wpaz

[RayThomas]

I agree with rtetro's opinion. It is GREAT that WPAZ is back on in the hands of a local community group and not doing "cookie cutter" radio or going all religion or all brokered.

But right now it kind of sounds like a college radio station. If it is going to really cultivate a consistant local following, it must develop at least a general direction, if not a strict, tight format.

For example, we have two locally-owned stations in our town, Carlisle, PA. AM 960 does an oldies-soft hits kind of thing and we (WIOO) do Classic Country. Both stations run a lot of features and specialty programming but both have a clear musical identity for the majority of the time. 960 has some specialty shows on the weekends like a Sinatra show and a polka show, plus some weekend religious programming. We carry a daily local news Noon Report and Swap Shop, a late night political show and weekend sports like NASCAR and NFL football. Both stations' "feature" type stuff generates added revenue and is promoted to an audience that tunes in for the basic format a majority of the time. That is what WPAZ needs.

A soft classic hits kind an approach might be just the ticket. Nobody in the Philly area is really doing it, it works on AM with the older audience that is liable to listen to AM anyway, and its a format that can play in the workplace without offending anyone. It can be the "glue" that holds the whole thing together. I would definitely can the hard rock!

I also agree that audio processing is extremely important, especially on AM! A well-processed AM signal can sound very good but a poorly processed one can sound awful. ON FM, about any reasonable limiter will give you "passable" quality but on AM it is really critical! With all the new digital boxes on the market, I'm sure someone has a good used Optimod they'll let go cheap. Just get someone who knows what they are doing to set it up.

And Good Luck! I wish WPAZ years of success...

 

[rtetro]

One more thing regarding the audio processing on WPAZ.

For comparative purposes, this afternoon on my drive home from Lafayette Hill to Lansdale, I took my field strength meter along and located a couple of positions at which the signal strengths of WPAZ and two other 1kw powered stations on similar frequencies (WEMG 1310, & WHAT 1340) were about equal. From those listening tests, it was readily noticeable that WPAZ's audio is generally much lower than either WEMG or WHAT. A quick check of WURD gave the same results. This was especially true during discussions that were taking place on WPAZ. The modulation was WAY DOWN in the soup during talk while both WEMG and WHAT were loud and clear.

WPAZ needs either a better audio processor, or find someone who knows contemporary audio processing techniques, and who can squeeze some decent audio out of the system.

 

[wcradio2]

Well, as a community radio station that is probably very concerned with money and making the bills, maybe WPAZ would at least entertain the notion of an engineering expert volunteering his time, energy, experience and resources. Has anyone made any direct inquiries?
They're probably hamstrung with paying electric bills and the like while wanting to improve things in the actual physical broadcast process. I don't know this, but if you'd like to see it improve, by all means volunteer. You are obviously occasionally checking it out and therefore part of the 'community'.

 

[DToTheJ]

... we have two locally-owned stations in our town, Carlisle, PA. AM 960 does an oldies-soft hits kind of thing and we (WIOO) do Classic Country. Both stations run a lot of features and specialty programming but both have a clear musical identity for the majority of the time. 960 has some specialty shows on the weekends like a Sinatra show and a polka show, plus some weekend religious programming. We carry a daily local news Noon Report and Swap Shop, a late night political show and weekend sports like NASCAR and NFL football. Both stations' "feature" type stuff generates added revenue and is promoted to an audience that tunes in for the basic format a majority of the time. That is what WPAZ needs...

WPAZ already does a noon news program. I tuned in the other day and it was none other than the station owner reading the news. Do they still have Dave Devlin?

 

[amfmsw]

rene, the last time i was at the station for a visit, they were using Texar Audio Prism as the eq and processor and Inovonics as NRSC and AGC/Limiter in thier audio chain. It's plenty capable of filling a modulation envelope at 120%+. It just needs someone to set the input / output levels correctly I would guess.

At that time, the eq was dreadful, overprocessed, with the highs punching holes in the audio, and no bottom end.

 

[DG02816]

I believe both transmitters are tube rigs. They may be running modulation low to save on tube replacement costs.They're audible here in Oreland during the day, but skywave from WXXI and WFEA(!) rules 1370 here at night. I agree with Rene; put as much modulation as you can on the carrier and stay clean. You need evry bit of it these days.

 

[nephi1]

it continues to be the same thing these guys are playing radio someone should volunteer thier time thats fine but they have no money to spend. That transmitter is on its last legs and the commercial inventory is very thin. They dont know how to sell it. The music is all over the place and as for making it back in sports they have very few commercials on the sports broadcasts. There was dead air all over thier baseball broadcasts and maybe one spot on the football games. Until they get someone in there who has a concept of running a radio station instead of playing radio not much has changed. It will be interesting to see how long four rivers broadcasting gives the Community broadcast group to make a go of it.

