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Variety Hits - Media Articles

Here are some media articles related to the Variety Hits format that might be of interest. I won't put links to just every article that comes along, but if I think it's worth adding, this is where it will go. Linking what I want to link, I suppose. Dead links will be removed as they disappear from the internet.

August 14, 2005
Radio turns up Jack
Variety magazine did an article on the Variety Hits format (they even interviewed me for the piece, though my comments didn't make it to the final version).

August 11, 2005
Give them a chance
The Richmond Times-Dispatch puts its two cents in on the Variety Hits genre.

August 11, 2005
Jack and Jill dump the DJs in America's all-music radio revolution
This gives a British perspective on the North American trend toward the Variety Hits format.

July 19, 2005
Change Didn't Do Jack For Ex-Oldies Station (Registration Required)
This rather slanted article portrays New York City's JACK-FM in a negative light. Notice that it only looks at the (meaningless) 12+ ratings numbers. P25-54 are the ratings numbers that matter.

July 12, 2005
All Access interview with Jill FM PD Dave Burns (Registration Required)
Dave explains his thoughts on having a Variety Hits station aimed at women, going jockless vs. having live talent, and his plans for retirement within five years.

July 5, 2005
Arbitron/Edison Media study on the Variety Hits format
This .pdf file has detailed ratings information displaying the success of the Variety Hits format across the country.

May 26, 2005
Why KMFB-FM switched from Hot AC to JACK-FM
This is a very interesting article about how and why JACK-FM came to San Diego (and the differences between Jack in San Diego and Jack in Los Angeles).

May 21, 2005
Area oldies listeners now know 'Jack' about format
The Washington Times looks at the impact of Variety Hits on the DC and Baltimore radio markets.

May 13, 2005
Star 97 becomes oldies station
This is an interesting story out of Nashville, where Oldies 96.3 became 96.3 Jack FM, and then the next day Hot AC Star 97 flipped to Oldies 97.1. Cumulus' market manager said of South Central (96.3's owner), "I would say that the folks at South Central are either the smartest people in the entire world or have made the biggest mistake in the entire world."

May 3, 2005
"Pirate Radio" has taken over Real Rock 93.1
This article is an interesting first-person perspective from a market (Bakersfield, CA) where the Variety Hits format just arrived. The author, Kyle Brown, gives his opinion of it, and his take on the Jack FM format that he listened to online from KJAC in the Denver market.


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