I think a lot of people are hoping for long-term success to come out of WSHY.
I've resided in the Lafayette area for over a decade, and since the demise of WASK's news/talk format in 1997, no one has really stepped up to the plate to give the format a decent shot. Kudos to Jeff for bringing the format back to Lafayette.
That being said, some of the negative comments about the station are valid and here's why. WSHY is a commercial operation in a rated market on a station that has been in simulcast mode for a number of years prior to the LMA. Simply flipping the switch and launching a confusing billboard campaign with three different logos isn't going to drive an extremely stubborn listening audience away from WLS, WGN, or even K105 and WASK. It dilutes the mission of the campaign because the branding isn't established and it confuses the potential listener. Also, the local talk program should be put under the microscope as well. There are a lot of good things that come out of the program, but a lot of things that also turn listeners--and perhaps advertisers--away.
Now should be the time for them to determine from a programming, marketing, and advertising standpoint what can be done to turn people off the stations they went to for news, talk and information for years and on to WSHY. Getting to that point is what's going to both be tricky and make or break them.
I'm not trying to be negative here--just objective. I do wish Jeff and the crew the best of luck, and I hope they can one day be liked by most, if not all the readers on this board.