1190 The Fan

[SwinedMelon]

Here's another bit of feedback I have.

I know that local stations have little to no control over the nat'l syndicated shows but how/why in the world do we have to suffer through 6 minute stopsets?  I agree that we need advertisers to help pay our bills (the station's) and to generate some sort of revenue but if your aim/goal is to attract listeners (ie: customers) to an advertiser's business, you're not going to do anyone much good if you are forced to hear their "message" at the 4:30 mark of a 6 min break.

Compounded with this are the national spots that you are forced to run.  I don't know all the loopholes you may have at your disposal to "dump" some of these irrelevant spots like all these mortgage companies and Evercleanse.com but even on XM they have grown bothersome and become a MAJOR tune-out factor.  In fact, I'm less willing to sit through XM's long spot breaks even if I know Dan Patrick is having Reggie Miller up next.  They've got great chemistry together and I really enjoy hearing them banter at each other but the amount of spots that are played, the quality of those spots and the sheer repetition of those spots ad naseum does more harm for the advertiser than good.

I know you're aware of the disdain on here about the Total Document spots and the Sweetser Apartments w/Napoleon Dynamite.  I was a radio programmer for several years and we came to realize that if a client's message was bad OR a tune-out factor, we had the responsibility to let them know they could be doing more harm to their cause than good. 

I firmly believe it's time to tell Tim Stanley that he needs to become "laser beam focused" on his business and stay off the air.  He may be a good guy and all but his message and presentation do not cause people to look upon TDS in a favorable light.

Same thing with the Sweetser Properties spots.  How long until these ads get freshened up?  They are beyond being burnt.  They're just ashen whispers that not only clog the airwaves but make many listeners hit the "off/seek/scan" button.  The risk of said listener not coming back in lieu of a different, more appealing station just became a reality.

We used to program stations with the 3M's...music, mornings and marketing.  It was kind of like the holy trinity of broadcasting.  If any of the 3, however, were out of whack, the whole station became off balance.  How does 1190 stack up today in the mind of the listener when measured by the 3 M's?

Here's my take.

Music:  OK, there's no music on 1190 so let's substitute it with "main course".  The "main course" of 1190 is sports talk radio.  How does the content of STR sound?  Locally produced shows are awful.  I'm not trying to be mean but you've read the comments on here about Grant & Vernon's show and I've often said how it sounds unfocused, congested, tired and the same 3 callers are on nearly every day.  Oh yeah...it's also very irrelevant at times.  If your main demo is a male 25-54 or even 18-49, I'd guess a vast majority of them could care less about women's "gawf".  Someone really needs to be a "coach" to these guys and get them to sounding much better...and I'm not just talking about the same boring sweepers and top of the hour ID's either.

The afternoon shows are, as someone already stated, more central Arkansas focused (since they originate there from the Rock) and just plain dull.  I'm not trying to sound like Simon Cowell here but the tandem of Randy & Rick (when you can pick them up) just sounds like it's one big private conversation that we just happen to be able to hear.  It'd be much harder to coach these guys to be more NWA focused since they are in LR (well, except Rick) but perhaps the already suggested show with Wally & Shawn might be a better option.

The national segment of 1190 (10a-4p) isn't bad.  I know there are some Colin lovers and haters but overall, even when he comes down on Arkansas, he's usually got some valid points to back things up.  I'm not a big fan of Tirico and Van Pelt but I suppose as far as "safe" goes, they're OK.  I don't know if they are worthy of a big billboard off 540 but if it's all ESPN is offering right now and you're wanting to stick with Bristol U, that's all we've got.

Mornings:  See my above rant about Press Row.  I had an ops mgr once tell me that morning drive was your locomotive for the day.  If you don't get out of the terminal with the morning show you've got, the rest of your station lineup gets left behind as well.  There needs to be a VERY strong local morning product if you don't intend to just simulcast Mike & Mike.

Right now, Press Row is anything but strong.

Marketing:  Ummm, what marketing?  I am guessing that the promotional $$$ and budget aren't there so I understand if there aren't billboards and TV spots airing right now.  However, I don't know why a station van (or someone's personal SUV with station logo magnets on it) isn't parked out in front of Razorback and Naturals games/events.  That's one of the easiest, TOMA (top of mind awareness) things you could do...and there's very little cost in doing it.  It doesn't even have to be a full-blown live remote.  Just park the van in a high traffic area that makes sense (in front of the ladies' dept at Dillard's ain't gonna cut it) and at least let that "eye candy" begin to work it's way into the mind of the P2's and P3's.

