Our View

Our View
In Old Towne Ridgecrest

Monday, February 27, 2006

It never rains in Southern California

Rain finally has made it's way into our valley. Thank goodness because I don't know about you but this dry winter is killing me! Sitting here at my desk I can hear the cars drive through the puddles and out of the corner of my eye I can see the headlights of cars. A much different scene than where we previously worked. It's a warm rain too. It's not the cold rain that leaves you shivering all afternoon. Blend that together with my chai drink and it makes for a cozy afternoon.

We had a remote on Saturday at the new Ashley Furniture Homestore. It went great and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. We gave away goodies and had a great time. We got tons of great feedback from everyone who was there. I look forward to more remotes.

Sunday afternoon found us with a computer glich. Our automation program hiccuped and shut down. I came up to the station and with the help of Eric on the phone got it back up and running. We also had another glich today at 3:45pm. It's one we have been having regularly and keep trying to fix. We have requests into tech support and hope to resolve it very soon.

Eric's show extended this morning by one more hour. He is now on from 6am to 10am (PST). We have added more features and ways to win. It's never dull around here and we make sure of that. ;)

I think that wraps up things around here. Today I did billing and using my program only, I got it done in half the time of my previous runs. Even the legal stuff went smoother this time. Yes, that sums it up for me. Keep listening and keep giving us your thoughts. Oh and name the Coyote....it ends tomorrow. Get your name in!!!

-Sara

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Rambling Thoughts....

Had a somewhat successful day at the transmitter site yesterday. I will say the AM is progressing and now we look set for a mid-March startup. Sorry for the delay, but we will NOT cut any corners with this project. I plan to get some info on the AM website soon. There's just a splash page there now at http://www.foxtalk1360.com .

On the FM side, we picked up s station vehicle yesterday. It's funny. It's a Volvo station wagon. Looks a little like a European hearse. Ralph has put some logo work on it. It will work just fine for hauling our stuff around and except for the partially smashed windshield is ready for public display. We have so much community info now, we have had to go to two differenet 90 second recorded Coyote Calendars (they run throughout the day) to just cover the week ahead. This, as you will read below, is key to our success and it was one of my concerns. People already know this is a place they can drop off thier announcements, have them heard on-air AND not be charged for them.

Back on the AM for a second, don't forget to tell your friends, if you like sports, we will be filling the talk show blanks with Fox Sports, plus we'll have the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (LOL) and the San Diego Chargers.

More latah!

-Eric

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

I'm Back...I think

I have to say I am surprised at the number of people who are reading this. I only know this because of all of the comments about a previous post, and the fact that I haven't posted much lately. As we get further into the day to day here of running a radio station some of the luster has worn off. Or at least that "new radio smell". Regardless, this has still been a daily joy and I hope it shows in what we do on-air. Business is looking up and community involvement, a real key to our success, has been picking up as well. I want to take a bit of space here to talk about the radio industry in general and what it's up against these days. Over the past 20 years, radio stations have been striving to bring you what are now being matched by CD players and the new satellite companies are doing. Playing lots of music. Now, don't get me wrong, playing music is still important, but what has been lost over the last 20 years has been the connection to community. Bigger companies know this, but it's hard for them to make their shareholders happy when you have to spend so much money in pure man hours to get that particular job done. So, you sponsor big events. You get stadiums named after your company. You do big radiothons raising money for national charities. At the end of the day it still falls considerably short of what the original concept of local radio was.

So now what? Well radio's very survival is directly tied to what it does for and IN a community. We have to provide information that is pertinent to citizens of our community. Satellite can't do that, in fact they know this now and are trying to make that happen. Oh but wait, then the FCC says they can have control over them. Well I guess that's not cool. This localism is what separates us from the other stations AND most certainly from the satellite companies. To that end, in our informal questioning of folks around here I am surprised to learn that we have given them reason to keep their satellite receivers off in their cars, when they are in their hometown. It certainly gives me hope that this formula works.

When you get a chance, try to find some material on HD Radio. It's coming. We were in L.A. this weekend and there are already some stations making a go of it there. It is going to be amazing and will rejuvenate this business like nothing has in the last 50 years.

If you are reading this from another place and you happen across someone that works in radio, ask them about their local commitment. If you live here, don't hesitate to call me out on something. We are absolutely committed to this. It's radio's last lifeline.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Great to be back!

Hi everyone,

It's Fritz here. I just wanted to stop in and throw in my two cents worth on being a part of KZIQ. First off, it's been very cool for me to be working with Eric again! When Pony and I left Ridgecrest to do Radio in other towns my biggest regret was not only leaving a town I really love but not working with Eric anymore. To not only be working with Eric again but helping to build a station for our community from the scratch is very exciting. It's a chance that very few DJs ever get to do. Eric, Kim and Sara are a great crew and I'm looking foreward to plenty of fun times ahead for all of us. I'll try to fill you all in on my side of starting a new station and it's great to be in Ridgecrest. Thanks again for bringing me back Eric.

Much to Young to feel this damn old!

