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WNTK has to be lovin life these days
- Thread starter nhradiochild
- Start date
N
NO DAG
Guest
This is not to say that if Mr. V altered his vision to add some polish to his news talk franchise, he could be onto something good.. Professionalism breeds more higher rates, businesses would enjoy a better association with a radio station that sounds well worth the price. The best of all, it's radio, this would not be a huge undertaking to accomplish. WEGP in Presque Isle Maine,way way up there in the 'county' sounds good for what they do.. News talk.. WTPL in Concord sound good, as does WKBK in Keene, "The Zone" and WVMT in Burlington sound fine, as does WSYB in Rutland which sounds good although, Judy did a much better job than the overwhelmed 'professor of programming' in doing the weekday :06 minute updates / upcoming programs and bottom hour news. News talk is not a hard format to make sound descent.
A
argytunes
Guest
I keep thinking about NO DAG's previous post. And expecially his last sentence:
News talk is not a hard format to make sound descent (sic)
I honestly think it depends upon whether the talk show host and the topic(s) he or she chooses to include have an audience relatability factor that doesn't just sound like a group of people b**ching! Listeners can call in and complain about the war, the economy, high fuel prices...any number of topics. But listening to people complain without arriving at a possible solution gets "tired" after awhile.
And when listeners get tired of hearing the same old gripes every single day...THEY STOP LISTENING. And subsequently, local advertisers stop using radio as a tool to sell their product or service.
Face it! Unless you've got local AND national advertisers around to support ANY radio station.......the days of survival for that radio station are numbered! :'(
argytunes
News talk is not a hard format to make sound descent (sic)
I honestly think it depends upon whether the talk show host and the topic(s) he or she chooses to include have an audience relatability factor that doesn't just sound like a group of people b**ching! Listeners can call in and complain about the war, the economy, high fuel prices...any number of topics. But listening to people complain without arriving at a possible solution gets "tired" after awhile.
And when listeners get tired of hearing the same old gripes every single day...THEY STOP LISTENING. And subsequently, local advertisers stop using radio as a tool to sell their product or service.
Face it! Unless you've got local AND national advertisers around to support ANY radio station.......the days of survival for that radio station are numbered! :'(
argytunes
R
radiotony
Guest
I have to agree. I think Bob does a pretty good job up there of keeping it local in the morning and on weekends and offering listeners syndicated programming they like. In addition, he gives people who have limited or no radio experience a chance to get into the business. I personally didn't think what happened to Arnie Arnesen was such a great thing. But owners do what they want to do and that is what makes them owners, I guess.
In my 28 months at WKXL, we hired two people away from his station to work for us, with two others who had previous experience at WNTK. Three of the four have stayed in radio: One is still in commercial radio, one in public radio in Alaska, and one is still at WKXL. One other has a pretty good gig back at Colby-Sawyer, her alma mater. In other words, he is the only one really giving people a chance in our neck of the woods and he has to be doing something right.
In my 28 months at WKXL, we hired two people away from his station to work for us, with two others who had previous experience at WNTK. Three of the four have stayed in radio: One is still in commercial radio, one in public radio in Alaska, and one is still at WKXL. One other has a pretty good gig back at Colby-Sawyer, her alma mater. In other words, he is the only one really giving people a chance in our neck of the woods and he has to be doing something right.
lamont_cranston said:
J
Jimc
Guest
Anthony is correct in at least one thing he has said.
Bob Vinikoor has provided opportunities for few exist for young uopsatrts to hone their skills, and occasionally an opportunity to that skilled pro to settle comfortably in a good local radio station.
The talent pool that is so slim today is a by-product of the radio industry taking advantage of technology to operate clusters of stations for a slim budget. The opportunities are fewer and the pool of talent has moved away, moved on, gotten out of the business or pretty much decide that radio as a career ahs no future.
WNTK is a small market LOCAl radio station. Bob V has done an 'ok' job managing it, considering his amazing lack of actual broadcast experience.
PS on Gardner Goldsmith: the travel situation was one consideration, but more than likely it was again economics.
Economics A- sales are a bit off at WNTK, and B-Gardner's insistance of so deeply embedding himself in stories like the Ray Buckley/NH democratic Party issue has managed to upset certain influences in the business community. You don't have to read between too many lines to get the drift of that.
Bob Vinikoor has provided opportunities for few exist for young uopsatrts to hone their skills, and occasionally an opportunity to that skilled pro to settle comfortably in a good local radio station.
The talent pool that is so slim today is a by-product of the radio industry taking advantage of technology to operate clusters of stations for a slim budget. The opportunities are fewer and the pool of talent has moved away, moved on, gotten out of the business or pretty much decide that radio as a career ahs no future.
