Ticket Seismic Change Thread

React here.

Your Plainsman will try to be by his keyboard to comfort or celebrate.  (Considering the range of opinions on what's good and what's not, probably both.)

Some Smart Radio Guy Read This Right Away and Tell Us What It Means

http://rbr.com/cbs-radio-cumulus-pact-for-cbs-sports-radio-network/

I have a feeling it may mean as much or more for The Ticket than it does for The Fan.

You may comment even if you are not a Smart Radio Guy.

[Thanks to Confessor Ron for calling this to our attention.]

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Who Confesses at The Ticket?

On Friday, Dan McDowell made a passing reference to "my Ticket confession" -- not referring to the site, but to a confession he was going to make.  I don't know what it was, I just missed the reference.  I refer you to the comments to the prior post.

This generated discussion among the commenters as to whether people at The Ticket read the site.  Some interesting speculations, including a fairly authoritative survey by our friend AP, who I think has it sussed out about right. 

Here's what I think:

First, AP's on the money about the JV and board ops.  Krenek dropped a comment here one time that the reason my hits went through the roof on White Elephant Day was that that population was checking the comments frequently to see if anyone had written anything about them.

As for the hosts:

I think some check in with some regularity, and some just take the occasional swim through, as Mike R might say.  I have VERY rarely received an email from a host commenting on a story, sometimes with a correction (never with any supersecret inside station stuff), and almost always with a compliment to the site, and sometimes with a remark that we're on the button here much more than we know, and inviting me to keep up the good work.  Always nice to hear that.

But the most interesting remark came from a JV who dropped me a line about something -- this was quite some time ago -- who said that he'd see the site up on people's laptops around the station and making the point that the hosts have egos and they love to see themselves written about, so yeah, they check out the site.

But, as some of you have said, I don't think they ascribe great importance to what is written here.  With their ratings, can you blame them?  I'm sure they're amused at some of the wrong guesses and perhaps intrigued by some of the right ones.  And interested in what listeners like and don't like.

I also think station hits to this site have gone up hugely since Tech Gate, since this site is saying publicly what they can't say (anymore).  I'm imagining (only imagining) that the on-air guys appreciate it that there's a place where real listeners stretch out and report in detail the deficiencies in the listening experience both before and since the move to Victory.   And say bad things about the CTO that they also can't now say.

I also think they drop by from time to time because of the way this site is pitched.  When I got it rolling, my thought was -- look, I love the damned Little One, I'm not going to run a site that gripes and complains all the time.  I try to keep a positive balance, and to keep it fair, or, when it's not, at least to admit when I just have a subjective dislike of something or other.  I'm delighted to say that most of the Confessors who join us here have picked up on that and also try to look at the station objecitvely.  Man, we have some amazing writers and thinkers who take the time to offer very thoughtful comments.  So when hosts come here, they know they're going to see commentary from me and others that attempts to see things clearly and comment with fairness and a civil tone, and, importantly, not ignoring what's great about The Ticket.

And, of course, there is the rare on-air reference.  I missed Dan's only by a minute -- I was in the car but stepped out just a moment before. You know, that may be the only time that the phrase "my Ticket confession" has been uttered on the air.  The TeeBox has mentioned us a couple of times, but didn't say the name of the site.  I think P1 Steven -- what the heck happened to him, anyway? -- did a shout-out once when BaD was rolling screenless.

Let's not forget It's Just Banter, where this (unnamed) site is occasionally slagged by T.C.

Also, I fancy that some of our commentary shows up in other ways.  I'll give you two examples:  (1) After this site made fun of the All-Pro Foundation ad in which all of the hosts said they used All-Pro Foundation Repair (http://myticketconfession.blogspot.com/2010/10/never-never-no-never-no-no-never-and-i.html), future ads say that they all ENDORSE All-Pro.  (2) I regularly bashed Gordon for his George-gay-and-minority-baiting, opining that it was tired, unfunny, and routinely stopped down the show.  (Example:  http://myticketconfession.blogspot.com/2010/06/confidential-memorandum-to-commander.html)  Well, it has almost completely stopped, much to the improvement of the showgram of Those Who Muse So Gently.  Could be my imagination.

CTO:  Jeff Catlin used to read the site and pretty sure he still does.  He's emailed a couple of times with corrections, and has been unfailingly nice. 

"Is this The Bucket in Dallas?  The Ticket?  Right, Ticket.  Put me through to Jeff Carlin.  Catlin, right.   Hello, Jeff?  This is Stu Leydenjar, Senior Vice President in Charge of Wires and Plugs.  Listen, I'm looking at this website on my electric computer -- these things are great, the station should get one! -- and I'm wondering if you can tell me what CTO and STD means.  Also, who is Mike Rhyner?"

Overall, I suspect that at a bare minimum CTO and hosts will open the site if someone has emailed it to them because it has something of interest to the recipient. 


As far as anonymous commenters go: Yes, I think there are a couple of station guys who post here from time to time.  I think sometimes Confessors think they're the same troll who pops up here from time to time, but I think some of it is legit.  (I also think Richie Whitt posted back when we were having a close look at RaGE.)  Some of the people claiming to be insiders are, I think, and some may be friends of insiders.  (Gypo Nolan, for example.)  And some are frauds.  No matter, even frauds are welcome if they have a respectful take.

The one thing that surprises me a little is that no other Ticket fan sites or blogs have popped up.  I think it's maybe because people who like to write are already posting here, and of course The UnTicket hosts comments as well.  And there's GrubesIsMyLeader.  So maybe we've got the market covered.

