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WXRT - Cold-Hearted Orb That Rules...

W

whiteyoday

Guest
From the Suntimes radio column: Dialing: 'Radio soul mate'
*Mary Dixon is returning to WXRT-FM (93.1) as news anchor on Lin Brehmer's morning show. Under a deal negotiated by agent Todd Musburger, she'll debut Monday.
It'll be Dixon's third tour of duty at the Infinity adult rocker, having worked with Brehmer twice before (with a stint at WGN-Channel 9 in between). This time around, she replaces Susan Wiencek, who succeeded Dixon in March 2003. Wiencek's last day on the air was Monday.
"Anyone who has heard Mary and Lin together over the years knows she is Lin's 'radio soul mate,' " said Michael Damsky, vice president/general manager of WXRT. "They have a remarkable on-air chemistry, and, in the end, nothing seems to be able to keep these two apart."

It looks like Susan Wiencek got shoved out the door by this Damsky guy, so he deserves a little Moody Blues: "Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colours from our sight,
Red is grey and yellow white..."
What's the Inside Scoop on her departure?
 
Wow, how poignant, reciting lyrics from a stoner band.

And then to add boredom to injury we're forced to read about a radio station that few care about anymore.

Good for Lin and good for Mary. Add another notch in in a morning show that has a next to useless cume. It's a good thing media buyers are on autopilot and there's enough dinners and nights out on the town in the budgets to keep entertaining them.



> From the Suntimes radio column: Dialing: 'Radio soul mate'
> *Mary Dixon is returning to WXRT-FM (93.1) as news anchor on
> Lin Brehmer's morning show. Under a deal negotiated by agent
> Todd Musburger, she'll debut Monday.
> It'll be Dixon's third tour of duty at the Infinity adult
> rocker, having worked with Brehmer twice before (with a
> stint at WGN-Channel 9 in between). This time around, she
> replaces Susan Wiencek, who succeeded Dixon in March 2003.
> Wiencek's last day on the air was Monday.
> "Anyone who has heard Mary and Lin together over the years
> knows she is Lin's 'radio soul mate,' " said Michael Damsky,
> vice president/general manager of WXRT. "They have a
> remarkable on-air chemistry, and, in the end, nothing seems
> to be able to keep these two apart."
>
> It looks like Susan Wiencek got shoved out the door by this
> Damsky guy, so he deserves a little Moody Blues:
> "Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
> Removes the colours from our sight,
> Red is grey and yellow white..."
> What's the Inside Scoop on her departure?
>
 
> Wow, how poignant, reciting lyrics from a stoner band.
>
> And then to add boredom to injury we're forced to read about
> a radio station that few care about anymore.
>
> Good for Lin and good for Mary. Add another notch in in a
> morning show that has a next to useless cume. It's a good
> thing media buyers are on autopilot and there's enough
> dinners and nights out on the town in the budgets to keep
> entertaining them.
>
Uh, oh, ML II`s off the meds again. So nobody listens to
WXRT anymore? You`ll have to bring that up with the Arbitron
rating service, they still seem to find `XRT to be quite
successful. Tell us again about WZZN and how wonderful
Gamble`s made that station? Aren`t they now drawing
audience numbers below that of the gospel station at
AM1390? I believe you once cited 94.7 as an example of an
expertly programmed station?
 
Pip,

I think you misread what he said. He specifically stated:

>> Good for Lin and good for Mary. Add another notch in in a morning show that has a next to useless cume. >>

He was pointing out the AM Drive morning show. And he is right, it is basically an afterthought.

XRT still has a loyal following even though it is not what it once was which helps the ad rates.<P ID="signature">______________

"Z"
Music Coordinator/Technical Support</P>
 
> Pip,
>
> I think you misread what he said. He specifically stated:
>
> >> Good for Lin and good for Mary. Add another notch in in a
> morning show that has a next to useless cume. >>
>
> He was pointing out the AM Drive morning show. And he is
> right, it is basically an afterthought.
>


He also said this which makes Pip's comments correct

"And then to add boredom to injury we're forced to read about a radio station that few care about anymore."
 
