Saturday, August 09, 2003

BURKARD'S BLOG



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9 AUG 03: FOXIE AND THE HOUNDS



Didya hear the one about the new 24-hour information station, that Davis Broadcasting plans to start? It's called the Foxie News Channel....



But seriously: the latest Columbus radio ratings are out, and WFXE-FM/Foxie 105 dominates again. It has almost 20 percent of the radio audience! There's probably only one way to knock this station off the top spot - but we would never encourage any radicals to firebomb radio stations.



We especially wanted to check the ratings for AM radio stations, since several have made major changes. The numbers show WDAK is closer to WRCG than ever before - but still not ahead. Maybe people in Taylor County actually agreed with WRCG's Bill O'Reilly, about the prom.



After dropping local morning news and Clark Howard, WRCG's share of the radio audience dropped a bit in the spring, to 2.3. WDAK's share went up a bit, to 1.9. And who knows how many people threw up their hands in frustration, and actually bought a morning newspaper.



(I'll repeat what I wrote in LaughLine a couple of years ago - I think I know WDAK's ratings problems. People have trouble listening to right-wing talk show hosts at the left side of the radio dial.)



Only 18 months ago, WRCG was the number-six radio station in the Columbus ratings. Now the spring ratings reveal it's in a three-way tie for 14th. And if that's not scary enough, sports-talk host D.J. Jones needs a full-time job.



It's hard to tell if the change from WPNX-AM and "Southern gospel" music to WHAL-AM and "urban gospel" music in May made any difference. The station's numbers were steady, at 1.5 Perhaps if you can't see the singers, it doesn't matter to the listeners.



Jim Foster still is using "WPNXRadio.com" as his Southern gospel web site, even though he's moved up the dial and the call letters have disappeared from the air. So Foster's not giving up on that "old time religion" - old as in 2002.



WEAM-FM made a good start at 100.7 FM, with a 2.3 rating. The old WMRZ-FM had a 1.0, playing traditional songs from years gone by. If you want "easy listening" music anymore, you have to sleep in a hotel lobby.



While it doesn't own the number-one station, Clear Channel radio has four of the top six spots in the radio ratings. But if you throw in WMLF's zero, Clear Channel also has three of the bottom four spots. [True!] We offer this as something to burst a bragging boss's ego....



Now for some other quick notes on an August weekend....


+ The Sonic restaurant on Wynnton Road threw a back-to-school dance party -- giving all the children one chance to show off illegal clothing they won't be allowed to wear to class come Monday.



+ Opelika's Dixie Boys baseball team returned home from winning the Babe Ruth World Series -- and received a police escort. Maybe Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers could learn a lesson from this....



+ The Atlanta Falcons opened their pre-season schedule -- and owner Arthur Blank gushed over how he wanted to sign Georgia wide receiver Terence Edwards as a free agent. Nobody bothered to ask Mr. Blank if he thought so much of Edwards, why the team didn't draft him in the first place.