In sum:  This site does have some fans at The Ticket, and some curiosity seekers. It's part of the fun of The Ticket.  MTC is not an influential joint, but it has turned into a nice little community of P1's.  Thanks to you all for Shopping at My Ticket Confession.

The Nation Is Restless

Holy crud-o-mighty, 80 comments to the last thread.  Record hits.   Some great comments, and some fine newcomers.  Can't tell you how grateful I am for all of your comments, expertise, and thoughtfulness.

But some in the Confessor Nation are unhappy with me for not providing fresh MTC fodder. (At least one is unhappy with the whole concept of a Confessor Nation.) 

It's true.  I'm sorry about that.  I've been out of town, tied up with family stuff, working on work stuff, not feeling tippy-top.  Jeebus, I've had GOUT.  Guys in my demo and physical condition are not supposed to get gout.  Like something out of an old New Yorker cartoon.

When I hear something that I think might make an interesting article, I write it down on a list.  My list is now six typed pages long.

The problem is that there is usually something of current interest, or something that the Nation has gotten excited about.   Stuff of interest to write about.   Which means that all those interesting topics recede into the past and get stale.  I mean, who wants to read about T.C.'s big prank, asking hosts to provide bit topics for him in late night calls?  Matt McClearin's account of alien encounter is deep in the past.  Interested in my latest thoughts on Gum Out ads?    I didn't think so.  If you want me to dip into the stale topic archives, let me know.

Now, as it happens, some of the topics on my list would still work.  Not as exciting as the recent tech flameout, but they'd do.    And I've got a Hot Sports Opinion in the oven that, unfortunately for you, is actually about sports.  I'm going to try to get to TicketStock next week for an on-scene report.  But tonight -- none of it looks like much fun to me after the recent behind-the-scenes drama.

So I thought I'd take this opportunity to find out if you sometime get the same feeling that I do.

I've been unavoidably away from the channel, and I don't have a lot of time to go back and check out what The UnTicket has selected for us.

And, as has happened from time to time in the past, I found out that I didn't miss it all that much.  Sometimes I can't wait to get back to the Ticket-listening routine; sometimes, takes me a day or two to get back into the habit. 

It has nothing to do with The Ticket itself.  I listen to the showgrams, they're perfectly fine, no one boring me, no one making me angry, no one being a jerk.  The SweetJack commercials are even starting to recede into the overall commercial noise.  I just sort of  .  .  .  forget.  I got to work this morning, realized about a half-hour later that I'd forgotten to switch the Musers on.  3:30 rolls around, I can usually spin The Hardline and do so nearly every day possible -- again, just kind of passed me by.

So sometimes, for reasons having nothing to do with any deficiencies coming out of the speakers, I take a break from The Ticket.   Sometimes I check out the competition, see if there are any topics popping up there, but it's usually so unlistenable that I switch the Philco over to KNTU 88.1 or some Real Jazz or Little Steven's Underground Garage or Deep Tracks on Sirius XM.  But usually back to The Little One.

Oh, I'll be back with an HSO pretty soon, and, shortly thereafter, I hope, with an STD.

Ever take a break from The Ticket?  And if you do, how do you spend that listening time?

And if that doesn't interest you -- the topic list is always wide open at MTC.

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It’s Not Too Early to Ask Some Hard(line) Questions – Part 4(a)

Some Confessors are tired of this series.  Sorry.  There will be two more after this.  This one will address a topic everyone seems to want to comment on, so here goes. 

The consensus, with which I agree, is that listeners want Mike to re-up; that Mike wants to re-up; and that Cumulus will probably get the job done.   In fact, I think it’s overwhelmingly likely that Mike will sign a new contract.  

[For those of you who believe there is no chance Mike will leave and/or have no interest in a hypothetical to the contrary, stop reading now and spare me the comments asking why I'm wasting my time and yours on this.]

 But let’s play a little what-if. 

What if Mike decides he’s had enough, that he has enough bank, and it’s time to – hell, I have no idea what he’d do if he weren’t broadcasting.  I also agree that it seems inconceivable that he would move to a competitor.  Hard to catch lightning in a bottle; even harder to pour lightning from one bottle into another.  

But never mind about the circumstances.  Let’s assume Mike doesn’t return.  Whence The Ticket?

A number of commenters have expressed the thought that BaD would move to the Hardline’s slot, and Corby/Danny would – well, no one’s quite sure.   I don’t know if there is any evidence for this.   It does make some sense; I can understand why some think this is the natural progression of things.

I’m skeptical.

Put yourself in the position of the CTO who has to make a decision of what to do if Mike leaves.  He’s (could be a she, I guess) looking at his lineup and the ratings.  He sees a boffo Number 1 BaD in afternoons, and a boffo Number 1 Hardline in PM Drive.  Been that way for years.  Loyal audiences who love things the way they are.   He’s losing one guy on one show.  A real important guy, it’s true, but one who some would say is not even the dominant influence on that show, and one whose interest seems to flag from time to time.  I don’t agree with either of those as the show is currently conducted, but that thought is abroad.

Which is the least risky thing for the CTO to do? 

