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killhsunow |
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Friday, February 13, 2004 at 12:34 PM
I sent a letter into to Julie Kahn (jkahn@entercom.com), Tom Baker (tbaker@entercom.com, and Keith Hastings (khastings@entercom.com)...
here's the text of it: ----
To Whom It May Concern:
I write to you now in regards to the recent cancellation of Loveline from WAAF. It's very rare that I actually take the time do this sort of thing-- in fact, never before-- but I'd like to express my astonishment and discontent with this decision, seemingly made at the behest of a handful of listeners who want nothing so much as the infinite replay of Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" and mayhaps a sprinkling of "Spill the Blood" (when they're lucky enough for Mike Hsu to serve it up. After all, if it's rock!!!! it's WAAF!) Anyway, let's be frank: WAAF's Arbitron ratings hit a real nadir in the Spring 2003 period and then began, slowly, to regain ground. It's my understanding that Loveline was added in mid-spring in attempt to try and draw in new listeners. For the purpose of this letter, let's take a specific look at the ratings over the past period: Spring 03: 1.9
Summer 03: 2.0
Fall 03: 2.4
Winter 03: 2.4 I would consider myself one of these ever elusive New Listeners. To be totally honest, I wouldn't be caught dead listening to WAAF if it weren't for Loveline, and I suspect I represent a respectable contingent of listeners. Clearly there is something amiss (en general and specifically in Boston) with Rock Radio. In the last period of Arbitron reportings, no rock radio format broke the top ten. Even the dreaded WBCN was down at #14. This is no mere fluke and should, I believe, be seen as indicative of a greater trend within both radio and popular music. A quick glance at the top ten albums of both 2002 and 2003 reveals two albums: Evanescence and Linkin Park, and I think one could make a fairly decent argument that given the marketing and content of Evanescence one might more viably consider the success of that album to fall within the far more popular trend of Hot Chick Music. So. Even with Evanescence that leaves us with 2 albums breaking the top ten of sales in two years. As I have no doubt that you are intelligent people and good at your jobs, being, after all, salaried professionals who have no reason to take guff from the likes of me, I wouldn't dare presume to tell you that the two figures which I've cited have any specific correlation or special significance. Instead, I'll just infer it. Huh. Loveline added to rotation: ratings up! Gee. Weird. See? That's inference. OK! Anyway, it seems to me that the method through which Loveline's cancellation was precipitated (i.e., an on the air/online polling of the fans of the show preceding it) is essentially an ass backwards one. A fellow like me (and remember, I'm a Cherished New
Listener) wouldn't be caught dead listening to Hsu's show. I turn Loveline on at 10 and I kill the radio at 12. Thus this totally unscientific and basically reckless method of determining AUDIENCE FAVOR would seemingly exclude those people whom (a) you're trying
hardest to reach and (b) actually like the programming you're offering. Now that's a business model with a future. My hopes for this letter is that it will help the people in charge of making these sorts of programming decisions take a cold hard look at the reality and long term viability of a purely Rock based radio format. It would seem to me that you have an ethically and professional duty to bring in as many listeners as is possible. While Loveline is not targeted towards your Core Audience, it is, in fact, targeted towards a highly desirable one: kids under the age of 20. I know this might come as something of a shock, but no matter how many times Mr. Hsu plays the single from 1991's Temple of the Dog album, you're not going to be winning over any new listeners. With something like Loveline, on the other hand, it's entirely possible (given the right handling) to establish an audience increasingly in the sweet spot of marketing demographics. All recent data would seem to indicate that a pure fidelity to the format you've championed for something like 35 years is no longer a viable one. Your core audience ain't getting any younger. I applaud your original decision to try something new (and apparently successful) by running Loveline and I sincerely you hope you will use this letter to reflect on the realities facing your station. Thank you for your time. —killhsunow |
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killhsunow |
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Friday, February 13, 2004 at 12:48 PM
I got email back from KHastings@entercom.com:
Thank you for writing to express your opinion. For someone who, as you say, "wouldn't be caught dead listening to WAAF" your letter suggests that you know quite a bit about our on-air offerings, not to mention other facets of our business such as Arbitron ratings. Your letter does not state the source of the Arbitron ratings you are quoting, but I would draw your attention to individual dayparts and hour-by-hour, which display a very inconsistent rating performance for the program. Also, as you point out in your letter, the target listener of the program is not necessarily consistently comparable to the target listener of a well-branded rock radio station, as an overwhelming amount of our listeners have made it abundantly clear to us over a longer period of time than Mike Hsu's impromtu survey would suggest. Back to the point of your letter, I am reasonably certain that Loveline will be placed elsewhere in the metro by the program's syndicator. Thanks again for writing to express your opinion on our programming choices.
