Objections Filed Against WAGI Move/Sale

[eacalhoun]

Informal objections have been filed with the FCC related to the pending sale and move of Gaffney's WAGI(105.3 FM). The objections were filed by Kristen B. Bolen, Dr Vernon Edward McAbee, and Sen Harvey Peeler(R-Cherokee County). Obviously, Senator Peeler is a noteworthy individual. Are Ms Bolen and Dr McAbee significant individuals around Gaffney?
Have there been any success stories--anywhere--of communities getting to keep their stations planted in their city of license, when such sales/moves have been likely?

Eric

 

[goldenman]

Not sure if it has worked in the past. But in this case I certainly hope it does work.
WAGI should stay and serve it's city.
The QC already has enough stations.
> Informal objections have been filed with the FCC related to
> the pending sale and move of Gaffney's WAGI(105.3 FM). The
> objections were filed by Kristen B. Bolen, Dr Vernon Edward
> McAbee, and Sen Harvey Peeler(R-Cherokee County). Obviously,
> Senator Peeler is a noteworthy individual. Are Ms Bolen and
> Dr McAbee significant individuals around Gaffney?
> Have there been any success stories--anywhere--of
> communities getting to keep their stations planted in their
> city of license, when such sales/moves have been likely?
>
> Eric
>

 

[artsutton]

> Not sure if it has worked in the past. But in this case I
> certainly hope it does work.
> WAGI should stay and serve it's city.
> The QC already has enough stations.
> > Informal objections have been filed with the FCC related
> to
> > the pending sale and move of Gaffney's WAGI(105.3 FM). The
>
> > objections were filed by Kristen B. Bolen, Dr Vernon
> Edward
> > McAbee, and Sen Harvey Peeler(R-Cherokee County).
> Obviously,
> > Senator Peeler is a noteworthy individual. Are Ms Bolen
> and
> > Dr McAbee significant individuals around Gaffney?
> > Have there been any success stories--anywhere--of
> > communities getting to keep their stations planted in
> their
> > city of license, when such sales/moves have been likely?
> >
> > Eric
> >
>
One must have some legal grounds to prevent WAGI from moving its transmitter site. This action won't get any where except perhaps make the attorneys some money. WAGI is following FCC law. Anyone who has checked with the FCC would be told this is the case. While that may not be their intent, this is grandstanding at best.

The FCC laws require that a station licensed to a city give the legal ID as close as possible to the top of hour, each hour. It requires the station's main studios and FCC public file be located within the stations city grade contour or within 25 miles of the city of license. It requires the city grade contour cover the city of license. it requires that residents of the city of license be able to telephone the station at no cost. Toll Free line takes care of that aspect.

After that, everything is subjective at best concerning the quarterly program issues required in the FCC public file and then its the station's response to it's entire service area, not just the city of license. This is the case with several of the FM stations serving Charlotte. Many of them are licensed to other communities.

The only difference is WAGI did not broaden its programming beyond Cherokee County. A Class A at 6KW could have done the same job but no one filed to put a Class A in there when it could be done. No offense but WAGI sounded like and programmed like a small town station and there is nothing wrong with that but it's 100KW wasn't being used to serve its entire listening area and develop its best revenue potential. Why would a 100KW station limit itself to $600K a year in sales when it could do ten times that in Charlotte? It's a commercial station. Furthermore, it's 100KW C allocation prevented improved or new services out a great distance from Gaffney. Now other stations may have the option to improve their facilities or new services be created since WAGI is being downgraded to a C1 100KW allocation.

Someone should file to build a LPFM in Gaffney or someone should have built a full time AM in Gaffney to provide more local service when that was possible.

The proposed WAGI site provides service to a much larger population than its present site. This follows the FCC mandate of providing service to as many people as possible.

 

[Matt]

> A Class A at 6KW could have done the
> same job but no one filed to put a Class A in there when it
> could be done.

If memory serves, this station was originally licensed to Forest City, NC, but was purchased from a licensee there and moved to Gaffney. I would suppose that the folks who bought and moved it weighed the costs and projected revenues of petitioning for an addition to the table of allocations, doing the engineering study for a CP application, build-out of the facilities, and establishing a listening habit for a new station at a time when audiences did not normally go searching on the FM band.

The probably determined that the price was right on the existing station, the existing tower would provide the proper signal strength over downtown Gaffney, and the legal expense of acquiring an existing station was much less than starting a new one from scratch.

As for the FCC rules, they are not as "cut-and-dried" as you seem to say here. Federal regulations, of which the FCC R&R's are, are designed to allow some wiggle room to accommodate the policital expedience of a given situation. Otherwise, there would be no allowance for "informal objections" to proposed actions by broadcast stations.

It is, though, in the best interests of station owners for them to represent their actions as being "according-to-law" and to discourage citizens from protesting those actions to governmental entities. Truth be known, anyone can protest any action of any broadcaster to any FCC Commissioner, Congressman or judge who might be willing to give it a proper hearing. Sometimes they DO listen, and the legal costs for a station owner to respond to such a protest push the acquisition cost for a station up astronomically.

One needs only to look at what the listeners to WNCW's translator in Charlotte on 100.7 accomplished when WABZ desired to move 100.9 from Albemarle to Indian Trail, in the shadow of Charlotte. Susquehanna Broadcasting's lawyers spent untold hours answering Informal Objections, billing Susquehanna untold thousands of dollars for their efforts. Eventually, they wrote the project off and sold the CP to Radio One. Supposedly because of their "Minority Broadcaster" status, they were able to move the signal to air rather quickly.

