What Should Be Done With WTTS-FM?

[indiehipster]

I gotta believe that the WTTS audience, while small, is flush with cash - just the person advertisers want to reach.

Nope.

 

[Onesimus]

Has anyone else thought about what 92.3 would be today if they had stayed the course with country? They dumped country just before the format really exploded. I know that Barnstable tried to buy it and move the studios to Indy in 1988 and planned to keep it country( IU professor Herb Terry and friends blocked the move). Even if they had stayed in Bloomington, they'd still be pulling 2-3 shares in Indy with a cume of 150,000-200,000 (combined from Indy and Louisville county-by-counties).

 

[qskyradio]

Has anyone else thought about what 92.3 would be today if they had stayed the course with country? They dumped country just before the format really exploded. I know that Barnstable tried to buy it and move the studios to Indy in 1988 and planned to keep it country( IU professor Herb Terry and friends blocked the move). Even if they had stayed in Bloomington, they'd still be pulling 2-3 shares in Indy with a cume of 150,000-200,000 (combined from Indy and Louisville county-by-counties).

WTTS does pull that number 12+ share (and a higher number with adults) and their cume does indeed equal that if you combine county-by-county cume. I'm not sure how anybody in the thread finds themselves qualified to discuss WTTS' audience or financial state. Personally, I like the station and find their approach refreshing and far more mature than the typical "morning zoo" delivery from so many others. Triple A stations around the country do indeed deliver a wondefully attractive qualitative audience and that's one of the things that keeps these stations around. So I really don't understand how some people posting about WTTS assume they know their qualitatives, etc.. I'm sure many companies would love to have the WTTS stick, but Sarkes Tarzian has never made a move with the property. They may not have the biggest numbers or the biggest cume, but that's not what it's about - radio is a business and if WTTS is still doing what they're doing, their financials must be pretty stable.

 

[Lafayette Unplugged]

"Leave WTTS alone" is great advice.

They are one of the couple of stations IN THE COUNTRY that consistently makes me go out and try some new music. Much like WXRT out of Chicago used to do when I was in college (I lived for "New Release Wednesdays").
WTTS occasionally tries to "compete" by throwing in some Mellencamp or Zeppelin which is an automatic tune-out for WTTS die-hards and dilutes the purity of the format and the overall product.
WTTS programmers: Stop doing that! If we want that crap we'll listen to Q-95!

Somebody wrote something about voice tracking? I don't care how great it sounds, it's wrong and evil. People started voice tracking to save money and time, then programmers leaned more on automation, and then they turned to satellite feeds locally, and then a bunch of jocks and PD's found themselves unemployed.
Nobody saw that sneaking up ("Hey! Nobody actually has to BE HERE AT THE RADIO STATION to make it run? Let's do that and not pay live personalities!" THE OWNER: "Yeah. Let's! By the way, you're fired!").

In regard to WTTS: do we have to ruin everything? Leave at least ONE station for me to enjoy.
In regard to voice tracking: it's right up there with monopolies, consultants, and satellite programming as to what's ruined the spontanaity and uniqueness of radio.
The term is "Disc jockey", not "computer babysitter". It's like a farmer growing plastic fruit!!

:-X

 

[donkeypuncher]

Somebody wrote something about voice tracking? I don't care how great it sounds, it's wrong and evil. People started voice tracking to save money and time, then programmers leaned more on automation, and then they turned to satellite feeds locally, and then a bunch of jocks and PD's found themselves unemployed.
Nobody saw that sneaking up ("Hey! Nobody actually has to BE HERE AT THE RADIO STATION to make it run? Let's do that and not pay live personalities!" THE OWNER: "Yeah. Let's! By the way, you're fired!").

Hear hear you should engrave that in stone tablits and then drop it on a radio owners house [when hes not home to get hurt of course]

I agree with the UNPLUGGED ONE!

 

[pbf1]

Sure...try to put the cat back IN the bag.

Radio has tried to cut corners/costs since the 60's - automation, then better automation, then satellite, then even better automation, and eventually voicetracking so close that if the execution is good, you can't tell the difference. (Of course, a bad jock will sound like a bad jock, live or otherwise.)

Sorry, diehards, but there's no way beancounters (en masse, anyway; there will always be one or two here and there) are going to suddenly say, "hey, let's put live jocks on every daypart!" They're too focused on Wall Street or other owners' expectations of profitability.

