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WPRO is hurting , WHJJ is gaining

Did you ever notice how many callers call the other hosts Dan? People call Dave Barber Dan, People call Matty, Dan. It's scary that WPRO appears to have listeners who don't even know who they are listening to!
 
THAT is a real important point!

<< listeners who don't even know who they are listening to >>

APPLAUSE.
APPLAUSE.
APPLAUSE.
I wish more people-who-work-in-radio "got" that.

Too many people IN-radio think that people-NOT-in-radio are paying-more-attention-than-they-are.
They're not.
They don't have to.
Radio is free.
Choosing a station is not as-conscious a purchase decision as, for instance, Coke vs. Pepsi.
Listeners can just push buttons until they get...or escape...whatever they're seeking or seeking-to-escape.

It's up to US -- inside the little box -- to make 'em NOTICE-that-they-listened.

NOT a misprint: Arbitron doesn't measure what people listen to.
It can't.
It can only measure what-the-sample-REMEMBERED.
Its unaided recall methodology is a memory game.

I've sat behind-the-one-way-mirror listening to focus group participants mention frequent listening to an on-air host who left the market years ago...or who's DEAD. And they're notorious for mixing-up who's-on-which-station.

I work for a station in Wilmington, Delaware, the first market where Arbitron tested the Portable People Meter that is about to go online and replace diary-based measurement, first in the Houston market, then elsewhere.

Seeing side-by-side listening data, from diaries and PPMs, proved what we've always suspected:
1. Yes-you-do have "an invisible cume." You have more listeners than you get credit for.
2. Yes-people-do listen to more than 3 stations per week. About twice as many. They only remember 3.
3. People over-report the station they listen to most, and under-report others. Lots of "rounding."

Ask 10 people who-work-at-a-radio-station to name their car radio pre-sets.
They'll recite call LETTERS.
Stop 10 poeple at-the-mall, and ask 'em the same thing.
They'll recite dial position NUMBERS.
And they probably won't know more than 3-of-their-6 buttons.

Thus the need to obsess on relevance.
And -- with all that busy people have on their minds -- cut-to-the-chase.
 
Hey SkyNet 74,
Just so you'll know, MR Know it all Holland Cook is the outsider who screwed Matt Allen.
We can thank him for Barber..
 
Oh I'll toast in hell for that Barber move, eh?

So that makes what-I-and-that-SkyNet-person-wrote...WRONG?

And while you're handling introductions, YOU are...?

As a frequent poster here -- one "FredFlintstone" -- recently cautioned:

<< you may be seriously over-estimating the portion of readers of this board who work in radio or have ever worked in radio >>

Say it ain't so...
 
Cookie,
You screwed Matt Allen and if B Haynes had any brains, she would have told
you and Jennings she's the G.M.
Thats if she had any brains.
You're a meddling has been, GET LOST.
 
tomcollinsaa said:
Holland holand HOLLAND!
Never forget the time I saw you on Block Island asking for FREE DRINKS at Ballards!
Fillippi was pissed!
Does this mean IL ALERT THE MEDIA is Barber?
Hey Dave Barber is why I drink.
You did a GREAT job of SHOVING him down Haynes throat.
You really barfed all over WPRO.
You had to kill Allen for this fake?
Shame on you.
Time to hit the bottle!
EVERYONE, tomorrow is Ballards last day of the season.
Go to Block Island and drop by Ballards.
Tell them ,
DRINKS! are on HOLLAND COOKE! ;D :-*

I'm not Barber.Ya doesn't get to call me Ray.I just replied to play my part in driving the post hit number up to 4000.
 
"I just replied to play my part in driving the post hit number up to 4000."

THIS IS EXCITING!
I want in.

(You should see MY server stats since this thread started.)

