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Who Has The Wuuuurst Radio?

Very good point about there not being many places for new DJ's to start these days. Do many even want to?

I mentioned online radio earlier. I'm noticing that there are indeed young people interested in radio, but realize it's not much of a viable profession anymore, so they're doing it online, DJ'ing, programming, etc. as a hobby. Some sound great, some not so much. I think that's where we are seeing more and more young people who would like to broadcast going.
 
yes there are college kids who want to be in radio. needing a job they are turned off by the lack of opportunity. many are not willing or cant make enough money working in the promotions department to follow a career path that ends in no guarantee. they may be ready for a weekend shift but cutbacks leave them out again. so they give up. online stations are a fun project but all of us could have one and only mama would listen. there is no money in them. broadcast stations may not be around forever but they will always be a part of the lives of the readers of this board.
 
Well,...let me weigh-in again, as only...I can! Sour Grapes? Well,...no not really sour about anything, except maybe all these alledged Programmers netting a paycheck for single digit ratings, when they use to be doubles,...with eaze! Nope,...not sour grapes,...but yet, it is I,...Scooter Lesley,....The Great Watermelon...Of Truth! One of the other members of the Think Tank had spouted,..."Is there anything more irritating, than Zach & Marne?". Sure,...fingernails on a blackboard, Nickelback songs, an acceptence speech by Jodie Foster....the list goes on. Yes, MY 102 with a massive 3.5 share. Which pencilneck at CC would like to take credit/blame for that? Zach & Marne do flap about everything TOMA, but they obviously have someone of Infant Embryo Wisdom, and Toddler Tutelage,....yelling edit,...be concise! That, along with the other two major plagues:
#1 The Lack of Credible Ushering, and #2 The Pollution of the Playlist. It wouldn't take long to fix all that ails, but you'd have to hire someone who has the smarts. As I have ranted before, you need a full airstaff to Usher-in a playlist full of all new product. The stuff has to be talked about a lot, and with the voices of credibility. #2: Since you have a massive three share, who of the "suits" should give a Rat's that you report to the trades or labels. The Pollution of The Playlist is all the crap tracks that aren't AC Pop. Worthless Country crossovers, Hip-hop Rap crap, that belongs on a juvenal Churban or better yet, not played on any station. All that's new...needs an edit! If it was all good AC Pop songs, you wouldn't have so much punch-out!
Trying to make everyone happy, by playing all that has just been released only helps the labels. All those budget cuts, barely three on staff, botching the flip, covering up at Christmas,...behold...would you like fries...with your failure?
 
I have no "sour grapes" on a personal level - strictly the "business" level.
And its difficult to be too specific when you are still in the business (as I am)

But the issue isnt when bad air talent is let go.
It's when GOOD air talent gets pushed out and BAD (ie cheaper) air talent replaces them.
There WERE stand-up comic wannabes working the late shifts in the 80s and early 90s
And they werent good jocks!
But now - they're still not good, but THEY are in afternoon drive and the GOOD jocks are selling insurance!
THATS my issue.
Wabbit said it perfectly: "the never ending pursuit of the bottom line, the raping and killing of the golden goose."
 
It is sad to see the industry go the way it's going with cuts in quality staff and more automation, etc. But what's equally bad is that radio listeners, myself included, will continue to listen anyway.

I'll be the first to admit that, unfortunately, as much as people don't want to say that "music" makes the radio business, it does in many cases. People will listen to a station that plays the music they like the most. For instance, I listen almost entirely to X98.5 in Greenville (flipping occassional to a CHR or, yes, even the poorly managed MY 102.5). By listening to X98.5, I'm not supporting radio jocks at all. There are no on-air personalities and the skeleton staff they have are presumably mostly sales and someone making the playlist decisions. And I do it with no ill will towards radio talent. I just like the music. I'm not going to listen to a different station that has good air talent if I don't like the music they play.

Of course, even on the stations that have good, quality air-talent, if the management making the decisions on which way to go with music programming doesn't do their jobs, it doesn't really matter how good the air talent is, the station is not going to be what it may have once been when real music loving people and not the business suits were making more decisions.

