Did anyone read the comments from Froggy's VP Frank Bell?

[Mrmusic]

> It does?? I live in Western PA. I can't STAND high school
> football and I think it's the dumbest thing ever put on
> television. I go APE-SHAT when the news ends at 11:15 on
> Friday nights to cover what...? possibly the most
> insignificant thing I can think of in all of Pittsburgh? WHO
> would watch this CRAP? MY GOD, now you tell me its LIVE ON
> RADIO TOO??? I had no idea. GOD you people are DESPERATE to
> watch football in Pittsburgh. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the
> Steelers but you people will apparently watch ANYTHING if it
> involves a football! You would probably watch MIDDLE SCHOOL
> football if they put it on huh. You would probably watch
> high school football coverage from Podunk, Iowa too wouldn't
> you! High school football... don't get me started. How is is
> POSSIBLE that ANYONE other than actual dads of actual kids
> in actual games is watching/listening to this?? And why are
> those dads watching anyway, why aren't they AT THE GAME with
> their kids?
>
> I HATE country and I'm ready to start listening to Froggy
> RIGHT NOW Just on principle. This Bell guy sounds like a man
> after my own heart. FINALLY someone who realizes NO ONE
> CARES about CHILDREN playing BAD football for teams no one
> has ever heard of or cares about.
>
> Who THE HELL is the Beaver Blackhawks and just WHY should I
> care. Where I'm from we don't waste valuable airtime on
> this. High school football gets a results page (no graphics)
> buried deep within the Sports section of the paper. As it
> should be. I wouldn't even care how MY OWN high school
> football team does. That ended about my senior year when I
> graduated and left the other children behind.
>
> Hey!! I just heard the elementary school near me, they're
> going to play Tiddly-Winks on the playground after school!!
> Someone call Fedko and gas up the Chopper!!! Wooo!!!!
>
>
> >
> >
> > You gotta give the people what they want, and Western
> > PA/Tri-State loves it's high school football!
> >
>
BarryMcCockiner-

First off, nice offensive name.

Secondly, while Western Pennsylvania is wild about its high school football, I think that is where it should be played...through the high school frequency. If college stations can have them, then high schools, should be able to get a low frequency. Serious and smart schools would have already thought of this.

I think 10 years ago, high school football was hot. But times change and, now that I'm an older guy (and my kids are way past high school), I am not the demo they are gearing the high school football coverage, so I tune out.

I am just glad that Jim Quinn doesn't announce high school football. I started listening to him in the morning since 3WS went Christmas. He is quite the character. I do hear Rush's sentiments and sometimes to me, it seems like he's just ripping off Rush. I know, this could be a whole new thread!

Mr. Music

 

[OldAkronite]

The COL As Fiction

> Now, we all know how laughable that is--Duquesne is more
> lacking in service than Shadyside. But the FCC granted the
> application. I think this is just the community
> saying--"Hey, we went along with this farce. You
> (Keymarket) said that Duquesne was lacking in local service.
> High school football is important. So, come one--SERVE
> US!"

Umm, Johnny, my friend, I have news for you.

Go to Duquesne some day. Stop every person on the street. Call up the mayor or whoever is the highest elected official there. I bet not ONE person - TODAY - in that community has any idea that WOGI is licensed to Duquesne. It means absolutely nothing, except for the fact it's the "underserved wide spot on the road" that got Keymarket a Pittsburgh FM station.

Remember when Clear Channel proposed moving Wheeling institution WWVA/1170 to a Stow, OH COL? Remember how the mayor of that Akron suburb found out? A clueless newspaper writer called up the mayor and told her, mistakenly, that WWVA was "moving to her city". It wasn't. (It took This Writer to inform Stow's mayor of that fact.) It wasn't moving to Stow anymore than WOGI moved to Duquesne. They could have picked probably any number of Pittsburgh suburbs for the role.

That's just the way it is. Am I saying it's the way it should be? No, but...that's the way it IS.

> What this probably shows is that Keymarket's not that
> interested in actually serving Duquesne. Ever been there?
> Do they seem like country fans?

