what's wrong with vegas radio????

[only1deejayman]

first, too many dam spanish stations, too many dam hip/hop rap crap stations, too many first time deejays, too many coked out PD's & MD's.

second, not enough street promo's, not enough solid bits, caller bits, local radio interaction.

third, radio that's programmed out of LA, NY or SF. CBS, Clear Channel, Bogus. others.

fourth, quality deejays that give a dam everytime they open the mic, that aren't just calling it in everyday, aren't boring, girlish, and don't talk over the music, and know how to do a cold intro, talk to a post, and can do a "LIVE" read. christ, where did you "learn radio"????

*these comments are my own opinion, and cannot be changed by anyone other than myself. I am my own attorney. oh and ROCK ON!!!! a former radio deejay not from vegas. HA HA HA!!!*

 

[Demodave]

1) This market is 24% Hispanic. That is why there are four FM Spanish stations and all of them have a decent share of the market. As for hip-hop, KLUC and KVEG have a huge share of the market and bill well. First-time deejays...probably. But every market has that...even LA. And the trend on most stations is to have jocks that don't "sound" like jocks. Unless it's an oldies station, I agree with that thinking. And coked out MD's and PD's? Maybe in 1985....but certainly not now.

2) I agree. Radio everywhere has lost that "local" interaction. But PPM is going to reduce the airing of listener phone calls even more. Less clutter is the new mindset with PPM.

3) That's corporate radio and today's economy. Lotus is 100% local on our music stations, except for two specialty shows on The Point. Rockline on Wednesdays and Alice Cooper on Sundays.

4) Unless you're looking for "Boss" style radio, we have some great jocks that do talk to the audience without shouting at them. Are some of the jocks in Vegas nothing more than cookie-cutter liner jocks? Sure. But that is the demand from programming. At Lotus, the jocks are given the freedom to bring their style and creativity to the air. Kim Kelly with her vast musical knowledge, Carlota who has a knack for talking to the KOMP listeners...not at them. Gooch who writes every bit he does...not a single punchline comes from a joke sheet. And there is more talent here at Lotus and elsewhere in Vegas.

So all in all, is Vegas radio the best in the country? No. But does it stack up against other markets? Absolutely! We have some great talent here. And all of the problems you mention are heard in almost every other radio market...not just Vegas.

 

[only1deejayman]

Thanks for the info, demodave. I agree with your info about Lotus, I prefer KOMP over THE POINT, but someone please tell the PD at KOMP to get rid of BIG MEX... he sound's and acts amateur. Carlota could move to nites and it would be easy for her. Nick James could do over-nites, he just doesn't sound ready for the nite shift. Mel is very good as is Laurie Steele, & Rock Hard w/Kristen. KOMP has a great female jock presence. BTW, why isn't their a link on the lotus website to email PD or MD???? every radio station has a way to email upper staff???? Thanks.

 

[terryjames]

I have to respectfully disagree with Demodave's suggestion that Vegas radio stacks up against other markets, unless he's referring to markets 100+. From his post it looks like he's employed by Lotus which understandably gives him some bias. Vegas radio sounds exactly what it is, small market and I sure wouldn't use KOMP as an example of good radio. First their imaging is stale. Simpson drops and movie drops in sweepers? It's not 1995 anymore! Every day part of that station is bad. I've never heard such a music intensive morning shift (notice I didn't call it a show) with what, 4 people? They must play at least 10 songs an hour. How is that even possible with that many people? The midday chick at best could be a solid weekender or swing jock. Afternoon drive is just terrible. Not creative, unfunny and why does that guy always yell and sound like he's reading when he's speaking? Mix sounds decent for a CHR but their morning show is very weak. Point isn't much better although the midday chick there is decent, they should get rid of that afternoon duo and just go solo. Extreme mornings are terrible as well as the rest of their dayparts. And why is there no decent local sports radio in the gambling capital of the world? But to suggest that Vegas talent wise is comparable to equal size markets like Orlando, San Antonio, Kansas City or San Jose is absolutely ludicrous!

 

[mailman ron]

Terry,
Couldn't agree more on sports radio...talk about sophomoric...heard a 15 minute bit on pooping your pants on Tuesday...real classy and informative...who are they programming to, 13 year old's?..Coming from the Bay Area, I only listen in the shower in the afternoons for background noise...this isn't even college-level crap...when your commercials are strictly adult bookstores and "classy" strip joints, I guess it's a clue to the demographic they're after...Very disappointing...ESPN 1100, please listen to KNBR in San Francisco to get an idea what sports talk is supposed to sound like.

 

[buzzdemming]

So all in all, is Vegas radio the best in the country? No. But does it stack up against other markets? Absolutely! We have some great talent here. And all of the problems you mention are heard in almost every other radio market...not just Vegas.

