Bill Press on WROC format change
Here is the first in a series of videos from the Greece Democratic Fundraiser featuring nationally syndicated radio host Bill Press.
As you probably know, Bill Press is a nationally syndicated talk show host of the Bill Press Show. This show is syndicated by the Jones Radio network and currently airs locally from 6 to 9 am on 950 Am WROC.
Well at least until Labor day. After which Progressive talk in Rochester is punted in favor of sports talk.
We have discussed it before. We broke the news, reminded you to call, the station, dealt with the doubters and ultimately asked Mr. Press who confirmed the story. We asked why and faster than you can say weak signal and no promotion, ultimately figured it out.
Listen to Bill Press discuss the background, how progressive stations can be successful and what we can do about it.
Pissed? Call the switchboard
Switchboard: (585) 423-2900 (Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:30pm)
Bill Press is on until 9:00. The switchboard opens at 8:30. Call and express your concern.
Related posts:
- Bill Press Shout out to Rochesterturning
- Hello darkness, my old friend, 950 AM format to change?
- The back story on the 950AM format change - Yes, our Air America station is leaving Rochester
- 30-0: Bill Press says Progressive radio silenced on public airwaves
- Keeping WROC 950 AM’s Progressive Talk Format
They’ve made it more difficult to call in. I just left a message, but you need to listen through 2 sets of menus, the last of which doesn’t give you the choice to comment on 950, then ask for the operator. The operator can quickly transfer you to the 950 comment line, but they don’t give you a path to do it through the voice menus.
Here’s a question I have, just thinking about the business rationale behind all this. Rochester does not have top-tier sports franchises. Everyone has adopted the Bills as ours, so does that mean the new 950 will be 24-7 whining about the Bills? How many listeners will that attract in April and May? I love sports — I am a baseball fanatic — but I can’t imagine a place more ill-suited to sports radio than Rochester.
Great point
Of course since there is a low signal we probably can’t hear it anyway.
If you want a real countercultural station you could listen to WHIC AM 1460. In the long run, it just might be good for your soul!
Cute - Lee
So Religious radio is counterculture? Must have missed that.
Might be good for the soul in the long run? Some broad assumptions there.
Okay. This is serious. It’s great what RT is doing to get the word out, but there needs to be a concerted effort among progressives in Rochester to put pressure on WROc/Entercom. Letter writing campaigns, Speaking Out, City, Protests in front of 950, this is just ridiculous.
I wasn’t being cute.
When it comes to the culture’s stances on a wide variety of issues - social welfare, health care, divorce, cohabitation, premarital sex, war, pornography, homosexuality, the death penalty, same sex marriage, immigratrion policies, capitalism, and so much more - the Catholic Church IS countercultural.
Look at the actual documents, the writings of church leaders, the official teachings - and not rely on hearsay or preconceived notions as so many people do.
(And in light of the typical responses from some people the minute the Catholic Church is brought up, don’t dismiss the Church because of the crimes of some pedophile priests. They are a minority, and statistically, Catholic priests are actually less likely to commit sexual offenses than a number of comparable professions, such as some groups of Protestant ministers, counselors, and teachers!)
Stone casting…gotta love it.
Oops, I forgot abortion on my list. That’s a biggie for the Church being counter cultual.
And I wasn’t casting stones at those professions. I was just pointing out the facts, and trying to head of the folks who invariably bring up the issue in some form. If you look back at all the folks arrested locally for sex crimes over the last few months, for example, look at their professsions.
Lee
Sounds like you go around the prog/lib blogs pushing some sort of Catholic agenda. I spent 4 years working with the high echelons of the Catholic church and at one point was considering becoming a priest, that was until I reached an age of reason (for me it was somewhere in my early 20’s). What the Catholic church preaches verses what it does are worlds apart and that’s even given the fact most Christian churches, especially Catholic, have gotten so off base from the alleged real teachings of Jesus (I’m talking real Gospel stuff nothing from Acts or anything like that.) I’m not knocking Christianity in its true form just the man-made hierachy garbage that Catholic church is so enveloped in. To get on point again, Catholic radio doesn’t solve the issue of PROGRESSIVES not having a voice on the airwaves.
You obviously don’t know me. That’s okay. I comment on any number of things. Some are Catholic, granted, and moral issues. But as others will attest here, I’ve criticized local governments and politicians, Brooks, Gantt, Democrats and Republicans in Gates and the county, the Water Authority, Giuliani, Savage, and more. And I also said I hope WROC changes formats because some of the peope I like (Press and Schultz especially) and the voices from the left, would be gone.
As for prog/lib blogs, I’m a local guy. I’m not even sure what they would be!
My original point here is that when you’re talking about being counter-cultural, given the state and direction of our culture, the Catholic Church is.
HOW COOL! Bill Press has the Rochester Turning video on his home page! http://www.billpress.com
That’s why he’s hot on Bill Press’ tail. Bill Press studied in the seminary to be a priest as well. Get it now?
That’s on page 16 of his latest book “Trainwreck”
[...] a continuation to the discussion of the format change at WROC 950 AM or the Bill Press video, I’m going to be writing a series of posts about progressive media, what it means, how it [...]
