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Anarchy In Camden Alabama

R

R.D.P.

The title says it all.

The new WQLS radio station is a joke indeed.  Their presentation is very boring and dull.  They now play the same old blues and soul tunes, that everyone else and their brother is already playing.  Besides that, they also are running commercial spots and allow a local restaurant to give out their daily menu too.  I didn't think a non-commercial radio station could do stuff like that.  ??? (A.K.A. Run Commercial spots)

The already established WYVC radio station is an even bigger joke now.  Their volume level has been turned down so low, you can't even hear the programming at all.  This dude needs to get it together and get all the bugs out of his presentation. 

Far as this poster is concerned Camden Alabama Radio is one big joke indeed.  So disgusted with it. Glad that I don't live there anyway.  That community would tick me off so much, I would be ready to leave  just as fast as I moved into it.

It's because of that anarchy and other related issues dealing with boredom and dullness, I've chosen to abandon the radio for a spell and get high off my own CD collection. 

R.D.P. <><
 
Wow... I don't think I've ever seen such a harsh critique of a non-comm station in a small town. You must be every bit as bored as you imply.
 
I guess the one thing to keep in mind is that Wilcox County isn't exactly flowing with money to get (or necessitate) a radio station sounding on-par with Montgomery.
 
I'm having trouble understanding how having an under-performing radio station equal anarchy.

When operating in a "thin" market, you beef up programming and technical strength as the revenue flow provides. That is anarchy? I thought maybe it was capitalism at work.
 
I didn't think a radio station located in the non-commercial band could do local business ads on there and/or allow a local restaurant to tell the listeners what's on their menu for lunch.

Been checking to see if WQLS would give out weather reports and/or warn their listeners about impending severe weather.

So far, this new station has not been doing it.

R.D.P. <><

P.S. All I'm asking for is this: if you're going to serve Camden with a radio station, WYVC and/or WQLS please obey the laws set forth by the FCC.
 
Much of the programming that CAN be aired in non-commercial stations sounds very much like its commercial counterparts "BBT Restaurant is located at 1 Main Street. The phone number is 000-0000" -vs- "BBT Restaurant has better food than any other eatery on the planet! Call us today at 000-0000 to make reservations.") The only difference is the way they are worded. Giving out the daily menu probably is allowed, depending on the wording they use.

It looks like WQLS is a very new station. Granted, I looked at their website and from that alone, can pretty much tell you that this station wouldn't be my cup of tea. But, most stations these days are not. My own Internet (now hopeful LPFM) station was created while I was a board op at a local AM station, because their programming was so dull, boring and lifeless that I needed to have something to listen to in order to stay awake. During one particularly long air shift, I did fall asleep at the board for about half an hour...work up in time for the top of hour break and legal ID. Whew..

mp3 players and Internet streaming give today's folks more choices than our parents ever dreamed of. They're your best strategy against "bad" radio. We have horrible stations here, and I NEVER turn them on. Then, no matter what they do, it doesn't bother me.

We do have one good station here, that we are about to lose. Then I'll probably only listen to terrestrial on long trips or something. Even then, we have an mp3 player for the car.
 
Have a shocker for you Mr. Alan and anyone else reading.

This same radio station was advertising for the night clubs too. 

They were telling the people where they could go and get their party on.

These spots were on last night, during their Blues, Soul and R&B block.

Even heard the voice of Darryl E from Hot 105/Magic 97 fame speaking on some of these spots.

I didn't know that you could advertise for that type of business, on a non-commercial radio station.

R.D.P. <><
 
Dan,

I assure you, after 30-ish years in radio, nothing anyone does, anywhere, in radio anymore, shocks me.

I did manage an AM Christian station for a number of years. I would not take any alcohol, tobacco, or night club ads. Still managed to pay off that owner's mortgage and get rid of a lot of the station's debt during that time.

If WQLS is indeed playing commercial spots, sooner or later the wrong person will hear it, and will complain to the FCC. The fines are pretty hefty.
 
Just discovered that WQLS is breaking the law.

Advertising for a night club is a no no on a non-commercial radio station.

My friend from Moody Radio South just informed me of this.

Told him what was going on with this upstart and that was his response.

R.D.P. <><

P.S. Now if this new upstart were to let the local politicians advertise on here and tell people why they should support them this November, then I know anarchy does indeed exist in the city of Camden. So disgusting indeed.
 
R.D.P. said:
Just discovered that WQLS is breaking the law.

Advertising for a night club is a no no on a non-commercial radio station.
Click to expand...

Normally the key is whether the "endorsement" contains a call to action.

Tell me. You are a man devoted to your religious faith. Are you concerned about an NCE running improper commercial content, or are you on a religious crusade against nightclubs?
 
I'm all about seeing the laws of land and/or FCC being obeyed.

That's all.

Nothing more and nothing less.

R.D.P. <><
 
F.Y.I. I run a non-com Christian Station in Dothan. You can run underwriting announcements. They cannot have pricing, comparison (the best, largest, ect) and a call to action ( call or come see us) in the spot. If it has any or all or those it is in violation of the rules for a non-com station. You can give, phone number, address, list of what they sell or service they provide.
 
I believe they also can run political ads. Those are not allowed to be edited in any way. But if you accept one, you have to accept them all.

It's a little more complicated, but a political ad would not be breaking the FCC rules.

ekelly has nailed it on the head.

I've been monitoring a LOT of LPFMs lately. On most of them, you'd think some were commercial ads. But, as discussed earlier, the wording makes the difference. Naturally, the WQLS stream says "off air." I'm not sure it's worth any time spent listening for an ad anyway.

My personal solution locally is to be an applicant for one of the new possible LPFMs. I'm going all out on it like there is no Plan B. If the other stations want to break the law and run inaudible audio, good. That boosts my case and I hope they ALL do it. I, myself, will follow the rules, broadcast the content I'm allowed to broadcast, run legal IDs, run at the assigned power, etc.
 
This radio station does have a web site. The link to it is: http://www.wqls905.com/ Yes they stream but at this moment it's not on. Thanks to everyone that has responded to this post so far. I appreciate all your comments both good and bad.

R.D.P. <><
 
R.D.P. said:
This radio station does have a web site. The link to it is: http://www.wqls905.com/ Yes they stream but at this moment it's not on. Thanks to everyone that has responded to this post so far. I appreciate all your comments both good and bad.

R.D.P. <><
Click to expand...

Interesting, I have their site as http://www.radio905.com

This will cause people to cast a wary eye in my direction, but the background on that website looks just like crystal meth. :eek:
 
An update to this developing story.

WQLS just did an advertisement for a local drive in restaurant. 

And yes they gave out prices for some of the food that is sold there.

I heard this on their live stream.

R.D.P. <><
 
R.D.P. said:
WQLS just did an advertisement for a local drive in restaurant. And yes they gave out prices for some of the food that is sold there.

Just heard this on their live stream.
Click to expand...

Does the "live stream" actually duplicate 100% what is going over the air? Some NCEs and LPFMs have set up their automation to run most program elements on both air and stream, but when it comes to sponsor time, run the "endorsement" on the air and the hard core commercial on the stream. Monster FM up in Jasper does something like that.
 
To make a long story short, the announcer was giving away some food from this place.

Not only did he allow a certain caller to win the prize, he even told the listeners what they sold and how much it would cost to purchase those items.

And yes if the truth be known, the stream and the actual radio broadcast would match each other.

The catch is, the stream would be a few seconds slower than the radio side.

R.D.P. <><
 
For such a lame sounding radio station, RDP, you have probably doubled their listenership. Even if they are illegal as, uh, heck...it will take a lot to even get a rise from the FCC.
 
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