Nestor is a big little cat

[Mr. Mojo Rizon]

So I'm reading through TL's blog this morning and I see that he's beating up on Nestor Apericio again. Ok I get it, ax to grind. Whatever. Maybe it's deserving.

But I read on and learn that Nestor Napoleon is directing all of his Dundalkian venom towards the sports media this coming week. So what else is new right? He is spewing off about something all the time. Only this time he wants to open up a big can of worms but run for cover. The dude is going to rip everyone, probably TL too because he's really due a rebuttal from 4.5 (fingers), but he's retiring again from the airwaves. Kind of suckerpunching if you ask me.

Anyways here's TL's blog and Nestor's sniper line up for next week. (http://ravens24x7.blogspot.com/2010/01/retiring-sports-talker-about-to-take.html)

[braven98]

who is nestor?? wasnt she the blonde on 105.7 with scott that just left

[ravenwoman]

I think that all that Baltimore wants is some REALLY good sports talk radio. The internet and the social networking isn't enough to overcome the poor sports talk in this town.

I don't want jokes, pop culture discussions, stories about your girlfriends, etc., just good analysis about sports. I also want a 3 hour RAVENS show--everyday, year round. How is that for a challenge?

The two shows right now that accomplish that the best are Rob Long and Jerry Coleman. However baseball season is upon us and I am bored to death with the Orioles!

What is blasting other sports writers and talk show hosts going to accomplish?

[braven98]

I think that all that Baltimore wants is some REALLY good sports talk radio. The internet and the social networking isn't enough to overcome the poor sports talk in this town.

I don't want jokes, pop culture discussions, stories about your girlfriends, etc., just good analysis about sports. I also want a 3 hour RAVENS show--everyday, year round. How is that for a challenge?

The two shows right now that accomplish that the best are Rob Long and Jerry Coleman. However baseball season is upon us and I am bored to death with the Orioles!

What is blasting other sports writers and talk show hosts going to accomplish?

I agree I lived in the Philly market for most of my life and when I heard that Larry Rosen was working here I got excited he did everything in Philly from PRISM to CSN Flyers Sixers Eagles Phillies Pre and post game shows. I thought this will be great we will have a Ravens LIVE pregame show from a local bar on gameday, nope we get shitty tape shows that show the same junk from training camp. Thats why I enjoy direct TV you get to see other markets and their shows..It also amazing to me that no big bar in the area wouldnt be pushing for a Ravens gameday live show on Sundays...Eevn when the Eagles play other then Sundays they still do the show live on Sunday and the bar is packed.

[Captain Offense]

I really want football talk with merit, too. There is a lot that you have to tolerate to get there, though, sort of like trimming the fat off a piece of meat. I still cannot get my mind around hours of Orioles talk during the Ravens season. I come to 24x7 every day just to get some fix, even if it is not "talk radio". The percentage of information and conversation with substance fills the voids of radio. I really enjoyed the regular days of 24x7 on the weekends, and there is very little out there that really touches the fan who wants stimulated, meritorious discussion.

Nestor is obviously not the only one that takes shots at others in the profession. "Ding, dong, the Witch is dead..." ???

[Mwjergs]

I'll be very interested in seeing where this grand 5-part expose goes over the next week.

The message is a good one, that Baltimore's sports media and media coverage is lacking in some way. People on these boards love to debate that statement whenever it comes up. For the most part I would say people would agree that it needs to improve.

However it isn't about the message, it's about the messenger and that's why maybe my expectations will be tempered a bit. I read the introduction as well Mojo and I noticed, as per usual, lots of "I" and "Me" statements littered about the post. It's as if he took his media partner, Brian Billick's words to heart about being qualified. See guys how qualified I am and therefore how stupid all of you are. Contempt for your listeners is never a good thing.

But maybe he realized that the best move for his company was for him to go off air, since he is one of the worst on-air personalities on his own station and that's saying something. Only Bob Haynie stands alone as a competent, knowledgeable, guide who understands the Baltimore Sports scene. But he's on a time that few people can hear him. It would have made much more sense to move him to afternoon drive where his talents can be showcased. Instead the replacement show for Nestor won't be any more promising with Rex and Ray. Both seem like nice guys with an easier personality to digest but from the few test runs I've listened to they won't bring much to the table.

