Milwaukee Area Radio Enthusiasts 11/16

[Dick Nitelinger]

I'm going to be the guest speaker at the next meeting of the Milwaukee Area Radio Enthusiasts (MARE) on Sunday, 11/16.

I know it's Packer-Bear game day. I didn't realize that when I accepted the invitation, but am happy to speak anyway.

I'll be discussing local broadcasting history, my forthcoming book on Milwaukee TV history, and perhaps look into my crystal ball.

The meeting starts at 2:00 p.m. in the community room, G-110, in Mayfair Mall. Once in the mall go to the Garden Suites East and take either the stairs or the elevator downstairs. G-110 is in the basement of the suites.

Perhaps we'll see a few of you there. I promise not to have an earphone with the game!

- Dick :OnAir:

[Chinatown]

but could you please tell me why there isn't any FM "Crooner" radio stations in Milwaukee?

What I an eluding to is Sinatra, Martin, Cole, Damone, etc.

Certainly, I get it from Dish network via the Sirrius programming, but what do i do in my car.

There are plenty of us out there looking for this alternative to the over played rock offerings.

Some entity should understand our demographic.

I welcome your reply.

[Dick Nitelinger]

but could you please tell me why there isn't any FM "Crooner" radio stations in Milwaukee?

What I an eluding to is Sinatra, Martin, Cole, Damone, etc.

Certainly, I get it from Dish network via the Sirrius programming, but what do i do in my car.

There are plenty of us out there looking for this alternative to the over played rock offerings.

Some entity should understand our demographic.

I welcome your reply.

Well the obvious answer (That I know you don't want to hear) is that no radio executive thinks that "crooners" or oldies, or classical, or ... has enough of an audience to attract enough sponsors to keep any station playing that format afloat. In your car you could purchase the same satellite radio service.

I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but that's all of the insight I can offer. A number of formats on over-the-air radio have fallen by the wayside as their audience ages. Perhaps it's because the ad execs are all younger and don't grasp them as still-viable formats.

- Dick :OnAir:

[Chinatown]

Well the obvious answer (That I know you don't want to hear) is that no radio executive thinks that "crooners" or oldies, or classical, or ... has enough of an audience to attract enough sponsors to keep any station playing that format afloat. In your car you could purchase the same satellite radio service.

I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but that's all of the insight I can offer. A number of formats on over-the-air radio have fallen by the wayside as their audience ages. Perhaps it's because the ad execs are all younger and don't grasp them as still-viable formats.

- Dick :OnAir:

And yet they keep recycling the same formats over & over............

Oh, well.

[jeffski]

I've been an XM subscriber since 2004 and love it! :guitar: Since they've merged with Sirius,it's gotten even better with the variety of channels.  I gave up on FM long ago.

[Iwant2playNOW]

A bit off topic, but since we are on the "radio" subject...

When 94.5 switched formats a few weeks back their oh so genius GM said during an interview on TMJ4 that they would be playing mostly music through December and into January, with little to no commercial interuption and most likely no on air personalities.

This guy should run for a political position cause 2 weeks into the new format the station seems to be mostly commercials... I am not a constant listener, but I always seem to catch them pitching some product (some hair removal place seems to be their major advertiser).

I thought it could be just me, again, catching them at the wong time, but I have asked 3 people who listen to 94.5 all day at work and they noticed the same thing.

I vote thumbs down to 94.5 and say the GM should be shown the door for BS...then he would be free to run for governor (I am not a Doyle fan!!).

[flash]

94.5 seems to be more of the same lately. They started by playing a lot of music I hadn't heard in a while but after a while it was same old same old.
Thank goodness for 620 and 1130.

[Tom Snyder]

New formats always seem like they have bigger playlists. But once you listen for  awhile, you realize that they have the same playlist size as everyone else.

