WIZE

[zburns]

Also while thinking about it, IF ( the biggest word I know) I owned a station, I would try my damnedest to see the strengths of each individual. Can someone on air sell??
Maybe another is best at producing the spots? My rule would be, you must contribute beyond your job. On air especially. There would be no dead weights in the staff. Honestly, it could not be afforded.
Be lean from a business standpoint and hyper serve the local community from an on air standpoint.

 

[secondchoice]

My rule would be, you must contribute beyond your job. On air especially.

If you have lots of "local" programs this will not work. A well done (sellable) local program takes time to produce. It would be better to use the bird (satellite). Having done the on air / sales thing, I can say: it is a joke. A well done on air show requires at least an equal number hours of show prep that the show airs. 6am to 10AM requires at least 4 hours of show prep (more if you do not play some music), that’s 8 hours. Now you make 4 hours of sales calls you at 12 hours! You could just show up and read liner cards and have a boring show, then go do sales. If some one can “wing it” (Robin Williams) they will not be in local radio! There is too much money in other places (TV, clubs, writing sitcoms* or cable). If you go the information route then you have to act like a producer to line up guests, which take time from sales. If a person can $ell, he (she) has better things to do than “play radio”.


*I was lucky to been a part of a couple of pilots that were never picked up. I almost stayed in LA but I got smart and realized I could not stand the pressure. In eight months I went from normal blood pressure to dangerously high and could not sleep more than 3 hours a night. It took two years to get back to my heath. Of course I made about 5 years of “radio money” in that short time!

 

[Radio Dude]

Just noticed that WIZE AM is now Sprinfield's New Home for Country. It is good to see that Clear Channel is giving the local Springfied community a little flavor.
Probably not a ratings player but a great concept for their community. I wonder if they will carry High School Sports?

 

[techie2]

Just noticed that WIZE AM is now Sprinfield's New Home for Country. It is good to see that Clear Channel is giving the local Springfied community a little flavor.
Probably not a ratings player but a great concept for their community. I wonder if they will carry High School Sports?

The WONE/WIZE simulcast carried a GWOC conference game of the week in football and basketball. Not sure if their nighttime signal is good enough outside of Springfield to carry the county schools or not.

 

[pioneer71]

This great news that Clear Channel has given Springfield their own station. There is revenue to be made in Clark and Champaign County. All you have to was listen to Kiss Country to know they made money not only with their regular progrmming but also on high school sports.

If you understand the basics of local small to medium market radio you will understand that stations like Kiss did an excellent job of educating the advertising pool that radio can work for them.

In today's world to make it in these kind of markets you need the local programming elements such as a live local morning and perhaps afyernoon drive show (if the budget allows) and a strong bird feed such as a Dial Global for Mid Day, evenings and week ends.

Second Chance I hate to rain on your comments but there a number of people who not only do a very strong morning show but can go out and sell. I have taught air talent how to translate them being on the radio to opening up doors to securing the sales appointment. I have then taught them how to close the sale. This is not "playing radio" but knowing how to make radio work and still be fun in the market. I can't tell you how many times how it was easy for the air talent to sell a remote and then I taught them how to build a schedule on that.

WIZE needs to offer high school play by play and also local news. It would not hurt them at all to have a manager in the market to be part of the community. The bad side is their AM night time signal will not be heard in Champaign County. However, I have worked around that before in making money big time on high school sports with either a daytime AM or weak night time signal.

I will tell you there are a lot of sales people and managers who either don't know how to sell h.s. sports or don't care, Trust me you can money off it.

 

[Limp73]

WIZE does have an audiostream link (iHeart radio) on its new website....but I don't think it's working yet.

CC may want to try farming out local high school sports coverage to a local seperate entity....something similar to Scores Broadcast.com up in Sidney. Somebody in Springfield with some web savvy may want to consider starting one up right about now to be ready for the fall football season and approach CC Dayton on the idea.

As for an FM translator I doubt that will happen with CC's downsizing over the past several years.

For it being marketed as "classic country" the names Toby Keith or Trisha Yearwood would more along the lines of "new country."

 

[secondchoice]

Second Chance I hate to rain on your comments but there a number of people who not only do a very strong morning show but can go out and sell. I have taught air talent how to translate them being on the radio to opening up doors to securing the sales appointment. I have then taught them how to close the sale. This is not "playing radio" but knowing how to make radio work and still be fun in the market. I can't tell you how many times how it was easy for the air talent to sell a remote and then I taught them how to build a schedule on that.

I am just speaking from personal experience when I was doing the sales / DJ Gigs. It cost me money to do the on air shift with proper show prep. I had the same quota to meet as the manager / owner and his niece to get full percentage after the “draw”. I did make a lot more money in sales and I would have stayed in sales except my some of my best accounts ended up “house accounts” because after the first sale to the client’s agency, the reorders “just showed up”.
Your operation sounds like a good place to work.

 

[stereolane]

Also while thinking about it, IF ( the biggest word I know) I owned a station, I would try my damnedest to see the strengths of each individual.

That doesn't work when management (Jerry Staggs, Clark Davis) believe that "fear is a good motivator"... the PD tip-toed around WIZE, keeping a "low profile" acting as if he could be fired at any moment. No leadership. All that accomplishes is your staff constantly looking for gigs elsewhere.

 

[Doodical]

I hope CC hires sales people for WIZE and makes a realy go with this station. I know FM listeners won't jump to the AM, but Clark County could benefit from this station as Greene County does from WBZI. Be live and local and focus on Springfield and it's surrounding communities. You won't win in the ratings, but you will make money...and thats what it's all really about...right?