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WPRO is hurting , WHJJ is gaining

My point PRECISELY!

<< Thing is with Beacon, its about talk radios Bread and Butter, RHODE ISLAND CORRUPTION! >>

Says WHO?

Clearly not the numbers. A station that had double-digit shares playing music -- the same titles two other AMs and TWO FMS were playing -- now stalls in low/mid-single-digit range, and that's acceptable. And does so despite the modernday News/Talk assets that FMs aren't smart-enough to embrace as Apple sells iPod #100 MILLION.

Station owners here are willing to settle for present, eroding audience levels because they buy-into the laughable presumption that the-just-plain-folks-in-line-at-Shaw's, the people who'd be flattered to be asked by Arbitron, actually WANT to hear about governmental process day-after-day-after-mind-numbing-day. And, in the case of "corruption," process so-societally-acknowledged that it's quaint. You DID see that Buddy Cianci film, right? His present 38% would-vote-for-him number is higher than when-we-voted-for-him!

This assumed hunger for public affairs programming remains unchallenged, as topics unlikely to engage, entertain, or surprise Homer & Marge, or Tony & Tina, dominate. What-comes-out-the-speaker is that muted trombone you'd hear when the grown-ups speak in "Charlie Brown Christmas." Blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah.

Even more-fundamentally confining: topic geography.
It's bad-enough to talk about things-that-only-a-fraction-of-audience-is-interested-in.
Slice it even thinner by talking-about-things-that-only-a-fraction-of-that-fraction relate to geographically.
Possibly the most important county in what Arbitron calls "#38: Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket" is in MASSACHUSETTS.
Bristol Co. MA diaries are often "swing voters."
It's the way the deck is stacked.

Those Attleboro and Swansea voters choose-to-live-work-and-play-here, but not reside in RI.
Possibly because of what-they're-hearing day-after-day on Talk radio, offered in such charming fashion.
How inviting.
 
Holland, I couldn't agree more! This stuff talked about by the guys like DePetro, Glover and York is all inside stuff. You just saw the latest ratings of the democratic debates. PEOPLE DON'T CARE. I will applaud Ron St. Pierre who tried to make portions of his show fun with mass appeal, so what do they do? Take an hour away from him. YEAH, lets do more about RI's state budget.Yeah thats the ticket, more politics! Hell, give John from Cranston a show, he's on everyday as it is! Offer John 6pm to 9pm and give him Blue Cross and I bet he'll take it. Half the time I listen to Yorke in the afternoon, I don't even know what the topic is.

The problem with WPRO as I see it is a rookie GM and rookie PD, "tweedle dee and tweedle dumb".[EDIT]

"Let's not lose those P1's". The problem is there isn't enough of 'em! The PD there Paul G. was once quoted as saying, "Buddy will NEVER work at WPRO, it's not in keeping with our branding!" HAHAHAHAHAHA. They do not want to invite any new people to the station because they run in fear of Dan York. Dan York might as well be General Manager. I remember lsitening to radio when it used to sound fun. Now it's just lecturing from these hosts who tell me how to live my life.

Thank god for oldies out of Boston.


[EDIT-offensive content]
 
Arlene Violet crashed and burned because she focused her show day after day
after on the Iraq war and not on the goings on here at home.
Yorke is successful because he does mix up his topics quite nicely but with a heavy
accent on local issues.
In Rhode Island because we're a one left leaning newspaper town talk radio plays
a very important role in balancing out important statewide stories. Were it not for
talk radio we as citizens would not get the other side of the story on many important
issues.
The audience for talk radio may not be comparable with the music stations numbers wise
but it's a demographic advertisers are very interested in. The audience for issues oriented
talk tends to be educated and therefore employed and with moeny to spend on advertised
product.
Talk radio is an invaluable media here in RI.
 
I SHARE your applause for WODS...

...if not your anger for WPRO.

And speaking of GREAT CBS Oldies stations, good morning from Noo Yawk, where THE OLDIES ARE BACK, on CBS-FM 101.1.
And they sound GREAT.
But I digress...

