WSAR, still looking...

[alancohen88]

With the recent departure of Paul Giamarco from WSAR to WPRO, there is still no solid replacement for him. SAR is looking for a Program Director- Talk Show host. The only talent I`ve heard so far on SAR who is worth listening to is Tony Farr. Im pretty sure however, hes not a Program Director too.
WPRO must be feeling pretty well right about now. Thier line up with Giamarco and Matt Allen in the 'Bull Pen' can only insure WPROs future.
As for WSAR, I hope they pick Farr.
Alan.

 

[Skynet74]

As for WSAR, I hope they pick Farr.

> Alan.

--------------

As for WSAR.... they need to breathe new life into that place. Happy Hec? He stopped being happy 20 years ago. It's a perfect example of a Radio Station that is happy just being mediocre. That whole place is on life support.



John<P ID="signature">______________
Awsome Voiceovers for your station.
JohnChartier.com
206-600-2629
</P>

 

[fallriveractive]

> As for WSAR, I hope they pick Farr.
>
> > Alan.
>
> --------------
>
> As for WSAR.... they need to breathe new life into that
> place. Happy Hec? He stopped being happy 20 years ago. It's
> a perfect example of a Radio Station that is happy just
> being mediocre. That whole place is on life support.
>
>
>
> John
>
>> SkyNet,
Happy Hec???
Would YOU be HAPPY if you worked for the Karoms??
Paul G. was smart enough to jump to pro. Farr , you want to work for THOSE GUYS???!!!! Listen to Skynet74, RUN!!!!
Fallriveractive.

 

[morescrapple]

> WPRO must be feeling pretty well right about now. Thier
> line up with Giamarco and Matt Allen in the 'Bull Pen' can
> only insure WPROs future.
> As for WSAR, I hope they pick Farr.
> Alan.
>
Why the assumption producers are future talk show hosts? Not typical in talk radio.

 

[radioooaddict1]

Re: WSAR, still CHEAPSTERS!

> > As for WSAR, I hope they pick Farr.
> >
> > > Alan.
> >
> > --------------
> >
> > As for WSAR.... they need to breathe new life into that
> > place. Happy Hec? He stopped being happy 20 years ago.
> It's
> > a perfect example of a Radio Station that is happy just
> > being mediocre. That whole place is on life support.
> >
> >
> >
> > John
> >
> >> SkyNet,
> Happy Hec???
> Would YOU be HAPPY if you worked for the Karoms??
> Paul G. was smart enough to jump to pro. Farr , you want to
> work for THOSE GUYS???!!!! Listen to Skynet74, RUN!!!!
> Fallriveractive.
> >
Happy Hec, yea , he and the owners keep all the money.
WSAR is the "WalMart" of AM radio Talk stations.
Alot of employees left WSAR recently.A few stayed. The news lady Jan Pruca sounds way too professional to be on that station!
WSAR could rate, if they would spend the money. WBZ, RKO, and WPRO do.
The Karoms should be called the 'Cartmans". WSAR is falling apart. Maybe WSAR should join forces with HJJ!, sure , or a "SUICIDE" pact.

 

[northwoods]

Re: WSAR, still CHEAPSTERS!

WSAR is the "WalMart" of AM radio Talk stations.

Comparing WSAR to Wal-Mart would be a compliment. I put it more in the line of Dollar General or Family Dollar.

 

[BostonRandy]

Re: WSAR, still CHEAPSTERS!

WSAR is the "WalMart" of AM radio Talk stations.

Comparing WSAR to Wal-Mart would be a compliment. I put it more in the line of Dollar General or Family Dollar.

A far cry from an example of the liner/jingle package they ran years ago: "Ladies and gentlemen: You're listening to the great 1480! (sung) W-S-A-R...Fall River......."

 

[Skynet74]

Re: WSAR, still CHEAPSTERS!

WSAR is the "WalMart" of AM radio Talk stations.

Comparing WSAR to Wal-Mart would be a compliment. I put it more in the line of Dollar General or Family Dollar.

A far cry from an example of the liner/jingle package they ran years ago: "Ladies and gentlemen: You're listening to the great 1480! (sung) W-S-A-R...Fall River......."