Nothing against Mary Dixon, I like her but I thought Susan Wincek was good and there didn't really seem to be a good reason to get rid of her. I wish they would get rid of "The Regular Guy" movie reviews if they are going to cut anything but I love Lin's Bin. Good luck to Susan finding her next gig.
 
> He also said this which makes Pip's comments correct
>
> "And then to add boredom to injury we're forced to read
> about a radio station that few care about anymore."

Good point. Two questions to ponder: Is XRT better than it was, say 10 and 20 years ago?

And do you base that decision on an opinion or via research?

I have respect for both Pip and MLII, and they both know it. This is not a right & wrong, but, I think this is a clashing of opinion or facts and bad wording. There is some research that there has been erosion in station listenership and loyalty. And looking at JMK, it is not a surprise it has been allowed to happen. <P ID="signature">______________

"Z"
Music Coordinator/Technical Support</P>
 
Infiniti would love to flip 'XRT......

....except for the fact that the station still bills well and they have a loyal audience. You may say: "WJMK had a loyal audience and billed well too", the difference is the 'XRT audience is a bit more affluent and a bit younger.

As far as replacing the news person, I think it's a raw deal for that Susan girl. I don't think people will tune in just for Mary Dixon. Infiniti is probably just appeasing Musberger or doing him a favor because they want something.

Listeners didn't care when Lin replaced Teri, or Johnny Marrs left. It's all about the music, and quite frankly, 'XRT is sounding more and more like JACK minus the Commodores and Kelly Clarkson hits. The days of 'XRT being cutting edge are long gone. For that matter the days of music on the radio being cutting edge are long gone. That's what MP3, Internet and Sattelite radio are for.

XRT NEEDS A BIG BALLER: My crystal ball sees STEVE DAHL possibly moving over there when WCKG flips. He even mentioned this week how he doesn't like being the only thing WCKG has that's worth listening to. They share the same audience and musical sensibilities.

The Granola people might be angry for a while, but corporate wont care.
 
> Nothing against Mary Dixon, I like her but I thought Susan
> Wincek was good and there didn't really seem to be a good
> reason to get rid of her. I wish they would get rid of "The
> Regular Guy" movie reviews if they are going to cut anything
> but I love Lin's Bin. Good luck to Susan finding her next
> gig.

As long as Marty Lennartz is working there, they'll never drop the Regular Guy.

The thing is that XRT stopped being "cutting edge" in a college-rock sense a long time ago because their core audience that's been with them for years didn't want them to be cutting edge. Also, for exposing new records Q101 had them beat because their rotations were tighter--and XRT has an audience that complains when they're using a *12-hour* rotation on their powers. There is an audience that considers themselves music-savvy but doesn't want to hear emo or rap-rock--and that's the audience XRT serves well. And unless you're a rock critic or a hopeless scenester, your musical tastes naturally become more conservative as you get older.
 
> As long as Marty Lennartz is working there, they'll never
> drop the Regular Guy.

Agreed, plus it's kind of a funny bit. And his reviews aren't that bad.

> The thing is that XRT stopped being "cutting edge" in a
> college-rock sense a long time ago because their core
> audience that's been with them for years didn't want them to
> be cutting edge. Also, for exposing new records Q101 had
> them beat because their rotations were tighter.

Right on the money, they missed the boat in the early nineties because they wanted to satisfy all the hippies, and neo-hippies.

> There is an audience that considers themselves music-savvy but doesn't want
> to hear emo or rap-rock--and that's the audience XRT serves well.

XRT could still have played plenty of new rock for the last fifteen years and avoided all the trends (nu-Metal, Rap-Rock) that came and went. Emo would actually be a good fit on XRT because Emo is nerd-rock. They play Dashboard Confessionals and Emo godfathers Weezer. It would be awesome if they would throw in a few more acts too (emo not Scr-eemo, which is more like nu-metal).

