Radio Maria...What Are You Doing?

[KFodor]

I have been waiting for a few days before posting this, as I know stations, especially small ones, can have technical issues which force it to do things other stations with more wherewithall would not.

That having been said, the former WULM in Springfield is a mess. I have heard a dead carrier for days at a time (which is totally illegal). Now, I hear WONE is bleeding over onto it (whether accidentally or intentionally to have some program feed on the carrier).

I respect your mission, Radio Maria, as one born into a Catholic family, and raised in Catholic schools. But your station is in serious need of help.

Have you forgotten you need to air a Legal ID (Call Letters/City Of License) as close to the top of the hour at a "natural" break in programming? Seems so. I haven't heard one yet.

When there is programming on it frankly, it sounds amatuerish, and almost like some of these programs are being broadcast on a cassette microphone. For crying out loud, you can afford to purchase a radio station...you should be able to buy a Shure SM-58 microphone for about $89 dollars. (Not a studio quality mike, but a reasonable vocal mike that would sound better than what you are using.)

Sometimes, I'll hear hosts play a song, but only play about 30 seconds of it before crossfading to another.

I never hear anything remotely local on this station. Not even a weather forecast in between programs. If Springfield was burning to the ground, I have to wonder if I would hear anything about it on 1600.

Lastly, I was told of a press release sent out for this station. It said you were "proudly serving Dayton and Columbus." I hope this is not true. If so, I'd like to know by what reason do you think you're doing that? Your signal can barely be heard in Kettering during the day (I have to drive almost north of Fairborn to lose the noise in your signal) and I guarantee you cannot be heard much beyond the western-most outerbelt (I-270) loop in Columbus. Your nighttime signal doesn't even cover all of Springfield, unless you're operating at full power at night, which is illegal. (But I have no reason to believe, and do not think you're doing that.)

To suggest you are serving Dayton and Columbus is certainly a misrepresentation. If not, an outright lie. And you should be ashamed of touting this if you are.

The station sounds as if it's modulating at around 30-40%. I have to turn my radio down when going from your station to another. The former WULM had this issue and it sounds as though you still haven't been able to fix the station's technical issues.

The FCC is giving you a license to "serve the public interest, convenience and necessity". They are not giving you carte blanche authority to ignore all technical parameters and FCC rules in order to broadcast your religious programming. Is there someone there who knows what the rules are? Do you care?

I will pray, for the sake of your station, that you are able to get a handle on your problems.

 

[gabigley1]

I have been waiting for a few days before posting this, as I know stations, especially small ones, can have technical issues which force it to do things other stations with more wherewithall would not.

Lastly, I was told of a press release sent out for this station. It said you were "proudly serving Dayton and Columbus." I hope this is not true. If so, I'd like to know by what reason do you think you're doing that? Your signal can barely be heard in Kettering during the day (I have to drive almost north of Fairborn to lose the noise in your signal) and I guarantee you cannot be heard much beyond the western-most outerbelt (I-270) loop in Columbus. Your nighttime signal doesn't even cover all of Springfield, unless you're operating at full power at night, which is illegal. (But I have no reason to believe, and do not think you're doing that.)

To suggest you are serving Dayton and Columbus is certainly a misrepresentation. If not, an outright lie. And you should be ashamed of touting this if you are.

The station sounds as if it's modulating at around 30-40%. I have to turn my radio down when going from your station to another. The former WULM had this issue and it sounds as though you still haven't been able to fix the station's technical issues.

I can say in the Downtown Columbus area where I live, the signal is very very weak and under the noise most
of the time. There is no way they(WULM) can expect to serve Columbus with such a weak signal and weak modulation. The only person(s) that would ever try to listen to that station in the heart of Columbus
would only be DXer(s) like myself. The general public at large wouldn't even bother to tune into
WULM 1600 in Columbus, at least not in the downtown area. Maybe a few people in the Western most outerbelt (I-270) loop in Columbus but that is about it. They can say they ARE serving Columbus if they
like because their fringe coverage area signal DOSE actually encompass all of the Columbus city limits. Click hereto see the WULM coverage area:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WULM&service=AM&status=L&hours=D

Speaking of Dayton, isn't WULM going to apply to move their transmitter site closer to Dayton?

 

[gr8oldies]

RM was off the air at least 3 days with only a carrier. As long as they're on Miracle Mile there will be RF from WIZE..we fought it the whole time I was there.