I listened to snippets of Nestor's "last show" (though I doubt that) and when a caller complimented how good Haynie was (and therefore better than him) Aparicio could only sneer about how Bob wouldn't have gotten a job on any other station and therefore he was responsible for his success. While there may be truth to that the way he said it came off petty and jealous.

Most fans want intelligent discussion about the teams that we love from a host who informs you and provides a forum for good conversation. It doesn't seem that hard but as we know the bad hosts greatly outnumber the good ones in this town. If anything I hope that this essay at least makes people interested in trying to change things, thought that's unlikely.

[TL24x7]

So I'm reading through TL's blog this morning and I see that he's beating up on Nestor Apericio again. Ok I get it, ax to grind. Whatever. Maybe it's deserving.

I can see where someone might say this and if pinned down, I guess I would say there's some resentment. When you get dumped in life, that happens right?

But that said, I think for me the most frustrating thing with WNST is that they used to be very good. They used to be a nice fit for the city. In Baltimore we've always appreciated the underdog and WNST used to be the little radio station that could.

They worked hard to bring us sports coverage around the clock...they were not only broadcasters but fans too so they really got it. Yet somewhere along the line the little radio station got off track and I think the derailment is really all on Nestor and his inability to get out of the way of his monumental ego.



I also want a 3 hour RAVENS show--everyday, year round. How is that for a challenge?


At some point, we'll be back on with an all Ravens show once/week. I'm not sure when that will be or what venue we will air from but I am comfortable saying that one day GAMETIME/The X Factor will be back.

[Jeremiah W]

Yeah, I do not think he is going off air to hide out or spend more time with the family. The show was worse than the one with Anita on it, somehow. The station was good when they had Rob, TL, Bruce Burgandy and the Ravens show with AW and insider type info and reporting from the Castle.

At least there is a few stations out there and demand. The callers are better than most of the hosts, but there are a few good ones out there. It all sucks during baseball season though. There is a huge need for year round NFL radio coverage, not just year round ravens updates and spec. I do not know why so many local shows pretend baseball is interesting enough to cover 24/7. How many times can you go over the same topics when not much other than the names has changed.

[RavensDomination]

But that said, I think for me the most frustrating thing with WNST is that they used to be very good. They used to be a nice fit for the city. In Baltimore we've always appreciated the underdog and WNST used to be the little radio station that could.

They worked hard to bring us sports coverage around the clock...they were not only broadcasters but fans too so they really got it. Yet somewhere along the line the little radio station got off track and I think the derailment is really all on Nestor and his inability to get out of the way of his monumental ego.

I agree, WNST used to be very good. When I was in college full time and working part time in 2004/2005 I would listen every day for probably 3 or 4 hours a day at least.

I think what sunk them was the Free the Birds "quest." Not so much that they staged the protest, but that after it was over they wouldn't let it go (not to mention if Nestor didn't get his panties in a bunch over the super soaker incident, the rally wouldn't have happened). It became an obsession. Don't get me wrong, I agreed with everything Nestor said about the Orioles, but after a while he started sounding less like a passionate fan who wants his team back and more like a self promoting version of his arch-enemy Peter Angelos. A lot of fans shunned him after that, and then it all kind of collapsed. Jeremy and Terry were fired, Rob Long left (and Nestor has continued to bash him ever since), Nestor came back but it wasn't the same, Drew by himself is terrible, and Bob Haynie I hate to say is getting a little stale. When they fired Casey right before training camp that kind of sealed it for me, 1370 became my go to station.

Can WNST recover? I don't know. It's possible but Nestor will have to relax a little and try to mend some fences.

[highwater]

Can WNST recover? I don't know. It's possible but Nestor will have to relax a little and try to mend some fences.

Anything's possible, but he doesn't seem like a "mend the fences" kind of guy.

[RavensDomination]

Anything's possible, but he doesn't seem like a "mend the fences" kind of guy.

Agreed.

