Never mind the political stuff.
I hate to ask as I am in the business myself, but:
Has radio itself actually fallen to the point that a 50,000W station in the 19th biggest market in the USA runs anti-impeachment tapes from last year and Dave Ramsey twice a day?
Keeping in mind that someone/some outfit is paying to keep a 50KW station on the air; why haven't they just outright turned the transmitter off, or given the station over to volunteers, or whatever just to have some kind of content to broadcast?
Not to be Mr Negative, but the reality is that 1010 has failed miserably at everything they've tried for decades despite a massive signal, yet I never dreamed that I'd see a station fail that badly..and...again...with 50KW.
I understand the frustration.
And, on top of it, we are talking about a Beasley station -- a quality outfit (and a good cluster, otherwise). Until recently, WHFS was fed (since 2014) by Beasley's WSBR 740 AM -- where the "Money Talk" format was developed and first aired. WSBR went dark a few months ago (end of 2020), as result of the land of its tower/x-mitter due to a land sale -- for condos.
However, as it was said, it's all a bit complex . . . and can't be simplified to wattage and market-size of a given station. But your point is valid, that someone should be trying . . . something. So, yeah, I get you saying, basically, "for god sakes, then let volunteers come in and play music --
anything -- expect Dave Ramsey twice a day or the same taped programs (and old, obviously dated materials, over and over, for weeks on end). (The stations that have TWO programs, audio sources, running at the same time, for hours and hours, are my favorite! And, for fun, you call . . . and the phone rings and rings.)
I too, get perturbed with FM translators, sucking up bandwidth, causing interference (not in this case, however) with an AM station that is not even trying (and it does NOTHING to improve audience size or station awareness, more so in 1010's case) -- with the same old, non-entertaining brokering. I know! Dave Ramsey -- overnight and weekend day fill -- is just a glorified infomercial. And then, there are the wall-to-wall back-to-back infomercials for this pill, the medical device, this "wonder juice," etc. with an 800# and a "call now and you'll get a second bottle." But, it gets written off a "public affairs" and an FCC requirement is filled, so, let it roll!
There's a couple that I know of (that aren't Class B 50 kws, mind you) who are trying music formats on their AM, rebrand as an FM, and don't even mention the AM (outside of the Hour ID). And they're Class Cs!
WIXC 1060 Titusville, a Genesis Communications (of Tampa) station, is another "frustratation." It's 50 kw-N/17 kw-N -- and on-air, off-air, dead air. One month, it's classic rock (off 1,000 watt WPGS Mims). Then you hear Bubba. Then he's gone, etc. Now, it's nothing. It's just duping WHBO and WWBA in pieces parts -- and not promoted, not streaming. (Supposedly for sale, but I've just been told that's been "for sale," since
forever, it turns out. So, they've given up, too.)
There's got to be something better to do that just patching brokers, infomercials, and syndication -- and falling back on, to the start of your comment: Dave "the real live infomercial robot boy" Ramsey. I wait for the iPod shuffle music to start rolling, sans Hour IDs. (Okay not "iPods," but there quite a few stations that give up, and just let music play -- sans imaging like, well, an iPod.)
* By the way -- and I may date myself here in my law and regs: Years, back -- before computer automation, a commercial (for profit) station can't have volunteers. There was an AM station in Wisconsin, dying. The owner had community volunteers come in to spin/host a polka format (a viable format for the geography, back then). Then someone had to report them and the FCC stepped in. (It made national news.)
