Is the present WHTT weekday line-up permanent, with Lacy & Huber in mornings, Pastrick 10-2, Val Townsend from the Edge 2-4, Harv Moor from 4-7 and Siragusa from 7 to 12? That's a peculiar sequence of time slots. Wasn't Harv Moor supposed to retire?
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WHTT Line Up
- Thread starter SpareChange
- Start date
It will be a sad day when that happens. Harv is an original.
Especially so in the Land of Faa. You might say it will the end of a Faa King era.
BTW, word is Harv and his WPHD morning show partner Bob Taylor have been nominated for the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Well deserved.
[/MR]
B
Bob1370
Guest
"word is Harv and his WPHD morning show partner Bob Taylor have been nominated for the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Well deserved."
Where IS Robert W. Taylor these days? Anyone know? I remember him over on 102.5 during its earlier days as a hot AC, but that has to be a dozen years or more ago. Anyone know what's happened to him since? (Often thought it might be interesting to hear him team up with Harv Moore again, now that Harv's back in afternoons on WHTT...)
Where IS Robert W. Taylor these days? Anyone know? I remember him over on 102.5 during its earlier days as a hot AC, but that has to be a dozen years or more ago. Anyone know what's happened to him since? (Often thought it might be interesting to hear him team up with Harv Moore again, now that Harv's back in afternoons on WHTT...)
I don't know what else he might be up to, but he's in the voiceover business. You can view his website
at http://www.cedgeonline.com/voiceover/homesite/index.html.
(This post is for informational purposes only and should not in any way be construed as a commercial message)
at http://www.cedgeonline.com/voiceover/homesite/index.html.
(This post is for informational purposes only and should not in any way be construed as a commercial message)
Bob Taylor is very busy in the computer science business these days. He works with an Amherst company that writes and produces specialized computer programs. He stops in to visit Harv on occasion and has, from time to time, done a "once in a blue moon" airshift at WHTT and always sounds great.
Evolution, a/k/a Money Business
Hmmm... there was a time when jocks were hosts, bought blocks of airtime, picked their own music, got their own payola, and sold their own commercials, and were responsible for the content of that block. There was also a time when people sat in front of the radio, giving it their undivided attention, and visualizing the scenes being played out by actors with the help of sound effects.
Nowdays, music is product, computers generate playlists, and airstaff do airshifts. The difference between announcers and air personalities is that air personalities use their format-limited opportunities to add information and entertainment to the basic formatics and liners.
Listen to WHTT as it's evolved, and compare it to WJYE and Star. Yes, there are differences in the music, but the most pronounced difference is in the personalities that deliver that music. How many of you guys in the biz want to claim everything that's on the air during YOUR airshift as part of YOUR show?
Element9 said:
Hmmm... there was a time when jocks were hosts, bought blocks of airtime, picked their own music, got their own payola, and sold their own commercials, and were responsible for the content of that block. There was also a time when people sat in front of the radio, giving it their undivided attention, and visualizing the scenes being played out by actors with the help of sound effects.
Nowdays, music is product, computers generate playlists, and airstaff do airshifts. The difference between announcers and air personalities is that air personalities use their format-limited opportunities to add information and entertainment to the basic formatics and liners.
Listen to WHTT as it's evolved, and compare it to WJYE and Star. Yes, there are differences in the music, but the most pronounced difference is in the personalities that deliver that music. How many of you guys in the biz want to claim everything that's on the air during YOUR airshift as part of YOUR show?
Re: Evolution, a/k/a Money Business
This is the best post on the subject I have ever seen. Nice to see someone with a true understanding of the subject. You said it well too.
WJYE has the same consultant as the station I work for in another city so I assume our station sounds allot like WJYE. Do listeners really care about and remember liners and positioning statements? As a listener I don't. Just do it and I will decide what your station is.
This is the best post on the subject I have ever seen. Nice to see someone with a true understanding of the subject. You said it well too.
WJYE has the same consultant as the station I work for in another city so I assume our station sounds allot like WJYE. Do listeners really care about and remember liners and positioning statements? As a listener I don't. Just do it and I will decide what your station is.
SirRoxalot said:
I didn't take any offense to the "airshift" comment. It was a legitimate commentary, as was SirRoxalot's post. Some good points have been made.
More than anything, I think it's important that on-air people know what (music) radio is about these days and what our roles, as an (a) air personalities, (b) jocks, or (c) liner-readers are within the context of the format.