Possibility (1):   Uproot these two ratings-busters – half of the programming day – and hope that what would be new audiences (at least to some extent) for each show would stick with the new show in the time period in which they were accustomed to tuning in; put Corby (and Danny?) into what is (possibly unfairly) regarded as a less glamorous time slot, assuming that the only thing that happened was that they would just do a simple switcheroo, which is itself by no means certain.  That is, moving BaD to drive wouldn’t necessarily dictate that the remaining Hard Guys would be placed in afternoons.  And if they didn’t move Corby/Danny to afternoons, then they have to come up with a new show for afternoons, and figure out what to do with Corby, who is unlikely to be overjoyed at any move at all, with attendant political problems in-house.  And that same CTO may be casting a nervous eye at late mornings and wondering what Norm is thinking about his own retirement. 

Let’s think about these audiences for a minute.  True it is that many P1’s like both BaD and The Hardline and would be happy enough to listen to Bob and Dan and Donovan during drive.  But surely the daytime audience is not entirely congruent with the drive audience.    It’s clear from the commenters on this site that both shows excite some fairly negative feelings.  Some folks, who knows what percentage, have a clear preference between the two shows, and you’ll be asking those people to listen to a show they’re disinclined to like in the first instance.  I have heard that BaD has many female listeners – would they like a Corby/Danny show as much as BaD (if Corby/Danny settled there)?   And BaD is much sportiser than The Hardline – will the people tuning in to The Ticket looking for more pop-culture/guy talk after a hard day’s work enjoy SportsSturm as much?  Dan’s acerbity?  HOCKEY? 

And we haven’t considered the host’s own preference.  Bob has an admirable attachment to his growing family, and he’s making a name for himself as a hockey broadcaster – how would a drive assignment affect those things?  

You can brush off any of these considerations and possibly be absolutely right.  But remember, you’re a CTO.  You have to answer all of these questions in a positive way in order for this move to be comfortable.   

Or:

Possibility 2:    Find a replacement for Mike on The Hardline.  I tend to agree with those who say that a Corby/Danny-only Hardline would probably not work, much as I like both performers.   Impossible to find a replacement, you say?  Certainly – Mike is irreplaceable if you want the New Hardline to sound exactly like the Current Hardline.  But freshening up the sound of The Hardline and keeping these shows in place might well be preferable to our risk-averse CTO.

In this connection, let me hearken back to something I said about White Elephant Day.  I said I was listening for something and that I heard it.   What I was listening for, and what I heard, was Corby doing a very good job as the primary host for the morning show.   He was smooth, he put aside the naughty-undergrad persona, and he was entirely credible as a more mature-sounding broadcaster.  Bits were good.   I think Corby’s range is somewhat underrated and I think he could work well with any number of different types of partners, including one who wasn’t as tolerant (and encouraging) as Mike is of Corby’s snakier offerings.

One last thing:  RaGE hasn’t made a dent in The Hardline’s popularity.  But it’s still there.  We can think what we want about the quality of Richie/Greggo’s offerings, but our fictional CTO might think:   Which would be more likely to cause people to experiment with punching in 105.3:   Corby/Danny with some plus-ones or a new co-host, where Hardline-curious listeners would at least tend to stick for awhile, even if they didn’t fall in love?  Or BaD Radio plopped into Hardline country?

Don’t think about these questions as a listener – think about them as a CTO whose career is on the line.  

Under Possibility (2), who might join Corby and Danny?  I have a couple of candidates in mind, neither one of which the Nation is likely to endorse, but I’ll save that for Part 4(b).

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It's Not Too Early to Ask Some Hard(line) Questions -- PART 3

After ascertaining that we like Mike  (LINK) and that Mike wants to keep broadcasting (LINK), we were left with the question:  What does the CTO think?

[CTO ("Cumulo-Ticket Overlords") can be singular, plural, or a synecdoche (i.e., a singular indicating the plural, like "P1" to refer to all P1's).  It may take a singular or plural verb, as the spirit strikes me.  Some Confessors would prefer that I not use it.  Sorry.  I do care what the Nation thinks.  I don't mind criticism of this site's habits.  I just need some shorthand to refer to management generally.  I could say "management" but it's too .  .  .  generic and robotic.]

A rational CTO, one would think, would understand the centrality of Mike to the success of The Hardline, and, in some ways, to The Ticket as a whole, as he is its most prominent public face.  One would think that the responsible CTO would put aside his or her animosity towards Mike and make him a reasonable offer and secure his services for as long as possible.



Not the CTO

But that's not a certainty.

The first thing that's not a certainty is that the CTO is rational.  I'm not in the industry but some years ago I gave some thought to buying a small radio station and I started to follow industry news.  I was amazed at some of the absolutely idiotic personnel decisions that station and company management would make regarding on-air personnel, TV and radio.  The urge to fiddle with success to justify one's job, compensation, and self-image must be overwhelming, because time after time station and network executives would make on-air personnel changes that any casual viewer/listener could have told him/her were destined for catastrophe. 

Reminds me of sports, come to think of it.  I followed a football team once that hired the consensus hottest coach hire in the business, a guy everyone wanted.  Guy comes in and proceeds to put half the defense in positions they'd never played before (hyperbole), and instituted an offense that was absolutely guaranteed not to make first downs (not hyperbole).  You knew, you just knew, that this guy had been grossly overrated and he knew it, and was trying to overcompensate by making counterintuitive moves that he was praying would work out and would support his earlier genius press clippings.  Uh, no.

