The Radio Digest

Online Radio Listening

2010-05-10T16:43:00.002-06:00

We still have a long way to go before radio stations realize that their online presence is just as important as their electromagnetic signal; maybe even more so.

The Morning Guy

2010-04-19T18:40:00.001-06:00

Razor Blades and Splicing Tape (RIP)

2009-12-10T21:50:00.007-06:00

It took a lot of skill to edit tape in the old days. Maybe I can find a splicing block on eBay since I'm tired of looking at .wav files.

Radio News in the 21st Century

2009-12-10T20:13:00.003-06:00

A typical radio "newsroom" and website today.

In Honor of Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T22:45:00.006-06:00

One of the defining episodes of "WKRP in Cincinnati" with the bonus extended intro.

It's More Than Local

2009-10-10T21:58:00.002-06:00

Being local is supposed to be the answer to radio's problems, but it's more than that. It has to have something that has meaning to people. The industry has also lost sight of the fact that radio is all about the presentation, not the content. The newspaper industry is just behind radio on the relevancy scale, but here's a couple who have found a way to try to survive.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Big 8 Hasn't Been CKLW For A Long Time

2009-08-12T23:22:00.002-06:00

One of the many great songs associated with CKLW when it was current. Too bad there aren't any Merolis Chevrolet, Farmer Jack, Hudson's or Detroit International Dragway commercials.

Name That Tune

2009-03-25T12:23:00.002-06:00

Test your musical knowledge. This is from a new movies based on England's Pirate Radio.

NBC's Chuck Todd Calls Radio a Dying Medium

2009-03-04T21:16:00.000-06:00

NBC's Chuck Todd calls radio a dying medium. It's too easy to blame consolidators, though they did contribute to its demise. Every step that radio took to get away from the concept of friendly personalities dispensing local and national information, took it one step closer to being unable to compete with the sheer volume of content available on the Internet, both good, bad and hokey. Once radio got rid of the decent disc jockeys and replaced them with people doing stunts, it put the business in the same category as what's available on the Internet, without the positioning statements and the 12 minute stop sets. Radio was able to compete for a generation with a larger than life presentation, not by talking about who got eliminated from Dancing With The Stars.

Behind The Scenes at CITY-TV

2009-02-03T14:44:00.002-06:00

It's not radio, but it is a good example of what goes on behind the scenes at Breakfast TV, a top rated morning show in Toronto.

The Michigan Oldies Podcast

2008-12-06T22:08:00.005-06:00

Some of the most creative radio is not on the radio today. Besides, where else can you hear The Detroit Emeralds? Listen here or visit their website. (I wonder if we can make this louder with bigger wires?)

Remembering Howard Reig 1921-2008

2008-11-16T04:48:00.008-06:00

He was the voice of NBC Nightly News from the John Chancellor era to Brian Williams. He shared a stage with J. Fred Muggs and his delivery of a script was a work of art.
Howard Reig was 87 years old.

His personal website is here.

Videos courtesy of Kenneth Reig

Andy Barrie Leaves Radio Indefinitely

2008-11-07T16:46:00.005-06:00

It appears that Andy Barrie, longtime host of CBC's Metro Morning, is leaving the show for family reasons. One of Canada's finest broadcasters, Andy was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease and shared the details of his condition with his listeners. Apparently it's his mother, who's ill, which led to his decision to leave radio indefinitely. We wish his mother a full recovery and hope that Andy's absence from radio is only temporary.

Also see this.

John McCain Approved This

2008-09-24T01:16:00.000-06:00

The tape spools could be scratched or the tape might be stretched. Maybe the carts are wearing out.

CHUM site slated for luxury condos

2008-07-29T17:50:00.000-06:00

But Toronto radio station's landmark red sign will get a new home

The CHUM building on Yonge St. is going to be torn down and turned into luxury condos, but its iconic sign will be saved. The red landmark sign will be moved this winter to the new location of CHUM Radio, now under renovation at Richmond and Duncan Sts., said Scott Henderson, spokesperson for CTVglobemedia.

Read the story in the Toronto Star

It's All About The Presentation

2008-05-17T01:24:00.002-06:00

Content is supposed to be the king in today's radio. But the medium is suffering and did much better when the presentation was the king.

Jack Armstrong 1945-2008

2008-03-25T06:09:00.008-06:00

"He would also want you to help fight to bring back the personality in radio if at all possible." -Devon Larsh Fischer, his daughter, announcing his death.

Listen to a clip of Jackson Armstrong on CHUM in 1968 here. (Courtesy of Dale Patterson's Rock Radio Scrapbook)

The news of his death was relayed by his daughter on his MySpace site:

Extremely saddening news... I hoped I never had to write... Our extremely amazing Dad and your friend Jack Armstrong aka John C. Larsh passed away yesterday March 22, 2008 at his home in North Carolina. I wish there was a better way to get the word out but this seems to be the fastest means of communication that he favored.

If you knew him at all, you would know that he wouldn't want you to be sad for a moment. He would want you to remember all the good times, what he gave to radio and to the world. He would also want you to help fight to bring back the personality in radio if at all possible. He loved being a DJ almost as much as he loved being a father and that says A LOT. He put his blood, sweat and tears into both and never gave up what he believed in. He was honest, brave and could tell a joke like no other!!

He was the best at everything he did and I know that he touched each and every one of us. I dont know how he would sign off this letter, maybe it would be "Yoooooouuuuurrr LLLlleeeadaaa!" or just straight up "Jack it up" either which way he would have done it better than anyone.

Please remember him in all that you do, pass on kindness, be true to yourself and to those you love. If you have any questions, please email me at JackArmstrong08@gmail.com

Very sad, devon larsh fischer ....Jack's middle daughter who loves him greatly - he was an exceptional person.

Jack was a radio announcer (DJ) for over 47 years!

This was his signoff (watch him do it in the video below)

"Don't get none on ya, do it twice, be nice. It's very nice to be important, but more important to be very nice. Let it all hang out, drag it in the sand, and make a deep rut. People who live in glass houses shouldn't...A bird in the hand makes it hard to blow your nose. One good turn takes most of the blankets. You can lead a horse to water, but don't push him in. Nothing smells any worse than a wet horse, or you can lead a horse to water, push him in and teach him the backstroke, then you've really got something. Wash your face in the morning, neck at night. Love is life, life is love. Light your own candle and the world will be a much brighter place. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a little knot, hang on and swing. Stay calm, try to adjust. You can't live with 'em or without 'em. hoo hee, HEE HOO! Don't let your six gun get rusty. It's been a business doing pleasure with you, it's been real... and your LEEEEEEADAAAAAAAAH love you!"

Jack Armstrong
WCOG [Greensboro NC] 1964 - John Larsh
WAYS [Charlotte NC] 1965 - John Larsh
WIXY [Cleveland OH] 1966
WKYC [Cleveland OH] 1967 - Big Jack
WMEX [Boston] 1968
CHUM [Toronto Ontario] 1968
WPOP [Hartford CT] 1969
KTLK [Denver] 1969
WKBW [Buffalo] 1970
WKTQ [Pittsburgh] 1973
KDKA [Pittsburgh] 1975
WHYI [Miami] 1975
WIFE [Indianapolis IN] 1976
KTNQ/KHTZ [LA] 1978
KFI [LA] 1980
KFRC [San Francisco] 1982
KKHR [LA] 1984
KBOS [Tulare CA] 1988
WMQX [Winston-Salem NC] 1997
WWKB [Buffalo] 2002-2006

Classic WABC

2008-03-23T02:46:00.003-06:00

A small sample of what one of the great NY stations sounded like. Included is a clip by the late Scott Muni, promoting his Scotland Yard. I wonder if Scottso had any connection to Wales?

powered by ODEO

The Radio Tube Is Getting Smaller

2008-02-25T17:18:00.001-06:00

No, this isn't Alaska Senator Ted Stevens calling the Internet a series of tubes, but a comment by Jay Marvin who says the tunnel down the broadcast path is getting smaller and smaller with fewer people being able to squeeze through. Read his comments here.

And now, here are the Internet tubes.

