Mix 103/Wave (FWB/Destin)

[Tibbs4]

Tibbs...it is understood that you were around when FM began..we get it...you were gods gift to the radio dial..impressed we really are....but if you are so perfect with your ideas and everyone is beneath you..then tell us what great station you run/own now..or consulting firm..etc..

you spout off that you know what stations are billing and you have no clue...so try not to insult the people that are still working in the market...and working in an era where 3 full time employees is all you have for 2 or 3 radio stations.

Look out for a brand new (as of last week) press release...i just got a copy of a new judgment in favor of QUANTUM big time on the 98.1 case...good for them!

OM - I am none of that radio god stuff/nor do I intend to come off that way. I was not attacking any PD/OM. Anyone that have ever heard the story of WPFM in the 70's and 80's knows it success was huge and that was a large result of a fraction of the stations there now even being on the air in PC in "the day." I was just being a SA about the 98one comment...no slam against anyone else. I meant it tongue in cheek. It was a fun, rockin', off the wall station while it lasted. The only time anyone has called any station "The Great" was WPFM. Unless something has changed recently, 98.1 was never called "great" anything. I was not saying no other stations were not great. I was just
referring to the moniker.


I may not know the billings on the stations like I used to, but after my 10,000 years on Earth, it's not rocket science. I understand your hard work, limited staff and corporate mandates, etc. While I think they can stifle you to a degree, I give kudos to the structure vs. one or two station limited ownerships (like Hales) that don't allow for lots of data to make better decisions, etc. Talk about making wrong decisions, hurricanes (Opal) and being scared you'll be broke tomorrow...I've lived the Destin dream and believe me, sir, "beaches are for vacations...not business." Just be glad you are not a single operator swimming alone. Although, I give Mark Carter major props for his ability to focus and do well with a small single property. As for the other semi-single operator, I cannot see how they've survived after all the legal problems, etc. I guess it's a testimony to determination, I am not sure. You can probably tell me more on that. It will be interesting to see if FINALLY one of the two "real" 98.1 owners gets that station anytime soon. Keep us posted for sure.

Oh, and as for Fly 92's success, it was a similar format that we considered for WXCR (flipping back to Surf or something Hot CHR with an Urban lean) to take the large share of BLX listeners in the FWB/Destin books, so I am happy they have the car radio's blasting. To me, all the research in the world is not as important as hearing the station everywhere (especially in 2008!) Our concern at the time, was whether
local advertsiers would buy time with that format. Hurricane Opal made the decision for us... I tried to buy 92.1 a few times, but the radio
Gods (other than me ???) were looking out for me. I was not the expert even I thought I was. ;D

Hope that clarifies my post. Oh, and OM, for what it's worth --- feel free to e-mail me. I'd love to hear more of all the crazy stuff you have going on. It's a great place, certainly over radioed, and I know you have your work cut out for you, but NYC will be a piece of cake in
comparison!!! The experience there is pretty wild. Go get 'em! I wish you top billing and books.

 

[Rob]

How are FLY's numbers doing compared to Z and MIX?
Dan must be really enjoying the sweet smell of success down in Destin.

-Rob

 

[nightcrawler35]

How are FLY's numbers doing compared to Z and MIX?
Dan must be really enjoying the sweet smell of success down in Destin.

-Rob

Well according to 12 plus. Fly is tide with blx at 5th place. With z just percentage points ahead. Mix
(no surprise) is languishing in mediocrity at mid 2's.The wolf is pretty much running away with it. While
99 rock is solid at second. What's surprising to me is how well 98.1 is doing. Considering the turmoil surrounding that station they're doin pretty good.

 

[Rob]

Thus tells you what this area listens to..
and people wonder why I have SirXM.

Though, if the price goes up after 3 years after the merger, It may be doubtful for how long

-Rob

 

[7779PFM]

Hello guys..as you can tell by my handle I was at WPFM in 77-79. Yes it was great. John and Wendy Dantzer..Cap'n Big hell the whole damn crew was fun and we HAD FUN. Thats whats missing in today's corporate radio MESS...no fun just numbers and $$. In the meantime they are running off listeners as fast as they can. I doubt that any of todays stations could tie up Hwy 98 with a AEA broadcast from the old beach tower of "Sweet Home Alabama" and get complaints from the police dept in Dothan for telling our listeners to crank up all their car radios.

