1010 AM WTZA To Relaunch As A News/Talk Station

[AMFMRadFan]

Hi everyone! I just heard on The Mike Brooks Show on Real 1100 AM WWWE that Mike, along with Jim Gossett, Kim "The Kimmer" Peterson, Pete Davis, and Kara Stockton will all be working together again. Will Regan & Jamie "Flat Earth Jamie" Chapman now own 1010 AM WTZA along with its FM translator at 102.1 FM W271CV. WTZA will be relaunching as a news/talk station. They plan on signing on the air effective Monday 2/3/2020 at 7AM. The coverage on the AM is awesome, but the FM translator coverage focuses on the east side of Atlanta. They plan on signing on at 7AM weekday mornings and signing off at 7PM weeknights. The current schedule for the new WTZA will be:

MON-FRI

* 7AM-1PM TBA (To Be Announced)
* 1PM-4PM The Mike Brooks Show
* 4PM-7PM The Kimmer Show with Kim "The Kimmer" Peterson, Pete Davis, Jim Gossett, & Flounder

SAT & SUN

* Programming currently TBA

RADIO-LOCATOR COVERAGE MAPS

1010 AM WTZA daytime coverage map: https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WTZA&service=AM&h=D.
1010 AM WTZA nighttime coverage map: https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WTZA&service=AM&h=N.
1010 AM WTZA critical hours coverage map: https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WTZA&service=AM&h=C.
102.1 FM W271CV coverage map: https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=W271CV&service=FX.

CP (Construction Permit) projected coverage map for FM translator to move down from 102.1 to 101.9: https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=W271CV&service=FX&s=C. If the CP is successful, the downside to the FM translator would mean the coverage will decline.

The 1010 AM WTZA transmitter is located in SouthEast Atlanta off I-285 between I-285 to the south & Flat Shoals Rd. to the north, but it's unfortunately not visible from I-285. Here is a link to a Google Maps street view pic of the WTZA transmitter & tower: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.6987977,-84.2883653,3a,75y,255.42h,94.89t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soNo5-4TlECWICCZR6FKeWw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en. It's accessible from the dead end point seen in the pic where the car is located.

The 102.1 FM W271CV translator transmitter is located at the famed candelabra that's been mentioned on this forum in East Atlanta Village at I-20 & Hwy. 154 Conn./Bill Kennedy Way. between Boulevard & US 23/Hwy. 42/Moreland Ave. The CP site is located in Tucker at a cell site tower SouthEast of the intersection of US 29/Hwy. 8/Lawrenceville Hwy., Jimmy Carter Blvd., & Mountain Industrial Blvd. Of course, the tower is not visible from the intersection. Here is a link to a Google Maps street view pic of the cell site tower: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8630007,-84.1772803,3a,75y,280.05h,97.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swKpGmKecrDIM4V7NYRmm_Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en.

Once the station is launched, listeners will be able to listen online at http://www.wtza.net/. For information on Will & Jamie's other company RC Media Partners, you can visit https://www.rcmediapartners.org/. Anyway, that is all.

 

[LegalTender]

WTZA will be relaunching as a news/talk station.

The "news" part is also TBA?

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

These are folks from 106.7, right?

It didn't work well on a nice full time, big fm signal.. and they think it'll work on an am with a piddly night signal and [puny fm translator? nevermind, without the resources of the corporation that owned the fM

they must be dreaming and have some pretty big egos

 

[jabba17]

IIRC 1010 is one of only 5 50kW AM stations in ATL, the others being WSB, WCNN, WGST, and WCFO.

It has a better-sounding signal than all of those stations except WSB, even during critical hours.

It also was Atlanta's Mutual affiliate way back when.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

The 1010 AM WTZA transmitter is located in SouthEast Atlanta off I-285 between I-285 to the south & Flat Shoals Rd. to the north, but it's unfortunately not visible from I-285. Here is a link to a Google Maps street view pic of the WTZA transmitter & tower: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.6987977,-84.2883653,3a,75y,255.42h,94.89t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soNo5-4TlECWICCZR6FKeWw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en. It's accessible from the dead end point seen in the pic where the car is located.

The 1010 AM tower is very visible on I-285 in both directions. However, it's difficult to see when you're really close to it because of the trees.

I used to joke that 1010 was the 50,000-watt station that nobody has heard of. But the daytime signal is quite decent.

 

[kf4rca]

They really don't get a good signal into spaghetti junction area but with my select-a-tenna I can pull anything out of the noise.
I hope they do the promotion right with billboards ,etc.
I remember talking to Al Hardee when he worked there and they had a state-of-the-art plant.

