WEEKLY NPR NEWS LISTENERS DROP IN SYRACUSE • WJPZ’S “MORNING ZOO” EMBARRASSES SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

We have been reporting for the past week about the Nielsen Audio Spring ratings results for markets using the old Diary methodology. In almost all of the markets we have discussed NPR News stations have show growth in estimated weekly listeners. This is not the case in Syracuse.

Five stations in the Syracuse metro offer full-time or part-time news and information programming. Three of the five lost weekly listeners in Spring 2017 compared with Spring 2016.  Only one station gained estimated weekly listeners, Syracuse University’s WAER was up 600 listeners in the past year.

Syracuse’s NPR News market leader, WRVO, saw estimated weekly listeners drop over 10%. WSKG from Binghamton lost 27% of their estimated weekly listeners compared to a year ago. WEOS. From Geneva lost 9%.

WAER has been discussed on this blog several times. It consistently performs far below its potential. The station has a dual format of news and Jazz music plus an eclectic mix of weekend shows. 

Until recently WAER called itself Jazz 88 and news programming seemed to be an after-thought. Recently the station dropped Jazz from daytime hours and added syndicated news shows. But this mixture has yet to jell.

I don’t enjoy writing negative reviews of any stations, but WAER comes from the same institution that is home to the prestigious Newhouse School of Public Communications, which touts itself (according to their website) as having the media industry’s most powerful alumni community. So, expectations for WAER are high.

According to financial records on WAER’s website, in 2016 the station had annual revenue of around $1.8 million. Only 30% of the revenue comes from listener-sensitive sources such as underwriting and pledging. WAER’s largest source of revenue is a direct appropriation from Syracuse University, roughly 37%.

WAER is one of two radio stations operated by SU. The other one, WJPZ, needs help too.

MEET WJPZ – Z89 – THE PARTY STATION

Z89 [link] is a student-staffed, faculty-drive top 40 station operated by the Newhouse School. 

It calls itself The Party Station but the party seems to be getting smaller.  

 WJPZ lost over 39% of its estimated weekly listeners in Spring 2017 compared with Spring 2016.

Why does WJPZ suck, let’s look at the fundamentals:

• Z89 IS TRYING TO HARD TO BE “HIP”

SYRACUSE PROMO POSTER FOR Z89

This is how Z89 describes itself:

Z89 plays Syracuse's hit music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with absolutely no commercials! So if you're a fan of boring old men trying to sell you things you don't want, I guess we're not meant to be...

See what I mean.

• THE MUSIC IS ORDINARY MAINSTREAM POP

According to the Z89 website, core artists heard on station are:

Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Will.I.Am, Mackelmore, Taylor Swift, One Direction, Calvin Harris, Jay-Z, fun, and too many others to name! We have it all!

Sounds like the soundtrack for an oldies party.

PROMO IMAGE FOR Z89 MORNING ZOO SKIT

• Z89 HAS A TRULY AWFUL MORNING ZOO SHOW

Morning Zoo programs were popular on Top 40 stations three decades ago. Z89’s morning show sounds like it was inspired byBeavis & Butthead.

Consider this skit that actually aired on Z89 the morning of January 27, 2017 (verbatim as described on the Z89 website):

Today on the Friday Z Morning Zoo, our four hosts played a brand new game, cleverly titled “What Would You Punch?”

It’s the brainchild of our own Josh Feinblatt. He thinks about punching things a lot, so he turned it into a new segment. It’s sort of concerning but we’re rolling with it because we love him.

Friday’s Assistant Producer, Kate, came up with the questions. She offered two options, and the hosts had to choose to punch one or the other. Here’s how they answered:

THE Z89 MORNING ZOO CREW

Question 1: What would you punch? The world’s fluffiest pillow, or a memory foam mattress?

Josh, Shrut Loops, and Matt answered the pillow, while Ariel opted to punch the memory foam mattress.

Question 2: What would you punch? Grandma or Grandpa?

After the series of horrified gasps, all four hosts, again, agreed to punch Grandpa. Ariel said that her grandfather fought in the war, and that “he could take it.”

Question 3: What would you punch? A homeless orphan or a child with cancer?

After much debate, Ariel, Matt, and Shrut Loops decided to punch the homeless orphan. Josh took a different approach, opting instead to punch the child with cancer because “they’re probably in a hospital and there are medical services near by.”

The folks who run the prestigious Newhouse School of Public Communications must be so proud!