Admittedly, I'll seem like an unemotional Mr. Spock-type "analytical," compared to many of the angry, anonymous posters here.
And I do acknowledge the-need-for-many-to-post-anonymously.
YOU, Mr. or Ms. Joint Chinese, strike me as a WPRO insider.
So I understand:
a.) the need for you to fly-under-the-radar;
b.) specificity of what you write,
c.) your vexation.

I-think-I-understand what-you're-saying-about "P1s."
(For those who just tuned-in, a "P1" is a-diarykeeper-who-reports-listening-to-YOUR-station-most; Mr./Ms. 80/20.)

Here's the problem, and it's a fundamental mistake I see elsewhere often: AIMING TOO LOW.
It's not uncommon for well-intentioned management to research those-who-listen-most, hoping to super-serve them.
HOW MANY OF THEM is the-stone-unturned.

Management is generational.
Today's generation regards status quo cume as what's-available.
They don't actually SETTLE for mid-single-digit shares...they STRIVE for them.
"The research" becomes a security blanket, and is misread.

With-the-best-of-intentions, status quo programming homogenizes into content-only-remnant-cume-responds-to.
Lots of "regular" callers. The programming becomes a clubby echo chamber...instead of the-station-EVERYONE-listens-to.

I think you're being a little tough on management.
If you're an insider, you have a different perspective than outsiders like Homer and Marge and I do.
DON'T WORRY.
Like the stock market, this situation's history demonstrates that things-have-a-way-of-working-out long-term.
Meantime, do-the-very-best-you-can at your-piece-of-the-puzzle.
Given the competition, your every effort will be conspicuous.
 
RE "Talk radio is an invaluable media here in RI."

I suspect you mean "medium;" and that you think radio-here is different than radio-elsewhere.

Talk radio has value EVERYWHERE.

But Arbitron doesn't care.
Audience measurement methodology just couldn't be more agnostic.
What Camus called "the benign indifference of the universe."

Arbitron doesn't care if it's Rhode Island or Oregon.
Or if it's AM or FM.
Or Talk or Oldies.
Or large-medium-or-small market.

The-number-of-spokes-in-the-wheel is the same everywhere.

The calculus is NOT a black art.
OFF-air promotion articulates a relevant benefit statement, to induce sampling by non-users, and remind users that they're users.
ON-air promotion seeks to extend Time Spent Listening, and remind users that they're users.
ON-air content delivers on the relevant benefit statement offered in off-air promotion.
Numerator, denominator.
Not a mystery.

Have you hugged Bristol Co MA today?
 
Holland , Interesting!
Here's the thing about 'corruption talk', when Yorke was going after the Mollis - Sisto gang, radios
through out the state were tuned to PRO. If a 'true' rating were taken at that time, it would
have been off the charts. The 38% liking Buddy are the same people who used to say they'd
vote for the head of Organized crime in RI for Governor.
As for Paul Giammarco, he's NO rookie. A former station owner. He left a safe job at Wsar to
work at WPRO. Things change in this business, if Paul Giammarco said 'Buddy' would never come to
WPRO, big deal, things change. BELIEVE ME, there are MANY at WPRO who DON'T want Buddy for
obvious reasons. I will say , I think one good point, Dan Yorke would be an excellent G.M.
even though the poster may have said it in jest. Walter.
 
And there it was.

HERE'S something you don't often see here...

<< Holland , Interesting! >>

Good afternoon FROM AMTRAK -- via my Verizon Wireless thing -- zooming through New Rochelle, en route to Westerly, then mooring ball #64, The Great Salt Pond.

RE "going after Mollis gang:"
NARROW interest topic.
ZERO interest topic to Bristol Co MA.

<< As for Paul Giammarco, he's NO rookie. A former station owner. >>

I know that.
I know Paul.
I like Paul.

