The Banal Quality of Detroit Radio

["Jason Bereza" <radiojb@hotmail.com>]

>If you're referring to 93.9 as CBE (my memory is still fuzzy on some call
>letter-frequency combos),

93.9 in Windsor was CIDR. Until a few months back they were AAA, now they're 
AC (trying to go after giant WNIC at 100.3.)

>Radio in Detroit is very uninspiring.

<rant time>

Detroit probably has the most "dog" (underperforming) stations of any major 
market. noncomm WDTR is a mess and is now the target of several sales (one 
with Crawford, the other with Saga buying, swapping to Wayne State to move 
NPR WDET to 90.9, and making WDET's pile of money at 101.9 a new WQRS.)

I'm really suprised that WDET didn't dump their jazz/folk-ish format during 
music times when WQRS flipped, they could have gotten a LOT more money and 
attention if they did such an action, plus endeared themselves to the 
underserved classical audience of Detroit.

The market has three stations (92.3 WMXD, 102.7 WDMK, and 107.5 WGPR-FM) 
doing an Urban AC format, and it's to the point that WGPR-FM has a lower 1 
share and WDMK (formerly the Ted Nugent-owned WWBR) isn't even breaking a 1, 
though on the weakest commercial band signal in the market. Also, two 
stations (97.9 WJLB and 105.9 WDTJ) are both doing the EXACT same Urban 
format (while in New York there's a marked difference between WQHT and WBLS, 
Boston with WJMN and WBOT, etc.)

The one funny thing is that, outside of WGRV-FM (nee WXDG and WQRS), the 
Greater Media cluster in Detroit is much more daring than its Boston 
counterpart. Rock WRIF (101.1) plays a lot of modern and somewhat daring 
stuff, while classic rock WCSX (94.7) is above-average for the format. 
Hmmm...at this rate maybe Greater Media should swap 96.9 Boston to Radio One 
for 102.7 Mt. Clemens-Detroit.

Also, this is a market where the main religious station (Crawford's 103.5 
WMUZ, CCM) has a spotload which rivals Infinity's six station cluster, and 
the rest of the dial is filled by preachers--but none of them $alem (though 
Salem has eyed Midwest's 3 station cluster for a while.)

And don't get me started on WWJ-TV, though the word on the street is that 
now-sister WKBD's news department will move to WWJ-TV next year...if not 
even a full channel flip that would put CBS on 50 and UPN on 62. At least 
NBC WDIV is an EXCELLENT non-O&O (Post-Newsweek) station.

Jason Bereza
Northeast Radio Board: http://www.radio-info.com/northeast
AOL Instant Messenger: JB 98 Now
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