Remembering Reel To Reel Tape Recorders

2008-02-04T02:01:00.000-06:00

Those big Ampex tape recorders were built to take all kinds of abuse and could inflict some abuse on careless operators. If those metal take-up reels ever came flying off during a high speed rewind, a decapitation could take place. But what about those small home reel to reel machines?

Remembering Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorders
by Harmon Jolley

My wife's reel-to-reel tape recorder is still with us. I believe that we sent my old tape unit to parts unknown several years ago.

Today, we live in a world of highly portable, highly functional electronic media devices of incredible capacity. The songs contained on boxes of 45 RPM records of yesteryear can now be downloaded from the Internet and carried everywhere on MP3 and iPod players. There are Internet jukeboxes that don’t require a service technician to swap out records and labels each week.

Photo by Harmon Jolley

Something appears to be missing, though, from today’s audio media. I don’t see as many folks capturing the sounds of everyday life like we did on our reel-to-reel tape recorders. While going through some boxes recently, I came across some of my old reel-to-reel tapes.

Around Christmas, 1967, I opened a present containing my first and only reel-to-reel tape recorder. It was a General Electric, and made of black plastic, with a clear cover over the tape assembly. There were some new terms to learn, such as microphone, tape head assembly, supply and take-up reels, spindles, and the all-important capstan. When the user placed a brass sleeve over the capstan, the speed of the tape was changed. One had to choose between using a tape up quickly versus audio quality.

That Christmas, we spent part of the time visiting my aunt and uncle and cousins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. My cousins were younger than I, and were even more amazed than I at being able to hear their words being played back on the tape recorder. I remember that we also recorded some of the theme songs of the Saturday morning cartoons.

The sounds of television and radio of the late 1960’s were on my old tapes. There were the theme songs of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Three Stooges,” and “College Bowl” (how did that get on there?). Just hold the microphone close to the television speaker, and voila! – sounds captured for posterity.

Tape recorders were also used in building a small music library of songs played on the radio. From the good old days when WDOD-AM was king of country music, I had captured tunes such as “Skip-a-Rope.” I remember that some radio personalities, including Luther, would alert listeners to have their recorders ready when a popular recording was about to be played. I’m sure that I’m not the only one with a recording of the Singing Dogs doing “Jingle Bells” and Stan Freberg starring in “Christmas Dragnet.”

Reel-to-reel tape recorders were very popular just capturing the sounds of what happened at home. In April, 1968, my father traveled with a group to the state firefighters’ convention in Memphis. My mother knew that he would be calling home, and asked me to record the conversation. It turned out to be a recording of the words of an eyewitness to history. The sanitation employees were on strike in Memphis, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was there to mediate a settlement.

My father reported that the Memphis mayor asked the firefighters to take some trash home with them. Hotel employees were wrapping boxes filled with garbage, and leaving them as unattended presents in the lobby for unsuspecting thieves to steal. A day or so after my father returned home from the convention, Dr. King was assassinated.

Most recordings were less newsworthy. I had recorded an interview with one of our Chihuahuas, who barked at the slightest provocation. My African underwater clawed frog, Tojo, made his singing debut through the glass of the aquarium. I captured my mother singing, “In the Garden,” and my father belting out the Mexican national anthem that he had learned while in the U.S. Navy.

Recordings of life at home could sometimes be embarrassing. My wife recalled that her neighbor experienced some embarrassment when she returned a defective tape recorder to the store. She didn’t preview what was already recorded on the tape, and the clerk was very entertained after the play button was pressed. Suffice it to say that a normal sound of digestion had been recorded, and was then played back at a very slow speed by the defective recorder.

The tape reels used on my reel-to-reel unit were three inches in diameter. There were units which used larger tapes, and allowed audiophiles either to record music from albums or to play pre-recorded music. Some devotees loved listening to music without the crackles and pops of vinyl.

The reel-to-reel tape format, though, had some of the same drawbacks as home movies. The tapes were fragile, and the units sometimes jammed. The box housing one of my tapes has “half broken” written on it. The reels also took time to load into the machine.

For recorded sound, there were better mousetraps waiting in the wings. The arrival of the competing formats of cassette and 8-track tapes gradually pushed the surviving reel-to-reel tapes and recorders into the closets, attics, and basements of the world. Just think of all of the fond memories recorded onto those small reels of tape.

If you have memories of reel-to-reel tape recorders, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@bellsouth.net.

Does Music Die at 50?

2008-01-07T12:45:00.001-06:00

What happened to the Beautiful Music format? Did it just disappear because ad agencies didn't want to appeal to a mature audience? Or does music die at age 50?

Read more in this article from Dave LeBlanc in the Toronto Star.

Toronto Broadcaster Compares George Bush to Hitler

2007-12-27T00:57:00.000-06:00

Click here to go to the AM 640 website and listen to the commentary.

All I hear are the same voices

2007-12-01T11:59:00.000-06:00

Here's a letter to the editor in the Hollister (California) Free Lance:

Nov 30, 2007

Dear Editor,

The consolidation of media in this country has led to almost no choice of radio on either the AM or FM bands. When I drive to work I can pick up a dozen or so stations. One CBS, several owned by Clear Channel and a couple by Infinity Broadcasting. The programming is nearly identical, and all the Clear Channel-owned talk stations play the same lineup of Rush, Dr. Laura, Sean Hannity, etc. ...

Republicans like to claim that other shows don't get the ratings, but the truth is if you live in Central California, there are no other radio shows! There is no competition! It reminds me of jokes about the old Soviet Russia where someone would change the channel and the same program played on every station.

This is not the America I was born into.

John McNally, Paicines

Clear signs of greed as Clear Channel forced out union workers

2007-10-29T06:32:00.001-06:00

From The Boston Globe

"One said he was making $9 an hour, which apparently is big money back in Texas"

For 34 years, Bill Trowbridge was a sign hanger, one of those guys who puts up billboards.

He started working when he was 17. The company changed names and ownership over the years, from Donnelly, to Ackerley, to AK Media, but it prospered, and Trowbridge and the other guys who wallpapered billboards all over Eastern Massachusetts made a decent living.

Five years ago, the media conglomerate Clear Channel
bought the company and tried to make a profitable business more profitable. They offered buyouts that cut the 48 employees in Local 391 of the sign workers in half. But that wasn't enough.

Last March, Clear Channel told the remaining workers that they were unilaterally changing their hours, wages, and benefits. Men who were making $24 an hour, working a 40-hour week, were told they would be paid $15 per sign and would have to hustle to do as many signs as they could, safety be damned, with work hours set arbitrarily by management.

"They brought us in on a Friday and gave us 10 pizzas and some soda and said this was how it was going to be," Trowbridge said, sitting in a Dunkin' Donuts near his Norwell home. "We figured it was a 30 percent pay cut, right off the bat. But it was more than that. Every guy in our loca has a family; every guy has kids."

Basically, the company said this: We don't care if a regular schedule and paycheck allowed you to have a family life, because now you belong to us.

For Trowbridge, the change in working hours was a particular hardship, because his wife, Robin, was battling cancer. He had to do a lot for their 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.

On March 19, Trowbridge and 23 others went on strike. Clear Channel brought in replacement workers from across the country. Guys from Texas, Florida, and Georgia came in and took jobs that had been in Massachusetts families for generations. The strikebreakers were paid off in the dark. One said he was making $9 an hour, which apparently is big money back in Texas.

BBC iPlayer Plus

2007-10-24T19:18:00.001-06:00

If you're a fan of the BBC, this Yahoo Widget is indispensable. It allows you to listen to all of the live BBC programs, as well as the archives. You can get more information here.

In Decline by The Mid '80s

2007-10-24T19:06:00.001-06:00

By 1987, a once great radio station had been reduced to running commercials trying to convince people that they were nothing more than a jukebox. Can't blame them for trying since they were already commercial free.

Two Of The Best Years for Music and Radio

2007-10-24T17:48:00.001-06:00

It's hard to come up with two years that had more impact.

