Bruce Pollock brings vision to two new JH frequencies
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
By Ben Cannon
Situated behind a desk in an office of a suite largely unfurnished and
with few decorative appointments, Bruce Pollock has a sweeping view of
the valley below Jackson.
The silver-haired radio programmer has worked in major radio markets
across the country for nearly 30 years, and — along with his business
partner, Steven Silberburg — he is hoping his new venture, Jackson
Radio Group LLC will be a fruitful one.
“Right now, we only have five people full-time so everybody has to do a
little bit of everything,” Pollock said as he gave a brief tour of the
radio group’s office, located across from Teton Coca Cola in an office
park area a few miles south of town.
Jackson Radio Group is comprised of two newly founded local FM stations, 92.3 The River, and 103.7 The Range.
The River is unique in that, depending on the time of day or night, it
features a duality of music. Daytime programming features conventional
classic rock. After 9 p.m., “Lights Out Over the Tetons,” provides a
smooth jazz format that lends the station a quality someone might take
for an NPR member station, Pollock said.
It’s not “just another classic rock station,” he maintains.
At the other end of the dial, The Range, which features the call voice
of Rex Allen Jr., aims to put something back on terrestrial (as opposed
to satellite) radio. It features more traditional country songs, mixed
with, say, an occasional track from a more cutting-edge band out of
Austin, followed by maybe a tune with the “new Western” sound.
“By design,” Pollock explains, he is not opposed to including artists
with popular appeal, one that might be featured on a more typical
contemporary country station for example, but his stations, he hopes,
will carve something anew.
“It is not often that FM radio offers niche formatting,” he said.
The idea of creating a niche seems to be what his approach to
programming hinges on. In an age where satellite radio is
becoming less and less of a fringe form, and many FM stations offer a
more homogenized format — station X in Wyoming sounds uncannily like
station Y in Idaho — Pollock hopes to win listeners by bringing the
quirk and quality that once made FM radio exciting.
“People are telling me ‘I love your stations,’” he said. “Some have
even told me they’ve cancelled their satellite radio. That’s the best
compliment I can get.”
Pollock boasts that his programming is all “handpicked” in-house; the
office suite has a vibe of a group of people in on a grassroots effort.
Occasionally, Pollock himself will get on the air, though not often,
and he is proud to announce that Anne Marie Randall and Leigh Hemphill
helm the morning shows, occupying slots “rarely held by women.”
Pollock, who moved here in October with wife, Robin and who deep-down
considers Los Angeles home, calls Jackson Hole “a real
interesting market.” With 50,000 watts of power per station, The Range
and The River can be heard from Bondurant to Grand Targhee in good
weather.
“I’ve had cowboys in the Gros Ventre tell me how much they like The
Range,” Pollock said. “Business people in town have said the same
thing.”
And for now, it seems, the programmer and co-owner of Jackson Radio
Group LLC is content to build a relationship with advertisers he hopes
will find his formatting attractive, even if that means businesses who
had previously not looked to radio.
That also might mean finding clients who understand that building a
broad and loyal listenership could mean fewer advertisements, or
programming them by a less conventional approach.
“If we do good radio,” Pollock said, “we’ll earn our way.”
Photo by Ben Cannon. Bruce Pollock runs two new Jackson radio stations.
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Bruce Pollock brings vision to two new JH frequencies | Planet JH News Article: Business
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