So while I have had more than one occasion to say nice things about the CTO (example: LINK ), it is by no means impossible that someone who hasn't had a career bump in awhile might be thinking that they will be the one to save Cumulus Mike's salary and start the dominoes falling among those damned high-and-mighty on-air guys who need to be taken down a notch or two anyway and who need to know that everyone is expendable, and with the resulting revolutionary programming changes for which I will take credit The Ticket will achieve even greater glory.  It can happen.  There are men -- and women -- out there who think this way.  The further they are away from day-to-day broadcasting, the more they think that way.   And the hell of it is, after they ruin a broadcast property, they find another job. 

Now, I think it is unlikely here.  The CTO have for the most part kept hands off the successful formula developed very early on in The Ticket's history (for which, I am guessing, Mike was something of a template).  But I have seen it happen in major markets with high-profile local programming.

That coach found another job too, come to think of it.  With the same results.

Here's another thing we don't know:

How big a pain in the ass Mike is to his supervisors.

We love the guy, but there comes a point even with the biggest stars at which insubordination tips the scales away from perceived value.  (See, e.g., Charlie Sheen.  Yes, I know 2.5 Men isn't as good or as popular without him, but the point is -- Charlie's gone.)

This site occasionally hears from persons who give some sign of being informed insiders, or with access to informed insiders, who say that the animosity between Mike and CTO is real.  But my very uninformed guess is that Mike's not near an asshole enough off the air to suggest the wisdom of nonrenewing his contract.  I doubt he talks much to any managers, including America's Catman, and while he may not listen to them, either, I doubt that the actual friction in the executive suite(s) is at a point where anyone is feeling the need to rid the joint of a temperamental performer.   They might prefer if he'd read the memos, but his failure to do so isn't killing camaraderie or morale.  It may be a bad influence on Corby -- Danny, I doubt, cares very much -- but that's like John Dillinger being a bad influence on Baby Face Nelson. 

And as we said last time:  Mike has toned down the badmouthing of management, and he's a very loyal and reliable broadcaster.  Sponsors like hiring him to do recorded and live spots.  (Those E. Smith ads are classics.)   The CTO is going to break bread with the guy, irrespective of their irritation with his acting as though they don't exist.

So where are we with our irresponsible and rude speculations?  We want Mike; we think Mike wants to stay; we assume the CTO wants him to stay.

A lot of verbiage for not-very-controversial conclusions.  But we have to ask.

What's next in our series on What's On Mike's Desk?  One of Confessors' favorite topics.

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It's Not Too Early to Ask Some Hard(line) Questions -- PART 2

A couple of weeks ago I started sticking my digital nose into Mike Rhyner's business.  It's going to get worse.

First thing we explored was whether we want Mike to sign on again.  You can read my timeless thoughts on this subject here.  I certainly do, and I think the sense of the Nation is that it does as well. 

But that's not important now.  Our next topic is:  Does Mike want to re-up?

For quite a long time, Mike's sometimes (?) adversarial relationship with the CTO would be hinted at on The Hardline.  About every presentation or two, something would inspire him to grumble "Won't somebody come in here and buy this thing?"  And it didn't sound like a bit.

And from time to time someone who sounds like they might have a spot of inside knowledge will leave a comment on this site suggesting that Mike's relations with the CTO are consistently less than rosy. 

But somewhere along the line, something happened to Mike's public dyspepsia about his supervisors.  I'm thinking it may have been the internal Cumulo-Ticket fallout to those sodden ruminations on the shores of Lake Mingus when Mike, transfixed by the flickering campfire and addled by his shot-o-beer-a-minute heroics, suggested that February might be his Ticket schwanz-song.   (Actually, I don't remember if that was the same night he did the beer-shot challenge.)

Whatever it was -- suddenly, it seemed to me, he started to keep whatever hostility he felt under wraps.  I don't recall any requests that someone come in and buy the station since then.  It's doubtful his attitude changed, but I just don't remember hearing anything about it, other than the occasional grumbling about balky hardware in the soon-to-be-abandoned Ticket studios.

The guessing seems to be that Mike wants to keep broadcasting with The Hardline, and I think that's right.  Probably not so much about money.  Probably did OK when the founders sold, but I sometimes wonder if he wishes he and the other founders had held on a few more years.  Probably makes some good coin -- oh, we'll be looking into this in a future installment,  you may be certain --  and he's got Petty Theft for some walking-around money.

Nah, I think that for all his curmudgeonliness and rare checking-out, he is strongly committted to The Ticket and The Hardline.  Consider -- Mike almost never, ever  misses a show.   In general, Ticket hosts are a hearty bunch, but I can't remember any shows Mike has missed due to illness.  He's had the odd family commitment, but on at least one of those occasions I think he switched duties with Craig to allow a midday getaway rather than to miss a day of broadcasting.

But I think the biggest clue to his intentions is his performance.  This site was started one day when I was worried about Mike's slipping interest in the showgram and how out-of-balance it had become a year or so after Greggo the Hammer's departure.  I started to write about it.   Turns out I wasn't the only one who perceived this; in the years since, many Confessors have said the same thing.  However, in the last year-and-a-half, it seems to me that Mike's attitude has changed.  He's much more involved in helming segments and in participating in the ones that Corby or Danny initiates.  He's just more there than he was for a long period of time.  The Hardline has been as good in the last six months or so as it has ever been.  He's working it.  He wants to continue.

We think of him as the "Old" Grey Wolf but he's not, very, as talk-show stars go.  Early sixties; heck, he's got a lot of years left, as long as the listener demo doesn't start dying off.   Another topic for another day, that maddeningly shifting demo.

And what else would he do?  OK, Petty Theft.  But coming in to do a four-hour stretch with pretty minimal show prep, sitting and talking, and doing a lot of listening to Corby -- is a pretty sweet shot.   Replacing that with -- sitting around?  Traveling?  Giving interviews (right)?  Nah.