I know the road ahead of you has got to be daunting and challenges abound.  I've been there before and hated it.  However, when these things start to fall in place and your luck begins to turn, you'll look back on these "tough times" and find some sort of solace in knowing it was worth the initial pain.

1190 has an ENORMOUS amount of potential.  Perhaps a move to the FM freq might be in the cards?  I would hope so as the signal issue seems to be a HUGE strike with most listeners.  Again, good luck with things and please stop in more often.  I know of lot of us would love to give you more positive feedback (and it will come) but right now we're just airing things out in hopes of a better station.

you have just crystalized my thoughts- thank you.

[Rhog]

Please do not drop the Cowherd show for some local show.  I like having a sports show to listen to in the morning, but Grant Hall and especially Vernon Tarver are horrible.  It should not be difficult to fill up 2hrs worth on a sports show if you prepare.  It is obvious that neither one of those guys do much to get ready for their show. Half their show anymore consists of sighs and grunts, and both of Grant and Vernon asking "what should we talk about next, this show has run into the ground."  This would not happen if they prepared for the shows. Grant Hall needs to live in the present and Vernon Tarver needs to get a clue.  Neither one of them are very informed; heck half the time they cannot even tell the listeners the start time of a game or the beggining of a football practice.  For someone hosting a sports show this information should be common knowledge.  Please keep the morning show but get someone who is capable of hosting a good show.  If you could bring Mike back that would be fine, otherwise get someone fresh and new to do the show.

[SwinedMelon]

I also find no value in Vernon or Grant, who called Ahmad Paige "Rashad" more than once during an single interview while we were still recruiting him... that after asking him if he was named after Ahmad Rashad... and the answer was something like, "no, who is Ahmad Rashad?"

[McKdaddy]

Press Row was my favorite show on 1190 till Mike departed.  If possible, re-aquire his services.
The signal seems to weaken to non-existent at dusk.  Is it in the budget to strengthen it?

[axharbor]

Bring back Irwin, lose Vernon, he's terrible.  Would love to hear Shawn and Wally...  Could live without DTS for sure.  Please, whatever you do, NEVER bring back "Soap Boy."

[axharbor]

I could do without the High School sports...  We have KURM if we need to listen to that...  I hate nothing more than turning the radio on Fridays during football season and having to hear about HS football when the Hogs are playing the next day...  More Razorbacks!!

[spudhog]

I've just taken over as sales manager (among some other things) for 1190 The Fan in NWA...  We are looking at rapidly expanding our programming to align more with the Razorback Nation, and to cover more high school sports.

I know the signal is an issue for many. We're making the best of what we have right now, but are working toward making some major improvements in the near future. With that said, what would you like to see out of your sports station in NWA?

Outside of our advertisers, Hogville is the first place I turn to get opinions... it is one of the most powerful sports outlets in Arkansas these days!

Also, feel free to call me at (479) 582-3776 during the week if you would like to visit by phone.

Thanks for your input...

I love the Espn during the day and drive time at night. Would like to have Espn radio after Drive Time goes off. Prefer that over static:)

If you guys could carry Razorback Baseball that would just be awesome. 790 has the Naturals and I don't have a pc in my apt.

Other than that, thanks for carrying everything else.

[Jones4040]

My only advice is to coach up Vernon on radio. I sometimes have to turn the channel when he starts interupting, screaming, squueking, and whining around. He also says the same things over and over and over. He will make a comment, and then rephrase it, and then rephrase it again, and then say it the first way he said it. He seems like a nice enough guy but my goodness he is annoying. There just isnt any chemistry as they just fumble over each other.

I know that Chuck B is highly controsversial around here, but his comments aside, his show was the best we have had in terms of chemistry. That show was not just a sports show it was halfway a comdey show. I have never laughed as hard as I did at some of his stuff.

Don't bring back Irwin, he was a terrible, one sided host, and shawn arnell was worse than Vernon.

[axharbor]

It would also be nice to have a call in show after the football games.  I thought there used to be such a show on 107.9, but if they aren't going to do it, why not have it here...  Why can't fans call in and voice their real opinions?  I could be wrong, but didn't they put a stop to the call in after games whenever RJ was the QB and people were starting to get tired of him and Nutt?

