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The Straight Skinny
'Scuse Me While I Kiss…The Sky
A closer look at BA
By Carol Archer |
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Last week I followed up Kepler's memo to gain deeper insight into BA's new programming policies. This time, he expands on his observations on the state of the Smooth Jazz format, particularly regarding the loss of major market outlets.
Kepler says that the largest, key stations that abandoned Smooth Jazz were all programmed by strong local PDs and that those outlets were each owned by a large corporation, whose programming collateral damage included such illustrious members of the pantheon as: Emmis' WQCD(CD101.9)/New York PD Blake Lawrence; CBS Radio's WVMV/Detroit PD Tom Sleeker; Clear Channel's WNUA/Chicago's Darren Davis and Derrick Brown; Clear Channel's WLVE(Love 94)/Miami PD Rich McMillan; Greater Media's WJJZ/Philadelphia PD Michael Tozzi; CBS Radio's KOAI(the Oasis)/Dallas) PD Charley Connolly; CBS Radio's KHJZ/Houston PD Maxine Todd; Clear Channel's WSMJ/Baltimore PD Lori Lewis; Clear Channel's KKSF/San Francisco OM Michael Erickson and PD Ken Jones; and Citadel's WJZW/Washington PD Steve Allan. |
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Blake Lawrence |
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"None of these stations were programmed by BA. All had strong local PDs who we actually looked to for advice as to what new music they were hearing – an interesting difference between perception and reality and the perpetual motion of negativity and myth," Kepler notes.
"The point is, they were all programmed locally and all by very strong and independent-minded PDs -- really the best of the best. That alone refutes any blame on any one entity. I don't think it's a simple answer: Can't blame it on the PDs, the GMs, BA or even the corporations completely: It goes back to this [format] being a Nordstrom product trying to maintain its position in a McDonald's economy.
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Tom Sleeker |
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Michael Tozzi |
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Lori Lewis |
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Maxine Todd |