There's something else:  As marvelous a radio presence as Mike is, he's less notable when he's away from The Hardline.  We've mentioned it before:  When he sits on on a pre-game, or even participates in a roundtable, he pretty much vanishes.  It's hard to imagine him risking an attempt to transfer chemistry he has with Corby and Danny (and Nice Young Michael and even Ty and sometimes Rich) to strangers on a strange station.

So yeah, I think he's going to listen when the CTO come calling, if they haven't already.

But what about the CTO?  Part 3 coming up.

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OPEN THREAD: What Happens When You Tell a Friend About the Ticket?

November was supposedly Tell a Friend About the Ticket Month. 

Whenever I ask a conversational friend whether they listen to The Ticket, assuming that he's male, I never get a response that they've never heard of The Ticket.  So telling them about The Ticket is usually unnecessary.  I usually get one of several reactions:

--  they're Ticket listeners and enjoy it.  Given it's healthy ratings, I'm surprised that this is the reaction I get least.

-- they don't listen to The Ticket because it doesn't have enough sports.  They split equally between FAN and ESPN.

-- They don't listen to The Ticket because it's too dirty.

What reaction do you get?  If, in fact, you proselytize for The Ticket.  As we all should.

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URGENT MESSAGE TO ALL CONFESSORS:  The circumstances of my employment have kept me away from the channel for the last few days, and that may continue for a little while.  I would appreciate if anyone hears anything of interest that they'd like to comment on, please do leave a comment here.  Sorry for being a little distant, and hope to be back with more blasts soon.

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Some Props for the CTO

This one's a little late, sorry.  I had it slated for a few weeks ago, but then Greggo erupted a couple of times and it slipped.

Confessors will recall a very interesting dialogue I stitched together out of some comments from Little Weak Jeremy and Anonymous.  They're about ten years apart in age, but come to The Little One looking for different things and, in general, find them.  Here are the links to the posts:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

I won't repeat their positions in detail; suffice it to stay that they each enjoy different things about The Ticket, don't enjoy some of the other things quite so much, but find enough of what they're looking for that they remain committed P1's. 

What struck me about this dialogue, and about running this site generally and reading all of the great comments that Confessors favor us with, is that the "demo" that we hear so much about with The Ticket is actually quite diverse.

And I thought:  It's remarkable that The Ticket has grabbed all of us for many years and is doing nothing but getting more popular.

I think the Cumulo-Ticket Overlords deserve some credit -- actually, quite a lot of credit -- for this success.

Several Confessors have used the phrase "lightning in a bottle" to describe the mix of talents we have heard every day for lo these many years.  I agree with this characterization for the most part.  Junior, George, Mike, the anchors of the Good Ship Ticket since the beginning. Greggo for many years.  Incredible talents and they're still there, save the Hammer.  But BaD was as acquisition; so was Norm.  Corby's gradual ascension through the ranks was not inevitable.  I happen to be a Rich Phillips fan, and he's a hire.  The constant augmentation and improvement of weekend and nighttime offerings are also management initiatives.  It may be "lightning in a bottle," but the voltage of that original inspired team has been considerably juiced as the years have passed.

Of course, the current CTO are not responsible for all of these decisions, but the current lineup has been more-or-less in place through the current administration.  They'll be dealing with Mike's and Corby's future shortly. 

I have no pipeline to the ruminations of the CTO.  But I would be quite surprised if our on-air heroes don't get some nudging with respect to the variety of material they offer.  There are the young listeners who are probably more interested in the entertainment stuff; there are old-timers who prefer the sportsy-talk; and those extremes are stitched together by the overall dosage of generalized guy-talk.  I don't think that's an accident of the unsupervised preferences of the hosts.  I think the CTO manage these egos with great skill to get a mix of broadcast content that appeals to guys in all their variety.  And to a large (and, I suspect, growing) audience of chicks as well.

The CTO are facing a real challenge over the next several years.  Am I correct in thinking that all of the weekday hosts/yuks are over 40?  Mike over 60.  Norm is 67.  (I haven't found any birth info on Donovan.)   So far that collection is doing an admirable job of grabbing and holding the younger listeners.  (See the Little Weak/Anon dialogue.)   I think a lot of this is a tribute to The Ticket's success in making listeners feel like they belong to a kind of exclusive club, the P1.  (I know, I've written that the plural of P1 is "P1's" under rules for making plurals out of words ending in numbers, but "the P1" is kind of a synecdoche, too.)   The remotes and special events have done a lot to foster this feeling among listeners, and that's a function of the integration of marketing, sales, and the Talent.  (The UnTicket has a role in this, as does grubesismyleader and, to a microscopic extent, MTC as well.  As I  have suggested, the UnTicket is probably allowed to repost proprietary content wholesale through the CTO's good graces.)

They can probably keep it up for a long time, but not indefinitely.  Off-hours shows are tryouts for up-and-coming talent:  The Sirois brothers, Scot Harrison, Matt McClearin, Sean Bass, Ty Walker (another 40+, but a fresh voice as a host), and The Next Generation:  Jake Kemp, David Newberry, Mike Bacsik (RIP), Casey Millen, Michael Krenek, and, of course, human lightning rod T.C. Fleming.  Some encouraging talent there, if not all of them can currently be imagined as full-time weekday daylight hosts.  But  the CTO deserve some credit for giving these guys some time to stretch out and turn on the mic once in awhile.

