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Wolf No Longer Howling In NOLA

nolaradiobuff said:
RFLA - Citadel is successful in Baton Rouge and Lafayette because they bought successful stations, not because they are Citadel. When they have to build a station (ie., Red or WIBR), they can't do it.

KXKC was the dominant country station for years in Lafayette. KTDY has been at or near the top of Lafayette ratings for the last 10 years and KSMB is the heritage CHR (although they need to retire Novasad). The Citadel Urbans in Baton Rouge have been strong for years.

Citadel is a badly programmed company run by bean counters who only understand the bottom line. They don't care what the ratings are as long as they make the budget.
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KTDY is actually owned by Regent. Their Market Manager, Mike Grimsley, was in the market a significant amount of time before Regent acquired the properties. Of late, their country station, 97.3 The Dawg has defeated KXKC by a slight margin. Regent is better than anyone else on the street in selling their stations.

Citadel's Lafayette cluster's MM is Mary Galyean. She had a run as a supporting talent in AM drive at the old KSMB in the early to mid-1980s. Their attempts(though not as many as CitBR) at building a brand haven't flown either. The heritage properties have held their own considering market flux, but Regent has been the stronger horse.

When Renee Revett was PD at KXKC, they had the Dawg under their thumb, though it was still a competitive battle(Revett initially pitched then-KDEA owner Don Bonin on flipping the station from B/EZ to contemporary country in the early 1990's). Revett hasn't been in the building in at least a year(she does media consulting in Houston TX).

There was a simulcast involving 93.7/105.9 in the early 1990s as a mainstream rock format when owned by the late Roger Cavaness. 105.9 then flipped to satellite-driven "The Touch" and in 1996, 93.7 adopted the recently abdicated KDEA calls as a mainstream AC. Powell then bought Cavaness' cluster(which also included heritage KVOL-AM) for $3.1M, which ultimately got the ball rolling on the Citadel cluster in Lafayette.

Citadel spun off 105.9/106.3/1330/1520 a couple of years ago to Pittman. 93.7 is owned by the "Citadel trust".
 
My bad on KTDY. Lafayette is one of the only Regent markets that outperforms. Grimsley was with the Dawg/Planet Radio when they were owned by the Beer Distributor (his name escapes me) and Chuck Wood was with KSMB for years. When your upper management has been in the market 15+ years each, you're going to sell. Their sales staff also numbers in the double digits, which is the exception in a small market. Last I was told, Citadel Lafayette had 7 sales people, excluding management.

I thought the Urban station licensed to Washington, KNEK, was the trust station.

Not to pat Renee on the back, but her replacement is clueless I'm told.
 
nolaradiobuff said:
My bad on KTDY. Lafayette is one of the only Regent markets that outperforms. Grimsley was with the Dawg/Planet Radio when they were owned by the Beer Distributor (his name escapes me) and Chuck Wood was with KSMB for years. When your upper management has been in the market 15+ years each, you're going to sell. Their sales staff also numbers in the double digits, which is the exception in a small market. Last I was told, Citadel Lafayette had 7 sales people, excluding management.

I thought the Urban station licensed to Washington, KNEK, was the trust station.

Not to pat Renee on the back, but her replacement is clueless I'm told.
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When KRDJ was moved back to the Lafayette cluster, Citadel swapped the "in trust" station.

Beer distributor is "Schilling"
 
quitnow said:
RFLA said:
Take what is successful and apply it in New Orleans from markets close to New Orleans... the Wolf sounded like something I would have heard on the east coast in New England not cajun country.
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'NOE isn't cajun country. Neither is 'YNK or KCIL for that matter (although KCIL runs cajun music Saturday and Sunday mornings). I hear you on the Wolf pitching their music, RFLA. It was more noticable than some others in other parts of the country. I do think the lack of a young country demo in New Orleans had a lot to do with it. A reliable demo breakdown of the area would help with researching that. Too bad there isn't one. I look at 'YPY in Baton Rouge and their numbers, but there's a major college there that will help those numbers a bit (no offense Tulane, UNO or Xavier fans) as it draws from a larger area and they manage to keep some students in the area.
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I was talking more regional such as ideas from Birmingham,Jackson,the coast and Memphis. The PD or MD if I remember came from Memphis and Chris Claire did promotions for a year in Houma. I agree NOE isn't cajun country and like I've said a few times.. NOLA isn't like anywheres else in the state... what works in Monroe, Franklinton, and Iowa doesn't work here perse exactly, but ideas can be formulated to take on the competition. Positioning themselves as a alternative to say Magic 101.9 with country instead of soft rock might have been the ticket.