They ID all their stations at once. If Springfield burns, the only place you'll hear it is WHIO..assuming95.7 doesn't leave.

 

[techie2]

Since it's all satellite religion anyway, they might as well go the K-Love route and get a main studio waiver, and just put the dish right at the transmitter site.

 

[kirkiefan]

It seems to me that the problem may be their sattelite dish at Miracle Mile...with all the tress surrounding the building possibly blocking the sattellite feed it would seem logical to put up a new dish and receiver out at the Miller Road tower. (hope somebody from the World Family engineering department is reading this and rectify this problem ASAP! )

If I remember correctly from a couple of years ago during its oldies format (and owned by Urban Light at the time ) the STL signal from Mircle Mile to Miller Rd.was also blocked by the trees as well...and a tree service had to be called.

WHJM Anna (88.7 FM) is still on the air and operating normally as is its online stream.

RM's sattellite feed originates from Alexandria's studio so sometimes I have heard a song fade out before a CST time check (barely audible) and going into the group legal ID....hence it is automated for the most part I venture.

I seriously doubt RM is lying about its signal,but if one is heading towards Columbus on I-70 it can be picked up before the buildings and high tension wires and stuff overshadow the signal. Take into consideration that the coverage maps at www.radio-locator.com are basically estimated if I am not misteken here....and the AM transmitter sometimes falls short of its coverage as it has in the past when Urban Light owned it....so pray for these people at RM who are at this moment asking Springfield listeners for monetary support...so how about some of you radio pros and execs give a little and help out with a few bucks a month before you become too judgemental...and maybe they can move its transmitter closer to Dayton (Fairborn or Medway per se if someone can donate a little bit of real estate with a good water table underneath?)

AND....If you are a radio pro (and Catholic) surely Father Duane Stenzel and Kelly Hatcher will welcome your volunteerism as well.

http://www.radiomaria.us/PDF/ARMS21.pdf

 

[KFodor]

Any engineering type would tell you the 1/2 microvolt per meter contour of an AM radio signal is spotty, at best. That's why any radio-locator.com coverage map is listed as being "for entertainment purposes." That is why I question the claim that the station serves "Dayton and Columbus". Who could listen to it?

Here we have a radio station which still...has serious engineering issues. The tower that carries the AM signal has almost no grounding system. It's in a horrible location for AM.

What I understand is that the station's transmitter is operating with missing modules that, if present in the transmitter could improve its performance. This needs to be done.

And...why is it silent after 3 days with a running carrier? Is anyone...anyone paying attention? As of 4:20 this afternoon the transmitter was on...but nothing...no sound, no ID, no nothing was on the air. This is simply inexcusable.

The Catholic community deserves better.

As for moving it to Dayton, who knows? It would cost a couple million to pull it off.

 

[gr8oldies]

9am this morning still a dead carrier, with some RF from WIZE.. I had forgotten about the tree issue but it's quite likely they've grown back to the point of blocking the signal to the transmitter.

Last I know the transmitter was missing modules as Jason said.

 

[techie2]

An STL failure would result in a dead carrier with no audio if the STL receiver had squelched off. If there's still bleedover from WIZE, then I would think the STL was still up but the satellite feed had failed.

I'm not sure what type of transmitter they are using. Most solid-state units for a 1kW AM usually have 4 250W modules inside, so if a module or two is missing then they won't be at full power either.

I kinda wish WBZI could have bought out this station instead. They seem to do well with their network of small AM stations, both from a programming and technical standpoint. I know 1500 sounds nice on a good wideband radio like a GE SR3.

 

[gr8oldies]

I'm surprised Joe Mullins didn't at least put a bid in (perhaps he did). Does seem like he makes a decent living from the "I"s. Yes, the STL would be apparently be operational with the WIZE bleedover. It almost would seem that "translating" the off-air signal from Ada would be a temporary solution with a high enough and diectional enough antenna. Just checked again..still a dead carrier. RM won't be rising much money from Springfield if they are not on the air (and kill the carrier already?).

 

[KFodor]

It seems to me that the problem may be their sattelite dish at Miracle Mile...with all the tress surrounding the building possibly blocking the sattellite feed it would seem logical to put up a new dish and receiver out at the Miller Road tower. (hope somebody from the World Family engineering department is reading this and rectify this problem ASAP! )

If I remember correctly from a couple of years ago during its oldies format (and owned by Urban Light at the time ) the STL signal from Mircle Mile to Miller Rd.was also blocked by the trees as well...and a tree service had to be called.

