wow... energy must be happy. cause we all know how well they did with their syndicated evening show that was being destroyed in virtually every market it was in.  Give it time, seacrest will soon be "out" when 3 bad books come in and another sait/nait kid who talks insanely fast spitting out liners and backsells will fill the void at a fraction of the cost of a veteran pro like Ms Lee... but at least she will be local, right?

What bugs me isnt seacrest or a lack of locality or anything like what is being talked about here.. its this matter of PD's having some blind faith in this cookie cutter CHR formulaic sound...no originality anymore, just, "lets look at KIISfm.com and see what they are doing." .....that irks me, and not just as a person in the biz but as a listener.

This has been a shock (and not in a good way!) I wanted to say I feel sorry for the rest of the on -air staff there as well! For those people who have most likely worked hard to prove they can Fill that spot. Now their future at that station is likely over (with nowhere to go) and they must be feeling a little dejected at the moment and on the prowl to move to another company where they may have a chance to advance in their careers!

Best Wishes!

By going the Seacrest route, VT-ing after the morning show or reverting to the old jockless JACK, Corporate Radio runs the risk of losing listeners FOR GOOD.  With newer model cars having plug-ins for iPods and MP3 players and the advent of Satellite Radio, once you've lost the local listener, they're GONE folks.  They won't be coming back to check on the latest format change every few months either.  They'll be playing a "bunch of songs in a row" that THEY like.  

To borrow the "Field of Dreams" line, "If you build IT (locally focussed radio), they will COME!" I'd gladly drop my Satellite Radio subscription fee if you give me LOCAL radio in the morning/midday/afternoon drive.  You wanna voice track, do it during evenings/weekends, but PLEASE don't make it SOUND like VT-ing.  You can STILL make it LOCAL on VT-ing too.  Think out of the box folks...challenge your corporate superiors.

As far as this local thing goes, most jocks can't do it because they aren't taught how to do it.  To anyone on this board that pulls a regular shift, take your own advice and never mention "hollywood stuff" again.  Do local, nothing else.

By telling Amber up front shows that Stew and Chad run that station with class.  It's a tough spot for everyone involved.  If it were a normal Calgary radio station being run into the ground by guys like Rhubarb Jones and Rob Mise they wouldn't have told her about til the morning Seacrest started probably 5 minutes before her shift.

Quoted from hank scorpio

As far as this local thing goes, most jocks can't do it because they aren't taught how to do it.

...and this is yet another reason why I believe that everyone needs to work in a tiny market when they're first starting out. A town with a population of 10,000 or less.  THEN you learn what it's all about, because not only do you have to do local, and learn local during your show, but you have to get out there and do EVERYTHING.  

You work at a small market like that, and you have a true appreciation later on down the road for all the Promotions folks who constantly pound the pavement, Engineers who fix all the stuff you break, the Copywriters who deal with bitchy clients, shit I even spent time answering phones and working the front desk a few times because the secretary was sick.  

Too many people coming out of broadcast school thinking they're going to be Howard Stern or Ryan Seacrest...

well said Poppa.  any budding young broadcaster doesn't wanna miss out on the small town experience.  while you live from paycheque to paycheque while honing your skills in Butthole, BC or Armpit, Alta., your chances of benefitting from the experience are far better than going straight from broadcasting school into Major Market where your PD won't have the time to nurture you.  Not to mention you get away with much more in Butthole or Armpit than you will in Vancouver or Calgary where the ability to be overly creative is shunned upon.

Well I hate to see this Seacrest thing in Calgary, sure bring in a flash in the pan American for a midday shift in Alberta. It's been drilled into my head since the day I started in radio to ' Be Local '. Great advise, but at the end of the day cost cutting measures is all that really matters. Over the past few years I've seen so many truley talented people leave radio because they hate what it's become. Shame on the Owners and GM'S and even PD'S for bringing in a syndicated American show to replace a live  Canadian jock.   ( GM - this  seacrest, will he bring us in the numbers,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, PD - yes sir he will,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,GM - well then, fire who ever does middays and  bring in Seacrest.)  Even Alice Cooper who I happen to like,,is he doing great radio every night?........NO. Any young announcer just out of college could do a better job and  with local content. Those of us in radio talk about SAT RADIO and INTERENT RADIO and how we'll be effected, I'm not afraid of SAT RADIO. The fact of the matter is,  Canadian Radio is being destroyed from the inside.  Bring in Americans because there's no suitable talent in Canada. Gimme a break.  Granted Seacrest will be a distant memory in a year or two,,,,, but  another 'Fad Personality" will come along to take his place and a Canadian GM, who has never cracked a mic in his life, will be there to give him a job.  

