KTAR Programmer's Posts

Something Different. On FM.

Last year, as we built the plan to move KTAR's news/talk product from AM to FM we spent a tremendous amount of time talking about how the audience on FM differs from the one on AM.  This was about much more than an address change.  KTAR-FM was going to be a new product built on the heritage that makes this station different from any other one in this state.

Close to 85% of the radio listening that occurs in the valley is done EXCLUSIVELY on FM.  AM stations all combine for less than 15% of the pie.  Historically, two stations have owned nearly all of that 15%, with KTAR being one of them and 550AM being the other.  AM is proving to be much more niche than FM.  You will find religious programming, financial networks, sports, Spanish language news, and ultra conservative or liberal stations on AM these days. 

You may notice that KTAR's competitors are firing anyone deemed moderate in any way.  The replacements tend to be extremists.  Corporate radio owners believe their stations on AM must be aimed at a very small group of people with extreme views.  The thought is this niche audience will listen all day and night thus providing profitable ratings. 

KTAR is going a different direction.

We believe in serving one niche: sports.  And, so, we've made 620 AM all sports.  It's a niche targeted station on a niche targeted band.

And, we've chosen to focus our energy on FM doing what KTAR has always done best, be THE place where the valley comes together to get news, traffic, weather, and talk.  Instead of a niche focus on FM, we're going after the masses.  The masses are on FM.

The movement of KTAR's news/talk product to 92.3 FM involves a new way of thinking and a new approach, built upon KTAR's heritage.  Some of these changes have already been made.  Others are coming.

For instance, we spent months building a new sound or jingle package for KTAR-FM.  We didn't just pop in a cd of tunes, we worked with composers and an orchestra to create what you now hear at the beginning of every newscast and during traffic updates, and behind the sports reports. 

Our move to FM also involved a major change in news reporting.  We couldn't be as traditional as we had been in the past.  We needed to be more contemporary.  We've made good strides in this area but have much work left to be done.  This is currently a major focus of ours. 

Other needed changes involved adjustments to the lineup.  Darrell Ankarlo joined the lineup on our first day on FM.  Within the last month we've finalized our evening lineup with a new style of talk for KTAR. 

And, today, comes another change designed to further transition KTAR to its new home on FM. 

Starting this afternoon at 3pm we introduce a program called "The Newsroom."  We have spent weeks building this show.  It's unlike anything news/talk audiences have heard in the past.  In an age of cookie cutter talk radio, when companies look for the most outspoken liberal or conservative they can find and then give them a show, we're innovating.

I'm not going to go into detail about what "The Newsroom" involves right now.  I want you to experience it yourself.  All I'll say is it's a completely different type of daily talk aimed the contemporary audience found on FM.  And, it's designed for the insanely quick pace most of us find ourselves operating in each afternoon.  I'll write more about it later.

The Newsroom, now 3-4pm every weekday on News 92.3 KTAR-FM.

The Evacuations Not Reported

You know, if you listened to KTAR-FM today or read the stories on KTAR.com, that the state capitol was evacuated due to a bomb threat. 

What you likely don't know is two television stations were also threatened and evacuated at the same time. 

We debated releasing the information during Arizona's Morning News with Ned Foster and Connie Weber and ultimately decided not to do so for two reasons. 

First, we typically don't report bomb threats unless they lead to large evacuations, traffic problems, or involve important institutions like schools or the government.

Second, we didn't want to encourage copycats or the individual (if it was one person) calling in the three separate threats.  Phoenix police discussed their concern with us as we debated our course of action.

If the threats and evacuations had spread beyond two television stations we were prepared to hit the airwaves with the information.  For a few minutes it seemed there might be some organized effort to spread fear.  But, just as quickly as the threat developed, it ended.

While Ankarlo mentioned the TV station part of this story in passing on his talk show after the fact, we kept the information off the air as it happened and out of our newscasts all day.

It turned out the capitol was the only noteworthy evacuation.

Play the Tapes

She sounded like she was shaking. 

She didn't tell me her name and wouldn't share her telephone number.  But the female caller who left me message number 5 on my office voice mail this morning was clearly disturbed. 

