Archive for the ‘Radio’ Category

Milwaukee Media Notes: Curious case of WKTI/WLWK format change

Posted by Duane Dudek
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What is or will be the trickle down effect of the format and call letter change by the E. W. Scripps Company radio station in Milwaukee formerly known as WLWK-FM (94.5)?

The change at 10 a.m. last Friday came out of the blue for listeners and observers and the station, now playing country music, itself  seems a work in progress.

—-When asked how and by whom the music was being programmed, Tom Langmyer, vice president and general manager of Milwaukee radio operations for E. W. Scripps Company, replied in an email that he was programing the station himself.

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Milwaukee media notes: WKTI returns, goes country

Posted by Duane Dudek

E.W. Scripps Company station WLWK-FM (94.5) switched call letters and formats at 10 a.m. Friday.

The station changed its call letters to WKTI-FM, the station’s “iconic” old call letters when it belonged to Journal Broadcast Group, and switched the format to country music.

Its identifying brand is 94.5 KTI Country.

The change is a clear swipe at the Clear Channel country music station WMIL-FM (106.3) which has long bedeviled WTMJ-AM (620) the now Scripps talk-news-sports-information station.

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Milwaukee Media Notes: Jane Matenaer joins WTMJ-AM

Posted by Duane Dudek

Milwaukee radio veteran Jane Matenaer has joined WTMJ-AM on a part time basis, the station announced Tuesday.

Matenaer, who was WLDB-FM morning show co-host for five years, was let go when that station changed format to become ‘Trending Radio 93.” She worked at WMYX from 1984 to 2009.

She will not replace Jodi Becker who leaves WTMJ next week, said Tom Langmyer, vice president and general manager of Milwaukee radio operations for E. W. Scripps Company. Matenaer will help fill the spot of Eric Grillaert, who recently left the station.

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Same as it ever was. WMIL, WTMJ top April radio ratings

Posted by Duane Dudek

Same as it ever was. Stop me if you’ve heard this before but country music station WMIL-FM and news/talk/information station WTMJ-AM were again ranked number one and two in the April ratings survey.

But while WMIL dropped .2 of a share, WTMJ climbed a full point from last month, the single largest gain by any station in the survey.

The same two stations have shared the top two spots since the first of the year. WTMJ held the top spot in January but WMIL regained it the following month.

In fact the top five ranked stations are identical to last month.

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Award winning WUWM breaks storytelling mold

Posted by Duane Dudek
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Tucked inside the long list of awards given to local radio and television stations by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association over the weekend, were two that were never broadcast.

That they were in categories that didn’t even exist not that many years ago, reflects the changing nature of news gathering and reporting in the digital age.

The awards – best niche website and best use of user-generated content – went to Milwaukee public radio station WUWM-FM (89.7), which also won awards for hard news and editorial commentary.

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Milwaukee Media Notes: Beer, Donald Driver, Same Old WKLH

Posted by Duane Dudek

—Reports of the demise, after three decades, of classic rock on WKLH-FM (96.5) last week were premature. The station may have shifted its “center of gravity” from 1970s rock  to 1980s but, except for a little more Bon Jovi, the musical change is almost too subtle to be detected. As the station noted the shedding of the word “classic” was mostly about image.

The music being played certainly sounds awfully familiar. Sampling the station over the weekend, one heard familiar refrains by Steve Miller, U2, the Eagles, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Phil Collins, Styx, Z.Z. Top, Fleetwood Mac  and the Rolling Stones. In March the station ranked seventh among total listeners.

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Milwaukee radio & TV stations win ten Murrow Awards

Posted by Duane Dudek

Local broadcasters came away with multiple regional Murrow Awards for journalistic excellence, announced by the Radio Television Digital News Association.  Wisconsin stations compete with large market stations in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota in the Region 4 category.

Winners include:

RADIO

WTMJ-AM (620), for Newscast (); Breaking News ();

WISN-AM (1130), for Writing ();

WUWM-FM (89.7), for Continuing Coverage (Dontre’s Death); News Series (Black Men in Prison)

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WKLH-FM rebrands itself as “Hometown Rock”

Posted by Duane Dudek
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After nearly 30 years of billing itself as Milwaukee’s “classic rock” station, WKLH-FM (96.5) is rebranding itself as “Hometown Rock.”

The Saga Broadcasting owned station made the announcement Thursday in a release from “brand manager”Bob Bellini.

In the March A.C. Nielsen ratings survey the station ranked seventh among total listeners.

However it ranked considerably lower in the 25-54 demographic over the past three months, suggesting it was not reaching its target audience or that the desired audience segment was shrinking. Also many listeners are abandoning traditional terrestrial outlets for music streaming services.

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Can Badgers-Duke TV ratings reach Packers’ level?

Posted by Duane Dudek

“Tailgate was the best part of the game today,” said Milwaukee Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker, at the end of  the opening day game debacle. Which means it’s time for fans to focus on tonight’s championship matchup between the UW-Madison Badgers and Duke University Blue Devils.

If you didn’t have cable you either listened to the Wisconsin Badgers beat the University of Kentucky Wildcats Saturday night on Clear Channel Broadcast station WOKY-AM (920), or got yourself to a sports bar to watch it on cable channel TBS.

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Joe Dorsey, “best voice in Milwaukee radio,” dead at age 90

Posted by Duane Dudek
Dad and wire request

Deep-voiced Joe Dorsey, who worked at WEMP and WOKY during the Golden Age of Milwaukee radio, died in hospice surrounded by family on Monday night, one day after his 90th birthday.

Dorsey worked in radio for 55 years beginning with Armed Forces Radio.

He was inducted in the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2012.

“Joe was a popular, extremely funny and a gentleman broadcaster for many years.  He will be missed by his friends and peers,” Milwaukee radio veteran Bob Barry posted on his Facebook page.

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