Why are radio stations so disrespectful to their listeners?

[Terry K]

I've been living in Atlanta for 13 years now and I love it here. One thing always surprises me about Atlanta radio. There are too many radio stations here, and it's therefore not surprising that they shake things up quite a lot from time to time. What is surprising to me is the way that they disrespect their listeners.

I will typically listen to 750AM Talk Radio while at work and on my way home, but on my journey to work, I look for an entertaining Breakfast Show. I listened to Randy And Spiff on Fox 97.1 until they abruptly vanished from the air. Then they showed up at Cool FM....until they vanished there. Then they turned up at 94.9 and vanished there when the station went Country.

How does a station like 94.9 expect to keep listeners when they simply switch from lite rock to Country in the blink of an eye? Whatever the business reason behind the decision, why don't these people ever have the balls to explain to their listeners the changes they are about to make and why they are making them?

I would have given them a chance if they had respected their listeners enough to explain what was happening, but I will never listen to 94.9 again. I'm sure they won't miss me. Their advertisers will though.

 

[fussbudget]

The bean counters who own and operate radio stations don't give a hoot about you. They care only about the almighty dollar. They will program whatever they wish if they think it will bring in more revenue. There is no loyalty in radio, not to the listeners, not to employees. Radio is a business and the bean counters are determined to treat it as such, even at the risk of driving that business into the ground.

 

[DashRiprock]

Get XM and an mp3 player and you will find inner peace.

 

[jabba17]

The business of a radio station is to sell spots for top dollar--not entertain you, unless doing so helps them to sell spots. Advertisers, and not listeners, are a radio station's customers.

If a radio station could sell spots at the going rate while maintaining a zero share they would.

 

[Terry K]

The business of a radio station is to sell spots for top dollar--not entertain you, unless doing so helps them to sell spots. Advertisers, and not listeners, are a radio station's customers.

If a radio station could sell spots at the going rate while maintaining a zero share they would.

You could make the same argument for TV. Not much point selling spots if nobody is listening or watching though.

The point that 'the suits' never seem to understand is that you can respect your audience and sell your Ad spots for top Dollar. But when you really lose a listener, and I don't mean "I'm never going to listen to your show again" type listeners, you have lost a listener who will talk with at least ten other people in a negative way about your Radio station. Those ten people will talk with other people, and pretty soon word of mouth about your station is all negative.

The Radio stations that stand the test of time do so by respecting their listeners...at least to some degree.

 

[sman02]

I've been living in Atlanta for 13 years now and I love it here. One thing always surprises me about Atlanta radio. There are too many radio stations here, and it's therefore not surprising that they shake things up quite a lot from time to time. What is surprising to me is the way that they disrespect their listeners.

I will typically listen to 750AM Talk Radio while at work and on my way home, but on my journey to work, I look for an entertaining Breakfast Show. I listened to Randy And Spiff on Fox 97.1 until they abruptly vanished from the air. Then they showed up at Cool FM....until they vanished there. Then they turned up at 94.9 and vanished there when the station went Country.

How does a station like 94.9 expect to keep listeners when they simply switch from lite rock to Country in the blink of an eye? Whatever the business reason behind the decision, why don't these people ever have the balls to explain to their listeners the changes they are about to make and why they are making them?

I would have given them a chance if they had respected their listeners enough to explain what was happening, but I will never listen to 94.9 again. I'm sure they won't miss me. Their advertisers will though.

I understand exactly what you're saying. Recently, Eagle 106.7 became True Oldies 106.7, which for many people was a blessing, as there are people who missed Fox 97. So it's good that Eagle saw an opportunity to flip to True Oldies, but they lacked a public explanation. This leads me to a great example of some recent radio moves. I truly commend Cumulus for how it publicly handled the 99X/Q100 move and introduction of the next big thing, Rock 100.5. (I'm not being one sided towards how well Cumulus handled this move, it was simply unexpected and well received).

When I was listening to Q100.5 in January and heard the GM of Cumulus radio in Atlanta sit down with the Bert Show and explain that things would be changing for Q100 and that they would be moving in 2 weeks to 99.7, it was mixed emotions. They announced the demise of 99x from FM radio (Which simply kills the station off the free-side, and you have to use an internet stream or buy HD radio to hear 99x now) and the move from 100.5. Cumulus went over this move for two weeks before the move, took calls from listeners, explained over and over what was happening and why, and to me, that shows character. I understand the business perspective of moving a low-billing station such as 99x (which at its prime was billing top $$), which has ALWAYS been a favorite of mine, that I continue to stream online. Granted the move of Q100 to 99.7 killed the FM station but it's still got the 99x feel (music wise) we all love. And here came the introduction of "something great to come to Atlanta radio". I was pleased to read that it was going to be Rock 100.5 at 100.5fm, with The Regular Guys. Great!

