Stuart
Caplan doesn't listen to AM radio anymore. "I just abandoned
it," said Caplan. "AM just got to the point where there
was no music."
"When
they did play something, it was oldies crap like I heard It From
The Grapevine," said Caplan, 23, who runs the industrial
division of Niagara Nailing Systems.
These
days, he flips through pop and hip-hop stations, maybe stopping
for some HTZ-FM 97.7"
"I
think I'm like many, really - I've no loyalty and a complete lack
of attention span when it comes to radio. I just forward the dial."
If
Caplan were the exception, it might not be so bad. But he's not.
In many respects he typifies Niagara's new tough radio audience.
Times
are difficult in the turbulent world of local radio. As AM declines,
formats are suddenly changed, and stations are sold and amalgamated.
Well known radio personalities get the axe, and one Niagara station
soldiers on in bankruptcy.
Perhaps
even worse, the turmoil is met with waves of indifference from
listeners. Ratings show listener split their time between Toronto
and Niagara stations, and show scant loyalty to any station. It
is estimated more than half of Niagara's available radio audience
listens to out-of-town radio.
Joey
Otta, 17, is a fan of "classic rock," including HTZ-FM
and Toronto's Q-107 FM. He, too, dumped AM radio as a teen. The
Lakeport Secondary School student switches the radio on when he's
tinkering with his car, but just for background music.
From
time to time, "a new song comes out and sometimes they overplay
it," he said. When that happens, or if HTZ-FM starts thumping
out hard-core metal, he'll turn to Toronto stations.
Rose
Campbell, 39, likes to "see whatever's out there" for
the two hours a week she tunes in - often in the car. Sometimes
it's contemporary rock like CKEY-FM The River, other times classical.
"I've also noticed a lot more coarse language on the rock
'n' roll stations during the day" said Campbell, a St. Catharses
graphics designer. "Maybe I didn't notice it before or perhaps
they just allow more of it now."
It
wasn't long ago that things were much different.
As
late as the 1980s, two or three stations might sew up a Canadian
market. Listeners, especially kids, strongly identified with a
station and its radio personality.
In
its place is mostly cutthroat, lower profit business. And while
the industry maxim - especially for AM radio - is local content
rules, many say the revamped stations sound more and more generic.
An FM dance show in Nanaimo could be a ringer for one from Niagara
Falls.
Niagara
is a ruthlessly competitive mid-sized radio market. And the ensuing
disruptions is taking a toll on staff.
"I
hate my job," said one broadcaster who, like others, spoke
on the condition of anonymity.
The
personalities spoke of the awful impact the revolving door has
had on morale in the industry that's one of the lowest paying
in the media.
"Morale!
Honestly, what morale?" laughed one St. Catharses broadcaster.
"It
couldn't get any worse," said another broadcaster from a
rival station. "You're always looking behind your back, worrying
that you're next."
Ninety
stations are jammed cheek-to-jowl on the Niagara dial. Toronto
stations fill 24 of those spots and Buffalo 20 more. Only Detroit,
Los Angeles and New York City airwaves have more.
"There's
no doubt the industry is facing huge, huge challenges. The biggest
being there are so many choices," said Clyde Ross, general
manager of the top-rated stations: CHTZ-FM (HT-FM 97.7), CHRE
(Light 105.7) and CKTB-AM (Newstalk 610). "It is bloody competitive
in that respect."
Just
before Telemedia bought the stations from Hamilton's Affinity
Radio Group in 2000, 17 employees were laid off in May. Among
those out the door was radio host Randy Taylor.
Over
lunch in a bustling downtown restaurant, Ross described those
layoffs as the worst time of his professional life.
"Yes,
we've been through these tremendous changes, but they aren't unique
to the Niagara Peninsula," he said. "It's happened to
everybody."
The
latest changes in Canadian radio come on the heels of Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission regulation
changes in 1998, which allow more same-company-ownership of different
stations in one market.
"The
changes really had to take place for the health of the industry,"
said Ross. He called the CRTC's changes a turning point for a
troubled industry, especially AM.
"Quite
frankly, until that point, there were a lot of these broadcasters
not making money."
But
critics suggest the profit is coming at the cost of local content.
In one month, CKTB-AM dumped open line host John Hardy
and Rob McConnell, producer and host of the paranormal radio
show X-Zone which has been picked up by CFBU-FM 103.7 Niagara.
And
in the background of changes at CKTB is the yawning reversal of
fortune in AM and FM radio.
In
the lst half of the 1900s, the total number of hours Canadians
listened to English AM radio plunged 27 per cent, says CRTC data.
Meanwhile,
FM grew in listenership by 22 per cent, leaving about three out
of every four radios across Canada tuned to FM.
CRTC
spokesman Denis Carmel said recent changes were solely needed
both to help stations compete and to secure Canadian talent.
"The
whole industry had to rationalize," said Carmel. "Part
of our mandate is to ensure, through the ups and downs of the
economy, that we maintained a level of Canadian talent."
"We
told these companies, 'Yes you can have increased concentration
of ownership,' but with that comes a couple of catches."
