What's going on with WRKO?

[PTBoardOp94]

Here's an a idea. WHY don't stations hire more competent people to monitor their airwaves

There's no money in paying someone to monitor the station. Automation works fine, everywhere but iHeart Boston apparently.

I don't know for sure about the HCRN shows early mornings, but the Premiere shows that run 9am to midnight are absolutely simple to automate.

 

[Motown]

Overnite on RKO it's the same 'BZ news feed over and over. Talk1200 repeats the same 'BZ news feed over and over for hours during the day. In fact, the same 'BZ news feed heard at 2:30am on RKO is repeated at 6:30am on Talk1200. I only listen to RKO at nite so I can't comment on what goes on during the day. I do find it amusing that at nite RKO constantly promotes the Jim Polito show, heard mornings on Talk1200.

The bottom line is you listen anyway and have done so and will continue to do so. Radio will never be what is was. The money isn’t there. If you are an average listener then you will continue to listen so why invest in doing anything differently. Again there is no financial payback.

 

[raccoonradio]

Many radio listeners do care but they also know there are many other alternatives out there for listeners--youtube, spotify, sat. radio, audiobooks, podcasts and so on. There will always be changes, for better or for worse, and most listeners who embrace a certain station and/or format will move on once that station changes...even after a "protest". (Remember the 2nd or 3rd ep. of WKRP that had beautiful music fans coming to the station to protest? When WTKK went from smooth jazz to talk, one of their hosts suggested disgruntled listeners head down to the station and picket--get 'em on the news. Ha!) Talked to a friend recently and mentioned the whole EMF to 104.9 situation. She said, "oh, OK, I was wonderin' what was going on!" Not like Tanger's folks let people know what was going on though the old format is still on a stream. And the website has a legal notice about the proposed sale.

Computers in a closet to beam out satellite talk, sports, religion, rock etc. iHeart could and has fill the overnights with a stream of one of the iHeart radio channels or podcasts (just fire the legal ID in). When a legacy rock station with local music goes away, people can go to a college station or a stream like MarkSkinRadio, BumbleBeeRadio (Kirsten Eck), etc. Maybe a 130 watt college station (also heard online) can "keep it local" for the North Shore now that 104.9 has gone K-Love. The live DJ on such a station can mention events in the community like the Beverly block party today...(and I will..)

 

[MarcB]

It's not just an iHeart thing. There is a Classic Hits station I listen to and for the past several months they've been playing the previous day's weather forecast a couple times an hour during the AM hours. I contacted their VP/Program Director on IG and she never responded. I should call and leave a voice-mail for her. (Of course based on her IG postings she spends most of her free-time when not at the radio station and working at the CT School of Broadcasting with her boyfriend or her doggo).

Another glitch with the above mentioned Classic Hits station is that they'll abruptly switch to what I call "test-mode." A song will begin playing already in progress and at low volume. Then there will be an old liner played very loudly. Then another song will begin playing ant low volume. When in "test mode" there is also no voice tracked jocks, hourly news from USA Radio Network (Something I wish they'd drop all together), or commercials (not that they have many to begin with). Sometimes they'll switch back within a few minutes. Other times "test mode" will last for hours. I honestly have no idea why "test mode" even exists. The station by the way is a computer in a broom closet.

 

[Deleted User]

ya know I never hear any screw ups on SXM

 

[nowradioguy]

For those of you who think radio today is as good as it can be, Holland Cooke penned an interesting article for talkers.com:

Monday Memo: Review Airchecks... Later. | TALKERS magazine - talk media trade

By Holland Cooke Consultant BLOCK ISLAND, RI -- The radio coaching concept seems quaint now: The single-station PD (remember them?) met with local talent (remember them?) at regular intervals to review a recent show. As a young DJ, I was fortunate enough to work for two PDs who sat me dow ...

www.talkers.com

 

[raccoonradio]

SXM--had XM for awhile but I dumped as I didn't listen often. I did get 3 free months
when I bought a slightly used car. That expired and I got an offer in the mail--one year at $6 (when you add tax/fee) per month.
What the heck, I'll use it for Beatles channel, blues, decade channels or whatever for that price.
The package doesn't include every MLB team's games like the one I had a couple years ago but I haven't really been into baseball lately and last time I checked the local team is in last place... and I can get the games on 93.7 anyway if I did want to hear them. Still, I might follow some of the playoffs.

I did see options like getting MLB streaming audio for $3/month and heck, unsubscribe when season ends... no big deal. A monthly TuneIn Premium package, or a different SXM tier would also get me this. Anyway I do have SiriusXM again. It would cost about $20/month for this package, a year from now.

And speaking of baseball I still get a kick out of the fact that since its debut in Aug of 2009, I believe WBZ-FM 98.5 The Sports Hub has yet to run any baseball play by play.
Nothing.Talk but not PBP.

 

[Cap-n Spackle]

What's amusing about the local station that doesn't have the local baseball rights not broadcasting baseball?

 

[raccoonradio]

What's amusing about the local station that doesn't have the local baseball rights not broadcasting baseball?

I would think most sports stations across the country would carry baseball at some point; even if they don't have a major league team there could be ESPN or Westwood One "game of the week", playoffs, a minor league team or whatever. Of course in some areas there may be only one sports station and sooner or later they get a game. WEEI of course being tied in to the Red Sox, and (used to be) an ESPN affiliate (even just the AM) ensured baseball would be on.

You could have an ESPN station in the boonies with no major league rights, but a "Sun game of the week". Just meant that it was interesting Sports Hub has had no baseball. So if Sox don't make playoffs, at least some of those games went to WEEI.
WRKO for a time had the rights to the Sox, sometimes shared with EEI...
I remember one time 1510 (WWZN or whatever the calls were) got an NLCS game to carry (WEEI or WRKO refused), as if the network or MLB wanted to ensure it would clear in Boston. Those days are over..people can get games in other ways including paying for MLB audio.

Some have complained that things like Stanley Cup final or World Series games were not on Boston radio. People do have other ways. But if offered a World Series game not involving the Sox were on, and WEEI refused it, would it at least be offered to Sports Hub?
Maybe it doesn't air at all.

 

[Cap-n Spackle]

Can't recall if it was RKO or 1200 since they often run the same superficial news summaries, but yesterday the young-sounding female news reader said the the Bruins have signed David Krejci to a new contract after he spent last season playing in "his native Chechnya".

 

[nowradioguy]

Can't recall if it was RKO or 1200 since they often run the same superficial news summaries, but yesterday the young-sounding female news reader said the the Bruins have signed David Krejci to a new contract after he spent last season playing in "his native Chechnya".

Both 'RKO and Talk1200 get their "news" feed from WBZ. I put the term in quotes because the news is updated rather infrequently.