 

[amfmsw]

nope...the ol' blue CCA xmtr has been relegated to backup and replaced withing the past few years witha modern solid state rack mount 1kw Nautel (I believe). Just needs a turn of a screwdriver from the distribution amp into the processor to crank it up to 120%+ & 100%- peaks.

 

[fmradio1]

Commercial radio run like a "community radio" non-comm never works. A station needs listeners to come back repeatedly throughout the week for advertising to be effective. Special or block programming throughout every daypart day in day out isn't condusive to that.

What needs to happen is for radio people to run it again, and make it full service. Keep the local angle, put as much news and information on it as the budget will allow. Local talk during certain hours would work, but have consistant hosts and don't over do it. Put on a mass appeal AC/classic hits type format as filler between the full-service/talk/sports elements. Much of this could be automated/tracked, which would save money on personnel. Use interns heavily to generate content. This is small market radio...no need for a big paid staff. Keep the sports programming, but promote it more. Have an online presence, and have podcasts of some of the specialty shows available for download. Have helpful community information available on the website and push social media as well. And, if they can get that translator, do so.

Some of these things may be cost-prohibitive at start-up, but over time they should be goals for the station to reach.

 

[vmelis]

WPAZ was struck by lightning after 11AM today knocking out their internet streaming, phones and transmitter. They're now operating at reduced power. Today was also their final "Cave Show" 5-7PM playing only B-sides of 60s & 70s vinyl singles.

 

[wcradio2]

Internet stream back up and running. Sounds like they're piecing things back together after the lightning.

 

[RandyDascher]

Every station that I know of in this region that has attempted to do some kind of hard rock format on AM in recent years has failed miserably (examples: WHAT and WCHE).

I programmed WCHE with 1500 alternative rock songs during the era that you claim caused WCHE to “fail miserably”. Rene’, with all do respect I don’t know how you came to that conclusion. WCHE did not subscribe to Arbitron Ratings so there is no way to tell if it gained or lost listeners. The previous format of really old music wasn’t exactly selling like hotcakes. At that time WCHE didn’t have any experienced sales people so who really knows if the alternative rock format would have made any money or not? All I know is the lights stayed on and I got paid every week. I also received a lot of emails complimenting me on the music. I even received a visit from world famous rock star Jess Margera, who drove to the station and came on the air to praise my choice of songs for the format.

www.randydascher.com

 

[JH_Radio]

I find that there schedule is confusing.
I tuned in one night that i thought would be playing 80's and found very weird stuf that i haven't heard before.
It appeared automated as wel when i thought there was suppose to be a DJ on. Thee was pauses in the automation too, at the end of every song.
It does need something consistant that's for sure.

 

[wcradio2]

I always felt bad that nobody was interested in selling the rock on WCHE. But nobody was selling anything there at the time. People seem to only sell what they know. You did good work RD. Respect your work ethic. Randy should be in some station's production room... I'll stop now before I have to spring for a room.

 

[klutch00]

I agree with rtetro's opinion. It is GREAT that WPAZ is back on in the hands of a local community group and not doing "cookie cutter" radio or going all religion or all brokered.

But right now it kind of sounds like a college radio station. If it is going to really cultivate a consistant local following, it must develop at least a general direction, if not a strict, tight format.

For example, we have two locally-owned stations in our town, Carlisle, PA. AM 960 does an oldies-soft hits kind of thing and we (WIOO) do Classic Country. Both stations run a lot of features and specialty programming but both have a clear musical identity for the majority of the time. 960 has some specialty shows on the weekends like a Sinatra show and a polka show, plus some weekend religious programming. We carry a daily local news Noon Report and Swap Shop, a late night political show and weekend sports like NASCAR and NFL football. Both stations' "feature" type stuff generates added revenue and is promoted to an audience that tunes in for the basic format a majority of the time. That is what WPAZ needs.

A soft classic hits kind an approach might be just the ticket. Nobody in the Philly area is really doing it, it works on AM with the older audience that is liable to listen to AM anyway, and its a format that can play in the workplace without offending anyone. It can be the "glue" that holds the whole thing together. I would definitely can the hard rock!

I also agree that audio processing is extremely important, especially on AM! A well-processed AM signal can sound very good but a poorly processed one can sound awful. ON FM, about any reasonable limiter will give you "passable" quality but on AM it is really critical! With all the new digital boxes on the market, I'm sure someone has a good used Optimod they'll let go cheap. Just get someone who knows what they are doing to set it up.

And Good Luck! I wish WPAZ years of success...

Ray-

It's great to hear from broadcasters like yourself who are still willing to do something unique and innovative in 'the land of the kilohertz'. With that said, as you know if you in the radio industry and you operate a marginal facility, especially in an urban or suburban market, you must innovate or get your breakfast, lunch and dinner all eaten! You must offer something that will make listeners want to flip that band-switch over to AM.