Keymarket's interested in serving anyone within range of the signal, from Duquesne to Pittsburgh to wherever. Again, it's the Wide Spot on the Pittsburgh Area Road.

> Unless Keymarket has some pretty good statistics to back up
> the claim that their local service area (Duquesne) doesn't
> like high school football on the radio, this may be a pretty
> good argument for the community come renewal time.

Don't think so. Not with the way things are currently set up. I'd have to look at the move-in application, but I doubt Keymarket proposed high school sports when they applied to move the station to Duquesne.

> And all it takes is a change in the Commission make-up to
> stop this type of move-in crap. Public interest is
> statutory--and the interpretation of same can change with
> the political winds.

Again, that's the only argument to really be made here. As it's set up right now, the COL concept is a joke. Anything else would have to be changed at the regulatory level.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>

 

[Oldiesgal]

> Provincial, I like that. A fancy way of saying western
> PA'ians don't get out much. Hey, at least you're honest
> about it. You're OK in my book.
>
> > Anyone who actually thought Keymarket would seriously
> > replace their 12-in-a-row sweeps for high school football
> > are only fooling themselves. Keymarket has some
> > pie-in-the-sky dreams of one day overtaking the "400 lb.
> > gorilla" that is Y108, and will someday come to the
> > realization that it just won't happen. But the article
> was
> > tounge-in-cheek, I don't really think that Frank Bell or
> > anyone from Keymarket have ever thought of airing high
> > school football on ANY of their stations. At least not
> the
> > FMs. I know the AMs in OH have done HS football, but
> that's
> > about as far as they'll go. I know 1 of their New Castle
> > holdings airs the Steelers, but that was because the
> > previous owners had the original deal, and Keymarket may
> > just be playing out the string before they add their
> > "12-in-a-row" there as well.
> >
> > As for the asnine comments from Barry: TV stations
> actually
> > GAIN from the extensive HS football coverage. True, it's
> > not everyone's cup of tea, but since Western PA people, in
>
> > general, are more provincial than people in other parts of
>
> > the country, allegiances to their communities are more
> > common. And where else does that exist more than their
> > local school, especially when they're successful. So,
> > people like to root on their HS team, then run home to see
>
> > the highlights, if possible. Fox Sports Pittsburgh has
> > shown gains when they air the WPIAL football & basketball
> > finals, and I'm sure PCN will spike this weekend seeing
> that
> > all 4 Western teams in the finals are from WPIAL.
> >
> > But if anyone actually thought Froggy would drop their
> music
> > for sports are the ones who still hold out for a Steelers
> > Super Bowl appearance this year.
> >

1) I finally figured out what Barry Mc Cockiner means.
2) Does anybody expect STAR to carry New Ken HS football?
>

 

[fromtheinsideout]

Re: High School Football on the Radio in Pittsburgh

MSA is more than just a website, it is almost a clearing house for all local football games in the WPIAL. What MSA does (formerly Nauticom) is cover most of the WPIAL games on any given weekend, then offer those games to radio stations throughout the area providing the air talent as well as a pre and post game show. Stations thne can pick up the broadcasts (MSA simulcasts them on there website) without the hassle of acquiring play by play talent and the like, they use the tal;ent that MSA has already acquired.

MSA makes money on this deal by being able to clear advertisers on a large number of stations, as the commercial inventory for them is the same for all of their broadcasts and the stations that opt to carry a game can focus their local breaks on businesses within the communities of the team playing. IT is a business model that for the most part seems to work pretty well, they have been doing this for at least half a decade so far.

 

[Radio_Realist]

> 1) I finally figured out what Barry Mc Cockiner means.
> 2) Does anybody expect STAR to carry New Ken HS
> football?

You forget, STAR is well regarded by those who work in Pittsburgh Radio, while Keymarket is regarded as something of a laughingstock.

Keymarket is attempting to break the paradigm that its impossible to operate a cluster of fringe stations as a single entity. That goes against the conventional wisdom that rules broadcast radio, so anything Keymarket does is fair game for condemnation and lampooning.