[josh_sec33]

Please get the FS affiliate that carries Press Row to not cover a good 2 minutes of the end of each segment with local commercials so we can get back early to listen to the last 3 minutes of the Rogers/Fay commercials.

Beyond that... yeah, the signal. I can't tell you how many times there is an issue getting it working down here in the valley.

[hogball33]

Somebody misinformed Grant and Vernon that there is a huge following for woman's SEC basketball and Golf......and I agree the factual knowlege is terrible with these two....very hard to listen to it....

Genie Lamp is a treat too isn't he? sheesh that dude wakes up in the moring with a chip on his shoulder about bringing down the expectations of hog fans. Give it up man we want to win all the time just like any other school.

[axharbor]

Somebody misinformed Grant and Vernon that there is a huge following for woman's SEC basketball and Golf......and I agree the factual knowlege is terrible with these two....very hard to listen to it....

Genie Lamp is a treat too isn't he? sheesh that dude wakes up in the moring with a chip on his shoulder about bringing down the expectations of hog fans. Give it up man we want to win all the time just like any other school.

Amen!

[plaintruth]

I too would like to have Mike back on the air!  I used to listen to 1190 every morning,but its just to boring.  I don't know which station 1190 or 1030 I get the most ticked off at.  Both have serious broadcast problems, which for a growing market such as ours seems a little hokie.  I do feel there is potential for great things under the right management.

[Jones4040]

I can't believe that Genie Lamp has just been brought up. Great point. That guy has to be one of the most idiotic people I have ever heard. There is nothing worse than a guy who is dumb and thinks he is smart. Is a dork and thinks he is cool. genie Lamp has no sense at all. They could clearly screen him and keep his apperences on the show to once a month. The problem is that they are so hard up for callers that they have to take Genie every time he calls.

[hawgalujah]

Dump    Drive Time, bring on Shawn & Wally.  Bring back Mike Irwin, and add something like the "Fifth Quarter" after football games for the people of NWA.  A local noontime show wouldn't hurt either.

[Kilgor]

Bring Mike Irwin back.  Dump Grant Hall and Vernon.

Assuming KFSM won't let Mike do the show, at least bring in some new blood to Press Row.  It can't get worse than Grant and Vernon.  I used to listen to it every morning.  Since Mike left, I just listen to podcasts on the Ipod.

[Jones4040]

Why all the love for Mike "When I was playing football in Texas in 5th Grade" Irwin. The guy was a joke. Over and above that he is a Texan. No Texan has any authority about the Hogs unless they played for the Hogs.

[Kilgor]

Why all the love for Mike "When I was playing football in Texas in 5th Grade" Irwin. The guy was a joke. Over and above that he is a Texan. No Texan has any authority about the Hogs unless they played for the Hogs.

Because he provided valuable insight into our program? 

Because he was entertaining? 

Because he always had good guests? 

Because he went on rants that spoke what the average fan was feeling?


I'm a Texan.  I graduated with two degrees from the U of A.  I'm a Texan, a Hog fan, and I live in Fayetteville and you may kindly suck it chump.

[Jones4040]

Valuable insights into our program? The only insight he had was from his weekly phone calls with Beck.

Entertaining? Everyone has there own opinion. I remember ever thing being compared to his 5th grade football team in Texas.

Good Guests? What guests did he ever have?

He spoke for the average fan? I don't ever recall him saying what I thought.
He was basically the mouthpiece for Beck Campbell and was always one sided.

[Kilgor]

Valuable insights into our program? The only insight he had was from his weekly phone calls with Beck.

Hard to argue with that idiocy.

Entertaining? Everyone has there own opinion. I remember ever thing being compared to his 5th grade football team in Texas.

You have Alzheimer's.

Good Guests? What guests did he ever have?

SO you obvously listened once at the most.  Mitch Mustain, Damian Williams, and almost every other football recruit during that time period in addition to ESPN analysts.

He spoke for the average fan? I don't ever recall him saying what I thought.
He was basically the mouthpiece for Beck Campbell and was always one sided.

That's because you're an idiot.

[Sao Ming]

Why all the love for Mike "When I was playing football in Texas in 5th Grade" Irwin. The guy was a joke. Over and above that he is a Texan. No Texan has any authority about the Hogs unless they played for the Hogs.

