Since K-HITS 96 canned morning radio personality J.C. Corcoran a week ago, station chief John Beck has received more calls than he can count.

"I'm getting yelled at all of the time, people calling me stupid, telling me I'm an idiot," said Beck, Emmis senior vice president and general manager of KIHT, KSHE, KPNT and KFTK. "I like him, too. I feel bad about this. It seems like a waste of good talent."

During his 25 years on the St. Louis airwaves, Corcoran has drawn suspensions, a fine from the Federal Communications Commission and the disdain of any number of competitors and co-workers. But what took Corcoran down this time was a new technology that promises to change how radio hosts do their jobs.

This summer, Arbitron Inc. rolled out the Portable People Meter in St. Louis. The electronic ratings device captures what panelists hear at any given moment. In the past, selected listeners submitted weekly handwritten diaries. As many broadcasters suspected, the old system unfairly rewarded big names like Corcoran.

"With the diaries, you were asking people to remember what they listened to, and so they tended to write down the most memorable brands whether that be stations or personalities," said Paul Heine, senior editor of Inside Radio, a leading trade publication. "But in reality, they weren't listening as much as they thought. In a struggling economy, Emmis didn't think it made sense to pay a high-ticket salary to a legendary personality when the ratings were lower than (if the station were) just playing music."

Beck won't say how much he pays Corcoran, who remains under contract through next year, and Corcoran did not return a call seeking comment.

But yes, times are tough for radio. Beck said Emmis has cut 10 employees in the last year; CBS Radio and Clear Channel Radio also have axed St. Louis staffers. Listeners are still there, but advertisers have little money for commercials. Overall, Beck expects St. Louis stations to bill $100 million this year, $40 million less than in 2006.

Some advertisers won't buy if a DJ is ranked too low, or they'll say, —"'We'll pay this much per rating point,' and that's just not enough," said Beck.

Corcoran is not the first Portable People Meter casualty. Longtime Chicago personality Steve Dahl lost his job last year after meter data showed he drew fewer listeners than the diaries suggested.

2007 DEBUT

Arbitron introduced Portable People Meters two years ago in Philadelphia and Houston in response to radio's desire to capture user information electronically, the same way television and the Internet have for years.

In the St. Louis region, 1,700 panelists carry cell phone-size meters wherever they go. The meters pick up inaudible station signals. Those data are transmitted to Arbitron daily through a docking station. Arbitron divvied up the meters based on St. Louis' census data

"If you can hear it, the meter picks it up whether you're listening to the car radio or are in the doctor's office," said Arbitron spokeswoman Jessica Benbow. "We have found that afternoon listening is higher than we thought and that people listen to more stations than they reported. They were reporting listening to two, maybe three stations when actually they were listening to five or six stations."

FAST-PACED, RELEVANT

Locally, big morning winners included the WARH's music-driven show hosted by Van Lorenz, the syndicated "Bob & Tom Show" on classic rock station KSHE, "Woody and Rizzuto" on alternative station KPNT, and "Phillips and Company" on adult hits station KYKY.

"There is still a place for personality-driven radio, but this separates the wheat from chaff," said Heine. "The new system really sharpens their (talk hosts') game."

KPNT personality Woody Fife said he learned in San Francisco, an early PPM market, that the best radio is fast-paced and relevant. He spends about four hours preparing for every four-hour shift and plots how long each bit should last.

"You know how about five years ago every 'Saturday Night Live' sketch went on for five minutes too long?' That's how a lot of radio can be," said Fife. "No more elaborate setups. I get to the punch line, and then I'm out."

Guy Phillips also benefited from the new system. Everyone knows KYKY is the favorite station of the St. Louis soccer mom, but it turns out that men tune in, too.

"Men would never admit in their diaries that they listened to us. Now we are able to capture those listeners," said Phillips. "That has been significant for us."

Still, Phillips knows the ephemeral nature of success in this business. Like Corcoran, he's been a big name for a long time.

"I don't like seeing talented people go away," said Phillips. "I always say that there are four stages to every career in radio — 'Who is Guy Phillips?' 'How do we get Guy Phillips?' 'How do we get rid of Guy Phillips?' and 'Guy who?'"