KXTR (Kansas City) Dumbs Down Again!
Jim Hill
Not content with increased listener ratings and presumably listener
satisfaction that they widely touted, KXTR changed from the Beethoven
Network to Classical Radio Boston. This is the third change in one year:
Sony Worldwide Network , Beethoven Satellite Network, and now Classical
Radio Boston? Welcome to the classical top 40 station format you Kansas
City bumpkins! Selections feature nothing more modern than Dvorak or any
work longer than 15 minutes. You get a steady diet of the tried and true
classics all served up with mind numbing regularity by cheerfully
chattering announcers. Selections are chosen to offend no one (lots of
Haydn, Mozart, and J.C. Bach symphonies). KXTR general manager Randy
Grossert said the change was "This is about as good as it can get. You're
not going to get any better than this" and one and designed to "attract a
younger demographic that is the future of the product". I guess this
explains the brevity of the selections -- designed for those in Gen-X with
a limited attention span and intellectual deficit. (Listening to Mozart
makes you smarter you know.) The sad part is that no one in Kansas City can
tell the difference. Speaking of mind numbing regularity, maybe we in
Kansas City could we take up a collection and pay KXTR to retire the Fred
Grandy Goodwill Industries commercial or any of the other inane local
commercials that they air repeatedly each hour.
Am I alone in feeling disgusted, insulted, and alienated by this change. I
guess I could go on but I feel this is just a sign of the times that every
thing is still up to date in Kansas City. How about it you Classical Radio
fans is Dumb and Dumber the wave of the future?
Scott K. Colebank
Speak for yourself. I gave up on KXTR when Keith Paynton retired. Stupid
commercials have always been part of any format used, like the Dick Ray
master plumber, "Mr. Remodeler" or "Bothered by Bugs?" (with Gounod in
the background). You can buy a portable CD player for $40; who needs
KXTR anyway?
Scott
wmsn...@my-dejanews.com
In article <6jj1hn$iir$1...@supernews.com>,
"Jim Hill" <jyh...@microlink.net> wrote:
>
> Not content with increased listener ratings and presumably listener
> satisfaction that they widely touted, KXTR changed from the Beethoven
> Network to Classical Radio Boston. This is the third change in one year:
> Sony Worldwide Network , Beethoven Satellite Network, and now Classical
> Radio Boston? Welcome to the classical top 40 station format you Kansas
> City bumpkins!
> snip <
> How about it you Classical Radio
> fans is Dumb and Dumber the wave of the future?
>
> --
> jth...@microlink.net
>
>
From traveling around the country and hearing many different public radio
stations, I must say I have seen this sort of occurrence more than once.
However, I have also heard a fair share of contemporary (20th century)
classical music that certainly would not appeal to everyone. It could be
worse: here in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, the local public radio
station (WFDD) has had to turn to broadcasting Wake Forest college sports on
the weekends (and occasionally during the week) in order to make ends meet.
Imagine settling down for an afternoon of opera and hearing the basebal
play-by-play instead!
Bill Snedden
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The Melsons
On Sat, 16 May 1998 22:15:21 GMT, wmsn...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
>From traveling around the country and hearing many different public radio
>stations, I must say I have seen this sort of occurrence more than once.
>However, I have also heard a fair share of contemporary (20th century)
>classical music that certainly would not appeal to everyone. It could be
>worse: here in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, the local public radio
>station (WFDD) has had to turn to broadcasting Wake Forest college sports on
>the weekends (and occasionally during the week) in order to make ends meet.
>Imagine settling down for an afternoon of opera and hearing the basebal
>play-by-play instead!
>Bill Snedden
Not that it lessens your argument, but WFDD is actually a service of
Wake Forest (WFDD=Wake Forest Demon Deacons) and thus is merely
following the standard trend for college stations to carry their own
sports.
Alan Melson
cyn...@mailexcite.com
In article <6jj1hn$iir$1...@supernews.com>,
"Jim Hill" <jyh...@microlink.net> wrote:
>
> Not content with increased listener ratings and presumably listener
> satisfaction that they widely touted, KXTR changed from the Beethoven
> Network to Classical Radio Boston. This is the third change in one year:
> Sony Worldwide Network , Beethoven Satellite Network, and now Classical
> Radio Boston? Welcome to the classical top 40 station format you Kansas
> City bumpkins!
