WJGH - Magic 107.3 and Sad Reality

[JohnJax]

PD Neal Sharpe, "J.T." and Tony Mann were dismissed today. Folks, you would think I would be used to these radio "RIFs' but I'm not. I suspected something was wrong while I was heading home. One of the joys of ending a long hard day at work was tuning into Tony Mann and that Five O'Clock Shout and all that great upbeat music. That is no more. J.T delivered a Top 20 market program in little old market 50. Personally, I though he did one helluva job especially with no sidekick. And as far as Neal goes, I am proud to have met him at least a half dozen times. There are people in radio who are full of themselves. As far as Neal goes and you can throw J.T and Tony Mann in as well - they were very real and very approachable. I can say...three of my friends have lost their livelihood today. Men aren't supposed to be emotional. I write this teary eyed. It's best I don't say anymore so I'll just say thank you Neal, J.T. and Tony for all you did in what I know was a very tough situation....... 

[nfladxer]

PD Neal Sharpe, "J.T." and Tony Mann were dismissed today. Folks, you would think I would be used to these radio "RIFs' but I'm not. I suspected something was wrong while I was heading home. One of the joys of ending a long hard day at work was tuning into Tony Mann and that Five O'Clock Shout and all that great upbeat music. That is no more. J.T delivered a Top 20 market program in little old market 50. Personally, I though he did one helluva job especially with no sidekick. And as far as Neal goes, I am proud to have met him at least a half dozen times. There are people in radio who are full of themselves. As far as Neal goes and you can throw J.T and Tony Mann in as well - they were very real and very approachable. I can say...three of my friends have lost their livelihood today. Men aren't supposed to be emotional. I write this teary eyed. It's best I don't say anymore so I'll just say thank you Neal, J.T. and Tony for all you did in what I know was a very tough situation....... 

JohnJax, when I heard the news earlier today, I knew this would hit you especially hard.  In many ways, Magic 107-3 hasn't even had a chance to develop fully in this market, so this all seems somewhat unbelievable!  My condolences, thoughts, and prayers, to Neal, J.T., and Tony, they were all consumate professionals, whose hard work, both on and off the air, should not have resulted in this outcome.  It's no fun being "On the Beach" these days, especially in radio.  I know all about it!  This is especially concerning for those of us who have developed careers in the Art of radio, an artform, that, sadly, seems to be fading away.   

[carolinaradio]

That's literally getting rid of all of the local staff....could WJGH be due for a flip?

[nfladxer]

That's literally getting rid of all of the local staff....could WJGH be due for a flip?

Unless they're going to be completely "voice-tracked", that would certainly seem to loom as a large option!

[JAWilson]

This is just totally sad....doing alright in the PPM with the latest being a 4.7. Basically you have to guess that a flip is coming and what can we expect if so? A simulcast of Sports Radio 930 to counteract against 1010XL/92.5FM or do we get a new FM News-Talker that could push WOKV to play musical chairs with their stations? I guess its a good thing having a custom Oldies/Classic Hits playlist on iTunes.

Also Jodi Stewart (who use to work for Lex & Terry and The Eagle) got let go at WOLL Kool 105.5 in West Palm Beach.

Not a fan of this at all, but oh well what can I do about it except show support, right?

Thanks for trying Clear Channel with the Oldies format and if a flip does indeed happen (which if it does I wouldn't be surprised if it was today) I do not think we have any options left of a station doing the format unless we see Renda try again but not the way they tried to revive the old "Cool 96.9".

Oh, speaking of Renda does anyone thing that the station sell of they did in Tulsa could be a sign of things to come for the company or was it just a move to bolster their other markets? Just curious to thoughts on that one while we start talking of things that could happen in Jax.

[nfladxer]

This is just totally sad....doing alright in the PPM with the latest being a 4.7. Basically you have to guess that a flip is coming and what can we expect if so? A simulcast of Sports Radio 930 to counteract against 1010XL/92.5FM or do we get a new FM News-Talker that could push WOKV to play musical chairs with their stations?

Since Clear Channel is determined to cut costs, launching an FM News/Talk station would seem an unlikely choice, especially in a market this size.

Also Jodi Stewart (who use to work for Lex & Terry and The Eagle) got let go at WOLL Kool 105.5 in West Palm Beach.

Jodi's a professional, with a well-developed network of friends, she, most likely will land on her feet in short order!

Thanks for trying Clear Channel with the Oldies format and if a flip does indeed happen (which if it does I wouldn't be surprised if it was today) I do not think we have any options left of a station doing the format unless we see Renda try again but not the way they tried to revive the old "Cool 96.9".

