Fwd: RE: Re: Non-comm rankings

["Laurence Glavin" <lglavin@lycos.com>]

>DATE: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 18:10:57 
>From: "Paul Hopfgarten" <paul@03038.com>
>To: <lglavin@lycos.com>, <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>

>WOW! Mr Glavin, I am not a listener of WMJX, but I must say your >diatribe is
>uncalled for. There's always the ying and yang of popular culture vs >nitche
>programing, and WMJX covers the Adult AC market. In fact, I believe >their
>the only station in Boston Metro with that format (WZID and WHOM ot ?>the
>north, WWLI(?)(105.1-Providence is what I'm refering to) to the south.
>You and I may not like it, but it is a very popular format. Now if >you're
>saying that WMJX doesn't do Adult AC as well as WLTW in NYC or WHOM >or
>someone else in the same format, well, that's fair game. But to >trash the
>station just because it plays Adult AC, well I would take issue with >that.
>The station is reaching a pretty wide audience and seems to do a >pretty good
>job of what there trying to do.
>Paul Hopfgarten
>East Derry NH 03041
>
paul@03038.co

On numerous occasions I had the misfortune to be exposed to the former WSSH-FM 995 since I live 
north of Boston.  A tennis partner in Burlington had it on in her
apartment and on her car radio.  The state liquor stores in Salem and
Pelham, NH occasionally had it on also.   I observed that the
"AC" formula consisted of a very restricted list of current and recent
soft rock or popular selections endlessly repeated, sometime very 
close to each other.  (WCRB does that with "classical favorites").
This is a very contrived and cynical ploy to attract people who want
recorded material that is familiar and comforting.  WMJX-FM was
more "succesfu;" at it (or had a better signal in downtown Boston
offices and won that battle thereby, until GM bought 99.5.  WHOM, WZID,
WSRS, et al may play different SELECTIONS (although I'm sure there's much
unintentional overlap) but it's the restriced nature of the playlist and the 
inane repetition that mark the "AC" or "Soft-rock" formula.  Oldies
stations apparently do the same thing.  Why so many people accept this
as mormal is troubling, but as Walter Cronkite used to say "that's the way it is".  It assures a certain ratings number as long as there
aren't too many competitord and multiple ownership keeps that from happening.



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