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Hometown Radio

B

bp37918

Guest
While visiting the Georgia board they had a very interesting string started about "hometown Radio" and will it continue or die out. I thought I would bring the topic to the East Tenn. board to see everyones opinion here. If you get a chance go to the original post on the GA. board and see all the replies. As far as East Tenn. hometown radio I know of a few stations using that slogan. One in Morristown that has used it very sucessfully over the years. Another near Knoxville that doesn't even have their studios in it's city of license (what a waste).
 
> While visiting the Georgia board they had a very interesting
> string started about "hometown Radio" and will it continue
> or die out. I thought I would bring the topic to the East
> Tenn. board to see everyones opinion here.

> One in Morristown that has
> used it very sucessfully over the years. Another near
> Knoxville that doesn't even have their studios in it's city
> of license (what a waste).
>
That was an interesting series. I started to add a comment to the Georgia string but it seems to have run it's course.

There seemed to be two or three conversations going on there because people were using 'hometown radio' to mean different things.

Saying on the air "We are hometown radio" don't do squat.

One of the arguments was live vs. the bird, another was live vs. voice tracked.

One ubiquitous feature on radio for years has been to give today's celebrity birthdays. I enjoy that. Does it matter is the birthday list is voice by a live person vs. a recorded person? a local person vs. someone in Kalamazoo?

The Georgia group came close getting wrapped around the axle over questions like that.

It would seem to me that 'local radio' has to be built around local events, local happenings, local names etc. If you can capture a script that says the blood drive is happening at the Methodist church from noon til 3 today, and the home coming parade for the Junior High will be on Main Street starting at 4, and that Mayor Jones was re-elected in yesterday's election by 70% of those voting, does it matter whether it is live or voice tracked, and wether it was voice tracked locally or e-mailed to that guy in Lincoln Nebraska for voice tracking.

If the sound of Elton John's "Crockodile Rock" is the next record to be played, does it matter wether a local live person sticks a real CD in a drive, a local automation machine grabs it from the hard drive, it is captures off "The Bird" or what?

Ooops. Sorry. Didn't mean to hog the soap box.
 
I agree. If you are going to be a "Hometown Station" by all means you need to be Live and Local with your news, sports and community events. Horne radio, at one time, was billing WGAP as hometown radio. Strange thing is the studio's are in west Knoxville and all but mornings were by the bird and they let a local news Legend go to save a few bucks. Not the right way to do it. And yes who ever is reading the local events list needs to be in the community because when you go out on a remote the listeners and connect with that local person and know who they are dealing with.

> That was an interesting series. I started to add a comment
> to the Georgia string but it seems to have run it's course.
>
> There seemed to be two or three conversations going on there
> because people were using 'hometown radio' to mean different
> things.
>
> Saying on the air "We are hometown radio" don't do squat.
>
> One of the arguments was live vs. the bird, another was live
> vs. voice tracked.
>
> One ubiquitous feature on radio for years has been to give
> today's celebrity birthdays. I enjoy that. Does it matter
> is the birthday list is voice by a live person vs. a
> recorded person? a local person vs. someone in Kalamazoo?
>
> The Georgia group came close getting wrapped around the axle
> over questions like that.
>
> It would seem to me that 'local radio' has to be built
> around local events, local happenings, local names etc. If
> you can capture a script that says the blood drive is
> happening at the Methodist church from noon til 3 today, and
> the home coming parade for the Junior High will be on Main
> Street starting at 4, and that Mayor Jones was re-elected in
> yesterday's election by 70% of those voting, does it matter
> whether it is live or voice tracked, and wether it was voice
> tracked locally or e-mailed to that guy in Lincoln Nebraska
> for voice tracking.
>
> If the sound of Elton John's "Crockodile Rock" is the next
> record to be played, does it matter wether a local live
> person sticks a real CD in a drive, a local automation
> machine grabs it from the hard drive, it is captures off
> "The Bird" or what?
>
> Ooops. Sorry. Didn't mean to hog the soap box.
>
 
> And yes who ever is reading the local events list
> needs to be in the community because when you go
> out on a remote the listeners and connect with
> that local person and know who they are dealing with.

