AM Radio in Mobile

[Mario500]

It's another Saturday afternoon and another weekend where the choices are few and far between on Mobile's AM radio stations. Two news/talk stations (WNTM and WABB-AM) rely on syndicated sports programming (FOX Sports Radio) and reruns (weekday radio talk shows) on the weekend and one station (WQXW, formerly WDLT-AM) simulcasts a AM gospel music station. What would you do to help Mobile's AM radio stations? Here are my ideas:

WNTM-AM 710

Restore "Mobile's First News" from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM.
Affiliate with the ABC Radio Network again (Mobile has been without Paul Harvey since 2004).
Air "The Glenn Beck Program" daily from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM besides Saturday's "The Glenn Beck Weekend" program.
Give "The Uncle Henry Show" the 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM timeslot.
Create a new local radio program for the 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM timeslot (I would suggest a program called "Today in Mobile Broadcasting", featuring discussions with local broadcasters, reporters, former employees, and station historians).
Add "Leo Laporte the Tech Guy" to weekend programming, which currently consists of FOX Sports Radio, NASCAR races, and "Rush Limbaugh This Week".

WABB-AM 1480

Return "The Joey Reynolds Show" to its overnight timeslot.
Create a new local morning radio program (nothing mean spirited like before) or add a syndicated program or two from 5:00 AM to 8:00 AM.
Service the broadcast equipment (station frequently goes off the air and other strange occurrences).
Fewer reruns of weekday programs ("The Clark Howard Show", "The Sean Hannity Show", and "The Neal Boortz Show") on the weekend.

By the way, this is my first post at Radio-Info in years. I rarely posted before, but due to the changes around here and a cookie error (my Internet browser accepts all cookies) I was unable to log in again. I continued to visit this website almost everyday since then. Everything should be all right from now on.

 

[Nate Wesley]

I'm not sure how much of Mobile's AM side needs fixing, or can be fixed--though I think you're underestimating the following Uncle Henry has. More local programming is a good suggestion, but by no means is it an easy one. I'd bet on seeing more syndicated stuff before I see any ground broken local programs outside of the ones that are already on-the-air.

That said, I'd love it if someone took on WNSP or were ballsy enough to try a progressive talk format. A few fresh choices on the AM side couldn't hurt. (It irks me that WXQW 660 is doing nothing but simulcasting WGOK.)

Really, the biggest 'fix' that the AM band is getting...involves its most profitable formats making the shift to FM listeners. Look at the "100.3 going news/talk?" thread on the L.A. board--David Eduardo has dropped some serious knowledge about those tweaks have worked. Speaking of that very trend--I think doing so might be extremely tricky for Mobile. With it's proximity to Pensacola (a separate market), could you really put the nationally syndicated shows on a C-class FM that blankets both markets?

 

[tomservo]

If we're gonna be all wishful thinking, how about WABB bringing back Don & Mike from DC? I have fond memories of trying in vain to snag the station from Gulf Shores while on vacation in the olden days.

It'd be nice to hear the boys talk about "Darwin's waiting room" one last time before Don retires.

 

[Nate Wesley]

If we're gonna be all wishful thinking, how about WABB bringing back Don & Mike from DC? I have fond memories of trying in vain to snag the station from Gulf Shores while on vacation in the olden days.

It'd be nice to hear the boys talk about "Darwin's waiting room" one last time before Don retires.

Would've been my first suggestion if I didn't already know about Don's departure. For however small/large the WABB AM audience was, folks were pee-oh'ed about losing D&M.

 

[Mario500]

In the "Garden and Home" section of Friday's Mobile Press-Register, there was an advertisement for WNTM, three of their radio talk show hosts (Uncle Henry, Rush Limbaugh, and Todd Schnitt), and their radio network. The station logo resembles that of the FOX News Channel with the search lights and a "FOX newsradio" banner above "710 WNTM".

I would prefer that this station returns to the ABC Radio Network or even CBS Radio for the sake of old times (WKRG-AM).

 

[Nate Wesley]

In the "Garden and Home" section of Friday's Mobile Press-Register, there was an advertisement for WNTM, three of their radio talk show hosts (Uncle Henry, Rush Limbaugh, and Todd Schnitt), and their radio network. The station logo resembles that of the FOX News Channel with the search lights and a "FOX newsradio" banner above "710 WNTM".

Must be a new logo...it's not on their website yet.