The players in the radio industry, especially in Pittsburgh, have a very dim view of any person who challenges conventional wisdom or who dares to suggest anything resembling change.

How many radio professionals does it take to change a light bulb?

None. They don't believe in change.

 

[JohnnyMorganWXJX]

Re: The COL As Fiction

> Umm, Johnny, my friend, I have news for you.
>
> Go to Duquesne some day. Stop every person on the street.
> Call up the mayor or whoever is the highest elected official
> there. I bet not ONE person - TODAY - in that community has
> any idea that WOGI is licensed to Duquesne. It means
> absolutely nothing, except for the fact it's the
> "underserved wide spot on the road" that got Keymarket a
> Pittsburgh FM station.

Small SW PA civics lesson: It's a city (one of 4 in Allegheny County), so it would have a mayor (it also has a city manager). This municipality vs. borough vs. city concept was completely foreign to me when I first came to Pittsburgh.

Now, substance: Oh, I'm sure that no one in Duquense knows that they're "home" to a radio station. I think I meant that Pat Cloonan's article was de facto expressing the opinion of the community.

If/when Duquesne residents were informed of "their station," I'm sure the community would want something in return on "their station".

> That's just the way it is. Am I saying it's the way it
> should be? No, but...that's the way it IS.

Oh, I know that. And I understand that it's the starched shirts in my profession that were able to make it so. But I also know that it's those same starched shirts--on the other side--who could change it back. Remember, this public service decline is a fairly recent phenomenon.

[Insert localism argument here. Expurgated for this post.]

> > Unless Keymarket has some pretty good statistics to back
> up
> > the claim that their local service area (Duquesne) doesn't
>
> > like high school football on the radio, this may be a
> pretty
> > good argument for the community come renewal time.
>
> Don't think so. Not with the way things are currently set
> up. I'd have to look at the move-in application, but I
> doubt Keymarket proposed high school sports when they
> applied to move the station to Duquesne.

Oh, I wasn't arguing that they were. I'm sure HS sports weren't in the application. But now, post facto, the lack of service to this community could make an issue upon renewal. Not saying it will succeed, but that it's an issue.

> > And all it takes is a change in the Commission make-up to
> > stop this type of move-in crap. Public interest is
> > statutory--and the interpretation of same can change with
> > the political winds.
>
> Again, that's the only argument to really be made here. As
> it's set up right now, the COL concept is a joke. Anything
> else would have to be changed at the regulatory level.

Which is where most of the important changes need to be made.

Remember, for example, Congress did not mandate/approve eight (8) stations per owner in markets with more than 45 broadcast stations. The 1996 bill removed the statutory limits, and left numbers discretion to the Commission. Congress may have wanted more stations per owner, but it was not required. And any Commission change in personnel down the line could easily reduce that number back down to two per service, or the like.

Same for the COL nonsense. A change in Commission personnel could bring some logic and sanity to this process and get rid of Keymarket's ridiculous "underserved communities" they trot out for move-ins.

 

[OldAkronite]

Re: The COL As Fiction

> Small SW PA civics lesson: It's a city (one of 4 in
> Allegheny County), so it would have a mayor (it also has a
> city manager). This municipality vs. borough vs. city
> concept was completely foreign to me when I first came to
> Pittsburgh.

And since you know I'm a Northeast Ohioan, it's foreign to me as well As is the word "Yinz"!

> Now, substance: Oh, I'm sure that no one in Duquense knows
> that they're "home" to a radio station. I think I meant
> that Pat Cloonan's article was de facto expressing the
> opinion of the community.

Was that Pat's column? Oh, dear, I'm sorry...I know he reads and posts on this board. I wasn't trying to slam him, honest! Forgive me, Pat!

But I still stand by what I said. Pat's being whistful for the old days when a COL meant something, and it doesn't now...except for small community stations which don't serve larger markets. (And I'm sure he knows that, too.)

> If/when Duquesne residents were informed of "their station,"
> I'm sure the community would want something in return on
> "their station".

