It's no secret that with the exception of local morning shows most of the market is on life support. Not all, but most. So what changes would you make to turn things around, station by station? (PRO-FM, Coast, HJY, CTK, B101, Lite Rock 105, Hot 106).
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WHAT COULD REVIVE THIS MARKET?
- Thread starter Tee Man 82
- Start date
Tee Man 82 said:
The economy needs to turn around in RI. For many years, there was a housing 'bubble' here, fueled by Bostonians buying houses here because they could commute to Boston by rail. That bubble has burst, leaving RI (and specifically Providence) one of the hardest hit by the economic turndown anywhere. Add to that the fact that most of the stations are owned by companies on the financial ropes themselves (Citadel and Clear Channel) AND with inept management at these stations (both locally and at the top) and you have a 'perfect storm' for lousy radio.
Until things economially turn around both locally and nationally (CC and Citadel have much bigger fish to fry then their Providence clusters), nothing is really going to change. In fact, it might get a bit worse before it gets any better.
Sorry. Don't shoot the messinger.
Heard CTK in the Post office on Saturday. I don't even care for country, but for some reason while waiting in line it made me happy. It gave me the feeling of when I've taken a bus cross country and the bus stops in these little nowhere towns so you can eat. You'll go into a diner and they always seem to be playing Country. So I know there is a place for it and they sounded fine.
Pro-FM is a top notch station. Maybe tweak it a bit. New morning show to liven things up. I think Ryan Seacrest would be a better fit over there then he is on COAST. But logistics kind of prevent that from happening. He's still sleeping when morning drive at Pro kicks off. But I do think they need someone new.
Coast is just coasting on fumes. No real direction. Throw it against the wall and let's see what sticks. They need to totally revamp that place. Literally get rid of everything. The people and the "COAST" branding. It needs to go. Let's start over and try again. Hopefully they can get something right next time.
I'm not going to be any nicer to HJY's morning show than I was to Pro-Fm's. It's really no offense. But this market is so dead in the water. So incredibly boring. It's time to switch things up. Paul and Al have had a nice run. Let them move to Hartford to entertain that city for awhile. I would like to hear someone new on HJY. I listened to WYSP out of Philly all yesterday afternoon. Wanted to see what they are doing. Well they are back to playing Rock and they are so damn good! Still have the same imaging as I remember and still using Paul Turner for Voiceovers. Just like the good old days when Howard was there. I must have listened for about 6 hours. Barely a bad song to be heard. Management at HJY needs to listen to these guys and do what they do. It was so good that I didn't even want to switch the station off.
Those are the stations I would concentrate on to make a change. Stick a new morning show on Lite 105 while we are at it. This Joan thing is getting old. Time to get rid of anyone named Joan in the morning. This market has had people named Joan on the air for far to long. Enough Jones in the morning for a while.
I guess everything else is OK.
Pro-FM is a top notch station. Maybe tweak it a bit. New morning show to liven things up. I think Ryan Seacrest would be a better fit over there then he is on COAST. But logistics kind of prevent that from happening. He's still sleeping when morning drive at Pro kicks off. But I do think they need someone new.
Coast is just coasting on fumes. No real direction. Throw it against the wall and let's see what sticks. They need to totally revamp that place. Literally get rid of everything. The people and the "COAST" branding. It needs to go. Let's start over and try again. Hopefully they can get something right next time.
I'm not going to be any nicer to HJY's morning show than I was to Pro-Fm's. It's really no offense. But this market is so dead in the water. So incredibly boring. It's time to switch things up. Paul and Al have had a nice run. Let them move to Hartford to entertain that city for awhile. I would like to hear someone new on HJY. I listened to WYSP out of Philly all yesterday afternoon. Wanted to see what they are doing. Well they are back to playing Rock and they are so damn good! Still have the same imaging as I remember and still using Paul Turner for Voiceovers. Just like the good old days when Howard was there. I must have listened for about 6 hours. Barely a bad song to be heard. Management at HJY needs to listen to these guys and do what they do. It was so good that I didn't even want to switch the station off.
