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KWRD-AM/Henderson

C

C414

Guest
Anyone heard AM1470 on the air lately? I haven't...and I've checked before 6PM to hear them. I've flipped over in the mornings and haven't heard them then, either. Anyone have any word?? Or are they dark now like KZEY and KOFY?
 
> Anyone heard AM1470 on the air lately? I haven't...and I've
> checked before 6PM to hear them. I've flipped over in the
> mornings and haven't heard them then, either. Anyone have
> any word?? Or are they dark now like KZEY and KOFY?
>

Are all these stations still dark? <P ID="signature">______________
"I Believe In The Power Of Love."
Luther Vandross 1951-2005</P>
 
> Are all these stations still dark?

I haven't checked KWRD, but I heard it was running at very low power. KZEY and KOFY are supposed to be back on the air, but KZEY is not at full power. Or so says the rumor mill.
 
> > Are all these stations still dark?
>
> I haven't checked KWRD, but I heard it was running at very
> low power.


For a 5kw AM, I can't get a good signal past Turnertown to the west (when it's on, that is). I'd say it indeed is running at very low power.
 
> > > Are all these stations still dark?
> >
> > I haven't checked KWRD, but I heard it was running at very
>
> > low power.
>
>
> For a 5kw AM, I can't get a good signal past Turnertown to
> the west (when it's on, that is). I'd say it indeed is
> running at very low power.
>
A far cry from the days when stations such as KWRD in Henderson, KGAS Carthage, KOCA Kilgore, KLUE and KFRO Longview, and others were not only live and local but full service as well. Whether it was a bake sale, school closings, or bad weather the stations were there--EVERY day, doing what they were expected to do--serving the community and keeping the people not only informed but entertained as well. Owners were part of the community and took their responsibilities as broadcasters seriously. Now owners may be a hundred or a thousand miles removed and could not care less whether the stations are even on the air. Large corporations looking for a tax write off and small change operators looking to call themselves "owners" could learn a lot from having seen how small market radio functioned "back then."
 
> > Are all these stations still dark?
>
> I haven't checked KWRD, but I heard it was running at very
> low power. KZEY and KOFY are supposed to be back on the
> air, but KZEY is not at full power. Or so says the rumor
> mill.

Can't say about KWRD; I'm too far away. But KOFY is back on, and it seems like KZEY is indeed running lower power, maybe 250 watts or less from my estimate.
 
> > > > Are all these stations still dark?
> > >
> > > I haven't checked KWRD, but I heard it was running at
> very
> >
> > > low power.
> >
> >
> > For a 5kw AM, I can't get a good signal past Turnertown to
>
> > the west (when it's on, that is). I'd say it indeed is
> > running at very low power.
> >
> A far cry from the days when stations such as KWRD in
> Henderson, KGAS Carthage, KOCA Kilgore, KLUE and KFRO
> Longview, and others were not only live and local but full
> service as well. Whether it was a bake sale, school
> closings, or bad weather the stations were there--EVERY day,
> doing what they were expected to do--serving the community
> and keeping the people not only informed but entertained as
> well. Owners were part of the community and took their
> responsibilities as broadcasters seriously. Now owners may
> be a hundred or a thousand miles removed and could not care
> less whether the stations are even on the air. Large
> corporations looking for a tax write off and small change
> operators looking to call themselves "owners" could learn a
> lot from having seen how small market radio functioned "back
> then."
>

If you ask me, it could mean the fallout of Russell's company. Stations that has not been well kept for a certain period of time tells you and me that they are going down unless they do something about it. I was told that Russell couldn't care less for the three staitons and I was very much in question as to how he would stabilize three AMs stations in East Texas that literally isn't worth a damn to operate in the first place. The revenue, almost like KYKX's situation, is down with very little support from local businesses. I cannot see how he can make money with KWRD or with KZEY and KOFY. Another mistake Dick Witowski made when letting this station go. I mean there are too many technical problems of KWRD in the last four years under MRS and they do not care about anything but "the bottom line!" Chipper Dean would've kept KWRD the way it's suppose to run. His daddy founded that station in 1956 after his work with KGRI-AM and at the same time had a TV show (before KLTV went on the air). The beauty of that is that he kept that station on the air from sunrise to sunset. Now the station is in the sticky hands of MRS Ventures. If you're gonna run a station with live and localness like it had been back then (doubtfully it would ever happen) you got to keep it going. But as it turns out, no one at the studios at Hwy 259 oiled that squeaky wheel. If KWRD and the other two stations go dark, and no one has a clue of how to take care of them, that's it. Get out of radio before the FCC ride on their @**! And I don't mean with a Tonka toy either!<P ID="signature">______________
Note to MRS Ventures: GET THE HELL OUT OF RADIO!!! 94 BAD-FM jamz!!!!</P>
 
