Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2008 > October > 28
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
10/28: Chuck Oliver leaving the Zone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chuck Oliver is jumping ship, moving from the Zone to the Fan. More details to come. (The Zone’s Neal Maziar thinks that Oliver will be helming a 1 to 3 p.m. show on the Fan but I have yet to get a confirmation from the Fan’s management. Fan boss David Dickey said he has no comment about Oliver.)
Over at the Zone, the “Afternoon Saloon” has been re-named “The Pollack and Bell Show” from 4 to 7 p.m. with David Pollack and Mike Bell.
The Zone did not have Oliver under contract. Zone Program Director Neal Maziar said, “He simply has expedited our plans of what was ultimately going to be the Pollack & Bell show,” he said. David Pollack, he said, “after six weeks has exemplified real natural talent for sports radio.” He said he on point and does not ramble, allowing Bell to provide the humor.
Maziar noted that the Fan has a knack for picking up the Zone’s talent, including John Kincade, Matt Chernoff and now, Oliver.
The Fan’s David Dickey in the past has mocked the constant changes being made to the Zone’s lineup.
Oliver is an expert in college football. Here’s his old bio from the Zone’s site (since taken down but available in cache form on google right now):
Chuck has taken his love for the college gridiron and turned it into his own cottage industry. He appears regularly on television hosting In the Huddle and the CSS Game of the Week on Comcast and on CBS 46 in Atlanta hosting the SEC Game of the Week Post-game Show and Sunday Night Sports Special.
Chuck will be the first to admit that he is “living the dream.” A former high school English teacher and football coach, Chuck won an open air audition on The Zone and has officially paid his dues in the broadcasting industry. His passion for sports and the fervor in which he approaches radio was recognized in 2003, when he was named Sports Radio 790 The Zone’s Employee of the Year.
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10/28: Bye Bye Dave FM morning show again: Zakk Tyler & Jane out after 10 months
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Shocking nobody at all, Dave FM appears to have dumped its latest morning show featuring Zakk Tyler and Jane Monzures after just 10 months on the air and ratings that didn’t appear to show any traction.
The team is no longer on the Web site, which pretty much says it all. Tim Orff, who had been part of the temporary morning show in 2007 with Holly Firfer, is off nights and back in mornings. It will be a more music-focused morning show to contrast with, say, the Regular Guys on Rock 100.5 or any other morning show that focuses on personalities.
To virtually anybody listening to Dave FM in the mornings this year, it was fairly evident Zakk was never cut out for this type of job from day one. Nice guy but simply not a morning personality. He wasn’t a music expert and only seemed to perk up when talking about football. (He had helped do pre and post-game coverage for the Falcons games). I’ll have to call Mike Wheeler, the program director, Tuesday to find out what compelled him to hire Tyler in the first place. You have to feel bad for sweet Jane because Tyler convinced her to move from Chicago.
Ratings a year ago were no great shakes under Holly & Orff but they really didn’t improve under Zakk & Jane either. In fact, the summer numbers among 25 to 54 year olds were the worst Dave FM has seen in its four-year history with the rock station ranked just 18th behind the likes of Imus on 106.7/True Oldies, the now defunct A Team on Hot 107.9 and even the Morning Mess over at Star 94.
92.9 has been cursed worse than virtually any other signal in Atlanta when it comes to trying to find a successful, long-term morning show along the lines of Frank & Wanda, Steve & Vikki and the Bert Show. Since it became a rock station in 1989, the station has funnelled through more than a dozen morning show incarnations, none of which lasted longer than three years.
The new morning show is “music focused,” which means Orff won’t be doing much talking. No prank calls, no call ins, minimal gab. More music is a smart alternative for any station seeking a low-cost, low-risk way to get ratings, especially since good personalities are difficult to find and cultivate and require a level of patience many radio companies in this tight economy may lack.
