LarryD
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This topic was originally posted in this forum: Sports Media
Author Topic: WFNZ: State of the Station
Heatest
Member
Posts: 353
From: Boone, NC
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 14, 2000 01:00 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With Sandy Penner's departure this board has been active over the past couple of days talking about the state of WFNZ, our beloved sports radio station.
I have listened to FNZ since because it's call letters were FNZ... I think it was 1995 when I really began. The station got better with the departure of Gerry Valliancourt. The Matt Pinto Show was good, if not great.
The station really starting getting better in 1997 when they changed formats. After a few weeks of breaking in the "guy radio" we are now accustomed to, FNZ really started hitting it's stride in late-97/early-98.
Mark Packer took over Prime Time after Pinto left to do play-by-play for Don Nelson's Toys (Dallas Mavericks). Steve Czaban was paired with Sandy Penner in the Noon to 3 slot, and everyone who I've seen post to this board seems to agree that Czaban & Penner was the best show in the history of the station.
Well, I guess it was early last year when Czaban left the station and/or was fired. Jim Noble left WBTV and joined Penner, and while that show proved to be the best show they had at the time, it did not match the pairing of Czaban and Penner.
Now Penner is leaving, and in my opinion that leaves Dave Jagelar and Mark "V-Boy" Yarbro as the only two entertaining people at the station.
Sometimes I listen now just because I'm tired of the CDs in my changer, but the only show I make a concerted effort to listen to (when I'm awake), is The Bob Kemp Show... and that's a syndicated late night show on 1 on 1 Sports that FNZ has nothing to do with.
I don't have a degree in how to produce good radio, but when the best part of your broadcast day is the Whiner Line there is a problem. I do know what I like to hear, and it was the mostly intelligent, often funny stuff that used to be heard from Noon to 3.
The Morning Sports Page is OK. I don't see Noble and Celania working out. The Playaz (sp?) Club is an abomination. Prime Time is sometimes decent.
I don't know why Penner is leaving, but WFNZ is a worse station because of it.
LarryD
Administrator
Posts: 2778
From: Charlotte, N.C., USA
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 15, 2000 11:56 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the radio gig is a tough one to work in. personalities move around like they're hopping over hot coals - they never stay long enough to get burned, but just long enough to push off toward their next landing spot.
formats change all the time, too. charlotte needed the "guy radio" when it debuted, and sandy and czaban were perfect fits. but these days, just because you have guys on the radio doesn't make it "guy radio". they carved out their niche, but you are correct - the we're watching the station fall apart.
czaban leaving, sorensen/olson/chandler leaving, sandy penner leaving, losing flash boy, failing to up their wattage, and yanking their broadcast off the internet - NOT ways to build listeners or keep advertisers.
adding david flemming is about the only positive thing the station has done in the past two years. but it's not like he can to save the station from it's impending doom.
i just hope they last another football season - i want to hear dino again.
sds
Member
Posts: 103
From: Charlotte,NC
Registered: MAY 2000
posted June 15, 2000 04:49 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With all the changes at the station, you have to wonder if WFNZ is the hot sports station anymore. Only recently was their weak website upgraded, but the long promised signal upgrade to 50K watts hasn't occured Y-E-T (geeeezzz, I remember when Gerry V was at the station in the early 90's was promising an improved signal).
If your FlashBoy, would you rather slum around covering the Knights or the Red Sox at Fenway (yes, I realize he moved back partially to take care of his ailing dad, but still . . . . go to WEEI.com to check out a photo of him). If your Penner, do you stay at a station that could care less about the NHL/hockey (his big passion IMHO, outside of college hoops) or do you move to a market that has a team (Tampa Bay . . . yeah, yeah they suck but an NHL team nonetheless)?
I think the brass at WFNZ really need to look at other stations (WEEI in Boston, WFAN in New York) and see how they assemble a lineup, promote its programming (when was the last time you E-V-R-R heard an ad promoting a Knights Game? N-E-V-E-R >:-( !!!!!!!!!!). Both stations have a good mix of ex-jocks & local TV sportscasters, in their weekday lineups.
