The Best and the Worst CHRs

[porkythepig]

That was exactly the answer I was looking for, Roger.  "Live and local" is good, if done right.  People do like meeting their favorite jocks at events.  On the other hand, NOT talking about a church bake sale doesn't necessarily mean you suck at being "live and local" if the listeners don't care about some church bake sale.  But if that jock doesn't do something to be a favorite, then they don't care.  There are satellite services such as WeatherEye that inform on weather/emergencies for automated stations 24/7.

EDIT: I forgot to add that everyone, even big talents like Paul Cubby Bryant and Ryan Seacrest, start out as newbies who puke all over the mic at one time in their life. Programmers were patient with them, and look how far they've gotten. The pe-ons could be like them in the future. ;D

 

[NoWayNoCC]

Some stations, including them, can play their powers 65 times a week.

Everyone these days acts like a CHR needs to give powers over 100 spins a week to be a good CHR. But I think even 65 is a little much. Twenty years ago, if a CHR gave a song 45 spins a week, it would be considered too repetitive.

 

[jradiod]

How many times you spin your powers a week should dictate a good balance between cume and TSL. Larger markets with lots of competition and presets (like Q102) want those high cume numbers. Because if a listener turns on a station and does not hear their favorite song, they flip to your competition.

 

[Roger That]

Everyone these days acts like a CHR needs to give powers over 100 spins a week to be a good CHR. But I think even 65 is a little much. Twenty years ago, if a CHR gave a song 45 spins a week, it would be considered too repetitive.

I would LOVE to be your competition. That kind of response is exactly why so many radio stations are failing. Everyone's so stuck in the "way it was," no wonder we can't get caught up.

20 years ago, the pieces of the pie we were fighting for were a LOT bigger, and our audiences were NOT bombarded with the millions of attention-hogging products and messages that you can find now.

Times have changed...believe it or not, so should radio.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

Everyone these days acts like a CHR needs to give powers over 100 spins a week to be a good CHR. But I think even 65 is a little much. Twenty years ago, if a CHR gave a song 45 spins a week, it would be considered too repetitive.

I would LOVE to be your competition. That kind of response is exactly why so many radio stations are failing. Everyone's so stuck in the "way it was," no wonder we can't get caught up.

20 years ago, the pieces of the pie we were fighting for were a LOT bigger, and our audiences were NOT bombarded with the millions of attention-hogging products and messages that you can find now.

Times have changed...believe it or not, so should radio.

Radio 20 years ago was much better and was much more respected. I think if even a large market had a CHR with a low repeat factor, it could be a top-rated station.

 

[porkythepig]

Radio 20 years ago was much better and was much more respected. I think if even a large market had a CHR with a low repeat factor, it could be a top-rated station.

Did ipods, cell phones, XM/Sirius Satrad, portable CD players, internet, etc. exist in 1984?  Nope.

Smaller markets don't have to turn over their powers as much (as I reference a previous post) because of less competition.

 

[Roger That]

Radio 20 years ago was much better and was much more respected. I think if even a large market had a CHR with a low repeat factor, it could be a top-rated station.

Ah...so THAT's it...THAT is what everyone's been missing. All this time, some of the smartest programmers in the world have programmed the biggest stations, and yet this point has eluded them! Thank goodness you were here. Quick, call Sharon Dastur and John Ivey and tell them the good news!

That is, if you can get them to stop laughing at you long enough. :

Boo hoo...radio was so much better then. It was so much more respected. Ever been to a night club and seen that old guy that was trying to be too young? He may have been the MAN in the 80's, but now he's just pathetic and embarrassing himself. If he would just act more his age, acknowledge the fact that the "Miami Vice" look hasn't been popular for a long time, and get with the times, he could still be the man.

That's what radio is. It's that guy. And you are just as pathetic to keep trying to hold onto that. It's not respected because it's still trying to BE that guy. The world has changed. Radio hasn't. Going BACK to the way it was 20 years ago is not the answer. And when you listen to some stations, one could argue that they don't even have to go back. They still sound the same now as they did then.

