Atlanta Radio from 1977-78 from the AJC

[jabba17]

This was in one of the Atlanta nostalgia groups on Facebook. I'm guessing it's from 1977-78 because 103.3 became WVEE in 1977 but 860 didn't become WAEC until the end of 1978.


AM
WPLO 590 – Country
WRNG 680 – Talk-News
WSB 750 – Variety
WQXI 790 – Top 40
WXAP 860 – Country
WGST 920 – News
WKLS 970 – Album Rock
WGUN 1010 – Country
WCOB 1080 – Nostalgia
WGKA 1190 – Classical
WFOM 1230 – Top 40
WTJH 1260 – Gospel
WXLL 1310 – Gospel
WIGO 1340 – Soul
WLAW 1360 – Country
WAOK 1380 – Soul
WAVO 1420 – Religious
WDYX 1460 – Country
WYZE 1480 – Jazz-Gospel
WDGL 1520 – Popular
WYNX 1550 – Gospel
WSSA 1570 – Country
WACX 1600 – Country-Gospel

FM (all Stereo except WRFG and WGCO)
WRAS 88.5 – Progressive
WRFG 89.3 – Diversified
WABE 90.1 – Educational-Classical
WREK 91.1 – Progressive
WZGC 92.9 – Top 40
WQXI 94.1 – Album Rock
WPCH 94.9 – Standards (the AJC’s term for BM/EZ)
WKLS 96.1 – Album Rock
WSB 98.5 – Standards
WLTA 99.7 – Standards
WBIE 101.5 – Country
WGCO 102.3 – Country-Gospel
WVEE 103.3 – Disco-Jazz

 

[TheBigA]

Interesting to see how many country stations there were, and how radio was still mainly on AM at that point.

All of this predates the FCC's Docket 80-90, designed to expand the FM band. That happened in the early 80s.

 

[davideduardo]

Interesting to see how many country stations there were, and how radio was still mainly on AM at that point.

All of this predates the FCC's Docket 80-90, designed to expand the FM band. That happened in the early 80s.

Docket 80-90 was created in 1986, but needed to be given full specifications; those went into effect in 1990. The new and changed stations were coming on the air in the 1990-1991 period.

https://www.fcc.gov/document/implementation-bc-docket-no-80-90

The earlier reclassification of Class C FMs (created the sub-types like "Class 2") was done about 4 years earlier. All this was in the aftermath of the Bonita Springs case where a Class A FM tried to upgrade. Prior to Docket 80-90, a class change constituted a "new" application. Dick Friedman's Bonita Springs station tried to do that in the early 80's, and had nearly a dozen cross-filings and he lost the station. As a result, the FCC realized the errors in those procedures and that developed late in the decade into the revision of the rules.

The purpose of 80-90 was not just to allocate more stations but to allow moves and upgrades without a license being subject to opposition or cross-filing.

 

[TheBigA]

The earlier reclassification of Class C FMs (created the sub-types like "Class 2") was done about 4 years earlier.

That's probably what I was thinking of, because it happened in the first Reagan administration.

 

[davideduardo]

That's probably what I was thinking of, because it happened in the first Reagan administration.

Yeah, it was a lengthy process starting first with the ability to upgrade existing stations and then the change in the table of assignments that ruined so many smaller markets.

 

[TheBigA]

Yeah, it was a lengthy process starting first with the ability to upgrade existing stations and then the change in the table of assignments that ruined so many smaller markets.

And then what followed was a series of move-ins, where small market stations found ways to move their towers closer to big cities, as was the case for 95.5.

 

[jabba17]

And then what followed was a series of move-ins, where small market stations found ways to move their towers closer to big cities, as was the case for 95.5.

There were several move-ins. First were WFOX 97.1 and WWID 106.7 from Gainesville; 106.7 could be picked up on the north side pretty easily beforehand, mainly due to a lack of other stations nearby. 97.1 often fought with 96.1 in the days before digital tuners. Then came WJYF 104.1 from LaGrange, same situation as 106.7 but on the southside, and then WALR-FM 104.7 from Athens and WCHK 105.5/105.7 from Canton. Then 95.5, also from Athens, and 100.5, all the way from Anniston, AL. The move of WCHK 105.5 to 105.7 opened up the hole for another 105.5 on the southwest side (WYAI, named after the one-time calls of 104.1), which moved in as 105.3.

Then all the holes started getting filled in with the class A's (102.5, 96.7, etc.), and then the translators.