I guess you and I are both certified nut-cases. A lot of people who own and operate radio stations in small towns do not see the world the same way we see it.

The standard style for several years now has been to not identify your City of License except when you have to, and maybe you can fool all those people over in the next town that you are THEIR station and you can get all their advertising money. Maybe it works. That's what the industry is doing.
 
> > And yes who ever is reading the local events list
> > needs to be in the community because when you go
> > out on a remote the listeners and connect with
> > that local person and know who they are dealing with.
>
> I guess you and I are both certified nut-cases. A lot of
> people who own and operate radio stations in small towns do
> not see the world the same way we see it.
>
> The standard style for several years now has been to not
> identify your City of License except when you have to, and
> maybe you can fool all those people over in the next town
> that you are THEIR station and you can get all their
> advertising money. Maybe it works. That's what the
> industry is doing.
>

Apparently not for everyone. All of the Horne properties are simalcasting the same network talk shows untuil a buyer can be found. At least that's what I have heard.
 
> Apparently not for everyone. All of the Horne properties are
> simalcasting the same network talk shows untuil a buyer can
> be found. At least that's what I have heard.
>

Well, Horne's WEST 105.3 is still doing music. I was flipping through stations a couple of days ago and out of complete desperation, I ended up listening to WEST 105 for a few minutes. They're still doing the AAA format it sounds like. I didn't hear any live DJ's but I just listened for a few minutes. I saw an ad in the newspaper where they're sponsoring Rockin The Docks in Lenoir City too. I think WIMZ sponsored it last year. Anyway, they might as well put a talk show on that station too because it sounds bad.
 
> Horne radio, at one time, was billing
> WGAP as hometown radio. Strange thing is the studio's are in
> west Knoxville and all but mornings were by the bird and
> they let a local news Legend go to save a few bucks.

Your facts are incorrect. Under Horne's original management, WGAP was never operated out of West Knoxville. They didn't even have the capability to broadcast from Watt Road. When they took over, the only people who left were the old owner and his son. No one was let go.

Mornings and afternoons remained live with the rest of the day off the bird in Maryville just as the previous owners did with WGAP-AM/FM. The local news legend remained. After Horne's original manager was fired, Tony Basilio and his lapdog GM decided that Tony was too big for one station and they blew up WGAP and other stations to create "The Network." Only then did WGAP programming originate from Farragut and then it was a 100 percent simulcast of 850 and 1290. There was no local morning show at all.

When WGAP was billed as "hometown radio", Dave Elrod and Scott Gregory, then Scott and Steve Burchell, then Scott and Rob Robinson were always local in Maryville, either across from the courthouse or in the old church building. When they blew it up, there was never any more reference to Hometown Radio.
 
I stand corrected. I somewhat remember the Horne news network thing while going through Morristown and hearing it on those stations. After seeing the error of their ways why didn't they put WGAP back in Maryville? It was successful for years over there even without the FM.

> Your facts are incorrect. Under Horne's original
> management, WGAP was never operated out of West Knoxville.
> They didn't even have the capability to broadcast from Watt
> Road. When they took over, the only people who left were
> the old owner and his son. No one was let go.
>
> Mornings and afternoons remained live with the rest of the
> day off the bird in Maryville just as the previous owners
> did with WGAP-AM/FM. The local news legend remained. After
> Horne's original manager was fired, Tony Basilio and his
> lapdog GM decided that Tony was too big for one station and
> they blew up WGAP and other stations to create "The
> Network." Only then did WGAP programming originate from
> Farragut and then it was a 100 percent simulcast of 850 and
> 1290. There was no local morning show at all.
>
> When WGAP was billed as "hometown radio", Dave Elrod and
> Scott Gregory, then Scott and Steve Burchell, then Scott and
> Rob Robinson were always local in Maryville, either across
> from the courthouse or in the old church building. When
> they blew it up, there was never any more reference to
> Hometown Radio.
>
 
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