Fall ARB: Erie radio market tightens

January 24th, 2012 joel No Comments »
WJET

WJET-AM up in the Fall 2011 ratings

Fall 2011 radio ratings released Tuesday show a diversification of listeners among Erie stations, with all but one of the subscribing Connoisseur Media stations losing shares.

Arbitron, the media measurement company, made only Connoisseur’s 12+ shares public today, as the other local stations do not subscribe to the service.

What we do know is that FM standard bearers WRTS (Star 104), WXBB (Bob FM), and WRKT (Rocket 101) all experienced their lowest shares in four books, with only WJET-AM recovering from a spring ratings dip. The final station in the cluster WFNN did not show once again.

Although it’s difficult to analyze trends when you are looking at less than half of the listening, it is easy to gather that beyond the trend to listen to sources off the dial, there are now more choices on the dial that are competing for time spent listening. Add to it the nearly non-existent promotional and advertising budgets, and your product will lose market share.

As we get more information on the lay of the land in radio, we will share in an appropriate manner.

You can see the rankers at AllAccess.com (registration required).

Poll: How do you socialize with Erie media?

January 23rd, 2012 joel No Comments »

We haven’t asked your opinion in a while, but when we did ask about how you came down on the looming spectrum war between over-the-air broadcasters and the wireless community, an overwhelming majority sided with the TV stations to keep as much spectrum as needed to maintain free service.

The education reporter at the Erie Times-News, Sean McCracken told us this morning how the newspaper is deepening their commitment to social media, with nearly every reporter on staff now on Twitter. Of course, the paper itself, along with the TV newsrooms and early-adopter reporters have been tweeting for a while now (we’ve been tweeting since April 2009), and most have accompanying Facebook pages that roll stories and ask for input from readers and viewers (and some listeners of radio stations).

The question today is, how are you interacting with old-school media’s leveraging of social media? You can choose as many answers as you like, and weigh in on the comments.

How have you used Erie media's social media tools in the past year?

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Erie winter chronicled in Wash Post

January 16th, 2012 joel 1 Comment »

They are not your typical Chamber of Commerce photos, but the typical land and lake-scape of an Erie, PA winter intrigued a Washington Post travel writer so much that she came to town twice in 2011 and wrote a photo-laden feature that landed in Sunday’s Post.

Robin Soslow, the Impulsive Traveler, ventured to Erie to experience the ice dunes of Presque Isle State Park last January (a more typical winter than what we are having), and says

And the adjacent town of Erie is so rich in man-made spectacles that I made a second visit last month.

Now that’s something the Chamber can crow about. Read her quite flattering portrayal of our town here.

Get ready for Rocket 105

December 10th, 2011 joel 7 Comments »

As noted in the Facebook group, “We rocked Erie in the 20th Century!”, on Tuesday, Connoisseur Media of Erie received a Construction Permit from the FCC for a Minor Change of facilities to move WRKT/North East (Rocket 101) from 100.9 to 104.9 FM. They will also put their antenna on the WRTS tower in Greene Township with a full Class B1 non-directional signal 15 miles closer to the city of Erie from their current tower site in Ripley, NY.

This huge move comes in the middle of a timeline of major changes to the landscape of the FM dial that began in late 2011 with the move-in of Family Life Network’s WCGM, with a Class A signal on 102.7 that moved from Clarendon to Wattsburg. They continue into the new year with the launch of First Channel Communications 92.7/Lawrence Park sometime in 2012. Finally, Family Life has a CP for Gannon WERG’s old 89.9 frequency, now permitted for Cambridge Springs, with a tower location in Edinboro.

Of course, with all but one of these new frequencies is the strong certainty of format. Rocket will be classic rock, and FLN will continue its light contemporary Christian and talk format. What we are  uncertain on but have a good hunch is the format for the 92.7 station. The lead format horse in that derby is a direct CHR/Top 40 competitor to Star 104.

We’ll keep listening for details on all these upcoming changes to a radio near you.

Newspaper Coverage of Penn State Scandal: Nov. 10, 2011

November 10th, 2011 joel No Comments »

This morning, newspapers from across the state covered the biggest news story in Pennsylvania since Flight 93 crashed in Shankesville.

You can view a gallery of those pages by clicking this link: Go to Newseum: Today’s Front Pages: Pennsylvania

After you’ve looked at how this story was covered, please compare, contrast and comment here at P& T.

 

 

What does the National Emergency Alert test mean to me?

November 8th, 2011 joel 2 Comments »

Perhaps you’ve been seeing and hearing announcements about an upcoming nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System on your local TV, radio and cable stations and networks.  Well, conspiracy theories about black helicopters and those colored detour signs on the interstates aside, we have all the facts about the test and there’s nothing to worry about.

First, when is it?
The first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) will take place on November 9, 2011 at 2 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time).

What’s it for?

From the FCC:

The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism. EAS Participants currently participate in state-level monthly tests and local-level weekly tests, but no top-down review of the entire system has ever been undertaken. The Commission, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will use the results of this nationwide test to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism, and will work together with EAS stakeholders to make improvements to the system as appropriate.

According to the NAB, the EAS system has never been tested on a national scale before, and officials want to make a go of it, see what works, what doesn’t, and create a baseline from where they can make improvements.

What else can you tell me?

The test will be conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The test will start at approximately 2 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) and will last approximately 60 seconds.

Then it’s back to Dr. Oz, the soaps, your Law and Order reruns, or your favorite 200 song playlist station.

Links:

Deep Background for November 2011

November 7th, 2011 joel 28 Comments »

Here’s a tribute for the newspaper carriers.

These sleep-deprived adults from all over our area awaken at 2 AM and drive their ink-stained vehicles to one of the district distribution centers for the Erie Times-News. There they will do by hand what machines used to do just a few months ago; assemble each newspaper they will deliver, merging the pre-printed features sections and ad inserts with the fresh news sections that just arrived from a two-hour trip from Butler. From there they will load 200, 300, or more papers in their vehicles and begin their run. The papers still have to be delivered by 6:00 no matter the weather, even with all the extra labor, and even if the truck is delayed.

But the Wednesday after Election Day, that 6:00 delivery deadline won’t be met, because the newsroom is staying up late to publish the election returns. Late to Butler means late to your front step and news stand. But don’t blame your carrier.

We sound off on all things media in this open forum through your comments, e-mails and tweets @pressandtower.

Embrace the chaos!

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    Press and Tower is a web community for Erie Pennsylvania's producers and consumers of newspapers, radio and television stations, and new media outlets. We connect, celebrate, complain, and communicate about all aspects of media.

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