Suburban in South Carolina
In the mid-80's, the boys from Belmont bought WDIX(AM) from Kerby Confer's Keymarket group.
Keymarket had bought WDIX and religious/gospel formatted WPJS a couple or so years earlier from Radio Smiles (Norman Suttles and company). WPJS became "three-in-a-row" country WIGL/Wiggle 106.7, while WDIX suffered through periods of experimentation (It's Top-40 format had been first automated, changed to urban, then flirted with oldies based A/C, before returning essentially to what it had been under Smiles' operation...adult Top-40).
Following a 1977 fire at the WDIX/WPJS studios (and AM transmitter site), WPJS had been moved to a "modular" building, located at the transmitter site, more or less behind the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Medical Center, just off Hwy 601 N, while WDIX remained in the renovated building on the North Road. Sometime after Keymarket's purchase, WDIX's operation was moved to the WPJS studios, and was automated. Sales offices and an elaborate production facility remained at the North Road site.
With Keymarket's decision to flip WIGL from country to soft A/C B-106 (WTCB), the AM was put up for sale, and sold to Suburban.
Shortly thereafter, Suburban bought WORG-FM/Orangeburg from Ed Crapps (yes, that was his real name).
Coinciding with the purchase, WDIX was moved back to the North Road studios, and was again a live Adult Top-40. Meanwhile, WORG had been running mostly automated, using a mix of Century-21's A/C & Z-Format (Top-40) services. With the combining of the stations, WORG was moved to the WDIX studios, and went to a live operation, programming a broad-based, oldies flavored, A/C & Top-40 hybrid, using the Century-21 Super-Cart service. It was eclectic, but it fit the market. Meanwhile, WDIX was converted to automation, programming an MOR/oldies (also C-21), with NBC/Talknet programming at night.
To my knowledge, the operation was profitable, but when longtime WORG general manager Marion Garris left to manage the sales operation at the local cable system, it wasn't long before Suburban sold the stations.
The buyer was George Wilkes, who almost immediately changed WORG to WKSO/Kiss-104, while moving the WORG calls to the AM, with the heritage WDIX calls leaving the market forever. I really don't remember much about Wilkes' operation, but he didn't stay very long. As I recall, the FM was sold to Bishop Willis, and it went through a protracted period of decline...ending up a satellite-fed/automated operation, located at the transmitter, before finally going silent...staying off the air for more than a couple of years...typical Willis stuff. I seem to recall the AM changing hands a few times, finally going silent after losing its transmitter-site.
As an aside, this began a fruit-basket turnover in the market. While the FM (103.9) eventually returned to the air, upgraded to the 25kw Hot-103.9 (and based out of Columbia), WORG(AM) (5kw-D/500w-N @ 1150 kHz) never returned. At about the same time, WTND(AM) (5kw-D [with a CP for 5kw-DA-N] @ 920 kHz), also bit the bullet, its final gasp coming from a single-wide trailer parker adjacent to the transmitter building (the calls had been changed, but I don't remember what they were). With WTCB having long abandoned Orangeburg for Columbia, for a short while, Orangeburg was left with "local" service from only two stations...WPJK (the original WORG, 1kw-D @ 1580 kHz), along with St. Matthews licensed WQKI(AM) (1kw-DA-D @ 710 kHz).
In a matter of months, a docket 80/90 drop-in (3kw @ 102.9 mHz) debuted, adopting the former country format and calls of WIGL. While I don't remember the chronological order, it wasn't too long before WQKI-FM arrived at 93.9, along with Branchville's WGFG at 105.1. The 100.3 at Elloree, having taken the WORG calls at some point, upgraded to 25kw, allowing it to become a factor in the Orangeburg market.
Yessir, it's an interesting business.
By the way, Suburban also operated WYNR-AM/FM at Brunswick, Georgia. <P ID="signature">______________
Jay Braswell - Moderator
Atlanta/North Florida/South Carolina/Georgia Boards</P>