WRKZ 99.7 Rock Town Hall Meeting

[dawg4life]

107.1 WAZU played Powerman 5000 and I think they were the first to ever play Korn in Columbus. When 107.1 first launched, they played songs that the Blitz would never touch. You know even though the Big Wazoo was ran by a computer, they were a Hell of a lot better than the Blitz was at that time.

Edit to add: When I mean they played Korn, I mean they played shoots and ladders.

 

[xiradiodotcom]

107.1 WAZU played Powerman 5000 and I think they were the first to ever play Korn in Columbus. When 107.1 first launched, they played songs that the Blitz would never touch. You know even though the Big Wazoo was ran by a computer, they were a Hell of a lot better than the Blitz was at that time.

Edit to add: When I mean they played Korn, I mean they played shoots and ladders.

WAZU was definitely a nice alternative to the rock options of the time. 99.7 was still in the Ozzy/Metallica every hour mode.... oh, wait, they're doing that again now. I remember hearing Pantera, Marilyn Manson and Static-X for the first time on Columbus radio. Too bad the signal gave them no real chance. Put that on a 93.3 or even 105.7 and it would be interesting.

 

[imadethisusernamemyslef]

The 99.7 The Rock website says on it that "You have changed the face of rock radio" so I wonder if that means they are going to mess with thier format any.

If they do, I think that they would go to something that the Blitz was because that is what most of everyone was asking for during the meeting, more new music, less old.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Saying "you have changed the face of rock radio," and that they are going to start implementing an action plan based on the townhall input, all seems to suggest that they are going to keep the name The Rock but do some tweaking.  The extent of change probably depends on whether or not they got a new consultant. We'll see.

 

[imadethisusernamemyslef]

Saying "you changed the face of rock" would seem to imply they are going to keep the name The Rock. We'll see.

I think they ment it as in rock radio not thier name, eh, I don't know, maybe they did mean it as that.

I think there is a small chance of changing back to New Rock format cause he did say during the meeting that when they switched to The Rock, they it didn't do what they wanted it to do in ratings. But like you said, tweaking is likely. I think that a show about New Rock will probably happen if anything.

 

[alans613]

Saying "you have changed the face of rock radio," and that they are going to start implementing an action plan based on the townhall input, all seems to suggest that they are going to keep the name The Rock but do some tweaking. The extent of change probably depends on whether or not they got a new consultant. We'll see.

Nu, you're probably right. The Rock name will probably stay, especially with their "Rock on the Range" concert coming up in May. Tweaks, not huge changes, are likely.

 

[dawg4life]

Saying "you have changed the face of rock radio," and that they are going to start implementing an action plan based on the townhall input, all seems to suggest that they are going to keep the name The Rock but do some tweaking. The extent of change probably depends on whether or not they got a new consultant. We'll see.

Nu, you're probably right. The Rock name will probably stay, especially with their "Rock on the Range" concert coming up in May. Tweaks, not huge changes, are likely.

I went to ROTR last year and nobody gave 2 sh*ts about 99.7's booth in front of Crew Stadium. I don't think the name "The Rock" makes any positive impact for 99.7 whatsoever. I still think they (Hal Fish) made a colossal mistake by killing off The Blitz name.

 

[Al Timiter]

When the Blitz debuted, it sounded larger than life. They threw down the gauntlet and rocked loud and proud. They lost their focus big time over the years. I agree they should've worked on making the Blitz relevant again instead of killing it off. It was great brand.

 

[gabigley1]

So the Hal Fish wants to know what we think?

http://www.rocktownhallmeeting.com/

This should be fun!

Just noticed the WRKZ 99.7 Rock Town Hall Meeting is available here via podcast form:

http://www.997wrkz.com/index.php/onair/podcasts

for those of us who haven't heard the WRKZ 99.7 Rock Town Hall Meeting.

So, what will become of this? A new local morning show and/or reverting back to the old Blitz rock format. ??? I thought the reason they put the Bob and Tom morning show on was to save money and the reason they dropped the Blitz rock format was to archive a better demographics for their radio advertisers.
The Podcasts are interesting and I'm glad that shared these with us. Talk is cheap so it will be interesting to see what changes will happen, if any.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Maybe another possibility is a hybrid between the "tweak the Rock" and "change back to the Blitz" theories. Specifically: they remain the Rock for now and implement the "action plan" they referred to. Then a few months later, maybe around July 4, they cap off the evolution by announcing the "finishing" tweak: resurrection of the Blitz name. It's a fact that old radio brands (and other kinds of brands) are often rejuvenated after resting for awhile. It can create kind of a buzz, even if people had largely defected from the Blitz before it switched to the Rock (and then things got even worse...).

