Wolf lost some claws

[soundbite]

Word at lunch via text message...Justin and Tara are officially on the beach! Smokey, Chris remain...as does Missy their producer..

 

[jeffdfw]

Is Tara that annoying chick that used to say "Free money baby" on the TC spots? If so, GOOD!

 

[tah]

I could never understand Justin's traffic reports. He needed to get rid of the Skoal so he could talk.

And yes, I'm a native Texas so it isn't just his accent.

 

[DFWRADIO]

Is Tara that annoying chick that used to say "Free money baby" on the TC spots? If so, GOOD!

I think that Tara and Justin had their place on that station. At least they said something other than repeat the positioner all day. The Wolf has been steadily declining over the past few years. Clearly a money move by the great people at Cume-less.

 

[ThatsThat]

What a shame. They both had been there for a long time. I know for a good portion of the listeners, Justin was the face of the station.

The Wolf was once a great station, but Cume-less has destroyed it. Just look at the talent they had when they were really, really strong, and look at what they have now. Nothing against the current talent, but I don't think it compares to Amy B, Cody Alan, Dingo, Jeremy, Tara, and Justin. We are witnessing the end of an era of what was once a dynasty.

Like Justin says, I guarantee you we will "see him down the road", and hopefully it will be as he helps another station push the Wolf into extinction.

 

[Bob LaBlah]

And then there were Two. Smokey and Chris are all that remain of the original Wolf staff and as fate has it, the only two to survive from Flexing our Plex when the station was K-PLEX.

You can say what you want about Justin and Tara - but I say Hats off. What an incredible run. There isn't anyone who can deny what The Wolf was and they were a part of making that. Hats off, be proud.

Cumulus should be embarrassed at what The Wolf is now. Why not call it Froggy and hire Pete Moss and Lilly Pad to do mornings ?...Hey!

Was this a $$ move to make room for Pugs and Kelly on 93.3 ?

 

[Gopher]

Does Justin know anything about sports?

He started out as Norm's board op and the afternoon drive show needs a third. ;D

 

[ThatsThat]

And then there were Two. Smokey and Chris are all that remain of the original Wolf staff and as fate has it, the only two to survive from Flexing our Plex when the station was K-PLEX.

You can say what you want about Justin and Tara - but I say Hats off. What an incredible run. There isn't anyone who can deny what The Wolf was and they were a part of making that. Hats off, be proud.

Cumulus should be embarrassed at what The Wolf is now. Why not call it Froggy and hire Pete Moss and Lilly Pad to do mornings ?...Hey!

Was this a $$ move to make room for Pugs and Kelly on 93.3 ?

If you are correct, and considering that the Wolf and the Ticket have long been pulling the Dallas revenue train with the Bone and KLIF bringing up the rear, it would stand to reason that the big brains at Cume-less would bite the hand that has been helping to feed this group. This thing is heading south. Bad, Bad move.

 

[ThatsThat]

Does Justin know anything about sports?

He started out as Norm's board op and the afternoon drive show needs a third. ;D

I think he played college baseball, so I would say he does.

 

[NealH]

Official word on the R&R website:

http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRWebSite/Format_RoomPage.aspx?FormatID=8

At least they waited til the day after the 10th anniversary :

All first class passengers to the lifeboats...

 

[little1]

Clearly a money move by the great people at Cume-less.

Yeah, because god forbid a station should actually try to make money. : My sources inside 'the mothership' tell me this has a LOT to do with the fact that a lot of the "old" Wolf jocks were making money like it was the old wolf. Like when they were top 5, 12+, #1 with women, dominating P25-54 etc. And the problem now is they're not that old Wolf anymore.

The Greg Williams article, with THOSE salary details indicates that Cume-Less is willing to pay if the ratings are there. But this move, along with cutting Skull and Miguel show they're also willing to cut bait when they're not.

After all, you might be able to rationalize a 5 person morning show (Smokey, Chris, Tara, Justin and their producer girl ?Missy?) when you're a dominat force. But paying that many people market-leader money when they're no longer the market leader? Doesn't make economic sense.

Especially when you consider Justin was down to AM traffic only. Stopped doing PM drive a year or two ago, didn't he?

