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Post by Mr._Shooter on Jun 6, 2005 19:30:55 GMT -5
What the hell happened? I picked up the paper the other day and read, as front page news, that Oldies 101.1 was no more - Cousin Brucie and the rest of the old stalwarts had been canned in favor of some weird "play anything and hope it sticks" format. Admittedly, 101.1 fell off my radar screen when the Sunday night doo-wop show was taken off the air, but it was nice to know that CBS-FM was there whenever you needed a little Motown or old school rock-and-roll to get you through your day. Sigh. Yet another reason to believe that commercial radio is no longer relevant.
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Post by Roughneck on Jun 7, 2005 3:12:56 GMT -5
Something like this surprises you? I listen to 104.3 mostly, but yup, stations drop in favor of the latest flavor of the month, and it was occasionally good.
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Post by Mr._Shooter on Jun 7, 2005 23:57:19 GMT -5
Actually, this one did surprise me.
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Post by LS on Jun 8, 2005 22:11:24 GMT -5
Surprised everyone ...truly was THE 'flip' heard 'round the world!! Outside of FUV- that was my last refuge. And that makes the SECOND NYC heritage station Infinity's killed off in short order... You'd think they would've learned after they killed off WNEW...that was bad enough- but this one ...proves they really just don't 'get it.' I find it totally amazing that they're scratching their heads, completely not understanding the uproar over this one. I've been reading the trades since the flip (which came as a complete surprise- even to radio 'insiders') and consensus is, it seems beyond comprehension that they'd take a solidly consistent top 10 station (consistently top 5 before Infinity bought it)...why not flip WNEW that's been in the ratings gutter since they destroyed it?? As one radio analyst put it- why would you pick a major, nationally known station with a sizable, solid audience base that grew up on the music, the station- and the DJs (and the DJs were as important as the music- everyone grew up on them- going back to WABC...they're considered 'family') and immediately alienate that entire audience (which numbers in the millions) who now won't even give the new format a chance and it now has to start from scratch to struggle to find an audience?? You know- webstations and satellite have been a saving grace...to an extent. But they still lack a LOCAL flavor and connection- that's the key. We're losing our identities and are steadily being assimilated into a colorless, bland, 'one size fits all,' lock-step society.
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Post by LS on Jun 9, 2005 12:44:05 GMT -5
Hi-Jacked Fans Fuming In New York, Chicago June 07, 2005 By Chuck Taylor
You can’t expect to dismiss two heritage signals in two of radio’s most-populated markets without raising a dickens of a ruckus. The June 3 flips of Infinity oldies legends WCBS-FM New York and WJMK Chicago to the trendy Jack format, have prompted hasty, sharp criticism, according to radio columnists and disinfranchised listeners in both towns.
"This was a difficult decision and was by no means a reflection of the work of the stations’ on-air personalities," an Infinity spokeswoman said. "We are hoping that many of them will play a role in the station's online stream in the near future."
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Robert Feder makes the interesting point, “When big corporations have bad news to announce, they often hold off until as late as possible on a Friday afternoon. By burying the story over the weekend, they hope to minimize criticism from the press and outcry from the public. That no doubt figured into the timing of Infinity Broadcasting, which waited until 4 p.m. Friday to blow up two of its heritage oldies stations."
In the Winter 2005 Arbitron survey, both stations posted more than respectable ratings. WCBS finished at No. 10 12+, with a 3.3 share. WJMK ranked at No. 11 12+ with a 2.9 share. The outlets also drew income from successful station CD compilations and public appearances from some of the best-known names in radio.
Sacrifices in Chicago include Dick Biondi, Greg Brown, Paul Perry and Fred Winston. New Yorkers bid adieu to Bruce (Cousin Brucie) Morrow, former Monkee Micky Dolenz, Bill Brown, Harry Harrison and Randy Davis.