WHJM Anna (88.7 FM) is still on the air and operating normally as is its online stream.

RM's sattellite feed originates from Alexandria's studio so sometimes I have heard a song fade out before a CST time check (barely audible) and going into the group legal ID....hence it is automated for the most part I venture.

I seriously doubt RM is lying about its signal,but if one is heading towards Columbus on I-70 it can be picked up before the buildings and high tension wires and stuff overshadow the signal. Take into consideration that the coverage maps at www.radio-locator.com are basically estimated if I am not misteken here....and the AM transmitter sometimes falls short of its coverage as it has in the past when Urban Light owned it....so pray for these people at RM who are at this moment asking Springfield listeners for monetary support...so how about some of you radio pros and execs give a little and help out with a few bucks a month before you become too judgemental...and maybe they can move its transmitter closer to Dayton (Fairborn or Medway per se if someone can donate a little bit of real estate with a good water table underneath?)

AND....If you are a radio pro (and Catholic) surely Father Duane Stenzel and Kelly Hatcher will welcome your volunteerism as well.

http://www.radiomaria.us/PDF/ARMS21.pdf

KirkieFan:

I'm anything but a "radio executive" - one look at my paycheck would prove that.

But, let's talk common sense here. When you buy a used car, you expect that you might have to put a couple hundred bucks into it to make it run well. Maybe a new set of brakes, perhaps new tires, an oil change or a tune up.

The same goes with used radio stations. One good read of the posts on this board about WULM would tell any prospective owner that there's problems with the facility that would need to be dealt with before the station could be considered up to snuff. One also could pay an engineering type to go in and inspect the prospective facility to get a proposal on how much cash it would take to bring the facility up to specs. It's done all the time.

Radio Maria had six figures to purchase WULM. One would assume if they know anything about broadcasting, they would have planned a little in the budget for purchase to fix what's wrong. And, by the way, the problems there are not insurmountable or that outrageously expensive. A few thousand bucks, maybe...but not impossible. At bare minimum, they need modules for the transmitter, it needs a good tune up so it can transmit at full power and full modulation and a good audio processor (need not be new, you can find a bunch of used ones that would be cheaper).

But, don't plead poverty in their case here. It's unbecoming. They seem to have money to buy radio stations - (they've now bought, what...6 or 7, including at least one or two 5 KW AM's..) one would think they can come up with money to fix them. Then, once they have shown that they're serious about serving "the public interest, convenience and necessity" (remember the FCC doesn't care a darn about their programming), the public could very well respond.

Not, however, if you leave the station running silent for days on end...and not if you're asleep at the switch (which from all intents and purposes they seem to be.) Not with bad audio and programming that, on occasion sounds as if it's produced in someone's garage. They need to win the people in their own backyard of Springfield, of which they are a lot of Catholics before, they try to win Dayton and Columbus. You won't win them just by being on the air and proclaiming a mission. A lot of religious LP-FM owners are now learning that lesson the hard way. That's why they're selling those properties to K-Love.

"If you build it, they will come" doesn't work in radio.

I don't think they're lying about their signal. But, if they are promoting seriously that they serve Dayton and Columbus it is a misrepresentation. At least for now.

 

[nmoore6676]

I have a question, considering I'm out of the loop for some time as to the FCC requirements. When I was in the know, it was not permitted, ever, to have carrier without modulation for more than minutes. Of course in those days stations needed a CE and at least a Third Class with Broadcast Endorsement operator in charge at all times. In my new incarnation as a computer guru I know that the systems for computer monitoring can be programmed to shut down the transmitter in event of an STL failure. Also they can be set to notify whoever is in charge that there is a problem so that corrections can be made.

This situation would seem to be cause for at minimum a citation and perhaps even a suspension of the license as they are not capable of properly operating it or am I wrong?

The suggestion that they locate the satellite receiver at the transmitter is a good one. I think that even if they have a local studio they could still use the receiver at the TX site and if any local origination is to be aired they can take control for that. It is done other places and when I was in Cable TV we did it all the time. That would take care of the RF bleed from WIZE as well.

 

[alans613]

Springfield radio(Can we even call it that anymore)is in a sad, sad state. WIZE is basically a repeater for WONE(A total and complete insult considering that 'IZE was once a huge CHR in the 70s and 80s) and draws zero ratings, and now the former WBLY, WULM, is a total and complete disgrace thanks to incompetent owners who aren't even having someone in Springfield on Miracle Mile "Mind the store", so to speak. Not sure on all FCC rules and regulations, but isn't a failure to announce the Station ID at least once in a given hour cause for a station to lose its license, especially if they've went days on end without broadcasting anything in the first place? ??? Someone should report this to the FCC ASAP.