I just happened to hear Bill Press’s show this morning and was sad to hear what is happening to all of you. Is there any way you can pick up the signal from WWKB1520 in Buffalo in the meantime? We have Stephanie Miller at 9am, Ed Schultz at 12pm and Randi Rhodes at 3pm. I would love to help you in your battle if I could. This sucks. This summer for the first time they have stuck us with Buffalo Bisons games when they play at home. Luckily most games are away or in the evening.
I want to help in anyway possible. I love my progressive talk radio. I am in Rochester and every single morning as well as when I go home - I listen to progressve radio. I am so freekin upset about this.
Did you call them up? What did they say?
I called them Monday morning 9:15. The operator put me through to an answering machine. I left a lengthy message including the fact that they’re grossly mismanaged; dead air time occasionally; certainly must be bringing in enough advertising revenue - the ads never stop; couldn’t believe that I don’t hear any “green” company advertising - lack of sales smarts. And, I wasn’t nearly as nasty as I have been times in the past when broadcasting was stopped to switch to sports! WE SHOULD BE PROTESTING ON THEIR GROUNDS AT LEAST EVERY OTHER NOON TIME.
Does anyone know of any organized action designed to get WROC to change its mind about dropping progressive talk? I don’t think a mere protest outside the studios will achieve anything. It’s important that a group of about 3 people, representing the rest of us, should get a face-to-face meeting with station management. Rather than initially going for a complete reversal of their decision, I think it may be very achievable as an interim goal to shame them into postponing a format change until the end of November, on the grounds that shutting down progressive talk just as the election campaign gets into full stride is a gross disservice to the voting public. If we did get a postponement, it would buy time to campaign for the format change to be abandoned completely. If anyone is coordinating something, it would be good to have a e-mail address or phone number, otherwise we will just be a bunch of individuals flailing about.
Hi, I’m a journalist with the Religion News Service in Washington DC. I’m writing a story on what it takes for progressive talk radio to succeed, and I want to talk to a listener.
If anyone is willing to talk, my number is (202) 661-0145.
Thanks.
I have to post to a bunch of threads before I can start my own discussion, so here goes:
Hi, I’m a journalist with the Religion News Service in Washington DC. I’m writing a story on what progressive talk radio needs to succeed, and I want to talk to a listener.
If anyone is willing to talk, my number is (202) 661-0145.
Thanks.
I only heard about the format change on Tuesday 7/29. I called the local Entercom offices and the national Entercom offices that day. I did not get an answering machine in Rochester. The guy who answered blamed the change on the low transmitter power. He said advertisers weren’t interested. You and I know the station was NEVER promoted locally. They could have told advertisers “buy on station X and we’ll throw in WROC for free” until gradually the ad base was built up.
The only way I could imagine the format would come back would be an organized boycott of ALL LOCAL BUSINESSES that advertise on the OTHER ENTERCOM STATIONS. Then those advertisers would go to Entercom and say “What the heck?!? You did something that’s now negatively affecting my business?!? I’m pulling all my ad dollars becuase my business can’t afford to be associated with Entercom anymore.”
Entercom is all about dollars and cents. That’s the only way to create radio change. Are their enough motivated progessives in Monroe County to make this happen?
One positive note - I am so upset about this change (which incidentally the guy at Entercom told me was tomorrow, not Labor Day) that I was doing an internet search to find more information and found rochesterturning on google. It’s a nice place. I’ll stay here.
[...] our friends. So PDA was there with my trusty camera. The same one that that brought you exclusive Bill Press, Obama Girl and Jim Hightower now allows you to meet Sherman [...]
The only thing that might work is an organized boycott of local businesses that advertise on the other Rochester Entercom stations. Hit the advertisers where it hurts and let them know why. The businesses will tell Entercom that they are pulling their ads from the other stations because they don’t want to be associated with Entercom’s position of angering listeners. That’s the only way to get the influence to get bring progressive radio back.
I tend to think that visible protest works too. Throws negative light on the station. It’s worked in the past. WE need to get some local media coverage
[...] with from WROC yesterday said that it would be more like Labor Day. This also corresponds with what Bill Press reported in RT’s interview with him. So we’ve got a little time, but we’ll have to act fast to convince them [...]
[...] we all know as we told you earlier and were reminded by Bill Press, when RT interviewed him during his visit to Rochester, 950AM WROC is changing its radio format from Progressive talk to [...]
I disagree that Rochester is ill-suited for an ESPN Radio station. This region loves sports of all types, and many follow major-league and college teams. That said, it’s a shame that we no longer have leftie radio here, and I doubt a Madison, WI style s-storm is going to convince 950 to undo their decision. What may be a more productive use of our energy is to select a low-ranking AM (or FM, for that matter - why not?) station and sell them on the idea of picking up the programming 950 summarily dumped. And one more thing: if we do this, let’s make it a station with a better signal than WROC’s.
I agree, who can we contact in Rochester AM Radio to court them into carrying Air America? I have contacted Air America directly and let them know that they should contact another radio station in Rochester as their carrier.
Screw WROC for good. I’m deleating the radio station button setting from all of my radios. Ihpe this all sports decision turns out to be a disaster for WROC … they deserve it. What lousy inexperienced management talent they must have there.
Unfortunately, this very sort of lack of diversity (where other cities in te U>S> exceed that in Rochester), is why many 20 - 30 year olds leave this area.
Thanks WROC for adding to the growing belief that Rochester just ain’t the place to be anymore for being in tune with whats REALLY going on in America!