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KYW gets the WCBS treatment

The teletype effect serves a useful purpose, by allowing the Nielsen PPM ratings encoding data to get through during pauses in speech. Otherwise if there was just dead silence, the PPM encoding would stop, to keep itself from being audible.
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
I certainly can’t speak for anyone else, but I have always had some issues with background noise levels kind of “scrambling the circuits” when it comes to focusing on the foreground. That doesn’t mean anything in terms of change or status quo, but there are some of us...ok, me....who do perhaps hear it more than I imagine most do. That aside, when I have had KYW on to check traffic or weather, my “next generation of prospective listeners” in the car has asked that that weird “clicking” noise was.

Perhaps really fascinating to data nerds would be any research they’ve done. It would be interesting to see who really would freak out if it went away vs those who genuinely don’t care, and how that all breaks down across age lines and actual listenership.

Since Action News was brought up, I’d also find it really interesting to see where attitudes are today, vs. the vocal crazies of 20+ years ago when it comes to the theme. I’m weird enough to still be jarred by the 4 and 11 pm weekday shows not doing a full opening compared to the other newscasts, but really...there can’t be that many, if any, others who notice. Would a re-do of the theme itself drive people off the bridge? Maybe, but I’m not clinging to 1996 as my yardstick.

One other thought, I’m curious if a theme song, something more broadly commonplace on TV would be comparable to a background sound effect. Maybe so.

As it relates to this update, it seems to me Entercom balanced a respect for heritage and familiarity with bringing modern elements to the product. Sure it’s easy, and fun, to quibble with specific pieces, but in fairness, this feels carefully thought out.
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It is funny how that Action News theme debacle has held up in history. Folks talk about it like it happened a few years ago. I think part of what led to such heartburn all those years ago is that it was a rather dramatic update to the familiar song. It was almost orchestral, wasn't it? If I remember correctly, it was what we might today call a "106.1 The Breeze Remix." It didn't feel urgent like the existing theme people were used to.

Another thing: The theme they use today isn't exactly the same as the one they were using in 1995, is it? I thought I remembered it being updated in one way or another somewhere in the years after the Debacle of '96.

PS- I am another person who noticed the edited opening theme on the weekday editions of Action News.
 
kevtronics said:
The teletype effect serves a useful purpose, by allowing the Nielsen PPM ratings encoding data to get through during pauses in speech. Otherwise if there was just dead silence, the PPM encoding would stop, to keep itself from being audible.
Click to expand...

I had never heard that the encoding isn't broadcast during silences. Well anyway, heck of a lotta good it's doin them...

heckuva.jpg
 
kevtronics said:
Getting rid of the Anklepants font and making their logo all-lowercase isn't going to make kyw [sic] on AM radio any more attractive to the under-40 crowd.
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It's what gets displayed on the dashboard or on streams on smartphones or tablets. As more and more listening is done that way, the graphics become more and more important.
 
Regarding the news theme, it was definitely more orchestral. I’m by no means a music critic, but as I recall, I’d call it richer, or fuller. Maybe less urgent in that the bass wasn’t as dominant and blended more into the overall arrangement. The current version I thought I recalled them saying was remastered, so it sounded different to a degree, what with better audio equipment in home use, but that it was still the same “version.”

As for teletype, that’s interesting, but what happens with other spoken word stations without that? They don’t all use it, nor does talk radio, on which some hosts love a pregnant pause for dramatic effect.
 
kevtronics said:
The teletype effect serves a useful purpose, by allowing the Nielsen PPM ratings encoding data to get through during pauses in speech. Otherwise if there was just dead silence, the PPM encoding would stop, to keep itself from being audible.
Click to expand...

I am not sure if the frequency range of the teletype audio matches any of the frequencies that the PPM encoder uses. The encoder looks for matching audio frequencies and inserts the tags , up to 12 a minute, under that audio. Thus, the audio has to be on the right frequencies and at an adequate level to mask the tags.

From the Larry Gifford blog:

The PPM tones encode at certain frequencies (1 to 3 kilohertz), much higher frequencies than a typical male radio announcer, meaning higher pitched voices and music actually be decoded more consistently.
 
Jstnpspck said:
Westinghouse logo- GONE

Teletype (mp3)- still tickin'

I believe the woman doing the imaging for WCBS has been brought in to voice KYW as well. I wasn't a big fan of the last jingle refresh and I can't say I hate this new edition. I also haven't exactly heard a ton of it yet either.
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I can't say I hate the new jingle refresh either, although I haven't heard enough of it myself (I haven't heard the TOH and BOH either).

IIRC the same gal does vocal imaging for KCBS-AM as well.

When will WBBM get the WCBS treatment? :)

ixnay
 
Silvermanism at its finest. He just pulled my last straw.

Getting rid of the iconic Traffic and Transit jingle is like trying to change the WPVI jingle back in 96.

Still wishing they'd can Michelle Durham, aka Cheryl Elias Jr...she has no idea how to monitor her volume levels. On the rare occasion she decides to talk loud, it's ear raping.
 
Miguelito said:
The new logo looks like the 1060 could be removed with little notice. In fact, one of the logos I saw on their site doesn't even include the 1060.
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Some of the recent promos/openers, even before the relaunch, don't even mention "1060" in them.
 
MikeM2011 said:
Silvermanism at its finest. He just pulled my last straw.

Getting rid of the iconic Traffic and Transit jingle is like trying to change the WPVI jingle back in 96.

Still wishing they'd can Michelle Durham, aka Cheryl Elias Jr...she has no idea how to monitor her volume levels. On the rare occasion she decides to talk loud, it's ear raping.
Click to expand...

It’s really not the same as changing the Action News theme (two decades ago).
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
It’s really not the same as changing the Action News theme (two decades ago).
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The single car horn jingle was nice for a while, but it needed a tweaking. The new traffic sounder sounds like the horns (all in unison) of a whole fleet of 18 wheelers preparing to roll again after the light at [name your "favorite" Roosevelt Blvd. intersection here] turns green. :)

ixnay
 
Before
* Traffic and Transit on the 2's
* Sports at :15 and :45

Now
* Traffic and Weather on the 2's
* Sports at :8 at :38 (since January 2019)
 
GEDA1990 said:
Now
* Traffic and Weather on the 2's
* Sports at :8 at :38 (since January 2019)
Click to expand...

Putting content at the quarter hour point is not the best way to work in the PPM world.

I suspect somewhere in that, they have also adjusted where their commercial breaks fall.
 
ixnay said:
The single car horn jingle was nice for a while, but it needed a tweaking. The new traffic sounder sounds like the horns (all in unison) of a whole fleet of 18 wheelers preparing to roll again after the light at [name your "favorite" Roosevelt Blvd. intersection here] turns green. :)

ixnay
Click to expand...

Doesn't sound like horns to me, at least on the AM dial... haven't had a listen online yet (don't have an HD radio).
 
MikeM2011 said:
Doesn't sound like horns to me, at least on the AM dial... haven't had a listen online yet (don't have an HD radio).
Click to expand...

Well, it does a better job IMO of saying "here comes a traffic report" than does WCBS-AM's current (and previous) traffic sounders.

OTOH WDEL's sounder does an even better job of saying "traffic", as does WEEU's (in an old timey way).

ixnay
 
Anyone else notice KYW's resurrection of their 1981-82(?) slogan, "You Never Needed Us More"?

ixnay
 
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