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Why? Please tell me, why? And your thoughts?

M

MR. JAROME_CALVIN

Why, please tell me why? For such a successful radio station, why does wrko has so many psa programs, and pre recorded programs on weekends? Some comes on two-three times during the weekend.
They also have pre-recorded shows during the week.
Why? Please tell me, why don't they try to put on some live shows? Even if they have to put some Syndicated shows, at least put them on (live)
If you were the Boss of this station, what would you do to make them better?
They've been around for a long time.
How would you program this station?
 
WRKO is the only all (non-sports) talk station in town at this point and they make some money but the listeners may not be in desirable demos.
Entercom does what it can to bring in the audience they do have, spending enough money for two daily local shows, Kuhner and
Carr, and Barry Armstrong buys time for the Financial Exchange. The rest is syndicated, Rush, Levin, etc. And on weekends you may hear things like informercials--whatever can make them money. Would it be great to have more LOCAL hosts especially on weekends? Yes, but you have to spend money to make money AND listenership is less on the weekends. (I'm not even sure if Avi Nelson is on still.)

Radio is a business and they have to keep costs down. If there were more people who would be likely to tune in on weekends,
or if they could attract a broader and younger demo, maybe they could spend money on hosts etc. But talk is fading (though can make SOME money). There are also many other options out there.

I used to work for Building 19 in the 80s; they are now going out of business. Hilltop Steak House did, too. There were various reasons for these but one is COMPETITION. There were so many other places to shop (Ocean State Job Lot, the Net, etc.) or eat (99, etc.). What does RKO have for competition? Many other terrestrial stations. mp3 players, web streaming, satellite radio, audiobooks, and so on. Yes there are some people who want to hear Howie talk about Whitey, the renewable gas tax hikes,
immigration reform, and so on, but only so many. RKO has to make money with what they have and that includes people
buying time (like Armstrong); syndicated shows that cost little or nothing; and so on.

Years ago TV networks had huge ratings for their shows; now they're tiny. Reason? Many cable channels; DVDs; YouTube;
web streaming; TV podcasts; movie theatres; live music venues and so on. Competition. It's all fragmented. Talk fans here
do have one full time station but don't forget WBZ, public radio, specialty talk shows (Jay Sekulow Live on Salem Comm. stations;
oh and let's not forget SPORTS TALK. That reaches a broad number of age groups and has desirable demos. That is also
cutthroat competition...remember when WEEI had the audience to itself, though there were pesky little outlets like 1510 or 890 ESPN? One day CBS announced we are starting our own all sports station.

You know...the one that has 3 of the major sports franchises in town now.
That is one reason WTKK changed format btw; it wasn't so much that people were leaving in favor of music stations. They
preferred 98.5 (and maybe 93.7 too).

They can't please everyone who would like talk and do what they can to save money. If you like some syndicated shows you can hear them online; or get a smartphone and use the TuneIn app. (Some phones are about $50 and a month of Web on them
is as low as $35/mo. About a buck a day. A 20 oz soda in a vending machine costs more.)

Options, competition, economics, business.
 
are we talking WRKO, WBZ, or both?

Both of them are leasing time, if they are making money on it that is what radio is all about.

Years and years ago blocks of time were sold, this isn't anything new.

Weekend overnights and Sunday mornings were always where the "public affairs" programs were slotted, made everyone fel warm and fuzzy that they were serving the community and that whole public trustee thing. In reality it was time they couldn't sell so it kept the FCC happy and didn't cost them crap to run. Most of the programs were provided free of charge to the station. I personally produced and engineered a show at the WJUL studios that were handed to WSSH to run at 6 AM on Sunday morning. I think I listened to it once.

At my last gig they ran a program produced at WUMB on Sunday Morning... and I have heard other stations in the market running it too.

Weekends would be where stations groomed future M-F talent, no more, one reason we had the Jen Brein disaster twice in one year.

Now they have people come in during the week and record their program length commercials. Ever notice none of the weekend shows take calls? The station makes more $$$, and can run automated on the weekends.

Syndicated..... free programming with slots for local ads....
 
Why PSA's? Placeholders for unsold inventory, unless you want to give MORE bonus spots, ad nauseum, to Net-twerk Capituhl Fundink.

PSA "programs"? I don't know what that means, I'm sorry.

By "prerecorded programs" I assume you mean reruns of Howie Carr, etc.? Gotta fill the time somehow! The pool of syndicated offerings that are worth airing is shrinking, and the rest are unsellable. All the good stuff has been cleared elsewhere. As long as scam artists will pay good money for half-hour blocks, Pat Campbell will continue to bring you more FASCINATING shows. As long as people call that toll-free number and buy these placebo products, Pat will continue to have a job, fascinating you hour after hour. Bill Kelley boasts in a promo that he has taken 12,000 calls or some such number on his radio show, but I've never yet heard him give out a call-in number or take a listener's call. Perhaps I wasn't listening during those 12,000 calls he took?