The last guy to make a buggy-whip made a great one, I'm sure...

 

[Hionradio]

WKLU = live 24/7.

 

[Lafayette Unplugged]

I'm sure there are a few "live 24/7" stations left, but at the heart of my argument is that if your air studio is empty or you cost somebody a full time gig or a high school/college kid his opportunity to be a "DJ", or if you can't have a live call-in request or contest or update the forecast, then automation is the seed of the overall problem to the killing of radio and I can't condone something that contributes to its demise.

You're part of the problem and NOT the innovation.

People can keep calling it "radio" til they run out of air, but if you aren't on live, you aren't doing radio. Period.

Call it "loading MP3's in a computer so people can hear it", but it sure ain't a radio broadcast/show.

 

[BuffStuff]

So should we stop calling the box we sit in front of at night to watch our favorite show "TV?" Newsflash unplugged, the actors on ER or whatever your favorite show is AREN'T in a studio doing live programs with sound effects crews standing in front of a mic like the 40's and 50's. Seinfeld and Friends were two of the best shows of all time, and, oh my...they were pre-recorded! Adapt to change or get left behind.

 

[Lafayette Unplugged]

Another newsflash: TV isn't radio.
Next you'll try to draw some type of comparison between newspaper and radio: "Well, since the writer of the story isn't typing it in front of you, does that mean it's not "newspaper?". Huh?

TV's "live" events are live. Network shows are taped. But having a taped network show isn't going to cost Maura Tyrnie her job on "ER". How many actors were thrown out of jobs when network executives said, "Hey, we can tape this and air it later?". How many jocks were thrown out when the owner said, "Hey, nobody has to be here in the studio?". Again, a stretch to try and make your comparison work here, but I'm trying.

But if the NBC affililate were to tape their entire newscast after "ER" (you know, where they give "live" news and talk about "live" news events?), then you might have some sort of comparison to what I was talking about.
Turn on the radio, Buff. Hear any programs like the "Lone Ranger" or "The Shadow"?
I'm talking about a live jock doing a live show. Again, radio isn't televsion. Movies are not paintings. I get what you're going for, but you're nowhere in the neighborhood.
Comparing networks taping shows like "Seinfeld" and "Friends" to voice tracking/automating a local morning show on the radio? Apples and oranges, Buff.

The last time I looked, the very NATURE of radio is a LIVE jock spinning records and talking live and doing live things. Consult your nearest Ouija board and ask Alan Freed if that's the concept he had in mind.

Radio is not changing the dynamic or "adapting to change" for the good, radio is DESTROYING the dynamic with automation and eliminating the LIVE element with voice tracking and bailing out and just switching to satellite (live jocks from somewhere else broadcasting live to replace the local live jocks they already had---boggles the mind if you dwell on it too long).
CBS didn't replace Bob Schaeffer with a newsfeed from Florida or Seattle. They put in Katie Couric.
What did they replace your local midday guy/gal on the radio with?

Trying with all my might to implement your comparison, I guess that if radio tapes more and voice tracks more and gets rid of most of the live jocks, it will prosper and grow just like TV did after it started taping relevant programming back in the 50's? Don't bet on it.

Radio has to do something soon and it'd better be HUGE. "Re-inventing the wheel" is an understatement.
People are misinterpreting progress for dismantling an institution.

TV, newspaper, and cable are all taking somewhat postive steps to keep up. Where's radio?

 

[Hionradio]

You guys seem to be focused on the wrong causes for the ills you sight. The reason that the quality of radio is deteriorating so dramatically (and it is), is that Wall Street cares for nothing except quarterly reports. When the corporate boys were buying up all the stations, they were promising Wall Street results that they realistically could not deliver. In an attempt to achieve SOMETHING that was close to what they had promised, they started cutting corners and costs. Realisitically, the guys who run these corporations have NO CLUE as to what radio is about. Do you think that Mark or Randy Mays have ever worked at a radio station (that wasn't owned by Daddy) because they really wanted to be in radio? How about Joel Hollander or Les Moonves? What resume of stations do they have? Most of the people in charge are there because their parents put them there. Here's a list of operators who got the chain from their parents: The Mays, David Field, Alfred Liggens, Lew Dickey. Well, other than Cox, I guess I've just listed all the chains except for Infinity. The bowing to Wall Street NO MATTER WHAT, is the condition that is causing radio to suck. The worst unintended consequence is that there is no farm team for talent. In the old days, you had to be on the air for many years before you were considered for a job in a market like Indy. Now, your first job can be in Boston or Atlanta. In the sales area, because the revenue side is so desperate for sales, they price for share rather then unit rate and this causes the price of spots to decrease. When consolidation was first taking place all the Wall Street types said that it would solidify rates. It has had the opposite effect. Overall, there are few radio battles anymore, rates are dropping and stations don't say "No" to advertisers. The stations add units to try to satisfy Wall Street and there is alternative media bombarding radio from all sides. These corporate giants don't have a clue nor do they have any balls. Those of you who work for them shouldn't feel the need to defend them. While there are good people who are forced to work for them, just look at the result TO THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY. The deterioration was not caused by the weather, it was caused by Wall Street.

