4The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, September 4, 1986
Moraine shows shake listeners out off toed.
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Steve Reynolds of WRDU 106 FM
TARHEEL TRADITION
39
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By ANNE DOGGETT
Staff Writer
It's 6:59 a.m. Curled snugly
beneath the sheets, you don't care
about anything besides the serene
confines of your bedroom.
Suddenly, a sharp voice levels
the wall of silence, blasting you out
of bed and waking your roommate
who doesn't have a class until 1 1
a.m. You are not alone a cheery
voice reverberates around the room
and in your head. Scraping the
sleep out of your eyes and the film
off your tongue, it's time to erad
icate another severe case of the
dreaded Morning Face.
Enter your favorite morning
radio personality.
Just a few years ago, the morning
radio formats so popular today
were just experimental setups at a
few innovative stations. Current
morning radio formats are big
business as stations compete for
listeners during their industry's
biggest time of the day.
Along with that intensive growth
has come increased competition for
morning listeners. As a result, radio
stations are arming disc jockeys
with verbal weapons for combat in
the battle for the morning listener.
In rapidly growing areas like the
Triangle, listeners can choose a
morning radio show that comple
ments their morning character
whether they spring from bed like
a jack-in-the-box or pound their
snooze buttons and drag through
morning routines.
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Then there are the disc jockeys,
some whose job it is to be outrage
ous as early as 5:30 a.m. "The
Morning Zoo," WZZU's (94 FM)
morning show, features a pair
known as the Equal Opportunity
Offenders, Donna Mason and
Gary Dickson. Mason and Dick
son rarely draw the line at the
boundary of good taste. The two
stir listeners' emotions by hanging
up on callers, ranting and raving
and doing something they call
"mondo comedy."
But isn't it hard to be outrageous
so early in the morning?
"It's part of the game," Dickson
said.
Despite the sometimes raucous
format, the two rarely get com
plaints. Dickson pointed out that
the few complaints are priceless
and too funny not to air. Mason
added that while there are no
written boundaries for radio,
stations in areas like New York the
jocks get away with a lot more,
including profanity.
In contrast is WRDU's ( I06 FM)
"Reynolds and Company," the'
station's morning program for
nearly two years. Steve Reynolds
said his morning team prefers to
ease listeners into their daily
routine.
"People don't want to be beaten
over the head in the morning,"
Reynolds said.
"Listeners are our friends, and
we are the first contact some people
have in the morning," said Kevin
Silva, Reynolds' partner. "We have
to be nice. But that doesn't mean
we can't have fun."
Instead o( berating listeners,
Reynolds and Silva said they
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The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, September 4, 19865
with variety ' of bells j whistles and Tattles
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DTH Janet Jarman
Gary Dickson of 94Z FM
believe airtime should be spent
entertaining listeners by providing
information and anecdotal fea
tures. For example, the "Relata
bles" segment invites listeners to
call in and offer unusual experien
ces people encounter during their
daily routine.
Reynolds, a six-year radio vete
ran, uses the "Least Common
Denominator Theory," in his show.
This theory means radio person
alities speak in a manner that the
audience can comprehend.
Moreover, Silva and Reynolds
dont confuse the audience with
technical jargon.
Between WZZU's zaniness and
WRDU's laid-back approach is
WDCG 105 FM). Morning man
Bill Jordan says that WDCG tries
to stylistically position itself
between WZZU and WRDU. Jor
dan said his station uses a mass
appeal format that offers no out-of-bounds
jokes and no junk.
"The key is to be yourself and
have a good time," said Jordan,
who joined WDCG in February.
While each show has a different
approach to interest listeners, the
common element among the three
shows is providing information.
"People want (information) in
the first few minutes when they
wake up," Silva said. "These are
useful tools in orienting drowsy
listeners and preparing them for the
day they haveni begun yet. Ever
ything else is a bonus."
It takes more than a sense of
humor to prepare for a morning
program. Staying on top of current
events is essential for the morning
teams in the race to stay ahead of.
rival stations. Each tries to be more
on top of events than the others
by using newspapers, periodicals
and television, as well as "keeping
our eyes and ears open while living
our daily lives," Reynolds said.
But fun is still what sells. WZZU
has Janet from Another Planet,
Horrible Scopes (off-beat horo
scopes), Laugh Tracks (live tapes
of famous comedians) and bits that
are off-the-wall comedy tapes
produced by the Zoo Crew.