But as you said, people in the 504 are more traditional, even if Eddie talks about 10 minutes longer than most are allowed to on their shifts in other markets.

YPY suffers due to the fact that WYNK was a heritage station dating back to at least the 1970s. I've been told people don't even realize there are three country stations in BR (WYPY,WYNK,WTGE). On top of that, YPY suffered thru some management decisions to slick up the station so far that the ratings actually tanked further after the adjustments. I think only now is YPY getting some impressive numbers on and off as of late and that's basically going straight up with YNK but leaning more new country.

RFLA
 
heres my opinions

it sounded ok when i would listen but i never listened long. too repetetive.
the problem was the music...........pitched up.
if it wouldnt have been those two it might have done a lil better.

*on a good note* it had a nice jingle package (i think from RealWorld or n2effect) and the energy was ok.

sawtooth
 
*on a good note* it had a nice jingle package (i think from RealWorld or n2effect) and the energy was ok.
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Sawtooth, it was a really good station. The PD (Trapper John) was a nice and genuine fella. I'd work with him again! As I said before, he allowed us to be ourselves on the air, and that makes a difference I think. And yes, the energy was there and that great jingle package from Reelworld just made it all even better.

I still have people ask me today what happened to their Wolf. They say they miss it and it was worth listening to more than WNOE. Too much syndication on WNOE = too much talk. They ALL tell me that, and they want their Wolf back! :)

Jeremy
 
the golden boy said:
Given the signal and demo, how about 102.9 going urban, given Citadel an urban/urban oldies combo? Q93 is ripe for the picking.
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Great "prediction..." ;)
 
Jeremy said:
Sawtooth, it was a really good station. The PD (Trapper John) was a nice and genuine fella. I'd work with him again! As I said before, he allowed us to be ourselves on the air, and that makes a difference I think. And yes, the energy was there and that great jingle package from Reelworld just made it all even better.

I still have people ask me today what happened to their Wolf. They say they miss it and it was worth listening to more than WNOE. Too much syndication on WNOE = too much talk. They ALL tell me that, and they want their Wolf back! :)

Jeremy
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Jeremy, it was a good station. Again, save the pitched music, it was just too forward for New Orleans. As RFLA said, "the 504 is traditional," The Wolf would have suffered from phantom cume for years, and may not have ever come out of 'NOE's shadow, because of the heritage and stale (if I may be so bold) thinking of less progressive thinkers to actually listen to what they are hearing.

Has anyone one read "Right Of The Dial"? Very telling as to what Clear Channel did and funny...if you bore them (listeners) enough with b.s., they won't listen to your competition with any conscience because what you say doesn't matter, so by default as the heritage station you win because you've brainwashed them into thinking that what you say doesn't matter (the Mays boys followed that from the beginning) so being heritage is enough, especially for a city that reelected a man who REFUSED to run buses to get people out of the city before THE hurricane because "it's the south, and we don't work in the south on Sunday." One of the great quotes and soundbites from Ray that didn't get the attention it deserved, and still deserves. Not playing sides, but he chose a lot of people's fate for them and he was reelected! Lack of forward thinking and thinking for yourself. The "it's better to know the crook that's stealing from you" plea doesn't work when it comes to blatant ignorance!

You have to think for yourself. It's funny, we're less than 2 hours removed from the day we celebrate our freedoms, yet we are always willing to give them up if it means less personal responsibility for us as people when it comes to making choices.
 
Quitnow

Gee thanks, Andy. How could radio survive without your insight? You must read a lot between firings.
 
The average country music fan usually won't get into larger than a 15 song "current list"(not all of them could be actually called "current").

I remember hearing "Thank God For You" from Sawyer Brown thinking this was a "hit". It was barely hanging into the bottom reaches of the R&R Country Top 40...and then the video is aired on CMT. It vaulted into the top ten soon after. There was a very similar instance with Martina McBride's "My Baby Loves Me". There is some decent "off the chart" music presently, even in country. There has never been the "audiophile" interest in progressive country that exists as compared to rock/indie/alternative.

WYNK in BR plays so few currents that they aren't an R&R reporter anymore.
 
Thanks for the love, Jeremy. I'd hire you again, too.