Though-I-wasn't-the-one-who-posted-the-comment-to-which-you-refer, I suspect that Mr.-or-Ms. Joint Chinese knows Paul's resume too.

<< Dan Yorke would be an excellent G.M. >>

GM?
Dan too was a station OWNER, in Springfield.
I myself worked-at that-very-station two-owners-earlier, then left there for WPRO.
Heck, just-a-couple-weeks-ago I was in my native Springfield, and drove right by those very towers, and the building Dan worked in.
 
Sorry Holland, I was answering you and chinese, sorry about that.
Gotta say, The mollis Sisto stuff was , state wide, THE BEST! Walter.
 
Re: My point PRECISELY!

Holland Cooke said:
This assumed hunger for public affairs programming remains unchallenged, as topics unlikely to engage, entertain, or surprise Homer & Marge, or Tony & Tina, dominate. What-comes-out-the-speaker is that muted trombone you'd hear when the grown-ups speak in "Charlie Brown Christmas." Blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah.

Even more-fundamentally confining: topic geography.
It's bad-enough to talk about things-that-only-a-fraction-of-audience-is-interested-in.
Slice it even thinner by talking-about-things-that-only-a-fraction-of-that-fraction relate to geographically.
Possibly the most important county in what Arbitron calls "#38: Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket" is in MASSACHUSETTS.
Bristol Co. MA diaries are often "swing voters."
It's the way the deck is stacked.

Those Attleboro and Swansea voters choose-to-live-work-and-play-here, but not reside in RI.
Possibly because of what-they're-hearing day-after-day on Talk radio, offered in such charming fashion.
How inviting.
Click to expand...

Holland:

You've done an excellent job (imho) of describing the myopic mentality of RI, and how it manifests itself on our radios. Many years ago, there was an editorial cartoon in the Providence Journal which depicted a globe sitting on a desk, with the only "land mass" you could see on it being Rhode Island, with the caption reading "THE WORLD".

I always used to think of WHJJ and WPRO as having "general interest" talk formats, but it seems thier focus in recent years has become increasingly narrow to the point that they've become places where cranky people can gather to be cranky together about whatever the gripe of the day happens to be (state budget, latest politician in trouble, etc.).

It's ironic that a station with a so-called "niche format", WEEI-FM, acutally seems to be doing a better job of appealing to a broader segment of the listening audience. After all, the appeal of the Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots doesn't stop at the state border.

103.7 seems to be giving Southeastern Massachusetts (and Eastern Connecticut) that "hug" you've talked about. ;D

dr
 
RE "the myopic mentality of RI"

It's not just RI.
What's been described here happens lots of places.

Walk a mile in MY shoes:
Consultant arrives for first visit.
Management tells why-THIS-market-is-unique, why-THIS-station-is-special.
Consultant listens attentively.
Consultant adjourns to Marriott; Room Service brings BLT and coffee.
Consultant turns on radio.
Station's making the same mistakes the-last-station-in-the-last-market-made.
Next day, at the station, an employee button-holes consultant.
Discreetly whispers how "management here just doesn't get it;" says "it's a [name of city] thing."

Arbitron doesn't care.

NOT a Rhody problem. It's a RADIO problem, the all-too-common disconnect between what-people-inside-the-box (self-centered Rush-wanna-be's who speak in long sentences littered with "I") and people-outside-the-box (Arbitron diarykeepers) find interesting.

Think the phrase "RALPH MOLLIS" will keep people in-the-car-with-the-key-on-Accessories in the Warwick Mall parking lot?

Stop ANY 10 people in that very parking lot, and ask them:
1. who Ralph Mollis is,
2. to name all four members of Congress from RI;
3. who The Vice President of The United States is;
4. if they have a Beacon Mutual policy,
5. to name the mother and father on "The Simpsons."

Then, publish their responses here.

You might also ask 'em how-much-a-pair-of-jeans-cost.
That's a question that's embarrassed several sitting Vice Presidents.
 
I MUST pass-along this reply...