They should rework some of those old jingles and start using them again. Typically I would be against using such dated material. But in WSAR's case I think it could actually give them some kind of an identifiable sound without having to spend any additional money. If I were a rich man I would buy this toilet bowl of a station and do something creative with it just to put it back on the map. The potential is there. But nobody likes to think outside the box anymore. Everybody just goes to work and does the exact same thing every single day like a team of Robots. God forbid that someone get creative once in a while. Unfortunately management seems content with existing on fumes.

 

[magpie]

Does anyone remember the talk shows "On the Street" (afternoon drive) or "The NightLight"
(weeknights 10-1) back in 2003?

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

As for WSAR.... they need to breathe new life into that place. Happy Hec? He stopped being happy 20 years ago. It's a perfect example of a Radio Station that is happy just being mediocre. That whole place is on life support.

Sky:

The Fall River market is a perfect example of the damage that's been done by consolidation.

Back when 1480 WSAR and 1400 WALE each had seperate ownership, there was a lively competition between the two, and it kept each station on its toes. Once WSAR's ownership took over 1400...the ball game was over, and WSAR didn't really have to try anymore, since its primary 'competition' no longer programmed in English.

What incentive is there for WSAR to kick it's game 'up a notch'....when it can just sit back and enjoy it's English-speaking monopoly in Fall River?

 

[Skynet74]

What incentive is there for WSAR to kick it's game 'up a notch'....when it can just sit back and enjoy it's English-speaking monopoly in Fall River?

For me the incentive would be just to shock Fall River with something new and amazing. For me the incentive would also be to jack up the ratings so that we could make more money. I can find plenty of incentive. Maybe I am viewing the station as more of a personal challenge instead of just a way to make a weekly salary. It would actually be a goal of mine to pull away measurable audiences from Providence and New Bedford Stations. I know that back in the 1980's WNBC New York dominated in such a way. Between Imus, Soupy Sales and Stern there is no doubt that people from 100 and even 200 miles away would tune away from their local stations and tune into WNBC. That is the same kind of station that I would turn WSAR into. A station where other broadcasting outlets would say, Hold on a minute. What station is suddenly pulling away a good chunk of our listeners? I realize that it would take some amazing programming to do this. I also realize that it would take some incredible promotion to even get people to notice us. But I would be up to that challenge just to prove that it can be done. WSAR has a signal that reaches from Boston to Southern parts of Rhode Island. Trust me... With the right type of programming, that station could do well.

 

[VelvetR]

The Fall River market is a perfect example of the damage that's been done by consolidation.

Back when 1480 WSAR and 1400 WALE each had seperate ownership, there was a lively competition between the two, and it kept each station on its toes. Once WSAR's ownership took over 1400...the ball game was over, and WSAR didn't really have to try anymore, since its primary 'competition' no longer programmed in English.

True words. I have seen it happen in other small markets as well. When stations compete for audience and advertising bucks the listeners all benefit. It was the same for newspapers back in the days when cities even as large as Providence might have two dailies. Kept the heat on government, too.

Through the 1950's and early 1960's WSAR and WALE (1400) competed but WALE played hardball with far better news coverage and owned the audience despite its' (then) 250-Watt flea-power. At that time WSAR was owned by The Fall River Herald-News and had a one-man "news department" headquartered in the newspaper office while the studios were at the old transmitter site in Somerset....the original 4-tower (square cross-section, top-loaded) site alongside The Taunton River. The site that was torn down to make way for a nuclear power plant that was never built. Anybody else remember Joe Welch and Chris Barnes...and for which station each worked?

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

It would actually be a goal of mine to pull away measurable audiences from Providence and New Bedford Stations. I know that back in the 1980's WNBC New York dominated in such a way. Between Imus, Soupy Sales and Stern there is no doubt that people from 100 and even 200 miles away would tune away from their local stations and tune into WNBC. That is the same kind of station that I would turn WSAR into.