Quitnow makes some valid points regarding heritage, and I said all along that heritage in New Orleans counts for more than probably any other market where I've worked. Even if everything had been done right from the beginning, it would've been a marathon, especially since WNOE isn't a bad radio station.

We can agree to disagree on the pitching of music. I don't think pitching counted for much in the lack of The Wolf's success. A series of not-well-thought-out decisions (Rockin' Country, NASCAR) along with an inconsistent programming lineup combined with WNOE's heritage to stunt the station's growth.

That's not to say that I did everything right. I obviously didn't, but in spite of the ratings, I felt the station was improved.
 
TrapperJohn said:
Quitnow makes some valid points regarding heritage, and I said all along that heritage in New Orleans counts for more than probably any other market where I've worked. Even if everything had been done right from the beginning, it would've been a marathon, especially since WNOE isn't a bad radio station.

We can agree to disagree on the pitching of music. I don't think pitching counted for much in the lack of The Wolf's success. A series of not-well-thought-out decisions (Rockin' Country, NASCAR) along with an inconsistent programming lineup combined with WNOE's heritage to stunt the station's growth.
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Thank you, Trapper.

I have always said that your station was solid. I too was one who thought too many foul starts with the same format doomed country on 106.7 in the end. It was other things too, but it surely didn't help. You're right, pitching music is a debatable thing that is done on some successful stations. RFLA and his "504 being traditional" remark speaks to why that may not have worked for quite awhile. Forward, progressive thinking is hard for this area to do. No one likes change, no matter how much they say they want it because it's never the way they, as individuals, would do it, so in the end it's better to just keep with what you know. In this case, it was 'NOE. You caught people's attention, but it was different than what they had come to expect from a country station, so 'NOE was the #1 choice by default. It was an uphill battle on a hill that may never have had a top.

I hope Dallas is treating you well and you land in the business again. You are a talented person with a mind that thinks, which is what this industry needs. I hope the rest of your former staff is doing well too.
 
I liked Rockin country 1067. Country has been on 1067 before also back in 97. Until something good comes along I am not going to listen to radio in New Orleans anytime soon. Or Baton Rouge for that matter. Right now the only station I will listen to in MS and La is 1059 GOFM. All others are just to repetitious and predictable. Why cant we just have Rock 92.3 back :'(
 
Thanks, Quitnow. I appreciate your candor which is always delivered without arrogance.

And smashedcd...I should clarify. I can't say that Citadel's vision for Rockin' Country in New Orleans was bad. I was still in Memphis during RC's incarnation. As a concept, though, it has been tried several times in several markets, with limited viability. Being a country music fan who was raised on the rock of the 70's and 80's, I probably would've liked it. I just don't know if there is enough of you and me to comprise a large enough radio audience.
 
Country has been on 1067 before also back in 97.
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Actually Smashed, country was on 106.7 back in 93 - 94. Oldies 106.7 died July 4, 1993 and at that time, they flipped it to 106.7 The Gator, KGTR-FM Port Sulphur/New Orleans. I still have an aircheck of it.... I'll see if I can get an ID together, upload it to a server, and put the link up here for you guys. It's pretty good stuff! :D

Jeremy
 
The DJ is David Marxx, a.k.a. Skid Marxx (and D.K. Pierce while at Q-93 in Alexandria).
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i remember that guy.............i think he was on 2 or 3 new orleans radio stations. he has a pretty good set of pipes and had pretty entertaining shows!!

b mcmullen
 
Thanks again, Trapper. I just try to be honest about what I hear. It's too bad there's so much tracking in New Orleans now. Most listeners, and radio people for that matter, wouldn't know good radio if it hit them in the face and introduced itself as being such. The "read the damn card" and "play 16 songs an hour" mentality have all but taken over here. In reality, all but a few more music stations, anywhere, are at the top of the ratings because if listeners really wanted to hear all music, they'd be playing their iPod or whatever else and as surveys have shown the last two years, they're not doing that as much anymore because of the lack of communication involved in it and radio listenership is up. Radio is a viable medium still, it just needs to find its place again...and I hate to tell all these companies, it's not in HD. That's a joke. Stop sweating the 8-cent drop in stocks for the day and the endless calls and let the good people you've hired do their damn jobs!

Wasn't there a Skid Marxx in OKC in the mid to late 90s who was pulling some huge shares? Hell of a fun talent to listen to. Paul Orr is who I believe it was, yes the same one who's the old PD at 'YNK and a few others in the state. Don't even know where he is, or has been. Anyone?
 
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