WRDU has found a way to tell
dirty jokes without being offensive.
The Thursday Morning Censored
Joke throws in a piece of R-rated
humor while still publicly airing
only the PG-rated material. Listen
ers then must call the radio station
for the off-color punch line.
Humor plays a lesser role for
Variety must be key for AM
By JEANNA BAXTER
Sfaff Writer
Is AM radio becoming
obsolete?
In an article in the July issue
of Business: North Carolina, Bill
Jennings, vice president and
general manager of WBT-AM in
Charlotte, said AM is dying
because there is a whole gener
ation of people who grew up
listening to FM. Those who listen
to AM continue to do so out of
habit.
Why is FM so popular? Some
say it is the signal FM has
higher fidelity and clarity, while
AM waves, which carry farther,
are more susceptible to
interference.
In addition, FM has a 20-year
headstart in broadcasting in
stereo. To the average listener,
though, quality AM stereo sounds
just as good as FM.
John R. Bittner, professor and
chairman of the RTVMP depart
ment, feels that AM's biggest
setback is that it is not broadcast
ing what the majority wants to
hear.
Many AM stations are attempt
ing to lure listeners back by
copying FM's music format
rather than concentrating on talk
shows, news, sports, religion and
ethnic programming.
Don Curtis, president of both
the State Broadcasting Associa
tion and Great American Media,
suggests that one solution would
be for AM to develop creative
programs not available on FM.
"Variety is the key," said Curtis.
Curtis said that Great Amer
ican Media, located in Raleigh,
owns several N.C. radio stations
and is still buying AM stations,
but only if they are AMFM
combinations. "One of AM sta
tions' greatest setbacks is that they
are owned by AMFM operators
who concentrate on the FM
segment," he said.
According to Bittner, during its
early years, FM radio was noted
for playing high quality contin
uous music, such as jazz and
classical, that was not readily
available on AM stations. Grad
ually the continuous music
changed to album cuts. Top 40,
and other formats appealing to a
younger audience. They switched
over to FM, followed by many
advertisers.
Radio stations have very dis
tinct demographics. Figures in
Business: North Carolina show
that the nation's 8,500 commercial
stations generated more than $6.6
billion in advertising revenues last
year. AM generated only one
third of this. A 60-second spot on
a major FM station may sell for
as much as $200. A comparable
spot on a small AM station may
sell for as little as $10.
AM was still the king of radio
during the 60's and into the 70s.
According to Bryan Mclntyre,
general manager of WPTF
680AM in Raleigh, 85 percent of
the nation's listeners tuned in to
AM stations during that time. In
the last decade, this ratio has
reversed to 72 percent in favor of
FM.
AM's decline leveled off last
spring, probably due to innova
tive programming being
employed by many AM stations.
WPTF-680 AM, which accord
ing to last fall's Arbitron ratings
has returned to the No. 1 position
in the Triangle area, is one
example of this new trend.
"WPTF-680 AM has always
been known as a reliable source
for news, sports and informa
tion," Mclntyre said. "If no one
listens to WPTF-680 AM for its
music, why develop a music
format?"
"A good strong community
and sports-oriented AM station
such as WCHL-AM, in Chapel
Hill, will always have its niche,
maintaining a loyal group of
listeners," Bittner said.
Henry Hinton, vice president
and general manager of WCHL
AM, said he does not believe
competition between AM and
FM is an issue. "A good station
does well regardless of whether it
is AM or FM. Our profits have
risen substantially over the past
five years; this year is no
exception."
According to Hinton, station
studies show the number of
listeners among morning drivers
is up 40 percent since last year,
and in general, good AM stations
are doing better now than in the
last 10 years. Although FM is
currently the leading contender,
new technology such as digital
transmission systems and audio
disks may become the balancing
force between AM and FM in the
1990s. The long term effects of
stereo television, VCRs and cable
TV on radio are still speculative
as well.
WDCG. Jordan said the station
instead puts an emphasis on a
cleaner program with less talk.
Morning radio today is all about
choice. While some people wake up
in a good mood and bounce out
of bed at 6 a.m., others need
something to drive away the morn
ing blues. So jump, crawl, stretch
or leap for your radio and turn on
the morning personality that gives
you what you want.
Just be careful not to wake up
your roommate.
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