As
of 1998, any company buying a station pays 6 per cent of the value
of the transaction to a Canadian musical development or marketing
fund. Canadian content was also increased to 35 per cent from
30 per cent.
Carmel
said if radio stations don't commit to one-third regional programming,
they can't use local advertising. The CRTC monitors this through
logs and typically acts when competitors or consumers file a complaint.
Still,
critics charge the industry has become more homogenized as it
seeks to capture "spill factor" - listeners from outside
the region.
National
advertisers may like spill because it gives them a broader audience,
but affected stations can feel compelled to torque their programming
to appeal to a wider area. In effect, a station loses some of
its local character.
And
radio ad revenue everywhere is diluted as stations cannibalize
each other's audience.
CKTB-AM
and HTZ-FM are examples of stations which draw from outside Niagara,
according to insiders and Bureau of Broadcast Measurement reports.
HTZ-FM knows this, billing itself as "southern Ontario's
best rock." Even The River's programming in Niagara Falls,
Ontario, often has an American feel to it.
And
lately, CKTB-AMs programming seems jammed with U.S.-orientated
syndicated shows, with fewer regionally based news and talk shows.
The
change is coming at the cost of local content.
According
to former CKTB-AM broadcaster, John Hardy, who was canned
in February, AM syndicated shows are ruling the roost - especially
in smaller markets like Niagara. In fact, he was replaced by one.
Aside
from CKTB, perhaps half of CHRE's weekdays are pre-taped, he said
and "likely" 70 percent of the weekends.
"It
seems the focus of a smaller market station like CKTB-AM is no
longer the commitment to quality radio, as much as trimming overhead
and minimizing the losses," said Hardy. AM management,
he said, is struggling to stem the hemorrhaging of listeners and
profits.
This
is disputed by Tim Denis, CKTB-AM's morning show host and
assistant program director. He said local content has improved
since the sale. CKTB-AM has 11 hours a day of in-house news magazines
and open-line shows, Try doing that on local television, he said.
"The
talk format is the most expensive and labour intensive format
in radio," said Denis, and station everywhere are
trimming staff. "Cost alone prohibits us from being local
7-24... but we know our lifeblood is local radio."
There
are seven full- and part-time reporters and other stations are
holding the line on local coverage, he said, an assertion Hardy
challenges.
Noelle
Sinclair was employed by CKTB-AM on-and-off for 10 years as
a reporter and news anchor before she lost her job in December.
"I
can't agree markets are turning away from local and going satellite,"
said Sinclair, although she said CKTB-AM may be heading
that way.
"It'll
be unfortunate, if that's the way it's going to be," she
said.
Vince
Carlin, chair of the school of journalism at Toronto's Ryerson
Polytechnic University, said with corporate radio concentration
comes an increase in cost-saving syndicated shows.
"The
tie to the community was always news," said Carlin. "When
stations eliminated that, it left the door open for homogenized
programs."
In
the past, he recalled companies like U.S.-based Westwood One leading
the way with mass programming, tailored by local radio stations
who snuck in local weather and traffic reports.
"But
if you look at the ones that succeed, they're still often tied
to community, or at least give the appearance of it."
Radio
has successfully adapted in the past. Carlin notes it was expected
to be wiped out by television in the 1960's but: "What happened
is radio shifted its focus and survived very nicely for quite
a long time."
This
time may be different. "I don't think local radio stations
are the licence to print money they used to be."
For
a time in the early 1990's, only about half of AM radio stations
made money, and collectively lost $30 million in Canada in 1999
alone.
No
one knows the hardscrabble AM story better than Doug Setterington,
president and owner of CHSC-AM's Coultis Broadcasting Ltd., which
owns 1220 CHSC.
Setterington
speaks with a resonant, authoritative voice - a hallmark of radio
hosts - turned-managers. He spoke about amalgamation and its effect
on the industry. "And of course, you know our debt story,"
he said.
He
was CHSC-AM's morning announcer when the station and it FM sister,
now CHRE-FM, were launched in 1967. His company Coultis Broadcasting
Ltd., bought it from Redmond Broadcasting Inc in 1990.
CHSC-AM,
which employs 22, has been operating under a bankruptcy protection
proposal since 1994, carrying a debt of more than $4 million to
secured creditors. The court domed it bankrupt Dec. 2, 1999 and
KPMG took over the station.
Keeping
an AM station afloat has been a tough job, really tough.
"AM's
technical characteristics are not as attractive to the listener
as FM's, no question," Setterington said. "It's also
true that 35-and-under probably aren't even familiar with the
AM band. It's tough to get them to even try it."
Setterington
notes the station's location doesn't make the ratings quest any
easier.
"In
the entire country, border markets are unique markets. And they're
particularly difficult to operate in. They're very competitive
among the owners and competitive in advertising spill."
Eric
Rothschild, of Toronto-based Rothschild and Co. media consultants,
said the corporate drive to operate more cheaply has pushed AM
and FM radio to programming aimed at advertising-friendly demographics.
He said there is a "new flexibility" in radio, as media
conglomerates coordinate programs for all stations and tweak them
for local content.