> > > > > Are all these stations still dark?
> > > >
> > > > I haven't checked KWRD, but I heard it was running at
> > very
> > >
> > > > low power.
> > >
> > >
> > > For a 5kw AM, I can't get a good signal past Turnertown
> to
> >
> > > the west (when it's on, that is). I'd say it indeed is
> > > running at very low power.
> > >
> > A far cry from the days when stations such as KWRD in
> > Henderson, KGAS Carthage, KOCA Kilgore, KLUE and KFRO
> > Longview, and others were not only live and local but full
>
> > service as well. Whether it was a bake sale, school
> > closings, or bad weather the stations were there--EVERY
> day,
> > doing what they were expected to do--serving the community
>
> > and keeping the people not only informed but entertained
> as
> > well. Owners were part of the community and took their
> > responsibilities as broadcasters seriously. Now owners
> may
> > be a hundred or a thousand miles removed and could not
> care
> > less whether the stations are even on the air. Large
> > corporations looking for a tax write off and small change
> > operators looking to call themselves "owners" could learn
> a
> > lot from having seen how small market radio functioned
> "back
> > then."
> >
>
> If you ask me, it could mean the fallout of Russell's
> company. Stations that has not been well kept for a certain
> period of time tells you and me that they are going down
> unless they do something about it. I was told that Russell
> couldn't care less for the three staitons and I was very
> much in question as to how he would stabilize three AMs
> stations in East Texas that literally isn't worth a damn to
> operate in the first place. The revenue, almost like KYKX's
> situation, is down with very little support from local
> businesses. I cannot see how he can make money with KWRD or
> with KZEY and KOFY. Another mistake Dick Witowski made when
> letting this station go. I mean there are too many technical
> problems of KWRD in the last four years under MRS and they
> do not care about anything but "the bottom line!" Chipper
> Dean would've kept KWRD the way it's suppose to run. His
> daddy founded that station in 1956 after his work with
> KGRI-AM and at the same time had a TV show (before KLTV went
> on the air). The beauty of that is that he kept that station
> on the air from sunrise to sunset. Now the station is in the
> sticky hands of MRS Ventures. If you're gonna run a station
> with live and localness like it had been back then
> (doubtfully it would ever happen) you got to keep it going.
> But as it turns out, no one at the studios at Hwy 259 oiled
> that squeaky wheel. If KWRD and the other two stations go
> dark, and no one has a clue of how to take care of them,
> that's it. Get out of radio before the FCC ride on their
> @**! And I don't mean with a Tonka toy either!
>
Your mention of Wes Dean's television show spurred a lot of memories. He was Ranger Wes and his side kick Dusty. The program was on Channel 32 weekday afternoons and grade school kids wrote in to be invited to appear on the show. The kids were interviewed by Ranger Wes, there were western serials shown--it was live abd local TV at it best. Wes Dean himself also had a lot of knowledge and moxy about radio and put it to work making KWRD a local success in the station's day. A sad story with the turn of events in radio from then until now.

The studio and tower site was on what is now Highway 31 between Longview and Kilgore. An oil and gas company now occupies the location.
 