It'd be rather cool if the "hometown station", even in a Pittsburgh suburb, carried the "hometown" high school football team. As it stands now, though, WOGI is just another place for them to get country music on the radio.

> Oh, I wasn't arguing that they were. I'm sure HS sports
> weren't in the application. But now, post facto, the lack
> of service to this community could make an issue upon
> renewal. Not saying it will succeed, but that it's an
> issue.

I don't know if you're expressing wishful thinking there or not. I don't know if anyone's ever done something like this...brought up lack of community service to the specific COL.

I know that in my own days of writing those quarterly reports, we put in everything the station did of note for the entire market area. Of course, our station was licensed to the major city in the market.

When your only "service to the community" is the Sunday morning public affairs show, and occasional PSAs, I'm not sure not having local sports coverage makes any difference. But I'd love to hear about it, if this has been done before.

> Same for the COL nonsense. A change in Commission personnel
> could bring some logic and sanity to this process and get
> rid of Keymarket's ridiculous "underserved communities" they
> trot out for move-ins.

Oh, I'm with you 100% there. Duquesne is just as "underserved" (cough, cough) as Stow, the Akron suburb Clear Channel latched onto in its attempt to move a 50,000 watt AM station that, oh, my goodness, would have covered that big city about 40 miles northwest of Stow! Oops, what a surprise! How'd Cleveland get in the way of that signal?

(It's much like the shortwave commercial/religious broadcasters aiming at Mexico or Canada, and they just so happen to put signal over, umm, the United States...)

I've been railing about the COL Fiction for years. Suburbs of a major metropolitan area are not underserved radio cities. Stations licensed to Ashville, OH and Dublin, OH are nothing more than stations serving greater Columbus.

But again, I don't fault Clear Channel for any of this, or Keymarket for its "Duquesne" station. The FCC should throw out the "underserved" designation for any major metro market (say, top 100) and companies should be allowed to move in stations based on other criteria than if Suburb A has a weekly newspaper.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>

 

[Radio_Realist]

Re: The COL As Fiction

> And since you know I'm a Northeast Ohioan, it's foreign to
> me as well As is the word "Yinz"!

FYI. It's a second person plural pronoun, similar to the Southern "Y'all" or the Brooklynese "Youse". It's one of those words that the English language needs, but doesn't officially have. Doesn't Ohio have some sort of equivalent word?

> But I still stand by what I said. Pat's being whistful for
> the old days when a COL meant something, and it doesn't
> now...except for small community stations which don't serve
> larger markets. (And I'm sure he knows that, too.)

I suppose that longing for the days when radio stations served the small communities that surrounded large cities harks back to the days when there were such small communities with an identity of their own. Nowadays, what used to be "communities" are just convenient subdivisions of a major metropolitan area.

The phenomena of serving a larger geographic region instead of a small, insular neighborhood or community isn't limited to radio stations. Large retailers are putting "community" mom & pop stores out of business. Large mega-churches are drawing worshippers away from local "community" churches. Multi-screen megaplexes have put the "neighborhood" movie house out of business. Why shouldn't radio change with the times in response to normal social trends.

> It'd be rather cool if the "hometown station", even in a
> Pittsburgh suburb, carried the "hometown" high school
> football team. As it stands now, though, WOGI is just
> another place for them to get country music on the radio.

The Greater Pittsburgh Metropolitan area has dozens and dozens of high schools, each with a football team. Therefore, there is no such thing as a Pittsburgh "hometown" high school football team.

> Oh, I'm with you 100% there. Duquesne is just as
> "underserved" (cough, cough) as Stow, the Akron suburb Clear
> Channel latched onto in its attempt to move a 50,000 watt AM
> station that, oh, my goodness, would have covered that big
> city about 40 miles northwest of Stow! Oops, what a
> surprise! How'd Cleveland get in the way of that signal?

Actually, Duquesne has no needs that require much in the way of radio broadcasts exclusively for and about Duquense. It's really nothing more than another ZIP code in Allegheny County. There is nothing that would satisfy a need of the people of Duquesne that wouldn't also satisfy the needs of the people of McKeesport, Glassport, West Mifflin, or any of the other little cities and boroughs that surround it.