Oh, speaking of Renda does anyone thing that the station sell of they did in Tulsa could be a sign of things to come for the company or was it just a move to bolster their other markets? Just curious to thoughts on that one while we start talking of things that could happen in Jax.

IMHO, even before there was a WJGH-FM, Renda's 94.1 always seemed to be a logical choice for a Classic hits format.  While not the best signal in town, a properly programmed station could attract enough listeners and advertisers to be profitable, plus be a good flanker for Lite 96.1, since they seem to be skewing younger.     

Also, regarding the Tulsa station sale, I think Renda was, most likely, raising cash for the rest of the company.  Up until now, Tony Renda hasn't been known for selling his properties.

[carolinaradio]

I agree that Magic's performance doesn't seem that bad.  Going by their Facebook page, quite a few listeners are pissed about JT and Tony being let go.

Letting the PD go is the handwriting on the wall for a flip IMO.  I could see 107.3 staying classic hits and running Premium Choice, but that signal just seems to good to run out of a closet.

[charlestondxman]

When I was going through Jacksonville a few weeks ago, Magic sounded REALLY good. They sounded like a great station. They had lots of locality in afternoon drive, and the personalities were a good fit.

Another dumb move like the one at 95.9 in Charleston. But CC probably forced it on them with their flash drives.

[carolinaradio]

When I was going through Jacksonville a few weeks ago, Magic sounded REALLY good. They sounded like a great station. They had lots of locality in afternoon drive, and the personalities were a good fit.

Another dumb move like the one at 95.9 in Charleston. But CC probably forced it on them with their flash drives.

I was through Florida a couple of weeks ago and listened to Magic, as well.  Certainly better than WEJZ (how that station could be #1 is beyond me).  I was listening on a weekend, so it was probably voicetracked, but it was very impressive.  I've had the opportunity to listen to them several times.  When I go through Jax, besides the Ape, they're the only station I listen to for any length of time.

Maybe CC is planning on keeping Magic, who knows.  Part of me thinks this signals a flip but part of me wonders if they'll just keep it and voicetrack most, if not all.  Friday would've been a good day to kill it if they had planned.  CC's KOSF/San Francisco is doing very well with only AM drive live...in a top 5 market!

[JohnJax]

WEJZ is a heritage station. Arthur and Jim of the morning show are family to many in Jax given their longevity. A solid and stable morning show is a must and “The Crofton” delivers. For the professional office crowd, restaurants etc., WEJZ is virtually THE game in town. Unless directly challenged, they will continue to perform very well.

And speaking of performance (ratings) Magic 107-3 fell below expectations. When corporate management makes a “correction” the usual victims/scapegoats are the folks in place. IMHO, Magic was held back in large part due to corporate edicts and a management structure that prevents the execution of timely decisions.

A while back I mentioned iHeart Radio and the constant assault on the listeners promoting it. I tried to make the point that the average Magic listener could care less about the artists featured during the national iHeart concert contest. While that was going on the other classic hits station in town was promoting a Bob Seger show. Which station proved more relevant to its’ listeners? Clearly, Magic’s PD had no choice.

This year CC decided to feature so called commercial free hours a number of times during the day. While that probably sounded effective to corporate, I doubt any of these folks actually listened to the monster they created.

Commercial free did not mean the spots were dropped. It meant they were practically doubled up in another hour. In Tony Mann’s case I often found myself cringing and shaking my head. If they went music intensive @6PM, it meant 3 stop sets ran @ 5PM. With traffic updates, iHeart promotion crap and the kitchen sink thrown in as well, it was common that hour featured 18 minutes of non-music programming. The competition and rightfully so took full advantage of this and was pounding away with the music. To attract listeners one hour only to lose them in another hour made no sense.

Then there were signal issues as a result of a lightning strike. Why that took so long to correct I haven’t a clue. I keep very unusual hours and I can’t begin to tell you how many times Magic was off the air in the 5AM hour – the start of morning drive. JT, the absolute consummate professional sounded cool, calm and collected as if nothing happened. But I’m sure his stress level was very high.

The radio community will probably add what happened here as just another injustice on top of so many others. The clock was ticking to get results. I saw extraordinary efforts to get there but time ran out.

I heard from Neal and he still exudes a positive attitude about everything. JT left CBS Radio under very good terms. Besides his on-air talent, I always thought his knowledge of what made the format work @WOCL Detroit could have been invaluable at Magic. I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds a home at CBS somewhere. Tony Mann’s long roots in the Jax market, his extensive knowledge of music and knowing what makes this market tick could have made a huge difference. But, today talent, especially those with mature sounding voices are considered a liability and not an asset.
The bean counters are probably having orgasms thinking of savings. I'm looking at this as a loss that can't be measured in dollars. This should not have happened at this time. I've gotten this off my chest and I suppose I need to move on.