Best regards,
Keith Hastings
Program Director
WAAF/Boston
20 Guest St., 3rd Floor
Boston MA 02135
Phone: 617-779-5400, ext. 5425
Fax: 617-779-5377
E-Mail: KHastings@WAAF.com
www.waaf.com —killhsunow |
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Magnificent Bastard |
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Friday, February 13, 2004 at 2:39 PM Great effort, kill++! I like how you offered a bento box of sarcasm for the PD radio weasel. Interestingly, he replied. The only recourse now involves flaming bags of dog poo deposited on their door step. Carry on.
—Magnificent Bastard |
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Jeremy |
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Friday, February 13, 2004 at 10:26 PM It's too bad you people are all too stupid to realize that Keith is making some very good points on why Loveline didn't fit on his station. —Jeremy |
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Santa's Mouth |
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Friday, February 13, 2004 at 11:12 PM Jeremy, now I'm confused. You just layed into Mike (n-t-f) because he was complaining about Adam's rants, now you're calling these fine people "stupid" because they're upset that Loveline got taken off their station? I can't figure out where you're coming from. Maybe I'm stupid too, huh? Nice. —Santa's Mouth |
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Kevin U. |
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Saturday, February 14, 2004 at 12:16 AM
Edited Saturday, February 14, 2004 at 12:17 AM Maybe I am reading it wrong, but I think in Keith's response he is saying that Loveline doesn't fit on a rock station... If that is what he is saying, then what the hell is he talking about? KROQ is the motherstation, and I believe that the show is most popular around the nation on FM rock stations (including my local station), why would it be any different for WAAF? Maybe I am just not sure what he means by "well-branded", does that change the audience somehow? —Kevin U. |
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presidents04 |
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Saturday, February 14, 2004 at 10:02 AM I wrote the following memo to Max Krasny from Westwood One: Max:
WAAF-FM has just dropped Loveline from its 10p-12a timeslot. Keith Hastings, the program director for WAAF, says that the show has in fact been cancelled. Are there plans for another Boston area radio station, such as WBCN-FM or WFNX-FM to start carrying the syndicated program? Your response to this question would be appreciated. Max replied: "Please have all your friends call the station...we are looking for a new home and will keep you posted." Max's email address is mdkrasny@westwoodone.com; WAAF management includes Keith Hastings: khastings@entercom.com, Julie Kahn: jkahn@entercom.com; Tom Baker: tbaker@entercom.com Let them hear us loud and clear.... —presidents04 |
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presidents04 |
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Saturday, February 14, 2004 at 10:24 AM In response to Kevin U: By 'well-branded', I imagine that Hastings is referring to the idea that an older audience is more commercially entrenched. That is to say, '35-year-old aging rock aficionados' (well-said killhsunow) are more likely beholden to the kinds of commercial interests and products which are widely marketed in prototypical advertisements on WAAF. Killhsunow is correct in asserting that WAAF's market share will continue to decrease as time progresses, unless Hastings introduces some kind of format change. Demographically speaking, this is a fact, and if Hastings doesn't believe this, then he will continue to witness both declining arbitron ratings and waning commercial revenues. —presidents04 |
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Jeremy |
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Saturday, February 14, 2004 at 4:55 PM Said by Santa's Mouth: now you're calling these fine people "stupid" because they're upset that Loveline got taken off their station?