The party at the old "Beach Party" on Thomas drive for 5000 of our closest friends...all FUN. Do I miss it ...yes...will it ever return...I'm sorry to say NO !

It's been fun thinking back on the old days...you current broadcasters...hang in there !

It was great at "The Great 108" Hell one of my sales staff (Wynn Austin)and I designed the old Sun and Wave PFM logo over a few beers one Saturday long ago.

 

[Rob]

sounded like good times.
PFM comes in out here only on occasion.

you can look at my station logs at:
http://www.cband.info/station-index.html

(trying to ID some of them with some luck)

-Rob

 

[Tibbs4]

Hello guys..as you can tell by my handle I was at WPFM in 77-79. Yes it was great. John and Wendy Dantzer..Cap'n Big hell the whole damn crew was fun and we HAD FUN. Thats whats missing in today's corporate radio MESS...no fun just numbers and $$. In the meantime they are running off listeners as fast as they can. I doubt that any of todays stations could tie up Hwy 98 with a AEA broadcast from the old beach tower of "Sweet Home Alabama" and get complaints from the police dept in Dothan for telling our listeners to crank up all their car radios.

The party at the old "Beach Party" on Thomas drive for 5000 of our closest friends...all FUN. Do I miss it ...yes...will it ever return...I'm sorry to say NO !

It's been fun thinking back on the old days...you current broadcasters...hang in there !

It was great at "The Great 108" Hell one of my sales staff (Wynn Austin)and I designed the old Sun and Wave PFM logo over a few beers one Saturday long ago.

Check this site out.... http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=wpfm

Proves that when you really create something special, people don't forget! Sure radio has changed. Sad thing is the new "generation" has few real memories
of the emotional attachments that listeners had "in those days." Even worse, it's not that hard to create, even today, with all the "corporate mandates." It's a forgotten art like customer service, etc.

And another cool thing is no one spent thousands on graphic artist designs and yet that logo was around for some time on billboards etc. and would have
recognition better than "professional" designs would have. Like I tired to say above, PFM was really a lot more than "a radio station" to many for quite some time.

 

[7779PFM]

Yes it (WPFM) was more than just a radio station..it was an attitude,a life style that we echoed and at times tried to create. Now there's a dirty word in today s corporate radio world...unless you are a "consultant" you are.. 1 to dumb to be creative and.. 2 if you are creative and push the issue "your fired". They are all very comfortable sitting hundreds or thousands of miles away.."with their finger on the pulse of your market". The only thing most have their fingers on is a fat paycheck. There are some who are actually good...but most look around at what the "good ones" are doing and copy..copy..copy.

Todays broadcasters can do something new or creative...just look at WSBZ. I believe he was laughed at and told he would be out of business in less than a year. How many years ago has that deadline passed. Its a different format but it still echoes a attitude and lifestyle. Its not easy to be different..but thats the only way a station can stand out from the pack.

To all of you creative broadcasters out there...as we used to say back 30 years ago "don't let the bastards wear you down"

rb

 

[Tibbs4]

Yep, good ole Mark Carter at Seabreeze is hilariously cool. He works his magic against all odds
and does his thing, his own way --- all the while, all the corporate tools shake their head
at his antics. He's laughing all the way to the bank. No, he's not perfect, but he brutally
honest and focused the way all of us should be. Unconventional is an understatement for
him. Just ask the dozens of corporate clones that have tracked him down to talk about
buying the station over the years. Overhead vs. profit, dollar for dollar, signal for signal
he kicks right along as a stand alone.

The difference of today from 30 years ago, is the bastards aren't the competition down
the street, rather they are from with the company ranks. Tough to win when logic doesn't apply.
And to me, it's tougher to make $$$, as well because you are often to bogged down with non-
essential paperwork and mandates that add nothing to the bottom line.

 

[7779PFM]

Tibbs2

I never considered the "guys down the street" the bastards. It was always the non broadcasters who are only interested in protecting their turf and their job.

rb

 

[Rob]

and looking at that playlist, i had no idea cornerstone (album) by styx was that big. that tower view must be nice!

another thing about today, radio is the same all over the place and syndicated.

as stated before, the last station to have live jocks on 24/7 is KPIG FM
(and, they were one of the first to be on the internet)

now, they have gone icky flash.

http://www.kpig.com
Streaming since 1995, our station was on the air since 1998.