I bet you hated Paul Eells because he was from Iowa...

[Jones4040]

Nope, I only hate Texas.

[D Ive Wright]

I've just taken over as sales manager (among some other things) for 1190 The Fan in NWA...  We are looking at rapidly expanding our programming to align more with the Razorback Nation, and to cover more high school sports.

I know the signal is an issue for many. We're making the best of what we have right now, but are working toward making some major improvements in the near future. With that said, what would you like to see out of your sports station in NWA?

Outside of our advertisers, Hogville is the first place I turn to get opinions... it is one of the most powerful sports outlets in Arkansas these days!

Also, feel free to call me at (479) 582-3776 during the week if you would like to visit by phone.

Thanks for your input...

First, I admire your courage to bring up a topic that has to be very painful to read. However, your approach is the only way the station will improve. I live in Ft Smith and listen on the Pharis Radio Group. I can't tell you how many times that there was no feed ( dead air ). 

Mike Irwin was great. However, I do not belive that KFSM will let him return. Press Row has suffered since his departure. I think that previous posters have made a good case about the current hosts of Press Row.

Hopefully, this will make you feel better. The Morniing Rush with Josh and Tommy has it share of problems also. Tommy does a good job but Josh is more than I can handle in the morning. If you could improve Press Row they would lose market share in Ft Smith.

I love the Herd..best show by far..hate everything that follows.

I listen to Bo on the local ESPN station in the afternoon. I really like his show.

Good luck. I'm sure we will see improvement.

[Razorzac]

I have no idea what I am talking about but I will put my opinion out there:

Drop press row all together, and I am not saying that because Mike isn't there anymore. I enjoyed him posting on the board but I did not care for him either way when he was on the radio. I never really felt like I needed to tune in to hear what Mike or Grant's opinion on anything was, so I am not a 'regular' listener.

My suggestion is to put Mike and Mike's full show on the air, follow it will Cowherd and then the two hour Tirico show. (I am probably in the minority here, but I really enjoy Mike and Mike as well as Cowherd. I like Tirico as well, but he is 3rd out of those 3.)

When Steven A and ESPN's SportsNation come on - sub a new local show. That would be a good time to talk about High School Sports because that is when a lot of Dad's & Mom's are in the car traveling to a game, taking a kid to practice, picking a younger brother/sister up from school. Parents & Grandparents want to hear about their kid's. I think you would have a lot of callers too as opposed to the same guys calling in for Press Row. (Time slot is some of the problem for Press Row).
I actually kind of like Grant Hall, but add someone with a little more energy with him.

At 4pm
I like Bo's show in Fayetteville so I don't really listen to Drive Time - when I do I get bored with it real easy.
I guess Wally and Shawn in the 4-7 time slot (seems like a lot of people like Wally & Shawn).

Thats just my 2 cents.

I have no experience with anything to do with radio, but all of this makes a lot of sense to me.

PS if you have a job open I would like to apply.

-of course one complaint - the signal, but you already knew that.

[Sao Ming]

Nope, I only hate Texas.

Texas embraces you. 

I bet you feel simple and small now.

[Wes Craven]

I enjoy Press Row. There are times it is slightly unprofessional, but all in all, I like it.

I might be the only one that likes to listen to Colin Cowherd, but I hope that show doesn't go anywhere.

I agree that Drive Time sucks.

Can we get some new commercials? If I'm driving, I change the channel every time there is a break b/c most of those ads are annoying.

Cowherd has been the number one syndicated sports radio talk show host in years past. His show while abrassive is very entertaining and one that I listen to frequently while in transit. I truly hope it doesn't get changed.

[Wes Craven]

First have a advertising expert review the ad's that either 1190 produces or allows their clients to record. I turn the station everytime I hear the following 20 times a day.

I'm Tim Stanley. I eat 3 eggs every day at the Bowling Pin. I've never heard Travis say "Tim, why don't you go buy yourself a chicken".

Or "Rent a apartmentment from Sweetser Properties" "Gosh"

Or "This here is Junior Clantin, I'll give you a shiner that will land 747's"    "I'm coming down there and gonna tear you up
like a old mans stomach at a chilli cookoff."

Just my 2 cents as a consumer. I know ad's are the lifeblood of any station, you might want to have veto power or let professionals record them. Before anyone smites me. I have recorded radio ad's twice and no it is not that difficult.

