D-I-B,
Thanks for the response. I'm finding that we actually agree on much of the format of KFNC and an Entertainment style News Station. A few items that we don't agree on, but we are looking at this from two different perspectives as to the age of the listener. I find much merit in your responses that do give new thought on what type of All News {straight ahead} would work best in Houston.
>
>
> > I disagree, the news can be "cheapened" or "taken away from"
> > when you have some one making ignorant remarks about tragic
> > stories or joke about serious issues.
>
> By "news", I meant the actual events of the day, not the
> broadcast. I have good friends, caring people who give a
> lot back to their communities who have a gift and make their
> living joking about serious issues on the air. It makes for
> amazing, amusing radio, but they would never think for a
> second and would, in fact, always hope that their on-air
> "antics" have no real effect on world events. I would
> agree.
>
I understand where you are coming from now and I agree with you. I also believe that the news can be entertaining and funny. I had never really listened to Walton and Johnson until they came on KIOL. The show does good deal of news from 5:30am to 10:00am and they do joke about the news and frequently give their personal views on any news item that they cover. It is informative and humorous at the same time. They think nothing of saying that someone is a Son-of-a-Bitch or a dumbass, etc when they cover a new story. They also have parody songs like you mentioned that can be down right hysterical. I have never heard them make light of a tragedy though. If you have never heard the show I would suggest give it a few days and see if that is what you are looking for in entertaining news. Their program is not all news, they do a variety of comedy sketches and take phone calls to find out what are on thier listeners minds. Sometimes there is just conversation between W&J.
>
> > If KFNC wants to do "comedy news" let
> > people know up front that you have tuned into the comedy
> > channel. I can't say that this has taken place on the
> > evening news or not, I gave up after the first ten minutes
> > the first day. As bad as KTRH is KFNC made Newsradio 740
> > sound good.
>
> I agree. To me nothing cheapens a broacast more than doing
> it poorly. I keep hearing that KFNC hired GREAT
> PERSONALITIES. Let them be that, then, instead of straight
> news people.
>
If KFNC is going to be a News station, I would agree with you that the people that they have hired should be allowed to have their own style and personality in reporting the news. It would eliminate a problem with many All News stations is that all the anchors sound the same. The only thing is that I don't think they should personally make any comments on the stories they are reporting. A good or great air personality can let their personality show through, even on an All News station with editorializing. Basically each person would make their time slot on an All News station that is identified with the air personality, the 2pm to 5pm slot is highly recognized as air personality A's News Block. The same for all other hours. It would be a much fresher style to the All News format.
If KFNC where to go to an Entertainment style of news reporting, where the air personality does make his or her own views know on what they think about the story, that would be fine. They are still giving the news and adding their views, hopefully funny and also not afraid to say that this person was a dumbshit for trying to rob the grocery store down the block from where he lives and and uses no disguse. I have no problem with that and add the parody songs and jokes about life in general. I would not want a Howard Stern type approach to the news reporting, the line of what is funny and what is crossing the line of good taste would be breached too often. Maybe KFNC should go to an Entertainment Style of news reporting, you have pointed out that there are different tastes to how people want to get their news. A point that is well taken. Not all people are going to want the style of news reporting that I feel would be the appropiate style, just as not all people are going to want an entertainment style of news reporting.
>
> > Keep the news tight,
> > accurate and up to date. If there is a breaking story stay
> > with it, unless their is nothing more to report, but have
> > someone monitoring the situation so you can break back in at
> > a moment.
>
> I just think that KTRH does that, and well. It is a shame
> that they are slowly shutting it down, but KFNC will never
> fill that niche. It probably isn't even necessary to fill.
> On most days, there is not enough BIG news to fill out a
> broadcast day. Updates are great. Do them and do them well
>
I agree that KTRH did that very well at one time. The only news is the am drive News Block and I believe the hour at noon, Monday through Friday. Not much news for a station that bills itself as NewsRadio 740. KTRH was getting stale, but I'm sure the morale at the station was zilch. When most of the staff is gone and you are working with a handful of people and you don't know when your time to be let go is next. KTRH will likely be out of the news reporting totally once Sam Malone's non-compete runs out and he takes the morning time slot. It will most likely be a local talk show, which is fine. Talk is the direction KTRH has slowly been moving to for some time now. Sam Malone should make an excellent morning host on a Talk Show. Deborah Duncan will have her show expanded to fill the noon hour. This not like Canada where you have to have the blessing of the government as to what your format is and if you want to change formats, you need the approval of Industry Canada to go to that format. Many times the stations have to make a case why the format they want to change to will be an asset to the community. I very glad that the US is not that way, and KTRH can change their format to whatever they want.