Plus they were late on the White Stripes and Queens of the Stone Age. But they did break Coldplay and Ryan Adams in Chicago -- good job, but not enough. Easy way for XRT to stay current: watch the British music charts and the American college charts, that's why they sounded so great in the eighties!

> And unless you're a rock critic or a hopeless scenester,
> your musical tastes naturally become more conservative as
> you get older.

True, Q101 is doing a better job of "growing" as their listeners get older. But XRT is in a holding pattern, and like you said, alot of the hard core XRT listeners think they are Rock critics. But even Jim Derogotis likes emo, rap and some throw away pop.

Too late, XRT as you know it wont be around in a couple of years if Infiniti has their way. See my above post.
 
> > Nothing against Mary Dixon, I like her but I thought Susan
>
> > Wincek was good and there didn't really seem to be a good
> > reason to get rid of her. I wish they would get rid of
> "The
> > Regular Guy" movie reviews if they are going to cut
> anything
> > but I love Lin's Bin. Good luck to Susan finding her next
>
> > gig.
>
> As long as Marty Lennartz is working there, they'll never
> drop the Regular Guy.
>
> The thing is that XRT stopped being "cutting edge" in a
> college-rock sense a long time ago because their core
> audience that's been with them for years didn't want them to
> be cutting edge. Also, for exposing new records Q101 had
> them beat because their rotations were tighter--and XRT has
> an audience that complains when they're using a *12-hour*
> rotation on their powers. There is an audience that
> considers themselves music-savvy but doesn't want to hear
> emo or rap-rock--and that's the audience XRT serves well.
> And unless you're a rock critic or a hopeless scenester,
> your musical tastes naturally become more conservative as
> you get older.

You`re right on the mark considering `XRT. Their music
rotation is exceedingly conservative for America`s first
real AAA station. If anyone compares the playlist from
20 years to today`s, they will be blown away by the current
reliance on predictable, overplayed classic rock. This is
a station that should live or die based on the amount of
new music they expose and on that score alone, they are
underserving the marketplace.

EDT follows me down below and he makes an excellent point.
I just finished listening to Kanye West`s Late Registration
and there`s no reason why WXRT shouldn`t be playing two or
three select cuts from this groundbreaking album, certainly
destined to pick up Album of the Year honors from many of
the nation`s top music critics. There was a time when WXRT would also
play cutting-edge R&B, but since radio has deconstructed into
tight little segregated formats, there`s very little crossover
effect anymore, unless `XRT gets shamed into playing Outkast
after it`s already been out for six months which is what happened
in 2003.

As for the fracas that broke out at the beginning of this thread,
I just objected to ML II unilaterally declaring WXRT to be a radio
station that no longer matters in the nation`s 3rd largest radio
market. I certainly agree that `XRT has tons of faults and
disappointments, but it still grossed 25 Million Dollars last year
so somebody must be listening out there.
 
> > He also said this which makes Pip's comments correct
> >
> > "And then to add boredom to injury we're forced to read
> > about a radio station that few care about anymore."
>
> Good point. Two questions to ponder: Is XRT better than it
> was, say 10 and 20 years ago?
>
> And do you base that decision on an opinion or via research?
>
>
> I have respect for both Pip and MLII, and they both know it.
> This is not a right & wrong, but, I think this is a clashing
> of opinion or facts and bad wording. There is some research
> that there has been erosion in station listenership and
> loyalty. And looking at JMK, it is not a surprise it has
> been allowed to happen.
>

I don't know if XRT being better in the past is really relevant to this thread. I prefer XRT the way they were in the 70's when they were a progressive rock station. I'm glad however that XRT is still around. They are one of the few stations with ties to the past. In their triple A format they are better than most stations I've heard in the country including the once great KFOG. I suspect however, the future for stations like XRT is similar to that of oldies stations.
 
It appears there was a misunderstanding in my statement. I meant to paint XRT in a light that it is not as good as it used to be. I don't fault those passionate about what it was I fault those who took it away from those who cared which was a larger number of people and have taken it to where it is now. Corporate has caused the erosion and that's what I meant by a station few care about anymore. While there's still passionate XRT listeners many aren't there anymore because many have found what XRT used to be, elsewhere.

