ah - another casualty of the recent radio wars

[acroyear]

We all know about the immediate impact on WGMS - the loss of some of the djs (WETA has hired some including the program director, but not all).

We all know about the massive loss at WETA, with all the local shows gone, and so far only one NPR national show (out of about 8-10) has been picked up by NPR-rival WAMU (that would be Prairie Home Companion, which will continue uninterrupted).

We all know that "George 104" is running without advertisements for 104 days.  Bonneville may claim its a promotion, but really its because this transition was so fast the station's new management didn't have any time or warning to actually line up new advertisers for the new demographic (hence why they're also saving money by not hiring on-air personalities (formerly called "DJs").

But there's one more hidden casualty in all of this.

The local companies that advertised on WGMS.

Yeah, many might be "generic" that weren't really getting their moneys worth, but some of those companies were highly likely those that actually had products aimed for that particular demographic (55+ and educated) of classical music listener.  Those companies have lost a major advertising market, and will likely see declines in sales as they struggle to find other places to advertise that their target demographic might attend to.  Some of them might be able to do the "sponsorship" thing at WETA, but not all as there's a limited amount of time to name the company names, and even then there are tight restrictions (though they've gotten looser over the last 20 years) on how much you can describe your product line.

So was turning classical music over to WETA really a good thing?  Time will tell, but right now the casualty list is higher than the beneficiaries.

On a side note, maybe Mary Cliff can follow former WETA personality Robert Aubrey Davis and take her show to XM Radio?  It'll be a smaller audience at first, but it'll be a national one, and if it grows, then maybe XM will be interested in getting a successor to continue it as she retires.

Comments

[sequentialscott.livejournal.com]

I preferred the news/talk format on WETA, often to what was on WAMU. "World Have Your Say" from BBC was often good. I also feel bad for Cliff and the woman who was hosting "Intersections." I don't remember her name and couldn't listen to it, but karmically it sucks to be given a radio show to develop, just be settling into a rhythym, and have the plug pulled like that. Psych!

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

well, WETA was a mixed bag. most (but not all) of their local talk shows sucked, being no different from any other "slight-liberal-bias" show (as opposed to the extreme liberal bias of Air America).

but then again, they had the one or two winners, and more importantly the uncut NPR analysis and commentary programs (WAMU cuts out some of the longer NPR investigative stories in exchange for local news).

[meapet.livejournal.com]

I was thinking the same thing (XM and Mary Cliff) today on my way to work. They have both a Folk station and a Public Radio station!

Maybe we should start a write in campaign to them instead of to WETA?

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

yeah. WETA is a lost cause for anything but the NPR programs. the rush-hour listeners could write back in and see if they can go mostly NPR for the rushes, then from 9 to 4 and 7pm to the morning do the classical thing.

the hassle is that WETA is "listener supported" which is what was killing it. NPR might get the ratings, but ratings mean little if they aren't matched with listener donations and pledges. the "rush hour" crowd might not be calling in enough pledges to support it. Certainly the mid-day crowd wasn't for the more local shows...

[rsteachout.livejournal.com]

Ugh! Please, no. All jabber and news crap over and over and over and over and.... well, anyway. I prefer music on the drive in with just a smattering of news and enough traffic to try and avoid the worst roads in (not that *any* of the traffic reports does more than give a brief blink at my area every 2 hours. grrrr. But that's another gripe.) WGMS was good with that; James Bartel actually had a bit of everything going on in the morning drive, including some banter with the news and traffic people.

I listened to some of the WETA broadcasts. I can say that it isn't as bad as it used to be (pre-news only), but the hosts really need to loosen up a bit. The bright spot was Nicole LeCroix on the afternoon drive home. But, of course, she worked at WGMS for about a year while Diana Hollander was out on medical leave, so she was trained up the right way. :-)

[thelongshot.livejournal.com]

It is why I prefer the XM traffic and weather channels. If I need a traffic report, I can get it immediately so it can be useful.

[piraterogue.livejournal.com]

I gotta call my dad and find out the scoop. He works for the television side of WETA.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

might get the rumors, but not much else. the radio and tv divisions are so apart from each other they're mostly in completely separate buildings almost 3 miles apart.

[piraterogue.livejournal.com]

My dad is still friends with guys who work at the radio station. The advantage of my dad working for WETA for his entire professional career is he Knows a lot of people.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

in the past there was some overlap. Robert Aubrey Davis was the afternoon radio host back in the 80s but also went to the tv shop on weekends and evenings to host the pledge drives. he had that "you can trust me" look about him. :)