I think WFNZ needs a fresh injection of new talent . . . P-R-O-N-T-O!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drop the Weekend Warrior shows (Sat & Sun) and instead, launch a Local College Gameday show during the fall on Sat. morning and a College Hoops show from Jan. - Mar. (9-11 am Sat.). Sundays, have a 9-11 Hockey show (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I didn't stutter . . . . .. . there are enough puckheads in this market to support one). From 11-1 have the Panthers pre-game show (but once the NFL is over, start a baseball call in show . . . .. . . you know they N-E-V-E-R talk about baseball at WFNZ).
Heatest
Member
Posts: 353
From: Boone, NC
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 15, 2000 06:37 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good suggestions sds, I have long been frustrated with the lack of baseball talk on FNZ.
Freakshow
Member
Posts: 937
From: Cold padded cell
Registered: MAY 2000
posted June 16, 2000 11:54 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My wife worked at FNZ during the Pinto/Gerry V days. Pinto was the most boring man I've ever met. She said he was awful to work with. Huge ego. Zero personality. BIG upgrade when Prime Time came in. Worst mistake was firing Czaban. Apparently he was too opinionated and difficult.
Bottom line: The station has still improved dramatically over the last few years. I would like the whiner line dropped (I always change the station), the Playaz Club replaced, less racing, less golf and more football, baseball, basketball, and hockey.
hammy
Member
Posts: 98
From: Charlotte, NC
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 18, 2000 05:48 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys don't give Packer enough credit ... Czaban and Penner were great but he's right there with them. New talent is a must; here are a few suggestions:
(1) Bring back the Fabulous Sports Babe. We need at least one national show on during the day so we don't get 12 hours of the same thing every single day. Jim Rome live would also be a possibility here, but I really loved the Babe when she was on and her guest list is second to none thanks to her connections.
(2) Mend fences with the Observer and get Sorensen, Chandler, Olson, and the crew back on pronto. They bring so much to the shows and offer fresh perspectives and insider knowledge.
(3) Move Die Hard to the 1:00-3:00 slot and disperse the Playaz Club. It is horrible and I can't imagine how many listeners tune out. I can't bear to listen.
(4) Establish a rotation for Prime Time where guest hosts are on only once a week; again these personalities become stale. Let other station personalities co-host once a week (Noble, Jaegler, etc.)
(5) Get serious now before it's too late. Quality is starting to slip, but it can be fixed!
LarryD
Administrator
Posts: 2778
From: Charlotte, N.C., USA
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 19, 2000 02:17 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i like your suggestions - except for bringing back the babe. she provides no insight of her own. i hate hearing her interact with callers and she totally sucks up to the guests. the flabulous sports babe sat in front of us at an olympic baseball game in 1996 - man, i know why she's on the radio.
i got to feeling the same way about arnie spanier - he didnt have enough opinion of his own. sure he had some great stories and his game on friday nights was one of the absolute best (what was the name of that contest? the one where the mission impossible theme played in the background while asking 10 questions??). it was fairly entertaining, but didnt have a lot of substance. i do like kevin wheeler. ballou is ballou. he and i were in tallahassee at the same time - when he first got in front of a microphone. his big thing to say was "im just a fan with a mic." he's rounded out his resume a bit more and has a ton more general knowledge than he used to.
letting czaban move to the morning and get back to his old schtik was a mistake. steve always thought he was better than afternoon sports talk. he fancied himself the funniest manly man in charlotte and thought he could be the no. 1 morning drive-time show. his sound effects board was great, but his act started to wear thin - he's no stern. i did hear him doing some late night fill-in stuff for espn on the weekend - that was months ago though.
hey, didnt czaban get canned just after his wife had a baby? and sandy just became a dad and now he's gone. hmmm....
my problem with all of the co-hosts on prime time is - i dont give a flip about what any of them say. rarely will any of them offer a compelling argument for an original thought. i like that guy who used to coach with the redskins. and i like david flemming. the rest are all too homoginized - just cookie-cutter co-hosts.