Refusing to Listen is Not Enough

2007-10-24T16:19:00.001-06:00

Talk radio host links fire victims to those who 'hate America' - Los Angeles Times

But the images of charred residences, grieving homeowners and valiant firefighters apparently were not enough to move conservative talk radio host Glenn Beck, who told his listeners on his nationally syndicated show Monday that those suffering losses "hate America."

This is the stock in trade of radio today. Just say something outrageous and wait for the media to pick up on it, then backtrack. Never apologize, just say that your comments were misinterpreted. And it's not just talk radio. Music radio is full of disc jockeys who are instructed to "ask a question" and then take calls between the songs. If the calls are not boring and trite, then they're supposed to be outrageous.

Some people thought that the Imus incident would inspire a return to civility, but instead, it will probably just mean more of the same when Imus returns to the radio, only now he'll be $200 million richer.

I think the media has to learn to ignore rediculous statements from preople like Glen Beck, Ann Coulter and others because giving them publicity is exactly what they want. And listeners need to realize that the best way to voice displeasure with what you hear is to not buy products that are advertised on the offending show or station. Merely not listening is not enough. For every 10 people who turn off a radio, 5 will turn it back on. These shows aren't there for your entertainment or as a public service, they're there to make money.

Imus, Back So Soon?

2007-10-24T07:45:00.001-06:00

From David Freelander
MCT News Service

Don Imus, how can we miss you if you won't go away?

Only six months after leaving the airwaves in disgrace, the I-Man finds himself at the center of another media storm, this time after a Web report Monday that he'd inked a multimillion-dollar deal with WABC-AM to become the New York talk-radio station's new morning drive-time host.

The item on the Drudge Report set off a flurry of media activity as well as buzz in the blogosphere. Numerous phone calls to WABC-AM and its corporate parent, Citadel Broadcasting, were not returned.

Phil Boyce, WABC's program director and Citadel Broadcasting vice president of news/talk programming, told Newsday Monday that he had nothing to announce, and wasn't exactly certain when he would.

Many were shocked that Imus has been able to bounce back so quickly from such a sudden fall.

Her Name is Gloria

2007-08-24T16:47:00.000-06:00

Just about every consultant I've run into has claimed to know how to reach the coveted demo: female 25-39. And just about every AC format buys into their pitch, then they wonder why they're next to last in the ratings, just ahead of the the smooth jazz station. The consultant leads you to believe that he knows all about this demo. She's a woman who's divorced, has a teenage daughter and drives a minivan. Her main concerns are health and finances. Sometimes they even give her a fictitious name like "Gloria" and put up a montage of pictures of women and minivans to help the jock focus on who he's talking to when he reads the liner cards. Is this clip accurate or is it a parody?

The Break Up
Uploaded by geertdesager

Almost as good as Steve Allen

2007-08-24T02:21:00.000-06:00

Steve Allen pioneered "man in the street" type interviews that Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and Jay Leno continue to this day. It looks like Jimmy Kimmel was also influenced by Steve Allen as you'll see in this hilarious clip.

As long as it sells

2007-08-23T15:10:00.000-06:00

Radio is all about money and there's nothing wrong with that. Disney should have been happy with the revenue generated by its ABC radio stations, but they chose to sell their properties with the exception of ESPN Radio and Radio Disney. Despite the profits, I believe Disney just didn't want to be connected with the type of medium where people say crazy things and where being outrageous and in your face are the objectives. There are rumors that Don Imus will be ending up at WABC now that Citadel is the owner of the former Disney radio properties. And now Bob Grant is joining the station after being fired 10 years ago for wishing for the death of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown in a plane crash. Disney probably didn't think it would be worth it to have Grant or Imus associated with their company. Even if their brand of radio could be counted upon to bring in millions in revenues, the potential damage to the Disney reputation just wasn't worth it. Besides, all of the radio revenue combined is probably just a drop in the bucket compared to the profits of a blockbuster Disney movie or a successful theme park, so why take a chance for nickels and dimes?

WABC welcomes back Bob Grant

Once-fired host, 78, is still full of 'fire & passion'

By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, August 23rd 2007, 4:00 AM

Sharp-tongued radio host Bob Grant is returning to WABC (770 AM), the station that kicked him to the curb a dozen years ago.

WABC program director Phil Boyce confirmed yesterday that the 78-year-old Grant, whose 1995 firing made national headlines, will take the 8-10 weeknight slot starting this evening.

"We're delighted to have him back," said Boyce. "He's done some fill-ins for us and he's the old Bob, full of fire and passion."

"I never thought I'd miss this as much as I did," said Grant, who left full-time radio in early 2006 after 10 years on WOR (710 AM). "I thought I'd retire and just do what I wanted. But it turned out what I wanted to do is what I'm going to be doing now."

Grant, who helped pioneer local conservative radio talk on WMCA in the early 1970s, was fired for a comment after then-Commerce Secretary Ron Brown was killed in a plane crash.

Initial bulletins said one person might have lived, which led Grant to crack, "I have a hunch [Brown might be] the lone survivor. But then I'm a pessimist at heart."

Bob Leonard Comments on the OJ Simpson Interview

2007-08-15T20:48:00.000-06:00

Is there a radio DJ in the house?

2007-08-14T15:16:00.000-06:00

This article from the Pocono Record by Beth Breljie describes how to tell if your local radio station has disc jockeys or is voice tracked.

Technology has changed what you hear from your radio.

Pre-1985 broadcast studios included two, sometimes three turntables.

At my first gig, the program director owned the records. Each day he brought in a milk crate of 45s. This way the same song would not be played two days in a row. DJs planned shows one song at a time.

The now charming sound of a stylus tracking a record, infusing pops and hisses in the air, had been mostly replaced by CDs in the late 1980s.

Today music is recorded into a computer. A music director decides on the order of the songs and a computer automatically fires one song after another, mixing in liners and commercials. DJs are not necessary anymore, but they are still a good idea.

Auditorium Test

2007-08-10T02:41:00.000-06:00

We did a recent music test and this came in as number 1. You'll see why and you'll have trouble getting it out of your head.

Tom Snyder Remembered

2007-07-31T17:03:00.000-06:00

Like David Letterman, Tom Snyder got his start in radio, in Milwaukee. His radio background showed in his interviewing style on TV. Tom Snyder was the last of the single major market TV anchorman. After his days of anchoring the news in Los Angeles, it turned into the male-female co-anchor format that everybody follows today. It's similar to what we have in radio today. But when NBC wanted to fill the time slot after Johnny Carson's Tonight Show went off they air, they turned to Snyder, who had an established reputation in Los Angeles. And it worked for 9 years until they decided to make it more of an entertainment type show and brought in gossip columnist Rona Barrett. Here's an example of Tom's amazing work in this NBC tribute.
This is an undated picture provided by CBS of talk show host
Tom Snyder. Snyder, whose smoke-filled interviews were a staple
of late night television, has died after a struggle with leukemia. He was 71.
(AP Photo/CBS, Bonnie Schiffman)

Will This Work?

2007-07-29T00:31:00.000-06:00

Will people pay to hear commercials on their computer?

Tom Green Live With Howard Lapides

2007-07-23T02:42:00.000-06:00

WCBS-FM is Back!

2007-07-15T20:26:00.000-06:00

Not exactly the way they were, but anything that puts the Jack format back in the box can't be bad. There is something that doesn't seem right with the music sweeps and the limited talk, but it could be because they're just getting started. It's just not the same without Harry Harrison, Dan Daniel, Ron Lundy, Dan Ingram and Bruce Morrow, but it may turn out to be a referendum on personality radio as well as wisdom of abandoning the 45+ listener in the first place.

Connecticut Bans Noncompetes

2007-07-14T11:16:00.000-06:00

This is about 20 years overdue.
Read the story here.

What's the Mood at WCBS-FM?

2007-07-14T03:28:00.000-06:00

It's not often that a company admits to a mistake. I'm sure there won't be any apologies, but ~~oldies~~ the greatest hits are back in New York on WCBS-FM. No Brucie, Ingram, Harrison or Daniel and they'll probably throw in lots of 80s stuff, but it's still better than nothing. In honor of the occasion here's a groovy Leslie Gore video with a song that you probably won't hear again on WCBS-FM. (Is that Dwayne Hickman and Frankie Avalon on the front seat of the bus?)

