seeking an unbiased opinion about country music radio

[Eli Polonsky]

In my perception, it's because WKLB took a different 
approach to programming country than any other country 
station had tried in Boston before. Past attempts at 
country stations in Boston had tried to appeal to the 
traditional male country listener. That approach still 
works very well in many other areas, even nearby in NH 
and RI, but there aren't enough of that profile in a 
large enough percentage here in Boston.

WKLB appears to me to be the first country station in 
Boston to try appealing to today's contemporary female 
country listener, even more so than the male country 
listener. Lots of contemporary upbeat country-pop 
including many current male "heart throb" performers 
and widely admired current female artists, some women 
DJ's and other female hosts, and a delivery that sounds 
like a twangy version of a female-leaning Hot AC station.

Their website is geared toward female listeners. It has 
none of the usual female exploitation (bikini models, 
etc...) and none of the traditional male toys like 
"monster trucks", etc... that you often see on male-
oriented country stations sites. It includes a women's 
VIP listener promotion group called the "Red High Heel 
Club" and offers pages with parenting, gardening, and 
career advice oriented (mainly) toward women.

It's certainly a different approach to programming a 
country station than the old traditional way, it 
appeals to female contemporary country listeners 
around greater Boston and the suburbs, and the 
numbers bear out that it obviously works very well!

EP