But at least they didn't do a flip right after Nascar went off the air to oldies; they didn't flip from Oldies to Jamz to Classic Rock all within a short period of time; they didn't just kill Rock for a Project that deserves an "F" from many people; they didn't simply move Z to a Dave format; there was some explanation. Cumulus explained to loyal listeners of both 99x and Q what was happening and they still cater today to the 99x crowd, even though it's in another medium. So yes, I see why you would not listen to 94.9. You feel dooped. Heck, I'd feel dooped if one morning I turned on 99.7 and was never given an explanation as to why Miley Cyrus was on 99x, then I'd listen to a station ID ("Q100 at 99.7") and wonder what happened to 99x!! But because of the explanations and not fully killing 99x off, I'm ok with listening to all 3.

 

[jabba17]

The business of a radio station is to sell spots for top dollar--not entertain you, unless doing so helps them to sell spots. Advertisers, and not listeners, are a radio station's customers.

If a radio station could sell spots at the going rate while maintaining a zero share they would.

You could make the same argument for TV. Not much point selling spots if nobody is listening or watching though.

The point that 'the suits' never seem to understand is that you can respect your audience and sell your Ad spots for top Dollar. But when you really lose a listener, and I don't mean "I'm never going to listen to your show again" type listeners, you have lost a listener who will talk with at least ten other people in a negative way about your Radio station. Those ten people will talk with other people, and pretty soon word of mouth about your station is all negative.

The Radio stations that stand the test of time do so by respecting their listeners...at least to some degree.

Yeah, but...

In general, the radio market is fickle.

There's countless stations that are no longer with us--Hit Radio Z-93, Classic Rock Z93, WLTA 100/Warm 100, Power 99, 99X, 94Q, 96 Rock, Y106/Eagle, Fox (both Top 40 and oldies), Wide 107, Quixie, WPLO 590, WAKE 1340, Peach (in both Beautiful Music and AC flavors), and many others. How many of these do you remember? I remember all of them except for WAKE. Most people don't. 13 years makes you almost an honorary native in ATL.

Some of these stations jumped the shark, needed to change, and were missed long before they flipped formats (Hit Radio Z93, 94Q, Fox 97)--people mourned over their former selves, but not the loss of what they had become.

Some of them moved into Atlanta and flipped (Top 40 Fox, Wide 107).

Some of them flipped to something arguably better (Power 99 to 99X).

Some of them got a guillotine-to-cure-dandruff treatment (96 Rock).

Some got killed by FM and suburban sprawl (Quixie, WAKE, WPLO 590).

Some flipped as a cost saving measure by a company in financial trouble (Eagle).

Some flipped to move away from a dying format (the Beautiful Music versions of WLTA, WSB FM, and Peach, 99X)

And some just didn't make sense (AC Peach).

You could say that a station like WSB or V-103 respects its listeners. But, 15 years ago when WGST was kicking WSB's butt, WSB realized that libtalk wasn't going to carry the day (or sell spots, 50kW clear channel or not). And, if either of those stations drop below a 2 share, you can bet that they will change to whatever the soup du jour is...just like WPLO-FM flipped from AOR to disco, and then urban as V-103.

There are two reasons why stations don't telegraph changes any more than they do:

1) They want to get a jump on the competition (or, rather, don't want the competition to get a jump on them).
2) If you discontinue a product, you quit promoting it and steer people to its replacement immediately. You don't reminisce about getting rid of it.

Radio isn't any different than any other product, except for the limited supply of stations in a market. If a format isn't selling, it will be replaced by one that is. If a format is selling so-so, it may be replaced by one that sells better. It's a gamble but so much of product development and marketing is, regardless of industry.

 

[nightfly61]

I've been living in Atlanta for 13 years now and I love it here. One thing always surprises me about Atlanta radio. There are too many radio stations here, and it's therefore not surprising that they shake things up quite a lot from time to time. What is surprising to me is the way that they disrespect their listeners.

I will typically listen to 750AM Talk Radio while at work and on my way home, but on my journey to work, I look for an entertaining Breakfast Show. I listened to Randy And Spiff on Fox 97.1 until they abruptly vanished from the air. Then they showed up at Cool FM....until they vanished there. Then they turned up at 94.9 and vanished there when the station went Country.

How does a station like 94.9 expect to keep listeners when they simply switch from lite rock to Country in the blink of an eye? Whatever the business reason behind the decision, why don't these people ever have the balls to explain to their listeners the changes they are about to make and why they are making them?