Guess they didn't get the white-penny-loafers-with-a-white-sport-coat-with-rolled-up-sleeves-and-a-neon-pink-shirt-look-was-out memo.

 

[charlestondxman]

Well, let's go back to our topic.

Best top 40s I've heard:

WAEV Savannah: good music mix, usually has good personalities, big signal with good late-night mixshows.

WXXL Orlando: Request show every weeknight, with lots of personality.

WZNY Augusta (back when they were top 40): good top 40 station, with lots of well-known personalities, and little syndication.

Worst top 40s:

WQSM Fayetteville: Sounds like a Hot AC passing through, not a top 40, very light production for top 40 station.

WSSP Charleston when they were "94.3 the Beat": Mostly rap music, not a Rhythmic CHR, little communication with community.

WSSX Charleston: This station has gone, in five years, from one of the best top 40s in the Southeast, to one of the worst top 40s I've heard. They have no direction. In the morning, they run their teenybopper morning show, with boring contests that always revolve around car dealerships, then they basically go to a Hot or even Modern AC format during the midday, with a 80's or 90's hour at noon.

Then Ryan Seacrest comes on at 3pm, and it goes back to the mix of entertainment news and music that it is in the morning. At night, they air Romeo's Playhouse, and they play the same music that they have had for several years, as you still hear "How Far We've Come" by Matchbox 20, and other songs you don't usually hear on a good top 40 station.

 

[Kent]

KISR - the owner is the voice guy and morning man i believe. a buddy of mine used to work in the market and has sent me audio. i think they stream now. if anyone can find a worse sounding mainstream chr than this please tell me!

Actually, it's the owner's son who does the voice and mornings on KISR. The owner himself is roughly 90 and in poor health. His son is at or near retirement age, but Dale Dorman did CHR in Boston very well until he was 62. He could have gone on longer other than budget cuts. KISR is the classic example of a CHR that's great for its home market but terrible anywhere else. Aside from a brief period almost 20 years ago (when it was in bankruptcy), it's always been at or near the top of the ratings and proves CHR can work in a market that's generally considered old.

Here's my list of the best:

KSLZ St. Louis
KSPW Springfield, MO (proved CHR really does work in the Ozarks)
Alice 107.7 Little Rock
KHTT Tulsa (lots of personality. Doesn't try to be great to consultants; tries to be great to Tulsans)
WNOU Indianapolis
KXXM San Antonio (not flashy and a bit conservative but disproves the theory that mainstream CHR can't work in a Hispanic market)
KRQQ Tucson
KKOB-FM Albuquerque (the pop tags can be annoying but see KXXM).
WXLK Roanoke (everyone who is anyone on the East Coast spent time here; proves a revolving door can be a good thing!)

The worst:

KRBE Houston (couldn't stand this station 20 years ago when I was a CHR listener and it was "Power 104"; can't stand it today either!)
KKHH Houston (can't even crack the top-10 18-34, 'nuff said!)
KHFI Austin (once one of the nation's great CHR's, now nothing but a shell of its former self)
WYOY Jackson, MS (I still can't believe Clear Channel couldn't run these guys out of the format with WDBT 95.5!)
KMCK Fayetteville, AR ("The Legend, Power 105.7" is another station I never could stand, even when I was an avid CHR listener!)
WREZ Paducah, KY (can't compete with Electric 96.9. Listen, and you'll see why!)

 

[lowpower]

Kent,

It's good to see someone agree with me on KHTT. I listen to the stream whenever I get a chance. They go against the corporate radio rules and it seems by listening and pictures on their website that Tulsa is passionate about them. KLAL is a great example of a station programming local to their market as well. They are one of the few top 40 stations that leans rock that I know of and it works well for them. WNOU is a great CHR as well.

