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Naptown Radio Wars Premiere Tonight

C

ChiefEngineer

We bought general admission tickets then my wife elected to get VIP tickets. I didn't know there was a red carpet at the Imax. This should be interesting.
All of the television stations have been doing snippets on the premiere tonight. The movie is at 7 then there are questions and answers with Chris Conner afterward.
Among those who are supposed to be there : Buster B, Chris, Freddie(Steve Reynolds), Dave Dugan, Bill Shirk, Ann Craig, and others. Rumor has it Benjamen Homel will be there. Haven't heard from Scott Wheeler. Would like to know who will be there, guess we will just be surprised.
 
ChiefEngineer said:
Rumor has it Benjamen Homel will be there.
Click to expand...
That will be an expensive cab fare.
 
Mr. Homel's charges were greatly reduced to something like unlawful trespass of a construction zone. It helps to have lots of $ and friends in high places.
 
My wife & I bought VIP tickets and had a great time meeting all of our Nap Jocks & Wife Jocks and also Bill Shirk from WXLW. Everyone was very kind and inviting. They were all very nice to their fans & the film was terrific!
 
I have yet to see it posted here, but according to the Naptown Radio Wars web site, there will be a showing of "Naptown Radio Wars" in Columbus (Indiana) on Monday, February 20th at 7:00 PM at the YES Cinema in downtown Columbus. Tickets are $10. For more info call the YES Cinema at 812-378-0377.
I understand there are additional showings coming up at the IMAX at White River State Park. Your final chance to see the full-length directors cut.
If you missed it the first time or reside in Southern Indiana, here is your chance to check out a great film on the history of Top 40 Radio in Indianapolis.
I saw it at the IMAX during the premiere and have every intention of attending on the 20th. Even if you were not around during the 60's and 70's, here's a great chance to see the impact radio had on people's lives before 1,000 TV channels, MTV, iPhones and iPods and the Internet. You can also see one of the greatest radio battles in the history of Top 40 radio (WLS/WCFL was one and Q105/Power Pig was another).
 
Thanks jimbo! I still don't GET it, though. As good as the WIFE/WNAP battle allegedly was, the ratings history simply doesn't back up the nostalgia. If anything, WNAP was more competitive in the early mid 80's when they went head to head with WZPL. The Buzzard must have been the station everyone listened to....except diary holders.
 
Onesimus said:
Thanks jimbo! I still don't GET it, though. As good as the WIFE/WNAP battle allegedly was, the ratings history simply doesn't back up the nostalgia. If anything, WNAP was more competitive in the early mid 80's when they went head to head with WZPL. The Buzzard must have been the station everyone listened to....except diary holders.
Click to expand...

are you comparing the overall ratings or just ratings between rock stations?

i think the second option was what the movie was about.educated guess.
 
It has been interesting to note the ratings as one part of the subject. While I recall the rock radio wars as WIFE and WNDE with WNDE winning, ultimately WNDE went away within a few months. In the long haul it was not a contender.

I didn't even tune to FM until the mid 1970's when what was top 40 on AM was gone. Very disappointed with FBQ turning into an album rock station,.
 
This thread makes me miss the good 'ole days of radio. Before everything got all corporate and owners were allowed to snatch up 5 stations.
 
I don't think WNAP ever beat WIFE outright, but they did knock their nmbers down to the place where WIBC regained the top spot.
That was all Fairbanks wanted. By that time, Burden was in trouble with the FCC for his Vance Hartke (editorial philosophy in the news and free poplitical spots) and other infractions. To me, the best period was when Shirk got into the fray with WXLW... we had WIFE, Super XL, WNDE and WNAP (and to a lesser degree WFBQ with their automated Hot Hits). When Bill Shirk was on the air - afternoon drive- I don't think anybody was better, and there were tons of great personalities in the market!
Everybody improved (escept the music) during that period.
 
WIFE stayed strong until about 1976 when Don Burden lost the license. WNDE then took the AM crown until about 1980 when they decided AC would make more sense. It didn't. WNAP slowly grew after it's debut in '68. Not sure about the exact numbers, but it would seem they hit their stride after 1974. WNAP was pretty much done by 1982 when they too decided to move toward AC. Interesting that these days almost no station wants to do AC.
 
According to the Indiana State Museum's IMAX schedule, "Naptown Radio Wars" is returning there for three nights, February 22-24. A ticket costs $9.50.
 
I went to the premiere, the second showing, and enjoyed it so much that I went back again! I'm so sad I can't own a copy of this great documentary. I wasn't around for much of the 70's (I only was alive for 9 days of it) but the look back made me acutely sad that I didn't experience this first hand.
 
i understand both shows were sellouts, makes you wonder if a Classic Hits revival could again hit the circle city airwaves??
 
I'm out of state, but a friend sent me a link to the story in the Indy paper. Good times. When I was a kid I was standing outside the WIFE studios watching Howie Castle on the air. He ended up letting me in to watch for about 45 minutes and that was it. I've been a messed up radio guy ever since.
 
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