--- No, I'm not calling them stupid because they're upset. I would be too, believe me. I'm saying they're stupid beacuse they got a response from the PD, but they consider it to be worthless. No matter what anybody says, the PD knows what he's talking about. That's why he's running the station, and they're not. —Jeremy |
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gk128 |
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Saturday, February 14, 2004 at 7:32 PM Well it looks like WAAF is not putting Loveling back on at all. I have picked it up on 96.5FM in the 10-12 slot, but it's just not the same. I'd like if FNX picked it up though. Much better reception than 96.5. —gk128 |
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Santa's Mouth |
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Sunday, February 15, 2004 at 2:13 AM Jeremy, I appreciate the response, but now respond to Kevin's assertion that Mr. Hastings is making no sense whatsoever, despite his current position. Apparently he doesn't think Loveline belongs on a rock station, even though it originates from a rock station. Interesting. You know, to assume that a person making a decision always knows what he's doing -just because he's in the position to decide- is to believe that a bad decision can never be made, and that's obviously not the case. Just because you're ready to blindly accept the ruling of some guy who's brother owns the station or slept his way to the top doesn't mean everyone else is. FIGHT THE POWER! —Santa's Mouth |
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Jeremy |
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Sunday, February 15, 2004 at 8:08 AM He never said Loveline doesn't belong on a rock station. He specifically mentioned "well-branded" when he said that Loveline doesn't fit. After looking at WAAF's website and playlist, I still have to agree. WAAF isn't the same kind of rock station that KROQ is. Also, the Arbitron ratings don't lie. Loveline's performance on the station was rickety at best. That's not surprising, because WAAF's target audience doesn't line up with Loveline's. Does Loveline belong on a Soft Rock station? Of course not. That example is a little more far-fetched than what we're dealing with here, but not by as much as one might think. Again, I don't want anyone to get me wrong here. I am a diehard Loveline fan, and it sucks to see any station drop the show, no matter what the reason is. But no matter how much I love the show, I can't blindly say that the station was wrong to drop it. Those pussy stations that drop it because they get offended? Fuck them, they're 100% wrong. But when you have a situation like this, you really have to take a deeper look at the facts. I have done that, and I have come to the conclusion that Keith Hastings has made the correct decision in this case. You may not agree, and that's fine. But this is coming from someone who is quite a bit more familiar with the inner-workings of radio than your average listener. —Jeremy |
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Santa's Mouth |
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Monday, February 16, 2004 at 8:10 AM
Edited Monday, February 16, 2004 at 8:22 AM Okay, I see your point. It's just that the first thing you said sounded antagonistic and angry towards people who didn't want the show taken off. I actually agree with you in the other thread, where the guy complained about "cannot judge." I LOVE "cannot judge," and all that "dead, dear, dear friend" stuff. That's why I was confused by THIS thread. Everything's cool now, except that Loveline isn't on in Boston (or is it? What's 96.5?) —Santa's Mouth |
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NJC |
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Monday, February 16, 2004 at 8:56 AM 96.5 is WTIC in Hartford,CT. It comes in like shit in anywhere but the Springfield/WMass area. As far as the 'format' of WAAF, I think the best way to describe it now is the rock counterpart of Jamin 94.5, which is to play all of the same shit over and over again and ruin truly good songs by making everyone sick of em. I haven't listened to much local radio since I got XM a few months ago. Too bad Loveline isn't on XM somewhere.
I seem to remember someone posting about this, and I think they even emailed someone at XM and were given a reason why they wouldn't carry it (anyone remember?) That would be the balls, because then anyone could get it, and would virtually eliminate the streaming/recording problems!
Back to AAF:
How many times can you hear Red by Chevelle or Like a Stone by Audioslave in the same day? Just like Jamin has a 10 song rotation - you will hear Holidae Inn at least once an hour as well as some of the other newer Ludacris and Jay-Z songs.
I HATE it when stations do that. If Mr. Hastings really wanted to improve his ratings, he would take his head out of his ass and stop playing the same shit over and over. I realize that they are 'told' which songs to give exposure to (pressure from the [communist] record companies), but it gets a little ridiculous. Don't get me started on the flaming piece of fecal matter the Hill-Man morning show is and Mistress Carrie's annoying voice blah blah blah rambling on and on about nothing all through lunch time -- shut up! Give us a break and give yourself a nooner!