> > > > > > Are all these stations still dark?
> > > > >
> > > > > I haven't checked KWRD, but I heard it was running
> at
> > > very
> > > >
> > > > > low power.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > For a 5kw AM, I can't get a good signal past
> Turnertown
> > to
> > >
> > > > the west (when it's on, that is). I'd say it indeed
> is
> > > > running at very low power.
> > > >
> > > A far cry from the days when stations such as KWRD in
> > > Henderson, KGAS Carthage, KOCA Kilgore, KLUE and KFRO
> > > Longview, and others were not only live and local but
> full
> >
> > > service as well. Whether it was a bake sale, school
> > > closings, or bad weather the stations were there--EVERY
> > day,
> > > doing what they were expected to do--serving the
> community
> >
> > > and keeping the people not only informed but entertained
>
> > as
> > > well. Owners were part of the community and took their
> > > responsibilities as broadcasters seriously. Now owners
> > may
> > > be a hundred or a thousand miles removed and could not
> > care
> > > less whether the stations are even on the air. Large
> > > corporations looking for a tax write off and small
> change
> > > operators looking to call themselves "owners" could
> learn
> > a
> > > lot from having seen how small market radio functioned
> > "back
> > > then."
> > >
> >
> > If you ask me, it could mean the fallout of Russell's
> > company. Stations that has not been well kept for a
> certain
> > period of time tells you and me that they are going down
> > unless they do something about it. I was told that Russell
>
> > couldn't care less for the three staitons and I was very
> > much in question as to how he would stabilize three AMs
> > stations in East Texas that literally isn't worth a damn
> to
> > operate in the first place. The revenue, almost like
> KYKX's
> > situation, is down with very little support from local
> > businesses. I cannot see how he can make money with KWRD
> or
> > with KZEY and KOFY. Another mistake Dick Witowski made
> when
> > letting this station go. I mean there are too many
> technical
> > problems of KWRD in the last four years under MRS and they
>
> > do not care about anything but "the bottom line!" Chipper
> > Dean would've kept KWRD the way it's suppose to run. His
> > daddy founded that station in 1956 after his work with
> > KGRI-AM and at the same time had a TV show (before KLTV
> went
> > on the air). The beauty of that is that he kept that
> station
> > on the air from sunrise to sunset. Now the station is in
> the
> > sticky hands of MRS Ventures. If you're gonna run a
> station
> > with live and localness like it had been back then
> > (doubtfully it would ever happen) you got to keep it
> going.
> > But as it turns out, no one at the studios at Hwy 259
> oiled
> > that squeaky wheel. If KWRD and the other two stations go
> > dark, and no one has a clue of how to take care of them,
> > that's it. Get out of radio before the FCC ride on their
> > @**! And I don't mean with a Tonka toy either!
> >
> Your mention of Wes Dean's television show spurred a lot of
> memories. He was Ranger Wes and his side kick Dusty. The
> program was on Channel 32 weekday afternoons and grade
> school kids wrote in to be invited to appear on the show.
> The kids were interviewed by Ranger Wes, there were western
> serials shown--it was live abd local TV at it best. Wes
> Dean himself also had a lot of knowledge and moxy about
> radio and put it to work making KWRD a local success in the
> station's day. A sad story with the turn of events in radio
> from then until now.
>
> The studio and tower site was on what is now Highway 31
> between Longview and Kilgore. An oil and gas company now
> occupies the location.
>



Aaahhhh...the good old days. I had seen some info on (I think) kzqx.com about Ranger Wes and Channel 32. Was wondering where their studios and stick were. Thanks for the info!

As for the aforementioned AM stations being involved in the community, KGAS Carthage is about the only one that is still involved in the community. Jerry Hanszen owns the two Panola County stations (as well as KMHT-AM/KMHT-FM in Marshall) and what I've heard of both stations on-air, they're very involved in their respective communities. Definately a breath of fresh air in the day of the corporate buyouts and burndowns. They might not be "live and local" 24/7, but IMO, they're way more community-minded than 90% of the other radio stations around...especially small-town radio.

It's a shame that stations like KWRD-AM that have so much potential are allowed to be run into the ground. I'd just about give my eye teeth to be able to resurrect AM1470 and restore its legacy. I know it's AM and daytime only, but there's so much that could be done with it during those hours...(I know, preaching to the choir)
 
>
> It's a shame that stations like KWRD-AM that have so much
> potential are allowed to be run into the ground. I'd just
> about give my eye teeth to be able to resurrect AM1470 and
> restore its legacy. I know it's AM and daytime only, but
> there's so much that could be done with it during those
> hours...(I know, preaching to the choir)
>

I would give my arm out to run that station if I wanted to and put it back to its former glory. But some years ago I was told that KWRD was supposedly licensed to go 24 hours, i.e. 5,000 during the day and a measly 92 watts at night. Not enough to power up ALL of Rusk County at night I believe. If I had the money to buy that station, I would put it back to its former glory. The live and localness of hometown radio keeping the country format in place, plus run southern gospel on Sundays until about 7pm or 8. And most of all keep it all in the community. I was thinking that someday I would even resurrect the old KGRI-AM station that was on the 1000 band. George Reeves put that legendary station on the map and made it one community-minded station until its doors were closed in 1982. And since Henderson is my hometown, I would do anything to have that old glory back. That station has way too much potential in being a poorly operated station run by idiots. I know that the "truth serum" is properly injected in me of this, but I'm afraid that all of Henderson and Rusk County have totally lost faith in KWRD-AM the way it's running now.
<P ID="signature">______________
Note to MRS Ventures: GET THE HELL OUT OF RADIO!!! 94 BAD-FM jamz!!!!</P>
 