And I'm guessing that Jeff Catlin and his colleagues are pretty clued in to broadcasters in other markets who might fit in here when the time comes.  Guys who can talk in normal tones, in measured cadences, about sports, pop culture, and babes.  (May be some babes on that list, too.)

Don't get me wrong -- The Ticket's gold is in the performance of its broadcast teams.  My point is that management has an unsung role in maintaining that level of performance and the stability of these teams, and we should sing about it a little.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, changes comes February with Mike's and Corby's contracts.  My guess is that the current lineup is going to be around for awhile.  My point is that the CTO aren't sitting around waiting for the next ratings book when it comes to Ticket programming.

Of course, we give the CTO grief in these pages.  Signal; promotion; syndication; hockey.  So I think fairness requires us to give some credit where it is due.

Can I get a witness?

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Little Weak Jeremy and Anonymous – It’s Just Confession! (PART 3)

After Little Weak Jeremy’s initial comment and Anonymous’s point-by-point response, each offered one more comment apiece.

Little Weak Jeremy Continued:

Maybe I'm beating my head against a wall, but I would suggest you listen to an episode or two of IJB before judging Jake Z based on "space is super gay". He's spoken at length about how that type of opinion doesn't represent his general attitude toward intellectual topics, etc. (the latest IJB actually deals with Jake having received his Master's degree). Sure, the "super gay" is Jake's most famous drop and the one that will be a thorn in his side forever and ever, but don't judge the man's contributions solely on that unfortunate moment (no, I don't agree with that particular opinion of his either).

As far as the bigger Ticket picture goes, if you and I are looking at the same set of info, and you come to the conclusion that this thing is headed for the shitter, and I don't, then I'm not sure what else I can do to argue the point further. We look into the crystal ball and simply see different fortunes. I suppose we've reached an endpoint in that discussion.

Finally, Anonymous Took the Last Word – Actually, a Fairish Number of Them:

First off, my comments are not personally aimed toward IJB/Jake Z. I believe this is rather clear. I only used IJB to illustrate my point regarding what I perceive to be a niche audience and its relation to The Ticket's future.

As to Jake Z's education and intellectual interests: I'm not sure what that has to do with the program content that he has chosen to put forth. If he's into, oh, I don't know, biochemistry, great. But why would he talk about it on a podcast such as he and TC have constructed? It wouldn't make sense. Thus one's interests outside of a genre might make interesting talk once in a blue moon for a change of pace, but in general they don't work. So, I'm a bit puzzled about your statement. Furthermore, if Jake Z has spoken at length about the things that truly interest him, then perhaps he ought to change the direction of the show to reflect said interests (?).

I have listened to several of the IJB podcasts. I enjoyed the Rhyner interview (perhaps because they were on their best behavior/Rhyner is interesting to me). I used the "space is gay" quip because most readers of the blog, I imagine, would know what I'm talking about. I judge the man's contribution to The Ticket by his work on The Ticket. Especially his one chance at actually hosting his own show.  [PLAINSMAN:  Is this a reference to the late-night IJB experiment?]  It was a trainwreck. Both the callers and the hosts demolished the thing. There's a reason why they weren't asked to do it again. I can see that you enjoy the content and presentation that IJB puts forward, and that's great. However, they are minor figures at the station. I will be stunned if Jake Z or TC are ever offered jobs as hosts. Hell, I'll be stunned if they're still at the station in any capacity three years from now. IJB is a podcast that is not a part of the station; and it never will be.

I agree with your second overarching point (agreeing to disagree). Though I would like to reiterate from my previous comments that I've never claimed that The Ticket is going down the shitter. My claim is that if the new hosts/programs that management is hiring/airing are any indication as to where this is going, then the special nature of The Ticket will die away with each loss of the mainstays; it will submerge into the homogeneity of sports/guy talk radio. And that will be a crying shame. I hope that's not going to be the case.

Finally, I'd like to address the age-difference issue:

I remember in my 20s listening to the Rant (even before it was the Rant, when it was on late night Saturdays) and thinking "how can anyone not find this hysterical, smart, and even at times genius?" Some of it actually was. But most of it wasn't. I used to record the shows on a very early version of an MP3 recorder (thank God for the CCrane radio company). Three years ago, when I was 35, I went back and listened to a very large sample size of the Rant shows. Like I said, most of it wasn't very good. In fact, it was tough to find the gems (they were there, though). I, along with my buddies, used to scratch our heads as to why the Rant wasn't on everyday. After going back and listening, I now see why. I see why it was on once per weekend. It was on the whole devoid of content; it was on the whole one big inside joke with its own highly privatized language; a language and a joke that only appealed to a niche audience.

While this niche audience calls in to screenless segments, tweets and e-mails, etc., and is very much into the aspects of the station which they find interesting (i.e., comedic value), it moves on when it outgrows or finds new avenues of entertainment to fill what the station once satisfied. I remained a listener because I am a sports talk radio fan. Most of my buddies eventually began to stop listening altogether. The thing is, The Ticket is Sports Radio 1310, The Ticket; it is a sports station first and foremost; sports talk will always be its engine. While the guy talk/comedic value is what keeps the engine running smoothly, it is not the engine. I think we agree that it's that perfect mix of sports/guy-comedy talk that makes The Ticket great. But the day the station leans too far one way, its greatness will quickly fade. If I would have had my way, way back when, I'd have had it all Rant all the time. And The Ticket would have faltered. I'm not saying that you want it as such, I'm just saying that the greater niche audience that I believe you're a part of does . . . and if management allows for it to happen, different days are ahead.