Over the years, I've spoken to college classes on the art (and science) of broadcasting and production. These days, the role of air personalities is similar to being cast in a play. Actors play the part in which they've been cast. Good actors color their lines with shades of emotion: Humor, self-deprecation, information and even irony.
I've heard countless, immensely talented guys like Don Berns, Jack Armstrong, Frank Benny, Jim Santella, Jeff Kaye, Dan Neaverth, George Hamberger and others read liners and make them blossom... all in 22 seconds... or less.
Years ago, when he was PD of WKBW, a poster hung on the wall of Jeff Kaye's office that had a great quote, "To do something common, well, is to do something uncommonly well." It may have been Jefferson, Franklin or Thoreau... I have no idea... but that simple quote has been stuck in my head for more than 30 years.
Yes, I read liners, but I TRY to read them with shades of style... even in 22 seconds. I always try to do a show. Guys infinitely more gifted than I taught me there's an art to walking up a 7 second intro smoothly and effectively, without crashing the vocal.
...to do something common, well, is to do something uncommonly well.
More than anything, I think it's important that on-air people know what (music) radio is about these days and what our roles, as an (a) air personalities, (b) jocks, or (c) liner-readers are within the context of the format.
Over the years, I've spoken to college classes on the art (and science) of broadcasting and production. These days, the role of air personalities is similar to being cast in a play. Actors play the part in which they've been cast. Good actors color their lines with shades of emotion: Humor, self-deprecation, information and even irony.
I've heard countless, immensely talented guys like Don Berns, Jack Armstrong, Frank Benny, Jim Santella, Jeff Kaye, Dan Neaverth, George Hamberger and others read liners and make them blossom... all in 22 seconds... or less.
Years ago, when he was PD of WKBW, a poster hung on the wall of Jeff Kaye's office that had a great quote, "To do something common, well, is to do something uncommonly well." It may have been Jefferson, Franklin or Thoreau... I have no idea... but that simple quote has been stuck in my head for more than 30 years.
Yes, I read liners, but I TRY to read them with shades of style... even in 22 seconds. I always try to do a show. Guys infinitely more gifted than I taught me there's an art to walking up a 7 second intro smoothly and effectively, without crashing the vocal.
...to do something common, well, is to do something uncommonly well.
Helping Jim Catch Up (Ketchup)(Catsup?)
Jim,
First, let me say that you "do a common thing uncommonly well".
Second, let me point you toward the author of your quote, none other than Henry J. Heinz, founder of H.J. Heinz Company.
To quote Teresa Heinz - later Teresa Heinz Kerry:
There is a saying in the Heinz family that dates back to my late husband's great-grandfather, a devout man, and the founder of the H.J. Heinz Company. Quite aside from his business acumen, H.J. Heinz was an exceptional man. He battled his food industry peers on behalf of food purity laws. He created the most progressive workplace of his day. And he fostered in his offspring an abiding sense of social responsibility.
And yet old H.J. dismissed the notion that he was exceptional. His aim, he said humbly, was merely "to do a common thing uncommonly well."
The complete quote, per brainyquote.com, is:
To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.
Jim,
First, let me say that you "do a common thing uncommonly well".
Second, let me point you toward the author of your quote, none other than Henry J. Heinz, founder of H.J. Heinz Company.
To quote Teresa Heinz - later Teresa Heinz Kerry:
There is a saying in the Heinz family that dates back to my late husband's great-grandfather, a devout man, and the founder of the H.J. Heinz Company. Quite aside from his business acumen, H.J. Heinz was an exceptional man. He battled his food industry peers on behalf of food purity laws. He created the most progressive workplace of his day. And he fostered in his offspring an abiding sense of social responsibility.
And yet old H.J. dismissed the notion that he was exceptional. His aim, he said humbly, was merely "to do a common thing uncommonly well."
The complete quote, per brainyquote.com, is:
To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.
A
alw
Guest
Re: Evolution, a/k/a Money Business
This is turning into a facinating conversation. As always Mr. Pastrick has summed things nicely, as have several others.
I would like to offer an observation that I have come to realize after some years of interest in the subject.
For a long time I believed that the programing (music,talk..etc.) was the product.
I've come to see that the commercials are the product, and the programing is the bait.
The programing is what gets ears to tune in; but what is most important to certain elements in the building is that the ears hear the ads. What they hear between the ads is of no consequence to them.
I've been told, over the years, by any number of sales types that the format is not important to them. I've come to terms with this line of thinking.
