[BC] Thanks for your input

[Thomas G. Osenkowsky]

>I will relinquish this forum to the "engineers". I'll do what I do best.
(my late father's advice)

Many of us "engineers" have had experiences in other than
the technical arena. Many of us have been in on-air positions,
myself included. I have long held that "Oldies" stations fail
to do their research. They may rely on the Joel Whitburn
books which are based on Billboard charts. These, however,
do no reflect what the market was hearing. There were many
local hits that never charted on Billboard.

I use playlists from the market and surrounding markets as a
guide. Yes, there are core songs. Picture them as the main
meal. Then there are the 'midcharts and local hits which are
the seasonings. Together they make a wonderful meal. Too
much of one or the other drives listeners away. Stations with
tight playlists have very little to distinguish themselves from each
other. Only promotions, contests and personalities (and signal)
can tell them apart.

I programmed a small market standalone AM. It was not easy,
especially with many signals from outside the market, most of
them FM's. I had a very wide selection available to my staff and
did NOT have a format clock, restrictions, etc. I encouraged
individual choice.

On April 1 I rearranged lyrics in songs and the first caller to recognize
the hacked song won a small prize. I had suggestions as to playing
two or more songs together and the listener had to guess the
relationship. This was WAY before My Three Songs. For example,
The Cyrkle's "Red Rubber Ball" followed by Paul Simon's "Kodachrome"
or David Gates' "Took The Last Train" followed by The Mermaids'
"Popsicles and Icicles". Other contests were to name other song titles
mentioned in the song that just played. For example "One Monkey Don't
Stop No Show" sand in "Shame Shame Shame". It made listeners play
an active part in listening to the station. Later, it evolved into inviting
listeners to call in answering questions about specifics in commercials.
Sponsors loved it.

My point. Engineers, programming and sales are a combination that
must work together if there is to be a product and that product can
be marketed and sold.

Tom Osenkowsky, CPBE