> >
> > It's a shame that stations like KWRD-AM that have so much
> > potential are allowed to be run into the ground. I'd just
> > about give my eye teeth to be able to resurrect AM1470 and
>
> > restore its legacy. I know it's AM and daytime only, but
> > there's so much that could be done with it during those
> > hours...(I know, preaching to the choir)
> >
>
> I would give my arm out to run that station if I wanted to
> and put it back to its former glory. But some years ago I
> was told that KWRD was supposedly licensed to go 24 hours,
> i.e. 5,000 during the day and a measly 92 watts at night.
> Not enough to power up ALL of Rusk County at night I
> believe. If I had the money to buy that station, I would put
> it back to its former glory. The live and localness of
> hometown radio keeping the country format in place, plus run
> southern gospel on Sundays until about 7pm or 8. And most of
> all keep it all in the community. I was thinking that
> someday I would even resurrect the old KGRI-AM station that
> was on the 1000 band. George Reeves put that legendary
> station on the map and made it one community-minded station
> until its doors were closed in 1982. And since Henderson is
> my hometown, I would do anything to have that old glory
> back. That station has way too much potential in being a
> poorly operated station run by idiots. I know that the
> "truth serum" is properly injected in me of this, but I'm
> afraid that all of Henderson and Rusk County have totally
> lost faith in KWRD-AM the way it's running now.
>


The last time I checked the FCC database, nighttime operation was listed as "Proposed" at >100 watts. It would barely cover the city of Henderson, but would give it a 24-hour presence...invaluable during severe WX, IMO.

Funny you mention KGRI. I had thought it would be nice to have those calls on 1470 as a tribute to the heritage of both KGRI and KWRD-AM. I would probably tweak the country format to a more classic country flavor indicative of the KGRI glory days but I definately like the Southern Gospel Sundays. Add local news, weather and HHS sports broadcasts and you've got the perfect recipe for "Hometown Radio". Don't forget the website with a low bandwidth webstream optimized for dial-up users.

What would be absolutely killer would be to resurrect the station and have people like Tom Perryman or John Paul Little back on the air there...people involved in the Henderson radio scene at one time or another.

More thoughts?
 
KWRD-AM Henderson

> > >
> > > It's a shame that stations like KWRD-AM that have so
> much
> > > potential are allowed to be run into the ground. I'd
> just
> > > about give my eye teeth to be able to resurrect AM1470
> and
> >
> > > restore its legacy. I know it's AM and daytime only, but
>
> > > there's so much that could be done with it during those
> > > hours...(I know, preaching to the choir)
> > >
> >
> > I would give my arm out to run that station if I wanted to
>
> > and put it back to its former glory. But some years ago I
> > was told that KWRD was supposedly licensed to go 24 hours,
>
> > i.e. 5,000 during the day and a measly 92 watts at night.
> > Not enough to power up ALL of Rusk County at night I
> > believe. If I had the money to buy that station, I would
> put
> > it back to its former glory. The live and localness of
> > hometown radio keeping the country format in place, plus
> run
> > southern gospel on Sundays until about 7pm or 8. And most
> of
> > all keep it all in the community. I was thinking that
> > someday I would even resurrect the old KGRI-AM station
> that
> > was on the 1000 band. George Reeves put that legendary
> > station on the map and made it one community-minded
> station
> > until its doors were closed in 1982. And since Henderson
> is
> > my hometown, I would do anything to have that old glory
> > back. That station has way too much potential in being a
> > poorly operated station run by idiots. I know that the
> > "truth serum" is properly injected in me of this, but I'm
> > afraid that all of Henderson and Rusk County have totally
> > lost faith in KWRD-AM the way it's running now.
> >
>
>
> The last time I checked the FCC database, nighttime
> operation was listed as "Proposed" at >100 watts. It would
> barely cover the city of Henderson, but would give it a
> 24-hour presence...invaluable during severe WX, IMO.
>
> Funny you mention KGRI. I had thought it would be nice to
> have those calls on 1470 as a tribute to the heritage of
> both KGRI and KWRD-AM. I would probably tweak the country
> format to a more classic country flavor indicative of the
> KGRI glory days but I definately like the Southern Gospel
> Sundays. Add local news, weather and HHS sports broadcasts
> and you've got the perfect recipe for "Hometown Radio".
> Don't forget the website with a low bandwidth webstream
> optimized for dial-up users.
>
> What would be absolutely killer would be to resurrect the
> station and have people like Tom Perryman or John Paul
> Little back on the air there...people involved in the
> Henderson radio scene at one time or another.
>
> More thoughts?
>