There is no such thing as local anymore. It's global. The days of walking into your Mom and Pop stationary store are over. It's Staples Now. Or the bar where everyone knows your name...done.
The only way Local wins is if your company invests in the talent. Your jocks/talent have to be allowed to network, go to boot camps, focus groups, etc. It's here where they're taught to make their shows successful, which leads to listeners, and revenue. INVEST in your product, quit bitching about the access to the world. I know it sucks, a lot of us have never even stepped foot in a boot camp or a focus panel. We wouldn't even know where the next one is. It's a money game inside a Global Community.

Quoted from McWages

There is no such thing as local anymore. It's global. The days of walking into your Mom and Pop stationary store are over. It's Staples Now.  

Actually this reminds me of when the local hobby store was run outta town by a Michael's.  GUESS WHAT HAPPENED?  Within a year, the Michael's closed TOO because nobody shopped there.  There's the message folks...have radio taken over by the suits in Toronto, who take a cookie cutter approach to radio (franchising the same sound everywhere, with NO ROOM FOR DEVIATION).  After awhile, bodies start disappearing as you import the likes of Seacrest, Tesh & Gibbons or out of market VT-ing.  Then guess WHAT?  Your station becomes the radio version of our Michaels or on life support.  But the suits don't care, look at all the money they're saving by NOT programming local!!!

Quoted from McWages

There is no such thing as local anymore. It's global. The days of walking into your Mom and Pop stationary store are over. It's Staples Now. Or the bar where everyone knows your name...done.
The only way Local wins is if your company invests in the talent. Your jocks/talent have to be allowed to network, go to boot camps, focus groups, etc. It's here where they're taught to make their shows successful, which leads to listeners, and revenue. INVEST in your product, quit bitching about the access to the world. I know it sucks, a lot of us have never even stepped foot in a boot camp or a focus panel. We wouldn't even know where the next one is. It's a money game inside a Global Community.

McWages, I agree 100% with everything you say. BUT... and I mean this in all seriousness, is there a company (at least in Western Canada) that actually invests the way you say they should? I haven't heard about anything like that but I'm also not privy to the inner workings of every company either.

Ok, just for fun I'm gonna throw this out there. What do people think of the AT40, Rick Dees and the weekly Top 40, Foxworthy, the CT20, Flashback...and the thousand other shows like them. Do we need to have this stuff on weekends and evenings taking up "local" time. I'm not saying they are good or bad, I just want to know what people think. Should stations do their own countdowns and special shows instead of these downloaded ones...or does that "take to much time and work." - I know I've heard that from a PD before. I don't even know what it costs to get the AT40 for example...what is it...$40, $50...$100 a week? Let me know you thoughts.

The small Northern Ontario town I grew up in had a "by your vote" nightly top 10 countdown.  Can you imagine that gang, a small town station with a living, breathing DJ after 10 at night interacting with listeners taking their votes and running down the phone lines 'til he found someone who knew the names of all ten songs!  Five nights a week too!  YES it was a mom and pop radio station that believed there were people WORTH catering to until they signed off at midnight.  

This just came to mind after reading the last addendum to this thread about Rick Dees and whether our stations should subscribe to it or come up with their own version.  

CRS, cool story involving the Michael's line, but until I see a Michael's go tit's up because they MOVED into a city I live in, or have lived in, I'll believe it when I see it.  I'm sure we can all agree it's all relative, Micheal's is hardly a good example here. Yeah, it's a chain, but take McD's or Burger King, etc. They'll close out the local hamburger shop, but even if the townsfolk say they'll boycott it, they'll be shopping there as soon as their public lynching is over.
As for Scorp's rebuttal about stations 'investing' in their talent? You have got to be kidding? Are you working for one like that? Cuz jump aboard man, as I said there are a few of us who have never been offered the 'genuine' opportunity to grow their talent, for sure. Just so I don't get too enthronged in a reply, I'll just say, if you really, and truly want an answer to that question, ask for numbers from the groups offering the material, and then shoot out some 'general' feelers to the prime day part jocks in medium to major market stations. Don't ask the flat feet. If they acknowledge it, guess what happens then? Believe me, I have more than a few chums who regularly (annually) are given the chance to hone their skills and honestly, the success of their shows is hardly about LOCAL as it is COMPELLING.

"But I don't LIKE vanilla," says the former 20+ year veteran of the radio biz stomping his feet!     (My last add to this thread)

CRS, I feel your pain. I remember hearing about the days of creativity. The days of one or two guys (or girls) in a room with a microphone competing with a little black and white tv are over. That tv is suddenly bigger with more channels and in some cases, hi def. You can find out what's happening in Beijing with a click of a computer mouse. As for that radio guy or gal rippin' and readin' the newspaper, and then adding a one liner- Because it's local? OVER.
The jocks who can keep up with the World's Hot Topics and keep 'em brief and engaging, while utilizing the technology will be the 'commodities' at this time.  Totally frustrating for those of us who believe in LOCAL. Sometimes, it's just best to stay quiet and go with the flow.