I am a morning person. I'm up on the weekends by 6 or 7am and during the week I'm up at 5am. Late nights kill me. Last night the station was invited to the VIP night at the new nightclub in town, "Club U" or "Club Unicorn". The festivities began at 8pm and we got home just after midnight. What made it so exhausting is that we decided to spend the day in Lancaster/Palmdale first. My husband, sister and I went and we sat with some of the other young proffesionals. Having 2 little ones at home as well as a husband who works odd hours and switches shifts at a moments notice; he and I relish these opportunities to get out, get dressed up and have a good time. We had a fabulous time! First we where in good company, and second it was a nice place to go. We shaked our tail feathers, enjoyed adult beverages and relaxed in the atmosphere of a place usually found in the bigger cities. I am looking forward to "Club U's" contribution to our community!

Our tower climber came up yesterday and Eric had a long rough day. It went well but I'll let him blog about everything that happened.

This week had it's challenges like every week does. We just want to do what we do, the best we can. We saw a niche in the community that wasn't being filled and we sought to fill it. It's ruffled a few feathers and we expected that. As we have said time after time on this blog, it's the love, support and faith we receive each day that keeps us going. From the e-mails, to the sweet treats dropped by the station or the positive re-enforcement from a friend. The honking of you, the listeners, as you drive by the station, the calls for our contests and promotions to our Advertisers. March 9th marks our 90 days in business. It is you, Ridgecrest, that makes it possible for us to continue our success. We are happy to be here and can't wait to see what the next 90 days bring!


-Sara

Friday, February 10, 2006

Just A Couple Of Things...

We just got home from Follies rehearsal. We'll talk plenty about that coming up. A couple of things though. First, I am posting with my PSP. This little device allows me to go online, check my e-mail, play Madden Football, and listen to tunes. Cool huh? Next, I just want to thank the HUNDREDS of people who write e-mails, call in, or stop by. This has been the single most rewarding job I have ever had. We have already far surpassed all of my expectations! That would be on every level.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

About The Worm

It is unfortunate that there are people in this world so jealous of someone's entrepreneurial spirit that they must do what they can to quash that.

Eric, continue to expect this to happen. Sad little people will try what they can to not allow your success. Just be happy that these people are in a very very small minority. The majority of the Indian Wells Valley supports your station!

Ray

Well The Worm Turns....

If you are a regular visitor to the blog, you know a couple of things already. First of all, after a pretty emotional ending where we used to work, and getting everything together here, it's been very nice to just worry about OUR business and not so much what's going on down the street. Until now. This blog was for listeners and family who wanted a little insight as to what was up around here. There certainly have been no real trade secrets here and we have been quick to edit out anything that may have crossed the line.

Until now....

All I have to say to the little man printing these items to fire up our former boss is, you are a sad pathetic individual. How your life took this road is beyond me. But you should certainly be ashamed to have become the bitter, troublemaking person you have become.

Pitiful.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Scary...Scary

Ok, so Kim and I are leaving town today. Part business, part pleasure. We're leaving our baby in the hands of the very capable Sara. This is a huge step because if something happens I won't be within blocks to fix it. Not that I can fix everything.

We now have a very viable (and affordable) plan to get the AM up before baseball season. There's your heads up Ditto Heads.

Fritz has been by this week. Eventually he will be my fill-in when I'm gone. He LOVES this town and he has been a driving force with some great imaging ideas. (Get a rope!)

More latah! Oh and before I forget, for posterity's sake, I would like to wish my beautiful bride a very happy anniversary. You made my dreams come true!

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

It's alive!

One month ago if someone had asked me if I would know our traffic and billing software as well as I do now, I would have laughed for a good five minutes. I've got it down. We have been using it faithfully for the past week and even sent out bills from it. Our weekend shows ran pretty smooth and everyday we find something that may need to be edited a little differently. It's all part of the learning process. Now it takes me two seconds to enter an account and schedule it where as before it was more like 10-15 minutes. Friday was a bit of a mess as we tried to figure out how to enter in our shows like Bob Kingsley and Inspirational Country. We got it down though and I got more practice editing and making log templates. Next I need to do a template for when Eric isn't able to do "The Big Show."

Some of the neat things about working in Radio are media previews and media access. We were invited to the VIP night at Ashley Furniture and I can tell you we are in for a treat Ridgecrest. You can not believe that the building used to be the old DART Thrift Store! It's amazing the change. We also have media access to cover tomorrows Economic Outlook Conference. Listen for Ray Watters Coyote Report Friday for information on how it went.

As I typed this I've finished my cup of coffee and it's time to get the day started. Carpe Diem!

-Sara

Streaming Server Update

The streaming server was updated this past monday, it was operating at 40kbps, the upgrade brought the stream up to 56kbps which allows users on dial-up to still recieve the stream with little or no buffering, plans for a possible broadband server is in the works. Which will operate at 192kbps giving listeners CD quality audio. Details will be posted when the service becomes availiable.
For now the current server will stay as is, any disruption in service is not planned but it is possible that sometimes the stream gets disrupted due to operator error or a fault in our DSL provider.