 

[jabba17]

The 1010 AM WTZA transmitter is located in SouthEast Atlanta off I-285 between I-285 to the south & Flat Shoals Rd. to the north, but it's unfortunately not visible from I-285. Here is a link to a Google Maps street view pic of the WTZA transmitter & tower: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.698...o5-4TlECWICCZR6FKeWw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en. It's accessible from the dead end point seen in the pic where the car is located.

Didn't WGST have a tower in that area at one point? Not the old 920 tower near Cheshire Bridge used by WGKA today.

For some reason I thought WGST had a tower(s) in that area (they now have a three-tower array over near WAOK on the other side of town, of which they only use 2 towers).

If WGST did, is 1010 now using the old WGST tower/site? I remember when WGUN 1010 was located off of Mountain Industrial between Tucker and Stone Mountain...the studio building is still there and I thought WGUN's tower was behind it. https://www.google.com/maps/@33.863...961&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

And not to digress too much, if WGST has three towers they can use today, have they tried to put together a different pattern that would give them more night coverage while still protecting who they need to protect at night?

 

[jabba17]

They really don't get a good signal into spaghetti junction area but with my select-a-tenna I can pull anything out of the noise.
I hope they do the promotion right with billboards ,etc.
I remember talking to Al Hardee when he worked there and they had a state-of-the-art plant.

I get 1010 clear as a bell in the Sugarloaf area.

WGUN had a billboard for a while on the Perimeter near the Stone Mountain Freeway, among other things touting the fact that "The Big Gun" was a full 50kW.

 

[wavo]

They really don't get a good signal into spaghetti junction area but with my select-a-tenna I can pull anything out of the noise.
I hope they do the promotion right with billboards ,etc.
I remember talking to Al Hardee when he worked there and they had a state-of-the-art plant.

Al was pullin' yer leg...this is one of the famous "Rivers Family" facilities built with the popular Billy Bie techno decor. It was, and probably still is, a dump.

When that facility was built, back in the early 70s, it was a nice facility. HVAC, emergency power, engineering office and work area, and the most important of all...a bathroom with hot, running water.
In typical Rivers fashion, the facility never got a bit of maintenance after that.
They did install the DX50 back in the early 90s but mainly because of the electrical power savings over the old Westinghouse. It was a crappy installation.

Billy Bie was Director of Engineering for the Dee Rivers group - he was the brother of Dee's 5th(??) wife, Marie, who ran the stations after Dee Rivers died in the early 80s. Billy was a very smart guy but never seemed to have any use for orderliness or cleanliness...

When Marie ran the show they tried the News/Talk format. It was a complete disaster. I predict more of the same this time.

 

[SydH]

Re: AM signal - sounded good to me on my commute from Brookhaven to Gwinnett. FM signal leaves a lot to be desired but it appears the CP partially takes care of that especially for the NE suburbs.

Still going to be an uphill battle to get a healthy share from WSB even with an aggressive billboard campaign.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Re: AM signal - sounded good to me on my commute from Brookhaven to Gwinnett. FM signal leaves a lot to be desired but it appears the CP partially takes care of that especially for the NE suburbs.

Still going to be an uphill battle to get a healthy share from WSB even with an aggressive billboard campaign.

I give it a year, if that.. they will have a very loyal, but very small fan base

 

[RoddyFreeman]

Re: AM signal - sounded good to me on my commute from Brookhaven to Gwinnett. FM signal leaves a lot to be desired but it appears the CP partially takes care of that especially for the NE suburbs.

Still going to be an uphill battle to get a healthy share from WSB even with an aggressive billboard campaign.

I think it's highly unlikely they'll show up in the ratings with even a .1 share. But they'll have a small but passionate group of listeners. If that group can make cash registers ring, the station might make it selling to local family-owned businesses.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

Didn't WGST have a tower in that area at one point? Not the old 920 tower near Cheshire Bridge used by WGKA today.

For some reason I thought WGST had a tower(s) in that area (they now have a three-tower array over near WAOK on the other side of town, of which they only use 2 towers).

If WGST did, is 1010 now using the old WGST tower/site? I remember when WGUN 1010 was located off of Mountain Industrial between Tucker and Stone Mountain...the studio building is still there and I thought WGUN's tower was behind it. https://www.google.com/maps/@33.863...961&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

And not to digress too much, if WGST has three towers they can use today, have they tried to put together a different pattern that would give them more night coverage while still protecting who they need to protect at night?

I'm pretty sure 640 signed on from its current site on Simpson Street. It had been on-air for a little while as a minority-owned station (WPBD) when Jacor purchased it and moved WGST from 920.