That's exactly what happened to me one summer afternoon many years ago. While scanning the dial on my mother's ancient AM-only vacuum tube Bulova clock-radio, the dial landing on 660 WNBC, and getting my ears opened to Howard Stern, Robin Quivers, and the rest of the gang......doing radio like I had never heard it done before......AND....putting up with scratchy reception for the privilege!!!. In fact, pulling in Howard better was the incentive for me to get a GE Superadio!

Sky......I can understand your burning passion for wanting to turn WSAR into that sort of broadcasting phenomenon. But....considering the massive resources that would be needed to achieve that sort of buzz / audience......What would be the R.O.I......return on investment?

The problem that stations like WSAR will always have is that any talent you get that would be good enough to jump-start that kind of phenomenon would quickly become too expensive for you to hold on to, and you wind up right back where you started.

P.S. Don't forget....also part of that killer WNBC lineup back then were Joey Reynolds, and Wolfman Jack!

 

[Skynet74]

Sky......I can understand your burning passion for wanting to turn WSAR into that sort of broadcasting phenomenon. But....considering the massive resources that would be needed to achieve that sort of buzz / audience......What would be the R.O.I......return on investment?

The problem that stations like WSAR will always have is that any talent you get that would be good enough to jump-start that kind of phenomenon would quickly become too expensive for you to hold on to, and you wind up right back where you started.

P.S. Don't forget....also part of that killer WNBC lineup back then were Joey Reynolds, and Wolfman Jack!

No doubt that WNBC was heavy on the talent, which I'm also sure resulted in Heavy contract payouts. I definitely have taken that into consideration as this stupid little WSAR fantasy in my head repeats itself. My focus would be on creating outrageous promotions and getting as much free publicity as possible. Crazy things... like when Geoff Charles worked for WPRO and did a show from a hanging Billboard. It was all over the news. Also... When Stern entered the market Hot 106 had girls in Bikinis promoting the show in much the same way. There are lots of creative attention getting ideas that won't break the bank. That is where thinking outside the box comes in. Not enough of that sort of thing is being done these days. It's to bad. It sure makes radio interesting and is great promotion. I would also hire talent that isn't mainstream. I would get people who are passionate about radio and hungry enough for ratings that they would get a bit crazy. Risk takers. That is who I want working for me. A true alternative. Radio which is so unique that it's worth sitting through some static to hear it, just like WNBC was back in the day.

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

My focus would be on creating outrageous promotions and getting as much free publicity as possible. Crazy things... like when Geoff Charles worked for WPRO and did a show from a hanging Billboard. It was all over the news. Also... When Stern entered the market Hot 106 had girls in Bikinis promoting the show in much the same way. There are lots of creative attention getting ideas that won't break the bank. That is where thinking outside the box comes in. Not enough of that sort of thing is being done these days. It's to bad. It sure makes radio interesting and is great promotion. I would also hire talent that isn't mainstream. I would get people who are passionate about radio and hungry enough for ratings that they would get a bit crazy. Risk takers. That is who I want working for me. A true alternative. Radio which is so unique that it's worth sitting through some static to hear it, just like WNBC was back in the day.

Sky:

Sounds like the right medicine to help treat an under-performing AM-er.

That being said....looking strictly from a signal-pattern standpoint, your best chances for reaching a wide audience for this would be 790 WPRV or 920 WHJJ. Even 1320 WARL would provide you with a better chance for area-wide coverage than WSAR.

If I could...I would grant your wish in a New York second.

 

[tony r]

I occassionally listen to WSAR, if they limited callers and the old bats going back and forth at each other like grandma, Maragret, et all, it maybeworth listening to.

George is engaging, can speak on many topics. Tony Evans is interesting till Grandma calls , then, Maragret to refute what is spouted by grandma, or aything Republican, regardless of how much validity may be in the comment . Steve Urbon is also very interesting on many topics.

If callers could be limited I know it would generate many more enlightened callers. But, one has to wait enos when the aforementioned are on, that many are detered from calling. Chuck the Science Teacher now, he is interesting, but, Chuck calls at times twice during one program. We have the WPRO on many tmes Saturdays while cleaning at the shelter, as PRO is boring , how many programs does one need about investing?/ From Tony DeJesus on, PRO is worth listening to. Oh, I forgot our all time favorite is Doc Simpson.

