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A blank canvas...

H

Holland Cooke

Inactive
Inactive User
If you could start-from-scratch, and create a new FM Talk station, what would you program?

All-local? Or the best available national shows? Some of each?

Talk politics? Or make-a-point-NOT-to?

Sports talk? Play-by-play? None?

Aggressive news operation? Or just-enough so listeners don't have to find it elsewhere?

WHAT'S MISSING -- the-stone-unturned -- in Talk radio here now?
 
I'll bite...

In this market, you need local from 5am-7pm. We are homers.

Partner shows work (man/woman; man/man;woman/woman) . Apolitical shows would work OR contrasting points of view.

We love weather here, so news and weather top and bottom of the hour.

The Twins would love to bolt to FM to join the Vikings and the Wild.

I'd run Jim Bohannon at night, too.
 
RE "I'll bite..."

Thanks!
I'm asking for a reason...

Wright County Guy said:
In this market, you need local from 5am-7pm. We are homers. Partner shows work (man/woman; man/man;woman/woman) . Apolitical shows would work OR contrasting points of view.
Click to expand...

Since (too) much of Talk Radio is I-talk-you-listen monologue, do you think Minnesotans would warm-up-to a station that's more-conspicuously dialogue, more caller-interactive?
 
Re: RE "I'll bite..."

Holland Cooke said:
Thanks!
I'm asking for a reason...

Wright County Guy said:
In this market, you need local from 5am-7pm. We are homers. Partner shows work (man/woman; man/man;woman/woman) . Apolitical shows would work OR contrasting points of view.
Click to expand...

Since (too) much of Talk Radio is I-talk-you-listen monologue, do you think Minnesotans would warm-up-to a station that's more-conspicuously dialogue, more caller-interactive?
Click to expand...

Yes.
 
How about traffic reports?

Would a FM talker be making a mistake NOT doing traffic reports?

Sound-bite-of-the-day at the recent Los Angeles Regional Talkers Forum 2011:
“I don’t get my traffic on the radio any more. I get traffic on the phone.”
That's KFI PD Robin Bertolucci, whose station touts itself as “THE TALK STATION WITH THE MOST-FREQUENT TRAFFIC REPORTS.”

And that's in LOS ANGELES, where traffic tie-ups are a fact-of-life.

Is the conventional wisdom that "we've GOTTA do traffic" now dated?
 
Meh. Traffic on radio is not done well in the market. It's one or two incidents and 30 seconds of ad copy. And yes, of course, there has to be sales, but it's not done with the speed and effort of an all-news station presentation. (WMNN, circa 1999)

And if this is a (veiled) discussion about Cumulus flipping the 105s to News Talk (as reported in Inside Radio today) it shouldn't happen. Love's format needs a tweak, but they will do better business with WLTE gone.
 
RE "Traffic on radio is not done well in the market."

Wright County Guy said:
It's one or two incidents and 30 seconds of ad copy.
Click to expand...

In most markets I hear in my travels, that ad copy is :18-that's-supposed-to-be-:10.

Which radio station there uses the Internet best?
 
If it's not being done, an all-news block in the morning, or if that won't work, a two-person show where you do both news of the day and lighter topics. Reset the table frequently since people are in and out. If you can't do live and local middays, the best syndicated talk available which could be Glenn and Rush, or could be Clark Howard and/or Dave Ramsey (I'm thinking Clark Howard would be a better fit for the Twin Cities). Afternoons, someone who could again do the news and the lighter stuff, even some sports (I'm thinking John Corby in Columbus or Phil Wiliams in Knoxville. If there's a legendary host available, so much the better.

I'd have a good news operation, and I can see the point about traffic. Everyone can't be on their smartphone while driving (as the laws are going to reflect) however.
 
RE "If you can't do live and local middays..."

borderblaster said:
Clark Howard and/or Dave Ramsey (I'm thinking Clark Howard would be a better fit for the Twin Cities).
Click to expand...

Agree!
He's Minnesota-nice-level...nice.
Friendly, welcoming, helpful.
A refreshing alternative to so much of Talk Radio that's so-relentlessly-negative and over-stated.

And every...single...time I hear him, I learn a couple things.
 
Re: RE "If you can't do live and local middays..."

Holland Cooke said:
borderblaster said:
Clark Howard and/or Dave Ramsey (I'm thinking Clark Howard would be a better fit for the Twin Cities).
Click to expand...

Agree!
He's Minnesota-nice-level...nice.
Friendly, welcoming, helpful.
A refreshing alternative to so much of Talk Radio that's so-relentlessly-negative and over-stated.

And every...single...time I hear him, I learn a couple things.
Click to expand...
His info's OK, but I take issue with Clark's delivery; he sounds like he's talking to a kindergarten class...very annoying.
 
RE "I take issue with Clark's delivery"

Manny Michaels said:
he sounds like he's talking to a kindergarten class...very annoying.
Click to expand...

I know what you're saying.
I remember the first time I heard Clark.
I'd heard OF him.
But the first time I HEARD him, I thought it was the nerdiest thing I'd heard on radio.
And 45 minutes later, I was hooked.

And I'm not saying that his-content-redeemed-his-form.
I think his form SUPPORTS his content.
He sounds so authentic and genuine...NOT another sound-alike announcer.

And it's NO act!
Having met Clark, I can tell you what others who know him will: He's THAT cheap! :)

Bookstore owners WINCE when he tells listeners to buy his new book used online.
 
I'd say easily all-news, at least daytime. We used to have an all-news station (WMNN) which was owned by the parent company of MPR, but they sold the station, and later, the network.

That was a fantastic format, though, much like Headline News used to be on TV. 30 minutes or an hour of listening gave you the days news.

But who in this market would invest the money in being all-news? CBS doesn't have a good frequency, unless they bring CCO to FM, but that's not likely now with 102.9 going Country, and the hiring of Rob Morris indicates 104.1 possibly going Rythmic Top 40.

Hubbard could do it on 1500, but would they invest the money to make it successful?

Northern Lights - Unlikely

Clear Channel - Nope, they are all about CUTTING costs, not expanding them. While they do have some weaker stations (Cities)

Citadel - On what frequency? KQRS is holding it's own, will be around for at least another 5 years until Tom is gone at the end of this year and the ratings of such a move are fully realized. 93X seems to be holding it's own very well, and a 2.1 is probably the best the 105's are EVER going to pull with the limitations of the signal. Flipping any of those would be dumb to say the least (even though the rumor is, they will anyways).
 
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