Wanted: Radio station who wants to grow and serve an underserved market
RIP Progressive radio on WROC 950am.
Right on schedule, local management at 950 AM implemented their decision to change its format from progressive talk to sports talk. It is early in the day so I wonder if the Metro Justice sponsored Amy Goodman show is still on in the evenings at 8:00 pm.
Now - we have discussed this before, with calls in all of our posts ranging from supportive to non supportive. Folks suggested pitching in to buy a station to, oh well, radio is dead as a format. Then there was the discussion of each specific host and how they appealed or didn’t appeal as if that was a justification to toss out the system.
btp and I have been discussing this from a movement progressive perspective. We will have more at some point.
I just want to reiterate -
If you want something to grow, you have to nurture it. An underpowered station with no promotion is doomed to fail in the ratings.
Meanwhile - tweak your AM antenna and change your presets to Buffalo’s station 1520 which seems to be the only over-the-air option at the proesent time.
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I would love to pitch in and start a real radio station. I am disgusted by this move. Although I wrote to the station several times and signed the petition I didn’t know what else to do. The last thing we need is a lack of progressive talk radio. I can’t pick up the Buffalo station and it’s very disappointing. Let me know what we can do to get another station up. I know that independent stations are gone at this time and we need to get the airwaves regulated again so everyone can have a voice.
It would be interesting to look at 1520 and see what they’ve done that’s different from 950. According to the Wiki page, it’s a 50,000 watt behemoth. It also seems to broadcast sporting events at night and on the weekends. And, get this, it’s owned by Clear Channel.
My take a little bit is that it may be much harder for a tiny station to establish itself with a new format than or a huge station like 1520.
I’m sure there are other factors too. They seem to bill Stephanie Miller as local (which she is) more than 950 did (I’m just basing this on their website). It would be interesting to really delve into this.
1,000 watt WROC had double the ratings of 20,000 watt WYSL in the spring 2008 Arbitron book but “liberal talk radio is a failure” A city with no NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB or NCAA division 1 football or basketball team “needs” 2 full time sports talk stations
I’ve tried a couple of times to contact you through your “email us” link, but it doesn’t work.
Did they change the format on the station that Rush is on?
it sucks that it is gone, but terrestrial radio is a dying format. the core demographic that advertisers want has moved on. between XM-Sirius and the internets, there is no room for it anymore.
Hey, maybe now that 950 has switched to sports, we can convince 1280 to change to Air America type programming? Not likely, but it’s a thought.
and speaking of Amy Goodman….looks like she was arrested while covering that “riot” yesterday in St Paul.
http://www.freepress.net/node/43929
I was furious when I turned on the radio this morning to find yet another dumb sports station. I emailed the station and Entercom voicing my disgust with this move. I also told them that I have actually supported their advertisers in the past, always mentioning that I heard them on 950. I am now going to contact as many as I can, stating that I will no longer support them as long as they advertise on 950. If we all do this, maybe it will get the station where it hurts…in the pocket!
I saw that. Amazing…and terrifying.
FYI - I listened to 1520 today and it came in well in Geneseo and Henrietta areas.
Kitty - let’s not take it out on the the content of the new station. liberals love sports too.
1520 in Buffalo is a “clear channel” station, not a Clear Channel station. That is to say it’s a station that operates with 50,000 watts on a frequency with wide-area coverage. It is owned by Entercom, which also owns 950 here. As Andrea noted, it comes in fine across most of Rochester during the day. At night its signal tends to “skip” over us, but it booms into New England.
It gets no ratings and little revenue in Buffalo, and has no local programming to speak of. It’s run with the format it uses because it serves as a “blocker” for Entercom’s big AM moneymaker in Buffalo, 930 WBEN. WBEN is a right-wing talker, mostly, with one somewhat progressive voice in the evenings, Ron Dobson.
Entercom could sell 1520 and make a few million bucks, but then someone could use the signal to compete with WBEN. Instead, they keep it on the air at minimal cost as a “throwaway” signal that poses no threat to WBEN.
As for 1280, its sports format makes decent money at very little cost for Clear Channel. John DiTulio is already working there anyway doing morning sports for WHAM, so his show is essentially free, and they get pretty decent ratings for Jim Rome and Mike O’Meara in the afternoons.
I can’t claim I’m not going to listen. I listen to sports radio more than progressive radio I must admit and I prefer ESPN radio to Fox sports programming and Jim Rome. But, it was nicer to have the choice of both sports and progressive radio in the car.
I have no problem with sports radio; I’m a big Bills fan myself. But how many do we need? With buffoons like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on several stations and only one choice for progressives, the loss of 950 is huge. All I can say is let Entercom know you will no longer listen to their stations and will not support their advertisers. When there’s only the fanatic right-wing blowhards on the airwaves, how does that differ from state-run propaganda?
[...] Since the untimely demise of NewsTalk 950 AM WROC, the only progressive radio station in Monroe County, I have been thinking about alternative ways to get my daily fix of progressive talk. Well, I tried what stlo7 suggested. [...]