[Rochardrik]

If you can get past all the info about him(Nestor), it is ALL 100% correct. There isn't a station, , or show in town that has any relevance, or any listenable hosts. The 98 Rock Ravens pre-game show is the absolute worst thing I have ever had the displeasure to suffer through. Forgive me for treading on a Baltimore icon, but Scott Garceau is a broken record. I get NO new information from his show, and being teamed with Manita was a complete waste of air time, both radio and TV. The crap on MASN, Oriole or Raven, is completely without substance, and a once a week show such as Gameday, thank you Tony, is for one thing, very hard to be available for each and every week, therefore inadequate. Bottom line is folks.... he's right.... Nestor's right... too bad he's not just a little bit less..... unsufferable?

[camdenyard]

I basically listen to Sirius NFL Radio while I am in the car. Very knowledgable hosts and they get into the Xs and Os. Of course you need to listen to non-Ravens stuff but it's worth it in the end.

[Fanman]

I read this first blog in the series by Nestor and a lot of what he says about the current sports media market is true.

But a sports radio host in ANY market does not have to know the intricacies of every facet of sports from minor leagues to TV contracts to CBA...blah, blah, blah...but they do need to give those topics air time now and then and bring on experts to discuss w/ fans.

I promise you btn the readers on this MB, Tony and his staff we could have enough people to create a new radio station / website in this market.

FM

[Rayvens52]

I read this first blog in the series by Nestor and a lot of what he says about the current sports media market is true.

But a sports radio host in ANY market does not have to know the intricacies of every facet of sports from minor leagues to TV contracts to CBA...blah, blah, blah...but they do need to give those topics air time now and then and bring on experts to discuss w/ fans.

I promise you btn the readers on this MB, Tony and his staff we could have enough people to create a new radio station / website in this market.

FM

I agree, and I also agree with him on the fact that so many hosts around here are scared to say the truth about these teams because of who owns the stations. It is a shame that the guys can not say what they want and get more in depth with the callers.

I also agree it would be great to get another station to force everyone to put on better shows day in and day out.

[shaslers]

Anyone else have the chance to complete Nestor's exhaustive survey?

[Sample question: What do you think of the WNST website?
• Not Sure
• Pretty Good
• Excellent
• Best I've ever seen
• The greatest gift the world has ever known
• I just creamed myself at the mere mention of WNST.net]

If Nestor wanted to really crack open Baltimore Sport Media for an honest look inside, he would not have just sent his survey to folks who took the time to sign up for his WNST newsletter. He'd post links to the survey on all the message boards around town, and he'd pledge to make the results public.

[RavensDomination]

Anyone else have the chance to complete Nestor's exhaustive survey?

[Sample question: What do you think of the WNST website?
• Not Sure
• Pretty Good
• Excellent
• Best I've ever seen
• The greatest gift the world has ever known
• I just creamed myself at the mere mention of WNST.net]

If Nestor wanted to really crack open Baltimore Sport Media for an honest look inside, he would not have just sent his survey to folks who took the time to sign up for his WNST newsletter. He'd post links to the survey on all the message boards around town, and he'd pledge to make the results public.

It's obvious Nestor doesn't understand surveys, he is breaking all the rules essentially. It would be like going to a pro-choice rally, asking opinions on abortion, and then saying "see, 99% of the population is pro-choice!"

I read the first blog post today. In some paragraphs every sentence contains an "I." It's like "I did this, I did that, I've been here, I've been there." It was very hard for me to read.

[crpravens]

It is always about Nestor

[HoustonRaven]

Other than Rob Long, I have been listening to The Sports Junkies for 10+ years.

Far more entertaining and informative (a DC station no less) on Baltimore sports than anything Bmore has -- which is attributive to the lack of talent on the bmore airwaves.

[RAVENOUS52]

Mind you, I'm speaking from the viewpoint of a dude who hasn't lived in the area regularly for more than a decade, but I feel that a lot of the dissatisfaction with the local sports radio has to do with both familiarity (it breeds contempt) and the monster known as the INTERNET.

Fans no longer have to rely on talk radio to get any and every bit of information on their favorite sports teams.

The Internet is faster and easier and covers a far wider range of opinions and sources.

Of course you think the guy in the Ford Mustang ain't cutting the mustard if you're driving a Ferrari Enzo.

That's what the Internet has done to talk radio.

[StingerNLG]

The main problem I have with Nestor right now is that it's so much about him that he is basically pissing on EVERYONE, and all at the expense of trying to tell us how WNST is the best, and Nestor is the best. Everyone is a liar, and because he has a text service, arbitron ratings that show his station is the least listened to in town is a lie.