If some political factions in Allegheny county have their way, all of the hundreds of little municipalities in the county will someday merge into one single entity, called "Greater Pittsburgh". When that happens, then all COLs for all of radio stations assigned to the rinky-dink little suburban "burghs" will be for the same mega-city.

 

[loon]

Re: The COL As Fiction

> > And since you know I'm a Northeast Ohioan, it's foreign to
>
> > me as well As is the word "Yinz"!
>
> FYI. It's a second person plural pronoun, similar to the
> Southern "Y'all" or the Brooklynese "Youse". It's one of
> those words that the English language needs, but doesn't
> officially have. Doesn't Ohio have some sort of equivalent
> word?
>
I believe I have heard an Ohio form of the word as, Younz, very similar, and same meaning and use!

 

[KeyTimes]

Re: The COL As Fiction

> > Small SW PA civics lesson: It's a city (one of 4 in
> > Allegheny County), so it would have a mayor (it also has a
>
> > city manager). This municipality vs. borough vs. city
> > concept was completely foreign to me when I first came to
> > Pittsburgh.
>
> And since you know I'm a Northeast Ohioan, it's foreign to
> me as well As is the word "Yinz"!
>
> > Now, substance: Oh, I'm sure that no one in Duquense knows
>
> > that they're "home" to a radio station. I think I meant
> > that Pat Cloonan's article was de facto expressing the
> > opinion of the community.
>
> Was that Pat's column? Oh, dear, I'm sorry...I know he
> reads and posts on this board. I wasn't trying to slam him,
> honest! Forgive me, Pat!

(1) You're forgiven. No offense taken. Indeed, it's been amusing to see all the takes on the subject.

(1A) By the way, it wasn't the column (which I do not believe is on line today; it's about local radio awards and an update on a strange effort to bring a California Christian radio service into Pittsburgh via a full-power West Virginia station over a series of translators).

(1B) The article was about television and radio coverage of the championship games as PCN (Harrisburg's equivalent of Ohio News Network, I think) and MSA was providing details. But to further localize it, calls were made to a couple local stations for their takes.

(1C) Froggy 98.3 and 94.9 once touted theirselves as serving "from the Mon Valley to the mountains." Then, of course, the simulcast was extended from the Mon Valley to the more fortunate suburbs of Youngstown and Zanesville. (With apologies to Jim Quinn.)

>
> But I still stand by what I said. Pat's being whistful for
> the old days when a COL meant something, and it doesn't
> now...except for small community stations which don't serve
> larger markets. (And I'm sure he knows that, too.)
>

(2) He knows that. It's been a favorite topic through six years of Vast Wasteland. One can be wishful ... which, with 50 cents, will get one a Daily News.

> > If/when Duquesne residents were informed of "their
> station,"
> > I'm sure the community would want something in return on
> > "their station".
>
> It'd be rather cool if the "hometown station", even in a
> Pittsburgh suburb, carried the "hometown" high school
> football team. As it stands now, though, WOGI is just
> another place for them to get country music on the radio.
>
> > Oh, I wasn't arguing that they were. I'm sure HS sports
> > weren't in the application. But now, post facto, the lack
>
> > of service to this community could make an issue upon
> > renewal. Not saying it will succeed, but that it's an
> > issue.
>
> I don't know if you're expressing wishful thinking there or
> not. I don't know if anyone's ever done something like
> this...brought up lack of community service to the specific
> COL.
>
> I know that in my own days of writing those quarterly
> reports, we put in everything the station did of note for
> the entire market area. Of course, our station was licensed
> to the major city in the market.
>
> When your only "service to the community" is the Sunday
> morning public affairs show, and occasional PSAs, I'm not
> sure not having local sports coverage makes any difference.
> But I'd love to hear about it, if this has been done before.
>
>
> > Same for the COL nonsense. A change in Commission
> personnel
> > could bring some logic and sanity to this process and get
> > rid of Keymarket's ridiculous "underserved communities"
> they
> > trot out for move-ins.
>
> Oh, I'm with you 100% there. Duquesne is just as
> "underserved" (cough, cough) as Stow, the Akron suburb Clear
> Channel latched onto in its attempt to move a 50,000 watt AM
> station that, oh, my goodness, would have covered that big
> city about 40 miles northwest of Stow! Oops, what a
> surprise! How'd Cleveland get in the way of that signal?
>
>
> (It's much like the shortwave commercial/religious
> broadcasters aiming at Mexico or Canada, and they just so
> happen to put signal over, umm, the United States...)
>
> I've been railing about the COL Fiction for years. Suburbs
> of a major metropolitan area are not underserved radio
> cities. Stations licensed to Ashville, OH and Dublin, OH
> are nothing more than stations serving greater Columbus.
>
> But again, I don't fault Clear Channel for any of this, or
> Keymarket for its "Duquesne" station. The FCC should throw
> out the "underserved" designation for any major metro market
> (say, top 100) and companies should be allowed to move in
> stations based on other criteria than if Suburb A has a
> weekly newspaper.

