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Win in Rome

J

jetfli

Ah, time for Spring Book promotions when a young man's fancy turns to drive time giveaways. Interestingly enough, the Zone already does pretty well during drive times, so they'll run a midday contest, Win in Rome, trying to build ratings locally for Jim Rome's show. Now every NSSB and his dog knows I'm not a Rome fan, but this is not about Rome per se. No, I'm here to beat the corporate radio dead horse, this time for making deals that hurt their own stations in the local market.

Let's face it, what Plaster and his crew have set in this city as a standard for sports talk mixes like oil and water with Rome's shtick. When corporate radio straps its local stations in to programming that is not an appropriate market fit in order to make an across-the-board deal, then the station and its listeners are the losers. There are enough local out-of-radio sports talk show hosts out there now for the Zone to be able to put together a new local program that would get higher ratings than the current fare. But they're locked out of that. C'mon Zonies, one of the best prizes you could give me is a new midday sports show with new-to-the-Zone hosts. Then all of your listeners would be winners, not just the lucky caller.
 
Dwyer and Bry?

><P ID="signature">______________
"The best days for Nashville radio lie ahead!"
-Doug "NashRadio"</P>
 
>
> Let's face it, what Plaster and his crew have set in this
> city as a standard for sports talk mixes like oil and water
> with Rome's shtick. When corporate radio straps its local
> stations in to programming that is not an appropriate market
> fit in order to make an across-the-board deal, then the
> station and its listeners are the losers. There are enough
> local out-of-radio sports talk show hosts out there now for
> the Zone to be able to put together a new local program that
> would get higher ratings than the current fare. But they're
> locked out of that. C'mon Zonies, one of the best prizes you
> could give me is a new midday sports show with
> new-to-the-Zone hosts. Then all of your listeners would be
> winners, not just the lucky caller.
>

Yes, another radio rehash team at Titans Incorporated is all they need. Three more hours of how Vince Young looked terrible in the five step drop, versus Matt Leinart floating a pass on his third and fifth snaps. Or we could discuss Pacman Jones and his Club 615 legal implications ad nauseum. Hey, here comes Floyd Reese with more coy handwringing. Because these Titans events are more important than, say, tornadoes hitting middle Tennessee. If anyone notices, some of these callers are more geeked and tightly wound than "Star Wars" fans
memorizing every line to their favorite movie.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by courier37027 on 04/14/06 02:01 PM.</FONT></P>
 
BIG TIME or NO TIME at the ZONE

The 24 hours of Titans talk is getting very old. The problem is the crew at 104.5 never do anything but go to Titans games and Predators games. George used to go to other games, but is a hermit these days and doesn't go anywhere that he doesn't deem to his level. He doesn't even attend Vanderbilt games much anymore except in basketball sometimes. Willie and Darren don't go to any ball games outside of the Titans, Vanderbilt and the Predators. The 3 combined probably didn't see one high school game in the last year. The only Belmont or Lipscomb game they attended was because they were paid to be there doing the show. It is big time or no time by the Zone Crew.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by seeyoudawgs on 04/16/06 02:04 PM.</FONT></P>
 
What is your motive?

> The 24 hours of Titans talk is getting very old. The problem
> is the crew at 104.5 never do anything but go to Titans
> games and Predators games. George used to go to other games,
> but is a hermit these days and doesn't go anywhere that he
> doesn't deem to his level. He doesn't even attend Vanderbilt
> games much anymore except in basketball sometimes. Willie
> and Darren don't go to any ball games outside of the Titans,
> Vanderbilt and the Predators. The 3 combined probably didn't
> see one high school game in the last year. The only Belmont
> or Lipscomb game they attended was because they were paid to
> be there doing the show. It is big time or no time by the
> Zone Crew.

What is your motive for posting this stuff that is untrue? If you listen to the show, you'll hear them tell about the games they go to. Everything from the Sounds to the Grizzlies. Plus, they're often calling area college and high school games for CSS, etc., so they're at those games. And if you can at least recognize the guys from their pictures, you'll see them at games. As few games as I get to, I see them. So what is your motive?
 
Re: BIG TIME or NO TIME at the ZONE

> The 24 hours of Titans talk is getting very old. The problem
> is the crew at 104.5 never do anything but go to Titans
> games and Predators games. George used to go to other games,
> but is a hermit these days and doesn't go anywhere that he
> doesn't deem to his level. He doesn't even attend Vanderbilt
> games much anymore except in basketball sometimes. Willie
> and Darren don't go to any ball games outside of the Titans,
> Vanderbilt and the Predators. The 3 combined probably didn't
> see one high school game in the last year. The only Belmont
> or Lipscomb game they attended was because they were paid to
> be there doing the show. It is big time or no time by the
> Zone Crew.
>

George went to some Georgia Tech football and some Western Kentucky basketball games. (And yes, we know he was paid. Shame on him for making money doing something he enjoys).