The sad part is that he has a point. I have almost completely stopped listening to 105.7. Over the course of the year Damon Yaffe has just begun to annoy me (which is a shame because I really like Mark Viviano), I can't stand Bruce Cunningham, and Scott Garceau is just a schill now for everything Ravens and Orioles. Anita was too, and I'm sure whoever they hire will not dare take the Orioles on for anything. And in fact, Viviano has said on air he cannot talk as a fan and must look at things objectively all the time.

However, WNST has no real talent anymore. Bob Haynie is still decent. And I like Ray Bachman although he's only on one day. But beyond that they are forgettable. I listen more now to 1370AM than I ever have, and Rob Long is my morning drive now.

I don't begrudge Nestor for the super soaker thing. That was a BS move and uncalled for by the Orioles. But Nestor has taken it so far that he's help cost his station credibility. I agree with him that the big reason WNST can't get press credentials to the Orioles is because they take on the team. The Orioles dropped WBAL because they didn't tow the company line. But it's not the ONLY reason Drew cannot get a press pass now, and the station is blacklisted by the team.

The Bottom line is that Nestor had a chance to really expose the problems with sportstalk in Baltimore, especially with the Orioles, which I 100% agree with. But he then turns his blog into a "Look at me, I'm awesome and I am better than everyone else. Come to my website." advertisement. Not a way to garner fans.

[RavensDomination]

But he then turns his blog into a "Look at me, I'm awesome and I am better than everyone else. Come to my website." advertisement. Not a way to garner fans.

Was there any doubt that's what this would turn into? Like I said, read the blog and count the I's, it's incredible. Just like his Moon thing. Just how many times can he possibly mention he worked for the News American? Seriously, it's laughable at this point.

That's the problem with Nestor - his message has merit, but he gives his critics more and more ammo with everything he does which kind of negates that. At this point he's just trying to stay relevant in the Baltimore sports scene.

[highwater]

That "moon thing," if you're talking about those radio segments he recorded before the Orioles walkout protest, was unintentionally hilarious. "Who would have thought that a poor boy from Dundalk could have turned out to be so great, blah blah blah." I understood (eventually) what he was trying to convey, which was largely about growing up as an Orioles fan, but he just couldn't help but pat himself on the back over and over again. His message tends to get diluted because of the mancrush he has on himself.

[Ravenfan_11]

I find it interesting he has yet to put up part 2 today. Maybe he is having second thoughts...

[Mr. Mojo Rizon]

His message tends to get diluted because of the mancrush he has on himself.

:rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling:

[RustonRifle]

I'm not a Nestor fan and listening to him talk about his life on the airwaves [or in the blog] is excrutiating especially when I tune in and expect to listen to sports talk but have to say WNST is the best in the area at what they do.

Nothing in his blog should surprise any long time sports fans of the area.

[Fanman]

And w/ all of his "I'm the best, look at me" propaganda in his blogs why can't he EVER address why the signal at his station is so ridioculously weak?

Maybe NST would have better ratings after sundown...IF YOU COULD PICK UP THE STATION!!!!

If you ever question him about that you must be the devil.

:taz:

FM

[BmoreBrawla]

The main problem I have with Nestor right now is that it's so much about him that he is basically pissing on EVERYONE, and all at the expense of trying to tell us how WNST is the best, and Nestor is the best. Everyone is a liar, and because he has a text service, arbitron ratings that show his station is the least listened to in town is a lie.

The sad part is that he has a point. I have almost completely stopped listening to 105.7. Over the course of the year Damon Yaffe has just begun to annoy me (which is a shame because I really like Mark Viviano), I can't stand Bruce Cunningham, and Scott Garceau is just a schill now for everything Ravens and Orioles. Anita was too, and I'm sure whoever they hire will not dare take the Orioles on for anything. And in fact, Viviano has said on air he cannot talk as a fan and must look at things objectively all the time.

However, WNST has no real talent anymore. Bob Haynie is still decent. And I like Ray Bachman although he's only on one day. But beyond that they are forgettable. I listen more now to 1370AM than I ever have, and Rob Long is my morning drive now.

