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Maine WJTO, WLAM to go dark April 13th

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newsbot2

Listener donations have been far below the costs of keeping the stations on the air, so they will fall silent at 11:59PM on April 13th. Bob Bittner died two years ago and engineer Bob Perry has been running the stations on behalf of his estate. WLVP in Gorham, which has been off the air for several months due to equipment issues, will remain silent. The stream at bobsmemorystation.com as well as the HD3 stations on the Cape will remain operational.
 
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Actually, Bittner owned three stations in Maine: WLVP 870 Gorham, WLAM 1470 Lewiston plus a translator at 97.3 MHz, and WJTO 750 Bath. If I remember from the last time I was in Portland, WLVP and WJTO were not simulcast. Even though they had similar playlists, a mix of soft oldies and adult standards, the two stations didn't play the same songs at the same time.

So even though the title of this post only lists two call signs, are all three going off the air along with the 97.3 translator in Lewiston? And what about 740 WJIB Cambridge-Boston?

As for listener donations falling off, I listened to WLVP and WJTO a few times. The request for donations was very low-key. I'd bet most listeners didn't know the stations were in trouble or that they were falling short of their fundraising goals. Christian stations NEVER stop asking for donations. But these stations sounded like, hey, donate if you'd like. Don't worry if you don't.
 
Gregg. said:
Actually, Bittner owned three stations in Maine: WLVP 870 Gorham, WLAM 1470 Lewiston plus a translator at 97.3 MHz, and WJTO 750 Bath. If I remember from the last time I was in Portland, WLVP and WJTO were not simulcast. Even though they had similar playlists, a mix of soft oldies and adult standards, the two stations didn't play the same songs at the same time.

So even though the title of this post only lists two call signs, are all three going off the air along with the 97.3 translator in Lewiston? And what about 740 WJIB Cambridge-Boston?

As for listener donations falling off, I listened to WLVP and WJTO a few times. The request for donations was very low-key. I'd bet most listeners didn't know the stations were in trouble or that they were falling short of their fundraising goals. Christian stations NEVER stop asking for donations. But these stations sounded like, hey, donate if you'd like. Don't worry if you don't.
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In my post I mentioned WLVP, which was already off the air and will remain so. All the translators will go dark as well as there is no longer a host AM station. Donation appeals, which ran about a couple of minutes each, aired every hour on the half-hour when I listened recently. WJIB is now separately owned by John Garabedian (RCRQ, Inc.)
 
ssetta said:
You sure this isn’t an April Fool? I hope it is!
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"On Sunday April 13th at 11:59PM ,WJTO AM 750/FM 105.3 and WLAM 1470/FM 97.3
will be signing off permanently. We have tried to keep the stations going, but the cost of
operating and maintaining the stations has just become too much, and more than the
generous donations can cover! It was a very hard and emotional decision to make and wasn't made lightly..."

Annual Fundraising Campaign

Annual Fundraising Campaign
bobsmemorystation.com bobsmemorystation.com
 
In that case, this is very sad. I live in Massachusetts so I don't get any of those stations, but it's very sad. I always loved listening to WJIB when Bob Bittner programmed it, and I guess it just couldn't last forever. I mean why couldn't people donate?

The other thing is, I'm ok with WJIB as it is now, especially with the new, more powerful signal, but I know John Garabedian is even older than Bob Bittner was, and I wonder what will happen once he dies. I guess nothing lasts forever.
 
Stormdesk said:
Would the FM translators have any value, could they be sold and move to a different parent signal somehow?
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Yes, but they can't be moved. I got them licensed for Bob during the AM "improvement" translator windows, which bound new translators to their AM parents for life.
 
I actually heard John Garabedian announce this whole thing on WJIB the other day. He also stated that 720 comes in loud and clear in Portland, and along the coast. Is that true? Because if that's the cause, you still have something.
 
The AM band radio signals carry a little further over water as opposed to over land. So to the extent the straight line path from the transmitter to coastal towns is over the ocean, the reception in those towns will be a little better than otherwise expected.
 
ajaynejr said:
The AM band radio signals carry a little further over water as opposed to over land.
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A lot farther, if it's salt water, like the Atlantic Ocean. For example, Long Island has terrible ground conductivity, but AM signals from L.I. carry all the way down the Jersey shore, as long as you're close to the ocean. Go a few miles inland, and the signals rapidly attenuate.
 
I for one am very sad that WJTO is going off the air for good. Ever since Bob Bittners wife sold off the WJIB in early 2024,I have been listening to WJTO both at home in Braintree MASS on my GE Superadio 1 and on my walks at the coast in Weymouth and Hull Mass on my Sony pocket radio. John Garabedian is doing a good job but it’s just not the same as it was with Bob Bittner running WJIB. Bob had such an incredibly extensive music library that I thoroughly enjoyed and loved listening to. Not to mention his entertaining quotes annd little snippets of wisdom. Also Bob had a real special presence on the air, he had such a pleasant and calming radio voice a real asset to radio.
As far as the fund raising efforts of the station, I found it absolutely dismal the way they tried to raise funds sounding defeated before they had even begun. To quote “Raisa is a music lover but not a broadcaster” right there months ago I knew they were going to sell off everything. If Bob Bittner could see all that has happened in less than 2 years time, to everything that he worked so hard to create and build, I am sure he would be infuriated without a doubt. A very sad ending to a great man and his love for radio.
 
Over the air 60 said:
As far as the fund raising efforts of the station, I found it absolutely dismal the way they tried to raise funds sounding defeated before they had even begun. To quote “Raisa is a music lover but not a broadcaster” right there months ago I knew they were going to sell off everything. If Bob Bittner could see all that has happened in less than 2 years time, to everything that he worked so hard to create and build, I am sure he would be infuriated without a doubt. A very sad ending to a great man and his love for radio.
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Yeah, but inevitable. There's no way things were going to be the same without Bob, he WAS those stations.
It only makes sense that John Garabedian is making WJIB "his" station, as opposed to trying to keep doing what Bob did. Just be glad that it's in the hands of someone who can afford to run what's essentially a hobby station where he can do as he pleases.
 
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