-Rob

 

[Tibbs4]

Tibbs2

I never considered the "guys down the street" the bastards. It was always the non broadcasters who are only interested in protecting their turf and their job.

rb

RB ---

I am with you, my brother. I meant that in semi-jest, something I don't always clarify (making me less god-like) ... thing is, the team on the inside
spoke little or no ill of each other and worked the magic t-o-g-e-t-h-er. Now it's to cut throat for sure.

You didn't have any real competition back then during your days at PFM, did you? You were pretty cutting edge and different. Island came along
and started hitting the mark, so there were some skirmishes later. Pirate, later on, as well. But, all in all, they were fun rivalries, with no real ill feelings.
I later experienced some pretty major slug-fests in bigger markets where you didn't want to be caught in a dark alley by yourself at night if the
other guys knew your face. Did NOT help that we had years of UGLY billboards with my face on 'em to torment them. But, the day a competitior
would buy me a drink was the day I knew it was over. And in PCB, everybody partied together. Of course, truth be told, most of the real issues came from ownership changes & fomat flips with six minutes of warning. Maybe it was in-house after all. Go figure.

I am getting old, was PFM at all "Top 40ish" when you were there, or was still more Rock? Mid-80's, to me, was the top, when it was jammin' everywhere on the white sand beaches. Just an absolute blast!

Ah! To be young, thin and young again... Did I mention, thin? Had I known then, what i know now...I would have be crazier and lived more on the edge, and probably would be long gone. I GUESS even a revised version of PFM wouldn't get the listeners since this generation just doesn't get enamored with radio, like we all did. But, with the decent playlist out now, PFM could be pretty decent sounding if it wasn't of $$$ life support with no style and energy.
Still gotta have faith someone could pull it off.

 

[7779PFM]

Tibbs2...

Actually we did have competition when we started..There were two AMs ..you remember them... one of which had been at or near the top for 12 years and the other that was VERY strong on the beach. I can recall making a sales call on one of the soft drink distributors and being told no because he wanted to only buy "real radio" The same thing prevailed on the beach where we were "nobody

We all worked together to change that perception. We worked together... cried together...partied together... and were ALWAYS there for each other. We would do a promotion big or small and all get together at my place on Surf Drive to talk it over. How can we make it more FUN next time...where could we do better. Of course we might have an adult beverage along the way

The years have changed us all, but most of all it has changed RADIO...for the most part its just not FUN to listed to any more. I have XM in my car and have a MUCH better chance of getting a request played than on my local stations. Thats crazy these people are in DC and yet I get emails from them. Thats not fair because I know many of them from "the old days"

rb

 

[Poledo]

Y'all just have to stop talking about WPFM. After The Great 108 went downhill radio pretty much died. 96.9 from Enterprise did a great rock format for a year or two. 98.1 from Andalusia did a good classic rock format for about a year. Mobile and Pensacola stations were always boring. Gulf 104 has always been alright, but nothing special. That was it. In the late 80's I went several years without even listening to music, everything on the radio along the emerald coast sucked. If a radio was on, I turned it off.
I didn't renew my interest in radio until the early 90's when I discovered "college" radio stations WTOH (RIP), WVFS, WEGL, WRAS, WREK, WTUL, and KLSU. Then one day, out of nowhere WTKX 1230 AM in Pensacola went to a live jock, 24 hour a day, free-form, punk rock format for about a year. That AM had the kids ears glued to it and caused an explosion in the live music scene in Pensacola (circa 1991?). Actually I think the exploding live music scene may have created the station. We had Soundgarden and Green Day playing for 1000 kids in a pool hall that could only legally hold 200! They could get 500 kids to show up at that pool hall just by mentioning and playing the band on Radio 123. 1230 would play anything you requested, from Johnny Cash to Black Sabbath, and all the punk rock, modern rock, alternative, indie rock and college rock in between. The DJ's had full control over their play lists but they pretty much all jived with each other except for the Sunday dance music show. That all ended when Paxson bought TK AM and FM and flipped the AM to sports. Some of the AM's DJ's went to TK101, but they could only get away with playing "good" music after midnight. Later on New Rock One Zero Seven made a good try at commercial alternative music, but politics and a corporate by out by Clear Channel ended that station too. No radio station will succeed when it's always for sale.
The only radio station that I consider "great" today is KEXP Seattle. If they didn't have an endowment, they would probably just be an average college station, but for now, they've got it made.
Sorry for the rant, I'll go take my medicine now.