77 WABC's Charlie Greer

2007-07-03T13:08:00.000-06:00

What a great video and an excellent example of the caliber of radio in that era. No sidekicks, no drop ins, no stupid phone calls. And no ten minutes of spots twice an hour before kicking off "another long set of music with a better variety so you can listen longer." Instead of burying the commercials, they made it part of the show. Charlie Greer made it compelling all by himself, using the elements around him. Compare it to the junk that's on the air today. If you're under 40, hear what quality was all about. And listen to the classic read of a live commercial: "Dennison, a men's clothier, Route 22, Union New Jersey, just a half a mile from The Flagship, where money talks and nobody walks."
"Music to watch girls by?....who needs music?"

This type of radio, if it existed today, would give auditorium testers, market researchers and focus study types an extreme case of gas. Had these "experts" been around in 1967, you would be hearing this today.

Another Grisly Discovery...

2007-06-28T05:23:00.000-06:00

If you remember Byron McGreggor of CKLW 20/20 news fame, you'll be interested in seeing his brother, Hudson Mack, anchor of A-Channel News in Victoria, British Columbia.

And Now, This Word...

2007-06-21T20:30:00.000-06:00

I wonder how many of these guys have been replaced by people with an ISDN line and a computer?

It Still Doesn't Test Well

2007-06-19T19:48:00.000-06:00

In a recent auditorium test, the following clips were played. None of them tested well among participants who were 35 to 50 years old. However, the people pleasin' meter went through the roof with those 18 to 35 and the 50 to 65 year olds.
(Love those album covers)

Disney Signs Off ABC Radio to Citadel

2007-06-18T19:28:00.000-06:00

..."And now, our national anthem"

Don't Worry, Your Jobs are Safe

2007-06-17T19:20:00.000-06:00

Broadcast consolidation is something that's happening on both sides of the border. It took a little more time to happen in Canada, probably because of CRTC restrictions, but it's happening just the same. In this story, cutting costs and job losses are key parts of this takeover of CHUM Radio and TV by Globe Media. Globe Media was eventually forced to sell off the CHUM TV stations as a condition of the merger.

"The bottom line is that we have to tidy up the bottom line"

Max In Action at ABC

2007-06-17T16:56:00.000-06:00

An action video from Max's days at ABC Radio

...And, It's Mild!

2007-06-17T16:40:00.000-06:00

A great example of the descriptive, image provoking advertising of the day

Coca Cola 1965
Uploaded by DwightFrye

One Psychopath Changed the World

2007-06-14T10:32:00.000-06:00

One little paranoid malcontent with a rifle changed society in 10 seconds at 1:30 pm on November 22, 1963. Here's a visual interpretation of the KLIF radio coverage of the day.

It Doesn't Test Well

2007-05-26T05:14:00.001-06:00

But it's still groovy.

Radio as Entertainment

2007-05-18T05:16:00.000-06:00

If you weren't around for this era, here's a look at morning radio in the 1980s. They didn't depend on rehashing last night's Survivor or American Idol results, it wasn't about pop culture or gossip. It certainly wasn't about vulgar language and bad taste. It depended on talent to entertain.

Tom Rivers, CFTR

Tom Rivers remembered here.

New Media Fed Old to Cover Rampage

2007-04-19T04:56:00.000-06:00

Could a live and local radio station in Blacksburg, VA, helped warn students of the rampage?

From the Toronto Star:

Consider: According to an Internet search, as well as one on the website for the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. broadcast regulator, there are four commercial radio stations that operate locally in the Blacksburg, Va. area.
Two of them are devoted to ESPN programming – all sports, all the time –while the third is a Top 40 hits format. The fourth is a Fox News Radio affiliate which, according to the bumpf, is all about "radio-anchored breaking news coverage of crisis events both nationally and internationally. "
Not locally.
In other words, 810 AM – which, once upon a time, may have had a newsroom and could have put out a warning to commuting students and staff – is being programmed from New York City.
Which is what you get with media consolidation and concentration. News for the nation – but not for your neighbourhood. (Something to think about as Montreal's Astral Media gobbles up Toronto's Standard Broadcasting.)
Not that young people listen to radio, much less talk radio on the AM band aimed at right-wing old fogies.
Instead, they're listening to their podcasts and music on MP3 players and mobile phones. In fact, yesterday, student after student told TV reporters that they couldn't even hear the gunshots over the iPods in their ears.

Don Imus Is An Incoherent Gas Bag

2007-04-12T14:50:00.000-06:00

It looks like Don Imus has friends on the right. Fox News and the other usual right wing suspects continue to feign outrage over Don Imus's remarks. But their fake outrage is directed at smearing Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Whether you like or agree with Jackson or Sharpton has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that Don Imus is a slime ball. Even if you accept this premise, then two wrongs still don't make a right.

The underlying factor here is that the brand of Don Imus-like radio has made money for MSNBC and CBS for years. Imus doesn't have a monopoly on bad taste or bigotry. Here's an example of Imus calling his employers money grubbing Jews.

There are many more examples from other radio "talent" today. When did this type of radio become more profitable than people like Harry Harrison, Herb Oscar Anderson or Eddie Hubbard? When did they stop testing well and stop relating to the audience? Did they ever? Or is that what we were told in order to justify a cheap shot approach to radio? It seems like schlock radio had the potential to always be profitable, but the industry tried to take a higher road to those profits in the past. Herb Oscar Anderson summed it up:

“In those days you had personalities. The person on the radio meant something to people.

“I always have followed the premise that I am a guest in someone’s home,” he added. “People on the radio sometimes forget that they are guests and they need to act accordingly.

“Shock radio has generated an audience, but you would generate an audience if you had an orgy in Times Square and held up signs over your head about it,” Herb said. “Don’t we, as a society, have more talent than that?”

Imus Has Nothing To Do With Political Correctness

2007-04-10T17:29:00.000-06:00

Don Imus is a public figure. President Bush and most politicians are public figures. The girls on the Rutgers basketball team aren't pubic figures, in addition to the fact that they're barely adults. The people who are complaining that there's a double standard don't understand the fact that the slander laws are interpreted differently for public figures than they are for private citizens. This is not an issue of political correctness, it's the fact that Imus said racist things about private citizen girls. The result would have been the same if he had said stupid things about white, Italian, Jewish, Polish or American private citizens. Nevertheless, it doesn't mean that Imus, or any other public figure can't sue somebody for slander, it's just that it would be difficult to win the case in court.

And as a matter of contrast, compare the style of Don Imus with that of Eddie Hubbard. What passes for radio talent today is nothing more than mental cases taking cheap shots at people.

It's The Same Old Song

2007-04-08T15:27:00.000-06:00

Consolidation is killing radio. Cookie cutter formats are terrible...blah blah blah. The bottom line is what you may consider crap is actually working. If Clear Channel can pay $70 million for one radio station and because of their cost cutting, find a way to make a profit, why wouldn't they put that formula to work in other stations in other cities?

People complain about the lack of quality on the radio, but when given the opportunity to listen to "quality" programming like NPR what do they do? They turn it off and listen to Lex and Terry or Opie and Anthony or Don Imus. It's the same as complaining about negative political ads. People swear they don't listen to negative ads, but what do they respond to? You guessed it: negative ads. "He's a tax and spend Librul, soft on defense." "He didn't deserve his Purple Heart" Well I guess I can't vote for him then, especially if he's for murdering innocent ~~fetuses~~ babies.

The big myth is that the radio airwaves belong to the public. (That's AIRWAVES, not AIRWAYS, by the way) The only thing that's public about the airwaves is that they're licensed by the FCC, but the real owners, the individuals and corporations who own the radio stations will respond to what makes a profit for them. They'll say they want listener input, but if that's in opposition to what they want, it'll never happen.

It's like the radio station that's about to change format with the typical sawing and hammering sound effects and the standard, "We're building a new radio station and we want to know what you want to hear." Do you really think they're going to respond to the people who have an opinion, or is the format already decided upon and about to be aired?

