Most Overused Radio Slogans or Sayings...

[formulanone]

I always picture the "weather desk" or "traffic desk" is just the radio intern looking at Google Maps and The Weather Channel.

[Pete from Boston]

I always picture the "weather desk" or "traffic desk" is just the radio intern looking at Google Maps and The Weather Channel.

I picture Les Nessman.

I went from surprised, dismayed, and resigned many years ago when I was in Pittsburgh and the funny, interesting local radio weatherman on every ten minutes here was also the weatherman on every ten minutes there.

[The Nature Boy]

I actually wonder how many stations actually wait for the 9th or whatever caller. I just imagine a DJ randomly picking up the phone and saying "YOU'RE THE 9TH CALLER."

[tidecat]

I actually wonder how many stations actually wait for the 9th or whatever caller. I just imagine a DJ randomly picking up the phone and saying "YOU'RE THE 9TH CALLER."

I was once the 5th, 7th, and 9th caller in a contest.  Unfortunately I needed to be 10th.

[thenetwork]

I actually wonder how many stations actually wait for the 9th or whatever caller. I just imagine a DJ randomly picking up the phone and saying "YOU'RE THE 9TH CALLER."

I once worked at a once successful, independently owned & operated AM station in the midwest and we had only 1 line for requests and four lines for the business offices, in the days when most AM stations still played music.  Here are some of the ways I determined the "Nth Caller":

- Honestly treat each caller coming in on the single request line as 1 caller (7th caller = the 7th time I would pick up that lone flashing line.
- Put the request line (with dial tone) on hold.  After a while, the held line would drop, and the first call that came in was the Nth Caller.
- Take the phone off the hook before announcing the contest, putting the phone back on the hook a few moments after talking, and next caller would be the Nth Caller.
- Randomly skip numbers in between the 1st and Nth callers -- so the 9th caller was actually the 3rd or 4th.
- I would just go down all the lines (including the unadvertised business lines) and count those dial tones as callers en route to the Nth Caller.

BTW, nobody cared or kept track to see if we really did select the correct Nth Caller.  Hell, even the FBI were in the same building as our station, and they never came to visit.   It's all "theater of the mind". 

[Alps]

I actually wonder how many stations actually wait for the 9th or whatever caller. I just imagine a DJ randomly picking up the phone and saying "YOU'RE THE 9TH CALLER."

Q104.3: I've rung through (when not confronted by busy signal) and then hit with a click, silence, and a dial tone. Seems like they just click through 103 people and answer the 104th.
WSOU 89.5: They answer the phone, say "12" or whatever, and hang up. I've called back multiple times during a contest and the numbers progressed reasonably.
DHA 105.5: So many busy signals that I don't know. The one time I ever got through, I won.

[roadman65]

WNEW, I think, fixed it that somebody on Long Island always won.  I never heard a NJ resident win anything.  I even tried calling even with speed dial back when only a few people had the thing and busy every time.

Many stations claim the phone system is set up to randomly pick numbers from various areas, but every time it was either Carol from Valley Stream, or Joe from Rockville Centre, or even Mike from Mount Vernon on occasion, but no one from Jersey mainly Long Island like the first two.

[kurumi]

Relevant: http://gawker.com/5779701/your-favorite-wacky-morning-radio-show-is-a-festival-of-lies

[briantroutman]

WNEW, I think, fixed it that somebody on Long Island always won...

It could have been a fix, but I'd be interested to hear what the NY area phone phreaks–like roadgeeks of the old electro-mechanical phone network–would have to say about it.

Something like:
"Long Island would always have the upper hand because their calls are routed through the Great Neck number 5 crossbar, which had a direct truck connection to the 33 Thomas Street switch..."  

[Pete from Boston]

Anyone know how to get in touch with Evan Doorbell? He was from Long Island.

[briantroutman]

Anyone know how to get in touch with Evan Doorbell? He was from Long Island.

He was exactly who I had in mind. I sent a question through his website some time ago and got a reply, but it was from a younger guy who maintains the site, not from him directly.

[ixnay]

Not radio-, but rather TV-related, and no station in my market uses this slogan, but "The News Leader" seems beaten to death.

ixnay

[Laura]

Relevant: http://gawker.com/5779701/your-favorite-wacky-morning-radio-show-is-a-festival-of-lies

I had always wondered about War of the Roses and how they were able to get that many guys to consent to be on radio, lol.

I've called in quite a few times to various morning shows and been played on the air (Z104.3, 101.9, 95.1, 93.1), mostly whenever someone calls in wanting advice on a relationship with a large age gap, lol.


iPhone

[Pete from Boston]

The comments section contains several winners for this topic.  In acknowledgement of this, comedy writer Andy Breckman answers calls on the famous New-York-area radio show "Seven Second Delay" with "Can't believe you got through, love the show, what's your name?"

(A central part of the show, clearly, is that he's not a very good comedy writer.)

[CNGL-Leudimin]

-  For Example in the station ID department, it seems like EVERY city has a "KISS-FM" -- what does a "Kiss" REALLY have to do with the music on the station?  And when was the last time you heard the band Kiss on a KISS-FM??

Even in my part of the world you aren't free of the damn KISS-FM! The one in my hometown is at the otherwise impossible 91.6, which is explained by that the FM band in this side of the pond goes in 0.1 MHz increments, not 0.2 like in the US. (And BTW it also goes down to 87.5 and up to 108.0 as opposed to 87.9 and 107.9 respectively)

[roadman]

I picture Les Nessman. 

Those can't be skydivers .......

[Pete from Boston]

I picture Les Nessman. 

Those can't be skydivers .......

God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

Well-timed reference.  Oh, the humanity.

[Big John]

^^

[renegade]

one of the best sitcom scenes ever!

[bing101]

KUIC-FM Vacaville, CA "Your Hometown Station" slogan sounds bland and I don't know if anybody really cares if a music station is in their hometown. But if the station in question is News or a Talk station that may be different.

[roadman]

Something like:
"Long Island would always have the upper hand because their calls are routed through the Great Neck number 5 crossbar, which had a direct truck connection to the 33 Thomas Street switch..."  

Combined with the fact that none of the relays had a set of Fargo contacts - with apologies to Green Acres (see the "Oliver Takes On The Phone Company"episode)

[agentsteel53]

Also, Christian stations have the annoying slogan of being "safe for the whole family".

I can't tell what's worse.  Christian media claiming to be safe ... or just about every other media claiming to be edgy and dangerous.

it's okay, guys - you can all be mediocre and irrelevant.

[misterjimmy]

I suspected that radio was getting overly homogenized.  Thanks for the confirmation.  I guess....

My biggest gripe is the "2 unfunny guys/ 1 cackling girl" morning show format.  Who started this, and why are they still at large?

Also, the wind chill temperature has now become the "feels like temperature".

[Pete from Boston]

I suspected that radio was getting overly homogenized.  Thanks for the confirmation.  I guess....

My biggest gripe is the "2 unfunny guys/ 1 cackling girl" morning show format.  Who started this, and why are they still at large?

Also, the wind chill temperature has now become the "feels like temperature".

Agreed about "morning drive" radio, presumably so named because it's as irritating and dull as being stuck in traffic.

I think "feels like" or "RealFeel™" also factor in humidity and are not specific to wind chill.

[roadman65]

WINS in New York used to use "Give us 22 minutes and we'll give you the world" for many years.

Power 95 that WPLJ is STILL using even after 30 years when they told us Rock Music Lovers to F Off in June of 1983 with their sudden format change.

Most music lest repetition.

We don't talk over the songs (WMMO in Orlando).