WING totally incompetent

[XtraXtra]

Is this what caused the collapse of the company? The nerd culture? I always liked Z93 during the 80's. I liked them better than Q102 which didn't play all the hits then.

I was a big fan of WCOL and 92X and bummed once 92X was put to sleep. I lived in Cincinnati late 80's/early 90's and remember Q102 being absolutely unlistenable (except maybe for Mark Sebastian) at the time. My radio was always tuned to Z93 - loved the sound; loved the upbeat presentation. Why nobody does this anymore is beyond me.

 

[the marv]

When WNCI and 92X battled it out 92X always had a harder rock playlist than WNCI. You probably would have heard more hip hop and grunge if they would have stuck around during the early 90's and not go rock40 or oldies. Of course they would have contended with the old HOT 105 which decided to go from it's rythmic top 40 to mainstream top40 after WNCI tried to become another sunny 95. But during the 90's of course country music was taking off and top 40 radio wasn't billing well even with good ratings which is why lots of heritage top40's died off.

 

[XtraXtra]

GT did run WCOL-FM as an AOR/Progressive Rocker in the early 70s (with religion 6am-2pm)

From what I hear on the internet by way of airchecks, all of the GT Top 40 stations seem to have used the same formula. They were all pretty tight and upbeat and the presentation moved along pretty quickly. The same upbeat sound on WIXY in Cleveland. If someone could do this today without having all the urban crap, I would listen alllll the time.

 

[XtraXtra]

When WNCI and 92X battled it out 92X always had a harder rock playlist than WNCI. You probably would have heard more hip hop and grunge if they would have stuck around during the early 90's and not go rock40 or oldies. Of course they would have contended with the old HOT 105 which decided to go from it's rythmic top 40 to mainstream top40 after WNCI tried to become another sunny 95. But during the 90's of course country music was taking off and top 40 radio wasn't billing well even with good ratings which is why lots of heritage top40's died off.

I realize this is all pretty subjective, but I don't remember 92X so much for its harder rock playlist so much as I remember it as being upbeat and CHR versus WNCI being sleepy - almost Adult or MOR. I do remember the Q102 of the early to mid 80's era as being more upbeat, more Gap Band, Midnight Star, etc. without going too urban (better to my ears). The WXGT I liked the best was from about 1987 to 1989 where they augmented the upbeat rock CHR tunes with mainstream alternative type tunes that had a beat. I would say Z93 in its heyday was very similar to the WXGT from about 1987 to 1989. Both sounded great.

This is too far afield for most people on the Cincinnati board, but during that same era WQIO (Mount Vernon) had the perfect music for that period of time. Once WXGT faded away, 93.7 static and all, ended up on my preset.

The more recent stations that made a good impression on my ears was the first incarnation of Kiss 107-FM (Cincinnati) and Wild 93.9 in Lima, both virtually unlistenable now. Whoever the guy selecting music for Wild 93.9 needs to be found and brought back to Ohio.

 

[the marv]

If I remember right WQIO went back to satellite Adult Contemporary after 92X died. As for finding the wild 93.9 guy good luck because Channel 999, KISS 107 And 93.9 KISS FM are all three ran by Clear Channel and both Channel 999 and 93.9 KISS FM run premium choice. Here in Columbus I had 92x, Wnci, WQIO The Super Q , and power 105.7 the power pig. Of course WNCI had its adult lean as the other 3 played a more dance and rock playlist. Too bad they all died off and top 40 hasn't been the same.

 

[XtraXtra]

If I remember right WQIO went back to satellite Adult Contemporary after 92X died. As for finding the wild 93.9 guy good luck because Channel 999, KISS 107 And 93.9 KISS FM are all three ran by Clear Channel and both Channel 999 and 93.9 KISS FM run premium choice. Here in Columbus I had 92x, Wnci, WQIO The Super Q , and power 105.7 the power pig. Of course WNCI had its adult lean as the other 3 played a more dance and rock playlist. Too bad they all died off and top 40 hasn't been the same.