Those are the stations I would concentrate on to make a change. Stick a new morning show on Lite 105 while we are at it. This Joan thing is getting old. Time to get rid of anyone named Joan in the morning. This market has had people named Joan on the air for far to long. Enough Jones in the morning for a while.
I guess everything else is OK.
M
Moonstruck
Guest
PRO-FM: They'd be crazy to mess with the morning show. It's all they really have other than their heritage and being the only CHR in town. If anything get Davey off afternoons and hire a killer afternoon jock. Let him track nites if he's too busy to bother with a shift. If nites are so unimportant to the station, what's the difference? He does virtually no ad-libbing anyway so put him on when it doesn't matter.
HJY: I agree on Paul and Al being a case of lack of progress but that's what the audience wants. Sooner or later as HJY's audience ages they'll have to do something else with the morning show but probably not yet. Get a live jock on nites.
Coast: Sell it. Nothing will save it even if there are temporary spikes in numbers. There have always been. Even ex employees joke about the station having no listeners. Maybe a new owner can program something without having to worry about what the other stations in the CC cluster are doing and how Coast's measly audience complements them.
CTK: Maybe stop making changes and letting people go, although I will say even when this happens the station doesn't seem any worse off for it after the changes.
B101: Go live and local after morning drive and get back to a more oldies sound.
Lite: The audience for this format isn't demanding. Jones and Heather are fine and doing the kind of show that doesn't upset any apple carts.
Hot 106: Accept that hip hop and R&B isn't a black format but a CHR format that appeals to different music tastes. Get a local morning show that's more mass appeal. Listen to Jamn and follow suit.
Oh, and get the PDs off the air to open up some time slots to hire some people.
HJY: I agree on Paul and Al being a case of lack of progress but that's what the audience wants. Sooner or later as HJY's audience ages they'll have to do something else with the morning show but probably not yet. Get a live jock on nites.
Coast: Sell it. Nothing will save it even if there are temporary spikes in numbers. There have always been. Even ex employees joke about the station having no listeners. Maybe a new owner can program something without having to worry about what the other stations in the CC cluster are doing and how Coast's measly audience complements them.
CTK: Maybe stop making changes and letting people go, although I will say even when this happens the station doesn't seem any worse off for it after the changes.
B101: Go live and local after morning drive and get back to a more oldies sound.
Lite: The audience for this format isn't demanding. Jones and Heather are fine and doing the kind of show that doesn't upset any apple carts.
Hot 106: Accept that hip hop and R&B isn't a black format but a CHR format that appeals to different music tastes. Get a local morning show that's more mass appeal. Listen to Jamn and follow suit.
Oh, and get the PDs off the air to open up some time slots to hire some people.
The imminent Chapter 7 bankruptcy, followed by liquidation, of Citadel and Clear Channel would revive this market. Each station would have to be sold off separately, and new clusters could not be created. If locally-owned companies bought each station, and each company (or individual) was not leveraged in unsustainable debt, then Providence's stations could go back to what they were. In addition, they could probably become profitable.
In addition, I would NEVER bring PPM into the Providence market.
With that said, and assuming the above fantasy became reality, here is a bit of what I would do:
PRO-FM: I would improve imaging, and make the station sound more "fun." There would be longer breaks, the jocks would talk more, and there would be far more interaction with listeners. The utterly crappy "Ralphie Radio Show" would be eliminated, and a high-energy, phone-friendly night jock would be hired.
Coast: The "Coast" brand is poison. I would go back to using the station's well-known call letters, and return 93.3 WSNE to its glory. I would make the station a full-service AC, perhaps leaning Hot AC. I also think there is a niche for Modern AC in Providence, positioned between WPRO-FM and WBRU. Such a station might sound like WBMX in Boston. Either way, the station would be live and local 24 hours a day.
