It's time for the 3rd Annual Holiday Wish List

[Radio-X]

OK...

So, this got started on the old Richmond Radio board. I stole it (I think) from DCRTV.com. All it is: An excuse to get people talking about different markets and to get their opinions. I'm posting my wishlist up early because I'm fixing to move out of state, and...well...time's gonna be precious.

For Richmond:

I still wish 88.9 would air some decent NPR programming, though, with WRIR airing TOTN, WCVE-FM will be classical. I also wish they would revert back to a live 24-hour staff

I would like to see things shaken up at MainLine. The Wolf, despite iffy 12+ ratings, is billing well. Why not put The Wolf on the superior 107.3/100.3 combo, and put oldies on 93.1?

I would love to see WRIR go to a class A station. Ain't gonna happen with WWWV and WGH-FM, though

I would love to see Y-101 do something else. I'm not sure what, but it would be nice.

*For Southside*

A real rock station would be great. I'm tired of the naysayers that say "rock wouldn't bill well here". Based on what I can tell, a lotta advertisers in college towns want to go after college students with Daddy's credit card. This would lock up about half the men in Southside from 25-49, PLUS most the college guys. 2/3 classic and 1/3 modern during dayparts, then reverse it at night. It's what ROV does in Roanoke/Lynchburg, and they always bill top 3. If nothing else, WNRN needs to put a new application in for a Farmville translator. I heard talk that they were going to rebroadcast 91.9 on HS-C's 92.1...I guess that fell through when they realized 92.1 barely gets into Farmville.

A CHUrban station like 'JJS...mostly because Southside doesn't have anything (Besides Praise 104-7 and Raliegh's K 97.5) to represent the urban market.

WXJK needs to drop dead. Sorry...I think the only way that station stays solvent is because the tower is totally rented out with two translators and two cell antennae.

Oh, and what's up with the supposed translator on 98.7 that supposedly has covered Farmville? I have never heard it! I get either WMZQ or WNOR on 98.7...

*For Lynchburg/Roanoke*

Sunny FM must be a cruel joke...please, CC, do something!

Modern/Progressive rock would be nice...

Please explain why CC has the Bull? Is the whole goal to prevent a fourth country station in Roanoke? All it must do is destroy 'YYD's Roanoke listenership. Even with the Bull, shouldn't Star easily be #1 or #2? Basically, who came up with that idea? Can I have some of what they're smoking?

*For C'ville*

Progressive talk, man! How does the Berkeley of the East not have a liberal talker? Maybe Saga will put it on 1450 if AAR stays solvent long enough.

This is a long shot, but an active rocker would be nice...where can you hear angry nu-metal in C'ville? NRN might dabble into it, but not much.

Urban...why 107.5 didn't go urban is beyond me. Maybe it would hurt 101.9...dunno.

OK...have fun and Merry Christmas!

Radio-X

<P ID="signature">______________
I wasn't born in the south, but I got down here as fast as I could...</P>

 

[Dan_Evans]

RadioX, it's a long tradition that lives here with us and our fellow board members. First up is Richmond.

WCVE: I agree with RadioX that a 24 hour airstaff would be GREAT for this station. Give all of the talk to WRIR and go all classical except for Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition.

MainLine: The new guys in town so to speak, given that they arrived in late August with the purchase of MainQuad except for WHAP. I would get a GREAT list of Richmond Favorites to be the airstaff on Liberty 98.9(jack, adult hits). I would keep 93.1 the wolf and add something to it if you can get it from WRXL and that is NASCAR. Since 98.9 is playing 60's and 70's, I would rebuff Oldies 100.3-107.3 to play 50's and 60's oldies and leave the 70's to Liberty.

Clear Channel: Well, you have some reasons to smile, it looks like 102.1 the X is going to win the Alternative Rock war. Took you guys about 3 years and a FULL staff changeover(except Casey) to get it done from the WRXL album rock days. No big changes are needed except for bringing back Doug Banks on 106.5 in place of the show where you have lost your ratings in the morning to, Star and Buc Wild. The last book has shown that Star has hurt you in the ratings, so you might want to consider NOT renewing that contract if the next book or 2 do NOT improve ratings wise.

Radio One: If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Praise, Kiss and Power are cleaning house, all 4 stations(Kiss on two frequencies) are in the top 10.