Going to satellite radio might be the answer for some. Especially the person who wants quantity but as far as I'm concerned, I don't see a reason to pay $15 a month to get the same garbage I can get for free, except that it comes in a bigger garbage can.

So what's the answer for radio? If I had the answer, I wouldn't be sitting here typing on a 6 year old computer. But then, I'm semiretired and it's not my problem anymore.

Eddie Hubbard

2007-03-29T20:45:00.000-06:00

(Eddie's email address was mrradio@flash.net. I don't know if his family will receive messages sent there, but the announcement of his death came from that email address)

Eddie was one of the last of the true radio broadcasters. He was somebody who didn't have to rely on gimmicks, gossip, blue humor or pop culture to entertain his listeners. Eddie was pop culture. Even though Eddie's radio career dated to the 1940s, he embraced the technology of the internet and was one of the first disc jockeys to have his own website. Eddie was one of the top Chicago radio personalities and also was the network announcer for the Perry Como TV show, which brought him to New York every week. His knowledge of radio and entertainment was unsurpassed. Listening to him and speaking to him was a pleasure. He was in the mold of William B. Williams, Wally Crouter, Gene Rayburn or Harry Harrison, but Eddie had his own style. He could never be replaced by an Audiovault.

By way of The Hubbard Family:
It saddens us to inform you, his friends and listeners, Eddie Hubbard has passed away Monday 3/26/2007. Eddie and his wife Lill were in a car accident the prior week. Lill survived the accident and is recuperating with family members. His loving family surrounded Eddie at the time of his passing. Eddie Hubbard was a radio announcer most of his life. Starting his career in Baltimore Maryland then moving to Chicago where he was with WIND/ WGN/FM100/WJJD for many years. Eventually moving to Dallas/Fort Worth, Eddie joined ABC Radio Satellite Music Network. Eddie was loved by millions and will be extremely missed. A private memorial was held. In lieu of sending flowers, donate to your favorite charity in Eddie Hubbard’s name.

The Hubbard Family

WGN Tribute

ABC Radio staff photos

Wikipedia entry

Reproduced here is one of Eddie's editorials, as well as some pictures from the past.

PRIME TIME
When I was a kid prime time for radio was between 6PM and 10PM.
The reason? That's when the entire family could listen. The kids, mom and pop. Grandma and grandpa. And they did. The programming was aimed at pleasing the entire family. When TV came into being prime time for radio is 6 til 10 AM and 4 to 6 PM.

Television claims the 6 til 10 PM now.I hate Madison Avenue ad agencies telling me when is the best time to watch and listen. I pick my OWN prime time……2 o'clock in the morning until 5 AM.
I realize most of you are depriving yourselves of the best entertainment and commercials by wasting time lying in your bed sleeping.

Okay, Lazy Bones, let me tell you what you're missing.Do you know that you can earn $4,000 a week..the first week. Another gathered $2,000 a week and not leaving the house. There are a bunch of those. So I figured if I take advantage of all offers I see during that time period……….I’m good for about $100,000 a month. I can then take that money and buy a hovel of house for $8,000 and sell it for around $250,000. ( I bought one awhile back for $80,000. Now I have Barbara Streisand and Oprah Winfrey begging me to make a deal. Bill Gates tells me to wait. I'm asking for Howie Mandel’s opinion on that one )

There was a time when I was alert to any way to lose weight because I did pack on a few pounds that caused me to open my belt a notch or two. But I found a way to get back to normal so I don't really pay too much attention to the weight loss problem that many folks have. But as a public service for you I took my calculator to bed with me to discover how many pounds you could lose. First, a pill that guarantees 40 pounds off in one month, A set of bar balls, dumbbells and treadmills with proper diet….there goes 25 off. A new liquid assures you that fat rolls off as you sleep. If you don't lose 20 pounds right away…send it back for a refund. My calculator shows that if you take advantage of all those offers at one time……in six months you can disappear entirely.

Then you can’t enjoy all of that money you made and you will certainly miss the re-runs of Lucy, What’s My Line and Groucho . . Remember PRIME TIME 2AM til 5AM
Now don’t doze off.

Great radio lives in rustic Vermont

2007-03-28T08:11:00.000-06:00

Via Valerie Block

It's funny, because 102.7, the old WNEW, was my favorite radio station in New York. That was before the suits at CBS, then Infinity Broadcasting Corp., killed it.

I rarely listen to New York radio now. Too bland, too repetitive, too many commercials.

So when I heard that Joel Hollander, chief executive of CBS Radio, which owns six New York signals, is itching to get out of his contract — or is being pushed, according to the blogs — I wasn't surprised. And I don't think he'll be missed.

Supposedly, the industry veteran doesn't see eye to eye with his boss, Leslie Moonves, a guy who doesn't understand radio. One has to wonder how well Mr. Hollander, one of the architects of WFAN's early success, understands the medium these days. Though he inherited several problem stations when he took the helm two years ago, the CBS Radio chief's trail of botched programming decisions in New York alone should be enough to earn him a walk down the plank.

He pulled the plug on beloved oldies station WCBS-FM, incensing high-profile fans like Sen. Charles Schumer and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He tried to fit has-been rocker David Lee Roth into Howard Stern's oversized shoes. He's behind the rotating failed formats on WNEW-FM. These über-errors would seem to add up to job suicide to me.

Podcasting growth slower than expected: study

2007-03-23T18:02:00.000-06:00

While the debate between satellite radio and terrestrial radio continues, I've believed for a long time now that the biggest threat to radio is not Satellite Radio but podcasting. At this point in the evolution of the technology, most people feel that they have to be computer geeks in order to download and listen to podcasts on their MP3 devices, if they even have an MP3 device. They view regular radio and Satellite radio as something that they just need to push a button and they have their music. But I think the advantage of having what you want, when you want it, will help listeners overcome the reluctance of listening to podcasts.

The audience for podcasting is still small, but it has a similar penetration to Satellite Radio. And nobody had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to launch satellites or hire Oprah Winfrey or Howard Stern.

From the CBC:

"The number of Americans who have downloaded a podcast rose only slightly in 2007 despite growing awareness of the media format, a study published this week found.

Only 13 per cent of those polled had 'ever' downloaded an audio podcast, up from 11 per cent last year, according to the findings Edison Media Research presented to the Corporate Podcasting Summit in London on Monday.

First podcasts started in summer 2004
Podcasting is a relatively new phenomenon that started in late summer 2004. Among digital audio formats, podcasts are unique in that they can be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading feed formats such as RSS (Really Simple Syndication).

Within six months of its inception, programs available through podcasting grew from about three dozen to well over 3,500.

While early podcasters typically distributed syndicated audio files and radio shows, podcasters now routinely deliver many kinds of digital multimedia content, including video, images and text."

Larry ‘Bud’ Melman of Letterman fame dies

2007-03-21T21:42:00.001-06:00

NEW YORK - The balding, bespectacled nebbish who gained cult status as the oddball Larry “Bud” Melman on David Letterman’s late-night television shows has died after a long illness.

The Brooklyn-born Calvert DeForest, who was 85, died Monday at a hospital on Long Island, the Letterman show announced Wednesday. He made dozens of appearances on Letterman’s shows from 1982 through 2002, handling a variety of twisted duties: dueting with Sonny Bono on “I Got You, Babe,” doing a Mary Tyler Moore impression during a visit to Minneapolis, handing out hot towels to arrivals at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

“Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself — a genuine, modest and nice man,” Letterman said in a statement. “To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him.”

Be Thankful

2007-03-20T00:58:00.000-06:00

One never knows when the grim reaper will come calling.

Victor K. Pryles passed away of an apparent heart attack in Boston the other day. He was 57. Victor K., aka Harry Nelson, was a broadcaster, writer and consultant. He probably would agree with Willaim DeVaughn that we should be thankful for what we've got. Victor spent the last years of his life in Boston, working for WROR.

Take that cruise, spend time with your family and friends, run with the bulls if that's what you've always wanted to do (I've never understood that one), but do it. And don't forget - it's only radio.