Hsu's show I suppose is a step in the right direction, as it's composed of stuff you don't normally hear. It's too bad it has to be 10p-12a, and I doubt it will draw any new listeners. Another point I thought of while writing this:
Aren't most (if not all) of the commercials during the show PSA's? I would think that regular commercials generate more revenue for the station than PSA's. If this is true, then this could be a deterrent for airing the show. What other stations would pick it up? Well, both BCN and FNX carried it at one time, and so has Rock101 in NH (WGIR). Maybe WPRO (92.3??) in Providence will grab it. There are enough stations around where someone should air it. Maybe we should start writing to some of these stations and ask them to consider picking it up?
—NJC |
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Jeremy |
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Monday, February 16, 2004 at 10:20 PM The commercials broadcast by Westwood One are all PSAs. So if the local station chooses not to do any local commercial insertion, you will hear the PSAs. —Jeremy |
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presidents04 |
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Tuesday, February 17, 2004 at 10:51 AM I wrote the following memo to the PD of WTIC-FM (96.5) in Hartford, CT: "I just want to let the PD know that LOVELINE IS THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR RADIO STATION!!!! Don't ever cancel it! WAAF just cancelled Loveline last Thursday, and I have been driving an hour from my home in SE Massachusetts to the Rhode Island/Connecticut border just to listen to Loveline. AND I DON'T SWITCH STATIONS BETWEEN SEGMENTS- I LISTEN TO THE COMMERCIALS TOO!!! Please, keep playing Loveline forever. In fact, you may want to feature Loveline more prominently on your webpage and in your advertising. New York City does not even have an affiliate carrying Loveline right now. You could tap into a HUGE market on Long Island, Bridgeport, and the northern NYC suburbs! If you could increase your wattage, just imagine the possibilities! I am grateful that WTIC carries Loveline, and I will be listening to your station until Loveline is brought back to a station in the metro-Boston area." Jeannine Jersey, the Asst. Program Director/Music Director for WTIC-FM, wrote back: "thanks for the input...and thanks for writing in..." BUT....More importantly, she CC'd this memo to Tom Colangelo from the CBS Broadcasting network in NYC! Next assignment: sending similar memos to WBCN and WFNX in the metro-Boston area.
—presidents04 |
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Magnificent Bastard |
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Tuesday, February 17, 2004 at 1:03 PM I just thought of an avenue that some of you afflicted with acute Loveline affiliate angst might approach ... (god, I love feeble attempts at amusing alliteration!) Planet Feedback.com. Supposedly a pretty good avenue for consumer complaints, and there seems to be a decent record of resolution. Who knows? It might be worthwhile, might not be. The point is, I tried.