>
> > If they do a commentary, let people know it is a
> > commentary and the opinions of KFNC and not necessarily
> > anyone else.
>
> Or, you could just make it your image, your format.
>
Agreed 100%, KFNC could make that they image even for the news. If they want to go with an Entertainment Tonight type news format that matches their talk shows, it would probably fit better with the station.
>
>
> > KTRH was not failing, it was one of the best news stations
> > in the country at one time. Once Clear Channel got their
> > hands on it they decimated the news department to the point
> > it was a joke. Near the end KTRH couldn't cover a breaking
> > story to save their life. It wasn't all Clear Channels'
> > fault though, KTRH has changed owners through so many
> > mergers that I really don't know who owned them when, but
> > some years back KTRH started cutting back on the news at
> > night. The news department was also had a large amount of
> > reports let go, which cut down on their reporting
> > capabilities. Clear Channel really did the number to KTRH
> > though. Ten to fifteen years ago most stations had a larger
> > news staff that reported the news on the hour or at :55 than
> > KTRH does today.
>
> I agree.
>
>
> > There is nothing wrong with a younger sounding, fast paced
> > News station with a good jingle package and the news updated
> > every twenty minutes. That is what this city needs in a
> > News station, not a stale sounding station, but when it
> > comes to the news, only the news should be reported.
>
> I don't think this would EVER work. Young people can sniff
> out contrived, and that is how this type of standard news
> with a "now" face would come across.
>
Infinity streams there All News stations KFWB 980 Los Angeles is one of them. The format that I was thinking about is more of the approach that KFWB takes towards the news. It is updated every 22 minutes, traffic on the ones, weather on the fives, at this time they are covering the M Jackson verdict wall to wall, which a standard good All News should do. Unless KFWB has changed their format greatly over the last year that is the station that I think would work in Houston.
>
> > If you
> > want to make comments about news stories that is why you
> > have talk shows. Walton & Johnson is a good deal of news in
> > the morning with their personal slant on the news, but you
> > know that they are giving their opinion of a news story. W & K
> > is not doing news on a News-Talk station which makes a
> > big difference. If you want news and be entertained tune
> > into KIOL and W & J from 5:30 to 10. News in an
> > Entertainment Tonight style along with lots of lots of
> > sexual innuendo jokes to go along with the morning show.
> > Don't get me wrong, I like W&J and the fact they call a
> > dumbass robber a dumbass robber. There are some very funny
> > bits that are done on the morning show. There is nothing
> > wrong with how they do their show, but it is not a News
> > station, it is a Rock station with an entertaining morning
> > show that does include a good deal of news with their
> > personal views. I think that is what you are looking for.
>
>
> That is ABSOLUTELY what I am looking for, but why just
> morning drive? There are stations in every major market
> that format all day and night just like that, without ever
> playing music (except maybe some parodies. That is what us
> kids want, not pretending to be hip news.
>
I can agree with you that the format could be done all day or even on a 24/7 basis. In Houston now that KXYZ has a group lead by Brent Clanton that is all Business News-Talk from 6am to 6pm and broke the mold of syndicated shows, but live Houston people in the know discussing Business News from the world to very local. Starting the ball rolling with stations willing to take more of a chance on their programming. KIOL brought back a Rock format that is slowly taking it's own style and KFNC which given time will find it's niche format and audience, which isn't bad, all the talk stations have a niche audience be it KTRH, KPRC, KNTH, KSEV and now KFNC.
>
> >
> > KFNC would do their best by just reporting the news in a
> > face paced style that fits Houston's lifestyle, young
> > sounding, a good jingle package. You might call it the Top
> > 40 of News.
>
> I just don't think that will ever fly. Ratings would be
> worse than the evening news on TV
>
That is one area where I am willing to agree to disagree. I think that it would go over well in Houston, better than a boring monotone vanilla news station. In honesty if a station could pick up the ratings that 2-11-13 in their evening news generate, they would be in very good shape. Evening the ratings from 9pm to 10:35pm 2-11-13-26-39 pull decent ratings, WB 39 likely has the lowest ratings as it is the newest entry. Most radio stations would like to have ratings as high.
>
> > A News station is not where you
> > tune to be entertained.
>
> Agreed. I just think entertainment can be informative.
>
Regards,
Mike O