> > He also said this which makes Pip's comments correct
> >
> > "And then to add boredom to injury we're forced to read
> > about a radio station that few care about anymore."
>
> Good point. Two questions to ponder: Is XRT better than it
> was, say 10 and 20 years ago?
>
> And do you base that decision on an opinion or via research?
>
>
> I have respect for both Pip and MLII, and they both know it.
> This is not a right & wrong, but, I think this is a clashing
> of opinion or facts and bad wording. There is some research
> that there has been erosion in station listenership and
> loyalty. And looking at JMK, it is not a surprise it has
> been allowed to happen.
>
 
> I don't know if XRT being better in the past is really
> relevant to this thread. I prefer XRT the way they were in
> the 70's when they were a progressive rock station. I'm
> glad however that XRT is still around. They are one of the
> few stations with ties to the past. In their triple A
> format they are better than most stations I've heard in the
> country including the once great KFOG. I suspect however,
> the future for stations like XRT is similar to that of
> oldies stations.

Where AAA seems to be happening is in public radio, with the success of KCRW Los Angeles, WFUV New York, WXPN Philadelphia and now KCMP "The Current" in Minneapolis (although they're somewhat harder than a lot of other AAAs). For those stations that don't want to go news-talk 24/7 it hangs on to the "Morning Edition"/"All Things Considered" audience a little better than classical or jazz and definitely skews younger than classical or jazz. Although the assumption is going to be that Chicago Public Radio's new music station on their Chesterton and Morris repeaters will be jazz (if they can fill in the chronic coverage hole they have in the north and northwest suburbs), if XRT does go through any changes they may just make it AAA.
 
As I stated below, you mistook my post. Maybe meds will be required for you sooner than you think. This incessant worshipping of radio stations is a sickness. XRT is a shell of what it was. It runs on heritage with the buyers and to think any different is BS.

And AS AN ACTIVE ROCKER The Zone is excellent, it's on point and in tune with what an ACTIVE ROCK format should be doing, eventually GAMBLE was bound to settle into something that accidentally resembled what they were positioning themselves as. I also mentioned long ago (your selective memory again) there just may not be a big enough market for it. Godsmack, Metallica, Pantera blah blah blah blah blah YELL YELL YELL noise noise noise ACDC, Guns N' Roses blah blah blah blah blah. There's not enough people in this market feeling that. I for one couldn't handle more than two minutes of it but for they are, they're well done but doing thing well doesn't mean you have a winner.


PS. If you think your beloved XRT is safe from being junked in three years when FM is an afterthought, think again. Nothing is sacred with Infinity and you of all people should know that.

> > Wow, how poignant, reciting lyrics from a stoner band.
> >
> > And then to add boredom to injury we're forced to read
> about
> > a radio station that few care about anymore.
> >
> > Good for Lin and good for Mary. Add another notch in in a
> > morning show that has a next to useless cume. It's a good
> > thing media buyers are on autopilot and there's enough
> > dinners and nights out on the town in the budgets to keep
> > entertaining them.
> >
> Uh, oh, ML II`s off the meds again. So nobody listens to
> WXRT anymore? You`ll have to bring that up with the
> Arbitron
> rating service, they still seem to find `XRT to be quite
> successful. Tell us again about WZZN and how wonderful
> Gamble`s made that station? Aren`t they now drawing
> audience numbers below that of the gospel station at
> AM1390? I believe you once cited 94.7 as an example of an
> expertly programmed station?
>
 
