The Cincinnati Rock radio landscape got a little more crowded in December 2007 when Cumulus Media dumped the talk format at 96.5 FM and launched 96 Rock, Cincinnati’s Pure Rock. As of the Summer ’09 Arbitron book, WFTK has risen to Top 5 Persons 18-34, ranks 2nd with Men 18-34 while the morning show ranks 1st with Men 18-34 and 3rd Persons 18-34. The last item is particularly fulfilling for PD Michael Walter since he is half of the Gamble–n–Fin morning show. FMQB caught up with Walter for a conversation on programming philosophy as this month’s Rock Cover Story.
Michael ‘Fin’ Walter
The Cincinnati Rock radio landscape got a little more crowded in December 2007 when Cumulus Media dumped the talk format at 96.5 FM and launched 96 Rock, Cincinnati’s Pure Rock. The station has segued from the Active Rock sounds of its launch to a more alternative lean and has been making headway in the market. As of the Summer ’09 Arbitron book, WFTK has risen to Top 5 Persons 18-34, ranks 2nd with Men 18-34 while the morning show ranks 1st with Men 18-34 and 3rd Persons 18-34. The last item is particularly fulfilling for PD Michael Walter since he is half of the Gamble–n–Fin morning show. FMQB caught up with Walter for a conversation on programming philosophy as this month’s Rock Cover Story
eQB presents excerpts from the November FMQB magazine
Rock Up Close with WFTK 96ROCK Cincinnati, PD, Michael ‘Fin’ Walter
“The biggest change has to be the number of things that now come under the PD purview. No longer is it acceptable to simply ‘not lose the license’ and ‘bury the bodies as deeply as possible’; we continue to evolve into masters of our (web) domains and streaming via content/revenue generation, in certain situations oversee HD programming considerations and continue to have to create more with less (an initiative I began way before that similar sounding thing).”
“The best radio comes out of a typewriter (or as the cool kids call them these days – ‘keyboards’).”
“I like to think our position is closer to the upright man than the hunched over cave man in that evolution chart you’ve seen that bastardized to show the superiority of soccer over football players. Our position is, and has been since sign-on in ’07 – Cincinnati’s Pure Rock. It’s a position that was strategically and brilliantly, I might add, carved out by Val Garris in Atlanta and the local crew here in Cincinnati.”
“Somewhere along the line someone forgot that this is an entire industry built upon relationships. The relationship built between station and listener, listener and artist, listener and client, client and station, sales and programming. I am very fortunate to have been able to return to Cincinnati with many of my label contacts still IN tact.”
“The focused use of a website, database, streaming, HD channel, etc. is great. Reliance upon it is dangerous. I believe it’s still incumbent upon us to give the audience a reason to care about our main product and then augment that product with the ancillary offerings that have sprung up. Spending a little time reminding the audience of all of the other things we’re bringing to the table in a compelling fashion is cool; spending too much time sending them to those sources, perhaps never to return is, imho, a mistake.”
“I always try to keep the product integrity first and foremost to make sure we’re creating unique and compelling opportunity. I believe that the best way to create new business, as well as to earn repeat business, is to be creative in your approach to helping your client’s message/mission/achievable goal stand out; then work like hell to make sure it delivers for them so that the repeat business is, essentially, a no-brainer.”
** QB Content by Michael Parrish **
Up Close: Skippy, MD, KRZR/Fresno
“It’s important to be flexible in the changing environment, but not lose the personal touch that terrestrial radio offers.”