That would be a great idea. Bring the legendariness of KGRI and incorporate it with the 1470 band. I'll buy that!<P ID="signature">______________
Note to MRS Ventures: GET THE HELL OUT OF RADIO!!! 94 BAD-FM jamz!!!!</P>
 
Re: KWRD-AM Henderson

> > > >
> > > > It's a shame that stations like KWRD-AM that have so
> > much
> > > > potential are allowed to be run into the ground. I'd
> > just
> > > > about give my eye teeth to be able to resurrect AM1470
>
> > and
> > >
> > > > restore its legacy. I know it's AM and daytime only,
> but
> >
> > > > there's so much that could be done with it during
> those
> > > > hours...(I know, preaching to the choir)
> > > >
> > >
> > > I would give my arm out to run that station if I wanted
> to
> >
> > > and put it back to its former glory. But some years ago
> I
> > > was told that KWRD was supposedly licensed to go 24
> hours,
> >
> > > i.e. 5,000 during the day and a measly 92 watts at
> night.
> > > Not enough to power up ALL of Rusk County at night I
> > > believe. If I had the money to buy that station, I would
>
> > put
> > > it back to its former glory. The live and localness of
> > > hometown radio keeping the country format in place, plus
>
> > run
> > > southern gospel on Sundays until about 7pm or 8. And
> most
> > of
> > > all keep it all in the community. I was thinking that
> > > someday I would even resurrect the old KGRI-AM station
> > that
> > > was on the 1000 band. George Reeves put that legendary
> > > station on the map and made it one community-minded
> > station
> > > until its doors were closed in 1982. And since Henderson
>
> > is
> > > my hometown, I would do anything to have that old glory
> > > back. That station has way too much potential in being a
>
> > > poorly operated station run by idiots. I know that the
> > > "truth serum" is properly injected in me of this, but
> I'm
> > > afraid that all of Henderson and Rusk County have
> totally
> > > lost faith in KWRD-AM the way it's running now.
> > >
> >
> >
> > The last time I checked the FCC database, nighttime
> > operation was listed as "Proposed" at >100 watts. It would
>
> > barely cover the city of Henderson, but would give it a
> > 24-hour presence...invaluable during severe WX, IMO.
> >
> > Funny you mention KGRI. I had thought it would be nice to
> > have those calls on 1470 as a tribute to the heritage of
> > both KGRI and KWRD-AM. I would probably tweak the country
> > format to a more classic country flavor indicative of the
> > KGRI glory days but I definately like the Southern Gospel
> > Sundays. Add local news, weather and HHS sports broadcasts
>
> > and you've got the perfect recipe for "Hometown Radio".
> > Don't forget the website with a low bandwidth webstream
> > optimized for dial-up users.
> >
> > What would be absolutely killer would be to resurrect the
> > station and have people like Tom Perryman or John Paul
> > Little back on the air there...people involved in the
> > Henderson radio scene at one time or another.
> >
> > More thoughts?
> >
>
> That would be a great idea. Bring the legendariness of KGRI
> and incorporate it with the 1470 band. I'll buy that!
>

Question is, would anyone else? Know any willing investors?????
 
Re: KWRD-AM Henderson

> Question is, would anyone else? Know any willing
> investors?????

Good question. The call sign KGRI is now assigned to Educational Media, Inc. for a new station in Oregon. It's just a bit more Texas heritage down the tubes. Very sad,IMHO.

Making a small market station work involves a lot of personal face to face time with local businesses and listeners. It is almost impossible to do that with absentee ownership. That's why so many small market stations fail these days. The people who own them probably don't know the first thing about the community their station is supposed to serve. The management has to care about the community and be accepted by them as "one of us." Unless you actually live there, that ain't going to happen in most small towns.

