Today, I got an e-mail from my friend Joey O, with links to a few news stories about his employer, Y100. It seems that just 6 weeks after the DC/Baltimore area lost WHFS, Philly is now losing their alt-rock station, although some ex-employees have already set up a website to protest and petition the switch. I dunno, though, the whole alt-rock format feels pretty doomed at this point, at least in its current incarnation. I'm definitely bummed out for Joey more than anything else. I always mean to find out when he's going to be on the air when I'm driving through PA, and almost tuned in last weekend to see if he was on, but it always slips my mind. At least he's got a job at FMBQ to fall back on (incidentally the very trade publication that broke the news).

Labels:

This entry was posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 at 12:50 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.

« Home | Next »
| Next »
| Next »
| Next »
| Next »
| Next »
| Next »
| Next »
| Next »
| Next »

what's really amazing to me is that there was no advance warning about this whatsoever. i mean, if you listened to y100 in the last half decade, it's totally unsurprising. (the station sucked, which is, as always, both not its fault and very much its fault.) it's not like wdre changing formats from alt-rock to rap in late 96 when alt-rock still had some commercial viability. (i've never seen such indignant white people in my etc etc.)

what's even more amazing is that i moved from a state that has (as far as i know) no dedicated rap station back to a state that has three, as well as two "all the hits" that might as well be.
# posted by Blogger j. : 6:41 PM
 
I'm not surprised about the lack of advance warning, that's pretty much how the radio industry works. I can think of at least 2 stations in my area besides HFS that have changed formats in the past couple years and it always happens with no prior announcement, usually telling the staff, firing them, and flipping formats within the space of 24 hours, it not less. I don't really understand it, but my friends who've worked in radio tell me that's pretty much industry standard. I can see how it probably gives companies an advantage when they're making an unpopular decision, though; people protested the death of HFS, but no matter how many people complain, it doesn't change the fact that it was dying in the ratings, the fans were a vocal minority and weren't going to help their ad revenue if they'd knew ahead of time to try and protest to keep it on the air.

what's the state you were in that had no rap station?
# posted by Blogger Al : 7:03 PM
 
Post a Comment