WNTK is a small market LOCAl radio station. Bob V has done an 'ok' job managing it, considering his amazing lack of actual broadcast experience.
PS on Gardner Goldsmith: the travel situation was one consideration, but more than likely it was again economics.
Economics A- sales are a bit off at WNTK, and B-Gardner's insistance of so deeply embedding himself in stories like the Ray Buckley/NH democratic Party issue has managed to upset certain influences in the business community. You don't have to read between too many lines to get the drift of that.
N
NO DAG
Guest
I guess I was talking about the station as a whole with no issues on the shows and syndicated fare. I'm talking about the stations personality, and all that goes on between the shows and after the top hour network news. I guess you can say, the overall 'stationality". That is where WNTK sounds so second rate. That's great that people have got their starts there, and moved on. The station has sounded like it has with little to no change since Bob V put on AM 1020. Bob V is a survivor, no questions there. The station overall (the big picture) is no way in the same league as news talk stations in similar or smaller sized markets..
R
radiotony
Guest
Funny you should mention this. While I don't know for sure, I would bet you are correct about the economics.
Back in March, Arnie Arnesen and Charlie Arlinghaus spoke about local politics in front of the Leadership Greater Concord 2007 Class, of which I am a member. This discussion, as it always does with Arnie, turned to media, and she lamented that there were currently no local political talk shows on the air in New Hampshire [she missed mentioning Woody Woodland on WSMN, who still does some politics, but whatever]. She mentioned that even Gardner Goldsmith was taken off the air and that was news to me at the time. It was funny that Arnie even mentioned it, lamenting that it was a terrible thing that Goldsmith was taken off the air when he had a role in her losing her stations. Sometimes, she can be a real class act.
Just as a bit of insider gossip, the owner of WKXL was considering putting Goldsmith on from Noon to 3 p.m. on WKXL in October 2005. The expenses were to be shared between both WKXL and WNTK. Goldsmith was also promising a bunch of advertising he was going to bring to both stations and was looking to syndicate the show throughout the state, which he was never able to do that I ever saw.
As PD of the station at the time, I didn't think it was a bad idea to go to some sort of syndicated programming at WKXL but I also wasn't sold on Goldsmith being the kind of syndicated programming the station needed. I suggested Dave Ramsey or something which wasn't political in nature, considering the owner's background. I also wasn't yet ready to give up on our entirely local format. In addition, the entire thing felt like a lynching - which it clearly later became - and I didn't want to be involved in that kind of negative karma. It wouldn't be good for the station. I could just see the opening paragraph to the news story when Arnie lost her stations: "Conservative former U.S. Senator and owner of WKXL helps other stations take off Arnie Arnesen, the loudest liberal voice in the state, blah, blah, blah ..." One thing I liked about Goldsmith's show was his pretty cool bumper music - like The Damned and other stuff - which I knew was never going to fly with the owner of WKXL. I also thought it would have been cool, under different circumstances, to have Arnie and Goldsmith do a show together, from the left and the right. But the cutthroat aspect of the business kept something cool like that from happening. Anyhoo, I advised against putting Goldsmith on and unless there was real advertising numbers behind what he was saying and the owner agreed.
In the end, it was a good decision for the station: WKXL got no bad press from WNTK and WTPL ousting Arnie and the station went on to win tons of awards for its local programming.
Thinking about it now, the karma thing really came into play. I remember Goldsmith proudly sitting at the WNTK table with Bob and his crew at the NHAB Awards banquet right next to the WKXL table a week or two after Arnie was kicked off the air. The same night, Arnie was named Talk host of the Year for the second year in a row. Two months later, Arnie gets the boot from WTPL and about a year later, the same thing happens to Goldsmith. Funny how these things happen, isn't it?
Back in March, Arnie Arnesen and Charlie Arlinghaus spoke about local politics in front of the Leadership Greater Concord 2007 Class, of which I am a member. This discussion, as it always does with Arnie, turned to media, and she lamented that there were currently no local political talk shows on the air in New Hampshire [she missed mentioning Woody Woodland on WSMN, who still does some politics, but whatever]. She mentioned that even Gardner Goldsmith was taken off the air and that was news to me at the time. It was funny that Arnie even mentioned it, lamenting that it was a terrible thing that Goldsmith was taken off the air when he had a role in her losing her stations. Sometimes, she can be a real class act.
Just as a bit of insider gossip, the owner of WKXL was considering putting Goldsmith on from Noon to 3 p.m. on WKXL in October 2005. The expenses were to be shared between both WKXL and WNTK. Goldsmith was also promising a bunch of advertising he was going to bring to both stations and was looking to syndicate the show throughout the state, which he was never able to do that I ever saw.