If I remember correctly, WQIO stuck around for several years after the demise of 92X. That station was, by far, the best to my ears. WNCI has always sounded awful, but started sounding better (for the first time in my life) after they hired Florentino. WNCI was always a very professional sounding station, top notch in every respect, except for the music they traditionally have chosen to play.

 

[stereolane]

The purchase of unprofitable TV stations killed off Great Trails. There's really nothing more to the story than that.

A lot of the "back office" people on David Road seemed nerdy or geeky to me... from the young "comptroller" who everybody feared, to the engineers downstairs. I can't explain it any better than that.

Z-93 sounded good during the 80's because of the air talent, and a good PD. As the 80's faded away, there wasn't good leadership in place. Good jocks moved on. (Two were exiled to WIZE, more for dragging down morale than their on-air work). Add to that, the fragmenting of music in the late 80's, and constant meddling from the consultants...

I'll see if I can find a 92X playlist from the "Rock 40" days. Funny, one of the manic depressive nutjobs that GT sent to WIZE actually got hired at 92X, using her Z-93 audition tape. The only conclusion we could come to is that somebody at 92X didn't get the memo. :

 

[XtraXtra]

I'll see if I can find a 92X playlist from the "Rock 40" days. Funny, one of the manic depressive nutjobs that GT sent to WIZE actually got hired at 92X, using her Z-93 audition tape. The only conclusion we could come to is that somebody at 92X didn't get the memo. :

It wasn't Sharon Eisenhower (or something like that), was it? I used to have a major crush on her voice, if that makes any sense. She used to be on overnight - remember when they used to have talent on overnight?

 

[Doodical]

It sounds like you are a very bitter person "Tanksback", they way it reads on these boards now is that radio and automation seem to go hand in hand these days. I don't know Mark Neal, but if he's just one guy running the station you got to give him a little credit. I can't imagine being one guy doing it all and it being perfect or even close. Give him a little break, or perhaps offer to help him if you are so good? Just my two cents...

 

[alans613]

It sounds like you are a very bitter person "Tanksback", they way it reads on these boards now is that radio and automation seem to go hand in hand these days. I don't know Mark Neal, but if he's just one guy running the station you got to give him a little credit. I can't imagine being one guy doing it all and it being perfect or even close. Give him a little break, or perhaps offer to help him if you are so good? Just my two cents...

Don't you two work in the same building lol?

 

[Doodical]

@Alan613, I don't work in radio and never have, just a big fan of local radio. Do you work there? You seem to have quite an inside to all the people...I just enjoy reading what most of these people have to say and complain about. It makes my job not so bad in the big picture.

Craig
AT&T Tech

 

[alans613]

@Alan613, I don't work in radio and never have, just a big fan of local radio. Do you work there? You seem to have quite an inside to all the people...I just enjoy reading what most of these people have to say and complain about. It makes my job not so bad in the big picture.

Craig
AT&T Tech

No, I don't work there. Never have. I'm just very familiar with 717 E. David Rd. and the history of that building, especially my all-time favorite radio station, Z-93(RIP). Yes, I have been in the building a few times and was even put on the air on a strictly voluntary basis back in '03 on "The Morning Z" with Scott Mallory, as well as doing the "FlyPod" with Danielle back in October 2008 on Fly 92.9. It was always my dream to work at Z, but it never happened. Oh well. I'm just glad that I got to be a very small part of Z back in '03. Great times that I'll always remember!

 

[Doodical]

Alan613, that sounds pretty cool that you have had a chance to do something you dreamed about. Im sure it was very cool to meet these people and be on the air. I enjoyed Z-93 back in the day with Jeff Wicker but really love WTUE. It's a good station except for Bob and Tom (kind of bland) I enjoy 95.3 the Eagle too. Never wanted to work in radio but really dig the technical side of it. The electronics and design programs that make it work. Thanks for the chat

 

[TANKSBACK]

Not bitter, just a combination of nostalgic and irritated. Nothing against automation, just do it competently. I just can't fathom that no one, NO ONE, not a single employee at Mainline even listens to WING enough to catch the fact that the automation is blowing off spots for 6 or 7 hours during a major sporting event. Any employee should be able to call the PD or GM of Chief Engineeer and tell them that there's a problem, and get it fixed. I listen to a lot of sports radio, particularly ESPN/WING. Maybe I should apply for a monitor's job. No, I won't work for fast food coupons.

