R
Radioman36
Guest
Is radio become so boring in Indiana that we have to spend our time talking about TV on the RADIO-INFO board? Note the name. That should be a hint as to what your topics should be about. Let’s get back to radio!
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
And what is the nature of your post?
No new Russ oasis Promotion this week...nothing happening.
No new Russ oasis Promotion this week...nothing happening.
It's a thin line between love and hate.
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
kd8hho said:
And if you could program anything you want - WITH the stipulation that you have to attract an audience that can SUPPORT your 'impressive' format - what would it be? And remember, strip clubs, head shops (unless we get the next round of the Olympics) and tatoo joints will not sustain a format in Indianapolis.
And we won't accept some obscure format because you MUST be able to sell your format in order to survive and CONTINUE to run that format.
I'd love to hear what you are trying to find out there that can also sustain the business side of radio.
First of Radioman36, let me join the other members of this board in offering my sincere congratulations on your elevation to board Moderator. I’m certain that your parents must be proud!Radioman36 said:
Now, to answer your question. Yes, with a few notable exceptions, radio is boring in Indiana. In fact, it's boring all around the entire free world and parts of Arkansas.
Since you have thrown down the gauntlet, what’s your take on the situation?
R
Radioman36
Guest
I’m really in no position to give an opinion on the state of Indiana radio since I no longer live in Indiana. I just like to keep up with what’s happening in Indiana today.
My travels have taught me that must radio today is uninspired and boring. I believe this stems from a lack of an understanding from the top down. Yes radio is a business and must make money but it is also an art form that must create passion in their listens. If profit margins become the only driving factor then a station quickly become stale. No one care about quality. Its time for stations to stop the drive for higher and higher margins (in some cases 48% to 50% below the line) and start once creating a product the consumer wants.
My travels have taught me that must radio today is uninspired and boring. I believe this stems from a lack of an understanding from the top down. Yes radio is a business and must make money but it is also an art form that must create passion in their listens. If profit margins become the only driving factor then a station quickly become stale. No one care about quality. Its time for stations to stop the drive for higher and higher margins (in some cases 48% to 50% below the line) and start once creating a product the consumer wants.
I tend to believe that Radio today isn't what is was in the past and my reasoning in this relates to the Cable industry. As cable TV became more prominent, people naturally started watching more to the point that they were listening less to Radio. I'm sure there are many other factors involved for example, the Internet, Cellular telephones, Compact discs,personal MP3's, technology advances whereas Radio stays where it is. Personally, I listen to Radio daily but not near what I used to say, 20 yrs ago. Mainly when I'm in my shop working, I will have the radio on. I dunno, its my understanding of what has happened to Radio. I'm just a regular guy, have never been involved with the Radio industry other than being a listener.
Radioman36 said:
If the 'consumer' wants to listen, and many do, then by default you will make money because advertisers want to be where the listeners are despite the format.
And for the sake of art - how do you propose to pay the bills for said radio station? An Obama bailout?
And how ridiculous would it be that some rich guy just buy a station and play it like his own personal jukebox with no regard to proper programming or community ... Oh wait - Indy already has that station ...
A
Ann Tenna
Guest
You can argue the benefits of relaxed ownership rules all you want (and I'm sure everyone here has), but the reality is that most radio stations in America are run by a group owner. Whether public or private, every owner or board of directors has a budget in place for the year, and as things trend down, they do what they can to increase revenues and lower expenses, and it's generally easier to lower expenses-no big news flash there. The one thing Radioman36 has correct is that profit is key, not programming. We all know it didn't used to be that way, but the reality of the industry today is you put profits first, then serving up some good program content is a distant second. The FCC still says our main mission is to "serve the public interest", and I'm sure many jocks want to do their best, but how many different ways can you intro that new Taylor Swift song and be compelling? I'd bet Smiley goes in every day and, in the back of his mind, wants to do the best show he can possibly do, same with Bob & Tom, Dave Wilson, Pidge, etc, etc., but the owners of the station are thinking "how much can I save if I get rid of that jock and just play music or syndicated content?" These days there's a delicate balance between live and local programming and the estimated "acceptable loss" of ratings/revenue by cutting personnel to trim expenses. That fine line between making your facility more efficient and cutting costs at the expense of the finished product has been crossed and appears to have been left in the dust.