Gosh!! This is the PITS!! I moved from a nearby southern state to K.C.
hoping to find classical music heaven (ok-maybe not like L.A. or N.Y. or other
BIG places, but certainly better than where I was!!) only to find not only is
the Symphony STILL searching for a new music Director (from what I hear they
might settle for "politically correct" as well as hopefully good), but the
Kansas City Chorale too is searching for a new conductor, and the Camerata
(supposedly) bit the dust when their conductor moved on, and NOW THIS!
AAAACCCKKKKK!!!!!! What is classical music in K.C. coming to??? :>)
(or went to, for that matter!!)
I guess this> explains the brevity of the selections -- designed for those in
Gen-X with > a limited attention span and intellectual deficit.
Now, now........
(Listening to Mozart makes you smarter you know.)
Only certain selections...wasn't it?
The sad part is that no one in Kansas City can tell the difference.
AHEM!! Excuse me??? Lighten up a little, will ya! didn't you say:
"not content with increased listener ratings and presumably listener
satisfaction that they widely touted,"
Obviously K.C. listeners CAN tell the difference, give 'em time...what goes up
can (and does) come down! (ratings and satisfaction)
Speaking of mind numbing regularity, maybe we in Kansas City could we take up
a collection and pay KXTR to retire the Fred Grandy Goodwill Industries
commercial or any of the other inane local commercials that they air
repeatedly each hour.
DEAL!!!!! :>)) (Or you COULD get a movement together and ALL write the
sponsers (individually, of course) and complain about the lack of program
quality etc. Stations may blow-off listeners complaints, but I would tend to
think they would pay more attention to the ones who purchase air-time....
> Am I alone in feeling disgusted, insulted, and alienated by this change. I
> guess I could go on but I feel this is just a sign of the times that every
> thing is still up to date in Kansas City. How about it you Classical Radio
> fans is Dumb and Dumber the wave of the future?
>
Not as long as one can turn OFF the radio, and play what one wants to hear!!
(tapes, CD, turn-table) OR as long as one can attend live performances (of
which K.C. has a lot of choices there, whether they have permanent conductors,
or guests, whatever! :>))
Although.....in my car, the tape player doesn't work and one has only the
radio....ok! A little silence 'til I get home is no big deal!! :>)) I can
make it....just!
Edward A. Cowan
Jim Hill wrote:
>
> Not content with increased listener ratings and presumably listener
> satisfaction that they widely touted, KXTR changed from the Beethoven
> Network to Classical Radio Boston. This is the third change in one
> year:
> Sony Worldwide Network , Beethoven Satellite Network, and now
> Classical
> Radio Boston? Welcome to the classical top 40 station format you
> Kansas
> any
> work longer than 15 minutes. You get a steady diet of the tried and
> true
> classics all served up with mind numbing regularity by cheerfully
> chattering announcers. Selections are chosen to offend no one (lots
> of
> Haydn, Mozart, and J.C. Bach symphonies).
[remainder snipped]
With RealAudio, you can listen to WFMT (Chicago), WQXR (NYC), and a number of
other better sources for classical music via your computer. Better yet, get a
satellite dish (and, for now, a PANDA compressor!) and hear WFMT and WQXR off
the satellites. Unfortunately, the signal of WQXR doesn't sound too good just
now (it's offered by NPS), but I'm told by NPS that they are contemplating a
digital satellite signal for 4DTV satellite receivers ere long. I should think
that WFMT would also soon go digital in its transmissions, so hope is not yet
lost. (And, when and if these stations go digital, there will be no further
need for PANDA -- don't ask me what that is! I have such a unit and am
probably the only private individual in all the Dallas-Ft. Worth "Metroplex"
who has one, just to get a clean, loud and clear signal for WFMT, and that's
exactly what I get. Best, E.A.C.