 

[ruger22com]

AM radio will never be worth a darn in the Mobile market, and the reason is simple. Not one station in Mobile (AM that is) has even a halfway decent sounding signal. and after sunset...they are all gone.

I don't really think it is a question of power either....it is just old junk transmitters, and 50 year old equipment.

 

[Mario500]

WNTM's website has been updated with the new logo.

 

[Nate Wesley]

You'd think they'd consider an alliance with WALA-TV "Fox 10", but I think 710's current TV partner is...CBS affiliate WKRG-TV "News 5", who occupies the same building. AM 710, of course, being the former WKRG 710...and I'll stop now before I start confusing myself.

 

[Mario500]

Between 10:00 AM and 10:30 AM today, WNTM-AM and WABB-AM were broadcasting nothing but "dead air". In the next half-hour, the former aired a half-hour newscast followed by paid programming while the latter continued with the "dead air".

As of this posting, there is still "dead air" on WABB-AM. They can do better than this.

 

[cyberdad]

I don't really think it is a question of power either....it is just old junk transmitters, and 50 year old equipment.

Lets not forget absolutely terrible ground conductivity.

 

[Rob]

the reason for the night time shut down is so we can hear mexico come in. what fun.

if the FCC allowed for more power, this wouldn't be an issue.
also, take a look at the patterns of some of these stations, they cover more water then land (i know that water helps the signal but still comon)

if AM doesn't work in here, then why not get some FM talkers? panama city has one, dothan has one. fort walton has zero (no, i don't count WTKE as one since it's sportz)

i can barely hear 710 out here (near santa rosa county)

and the gulf coast sucks for am yet other parts of fl have bigger am stations. I guess were not big enough for a 10KW non directional (WTF am i saying) station!
ohh hell, what about a 50KW station (non dir) suuuuuuure that will happen when the price of gas goes to 25 cents a gallon!

i can hear 590 out of PCB, that's got a nice moderate signal.

-Rob

 

[cyberdad]

I guess were not big enough for a 10KW non directional

Actually, Mobile has two of these....660 and 840. "Nearby", there's a 15kw Non-directional in Pensacola (1070) and 25Kw directional in Milton (1330). These are daytime powers, and all (except daytimer 840) operate with sharply reduced nighttime power.

I'm just back from a week at Perdido Key on the FL/AL border. The strongest a.m. signal is saltwater path WWL. 660 and 840 are both weak, 1070 is fair (as is 1370 from P-cola). The daytime 1330 signal....with its main lobe aimed right at my location...is almost as good as WWL.

 

[Rob]

but there not non directionl there directional.

-Rob

 

[cceng1]

don't get me started rob..........there is a radio treaty that we must abide by regarding AM broadcasting interference with Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico.....it is a lot bigger than running enough power/directional pattern so ROB can hear it in tiny Navarre FL....Tibbs, I need some help here....will rob never GET it? Will he continue to bitch and moan about stuff he knows ABSOLUTLEY nothing about?

 

[cyberdad]

but there not non directionl there directional.

-Rob

Rob...

According to Radio-Locator, the only 10kw or larger station I mentioned that's directional during daylight hours is WEBY, 1330 Milton/Pensacola, which runs 25kw and throws most of its juice to the west and southwest.

Not counting salt water paths, the lack of a big daytime am signal in this part of the Gulf Coast would seem to be purely due to poor ground conductivity.

 

[Rob]

..and that treaty has screwed us in a way.

-Rob

 

[Poledo]

In Rob's defense, if one of us wanted to loan him some money, surely there is at least one graveyard station that could be moved to the Navarre / Wynnehaven Beach area. However, I doubt Eglin would allow a 10kw or stronger station to be built adjacent to their land. I don't see an AM station covering the entire "Mobile, Pensacola, Fort Walton TV DMA" ever happening. The Military owns us.

 

[ruger22com]

I don't really think it is a question of power either....it is just old junk transmitters, and 50 year old equipment.

Lets not forget absolutely terrible ground conductivity.

You got that right...when we put the old Joy-fm on the air years ago, we had go drop a line down a 100 foot well to get a decent ground for the new transmitter...all this red clay really messes with you.

 

[Mario500]

For the past few weeks WABB-AM has been interrupting the last few seconds of the CNN Radio newscasts with commercials. Sometime yesterday WNTM-AM turned to static. The last time this occurred was after a copper theft at the station's transmitter site. The station is still off the air as of this morning, when Uncle Henry is usually on the air.