She was disturbed by what she heard on KTAR-FM and extremely disappointed in my decision.  That decision was to play the tapes and to post the photos from the Virginia Tech Killer.   The listener who left me a message told me she expected better behavior from "a station with the reputation and history of KTAR."

The new and old media world is buzzing with debate about whether TV and radio stations should have played the audio or video sent to NBC News by the man who slaughtered his peers.  My position in this debate is obviously already known: the tapes should be played and the photos should be shown.

I know we're playing into this idiot's hands.  I know he hoped his face and voice would be beamed throughout the world.  Our station helped him accomplish that mission.  And, that makes me sick.

But playing the audio also accomplishes another mission. 

A natural reaction to a tragedy like the one that happened Monday is to ask, why?  None of us understands what would motivate someone to visit a post office, then walk into a busy campus building, chain the doors, and then begin viciously killing those fleeing for their lives. 

If we're going to ask the questions then we need to examine the evidence.  In this case, the killer left us clues.  Shouldn't we view, listen, and ponder those clues?  Or, should we just pretend this didn't happen and hide our heads in the sand?  After all, there's always American Idol to talk about on the radio.

I believe the audio from those tapes exposes a dark side of loneliness, isolation, and mental illness that most of us are not familiar with.  It's something we need to learn more about and discuss, even if it makes us uncomfortable.

How many violent attacks will it take to get this dialogue going?  I know I wasn't interested in talking or even thinking about it much until one afternoon nearly eight years ago.  An average day at work turned into a fight for survival for some of my co-workers when the radio and television station I worked at then was targeted by a deranged woman with a gun and a bag of ammunition. 

The newsroom staff crawled along the floor toward emergency exits as gunfire rang out in our lobby.  The mentally ill shooter made her way onto three different floors of our building before finally accomplishing her goal of killing someone.  To this day she sits in a mental institution in Salt Lake City because no one knows what happened in her brain to cause her to wreak so much havoc and end a life.

Yes, sometimes it's not convenient but that shouldn't stop us from talking about this ugly part of our world. 

So, I say, with all due respect, to the woman with the quivering voice on my voice mail: Play The Tape.

Abortions, Tapes, & Candy Bars

At one of the lunches in Vegas this week, the president of ABC Radio News asked me how his network could better serve KTAR.  I responded by telling him they could find us some more news. 

It's no secret that the first three months of this year have been an extremely slow news cycle.  It's one of the reasons the 2008 Presidential campaign season has already gotten so much attention.  (Have you noticed how much attention the race has gotten the last few days? None.)  There just hasn't been much going on nationally or locally.

Until now.

Today's news cycle couldn't have been any busier.  Here's what flowed into the KTAR Newsroom today:

• An historic Supreme Court ruling on abortion
• A package from The Killer arrives at NBC News
• New revelations about The Killer's mental health history
• One of America's major freeways closed west of Phoenix
• A convenience store in Mesa shut down after a syringe found in candy bars
• A valley high school revealing they've received 4 different warnings of violence Friday
• A legislative decision allowing some concealed weapons on Arizona campuses

On days like today it's nice to have a news team the size we do.

For most of the day, our anchors and editors decided the abortion decision deserved the most attention.  It will certainly get front page play on most of America's newspapers tomorrow.  It's significance is difficult to overstate.

But, then came the news from NBC.  After carefully copying all the video clips and notes, NBC News handed the tape over to the FBI.  And, they started to leak clips to other media outlets.  We received them just in time for our afternoon news block.

We spend a tremendous amount of time and effort each day making sure our morning, noon, and afternoon newscasts are updated and have stories unique from the other daypart.  During the last few days it's been a huge task just to keep up.  Our team has done an impressive job.  And, as far as that comment I made to ABC News at lunch this week...  I take it back.

KTAR Wins in Vegas

Today was a great day in Vegas.  The National Association of Broadcasters bestowed one of its highest honors on KTAR. 

The station was one of ten national recipients of the 2007 Crystal Award.  The award is well known in the broadcasting world and is highly coveted.  The Crystal recognizes stations for their exceptional service to the community in which they broadcast. 