OTOH, while switching back to the Blitz at some point could possibly payoff, tit's unlikely they would ever again enjoy the magnitude of success they had in their "salad days." Active Rock just isn't as big as it once was. That said, it still does extremely well in selected markets, notably KQRC Kansas City -- the station Hal Fish once said was the closest kin to the Blitz music-wise.

 

[Neanderpaul]

Active Rock just isn't as big as it once was. That said, it still does extremely well in selected markets, notably KQRC Kansas City -- the station Hal Fish once said was the closest kin to the Blitz music-wise.

Having worked at KQRC, I can tell you there was an adjustment there as well. It has been somewhat mainstreamed, and now Cumulus is attacking it on the 18-34 side. If you can damage a station 18-34, you can certainly screw with their 25-54 numbers.

Perhaps conceding the classic position to Q is the smart move. Hammer them on the low end. Paint them as "old" "your father's station" etc. Not openly. But with the presentation. I have some ideas...

 

[gabigley1]

-Bob and Tom move back to 103.9 where they belong, or out of the NABCO stable entirely.

This make a lot sense and will probably happen. I look for them to appear on 103.9!

One thing I got from the town hall meeting was that I finally got an explanation of what happened to Grego. They went into great detail about their falling out with him. I still miss the show, but at least now I understand why Grego is gone. I would be happy to have Mo and Blazor back.

What I heard was Grego was late to the Blitz Bash and was let go by Mr. Fish on the spot BUT there is allot more to it according to the town hall meeting. I find all this added drama surrounding Grego firing hard to believe because being late to the Bliitz Bash seemed to be
a good enough reason to fire him on the spot to me. Here is the Podcast if you want to
listen to it for yourself. One of the podcasts, RTHM Segment 5 talks about why Mr. Fish fired Grego:

http://www.997wrkz.com/index.php/onair/podcasts

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

-Bob and Tom move back to 103.9 where they belong, or out of the NABCO stable entirely.

This make a lot  sense and will probably happen. I look for them to appear on 103.9!

One thing I got from the town hall meeting was that I finally got an explanation of what happened to Grego.  They went into great detail about their falling out with him.  I still miss the show, but at least now I understand why Grego is gone.  I would be happy to have Mo and Blazor back. 

What I heard was Grego was late to the Blitz Bash and was let go by Mr. Fish on the spot BUT there is allot more to it according to the town hall meeting. I find all this added drama surrounding Grego firing hard to believe because being late to the Bliitz Bash seemed to be
a good enough reason to fire him on the spot to me. Here is the Podcast if you want to
listen to it for yourself. One of the podcasts, RTHM Segment 5 talks about why Mr. Fish fired Grego:

http://www.997wrkz.com/index.php/onair/podcasts

Unless perhaps there is still a contract in force, I'd wager NABCO will be parting ways with B&T.  Actually, I think 103.9's current syndicated morning guy is talented and a really good fit with their syndicated rock-focused Classic Hits format.

BTW, I notice WTDA finally has a local personality (other info breaks), longtime NABCO-er Greg Moebius.  But it's only for a brief theme-based "Classic 5 at 5" feature.

Re Grego, firing seems harsh for being late, unless he was VERY late with no good reason, or there were already other demerits against him, or some insubordination surrounding the incident. Would be interested to know if others agree with that or disagree.

 

[gabigley1]

Hal Fish just announced this site: http://www.blitzorrock.com/ for people to cast their vote for The Rock or The Blitz. After a minute or so, they
announced the site crashed because way to many people went to the site all at once and this crashed their site. Their I.T. guy is trying to get it back up now.