Kenneth A. Wolkon
I tend to agree that more stations should play a variety of classical music,
but new listeners are not ready to listen to those pieces that we who have
been listening for a long time can appreciate. My colleagues and students
who are just becoming interested are caught up, for the most part, with the
classics, warhorses, or whatever you want to call them. WCRB in Boston is
not the station I turn to first for my classical listening, but we are
blessed in this area with other classical stations that are more
adventurous. When I don't find something more to my liking, I'll take the
old classics on 'CRB. What's more, I'm delighted that some of my students
have discovered it and ask about other things they can listen to.
It may not be your taste, but it's an important entrance into our world,
through which I (and I suspect most of you)had to travel to reach our
elitist positions.
Ken Wolkon
David Patrick
With RealAudio, you can listen to WFMT (Chicago),
hearing WFMT until next week at the earliest!!
Mike Davis
Kenneth A. Wolkon wrote:
There must be room for both, of course. Donald Vroon has addressed the
need for the "elite" in art forms in a recent issue of American Record Guide
and made a good point that great art is seldom if ever self supporting.
When classical (commercial) stations are pressed for funding and the
government cuts it back, we can only watch as the mainstream sinks to
the lowest common denominator.
The only hope is for the continued existence of low power radio stations
from (mainly) college and university sources that do not count their
audience by numbers and have no vested interest in the almighty dollar
per se.
Mike Davis
volunteer announcer KXMS, Joplin MO
Viola Guy
>When classical (commercial) stations are pressed for funding and the
government cuts it back, we can only watch as the mainstream sinks to the
lowest common denominator. The only hope is for the continued existence of low
power radio stations from (mainly) college and university sources that do not
count their audience by numbers and have no vested interest in the almighty
dollar per se.<
>volunteer announcer KXMS, Joplin MO
Huh??? When classical (commercial) stations are pressed for money, they sell
commercials. There is no government funding for commercial stations. If
they're pressed for money, and have low ratings and can't sell commercials they
change their format. And...ALL stations- highpower, low-power, whatever
power...count their audience by the numbers (Arbitron ratings). If they have
no vested interest in the almighty dollar...then they're out of business. That
goes for all stations..public...commercial... whatever. If you have no
listeners and you're a public station, you have no funds donated from
listeners, and corporations aren't interested in supporting your station.
People who aren't listening aren't supporting your radio station. That's why
more public stations around the country are dumbing down their formats (just
like their commercial counterparts). Individual radio stations see very little
government support.
Jack Moore
John Underwood
In article <199805250418...@ladder03.news.aol.com>, Viola Guy
<viol...@aol.com> writes
>>When classical (commercial) stations are pressed for funding and the
>government cuts it back, we can only watch as the mainstream sinks to the
>lowest common denominator. The only hope is for the continued existence of low
>power radio stations from (mainly) college and university sources that do not
>count their audience by numbers and have no vested interest in the almighty
>dollar per se.<
>>Mike Davis<BR>
>>volunteer announcer KXMS, Joplin MO
>
>Huh??? When classical (commercial) stations are pressed for money, they sell
>commercials.
>People who aren't listening aren't supporting your radio station. That's why
>more public stations around the country are dumbing down their formats (just
>like their commercial counterparts). Individual radio stations see very little
>government support.
We have another option which, you may regret, is not available to you -
the independent broadcasting service financed by licence fee. When I
read this I feel for you, and think how fortunate we are. Our complaints
about the "dumbing down" of BBC Radio 3 are as nothing in comparison.
My heartfelt sympathy.
--
John Underwood
jat...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
John Underwood (jo...@jsunderwood.demon.co.uk) wrote:
<snip>
: >People who aren't listening aren't supporting your radio station. That's why
: >more public stations around the country are dumbing down their formats (just
: >like their commercial counterparts). Individual radio stations see very little
: >government support.
: We have another option which, you may regret, is not available to you -
: the independent broadcasting service financed by licence fee. When I
: read this I feel for you, and think how fortunate we are. Our complaints
: about the "dumbing down" of BBC Radio 3 are as nothing in comparison.
That's in contrast to what happened to the CBC over the past few years in
which its government funding was drastically slashed. In fact, there was
discussion about re-introducing advertising for the first time since it
was ended about 25 years ago.
--
*******************************************************************************
* Bernhard Michael Jatzeck *
* *
* jat...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca *
* http://www.freenet.edmonton.ab.ca/~jatzeck/bmj1.html *
*******************************************************************************