Author Topic: WFNZ: State of the Station
Heatest
Member
Posts: 353
From: Boone, NC
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 14, 2000 01:00 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With Sandy Penner's departure this board has been active over the past couple of days talking about the state of WFNZ, our beloved sports radio station.
I have listened to FNZ since because it's call letters were FNZ... I think it was 1995 when I really began. The station got better with the departure of Gerry Valliancourt. The Matt Pinto Show was good, if not great.
The station really starting getting better in 1997 when they changed formats. After a few weeks of breaking in the "guy radio" we are now accustomed to, FNZ really started hitting it's stride in late-97/early-98.
Mark Packer took over Prime Time after Pinto left to do play-by-play for Don Nelson's Toys (Dallas Mavericks). Steve Czaban was paired with Sandy Penner in the Noon to 3 slot, and everyone who I've seen post to this board seems to agree that Czaban & Penner was the best show in the history of the station.
Well, I guess it was early last year when Czaban left the station and/or was fired. Jim Noble left WBTV and joined Penner, and while that show proved to be the best show they had at the time, it did not match the pairing of Czaban and Penner.
Now Penner is leaving, and in my opinion that leaves Dave Jagelar and Mark "V-Boy" Yarbro as the only two entertaining people at the station.
Sometimes I listen now just because I'm tired of the CDs in my changer, but the only show I make a concerted effort to listen to (when I'm awake), is The Bob Kemp Show... and that's a syndicated late night show on 1 on 1 Sports that FNZ has nothing to do with.
I don't have a degree in how to produce good radio, but when the best part of your broadcast day is the Whiner Line there is a problem. I do know what I like to hear, and it was the mostly intelligent, often funny stuff that used to be heard from Noon to 3.
The Morning Sports Page is OK. I don't see Noble and Celania working out. The Playaz (sp?) Club is an abomination. Prime Time is sometimes decent.
I don't know why Penner is leaving, but WFNZ is a worse station because of it.
LarryD
Administrator
Posts: 2778
From: Charlotte, N.C., USA
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 15, 2000 11:56 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the radio gig is a tough one to work in. personalities move around like they're hopping over hot coals - they never stay long enough to get burned, but just long enough to push off toward their next landing spot.
formats change all the time, too. charlotte needed the "guy radio" when it debuted, and sandy and czaban were perfect fits. but these days, just because you have guys on the radio doesn't make it "guy radio". they carved out their niche, but you are correct - the we're watching the station fall apart.
czaban leaving, sorensen/olson/chandler leaving, sandy penner leaving, losing flash boy, failing to up their wattage, and yanking their broadcast off the internet - NOT ways to build listeners or keep advertisers.
adding david flemming is about the only positive thing the station has done in the past two years. but it's not like he can to save the station from it's impending doom.
i just hope they last another football season - i want to hear dino again.
sds
Member
Posts: 103
From: Charlotte,NC
Registered: MAY 2000
posted June 15, 2000 04:49 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With all the changes at the station, you have to wonder if WFNZ is the hot sports station anymore. Only recently was their weak website upgraded, but the long promised signal upgrade to 50K watts hasn't occured Y-E-T (geeeezzz, I remember when Gerry V was at the station in the early 90's was promising an improved signal).
If your FlashBoy, would you rather slum around covering the Knights or the Red Sox at Fenway (yes, I realize he moved back partially to take care of his ailing dad, but still . . . . go to WEEI.com to check out a photo of him). If your Penner, do you stay at a station that could care less about the NHL/hockey (his big passion IMHO, outside of college hoops) or do you move to a market that has a team (Tampa Bay . . . yeah, yeah they suck but an NHL team nonetheless)?
I think the brass at WFNZ really need to look at other stations (WEEI in Boston, WFAN in New York) and see how they assemble a lineup, promote its programming (when was the last time you E-V-R-R heard an ad promoting a Knights Game? N-E-V-E-R >:-( !!!!!!!!!!). Both stations have a good mix of ex-jocks & local TV sportscasters, in their weekday lineups.