I would have given them a chance if they had respected their listeners enough to explain what was happening, but I will never listen to 94.9 again. I'm sure they won't miss me. Their advertisers will though.

I think the word "disrespect" is waaaayyy overused in society today. Every time you turn around someone's whining about "that teacher disrespected my child because they gave them detention" or "that radio station changed formats without telling me so I see them as disrespectful". Ever since the mid 90's more & more "people" are saying it & I'm tired of it.
Maybe I should start a thread about working in radio for 18 years & then being canned for automation. Would that be "disrespect"? No, not in my eyes, just a dumb career move on my part. So as to not be "disrespectful", I'm gonna let you know that I am signing off now.

 

[Stu Dio]

Let's be really honest. Atlanta radio's profile has changed because the city's profile has changed. Atlanta is no longer WASP-dominated. It is ATL. Hip, hip-hop, young, urban. Those of us who grew up with it as WASP can never get used to the change, but we recognize it for what it is--a legitimate attempt to make a living out of whatever is available and attractive. Man, I miss Beautiful Music but I know it is never coming back because there is no audience for it, so I find the channel on my digital music source and enjoy it that way. I think Clear Channel has made some really stupid mistakes and certainly executed some changes in a horrendous fashion, but it is their business and they can manage it the way they want.

I worked in radio 1965 - 1971. The technical advancements have made my getting back into it impossible. I don't regret that. I have my memories. I can live with my memories.

 

[Terry K]

Let's be really honest. Atlanta radio's profile has changed because the city's profile has changed. Atlanta is no longer WASP-dominated. It is ATL. Hip, hip-hop, young, urban. Those of us who grew up with it as WASP can never get used to the change, but we recognize it for what it is--a legitimate attempt to make a living out of whatever is available and attractive. Man, I miss Beautiful Music but I know it is never coming back because there is no audience for it, so I find the channel on my digital music source and enjoy it that way. I think Clear Channel has made some really stupid mistakes and certainly executed some changes in a horrendous fashion, but it is their business and they can manage it the way they want.

I worked in radio 1965 - 1971. The technical advancements have made my getting back into it impossible. I don't regret that. I have my memories. I can live with my memories.

You make very valid points. But I don't think it's that there's no audience for it, I think it's that the demographic has drifted away from conventional music radio because it became more and more fragmented to the point that there was nothing there for them. The audience is still there, but it's doing different things now because of inept management in the Radio industry.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Ratings are rather "agnostic" in that the numbers do not carry much information about the character and charisma of the broadcasts.... just the Quantity of listeners, age range and gender.

If even after 'disrespecting' your audience you have a 4 in the ratings and another station that gives all the evidence in the world of loving and serving their audience has a 4, you are basically equal stations in the ratings driven purchasing machine.

Years ago at least a part of the advertising on a radio station represented the effort of a sales rep who called on a retailer's ad manager who may have heard the in-store sales people relating what customers were saying about hearing the advertising on such and such station by this personality. Some sales were made IN SPITE OF THE RATINGS. Not very likely today.

And that radio personality who is good at herding people into the store may be equally good and herding another group of people to just turn the radio off.

It's a tough game to understand sometimes.

 

[Roger That]

I've been living in Atlanta for 13 years now and I love it here. One thing always surprises me about Atlanta radio. There are too many radio stations here, and it's therefore not surprising that they shake things up quite a lot from time to time. What is surprising to me is the way that they disrespect their listeners.

I will typically listen to 750AM Talk Radio while at work and on my way home, but on my journey to work, I look for an entertaining Breakfast Show. I listened to Randy And Spiff on Fox 97.1 until they abruptly vanished from the air. Then they showed up at Cool FM....until they vanished there. Then they turned up at 94.9 and vanished there when the station went Country.

How does a station like 94.9 expect to keep listeners when they simply switch from lite rock to Country in the blink of an eye? Whatever the business reason behind the decision, why don't these people ever have the balls to explain to their listeners the changes they are about to make and why they are making them?

I would have given them a chance if they had respected their listeners enough to explain what was happening, but I will never listen to 94.9 again. I'm sure they won't miss me. Their advertisers will though.

I think the word "disrespect" is waaaayyy overused in society today. Every time you turn around someone's whining about "that teacher disrespected my child because they gave them detention" or "that radio station changed formats without telling me so I see them as disrespectful". Ever since the mid 90's more & more "people" are saying it & I'm tired of it.
Maybe I should start a thread about working in radio for 18 years & then being canned for automation. Would that be "disrespect"? No, not in my eyes, just a dumb career move on my part. So as to not be "disrespectful", I'm gonna let you know that I am signing off now.

