WKLB cans JW and Lori's morning show

"ALL ACCESS has confirmed that longtime GREATER MEDIA Country WKLB (COUNTRY 102.5)/BOSTON morning teamers JW WILLIS & LORI GRANDE (JW & LORI) exited the station TODAY (2/11). GREATER MEDIA/BOSTON VP/Market Mgr. MARY MENNA released this statement: “We are grateful to JW and LORI for their contributions to ‘COUNTRY 102.5’ over the years and wish them the very best. A new show will be unveiled in the near future. LORI will continue to be a Total Traffic & Weather Network (TTWN) employee providing traffic reports.” - See more at: http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/a...t-wklb-mornings#sthash.lG1rGkUG.cUHTyn5t.dpuf

raccoonradio said:

"ALL ACCESS has confirmed that longtime GREATER MEDIA Country WKLB (COUNTRY 102.5)/BOSTON morning teamers JW WILLIS & LORI GRANDE (JW & LORI) exited the station TODAY (2/11). GREATER MEDIA/BOSTON VP/Market Mgr. MARY MENNA released this statement: “We are grateful to JW and LORI for their contributions to ‘COUNTRY 102.5’ over the years and wish them the very best. A new show will be unveiled in the near future. LORI will continue to be a Total Traffic & Weather Network (TTWN) employee providing traffic reports.” - See more at: http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/a...t-wklb-mornings#sthash.lG1rGkUG.cUHTyn5t.dpuf

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Poor folks, what a kick in the a$$! And let's not mince words: they didn't "exit" - they were pushed out!

Lemme guess: they didn't "skew young enough".

Looks like they're going to have a voice tracked morning show from now on.

blackgold said:

Looks like they're going to have a voice tracked morning show from now on.

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Hey, just like they do at Clear Channel.

Now from where could they possibly have gotten an idea like that?

blackgold said:

Looks like they're going to have a voice tracked morning show from now on.

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What make it "look like" that?

JW had been with the station at least 20 years, if not more. I remember when he was night host when the station was on 96.9. Sad.

Pretty sure John "JW" Willis is the son of John Willis Sr who hosted Good Day on Ch 5. In 90s WMWM had a Sun. morning country show hosted by Gayla
Willis who told me she was related.

Trying to skew younger? When the Bull debuted they quickly ran promos geared to younger listeners–“now you have a station and
your parents still have theirs”. KLB responded with slogan “Boston’s #1 for hot new country” and cancelled
their oldies show.
“They said that they liked the Young Sound, when they let me go”–Harry Chapin, “W.O.L.D”

So what will WKLB be seeking ?
Testosterone or estrogen ?
Any change in their playlist ?

It is never easy when you lose your job on the air, but we all knew that was possible when we signed up. WKLB is a tired, old, sleepy station, and that starts from the mornings. They should be a top biller in Boston but languish near the bottom of mid-pack. Their ratings bounce all over the map because they have no focus, no sharp imagery and no edge. The Bowel will not threaten them due to signal and syndication, a recipe for disaster in a market like Boston. But 'KLB needs to get their act together if they have any intention of being truly great...and they may not have that intention. Despite the cuts, this was a step in the right direction.

I'm not a fan of there show but it's still a bad way to go. Funny how they make changes when the Bull isn't setting the world on fire ratings wise. I listen to the bull more anyhow. If they voice track could they possibly pick up nash fm's morning show?

huh? they have placed top 5 in almost every book in the last 5 years, they are a "country" ( and I use that term loosely ) in a part of the country that is as far away from that lifestyle as you can get.

Yes today's country is very popular with young females as the rest of the music offerings suck, but there is no denying they do quite well in Boston.

As for Lori being a Total Traffic employee.... that is news to me.


Greater Media is following a corporate strategy company wide to skew younger.

Mike Adams leaving WMJX was the first hint, canning WKLB afternon and evening staff was another, Candy O' leaving 106.7, Tom Doyle shown the door at WROR, are all part of the overall plan, and it has also happened in other markets.

If I were Nancy Quill or David Allen Boucher I'd be looking over my shoulder, but someone I discussed the D.A.B. thing with says he is safe because Jordans Furniture buys a ton of time on Bedtime Magic because of his presence......

But somehow or other Loren and Wally still march on.... well into their 60's

If you are FB friends with Lori, the amount of posts to her page offering support for her and JR are unlike anything I have ever seen.

MRBIboredop said:

huh? they have placed top 5 in almost every book in the last 5 years, they are a "country" ( and I use that term loosely ) in a part of the country that is as far away from that lifestyle as you can get.

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But the poster also states (without supplying a source) that KLB's billing has been significantly less than its ratings would justify. If so, maybe the audience is still too old, despite the station ditching all the classic country including that weekend show, and now management figures that younger, more energetic voices are what's needed -- or a minimalist, more-music/less-gab approach with voicetracking of generic talent? Or could it be that the old stereotypes of country music listeners are still prevalent among the decision makers at Boston's ad agencies?