 

[DJJack1]

Did YOU call them? I know I used to listen to 1530 on Saturday mornings for Bob Costas. Every Saturday without fail, the automation would malfunction and two shows would play at the same time. One phone call to the WLW producer usually fixed it. Three or four weeks of that, and it was finally fixed.

Should the staff be aware? Absolutely. Can the listeners call and alert them? Sure.

So...did you call them?

 

[borderblaster]

Call them, tweet them, Facebook them, whatever.

 

[TANKSBACK]

DJJack1: *** YOU WIN! *** Funniest post of the month award! Call a radio station that's being run on automation. HAL, are you there? HAL? If no one is running the board, no one will answer! It's the weekend so no one is at the switchboard either! This is a radio station with a website "schedule" page that hasn't been updated since LAST SEPTEMBER! Whose local sports page is COMPLETELY BLANK! Whose blog page is COMPLETELY BLANK! And borderblaster, what makes you think a tweet or facebook post will attract anyone's attention? I'm not even sure that anyone is live on any of the Mainline stations to call. Point is, no one there gives a crap about much of anything about WING. I care because I like listening to sports talk and well run radio stations.

 

[stereolane]

DJJack1: *** YOU WIN! *** Funniest post of the month award! Call a radio station that's being run on automation. HAL, are you there? HAL? If no one is running the board, no one will answer! It's the weekend so no one is at the switchboard either! This is a radio station with a website "schedule" page that hasn't been updated since LAST SEPTEMBER! Whose local sports page is COMPLETELY BLANK! Whose blog page is COMPLETELY BLANK! And borderblaster, what makes you think a tweet or facebook post will attract anyone's attention? I'm not even sure that anyone is live on any of the Mainline stations to call. Point is, no one there gives a crap about much of anything about WING. I care because I like listening to sports talk and well run radio stations.

Don't waste your time explaining. Too many Lew Dickey and John Hogan Kool-aid drinkers here. They'll just chime in, and say something cutesy about how "We don't understand how radio has changed" and "they have to wear so many hats" or that "AM is not a priority" or "it's just there to clear inventory" or, "the station is just there to shave a half share off some other station to manipulate the numbers, and make the cluster look good"... (that one is my favorite).

Perhaps we are just old, irrelevant fossils who recall the days of programming (and maintaining) a successful radio station.

 

[DJJack1]

Okay suit yourself. I'm sure *someone* is in the building *sometime*. Heck, call up and leave a message saying you want to buy some advertising. Then when they call you back, give em hell. If it means that much to you, there are ways to get your point across.

Bitching about it on a gossip site clearly isn't fixing the problem.

Then again, there are those of you who continue to listen to shows you don't like, or stations that aren't run well, just to complain about it on here. I've never understood it and never will, but if it makes ya happy....

 

[XtraXtra]

Don't waste your time explaining. Too many Lew Dickey and John Hogan Kool-aid drinkers here. They'll just chime in, and say something cutesy about how "We don't understand how radio has changed" and "they have to wear so many hats" or that "AM is not a priority" or "it's just there to clear inventory" or, "the station is just there to shave a half share off some other station to manipulate the numbers, and make the cluster look good"... (that one is my favorite).

Perhaps we are just old, irrelevant fossils who recall the days of programming (and maintaining) a successful radio station.

I only have two comments to the above:

1) Economics are what they, but what they're doing with radio these days would be the same thing like Kroger deciding to only be open between 9 am to 2 pm, and 4 pm to 7pm, because those are the only hours that justify turning the lights on and firing up the cash registers. In theory, that might be true but if someone has to pick up some milk at 9:30 at night and have to go somewhere else for the milk, sooner or later they get out of the habit of going to Kroger. That's what's happened to radio.

2) Live and local = interractive. Why do you think people use this boards? They like to be able to interract with someone.