Cox: K95 is doing well, as per usual. The Planet will take a hit for the Jack format on Liberty 98.9. Given that cox is probably not looking for ANY changes in regards for Mix103.7 or Y101 format wise, I guess it would be wise to think they won't change one to rythumic top40.

Norfolk..

Only see one CRUCIAL thing to happen. On Top needs to try to SELL out Hot 102.1. You no longer are streaming or online because of money issues. Your station doesn't even cover all of south Hampton Roads, much less Hampton, Newport News etc. The ratings are not going to get any better because of your signal strength and also because of the YEARS that 102.9 Jamz has been on the air.

One other thing, Note to the tide, get a norfolk outlet and GET A BETTER PLAYLIST! It's still sounding too much like a bad college station with a I-Pod gone horribly wrong.

Washington....

Infinity, with this Live106.7...WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING! Don and Mike should be the morning show on there, not the Junkies. At least you could have ASKED D&M first. I like the junkies for pre-game, so if you were to go Sports talk, I would have the Junkies on for mornings, but this live format, not sure if the Junkies can fit the bill for a "live" format. Don and Mike for mornings, get rid of the political talk and find people that can be HOT talkers. Play progressive rock at nights and weekends instead of the usual infomercials and best of shows.

Looks like Z103.9-104.1(cingular Z104) might go sports talk, good, if so, get the Sports Junkies, Redskins(along with the Junkies from Live 106.7) and keep the Nationals.

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year from the Evans family(which is HUGE)

 

[bopst]

I have but one wish for Richmond radio...

A station that is locally owned and operated, with a quality signal, that allows the DJ's the autonomy to play tunes that they & their audiences desire...<P ID="signature">______________
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.wclmradio.com/pages/bopst.html>The Bopst Show</a>
Monday-Friday (1-4 PM EST-USA)
WCLM 1450 AM
Richmond, Virginia
http://www.wclmradio.com
Request Line: (804) 231-7685

</P>

 

[murphy123]

> I have but one wish for Richmond radio...
>
> A station that is locally owned and operated, with a quality
> signal, that allows the DJ's the autonomy to play tunes that
> they & their audiences desire...
>

I've lost count of the number of these that are in the market NOW...

They are called I-pods - and their kin...

 

[Mark_Ericson]

> A real rock station would be great. I'm tired of the
> naysayers that say "rock wouldn't bill well here". Based on
> what I can tell, a lotta advertisers in college towns want
> to go after college students with Daddy's credit card. This
> would lock up about half the men in Southside from 25-49,
> PLUS most the college guys. 2/3 classic and 1/3 modern
> during dayparts, then reverse it at night. It's what ROV
> does in Roanoke/Lynchburg, and they always bill top 3. If
> nothing else, WNRN needs to put a new application in for a
> Farmville translator. I heard talk that they were going to
> rebroadcast 91.9 on HS-C's 92.1...I guess that fell through
> when they realized 92.1 barely gets into Farmville.

This I can agree with. WROV does an excellent job at what it does and I know for a fact that it's listened to as far away as Farmville. ("Hey Farmville: You Rock! From 96-3 ROV") I would like to see WNRN get a full-service class A station (90.5?) in Farmville to provide the programming to Longwood/Hampden-Sydney. WNRF anyone?

> Oh, and what's up with the supposed translator on 98.7 that
> supposedly has covered Farmville? I have never heard it! I
> get either WMZQ or WNOR on 98.7...

Looking at the FCC site, it's from south-central Cumberland County with no coverage of Farmville itself... not that it matters, it's owned by CSN.

> Sunny FM must be a cruel joke...please, CC, do something!
>
> Modern/Progressive rock would be nice...
>
> Please explain why CC has the Bull? Is the whole goal to
> prevent a fourth country station in Roanoke? All it must do
> is destroy 'YYD's Roanoke listenership. Even with the Bull,
> shouldn't Star easily be #1 or #2? Basically, who came up
> with that idea? Can I have some of what they're smoking?

My thought is this. CC should try to buy the Cumulus cluster in the NRV and do some station moving. I think that with the right directional patterns and station shifts (I have it all planned if anyone's interested), WZBL 104.9 could go Class C1 on Poor Mountain if they really wanted to. It would give CC a new full-market signal, perhaps for an Urban format on a decent signal in the area? If nothing else, WJJS could get a decent coverage area.

