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WBZ's "Bring Back Steve

Another nail in WBZ's coffin is when they miss the top-of-the-hour start to the news. Several times I've heard the '5-O'clock news' start at 5:01 because their parade of commercials caused them to 'miss the chime.' One minute may not seem like such a big deal, but it is inexcusable...and it shows where WBZ's motivations lie.

There is a parallel between the NYT buying the Boston Globe and CBS buying WBZ. Both the Globe and WBZ lose a large degree of their New England flavor in the name of corporate greed. While I wouldn't mind seeing the Boston Globe evaporate into a cloud of gaseous dust, I'd like to see WBZ 'bought back' from CBS and made truly local again.
 
ChrisNH said:
Another nail in WBZ's coffin is when they miss the top-of-the-hour start to the news. Several times I've heard the '5-O'clock news' start at 5:01 because their parade of commercials caused them to 'miss the chime.' One minute may not seem like such a big deal, but it is inexcusable...and it shows where WBZ's motivations lie.

There is a parallel between the NYT buying the Boston Globe and CBS buying WBZ. Both the Globe and WBZ lose a large degree of their New England flavor in the name of corporate greed. While I wouldn't mind seeing the Boston Globe evaporate into a cloud of gaseous dust, I'd like to see WBZ 'bought back' from CBS and made truly local again.
Click to expand...



You ought to check out that sports station weei if you want to see pathetic.
 
The interesting thing about WEEI is the huge ratings they get, especially for the afternoon show,
despite many people online complaining about them. I guess there must be two people who love
WEEI for every one that complains. Or maybe the people who hate WEEI still listen because it gets their
blood pressure up and they WANT to get angry at them! As I've said before, the likes of O'Reilly and
Olbermann have so many people that hate them. Yet they do well in ratings and get big salaries.
Ann Coulter has tons of people who hate her. Even more buy her books, or at least enough do that
she does well in sales figures when they come out, etc.

Is WEEI pathetic? Maybe so, but they found the money tree with that station. If most people truly
hated WEEI, they'd be down near the bottom of the ratings or, like ESPN 890 or WWZN, might not
even show up at all. Someone likes them. Say "there's no accounting for taste" if you will but they
have the ratings and the business. (And I don't even really listen to them too much but am
just acknowledging their success). Doing well in a prime demo.

Pathetic? They're laughing all the way to the bank! Right, Big O?

Note: I don't know their 25-54s, but Big Show is said to be often/always #1 in that time slot and according to the ratings
at radioandrecords.com (see Ratings/Boston) for the 12 plus, they rank 7th overall just a hair behind
Oldies 103. Their ratings are 12 times as high as those of ESPN 890. What a failure they are.
 
boobo0 said:
ChrisNH said:
Another nail in WBZ's coffin is when they miss the top-of-the-hour start to the news. Several times I've heard the '5-O'clock news' start at 5:01 because their parade of commercials caused them to 'miss the chime.' One minute may not seem like such a big deal, but it is inexcusable...and it shows where WBZ's motivations lie.

There is a parallel between the NYT buying the Boston Globe and CBS buying WBZ. Both the Globe and WBZ lose a large degree of their New England flavor in the name of corporate greed. While I wouldn't mind seeing the Boston Globe evaporate into a cloud of gaseous dust, I'd like to see WBZ 'bought back' from CBS and made truly local again.
Click to expand...



You ought to check out that sports station weei if you want to see pathetic.
Click to expand...

Oh, believe me...I know. Their whole roster of talent comprises Title IX people or Connecticut School of Broadcasting graduates whose sole career aspirations were to (A) get into sporting events for free; (B) eat lots of food for free; and (C) be 'famous.' You'll have the odd 'college graduate,' but even in those cases (see: Arnold, Dale) they 'dumb themselves down' or 'shout themselves up' to the point of nausea.

If you listen to these clowns (all day parts...doesn't matter) and then listen to ESPN's Mike & Mike live or via Podcast like I do, you'll understand that WEEI has amoebas for talent. And maybe that's being too kind.
 
But it sells apparently. And you don't have to be a radio pro to be a success in sports radio; just be
a linebacker or reserve second baseman. Add to that the unpaid members of the big show; the
Whiner Line callers. It's about humor and entertainment and, similar to political talk radio, people
don't always necessarily want bare-bones discussions of politics, or sports. They want to be
entertained. If that means guys giggling over callers imitating Terry Francona, Eddie Andleman,
or even The Big O himself, that's what they'll tune to. "Yer MAKING my POINT!" :)
 
ChrisNH said:
boobo0 said:
ChrisNH said:
Another nail in WBZ's coffin is when they miss the top-of-the-hour start to the news. Several times I've heard the '5-O'clock news' start at 5:01 because their parade of commercials caused them to 'miss the chime.' One minute may not seem like such a big deal, but it is inexcusable...and it shows where WBZ's motivations lie.

