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The "personality" of radio stations

Discussion pertaining to Lansing, Jackson, Owosso, and all areas from Alma to Hillsdale
high fidelity
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The "personality" of radio stations

Post by high fidelity » Wed Nov 30, 2016 9:30 pm

I don't listen to over-the-air radio much, but I have noticed these days that the stations do not have much of a personality. They will play several songs back-to-back without the jock saying anything. And when they do say something, it is something very generic. How about they say something about what is going on in the area? How about some trivia about the artists played on that station? How about a "This day in music history" segment or taking calls from listeners? What do others think about this?



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HD74
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by HD74 » Thu Dec 01, 2016 11:50 am

There are several past threads regarding this.
I got fed up hearing "live and local!" shouted out every break by one of the stations here, even though they were neither live, nor local, except for the morning show, where the "live and local!" was being shouted.
There simply are no people in the studio locally anymore, (90% of the time) which is a great thing if you're marketing streaming or sat radio, not so much if you actually have a transmitter.
I used to tune in to Alice Cooper doing evenings on WMMQ, (yes, it was satellite) but Alice could hold your attention and had much to say. The replacement guy from another bird does throw in some tidbits about the music, but sounds like he should be voicing a beautiful music station. (remember those?)
Lansing radio is like a ghost town out west, the buildings there, dusty, maybe some tumbleweeds, stay in the Sales area, or a CHUD or some such ghoulish thing may grab you... :twisted:


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Plate Cap
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by Plate Cap » Fri Dec 02, 2016 2:42 pm

high fidelity wrote:I don't listen to over-the-air radio much, but I have noticed these days that the stations do not have much of a personality. They will play several songs back-to-back without the jock saying anything. And when they do say something, it is something very generic. How about they say something about what is going on in the area? How about some trivia about the artists played on that station? How about a "This day in music history" segment or taking calls from listeners? What do others think about this?
You raise a great point, and this is one of the many reasons terrestrial radio is not one of the major go-to sources for younger people.

What you are describing, IMHO, is part of the fallout from consolidation of ownership, plummeting station values, and quick-fix approaches which are neither.

What *will* keep what is left of radio alive in the future is a return to what you describe....local, interesting, and with a personality.

WHMI in Howell is such a station, and nothwithstanding it's tiny coverage area and flea-power signal, shows that such a station with such a 'personality' can do well.


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HD74
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by HD74 » Fri Dec 02, 2016 4:28 pm

Agreed, WHMI is a fine station, full service like WCSR in Hillsdale.
However, I would not classify their coverage as tiny.
I can pull them in the car in both Lansing and Jackson, wall to wall and treetop tall, and listen to them far more than anything in this market.
WCSR used to get out pretty good, until WLMI moved their stick south to the Boji Tower >: although I can pick them up north of Jackson still with a directional antenna.


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high fidelity
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by high fidelity » Fri Dec 02, 2016 8:58 pm

Often there is no one in studio, but if there is, it seems like the PD would want the station to sound like a radio station, with personality, not someone's i-pod.



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Plate Cap
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by Plate Cap » Sat Dec 03, 2016 7:20 pm

HD74 wrote:However, I would not classify their coverage as tiny.
I can pull them in the car in both Lansing and Jackson, wall to wall and treetop tall, and listen to them far more than anything in this market.
I agree; I misspoke, possibly for purposes of underlining that they are not a class B or C with a flamethrower TX plant, but still have a large and loyal listener-ship due largely to how well the station is run.

I'm a surprised that the station seems to have well survived the sale from the Jablonskis. Although they were neophyte owners, they did many things right, and for the most part, allowed their staff to make it what it is. New owners often screw that up.


The box that many broadcasters won’t look outside of was made in 1969 and hasn’t changed significantly since.

organman95
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by organman95 » Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:42 am

As an example of a station that was entirely sat-fed with "Coast FM" branding, 97.7 WMLQ in Manistee, after that was made a simulcast of 98.7 WLDN Ludington, moved "Coast FM" to 101.5 WMTE in Manistee. While it is still mostly sat-fed, there is now a local morning show during the week from 6 AM - 9 AM. They do a LOT of banter, news reports, music, requests, and contests. The change has certainly been welcomed in the Manistee area.

Unfortunately it goes back to full-on sat-fed after 11 AM, if not right after the morning show is over.



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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by Deleted User 4520 » Thu Dec 22, 2016 8:02 am

Local radio definitely lacks personality. I've always enjoyed listening to Alice Coopers stories on his radio show.