Anyway, once again I've rambled on far too long.

It's been a great back and forth, LWJ.

*     *     *

Indeed it has.  Since I’m interested in these same things, I don’t think either Little Weak Jeremy or Anonymous rambled on too long – sometimes it takes saying the same thing in different ways to get the overall points across.  I think both succeeded, behaved like gentlemen (I am guessing), and they have my gratitude.

I’ll have a postscript up on this in a few days.

In the meantime, thanks to The Nation for great comments on these thoughts to date.

*     *     *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Little Weak Jeremy and Anonymous – It’s Just Confession! (PART 2)

Hope you are enjoying the game and JJTaylor’s play-by-play on Twitter. 

Confessors Little Weak Jeremy and Anonymous continue their discussion:

Little Weak Jeremy’s Point 4:

So, reflecting on all I've said so far, my conclusion is that what makes the Ticket so special is not the knowledge of any one host, or even the comedy of one host, but the entire Ticket community working together to build a rapport and history that the listeners can appreciate and come to love more and more as they grow more familiar with these deep, long-lasting relationships that ALL the shows and hosts have with each other.

Anonymous’s Response to Point 4:

I couldn't agree with you more where your conclusion about the cohesiveness of the station is the key to its success. In fact, you sort of make my point about the "dangers" (that's too strong and really silly a term here, but I'm sticking with it) of the niche audience and where the station might be heading in the coming years. Just like you say, it isn't about the knowledge or comedy of one host, it's the entire thing that makes it special.

Little Weak Jeremy’s Point 5: 

So to say that CDS [Cirque du Sirois] would never be more than just a Ben & Skin, I'd have to ask you, what's wrong with Ben & Skin? And if Ben & Skin had been at the Ticket for fifteen years, don't you think they'd have become a part of this family too, over the course of compounds and campouts and Ticketstocks and EVERYTHING extracurricular that the Ticket does?

Anonymous’s Response to Point 5: 

There is nothing wrong, per se, with Ben and Skin. And there's nothing wrong, per se, with CDS. Personally, I'm not a fan of either show (sans BAS Mavs talk, at which they are very knowledgeable). The shows, to me, are much the same; and they are also much like the shows found on sports/guy talk radio throughout the country (all based on the Little Ticket, by the way!). BAS were a weekend show and that's all they were ever going to be unless one of the daytimers went away (and even that wouldn't guarantee BAS a spot); they knew this and that's why they left. Furthermore, even if they didn't move over to ESPN, they weren't going on campouts, etc. because those events are reserved for the mainstays. (They did perform songs at Ticketstock while at the station.)  So . . . CDS is in the same spot as BAS was, and I think you know where that's going - that is, if you agree with what I'm saying.

Little Weak Jeremy’s Point 6: 

As to not getting "that sort of humor" that prevails on IJB [It's Just Banter], I reply, what's more shocking: (1) anything Jake Z has ever said, or (2) the AVERAGE Gordo's Corner? I submit that unless you're a major curse-phobe, the answer is No. 2.

Anonymous’s Response to Point 6:

Shock value is not the issue here. The issue is finding it funny. While I'll readily say that Gordo can go way over the line and spew out garbage with no redeeming value other than, it seems, to see if he can annoy/get away with it, his brand of humor more often than not has some depth to it. From what I've heard of IJB, that isn't the case. I'm sorry, but "space is gay" was funny the first time or two; even the very first Ribby Paultz is still funny. But here's where the age thing rears its head.

Little Weak Jeremy’s Conclusion:

So, my point through all of this is that I think the Ticket will survive. Other stations may do a similar sports/guy-talk mix, but NOBODY goes above and beyond with the extra events, roundtables, and community-building exercises that the Ticket does all the time. This truly is a family, not just a collection of random hosts. I think when it comes time to add a new family member, it may take that new guy a little time to find his stride, but I have no doubt that the Ticket will continue even through the departure of the bigger names, if they keep the current model they have going right now. The family is all.

Anonymous’s Response to LWJ’s Conclusion:

I can't agree more with the first part of your summation. As to the second part, I hope that you're right. However, if The Soul Patch, giving Jake Z and TC a show, or the likes is any indication of where they're going, then I fear that you're, alas, wrong.

And that’s where things stood after Round 1.  Each followed up with one more comment each, which will appear as Part 3 in a couple of days.   Pretty good stuff, no?  Thanks again to Little and Anon.

*     *     *
Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Little Weak Jeremy and Anonymous – It’s Just Confession! (PART 1)

I get a notification on my Droid when there’s a new comment on the site.   A couple of posts ago I noted that there were a couple of lengthy offerings from Little Weak Jeremy and one of the many Anonymi who offer their views.   They’d have to wait until I could sit at a computer and read them.

As it turned out, they were writing to respond to one another, launching from a strong initial blast from Little Weak.  They were thoughtful, covering several topics that The Nation has found of interest in the past, and one – the nature of The Nation itself – that is of great interest for those of us who mull over the future of The Ticket.  I thought the dialogue was quite remarkable and deserved a wider audience.

Of particular interest are the different generational perspectives.  Little Weak Jeremy is 28, and Anonymous is 38 – almost a man.  Not exactly two different generations, but they listen to the station for different reasons, and both mostly stick with it. 