 

[gr8oldies]

Day 6 at least with nothing on the air but the transmitter humming. It is clearly illegal. Maybe a phone call to ALexandria? At least shut the transmitter off!

 

[nmoore6676]

Day 6 at least with nothing on the air but the transmitter humming. It is clearly illegal. Maybe a phone call to ALexandria? At least shut the transmitter off!

Sent the following to the e-mail link on their website:

Would kindly suggest you go to : http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/board,207.0.html and read the postings.

I am not there but there are enough people posting to indicate that AM-1600 has some serious problems. I should remind you that the violations are likely serious enough to result in significant fines and / or an order to surrender the license.

I know that in the WBLY days and at least during part of the Urban Light tenure they had an agreement with the engineer at WEEC to maintain the transmitter. Maybe you could also make some arrangements with the management of WDHT since their transmitter is at the same site on Miller Road.

Norman Moore
North Hollywood, CA
Former Springfield resident and long time WBLY listener.

 

[Limp73]

I woke up this morning at 8am and heard it on my way to the gas station. As of yesterday at 5pm it returned to the air. It has been resolved.

 

[KFodor]

I am sincerely glad to hear they are back on the air with programming on the carrier. I had noticed Saturday morning they were still running dead in the water. Had this continued, I was prepared to call or write the FCC this coming week.

Now, Radio Maria, with no disrespect intended, here's a few things you need to know, in case you didn't.

It is completely illegal to run a transmitter with no programming on it for days at a time.

If you find yourselves in a position where you cannot air programming (satellite dish problems, etc.), you MUST turn the transmitter off until you can put programming on it.

I would assume you have someone there taking transmitter readings, right? Or, at least have some form of electronic monitoring of the transmitter? Completely unattended operation without some type of monitoring that notifies someone responsible when the station drifts out of tolerance (and, in the best case shuts down the station when an out of tolerance situation cannot be maintained) is illegal.

You're allowed 5% above licensed power and 10% below. If the transmitter is operating below 90% power, you have a problem and need to notify the FCC. And...you need to deal with the problem. Quickly.

These are rules all broadcasters, commercial or not, have to live by.

You can afford to buy a radio station. (In fact, Radio Maria has purchased several.) You must operate them properly.

I don't mean to be critical of your efforts, and I do wish you well. But, lots of us radio pros wish we had the cash to buy and operate a local station. To see a station abused, as has happened in the past week with WULM makes people like myself angry. And I feel I'm justified to speak out in these cases.

You're not being picked on. You're being held to the same high standards of any organization that purchases a radio station to operate in the public "interest, convenience and necessity." That's why you have the license. It is a mission as important to the Springfield community as the mission you embark on to save souls. May you do well with both.

 

[kirkiefan]

Jas:
Thanks for your recent post..Up to this point I ventured you were in attack mode....so my apologies. Surely the folks in Alexandria know about this although they also may be saying their Hail Marys that Gustav will spare its wrath upon Louisiana right about now.

RM needs volunteers in the Dayton and Springfield area with a local radio (and Catholic) background. I would consider calling them on the next buisiness day and volunteer your expertise...and in case you wondered...I heard that Kim Faris volunteered her voice talents on the top of the hour group legal ID as she is Catholic as well. Many of its programs (granted) have been low in sound quality...as they originate over phone lines(From The Tummy To The Heart from UD's library)...but they also have a studio in Minster(west of Anna) which uses a Tieline unit for its programs they send down to Alexandria (Letting Go and Living The Lectionary) which gives a comaparatively better studio-like quality.

Mary Pyper(formerly of Great Trails) lives in the Dayton area and is the local co-ordinator for both WHJM and WULM. John Koenig lives in Piqua and is the station manager. Ask Kelly or Father Duane to direct you to them.

I still hope somebody out there will purchase WIZE and bring it home where it belongs...and make it Springfiel's local station once again(are you listening Mainline?)

 

[nmoore6676]

Jas:
Thanks for your recent post..Up to this point I ventured you were in attack mode....so my apologies. Surely the folks in Alexandria know about this although they also may be saying their Hail Marys that Gustav will spare its wrath upon Louisiana right about now.

