Lynchburg Radio Market Separate From Roanoke?

[Pattern.Guru]

Here's the link to the story
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/121245/gary-burns-takes-his-displeasure-with-arbitron-to-#ixzz2c21ERd6d

Excerpts from above story [emphasis added]
[3 DAUGHTERS MEDIA CEO GARY] BURNS continues, "When the FCC designated ARBITRON as the 'definer' of radio markets for the purpose of determining how many stations an individual station owner could operate in a given radio market it put too much power in the hands of the rating company and subsequently to the stations that subscribe to the ARBITRON service. ARBITRON subscribers alone decide which counties are included in the market’s definition.
….........
"I am formally requesting that the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION revisit their policy of using ARBITRON defined markets vs. Census Bureau SMSA designations, outsourced to BIA, as the way to define how many radio stations are in a market for the purposes of ownership limits. Especially considering that subscribing stations and not a regulatory agency get to decide the definition of the market.
End excerpts.

Please help me with some background on this.

During the Arbitron era, were Lynchburg and Roanoke separate Radio Markets for some period of time?

If so, when were they merged?

Was the merger a result of a vote of station owners?

Are there any records available about that vote, such as which stations subscribed to Arbitron at that time (and thus were entitled to vote) and which stations were not?

Was there a majority in favor of merging the two markets in both Lynchburg and Roanoke, or not?

 

[Dale H. Cook]

During the Arbitron era, were Lynchburg and Roanoke separate Radio Markets for some period of time?

They were.

If so, when were they merged?

I am not certain, but it was in the early- to mid-1980s.

Was the merger a result of a vote of station owners?

I do not know if there was a vote, and I do not recall any other details about the merger, but I was told by Aylett B. Coleman (then the owner of WXLK, for whom I went to work in 1987) that the two stations driving the merger were WXLK and WYYD.

 

[HadYourPhil]

Mid-80's at the earliest. And for 90% of the stations there, a big mistake.

 

[Pattern.Guru]

During the Arbitron era, were Lynchburg and Roanoke separate Radio Markets for some period of time?

They were.

If so, when were they merged?

I am not certain, but it was in the early- to mid-1980s.

Was the merger a result of a vote of station owners?

I do not know if there was a vote, and I do not recall any other details about the merger, but I was told by Aylett B. Coleman (then the owner of WXLK, for whom I went to work in 1987) that the two stations driving the merger were WXLK and WYYD.

Mid-80's at the earliest. And for 90% of the stations there, a big mistake.

Kindly elaborate.

A big mistake exactly how?

And if so, why have that huge majority of stations not reversed that vote, and returned to 2 separate markets?

Thanks

 

[Dale H. Cook]

A big mistake exactly how?

On FM only class Cs can cover the whole market decently. The Bs in Lynchburg can't do it without a booster or translator in Roanoke. Trying to do it with a pair of As is pretty sketchy. Given current noise levels it can't be done with a single AM A. Gary Burns has tried with three AMs and an FM, but he hasn't made much of a dent.

And if so, why have that huge majority of stations not reversed that vote, and returned to 2 separate markets?

You would likely have to ask some of the station owners about that. I'm just a meter-and-wrench-monkey.