 

[jabba17]

Interesting to see how many country stations there were, and how radio was still mainly on AM at that point.

All of this predates the FCC's Docket 80-90, designed to expand the FM band. That happened in the early 80s.

Indeed. I'd add the lack of urban stations as well as a point of interest; both WAOK and WIGO were dominant in that market pre-V-103. And V-103 started out as more like what would be called today CHuRban or CHR/R.

And Top 40 was really a two-player game between Quixie and Z-93. WFOM didn't cover the metro that well, same as today as 1230 The Fan 2.

 

[TheBigA]

Indeed. I'd add the lack of urban stations as well as a point of interest;

That's a polite way of saying that radio was very white in those days, perhaps because of ownership, or perhaps because the demographics hadn't changed as much by then. But that was the case in a lot of places, including Miami and New York.

 

[davideduardo]

That's a polite way of saying that radio was very white in those days, perhaps because of ownership, or perhaps because the demographics hadn't changed as much by then. But that was the case in a lot of places, including Miami and New York.

There were several factors in play that were less about segregation and prejudice and more about money:

First, r&b was a fairly monolithic format. It had not begun to divide into today's divisions based on age and music types.

Second, there was little differentiated buying. Ratings, until the late 60's, did not have age breaks. There were no ethnic subsets. So advertisers did not have Black or Hispanic budgets.

The result was that for both Black and Hispanic radio, it would be another decade before revenues even started to catch up, and that would be when both groups got multiple format choices because music had become more differentiated and there was money to support multiple players.

That was when, in many markets, the worst facilities... daytimers, high-dial positions and Class IVs went after Black and Hispanic listeners as their facility could not compete for the general market.

 

[TheBigA]

That was when, in many markets, the worst facilities... daytimers, high-dial positions and Class IVs went after Black and Hispanic listeners as their facility could not compete for the general market.

Or they ran programming aimed at that audience after dark.

As for R&B, some of the bigger artists managed to cross over to pop, the way country artists did in the same period. So you'd have a single station playing Buck Owens & Johnny Cash, as well as Ray Charles & James Brown.

 

[RadioDoogie]

Interesting to see how many country stations there were, and how radio was still mainly on AM at that point.

All of this predates the FCC's Docket 80-90, designed to expand the FM band. That happened in the early 80s.

Was this docket implemented due to the more widespread use of digital PLL tuners in cars? Cadillacs (GM/Delco) had digital radios by the late 70s (red LED display, no seek, tone/fader controls and 4 pull then push buttons for presets) and were more widespread in GMs by the mid 80s (with seek, bass and treble controls) and everyone else seemed to follow suit thereafter. I know in the mid 80s the only portable digital radios I could find were made by Sony (Walkman). Then by 1990, I bought my first non-Sony digital AM/FM/Shortwave radio by DAK (David Allen Kaplan - DAKtronics). Which may be the same company that makes digital scoreboards for arenas now (DAKtronics). However, I could be wrong. I have a few old analog dial AM/FM radios around the house and I have a very difficult time tuning 95.5 FM which is sandwiched in between 94.9 FM and 96.1 FM.

 

[davideduardo]

Was this docket implemented due to the more widespread use of digital PLL tuners in cars? Cadillacs (GM/Delco) had digital radios by the late 70s (red LED display, no seek, tone/fader controls and 4 pull then push buttons for presets) and were more widespread in GMs by the mid 80s (with seek, bass and treble controls) and everyone else seemed to follow suit thereafter. I know in the mid 80s the only portable digital radios I could find were made by Sony (Walkman). Then by 1990, I bought my first non-Sony digital AM/FM/Shortwave radio by DAK (David Allen Kaplan - DAKtronics). Which may be the same company that makes digital scoreboards for arenas now (DAKtronics). However, I could be wrong. I have a few old analog dial AM/FM radios around the house and I have a very difficult time tuning 95.5 FM which is sandwiched in between 94.9 FM and 96.1 FM.

No.

Docket 80-90 is totally rooted in the loss of a valid station license by a Class A station in Bonita Springs, FL, due to the way FCC rules worked in the preceding era. A move to a new City of License or a Change of Class required a filing that was like a new station application; as such, counter-filings could be made producing a competitive application where the licensee could loose the station when all they wanted was to upgrade.

This process began in the early 70's, and developed into a policy by the mid-70's with a partial implementation (varying sub-classes of license types, etc) immediately and the full change in the table of allocations by the end of the decade.

