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Look What They Did! WHUM in Columbus

JoeDicke-I do enjoy chess but I'm not a good player (if that's what you mean). I believe I do have the ability to score the "big picture", especially as it pertains to the Columbus market (Barth, Brown, Jackson, Jennings and Johnson counties).
I readily admit that I couldn't put together resources to win an auction, let alone build/staff any start-up radio station.
I am not a person of means. I am not even a programmer, and I'm definitely not a salesperson.

If WHUM ever gets a full power stick, it'll have to the the auctioned 93.5 because there isn't any room to upgrade 98.5 to a class A, and there aren't any other commercial frequencies available. As for Bruce & Mitzi's involvement in the community, They have a small office on Washington St that has never been staffed. I have NEVER heard of them sponsoring anything of any consequence in the community and they certainly weren't at the big Hospice Concert on Labor Day Weekend handing out bumper stickers or doing live broadcasts.
They also don't seem to put much time into the actual programming of WHUM. The music seems to be PC delivered, probably a randomized delivery system of a thousand or so titles on the hard drive, perhaps 2,000 with a few liners thrown in for good measure.
They don't do weather, they don't do news of any kind, and they don't seem to be participating in EAS.

I don't want to appear cocky, but it seems like 3/4ths of the posts on this topic were posted by the Quinn's under different screen names.
I know Chief Engineer's comments are not from family, and I enjoyed some of his comments, but I can't believe he thinks WRZQ, WYGB, WKKG, WINN or WWWY are "paranoid" about WHUM.

Every 90 days or so, if nothing else shows up on this board about Columbus/Bartholomew County, we wind up with a meaningless thread like this.
Very little substance.

I'd much rather read about what goes on behind the scenes at QMIX and KORN, and WKKG, Oldies and Y-106.
Or will WQKC ever actually move to Louisville, or what's going on with the KORN move to 100.3 and who will wind with WXCH 102.9 in Hope Indiana?
Those are interesting topics. Right now, WHUM is not.
 
47RPM – Please allow me to quote the Wilkipedia encyclopedia to assure you that ‘Columbus Community Radio” is not a station slogan that demands the Quinns presence at every local event:

“Community radio” is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting material that is popular to a local audience but is overlooked by more powerful broadcast groups. In America, community radio is more commonly non-profit and non-commercial, often using licensed class D FM band transmitters, although pirate radio outlets have been operated in many places.”

My ‘chess’ analogy refers to each player in the radio game making a strategic move – and then waiting to see how the other player reacts before formulating their next move. Most often, these moves involve acquiring licenses, frequencies, purchases, acquisitions, etc.

While formats are not a top consideration in this game, they can be useful. When Keith Reising started KORN, he knew there was no way he was going to lure most conservative country listeners away from WKKG. But he might be able to shave away enough country fans that 101.5 FM appears to be getting weaker while WRZQ appears to be getting stronger.

Bruce and Mitzi are two of the best players of radio chess I’ve ever met. And ‘secrecy’ is a key part of the game. That’s why I can assure you that they haven’t written a single word on this post. They are both too smart to post any information about what they are doing on a public forum. They read this message board for only one reason: to see if they can get information on the competition. In addition, Bruce feels that when ‘nice things’ are said about him on Radio Info.com, it only serves to motivate others to write ‘bad things’ in response.

He’s probably right. And to be honest, I’m worried I’ll get a message from the Quinns soon, urging me to ‘shut the hell up’. And when that happens, I probably will.

But while I don’t agree with everything Bruce and Mitzi are doing, they certainly have earned my respect. Is it wrong to express that publicly? Or does every comment on this message board have to tear somebody down?
 
I have read about Bruce. Only, heard about WHUM recently. I'm in
Lafayette. Since,47 thinks his Columbus station is more interesting,
open a new thread. Let's see, if 1,000 give a damn to read it too.
 
Bruce Quinn brings out the rebel that is a part of every real American broadcaster.
My company does not agree with most that he has said in the newspapers or
in filings with the FCC. But, we do find his stories entertaining and somewhat
amusing.
I have never been to Columbus, Indiana. It's just a small town I pass by on I 65.
I can't even name the call letters of anyone else down there except WKKG.
That's because they are the only ones who have any ratings in Indy. But,They are
not our competition.
Congrats to Bruce and Mitzi (THE RADIO REBELS) for getting a new frequency
assigned for WHUM with the FCC!
 