RE " I saw you on Block Island asking for FREE DRINKS at Ballards! Fillippi was pissed!"
You're ALMOST right.
It was actually in Dallas, not on Block Island. But you were close.
I was actually BUYING the drinks, a couple Corona longnecks. An understandable mistake on your part.
And it wasn't Paul; it was The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. OK, it was dark.
Other than that, you got it right.
Oh, and NOBODY was PO'd.
As you'll see, everyone was all smiles: http://members.aol.com/cookeh/NABR06Xhall.jpg

Now, off-to-school for you, young man.

And for everyone else tuning-in to watch the hit count trip to 4K, a Fabulous Radio Prize!
If you were with us in Dallas last week, you found it in your NAB Radio Show registration bag.
If you couldn't be there with us, here's your copy.
Yep, the meaty September issue of the HC newsletter: http://www.hollandcooke.com/weekendgold.pdf
Just another way we say, "Thank you, for visiting radio-info.com."

HC
www.HollandCooke.com

PS: Back to the original topic? When's the last time you had THIS much fun on WHJJ?
 
Things I've concluded.

1. Big Mistake not hiring Matty Full Time
2. Barber isn't bad. I just like Matty better.
3. Holland Cooke is a funny guy. That's a good thing.
 
About Matt...

I certainly concur with what Dave Barber said, on-air, on his first show, acknowledging Matt's extended interim hosting performance: "His future in this business is bright."

BUT DON'T TELL ANYONE.
Consultants are supposed to be meanies.
This could destroy my reputation...

HC
www.HollandCooke.com

PS: As we used to say on The Jerry Lewis Telethon...
"LET'S GO TO THE TOTEBOARD!"
We're now OVER 4000 views.
Can we make 5000?
It's like that Seinfeld episode when Kramer took the test drive.
He and the car salesman wanted to see how far the could drive with the needle on "E."
 
Holland, kind of continuing on your post about people not knowing who they listen to & so much dependent on memory...you used to be able to view program info on the Arbitron website for any station, including all personalities, shows, slogans, etc. Now when you access the SIP info it's just the bare essentials. There's also a notation that stations no longer need to submit program information. Is all the other info hidden? I'm sure diary keepers enter peoples' names in their diaries at times as opposed to call letters. I'm assuming you're no stranger to that website & the methodology.
 
Change in Arbitron S.I.P.

This Station Information Packet procedure changed a while back.
Beginning about two years ago, Arbitron got more aggressive and proactive.

It had always been like-pulling-teeth to get all the stations to submit information on a timely basis.
And some sneaky stations were always trying-to-pull-a-fast-one.
(When I was managing WTOP/Washington, I tried to register "news" as a slogan.)
(Nice try, they politely told me.)

But it was a high-maintenance process for Arbitron.
And diarykeepers occasionally made an entry that S.I.P. info-on-file didn't resolve.

So, beginning almost two years ago, Arbitron started doing entry-specific "detective work."
They will actually pick-up-the-phone and CALL stations to double-check something a diarykeeper entered.
Perhaps it's a host name; or some team whose play-by-play aired.
AND they'll check stations' web sites for this sort of information too.
(Which, of course, makes the case for keeping the station web site up-to-date.)

Pretty impressive on Arbitron's part.

Still, though, dial position and call letters are FAR-AND-AWAY the most common entries.
Thus the consultant nagging about keeping the station's "name-and-address" high-profile on-air.

HC
 
Thanks. That is pretty impressive on Arbitron's part. Now the SIP from the point of view of what a diary keeper might enter consists of calls, frequency, & station name. If I were a PD I'd want every conceivable person's name, slogan, etc on the SIP but as long as Arby takes those extra steps I guess everyone is getting the credit they should. I was a diary keeper earlier this year & was pretty meticulous about entries, but can see that the average person with no radio background would lose interest quickly & just keep giving their favorite station credit. I've always felt if you give the audience something they'll remember at the end of the day, you'll get more credit from people who listen to multiple stations.
 
You just said a mouthful!

<< I've always felt if you give the audience something they'll remember at the end of the day, you'll get more credit from people who listen to multiple stations. >>

That really is the ballgame.
Arbitron is "a memory test."