Although I work for another food-and-wine show, I'm a big fan, and longtime pal, of affable WHJJ food dude Bruce Newbury...and I just HAD to pass-along a message he sent, his suggested question #6 for the Warwick Mall parking lot survey I propose above:

Bruce writes: "Then you should ask them what their favorite restaurant is and see how engaged they get."

WELL DONE!

And THAT question will cross-the-state-line to embrace those important Bristol County diarykeepers LOTS better than the latest arcane inside-baseball Smith Hill blah blah blah.

NOTE that radio-info-com subtitles this Providence board "For discussion of radio in Rhode Island and adjacent parts of Massachusetts."

If TALK RADIO content here did that better, it'd get a better number.
 
H. Cooke, I decided to try what you said. I wond up asking 8 people in different places in just RI.
6 of the 8 new who Mollis was and the troubles of him.
Only 2 knew who was their Congressman.
5 knew the VP.
1 of 8 knew Beacon.
I forgot the Simpsons question! ??? ???
2 were very familiar with Dan Yorkes going after Mollis!
 
"8 people in different places in just RI"

Different places INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE don't count.

Next stop: The parking lot of that shopping center JUST-over-the-line in Attleboro.

And speaking-of-The Simpsons: RUN-do-not-walk to The Simpsons Movie.
You may have to see it twice, to hear the whole script.
You'll be laughing THAT hard.

Movie prediction #2: The Bourne Ultimatum will NOT be the series finale, despite earlier announcements to the contrary.
Bourne is the new Bond.
 
Holland, what do you think about Cianci. Does Wpro need him? How about Whjj?
Do you thinks he's worth the big bucks?
 
That Buddy's a game-changer alrighty...for either station...

...and he'll make BIG Buddy Buckos too.

INSTANT impact: assured.

But -- as lots of Katie haters @ radio-info.com are quick-to-remind-me -- INITIAL sampling is one thing.
ONGOING clout is another.

That's where the comparison ends.

Couric was pretty-well-liked generally, but seems unwelcome to many IN HER PRESENT ROLE.
Ratings have settled-back-into pre-Katie rankings, notwithstanding the GREAT newscast content she anchors.
(Note: NBC has lost a bigger % of share lately...but I digress.)

Buddy, on the other hand, is what research nerds call "ones and nines."
You either love him or hate him.
Every time he ran for office, more people loved him than hated him.
Unlike other voices-on-talk-radio, who are just voices-on-talk-radio, Buddy "has a life." He's A REAL CHARACTER.
And THAT is Arbitron gold.

How-THE-STATION-OVERALL-fares, either station, is a function of how-well-executed-the-station-itself is.
Buddy WILL raise the tide; and even bring new listening.
"AQH," to you insiders, to HIS hours; and even some new "cume" to the station overall.

But -- at-the-risk-of-sounding-like Captain Kirk -- HOW much new cume...and for HOW many AQH?

It's up to the station to "convert," eh?

Good morning from Toronto,
HC
www.HollandCooke.com
 
And ALL-of-the-above only matters in terms of ratings.

"And I will tell you this..."

Buddy will sell any station lots of ads.
Buddy will sell any station lots of ads.
Buddy will sell any station lots of ads.

But will the-station-around-him be robust-enough to-convert-enough that the-ads-pay-for-Buddy?

The dough he'll go for isn't just cost-justified by keeping-him-away-from-the-competition, eh?
 
Holland makes an excellent point. (He most always does) ... even those that "hate" Buddy will ask "But did you hear what he said today"?! True personalities are polarizing and that's certainly true of this particular host.

Tom Pagnotti
choicevoicepro.com
 
Yes it's very important to make a name for yourself if you want to be successful in this business. There are so many great hosts who people just don't know from a hole in wall. They just blend in and never really stand out. In show Biz, A creep who people know is better off than a nice guy who people have never heard of.
 
Skynet says: There are so many great hosts who people just don't know
Then are they truly great hosts?

Tom Pagnotti
choicevoicepro.com
 
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