WHJY: The current airstaff is actually very, very good. I would eliminate all voice-tracking, and allow the jocks (besides Paul and Al and Charles) to talk more and interact more with the listeners. I would introduce some more music variety, as they had 5-10 years ago. I would also bring back some of the things that made WHJY unique - for example, after the 4:20 Club on Fridays, the "hour of music you don't hear anymore."
WBRU: The only station I would largely leave as is.
WCTK: I have noticed some changes since the new PD came aboard. They now brand themselves as "Today's Cat Country 98.1," and they stopped using their call letters in every voiceover. I would add a bit more variety to the music. Perhaps they could sprinkle in some more gold. I would bring in a fun, CHR-like night show. I would also keep the station live and local, 24 hours a day.
WWBB: If they are unwilling to go back to Oldies - and because WHJY has the Classic Hits format covered with their AOR format - perhaps a format change is in order here.
WEEI-FM: I know this is really a Boston station, but I would definitely get rid of Mike Adams. His sports knowledge seems very limited, and his show seems limited to nonsensical non-sequitors. It is almost unbearable to listen to at times.
WWLI: Again, get rid of all of the voicetracking, and spice up the music a bit more.
WWKX: I agree with the poster who mentioned that Hot should go in the direction of WJMN. The "Hits and Hip-hop" format would work nicely in a market like Providence.
In addition, I would NEVER bring PPM into the Providence market.
With that said, and assuming the above fantasy became reality, here is a bit of what I would do:
PRO-FM: I would improve imaging, and make the station sound more "fun." There would be longer breaks, the jocks would talk more, and there would be far more interaction with listeners. The utterly crappy "Ralphie Radio Show" would be eliminated, and a high-energy, phone-friendly night jock would be hired.
Coast: The "Coast" brand is poison. I would go back to using the station's well-known call letters, and return 93.3 WSNE to its glory. I would make the station a full-service AC, perhaps leaning Hot AC. I also think there is a niche for Modern AC in Providence, positioned between WPRO-FM and WBRU. Such a station might sound like WBMX in Boston. Either way, the station would be live and local 24 hours a day.
WHJY: The current airstaff is actually very, very good. I would eliminate all voice-tracking, and allow the jocks (besides Paul and Al and Charles) to talk more and interact more with the listeners. I would introduce some more music variety, as they had 5-10 years ago. I would also bring back some of the things that made WHJY unique - for example, after the 4:20 Club on Fridays, the "hour of music you don't hear anymore."
WBRU: The only station I would largely leave as is.
WCTK: I have noticed some changes since the new PD came aboard. They now brand themselves as "Today's Cat Country 98.1," and they stopped using their call letters in every voiceover. I would add a bit more variety to the music. Perhaps they could sprinkle in some more gold. I would bring in a fun, CHR-like night show. I would also keep the station live and local, 24 hours a day.
WWBB: If they are unwilling to go back to Oldies - and because WHJY has the Classic Hits format covered with their AOR format - perhaps a format change is in order here.
WEEI-FM: I know this is really a Boston station, but I would definitely get rid of Mike Adams. His sports knowledge seems very limited, and his show seems limited to nonsensical non-sequitors. It is almost unbearable to listen to at times.
WWLI: Again, get rid of all of the voicetracking, and spice up the music a bit more.
WWKX: I agree with the poster who mentioned that Hot should go in the direction of WJMN. The "Hits and Hip-hop" format would work nicely in a market like Providence.
A
and.u.r?
Guest
I agree with Scott,not so much in every point,but in saying if enough stations in Providence were spun off maybe some new owners could breathe life in them and hire people who should be on the radio rather than people who like the idea of being in radio.Unfortunately I doubt that will happen and too many stations have already shot themselves in the foot.
A
and.u.r?
Guest
Also just because you're good at one thing doesn't mean you're good at everything.Get the production,imaging, and promotions people off the air.Multitasking is a way of life but use judgement.I don't hear a lot of production being done by djs.Why is the reverse happening?Both clusters are guilty of this.