And, obviously, the #1 thing you want 'em to remember is "WXXX," since call letters are the most bulletproof diary entry.

But the-more-you-think-about programming from-the-outside-in, the better.
As a REAL smart guy, one of radio's most respected programmers, said to me long ago:
"How are they using the station?"

Most station promos describe the station.
The most-successful station promos describe THE LISTENER, what-listening-to-the-station-means-to-them.
It really is more than a nuance.

On-air talent who say "YOU" and "YOUR" -- a LOT -- tend to do better than those whose shows are all "I," "I," "I," and "ME," "ME," "ME."
 
As promised, my notes from Dallas...

What You Missed If You Missed NAB's Radio Show and R&R Convention in Dallas:
My notes are in my October newsletter.

For your FREE copy, simply send a blank Email to:
[email protected]
Moments later, your download (PDF) will arrive.

My Privacy Policy: Simple. I will not share your Email address with ANYONE, period.

Best regards,
Holland Cooke
News/Talk Specialist
McVay Media
www.HollandCooke.com
 
Holland Cooke said:
(When I was managing WTOP/Washington, I tried to register "news" as a slogan.)
(Nice try, they politely told me.)

You managed WTOP? Nice! I Love that station. Just give a guy a GE Super Radio and you'll be surprised at the out of market stations that I Love. I used to listen to WTOP all the time. But then as I'm sure you are aware they went and changed frequencies. Now I'm not even sure where to find them on the dial. I'll go look after I send this. I'm sure they stream their signal on the web as well.
 
At the time, Providence was a big deal to the people in Washington!

When I went from WSNE/Providence to WTOP/Washington in 1984, both were owned by Providence-based Outlet Broadcasting. At the time WSNE and WJAR TV10 were downtown @ 111 Dorrance.

Funny story: Usually, anywhere-else-in-America, when you say "I'm going to Washington," it sounds important.

So the irony was always amusing. Because coming-from-Providence made me a-suit-from-The Home Office, people in Washington (at the station) would say "Hmmmm" when they asked me where I was from, and I said "Providence." :)

I brought along with me ex-WSNE News Director Bill Thompson, who anchored morning drive on WTOP for 8 years, during which time we were the #1 cume station in mornings. When I left for USA Today, he worked for me there too. Another Providence voice heard on WTOP was Frank Daly, who was News Director @ WPRO when he and I worked there in the 70s. At WTOP, he was the voice of the NBA Washington Bullets (now the Wizards), whose games we flagshipped.

About half the folks who worked for me there (84-91) are still there. Lots of the other half of my staff are names/faces you know. Pam Coulter/ABC News (whom you hear often on ABC affilate WPRO) was my midday anchor. CNN Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre covered Metro and Montgomery County for WTOP. I hired Andrea Koppell -- her first commercial radio gig after college -- who's now covering The State Department for CNN. Lots of other names-you-might-not-find-as-familiar are faces-now-on-local-TV in Washington. GREAT group there.

Three owners later, Bonneville International -- a GREAT broadcasting company -- now owns WTOP.

WTOP has what-might-be THE BEST radio station web site IN THE WORLD, www.wtopnews.com

Almost a year ago, the station migrated from the 50KW 1500AM signal you can hear here at night, to an FM channel.
 
What is this? This is your Life Holland Cooke?!
Ok, OK! WHERES THAT BOTTLE?
Drinks are on HOLLAND! ;) ;D :eek:
 
YOU again...

tomcollinsaa said:
Drinks are on HOLLAND!

They usually are. And while my party was yukking-it-up at The Dallas Palm the other night, you were hanging drywall...where?

I'm feeling optimistic about 5000 hits...
 
5,000 hits! Holland, You just started posting here. I believe this is MY little creation.
Come now, stop cutting to the front of the line!
Wpro means allot to me. Many readers believe you had a role in replacing Matt Allen
for Dave Barber. In all candor, would you care to comment?
My best to you,
Chatty.
 
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