I'm tired of all of the Titans talk too. But there are a lot of people who aren't, especially as the draft comes up. Still, I've heard baseball (college and MLB) talk on both local sports shows on the zone recently. I've heard some SEC spring football talk. Heard some college basketball talk, even though the season is over. What are they missing? Bowling? HS baseball? Heck, they even do a pretty good bit of NASCAR coverage.

Again, I'm coming off as the Zone apologist, and I really don't have any loyalty to the station other than being a listener. But they get so much criticism on this board sometimes, you'd think they were The Fan (nothing personal there, I listen to The Fan sometimes, I just don't think their programming is as good). Someone slammed them a while back for not letting fans talking about what they want, contrasting The Zone unfavorably to Sports Night. Now they talk about what the fans want to talk about (Steve McNair, the draft, etc.) and they get slammed for that. The Zone "failed miserably" in their storm coverage, even though they weren't the only station to go wall-to-wall with the storm (I know, Gallatin is their COL, but it's not like all the radios in Gallatin were stuck on 104.5).

If I ran the station, I'd probably do some things differently; I don't want to leave the impression that I'm some kind of Zone groupie. It's just the criticism seems way out of proportion with the job they are doing. Yeah, they could be better, and might benefit from some stronger local competition. But their local shows are good; they're not pulling those ratings just because they have a better signal than the other sports stations.

Anyway, off my soapbox.
 
Re: What is your motive?

>
> What is your motive for posting this stuff that is untrue?
> If you listen to the show, you'll hear them tell about the
> games they go to. Everything from the Sounds to the
> Grizzlies. Plus, they're often calling area college and high
> school games for CSS, etc., so they're at those games. And
> if you can at least recognize the guys from their pictures,
> you'll see them at games. As few games as I get to, I see
> them. So what is your motive?
>

I agree The Zone covers Vanderbilt, Belmont, Memphis Grizzlies and various sports. The original thread post, from my view, offered an alternative to Jim Rome because his show's style is different from the Wake-Up and afternoon Sports Zone programs. There is very little live sports from 11A-2P weekdays. I think a live local sports talk show during that time slot would likely lend itself to the two big draws here: Titans and Predators. And my question is how many hours per day would be enough for Titans and Predators? Seemingly many people have reached their limit on these two topics. Others demand more.

While The Zone delves into SEC football, MLB and SEC baseball, high school football (Murphy Fair does great work) and NASCAR it seems the hot topic is local pro sports. The Zone has other programs like legal advice, gardening, home improvement.

The Zone would be well advised to avoid the 1510 WLAC mistake of ten years ago. When Bob Bell and Bill King were a talk show team college football recruiting was limited to one hour, often the last hour of their weekday shows. One year they decided to open the format to recruiting questions anytime. While the rabid fans enjoyed this talk, it alienated most of their audience.

Plaster and Daunic pick up some extra bucks doing cable or spotter work. There is nothing wrong with that. But the original frame of reference, the 11A-2P slot now occupied by Rome, is the topic. Opinion: Replacing Rome with miniscule and overanalyzed Titans and Predators talk will eventually backfire. There may be better shows than Van Smack's syndicated show, but it beats the possible three additional hours of the morning and afternoon repeats.
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by courier37027 on 04/17/06 12:27 PM.</FONT></P>
 
Re: Replacing Rome

Several sports stations out there that don't just tap into FSR, SNR, or ESPN offer some interesting alternatives to the same old talk during middays. They either tap into a regional show, such as WNSR does with Max Howell; they program an in-depth feature type of program, with a single host whose speciality is to get beneath the surface of a story or to do one-on-one interviews; provide time for smaller schools who wouldn't get much air time otherwise; or they host a roundtable type of show with an umbrella title in which sports journalists and others discuss a single topic. The Zone could do a better job with any of those ideas than what's currently being heard on sports stations in town now. I've felt the Driver's Zone and the Draft Room were steps in the right direction.
 
Re: BIG TIME or NO TIME at the ZONE

If I come off as bashing the Zone, I don't mean to be that hard on them. They do some things very well. They also waste so many opportunities because they have over paid for talent in a couple of situations.

I think it would be a mistake of enourmous proportion for George to leave 104.5 and go to any other station. George does get something in his mind and won't let go. If he think the Zone is holding out, he won't let go easily and will push them to the edge if not over to get his money. If they do have him over on the contract and he choses to stay, they would serve themselves well to pay him other wise it will be as miserable as you can imagine if he stays and doesn't feel like he was paid what he deserves.

As many do in town I find myself tuning in 560 more often for a fresh approach. They don't seem to be full of egos, but guys sitting around talking with you and not at you. 560 will never be a ratings champion, but that has never been that important. I need a break from the NASCAR and Football talk at the Zone. I'm not bashing them or maybe I am, but they do get in ruts and they don't go to other games unless they get paid. I don't say they shouldn't talk a lot of football, but I personally like to get away from football for a while. The draft is here and it is good to get into it. John McClain is on too much.
 
Re: What is your motive?