R
rapking
Guest
I would not change anything about Hot 106 playlist ( Hot 106 playlist alot better than Jamn ) . The problem I have with Hot 106 is there awful signal and Hot 106 does need a good local morning show like Jamn . Maybe big Boy is Ok for CA , but he is awlful in RI .
R
rapking
Guest
I love WEEI, but I cant understand why 103.7 signal was not a successful music station in Providence ( before FNX Trash it ). Hot 106 would has been great on big signal like 103.7 . I cant speak spanish but I am glad Providence has a spanish FM station ( 100.3 ).
M
Moonstruck
Guest
Scott why would you not want PPM to come to Providence? It's flawed but so is the system. It'll change the way programming is done to an extent and maybe some formats are at a disadvantage with it, but it is still more of an accurate indication of who is listening and when. Arbitron sucks the way it is now but I blame diary keepers more than anything else. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. It will just suck less with PPM.
As far as you wanting longer breaks, forget about it when PPM comes to town. Even from an aesthetic standpoint longer breaks are fine when the personality has the talent to carry them off. That doesn't apply across the board in this or any market.
Today's Cat Country sounds to me like you won't see any more gold sprinkled in. It almost sounds like they're telling the audience that this is the way it is now. To me I'll admit that's foolish since there was nothing wrong with the station in the first place.
As far as you wanting longer breaks, forget about it when PPM comes to town. Even from an aesthetic standpoint longer breaks are fine when the personality has the talent to carry them off. That doesn't apply across the board in this or any market.
Today's Cat Country sounds to me like you won't see any more gold sprinkled in. It almost sounds like they're telling the audience that this is the way it is now. To me I'll admit that's foolish since there was nothing wrong with the station in the first place.
K
Ken Grady
Guest
Can radio as we know it, or as we grew up with, be revived at all? Radio, from small to major markets, was local. Stations had jocks with actual recognizable personalities and voices, news and sports staffs, and were major players in their respective communities, small or large. In most cases, individual stations and multiple-ownership groups were owned by people who really loved radio. While radio was being de-regulated and turned from a public service and a passion into an investment, time passed it by. Now the ridiculous greed-driven "investments" have gone bad, and the broadcast audience may be gone, too, to satellite radio, internet radio, and i-pods. And now, in 2009, the revenue stream has dried up, too. I'm not saying that there are no good broadcasters left, but if "revived" implies radio being brought back to the life it once had, I don't think that's going to happen.
Well said, Ken. One of the big reasons I decided to pursue radio was, not to be a star, but to be active in the community. I know it sounds trite, but service was my motivation (toss in a few albums, oil changes and a weekly live remote & I was happy).
I grew up in a broadcasting household and, after serving my country and doing the college thing, decided that radio was the way to go. The genesis of deregulation planted the seeds of discontent in many of us. I finally gave it up nearly two years ago when I accepted a management position with a national grocery chain. My fellow jocks thought I was nuts to leave radio for a "non-glamorous" type of job. Within six months, they were all victims of budget cuts and most are working in hourly wage jobs that can barely cover the bills.
As much as we'd love to see local radio become truly local again, I don't see it happening any time soon. Clear Channel, Cumulus, et al want to dump properties, but the actual or legitimate value is only 10-20% of the asking price. Would-be local ownership groups prefer to wait it out for the price to drop. In the meantime, terrestrial radio has become "background chatter" in the car or office and, as a former OM of mine described it, "is an appliance that makes noise".
I grew up in a broadcasting household and, after serving my country and doing the college thing, decided that radio was the way to go. The genesis of deregulation planted the seeds of discontent in many of us. I finally gave it up nearly two years ago when I accepted a management position with a national grocery chain. My fellow jocks thought I was nuts to leave radio for a "non-glamorous" type of job. Within six months, they were all victims of budget cuts and most are working in hourly wage jobs that can barely cover the bills.