Live/Local talk shows cost money, and they don't want to invest in it. It's a gamble to them, and Pat Campbell, Bill Kelley, Barry Armstrong, and Dr. What's-His-Name are a better bet because THEY PAY FOR THE TIME!

Sad, but the station needs some new, innovative ideas to make it viable again. Who was the pioneer of "TalkRadio 68?" Mel Miller.* That's right, Kats and Kittens, MELVIN X. MELVIN from WMEX!!! C'mon, you remember that station on 1510 with Woo Woo Ginsburg, many Fenways, Dan Donovan that years before played the God-Awful Rock and Roll music! If the great minds at Entercom would "grow a pair" and get someone like him who had the ideas and vision to revitalize the place, WRKO could at least remain competitive and garner a more respectable share of the audience. WRKO needs another Mel Miller, not another "Brand Manager."

*I acknowledge that Charlie Van Dyke was in fact the first PD of WRKO as a talk station, however, CVD wasn't around long, set up the format, and Miller really ran with it, IMO. -FP
 
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Maybe he means public affairs shows but more likely telemarketers (Lynn native Kevin Trudeau, going to jail!). Public affairs shows...like Voices of Our World, Maryknoll Missionaries...at WMWM we had a show called Powerline that played soft rock and had advice/answers to letters by teens (host: "Well, that's where Jesus comes in." One time due to an error by record printers, copies of the first Dead Kennedys album were sent (sample lyrics:"God told me to skin you alive").
 
frnkp2000 said:
Who was the pioneer of "TalkRadio 68?" Mel Miller.* That's right, Kats and Kittens, MELVIN X. MELVIN from WMEX!!!
Click to expand...

That's wrong, Kats and Kittens. Melvin X. Melvin was one of Mac Richmond's house names, and was in fact J.J. Jeffrey, until he made the move to WRKO. Mel Miller used his own name on WMEX.
 
Unregistered said:
are we talking WRKO, WBZ, or both?

Well, that's an important question. If we're talking about WBZ, it's because it makes economic sense. If we're talking about WRKO, ITEOTWAWKI, a threat to the Republic, and a sign of a upcoming GOOB sale or switch to rhymic oldies.

EDS is the gift that keeps on giving. ( I believe this is where Raccoon comes in with a 15 'graph post opining "maybe yes, maybe no, or possibly a little of each. Who knows?"

Regards,
TSB
Click to expand...
 
TSBench said:
Unregistered said:
are we talking WRKO, WBZ, or both?

Well, that's an important question. If we're talking about WBZ, it's because it makes economic sense. If we're talking about WRKO, ITEOTWAWKI, a threat to the Republic, and a sign of a upcoming GOOB sale or switch to rhymic oldies.

EDS is the gift that keeps on giving. ( I believe this is where Raccoon comes in with a 15 'graph post opining "maybe yes, maybe no, or possibly a little of each. Who knows?"

Regards,
TSB
Click to expand...

LOL! And you almost got that quoting thing.....almost!
Click to expand...
 
.......I try to cover my butt--maybe yes, maybe no.........

Why do you need to cover your butt? If you have nothing of substance to add to a thread, just don't add it. Not posting on a topic isn't actionable. In fact, sometimes it's the smart thing to do if you don't have anything meaningful or original.
Regards,
TSB
 
even though it cost $, I don't see why they can't just have (LIVE) shows on line WBZ 1030am has.
Most other Entercom talk stations has (LIVE) programs on there, why can't WRKO?
 
Money or the lack of it...--they can do live talk on WEEI etc and that makes them money but WRKO gets low numbers and income so they feel it's not wise. People have more options (as I've said here or in other threads). If they run brokered etc they'd rather get a few bucks in instead of spending $ for hosts who won't draw listeners. That doesn't mean the brokered draws listeners, but at least they get paid for it. This is the same reason ESPN airs on 850. They get a check from ESPN for doing so (and as part of it get to run some
play by play in various sports, etc.)
 
Like someone else said, the answer is easy...they are not successful.
 
I don't ordinarily listen to WRKO, but I tuned in the other morning in my car to see if Mr. Kuhner was as bad as another thread suggested (he was). I sat through one commercial break: a spot from a sickroom supply company, a spot from an erectile dysfunction clinic, a spot from a hair replacement salon, and two PSAs. Not looking good for The Big 68.
 
Simply put WRKO is on life support. Years ago, they had considerable success with Sat-Sun mornings. When the obituary is written, it will be the tale of a failed attempt at injecting what the consultants called "hot talk" into the format, beginning with Leykis under former ownership (every time you hear Howie dis Leykis, just remember they replaced the Howie and Vicki train wreck with Leykis). This was followed by jumping on the fad for recycled pols -- Finneran, Manning -- and a decision that only right-wing-nut talk would succeed in the market, while making the odd decision to abandon local news on a newstalk station, opting instead for Metro kids re-reading the Globe headlines all day.
 
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