Approximately 100-200 songs for a hit music station, 400-800 for Adult contemporary,  Soft Rock, New Rock, Smooth Jazz, R&B, Oldies stations, 1,000 to 2,000 for classic rock stations... even with a talented music director who can rotate the songs to make it seem like a huge library, eventually you start hearing the same songs repeating, over and over and over.

WKLH has boasted about having Milwaukee's largest on-air library... and with the exception of Palec on Sunday mornings (who along with Reitman on WUWM really represent the only professional creativity in Milwaukee radio over the last 20 years), probably still less than 2,000 songs total, and about 600 in a high rotation.

When I worked for a radio software company back in the 90's I had a chance to help WXRT in Chicago clean up their music library database.  30,000 songs(!)  I LOVE that station...

BTW... rumor has it that 94.5's current format may just be a ruse to get attention. If they go Christmas Music after Thanksgiving, watch for Country after the Holidays. Their Cheesy commercials, a logo that looks like an intern created it, and a godawful Web site all make that plausible.

[WITI6fan]

BTW... rumor has it that 94.5's current format may just be a ruse to get attention. If they go Christmas Music after Thanksgiving, watch for Country after the Holidays. Their Cheesy commercials, a logo that looks like an intern created it, and a godawful Web site all make that plausible.

Don't forget the slogan "What WILL we play next?"...

It's a conspiracy!
 peepwallA hideing_behind_compu

[Dick Nitelinger]

... and with the exception of Palec on Sunday mornings (who along with Reitman on WUWM really represent the only professional creativity in Milwaukee radio over the last 20 years), probably still less than 2,000 songs total, and about 600 in a high rotation.

When I worked for a radio software company back in the 90's I had a chance to help WXRT in Chicago clean up their music library database.  30,000 songs(!)  I LOVE that station...

As an old WMSE DJ, I'd like to think that we were pretty darned creative! The first time Reitman interviewed me, that's all he wanted to talk about was my days on 'MSE -- even though I was supposed to be there discussing horror hosts for Halloween!

I hear you about 'XRT. If I don't need WBBM for traffic, I'm always tuned to 'XRT as I pass through Chicago. Actually, I think I would lose the signal somewhere between Kenosha and Racine. When I lived in Pleasant Prairie, I could pick it up.

- Dick :OnAir:

[Tom Snyder]

As an old WMSE DJ, I'd like to think that we were pretty darned creative!

I wondered if someone was going to mention MSE.

Even *I* did an air shift on MSE once! I qualified my statement by saying "professional" creativity. WMSE is definitely creative, but it's not what we might consider large market radio...it's more FM anarchy (and I mean that as a compliment , not an insult).    

The frequencies below 92 Mhz on the FM dial are the last bastion of "anything goes" radio... but there's a relationship between what you hear on those stations and the designation (and reality) of those stations as "Non-Commercial."

BTW... I picked up XRT in the parking lot at Southridge one day. But for the most part I just listen online. Just to illustrate XRT's depth... the "artists" link on their site begins with this list:

Ryan Adams
Aerosmith
Allman Brothers Band
Amadou & Mariam
Arcade Fire   
Arctic Monkeys
Nicole Atkins and The Sea
B-52's
Back Door Slam

You won't find these artists on ALL of Milwaukee radio combined... much less on  a single station...
...well maybe except WMSE.

[Mark Strube]

The first two presets on my car radio are 1. 88.9 and 2. 91.7

After I discovered 88.9, I found 91.7 was even more unpredictable... it's an adventure every time I turn it on!

Beyond those I pretty much listen to XM or my iPod.

[Iwant2playNOW]

If they went to a country music format, that would be great, even though I personally can't stand country music.

106.1 needs some competition...hee haw

[kevbeck122]

Isn't 92.5 country also?

[Iwant2playNOW]

i have no idea...possibly, but they cant be all that impressive as they are not well known as made evidence by us discussing it.

Journal Communications (Milwaukee newspaper, 94.5, 620am, and many other media outlets across the US) is losing lots of money so they really have nothing to lose.