One of the funniest posts I have ever read. I love the station, however, I have each of those commercials memorized. Either they are working or I have heard them so many times I could record them myself from memory.

[RazorAg]

I've read most comments in this thread, and I'll echo some.  Simply, and I don't mean this personally towards Grant Hall and Vernon Tarver, find competent, knowledgeable talk show hosts for your morning show.  Whether it's called Press Row or not, I think you're going to gain a lot of fans if you overhaul what you have and redesign with a more professional, informative show.

It's extremely frustrating when most avid fans know more of what's going on with Razorback Sports than the hosts.  I just moved up here, and I've tried to listen to the show multiple times.  Almost every time, I have to turn it off b/c I become embarrassed for Grant and Vernon when they don't know something or speak incorrectly on a topic, most commonly about the Razorbacks.

I would suggest having someone who routinely covers the Hogs.  I don't know if they have the personalities but beat writers such as Murphy or Abrams might work.  At least they are in and around the action more.  I think Richard Davenport would be great on certain days - he could bring the high school sports aspect to the program plus speak on Razorback recruiting.

I know you need dynamic personalities as well, but I think Press Row is mostly lacking in the content area as so many have said on here.

As for the rest of the programming, I like most of the ESPN shows.  I could do without the 2-4pm programming.  I liked Kuselius (sp) before he left that time frame.  I thought I wouldn't like Tirico but his guests and co-hosts make it an intersesting show.  I love Van Pelt.  I'm not a DTS fan b/c I can't take all of the ignorant callers and Rainwater.  Rick Schafer is fine in my opinion.  At least he's knowledgeable on Razorback history.  Of course, he has his limitations.  I prefer Bo's show by a landslide.  I think he's entertaining and the his guest line-up has been dynamite.  Plus, having Clay, Dudley and Otis on there brings much needed insider info that's current.

[Jeff "hogfanintx" Anderson]

Why all the love for Mike "When I was playing football in Texas in 5th Grade" Irwin. The guy was a joke. Over and above that he is a Texan. No Texan has any authority about the Hogs unless they played for the Hogs.

What an idiotic statement.  Mike was one of the very few people up there in TV or radio that had the (acorns) to say what was wrong and talk about the problems on the hill.  He was also one of the very few that would openly say HDN was clueless.  There were waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy  too many up there that were only concerned with what Frank would think.  See Rick Schaeffer and imagine 10 of those running around. 

[Jeff "hogfanintx" Anderson]

can you listen to press row online??

[Wayne Watson]

If it's streaming, click on the Sports Hog in the upper left corner of this page.

[Jeff "hogfanintx" Anderson]

thanks wayne

[Wayne Watson]

Sometimes they stream and some days they have some kind of goofy music playing.

[intoxhog]

Dump    Drive Time, bring on Shawn & Wally.  Bring back Mike Irwin, and add something like the "Fifth Quarter" after football games for the people of NWA.  A local noontime show wouldn't hurt either.

syndicate hogville cafe if you want a good noon time show.

[jkstock04]

Bring Mike Irwin back to press row....THE SHOW NEEDS HIM BACK BADLY...it has absolutley fallen off the map since his departure.  Grant Hall seems like a real nice guy...but I quit listening to the show cold turkey last year because it seemed like all he wanted to talk about was the Cardinals and golf.  I'm sure it's still the same way, something really needs to be done about that. 

Good luck!

[DeltaBoy]

Bring Back MI!

[mr4pt]

Here's another bit of feedback I have.

I know that local stations have little to no control over the nat'l syndicated shows but how/why in the world do we have to suffer through 6 minute stopsets?  I agree that we need advertisers to help pay our bills (the station's) and to generate some sort of revenue but if your aim/goal is to attract listeners (ie: customers) to an advertiser's business, you're not going to do anyone much good if you are forced to hear their "message" at the 4:30 mark of a 6 min break.

Compounded with this are the national spots that you are forced to run.  I don't know all the loopholes you may have at your disposal to "dump" some of these irrelevant spots like all these mortgage companies and Evercleanse.com but even on XM they have grown bothersome and become a MAJOR tune-out factor.  In fact, I'm less willing to sit through XM's long spot breaks even if I know Dan Patrick is having Reggie Miller up next.  They've got great chemistry together and I really enjoy hearing them banter at each other but the amount of spots that are played, the quality of those spots and the sheer repetition of those spots ad naseum does more harm for the advertiser than good.