 

[7779PFM]

Please do...

We are just talking about the old days the way "Old Guys "do. I sure hope there are still some great radio stations out there.Problem is most of the college stations and jocks I've heard are so affected its funny.

PFM was Great IN IT"S DAY but that's it. ALL things change but its still nice to remember..

rb

 

[Rob]

i was listening to the wave and they are playing country songs.
started tuning around and think i hear some possible e*skip openings.

i can hear a mix of country and tween pop on 103.5 (country more then likely being panama cty) the pop station is unknown.

(sounded like a radio disney station - too much QRM to ID)

-Rob

 

[RadioGeek06]

OMG...I would give my right arm to have "98 SURF FM" return to the Emerald Coast!

I will never forget when it signed out (wasn't it originally licensed to Alabama?)

I remember vacationing from North Miss (remember, Redneck Riviera) in high school and laying on the beach ALL DAY listening to 98 SURF FM...they flew banners over the beaches and "the new COUNTRY 105.5" had a boat that went up/down the coast with a banner on the back...I wanna say the other side promoted their sister station 99ROCK?

98 SURF along with Z98 (KMPZ-Osceola/Memphis) will always be my all time favorite radio stations...High Energy presentation, jocks, sweepers, music, great giveaways, and what radio SHOULD be again...FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN!

98 SURF and Z98 are the REASONS I got into radio in the first place.

If 98 SURF returns, I'll give up my 10yr+ career in Miami/Ft Lauderdale to work for the company...wasn't it WWSF Andalusia/Destin/Fort Walton Beach?

 

[Poledo]

I know this is an old thread, but that last post reminded me of something. Didn't 98 Surf put their van in the Pensacola Mardi Gras parades about a month BEFORE they moved from being a local Andalusia station to the new tower covering Fort Walton and Pensacola? Or did they sign on on Mardi Gras weekend? I have a vague memory of the New 98 Surf passing out Subway sandwiches and TK passing out draught beer. Tibbs, is my brain playing tricks on me?

 

[McCloskey981]

Nope... by the time we switched to Holt, we were all so poor that we'd have kept the sandwiches for ourselves.

 

[Poledo]

Nope... by the time we switched to Holt, we were all so poor that we'd have kept the sandwiches for ourselves.

That's funny. (insert laughing smiley here)

I was referring to the move from Andalusia to Escambia Farms back in 1987? They were still IDing as "WWSF: Andalusia - Fort Walton - Pensacola." I don't think anyone had dreamed of moving the station to Holt at the time. Back then the FCC online database was new and it listed a strange CP for an FM-1 booster for 98.1 (on 98.1) in downtown Fort Walton, I wonder if that FM-1 booster ever made it on air?
I think the original 98 Surf introduced itself to Pensacola by appearing in the Mardi Gras parades... Back in the good 'ol days when TK 101 still handed out draught beer instead of moonpies without worrying about being sued. I think 98 Surf was advertising heavily almost a month before the new signal was on and able to reach Pensacola and Fort Walton. This was also the start of 98.1's brief impact on the ratings along the Redneck Rivera.
This wasn't uncommon back in the 1980's. WIZD, Wizard 104.1, had about 100 biloards in NW Florida for about 6 weeks before they signed on. Those billboards and TV commercials were very cryptic. They simply said, "The Wizard is coming" with no referance to radio whatsoever
Also, this is a stupid question, but I scrambled my brain after te Dawgs got whooped by Florida this afternoon. Did 98 Surf sign on as oldies, going up against Wave 96.1 or were they Top-40 competing with WABB and Q-100? Maybe an easier way to respond would be to list 98.1's format timeline? They were oldies (twice?), Top-40/chr, Classic Rock. and finally sports