How sad, WILM with hi-tech is off air vs the low tech station prior to Clear Channel

[MikefromDelaware]

I know many made fun of the "hobby" station that the Hawkins family ran at WILM for many years at 12th and French Sts. It was old tech, reel to reel tape recorders, one track cart machines, no digital meters, the old style VU meters, etc, no automation so someone had to be in the building 24/7 to change the satellite frequencies for the various programming, etc. Funny thing, that "hobby" station NEVER went off the air. Today, WILM is in a beautiful state of the art modern building with sister stations WWTX 1290 [Fox Sports Radio], and WRDX 92.9. WDOV and WDSD studios, I believe are still in Dover along with their towers on Denny Road. Today's WILM has the best equipment, the latest and greatest, just as sister station 1290 WWTX. Both WILM and WWTX air most of their programming from the bird. So other than a few live and local programs those two stations are a computer in a closet running automated off the satellite feeds.

I listen to both 1290 and 1450 and am surprised at how often the computer for one or the other goes off its nut and you simply hear a beep..............beep...............beep................ until the FM jock notices and comes and resets the computer. Sometimes that can go on for many minutes, maybe a 1/2 hour or longer.

Of late WILM has been off the air during PM drive, silence, nothing but static. Today was such a day. I scanned by 1150, 1210, 1290, and 1450 and nothing on WILM. When I got home, still silence. So I went to WILM's website to get a phone number, found two no one answers. The recorded voice offers the newsroom, which I tried, the message thing was full so I couldn't leave a message.

So then I tried WDSD, WDOV, and WRDX same phone numbers. There was no number provided for the either WDSD-FM or WRDX-FM on air studios, so you can not get the on air person on the phone. So I found a number for station promotions, some behind the scenes guy answered. I explained what I wanted, by that time WILM had been off the air for 25 minutes. He was in Dover, but said he'd call the FM jock in New Castle and get him to get the station back on the air. I checked back at about the 40 minute mark and WILM was back on the air.

I'm pretty sure that WSTW's jocks have a flashing light or something to let them know when 1150 WDEL's computer at night goes off its nut, so 1150 wouldn't be off the air for long. Seems like WILM/WWTX need that same sort of attention by their FM jocks. Apparently CC Delaware doesn't see this as a problem. The big boys vs the hobby station.

So this is how the big boys do radio, eh? I think the mom and pop hobby station worked better for the listener. It was at least reliable. WILM may not be a hobby station any longer, but I wouldn't say that WILM and WWTX are better now than a hobby station, actually they seem to be less than a hobby station.

 

[Ravens]

If CC didn't own the station, it would likely be off the air. So I guess bad radio is better than none at all.

 

[Oscar Madison]

Or be (1) religious, (2) brokered or (3) foreign language.

The sad part is, the two options described in the original post are not the only options for a station like this. There's a lot of room between a computerized repeater and a hobby station. And before we start feeling bad for "Mother Hawkins" (a character who held a strong resemble to "Mother Carlson"), let's remember she got greedy and decided to take a bag of money from Clear Channel and run. She showed no regard for either employees (except her son who was given a position as sort of work therapy) or listeners. The station was stupidly managed, especially the sales department. It had a loyal audience base and a strong community presence. It could have operated profitably and maintained quality - except for one rich old lady's incompetence and ego.

As far as the station under IHeartlessRadio, it's a story repeated all over the country. Welcome to what's left of radio in the 21st Century. Welcome to business in the 21st Century. Most companies and organizations don't want you to call and set up the phone system to make sure you can't. Have you tried calling Comcast lately? Even a doctor's office? At least this isn't like when a train carrying toxic chemicals over-turned and nobody at the local Clear Channel station was around to answer the phone so people could be warned.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Oscar, I understand and agree with your point about how employees were treated and the family running the station, etc, but my point was far narrower. I said, "I think the mom and pop hobby station worked better for the listener. It was at least reliable."

Thankfully I wasn't trying to call WILM to report a train carrying toxic chemicals that had over-turned.

 

[jeffryan]

Or be (1) religious, (2) brokered or (3) foreign language.
And before we start feeling bad for "Mother Hawkins" (a character who held a strong resemble to "Mother Carlson"), let's remember she got greedy and decided to take a bag of money from Clear Channel and run.

Considering she got $4 million dollars and the station is maybe worth $250k today, she made the right move. That's not greed, that's either dumb luck or maybe she knew a $4 million dollar valuation was absurd as AM radio had no future. Buy low, sell high.

 

[TheBigA]

At least this isn't like when a train carrying toxic chemicals over-turned and nobody at the local Clear Channel station was around to answer the phone so people could be warned.

Except that there WERE two people at the station. It happened Sunday morning at 2AM, and they called in the newsman, who drove into work and warned people an hour later. All five people listening did what they would have done anyway: Stay inside.

As for this station, there are a lot of other stations in the market for people to get emergency information. Maybe if more small AM stations shut down, the FCC would be a bit more motivated to act on it's AM revival plan it keeps talking about.

 

[davideduardo]

And before we start feeling bad for "Mother Hawkins" (a character who held a strong resemble to "Mother Carlson"), let's remember she got greedy and decided to take a bag of money from Clear Channel and run. She showed no regard for either employees (except her son who was given a position as sort of work therapy) or listeners.

I don't know the age of the seller, but considering that the family appears to have acquired the station in 1949, she must have been getting on in years.

The price was unreasonably high. AM stations were already in decline in 2004 when the station was sold. The owner was likely more concerned with retirement and financial security than any of the intangibles you list.

I can't think of anyone who would not take an offer of 5 to 6 times what the station was worth... whether it be for a business, a home, a painting or a collectible hobby item.

It's really disingenuous to think that it was not a good idea for the seller to take the rather splendid offer.

The station was stupidly managed, especially the sales department. It had a loyal audience base and a strong community presence. It could have operated profitably and maintained quality - except for one rich old lady's incompetence and ego.

Before selling the station, do we have any indication that Mrs Hawkins was "rich"' The $4 million sale, after taxes and costs, probably left a bit under $3 million. $3 million today will produce about $75.000 year in "safe" income... not poverty level, but only about 50% above the average household income of all Americans. Calling the previous owner selfish or "rich" is really stretching it beyond credulity.

At least this isn't like when a train carrying toxic chemicals over-turned and nobody at the local Clear Channel station was around to answer the phone so people could be warned.

Ah, the old urban legend of Minot. The station cluster in question was equipped with the required equipment to broadcast an EAS alert. The government and civil authorities who were the only ones who were authorized to initiate an EAS alert were improperly trained and did not know how to trigger the system. Stations do not initiate EAS alerts on their own... only civil and government authorities can. And, were the Clear CHannel stations not automated in overnights, they probably would have been run as they were prior to Clear CHannel ownership... signing off at 11 PM or midnight and not even being on the air at the time of the train accident.

Big A points out that there were people at the station and they called the news director who came in when it was safe and broadcast an alert. However, the immediate EAS activation was not issued due to local government's lack of training in the system.

 

[TheBigA]

However, the immediate EAS activation was not issued due to local government's lack of training in the system.

The most important part, and this came out during the Congressional hearing, was that the train was supposed to inform the local emergency officials that it was passing through a populated so they could be prepared, and they didn't. So this entire thing was a surprise to the local Homeland Security officials, whose job it is to be prepared.

 

[ryanevansradio]

The station has a silent alarm that notifies NOC and the engineer and all personnel on the email list for them. ...not that anyone pays attention to the emails much...I had those emails forwarded to my trash box. Stations go off the air for hours before anyone notices but, yeah, there's an alarm.