Changes at 94.9 ZHT

CLEAR CHANNEL - Well, Z100 Portland did not become 100 KISS FM, as feared (or anticipated) by many. With those fears of a systematic change of all of Clear Channel's CHR/Pop stations to KISS-FM behind us, new changes have arised. According to a tipster to the Utah Radio Guide "hotline," Clear Channel was playing "roughly 140 songs on air at any give time during a 30 day period." According to the tipster, Clear Channel will drastically cut back on the number of songs, requiring ALL stations, (yes KISN, KURR, etc.) to only play 90 different titles during a 30 day period. Comment: Is this stupid or what?

Here's one person's response: "Pretty stupid...AND unfounded, at least from the corporate standpoiont. CC does not globally "dictate" playlist length, nor is there a corporate dictate for individual formats or "brands" either (i.e. "Star" or "Kiss"). The structure of "brand managers" has been largely eliminated this year as well, since the programming team(s) of individual stations can better determine what's best for their competitive situations than someone who oversees a couple of dozen stations in multiple markets. Having said that, there MAY be a "requirement" from the programming "gurus" of CC Salt Lake for some reason (Lee Douglas, Sam Elliot and company aren't exactly the brightest bulbs in the box now, are they?). At the end of the day, 140 titles is a pretty tight list for a mainstream CHR station in the first place...it makes no sense to cut it even further."