Digital Radio And TV

2007-03-14T19:16:00.000-06:00

While the discussion over HD radio continues, the end is near for analog TV. Your regular TV will stop receiving a signal on February 9, 2009, unless you get a converter. It reminds me of the early UHF TV days when you had to purchase a converter to view any channel past 13. People actually spent money to get the converter in order to see public service announcements and cameras pointed at handwritten index cards containing lost and found announcements. Will HD radio be the silver bullet broadcasters are looking for? I don't think so. It'll just be Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and positioning statements in better fidelity. Just like satellite radio is quantity, not quality. It's just the same programming you find on regular radio, just a lot more of it.

Rabbit-ear TVs about to reach end of the road

Amateur Disc Jockeys

2007-03-11T19:02:00.000-06:00

If they can find a way to charge you for the product and then have it produced by amateur disc jockeys or out of work musicians, then they have a cheap product with lots of profit potential. Or do they? The question that still hasn't been answered is, will the listeners pay and will they listen? In spite of the fact that both satellite companies continue to paint a rosy picture, they're still bleeding red ink and they need to combine if they hope to ever make a profit. Here's a sample of the philosophy at Sirius:

"These days Mr. Nixon -- born 49 years ago as Neill Kirby McMillan Jr. -- gets to work in his living room by 9 a.m. and is finished by 11. He has something to eat, takes a nap and watches CNN or reruns of "The Andy Griffith Show." He lives in a 700-square-foot gray bungalow with a screen door with a hole in it and a large picture of Elvis in the front window on the otherwise picturesque peninsula of Coronado, across the bay from San Diego.

There's no high-tech studio here, no sound baffling or soundboard -- just a few electronic components and a wind-socked microphone to capture Nixon's patter and periodic "yee-haws!" between songs."

Read the whole story

It appears that the satellite companies believe people want to hear musicians express themselves on the radio, rather than hear disc jockeys or radio personalities in the traditional sense. And that may be true. As long as regular radio continues it's 25 year march to depersonalize it's product, a guy in a small room with a broken screen door and a microphone can be viable competition. I have a feeling the response to all of this may have to be a 21st century Bill Drake.

The Internet for $200 A Year

2007-03-08T16:23:00.001-06:00

This 1993 CBC clip about the Internet was way ahead of it's time. Will we be able to look back on radio and the Internet in 15 years and be amused at how much things have changed? And how can we get the Internet for $200 a year? Also, notice the reference to the fact that once the information is out there, that's where it stays. A very advanced report for the day.

Internet Radio Will Survive

2007-03-08T07:09:00.000-06:00

They're predicting the demise of Internet radio after the Copyright Royalty Board announced new rates that Internet radio broadcasters must pay owners of recording copyrights (usually record labels) for the music they play. The fees are as follows:

2006 $.0008 per performance
2007 $.0011 per performance
2008 $.0014 per performance
2009 $.0018 per performance
2010 $.0019 per performance

A performance is defined as the streaming of one song to one listener; thus a station that has an average audience of 500 listeners racks up 500 "performances" for each song it plays.

These fees won't bankrupt regular broadcasters like NPR, The BBC, The CBC and others of that caliber, especially if they're able to make money with ads on their websites. On the other hand, the radio wannabes who are sitting in their basements, living off their parent's inheritance, will have trouble making the payments. Even if they have as few as 20 listeners, which is probably an accurate rating of their audience, that means they'll be paying 20¢ per song played. If they play 15 songs per hour, that comes to $3 per hour or about $9 per show, if they're on the air for 3 hours. Chances are pretty good they're not taking in $9 per show in ad revenue or subscription fees so unless they enjoy listening to themselves, it won't be financially feasible to continue. And these fees don't include the cost of bandwidth, hosting and the time it actually takes to do the show.

Some people may protest these fees, but for the most part, the average person won't care if these ersatz broadcasters disappear. As long as regular broadcasters find it worthwhile to continue web casting, few people will care if the guy who rolls his ska or smooth jazz collection on the Internet goes away.

Don't Change That Dial

2007-03-07T21:35:00.000-06:00

Via CNN Money

A funny thing has happened in the world of radio. Satellite radio companies were supposed to put terrestrial radio operators out of business.
But on Wall Street, investors appear to have higher hopes for stodgy "old" radio firms. Indeed, the two satellite radio companies, Sirius (Charts) and XM (Charts) are trying to merge in an apparent attempt to be more competitive against free radio services.

Radio Needs More Unions

2007-03-01T08:12:00.000-06:00

Here's an interesting comment from Max World.

Having worked in the North and worked under Union Contracts, I'm very familiar with the good and the bad of unions. It may be fashionable to pass along the shortcomings of union contracts, but when all the stories have been told, the good far outweighs the bad.

I worked in Broadcasting and met my share of sleazy operators. But I must admit I was very lucky and had the privilege of working for a bunch of good guys. And if I do say so myself, God gave me a bit of talent that helped keep me in great jobs throughout my career.

Today's broadcasters don't have many of the same advantages; deregulation took care of that. I've known many men and women who have worked their butts off behind the mike; worked long hours without turn-around; held down a dozen other responsibilities; worked public functions for charity and showed up the next day dog tired.

Broadcasters need a union. Wal-Mart workers need a union. Auto mechanics need a union. Workers at McDonald's need a union.

There are Religious people in this country who profess their faith and yet will hire workers for menial salaries and stick exorbitant profits in their pockets.
Come on folks, own up!!!

Satellite Merger Concerns

2007-02-20T17:55:00.000-06:00

Besides getting regulatory approval for what will be a monopoly, the big question among satellite radio subscribers will be what will happen to their receivers and how much is all this going to cost? Both companies are heavily in debt and bankruptcy would leave their customers holding hundreds of dollars of worthless receivers. Mel Karmazin at Sirius may be in the driver's seat at this point. XM may need Sirius more than Sirius needs XM. We may soon know the answer to what was the better deal: $500 million to get Howard Stern to Sirius, or $650 million for XM's Major League Baseball.

Will digital kill the radio star?

2007-02-20T06:52:00.000-06:00

Via the BBC

Digital technology is turning commercial broadcasting upside down. But the fightback has begun. Radio stations are trying something new - and firing some of their disc jockeys. Now the idea is crossing the Atlantic.

Online, satellite, cable and DAB stations are booming like never before. As a result, traditional "analogue" stations are counting the cost in lost advertising revenue and are having to re-think traditional ideas of music broadcasting.

Ever since radio stations started broadcasting popular music, they've employed disc jockeys to tell us what songs they are playing and to generally keep us entertained.

As the industry has opened up to competition, more local and national stations have taken to the airwaves, playing music tailored to every taste from Easy Listening and the Top 40 to smooth jazz and specific kinds of garage and dance music.

Yet it seems as ever more of us choose to listen to a wider range of tunes on our personal music players, the very proliferation and specialisation of on-air stations may be contributing to their downfall.

Formulaic stations with unvarying playlists and inexperienced DJs are increasingly unattractive to the rising generation of listeners.

With the home computer now the preferred device for storing music collections, many are choosing to be their own DJs, programming their personal listening by downloading ( or "ripping") the tunes they like to iPods or MP3 devices they can use on the move.

But, in the United States and Canada in particular, the industry is fighting back. In an attempt to woo listeners, a number of them are broadening their playlists, putting all the tunes on shuffle and ditching the DJs altogether.

Read more

Guerrila Marketing

2007-02-09T10:07:00.000-06:00

Things may be different now, but I remember GMs and PDs trying to whip up their staff to use psychological warfare against our competition. Everything from the usual sending black roses to the competition to crashing their remotes and just spreading lies about them in the community.

Every once in a while, they'd bring in a motivational speaker or a consultant; a rah rah type who would spend hours trying to galvanize the staff to get on the air and kill the competition, or engage in some underhanded tactics designed to throw the competition off course. Of course they never gave is specific methods on how to accomplish all this, they just wanted us to do it.

I never took any of this propagandizing seriously, and apparently neither did the rest of the staff. Yes, they were fired up for a day or two, but like buying a new car on a 7 year note, you come to the realization after a few days that it was an empty sales pitch. Then one day, I came across the GM, Sales Manager and PD from my station as well as their counterparts from the competition having lunch at a fancy restaurant in town. They were plotting strategy, just like they were brainwashing us to do, but their strategy had to do with keeping their respective staffs fired up and at each other's throats, while they dined and remained above it all.