Feder adds, “Make no mistake about it: As an oldies station, WJMK was popular and successful. Among (its) 722,200 listeners were some of the most passionate, devoted fans anywhere. Whatever its shortcomings, WJMK connected with its audience on a genuine, personal level. To Joel Hollander, (Infinity CEO), and his younger brother, Les Hollander, whom he hand-picked to oversee Chicago and five other major markets, WJMK is just another line on a ledger.”
Some choice reader comments from Chicago Sun-Times readers included: “Losing WJMK is like losing an old friend…. Thanks, Infinity Broadcasting, for pulling the plug on the last truly great oldies music outlet in Chicago… Nothing like having an entire demographic dumped. So much for WJMK's Loyal Listener Club…. What I find completely counter to the prevailing trend is that they expect older people to adopt the new technology in order to continue receiving their favorite stations and personalities.”
Meanwhile, New York Daily News TV editor Richard Huff wrote, “Long-time listeners to WCBS-FM are still steaming about Infinity Broadcasting's decision to dump the oldies format; heartbroken listeners have flooded the Daily News with calls seeking help. Many expressed concern for the disc jockeys, who were also cut loose on Friday and learned just as they were to start their shifts. Mickey Dolenz, the morning host, learned the same day he held an on-air blowout marking his 100th show.”
"The people who made this decision don't know jack," wrote one News reader.
Another said, "I come home and all of a sudden there's some wacko music on my station and some guy like Big Brother is saying 'Change is good.’ Why didn't they announce it to us, and give us some recourse? We don't want to be treated like that. Anybody who jacks something, basically hijacks something."
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Post by LS on Jun 9, 2005 12:45:03 GMT -5
Sirius Woos Oldies Fans With Cousin Brucie June 09, 2005 By Chuck Taylor
Striking like lightning in the wake of Infinity's abandonment of oldies listeners in New York and Chicago, Sirius Satellite Radio has hired dethroned WCBS veteran personality Bruce Morrow. “Cousin Brucie,” who has worked in New York radio for more than 40 years, will host three regularly scheduled shows and numerous daily features for the satcaster, beginning with a July 4th live broadcast from the Rock N' Roll hall of fame in Cleveland.
The man who brought the Beatles onstage for their historic 1965 Shea Stadium concert will mostly appear on the Sirius Gold and 60s Vibrations channels, while occasionally popping up on talk shows on other Sirius stations.
Meanwhile, Sirius pulled out some serious offensive punches with full-page ads in New York and Chicago dailies announcing that disenfranchised oldies listeners—still reeling from the June 3 demise of Infinity heritage oldies stations WCBS-FM New York and WJMK Chicago—had a friendly alternative in the satcaster’s national subscription service.
“Attention Former 101.1 FM Listeners,” shouted an ad headline in the New York Post and New York Times Thursday morning, June 9. “What do New Yorkers do when their favorite music is taken away? They get Sirius. If a radio station has suddenly abandoned the format you loved, come to Sirius.”
A similarly themed ad ran in Chi-Town.
Eager to woo the same neglected oldies audiences, competitor XM Satellite Radio ran similar ads in the New York and Chicago papers, offering to help oldies aficionados deal with the “tremendous void in their lives” with the company’s six decade-themed channels.
Both services offer a range of channels dedicated to the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
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Roland
Full Member
Robert Johnson King of the Delta Blues
Posts: 235
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Post by Roland on Jun 9, 2005 22:58:57 GMT -5
It's astonishing how even though we're thousands of miles apart, we can still commiserate one this. I was never a full time listener, but I'd turn it on a few times a week. As Mr. Shooter said, like your WCBS, our JMK was there when I needed it and this came as a great shock to us too. There's a lot of truth in what you said about local flavor, LS. Webstations are fine if I'm on the computer, but I can't carry a computer around with me. Satellite is not in my budget, and as deep as it is with so many choices, as you said, it lacks any local flavor which is what used to set radio stations apart from each other. It had as much to do with the radio personalities and the local content, as it did with the music they played. If I wanted to listen to an ipod, I'd buy an ipod. I'm not interested in an ipod, and it had nothing to do with being older and resistant to new technology. I look at them as little boxes with umbilical cords that only serve to further isolate people from each other and discourage social interaction. People walk around in their own little worlds attached to their little boxes, oblivious to the person standing next to them.
