WLNG does the Tighten Up

WLNG is a case of a heritage station that has had the same advertisers for many years, the same announcers, the echo, etc. The billing was there and the loyal listener base. With today's access to social media it only takes a few who dislike the changes to create a PR nightmare. This is what is taking place.

Groove1670 said:

WLNG is a case of a heritage station that has had the same advertisers for many years, the same announcers, the echo, etc. The billing was there and the loyal listener base. With today's access to social media it only takes a few who dislike the changes to create a PR nightmare. This is what is taking place.

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Making matters worse, I was listening to WLNG's stream over on Tunein and guess what I heard? "Quit Playing Games with My Heart" by the Backstreet Boys! Kinda weird to hear an oldies station plays this type of music. Afterwards, guess which song did they play after the Backstreet Boys? You've guess it, it's "We Can Fly" from the Cowsills, a song that came out in '68!

So man! They have a weird playlist. Sounds like this IS the station that caters to all generations!

Either a station that is now with no identity or a lost identity.

So does anyone here know what the effect has been on WLNG's advertiser base? Seems that Facebook outrage is all that people are basing their speculation on, so what if the station is actually gaining advertisers by tightening up its presentation and introducing later music into the mix?

From what I heard on NYRMB back in February, WLNG reversed some of the changes they made, due to backlash from advertisers.

There's a huge discussion about WLNG and their new ownership here:

https://nyrmb.com/messages/447854.html

CTListener said:

So does anyone here know what the effect has been on WLNG's advertiser base? Seems that Facebook outrage is all that people are basing their speculation on, so what if the station is actually gaining advertisers by tightening up its presentation and introducing later music into the mix?

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Believe me, it goes beyond FaceBook outrage.

Sad to see that the recently-ailing Chuck Mackin is no longer on their posted schedule grid (tho' his pic remains on the Staff photos page). His replacements are no longer being referred to as "sitting in for..."

CurtisNEPA said:

Making matters worse, I was listening to WLNG's stream over on Tunein and guess what I heard? "Quit Playing Games with My Heart" by the Backstreet Boys! Kinda weird to hear an oldies station plays this type of music.

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Kinda weird to hear that one anywhere. And yet I just did. I still monitor what WEZV is doing.

CurtisNEPA said:

Making matters worse, I was listening to WLNG's stream over on Tunein and guess what I heard? "Quit Playing Games with My Heart" by the Backstreet Boys! Kinda weird to hear an oldies station plays this type of music. Afterwards, guess which song did they play after the Backstreet Boys? You've guess it, it's "We Can Fly" from the Cowsills, a song that came out in '68!

So man! They have a weird playlist. Sounds like this IS the station that caters to all generations!

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'LNG is playing one '90s song per hour these days.

RadioJunkieMike said:

'LNG is playing one '90s song per hour these days.

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Some examples, please? I'm trying to think of '90s songs that would be palatable to an audience that is still largely resistant to the '80s. Rod Stewart and the Temptations' "The Motown Song," perhaps? Louie Vega's "Mambo No. 5"?

CTListener said:

Some examples, please? I'm trying to think of '90s songs that would be palatable to an audience that is still largely resistant to the '80s. Rod Stewart and the Temptations' "The Motown Song," perhaps? Louie Vega's "Mambo No. 5"?

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They play the Stewart/Tempts song often (as well as Rod's 1989 Ronald Isley duet). But I've heard Londonbeat "I've been Thinkin' About You", Donna Lewis "I Love You Always Forever", Jesus Jones, Ace of Base, Oasis, Real McCoy, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Lenny Kravitz, SmashMouth, Chumbawamba... they're all over the place. But remember, the station was still mixing current hits with oldies well into the '90s.

I know this may get a few of the WLNG guys itchy and scratchy.....but I like the way the station sounds. I think some of the jocks are great, others sound very.....well WLNG which is fine. I was out there over the weekend and heard one guy who had to play his name shout in between every song. And I thought it was funny, no body cares. Play the format, thats the charm of that place, and the reason I was listening.

Now it's "Bill Evans Radio: All Weatherman all the time!"

(First time poster, and I gotta get this off my chest. I wanted to start a brand new topic about this b/c "WLNG Does the Tighten up" is being too kind to those "Barking dogs". However, after seeing people be traumatized by a certain other Radio forum, I figured I'd keep this topic from being redundant.)

Anyway...

I just tuned in after a number of months... just to hear. With some faint hope that maybe, just maybe, someone saw the light and put it back to the way it was.

What I did was spray vomit in fifty different directions. To hear the weatherman ramble on for a good five minutes about owning three dogs is BEYOND insufferable. And that's what it has become:

"On Weekends the Weatherman and Physical Therapist come out to play! 92.1 FM!"

What a disaster. What an absolute disaster. Nice work Bill and Sandra! You've done an excellent job trashing one of the last bastions of real music radio. Destroyed. Ruined forever.