We aren't fans of Bruce Quinn either. But he has started many radio
stations in Indiana and made alot of news. There are college text
books that mention him by name.
As for Columbus radio, I have no more interest in that, than I do in
Columbia, MO radio.
 
Dawg: I don't 'have' a radio station in Columbus or anywhere else. But I do have my secrets.

Dickey: You are just blowing smoke with your cut/paste from Wiki.
You're talking semantics and I'm talking reality.
They can call it anything they want but the reality of it is, WHUM isn't revolutionary and it's not 'community minded' in any way.
And be careful when you post anything from Wiki as fact.
People can write anything they want about any subject on earth (except Rosie O'Donnell) and post it as fact on Wikipedia.
Since you were only trying to legally define the words "community radio" I'll let it pass.
If you started posting Wikipedia's article on Bruce Quinn as fact, I'd strongly object.
By the way, other than marrying Bruce Quinn, tell me what Mitzi has done to achieve legendary, or 'rebel' status in radio.
 
47RPM. You are off speed and off track. Bruce Quinn must be very important to
you. You opened up a new screen name just so you could talk about him. Wow!
Look how much you have written! Wow!
If this wasn't a noteworthy topic, then why is it taking up so much of your time?
Get Real!
 
I live in West Lafayette and work at Purdue University. I was wondering
if Bruce Quinn would help Purdue get that 106.1 he put in at Fowler. The
channel has been reserved for NCE use. He helped IU get WIUX. Now how
about Purdue? WBAA has a lousy signal north west of town.
 
Help Purdue get 106.1? I thought Bruce would use it for a WHUM Lafayette
area relay.
I have been listening to WHUM on line enough to know they do have an
EAS. It must be set to auto, because it breaks in on songs. I hear a
phone number, weather, and announcements about little things going on
in Columbus every hour.
 
[glow=red,2,300]“By the way, other than marrying Bruce Quinn, tell me what Mitzi has done [size=10pt]to achieve legendary, or 'rebel' status in radio.”[/glow]

September 21, 1998: - The U.S. House Judiciary Committee releases (and many television networks immediately broadcast) more than four hours of President Clinton's videotaped grand jury testimony. Along with the videotape, the Judiciary Committee also releases the appendix to the Starr's report which includes 3,183 pages of testimony and other evidence, including a photograph of Monica Lewinsky's semen-stained dress

Meanwhile, at Classic Hits 104.9 (now WWWY 106.1), Mitzi is doing the 6pm-1 am shift. She knows that while ‘The Starr Report’ is the big ‘water cooler’ talk of the time, it’s simply not a ‘family-friendly’ topic. Blow jobs? Whoa! No small town radio announcer in the Bible Belt was willing to bring up the topic in any way, except for newscasts.

Nobody…except Mitzi.

Unknown to the management (which never listened past 6pm), Mitzi had been garnering a growing audience with her seductive voice and professional handling of ‘delicate’ issues. On this evening, she invites her listeners to comment on the topic “Is oral sex really sex?” For the rest of her shift, the phones lines are flooded with calls! So many that she doesn’t have time to play back every worthy call.

Complaints from the conservative Christian right are already coming in by the time the General Manager arrives the next morning. He’s ready to fire Mitzi immediately. However, Mitzi was smart enough to air-check her show, and allows the middle managers to hear them. The GM is given assurances that both Mitzi and her callers handled the topic in an entertaining, yet incredibly profession way. It is determined that while controversial, there is no nighttime radio show in the history of Columbus that has garnered as large a following as Mitzi’s.

Is that rebellious or legendary enough for you?
 
Sounds like to me that there is a lot of bitter jealousy going on over an NCE. Yes, their format is off the beaten path and not the norm. Yet they still have a very large audience both in Columbus and around the world. I might not like every song that is played on the station, but there isnt many radio stations out there in this country left that has such a broad range of music that you dont hear the same thing every hour like some stations out there.