RM needs volunteers in the Dayton and Springfield area with a local radio (and Catholic) background. I would consider calling them on the next buisiness day and volunteer your expertise...and in case you wondered...I heard that Kim Faris volunteered her voice talents on the top of the hour group legal ID as she is Catholic as well. Many of its programs (granted) have been low in sound quality...as they originate over phone lines(From The Tummy To The Heart from UD's library)...but they also have a studio in Minster(west of Anna) which uses a Tieline unit for its programs they send down to Alexandria (Letting Go and Living The Lectionary) which gives a comaparatively better studio-like quality.

Mary Pyper(formerly of Great Trails) lives in the Dayton area and is the local co-ordinator for both WHJM and WULM. John Koenig lives in Piqua and is the station manager. Ask Kelly or Father Duane to direct you to them.

I still hope somebody out there will purchase WIZE and bring it home where it belongs...and make it Springfiel's local station once again(are you listening Mainline?)

I hear what you are saying about WIZE. I myself was more of a WBLY fan when I lived there but the plain and unwelcome truth is that both 1340 and 1600 are what they are today because of the state of radio in general and AM in particular. If 1600 and 102.9 were still joined the combo might have sold and been operated profitably. WIZE has always been AM only so it had no good chance and is darn lucky that CC purchased it or it might have gone dark. WIZE, locally owned, could have operated local sports / news talk like WBLY was at the last and being a full time station could have cleaned up on local sports over the years. I remember Roger Sharp coming to our high school, armed with an old Wollensak tape recorder to do basketball and football games. If they had been on at night the games could have been live, as it was they were able to get sponsors for the tape delay.

I think that the Urban Light ownership allowed 1600 to decline into a near death state. They had no clue and weren't willing to invest so the poor people who tried to make it work were destined to fail. It is a shame because the idea of keeping it local was a worthy one. As for Radio Maria they paid too much for a radio station owns neither the transmitter site nor studios so they got ripped big time. Maybe they wanted to move to Dayton as was speculated earlier but even so they paid far too much because they will have to purchase everthing from scratch and pretty much discard what is to either stay put or move. They should have just waited and applied for the license once the bank had seized what was left from Urban Light.

Too bad that someone like Joe Mullins didn't get it and have been able to operate it local and well. Wishing for an out of town conglomerate is merely wishing for another 1340 as it is today.

 

[KFodor]

Jas:
Thanks for your recent post..Up to this point I ventured you were in attack mode....so my apologies. Surely the folks in Alexandria know about this although they also may be saying their Hail Marys that Gustav will spare its wrath upon Louisiana right about now.

RM needs volunteers in the Dayton and Springfield area with a local radio (and Catholic) background. I would consider calling them on the next buisiness day and volunteer your expertise...and in case you wondered...I heard that Kim Faris volunteered her voice talents on the top of the hour group legal ID as she is Catholic as well. Many of its programs (granted) have been low in sound quality...as they originate over phone lines(From The Tummy To The Heart from UD's library)...but they also have a studio in Minster(west of Anna) which uses a Tieline unit for its programs they send down to Alexandria (Letting Go and Living The Lectionary) which gives a comaparatively better studio-like quality.

Mary Pyper(formerly of Great Trails) lives in the Dayton area and is the local co-ordinator for both WHJM and WULM. John Koenig lives in Piqua and is the station manager. Ask Kelly or Father Duane to direct you to them.

I still hope somebody out there will purchase WIZE and bring it home where it belongs...and make it Springfiel's local station once again(are you listening Mainline?)

Ok, Kirkie-Fan...we're on the same page.

A couple of suggestions for the WULM folks:

They might consider getting a computer at Miracle Mile (if they don't already have it - and in their other studios as well) to get Adobe Audition 1.5 (or even 1.0) on it. This is the de-facto standard audio production program for quite a few stations in the area. An apparantly legal download of the program can be achieved on a high-speed internet line for as little as $39 dollars. (Yes, purchasing the discs in a store is more expensive, but download options which appear to be legal exist.)

With this program on a computer that can be linked to their production room, anyone could send via e-mail, programming recorded on such a program. So, with a simple mobile DJ audio console ($199 or less) and an inexpensive Shure SM-58
microphone ($89.00 in most cases), almost broadcast-quality audio can be achieved. We're talking playback on an AM station, so "almost" broadcast quality is quite acceptable. If a program is being sent via MP-3, it could even be in Mono for AM...no one would know the difference.