It made me realize that all the motivational talks and speeches about beating the competition was just a deception on management's part, to keep us knocking ourselves out and working cheaply. I do remember thinking at the time, that if they really did want to motivate their staff, they'd pay them a decent salary and not treat them like they were disposable loofas. It's hard to motivate somebody when they're trying to come up with a way to pay the rent, make the car payment and buy food. But then, fear is a great motiviator.

The Public Airwaves

2007-02-08T03:21:00.000-06:00

Looking around some of the radio forums, there's a discussion of whether that market needs another foreign language station. The opinions seem to be that if the station makes money, it's in the public interest and it'll continue, if it doesn't make money, it'll switch format.

Market forces can't apply to radio since radio frequencies are controlled by the government. It's not like opening a restaurant where all it takes is money. Radio station licenses are strictly limited so the rules of supply and demand and competition are different. Since you or I can't just open a radio station, even if we had the money, then maybe the objectives of those who can should be more than just making money.

How about serving the community? That just might lead to making money as well, but if it doesn't, maybe it's time for the FCC to step in and help subsidize stations that aren't just voice tracking AC or Hip Hop. Maybe it should be similar to the broadcasting standards in Canada, where the CRTC not only approves frequencies and ownership, but also formats. Before a station can change format, the government has to approve it. Same with a new license.

Taking Care of Our Own

2007-01-30T07:34:00.000-06:00

No other industry cares for its own the way ours does -- that's what makes the entertainment industry so unique.

Is that the philosophy of a radio station General Manager? Owner? Radio Group? No, it's the motto of The Motion Picture & Television Fund. This is an organization that was started with a simple coin box in Hollywood for performers to put in their spare change. It has grown to become the entertainment industry's leader in providing for financial assistance, health care and even a residence for retired people in the motion picture and television industry. Unfortunately this doesn't include radio. Have a look at the history of The Motion Picture & Television Fund. Is there any reason radio can't have something similar? Or is it that the Hollywood people were more motivated and are more generous than radio people?

Whenever we get word of somebody in radio who's fallen on hard times, then there's a rush to do a benefit of some kind, but then that person is forgotten. What would it take to have a permanent fund to help veteran radio people in a financial emergency? And why not a permanent retirement residence for broadcasters who, thorough no fault of their own, either never made enough money, or spent what they had on medical bills or other emergencies, and are left with very little?

I'd be the first to contribute a small percentage of my pay, maybe 1% of my net pay, but it won't do much good if the burden is carried by a few. What are the chances that the top billing 1% of radio stations or communications corporations would contribute 1/10th of 1% of their net revenue to a fund for retirement care or social and charitable services for the people who helped them create their wealth? Is all of this possible, or are radio people too greedy and out for themselves?

Mr. DJ Is Gone For Good

2007-01-25T04:16:00.000-06:00

John Majhor lost his battle with a deadly form of cancer at his home in Minnesota on Tuesday. He was only 53. He was the subject of the National Ledger article "Sorry Forbes, Mr. DJ is Gone for Good," which was written November 30, 2006.

Many of the old school personality disc jockeys are gone, either through death, or because they found selling real estate more rewarding than today's radio. They were the ones who didn't need to shock or use vulgar language to entertain, because they didn't have to. They had the talent to make for compelling radio with their presentation, utilizing every element around them. Even live commercials. The music, the artist information, was secondary to the presentation. And pop culture information and phone bits? Just crutches of today that were completely unnecessary back in personality radio days.

John Major audio clips
Read the story in the Toronto Star
Read the story from City TV
Leave a message of condolence on John's MySpace page

WNEW's Run is Over

2007-01-17T01:51:00.000-06:00

Many radio stations don't use call letters anymore so it always amazes me when a station gives up a set of heritage call letters. WNEW-FM in NEW York is the latest to do this. They're known as "Fresh FM" and now they've officially changed their call letters to WWFS. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue like WNEW, but it doesn't have to, since the official ID will probably continue to be read at the speed of sound, muddy, digitally clipped of any pauses, and dropped in the middle of a 10 minute commercial break.

So why not just continue to do that with the WNEW call letters? I guess they thought that if they dropped the WNEW call letters, then symbolically they they've made the break with the old school.

Just the same, I would keep a great set of call letters, even if the marketing people thought that it symbolized a failed format. Just continue to bury the call letter and hype whatever you're calling yourself today: Fresh, Hot, Jammin', Froggy, Smooth Jazz, Movin', Groovin', Havin' A Ball, or whatever.

Format change or not, I can't imagine stations like WBZ, KDKA, WACO, WABC, WBAP, KLIF, KOMA or CHUM giving up their call letters. But when image, marketing and the perception of a big win are concerned, you never know.

Gene Rayburn, William B. Williams, Gene Klavan, and Ted Brown are probably turning in their graves.

Read the story in the NY Daily News.

Percy Saltzman, Canada's first TV weatherman, dies

2007-01-17T01:14:00.000-06:00

Via the CBC

Percy Saltzman, who was the first person to appear on Canada's inaugural television broadcast in 1952 and was the country's first TV weatherman, has died at 91.

When CBC-TV launched English language broadcasting in Canada on Sept. 8, 1952, Percy Saltzman was the first person to appear.When CBC-TV launched English language broadcasting in Canada on Sept. 8, 1952, Percy Saltzman was the first person to appear.

Saltzman's television broadcasting career spanned 30 years. Using no notes, no teleprompter, he did the weather from memory, ending the report with his trademark toss of the chalk.

"He was the first of the weathermen," said CTV anchor Lloyd Robertson, who worked with Saltzman.

"He made it all happen. In fact everyone today is a successor of Percy Saltzman. He was the the original."

Read the complete story

Percy Saltzman official website

Percy Saltzman in the CBC Archive

Memo from The Consultant

2007-01-15T00:24:00.000-06:00

After spending the weekend holed up at the Wayfarer Inn, just outside of town, and airchecking the station, I wanted to pass along the following observations. I've been hired by your station owner to help find a more profitable plan as we move forward in 2007. We also want to create synergy among the cluster properties while maintaining our high profile in the community. I would like to meet with you as soon as possible so that we may strategize a way to achieve our goals.

First: since we're in the communication business, all of our personalities must curtail the use of clichés. This includes, but is not limited to the following:

The temperature outside
currently
Up next
synergy
move forward
cluster
properties
strategize

Also, listeners don't want to hear professional announcers. Our recent call out research indicated that people want to hear regular people on the air. You know, people like they hang out with at the hardware store. So from now on, please destroy all copies of the NBC Pronunciation Handbook. Starting immediately, you are to incorporate as many of the following phrases as possible into all promos, liners, positioning statements and on air intros:

yo
What up?
mama
dawg
another long set of music

Also avoid the phrase, "Coming to you live." Do you expect listeners to hear you if you're coming to them dead? Not only that, it'll make it easier for us when we replace you with a computer.

I'd also like for you to deliver everything you do on the air with "attitude." This will endear you more to our target demo and make everything you say have meaning to them. Starting next week, we'll have a montage of our listeners on the studio wall. Be sure to look at it every time you open the mic. You'll see pictures of 35 year old divorced moms in their minivans with their teenage daughters. Always remember, these are the people you're talking to so relate to them. Our research has shown that their number one concern is money, followed by family.

Also, always record incoming phone calls. Good phoners will set you apart from every other disc jockey in the country. I'm instituting a policy of at least 3 phone bits every hour. It doesn't matter if they're just calling to ask where the best barbecue joint is, put them on the air. And always get them to mention their name. That way they'll tell "cousin Mamie" that they were on the air and the word will spread. This is called "viral marketing." I don't care how many calls you have to take before you get three on the air. Call your friends and neighbors if you have to, but get them on the air. And remember to coach them if you have to. Sound excited on the phone! I know you're making $9 an hour and you have to hide your car at your aunt's house because you don't want it repossessed, but damn it, get excited and work the call. By the way, good luck with the upcoming gall bladder operation. Sorry we had to cancel your health insurance, but times are tough.