All that said, what is an outsider like myself to do? We just put up with it. There wasn't a single station in Greenville that I would listen to on a regular basis prior to X98.5 because, primarily, of the playlists. Sure, I think everyone would agree that having great personalities and wide ranging, well thought out playlists is the golden egg. But it's all about money now and if people continue to listen, what do the "suits" care?

Prior to X98.5, I listened more to 102.5. Not because I thought it was a great station by any means. The way they flipped and the generaly crappy air-talent and poorly thought out playlist aside, they still played more music that I enjoyed than any other station.I would constantly flip to CHR or Chuck (another personality-less station) because the playlist was all over the place and didn't fit with their "Fresh" image.

But whether you're talking about B93.7, Rock 101, WSSL, the Planet or even a powerhouse like JAMZ (which I cannnot comment on the quality of their air talent), people will put up with what's put out there if there's at least "some" music/programming they like. The only alternative is satellite or their iPods.

I don't even think X98.5 is "perfect" by any means. But I like 80% of the music, so I'll listen. The industry bigwigs have us by the balls and they have little incentive to change as long as they're making money.
 
Crappy Air Talent Announcers: Well,...Freq-ee, we have so much to choose from. Gordon, Wab, AWP69, Gate,...any of y'all wanna take this from here,...and I'll just weigh-in later.
Scooter Lesley.
 
freqdev said:
what is generaly crappy air-talent?  what makes air-talent crappy?  lol
Click to expand...

Sorry for the generalization (and maybe the use of the word "talent" was not the best way to put it), but I'm just referring to air personalities that don't really have much....well, personality. Like with Zac and Marne on MY. Marne is okay. But Zac is not very engaging as far as someone who provides a real presence. And as a team, I don't think they really gel all that well. I was NOT referring to all air-talent on MY. Dave Kent is somewhat decent BUT he's voice tracked.

MY's biggest problem has really been the lack of consistency and planning in what makes a "Hot AC" station.

That said, maybe it's an overstatment, but with the experienced, quality DJs being cut from local radio, I'd say in general that air-talent has been going downhill on many stations. And I have no sour grapes. Just is an overall feeling and it seems to be recognized on this board that the big companies care more about the bottom line than their product.
 
As far as crappy air talent, there's plenty of it, but it's probably everywhere unless you get in to a larger market than this. The morning shows on 93.3 and 93.7 are pretty bad. 93.7's morning people might have had talent once upon a time, but they sound so stale, predictable, and just boring after all of these years. Perhaps a good way to describe them is they have worn out their welcome. 93.3's is just crap. There's nothing appealing about TRG. Nothing. And I'm in the target demo. 102.5's morning show just lacks a connection. It was fine when they just had Marne and played more music.

106.3 might be the worst in the market. Bob McLain puts on a terrible talk show. He did alright playing oldies, but is just not talk show material. Doesn't have the personality for it. I think we've covered Russ Cassell. But, they're probably going to do well, because where else are people going to go for local news/talk? 94.5 is national.

There is some good talent in this market. Charlie Munson on 92.5, Ellis & Bradley on 100.5, Liz Ryals on 102.5, Greg McKinney and Stacie Bartro on 98.9 do a good job. There are some pretty good sounding people on 910. I had never heard KC Carson until I checked out 910, and she does a very good job.

awp69 makes a very good point in both of his posts. People will put up with it if there's no alternative. That's why there is rarely any change here. For top 40, though, I am lucky to be able to listen to 96.1 from Charlotte instead of 93.7. Why should they offer us any better if we are accepting the status quo? I am probably not going to get many fans for saying this, but I think piped in talent that is decent is better than local talent that's not good.
 
i am not sure you understood the question. what makes djs crappy? how do you measure gelling and presence? are they crappy because you personally dont think they are very good and everybody thinks like you? are larger market djs better because they are in a larger market or because they are better? i just want to know what makes djs crappy.

it would help if posts were written in first person as in i think [dj] does a good job instead of generalizing there is some good talent in the market. i dont think some of the djs mentioned do a very good job. it is all a matter of taste and opinion. thats all
 
freqdev said:
i am not sure you understood the question.  what makes djs crappy?  how do you measure gelling and presence?  are they crappy because you personally dont think they are very good and everybody thinks like you?  are larger market djs better because they are in a larger market or because they are better?  i just want to know what makes djs crappy.

it would help if posts were written in first person as in i think [dj] does a good job instead of generalizing there is some good talent in the market.   i dont think some of the djs mentioned do a very good job.  it is all a matter of taste and opinion.  thats all
Click to expand...