It's weird ... I actually haven't heard many "bad" chr's other than the station out of Ft. Smith. You are correct in your statement regarding it doing well though. Listeners seem to love that station. It goes to show that what radio people think is good doesn't always translate to the listeners mind. I wish they would be more of a mainstream chr though. They drifted into the rhythmic chr sound for the mostpart after The Vibe launched. I haven't heard KKHH much but from what I've heard people are saying they sound really good? KMCK is a good example of what corporate radio has done with radio. They now have a syndicated morning show which from what I've heard does really well but also have a syndicated night show now as well so the personality this station once has is gone. I think two dayparts are local now. I'm not very familiar with the other stations you listed.

Great Thread!

 

[Roger That]

They now have a syndicated morning show which from what I've heard does really well but also have a syndicated night show now as well so the personality this station once has is gone.

LOL...one of the funniest lines I've read on here in a while. Thanks for that.

 

[BRH]

Some of the better CHR's are owned by smaller owners, but out of the large corporations, I think CBS and Citadel do the best jobs overall with their CHRs (for my personal tastes). I know that's a blanket statement and doesn't always hold true, but overall, I tend to prefer CBS and Citadel's CHR's over Cumulus and a lot of Clear Channel's. As I said earlier, I care the most about the production elements (more so than the playlists), and overall I like the sound of these companies CHR's.

CBS has two of my favorites (KKHH "Hot 95.7" Houston and KBKS "106.1 Kiss FM" Seattle.) I think both of these are top notch CHRs that have a really fun and heavily produced sound. (Their other mainstream CHR WNKS Charlotte isn't quite as good as KKHH and KBKS IMO).

I also like the sound of a lot of Citadel's CHR's. Good examples of stations I like from Citadel would include KKOB "93-3 KOB" Albuquerque, WPRO "92 Pro FM" Providence, KHOP "K-Hop @ 95-1", and WSSX "95 SX" Charleston, SC. I know some have mentioned that they didn't like some of these (like 95SX) but I think that is due to the musical leanings and not the production. True, some of Citadel's CHR's lean a bit to the adult/recurrent side (like WSSX and KKOB), but production-wise they sound great and far better than a lot of Clear Channel's "non traditional" type of sweepers and imaging. (My only gripe with Citadel is that they run too much syndicated stuff on their stations. They seem to love to run things like Ryan Seacrest, Billy Bush, Romeo's playhouse, etc. I love KKOB Albuquerque but they've cluttered it up with so much syndicated stuff that there aren't many local dayparts left where you can hear how they actually sound).

And that's my beef with a lot of the Clear Channel CHR's. Not all, but many, use non-traditional type sweepers with simple listener type sounding voicers and often they don't even use jingles. I guess this is the wave of the future with the PPM and the ipod generations, but I still want to hear imaging (traditional sweepers, jingles, etc.). I think a CHR that does cold segues or has no jingle package is an abomination. OK, maybe that's a bit harsh, but if I'm listening to CHR, I want it to "pop" off the dial and have energy and elements. I don't want a cold segued ipod on shuffle with a couple of boring urban sounding listener sweepers every half hour. That's why I don't like a lot of Clear Channel's CHRs. There are obvious exceptions that are great (like WHTZ, WXKS, KJYO, KWTX, etc.) but then there are others like WXXL "XL 106.7" Orlando, WDKF "Channel 94.5" Dayton, etc. that I just hate. And there are others like KSLZ St. Louis and WIHT Washington, DC that use those awful, non-traditional urban sweeper voices that I am talking about that sound like they belong on an urban or rhythmic station instead of a mainstream CHR (a lot of their Kiss stations use those as well). Anyway, I know this is probably the wave of the future as I said, but personally, I hate that style of production on a CHR.

But anyway, as I said, I base my favorites on production elements and what's in between the songs, and in those cases, I kind of like CBS and Citadel's take on CHR. I also would have to say that Cox does a good job as well. I think they only have a couple of mainstream CHR's (WAPE Jacksonville and WBLI Long Island) but both of those sound great.

