The Infinite Dial

When the personalities showed up on new CHR outlet WXRK (Now 92.3) New York a few weeks ago, it took some in the industry by surprise. The jocks were going on the air sooner than their counterparts at KLSX (Amp 97.1) Los Angeles. They were also being rolled out while the introductory 10,000 songs in a row were still underway, meaning that the music was being stopped for some long bits (or so it felt, anyway), particularly when p.m. driver Tic Tak and night jock Chunky were on the air.

Now the 10,000 in a row is over. Spots are on the station. And Now 92.3 has developed an interesting other dimension that goes beyond its rhythmic-leaning music or the much vaunted "new platforms" aspect of CBS Radio's recent CHR launches. After 3 p.m., Now 92.3 becomes a lifestyle talk station for young women that also happens to play CHR music. In that regard, it's not unlike Rick Torcasso's "Young Country" stations of the early '90s that were built around the phones but happened to play Country music.

Judging from the callers, Now 92.3 is aiming at a certain group of hard-living women in North Jersey and Staten Island. Recent topics have included "youngest woman with the oldest boyfriend," "guys who should be on a 'No-Date List,'" and "I dropped out of school, now I have a menial job." (Remember our earlier findings about the amount of listening controlled by employed non-college-graduates?)

For what's being attempted here, it's very well executed. Rival WHTZ (Z100) has afternoon and night jocks who certainly know how to work the phones themselves. But the relatively edgy topics and the amount of real-estate devoted to them have a very different feel from what I've heard on CHR radio lately. It's a sharp contrast from the presentational austerity of many Clear Channel CHRs (and Z100 has done a better job of holding on to its personality aspects than many). And while a lot of the topics are relationship talk of some sort, there's still more variety than on many CHRs around the country when the average night phoner goes something like this:

Jock: "So where are you calling from?"

Caller answers the question.

Jock: "And what are you doing tonight in ________?"

Caller: "Nothing. Just hanging out."

Jock: "Just hanging out, huh?" Or something else slightly dirty based on the caller's wording.

Caller laughs nervously. Next phone bit sounds roughly the same.

So far, I've heard more trace elements of Amp showing up among our rapidly proliferating new CHR stations -- it was launched first and got some traction first. But if Now 92.3 makes a dent, it will be a vote for personality -- something that shouldn't go unnoticed by anybody watching this battle.