A-effing-MEN, brother.

btw...Didn't Project spend a LOT of time explaining the change, and simulcasting on both signals (96.1 and 105.3) just to fix the "respect" issue?

Also, there's competitive reasons to hiding a flip. Listeners will get over it, but if the competition beats you to your own idea because you decided to tell all your sales people so they could "warn clients," you're going to feel pretty stupid.

 

[DashRiprock]

A-effing-MEN, brother.

btw...Didn't Project spend a LOT of time explaining the change, and simulcasting on both signals (96.1 and 105.3) just to fix the "respect" issue?

Also, there's competitive reasons to hiding a flip. Listeners will get over it, but if the competition beats you to your own idea because you decided to tell all your sales people so they could "warn clients," you're going to feel pretty stupid.

That's the Clear Channel attitude..."listeners will get over it."

That's why I stopped listening to their stations and bought XM.

 

[OutOfTheBiz]

That's the Clear Channel attitude..."listeners will get over it."

That's why I stopped listening to their stations and bought XM.

Owned in part by... Clear Channel!

 

[Roger That]

A-effing-MEN, brother.

btw...Didn't Project spend a LOT of time explaining the change, and simulcasting on both signals (96.1 and 105.3) just to fix the "respect" issue?

Also, there's competitive reasons to hiding a flip. Listeners will get over it, but if the competition beats you to your own idea because you decided to tell all your sales people so they could "warn clients," you're going to feel pretty stupid.

That's the Clear Channel attitude..."listeners will get over it."

That's why I stopped listening to their stations and bought XM.

Yawn.

Lemme guess...you're someone who thinks Generic Johnny Middays will missed when he leaves and is replaced by someone new. After all, he was AWESOME at opening every break with the station name, positioning statement, and his name, right? Who needs content when you're great at that?!

But hey...any excuse to open the stupid Clear Channel bashing. As if the state of radio in any other company is so much better.

 

[Inside your head]

I truly commend Cumulus for how it publicly handled the 99X/Q100 move and introduction of the next big thing, Rock 100.5. (I'm not being one sided towards how well Cumulus handled this move, it was simply unexpected and well received).

When I was listening to Q100.5 in January and heard the GM of Cumulus radio in Atlanta sit down with the Bert Show and explain that things would be changing for Q100 and that they would be moving in 2 weeks to 99.7, it was mixed emotions. They announced the demise of 99x from FM radio (Which simply kills the station off the free-side, and you have to use an internet stream or buy HD radio to hear 99x now) and the move from 100.5. Cumulus went over this move for two weeks before the move, took calls from listeners, explained over and over what was happening and why, and to me, that shows character. I understand the business perspective of moving a low-billing station such as 99x (which at its prime was billing top $$), which has ALWAYS been a favorite of mine, that I continue to stream online. Granted the move of Q100 to 99.7 killed the FM station but it's still got the 99x feel (music wise) we all love. And here came the introduction of "something great to come to Atlanta radio". I was pleased to read that it was going to be Rock 100.5 at 100.5fm, with The Regular Guys. Great!

But at least they didn't do a flip right after Nascar went off the air to oldies; they didn't flip from Oldies to Jamz to Classic Rock all within a short period of time; they didn't just kill Rock for a Project that deserves an "F" from many people; they didn't simply move Z to a Dave format; there was some explanation. Cumulus explained to loyal listeners of both 99x and Q what was happening and they still cater today to the 99x crowd, even though it's in another medium. So yes, I see why you would not listen to 94.9. You feel dooped. Heck, I'd feel dooped if one morning I turned on 99.7 and was never given an explanation as to why Miley Cyrus was on 99x, then I'd listen to a station ID ("Q100 at 99.7") and wonder what happened to 99x!! But because of the explanations and not fully killing 99x off, I'm ok with listening to all 3.

omg theres so many things wrong in ur post i dont even know where to begin.
the only reason they even came out and said they were moving q 100 was so they didnt lose the q 100 listners. u think they gave a f**k what 99x listners thought?? they dont cater to the 99x crowd they said FU to us.
giving notice they were gonna do it didnt make it a good move for any of us. knowing some1 only has a couple weeks to live doesnt make it any better. even if u know its coming the end result is they still dead.

 

[sman02]

I truly commend Cumulus for how it publicly handled the 99X/Q100 move and introduction of the next big thing, Rock 100.5. (I'm not being one sided towards how well Cumulus handled this move, it was simply unexpected and well received).