WSAR has potential. Perhaps if they rid themselves of their afternoon boring programs after Barry. there may be hope.

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

if they limited callers and the old bats going back and forth at each other like grandma, Maragret, et all, it maybeworth listening to.

Grandma calls , then, Maragret to refute what is spouted by grandma, or aything Republican, regardless of how much validity may be in the comment .

If callers could be limited I know it would generate many more enlightened callers. But, one has to wait enos when the aforementioned are on, that many are detered from calling. Chuck the Science Teacher now, he is interesting, but, Chuck calls at times twice during one program.

Regular callers are a potential death sentence for the talk radio format. Let's face it...When you have people calling in so frequetnly, that you can just about predict what they're going to say on any given topic, a talk show suddenly stops being spontaneous, and becomes a snooze-fest.

Also...the "regulars" end up becoming celebrities in thier own right...with thier own schtick and thier own following. Just look at the example of 850 WEEI up in Boston for a lesson on how NOT to do talk radio. ;D

 

[Ken Grady]

Does anyone remember when WSAR was a Knight Quality station? Quality jocks, news, Bruins hockey, Yankees baseball, state-of-the-art facilities. What in the world happened?

 

[Skynet74]

Does anyone remember when WSAR was a Knight Quality station? Quality jocks, news, Bruins hockey, Yankees baseball, state-of-the-art facilities. What in the world happened?

I worked for them when they were owned by Knight Quality. But I was employed there at the very end of that ownership when the employees had already started calling that place a dump. I was also there the first few months after they switched to talk. I noticed the rapid decline when people were hired to do talk shows who pretty much had no clue how to do a talk show. They tested me out one weekend on a remote. Talk about a fish out of water. They didn't even give me any preparation time. They basically said we have two people for you to interview and then literally threw me on the air with them 10 minutes later as we all sat in Kennedy Park. Holy Moly.. I sucked!!! The management was totally out of their minds to even do that with me. I'm sure they realized it soon after. They never asked me to interview anyone again after that.

You need to have a certain kind of personality to host a talk show. Back then I was only 20 years old and did not posess what it took. I was shy and intimidated by management. Hell.. I was shy and intimidated by PEOPLE! I didn't really feel comfortable around to many others at the station. I was ok with hosting my own little nightly music show because I always had the music to fall back on when I ran out of things to say. It's not quite as easy when it's just you on the air without the safety net of Music. However I think I would be much much better at it now. I've totally opened up since then and I'm not shy anymore. I don't hold back either. If I had a show on the air right now, I think it would be incredible. I'm much quicker on my feet these days and I feel that I would be great at interviewing anyone ... even without prep. But that just wasn't the case back when I had to actually do it.

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

Does anyone remember when WSAR was a Knight Quality station? Quality jocks, news, Bruins hockey, Yankees baseball, state-of-the-art facilities. What in the world happened?

My Strongest memories of WSAR as a Knight Quality station were in the era beginning in 1979, when they first flipped to a talk format.

At the time, Steve Kass was doing morning drive....A local school teacher who called himself "Bill Silvia" was holding down the afternoon drive shift. Moe Lauzier was just starting out in talk radio at the time, and was doing an evening shift. And....a fellow named Mark Williams was doing an overnight show called "The Midnight Wind". In my mind's ear....I can still hear the bumper music for "The Midnight Wind". Weekends featured guys like Marc Bernier and Henry Carreiro.

I'm sure there were others....but that's about all my memory can conjure up right now.

CBS Radio News was heard every hour on the hour....and a short local newscast followed right after.

Late evenings also featured "The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre", hosted by E.G. Marshall, and later...by Tammy Grimes. It was the last gasp of honest-to-goodness scripted drama programming on radio...and I LOVED every minute of it!!!

Even though I didn't live in the Fall River area, I found the personalities of the various hosts compelling enough to tune in....and put up with scratchy reception to do it.

And...somehow...they managed to find ways to deal with "Margaret"...and whatever other old bags...wheezers...and geezers were around to haunt the various programs.

The poster "Ken Grady" asks: What happened? Well....that's a very good question.......

I don't know the answer....so....I'll hand this off to those who do......