In the UK, AM radio's End May Be Near

2007-01-09T18:04:00.000-06:00

Via Media Life Magazine

Way in the past, one did not talk about AM radio. It was just radio when families gathered around at night, often in the kitchen, to listen to the day's top entertainers, the singers, and comics and famed newscasters.

AM was radio back in the 1950s, when tail fins were cool and cars cruised Main Street, their radios blasting out hits like Fats Domino's “Blueberry Hill." Even into the 70s, well after the advent of the better-sounding FM, folks still tuned to the big AM stations for the top 40 hits.

But now AM radio's audience has shrunk so much in the UK that there's talk of simply phasing it out. Ofcom, Britain’s communications regulator, is set to launch a debate on the fate of analogue radio broadcasting, particularly AM, and whether it should be discontinued.

Read the complete article

How About a Reason to Listen?

2007-01-08T14:24:00.000-06:00

On my way to work yesterday, I plugged in my iPod shuffle and stopped to consider that it's been a couple of weeks since I even turned on the car radio, other than to get the iPod audio through the cassette adapter. I don't know how long it's been since I listened to the radio at home, but it's been months, at least. What reason has the radio industry given me to listen at home or in the car? Music? I can load up my iPod with hours of songs and play them in any order. Plus I don't have to hear giggling sidekicks and "Survivor" recaps. Traffic reports? I can get them on my cell phone, with maps included. And as a bonus, I don't have to listen to 7 minutes of commercials before "traffic and weather on the eights." How about the weather? I can get that on my cell phone as well from Accuweather or The Weather Channel. Plus, I can be sure that the weather I get from those services is not outdated and hasn't been digitally stored in an Audio Vault for two days and then played back when it's outdated. I suppose the only reason I would have to listen to the radio today would be to hear the gassbags Limbo or Michael Weiner. I can now listen to independent radio stations that are broadcasting on the internet which don't need to target the lucrative 25-49 female demo. Soon, I'll be able to get a portable internet radio that'll receive streaming audio from the internet, thereby giving me yet another reason not to listen to regular radio. I'm not going to subscribe to satellite radio. It's not the cost of the receiver, or the $15 a month subscription fee. It's just that I don't perceive the value in paying for 100 channels of junk, when I don't even listen to it for free.

Mr. DJ is Gone For Good

2007-01-07T14:19:00.000-06:00

Via National Ledger

By Lee Kent Hempfling

Forbe's Magazine has called for the return of 'Mr. DJ'. Here is why 'Mr DJ' is gone and why 'Mr DJ' might never return.

A great friend is dying from cancer. This friend, John Majhor who has made his career a model for the saving of radio itself, is lamenting what is really killing him. He knows what it is more than his doctors do. Most other 'disk jockeys' out there know what is killing the industry as well. But like the doctors, the industry does not, as it cannot know what it does not have.

Passion.

Radio is nothing at all to do with the music it plays, or the talk it offers. It has nothing to do with the fillers placed between the commercials. It has everything to do with only one thing: the revenue. It always has. The problem is in perception; of how to receive the revenue. In any industry, when the focus changes from what makes the revenue to simply collecting the revenue then what makes the revenue looses out and the revenue itself stops.

When commercial radio began, (and by that I mean, personality driven entertainment) it was all about the entertainment. Radio was made of the passion behind the voices that resulted in the passion of the audience. It stayed that way through the great KHJ and Ron Jacobs' stable of Morgan and Kelly. It was their passion that created the difference between stations playing the same music between commercials.

Passion.

Read more....

Dr. Frank Stanton

2007-01-07T14:06:00.000-06:00

It's the old school of broadcasting. It's unfortunate that many people don't realize it ever existed.

Via the Huffington Post

I joined CBS in 1968, as Director, International Sales, CBS Enterprises. I had been a Vice President at Screen Gems International located a couple of blocks north, and one block east of the CBS headquarters in "Blackrock," yet it was like moving from 12th Avenue to Park Avenue to work for this class company.
In 1970, Nixon's FCC had forced CBS to relinquish its syndication unit (Enterprises) which was to be spun out into Viacom. Paranoids like me were and are convinced that the FCC's rulings were purely political, and contained a message to all broadcasters, but to CBS in particular that they should not oppose the war in Vietnam. It is now over 35 tears later, and the networks are owned by GE, News Corp, Viacom, and The Walt Disney Company, and they will not say very much if anything that might be construed as critical about our current war.
I was involved in the selling the CBS News and documentary programs overseas, an interesting and exciting activity.

I was called one morning by a very senior officer at our company and instructed to be in Dr. Stanton's office at 3pm that afternoon to discuss "domestic news sales" which I knew nothing about. When I complained, the executive told me that everyone else was out of town and "I was it!"

To make a silly metaphor of the situation, it was like the President of the Unites States wanting to speak about something regarding the Pentagon, and the only person available at the time was a junior civil servant from the Department of Agriculture...

At 3pm I was waiting outside of Dr. Stanton's office, overwhelmed with the idea of meeting him in order to discuss something I knew nothing about. I was ushered into his magnificent office by his secretary who introduced me to him by saying: "Dr. Stanton, this is Mr. Horowitz," and he walked out from behind his desk to shake my hand and say, "Mr. Horowitz, I am so pleased to meet you, please have a seat. We sat across a glass coffee table from one another, and he asked me what my thoughts were regarding CBS News Distribution. I replied that I had no knowledge of domestic distribution, and that I was only involved in international distribution. He smiled and said, "Mr. Horowitz, that is exactly what I wanted to speak to you about, but he understood what happens to requests of this sort when they are passed along through the chain of command of a big company. I told him that had I known what he wanted I would have been better prepared.

In order to put me at ease he related a story of when he worked in research, and people were always asking him questions about the population of various cities in America. He went on to tell me that for $1 he bought a World Almanac, and became known as the smartest person on his floor. He said that memorizing information did not matter at all, and what mattered was to know where to find it and know what to do with it when you did. It was a great comment.

I was pleased to hear him ask me what I thought about how CBS News and Documentary output was received throughout the world. We spent the next couple of hours discussing the subject, and while he was certainly was concerned about the economic impact of the change, he was more interested in the worldwide availability of CBS News.

I suggested to him that while we sold this content for money, it was more important to us then selling another re-run of I Love Lucy. We represented CBS News, and they were the best at doing what they did in the news and documentary area.

We spoke about the FCC Financial Interest and Syndication rulings, and he was genuinely interested in what I had to say, and that was very nice for me, and a departure from most of my other meetings with senior people at CBS.

As I was leaving his office, he thanked me for me insights and my time and suggested if I had ant further thoughts on the matter to call him directly and not go through "the chain of command."

This meeting took place about 36 years ago, and I have always remembered his charm and grace, and the other interesting things we discussed in my only one on one meeting with him.

I can only think of the "good old days" when a network like CBS, and executives like Bill Paley and Frank Stanton could stand up to the congress and the president from time to time in order to continue to report to America just what they thought was going on.

Frank Stanton will be missed, not because he died, but because he "stood for something important," during his life and only let the feds push him around some of the time.

Norman Horowitz
CBS 1968-1970

The Death of Right-Wing Talk Radio Relevance

2006-12-10T14:34:00.000-06:00

Via the Huffington Post

R.I.P.: August, 1998 - December 4, 2006

Twelve years of unmerited influence and half-truths swathed in red, white and blue patriotism met its demise this past Tuesday with a dagger to the heart served up by revelations from the Iraq Study Group substantiating that everything right wing talk radio had said was right about the Iraqi, was wrong.

Born the day Rush Limbaugh mid-wifed Newt Gingrich's Contract For (On) America, RWTRR lived a healthy and wealthy life duping a great portion of the America public into voting against their own best interests.

"Thank you Bob"...."It's Mort"

2006-12-09T08:05:00.000-06:00

Today's consultants hate him because he sounded like "an announcer." Well Ted Knight was an actor who knew how to play an announcer. And what about Ted Baxter is not likeable? Today, you have to use slang and street language in order to relate to the audience, or so they say.
,
Ted fills in on KYW, Philadelphia.