Point taken. It is all a matter of opinion as far as how people think DJs are. My kids LOVE Hawk & Tom and they seem to have plenty of adult fans as well. Are they talented? I don't know if I could give a professional opinion. But I agree with carolinaradio that they have gotten to the point of being past their prime -- but that is just IMO, of course.
 
Just as an aside...besides a vocal, personable presence (which is purely based on the listener's opinion), it helps if a DJ can get things like a band's name right. Hawk has called Imagine Dragons ...."Imagine the Dragon" several times on air, on different days (so obviously no one pointed it out to him and he wasn't trying to be "funny"). Little things like that don't help one's reputation as being a professional. I guess I prefer my DJs to be somewhat knowledgable of the music they're playing, even if it's not their own preference in music.

It's a minor quibble, but worth noting that messing up promos, making on-air flubs and such are at least somewhat quantifiable.
 
awp69 said:
Just as an aside...besides a vocal, personable presence (which is purely based on the listener's opinion), it helps if a DJ can get things like a band's name right. Hawk has called Imagine Dragons ...."Imagine the Dragon" several times on air, on different days (so obviously no one pointed it out to him and he wasn't trying to be "funny"). Little things like that don't help one's reputation as being a professional. I guess I prefer my DJs to be somewhat knowledgable of the music they're playing, even if it's not their own preference in music.

It's a minor quibble, but worth noting that messing up promos, making on-air flubs and such are at least somewhat quantifiable.
Click to expand...
i agree with you. no excuse for not knowing the artists you play. messing up promos and on air flubs are quantifiable which is a good reason to voice track. that would make me think that voice tracking is making the product better since other than a window to look out of voice track djs have access to the same promos and announcements the local djs do.
 
Great Talent (IMO): Just names from back in the day that spring to my mind in no particular order...

Fred Winston, WLS
WKSF in its heyday: GT, Dawn, Pat Garrett, Chuck Finley, J. Stevens
WROQ: Chrissy Hart, Chris Williams, Pete Richards, Jay Thomas, Murphy, Larry Sprinkle
WZZU: J. Van Pelt,
WKZQ in its heyday back in the day...
WMXF: Dale O'Brien, Leah Scott
WTQR: Big Paul

Just names that came into my head
 
carolinaradio said:
Dave Kent on MY 102.5 has called them "Imagine Doctors" a couple of times.
Click to expand...

LOL. And I used to think he was pretty decent for voice tracking and making a good effort to sound local. Haven't listened to him in while though.
 
Yes, a good jock has to get his/her facts right.
Yes, a good jock has to pronounce names correctly.

And I dont want to sound like an overpaid consultant, but a good jock just has to be engaging.

I don't need a "show" - just talk WITH me, don't read TO me


And yes, all that and a buck will get you a cup of bad coffee
 
awp69 said:
Just as an aside...besides a vocal, personable presence (which is purely based on the listener's opinion), it helps if a DJ can get things like a band's name right. Hawk has called Imagine Dragons ...."Imagine the Dragon" several times on air, on different days (so obviously no one pointed it out to him and he wasn't trying to be "funny"). Little things like that don't help one's reputation as being a professional. I guess I prefer my DJs to be somewhat knowledgable of the music they're playing, even if it's not their own preference in music.

It's a minor quibble, but worth noting that messing up promos, making on-air flubs and such are at least somewhat quantifiable.
Click to expand...

I constantly cringe E-V-E-R-Y time Ryan Seacrest manages to flub Flo Rida. He apparently thinks he's "Flo Rider."

At least we're getting to the point of the thread, with CarolinaRadio leading the way. The question was (re-wording, here) which market has the worst radio options, right?
 
Ron Roberts said:
I constantly cringe E-V-E-R-Y time Ryan Seacrest manages to flub Flo Rida. He apparently thinks he's "Flo Rider."
Click to expand...

Wow, it's bad enough when some mid-sized city DJ messes a group's name up, but for a nationally syndicated host to do it is beyond belief.
 
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