Lash - I am not a huge fan of syn, I personally feel radios only hope for tomorrow is to connect with the hearts of local listeners that feel
like they are part of the local energy or team. Radio's fate, the die-hard listeners are getting older every day and radio is gearing younger everyday and the loyalty factor is all but gone for listeners under (approx.) 25. Saving a few bucks and giving listeners boring radio with
no local feel is taking advantage of them for the short term. In smaller markets than Nashville, exposing them to horrible local talent vs.
syndication/satellite is just as bad. But, in a market like Nashville, a sense of being part of the local life seems to make much more sense
in terms of better sound and revenue.
That being said, paying attention to doing things right seems to payoff better than throwing some show from someone's basement onto the air from 500 miles away that doesn't even know what cities they are broadcasting to. Try listening to 102.5 after Lulu and Trish or on weekends. It's lonely and that's why the station, while better, isn't any real competition. Some shows, like Delilah, surprise me in ratings, although Delilah got Arbed recently. I have questioned her popularity for some time, and I guess I've fianlly gotten old and sentimental enough to actually be able to listen myself (a little, but I'm not her demo.) Could Mix be a share higher with live at night? I dunno, really. Possibly, but she's possibly an exception. Bob & Tom, John Boy & Billy, Bob and Sheri, Tom Joyner and all of Talks Talkers have various merits. Most of them are talkers not music-based. Delilah is music based. Go figure.
I have no malice toward Tom Kent, other than he doesn't fit WRQQ. Delilah, at night, doesn't fit WRQQ. WRQQ can ONLY succeed if Dickert
is allowed to use his own instincts and not the pencil pushers at Cumulus. He's seasoned and one of the best, he knows Nashville's legendary love of Rock like NO ONE and I don't believe for a second that Three Dog Night is HIS idea of Classic Hits. Tom Kent is merely
playing it wrong for WRQQ -- not the nation. WRQQ will fade away faster than Oldies 97 did if they don't light a fire under it's a## and
give it a local, lively identity playing what local Nashvillians want, not some elevator music survey list for Peoria off the internet for
$100. Why so few stations in Nashville deliver a good competitive format is a tragedy that will lead to more layoffs (not Jack) and
fewer listeners. Oh, and yeah, sure Mix plays the same hits for 20 years, but guess what? Local and live surveys, audience sampling of the demo and listening to what Nashville wants has kept it as viable as you get. Havin' some great talent along with it, ain't to sad for the numbers as well. And Delilah doesn't hurt. And by the way, but sort of off subject, "Escape", (the Pina Coloda Song) and "Say You, Say Me" aren't easy to digest for the 1,000,000,000,000 time, but listeners deal with it. You explain that one. Well, someone explain that one, I sure can't and no one I know has been able to...
WRQQ needs a lot of help musically, a little work with talent, but overall they're good on the talent side. Greatest
talent on Earth can't make them #1 if people are not inspired by 48 minutes of average music. And three good songs. That's a joke
- sort of. Cue the Kool & the Gang. Okay, I can't explain a damn thing, can I??? Oh well, that's radio.