As PD of the station at the time, I didn't think it was a bad idea to go to some sort of syndicated programming at WKXL but I also wasn't sold on Goldsmith being the kind of syndicated programming the station needed. I suggested Dave Ramsey or something which wasn't political in nature, considering the owner's background. I also wasn't yet ready to give up on our entirely local format. In addition, the entire thing felt like a lynching - which it clearly later became - and I didn't want to be involved in that kind of negative karma. It wouldn't be good for the station. I could just see the opening paragraph to the news story when Arnie lost her stations: "Conservative former U.S. Senator and owner of WKXL helps other stations take off Arnie Arnesen, the loudest liberal voice in the state, blah, blah, blah ..." One thing I liked about Goldsmith's show was his pretty cool bumper music - like The Damned and other stuff - which I knew was never going to fly with the owner of WKXL. I also thought it would have been cool, under different circumstances, to have Arnie and Goldsmith do a show together, from the left and the right. But the cutthroat aspect of the business kept something cool like that from happening. Anyhoo, I advised against putting Goldsmith on and unless there was real advertising numbers behind what he was saying and the owner agreed.
In the end, it was a good decision for the station: WKXL got no bad press from WNTK and WTPL ousting Arnie and the station went on to win tons of awards for its local programming.
Thinking about it now, the karma thing really came into play. I remember Goldsmith proudly sitting at the WNTK table with Bob and his crew at the NHAB Awards banquet right next to the WKXL table a week or two after Arnie was kicked off the air. The same night, Arnie was named Talk host of the Year for the second year in a row. Two months later, Arnie gets the boot from WTPL and about a year later, the same thing happens to Goldsmith. Funny how these things happen, isn't it?
Jimc said:
J
Jimc
Guest
Golly, Anthony, WKXL could have been center stage in the attempted lynching of Ray Buckley. You missed that.
Not to forget the Ed brown circus.
Not to forget the Ed brown circus.
R
radiotony
Guest
Well, the station didn't miss it. It had news coverage of it.
Jimc said:
WNTK must have one of the longest-running commercials ever.
The very same spot for "Chase the Mover" has been running on the station for a good ten+ years by my guess-timate.
The only other longer running same spot(not counting the updated Shaker Valley ones) has to be the one or two for "NINA".
The very same spot for "Chase the Mover" has been running on the station for a good ten+ years by my guess-timate.
The only other longer running same spot(not counting the updated Shaker Valley ones) has to be the one or two for "NINA".
Another spot that seemed to run forever was Ransom's Furniture. 
ebol said:
Gardner is currently cohosting Free Talk Live on Monday nights. Last night however, he couldn't make it due to the flooding situation. His blog is still online at http://libertyconspiracy.com .
M
Mr. DUBbonet
Guest
I give Bob alot of credit for not only staying with his vision but growing in whatever way he can. He is the type of broadcaster that isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He obviously loves radio and works within his means to grow his stations and company. I think we need more passionate people like Bob in local radio. Bob---you have nothing to apologize for---you've done a great job. How many other owners in the state have been around for 15 years? I hope you're around another 15!
J
Jimc
Guest
Bob Vinikoor is a nice man. Talented engineer. Great PR and Glad-Hander.
I don't think that's in question. Keep in mind you'll never please everyone, and the facts remain if you want to fully staff a News-Talk operation (even at modest slaaries and bennies)....
Powerball would be a good business plan.
;D
I don't think that's in question. Keep in mind you'll never please everyone, and the facts remain if you want to fully staff a News-Talk operation (even at modest slaaries and bennies)....
Powerball would be a good business plan.
;D
R
radiotony
Guest
Well, you don't need to win Powerball but you do need to manage your station well, squeeze out every last dollar, and not sweat the small stuff. Bob seems to be doing that from what I hear. He turns a profit. It also helps to have a small newspaper shopper so you can be diversified. If you can do that, you can make news and talk work on small AM stations. If you are going to micro-manage, belittle your staff who might know more than you about media, and get insane about the silly stuff, well, you better be a Powerball winner or else it won't work.
Jimc said:
Well, I used to work for Bob and at times he could be very aggravating to work with. There is more than one employee who believed he micro-managed his crew. However, that was then, and he was learning how to be an owner just as much as I was learning how to operate one back then. (A radio station, not an owner, lol!) So it stands to reason over the course of years that he has learned to roll with some punches than in years past and probably is making it work for him better.