While most people might consider that one as a "loss" for keeping such a station as a local entity, consider that those informal objections kept a unique format on the air in Charlotte for six additional years, and that Albemarle had a locally-programmed and staffed FM station for those same six years. I call that a victory for those who had the guts to take on the challenge of holding on to what is important to them.

By the way, Art, have you looked into putting new service into Cherokee County when WAGI moves east? You are the person in the BEST position to do that.

Later...
Matt Smith
Station Manager
WGSR-TV "Star-39"
Reidsville, NC<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Matt on 03/09/06 01:38 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[eacalhoun]

> If memory serves, this station was originally licensed to
> Forest City, NC, but was purchased from a licensee there and
> moved to Gaffney.

Matt, I can't believe I had forgotten about that. Remants of such a time still exist today with every mention of the calls WAG"Y" on 1320 WAGY, Forest City.
Anyone here know any history of WAGI(105.3) when it was licensed to Forest City and presumably co-owned with WAGY? Interesting that Rutherford County previously had two big FM signals--the other being 93.3 WBBO.

 

[artsutton]

> > If memory serves, this station was originally licensed to
> > Forest City, NC, but was purchased from a licensee there
> and
> > moved to Gaffney.
>
> Matt, I can't believe I had forgotten about that. Remants of
> such a time still exist today with every mention of the
> calls WAG"Y" on 1320 WAGY, Forest City.
> Anyone here know any history of WAGI(105.3) when it was
> licensed to Forest City and presumably co-owned with WAGY?
> Interesting that Rutherford County previously had two big FM
> signals--the other being 93.3 WBBO.
>
Yes,WAGI was the FM to WAGY and it's calls were WAGY-FM. The story I was told by former WAGI employees is Raymond Parker, long time operator of WAGI/WAEX was a partner at WAGY AM/FM and the partnership also owned WAEC in Gaffney. My 1963 Broadcasting Yearbook shows WAGY-FM had 3300 watts. WBBO-FM,now WTPT, had 1500 watts. It's AM is now known as WWOL. WMIT was licensed to Marion at that time. The most powerful FM in North Carolina was WFY 107.5 in Winston Salem which had 155,000 watts. In South Carolina, it was WCSC 96.9 which had 50,000 watts. WESC 92.5 had 12000 watts and WSPA had only 4900 watts. WLBG-FM, Laurens, Now WSSL had 3500 watts.

Raymond got the AM in Gaffney when the partnership dissolved; his partner got WAGY. Raymond bought the FM for $250,000 which everyone thought was nuts. This was the early 1970s. He then re-licensed it to Gaffney and later built the 100,000 watts. The other AM in Gaffney, now on 1180, was on 1570 originally as a side note. It had 250 watts.

WAGY later went full time and I think the cost of the four tower 500 watts directional doomed them financially. I understand whoever built the directional ended up going broke.

As to putting a service into Gaffney, there are no FM channels available for Gaffney under present spacing rules. The only other FM channel that will work there is the 103.3 at Greer. It would work at Gaffney but I doubt anyone could pay Davidson what it would take to buy it. Maybe Davidson should buy WAGI and part of the deal be that Gaffney gets 103.3?

 

[radioranch]

>
> As to putting a service into Gaffney, there are no FM
> channels available for Gaffney under present spacing rules.
> The only other FM channel that will work there is the 103.3
> at Greer. It would work at Gaffney but I doubt anyone could
> pay Davidson what it would take to buy it. Maybe Davidson
> should buy WAGI and part of the deal be that Gaffney gets
> 103.3?
>

The good citizens of Cherokee County should thank providence that their station stayed local as long as it did. The family turned down millions over the years to continue to be a small town station. I know I was approached in 1986 to join the management team of a group that was offering big bucks for the station then. It was rebuffed.

Towns like Laurens, Anderson, Forest City, and Hendersonville lost their local big stick FM's 20 or more years ago. Seneca joined them a few years ago. Gaffney was the last hold out against the inevitable.

Now that the estate is in charge, no one can blame the family for cashing out for all they can get. How would you feel if someone offered you a million dollars for your house but your neighbors wanted you to sell the lot to them for 100,000 so they could make it a playground.

And as has been mentioned, not only was WAGI very small-time, it wasn't even a particularly good small town station. Kilowatts can mask a lot of weaknesses. They did kick butt on high school football though and I suspect that's the only thing the town will remember losing by this time next year.

 

[Braswell]

> high school football though and I suspect
> that's the only thing the town will remember losing by this
> time next year.

WQSY/Hawkinsville, Georgia. Different station, different town, but the same story. <P ID="signature">______________
Jay Braswell - Moderator
Atlanta/North Florida/South Carolina/Georgia Boards</P>

 

[thatwasradio]

Back to the original post for this topic, it said there was an informal complaint about the move, I have been through this before, there were thousands of informal complaints against a format change and studio move at a station I was at just last year, all claims against the station to try and prevent the move and/or sale were dropped because, as the FCC put it, they were "informal complaints" (letters sent in to the station and/or FCC hand written or typed, not through an attorney or notarized). If there have been no formal complaints against the WAGI move, then I would say it will move on smoothly.
Kahuna


> > high school football though and I suspect
> > that's the only thing the town will remember losing by
> this
> > time next year.
>
> WQSY/Hawkinsville, Georgia. Different station, different
> town, but the same story.
>