I think this is a chicken and egg problem. You can pay for big-market talent, have 5 people on your morning show, and hopefully that will draw an audience in, and you can aford to pay that big market talent money.

The problem is what if the ratings aren't there? How long do you justify pouring money into something that isn't doing well. Or at least as well as it used to?

 

[salemjedi54]

Does Justin know anything about sports?

He started out as Norm's board op and the afternoon drive show needs a third. ;D

No he was Fisher's producer. I know I was there when he was hired.

 

[redbullfan]

Simple: Cume-less is trying to get away from the Young Image. I think they will re-brand with another name in the near future...something more mature. They obviously don't want to return to the successful days as the Wolf...Cume-less did away with Live Traffic reports some time back and Justin no longer was wanted...how sad...he was once the #1 Traffic reporter in Dallas for a few years. My guess is that both Justin and Tara will join a newly revamped Dorsey Gang or KSCS morning show in the near future. I think the current traffic guy at KSCS is a gonner now with Justin on the beach. Rebecca is toast too...KSCS will bring Tara on too...no brainer. Dorsey is getting old so he can't be there much longer...plus the new PD and OM/GM is totally revamping the entire station. Dorsey sounds out of place and he doesn't bring in the ratings anymore like he used to...in fact "Wake Up With the Wolf" has been beating him despite changing hands. How bout this: Replace the current morning show with...Bobby Mitchell, Tara, Justin and Chris Sommer....Jeremy follows...keep Kinder...then this new guy Jeff Miles from WGNE out of Florida in nights or something like this and with the new "Texas" focus will mean they take back over in the ratings quest. KSCS is sounding much better with the exception of Dorsey.

 

[NealH]

KSCS is sounding better but Citadel doesn't exactly have a lot of cash on hand to revamp the station, either. They've gone Bush League and have Jeremy voice tracking nights for god's sake. Are we in Market #5 or Market #155? Having a jock from one daypart voice tracking another daypart a major market...about as bottom of the barrel as you can get.

 

[Coronaextra]

It's my understanding that Tara is expecting again and wants to be a Mom for a while.

 

[txchipk]

Clearly a money move by the great people at Cume-less.

Yeah, because god forbid a station should actually try to make money. : My sources inside 'the mothership' tell me this has a LOT to do with the fact that a lot of the "old" Wolf jocks were making money like it was the old wolf. Like when they were top 5, 12+, #1 with women, dominating P25-54 etc. And the problem now is they're not that old Wolf anymore.

And that's their own fault...they ran off listeners right and left when they made a 180 degree change from what the station was. They took a personality-driven, Texas country-leaning, high energy station and transformed it into a boring station with a generic playlist. It was dominating 25-54 when it was an original...when they dulled it down, people left. When they tried to turn it into a WSM-FM Nashville clone, people here weren't impressed. The current incarnation has no identify.

The problem is what if the ratings aren't there? How long do you justify pouring money into something that isn't doing well. Or at least as well as it used to?

How about maintaing a station that was highly successfull instead of ruining it and then complaining about not having good ratings?

 

[NealH]

And that's their own fault...they ran off listeners right and left when they made a 180 degree change from what the station was. They took a personality-driven, Texas country-leaning, high energy station and transformed it into a boring station with a generic playlist. It was dominating 25-54 when it was an original...when they dulled it down, people left. When they tried to turn it into a WSM-FM Nashville clone, people here weren't impressed. The current incarnation has no identify.

I'm about to possibly whip up a crap storm here so don your umbrellas. In the transition between Paul Williams and Jon Cook, certain part-time elements at the station (who are no longer there) took their personalities WAY over the top. Weekend jocks were airing 2, 3, and 4 minute phoners and running bits every hour as if it were a morning show. As a result the station's weekend numbers tanked and management yanked back on the personality. Then Sebastian came in and ripped out what was left of the personality and the "Texas Country." Jan Jefferies has restored the music to respectability somewhat but has left the bland delivery in place. It's as if the station's become a stodgier version of KSCS.

I wonder what will happen to the Front Porch now that Justin's gone. Does he get to take it with him or will Cumulus throw the "Intellectual Property" flag?