I don't begrudge Nestor for the super soaker thing. That was a BS move and uncalled for by the Orioles. But Nestor has taken it so far that he's help cost his station credibility. I agree with him that the big reason WNST can't get press credentials to the Orioles is because they take on the team. The Orioles dropped WBAL because they didn't tow the company line. But it's not the ONLY reason Drew cannot get a press pass now, and the station is blacklisted by the team.

The Bottom line is that Nestor had a chance to really expose the problems with sportstalk in Baltimore, especially with the Orioles, which I 100% agree with. But he then turns his blog into a "Look at me, I'm awesome and I am better than everyone else. Come to my website." advertisement. Not a way to garner fans.

Agree with everything you said. As talent-deprived as WNST is, I still think its better than the shills at 105.7, though(although I can't get their signal after 6 in Bmore.)

[shaslers]

The main problem I have with Nestor right now is that it's so much about him that he is basically pissing on EVERYONE, and all at the expense of trying to tell us how WNST is the best, and Nestor is the best. Everyone is a liar, and because he has a text service, arbitron ratings that show his station is the least listened to in town is a lie.

The sad part is that he has a point. I have almost completely stopped listening to 105.7. Over the course of the year Damon Yaffe has just begun to annoy me (which is a shame because I really like Mark Viviano), I can't stand Bruce Cunningham, and Scott Garceau is just a schill now for everything Ravens and Orioles. Anita was too, and I'm sure whoever they hire will not dare take the Orioles on for anything. And in fact, Viviano has said on air he cannot talk as a fan and must look at things objectively all the time.

However, WNST has no real talent anymore. Bob Haynie is still decent. And I like Ray Bachman although he's only on one day. But beyond that they are forgettable. I listen more now to 1370AM than I ever have, and Rob Long is my morning drive now.

I don't begrudge Nestor for the super soaker thing. That was a BS move and uncalled for by the Orioles. But Nestor has taken it so far that he's help cost his station credibility. I agree with him that the big reason WNST can't get press credentials to the Orioles is because they take on the team. The Orioles dropped WBAL because they didn't tow the company line. But it's not the ONLY reason Drew cannot get a press pass now, and the station is blacklisted by the team.

The Bottom line is that Nestor had a chance to really expose the problems with sportstalk in Baltimore, especially with the Orioles, which I 100% agree with. But he then turns his blog into a "Look at me, I'm awesome and I am better than everyone else. Come to my website." advertisement. Not a way to garner fans.

+1000

[Fanman]

And if I have to hear another story by Drew Forrster of when he was the GM for the Blast I am going to go berserk.

It happens at least once a week.

FM

[BmoreBrawla]

Anyone else have the chance to complete Nestor's exhaustive survey?

[Sample question: What do you think of the WNST website?
• Not Sure
• Pretty Good
• Excellent
• Best I've ever seen
• The greatest gift the world has ever known
• I just creamed myself at the mere mention of WNST.net]

If Nestor wanted to really crack open Baltimore Sport Media for an honest look inside, he would not have just sent his survey to folks who took the time to sign up for his WNST newsletter. He'd post links to the survey on all the message boards around town, and he'd pledge to make the results public.


I filled it out. I hope he publishes it.

[Fanman]

Remember that bar scene in "Team America" where the old drunk is talking to Gary and he says.."Everybody is either a d-ck, a p-ssy, or an a-hole".

I think Nestor just might be all 3 rolled into one.

FM

[crpravens]

And if I have to hear another story by Drew Forrster of when he was the GM for the Blast I am going to go berserk.

It happens at least once a week.

FM

The funny thing is that Drew was in charge of PR and was not the GM. I heard this from Ed Hale himself.

[crpravens]

Remember that bar scene in "Team America" where the old drunk is talking to Gary and he says.."Everybody is either a d-ck, a p-ssy, or an a-hole".

I think Nestor just might be all 3 rolled into one.

FM

Hopefully those radio hosts from Dallas mess with Nestor again this year!

[RavensDomination]

Nestor looks really bad after the recent blog.

He brags about having lower Alexa rankings than the Sun, WJZ, and WBAL. He doesn't understand that the higher the number, the lower the score. He actually thinks his website gets more traffic than the Baltimore Sun!