Adobe Audition 1.0 or 1.5 offers significant audio processing features that would also improve the overall quality of the programming. It's simple to learn...you can become reasonably proficient on it in about 3-4 hours.

Having that program alone would allow volunteers like Kim...or me...or anyone...to assist. I have fashioned a mobile studio here at my home...many radio people are building these options in their homes to offer their services to people either on a volunteer basis or otherwise. From my office here, I can produce ID's, PSA's, etc. and simply e-mail the results to the common originating point. From there, they dub it into their computer systems and it's on the air.

If I were them, I'd skip the "Tielines" and expensive telephone connections and go to recording digitally and e-mailling the product. It would be far better sounding, if it was recorded even half-correctly.

 

[KFodor]

Jas:
Thanks for your recent post..Up to this point I ventured you were in attack mode....so my apologies. Surely the folks in Alexandria know about this although they also may be saying their Hail Marys that Gustav will spare its wrath upon Louisiana right about now.

RM needs volunteers in the Dayton and Springfield area with a local radio (and Catholic) background. I would consider calling them on the next buisiness day and volunteer your expertise...and in case you wondered...I heard that Kim Faris volunteered her voice talents on the top of the hour group legal ID as she is Catholic as well. Many of its programs (granted) have been low in sound quality...as they originate over phone lines(From The Tummy To The Heart from UD's library)...but they also have a studio in Minster(west of Anna) which uses a Tieline unit for its programs they send down to Alexandria (Letting Go and Living The Lectionary) which gives a comaparatively better studio-like quality.

Mary Pyper(formerly of Great Trails) lives in the Dayton area and is the local co-ordinator for both WHJM and WULM. John Koenig lives in Piqua and is the station manager. Ask Kelly or Father Duane to direct you to them.

I still hope somebody out there will purchase WIZE and bring it home where it belongs...and make it Springfiel's local station once again(are you listening Mainline?)

I hear what you are saying about WIZE. I myself was more of a WBLY fan when I lived there but the plain and unwelcome truth is that both 1340 and 1600 are what they are today because of the state of radio in general and AM in particular. If 1600 and 102.9 were still joined the combo might have sold and been operated profitably. WIZE has always been AM only so it had no good chance and is darn lucky that CC purchased it or it might have gone dark. WIZE, locally owned, could have operated local sports / news talk like WBLY was at the last and being a full time station could have cleaned up on local sports over the years. I remember Roger Sharp coming to our high school, armed with an old Wollensak tape recorder to do basketball and football games. If they had been on at night the games could have been live, as it was they were able to get sponsors for the tape delay.

I think that the Urban Light ownership allowed 1600 to decline into a near death state. They had no clue and weren't willing to invest so the poor people who tried to make it work were destined to fail. It is a shame because the idea of keeping it local was a worthy one. As for Radio Maria they paid too much for a radio station owns neither the transmitter site nor studios so they got ripped big time. Maybe they wanted to move to Dayton as was speculated earlier but even so they paid far too much because they will have to purchase everthing from scratch and pretty much discard what is to either stay put or move. They should have just waited and applied for the license once the bank had seized what was left from Urban Light.

Too bad that someone like Joe Mullins didn't get it and have been able to operate it local and well. Wishing for an out of town conglomerate is merely wishing for another 1340 as it is today.

Both WIZE and WBLY are well-respected in the broadcasting community for what they did in past years.

WIZE was the "training ground" for jocks on WING in Dayton, WCOL in Columbus and other Great Trails properties. And, many of us remember well the announcements that said: "There's no such thing as Dayton/Springfield. You live in Springfield and so do we. We're the (insert local organization) and AM 1340...(jingle out)."

WBLY, though locally owned with less wherewithall than WIZE, made it's mark by being less "slick" and more local. Bob Yontz (Smilin' Bob) and his family contributed greatly to the Springfield community with the Heart Attack Fund...many lives in the area have been saved because of the EMT units purchased because of WBLY's efforts. This, alone, earns them a great place in the hearts of the listeners of Springfield and Clark County.

Urban Light did what it thought it needed to do. It would have helped had their focus been more on the serving the community and proving local radio could still produce for advertisers, as opposed to how many songs they could download. But, I won't criticize unneccesarily here. Remember - advertisers need to see results from their investments...they won't just advertise because you're the "local" station. There is a way to do that. It's extreme, but I saw it work...in 1975. And it could work today, whether on WULM...or WIZE...etc.