When I was listening to Q100.5 in January and heard the GM of Cumulus radio in Atlanta sit down with the Bert Show and explain that things would be changing for Q100 and that they would be moving in 2 weeks to 99.7, it was mixed emotions. They announced the demise of 99x from FM radio (Which simply kills the station off the free-side, and you have to use an internet stream or buy HD radio to hear 99x now) and the move from 100.5. Cumulus went over this move for two weeks before the move, took calls from listeners, explained over and over what was happening and why, and to me, that shows character. I understand the business perspective of moving a low-billing station such as 99x (which at its prime was billing top $$), which has ALWAYS been a favorite of mine, that I continue to stream online. Granted the move of Q100 to 99.7 killed the FM station but it's still got the 99x feel (music wise) we all love. And here came the introduction of "something great to come to Atlanta radio". I was pleased to read that it was going to be Rock 100.5 at 100.5fm, with The Regular Guys. Great!

But at least they didn't do a flip right after Nascar went off the air to oldies; they didn't flip from Oldies to Jamz to Classic Rock all within a short period of time; they didn't just kill Rock for a Project that deserves an "F" from many people; they didn't simply move Z to a Dave format; there was some explanation. Cumulus explained to loyal listeners of both 99x and Q what was happening and they still cater today to the 99x crowd, even though it's in another medium. So yes, I see why you would not listen to 94.9. You feel dooped. Heck, I'd feel dooped if one morning I turned on 99.7 and was never given an explanation as to why Miley Cyrus was on 99x, then I'd listen to a station ID ("Q100 at 99.7") and wonder what happened to 99x!! But because of the explanations and not fully killing 99x off, I'm ok with listening to all 3.

omg theres so many things wrong in ur post i dont even know where to begin.
the only reason they even came out and said they were moving q 100 was so they didnt lose the q 100 listners. u think they gave a f**k what 99x listners thought?? they dont cater to the 99x crowd they said FU to us.
giving notice they were gonna do it didnt make it a good move for any of us. knowing some1 only has a couple weeks to live doesnt make it any better. even if u know its coming the end result is they still dead.

First off, let me start by saying that it's not wrong, it's fact. 99x still exists to a certain degree at 99x.com and can be streamed as well as listened to on HD radio. I am fully aware that it's not on FM radio anymore, and to the radio world, that might mean the station isn't alive, but it's still broadcasting in another medium outside FM in some 99X form.

Secondly, my post that said "there was some explanation. Cumulus explained to loyal listeners of both 99x and Q what was happening", which means they didn't crap on the Q listeners and told X'ers that the station was for the most part over but STILL around. Q listeners were told what was going on. I get that you are a 99x hardcore fan and I appreciate that; but you have to respect the fact that even though it's no longer on 99.7fm, it's still available to stream somehow. It's not like Peach 94.9 which is dead today and not at all being attended to and can't be streamed or listened to on HD radio.

Third, doctors can say someone will live for 2 weeks but people sure have outlived what doctors told them. Comparing a radio station to a person is not the same... it's comparing an apple's shelf life to a loaf of bread's shelf life. This was just a business move that, monetarily, made sense. I'm not too happy that X is gone and it's still tough to deal with BUT it is what it is. So we can't continue to argue about X being off FM radio. I'm simply saying Cumulus didn't just abruptly take the station off the air one day and the next day listeners would hear Sean Kingston on 99.7 with no explanation. Those are the facts.

If there are so many things wrong with my post, please allow me to elaborate so I might clear up any miscommunications. However, I feel what I wrote above might help you further understand what I was saying.

 

[nightfly61]

I think it's "disrespectful" toward ClearChannel to bash them for firing people. I also think it would be disrespectful for those of us fired to file for unemployment or accept any severence pay. I will now leave my public library and be respectful & go back to my shelter room.

 

[Terry K]

I think it's "disrespectful" toward ClearChannel to bash them for firing people. I also think it would be disrespectful for those of us fired to file for unemployment or accept any severence pay. I will now leave my public library and be respectful & go back to my shelter room.

Have a little cheese with your whine. You sound like exactly the kind of person who gets fired from a company when job cuts are in the air. Nothing to offer but negativity. You'll always be first in line.

To everyone else who contributed to the thread......thanks for the input. Appreciated.

 

[DashRiprock]

That's the Clear Channel attitude..."listeners will get over it."

That's why I stopped listening to their stations and bought XM.

Owned in part by... Clear Channel!

Their financial interest is minimal and the relationship is not exactly friendly. Specifically, cc's decision to place ads on their XM channels resulted in a legal dispute and XM was so unhappy that they went as far as to add commercial free channels to compete against the cc channels.