 

[DFWRADIO]

And that's their own fault...they ran off listeners right and left when they made a 180 degree change from what the station was. They took a personality-driven, Texas country-leaning, high energy station and transformed it into a boring station with a generic playlist. It was dominating 25-54 when it was an original...when they dulled it down, people left. When they tried to turn it into a WSM-FM Nashville clone, people here weren't impressed. The current incarnation has no identify.

I'm about to possibly whip up a crap storm here so don your umbrellas. In the transition between Paul Williams and Jon Cook, certain part-time elements at the station (who are no longer there) took their personalities WAY over the top. Weekend jocks were airing 2, 3, and 4 minute phoners and running bits every hour as if it were a morning show. As a result the station's weekend numbers tanked and management yanked back on the personality. Then Sebastian came in and ripped out what was left of the personality and the "Texas Country." Jan Jefferies has restored the music to respectability somewhat but has left the bland delivery in place. It's as if the station's become a stodgier version of KSCS.

I wonder what will happen to the Front Porch now that Justin's gone. Does he get to take it with him or will Cumulus throw the "Intellectual Property" flag?

Neal, Jan Jeffries hasn't done you know what. The music and imaging is similar if not the same that what Sebastian was doing while he was there. (10 song wolf packs really???) The morning show segues 3 songs in a row before talking. I'm all for some music in the morning but at least let em jump over an intro and do a freaking weather break. As for the music... I would hardly call Phil Vasser into Ronnie Milsap into Buddy Jewel a respectable mix. If that is what good country radio is supposed to sound like I would rather hear Sebastian's Bob Segar and the Eagles. As for the weekends. I agree and saw that memo too... but maybe in the transition between Paul Williams and John Cook is when the big market manager started to put his hands in the middle of all of it and we all know how well that works out... (See Bone and KLIF).

Txchipk, When you say it's their own fault you mean Cumulus right? THEY are the one's that ran off the listeners by changing the music and direction of the station. Texas Music like Pat Green, Kevin Fowler, Ragweed etc: never tested but "back in the day" that didn't really matter because it was what gave the station the attitude.

I don't think KSCS is going to hire Tara and Justin. First of all I don't think they have the cash (they don't have ANY live jocks on the weekend as well as VT the night show) and second I can't see them fitting over there. Why screw up their morning show now... They have no competition in the format. I could see Justin doing a Front Porch thing but Michael Scott has been their for 15+ years and is good at what he does.

Maybe Lonestar will make a run at Justin and they can get back to their original sound of Texas Music with Rock attitude. God know's they could use some personality over there.

 

[redbullfan]

Are you kidding me: KSCS will dump the current traffic guy to get Justin Frizzell...Justin has won numerous awards in traffic reporting. KSCS will get rid of Rebecca in favor of taking on Tara...Tara is much better than Rebecca that is clear as day.

 

[BossJock1947]

Clearly a money move by the great people at Cume-less.

Yeah, because god forbid a station should actually try to make money. : My sources inside 'the mothership' tell me this has a LOT to do with the fact that a lot of the "old" Wolf jocks were making money like it was the old wolf. Like when they were top 5, 12+, #1 with women, dominating P25-54 etc. And the problem now is they're not that old Wolf anymore.

The Greg Williams article, with THOSE salary details indicates that Cume-Less is willing to pay if the ratings are there. But this move, along with cutting Skull and Miguel show they're also willing to cut bait when they're not.

After all, you might be able to rationalize a 5 person morning show (Smokey, Chris, Tara, Justin and their producer girl ?Missy?) when you're a dominat force. But paying that many people market-leader money when they're no longer the market leader? Doesn't make economic sense.

Especially when you consider Justin was down to AM traffic only. Stopped doing PM drive a year or two ago, didn't he?

I think this is a chicken and egg problem. You can pay for big-market talent, have 5 people on your morning show, and hopefully that will draw an audience in, and you can aford to pay that big market talent money.

The problem is what if the ratings aren't there? How long do you justify pouring money into something that isn't doing well. Or at least as well as it used to?

My sources tell me the ratings and revenue WERE there. A 4 person morning show: Bobby Mitchell, Tara, Dingo, Chris then Amy B, then Cody and Hollywood during the rest of the day.

What was justified was firing all the good talent both on air, programming and management. Why is it always the talent that has to go when managemernt screws things up?