(3) For the record, Duquesne has no local newspaper, per se. The Daily News of McKeesport is its official newspaper for legal ads and the paper most locals read when they're not buying a Post-Gazette or Tribune-Review from Pittsburgh. I think The Valley Mirror of Munhall, a weekly, also circulates in Duquesne.

 

[OldAkronite]

Re: The COL As Fiction

> (1) You're forgiven. No offense taken. Indeed, it's been
> amusing to see all the takes on the subject.

I'm glad you chimed in...I mean, you're actually a newspaper media columnist with A Clue, which doesn't happen often. I bet when WOGI landed with a Duquesne COL, you didn't call the mayor and ask what it meant for the town, and what Duquesne would do. ( ) (Denise what's-her-name will likely never forgive me, but she's since moved from the Beacon Journal to the weekly Cleveland Free Times, where she's free to write about cool bands she sees with her boyfriend.)

> (1C) Froggy 98.3 and 94.9 once touted theirselves as serving
> "from the Mon Valley to the mountains." Then, of course, the
> simulcast was extended from the Mon Valley to the more
> fortunate suburbs of Youngstown and Zanesville. (With
> apologies to Jim Quinn.)

Hah!

> (3) For the record, Duquesne has no local newspaper, per se.
> The Daily News of McKeesport is its official newspaper for
> legal ads and the paper most locals read when they're not
> buying a Post-Gazette or Tribune-Review from Pittsburgh. I
> think The Valley Mirror of Munhall, a weekly, also
> circulates in Duquesne.

Ah, I see. I'd have to go back into the allocation records to see what Keymarket cited for Duquesne. The "local weekly newspaper" is a standard bearer for FM allocation table realignments. Major local employment is another.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>

 

[OldAkronite]

Re: The COL As Fiction

> I believe I have heard an Ohio form of the word as, Younz,
> very similar, and same meaning and use!

If there is, it didn't make it to Akron.

Maybe over by Steubenville?

-OA <P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>

 

[JohnnyMorganWXJX]

Public Service to the COL

> > Oh, I wasn't arguing that they were. I'm sure HS sports
> > weren't in the application. But now, post facto, the lack
>
> > of service to this community could make an issue upon
> > renewal. Not saying it will succeed, but that it's an
> > issue.
>
> I don't know if you're expressing wishful thinking there or
> not. I don't know if anyone's ever done something like
> this...brought up lack of community service to the specific
> COL.

I guess I might be overly analytical (blame those letters "J.D." after my name for that).

But I really think that if we're going to allow organizations like Keymarket, and Clear Channel, and whoever else moves allocations 30 miles (or 200 miles, like WWVA) based on the pretense that the target COL is underserved, they MUST have some concrete COL-specific public/community service. After all, isn't that community underserved? Otherwise, there's no reason for the move--except to provide a cover for a full-market station (which WOGI and WWVA-proposed would have been).