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snizz
Full Member
I'm sure I'd be more upset if I weren't quite so heavily sedated
Posts: 322
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Post by snizz on Jun 13, 2005 0:16:19 GMT -5
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Post by Mr._Shooter on Jul 21, 2005 23:13:26 GMT -5
It's astonishing how even though we're thousands of miles apart, we can still commiserate one this. I was never a full time listener, but I'd turn it on a few times a week. As Mr. Shooter said, like your WCBS, our JMK was there when I needed it and this came as a great shock to us too. There's a lot of truth in what you said about local flavor, LS. Webstations are fine if I'm on the computer, but I can't carry a computer around with me. Satellite is not in my budget, and as deep as it is with so many choices, as you said, it lacks any local flavor which is what used to set radio stations apart from each other. It had as much to do with the radio personalities and the local content, as it did with the music they played. If I wanted to listen to an ipod, I'd buy an ipod. I'm not interested in an ipod, and it had nothing to do with being older and resistant to new technology. I look at them as little boxes with umbilical cords that only serve to further isolate people from each other and discourage social interaction. People walk around in their own little worlds attached to their little boxes, oblivious to the person standing next to them. Roland, first of all, I'm glad to hear that misery loves company when it comes to this sort of thing. I've long been convinced that decisions are made in the corporate world that are not based on the majority view, but rather on the "what feels right at this moment" vantage point. In other words, it's the opinion of some pin-head that drives the impulsive decision to dump a tried-and-true format, not necessarily what the listeners desire (or what the numbers dictate). If I ran my practice that way, I'd be walking the streets tomorrow. As for the whole I-Pod thing, I'll never succumb. An attorney in my office is a big I-Pod guy. He strolls into the office each morning with the ear piece in place, as if to say, I'm with it, I'm cool. Fact of the matter is, he's a pretender to the proverbial throne, if you know what I mean. ;D Anyhow, as much as I love good music, I've never had the need to take it with me WHEREVER I FREAKIN' GO.
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Post by Travelinman on Jul 22, 2005 8:06:04 GMT -5
Hey Shooter, Hey everybody. ;D ;D It all comes down to one thing.....MONEY. Everything that is done in this country is about MONEY. Politicians get in office because of MONEY, then they must pay back all of those that helped them get elected. Politicians of course are the most obvious. The runaway salaries of teachers and police here on the Island. The unions and MONEY. The unions support or do not support the people that helped get the contract signed. So yes this was a surprise, but not totally. The FEW companies left that have anything to do with radio are doing it for.........yeah, the MONEY. They wanted to go to a younger audience. The kids today spend money like they have an endless stream of it. So target the kids, they buy the sponsors products, the sponsors pay for the ad time. IT"S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
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Post by SanAntonioMike on Jul 22, 2005 17:28:22 GMT -5
Well, I have to admit, while I don't have an Ipod, I DO listen to MP3s now, just about all the danged time. I burn CDs full of 'em and play them at work on a CD player that can play 'em, and it's soothed my soul. I haven't turned on a radio in ages (except for NPR, which doesn't count, music-wise). One CD lasts longer than 8 hours -- I've put them on and never once heard the dang thing END.