As a programmer it was a bitter pill, but my job is to work with it. And I will.
I'm sure that this is not a startling revelation to this august board, but I'm waiting for a phone call and had some time on my hands. So, thanks for your kind attention.
SirRoxalot said:
This is turning into a facinating conversation. As always Mr. Pastrick has summed things nicely, as have several others.
I would like to offer an observation that I have come to realize after some years of interest in the subject.
For a long time I believed that the programing (music,talk..etc.) was the product.
I've come to see that the commercials are the product, and the programing is the bait.
The programing is what gets ears to tune in; but what is most important to certain elements in the building is that the ears hear the ads. What they hear between the ads is of no consequence to them.
I've been told, over the years, by any number of sales types that the format is not important to them. I've come to terms with this line of thinking.
As a programmer it was a bitter pill, but my job is to work with it. And I will.
I'm sure that this is not a startling revelation to this august board, but I'm waiting for a phone call and had some time on my hands. So, thanks for your kind attention.
N
NeedsMoreCowbell
Guest
While it's true that consolidation hasn't been good for radio in general, I think it's wrong to make blanket statements which obviously don't apply to every station - even here in Buffalo.
Clear Channel has indeed said in the past that they were "in the commercial business," and the music was secondary, but that's certainly not the case at every chain. We may not get it right every time, but some of us put forth a lot of effort, time, research, and yes: PRIDE into the programming of our stations at Citadel, Entercom, and Regent. Some of us want our listeners to make a real connection with our stations. We want our listeners to like the music we play, and to remember our personalities, and if they frequent our advertisers - that's part of the plan, of course, but it's not the only plan.
There's a lot of doom and gloom on this board, but guys - there are people who still care a lot about our business, and put in an awful lot of hours doing the absolute best we can. It's not all bad!
And a lot of us read this board a lot, by the way.
Clear Channel has indeed said in the past that they were "in the commercial business," and the music was secondary, but that's certainly not the case at every chain. We may not get it right every time, but some of us put forth a lot of effort, time, research, and yes: PRIDE into the programming of our stations at Citadel, Entercom, and Regent. Some of us want our listeners to make a real connection with our stations. We want our listeners to like the music we play, and to remember our personalities, and if they frequent our advertisers - that's part of the plan, of course, but it's not the only plan.
There's a lot of doom and gloom on this board, but guys - there are people who still care a lot about our business, and put in an awful lot of hours doing the absolute best we can. It's not all bad!
And a lot of us read this board a lot, by the way.
It seems that CC set the course and every other chain became "Clear Channel Lite" only to happy and too eager to follow that course. And as we're finding out, that course leads to a large cliff, which many chains can't help running over... watch out for that first step, it's a doosey!
You certainly DON'T get it right every time... maybe not even HALF the time. It's one of the many reasons young listeners, in particular between the ages of 12 and 25, sneer at radio and are adapting to and adopting new technologies such as mp3, iPod, WiFi and to some extent, satellite.
And you SHOULD be reading this board. We're not ALL malcontents. We simply just don't buy in to the latest mantra. We've heard the schpiel and seen the song-and-dance routines before from the gurus, the consultants and the researchers, so you'll excuse us if we don't buy the pig with the pretty lipstick and the fancy dress.
Don't take our points of view personally. We don't begrudge, demean or dismiss your position and the hard work and dedication that you put into doing your job to the best of your abilities. You have a job to do. You're a cog in a very complex set of gears.
But let's be frank: Sitting behind Selector and putting together the best ten-in-a-row of the top 375 titles isn't going to make radio any better than it was ten years ago, five years ago, or even one year ago.
If you want "your" listeners to identify with your "personalities," then let them BE personalities. Give these men and women the lattitude and compensation they deserve, not only in morning drive, but in other dayparts. The average midday, afternoon and evening jock in Buffalo makes less than a person who processes titles at the DMV in county hall.
One more thing. Don't be so willing to buy-into your GM's grand programming schemes. Most GM's don't have a clue about programming and what listeners want to hear. They're sales-centric. That's why they're GM's.
"alw" hit the nail squarely and forcefully on the head with regard to programming and commercials in his earlier post.
One more thing: my earlier "airshift" remark wasn't made to demean any particular personality who might post on this board.
-9-
Irony
I find it somewhat ironic that this discussion is taking place under the subject "WHTT Line Up". They are one of the few stations on the dial that still has a semblance of personality left. Maybe that's because they've evolved from an Oldies station, and still have a bunch of old pros on the staff, but whatever the reason, they're far more entertaining to my ears than their competition.