 

[jimbo700]

Lafayette Unplugged... I must respectfully disagree.
Your talk of the decline of radio and it's gloomy future... which may well be true (I don't see it that way, but I do understand your point of view). But when you say,

> "People can keep calling it "radio" til they run out of air,
> but if you aren't on live, you aren't doing radio. Period.
> Call it "loading MP3's in a computer so people can hear it",
> but it sure ain't a radio broadcast/show.

You're just plain wrong. 60 years ago radio stations had studio orchestras. When they started playing vinyl records, the unions filed suit and everyone talked about 'the end of radio'.
Your comment stating: ..."anything not live and local is not radio"... is silly.
All across America there are jocks who voicetrack their shift and you literally can't tell the difference. People are doing entertaining, compelling radio every day using voicetracking. I know guys who make a few extra bucks VT'ing other stations in different cities, and if they do their homework and make a little extra effort, it sounds great.
As to what 'makes a radio show'... It's whatever we throw out there. What makes a good radio show is determined by the jock's talent and how much time and energy he/she wants to put into her program.
As for your television analogy, do you know how drastically the production of a 30 minute sitcom has changed over the past few years? The technology has exploded and gone are 3 camera operators, a stage manager and many of the other jobs. Cameras are all operated by computers, and many support/technical jobs are gone with the wind of technology.
Yet, even with this technology, there are some decent programs still on the tube.
But the lack of good television programming, like the lack of good radio programming has absolutely nothing to do with the technology used to produce and broadcast that programming.
Someone else mentioned that WKLU is live 24/7, yet they are regularly beaten by 9 other stations (Su '06), most of whom voicetrack some or all of their programming.
When Q95 plays a "best of Bob & Tom" it is nothing more than prerecorded programming (voicetracked) but they still dominate in the book..
There are lots of special effects people out of work on the west coast because movie makers rarely use optical effects or miniatures. Optical printers used for SFX are sitting in warehouses, while digital effects are the rage.
The skyline of entire cities are done digitally, and in Superman Returns, it is nearly impossible to tell if the Superman you are seeing is actually Brandon Routh in tights, or a digitally rendered Superman.
The old school movie makers are screaming that "these aren't movies", yet Superman Returns has grossed nearly $400 million worldwide, and "Pirates of the Caribbean II" (laden with digital effects and digital characters) has grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide.
Voicetracking is not the death of radio. Bad programming will be the death of radio.
There are some pretty good station getting respectable number who are voicetracked in all dayparts except mornings.
There is some concern in our industry as to how long a station like WKLU, a stand-alone Class A in an extremely competitive market like Indy can run a full staff live 24/7 while competing against the more efficiently operated clusters. They seem to be holding their own, and I wish them the best but the other clusters have a competitive edge.

 

[Hionradio]

Jimbo, great points. Although I don't agree with all of them, you do bring up some valid arguments. I want to correct your statement of the ratings with regard to WKLU. Yes, they were #9 in 12+ , but who looks at 12+? As you know, stations target demos much more narrowly. In the most contested area of 25-54, they were #4 according to the latest trend released by Arbitron. Of course, they have the weakest signal in town, so the potential of their cume is diminished. The fact that they do so well from out of town with 6000 watts against the 50,000 watt stations, exemplifies that the audience DOES know the difference between the stations that are run on the cheap and those who try to do it with quality as a priority.

 

[Lafayette Unplugged]

You're just plain wrong. 60 years ago radio stations had studio orchestras. When they started playing vinyl records, the unions filed suit and everyone talked about 'the end of radio'.
Your comment stating: ..."anything not live and local is not radio"... is silly.

