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WHLD Perspective

J

Jay_Surly

Guest
Count me as one of the seemingly few on this board who thinks WHLD is worth listening to, despite the noted attention to formatic details. The station cannot be heard at my home until it increases power around 7:30, but I listen while driving and find the topics discussed on the morning show to be interesting. Admittedly, NPR, WBFO and WNED-AM are my first choices for news in the morning, but WHLD gets a portion of my listening while driving to work and appointments.

Best regards,

Janos Surlikevich
 
In the overall picture, the current WHLD is certainly an improvement over its former programming.

With that said, I'm surprised that they didn't "hit the ground running" with better overall production values, stronger local segments, and better use of local resources. Unfilled top-of-the-hour segments are inexcusable. Have SOMEBODY do some headlines or SOMETHING.

And don't tell me about costs. A $499.00 Dell with free audio editing software is your total out-of-pocket cost - assuming you already have a microphone and pre-amp.

Their saving grace will be the roster of guests that they can attract for their local segments. People in WNY are waiting for someone to offer some answers to the continuing governmental nightmare that sucks up tax money and drives businesses out of NY.

Unfortunately, with a Democratic majority in the County Legislature, and Democratic control of the City of Buffalo, I expect most of the local content will center on denunciations of Joel Giambra, Satish Mohan, and Corporate America. Important issues like streamlining local government, reforming state government, and funding education won't get the serious, bi-partisan discussion they need in this particular forum. The city vs. suburbs vein will be mined for ratings nuggets.

They'll let AAR handle the Bush-bashing.
 
Unfortunately, and I've seen this before, WHLD will not be the savior of free speech that some would like to think it is. It will remain a small-town sounding station until it runs out of money and reverts back to the previous style of "programming".

The dream of many a broadcaster (me not included) is to own a piece of the action---a station. I just hope Ray Marks hasn't mortgaged the farm to fulfil this "dream".
 
> Count me as one of the seemingly few on this board who
> thinks WHLD is worth listening to, despite the noted
> attention to formatic details. The station cannot be heard
> at my home until it increases power around 7:30, but I
> listen while driving and find the topics discussed on the
> morning show to be interesting. Admittedly, NPR, WBFO and
> WNED-AM are my first choices for news in the morning, but
> WHLD gets a portion of my listening while driving to work
> and appointments.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Janos Surlikevich
>

Janos, You are objective to a fault. It's good that you find WHLD worth listening to, but I have a question, the answer to which may indicate just how long you'll have the privelage of listening to the station.

How well do you think WHLD will do in the ratings? Do you think it will be in the top ten 12+ Persons? Where will it place 25-54 Persons? 35-64 Persons? Let's be fair and use the Spring 2006 book which begins in April.

Although you may think we're obsessed with ratings on this board, the fact is, unless a radio station shows some measure of success in the ratings, the owners and managers move on to other things and change the format. Whether it's AM, FM, music or news-talk, the bottom line rules. As it has been and shall forever be.

Janos, it's good to see you back on the board, but unfortunately, I cannot agree with your assessment. My recommendation to you is, enjoy WHLD while it's here, because if what we've heard in its first week is any indication, it has a limited shelf-life. My best regards to you too, sir.
 
I don't think we're going to see WHLD end up in the top 10 in the Buffalo market. But it doesn't have to. Remember, WHLD had so few listeners as a brokered station that it didn't even register in the Arbitron ratings. If it gets a one share in the Spring book, Ray Marks and his gang should be dancing in the streets. They will have taken a station that had nothing and created an audience, albeit a small one. If KB gets a one share, the move to liberal talk can be viewed as a failure because the station will have lost audience from the previous format. It all comes down to how you look at it.

As long as the Marks group pays its LMA fee to Citadel, it's my belief WHLD as a liberal talker will continue. They're not in this to make money. If they do, fine. But this group wants its ideology to have a voice in this market, which it hadn't before. The only thing that would sink WHLD is if the group running it can't financially sustain it. But if they're able to secure just enough from ads to break even, they'll continue. Obviously, such a scenario is not acceptable to the corporate radio types. That's why I see WHLD outlasting WWKB.
 
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