Re: Network vs. Local (was: The Chicks,etc)

["Kaimbridge M. GoldChild" <kaimbridge@my-dejanews.com>]

I wrote,

~ Radio consultant Kaimbridge's recommended options:     P=)
~
~ A:    7-10: Tai (or is it TAI?);
~       10-1: Jim Bohannan;
~        1-5: Art Bell.
~
~ B:    7-10: Tai;
~      10-12: Dr. Joy Brown;
~       12-1: Dr. Dean Edel;
~        1-5: Art Bell;
~
~ C:    7-10: Tai;
~      10-11: Dr. Dean Edel;
~       11-2: Rush Limbaugh (replay);
~        2-5: Howie Carr (replay: Last 3hrs or first and last 2).
~      (does Art Bell actually do much, local ratings-wise?)

~ If Gil Gross gets another national gig (unless 'RKO tries to snag him
as
~ a local!), I'd put him live and Tai in the 7-1am complement.

Mark Laurence responded,

> Why would you want to replace a local talk show with syndicated 
> doctors and reruns?  WRKO already runs the board for nationally 
> oriented programming 13 hours a day.  If they give up the Chicks' 
> slot to the networks, they'll be almost 75% non-local.  The Boston 
> area deserves more attention from "The Talk Station."  And WRKO 
> would be smart to develop a new, strong local personality.

Hey, if the programming is better, what can I say!  Dr. Dean Edell's
show beat WRKO's local health show, hands down.
Maybe it's just that I like current events type programming, but a lot
of the local talk--especially WRKO--seems to have maybe 1-2 hours of
decent topic/open-lines per show, with the rest of the time filled with
local "fluff" ("Guitarist Tommy Toenails from the DoorJams" or "Doreen
Dallas, owner of "The Cockroach Cabin Deli").
It is just a matter of program structure.
Just look at Tom Leykis:  Before he decided to take it to the sewer, his
national show was halfway decent.  Before that, when he was at WRKO, his
show was a boring yawn.
But it is not just the talk shows.
WKLB/BCS is an example, FM-wise.
Back when WC/KLB (i.e., when it was WCLB-105.7) first started, they
attempted to do a top-40, hit country format, with a decent format
packaging (pace, promos/drop-ins, intros-outros, personalities, audio
processing, etc.), and they were managing a 2-3 (?) share (I think they
could have done better just playing it straight--e.g., their heavy use
of live cuts was a flop, IMHO). Then WKLB/BCS jumped in (and they *had*
previously acknowledged their country intentions--WC/KLB just beat them
to the punch), with a more ac-ish approach, both musically and in format
packaging (i.e., trying to sound like a countryfied Magic-106.7).  The
result:  WC/KLB always beat WKLB/BCS.
Then the Great Station Ownership Shuffle ensued, with WC/KLB looking to
be courted, eventually by WKLB/BCS's Greater Media.  In doing so,
instead of trying to *strengthen* their format, they decided to water it
down to WKLB/BCS's:  Cut back on the intros-outros and personality
packaging, soften the playlist and dump the reverb!  The result:  WC/KLB
became neck and neck with WKLB/BCS--not because WKLB/BCS rose, but
because WC/KLB slid.
So now, after absorbing WC/KLB and screwing around--not once, but
twice--with the frequency (WC/KLB-105.7 -> WKLB/BCS-96.9 -> WKLB-99.5),
where are they now, ratings-wise?  Double what they were when 105.7 was
in the mix?  No--same, or lower, than they were before!
The connection with "network vs. local"?
The *best* part of their day is from 12-5:30am, when they are carrying
Premiere's "After MidNite", an excellently executed program, both in its
musical mix and strong top-40 format packaging and execution.
Just compare a Sun-Thu night "after midnight", when they are carrying
"After MidNite", with Fri night, when they are local:  There's no
comparison!
Granted, there is no reason WKLB can't be just as good--from what I've
heard in the past, "After MidNite" gets decent ratings--as KSON out in
San Diego (they webcast: live.cts.com/cgi-bin/play.cgi?kson )
demonstrates (if anyone from WKLB is reading this, *THAT* is the way an
urban market country station should be done).
Perhaps a major reason a station will sign to a network, rather than
attempt the very same thing locally (e.g., After MidNite vs. KSON), is
that they can point to its track record (if it has one) and--if it
flops--just "fire" the show, rather than anyone at the station.

     ~Kaimbridge~

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