There should also be an examination of pre-move community service against post-move community service (but one reason why license renewal at 8 years is ri-goddamned-diculous). I bring this up because 98.3 was a Charleroi station, serving Charleroi and, secondarily, all the Mon Valley. But for Keymarket's purchase and move, it would still be doing the same. Does Keymarket perform the same (or analogous) service to Duquesne? (Frank Bell gave us a glimpse at the answer to that.)

> I know that in my own days of writing those quarterly
> reports, we put in everything the station did of note for
> the entire market area. Of course, our station was licensed
> to the major city in the market.

And surely a good deal of your stations' work was in/for the licensed community, since it was the major city. Certain programming, public service, and community events were aimed directly at the COL community. Surely some of the work was also for the surrounding communities, perhaps individually.

Comparatively, I theorize, that WOGI's service is lopsided in favor of the market, en toto, and there's nothing aimed specifically at Duquesne. (I don't have the public file in front of me.)

Just to throw this out there--I don't know the legalities off hand:

Communities taxing broadcast stations that use their community as a COL, but do not have broadcast facilities there.

For example, Duquesne taxing WOGI/Keymarket for the "good will" associated with using Duquesne as the COL, and the benefit conferred upon Keymarket from using Duquesne (that is, the profits derived from Duquesne allowing Keymarket to move-in essentially a major market signal).

Just to throw that out there...discuss.

 

[OldAkronite]

Re: Public Service to the COL

> There should also be an examination of pre-move community
> service against post-move community service (but one reason
> why license renewal at 8 years is ri-goddamned-diculous). I
> bring this up because 98.3 was a Charleroi station, serving
> Charleroi and, secondarily, all the Mon Valley. But for
> Keymarket's purchase and move, it would still be doing the
> same. Does Keymarket perform the same (or analogous)
> service to Duquesne? (Frank Bell gave us a glimpse at the
> answer to that.)

Here's the problem with that: When stations propose such moves, the ONLY thing the FCC considers on the back end is if the community the station's leaving will be without (within COL) service.

In the case of the station now known as WOGI/Duquesne, it was Charleroi. I don't even have to look at the little allocation change paper to see that the FCC saw WOGI's apparent former sister station, tiny little WFGI/940, and saw that Charleroi would not be unserved.

Again, we're talking the FCC allocations definition of "unserved"...a signal would be left behind in the COL. It doesn't matter if that signal is actually doing any community service. And isn't 940 simulcasting the Froggy stations now? Or the Keymarket "Pickle" oldies format?

None of this, of course, accounts for the fact that both Charleroi and Duquesne are blanketed by many of the Pittsburgh market's signals.

> And surely a good deal of your stations' work was in/for the
> licensed community, since it was the major city. Certain
> programming, public service, and community events were aimed
> directly at the COL community. Surely some of the work was
> also for the surrounding communities, perhaps individually.

Yep, but we were a big-honkin' 50,000 watt news/talker, and that was a general result of our format. We didn't make any specific effort to target, serve or otherwise cater to any specific suburb...even our AM sister talk station, which WAS licensed to a suburb.

> Comparatively, I theorize, that WOGI's service is lopsided
> in favor of the market, en toto, and there's nothing aimed
> specifically at Duquesne. (I don't have the public file in
> front of me.)

I'm sure you're right.

I'm not saying it shouldn't be so. Really, I'd say if Keymarket wanted to move 98.3 into the Pittsburgh market, they shouldn't be shoehorned into a suburb and forced to show it's a community on its own. It's a joke. If your alleged goal is to serve Duquesne, why do you have enough power to serve the entire Pittsburgh radio market?

> For example, Duquesne taxing WOGI/Keymarket for the "good
> will" associated with using Duquesne as the COL, and the
> benefit conferred upon Keymarket from using Duquesne (that
> is, the profits derived from Duquesne allowing Keymarket to
> move-in essentially a major market signal).
>
> Just to throw that out there...discuss.

Too bad WWVA isn't moving to the Akron suburb of Stow. I could drop another note to the mayor there and let her know that she could pursue this!

It'll never happen, though. And really, the COL is basically a once-an-hour thing...WOGI isn't using any resources from Duquesne at all.

-OA <P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>