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WHAT'S GOING ON AT COX JAX?

There's no disputing the "facts," Privacy, if one just looks at Arbitrons. But since this a thread about Cox Radio, one can't help but recall the poor decisions that were made. But more on that in just a bit.

The oldies format of 5 years ago is no more. It had a great, long run but it needed to be revitalized. And come to think of it, this can be said of virtually every format from time to time. On the plus side, Cox marketed Eagle very well - they spent some bucks. The playlist came from their other properties that were doing well and was road tested. Surely, they had no place to go but up. And let's face it, most radio in Jax at the time Eagle was in the doldrums. Eagle was new and it boosted the station.

And while lots of oldies stations across the country were trending down, I've always felt what happened here was accelerated because of one poor decision after the next. A new PD was brought in to follow orders only. Perhaps Mr. Walker is a creative guy but you would know it from what eventually happened. The Beatles may test well but does that mean you play them twice an hour? The bottom line is Cox Radio wasn't hot on the format. They certainly didn't understand it or how to program it. The buck stops with them.

And so while many of us rant for a return of the format to Jax- remember it's a hybrid pop/classic hits type format. There's a lot of variety in the music covering up to 3 decades. I'm convinced there is potential for the format in Jax if it's done by those who understand it.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
 
And Such it is.. The Era that will never return Happy Thanksgiving to you John and all my other friends in Jacksonville and Gainesville.. THE BIG APE!

Ode To The BIG APE


South of Jacksonville near Doctor's Lake,

east of seventeen, stood the mighty BIG APE.


Built in the fifties by a man named Brennan,

for decades and decades the hits were spinnin'.


The building had secret doorways and a swimming pool

and a fountain with copper coils to keep the transmitter cool.


The pool was covered over, it's kind of sad,

no more pretty female listeners, bikini clad.


The alumnus are scattered far and wide,

but BIG APE stories abound, some true, some lies.


The one that no one will ever forget,

is about the owner going down in his private jet.


His pretty miss pilot was attending the stick;

could the playboy have been dippin' his wick?


True or not, the BIG APE had an indelible label,

as the station that played on and off the turntables.


Then came the Kaplans, Sis and Stan,

and the BIG APE became famous across the land.


Raft races, beach patrol, skimpy bikini contests,

if the BIG APE did it, you could count on the best!


Not since the seventies has there been a Jacksonville station,

that could claim the former Big Ape’s audience domination.


It's DJs were legends, talented and fun,

They came from all over to play in the sun.


Wheeler, Murphy, Mc Keever and Plaster

Dickie Do and Trippey Rippy...no one could talk faster!


Dr. John, Bill Duncan, and Alan Moore,

and, of course, The Greaseman who the listeners still adore!


So the legend lives on of the AM station,

that gave it's listeners a daily vacation.


They forgot about their day in, day out grind,

prizes, hits, and fun DJs were theirs to find.


Rumor has it late night ‘neath the "old" APE tower,

which radiated fifty thousand watts of power.

Voices can be heard in the winds that whine,

saying "My favorite dial position is sixty-nine".
 
Well said. Got a little tingle and almost a flashback.
THOSE WERE THE DAYS, MY FRIEND.
WE THOUGHT THEY'D NEVER END.

What a troop of great jocks went through that place!
So many legends are on the beach. What if a bold, visionary owner
created a format called THE ALL TIME GREATEST HITS and played everything from
the beginning of rock and roll to today and put these guys on the air to present it?

(I have registered the concept) but have little fear that ANY owner or "expert", for that matter, would steal such a revolutionary, all encompassing classic top-forty format. The clone-makers would all scoff and belittle him for choosing not to play the game. No thinking allowed, you know.

The most innovative things radio does is trade frequencies, become the "new" this when the "old" that idea didn't work, or coin some noble brand identity for a schlock format. Eagle, Jack, Mix, Kiss, Kick, Warm.

I am blinded by the brilliance but I sure do miss the good old days when there were entertaining people and dynamic presentations playing great music.

The music is all so manufactured sounding and mono-dimensional and the presentations of
most radio formats are about as entertaining as watching mold grow.

UN savable because it doesn't believe it should be saved.

LONG LIVE THE (ORIGINAL) BIG APE AND THE SPIRIT OF GREAT RADIO.
 
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