[BC] A thought about formats

[Barry Mishkind]

At 07:40 AM 1/12/2006, Davis, Steve - SVP wrote

>Formats are being determined via this mechanism as we speak.  We will
>soon be able to enjoy more variety and commercial-free content on free
>radio!  My hope for all of us is that this new content will ehance the
>relevance of free radio to the listening public, thus helping those of
>us on this list currently employed in the free radio industry to
>continue to work in this business which many of us love.

         Thanks, Steve, for touching an important note
         in this discussion.

         Having the "right" format is never an easy task.
         Opinions differ.  All of us have had our stations
         attacked at one point or another because we
         don't play "the new music" of local bands as
         much as they'd like.

         As individuals, we each have our own opinion
         of what is the best format ... the one that will
         hold our interest.  That STILL does not mean
         that our format is good or bad. It is just our
         format, subject to the mass market's
         reaction by listening (or not).

         My listening tastes have changed somewhat over the
         years ... but I also suspect the audiences have
         changed even more so.

         Overall TV ratings show that the proliferation of
         media has affected their "totals."  It is the same
         with Radio. Satellite radio, ipods, mp3 players,
         WiFi, etc have had an effect. And this will continue.

         I think broadcasters have to remember that they
         are broadcasters, and niche formats generally cannot
         ever be as successful as formats that attract
         a wide range of people.  Cume still outranks
         TSL in the long run, doesn't it?

         Yes, some of us have more experience in
         programming, and can see some of the
         "errors" being made. But that doesn't
         mean we ought to say nasty things about
         a station or corporation just because they
         don't play the "Trash Alley Kids" or somesuch.

         As new program formats are added to the
         additional digital channels, perhaps some
         programmers will take the challenge and
         enhance some existing formats or create
         new ones.

         From my personal viewpoint as a listener,
         I'd have to say the area stations really
         should consider for enhancing their
         impact on listeners is their handling of spots.

         ... and those of you who are in the business
         need to readjust your attitude too!  Aside from
         those who work at non-comms and live off
         the public payroll, YOUR SALARY comes from
         spots.

         I've seen too many posts here from people
         *crowing* how much they love their TIVO
         or other tools to "skip" spots. Spots are
         bad, in other words.

         It would seem few readers of this list are in
         the sales department. And the truth is that
         in many stations, the operations people consider
         sales to be as big a "pain" as the sales people
         consider the air staff.

         Yes, radio IS a business. Without sales (or
         pledge drives) it would not do many of
         the things it does that people seem to want.

         Perhaps, instead of hammering on and on about
         how existing companies are greedy or don't get it,
         our thought processes might focus on
         realistic ways to make things better - and on
         the stations that have accomplished such goals.







_______________________________________________________________________
Barry Mishkind     -       Tucson, AZ    -   520-296-3797