I know you're aware of the disdain on here about the Total Document spots and the Sweetser Apartments w/Napoleon Dynamite.  I was a radio programmer for several years and we came to realize that if a client's message was bad OR a tune-out factor, we had the responsibility to let them know they could be doing more harm to their cause than good. 

I firmly believe it's time to tell Tim Stanley that he needs to become "laser beam focused" on his business and stay off the air.  He may be a good guy and all but his message and presentation do not cause people to look upon TDS in a favorable light.

Same thing with the Sweetser Properties spots.  How long until these ads get freshened up?  They are beyond being burnt.  They're just ashen whispers that not only clog the airwaves but make many listeners hit the "off/seek/scan" button.  The risk of said listener not coming back in lieu of a different, more appealing station just became a reality.

We used to program stations with the 3M's...music, mornings and marketing.  It was kind of like the holy trinity of broadcasting.  If any of the 3, however, were out of whack, the whole station became off balance.  How does 1190 stack up today in the mind of the listener when measured by the 3 M's?

Here's my take.

Music:  OK, there's no music on 1190 so let's substitute it with "main course".  The "main course" of 1190 is sports talk radio.  How does the content of STR sound?  Locally produced shows are awful.  I'm not trying to be mean but you've read the comments on here about Grant & Vernon's show and I've often said how it sounds unfocused, congested, tired and the same 3 callers are on nearly every day.  Oh yeah...it's also very irrelevant at times.  If your main demo is a male 25-54 or even 18-49, I'd guess a vast majority of them could care less about women's "gawf".  Someone really needs to be a "coach" to these guys and get them to sounding much better...and I'm not just talking about the same boring sweepers and top of the hour ID's either.

The afternoon shows are, as someone already stated, more central Arkansas focused (since they originate there from the Rock) and just plain dull.  I'm not trying to sound like Simon Cowell here but the tandem of Randy & Rick (when you can pick them up) just sounds like it's one big private conversation that we just happen to be able to hear.  It'd be much harder to coach these guys to be more NWA focused since they are in LR (well, except Rick) but perhaps the already suggested show with Wally & Shawn might be a better option.

The national segment of 1190 (10a-4p) isn't bad.  I know there are some Colin lovers and haters but overall, even when he comes down on Arkansas, he's usually got some valid points to back things up.  I'm not a big fan of Tirico and Van Pelt but I suppose as far as "safe" goes, they're OK.  I don't know if they are worthy of a big billboard off 540 but if it's all ESPN is offering right now and you're wanting to stick with Bristol U, that's all we've got.

Mornings:  See my above rant about Press Row.  I had an ops mgr once tell me that morning drive was your locomotive for the day.  If you don't get out of the terminal with the morning show you've got, the rest of your station lineup gets left behind as well.  There needs to be a VERY strong local morning product if you don't intend to just simulcast Mike & Mike.

Right now, Press Row is anything but strong.

Marketing:  Ummm, what marketing?  I am guessing that the promotional $$$ and budget aren't there so I understand if there aren't billboards and TV spots airing right now.  However, I don't know why a station van (or someone's personal SUV with station logo magnets on it) isn't parked out in front of Razorback and Naturals games/events.  That's one of the easiest, TOMA (top of mind awareness) things you could do...and there's very little cost in doing it.  It doesn't even have to be a full-blown live remote.  Just park the van in a high traffic area that makes sense (in front of the ladies' dept at Dillard's ain't gonna cut it) and at least let that "eye candy" begin to work it's way into the mind of the P2's and P3's.

I know the road ahead of you has got to be daunting and challenges abound.  I've been there before and hated it.  However, when these things start to fall in place and your luck begins to turn, you'll look back on these "tough times" and find some sort of solace in knowing it was worth the initial pain.

1190 has an ENORMOUS amount of potential.  Perhaps a move to the FM freq might be in the cards?  I would hope so as the signal issue seems to be a HUGE strike with most listeners.  Again, good luck with things and please stop in more often.  I know of lot of us would love to give you more positive feedback (and it will come) but right now we're just airing things out in hopes of a better station.

Jim speaks for me.

Dump Grant and Vernon.  Bring back Irwin or someone 180 degrees from what you have now.