The NAB cited KTAR's coverage of the serial killers who plagued the valley last year as well as the station's coverage of the immigration issue in 2006.  A great day for the station and the dozens of professionals who work very hard each to day to make KTAR what it is.  And, a great honor for our company which encourages us and empowers us to do it.

The Lunch Hour Massacre

I'll never forget the refrigeration truck.

It was one of those images, one of those moments frozen in time, that are the prized possessions of those of us in the news business. 

Generally, I've come across three types of people in broadcast news.  There are bimbos.  Well, that's not fair.  Maybe "incredibly vain" is a better phrase since some of them are men.  Bottom line, these are the people who got into news because it meant they could show off their beauty to large crowds on television screens.

The second group of news people I've worked with are the accidental journalists.  They just kind of stumbled upon this business just like some people end up being waiters.  Doesn't mean they're not good.

Then, there are those who practically paid their first employer in this cut-throat business just so they could wear the title of journalist.  They gravitated towards reporting because it provided them with experiences no other occupation could.  When a reporter goes to work they never know if they're going to be covering a school board meeting or leading the newscast from the scene of a massacre on a university campus.  Many of the good reporters entered the business because of the life lessons they're able to learn from covering tragedy and triumph.

For me there are distinct moments.  Now, I spend most of my time behind a desk as one of those management types, but for several years my office was the street.  I will forever remember my first murder scene and the mother who ached out loud as she sobbed over the body of her lifeless son.  I've blogged here about other moments like the burning blocks of Compton during the L.A. Riots.  There is the beach of Banda Aceh after the tsunami.  And other brighter moments, like the USA's snowboarding sweep of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Tonight as the lights of Vegas blink out my window and the sounds of the casino seep up to the 16th floor of this hotel, my mind is preoccupied with one of those "forever" moments. 

It was 1991, and I was barely old enough to be legally employed.  I was working night and day, free of charge, for an upstart news/talk station in San Antonio.  I knew I wanted to be a reporter.  I had found my industry.  And on this particular October day, I had also found an assignment.  There was no Internet then.  And, the printer hooked up to the news wire told us of dozens of police officers and medical teams were responding to a Luby's Cafeteria.

I volunteered to travel to the scene.  It was hours north on I-35, but I wanted desperately to go.  The news director allowed it to happen. 

A long drive later, I exited the highway and instantly saw the crime tape.  Flashing lights filled the parking lot of a restaurant and the hotel that neighbored it.  I jumped from the Ford Bronco that served as "55 Live" and began interviewing witnesses and police.  I learned that more than 20 people had been shot to death after an angry man rammed his truck through the glass doors of Luby's during lunch hour on Bosses Day.  He opened fire killing many and injuring some as desperate people dove through glass windows or hid in the huge freezer.

Each story has a particularly poignant moment, that image I talked about earlier.  The one from this crime scene that has stuck with me occurred late in the day.  I was sitting on a curb in the parking lot as the sun set.  I finally had the opportunity to catch my breath from filing many reports.  And, in the far end of the parking lot I saw a large semi pull up.  It was the refrigerated kind.  I watched as it backed up to the front door of the restaurant.  I wondered why it was there.  Then, the answer came as exhausted investigators in that small Texas town of Killeen began carrying out bodies in bags.

There were so many that a refrigeration truck was needed to transport them all.

One of my mentors in this business once told me that people in the media are fortunate to experience things no one else does and that it's our responsibility to try to learn the lessons each one of these experiences can teach us, and then share them with others.  I've made that my habit. 

On that evening in Texas I wondered how anyone could become angry enough to kill 22 unfamiliar people.  Years later I'm no closer to the answer as now the lunch time massacre in Killeen becomes the second deadliest shooting in American history behind the one today at Virginia Tech.

KTAR Delivers Tragic News

If you ever want to know when a major news story is going to happen consult my travel schedule.

From Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping (when I was living in SLC) to 9-11 to today's massacre at VTech, I have been on the road or scheduled to fly out when these, and many other, major stories have broken.  Through modern technology I was able to listen to hours of our coverage from the largest gathering of journalists and broadcasters in the world, here in Vegas.