I think WFNZ needs a fresh injection of new talent . . . P-R-O-N-T-O!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drop the Weekend Warrior shows (Sat & Sun) and instead, launch a Local College Gameday show during the fall on Sat. morning and a College Hoops show from Jan. - Mar. (9-11 am Sat.). Sundays, have a 9-11 Hockey show (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I didn't stutter . . . . .. . there are enough puckheads in this market to support one). From 11-1 have the Panthers pre-game show (but once the NFL is over, start a baseball call in show . . . .. . . you know they N-E-V-E-R talk about baseball at WFNZ).
Heatest
Member
Posts: 353
From: Boone, NC
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 15, 2000 06:37 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good suggestions sds, I have long been frustrated with the lack of baseball talk on FNZ.
Freakshow
Member
Posts: 937
From: Cold padded cell
Registered: MAY 2000
posted June 16, 2000 11:54 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My wife worked at FNZ during the Pinto/Gerry V days. Pinto was the most boring man I've ever met. She said he was awful to work with. Huge ego. Zero personality. BIG upgrade when Prime Time came in. Worst mistake was firing Czaban. Apparently he was too opinionated and difficult.
Bottom line: The station has still improved dramatically over the last few years. I would like the whiner line dropped (I always change the station), the Playaz Club replaced, less racing, less golf and more football, baseball, basketball, and hockey.
hammy
Member
Posts: 98
From: Charlotte, NC
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 18, 2000 05:48 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys don't give Packer enough credit ... Czaban and Penner were great but he's right there with them. New talent is a must; here are a few suggestions:
(1) Bring back the Fabulous Sports Babe. We need at least one national show on during the day so we don't get 12 hours of the same thing every single day. Jim Rome live would also be a possibility here, but I really loved the Babe when she was on and her guest list is second to none thanks to her connections.
(2) Mend fences with the Observer and get Sorensen, Chandler, Olson, and the crew back on pronto. They bring so much to the shows and offer fresh perspectives and insider knowledge.
(3) Move Die Hard to the 1:00-3:00 slot and disperse the Playaz Club. It is horrible and I can't imagine how many listeners tune out. I can't bear to listen.
(4) Establish a rotation for Prime Time where guest hosts are on only once a week; again these personalities become stale. Let other station personalities co-host once a week (Noble, Jaegler, etc.)
(5) Get serious now before it's too late. Quality is starting to slip, but it can be fixed!
LarryD
Administrator
Posts: 2778
From: Charlotte, N.C., USA
Registered: FEB 2000
posted June 19, 2000 02:17 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i like your suggestions - except for bringing back the babe. she provides no insight of her own. i hate hearing her interact with callers and she totally sucks up to the guests. the flabulous sports babe sat in front of us at an olympic baseball game in 1996 - man, i know why she's on the radio.
i got to feeling the same way about arnie spanier - he didnt have enough opinion of his own. sure he had some great stories and his game on friday nights was one of the absolute best (what was the name of that contest? the one where the mission impossible theme played in the background while asking 10 questions??). it was fairly entertaining, but didnt have a lot of substance. i do like kevin wheeler. ballou is ballou. he and i were in tallahassee at the same time - when he first got in front of a microphone. his big thing to say was "im just a fan with a mic." he's rounded out his resume a bit more and has a ton more general knowledge than he used to.
letting czaban move to the morning and get back to his old schtik was a mistake. steve always thought he was better than afternoon sports talk. he fancied himself the funniest manly man in charlotte and thought he could be the no. 1 morning drive-time show. his sound effects board was great, but his act started to wear thin - he's no stern. i did hear him doing some late night fill-in stuff for espn on the weekend - that was months ago though.
hey, didnt czaban get canned just after his wife had a baby? and sandy just became a dad and now he's gone. hmmm....
my problem with all of the co-hosts on prime time is - i dont give a flip about what any of them say. rarely will any of them offer a compelling argument for an original thought. i like that guy who used to coach with the redskins. and i like david flemming. the rest are all too homoginized - just cookie-cutter co-hosts.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