All across America there are jocks who voicetrack their shift and you literally can't tell the difference.

People are doing entertaining, compelling radio every day using voicetracking.

When Q95 plays a "best of Bob & Tom" it is nothing more than prerecorded programming (voicetracked) but they still dominate in the book..

The old school movie makers are screaming that "these aren't movies", yet Superman Returns has grossed nearly $400 million worldwide, and "Pirates of the Caribbean II" (laden with digital effects and digital characters) has grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide.

Voicetracking is not the death of radio. Bad programming will be the death of radio.

Everyone misses my BIG point about this. I "get" that success in radio means lots of money and ratings.

But just because stupid listeners can't tell the difference between local and live vs a tape or satellite feed isn't what I mean. If anything, it's contempt for the audience and their need for something spontaneous and immediate that is absolutely necessary for radio. Listeners are being duped.
Just because a jock takes 15 minutes to do his 5-hour midday show and it gets great ratings doesn't mean a thing to me. And it shouldn't mean anything to the listeners. Laying in your MP3's for the day isn't radio. It's winning by default.
But it's the only radio game in town for the most part and the 3 or 4 faithful who have plenty of time on their hands write down their favorite station like sheep and mail it in to Arbitron.

Again, movies and television are EMBRACING the technology to make a more compelling product.
Radio, sadly, can't claim that.

When someone claims that "voicetracking is getting really good" as an argument for radio's progress, I get a sick feeling in my stomach.

 

[Hionradio]

Layfayette,
We agree about the sad shape of what constitutes good radio. It seems that you miss the reason that it is all happening though. Consolidation is strangling the industry.

 

[Lafayette Unplugged]

I think it is "a" reason. I agree with that part of everyone's argument.

Certainly not the ONLY reason.

 

[cyberockn]

Sell it to me... !!

I have no experience with radio/broadcasting, but am an Entrepreneur, and I would love to get my hands on this station . As a long time listener of WTTS, I am sure that I could take what is currently working and make it oh so much better. I would love to freshen up the format a bit, and make it a truly independant station.

 

[radiowannab]

WTTS has so much potential. Great signal and a great history. However, terribly run and still catering to college kids. New management and new rocker format

 

[ChiefEngineer]

WTTS has so much potential. Great signal and a great history. However, terribly run and still catering to college kids. New management and new rocker format

Until the inheritance money runs out they can run it how they want.

Kind of like Jack FM with a difference.

We play what we want because we own it.

This means that the mom and pop operation of the 1950's and 1960's continues in some way because mom and pop made a lot of money. The inheritance left for the kids hasn't been wasted.

While I am NOT a fan of WTTS programming I appreciate that they aren't like everybody else.

Indy of Bloomington. Why change? They don't have to. Many are confused by their programming.

Based on the reality of corporate Indy that you have to "go after Indy and this format or that format" because it doesn't have the same "business plan" WTTS fails in the opinion of some.

This is the flawed reality that some expect WTTS to live up to. One might say let the hippie wierdos play their music and get high.

Why doesn't the Noblesville station serve Noblesville? Ofcourse there would be money in it but by serving Indy exclusively they make more money.


Does this mean they have no potential because they're doing all they can?

Look at WFBQ. Here is a station with no potential. Nowhere to go but down. I see billboards for Bob and Tom that don't mention the station. So big they think they are invincible. Russ, you need a morning team?

They got so big they didn't keep up with their audience. They beat Stern and yes Stern was on 2 years and had time to make inroads if he was going to. Stern had lower ratings than the classic rock music format with no big paycheck before Stern went on air. Russ paid attention.

Now this "signal poor fm" is making bigger inroads with "poor air staff that sound like college kids" because they are serving an audience and doing it well. (Only listen to aircheck from time to time...not a fan of the format.)

Here is a station with potential - WKLU. Waiting for Russ to buy 98.3 and add a second signal. Target another FBQ demo along with WKLU and own the market in this format.
Good luck!

 

[PTBoardOp94]

KLU would benefit from an additional class A signal, but I don't think 98.3 is the one. 95.9 or 96.3 would top my aquisition targets list.

98.3's stick is farther away from Indy than KLU's is.

I've said this once before in this topic, but I'll say it again. WTTS has a good mix of music. Better production/imaging and maybe replace a jock or two. Of all the "classic rockers" in Indy, WTTS is my favorite, musically. For production, I like Jack and KLU.