With your idea of a classic soft hits format (the term I'd use would be traditional or classic MOR), I think this would be a great way to go in the Philly area. However, I would not recommend that a smaller facility like WPAZ try this. More appropriate facilities for this type of operation could and should include 610 or 950. Maybe with both of these stations' formats now being available on FM, this might be a move for one of these stations to do, especially the former. I might suggest a full-service presentation might work. I might suggest that this may be a way for dominant AM stations with marginal ratings to attract listeners. For about a year and a half, WROW (590) Albany NY has proven this can work. They have been ranked fairly consistently in about 9th place up there.

Call me someone who romanticizes the past a little too much, but I don't believe AM radio has to die! I think there are ways to save it through better analog transmission standards, better noise reduction of electrical emissions and for companies to offer better receivers. I might suggest that owners of such facilities, especially more marginal ones, offer not only unique programming, but also alternative forms of fundraising. This could not only include donations from listeners, but hosting concerts and maybe dances, car shows, festivals or other events. WPAZ may already be doing this, but I'm not totally sure. One source of advertising that marginal (and other) AM stations should consider is from manufacturers of quality AM receivers and antennas.

 

[davideduardo]

...with all do respect I don’t know how you came to that conclusion. WCHE did not subscribe to Arbitron Ratings so there is no way to tell if it gained or lost listeners.

Stations don't have to be subscribed to Arbitron to appear in the ratings... they just can't sell with the data if they are not subscribers.

Of course, if a station is going to appear in the ratings, it has to have had a minimum amount of actual listening reported.

During what period was the format you programmed on the air?

 

[quadpain]

Every station that I know of in this region that has attempted to do some kind of hard rock format on AM in recent years has failed miserably (examples: WHAT and WCHE). The audience just isn't there on AM; most people of the generation who want to hear that music are not going to turn off their IPODs to listen to an AM station.

Failed miserably is a bit harsh. It depends on your standards of success. Skin Radio wasn't pulling in B101 ratings or KYW revenue, and it never would and never needed to in order to be successful at least on the books. We also were gaining measurable traction and loyalty and finding the right niches for listenership. Kinda funny, the research did show that the kids would listen to AM radio if it was playing something they wanted to hear, despite the sound difference. (quite a few actually bought HD sets though) Also having the stream available does remove the some of the limitations of the air signal for the 18-34 demo.

The decision to change 1340 to the Martini Lounge format did not mean we didn't believe in the viability of Skin Radio (we kept streaming) nor that it failed (I pulled the plug, not someone else), it was more so a combination of outside factors (RFF signing on, industry wide advertising cutbacks, pressure to ramp up revenue growth quickly). We felt that the change to Martini Lounge on AM and Skin Radio as a web only offering was the best way to do it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not delusional, it didn't work out, obviously. We just were not given realistic expectations, nor the right amount of time to properly launch a the brand and a new radio station. I still think that you can put a format on AM that is not traditional for that band, such as Alternative, and be quite successful (even if that just means surviving and having fun doing it).

- Al Clay

 

[rtetro]

I programmed WCHE with 1500 alternative rock songs during the era that you claim caused WCHE to “fail miserably”. Rene’, with all do respect I don’t know how you came to that conclusion. WCHE did not subscribe to Arbitron Ratings so there is no way to tell if it gained or lost listeners. The previous format of really old music wasn’t exactly selling like hotcakes. At that time WCHE didn’t have any experienced sales people so who really knows if the alternative rock format would have made any money or not? All I know is the lights stayed on and I got paid every week. I also received a lot of emails complimenting me on the music.

I'm not saying the format wasn't good. From the times that I listened, I liked what I heard. I don't believe it was bad programming that forced a format change - either on WCHE or WHAT. It is, I believe, a lack of attractable demographics to support what was being programmed. As I noted earlier, the failure of these two formats to gain a large loyal saleable audience was that they were on AM, where it is EXTREMELY difficult to attract younger listeners. If either station had been on FM it may have worked very well.

 

[wcradio2]

The tragedy of the loss of these stations/formats is that they weren't given enough time. It's true for most experiments. WCHE could have made it if any kind of sales staff existed. There wasn't one. I mean none. So, in that setting, any sale would have been big. At the time, the station was treated as a toy.

I was especially disappointed to see Skin Radio disappear because I knew some local bands were trying to position themselves behind it.

What Randy and Al did was probably the right idea. A small AM with a specialty programming can probably cut it now. Just as Al mentioned, define success. I would, in my definition, include a sales staff that was behind the idea completely, not moaning about having to sell the product (old WCHE). Also, the complete integration of all social media and internet streaming and podcasting. The works.

Perhaps the timing was just a bit off with them... it IS everything.

Now maybe, an AM with a good internet stream and social media adding direction (and traffic along, hopefully, with listeners and eventually advertisers) will work.

Then further define your success, at least at first, by surviving and having fun. Any small station that stays on the air with it's own vision (rather than colon cleanse) is a win.

 

[quadpain]

If either station had been on FM it may have worked very well.

That helps quite a bit. I know of a certain station that is still having success on FM.