Henderson, being fairly isolated from its neighbors, would be a hard nut to crack, even if you could get the station at the right price. From what I understand, you might be able to buy the station, but the asking price is currently at a premium. It would be hard to make it work.

As for "Ranger Wes," You can find out a bit more about him at www.chalkhillmedia.org/museum or link to "The Virtual Museum" from www.kzqx.com .

If anyone on this forum has historic information or pictures about early east Texas radio or TV, and you are willing to share them, I'd love to put it on that web site, for all to see. Just email me from the "email web master" link on either site.

Chuck
 
Other KWRD-AM Alumni

Other talent in the area with ties to both the station, and the community...

Don Jones- The last GM and Morning Personality to work under Witko at 1470. Left Shortly after Russell's takeover. Would be hard to lure him away from "The Bull."

Alan Mayton- Was with the station from 1981-2001, minus a short hyadus to KFRO. Left in 2001 after catching wind that Witko might be selling. Did mornings at KGAS, then segued to mornings/GM at KMHT. Currently on the beach, from what I hear.

Leland Acker- Hired by Don Jones after Mayton left. Station sold two weeks later. Transferred 3 months later by Russell to KYYK/Palestine, then back to KWRD upon Jones' departure, then back to KYYK, then back to KWRD, then to KZEY/Tyler, where he quit. Spent time with KWRW/Rusk, currently attending Texas Baptist Institute in Henderson.

Russell purchased KWRD for $178,000, paid cash, and says he will sell for $200,000. Fat chance.
 
Re: Other KWRD-AM Alumni

>
> Russell purchased KWRD for $178,000, paid cash, and says he
> will sell for $200,000. Fat chance.
>
I'd give him $200,000 for KZEY, but not KWRD. <P ID="signature">______________
"I Believe In The Power Of Love."
Luther Vandross 1951-2005</P>
 
Re: KWRD-AM Henderson

> > Question is, would anyone else? Know any willing
> > investors?????
>
> Good question. The call sign KGRI is now assigned to
> Educational Media, Inc. for a new station in Oregon. It's
> just a bit more Texas heritage down the tubes. Very
> sad,IMHO.
>
> Making a small market station work involves a lot of
> personal face to face time with local businesses and
> listeners. It is almost impossible to do that with absentee
> ownership. That's why so many small market stations fail
> these days. The people who own them probably don't know the
> first thing about the community their station is supposed to
> serve. The management has to care about the community and
> be accepted by them as "one of us." Unless you actually
> live there, that ain't going to happen in most small towns.
>
>
> Henderson, being fairly isolated from its neighbors, would
> be a hard nut to crack, even if you could get the station at
> the right price. From what I understand, you might be able
> to buy the station, but the asking price is currently at a
> premium. It would be hard to make it work.
>
> As for "Ranger Wes," You can find out a bit more about him
> at www.chalkhillmedia.org/museum or link to "The Virtual
> Museum" from www.kzqx.com .
>
> If anyone on this forum has historic information or pictures
> about early east Texas radio or TV, and you are willing to
> share them, I'd love to put it on that web site, for all to
> see. Just email me from the "email web master" link on
> either site.
>
> Chuck
>
Good post, Chuck, especially relating to owners of small stations integrating both themselves and their stations into the host community. Owners were members of Lions, Rotary, and other service organizations, and they made their stations available for various fund raising and support activities that helped the groups contribute to the public benefit. Ask an absentia owner company today about its station(s) in a given town and someone would have to look it up on a computer list before answering. Not exactly what the government had in mind in writing the Communications Act of 1934 which required stations to serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity. However the commission itself never did really define what that provision covered. Be that as it may, disconnected ownership and often disconnected stations (literally) don't in any way appear to serve the public interest. But then, ask the distant corporate owners if they care.
 
Re: Other KWRD-AM Alumni

> Russell purchased KWRD for $178,000, paid cash, and says he
> will sell for $200,000. Fat chance.
>


What a shame. Priced just high enough that he probably wouldn't get that for it. Meanwhile, the ashes continue to smolder.
 
Re: Other KWRD-AM Alumni

> > Russell purchased KWRD for $178,000, paid cash, and says
> he
> > will sell for $200,000. Fat chance.
> >
> I'd give him $200,000 for KZEY, but not KWRD.