Keep Cowherd

I can live with or without the rest of the ESPN guys.

DTS blows....Shawn and Wally rocks.

[Frankycottonrow]

Jim Rome LIVE in FAYETTEVILLE

I know he's live in Ft. Smith and on delay in LR but I would love to have Rome live in Fayetteville

[Geohul]

I've been listening to 1190 since back in 01 or 02.  Bach when Mike and Bo were the original hosts.  I think in order for Mike to work as a host he needs a co-host to play straight man.  Bo always did a good job of this as did Arnell.  They's intentionally start a subject that would anger Mike and then let him rant for the next 10 minutes.  I know he's already posted in this thread earlier, but if you want some comic relief you need to have Buck Ocean and Mike interact some more.  Buck, I always liked your David Alfen impressions.  "GOOSERS!" 

As far as ESPN programming goes Cowherd is money.  The guy does a show even non-sports fans can listen to. I have several folks who work under me at my job.  Anytime we travel we listen to Cowherd.  At first they all complained about it being sports, but now they can't get enough of the guy.  He gets that die hard sports fans are only part of the demo he's going after.  He caters to everybody with pop culture references, news items, and general slapstick humor. I can't stress this enough.  Do NOT lose The Herd. 

Tirico is hit or miss, but so was Dan Patrick after Dibble left the show.  Van Pelt is better on the radio than Tirico, and Dana Jacobson is better as well.  It wouldn't give me any heartburn to lose this show, and replace it with a local one. 

Stephen A. is OK.....as long as it's hoops season.  That's his forte.  But during the stretch run of Baseball season he's a little lacking.  I thought Eric Kasillias' Sports Bash was a much better program. 

Drive Time HAS to go.  Period.  It's old men, talking about the Prescott Curly Wolves, the weather, diet Coke, and interpreting Jimmy Lee for 3 hours.  Please either replace this show with a local one (NWA area) or find a suitable national alternative.  I enjoy Bo's show on you rival, but it isn't as good as Chuck's was.  Bo hasn't had time to develop his repore with Clay Henry and Dudley and ...yes even Otis.  I can't speak to how good Wally and Shawn's show is, but I've heard Wally on the radio in Little Rock before, and he's not much better than Grant Hall or Vernon.  Shawn is knowledgable, but not very entertaining to me.  So gun to my head I'd pick Bo's show, but that's only because I haven't heard Shawn and Wally TOGETHER yet. 

And finally, Please for the love of all that is HOLY get this station moved to the FM dial.  If you do I guarantee you won't have to beg Tim Standley and Norm the tire man for their business anymore.  If I have to hear the "Liar" norm the tire commercial or Tim Stanley **** about his breakfast at the Rollin' Pin one more time I'm gonna lose it.  In fact NOW that I know Tim Standley EATS at the Rollin' Pin everyday I will avoid it like grim death so I can avoid hearing his voice. 

[rcowen]

Something definately needs to be done about press row. . .

If I tune in to that I feel like i'm at a funeral.

[stan the man]

Hot diggity dog!!  I have been waiting for this opportunity to give an opinion about Press Row.  I just did not want to start a thread, because I didn't want to be in the minority. I hardly ever listen anymore.  Most of the time Grant and Venon will talk about subjects that no one has any interest in except them.  They need to talk about sports that the majority of listeners like to hear about.  I love to play golf but detest listening to someone talking about it as much as Grant does. Do they not also know since vey few people attend, women sports have little or no interest to most fans.  They are the most ill prepared to host a sports program.  No preparation whatsoever.  They just fly by the seat of their pants.They don't even attend most of the games or practices so how on earth can they intellegently discuss them.  Most of their information comes from newspaper articles they read on the air. Whatever they are paid is way too much. Let's get some new blood in there before it's too late.  If we can't get Mike back then one of my recomendations is the main two TV Sports guys on 40/29.  They can definitely liven things up.     Bo has an outstanding afternoon program for the most part. The guy is continually digging up stories that fans are interested in.  Jenie Lamp needs to find something else to do with his time rather than call in and be citical of the place he lives which is  site better than Detroit Michigan, and the athletic program at the University.   

Now regarding the advertising:  McKinney Insurance has run the same ad since day one.  As for Norm the Tire Man, if I had a flat at his front door I'd go somewhere else to get it fixed.  Quit trying to be funny with your ads.  They get horrible afte ra year of hearing them every day.