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snizz
Full Member
I'm sure I'd be more upset if I weren't quite so heavily sedated
Posts: 322
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Post by snizz on Jul 24, 2005 0:47:36 GMT -5
Pardon my absence. ;D Has this weather been friggin brutal or what? Man, I just can't take it anymore so I've been busy checking into time shares on an igloo in Antarctica. ;D Fool I-Pods! Yea, nothing finer than the sight of robo-people walking around with wires hanging out their ears. A wire stuck in one ear and a cell phone permanently stuck to the other. Fools. Mr. Shooter's right. A few whiz-bang "pinheads" don't make up any majority and I can't say I've ever seen them take a vote. There's more people over the age of 30 in this country than under the age of 30. Travelinman's right, it's all about friggin money. Get rich quick schemes. There's a sick, twisted mindset in this country today that "success" means having to be a millionaire by the time you're 30 or else you're a "failure". Well hey I go my own way with music too, because that's what it came down to. But it don't make it right. Yea, cool I can listen to whatever I want, whenever I want to. I always had that choice. But something's missing with that. Damn, I miss hearing "it's a sizzling 95 degrees out there". I miss having "this one goes out to all those folks stuck sitting in the 5 mile backup on the Robert Moses to Jones Beach" and "parking fields 1-5 are full, so folks when you get there, you're in for a looong walk". I miss hearing the shout outs to the "Coney Island cuties" and "all the guys down at Tony's Pizzaria". I miss the "make it or break its" and "we just got this brand new song in from a brand new group" and the requests and dedications. That's all part of what I listened to radio for. It's what humanized it and separated it from sterile elevator Muzak. But hell, I still miss drive-ins. It's already hot enough in here, so that's enough steam blowing. ;D Time to go stick my head back in the freezer again. ;D
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Post by LS on Jul 29, 2005 17:28:18 GMT -5
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Post by LS on Jul 29, 2005 17:29:37 GMT -5
Well, I have to admit, while I don't have an Ipod, I DO listen to MP3s now, just about all the danged time. I burn CDs full of 'em and play them at work on a CD player that can play 'em, and it's soothed my soul. I haven't turned on a radio in ages (except for NPR, which doesn't count, music-wise). One CD lasts longer than 8 hours -- I've put them on and never once heard the dang thing END. Yeah...that works- to an extent. It'd be ok if my tastes weren't so broad. But I'm addicted to all kinds of music...I don't necessarily want to listen to some of it more than once in a while, I don't have the time to track down and download every single song I like...not to mention- as yet, they haven't made a hard drive big enough to hold it all even I could.
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Post by LS on Jul 29, 2005 17:33:47 GMT -5
Well hey I go my own way with music too, because that's what it came down to. But it don't make it right. Yea, cool I can listen to whatever I want, whenever I want to. I always had that choice. But something's missing with that. Damn, I miss hearing "it's a sizzling 95 degrees out there". I miss having "this one goes out to all those folks stuck sitting in the 5 mile backup on the Robert Moses to Jones Beach" and "parking fields 1-5 are full, so folks when you get there, you're in for a looong walk". I miss hearing the shout outs to the "Coney Island cuties" and "all the guys down at Tony's Pizzaria". I miss the "make it or break its" and "we just got this brand new song in from a brand new group" and the requests and dedications. That's all part of what I listened to radio for. It's what humanized it and separated it from sterile elevator Muzak. But hell, I still miss drive-ins. Ah snizzster...you're my heart and my soul's inspiration... Thank you- thank you- thank you- you've rescued me and unblocked my writer's block. You know what though?? As generally sucky as 80s music was...it's kind of scary just how very relevant- almost downright clairvoyant- the best stuff still is today. This one definitely comes to mind... Radio, RadioElvis Costello I was tuning in the shine on the light night dial doing anything my radio advised with every one of those late night stations playing songs bringing tears to me eyes I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver when the switch broke 'cause it's old They're saying things that I can hardly believe. They really think we're getting out of control. Radio is a sound salvation Radio is cleaning up the nation They say you better listen to the voice of reason But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason. So you had better do as you are told. You better listen to the radio. I wanna bite the hand that feeds me. I wanna bite that hand so badly. I want to make them wish they'd never seen me. Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed You either shut up or get cut out; they don't wanna hear about it. It's only inches on the reel-to-reel. And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools tryin' to anaesthetize the way that you feel I wanna bite the hand that feeds me. I wanna bite that hand so badly. I want to make them wish they'd never seen me. Wonderful radio Marvelous radio Wonderful radio Radio, radio...
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