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Ed Joseph
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by Ed Joseph » Wed Jan 25, 2017 6:14 pm

HD74 wrote:Agreed, WHMI is a fine station, full service like WCSR in Hillsdale.
However, I would not classify their coverage as tiny.
I can pull them in the car in both Lansing and Jackson, wall to wall and treetop tall, and listen to them far more than anything in this market.
WHMI used to come in pretty well around my area (Swartz Creek-ish) but ALL signals seem to have lost strength here, AM, FM and TV. I'm guessing it is the stupid "Smart" meter Consumers sneaked onto the side of our house while we were over in Hopkins for the summer. Even 103.9, which is about maybe 10 miles down M-21 from here, is static-infested.


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Plate Cap
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by Plate Cap » Thu Jan 26, 2017 12:53 pm

Ed Joseph wrote:
.....I'm guessing it is the stupid "Smart" meter Consumers sneaked onto the side of our house while we were over in Hopkins for the summer.........
I'm not an expert in the area, but I did interview two different techs with Consumers regarding my smart meter. They were on scene at different times, and after speaking with them, I am reasonable confident they were providing accurate info.

Both reported that due to my location, it uses Verizon SMS to communicate....3-4 times a day, typically.

They went on to say this is different in different areas; some use WiMax or a canopy equivalent in more built-up areas.

One thing is pretty much for sure: it a proliferating number of 'smart meters' were indeed interfering with 88-108 Mhz in any real and document-able fashion, everyone from the Commission to the NAB to group owners to Mom and Pop stations would be on them like stink on poop.

Anyway, I giggle about the hue and cry that goes on with regard to 'smart meter' technology. Most of the technical assumptions complainants have incorrect, and I find it interesting they have no concern whatsoever about dozens or hundreds of 802.11 (x) systems in their neighborhoods, both 2.4 and 5.8 gHz.....bluetooth......home alarms with cellular SMS or 900 Mhz uplinks......hundreds of mobile telephones within a 1/4 mile of most persons constantly polling and updating.....etc., etc.

The misinformed like to say that the power company, and by inference 'the government' can see what appliances one is using. Hogwash.

Just like the current national political blow-backs going on, and the issue elsewhere here on the board of police issuing tickets on clear violations of local ordinances, I think this is just another example of the less-than-fully-informed sensing an opportunity to 'strike back' at "the man". Everyone hates the electric company...why not them.


The box that many broadcasters won’t look outside of was made in 1969 and hasn’t changed significantly since.

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Ed Joseph
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by Ed Joseph » Fri Feb 01, 2019 2:37 pm

Plate Cap... I agree with what you say. But I know that since the utilities changed to "smart" meters here, I have some really odd waveforms floating around the house that I cannot account for anywhere else. The WATER meter causes me more issues than the power meter, AFAICT. A CB wattmeter in field strength mode goes almost full scale on a 16" whip near the water meter. I pick up a signal around 1/4 scale near the power panel. There is a 1 Hz "tick" on the power line voltage that never goes away. You can actually see it on a voltmeter . I really haven't traced that down yet. Perhaps it's just doing it's job, maybe it's got something wrong with it, but the tick remains audible on HF even with the main breaker off. My initial thought was it sounded like WWV splatter or something, but I know that's not happening in Michigan. Coincidentally, if I pot up my turntable and pull the ground lead, CHU comes in faintly in the hum, as does WSNL, but I'm in their main lobe, so I kind of expected that.

As for this: "The misinformed like to say that the power company, and by inference 'the government' can see what appliances one is using. "... The internet is slopping over with misinformation from the tinfoil hat clubs.


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Ed Joseph
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by Ed Joseph » Fri Feb 01, 2019 2:39 pm

I really should order one of those cheapie USB SDR dongles, toss it on one of my netbooks and go signal hunting. The FS reading just tells me that "something" is radiating, not what frequency it's radiating on.


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TC Talks
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by TC Talks » Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:21 pm

Try listening to KEXP Seattle. It has the best imaging in the country hands down. The things they do as a public station put commercial radio to shame. Radio simply no longer has the budget to do cool brand building things...


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MWmetalhead
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by MWmetalhead » Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:04 pm

WHMI has good air talent and great service elements, but I cannot stand their squashed audio processing. They've been using the same jingle package since the mid 90's, too. Time for something new.



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Art Van Damme
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Re: The "personality" of radio stations

Post by Art Van Damme » Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:09 pm

IMHO, the personality aspect took a hit when PPM came to Detroit. Seeing listeners tuning out in real time scared the hell outta Management. Reaction? Shut the jocks up. It never recovered.
Second place: digital platforms. Took people-power away from making a solid analog station. (Do more with less)
Third place: HD. Again a useless suck on station resources for nothing.
Can’t make personality when station staff was over-worked, underpaid and distracted.



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