(Incidentally, my frustration level came to a head when I was offered the sole graphic designer position for the Talk Radio Shopper and was moderately successful at it for a year and a half, though my heart was in radio. The job was decent, the pay better, and he even offered me an incentive to get my GED which up until that point hadn't got. It paved the way for my military career. There was one time I got into considerable trouble for creating a print ad to match the parody radio ad an airstaff member made (not for air) for a golf organization because it implied the patrons might be subject to use drugs.) :
(Incidentally, my frustration level came to a head when I was offered the sole graphic designer position for the Talk Radio Shopper and was moderately successful at it for a year and a half, though my heart was in radio. The job was decent, the pay better, and he even offered me an incentive to get my GED which up until that point hadn't got. It paved the way for my military career. There was one time I got into considerable trouble for creating a print ad to match the parody radio ad an airstaff member made (not for air) for a golf organization because it implied the patrons might be subject to use drugs.) :
J
Jimc
Guest
Not everything and everybody ages well with time.
A
argytunes
Guest
Jimc's comment: Not everything and everybody ages well with time.
My response: TRUE...but wouldn't it be great if some of us learned from our past mistakes so we wouldn't have to repeat them a 2nd or 5th time?
argytunes
My response: TRUE...but wouldn't it be great if some of us learned from our past mistakes so we wouldn't have to repeat them a 2nd or 5th time?
argytunes
R
radiotony
Guest
You would hope, wouldn't you? ;D
argytunes said:Jimc's comment: Not everything and everybody ages well with time.
My response: TRUE...but wouldn't it be great if some of us learned from our past mistakes so we wouldn't have to repeat them a 2nd or 5th time?
argytunes
WNTK's History
Interesting to see these old posts. Also interesting to see that no one really knows the story behind how WNTK started. I was the General Mnager of WCNL AM/FM when the RadioActive Group bought the stations in 1988. Bob Vinikoor was my client (Satellite Video). When I told Bruce Lyons I had a potential buyer for the AM, which had a CP for 6500 watts on 1020, he agreed to pay me a finder's fee. Bob and I did all the new construction. I spent my 32nd birthday in that swamp on the Sugar River helping install new radials for the neglected ground system. I thought I was going to die! I advised Bob to buy the Nautel transmitter and I oversaw the construction of the new studios in New London. I came up with the call letters. I bought our first jingle package. I hired Dorien Jaye and Art Shannon away from the RadioActive Group and I hired Doug Carrick, with whom I had worked in Milwaukee to be my Operations Manager. I remember that day in August of 1988 listening to Rush Limbaugh via the satellite feed and being amazed. I was the one who decided to include him in our on air lineup. We were among his first 75 stations. I also hired Dave Mutney (Dave Morgan) who had worked with us at WCNL. Once we threw the switch, we ended up disrupting everyone's telephone service within a mile of the transmitter in Newport, including Emergency Services. I spent the first three months putting out fires. While being in New London was supposed to contribute to our cachet, Newport merchants were very unhappy with us. It was tough to say the least. After a year passed and we started to gain traction, Bob Vinikoor liquided his interest in Satellite Video and decided he wanted to be the station's General Manager and that I would become the Sales Manager. I passed. That's the real story. If you want to hear an aircheck of the station I programmed. Let me know. I didn't see Bob again for 20 years. He didn't remember me. Again, interesting.
Interesting to see these old posts. Also interesting to see that no one really knows the story behind how WNTK started. I was the General Mnager of WCNL AM/FM when the RadioActive Group bought the stations in 1988. Bob Vinikoor was my client (Satellite Video). When I told Bruce Lyons I had a potential buyer for the AM, which had a CP for 6500 watts on 1020, he agreed to pay me a finder's fee. Bob and I did all the new construction. I spent my 32nd birthday in that swamp on the Sugar River helping install new radials for the neglected ground system. I thought I was going to die! I advised Bob to buy the Nautel transmitter and I oversaw the construction of the new studios in New London. I came up with the call letters. I bought our first jingle package. I hired Dorien Jaye and Art Shannon away from the RadioActive Group and I hired Doug Carrick, with whom I had worked in Milwaukee to be my Operations Manager. I remember that day in August of 1988 listening to Rush Limbaugh via the satellite feed and being amazed. I was the one who decided to include him in our on air lineup. We were among his first 75 stations. I also hired Dave Mutney (Dave Morgan) who had worked with us at WCNL. Once we threw the switch, we ended up disrupting everyone's telephone service within a mile of the transmitter in Newport, including Emergency Services. I spent the first three months putting out fires. While being in New London was supposed to contribute to our cachet, Newport merchants were very unhappy with us. It was tough to say the least. After a year passed and we started to gain traction, Bob Vinikoor liquided his interest in Satellite Video and decided he wanted to be the station's General Manager and that I would become the Sales Manager. I passed. That's the real story. If you want to hear an aircheck of the station I programmed. Let me know. I didn't see Bob again for 20 years. He didn't remember me. Again, interesting.
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