1 of 1- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline 
Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
You may not agree with his article from RadioInk.com, but it certainly makes some interesting points. It's by a guy who just retired after more than 50 years of doing afternoon drive and now complains that there's nothing to listen to.
“Program Directors” ... increasingly adopted strategies to manipulate those few diary keepers out there. Inane and ubiquitous contests, incessantly annoying and redundant station ID phrasing, the famed “rubber clock,” stop-sets, etc., all became the demands of the PD. Anonymous diary keepers became the target audience. Program directing became ratings manipulating. Now a PD, in name only, is really a Ratings Manipulator...
"If all your station has to say is something relating to a contest (“listen tomorrow morning for…”); a catchphrase designed to make me remember your otherwise unremarkable station (“your listen-while-you-work station”); a promo, especially (this is a manipulator favorite) “appointment listening” (“ tune in at 5:27 for”… another boring interview”); or any of many bullshit manipulation-generated statements, your station is unlistenable to me."
Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
- kevjo
- Member
Offline
Re: Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
RadioActive wrote:
"If all your station has to say is something relating to a contest (“listen tomorrow morning for…”); a catchphrase designed to make me remember your otherwise unremarkable station (“your listen-while-you-work station”); a promo, especially (this is a manipulator favorite) “appointment listening” (“ tune in at 5:27 for”… another boring interview”); or any of many bullshit manipulation-generated statements, your station is unlistenable to me."
Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
I'm in complete agreement that it's the consultants and the higher ups who created this situation. They've bred a crop of air personalities who aren't allowed to say a lot beyond promoting station contests and features. Branding is first last and almost everything. Even when someone is given a spot to speak on other issues it's always a brief summary of trending on social media trending or celebrity gossip which can be heard any number of different places. Why does anyone under 35 want to listen to this when they can see the same topics on their devices? The fact that many of the stations owned by the big corps often have shows that are voice tracked from another part of the country, again with the same generic content.
Sure it keeps the shareholders happy but there has to come a point where the product has been so watered down there's hardly anyone interested anymore and how do you sell that?
- boom boy
- Member
Offline
Re: Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
If I may... Not all stations are created equal. Not all PDs, on air talent and Consultants are created equally either. This quote is from ONE disgruntled jock making a broad stroke observation. YES, PPM meters are important, it's how stations are rated, ranked and purchases made from advertisers. Yes, it's important to get people to listen at appointed times. When you designate those appointments, make the moment fun, content worthy and something hopefully memorable that makes listeners want to return or talk about it so others will be interested and listen. If a PD isn't somewhat of a ratings manipulator then they aren't doing their job. It's their job to create GREAT radio, motivate the talent, get ratings, make the station money as it is a buisness.
Every form of entertainment (radio, TV, movies, podcast...) wants you to "tune in" or "watch", "return" or "don't miss" otherwise, what's the sense? Let's just keep trying to make radio fun, interactive and interesting - there will always be exceptions to the rule. Not every station/jock will NAIL IT, but don't let them ruin it for those that are trying hard to accomplish that.
- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline
Re: Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
And judging by the numbers, the PD at BOOM is certainly doing exactly what you're talking about. It's a remarkable success story in a very fragmented market.
- •
Thread Starter- geo
- Unregistered
Re: Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
When all of Southern Ontario & Western North York have access to entertaining & informative posts from the likes of Grilled Cheese, Old Codger & Uncle Fester, why would anyone tune in conventional radio or TV? SOWNY clearly has to go; competition is unfair to veteran broadcasters.
- kevjo
- Member
Offline
Re: Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
And judging by the numbers, the PD at BOOM is certainly doing exactly what you're talking about. It's a remarkable success story in a very fragmented market.
Exactly. While I don't consider myself to be a "disgruntled jock" (careful about jumping to conclusions) my comments addressed those stations that are offering homogenized programming and wondering why they can't get young people interested in tuning in. BOOM is one of the happy exceptions. While their format is tight, the personalities actually do display personality between the songs, often interspersed with phone bits and more. Is it coincidental that they are not owned by one of the big three corps? Similarly the stations owned by Durham Radio offer a bit of an alternative, particularly their oldies stations in Oshawa and Caledonia who frequently colour outside the lines in their song selection. Durham is an independent run by people with a passion for local radio and it shows. There are other examples but they are becoming increasingly outnumbered as consolidation continues to roll out.
- betaylored
- Member
Offline
Re: Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
I can ignore a fair amount of unpleasant, bland, and/or downright irritating things about commercial radio these days*, but going straight from music to spots, and back, the way music radio does, example: 102.1 No Edge, AND going from spots straight into the news, example: GNR am640 does this at the bottom of the hour, is bloody awful, and jarring.
Mainstream music radio's also ignoring the resurgence of 80's influenced music (M83, the Twilight Sad), and has Q107 added Greta Van Fleet to their playlist yet? Crap band yes, but still pretty popular these days.
Boom IS the best of the bunch, despite the narrow as a 1960's men's tie range of songs in their music library.
*certain on-air talent in Toronto radio using the word "uuhh" multiple times in a single sentence, on and on, and on.... without end...why don't PD's stop this? Are air checks a thing of the past?
- Prod Guy
- Unregistered
Re: Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
And old person doesn't like stations that aren't targeted at him.
Stop the presses.
- Ms. C.
- Unregistered
Re: Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
And old person doesn't like stations that aren't targeted at him
Mature gals dig Gene Stevens (today at 2:00) on AM 740
- Stinand
- Member
Offline
Re: Retired From Radio…& Never Listening!
I cant get over that many talk stations are so fascinated with the weather ? I have an app on my phone, but thanks for playing.