From: fybush@world.std.com (Scott D Fybush)
Subject: WBBR: Initial Impressions
Originator: wdp@gagme
Organization: world.std.com
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 04:48:07 GMT



WNEW's successor station, WBBR New York, began its original programming
Monday morning, January 4.  I've had a chance to listen a bit, mostly
Monday morning around 10:30, Monday night around 9, Tuesday morning around
4, and Tuesday morning around 9:30.  Here are some initial impressions:

*WBBR had been expected to take on an all-business format.  Instead,
they're positioning themselves as an all-newser with a heavy emphasis
on business.  Their format is even more bare-bones than the all-news
competition in NY, 880 WCBS (CBS-owned) and 1010 WINS (Group W-owned).
It's based on a ten-minute clock, with national/world news in the
first minute, sports/weather/traffic in the last minute, and a mix of
very short business- and news-related features along with spots in
the remaining 8 minutes of each 10.

*There are no reporters...in fact, there's no sound at all in the
news portions of the format, just an announcer reading wire copy.  This
will hurt WBBR when compared to the fairly large reporting staffs at
WCBS and WINS, and it will kill them when a big local story breaks.
There's not even any network sound in the national/world casts.  I
know WCBS (CBS) and WINS (ABC) have the two big affiliations tied
up, but there's still sound available through AP and UPI, just to name
a few.

*There are no anchors as such.  In fact, the national/world newscasts
don't even come out of New York at night.  By 9 PM they're being
read in Tokyo, and by 4 AM they were coming out of London.  Transitions
between segments are done with (recorded?) liners like "It's 8:23 at
Bloomberg News Radio...with the news you need to know."  I suspect
the overnight local news may be taped as well...and that means the
New York newsroom would be unstaffed at night.  This is only speculation.

*Business coverage is, as expected, thorough.  One of WBBR's lead 
business anchors is Jim Kingsland, formerly with CNBC/FNN.  Jim used to
do the business reports for WBZ, and I had high respect for him then as
well.  Business seems to make up about half of WBBR's news hole.  That's
more than the 10 percent or so at WINS and WCBS, but I question whether
that alone will be enough to draw the affluent businesspeople away from
everything else that WCBS and WINS offer.  After all, I don't think
anyone expects WBBR to be the sole source of business news for its
listeners...and if someone already carries a Quotrex or has CNBC at the
office, why would they need WBBR?  And for those who aren't as obsessive,
the livelier presentations on WCBS and WINS, along with business every
half hour, will probably be enough to keep them from switching to WBBR.

*WBBR has a heavy spot load right from the start.  Interestingly, one
advertiser is WQEW (1560), the new home of the big band music that
used to be on WNEW when it was on 1130.  I suspect this is WBBR's way
of repaying WQEW for granting permission to simulcast its big band from
mid-December till the new format was ready.

*Speaking of WNEW, WBBR has kept the "AM Eleven-three-oh" line that
WNEW used to use.  Why?  I don't know.

*This is purely speculative...but I suspect 1130's power was kept low 
while it was simulcasting WQEW last month.  For whatever reason, 1130 
has been stronger here in suburban Boston since the format change.
I can hear it during the day in parts of town where it used to be
entirely overpowered by hash from 1120 and 1150, and the nighttime
skip signal seems better too.  This isn't just a change in propagation,
since WABC and WOR from NY were almost unlistenable last night.

*Anyone in NYC know where Bruce Williams, Larry King, the Nets, and
the Giants landed since the format change?

*Finally...don't look for the old WNEW(AM) calls to resurface soon.
Group W, which owns WNEW-FM in NY has filed to change the calls to
WNEW(FM).  To the FCC, this means that the WNEW(AM) calls cannot be
issued...unless, of course, Group W decides to take a hefty sum
of cash to give up the WNEW(FM) calls.  :-)  

I'd be interested to hear what other people think of this new 1130.

Scott Fybush -- fybush@world.std.com
"Now my patience with the radio's wearing thin/There's a song I want
  to hear but it won't come in/These airwaves are as packed as the 
    jam I'm in/On the L.I.E."  -- Barbara Kessler

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