107.5 FM: Movin’ In The Wrong Direction

by Andrew McElwee

It’s been almost two weeks since the demise of Smooth Jazz 107.5 The Oasis. I wish I could say I’ve accepted it and moved on, but no such luck.

Want to be a reviewer?

TexasGigs reviews are written by volunteers who want to share their knowledge and passion with other local enthusiasts. Anyone can write a review-- You can instantly post a comment on anything on the site, and for shows and movies, that might be in the form of a review. If you want to write more regularly, with a blog or your reviews appearing in the "stories" section, drop us a line.

Yes, we all know changes are just another part of life. But there’s also a saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

CBS Radio sure fixed up things real good last week, when they finally pulled the plug on the veteran jazz station. In its place, they’ve installed the new MOViN 107.5, a bizarre mix of predominately outdated R & B most in my generation has completely forgotten.

The decision was based on what CBS Radio perceived as a waning fan base. "While the Oasis had many loyal fans for many years, it simply wasn't reaching the audience we need to reach." said Kurt Johnson, vice president of programming for CBS Radio.

The new target audience includes women ages 25-40, and features continuous airplay of various artists such as Mariah Carey, Prince, and Christina Aguilera.

Obviously, CBS’s all-seeing eye has overlooked one crucial detail. Hmmm, let’s see. Who else plays a random mix of music spanning the last two decades, part of whose demographic includes women? Congratulations, CBS Radio! You’ve just successfully cloned a really bad version of Jack FM.

Given the network’s long-standing reputation, it’s hard to fathom the logic behind the changeover. It’s appalling to think how many loyal fans CBS has displaced with their sly maneuver. But negative sentiments have resonated to the furthest corners of DFW.

“There is obviously a hole left by their departure,” said Donna VanNess, event producer for Fort Worth Jazz. “I don’t believe the replacement format is representative of the majority of listeners. I’m not sure who they are trying to reach, but there is a huge population that is basically left to subscribe to XM or Sirius to listen to what they want.”

Ultimately, it’s the everyday listener who really suffers in all this. Steve Ermish, an Arlington resident and sax player, was strongly opposed to the Oasis’s departure.

“My reaction to the change was disbelief,” commented Ermish. “They just don’t understand that this area has a huge fan base for jazz music. CBS should seriously reconsider their decision.”

Just for laughs (and I do mean laughs), I switched over to the new MOViN 107.5, just to see how much I could endure. I forcefully shut off the car radio after hearing their nice little tongue-in-cheek jingle “The station that makes you feel good!”

Oh, please.

It’s bad enough, Mr. Johnson, that you’ve eliminated the most talented air staff DFW has ever seen. It’s bad enough, CBS Radio, that you’ve utterly destroyed the greatest commercial jazz station in North Texas and alienated an entire demographic in the process.

At least you could have done us the courtesy of coming up with better taglines.

This story was written by a member of the TexasGigs community

Staff
Verified User
Anonymous

Brad Williamson, says:

107.5 FM? What's that?

Oooooh yeaaaa... I forgot - That's a terrestrial radio station!

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I listened to local FM radio because I've been caught up in the glorious goodness of that sweet sweet satelite radio.

A couple of years ago I became fed up with 30 minutes of commercials per hour; as well as situations such as what 107.5 is going through where my favorite stations were getting crappy makeovers from Clear Channel, Infinity, or CBS Radio. So now I gladly pay about 20 bucks a month for my 3 seperate Sirius Satelite Radio subscriptions.

Well over 10 million people have divorced "testicular" radio (Thanks Howard) because it's just awful! Make the switch to satellite ASAP and join me on, Kenny G lovin', Sirius channel 71 "Jazz Cafe" where you don't have to worry about commercials or absurb programming changes.

Staff

3 years, 1 month ago
Link to this comment | Suggest removal

David Gouldin, says:

Ok, I'm sorry, but it's gotta be said. You want to listen to jazz? Tune in to 88.1. That is the ONLY jazz station in DFW. I refuse to drop the "smooth" from "smooth jazz" (which might as well mean "illegitimate" as far as I'm concerned).

There's a reason it's called easy listening. There's a reason it's played in elevators and when you're waiting for the next available assistant.

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Giant-Steps-John-Coltrane/dp/B000002I4S/sr=1-1/qid=1160753730/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1235668-8926415?ie=UTF8&s=music">Dig a little deeper, man.</a>

Verified

3 years, 1 month ago
Link to this comment | Suggest removal

Todd Maternowski, says:

I agree, 88.1 is one of my favorite FM stations. Great music, hardly any commercials or DJ blabber...great, great station.

Staff

3 years, 1 month ago
Link to this comment | Suggest removal

Alan Cohen, says:

I listen to more 88.1 than any other station in Dallas. Incredible music coming out of KNTU airwaves.

Staff

3 years, 1 month ago
Link to this comment | Suggest removal

cgray47, says:

I created an account specifically so that i could dispute this madness. I agree that the Oasis was one of the most amazing stations on FM radio at the time but I am a lover of ALL kinds of music. I was very disheartened at the loss of my favorite jazz station but I was very pleased to find that there was a radio station that now played older music that I LOVE that, yes, sadly, has been forgotten by less appreciative people from my generation. I appreciate the fact that there are people out there who are willing to fight to keep good music on the radio but you can't talk trash about the changes that have occured. I have yet to find one single Celtic station on FM radio and that is one of my favorite kinds of music but you don't see me going all ballistic on everybody who has a business to run and owns a radio station. Here's my advice, if you aren't running a radio station, don't act like you are doing so much better than the people who are just trying to make an honest living and in the course of that may need to make adjustments to their radio stations. If you have such a big problem with it, buy your own radio station and you can play whatever your heart desires, if not then stop whining about it and get over yourself. Buy an ipod.