1 of 1- RadioActive
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Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
Remember all those phone contests you tried to enter as a kid to win the latest hit record or concert tickets? This probably won't surprise you but you never really had the chance you think you did. When a DJ announced they would take the 100th caller, the producer of the show generally just picked a random phone up and told a random listener they'd won the prize.
So goes the confession of one disgruntled former jock, who indicates most of what you heard was the magic of radio - in other words, a complete lie!
"...the radio host or producer really doesn’t feel like counting that high,” he claims. Instead, they skip numbers. As calls pour in, the host starts spouting out random numbers until they reach 100. “So, when the radio host tells you, ‘Congratulations, you’re caller number 100,’ you’re probably, in reality, caller number 12. Congrats.”
But you probably suspected it all along...
Ex-DJ says there is no caller 100 during giveaways
- Glen Warren
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Re: Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
awhhhh.... what next? There is no Easter Bunny or Santa Claus?
- RadioAaron
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Re: Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
RadioActive wrote:
"...the radio host or producer really doesn’t feel like counting that high,” he claims. Instead, they skip numbers. As calls pour in, the host starts spouting out random numbers until they reach 100. “So, when the radio host tells you, ‘Congratulations, you’re caller number 100,’ you’re probably, in reality, caller number 12. Congrats.”
Or just leave the phones on hold until it makes sense that you've answered enough calls. Then, answer 3 or 4 until you find someone who will sound good on-air as a winner.
- Paul Jeffries
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Re: Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
No doubt someone will probably try to launch a class action lawsuit against a station for false advertising and claiming that they weren't given a fair chance to win whatever prize was being given away.
PJ
ClassicHitsOnline.com...The place where all the cool tunes hang out!
- Radiowiz
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Re: Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
Went on a tour of CKAN 1480 back in the early 90's.
Saw for myself that the late great Chris Andrews skipped numbers to eventually tell a caller they've won.
RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person.
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.
- Holliday
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Re: Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
We sometimes had a caller 92, and I would always do every caller. I’d answer “you’re caller number 58, try again etc” until we hit 92. I think there’s a small thrill for the listener that you are actually taking the calls, and them finding out how close they were.
Major pet peeve is people who would call knowing a contest was coming soon, and would just hang up every time you answered. The flawed logic that if your phone is ringing to the station when a contest is announced, you’ll have an edge. Soon as the contest happens, all lines dumped.
- Chrisphen
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Re: Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
No doubt someone will probably try to launch a class action lawsuit against a station for false advertising and claiming that they weren't given a fair chance to win whatever prize was being given away.
PJ
/Why should these things not be audited?
- RadioActive
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Re: Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
Similar to this, in the old days of the "request line," an antiquity that no longer exists except for a few specialty oldies shows, you'd phone up a station and ask to hear your favourite latest hit.
And they'd play it - but usually, only when it came up in the rotation anyway. Very rarely did they actually air something just because someone called in to hear it.
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Thread Starter- paterson1
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Re: Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
When I was working all nights even though the station never asked for requests, I did get a fair number. If a certain song fit the format and if I knew how to find it quickly, I would play a request. Didn't do dedications since that would open the flood gates.
In top 40 radio the calls were almost always for a current hit and often we had just played the song. In a case like that I would just mention something from the top ten that was coming up and that normally was fine with the caller.
Never did a 100th caller for a contest. Always thought as a listener that sounded bogus anyway. On air I would usually ask for a caller anywhere from 5 to 15 and I did answer the phones. The contest lines were either on hold prior to starting a contest, or I would clear the lines right after it was announced. If you were trying to tie up a line you were SOL.
In both Thunder Bay and Owen Sound, (CKPR and CFOS) were told by the phone company that they needed to upgrade the phone system. Both stations on occasion jammed the lines for contests, Ma Bell, and Thunder Bay telephone were none too pleased.
- Chrisphen
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Re: Radio Contests Fiction: "There Is No 100th Caller."
When I was working all nights even though the station never asked for requests, I did get a fair number. If a certain song fit the format and if I knew how to find it quickly, I would play a request. Didn't do dedications since that would open the flood gates.
In top 40 radio the calls were almost always for a current hit and often we had just played the song. In a case like that I would just mention something from the top ten that was coming up and that normally was fine with the caller.
Never did a 100th caller for a contest. Always thought as a listener that sounded bogus anyway. On air I would usually ask for a caller anywhere from 5 to 15 and I did answer the phones. The contest lines were either on hold prior to starting a contest, or I would clear the lines right after it was announced. If you were trying to tie up a line you were SOL.
In both Thunder Bay and Owen Sound, (CKPR and CFOS) were told by the phone company that they needed to upgrade the phone system. Both stations on occasion jammed the lines for contests, Ma Bell, and Thunder Bay telephone were none too pleased.
The first time I called in a request was to CKPR. Talking Heads' 'Burning Down the House'. They promptly played it.