Consumer radios were not part of this plan. Many of us "old timers" who went through the FCC's stupid destruction of local radio in many small markets call this "Bonita Springs" and not "Docket 80-90".

 

[davideduardo]

Or they ran programming aimed at that audience after dark.

As for R&B, some of the bigger artists managed to cross over to pop, the way country artists did in the same period. So you'd have a single station playing Buck Owens & Johnny Cash, as well as Ray Charles & James Brown.

But crossovers had been common in Top 40 going back to mixing Dean Martin with Sam Cooke and all the harmony groups of the mid to late 60's. Do-wop, anyone?

 

[TheBigA]

But crossovers had been common in Top 40 going back to mixing Dean Martin with Sam Cooke and all the harmony groups of the mid to late 60's. Do-wop, anyone?

But all that changed once there were enough radio stations in each town to narrow-cast to specific demographics. Thus the rise of format radio.

Immediately we saw the end of country music and people like Dean Martin on pop radio.

 

[MRFLASHPORT]

Or they ran programming aimed at that audience after dark.

I became aware of modern jazz before the "smooth jazz/NAC" craze of the late 80s as a kid in the late 70s/early 80s with "split" programming like this on WQXI-FM when it was 94-Q. The "Jazz Flavors" show first ran Sunday nights in the late 70s, then sometime in the early 80s it was on every night from 8P-12A IIRC. Some argued this was the "downfall" of 94-Q as it decayed the audience. The "day" listener who was "expecting" TOP40/AC/whatever variant and heard jazz tuned out, thinking their "favorite" station flipped formats. Likewise, the PM listener would tune in during the day and heard Top 40 and thus, "tuned out". This was back before digital tuners were predominant and thus, a listener erosion took place which eventually ended that long running split format. I personally liked Jazz Flavors and it opened my eyes to a different type of music I would have otherwise been unaware of. Artists like Al Jarreau, Jean Luc Ponty, and locals like Tom Grose and the Varsity all got airplay on Jazz Flavors. It was like the "cool kids" radio show around here.

Atlanta radio in the 70s and 80s was great to grow up with. I wish I had more airchecks and recordings I made of the various radio broadcasts and hosts. Atlanta radio had some class acts. Jazz Flavors was one of them. WPCH also had a "competing" PM show called Peachtree Night Sounds- it was well programmed and had more traditional jazz like what you heard on WCLK. This was around 1988/1989 IIRC. These stations were programmed by people who had a passion for their music and a passion to make their radio station and radio product great. I miss those days.

 

[davideduardo]

But all that changed once there were enough radio stations in each town to narrow-cast to specific demographics. Thus the rise of format radio.

We had format radio starting with Storz and McLendon in the 50's. What happened was that, until the earlier 70's, most markets had less than a dozen viable full-time radio stations and even less that covered the whole market.

When FM started to become viable in that period, most markets saw a tripling to quadrupling of the stations that had full market signals day and night. So formats fragmented.

"Adult Contemporary" did not exist until then; in the early 70's it was called "chicken rock" but it evolved into a stronger than most format. We got r&b turning into Urban, and then splitting into Urban and Urban AC. Top 40 broke into AOR and CHR; CHR became CHUrban and CHR. "Spanish" became a language and not a format as pop, CC, regional and tropical formats popped up. By the next decade we got Smooth Jazz and Adult Hits and lots of other derivatives.

Most of the big markets got few new stations due to Docket 80-90. It was more the medium and small and rural ones that did, and in most of those case it caused profitable stations to turn negative. And that enhanced the appeal of satellite delivery by the end of the 80's.

But the big change was the migration to FM and the change of those stations into viable billing leaders. That was all in the 70's and it came, in most cases, with no new signals being added (but a lot of power and tower upgrades).

 

[ThePowerCow]

107.5 is an example of a Docket 80-90 station. Class A stations on class b&c frequencies.

 

[jabba17]

I have a few old analog dial AM/FM radios around the house and I have a very difficult time tuning 95.5 FM which is sandwiched in between 94.9 FM and 96.1 FM.

That was the problem I always had trying to tune in WFOX 97.1 prior to their move-in and full class C upgrade. 96.1 and to a lesser extent 98.5 would make it difficult in the days of analog tuners + AFC. By comparison, 106.7 was easy--there was nothing nearby at the time.

 

[AMRocks]

Remember when WGST, on 640AM, for a brief time actually beat WSB-AM? Strange times. Now it just burns electric.