Posted by Bud on November 24, 2009 at 10:53:27:
In his media column in this morning's Chicago Sun-Times, Lewis Lazare talks about WLS-TV's big loss when Oprah leaves their airwaves. They will have to replace her show which airs on two time slots each weekday. He also talks about the hiring of Steve Fisher to Fresh 105.9, as well as the successful pledge drive for Steve Robinson & WFMT. You can see it all below.
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Stations to feel Oprah loss
Helps boost news ratings, but WLS' product strong
November 24, 2009
LEWIS LAZARE
Like just about everyone else with a connection to Oprah Winfrey, WLS-Channel 7 General Manager Emily Barr recognizes that the talk show diva's decision to end her nationally syndicated daily talk fest in September 2011 inevitably will be a big loss for Chicago and for every television station in America that has benefitted from the Oprah phenomenon. And that includes Channel 7.
But WLS' relationship with Winfrey and her show is -- for at least a couple of reasons -- different from that of all those other TV stations. For one thing, Winfrey came to WLS in 1984 to host a show that became the launching pad for her own syndicated show. "That meant a lot to Oprah, and it was the foundation of a wonderful relationship with us," said Barr.
Of the more than 200 TV stations nationwide that currently air "Oprah," WLS also is the only one that airs the show in the morning (9 a.m. with a rerun at 11:05 p.m.) rather than in the afternoon, usually as a ratings-boosting lead-in to the late afternoon local newscast. Barr said she has never contemplated moving "Oprah" to a different time slot. "We have a unique situation with 'Oprah' that we didn't think was worth messing with," Barr said.
It's a situation that also will probably make the end of the "Oprah" show a potentially less traumatic moment for WLS than for most other stations. WLS already is the city's dominant news outlet and has been for years without any assist from "Oprah" in the afternoon.
Still, Barr will have to decide on what will replace "Oprah," but the WLS general manager has the luxury of time before she has to make a move. "We have two years to figure out what we want to do, and I'm not going to rush that decision," said Barr, adding, "we'll be looking at all kinds of options."
Big haul for WFMT
When we talked to fine arts station WFMT-FM (98.7) General Manager Steve Robinson a couple of weeks ago about the station's fall pledge drive, he was feeling optimistic the $600,000 fund-raising goal would be reached. It turns out Robinson's optimism at the time was fully justified. And then some. WFMT not only reached its goal; the station set a new all-time fund-raising record of $678,045.
Does the pledge drive's success make Robinson think the worst of the recession is behind us? "I'm not an economist, but we've obviously done very well," said Robinson. Altogether, the pledge drive netted 4,001 separate gifts and 829 first-time contributors. The average pledged amount was $169, up substantially from previous averages of around $125.
Robinson believes donors' record-setting generosity is primarily a reflection of their satisfaction with the station's programming. "We've been doing a lot more special live broadcasts of events recently, and listeners seem to like them," said Robinson, who also noted that during the pledge drive the station aired numerous highlights from popular past programming to whet listeners' interest in contributing. And it worked.
Steve Fisher joins WCFS
Steve Fisher has been named new morning drive host at CBS Radio's adult contemporary WCFS-FM (105.9). Fisher has worked in Chicago radio for more than 10 years as an on-air talent at several stations including WKQX-FM (101.1) and WTMX-FM (101.9).
"Unlike most of the morning programming in the market, Steve's focus each morning will be the music," said WCFS Program Director Bill Gamble.