Spring Membership Drive

[Element9]

Now in progress, the first membership drive since WBFO was taken over (or overtaken) by WNYPBA.  The outcome will be interesting as WBFO listeners vote with their wallets.  Long time WBFO listeners will hear a difference in the style and presentation of WNED-AM staff members as they get their first opportunity to present their case on the newly acquired FM. 

Jay Moran, the more than capable longtime WNED-AM morning drive host, is curiously absent on this first day of pledge drive.  Moran replaced long time WBFO morning host Bert Gambini when WNYPBA took over WBFO.  The smooth and capable Howard Reidel, a voice familiar to WBFO listeners and a long time WBFO morning drive host during WBFO pledge drives, is hosting in place of Moran while WNED-AM management personnel solicit pledges. 

Already this morning, WNED-AM staff members have addressed the issue of WBFO's "new ownership," clearly indicating that WNYBPA is aware of the potential problems they may face trying to convince WBFO listeners to pledge.  No doubt we'll hear more program hosts mention how WNYPBA saved WBFO from extinction.  There exists a number of WBFO P1 listeners who aren't pleased that UB sold the station to WNYPBA, as well as a pocket of WNED-AM loyalists who aren't pleased that WNED-AM altered its programming.  We'll know pledges are down if Don Boswell makes an appearance to plead the station's case. 

Thursday's 7 a.m. hour appeared to come up substantially short.       

[SirRoxalot]

It will be interesting to see what goals they set for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and if they come close to them. Supposedly Don Boswell dissed what the Blues programming brought in anyway, and I can't imagine that they'll expect big dollars from the Sat/Sunday night timeslots - if they bother to pledge at all. Then again, how much could WNED-AM have brought in by itself? I'm pretty sure that pledge levels will be down if you look at the combined totals from both stations.