MULTIPLE NAMES FOR METRO TRAFFIC ON AIR PEOPLE

[Buckethead]

It is simply to create the illusion that all of the stations aren't owned by one company.

It is to create the illusion that a company like CC / and Bain don't fire 50 percent of their staff and make everybody else work twice as hard so the stockholders can see their quarterly dividends.

[ihearya]

Do listeners really need to know the names (real or cutesy) of the reporter giving us 15 seconds of traffic and 10 seconds of sponsorship mentions.  We don't care who you are ... just give us the info and try not to swallow your words while stumbling through the brief report.  Use that extra 2 seconds to tell us the road in front of us is a parking lot and we're missing happy hour ... again. 

[OhioMediaWatch]

It is simply to create the illusion that all of the stations aren't owned by one company.

Hate to dismantle your soapbox here, but that's wrong in pretty much every case I've seen.

Back in the day, program directors did not want traffic people using the same name on the competition (and that's still true today, where these traffic reporters are shared among competing clusters).

An example, admittedly from the mid-1990s:

A large market news/talk station had a competing talk station in the market. Metro's reporter used separate names on each station. The news/talk parent company (yes, the "evil" Clear Channel) ended up buying the competitor.  As soon as the stations were under the same ownership, the Metro reporter started using the same name on both stations.

Though it's not what it was, there is still competition...and the Clear Channel PD/OM doesn't want his or her Metro(/Total Traffic) reporter with the same name on the CBS or Salem station(s).

Some of it was ratings confusion in the diary era, which is obviously gone in PPM markets like LA.

But even within clusters, there are still issues of stations wanting traffic reporter names sound like they're in the same lifestyle group as the station.

[scotty]

My favorite traffic reporter is Heather Branch on KNX 1070, Saturday mornings.  Later on Saturdays, she moves over to KOLA 99.9 and goes by none other than, Heather Branch.  No dual identity thing going on there. 

Hehehe.  Heather is my wife.  I just showed her this reply and it made her day.   

Hate to tell you, but she will be officially hanging up the microphone in July to focus full time on her petsitting business.  But she appreciates the kind words, thank you.

[AM FM listener]

My favorite traffic reporter is Heather Branch on KNX 1070, Saturday mornings.  Later on Saturdays, she moves over to KOLA 99.9 and goes by none other than, Heather Branch.  No dual identity thing going on there. 

Hehehe.  Heather is my wife.  I just showed her this reply and it made her day.   

Hate to tell you, but she will be officially hanging up the microphone in July to focus full time on her petsitting business.  But she appreciates the kind words, thank you.

She's leaving radio?  Who will I listen to on my way from LA to San Bernardino on Saturdays, now?  She will be missed but best of luck to her. 

[the golden boy]

San Diego

Kelly Danek is known as Kelly Danek for Channel 933/Star 94.1

Kelly - Rock 105.3

Kelly Cruise on Magic 92.5

Kay Z - Z90

I remember a guy named John Lawrence would do traffic and when he did weekends on Rock 105-3, his name was Chaz Bennett.

[michael hagerty]

...she will be officially hanging up the microphone in July to focus full time on her petsitting business. 

And, that, ladies and gentlemen, pretty well sums up the business today.