Our team deserves huge kudos.  From the earliest hours of this morning, when there was a report of one person shot, to right now, KTAR-FM and KTAR.com have been on top of the story.  All the news conferences have been covered live.  The reporters on the scene, security experts, law enforcement professionals, and even those at universities in Arizona have contributed to the coverage of this terrible human tragedy.

We are currently in the beta stage of testing our breaking news text alert system and I can tell you that today it was the star of the coverage.  Those involved in our beta tests had 10-15 minute personal notice on their cell phone of every live news conference and had personal headlines delivered to their mobile device of when some development broke.  This FREE text service will bring a breaking news coverage level that the Phoenix market hasn't experienced before.  I'm thrilled at how it merges several technologies to improve the experience for consumers.  (If you haven't subscribed for our text messaging alerts, do so now.  It's free and you'll be in the system when we launch very soon.)

Back to the conference, here in Vegas, if there's one message it's interactivity.  We are no longer radio or tv stations, we are news outlets.  Thankfully, we've had that view at KTAR for quite some time and have ambitious plans to use our "bullhorn" on the radio to help leverage the online and mobile breaking news and sports news experiences that we think consumers are demanding. 

One interesting side note, the general manager of KTAR and I had lunch with two ABC News executives and managers.  They came late after helping orchestrate much of the coverage you heard on KTAR-FM today.  It's always been impressive to me the amount of work that goes into managing a national news network.  Today, ABC News had to charter a small jet from New York to Virginia to get correspondents and support crews on the scene as quickly as possible.  ABC News provides the best radio news network out there.  It's nice to have a crew that doesn't simulcast their television news station and instead provides reports tailored to radio that often beat out the coverage of the television because of the ease of getting witnesses and reporters on the radio rather that on a tv screen. 

More on today's sessions here in Vegas.  And, perhaps I'll share my experience of being a young reporter sent to the scene to cover what is, after today, the second deadliest shooting rampage in American history. 

Weekend Traffic

Lots of posts today. 

Like you, I receive a large number of emails every day.  The topics are varied.  While I , or someone else at KTAR, respond to each email I use this space for additional responses to themes that present themselves in the in-box. 

One of those themes has been weekend traffic.  One of the things I first noticed after arriving in Phoenix was the lack of traffic reports on any radio station in evenings and weekends.  A city this size with traffic this bad seems to need a higher volume of traffic reports than you find in.... say, Santa Fe.  So, a year ago we expanded traffic reporting on KTAR to 5a-12midnight seven days a week. 

I have received a few emails in the last few weeks about people wanting a higher quality of reports in our weekend traffic coverage.  As we get into summer, the number of freeway closures increases.  There's nothing worse than getting into a huge backup on a Saturday because some lanes are restricted.  It sucks.  I've researched the feedback.  And, an improvement is needed.  You should notice a difference in the next few days.  If not, let me know. 

We may be the only radio station in the entire valley doing traffic after 7pm and at all on weekends, but that doesn't mean it can't be the highest quality.  I know that's your expectation.

Arizona Blogs

This blog is one of many that will be coming to KTAR.com in the near future.  I promise the others will be much more interesting and from people whose opinions you will actually care about.

As we prepare for that launch, I'm interested in any other local blogs worth reading.  I have had not nearly as much luck here, in the valley, as I have had in other cities I've lived in locating worthwhile local blogs.  If you have experience with other valuable Arizona news, sports, entertainment, etc blogs please pass along the links.  You can email me at  r  h i l l @ k t a r . c o m. 

Survey Says...

I've gotten several emails asking about the results of the recent listener survey I blogged about.

For those not up to speed, we do an online survey of KTAR-FM listeners on a regular basis.  We ask all sorts of questions that we're interested in gaining data on at the moment.  Most of the survey, though, is always about topics and issues in the news.  We track how interested the market is in the issues over time.

Thank you to those who participated in the most recent survey.  We always have many more people that want to participate than we can accommodate.  I can't share most of the information from the survey in a public setting like this since this many competitors frequent this space.

I can tell you that the listener habit questions showed more than 30% of those questioned say they are listening MORE to KTAR now that the news/talk product is on FM.  We have also noticed some real interesting age and gender demographic shifts since September when the frequency change occurred.

We use the topical information from the surveys to help guide our promotional direction as well as topic selection in news reports and talk shows.