I don't see the area getting a modern rocker. CC already owns the rock market and is the only group with signals to spare, I doubt they'd want to split the audience on ROV.

Sunny... I never listen to it, despite it being one of my most powerful signals. I don't really have an opinion on it.

And isn't it a bit early for the New Year's Wishlist (I'm pretty certain that's what it was on DCRTV)?

- Trip<P ID="signature">______________
Visit my website, www.rabbitears.info! It's eventually going to be your one resource for television info! Digital television, histories, and technical information for the entire USA from one source!</P>

 

[Radio-X]

> This I can agree with. WROV does an excellent job at what
> it does and I know for a fact that it's listened to as far
> away as Farmville. ("Hey Farmville: You Rock! From 96-3
> ROV") I would like to see WNRN get a full-service class A
> station (90.5?) in Farmville to provide the programming to
> Longwood/Hampden-Sydney. WNRF anyone?

Actually, I think that was bad planning on 'ROV's part. 96.3 has a marginal (at best) signal in Farmville while WFLO-AM is on (it bleeds through, except on my rig at home). The signal is Walkman grade South of Hampden-Sydney and West of Prospect, but ROV has issues in downtown Farm Vegas.

Ideally, I'd buy David Layne's 101.3 out, then totally blow everything out. I think he has messed with too many customers (not to mention churches he has ripped off , so keeping any semblance of the current format (callsigns, name) would be bad.

I would start from scratch with a format mixed between 'ROV and 3WV...perhaps with a few more currents at night. Get some decent college kids to VT dayparts, and basically run it as cheap as possible without having it sound like crap. Farmville could use a good classic rocker, and anything that flipped right now would blow David Layne out of the water (Note: I don't hate the guy, he just does BAD radio)

If that didn't work out, I'd say CHUrban like 'JJS would do well...given the large 'Urban' population who are forced to listen to an iffy signal from 106.5.

I haven't combed over the non-comms for empty spaces on the dial 'round here. I'm not sure if 90.5 would work any North of Keysville because of WJYJ in Southern Spotsylvania on 90.5. I think 91.3 could be tweaked a little to put out a better signal (not much, though). WWHS was around before WCDX, which is why it is on 92.1. Umm...only thing I can think of off the bat is WNRN reapplying for a Farmville translator. Their original CP was on 94.7 with 150 watts of power on the WVHL STL tower...which would put out a very similar signal to WMLU.

As for WNRN, I love their format, but the management is downright sadistic and otherwise horrible...I walked in to give them some cash for fundraising, and I had to ask them to break my only bill (which was $100). The station manager looked at me and said (without any humor): "Normally, people give the whole $100." God, I gotta eat, hon! Even former volunteers said that the management are victims of the "Charlottesville Complex" (If you've spent time up there, you know what I mean)

Anyway, off my soapbox...

I'll mess around in the next few days and see what I can come up with engineering wise.

>
> Looking at the FCC site, it's from south-central Cumberland
> County with no coverage of Farmville itself... not that it
> matters, it's owned by CSN.
>

> My thought is this. CC should try to buy the Cumulus
> cluster in the NRV and do some station moving. I think that
> with the right directional patterns and station shifts (I
> have it all planned if anyone's interested), WZBL 104.9
> could go Class C1 on Poor Mountain if they really wanted to.
> It would give CC a new full-market signal, perhaps for an
> Urban format on a decent signal in the area? If nothing
> else, WJJS could get a decent coverage area.

Please, post your findings up! I'd like to see what you have laid out...though a C1 would be sorta iffy-for Lynchburg coverage (94.9 was a C1 until 2000, had a BAD Lynchburg signal, similar reception to 106.9 in Lynchburg)

>
> I don't see the area getting a modern rocker. CC already
> owns the rock market and is the only group with signals to
> spare, I doubt they'd want to split the audience on ROV.

Don't laugh. My dream would be to see:

WXLK go "K-Rock" as an alt. rocker, and
WXJK Farmville upgrade to a C3 and simulcast

OK...snowball's chance in hell, but...

