WSJS-AM 600 GM is gone

[knowsdown]

No details at the moment, but the captain of the CMG properties in Winston Salem has resigned.

 

[tropicanamedia]

I had the opportunity to meet Ken a few months back, and he seems to be a nice fellow. I wish him well.
8)

 

[stafferman]

He resigned???

Has Raleigh officially hit the DEFCON 5 button on the Winston-Salem cluster? 4 AM stations not even showing up on Arbitron and a depleted staff...what the heck can they do to get them out of the pits?

 

[BIG APE]

Nutting!!! They are through in my humble opinion! Someone is hyping the ratings on WTQR also.. !!!

 

[disgruntled]

hardly a surprise that he quit. my little informant at CMG raleigh tells me salyer was lured in because he was promised control of wztk, right before old man curtis's mind-boggling decision to pull the plug on station. looks like a classic case of radio bait 'n switch. how the hell was he supposed to sell a "newstalk" format that doesnt even touch politics until after 7pm, if at all? are there really THAT many old folks in winston salem who enjoy JR's morning coffee klatch followed by ramsey's "Money and Jesus Too" routine? show me the numbers

 

[goatboy]

Plus, he had negotiated a deal w Wake Forest only to have DC veto it and put NC State back on WSJS. WEGO swooped in and grabbed the Wake $$$ and then used it to build a competitor to WSJS. Ken spoke some hard truth to Don that Don didn't want to hear from the beginning

 

[knowsdown]

Word is that John Bloom from Highwoods will be coming in once a week to oversee things, but the staff will be self-managing! Can you spell: Doom 'n Gloom?

 

[triadradionewsman]

are there really THAT many old folks in winston salem who enjoy JR's morning coffee klatch followed by ramsey's "Money and Jesus Too" routine? show me the numbers

Apparently there aren't enough "young males" to justify sports on 3 separate stations either. Doesn't look like the ESPN billboards scattered around the area are working. CMG has 4 stations in 4 separate communities and 3 counties. The answer could be right in their own backyards. I'm not even including 920 AM and 101.1 in Burlington. Having someone to come in once a week to oversee the operation won't work either.

 

[knowsdown]

Young males are listening to everything except AM radio. I fear it's the beginning of the end for the Triad Sports Network AND WSJS. It harkens back to Don's exclamation that "AM is going to make a comeback!" I fear the comeback will be the punchline of a bad joke. Can only hope that the staffers are feverishly looking for other employ now because it's easier to find a job while you have one. Good luck to them!

 

[w00t]

AM is, essentially, dead. However I will say that if the content is compelling enough, sports can be successful on AM. Pirate Radio 1250 in Greenville is very successful with the local ECU student base - because they offer programming those guys (and girls!) want to hear.

 

[stafferman]

Sending in someone to watch the operation once a week? Is that a joke?

It must be extra tough because WPTF is getting slaughtered in Raleigh, the word is out on Curtis and WSJS. Smith Patterson getting fired and then re-hired by a former major curtis client was the door slamming shut on them.

From someone that I knew that worked at WSJS in 09' they said there was just a general state of apathy with the entire cluster, this is still when WMFR exhisted. They road the co-tails of Rush/Hannity and had ZERO response to it

Even when a show like Mike Huckabee comes they don't even go after it...Thats a non-Clear Channel show with a southern conservative as its host, would have been perfect for them.....

Saying is true, you snooze you lose.

Any thoughts on WEGO? I still can't hear it, looking forward to the stream

 

[nuffsaid]

Easy to sit on the sidelines and make calls without knowing all the facts. WSJS set itself up for failure some years ago and nothing was ever done to keep it afloat!

 

[goatboy]

Sending in someone to watch the operation once a week? Is that a joke?

Not a joke. That's the CMG management style

 

[knowsdown]

Not CMG's management style as Don has very good people in place. It's Don's management style as he puts these people in place telling them that he wants THEM to achieve certain goals and then HE steps in to "keep his hand in it" thwarting their every move. Sad really.

 

[turkeydance]

you've heard it before.
the biggest lies:
1. Big Band/Disco/AM radio are 'coming back'.
2. HD radio/FM Talk are the 'next big thing'.
3. 'if the kids would just try radio'.
broadcast ANYthing is suspect.
expecting anyone to advertise is bogus.
Radio's spectrum is in Final Jeopardy.

 

[vchimpanzee]

1. Big Band/Disco/AM radio are 'coming back'.

At least where I live, all three are in one place.

Technically, it's not "big band" but it's music, mostly vocal, of the style of the big band era.

Mixed with disco, easy listening, doo-wop, Urban Cowboy, surf and early rock and roll.

 

[vchimpanzee]

It must be extra tough because WPTF is getting slaughtered in Raleigh, the word is out on Curtis and WSJS.

Is this WPTF 680 or WPTK?

I haven't seen anything about WPTK's ratings.

 

[w00t]

They're both being slaughtered

 

[vchimpanzee]

It seems to me they should just bring back WKIX and have that on WSJS too.

 

[stafferman]

Forgive my ignorance if this has been a long standing thing....but WSJS actually has an App for smartphones, I've been listening to Bob Campbell this afternoon after I discovered it. It actually works pretty good. Made by AirKast which makes a lot of radio station apps. Integrates the social media very easily while listening to the station. 770 WABC in NYC uses the same company.

Anyway, just a random observation. This APP may have been around for a while but I found it interesting. I criticize WSJS a lot but I give them credit for getting an APP and a good one at that.