> As I stated below, you mistook my post. Maybe meds will be
> required for you sooner than you think. This incessant
> worshipping of radio stations is a sickness. XRT is a shell
> of what it was. It runs on heritage with the buyers and to
> think any different is BS.
>
> And AS AN ACTIVE ROCKER The Zone is excellent, it's on point
> and in tune with what an ACTIVE ROCK format should be doing,
> eventually GAMBLE was bound to settle into something that
> accidentally resembled what they were positioning themselves
> as. I also mentioned long ago (your selective memory again)
> there just may not be a big enough market for it. Godsmack,
> Metallica, Pantera blah blah blah blah blah YELL YELL YELL
> noise noise noise ACDC, Guns N' Roses blah blah blah blah
> blah. There's not enough people in this market feeling that.
> I for one couldn't handle more than two minutes of it but
> for they are, they're well done but doing thing well doesn't
> mean you have a winner.
>
>
> PS. If you think your beloved XRT is safe from being junked
> in three years when FM is an afterthought, think again.
> Nothing is sacred with Infinity and you of all people should
> know that.
>
I basically conceded every point you just made further down in
the thread. I also explained why I reacted so viscerally to
your initial declaration.

Of course with Infinity everyone and everything is expendable.
If I could, I would write WXRT management and tell them of my
displeasure, but if you note there`s no way direct way to E-mail
anyone at WXRT, just an anonymous drop-box for comments.

Of course, `XRT is just a shell of what it was, I`m not giving
you an argument there. I was listening to `XRT back in the 70s
so I know. On the other hand, Infinity`s selling EIGHTEEN
minutes of commercials per hour, so the station must be making
money hand over fist. That`s all Infinity cares about and as
long as `XRT continues to make 25 Million Dollars a year, they
ain`t goin` nowhere.
 
As I stated, it's on auto-buy with media buyers thanks in part to it's heritage. Any media buyer who can justify to his client that it's good to be the seventh spot in a stop set should be sitting next to Mel Karmazin for selling gold plated crap. But that's the industry and it is what it is. Especially on a station that has degredation in numbers in the past years. Heritage means alot with like minded people who dine, wine and party together. Rubbing elbows with the buyers carries alot of weight, it's not necessarily the product. When the product becomes so eroded that even the dinners can't justify the same amount of money to be spent by a buyer then the cat will be out of the bag. Watch what happens when XRT starts going down in revenue, ala WCBS and WJMK. It's not too far away pip. XRT's unpredicatability and breaking of new artists WAS legendary. Not anymore and as the next years will show, XRT will bill lower as technology continues to eat away and... XRT's demo gets into the NON DESIRABLE as JMK's.
 
> As I stated, it's on auto-buy with media buyers thanks in
> part to it's heritage. Any media buyer who can justify to
> his client that it's good to be the seventh spot in a stop
> set should be sitting next to Mel Karmazin for selling gold
> plated crap. But that's the industry and it is what it is.
> Especially on a station that has degredation in numbers in
> the past years. Heritage means alot with like minded people
> who dine, wine and party together. Rubbing elbows with the
> buyers carries alot of weight, it's not necessarily the
> product. When the product becomes so eroded that even the
> dinners can't justify the same amount of money to be spent
> by a buyer then the cat will be out of the bag. Watch what
> happens when XRT starts going down in revenue, ala WCBS and
> WJMK. It's not too far away pip. XRT's unpredicatability and
> breaking of new artists WAS legendary. Not anymore and as
> the next years will show, XRT will bill lower as technology
> continues to eat away and... XRT's demo gets into the NON
> DESIRABLE as JMK's.

Is there a timetable? Does `XRT have another five years? Is
there anyway to turn it around and save the station?

From a personal perspective, I grew up with the radio so when
someone like me is forced to turn to satellite is the day the
medium has lost one of its` best allies. I`ll tell you this,
on the days when I`m rushed and I`m forced to jump into my car
without a few pre-selected CD`s or cassettes at hand, that`s
when I realize just how bad Chicago radio has become. People
can talk all they want about what a great radio market this is,
I really don`t see it. Do you?
 
I don't think after five years music stations will be able to charge what they're charging for spots. With that in mind, technology will be so mainstream in people's lives that radio for music will be a last resort as it caters to less and less people (other than AM talk/news and local sports). With regards to this being a city with great radio? Do I see it? Not anymore.
 
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