I recall a D magazine article about KVIL in its heyday. Ron Chapman made the following observation: " As long as I have my women [listeners] everything is going to be fine." And he was right. For a long, long time.
I never programmed radio in my life, but I believe if you have the lady of the house convinced of the merits of any of a number of categories,you are going to get the entire house. Church, doctor, supermarket, school, etc. Mom is keenly aware that she has to make a lot of decisions affecting the entire house, and she will do her best to choose wisely.
Based upon the finished product that eminated from that frequency, Chapman was obviously extremely adept at programming to women. One of the reasons KVIL had the programming it did: Chapman noted many years ago that "when a woman gets into your car, what's the first thing she does? She turns down the radio volume." Very subtle...and true.
Here is where other programmers made/still make a big mistake: They try to be like KVIL. See also: KMGC..etc. A raft of people tried to just bring in sunny-personality people and play an AC playlist. It never worked. And it won't work. What they fail to realize is that Chapman wasn't imitating anybody...his programming was visionary.
As an aside, what The Fan failed to realize is that they can't just bring a bunch of guys in and tell them "talk sports, except when you are talking guy stuff." That concept has been done quite well. It's called "The Ticket." And if Bruce Gilbert tells them, "Be hardcore sports guys"? That's been done too. It's called "ESPN."
I posted this on a thread where everyone was whacking The Fan like a cheap pinata, but I still believe it's possible: The Fan should take their guys, accentuate the talents of everybody there, and move them around for maximum effectiveness. I think Arnie is a talent, and I think he cares. Same with Newy. They aren't crap, they are just a hodgepodge. And the people have spoken.
My .02. Your mileage may differ.