As far as what I know about Bruce Quinn, it sounds like to me that he is a very smart individual to of found such a valued frequency in a market where even the FCC didnt think it was possible. Major Kudos to Bruce and Mitzi Quinn for having the balls to play true American Heritage music and at that Commercial Free.

From what I have heard of Mitzi on the radio I just have to say that she is very pleasing to listen to and she is extremely knowledgable about the music she is playing. Way to go guys Rock On and Be Safe in the words of a wise woman.
 
That girl who did morning's with Rick Reed long before Mitzi's days (the girsl who moonlighted selling sex toys, I can't remember her name) talked about oral sex on 104.9 long before Mizti arrived, and SHE was sober when she did her shift.
I can't keep going at it with the whole family so I'm getting off this thread.
But I would love to know how jmpaugh knows that they have a large audience locally and around the world.
Stats please!
 
You are referring to Krista - and selling 'Fantasy Lady' products (which included many other items besides sex toys) was her main line of work. She moonlighted in radio, and the morning show gig helped her sales considerably.

Krista's sexual references were done by 'innuendo'. And while she was good at it, the responses Mitzi got from her nighttime audience was simply overwhelming. Almost a steady stream of different voices all through the night. It was quite remarkable. I've never seen anything like it in small-town radio.
 
Re: Look What They Did! WHUM in Columbus/Flattered guys...and some clarificatio

Well, there I was: a hard-working, triple-business -running single mom who just HAPPENED to be a former radio personality...minding my own business and NOT living in the past like some other FORMER radio people apparently are...when suddenly I was apprised of this pee/moan web site and all its mindless drivel.

For the record, BOYS...I was hired by Y105 in 1995 (yes, it was that long ago) because I possessed the literacy skills to be a public speaker and I just happened to own a business at the time that required me to entertain audiences. My reputation as a public speaker caused the late Dennis Rediker to call me and ask me to audition.

The fact that I sold (and still do sell) adult toys (www.pandora4u.com) was never mentioned on air per se. It didn't need to be. What Rick Reed and I did was present local/national features, sports, weather and general morning drive granola in a fun and unique package. We did a great job and had the ratings to prove it. Consequently, Mitzi came on board, used her own unique personality, and carved out a huge nighttime listenership to coincide with our mornings.

BUT THAT'S ALL IN THE PAST. STOP LIVING IN IT.

WHUM Radio, a much-needed radio asset for this region, is its own entity, with its own agenda and its own creative format. It is owned by creative people, with their own ideas. It is not a spawn of something in the past, but rather the brainchild of a unique union known as Bruce and Mitzi. I suggest you radio losers who couldn't make it in the game find something else on which to grind your jealous bone. Or, if you can't do that, I've got a product that will definitely assist you in releasing your stress in a less public and embarrassing way.

I must say I'm very impressed with the huge radio coups here in my own backyard. Certainly all of your infantile and jealous rantings signify the Quinns are onto something really big. I wish them well.
 
The information about Bruce Quinn that I have posted is a matter of public
record from newspapers and the Federal Communications Commission.
We did not say we like it all. But, it is public information that I shared.
To imply that I am a friend or family member is wrong and crazy.
Guess Again. You may be wrong next time too.
 
I have known Bruce Quinn ever since he was a real pirate operator at Jolly Roger Radio in
Bloomington 25 years ago. I consider him a friend.

I have worked for large stations in Indianapolis and Louisville all of that time.
I am now at Clear Channel.

WHUM in Columbus has won a precedent setting case with the FCC. They are the
first LPFM in the USA to file for an upgrade to full power class A. They have succeded in finding
one of the last valuable channels in America. This is the first new Allocation for their city of
Columbus in thirty years.

Brian Stevens and 47RPM, you are flat ass wrong. WHUM is a noncommercial radio station.
Educational stations do not go to FCC auctions. Bruce and Mitzi aren't going to bid 10 cents.
That's a promise. By the way, you better read that FCC order again. You will see Columbus
Community Radio also got 93.5 reserved for noncommercial use only.

By the way, I have a real job working with some of the best broadcasters in the country.
I don't have time to get in a spitting match with people who don't know their facts.
 