Read this from Nestors blog about Alexa rankings... (http://wnst.net/wordpress/nestoraparicio/2010/02/02/alexa-who-is-she-how-does-wnst-measure-up-to-other-baltimore-media/)

"But, if you want inarguable facts, consider the following:

Here’s the Alexa report for TODAY. It’s based on a 90-day aggregate.

Baltimoresun.com 3,283

BaltimoreRavens.com 28,415

WJZ.com 45,932

WBALTV.com 46,287

WNST.net 65,743 (our highest number ever!)"

Now read this.......

"This is the ranking that is provided by Alexa.com. This is based on the actual traffic going to a Website whereas Google PR is calculated mainly by the number and quality of inbound links to a specific page and not traffic.

The ranking is done with numbers as the Website with the most traffic on the Internet (currently Yahoo) would have a traffic ranking of 1 and those with very little traffic would be in the millions.

The Alexa traffic ranking has a reputation for being inaccurate. But, generally a Website with an Alexa traffic ranking of 50,000 or less receives quite a bit of traffic."

Nestor gets a :grbac: for that one...he's bragging about his "highest number ever" which is actually bad.

[Mr. Mojo Rizon]

Sample question: What do you think of the WNST website?
• Not Sure
• Pretty Good
• Excellent
• Best I've ever seen
• The greatest gift the world has ever known
• I just creamed myself at the mere mention of WNST.net

Does anyone see the fault in these choices?

There are no negative answers in the question. The worst he can be is that someone isn't familiar enough with his site so they reply, "Not Sure."

:grbac:

[RavensDomination]

Does anyone see the fault in these choices?

There are no negative answers in the question. The worst he can be is that someone isn't familiar enough with his site so they reply, "Not Sure."

:grbac:

That's hilarious. I'll give Nestor credit for being dedicated, but educated he is not. First we have sample bias and now the responses have no variability.

Worst.survey.ever.

[BmoreBrawla]

Nestor looks really bad after the recent blog.

He brags about having lower Alexa rankings than the Sun, WJZ, and WBAL. He doesn't understand that the higher the number, the lower the score. He actually thinks his website gets more traffic than the Baltimore Sun!

Read this from Nestors blog about Alexa rankings... (http://wnst.net/wordpress/nestoraparicio/2010/02/02/alexa-who-is-she-how-does-wnst-measure-up-to-other-baltimore-media/)

"But, if you want inarguable facts, consider the following:

Here’s the Alexa report for TODAY. It’s based on a 90-day aggregate.

Baltimoresun.com 3,283

BaltimoreRavens.com 28,415

WJZ.com 45,932

WBALTV.com 46,287

WNST.net 65,743 (our highest number ever!)"

Now read this.......

"This is the ranking that is provided by Alexa.com. This is based on the actual traffic going to a Website whereas Google PR is calculated mainly by the number and quality of inbound links to a specific page and not traffic.

The ranking is done with numbers as the Website with the most traffic on the Internet (currently Yahoo) would have a traffic ranking of 1 and those with very little traffic would be in the millions.

The Alexa traffic ranking has a reputation for being inaccurate. But, generally a Website with an Alexa traffic ranking of 50,000 or less receives quite a bit of traffic."

Nestor gets a :grbac: for that one...he's bragging about his "highest number ever" which is actually bad.

haha I thought the same thing the first time I read it. Read it again though, he does get it. What he is saying is that he is the 5th most trafficked Baltimore sports site.

[TL24x7]

I posted comments very similar to those below on my own blog entitled: Retiring sports talker about to take shots at local media (http://ravens24x7.blogspot.com/2010/01/retiring-sports-talker-about-to-take.html)

It has had a fair amount of activity in terms of comments.

The comments below were posted to Nestor's blog (part 2 of 5). It will be interesting to see if they are posted or rejected.


I skimmed through Part II of your five part mini-series. I find it interesting that you re-introduce that dirty little girl Alexa again yet at the same time completely dismisses Arbitron as a relevant and accurate measurement for radio listeners.

While I would agree with you that Arbitron does have its deficiencies in tracking what people listen to, Alexa has similar flaws. Both in essence “under-count” what people are really doing because both require devices to count a browser’s or a listener’s activity.