> Sunny... I never listen to it, despite it being one of my
> most powerful signals. I don't really have an opinion on
> it.

Sunny "violates the state's abortion laws" (quoted from Nashville board). Makes Lite 98 and Q-99 seem like heavy metal.

>
> And isn't it a bit early for the New Year's Wishlist (I'm
> pretty certain that's what it was on DCRTV)?
>
Yeah, but DCRTV must be flattered at our spin on it

Radio-X<P ID="signature">______________
I wasn't born in the south, but I got down here as fast as I could...
</P>

 

[bopst]

It's a holiday wish list, right? And Ipods don't have large braodcasting ranges on the radio either....<P ID="signature">______________
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.wclmradio.com/pages/bopst.html>The Bopst Show</a>
Monday-Friday (1-4 PM EST-USA)
WCLM 1450 AM
Richmond, Virginia
http://www.wclmradio.com
Request Line: (804) 231-7685

</P>

 

[Dan_Evans]

It's a holiday wish list, right? And Ipods don't have large braodcasting ranges on the radio either....

Yes, on both parts Bopst. Then again, my I-Pod is NOT for anyone under the age of 30 unless they like deep cuts.

 

[bopst]

I'd listen to it. As you well know, I'll take the deep end of the pool over the crowd at the shallow end every time.

Sooner or later, I want to start pod casting. That way, you don't have to worry about dirty words which is a land I long to live in.

<P ID="signature">______________
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.wclmradio.com/pages/bopst.html>The Bopst Show</a>
Monday-Friday (1-4 PM EST-USA)
WCLM 1450 AM
Richmond, Virginia
http://www.wclmradio.com
Request Line: (804) 231-7685

</P>

 

[Mark_Ericson]

Farmville and WNRN and WZBL

> Actually, I think that was bad planning on 'ROV's part. 96.3
> has a marginal (at best) signal in Farmville while WFLO-AM
> is on (it bleeds through, except on my rig at home). The
> signal is Walkman grade South of Hampden-Sydney and West of
> Prospect, but ROV has issues in downtown Farm Vegas.

I'll agree with that. Usually I push the up button on my tuner and listen to 96.5 once I get into Farmville, though ROV is strong right up TO Farmville. I like 3WV, but K97.5 overrides it.

> Ideally, I'd buy David Layne's 101.3 out, then totally blow
> everything out. I think he has messed with too many
> customers (not to mention churches he has ripped off , so
> keeping any semblance of the current format (callsigns,
> name) would be bad.

I'm not so sure. If the station was totally reimaged, I think it could keep the calls (okay, I'll be honest, I just think WXJK is a cool set of letters).

> I would start from scratch with a format mixed between 'ROV
> and 3WV...perhaps with a few more currents at night. Get
> some decent college kids to VT dayparts, and basically run
> it as cheap as possible without having it sound like crap.
> Farmville could use a good classic rocker, and anything that
> flipped right now would blow David Layne out of the water
> (Note: I don't hate the guy, he just does BAD radio)

Yeah, I can't listen to 101.3 for more than a few minutes because I don't recognize any of the songs. The other problem is that signal. I don't know why, but 92.9 is much stronger for me than 101.3 anywhere I go around here (Charlotte County). Not that I listen to either one.

I would love another rocker with decent signal. I go to SVCC in Keysville everyday, and about half-way between Keysville and CCH, ROV has a bunch of interference (not weak signal, I hear some kind of rap music trying to break through).

> If that didn't work out, I'd say CHUrban like 'JJS would do
> well...given the large 'Urban' population who are forced to
> listen to an iffy signal from 106.5.
>
> I haven't combed over the non-comms for empty spaces on the
> dial 'round here. I'm not sure if 90.5 would work any North
> of Keysville because of WJYJ in Southern Spotsylvania on
> 90.5. I think 91.3 could be tweaked a little to put out a
> better signal (not much, though). WWHS was around before
> WCDX, which is why it is on 92.1. Umm...only thing I can
> think of off the bat is WNRN reapplying for a Farmville
> translator. Their original CP was on 94.7 with 150 watts of
> power on the WVHL STL tower...which would put out a very
> similar signal to WMLU.

