Earl Bostic. I played it at Mickey Mouse speed, and then I opened the microphone, and said “Ahh sh-“. Charlie came rushing into the studio, and said, “You’re gonna be great!” Well the phones lit up. My first request was to dedicate a boss record called Tutti Frutti by the golden voice of the airwaves, Little Richard. So I got on the air, copying the hip style of the listener, and said “Here’s a boss record by Little Richard and dedicated to Baldy Bill, from Drexel Hill”. Little did I know that Baldy Bill was a school principal. I’d hear about this later on. As more requests came in I picked up on the listener’s crazy jargon, and slang, and sent it back out on the air with a rhyme.
I took over the 9 pm to 1 am time slot of a show called ‘The Rock ‘en Roll Kingdom’. I was the only white DJ on the station. Practically overnight, it seemed I became the hottest show on the radio. The listeners and I communicated. They called me the Bonnie Prince of Rock ‘n Roll.
I remember, during one of my first weeks, I scooted to the bathroom, and when the door locked behind me, I couldn’t get out. I realized the record was going to end, so I climbed out the bathroom window and raced to the front of the building. I ran in the front door and the guard on duty wouldn’t let me in. I told him I was Hy Lit. He said, “You ain’t Hy Lit; Hy Lit is on the air”. He wrestled me to the ground and I finally convinced him after telling him what happened to the bathroom door. Meanwhile, we were off the air. After I got back on, Charlie called and asked what happened, and I had to tell him. I was getting tired of telling everybody, so to clear the matter up I told the listeners on the air the story of the bathroom door. The listeners were hysterical.
Later, my first interview was with Billy Eckstine, a great blues singer. It was the fastest interview I ever had. My opening question was, “So where do you go from here”?
It was the early days when rock was young and ‘Rock ‘n Roll’ meant rhythm and blues. I noticed a lot of record promotion men were standing around with new records, begging for an airplay. And apparently, they were prepared to go to great lengths to facilitate that airplay exposure with a multitude of creative measures and incentives. In fact, my show became a venerable circus of record promotion men with all kinds of gifts and goodies vying for airplay favors on my coveted time slot. Rock was young, and I was breaking new records, left and right. It seemed anything and everything I played became an overnight hit. And the record stores were selling them out. Let me say this, I only chose the records that were bonafide hits. I never played any garbage, because I respected my listeners too much. So, on the air, when I said this was a hit, it was a hit. And the ratings bare that out. It was many a night, I said “If this ain’t a hit, I quit”.
It was a magical time for radio; the DJ was king and rock ‘n roll was cool. It seemed everyone in the city was listening, and they locked into ‘Hy Lit’s Rock ‘en Roll Kingdom’ for the latest and the greatest.
My first public appearance was at a record hop sponsored by a girl’s sorority. The place was packed. Soon, all my record hops were all sold out as I became the hottest thing in town. Then came my first stage show. It was at The Arena, at 46th and Market sts., next door to Dick Clark’s American Bandstand at WFIL-TV in West Philadelphia. The show had a caravan of early soul recording acts. When it came time to open the show, I walked on stage, and said “Hi everybody, my name is Hy Lit!” It was a black audience and they screamed, “Hey Whitey, get off the stage! Hy Lit is black, and you ain’t Hy Lit! I had a tough time convincing them and the boos the screams and the Jeers were the loudest I ever heard. A fellow DJ great, Georgie Woods, from soul radio rival, WDAS, walked on stage and quieted the audience down. He convinced the audience that this was in fact Hy Lit. So I introduced the acts and the sellout show was a big success.
After that, it seemed the name of ‘Hy Lit’ was everywhere. The newspapers were quick to point me out, the kid from South Philadelphia who had captured a tremendous integrated following with this new thing called Rock ‘n Roll.
After a number of months and taking the 9 pm-1 am time slot into a ratings rocket ride, I went to Dolly Banks, (owner of WHAT with her brother William Banks, **WWDB ) and requested a salary increase commensurate with my performance. Her less than hesitant reply was “Don’t get it from me. Get it from the record companies”. So I did.
**WHAT-FM would become WWDB for William & Dolly Banks after a frequency swap with 96.5/WDAS-FM.
F
Frasier
Guest
fred flintstone said:
Reading this statement, coming right before Sam Lit mentions "Wheel of Fortune" makes me wonder: Doesn't Pat Sajak own a station in like Baltimore? And is it (cue sfx) bankrupt?
F
fred flintstone
Guest
Foe Paw said:
Annapolis.
P
PhillyWatch
Guest
Anybody hearing whats on now? Not blues. They're IDing as "The best of the 1800's, 1900's and Today. Ladies and Gentleman, the ultimate Jack station. Margaritaville into The Sound of Music into Aaliyah's Try Again.
Ohmigawd! I actually read something I agree with from FredFlintstone. Radio can be a rude awakening for the novice owner. It is NOT a hobby, and can break you, financially and spiritually. No one was prouder of his stations in Scranton and Berwik (home of Nascars Jimmy Spencer and Wise Potato Chips). But it is an unholy amount of unending work.
Every newcomer dreams about becoming the next Jerry Lee, but it ain't gonna happen on 1340 with interference from Atlantic City and Reading. Even if WHAT ceased analog audio alltogether, and went full power/modulation as an IBOC HD station pioneer, it'll need a big check book and saintly patience. But it would have a competitive signal.
Every newcomer dreams about becoming the next Jerry Lee, but it ain't gonna happen on 1340 with interference from Atlantic City and Reading. Even if WHAT ceased analog audio alltogether, and went full power/modulation as an IBOC HD station pioneer, it'll need a big check book and saintly patience. But it would have a competitive signal.
F
fred flintstone
Guest
amfmsw said:
Don't sound so surprised. We've agreed on things before.
Jerry Lee knows radio is a business. He is not acting out some radio geek dream of "playing whatever we want." Does anybody really think the guy likes elevator music that much?
The other difference is The Bee is on FM with a good signal (unless you stray too close to CBS-FM). WHAT is unlistenable unless you are in the right place at the right time - and right place is a limited area.
J
Jul
Guest
Today's Philadelphia Inquirer article about this: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/16450581.htm
B
blueboy
Guest
Boy, this is a tough room. The notion which I put forward, a positive spin on a former jock buying a station has been beaten to a bloody pulp. Nobody has a kind word of encouragement for the new owner? Everyone here is a pessimist? I only thought we should at least wait till the ink dries on the papers before we declare Tom Kelly a fool. Let's see what he does with the station. He's not simply a former jock who wanted to play owner. From what I've read he has been a businessman for many years. He COULD crash and burn with this thing and if that happens you can all sit smugly at your computer and write an erudite paragraph or two saying "I told you so". I'm just saying, don't write the obituary on the day the thing is born. That's all.
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