I could see it as a smooth jazz station. I know there aren't many of those anymore, especially on A.M. but with WKFD's proximity to the Bay & how well it got out, I could see it fitting in with the lifestyle of the Wickford/East Greenwich/Newport area (preferably in A.M. stereo). It's too bad WKFD was allowed to die.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
If WKFD were alive today
- Thread starter N1WVQ
- Start date
Are the residents in that area really geared to the local communities? I can see how local radio is alive in places like Newport and especially Woonsocket. I remember one of my first jobs in RI radio at a local AM music station where in addition to the airshift and other duties like snow shoveling, every so often I was able to do some telemarketing type sales for specific campaigns like back to school safety, etc. I suck at sales but this didn't take much sales ability. Some merchants would just automatically say no and others would just automatically say yes because they apparently had a budget set aside for local cheap advertising & whoever asked for it first, got it. I wonder if any local AM could survive unless the people running it & selling ads had enough strong ties to the area & were well enough known to just get ad revenue by asking for it & getting the sponsors who felt some sort of obligation to the people running the station. Somewhat related, how does WINY in Putnam, CT survive? They seem to program a little bit of everything & are very local. I'd like to see a local AM in RI modeled after that.
I worked at 1370 under the WMYD call with Steve Bianchi. We were very local to North Kingstown and Newport, and into Wakefield, Exeter, and so on. We did local sports, PawSox baseball, and later, the Red Sox after getting permission from then-flagship WPLM. That was FUN radio! Not to mention also covering the Newport Jazz Festival!
I just found my old 1995 edition of the M Street Journal Radio Directory with an article by Lee Harris entitled "How they Die..tales from the Z file" It mentions WKFD's demise and the attempt to keep it on the air with a long wire attached to a balloon. The wind took the balloon crashing it into a power line, power was knocked out to most of the town and the station was gone forever. 
Yes. 1370 was brought back under those illegally used calls. It was still WKFD, but the owner, a fellow named Jerry, swiped the calls of a station licensed to Vega Baja PR. Since he relocated north into Quonset Point from Wickford, he needed to drop power to 250 watts from 500. He did all the work himself, including laying the ground system, but did a pisspoor job of it. He went heavily into debt, and ultimately had a stroke. I believe he was originally from North Kingstown, but had worked in Florida for a number of years.
D
dansteely
Guest
Ehem!?
I worked at WKFD too
I was there as News Director in the late 80s. I was commuting from Attleboro, MA at the time, and that got to be too much. But I learned an immense amount from the owner, as he was a former journalism professor. I loved working in Wickford, and it was a lot of fun covering the city council.
I was there as News Director in the late 80s. I was commuting from Attleboro, MA at the time, and that got to be too much. But I learned an immense amount from the owner, as he was a former journalism professor. I loved working in Wickford, and it was a lot of fun covering the city council.
- Status