 

[porkythepig]

The stripped down imaging and dead segues are the Less is More policy, and the fact some believe imaging isn't needed in a PPM world. WIXX in Green Bay also leans rock.

 

[InsertNameHere]

BRH, you mention digging the imaging, and also digging KBKS, and I love how they do it. Play the sweeper (lightly produced, so you can play over intros, but not dry either) OVERTOP the intros.
I'm pretty sure they do that with all of their sweepers. Play about 1 or 2 seconds of the intro, then start the sweeper

 

[TheMusicMan]

Alright, some of my favorites...

WHTZ/New York - If you have to ask why...just listen.

KSLZ/St. Louis - I spent a weekend in St. Louis in July and found Z107-7 incredibly refreshing. They're a perfect example of a station that has employed methods of stripping down the clutter without removing personality. Jocks sounded like they were having fun, music was appropriately rhythmic...just a good energy about the station.

WWWQ/Atlanta - Embodies everything that CHR should be - except with regard to the music.

WAEV/Savannah - Well-programmed for the market. Solid personalities, especially given the market size.

WNKS/Charlotte - Music is anything but cookie-cutter, they often go out on songs that might not be national smashes but it sounds seamless.

WRVW/Nashville - Imaging stands out; I also love the in-house 90's show on Sunday evenings. Music is a smidge conservative, but enjoyable nonetheless.

 

[RadioFan17]

One that I haven't seen mentioned either good or bad is WDCG/G105 in Raleigh-Durham. The morning show is great (I know not everyone's cup of tea) and their personalities throughout the day are excellent whether it is today or ten, twenty years ago. Despite all of CC's cheapness, they have managed to pretty well maintain their identity and their musical leanings are always what the audience wants now. When CHR's were dying in the 90's, the station leaned more modern rock to stay at the top and as times changed so have they.

Here is my list, I know East Coast heavy:

Best:
WDCG/G105-Raleigh Durham
WXLK/K92-Roanoke
WAZO/Z107.5-Wilmington, NC
WKZL/1075-KZL-Winston-Salem/Greensboro
WHTZ/Z100 New York (the Gold Standard)
The now defunct HOT FM (96.3 and 103.7 WRHT/WRHD) Greenville, New Bern Jacksonville, NC
WIHT/Hot 99.5-Washington, DC
WNOK/104.7 Columbia (at least used to be)

I was in Dallas for a week earlier this year and Kiss FM sounded really good as well.

Worst
WERO/Bob 93.3-Greenville, New Bern, Jacksonville, NC
WWXM/Mix 97.7-Myrtle Beach
WQSM/Q98-Fayetteville
WRVQ/Q94 Richmond
WIOQ/Q102 Philadelphia

 

[BRH]

One more that I forgot to add to my list of favs - WHBQ "Q107.5" Memphis (good production, good jingles, good music flow).

 

[Chance Cali]

I have been streaming a few of these since reading this thread.


Worst list:

KISR- lol everyone was talking about it being bad, but yeah. It's pretty bad.

*edit* In the ten minutes of listening online. The imaging sounds like its trying to unsuccessfully sound old school, I heard the same jock do every commercial, a very unexcited winner, and they went off air. I cut it off after that.

 

[The Truthsayer]

Every KISR liner said "PROUDDDDD TO BE LIVEEEE AND LOCALLLLLL! THE MOST MUSIC KISSER 93!"

How do they afford to be live and local 24/7? Most people can't tell the difference between live and local & tracked and out of market/syndicated, nor do they care.

This sounds SMALLER than their market size and they're market #173. This is worse than 'KCK.

 

[Chance Cali]

This sounds SMALLER than their market size and they're market #173. This is worse than 'KCK.

oh NO doubt about that. It sounds MUCH smaller than #173.