Advertisers
like the lucrative 18-to-24 year-old males, followed by 24-to
34 year-old females. The 25-to-49-year-old adults category is
third choice, he said.
Sinclair,
the former CKTB-AM anchor, doesn't think such a narrow focus is
healthy for the industry.
"Radio
is taking away it's older audience and they shouldn't be doing
that," she said.
"These
people want their home town radio station and I think they may
have lost it on CKTB-AM."
Added
Hardy, "Once they change too much, listeners decide it's
hot a comfortable pair of slippers anymore. They leave."
One
of the disaffected is Stuart Caplan's father, Paul. The 55-year-old
is from a generation that showed more allegiance to one radio
station. Now he's a casual CKTB-AM listener and tunes in only
to open-line shows.
Paul,
an accountant, has been riled by some of the radio personalities
on CKTB and the firing of at least one broadcaster there. After
he phoned to complain, he was recruited to sit on a focus group
But
he doesn't listen to radio closely, he said. "I sit at a
desk and push a pencil around, so I have to have some noise in
the background,."
Radio
stations in volatile markets like Niagara's are rolling up their
sleeves to win back drifting, disaffected listeners like Caplan.
David
Dancy, vice-president of CJRN 710 Inc., which owns Niagara Falls'
CJRN-AM 710 and CKEY-FM (The River 101.1) said his stations have
weathered the storm well, even if they're not exactly Niagara
rating stars."
"We
haven't gone through those major ownership changes, or the difficult
times others have gone through."
"The
rough ride recently was partly due to the economy and partly American
(radio) penetration," said Dancy.
But
there have been changes in format at the station - the River's
FM licence was a transfer from CFJT-AM 530 in 1991. Since 1966,
the format has zig-zagged from dance to alternative music to adult
contemporary.
"It's
a mainstream format now," said Dancy.
Welland's
Spirit 91.7 also successfully switched their AM licence to FM.
CHOW-AM 1470 became Spirit 91.7 in 1998 and will have been on
the air for two years this May.
"Well,
we're the new kids on the block," said Suzanne Rochon Burnett,
president and CEO of RBI Communications Ltd., which owns The Spirit.
It's
format was massaged from traditional country to new country and
the numbers have improved.
Spirit
is drawing younger listeners, she said, and they're drawing from
outlying markets, which national advertisers like.
Despite
its relative successes, she said Spirit 91.7 will need to reach
those who "don't know we exist."
Responding
to the onslaught of upstart FM music stations like the Spirit,
many AM stations abandoned the 1970s-style hits formula. Instead,
they're chasing a mature audience who enjoy 1950s music or talk-radio.
A
number are doing "extraordinarily well," said Setterington
In
several markets across the country, like Toronto, Edmonton and
Vancouver, AM stations are at the top of the ratings heap - even
ahead of FM.
But
a bigger revolution is on the way. It may make the rivalry between
FM and AM moot.
It's
digital radio. And it offers a CD quality signal in a new frequency,
separate from AM and FM, called "L" broadcast band.
Rothschild
says FM and AM will be eliminated and replaced by it.
The
prospect of stereo radio may be another factor driving the flurry
of corporate amalgamations, say media observers.
"It's
simple, the more sticks - or transmitting towers you have - the
more digital radio stations you'll have," Setterington said.
(The CRTC is awarding digital signals to existing radio-operators
first.)
But
digital is in its infancy, with transmitters restricted to a few
stations like CHUM in Toronto. Digital radio receivers are still
hard to find and cost more than regular receivers.
While
Ross was bullish on digital, Setterington warns technology is
filled with hits and misses. AM stereo was once touted as a potential
saviour, but because a non-starter when the radio industry balked
at investment in the 1990s. Receivers were also expensive and
never sold well.
"How
wonderful it would have been to sit in the front end of eight-track-cartridges
when they were first introduced," said Setterington. "But
it didn't last very long."
"The
only thing I see about this digital radio is it may take as long
to catch on as FM did,"said Ed Eldred, a 30-year radio veteran
and CHSC-AM news director. "From the time FM came out back
in the 1960s, it took about 10 years to get its stride. Plus,
the receivers aren't there right now."
Niagara
radio owners note their medium has weathered multiplying entertainment
distractions - 130 TV channels, computers, compact disc players,
DVD and satellite music.
"It's
such a big part of our lives, it's like breathing," said
Ross, who predicts radio and home computers will soon be linked.
"Do
you think something so important and routine in life will just
disappear?" said Setterington. "I can't see that happening."
"Most
people wake up in the morning to their clock-radio alarm and the
news; their day has to begin this way.""I tell people,'Imagine
what would happen if all the radio stations were shut dead tomorrow.'
It's a scary thought."
To
Setterington, radio speaks to the soul of a community in a unique
way. The social beast craves the comfort and human contact of
the local station.
The
key, said Hardy, is to build on that goodwill. To stop
listeners from tuning out, the industry has to remind itself what
makes listeners tune in, in the first place."
"Consistency,
reliability, loyalty," he said. "Keep them entertained
and informed."
And
never, ever forget that a listener's heart is where he lives.