"And how ridiculous would it be that some rich guy just buy a station and play it like his own personal jukebox with no regard to proper programming or community ... Oh wait - Indy already has that station ..."
Not being in the Radio business, I don't have a problem with Russ Oasis who I assume, you're talking about. If you're in the Radio biz then you have the advantage of speculating what is right or wrong with a particular station or station owner's practices through your experiences however, it doesn't make a difference to the average listener or in my case. I enjoy this forum and learn alot from it but, not enough to make me think that what I've learned from this forum is going to change the way I listen to Radio. I think its great that this forum exsists, it gives the public a view to the somewhat "behind the scene" and a soapbox for the pros...
Not being in the Radio business, I don't have a problem with Russ Oasis who I assume, you're talking about. If you're in the Radio biz then you have the advantage of speculating what is right or wrong with a particular station or station owner's practices through your experiences however, it doesn't make a difference to the average listener or in my case. I enjoy this forum and learn alot from it but, not enough to make me think that what I've learned from this forum is going to change the way I listen to Radio. I think its great that this forum exsists, it gives the public a view to the somewhat "behind the scene" and a soapbox for the pros...
And that station is not at all ridiculous. It has a 3 share, making it fourth among the class A stations in the market. Yes, signal has some correlation with ratings.radioho said:
And if you're going to rail on Oasis for not serving "his community" (Brownsburg), then you have to rail on Cumulus too for not serving their communities (Fishers, Lawrence) and Emmis too (Shelbyville).
:-*
W
WCWalker
Guest
Doesn't WSVX AM 1520 serve Shelbyville with local programming? At least they seem to have one local station.
Emmis doesn't run WSVX. So while you're right, it doesn't change my point 
T
TheColdHardTruth
Guest
PTBoardOp94 said:
Cumulus does not have a station licensed to Lawrence.
A COL change for 93.9 has been approved but not enacted.
PTBoardOp94 said:
Exactly. What's your point? They ALL should have licenses yanked and the FCC should start over by awarding licenses to organizations or individuals that while looking for profit, should be serving their COL. Otherwise, what's the point of licencing in a COL? Your gov't at work once again.
Now why doesn't President Osama bail these fatcats out too? They can't run a radio station - so give them some bailout cash so they can keep up the bad work like all the other industries that are run by people who don't know what they're doing.
The point is that the post I was responding was another of your attacks on Russ Oasis, not an attack on companies in general who moved-in sticks to the larger market.radioho said:
Of course, when gr8oldies comes along, he will remind us that the idea of the COL is outdated, etc., etc.
Since I was "invited", yes the COL concept is outdated, you can't make radio signals stay within the confines of a geographical area, and there is no legal definaition of "serving the city of license (to the exclusion of anywhere else the signal may reach). The idea that large numbers of people in Brownsburg work, shop and play exclusively in that bedroom community and never venture into the big, bad city is a little ridiculous. The law that says a station must program exclusively to its COL does not currently exist. If you want it to exist (and have each station's daily operations micromanaged from D.C., you will have to have Congress pass that law.
Stations like zpl, klu, et all should never have been given such large coverage area in the first place. No reason they need a signal that covers 100 mile radius when it's licensed in Brownsburg. All the signals licensed for brownsburg, noblesville, greenwood, shelbyville etc should not have the power to even reach Indy - otherwise, why even use the COL concept?
So, no local basketball for the burbs, no weather/emergency alerts other than those that cover a 100 mile radius, no community service - just generic jukeboxes.
Owners should not only have to pay for the license, but should be REQUIRED to ALSO pay the COL an annual fee or privilege TAX for using that town's PUBLIC AIRWAVES. The fee/tax should be even larger if the station abandons the COL to moves it's studios out of the county. Why should an individual profit from something is suppose to belong to the PUBLIC with no return to the city?
So, no local basketball for the burbs, no weather/emergency alerts other than those that cover a 100 mile radius, no community service - just generic jukeboxes.
Owners should not only have to pay for the license, but should be REQUIRED to ALSO pay the COL an annual fee or privilege TAX for using that town's PUBLIC AIRWAVES. The fee/tax should be even larger if the station abandons the COL to moves it's studios out of the county. Why should an individual profit from something is suppose to belong to the PUBLIC with no return to the city?
- Status