Wcbs Fm 101.1 Radio

[Linda Haluska]

WCBS FM 101.1 is back on the air!
So rock and roll to the oldies and listen to Mr G. with weather reports!!:)

[James Wheeler]

Speaking of the oldies, I'm going to see Big Brother and the Holding Co. (Janis Joplin) Sunday. I'm assuming they are going to have a female singer to belt out those Janis Joplin songs.:cool:

[Jeff Sumberg]

WCBS FM 101.1 is back on the air!
So rock and roll to the oldies and listen to Mr G. with weather reports!!:)
I'm sorry, but I did like Jack-FM. So for me, this is a loss.

[Linda Haluska]

At first, I was devestated that Jack FM took over WCBS, two years ago and then I gave it a chance and wala - I was hooked!:D
As much as I will miss Jacl FM, I say Welcome Back WCBS FM!!!:)

[Dave Harris]

Jack FM lasted for less than 1 year in Chicago, people were calling it Joke FM! The three big Radio conglomerates have ruined Radio as we loved it. Right now all of Chicago Radio sucks. Buy Sirius Sat.

[James Wheeler]

Dave,

I thought you were on the radio?:D

[Linda Haluska]

Dave,

I thought you were on the radio?:D

You took the words right out of my mouth! :p **giggles and awaits for Dave to answer**

[Jeff Sumberg]

Well, to me, there were only two NY radio stations worth listening to. Public Radio WFUV at 90.7, and JACK-FM. Now there's only one, and I can't listen to it all the time. First, WFUV has a different format on weekends, I don't listen to it during that time, So I went to JACK. Second, on the ride home there is a pirate Latino radio station that has camped out on illegal frequency next to WFUV and broadcasts a terribly distorted and over-modulated signal that splashes into WFUV and makes it impossible to listen to at certain points during the ride. (amazingly I can find no way to report this station to the FCC). Hence again, no JACK-FM anymore to switch to. I didn't like the WCBS-FM Oldies format before, and I still don't like it. Too many commercials, too much talk, crappy music. The other NYC alternatives (WPLJ 95.5, K-Rock, and Q-104) always sucked, and still suck. Same 25 songs over and over. Dave says to get a SAT radio, but I don't feel I should have to pay $60-$100 a year to listen to my car radio. I have to agree with Dave, the state of commercial radio is appalling and not worth listening to.

[Linda Haluska]

I am a WPLJ 95.5 fan and my co-worker complains they play the same songs over and over again and sometimes, if I am away from my desk and Gwen Stefani's song "Escape" is on the air, he shuts my radio off! :p
Music makes my life less stressful is what I am trying to say.
I switch from station to station, depending on what is playing.

[Dave Harris]

Dave,

I thought you were on the radio?:D

Yes, I was. I walked away from my radio gig 6 weeks ago, because of the very issues we're talking about. My last interesting radio gig was in Milwaukee with a Kiss FM format which was fun and required innovation and talent. Since those days radio has gone down the sewer. You no longer are allowed to bring your talent and personality to the job. Only stick to the formula and do some bland intros. I'm having a hoot now doing my "Dave On Stocks" podcast and website stock picks. Look at daveonstocks.com

[Jeff Sumberg]

Music makes my life less stressful is what I am trying to say.

Exactly, and I don't want to hear the same song 2 to 3 times a day, every day.

At least Jack's playlist was over 1000 songs. It would be days before you heard the same song again. Most of the station's that I've mentioned (except WFUV) have a playlist or format of about 200 songs, and 15 minutes of commercials per hour. Sorry, but Jack played better music, more of it, and did have less commercials. I'm fairly sure the reason it failed in NY was because it displaced WCBS-FM Oldies, and the way it did it two years ago. I could be wrong of course, since I don't follow the ratings charts.

I know Dave said it failed in Chicago. I'm curious why Dave. Basic Ratings?

So, the only way I'm going to get JACK back, is to replace my car radio with an HD radio. This would kill two birds with one stone since WFUV is also on HD and it would solve the pirate radio problem too. They say JACK-FM is still on 101.1 HD2, whatever that means.

What does anyone know about HD radio? Can I add it on without replacing the existing set? You know, like sat radios that locally rebroadcast to an unused FM frequency on your pre-existing radio?

[J. Craig Shearman]

Here in Washington, I listen to all-news WTOP on the way to and from work every day because they do traffic every 10 minutes on the eights just like WCBS in New York and when you have a commute of over an hour you have to know what's happening with traffic. I also listen to National Public Radio on either WYPR from Baltimore or WAMU from Washington. But mostly I listen to XM satellite radio, especially if I'm after music. With stations dedicated to 40s, 50s, 60s, etc., not to mention multiple classical stations, multiple country stations, etc., you can find more or less what you want instead of taking chances on what the station feels like playing. I particularly like their old time radio on Channel 164, but they don't run Gunsmoke often enough. I was at a Christmas party two years ago where a woman was saying radio was dead. At first I thought she meant AM, then realized she was talked about FM and was young enough she basically didn't even know about AM. All she listens to is satellite and her Ipod.

[Linda Haluska]

Yes I do agree that Jack FM had a very large selection of songs and it was not repeated over and over. Also there was less talk, which I did enjoy as well. I thought it was rather popular in this area??

[Jeff Sumberg]

Apparently not, since they switched back. It's all about advertising money, so that should answer your question.

Nobody knows anything about HD radio? Not XM/Sirrius, "HD"

[James Wheeler]

Yes, you have to buy a new car stereo for HD which is big in the Detroit area. You get additional stations which are put out by say 101.1 (rock) here and actually they have more then one HD station. There are over 30 HD stations here and I've been considering going that way instead of satalite. I don't know what they are like yet, but when I find out I'll post. It's an attempt of the local stations to pull back satalite customers. The big thing they promote is that it's free.

[Jeff Sumberg]

Yea, but what I'd like to know is if there are any HD external tuners. You've all seen the small SAT tuners that are the size of an iPod, have a small digital display, and then transmit to your car FM radio on an unused frequency. Any HD tuners like this? I don't want to rip out the car's guts and replace the radio. Then I loose the radio or have to rip it out again when I buy a new car, and risk having it not fit in the dashboard of the new car. Besides, who wants to mess with the innards of a new car?

[James Wheeler]

Installation is free at most places here, but you do have to buy any adapters. It doesn't cost that much to have it removed and installed in the new vehicle. The way they make cars now makes it hard to do this on your own. I just pay to have it done.

[Evan Chase]

I've been through all the genres of radio over the last 50 years and agree that WFUV (can be streamed online at WFUV.org) is great--their eclectic mix of music and the legendary Big Broadcast every Sunday night)

I now use Windsor 89.9 fm CBC Radio 2 (stream online as cbc.ca) as my soundtrack--great mix of classical, jazz, world music with literate hosts and NO politics!

[Linda Haluska]

I remember all it took was a colorful transitor radio to make me happy as a kid!!! Sigh!

[Jim Latendorf]

HD radio (IBOC or in band, on channel)) is not really a consumer driven product. It's broadcaster driven. "Over the air" radio is desperately trying to reinvent itself to stop the bleeding of listeners to other services such as satellite, ipod, etc. Sadly, if most people where asked what HD radio is these days, over 60% wouldn't even know. I was in a Walmart super store last night and just for fun, went to the electronics department to see if they had any HD radios for sale. NOPE. When asked, the sales person didn't even know what I was talking about. So much for the "big rollout of HD radio". An uphill struggle to be sure.

And even if HD radio does finally take off, the broadcasters still have to figure out how provide inovative programming to keep listeners tuned in and that magic was lost years ago.

Regards,

Jim L.