As much as we'd love to see local radio become truly local again, I don't see it happening any time soon. Clear Channel, Cumulus, et al want to dump properties, but the actual or legitimate value is only 10-20% of the asking price. Would-be local ownership groups prefer to wait it out for the price to drop. In the meantime, terrestrial radio has become "background chatter" in the car or office and, as a former OM of mine described it, "is an appliance that makes noise".
BostonRandy said:
We are certainly two different people then. WSAR wanted me to get involved in the community. But I couldn't even bring myself to begin to care about that garbage pit of a city. If I had wanted to be involved in the community I would have went for work at a charity. Not at a radio station. I took a look at my General Manager and all the ass kissing that took place by him being a member of the Rotary Club and The Chamber of Commerce. I decided that was exactly what I didn't want. I wasn't going to be phony and pretend that I cared about some town that I really couldn't have cared less about. Maybe I'm a perfect candidate for Satellite radio. No community involvement required when you are heard all over the country. That would be a benefit to me. Maybe I'm just selfish and perhaps I won't be winning any awards for outstanding citizen. But at least I'm honest about it. Maybe if I actually lived and worked in a town that I truly love things would be different.
John, I'm sure you realize most here consider you grumpy & negative. That said, you're probably just a stand-up guy who just can't being himself to do anything that goes against his grain & can't understand why the rest of the world doesn't feel the same way. Most in radio put on a happy face doing things they'd rather not because it goes with the territory. You made the right decision not staying in the business & that isn't really a criticism. You wouldn't have been happy.
Runrigger said:
Yeah I pretty much agree with this. But I am actually a lot nicer in person. I am typically laughing and have a smile on my face. I'm not nearly the A**hole that I seem here. The internet is just my place to vent. But you are right. A 40 hour week in radio isn't for me. At least not on the terms of most radio stations. I think I would have to purchase my own station. Perhaps syndicate my own show under my own production company and basically work for myself. Not be considered an actual employee of a radio station. That would be good for me. People who work in radio seem to get pushed around a lot. It's that kind of treatment that always makes me head for the door.Whenever I do TV work I've always felt a lot more respect that I have working in radio.
The reality is quite simple.
The Providence area has too many signals chasing too few advertising dollars.
To revive the market so there was money to operate responsibly, hire quality people and pay them a living wage requires only that at least two thirds of the present complement be turned off entirely and their licenses surrendered, never to be issued again.
That's why it will continue to be a graveyard of dreams; the medicine that would bring about the cure is too bitter to swallow.
The Providence area has too many signals chasing too few advertising dollars.
To revive the market so there was money to operate responsibly, hire quality people and pay them a living wage requires only that at least two thirds of the present complement be turned off entirely and their licenses surrendered, never to be issued again.
That's why it will continue to be a graveyard of dreams; the medicine that would bring about the cure is too bitter to swallow.
VelvetR said:
That sounds way too much like what radio was like during the 1930's and 40's....when AM was the only broadcast game in town. A time when the typical housewife would turn on the family's floor model vacuum tube set during the day to listen to NBC Red's "The Guiding Light, or "Ma Perkins", on CBS. Or...in the evening...when the entire family would gather around that same set to listen to "Fibber McGee & Molly, or "Burns and Allen".
Good luck getting all those stations you think should no longer exist to turn in thier licenses.
Good luck to that and the 2010 Boston Red Sox......
VelvetR said:
Let's suppose...for the sake of discussion...that such a radical "thinnning-of-the herd" could ever be put into place:
The market's AM dial would end up looking something like this:
550......630......790......920......1290
And the commercial portion of the FM dial something like this:
92.3......94.1......95.5......101.5......105.1
While the financial health of the surviving stations would almost be guaranteed....you just can't turn back the clock. This genie is out of the bottle.....FOREVER.
Like it or not...this is the 21st. Century, and everything now is about MORE choice....not less.
The vacuum tube days are OVER.
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