Some commenters don’t care for long posts, long sentences, or long words.  However, I thought these guys made good points in very interesting ways, so I am posting them here.  (These are very lightly edited in places.)   Little Weak has given me permission to copy his remarks as a post, and I would have asked Anonymous as well, but there are so many of him, or her, that I wouldn’t know if I were being scammed.  (Of course, I suppose anyone could say they were Little Weak, too.)  Anonymous, whoever you are, I hope you don’t mind some extra attention being drawn to your remarks.

This will be posted in three parts over the next week.  I’ll have a wrapup postscript after the final installment.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, although I’m sure it will try the patience of some Confessors who prefer more condensed opinions.  But hey, you know me – it helps to talk things out.

Here goes:

Little Weak Jeremy’s Point 1:

Since the disconnect between the aging and the up-and-coming P1 has become a salient issue, I'll fully disclose: I'm 26 and could care less about no-frills sports talk. In fact, I'll probably tune out of a straight-up sports segment, if I have a better option to hand; I'd rather listen to music than listen to the Hardline debate for the 50th time already this season whether Neftali Feliz has lost it. If I'm a captive audience, like at work or when doing chores at home, I'll stay tuned in, but I'm really looking for segments such as E-News, TWISH, Gay/Not Gay (and other obscure products), Homer Call, Biggest Show . . . .

Anonymous’s Response to Point 1:

I'm 38 and yes, I'm an actual Day 1, P1. I enjoy both the sports talk and the guy talk (the latter includes the hilarity and hijinks). The point you make here about your tastes echos ap's point about only listening to the Soul Patch when they mix with CDS, because it has some comedic value. In other words, if it doesn't have comedic value, ap, and so it seems, yourself and those like you two, find little or no interest in the segment or show. My point is, is that yours is, in my opinion (and I believe the numbers back this up) a niche audience that on the whole moves on when they either tire of the comedic brand or their tastes in general take a different or at least a varied turn.

I must say that this niche audience does have many a dedicated listener (e.g., you are commenting on a blog dedicated to the station, and ap runs a site dedicated to the station – an excellent site, I might add). But again, it is a niche audience that on the whole (of course there are always exceptions) will not be along for the ride by the time they hit their early-mid 30s. And I believe, to reiterate from above, it is because they primarily listen to the station for comedic value – and indeed many really don't enjoy sports talk or even sports all that much, if at all. But that does not in any way mean said audience cannot be P1’s.

Little Weak Jeremy’s Point 2:

No, I am not a hard-core sports fan. I don't watch many regular-season basketball or baseball games, and I'll probably miss a few Cowboy games. Hockey? Are you kidding me? Yet I think I can still call myself a P1, and I wonder how many listeners are in my boat. (I am not a member of the Grubes is My Leader boards.)

Regarding whether or not IJB/CDS has what it takes to be a part of the Ticket legacy, I find myself harking back to that "What's so great about Mike Rhyner" question and thinking to myself, well, what's so great about ANY of these guys, that the P1’s would hold such a level of reverence for them as we do? And I think that often, the answer is not sports knowledge. When is the last time George Dunham changed your mind about something with a blazing HSO? I don't feel like most of these guys know anything more about sports than I do; maybe they've watched more, being older and having, well, worked at a sports station for twenty years, but I don't think that a deep knowledge of sport is a strong selling point for ANYBODY at the station. Even Bob is really just a stat-cruncher, from that standpoint.

Anonymous’s Response to Point 2:

I think it's not so much about a host's sports knowledge and their ability to change minds (unless you're talking about Norm and to some extent Bob), than it is the expressing an opinion that many listeners agree with, and would like to put out there but obviously aren't able to. It's akin to people on the political right preferring to watch FOX News and those on the left, CNN or MSNBC.  Like tends to attract like. So your point about feeling that the hosts don't know much more than you about sports is a valid one – though I believe that they really do know their stuff, else they wouldn't have lasted in the market during the early years, when it was their credibility and backed-up HSOs that got the local sports audience's attention. Thus it was and I believe still is a selling point. (And knowing what to look for, and how to use, stats is an art form unto itself.)



You Can't Start Confessing Too Early

 Little Weak Jeremy’s Point 3:

Speaking of Bob and Dan, how did people feel ten years ago when they were thrown together, two Yankees on a Dallas station, and asked to become part of this great thing? Did anybody listen to their show and think, "Man, this is just AWESOME!!!" and immediately put them on the same level with the Musers and Hardline? I wasn't listening then, so I don't know how it was, but as far as I can tell, it seems like those guys were very much the odd men out at that point, yet now they're integral parts of the Ticket family.

Anonymous’s Response to Point 3:

BaD was odd at first. But you have to understand that they came after the whole Rocco fiasco. After Rocco, anyone seemed to be a better fit. The reason why I believe BaD ended up working is because both Bob and Dan (and now Donny) worked their tails off when it came to immersing themselves into the local sports scene and the "Ticket Way." Truly, Stars hockey might have saved them their jobs. It gave them a credibility that would have otherwise been damned elusive for two northerners to find if they were trying to become Cowboy experts (please see the East Coast blowhards on ESPN and the Fan for examples of how this fails). And because they found credibility via the Stars, they then began to branch out into the other teams . . . doing so with skins on the wall.

*     *     *

Part 2 in a couple of days.

Commenters:  Please note that Little Weak Jeremy and Anonymous are Confessor civilians and did not prepare these comments with additional exposure in mind.  They have each devoted time and thought to their opinions, and I am hopeful that comments will partake of the same respect toward these writers as they have shown to one another.