And what pains me the most is prior to the weatherman getting his slimy tentacles on that station, my young son and I would listen to Scotty Hart on weekend afternoons, make requests, etc. Scotty was one of the last disc jockeys who really "got" what that style of radio was all about. One day, out of nowhere, my seven year old boy started singing the old WLNG Pams jingles... out of the blue. I was magic! He was getting a real live slice of what the golden age of top 40 radio sounded like. I played him a WABC aircheck from the '60s and he said to me, "Hey, this station sounds like WLNG" I could almost visualize the dentist throwing up on his shoes from that comment.

And then Bill and Sandra killed it.

"Bark Out Loud Radio Station" Seriously? Aside from being the dumbest name in the radio biz, it proves they never took their acquisition seriously. If I had to bet my money - and this is solely *my* opinion - I'd say they were really after the land. WLNG was almost a throw in. A hobby toy for the forecaster. Turns out, the real dogs that are barking out loud are those two...

drksd4848 said:

I just tuned in after a number of months... just to hear. With some faint hope that maybe, just maybe, someone saw the light and put it back to the way it was.

What I did was spray vomit in fifty different directions. To hear the weatherman ramble on for a good five minutes about owning three dogs is BEYOND insufferable. And that's what it has become:

"On Weekends the Weatherman and Physical Therapist come out to play! 92.1 FM!"

What a disaster. What an absolute disaster...

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I'm guessing you tuned in, in the middle of "Lunch on the Deck" or whatever that show is called. Clearly a "let's schmooze local celebs" vanity project. In fairness, Scotty's still there Fri-Sat-Sun, and the regular weekday crew (Gary, Chris, Brian) are doing their best. And they actually did walk back many of the changes that happened last December, thanks to complaints from listeners and advertisers alike.

RadioJunkieMike said:

I'm guessing you tuned in, in the middle of "Lunch on the Deck" or whatever that show is called.

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Is that what it's called? "The Bill Evans Ego Show" is more appropriate. It is unbearable. I literally tossed my Lunch on the Deck

In fairness, Scotty's still there Fri-Sat-Sun, and the regular weekday crew (Gary, Chris, Brian) are doing their best.

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Yeah, I guess they booted him to the late shift to (1) make room for their friend to DJ Scotty's old shift and (2) fill in the spot that was left open when they kicked Mark Edwards off the station.

I gotta tell ya... I REALLY miss Scotty's old show. He was/is the best DJ on the radio today, and a true radio friend. There is a gaping hole in my weekend afternoons now. I miss listening to the guy. My little boy does too

I know he's still on the air, but his show isn't the same. I tried to listen to it a couple of times but all I would do is grimace. And then gag when that utterly idiotic, TOH sounder about Dogs Barking out loud comes on. Am I crazy or is that the ultimate insult to the station? Sandra and her dogs... puleeeese...

And they actually did walk back many of the changes that happened last December, thanks to complaints from listeners and advertisers alike.

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Yeah, I had heard some generic Pams 60s (forget which series) jingles on every now-and-again. It was a weak attempt to placate the advertisers who where howling about it. It still sounds soulless. Was the Weather man so obtuse to think people wouldn't scream bloody murder when they dumped on the station? Unbelievable.

BTW, did anyone notice they posted all the old jingles to download off their website? It's almost like a rummage sale: "We are throwing all these old things out. Take them"

I was never a fan of the old WLNG and I certainly won't be a fan of the new WLNG. I had them on Saturday afternoon during the 12PM hour and I heard to blathering idiots on - a man and a woman. And the music they were playing - definitely not oldies. Only can be considered "oldies" as they came out 15-20 years ago. *YIKES! I'm getting old!*

drksd4848 said:

Is that what it's called? "The Bill Evans Ego Show" is more appropriate. It is unbearable. I literally tossed my Lunch on the Deck ... And then gag when that utterly idiotic, TOH sounder about Dogs Barking out loud comes on. Am I crazy or is that the ultimate insult to the station? Sandra and her dogs... puleeeese...

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I know you'll be excited to hear that Sandra will be filling in for Jessica on this week's "Lunch on the Deck"!

RadioJunkieMike said:

I know you'll be excited to hear that Sandra will be filling in for Jessica on this week's "Lunch on the Deck"!

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and Paul Sidney must be turning over in his grave....

RadioJunkieMike said:

I know you'll be excited to hear that Sandra will be filling in for Jessica on this week's "Lunch on the Deck"!

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Aw... shucks. Ya know, I got to this post late and completely missed hearing silly Sandra host the..

"Physical Therapist Radio Hour"

Coming up on the Physical Therapist Radio hour...

- The Top Five Reasons why Physical Therapists should avoid buying radio stations to hand over to their weatherman husbands. (Hint: you'll make your whole DMA vomit at once by trashing it's legacy!)

- Also, who is the real dog barking out loud? It's the host!"

- Plus, hear what happens when the ghost of Paul Sidney stops by the studio, then attempts to strangle Bill Evans with a mic cable! It's all coming up on Eastern Long Island's dumbest radio station, 92.1 FM!

Am I going too far here? Good.

Heard at 8:27 tonight: Boot Scootin' Boogie -- Brooks & Dunn. I don't recall this being a crossover hit, at least not here in Connecticut. Any other hot country tracks of the '90s country boom getting played on LNG under its new management?