There,  I feel so much better now.

[The Nerdery]

Just announced today that the Stephen A. Smith show has been replaced by Scott Van Pelt.   Also, Mike Tirico is now going to be joined by Scott Van Pelt every day.   That's three hours of Scott Van Pelt.  I think it would be a terrible decision to put local programming over Van Pelt.  He's going to be a star on ESPN Radio.

[wholehog92]

Press row is an unfortunate part of my drive every morning.  As soon as another station puts a sports talk show on, I'll listen to it.  I don't care about laser beam focused chickens or where the junior is going or spikes dip.  I don't care about golf, ladies golf, or ladies basketball.  St Louis Cardinal baseball is a 1 segment topic at best towards the end of the pennant race.  I would love to hear them discuss Razorback Football, Basketball, and baseball.  The NFL would be a topic most people around here would be interested in.  Figure you get a group that drives from 7:00-7:30, a group from 7:30-8:00, every thirty minutes, your audience will change over.  It wouldn't hurt to revisit those topics at that point with a new audience.  I might switch over to listen in the afternoon on a commercial during Bo's show.  Your stream is so inconsistant, I don't try during the day.  IMHO the good news is this station has no where to go but up.

[Jim]

As it's been mentioned before, if...and that's a BIG "if"...Press Row continues to be hosted by Grant and Vernon, they need to immediately be airchecked on a DAILY basis.  It's my assumption that the "fly by the seat of your pants and thanks for showing up" idea has been in place with this show and that Butler Broadcasting was just glad to have someone...ANYONE...sit in the booth for 3 hours each morning.

If there are to be no immediate changes, some aircheck meetings would go a long way.

That is...IF Grant and Vernon are willing to listen and adhere.

Is there even a program director/operations mgr of 1190?  Someone has to have the authority to make some decisions up there.  By the turnout of "feedback" here on Hogville, I'd bet we echo a much larger part of the listening audience.

1.  Signal strength
2.  Poor quality local shows
3.  Poor quality local spots
4.  Poor quality local callers who are given WAY too much leeway and time on the air
5.  No real presence at Razorback and other local sporting events

I think by the response this thread is getting we all feel there is a real need for a viable sports talker in the market and we'd ALL be listeners if a lot of these issues were addressed.  I don't think anyone is rounding up a bunch of torches and pitchforks to raid the castle anytime soon but we're just being honest in our assessments of what we hear...and more importantly...what we don't.

[Quite Frankly]

For local early morning, I have no problem with Vernon and Grant.  I don't mind a little laid back nature in the early morning hours.  Every minute of every day doesn't have to be so dominating.

I wouldn't mind a little structure to it like a half hour of local hs for a half hour or some such thing.

They are good guys and likable, but when ab libbing they can snooze it a little.

Just spice it up and organize it.

[HogRockCafe]

Press Row blows, and it wasn't much better even when Mike was on there.  That bandwagon got jumped on during the Nutt scandal.  Never heard it during the Bo days, but hearing his show now, I'd imagine it was better.  Morning call in shows get tough to listen to because it's obvious that only a handful of listeners have the time to call in...so they call in every day with the same rants.  Steal Bo away to do a sports magazine type show in the morning.  One that isn't solely driven by callers, but built on interviews and authoritative guests.  Wally Hall makes my ears bleed, but Sports Rap is a far better option than DTS.  I say that only because I don't care about Harmony Grove High School football scores.

[Ceba]

Mike Irwin was the best host that you've ever had.  He is more in touch with the fans than anyone on local radio.

[intoxhog]

Just announced today that the Stephen A. Smith show has been replaced by Scott Van Pelt.   Also, Mike Tirico is now going to be joined by Scott Van Pelt every day.   That's three hours of Scott Van Pelt.  I think it would be a terrible decision to put local programming over Van Pelt.  He's going to be a star on ESPN Radio.

IMO id rater have more local programing. IMO a referbished press row for you AM show, Hogville cafe for a lunch time show and Wally and Shawn for the evening show. Feel in the empty slots with the ESPN syndicated stuff.

[Lanny]

A little bird told me some interesting changes are coming......................

[Kilgor]

A little bird told me some interesting changes are coming......................

Tell the bird to be on the look out for clear glass windows...