News Talk 1400 WOND

[JerseyShor]

In my casual observations I feel that WOND is becoming very popular lately and I am hearing it almost as often as WFPG-FM! I'm not just talking about in the immediate Atlantic City area, I am including the LBI, Manahawkin, Cape May & Wildwood areas.

Not too shabby for 1,000 watts on the high end of the dial from the eastern edge of Pleasantville.

I was wondering though, could WOND become a big-time regional player, ie: the "New Jersey 101.5" of South Jersey?

Both Ocean and Cape May Counties lean VERY Republican (McCain beat Obama in both counties with over 50% of the vote) AND, perhaps more importantly, both counties are extremely under-served by the news media, so the market is certainly there.

Is there any chance that the 1400 signal could be increased to get a good, strong signal up and down the coast from the Monmouth/Ocean border down to Cape May?

 

[SoulCrusher]

For the life of me, I will never understand the reluctance of Press and Greater Media to pull the plugs on their respective perennial cellar dwellers B 98.5 & Magic 100.1 and go with a much-needed News/Talk format in the area. With all of the different choices available to today's music fan, people are more likely to turn to other sources aside from terrestrial radio to hear music that they find more appealing. Why not offer something that never gets stale - consistently new material instead of repeating the same tired hits ad nauseum? Eventually they're going to have to come to terms with the fact that they're the least favorite of the myriad Top 40 and soft rock formats out there, and resign themselves to having to try something different. Until then, the audience for this format is WOND's for the taking, if they are able to expand their signal north. I live in Barnegat, where they are drowned out by static, but I would definitely tune in if I could get them.

 

[amfmsw]

There isn't much to be done with this channel for 2 reasons:

1. It is on an assigned Graveyard frequency. 1230, 1340, 1400 1450, 1490 are all 1kwU ND or less.

2. Even if not, it's boxed in by adjacent channel 1410Kc to the North by WHTG Eatontown, and to the SWest by WDOV Dover DE. Even now, WDOV / WOND clash with sideband interference in Southern Cape May County.

The most economic it could do would be to purchase 1580 Hammonton from Access.1 for its' simulcast. (WGYM was not part of the group) and restore the ground system. 1580, when operating at full power AND modulation, carried WOND through Philadelphia to Wilmington and the entire length of the AC Expressway with 1400. It really was not a bad signal. Problem: copper thieves. Even WMGM-FM would not give them the coverage of a 1580 simulcast. BUT, I write from the perseptive of the early 2000's. The noise floor has gone up, and car radios/antennas are worse than ever, so that may no longer be the total answer.

 

[rob1010]

Re: News Talk 1400 WOND needs to be simulcast on FM as well

The only thing that they could do is simulcast WOND over 102.7 FM...playing the same crap as 99.3 ,95.1,and 104.9...so who would really miss 102.7..nobody..do we really need 4 stations playing the same stuff anyway ??..I think not..I.cant believe the dummies at Longport media wouldnt simulcast a station as important to the South Jersey area as WOND for news and information...they really need to broadcast on both AM and FM....ESPN 1450 simulcasts on both AM and FM ...and its only nationwide sports jibberish that no one even listens to...so why not have a station as important to the area as WOND on both AM and FM...that would also improve their coverage area at night,( as 1400 AM is a graveyarder).. by being broadcast over the FM band...and they could probably raise their advertising rates..make a lot more dollars....and possibly hire a full time news department to keep all of South Jersey informed..all the time....especially in bad weather and the like....

 

[JerseyBee]

WOND had to access 102.7 during Sandy.
In the AC market, they are the best of the lot. You do not have to like Don Williams to get that he pulls in the callers and switches up his show a lot. He and Kravitz may be aging out of the market, but they know the importance of variety, switching up with regional and national interview subjects, music, mixing local with national. Barbara Altman is a true professional, and their night man, Mat Toennissen may be the best in the market. He could easily go regional or syndicated. Too bad they lost Jeff Whitaker who was one of maybe two or three trained broadcasters in the area.