Re: Citadel gets The Point (finally?)

["Dan Billings" <dib9@gwi.net>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Igo" <Chuckigo@worldnet.att.net>
To: <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2001 8:12 AM
Subject: Citadel gets The Point (finally?)


> After a couple of aimless years, the station formerly known as 98.9 WCLZ
is
> once again known as WCLZ.  Seems that the WCLZ calls were given up by JJ
> Jeffrey's 95.5 and scooped up by Citadel.
> full story at:
> http://www.portland.com/news/local/011030radio.shtml

The station is, so far, only using the call letters during legal IDs.

>   now, as Dan and a few others who worked at WCLZ when it was truly a
> pleasure to listen can attest, the station currently has a ways to go to
> reach that "just right" classy niche it filled before

The current format is more mainstream and includes less new music than the
old WCLZ, but I like what they are doing.  It is pleasant to listen to and
they play a lot of stuff not heard in the market since the old WCLZ
disappeared.  The current format is a major improvement over what they have
done for the last two years.  I don't see how Lori Vornis fits with the
current format.  It will be interesting to see what they do when her
contract expires.

The key to the station's success is developing a sales team that can sell
the quality of the upscale audience of the station.  The old WCLZ stayed on
the air for so long because they had a loyal stable of upscale advertisers
that the station worked for.  I'm not sure that kind of niche marketing fits
with the sales strategies of most of the large corporate operators.

> the, well,
> Out-of-towners came in to show the Mainers how to do radio.  that seems to
> be the Number One thing cast aside in favor of Corporate formulaic radio:
> Know Your Market.

Now I know it is popular on this list to blame the big corporations for
everything wrong with radio, but Fuller/Jeffrey, and their management team
that had been in the market for years, are the people responsible for
ruining the old WCLZ.  When Fuller/Jeffrey took over WCLZ, they watered down
the format to such an extent that they had driven off most of the old WCLZ
listeners before the station became "The Point."  Fuller/Jeffrey killed WCLZ
and it is Citadel that is bringing a version of the format back to the
market.

-- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine
    Afternoons, WCLZ, 1988-1990
    Part-timer, 1993-1996