The only thought I have other than 90.5 (it could be directional since 91.9 DOES cover up north) is a 91.9 somewhere south of Keysville. I think 88.1-89.5 is off limits due to WRVL/WCVE/WVTF, then 89.7 is WCPE, 89.9 is a disaster (WNRS, and it's full of noise in places), 90.1 is WMVE, 90.3 is WRXT, 90.9 is WWMC/that station in Lunenburg, 91.1 is WOKD or something, 91.3 is WMLU, 91.5 is WUNC, 91.7 is a proposed station in Lynchburg.

> As for WNRN, I love their format, but the management is
> downright sadistic and otherwise horrible...I walked in to
> give them some cash for fundraising, and I had to ask them
> to break my only bill (which was $100). The station manager
> looked at me and said (without any humor): "Normally, people
> give the whole $100." God, I gotta eat, hon! Even former
> volunteers said that the management are victims of the
> "Charlottesville Complex" (If you've spent time up there,
> you know what I mean)

I am kinda iffy. I don't listen too much because, again, I don't know many of the songs, plus the fact that I'm 40-50 miles away from WNRS which has all of 30 watts (but is still surprisingly listenable).

> Please, post your findings up! I'd like to see what you have
> laid out...though a C1 would be sorta iffy-for Lynchburg
> coverage (94.9 was a C1 until 2000, had a BAD Lynchburg
> signal, similar reception to 106.9 in Lynchburg)

WSLC has been C-class since at least 1982, as far back as the online FCC records show.

Besides, WAKG, WYYD, WROV, etc are C1 stations and have very good coverage. Don't underestimate C1 stations from mountaintops (or WRXT and its C2 signal).

Basically, my thought is this.

Relicense Roanoke 104.9C2 to Blacksburg as 104.9C1, from Poor Mountain (roughly 16 kW directional (to protect 104.5C in Bluefield) of power at 1981').
Relicense Blacksburg 105.3C3 to Salem as 97.3A (WKBC is the only station close enough to cause a problem, and if it transmitted from the WJJS site, it would not make it over the mountains to cause interference).

Now it would also be possible to shift a few stations around and get WLEQ 106.9 a full Lynchburg coverage area.

Relicense Roanoke 90.3C2 to Bedford, with no other changes in license (station is technically closer to Bedford anyway I think).
Buy out Appomattox 107.1A and shut it down, perhaps moving the allocation to 107.1A Keysville.
Relicense Bedford 106.9A to Madison Heights, maybe with the tower colocated with WYYD/WZZU/WNRS on Tobacco Row.
Relicense Hot Springs 107.1A to 107.5A.
Relicense Pulaski 107.1C3 to Shawsville (?), on Poor Mountain (new Roanoke signal, lots of beam tilt).
Relicense Radford 101.7A to Pulaski, to replace 107.1C3.
Add 103.9A to Charlotte Court House, VA, so long as it doesn't get chewed up by EMF or something (I want a radio station, dammit).

Does it seem workable? Last year, I would have said relicense 107.1A to 100.9A, since the owner said they would "never sell out" but then did anyway, plus 100.9A doesn't work anymore since WDYL Chester 101.1A wants to move to 100.9B.

> Don't laugh. My dream would be to see:
>
> WXLK go "K-Rock" as an alt. rocker, and
> WXJK Farmville upgrade to a C3 and simulcast
>
> OK...snowball's chance in hell, but...

When I first moved here from NJ when I was 6, I remember thinking how weird it was that there was K-Rock in New York but here "K92" was a cheap ripoff that didn't play anything decent.

But I wouldn't bank on K92 becoming a rocker. It's just too popular as a CHR station. Plus, it clashes with WKRR down near the state line, which would be confusing to listeners to have two rock stations clashing.

> Sunny "violates the state's abortion laws" (quoted from
> Nashville board). Makes Lite 98 and Q-99 seem like heavy
> metal.

I honestly won't listen. I just don't like that kind of music. I won't put up with Q99 or Lite 98 either. My mom likes both Sunny and Q99 though (Lite 98 does not come in here due to WLUS 98.3 and WZZU 97.9).

> Yeah, but DCRTV must be flattered at our spin on it

I imagine so!

- Trip
<P ID="signature">______________
Visit my website, www.rabbitears.info! It's eventually going to be your one resource for television info! Digital television, histories, and technical information for the entire USA from one source!</P>