(home)
Guest Commentary
|
KMOX
– Now What? Now that it’s certain his station won’t be carrying Cardinal Baseball games next season, Steve Moore is faced with a daunting, yet somehow enviable task. Moore is the director of programming and operations at KMOX, and it’s his job to remake the station’s on-air sound, without the presence of baseball. It’s the first time in over 50 years that KMOX will not be carrying Cardinal broadcasts. The effect on the air won’t be felt for awhile – spring training games usually weren’t heard until weekends in March. One might assume the biggest changes at the station would be heard at the times the games would have been on, but that may not be the case. Moore will need to address other problems on KMOX at the same time. The station’s ratings between 9 and 11 a.m. are the worst in recent memory. Rush Limbaugh’s program, which is heard from 11 – 2, still delivers a fairly strong audience, but its share is dwindling, and the presence of his political vitriol isn’t necessarily good for the station’s community image. If Infinity, the station’s owner, is willing to provide Moore with the budgetary backing he’ll need, look for the reworking of several parts of the KMOX broadcast day. He’ll need to do a true nationwide search to bring in good talent. He also needs to develop a sort of farm club of talent in the station – second-string people who can slip into any on-air slot when needed. With the KMOX morning drive show leading the market, he has the freedom to concentrate on bringing strength to weak areas and remaking the nighttime product. They could consider getting rid of Limbaugh when the contract ends, or, though it seems unlikely the syndicator would approve, running a delayed broadcast of Limbaugh at night opposite Cardinal Baseball. As it is now, KMOX gets complaints when Limbaugh’s show is pre-empted by Cardinals’ broadcasts. Marginalizing Limbaugh could give credibility to the station’s motto, “The Voice of St. Louis,” by giving listeners quality, local shows that appeal to a more homogenous audience. Hiring program hosts who are intelligent, entertaining, informed and, well, fun should be a top priority. Instead of giving listeners a reason to tune in occasionally, KMOX should think in terms of avoiding reasons for listeners to tune out. Instead of losing listeners as soon as morning drive ends, KMOX should give listeners a reason to keep the radio turned on all day. Make the station sound more friendly. Get rid of the grating imaging voice and replace it with someone we’d like to talk to. Get rid of absentee fill-in host Michael Dixon and utilize someone on staff who’s just as capable. Continue to aggressively cover news and sports and don’t be afraid to make waves. Think in terms of what KMOX has meant to its listeners in the past. Give us back the only station we’ll ever need, and let us know about it with external promotion that isn’t limited to trade-out ads in the Suburban Journals. We don’t need prima donnas. We need team players who can become community leaders, people we can trust to work in our best interest instead of hogging the spotlight for themselves or forcing some personal agenda down our throats. KMOX should once again become a sounding board for all opinion, not just one side. All of this may be of no consequence, of course, if Infinity is unwilling to invest in the station, and we’ve seen indications of that recently. It’s possible KMOX is being prepared for sale or swap. There are several companies that have shown they know the value of heritage stations like KMOX. The Milwaukee Journal owns WTMJ, which dominates the market. WGN, owned by the Chicago Tribune, is consistently at the top of Chicago’s ratings. Even WCCO, owned by Infinity, seems to have found its roots again. If the “Voice of St. Louis” does get new owners, it could be a whole new ballgame for listeners, and the right owners could make it a rout. This article
was published in the September issue of the St. Louis Journalism
Review |