There is a parallel between the NYT buying the Boston Globe and CBS buying WBZ. Both the Globe and WBZ lose a large degree of their New England flavor in the name of corporate greed. While I wouldn't mind seeing the Boston Globe evaporate into a cloud of gaseous dust, I'd like to see WBZ 'bought back' from CBS and made truly local again.
Click to expand...



You ought to check out that sports station weei if you want to see pathetic.
Click to expand...

Oh, believe me...I know. Their whole roster of talent comprises Title IX people or Connecticut School of Broadcasting graduates whose sole career aspirations were to (A) get into sporting events for free; (B) eat lots of food for free; and (C) be 'famous.' You'll have the odd 'college graduate,' but even in those cases (see: Arnold, Dale) they 'dumb themselves down' or 'shout themselves up' to the point of nausea.

If you listen to these clowns (all day parts...doesn't matter) and then listen to ESPN's Mike & Mike live or via Podcast like I do, you'll understand that WEEI has amoebas for talent. And maybe that's being too kind.
Click to expand...
Hey Chris,
What is your issue with that last blast! I take exception to your snide comment about Ct.School of Broadcasting grads. There are plenty of college grads who do go on to take broadcasting courses not because they are "Freddie the Freeloader" types,but because they actually have something smart to say whether it is in the news end of the business, sports or whatever. Morning drive is so full of idiot programming and has been for 5 plus years I think the industry could use a good purging so it is fit to listen. Usually when people slam people broadly it is because they don't have much going on themselves. Notice I slam programming not people. I don't think radio lacks talent. I think it is too micromanaged by people whose talent ends at having the money to own the airwaves You just are not that interesting when you bash people
 
Keep in mind that WBZ has never been locally owned. It was started in Springfield MA by Westinghouse (and as such has always had KDKA as a sister). A synchronise repeater - WBZA - was put in Boston later. At some point WBZ and WBZA swapped cities and then in the '60's WBZA was shutdown in Springfield.

In the '90's, Westinghouse decided to become 100% broadcaster, sold off all the manufacturing divisions, purchased CBS and then changed their name to CBS. So, in essence, WBZ has always been owned by the same corporation.

I do think CBS is badly loosing their way here. All their core AM stations, generally 50KW, clear channels have enjoyed mostly consistant, local programming. That combined with good signals has kept them all at the top. Right now they are kicking the legs out from under these stations which will probably diminish them and remove another piece which is holding the AM band together.
 
Nice blog piece about Steve's dismissal

http://bryanrutt.blogspot.com/2009/01/boston-radio-great-steve-leveille-taken.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words, and thank you to all who have stopped by to read my two cents. I appreciate any feedback you may offer.

LeVeille's ouster may very well have been (sadly) inevitable, another casualty of the continued onslaught of CRaP (Corporate Radio Product) on our airwaves; however, WBZ could certainly have handled it better. To let LeVeille go suddenly after ten years and offer neither explanation to their listeners nor opportunity to say a proper good bye was cowardly at best. Ah, but what should one expect from corporate network toadies, independent thought and a spine?
 
BZ does well in the afternoon for one reason: Traffic. People don't watch the tube before leaving work so it's their only real source and PM traffic is, in many areas, worse than morning traffic because while people may go in early to beat the traffic and have coffee and the paper at the desk to start the day before starting time, everybody wants to get home on time.

it's still a godawful boring radio station adn has merely replaced one irrelevant overnight program with another
 
berutt said:
WBZ could certainly have handled it better. To let LeVeille go suddenly after ten years and offer neither explanation to their listeners nor opportunity to say a proper good bye was cowardly at best.
Click to expand...

Always dangerous to let an on-air person do a "goodbye" show, and there have been just enough examples of jocks/hosts to go off the deep end to make any responsible GM think more than twice. Would Steve have gone into "CBS bashing" mode? I'd like to hope not, but clearly it's a chance management didn't want to take.
 
I've heard a few final statements, usually at the end of a shift with no warning. I think ESPNr let Chuck Wilson do a final show, and I don't think he said anything at all about leaving.
I don't remember how 'BZ handled David's firing for Tom Snyder, but I think he had a few days to talk about it.

Two classic's on BZ TV were Jimmy Myers throwing his earpiece down on the desk and walking off the set. And Tony Pepper tearfully informing the viewers that his girlfriend was leaving the entertainment reporter job.
 
Oldbones said:
berutt said:
WBZ could certainly have handled it better. To let LeVeille go suddenly after ten years and offer neither explanation to their listeners nor opportunity to say a proper good bye was cowardly at best.
Click to expand...

Always dangerous to let an on-air person do a "goodbye" show, and there have been just enough examples of jocks/hosts to go off the deep end to make any responsible GM think more than twice. Would Steve have gone into "CBS bashing" mode? I'd like to hope not, but clearly it's a chance management didn't want to take.
Click to expand...

Awful excuse. Mix in a dump button, security guard, and tapes of old shows.
 
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