Whats up with WHAM??

[eartotheradio]

Seems like the last month or so WHAM 1180 has really slid downhill.  Dead air (not just for a min. or two), commercials running over each other, no local news from late evening till 5AM, not even the local temp. is broadcast overnights.  The weather forecast is the same recording each hour and half hour. All this cuz they want to save a buck or two?  50,000 watts wasted, IMHO  "your news leader"         yeah right!
Oh yes, they put that ---hole Beck on now from 11:00 - 1PM now??  I cant even stand him for one hour let alone two.  Come on WHAM what are you doing??

[listener-in]

Maybe the dead air is a creative attempt to improve their programming.  WHAM started leaving me years ago.   Its talk shows turned me off so I turned them off, and I quit even the local news programming - which was once excellent - as a personal protest against the downright hostility of the station's talk lineup to people who think the way I do. 

If you want plenty of freedom of choice, check out WiFi radio. 

[Mark_Giardina]

The recent termination (last year actually) of some on-air staff might be one of the reasons there is no local news during the evenings and especially overnights.

Former co-worker Bill Flynn use to report news overnights on WHAM, but he was one of several people let go by Clear Channel.

Another reason for the lack of news during the evenings and overnight boils down to what some in the business believe the old chestnut that nobody listens to the radio during those hours. Instead people are watching TV.

Personally I believe that there is an audience for radio, IF a station provides entertaining and enlightening programs.

 

[TheBigA]

Another reason for the lack of news during the evenings and overnight boils down to what some in the business believe the old chestnut that nobody listens to the radio during those hours. Instead people are watching TV.

They don't have to believe old chestnuts.  They can simply look at the ratings.  And look at the ad dollars.  If local news in overnights doesn't attract specific ad dollars (not bonus dollars left over from more popular dayparts), then that local programming becomes expendable.  I often say you can gauge your job security by listening to the ads running in your show.  If it's mostly national ads, then the dollars aren't there for local programming.

[Bob1370]

"I often say you can gauge your job security by listening to the ads running in your show.  If it's mostly national ads, then the dollars aren't there for local programming."

Or, your sales staff isn't making the best use of all the inventory it can sell. When a small sales staff is asked to sell every daypart in every station in a cluster, sometimes it can be spread too thin and some stations and some dayparts can fall through the cracks even though they could be sold profitably. A lot of cluster managers probably are seeing sales opportunities slip through their fingers even as we speak...

[Yeziknoradio]

Yes, but no matter what they're trying to do to save money, there is no excuse for ads running on top of each other. That's a no no. It's causing an upset to the advertisers.
When the bread and butter are sitting at the table, you're supposed to spread the butter ON the bread, not just sit there and stare at it thinking it looks nice on the table!

[TheBigA]

A lot of cluster managers probably are seeing sales opportunities slip through their fingers even as we speak...

That's easy to say from the comfort of the outside world.  Blame the over-worked, unstaffed sales folks. 

It's been my experience that GMs are always open to great money opportunities that come from outside the existing sales structure.  If they actually exist.  Quite often they don't.  And I've looked at enough ratings reports to know that 7PM to 5AM isn't the huge sales opportunity some outside the business think it is.  Even at public radio.  I don't know about your station, but the NPR stations I worked at didn't fundraise after 8PM.

[yugoidar]

"They don't have to believe old chestnuts.  They can simply look at the ratings.  And look at the ad dollars.  If local news in overnights doesn't attract specific ad dollars (not bonus dollars left over from more popular dayparts), then that local programming becomes expendable.  I often say you can gauge your job security by listening to the ads running in your show.  If it's mostly national ads, then the dollars aren't there for local programming".


The fact that audiences are small(er) at night is not late breaking news.  Seems to me there are advertisers that could take advantage of whatever the audience is if it's priced accordingly.  Audience is smaller, demand is less - the pricing should be lower.  And wouldn't that be found money that the GMs could add to their revenue stream?

A, with your line of reasoning, I guess we can expect stations to simply sign-off in the future when there's not enough advertising to pay the electrical bills for the studio and transmitter facility.

[Element9]

I don't know about your station, but the NPR stations I worked at didn't fundraise after 8PM.

You may have left money on the table.  The number of listeners 7 to midnight may be one third or one quarter the number listening between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., but all indicators point to these listeners as being devoted and loyal supporters of the programs to which they listen, especially NPR programs. 

[heydaybegone]

I guess we can expect stations to simply sign-off in the future when there's not enough advertising to pay the electrical bills for the studio and transmitter facility.

Yugo...this will be saved on the RI servers for posterity.
It is time/date stamped so you will have your 15 minutes of fame when it's reality.
Unfortunately...maybe not far from being true.

BTW-  Did daytimers have profound foresight for the future....j/k