You are also right that Google Analytics measures accurately.

But your logic takes a detour with these statements:

“The newest measurement system – real clicks, real traffic, real Google Analytics – have proven over the last year that WNST.net is the new market leader in covering real time sports in Baltimore.”

Then you add, “As of Feb. 1, 2010, we’re winning. By a lot…
“On a completely level playing field and method of distribution, you can see it for yourself.”

Can you really see that? Honestly?

Unless every sports-related website in town has given you access to their Google Analytics reports (which is extremely unlikely) then how can you substantiate your claim?

Is the “level playing field” Alexa? Those web metrics possess flaws very similar to those of Arbitron, a standard of measure you summarily dismiss.

My intent here believe it or not isn’t to bash you. I’m more concerned that your apparent confusion will spread to less informed businesses making it more difficult for them to define value.

These businesses are looking to spread around their vital and depleting discretionary advertising dollars. Our role as providers of advertising services is to help them seek and find value for their businesses.

So let’s create that level playing field Nestor.

Let’s allow businesses to measure unique visitor statistics as provided by a source we both agree is the most reliable standard – Google Analytics. Let them see those results provided directly from Google and then measure them against the costs to advertise on the many available local sports web venues.

Then we will have that level playing field.

Then businesses will be able to make informed decisions.

You have spent an inordinate amount of time claiming that you seek and deliver the truth.

Prove it and deliver some Truth in Advertising. (http://www.business.gov/business-law/advertising-law/truth-in-advertising/)

[RavensDomination]

Tony, don't hold your breath for a response. It's clear this little "mini-series" is nothing more than "we do have listeners, we do get web traffic, please advertisers we need money!" More than likely a last ditch attempt at keeping the business above water.

Does anyone think that website design is worth a crap? It might be full of good information but it's terribly hard to navigate and full of crappy banners. It's beyond amateur.

[festivus]

Stinger nailed it.

On many subjects I agree with Nestor. On even more I agree with Drew. Nestor's ego makes it very difficult to listen to him, though.

I honestly don't get the hate for Drew, who I think is really knowledgeable and backs up his opinions. Yes his opinions are sometimes strongly worded but he's a morning drive time sports guy; I'd be disappointed if they weren't.

As I said, I really don't like Rex Snyder. Step down for the station but oh, well.

[Mwjergs]

I just finished reading part three today.

Most of my original assumptions have been proven true. The piece contains a ton of self promotion and name dropping. You'd think that he sees himself as some sort of celebrity. It also contains many half truths to back up his points.

He addresses again the assertion that Jamison Hensley made about him "stealing" Twitter posts. Of course he denies such wrongdoing but the story he uses (wearing black uniforms) isn't the only one that Hensley was upset about. The ones he's referring to were on site observations that he himself made about warm-ups. (ex. Todd Heap looks gimpy today going through drills) A few moments later Glen Clark tweets the same information, when no one from WNST was present to make such an observation. There something wrong about that. There is a "Re-Tweet" feature that properly credits the orginators of content and in case it should be used. I know that the Sharing aspect of information has many grey areas to it due to the ease of the "cut and paste" nature of the computer. But in the race to be first and to break the story it's always important that your sources are sound and your information accurate.

Secondly he mentions how the measures of Arbitron are outdated while others are more trustworthy. There is no one perfect formula. All forms can be manipulated in some way. If you want to measure web hits what's to stop a company from using a worker to click on a website for a few hours to drive up the numbers? Arbitron is still used because despite it's flaws it still has merit in advertising circles. So the piece becomes more about why advertisers lok at his numbers and say to themselves, "Why would we put money into a product that ranks 44th in the market?"

Lastly he discounts radio as an old medium that's dying out. "I never wanted to be in radio" he protests. And since his station is saddled with such a weak signal, it makes sense to shift focus away from that weakness and move towards a web media model. It's true that the web has transformed news reporting but sports radio is still a popular and viable programming choice on the airwaves. 105.7 did go through many changes in programming until they looked over the landscape and saw what was making money- Sports talk. Radio is still a way to conjure up discussion and connect with customers and it's something to listen to on your commute. That's when I listen to the radio. I don't stream it on my home computer because I have many other things to take up my time.