I always have a great appreciation for someone so willing to stand up for a friend. This may be a surprise to you, but I agree about Bruce. I have the utmost respect what he has accomplished in your business. His expertise is admirable - and envied. My sole comment in this thread was based on point seven of page two of the FCC document linked at the start of the thread. I misinterpreted that point to mean that there would be a filing window for applications for 93.5. Thanks for correcting my mistake. I'm well aware of 93.5's NCE status - and of Columbus' allocation history. I never referenced any auction. Experience tells me that a city like Columbus is fertile soil for something as musically diverse as WHUM. Again, Bruce deserves a hearty congratulations on another groundbreaking decision. I hope that covers everything.

(On another personal note, it's way past time to shake some dust. Happy trails to my radio friends.)
 
I barely know Bruce, I've talked to him a few times and he has always been very kind.
I've known Mitzi a little longer. Again a very kind person. I remember one evening I was in the Y-105 lobby talking to Dennis Rediker (late summer 1997 I believe) and Mitzy came in to do her show (a few minutes late :)) and I watched her go into the control room, settle in and do her first break, and the phones started ringing off the hook, and did so the rest of the time I was there. It was really ompressive. When she left Y-105, she used our studios for editing an aircheck, and the next thing I knew she was at WKLU and had "taken the vows" with Bruce. I don't think anyone here has posted anything too inflammatory, but I have nothing but great feelings for the Quinns and wish them the best.
And I am really glad that Krista has posted.
I wondered what ever happened to her.
Rick Reed was a great guy and I tuned in regularly to hear Krista stretch the boundary and Rick try to reel her back in. Some of it was just classic.
I'll have to ask Rick for an aircheck. I always wondered why the normally conservative Dennis Rediker (much missed these days) would ever allow things to get so far out of hand (so to speak).
But I must admit... in 1995 (has it really been that long Krista?), I tuned in all the time to hear what would happen next.
I only visited the old Y-105 facilities (across from Coke) a few times, but from Rick & Krista's days, through Mizty's era, they NEVER had a delay on the phone. And Rick, Krista and later Mizty always put callers on the air live... and every once in a while someone would slip in and drop the "F" bomb and it made it on the air. Seemed to happen once a week or so. Even when Jay Foyst & his wife Rachel did the morning show. Of course that was before Janet's Superbowl performance. Things are much tighter now.
Now I'm gonna go check out (www.pandora4u.com).
-Jim-
 
GEORGIESMOM - It's great to have you here! My son (who is taller than me now and driving) and I have tried to visit you a few times, but you haven't been home. But since you are a "hard-working, triple-business-running mom", that's not too surprising. Both of us would love to see how Georgie has grown. Obviously, he can't be that big yet - or you still wouldn't refer to him as "Georgie".

As the 'third part' of that morning show (although nobody ever remembers the news guy - or how good Tom Conlee was prior to Rick), your assessment of both the present (Bruce and Mitzi, WHUM, etc.) and the past (Classic Hits 104.9) is absolutely correct. Thanks to both you and Jimbo for confirming what I wrote earlier.

However, I wonder if some of the criticism you expressed about 'living in the past' may have been directed my way. I work to gather resources to feed hungry Hoosiers these days, and serve as their advocate. It's a calling that, in many ways, gives me more satisfaction than I've ever had before.

But I worked in radio for 25 years - and being part of that show with you and Tom (later Rick) was, without a doubt, the best time I ever had in the business! While I'm out of radio now with no ambition to return, it will always be in my blood. It will always interest me.

Posting memories on this thread doesn't mean I'm "living in the past". It just gives me a brief but happy respite from the present. And if some comments I've made on other threads are less than positive, let's just call them 'a necessary act of closure'.

Fair enough?
 
Looke like I've started quite a popular thread! Ha! Ha! Ha! It's
the talk of the town and the state.
Mark Webber, we remember you. You were the voice of the
primetime news on the Schurz stations here in Lafayette for
many years.
You say you've been dropping by Crista's. Just wondering
which product you're interested in? Thanks Jim, for the above
link.
Laffing our pants off in laffayette!
 
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