As far as the Bob and Tom show goes, he said he has not yet made a decision on what to do with the show. If a decision was made to get rid of the Bob and
Tom show on 99.7, it wouldn't happen anytime soon because of a contract agreement. That said, he said it would happen sooner then later, like in a few weeks or so.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Been listening to the on-air 99.7 discussion and, as I suspected, it sounds as if that this is mostly a way to draw attention.  I'm not saying that all comments will be ignored, but I'd wager they had most of the change plans in place before any of this even started.  That vote-for-the-name website is likewise probably just a charade.  If they're referring back to the Blitz this much, they're going to become the Blitz again.  Fish says that's a "complicated issue."  Huh?  One of the benefits of radio is that changes like that are relatively easy to make.

One of the most telling facts about this all being mostly a charade is that the discussion is on a THURSDAY (start of diary week) at 3, one of the prime times to try to draw some listener attention and diary mentions.

Blitzorrock.com crashing shows that maybe their attempt to gain some attention is really working.  Or possibly that it's been set up to crash to create an impression that this is a big deal to people?

BTW, these observations are independent of whether their plans are good ones or bad ones.

 

[xiradiodotcom]

Been listening to the on-air 99.7 discussion and, as I suspected, it sounds as if that this is mostly a way to draw attention. I'm not saying that all comments will be ignored, but I'd wager they had most of the change plans in place before any of this even started. That vote-for-the-name website is likewise probably just a charade. If they're referring back to the Blitz this much, they're going to become the Blitz again. Fish says that's a "complicated issue." Huh? One of the benefits of radio is that changes like that are relatively easy to make.

One of the most telling facts about this all being mostly a charade is that the discussion is on a THURSDAY (start of diary week) at 3, one of the prime times to try to draw some listener attention and diary mentions.

Blitzorrock.com crashing shows that maybe their attempt to gain some attention is really working. Or possibly that it's been set up to crash to create an impression that this is a big deal to people?

Your points are definitely valid. The reason the server is crashing is because it's running on a Business Roadrunner account... probably a PC in the studio.

nslookup blitzorrock.com

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: blitzorrock.com
Address: 24.172.221.59


nslookup 24.172.221.59

Name: rrcs-24-172-221-59.central.biz.rr.com
Address: 24.172.221.59

 

[imadethisusernamemyslef]

Been listening to the on-air 99.7 discussion and, as I suspected, it sounds as if that this is mostly a way to draw attention. I'm not saying that all comments will be ignored, but I'd wager they had most of the change plans in place before any of this even started. That vote-for-the-name website is likewise probably just a charade. If they're referring back to the Blitz this much, they're going to become the Blitz again. Fish says that's a "complicated issue." Huh? One of the benefits of radio is that changes like that are relatively easy to make.

One of the most telling facts about this all being mostly a charade is that the discussion is on a THURSDAY (start of diary week) at 3, one of the prime times to try to draw some listener attention and diary mentions.

Blitzorrock.com crashing shows that maybe their attempt to gain some attention is really working. Or possibly that it's been set up to crash to create an impression that this is a big deal to people?

BTW, these observations are independent of whether their plans are good ones or bad ones.

If all of this is ture, damn they're good!

 

[xmusicmatt]

They can bring back the name "The Blitz" but that doesn't mean they got to change anything musically.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

How about all that OMG-type verbal high-fiving and excitement by the participating staffers?  E.g., like when they announced the return of the local music show?  Pure showbiz, even if the staffers really DO like the change.  They probably already knew in advance what was coming down, but acted like it was an "oh wow" surprise to help reinforce listener enthusiasm.

I think you're right about the fact that a reversion to the Blitz name won't necessarily mean they change the music (although there will probably be at least SOME tweaking).   Fish even made a point of saying that the Blitz had changed a lot through the years, so Person A could be fondly remembering a very different-sounding Blitz than Person B...a broad disclaimer, when you come right down to it.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

How about all that OMG-type verbal high-fiving and excitement by the participating staffers? E.g., like when they announced the return of the local music show? Pure showbiz, even if the staffers really DO like the change. They probably already knew in advance what was coming down, but acted like it was an "oh wow" surprise to help reinforce listener enthusiasm.

I think you're right about the fact that a reversion to the Blitz name won't necessarily mean they change the music (although there will probably be at least SOME tweaking). Fish even made a point of saying that the Blitz had changed a lot through the years, so Person A could be fondly remembering a very different-sounding Blitz than Person B...a broad disclaimer, when you come right down to it.

Clarification: I should have pointed out that the first paragraph is in response to imadethisusernamemyslef's comment and the second refers to xmusicmatt's observation.