I doubt it would be possible to change the night pattern. iHeart CE Mike Lawing is a really smart and knowledgeable guy, and if it could be done, he would have figured it out. In fact, I'm guessing that Mike is the only employee from the Jacor days who is still there.

By the way, I recall that on my first visit to Atlanta, WGKA, then 1190, had its tower on Crescent Street off 14th, across from where South City Kitchen is today. An office building is now there.

 

[AMFMRadFan]

The "news" part is also TBA?

Will Regan did say that WTZA will be doing news, weather, & traffic, but the traffic reports are NOT going to be done every 6 minutes like they are at 95.5 WSB. Yes, the "news" part is also TBA. WTZA's slogan is one AM 640 FOX News Radio WGST used to use when Rob Johnson & Rusty Humphries were working for them. The slogan is "The Talk of Atlanta". Where sports are concerned, Will made it clear that WTZA has no intentions of doing sports because there's enough sports already being broadcast on the radio. I agree with him. If WTZA wanted to go after sports, I would recommend outsourcing Westwood One Sports and broadcast The Masters Golf Tournament, PGA Championship, Triple Crown Horse Racing (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, & Belmont Stakes), and The Olympics. I would recommend outsourcing NASCAR from PRN but WGST has NASCAR. WTZA now has its 1st sponsor, Dawsonville Gun off Hwy. 53/Dawsonville Hwy. west of US 19/GA 400.

 

[AMFMRadFan]

I think it's highly unlikely they'll show up in the ratings with even a .1 share. But they'll have a small but passionate group of listeners. If that group can make cash registers ring, the station might make it selling to local family-owned businesses.

According to Jim Gossett, WGST can't even seem to get past an 0.1 share. He mentioned it a few times on The Mike Brooks Show and in a couple of parody songs.

 

[kf4rca]

A great idea for news...

when they start news. Since they will be live and local they could do news at :25 and :55 and call it First News.
Heard this on a Jacksonville station years ago and it worked well.

 

[LegalTender]

I think it's highly unlikely they'll show up in the ratings with even a .1 share. But they'll have a small but passionate group of listeners. If that group can make cash registers ring, the station might make it selling to local family-owned businesses.

Right on. Normal pass/fail rules are irrelevant. A deep pockets owner is committed to resurrecting 106.7 and everything indicates this is as much ideology as investment. He wants a winner, but appears capable and willing to bleed.

 

[secondchoice]

when they start news. Since they will be live and local they could do news at :25 and :55 and call it First News.
Heard this on a Jacksonville station years ago and it worked well.

IIRC there was a station in Birmingham AL in the 1970's (?) that did news at 20 after and 20 till the hour. They called it 20 20 news.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

IIRC there was a station in Birmingham AL in the 1970's (?) that did news at 20 after and 20 till the hour. They called it 20 20 news.

20/20 News was used a lot on Top 40 stations in the 60's and 70's. Bill Drake created it for KHJ in Los Angeles in 1965.

 

[AMFMRadFan]

Will Regan did say that WTZA will be doing news, weather, & traffic, but the traffic reports are NOT going to be done every 6 minutes like they are at 95.5 WSB. Yes, the "news" part is also TBA. WTZA's slogan is one AM 640 FOX News Radio WGST used to use when Rob Johnson & Rusty Humphries were working for them. The slogan is "The Talk of Atlanta". Where sports are concerned, Will made it clear that WTZA has no intentions of doing sports because there's enough sports already being broadcast on the radio. I agree with him. If WTZA wanted to go after sports, I would recommend outsourcing Westwood One Sports and broadcast The Masters Golf Tournament, PGA Championship, Triple Crown Horse Racing (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, & Belmont Stakes), and The Olympics. I would recommend outsourcing NASCAR from PRN but WGST has NASCAR. WTZA now has its 1st sponsor, Dawsonville Gun off Hwy. 53/Dawsonville Hwy. west of US 19/GA 400.

Correction on my previous post: Actually, the Triple Crown Horse Racing wouldn't work out because the Preakness Stakes conflicts with the PGA Championship every year.

On another note, I found out from Kara Stockton via her Facebook page that she & Shannon Burke will be working together again. Shannon will continue to stay in Orlando. How they're going to do things is Shannon & Kara will be on Monday-Thursday mornings 7AM-10AM on WTZA. Shannon will do his end of the show from his house in Orlando according to Jim Gossett. Kara will be based out of Atlanta. On Friday mornings 7AM-10AM, Kara will be hosting a solo show titled "In The Studio with Kara". Every Friday, Kara will have a guest stop by for her to interview.