Greater Media is widely known for having the least effective sales organization in Boston. Those ratings-to-revenue conversions if true are an embarrassment. Country is the new CHR with non-ethnic listeners and should d o very well with 18-34. Look at country the numbers in Hartford, Providence, Dover-Portsmouth, Portland and other New England markets. WKLB is poorly programmed and woefully undersold. I guarantee there is no agency bias against country in Boston. Greater Media's problem was and always will be soft leadership. What a shame.

Nice try....

gaveitup said:

Greater Media is widely known for having the least effective sales organization in Boston.

WKLB is poorly programmed and woefully undersold.

I guarantee there is no agency bias against country in Boston.

Greater Media's problem was and always will be soft leadership. What a shame.

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Four declarative statements with nothing to back them up.

But, you know what they say, opinions are free....and worth every penny!

What sort of substantiation would you like? Stationratings.com shows the strength of country in other New England markets. An earlier poster--David Eduardo--posted revenue ranking for WKLB as #11. Miller-Kaplan says the top billing stations in Boston for 2015 were WBZ-FM, WEEI, WBZ-AM and KISS in that order. For Greater Media to not have a single station in the top-4 is pretty dismal, assuming those facts are correct. I'll stand by my opinion that WKLB is poorly programmed, and I'd guess they would agree considering the on-air changes that started this entire thread. However, you are correct in that I should not have stated no agency has a bias against country in Boston. However, if they do, their heads are in the Harbor. It's simply ridiculous.

Years ago Boston was considered a weak market for country but bit by bit WKLB raised the profile and did better in the ratings...reaching #1 12-plus (yes, though not 25-54?) at one point. But as has been said ratings don't necessarily agree with revenue. The station has won various awards for country radio and Mike Brophey has been praised. Some country concerts like Kenny Chesney at Gillette sell out right away, etc.

GM is happy enough with the station to keep it country and it must make them some money but as you say, GM has been weak compared with the other owners (CBS, Entercom, and iHeart) that you mentioned. Ratings wise Magic 106.7 has done well over the years, ditto WROR, but again that's ratings not earnings.

iHeart's country effort to draw listeners away from 'KLB and maybe make them some money, too, has done so so in the ratings but again, they may be happy about it, or else they (like Evolution and Harbor before them) will change to something else (what, though?). iHeart saw how well 'KLB was going and decided to not just go country but accent the
hot new country. Well, either WKLB is poorly programmed, or The Bull has siphoned off enough listeners to make GM
start to worry about their longtime CW outlet here....

>>Country 102.5 WKLB-FM Program Director Mike Brophey and Music Director Ginny Rogers both received top honors on Friday, March 1st at the 2013 Country Radio Seminar/Country Aircheck Awards in Nashville, Tennessee.
Brophey was named Operations Manager/Program Director of the Year (Major Market).
http://www.greatermedia.com/?p=4702

https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazin...-music-soul/kc65VvEuCb138mUpXIPaRK/story.html

>>And what a lucrative monopoly it had been. Country music, once considered a lost cause in Boston, has captured the city’s heart. Top country artists now routinely fill area stadiums and arenas and sell many singles and albums locally...For WKLB, owned by Braintree-based Greater Media, this ballooning fan base has brought sky-high ratings and accompanying advertising dollars.

gaveitup said:

What sort of substantiation would you like? Stationratings.com shows the strength of country in other New England markets. An earlier poster--David Eduardo--posted revenue ranking for WKLB as #11.

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Yes, we agree that WKLB is underperforming for the last year

gaveitup said:

Miller-Kaplan says the top billing stations in Boston for 2015 were WBZ-FM, WEEI, WBZ-AM and KISS in that order. For Greater Media to not have a single station in the top-4 is pretty dismal,

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Top billing stations are news sports and the one-time giant CHR. That's to be expected. I would not expect GM to have music stations that beat those. (also take into account the expenses of the news/sports stations that GM does not have).

gaveitup said:

I'll stand by my opinion that WKLB is poorly programmed

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As stated, opinions are free and worth every penny. However, the very same programming that had it king of Boston ratings and one of the top Country stations in the Country??

Good points Wimmex, especially about the profitability of those GM music machines. Three points of note:

1) WKLB has not been a top biller in the market at least going back to when I was still an active seller. That's not a programming problem. That is a sales problem.
2) Most country experts agree these are the top stations in the format across the country:
WUSN Chicago
KPLX Dallas
KKBQ Houston
WMZQ Washington
KILT Houston
WXTU Philadelphia
WYCD Detroit
KNIX Phoenix
KMPS Seattle
KEEY Minneapolis
KSON San Diego
KYGO Denver
WQYK Tampa

New York, Los Angeles and Boston generally are not represented on the list due to the lower billing and overall limited market impact of KKGO, WNSH and WKLB respectively. No disrespect intended to anyone.

3) Boston is the only top-20 market where the #1 station (Magic) in women 25-54 has never broken the top-2 in billing, let alone top-5. News talk and sports do well elsewhere, but AC is always a top biller....except in Boston. Read into that what you will.

You are correct about opinions being what they are worth. I'm just stating facts to the best of my knowledge. Greater Media is a very profitable, debt-free company. The origin of this thread was about why the changes in morning drive on WKLB.