—Magnificent Bastard |
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presidents04 |
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 8:21 AM I wrote a letter to Oedipus, the legendary PD at WBCN: Oedipus, I wanted to express my views regarding the programming choices at WBCN. WAAF just cancelled Loveline last Thursday, and I have been driving an hour from my home in SE Massachusetts to the Rhode Island/Connecticut border just to listen to Loveline. I think it's important to note that I don't switch stations between segments - I listen to the commercials too. Please, consider bringing Loveline back to WBCN for the following reasons... I know that WBCN carried Loveline in 1999-2000, and eventually dropped the program. However, recent Arbitron ratings reveal that during the past year, WBCN's market share has been faltering, and in the most recent Fall 2003 ratings, WBCN (2.9) was just 1/2 of a point ahead of WAAF (2.4). It is interesting to note that WAAF's program director, Keith Hastings, acquired Loveline after terminating Jay Ferrera in April 2003, when WAAF's ratings hit a rock-bottom 1.9. Hastings says that the majority of loyal WAAF listeners have expressed an aversion to the program, which he had initially launched in the hopes of attracting younger listeners (WBCN's primary demographic). Still, over the past 10 months, WAAF's Arbitron ratings have been slowly but steadily climbing, while WBCN has continued to lose more listeners. I'm certain that you are aware that WBCN's market share has been consistantly dwindling since 1998, when seasonal figures momentarily exceeded a recorded 5.7 count. This disappointing trend could be reversed with the assistance of a ratings powerhouse like Loveline. Now would be a perfect time to re-introduce Loveline to WBCN's program schedule for the following reason: WAAF brought Loveline back to the metro-Boston area nearly three years after WBCN's contract expired in 2000, and there are now many new Loveline fans in the listening area, in addition to the many loyal long-time listeners from 4-5 years ago. But perhaps more importantly, WAAF has angered so many Loveline listeners - not only in discontinuing the syndicated program, but also by the manner in which the program was terminated - with the assistance of a phony on-line poll by new nighttime DJ Mike Hsu (WAAF participates in a lot of scams, it seems). Since KROQ-FM, the flagship station for Loveline, is also one of WBCN's sister stations, I believe that Loveline would be a perfect fit in the 10pm-midnight timeslot. How do you feel about this? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
- An hour later, Oedipus wrote back:
Thank you for your insightful anaylsis of the ratings. You certainly have more awareness of the ratings then the average listener. As a matter of fact, you are too knowledgeable to not be in the business. Be that as it may, maybe you can convince WFNX to carry itonce again; if it works for them, I will carry it again when their contract expires.
Next assignment: Writing a letter to the PD at WFNX
—presidents04 |
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NJC |
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 8:49 AM
Edited Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 8:53 AM
Good work prez! That was a nice compliment from Oed (esp since I've heard he's a real dick). Sounds like he wants FNX to be the guinea pig though...Where in SE mass are you? and where have you been driving to? I'm quite knowledgable about radio and RF propagation and might be able to find a place closer for you to listen. Other options are building an antenna, or possibly streaming from one of the internet stations (though I have not tried any of the day-delay stations recently). Maybe your could try some of these hills below. They are sites for Mass State Police trunked system repeaters:
—NJC |
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presidents04 |
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 11:57 AM Hey, thanks NJC. I'm in Sharon, and I have been driving out along 295 Southbound - last night I found a fast-food restaurant in Greenville, RI, right near some power lines, and there was a fairly clear signal - just some heavy static every five or ten minutes. That was only a 35 minute drive. Monday, I stopped at a grocery store atop a hill in Putnam, CT, where there was a strong signal (51 miles east of Hartford) - but that is a solid hour away. That map is a good reference, but unfortunately there is a classical music station at 96.5 along the Rhode Island seacost which would probably interfere. From the north, there is an oldies station at 96.5 in Manchester, NH - so I think that heading westbound is probably the best solution short of having a cable or DSL connection installed. Maybe one of those ultra-powerful antennas, facing westward, would do the trick. Anyway, thanks for the post. —presidents04 |
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NJC |
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 12:34 PM
Edited Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 12:35 PM
According to http://radio-locator.com (a great resource), Brown U has 96.5 on the cable. This means it shouldn't be radiating too far from the campus.
In Bedford,NH, there is WQLL which is a licensed class-A station with an ERP of 730W. They have a directional antenna (doesn't say which direction or the gain). ERP is Effective Radiated Power. This means that if they have a directional antenna with 20dB gain over a dipole, and they put 73W on the wire, the ERP would be 730W in the direction the antenna was pointing. That is just an example. I don't know what they have! However, the coverage map does not reflect what would be expected of a directional antenna.
I just found there is another booster station in RI W243AI (WCRI) which is located in Newport,RI and only transmits 56W ERP, but its a little close to the path between you and Hartford.If you were to build a yagi, not only would it receive better in the direction you pointed it, but it would attenuate other directions. I think this would be a viable option for you, definitely worth a try. The neat thing about FM as opposed to AM is that a slightly stronger signal on the same frequency will completely cover up the weaker one, whereas with AM you will hear both simultaneously. Let me know if you want to make one and I'll help ya. Keep in mind also, that you are going to want to use a good receiver, with the antenna as high up as possible. 
—NJC |
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