I agree completely that corporate radio (cheap channel and their ilk) have destroyed terrestrial radio. The horrible voice tracking and the canned playlists make for a boring uninspired product. Even the stations that care enough to have 24/7 jocks can’t rise above the mediocrity left in the wake of these uncaring oligarchies, since they have to follow the same boring spins the corporate scum do- like cattle being led to slaughter.
And forget that stupid HD-the world’s dumbest idea. A compromised signal squeezing the life from your moneymaker? The fools that adopted this crap to, I guess, combat satellite and iPods, should be taken out back and have the crap beaten out of them. Weak and pointless, way to go Clear Channel!
This is my town and I will support it. I won’t listen to voice-tracked nonsense, but my since my alternatives are limited, I chose those who have the guts to crack the mic daily and spin what they’re told to. Except for M&M of course. I am human after all.

 

[vegasradio]

What's wrong with vegas radio is no one(well hardly on one) does live radio 24/7. There are no training grounds to "pass the torch" to and the pay has gotten so bad that you have beginners where pros used to be. There are many talented people who aren't working and it's a mess. Radio used to be "theatre of the mind." Vegas used to give away houses, cars, vacations, etc. Radio used to be interactive and fun. Now it's syndicated and voice tracked to death. There's no "human touch." You can't even call a request line anymore because no one is LIVE anymore...When a radio station does a remote, they have "street teamers" most of the time. I remember growing up where radio was live and fun 24/7 and truly competitive...Back in the day Lotus and Western Cities sure had some "radio wars." Just like big business, the bean counters don't care about talent, just how to increase their bonus. When a mom and pop comes along and gets back to basics, it will show everyone how truly screwed up radio is right now. Let's face it, satellite has gone as far as they can, it's not local. How long can they continue to pay Howard 100 mil a year? Radio will make a comeback in a year or 2. It's about TIME!

 

[Jay F]

I disagree that we have too many Hip Hop stations. KVEG is really the only one. Both KLUC and NOW are Top 40 stations. "Good Girls Go Bad" is not hip hop. Even "Fire Burnin' On The Dance Floor" is more pop than anything. Yes, they both play hip hop, but they are songs that are big on the CHR chart.

As for Spanish language, both KISF and KWID get big ratings. KQRT is quietly moving up each and every book. But both KRGT and KRRN are bottom feeders and I think one of them should switch formats. Both Univison and Entravision do have a few English language stations in other markets. I would like to see Univision flip KRGT to a Hispanic targeted Hip Hop similar to their #1 rated KBBT/San Antonio. Although since KWID is now more 80s-90s based maybe this will help make room for KRGT since I believe their music goes back further.

Maybe KRRN could switch to a Jammin' Oldies "MEGA" type format, I can't help but notice how good XHRM/San Diego is doing with PPM. This is one of the few format holes left in LV. I think it could be big, especially with a live slow jams dedication show at night.

As for LV sounding smaller than it's market size. I listen to a lot of out of market radio online and I don't hear much difference. I hear a lot of generic sounding voicetracking. At night I often hear 100% automation with no voicetracking (that often sounds better than VT). Usually the most exciting thing about listening to an out of state station is to discover which station voice they use. Other than that, many stations sound cookie cutter and generic as Hell. Every now and then I'll discover something that really stands out (there are still some good morning shows out there), but overall LV blends in with other markets, It's the ERA that's bad, more than the market.

One station I listen to sometimes if I'm up late is talk KCMO-AM/Kansas City. I like their morning show with Chris Stigall. He sticks with the serious issues and not the fluff topics. I listened yesterday morning and what a surprise, filling in for Chris it was none other than Jon-David Wells.

 

[mel@komp]

thanks for the compliment only1deejayman!

I was born in San Jose and worked in bay area radio for 9yrs or so before I moved to Vegas and the last few years everything was tracked. It's SO great to work at komp and do live radio again!

 

[Pinegroves]

I must agree, we got these young people out there "running the board and voice tracking", calling themselves "Disc Jockeys" having never said a LIVE word over the air. Sounds like a big plug for KOMP from Mel and Demo but rightfully so, I must say Lotus and Tony Bonnicci is or are the most considerate, caring for their employees company. Demo Dave tell us how long some of you guys have been with Lotus. I was part time there in 1988 and so many of you guys are still there. One more thing, their Sports/Talk stations, the local guys, don't stack up too well with the network boys, but I guess that's understood. Kudos to Tony. By the way I'm not trying to get a job with you guys.

 

[Demodave]

In January, I'll celebrate my 21st year here at Lotus. And from sales to admin to programming, we have many folks that have been here just as long. In radio, that is unheard of! There must be a reason...