Isn't it obvious that the market leaders in most demographics - WYRK, Kiss, 97-Rock, The Edge, WBEN, WBLK - have the most live-and-local presence, and a discernable personality? Perhaps the only exception to that is Women 25-54, which has been dominated by WJYE's modernization of the Beautiful Music format, and Star's Hot AC on the lower end of the demo.
Would anyone notice if anybody on WJYE - with the exception of Joe Chille - was replaced by VT or syndication? I doubt it. Does anybody specifically tune in to hear anybody on Star, with the possible exception of checking to see if Roger Christian is still on his amazing run?
WHTT has obviously targeted the WJYE, and to a lesser extent Star. It will be interesting to see if their approach, which is more up-front and less background-music, succeeds in a market that a lot of us like to think has a tradition of personality radio. If anything, I wish that WHTT would give their talent a little more opportunity to entertain instead of running 3 or 4 songs in a row with liners and jingles as separators. If they really want to hold onto old listeners that are being introduced to newer music, wouldn't it make sense to give their jocks the opportunity to introduce those new artists and songs to the audience?
I find it somewhat ironic that this discussion is taking place under the subject "WHTT Line Up". They are one of the few stations on the dial that still has a semblance of personality left. Maybe that's because they've evolved from an Oldies station, and still have a bunch of old pros on the staff, but whatever the reason, they're far more entertaining to my ears than their competition.
Isn't it obvious that the market leaders in most demographics - WYRK, Kiss, 97-Rock, The Edge, WBEN, WBLK - have the most live-and-local presence, and a discernable personality? Perhaps the only exception to that is Women 25-54, which has been dominated by WJYE's modernization of the Beautiful Music format, and Star's Hot AC on the lower end of the demo.
Would anyone notice if anybody on WJYE - with the exception of Joe Chille - was replaced by VT or syndication? I doubt it. Does anybody specifically tune in to hear anybody on Star, with the possible exception of checking to see if Roger Christian is still on his amazing run?
WHTT has obviously targeted the WJYE, and to a lesser extent Star. It will be interesting to see if their approach, which is more up-front and less background-music, succeeds in a market that a lot of us like to think has a tradition of personality radio. If anything, I wish that WHTT would give their talent a little more opportunity to entertain instead of running 3 or 4 songs in a row with liners and jingles as separators. If they really want to hold onto old listeners that are being introduced to newer music, wouldn't it make sense to give their jocks the opportunity to introduce those new artists and songs to the audience?
F
fredburg97
Guest
What's ironic to me is that anyone working in radio would read this board and take anything seriously from it.
Since it's not the 1970s anymore, nothing anyone has to say here really pertains anymore. Are there any women who care about this, or any thread here? Anyone?
The silence is deafening.
Since it's not the 1970s anymore, nothing anyone has to say here really pertains anymore. Are there any women who care about this, or any thread here? Anyone?
The silence is deafening.
R
raymond_shaw
Guest
Acerbic, yet vague. Please be a little more specific in your apparent disgust with us regulars. I'm not sure where irony comes in here. Why do you suddenly jump to women who care? You are disgusted with us old timers and you are a woman?
Silence? If the board managers want to add audio, I'll be happy to contribute.
alw, Rox and 9 make some great points. Buffalo has always been a market with great personalities on the radio. The trouble is those who think things are just great now and see us as a bunch of old winers are too young. They don't remember how good radio used to be.
I too would rather hear jocks talking about the music instead of canned liners.
I too would rather hear jocks talking about the music instead of canned liners.
Re: Evolution, a/k/a Money Business
True -- but, even among those of us who enjoy spoken-word radio from global public broadcasters (such as Radio Netherlands, the BBC, Deutsche Welle, the CBC, APM [Prairie Home Companion]), I'd wager most no longer site and listen to the radio in the manner you suggest. It is truly a lost art...radio as "theatre of the mind"...
Richard in Allentown, PA (ex-East Aurora)
SirRoxalot said:
True -- but, even among those of us who enjoy spoken-word radio from global public broadcasters (such as Radio Netherlands, the BBC, Deutsche Welle, the CBC, APM [Prairie Home Companion]), I'd wager most no longer site and listen to the radio in the manner you suggest. It is truly a lost art...radio as "theatre of the mind"...
Richard in Allentown, PA (ex-East Aurora)
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