What is your motive? You aren't serious are you? They go to those games because the station is paid to be there. Do you think they really stay? Get real. I have seen them and no they don't go to high school games or any games other than the ones they are paid to be there for. Not anything that isn't Titans or Predators. Getting paid to be there or required by their work to be there doesn't count. My motive is to point out that they are falling into the Titans pro football box and though I know that they do talk about other things, a large portion of their time is spent on the Titans and they don't talk about the numerous other sports around town. They are so hook line and sinker Titans they are now having the circus act of Arena Football coaches and players on. Arena football is a circus act and they are starting to treat it as a legitimate sport because of the money they get paid. My motive is that the Zone is all about the money now and not about good programming and serving the community.
 
Re: What is your motive?

> What is your motive? You aren't serious are you? They go to
> those games because the station is paid to be there. Do you
> think they really stay? Get real. I have seen them and no
> they don't go to high school games or any games other than
> the ones they are paid to be there for. Not anything that
> isn't Titans or Predators. Getting paid to be there or
> required by their work to be there doesn't count. My motive
> is to point out that they are falling into the Titans pro
> football box and though I know that they do talk about other
> things, a large portion of their time is spent on the Titans
> and they don't talk about the numerous other sports around
> town. They are so hook line and sinker Titans they are now
> having the circus act of Arena Football coaches and players
> on. Arena football is a circus act and they are starting to
> treat it as a legitimate sport because of the money they get
> paid. My motive is that the Zone is all about the money now
> and not about good programming and serving the community.
>

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? You are so far off it's not funny!
 
Re: BIG TIME or NO TIME at the ZONE

> If I come off as bashing the Zone, I don't mean to be that
> hard on them. They do some things very well. They also waste
> so many opportunities because they have over paid for talent
> in a couple of situations.
>
> I think it would be a mistake of enourmous proportion for
> George to leave 104.5 and go to any other station. George
> does get something in his mind and won't let go. If he think
> the Zone is holding out, he won't let go easily and will
> push them to the edge if not over to get his money. If they
> do have him over on the contract and he choses to stay, they
> would serve themselves well to pay him other wise it will be
> as miserable as you can imagine if he stays and doesn't feel
> like he was paid what he deserves.
>
> As many do in town I find myself tuning in 560 more often
> for a fresh approach. They don't seem to be full of egos,
> but guys sitting around talking with you and not at you. 560
> will never be a ratings champion, but that has never been
> that important. I need a break from the NASCAR and Football
> talk at the Zone. I'm not bashing them or maybe I am, but
> they do get in ruts and they don't go to other games unless
> they get paid. I don't say they shouldn't talk a lot of
> football, but I personally like to get away from football
> for a while. The draft is here and it is good to get into
> it. John McClain is on too much.
>


My last post wasn't only directed at you, but more the general tone of most posters towards the Zone.

The assertion that none of them go to games unless they're getting paid to be there is just not true. George has talked often about having season tickets to the Preds games (and maybe Titans PSLs as well; I'm not sure). All the guys from The Sports Zone go to Sounds games from time to time; I don't know who is paying them to go there. I don't know how many high school games any of them go to; someone probably does. Obviously, Willy's Predators duties limit what he can get to on many evenings, but surely you're not criticizing him for that?

I've heard a lot of MTSU sports on The Zone; I can't think of any mid-major women's college basketball coach who has gotten more attention on a sports station in a pro sports town as Rick Insell has gotten. Yes, they did do a couple of remotes from MTSU, but also involved Insell, Chris Massaro, and Rick Stockstill plenty of other times. Scott Sanderson was a frequent guest, though The Zone has no affiliation with Lipscomb that I know of. Lots of baseball talk on both major local shows, both Sounds and MLB (and I know a lot of Braves when George is around, but again, the Braves aren't paying them).

A lot of people love 560; more power to them. I just can't listen to much Greg Pogue or Don West, and unfortunately that turned me off to them a long time ago. Still, they seem to do a great job. As far as egos go, I think there are some inflated ones on both stations; still, I don't know where the idea that 104.5 talent will "talk at you," except maybe Mark. George has an ego, but he's also pretty self-deprecating, and Willy and Darren certainly don't act like they're sports gods. Maybe I'm defending them too much, but you seem to have an axe to grind...
 
Re: What is your motive?

> Plaster and Daunic pick up some extra bucks doing cable or
> spotter work. There is nothing wrong with that. But the
> original frame of reference, the 11A-2P slot now occupied by
> Rome, is the topic. Opinion: Replacing Rome with miniscule
> and overanalyzed Titans and Predators talk will eventually
> backfire. There may be better shows than Van Smack's
> syndicated show, but it beats the possible three additional
> hours of the morning and afternoon repeats.

I agree with this totally. If they put something local here, it would need to be something topical, as jetfli suggests. But I also like Rome's show, so I'd just as soon see it stay like it is. That's not to say there isn't anything better out there. Still, it's nice to get a different perspective from the local shows, and a different style.
 
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