The rule of thumb is a station is worth about three times its annual revenue. Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, at $200,000, that means the station might bill $66,666.00 per year. If that's about what it is doing, it would explain the current programming. It's a "self fulfilling prophesy." I could be wrong, but, I doubt it is doing anywhere near those numbers.

I believe it would be very hard to operate a decent station with that kind of budget, but it can be done, if you could find the right people. It would be helpful if making an immediate return (or just breaking even) was not something you expected to do right away.

I’m very certain that KWRD would also need a top to bottom equipment refurbishment to make it competitive. Just listening to it, I don’t believe it is running at its authorized power. Why that is, may be simple, but maybe not. In any case, be prepared for an unpleasant surprise. The last time I looked inside, the equipment wasn’t old enough to considered “antique” and it wasn’t new enough to be considered “current.” I suspect you’d need to do a lot of work on both studio and transmission systems. You’d also probably want to update it to some kind of hard drive automation/live assist system. All this will be expensive, unless the owner is very talented and can do a lot of this himself. Even then, it will be a lot of work. Like any renovation project, you should count on it costing about twice what you planned to spend. That’s just the way those kind of things go.

You’d certainly have to be willing to take your belt in a couple of notches and hope that you could make enough of a go at it so you hire some good talent. If you were willing to make this a labor of love for a few years, it is possible that you could end up a winner in the end, but it would take a lot of dedication and talent to make it work.

Any takers?

Chuck
 
Re: Other KWRD-AM Alumni

> > > Russell purchased KWRD for $178,000, paid cash, and says
>
> > he
> > > will sell for $200,000. Fat chance.
> > >
> > I'd give him $200,000 for KZEY, but not KWRD.
>
> The rule of thumb is a station is worth about three times
> its annual revenue. Giving everyone the benefit of the
> doubt, at $200,000, that means the station might bill
> $66,666.00 per year. If that's about what it is doing, it
> would explain the current programming. It's a "self
> fulfilling prophesy." I could be wrong, but, I doubt it is
> doing anywhere near those numbers.
>
> I believe it would be very hard to operate a decent station
> with that kind of budget, but it can be done, if you could
> find the right people. It would be helpful if making an
> immediate return (or just breaking even) was not something
> you expected to do right away.
>
> I’m very certain that KWRD would also need a top to bottom
> equipment refurbishment to make it competitive. Just
> listening to it, I don’t believe it is running at its
> authorized power. Why that is, may be simple, but maybe
> not. In any case, be prepared for an unpleasant surprise.
> The last time I looked inside, the equipment wasn’t old
> enough to considered “antique” and it wasn’t new enough to
> be considered “current.” I suspect you’d need to do a lot
> of work on both studio and transmission systems. You’d also
> probably want to update it to some kind of hard drive
> automation/live assist system. All this will be expensive,
> unless the owner is very talented and can do a lot of this
> himself. Even then, it will be a lot of work. Like any
> renovation project, you should count on it costing about
> twice what you planned to spend. That’s just the way those
> kind of things go.
>
> You’d certainly have to be willing to take your belt in a
> couple of notches and hope that you could make enough of a
> go at it so you hire some good talent. If you were willing
> to make this a labor of love for a few years, it is possible
> that you could end up a winner in the end, but it would take
> a lot of dedication and talent to make it work.
>
> Any takers?
>
> Chuck
>


I might be crazy, but I believe that if Henderson and Rusk County can be convinced that AM1470 is alive and on its way to being well again, that station would be back on the map in short order. It would take some stability and lots of PR in the early days, but I belive the old adage, "If you build it, they will come" would hold true in this instance.

I'm just enough of a nut to want to do it...just don't have the $$$ to back it.

You're right about surprises. Considering the XMTR is right out the back door of the studios (relatively speaking), there's no telling what's gone wrong. I would hope it would be a matter of correctly setting final power output, but something tells me that's far from the case.

With the shape it's in and the asking price on the table, a VERY fine tooth comb would have to be used at 1101 Kilgore Drive before being bought.

What a shame...Russell obviously doesn't care about it, but doesn't want anyone else to have it either. And the real losers are Henderson and Rusk County.




On a related note...think anyone in Tyler even realizes that KWRD hasn't been on the air in several days now, or has it breathed its last?<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by C414 on 07/12/05 05:12 PM.</FONT></P>
 
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