[IRCA] Radio goes on offense for ears

["KE7CGZ - Mary Anne" <KE7CGZ@xxxxxxxx>]

Focus on FM but relevant to AM as well.

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Radio goes on offense for ears
Listeners who don’t know ‘Jack’ will — if they stay tuned
 By PETE SCHULBERG     Issue date: Tue, Apr 26, 2005
The Tribune
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   The biggest Portland radio programming shakeup in years — two stations changing formats and national personalities Don Imus and Tom Leykis disappearing from area airwaves — is part of a lightning-fast national trend of stations scrambling to hold on to a younger audience.
   Much to the disappointment of the radio industry, listeners have discovered they have more music choices (without commercial interruptions) by downloading songs from the Internet, burning their own CDs or subscribing to satellite radio.
   In hopes of attracting younger listeners, Entercom Portland has replaced traditional oldies music on the former KKSN (97.1 FM) with “Charlie FM,” playing top-40 hits of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. And the KKSN oldies format has returned to its roots at 910 AM (where it was a top-40 powerhouse in the 1960s), replacing talk station “Max 910.”
   Known in the radio industry as the “Jack” format (because it originated in the U.S. with Denver’s KJAC), the expansive 1,500-song playlist of “Charlie FM” is what some industry observers see as an answer to the iPod shuffle, giving listeners a wider variety of music selections. Normally, a radio station playlist consists of about 300 songs.
   As the Charlie FM promos say, “We play everything! … From the Beatles to the B-52s … from the Bee Gees to Bon Jovi.”
   “It sort of breaks the rules of radio,” said Erin Hubert, vice president-general manager of Entercom Portland, which owns both stations. “We knew this thing was coming to Portland and if we didn’t jump on it, somebody else would.”
   In the past several weeks, the Jack format has been introduced in a number of major markets including Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle (last Friday). For at least six months, the “automated” format will not include any personalities, according to Hubert.
   Well-known Portland radio personalities Debb Janes, Scott Tom, Steve Lloyd and Rick Emerson lost their jobs in the shuffle. Also gone, at least until other Portland-area stations pick them up, are syndicated talk show hosts Imus and Leykis.
   KKSN hosts Tom Parker (who joined the station four months ago from K-103 FM) and John Williams now return to AM radio, where they began their careers in the 1970s.
   “We love the station and didn’t want to lose it,” Hubert said of KKSN. “But up until the last couple of months, the audience has continually eroded, and it’s aging. (Advertisers) buy 18-to-49 demographics.”
   KKSN Program Director Bill Minckler had altered the playlist to include fewer songs from the ’50s and ’60s in hopes of attracting younger listeners. But even Minckler concedes that the station “still would have been an age 40-plus radio station.”
http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=29604

Radio goes on offense for ears 
Listeners who don?t know ?Jack? will ? if they stay tuned 
 By PETE SCHULBERG     Issue date: Tue, Apr 26, 2005 
The Tribune 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   The biggest Portland radio programming shakeup in years ? two stations changing formats and national personalities Don Imus and Tom Leykis disappearing from area airwaves ? is part of a lightning-fast national trend of stations scrambling to hold on to a younger audience.
   Much to the disappointment of the radio industry, listeners have discovered they have more music choices (without commercial interruptions) by downloading songs from the Internet, burning their own CDs or subscribing to satellite radio.
   In hopes of attracting younger listeners, Entercom Portland has replaced traditional oldies music on the former KKSN (97.1 FM) with ?Charlie FM,? playing top-40 hits of the ?70s, ?80s and ?90s. And the KKSN oldies format has returned to its roots at 910 AM (where it was a top-40 powerhouse in the 1960s), replacing talk station ?Max 910.?
   Known in the radio industry as the ?Jack? format (because it originated in the U.S. with Denver?s KJAC), the expansive 1,500-song playlist of ?Charlie FM? is what some industry observers see as an answer to the iPod shuffle, giving listeners a wider variety of music selections. Normally, a radio station playlist consists of about 300 songs.
   As the Charlie FM promos say, ?We play everything! ? From the Beatles to the B-52s ? from the Bee Gees to Bon Jovi.?
   ?It sort of breaks the rules of radio,? said Erin Hubert, vice president-general manager of Entercom Portland, which owns both stations. ?We knew this thing was coming to Portland and if we didn?t jump on it, somebody else would.?
   In the past several weeks, the Jack format has been introduced in a number of major markets including Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle (last Friday). For at least six months, the ?automated? format will not include any personalities, according to Hubert.
   Well-known Portland radio personalities Debb Janes, Scott Tom, Steve Lloyd and Rick Emerson lost their jobs in the shuffle. Also gone, at least until other Portland-area stations pick them up, are syndicated talk show hosts Imus and Leykis.
   KKSN hosts Tom Parker (who joined the station four months ago from K-103 FM) and John Williams now return to AM radio, where they began their careers in the 1970s.
   ?We love the station and didn?t want to lose it,? Hubert said of KKSN. ?But up until the last couple of months, the audience has continually eroded, and it?s aging. (Advertisers) buy 18-to-49 demographics.?
   KKSN Program Director Bill Minckler had altered the playlist to include fewer songs from the ?50s and ?60s in hopes of attracting younger listeners. But even Minckler concedes that the station ?still would have been an age 40-plus radio station.?
http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=29604

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