99XWatch.org

Cumulus CEO Stars in Dixie Chicks Documentary

Cumulus (99X's owner) CEO Lewis Dickey testified before congress on July 18, 2003 to explain Cumulus' corporate ban of Dixie Chicks music due to singer Natalie Maines' criticism of President Bush.  That testimony is now part of the trailer used to promote the documentary "Shut Up and Sing" which chronicles the events surrounding the blacklisting of the Dixie Chicks.  Someday, Lewis Dickey will be able to proudly tell his grand-children, he helped a mob shout down a voice of dissent and he'll have a movie to prove it!

Happy Anniversary 99X, Sort Of, Again

One year ago I, incorrectly, predicted that Cumulus might switch 99X to an FM talk format.   From the Cincinnati Post:

Several trade magazines report the FM talk format will debut next week, likely on Nov. 1. John Dickey, vice president/programming for Atlanta, Ga.-based Cumulus, did not return calls or e-mails this week from The Post. He has told trade magazines "no comment" on the rumored launch.

Reports indicate the new FM talker will be a mix of politics, advice and shock jock humor. Signed for the morning show is veteran Chicago personality Erich "Mancow" Muller, known for his more cerebral, if outrageous, humor in his syndicated "Mancow Morning Madhouse."

Cumlus' investment in the New Morning X suggests that it's commited to keeping 99X as Alt-Rock in the near term.  With the vacuum created by the Regular Guys' demise and 99X's poor Summer book, one wonders how patient Cumlus will be.

New Morning X Defends Rush Limbaugh, Attacks Stem Cell Research

On three different occasions, The New Morning X aired, uncritically, an advertisement paid for by "Life Communications Fund" in response to an ad by Michael J. Fox in support of  Stem Cell research.  The New Morning X also aired, uncritically, Rush Limbaugh's defense of his comments accusing Fox of "acting" his symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.  During the "Pre-Show" the team took one call from a Rush Limbaugh supporter, once again distorting the facts. 

Surely the New Morning X gave equal time to the Michael J. Fox ad, right?  No.  They played the Michael J. Fox ad, once, at 5:40 am.  The New Morning X took no calls in support of stem cell research.

Here's the ad that the New Morning X didn't want you to hear:

Chris Williams Suspended

From Radio Talk:

Chris Williams, interim program director for 96rock, was suspended Tuesday for a week, according to Eric Von Haessler, co-host for the Regular Guys, in the wake of what some folks are terming “Stallgate” in which the show secretly taped restroom conversation of the Viva 105.7 morning hosts.

Apparently it was Williams, in his capacity as interim 96 Rock PD, who greenlighted the restroom stunt, which resulted in the firing of Regular Guys Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler. 

Chris Williams, PD of The Buzz and Afternoon Personality, is largely responsible for the station overtaking 99X in the summer ratings book.

In a week where there has been very little good news for 99X, there is a great deal of opportunity created by the Regular Guys' depature. 

2005 Leslie Email Makes Rounds at The Buzz

A fifteen month old email from Leslie Fram commenting on the The Buzz, has been making the rounds at Clear Channel, and was forwarded to me:

99X is the only true alternative station in Atlanta.  Clear Channel will screw this up like they have before... OK, testosterone rock for meatheads.  They will voice track this, no opportunity for listeners to call the station, nothing live. It's narrow too.  If you wanna bang your head all day to Metallica, then this is the station for you.  The nature of alternative is to win with both men and woman and we have that opportunity.

This email is made all the more embarrassing by the fact that The Buzz beat 99X in every day part, in persons 18-34 and 25-54.  Lannie West, Leslie's husband/manager, made similar condescending statements about Buzz Program Director Chris Williams in an email to Rodney Ho several months ago when he wrote that Chris was fired from 99X because "management decided he was destroying a heritage Atlanta station."

The fact is that a morning show drives listeners.  If people turn away from Axel and Leslie to listen to Whip, then they're likely to leave their dial tuned to 105.3.  That doesn't explain why Aly and Chris beat Steve Craig and Matt Jones by even wider margins than Whip beat Axel and Leslie.

That 99X has a new morning show and that this is just one book are both good reasons to not count 99X out, but the Summer book should certainly be a wake-up call.  That being said, It's ironic that Lanny's words may prove true:  Chris Williams is destroying 99X.

I wasn't wrong

Turns out I wasn't wrong.  My timing was off.  The "upgrade" show a.k.a. the Everything Alternative Morning Show with Axel and Leslie lost approximately 70% of its persons 18-34 audience and fell from 7th place in the Spring ratings book to 20th place in the Summer book.  It lost 40% of it's already tiny share of persons 25-54.  According to Radio Talk, as a station 99X "ranked 22nd among all radio stations overall, the lowest of all of the metro area 100,000-watt FM signals.

Farewell Monti

As I wrote last night, Monti Carlo resigned from 99X yesterday to take a job in Seattle.

I think that Monti has a great on air personality and brought a fresh perspective to the show.  Her Valium tinged appearance at the "Goth Wedding" showed her sense of humor and vulnerability.  I got the impression that it was a challenge for the show to figure out a way to best use her, but I am certain that with time, she would have thrived in Atlanta.

Update 10/22/2006 7:55 AM

Rodney Ho expands on Monti's reasons for leaving 99X.

Jimmy's Comments on New Morning X

Jimmy Baron, blogging from London, writes: 

I can't predict whether the new show will succeed or fail but I'll say this...Sean, Leslie, and Jenners are talented people who are gonna live or die by how the company steers them, and unfortunately it doesn' t look good. ...Cumulus ...fired Randy Lane. Randy worked with the (original) Morning X, TJ&L, and the Bert Show (in addition to some of the biggest names in the business) and is considered hands-down probably the best talent coach in the business. Apparently, however, the company felt they could better coach the show in-house. More accurately, they just didn't feel like paying for Lane's services. Typical.

So this should be interesting to watch.

Update 10/19/2006 9:18 PM

A source close to the show informs me that Monti is leaving the show to take a job in Seattle, for personal reasons unrelated to 99X or Cumulus.  I removed the excerpt from Jimmy's post referring to Monti's departure in light of this new information.

Update 10/19/2006 10:23 PM

Sean Demery confirms to Rodney Ho that Monti is leaving the show.

Toucher and Rich First Book Excellent

The Toucher and Rich Show* posted a huge gain of 61% in it's first full book in its target demographic of 18-34 Men.  According to Radio and Records:

The [Boston] rock picture saw CBS alternative WBCN leap 1.9-2.5, thanks in part to Opie & Anthony surging in key demos such as men 18-34 (5.2-9.8) and the new afternoon show, Toucher & Rich, leaping 4.9-7.9 in the same demo.

According to a WBCN insider, in the lucrative men 25-34 demographic, Toucher and Rich posted a gain of more than 130%.  In persons 18-34, the show posted a 30%+ gain, beating Boston rivals WAAF and WEEI. 

Ratings for the 99X "upgrade" show are due out on Friday.

*These ratings are for the 3pm to 7pm day part.  The Toucher and Rich show runs 2pm to 6pm, so there may be some small differences in the actual show numbers. Indications are, however, that they will be if anything stronger.

Fat Kid Blog

I think Fat Kid's latest post is funny.