WHJJ TO FM: INEVITIBLE OR NEVER?

[Dighton Rockhead]

Over on the Boston board, there's quite a lot of discussion over a Boston Globe article speculating on the prospect of sports giant 850-WEEI soon finding a home on Boston's FM dial.

As much as Holland, myself, or others might like the idea of a "WHJJ-FM", I'm not hopeful it's ever going to happen.

Clear Channel's infamous Christmastime house-cleaning at the end of 2006, where they basically gutted the station of almost all its local talent...in my opinion...demonstrates that Clear Channel really doesn't care enough about WHJJ to make a serious effort anymore.

I would love to get proven wrong on this one...but...If I had to answer my own question, I'd say "never".

 

[N1WVQ]

Slim to no chance. The idea of WHJJ on F.M. is merely one of this board. Talk radio in Providence is WPRO. WHJJ is the answer to a joke. Please, no comments about how WHJJ's talent is some of the top-tier nationwide & therefore is worthy of an F.M. signal. I've never heard anyone up here say they listen to Hannity & I've heard people say they won't watch or listen to something with Beck. WHJJ is Limbaugh, Pawsox, U.R.I. & whatever Survivor girl's name is. Not enough to warrant 50kW of F.M.!

 

[riradio02842]

WHJJ is Limbaugh, Pawsox, U.R.I. & whatever Survivor girl's name is. Not enough to warrant 50kW of F.M.!

The programming on WSNE does not warrant 50kw signal either. So now we're back to the beginning of the argument.

 

[Holland Cooke]

JR: Point-of-Order?

Please, no comments about how WHJJ's talent is some of the top-tier nationwide & therefore is worthy of an F.M. signal.

And do the new rules here also prohibit mention of how, in other markets, when these shows moved to an FM, that the FM trumped the-AM-those-shows-moved-from and-never-looked-back?

 

[N1WVQ]

WHJJ is Limbaugh, Pawsox, U.R.I. & whatever Survivor girl's name is. Not enough to warrant 50kW of F.M.!

The programming on WSNE does not warrant 50kw signal either. So now we're back to the beginning of the argument.

Sure it does as Clear Channel's stopgap against Citadel having all the female listeners. WSNE-FM can take from both. What will WHJJ on 93.3 take? A little bit from WPRO? So C.C. will be ALL male in terms of demos.

 

[N1WVQ]

Re: JR: Point-of-Order?

Please, no comments about how WHJJ's talent is some of the top-tier nationwide & therefore is worthy of an F.M. signal.

And do the new rules here also prohibit mention of how, in other markets, when these shows moved to an FM, that the FM trumped the-AM-those-shows-moved-from and-never-looked-back?

When you posted certain markets that had an F.M. yakker (besides Pittsburg I forgot the other 2), only Pittsburg's station was nearing the A.M. but in the overalls (which is what we're given here), KDKA is still higher than WPGB. As for the other 2 markets, the A.M. was beating the commercial F.M. (which is the comparison here) but not the NPR affiliate. Now here's the question: will it play in Providence? Will WHJJ's syndicrap play here? It hasn't so far. Before the embargo, WHJJ was at what, a 2? Not exactly lighting it up. On F.M., what? A 4? Maybe? Then again, if people aren't interested then they won't listen & it could shoot down to a 1. Ironically if there were a hole for a talker on F.M., it appears it would be NPR. I think I heard they were pulling about a 3 in the 12+ a couple of years back.

Saying people will abandon WPRO for WHJJ-FM is like saying they'll abandon Casserta's for Papa John's! People may go to Papa John's but they RAVE about Casserta's. It's a point of destination! WPRO is a point of destination! It has the Providence area figured out: we're all legends in our own minds. People want to talk about how the mayor screwed up something or which General Assembly member was caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

If local talk was so overdone & the real way to make money is national but apparently we're all too stupid around here to realize it, how do WPRO, WSAR, WOON & WNRI stay on, let alone with over 12 hours a day of local programming in the cases of WPRO (16 hours M-F) & WSAR (13 hours M-F)? Why is WALE trying? You know, I've heard more about WALE recently than I have about WHJJ!

If WHJJ wants to win, they'd better fix what's on the signal before they fix where the signal is! C.C. isn't the company to do that.

 

[Holland Cooke]

Name That Tune

will it play in Providence? Will WHJJ's syndicrap play here?

Snapshot from the unglamorous consulting life: EVERY market thinks "it's different here."
Turn on the radio, and they're making-the-same-mistakes-you-heard last stop.

That Tea Party crowd at the RI Capitol April 15 suggests that talk radio's demagogic shtick resonates as-well-here as most-other-places.

Saying people will abandon WPRO for WHJJ-FM is like saying they'll abandon Casserta's for Papa John's!

Having worked a year in the Buffalo market, I can assure you this: Although the acknowledged birthplace of Buffalo Wings was The Anchor Bar -- just-around-the-corner from WKBW -- THE BEST wings are at Duff's, Sheridan and Millersport, Cheektowaga. It WAS worth the drive.

Meanwhile, back in radio...

I won't even try to capsulize/summarize/risk-misstating the superb presentation Phil Boyce made on this topic at the Talkers New Media Seminar. Video @ http://www.podjockey.com/2009/03/16/talkers-magazine-presents-new-media-seminar-2009/

Put something/anything on FM, and you expose it to the-other-80%-of-listeners.

WPRO is a point of destination!

Having toiled in that particular vineyard lo those many years, in WPRO's heyday, I sure "get" that.

I remember (remember), when we used to play shoot-'em-up (shoot-'em-up, bang-bang, baaaaaaaaybeeee).
"Cowboys To Girls," Intruders

 

[Moonstruck]

I don't know what my opinion is about all this. CC is heavy on males but Coast is beyond the point where they can make any impact even if numbers do spike once in a while. Matty's music is CHR all the way and Pitbull sounds positively stupid on that station. Putting WSNE on FM and going more local means spending more money and also putting more time and effort into programming. Let's face it. There's very little actual local programming being done on any station in that building other than HJY. I don't see CC making any moves that involve beefing up personnel or occupying anyone's time with programming decisions and duties.

 

[Holland Cooke]

The only thing inevitable is never.

I don't see CC making any moves that involve beefing up personnel or occupying anyone's time with programming decisions and duties.

Me either.
To clarify: My comments were apropos simulcasting WHJJ as-it-now-exists on the 93.3 signal.
Doing so would introduce zero new expense, and take all Coast-associated Programming expense to zero.
Once-having-been-responsible for managing that-very-budget myself, I can tellya that ASCAP/BMI alone is big bucks.

The REAL reason even-a-move-that-opportune likely won't happen is that Clear Channel is just SO paralyzed by debt. Status quo, WSNE is cash-flowing SOMETHING, and bankers are content to count peanuts rather than elephants.