By the way the survey ,which is a good idea, is incredibly long and tedious to fill out. It's poorly organized and appears to be just transfered from a list of ideas that I'm assuming he had with no real editing to make it easier to read.

I'll finish it out the last two days but if he's treating this expose as some kind of class to educate the fans of this city then I'd pick up a drop slip. I haven't learned anything new from it.

[crpravens]

The main problem with Nestor is that he believes his opinions are facts.

[Ravenfan_11]

Secondly he mentions how the measures of Arbitron are outdated while others are more trustworthy. There is no one perfect formula. All forms can be manipulated in some way. If you want to measure web hits what's to stop a company from using a worker to click on a website for a few hours to drive up the numbers? Arbitron is still used because despite it's flaws it still has merit in advertising circles. So the piece becomes more about why advertisers lok at his numbers and say to themselves, "Why would we put money into a product that ranks 44th in the market?"




I can't even believe there are 44 radio stations to rate in Baltimore. I am very much a radio person, and I would be amazed if I could even name 15 stations in Baltimore between AM & FM. Am I missing something?

[Fanman]

In the market means they broadcast from the Baltimore market area...so that 44 does include all AM and FM....so in there you have all the college stations too.

Al talk, all music.....so that number did not surprise me.

FM

[shaslers]

Does anyone see the fault in these choices?

There are no negative answers in the question. The worst he can be is that someone isn't familiar enough with his site so they reply, "Not Sure."

:grbac:

To be fair I should point out that I was being sarcastic. That was not a real survey sample question, but an exaggerated version of the type of bias i smelled in subtle ways in some of the questions. The first problem is that he's polling his best customers only (I think that's a fair assumption based on the fact that it's on the website and sent to his mailing list). It can't be a survey of "baltimore sports fans" but rather a survey of "WNST loyalists."

[Mr. Mojo Rizon]

To be fair I should point out that I was being sarcastic. That was not a real survey sample question, but an exaggerated version of the type of bias i smelled in subtle ways in some of the questions. The first problem is that he's polling his best customers only (I think that's a fair assumption based on the fact that it's on the website and sent to his mailing list). It can't be a survey of "baltimore sports fans" but rather a survey of "WNST loyalists."

:embarassed:

Bring it on :141847_smmackbottom

[Mwjergs]

I can't even believe there are 44 radio stations to rate in Baltimore. I am very much a radio person, and I would be amazed if I could even name 15 stations in Baltimore between AM & FM. Am I missing something?

The #44 was a low number I randomly chose.

In Part Two of the column Nestor writes,

"I’ve been doing sports radio for 18 years. I have never read an Arbitron report that says we have more than 500 listeners. Most times, it lists us as the 52nd radio station in the market and sometimes we’ve fallen to ZERO listeners in their antiquated and useless monthly surveys."

[camdenyard]

Nestor is a self-absorbed person with a Napoleonic complex.

He organizes some decent road trips but I wouldn't waste more than a minute of my time reading his drivel. Surprising that so many of you do.

[Mike B]

Anyone else have the chance to complete Nestor's exhaustive survey?

[Sample question: What do you think of the WNST website?
• Not Sure
• Pretty Good
• Excellent
• Best I've ever seen
• The greatest gift the world has ever known
• I just creamed myself at the mere mention of WNST.net]

If Nestor wanted to really crack open Baltimore Sport Media for an honest look inside, he would not have just sent his survey to folks who took the time to sign up for his WNST newsletter. He'd post links to the survey on all the message boards around town, and he'd pledge to make the results public.

Maybe the funniest post ever, and also a little sad because it is true.

[Mike B]

That "moon thing," if you're talking about those radio segments he recorded before the Orioles walkout protest, was unintentionally hilarious. "Who would have thought that a poor boy from Dundalk could have turned out to be so great, blah blah blah." I understood (eventually) what he was trying to convey, which was largely about growing up as an Orioles fan, but he just couldn't help but pat himself on the back over and over again. His message tends to get diluted because of the mancrush he has on himself.

Nestor is the ALL Time Greatest at using the word I and myself in a column. Go back and check the Moon series or the latest BS he has blessed us with. The man struggles to go a sentence without using the word I.
Nestor loves himself some Nestor.

[4G63]

Who names their kid Nestor?