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RIP the former KJBR

M

MichaelHibblen

There's been a lot of talk about this on the Memphis board and elsewhere, with Clear Channel moving 101.9 from Jonesboro to Crawfordsville as a C3 to become a full-fledged Memphis station. Here's its new web site.

http://radionowmemphis.com/main.html

I can't help but feel sad. I worked there for a couple of years doing overnights while in college when it was still Power 102. Not long before I started there, the Patteson family built a new 1,100 foot tower, giving it an incredible signal that, as our sweepers proudly boasted, reached parts of five states. I could write so much, but don't have time at this point. I wrote extensively about my time there on my web site (though this page is long overdue for a revision and update) and included a few photos and MP3 files. I need to dig through my old airchecks and add more before the tapes completely disintegrate.

http://www.hibblenradio.com/KJBR.html

Toward the end of my time there, the owner of KFIN bought KJBR (and AM sister station KBTM) and changed it to KIYS, going by Kiss-FM. In my mind that was the beginning of the end. Within a few years the cluster would be gobbled up by Clear Channel. And now the signal has been completely killed to move it closer to Memphis to make more money as part of a bigger market. Yeah, I know, this is a business. But a sentimental old fool like me can't help but feel a loss.

Michael Hibblen
 
Hey, Michael...very nice post and I, too, am saddened to see the once mighty 101.9 get moved to the Memphis metro as a class c-3...that's just not right, but I have no control over what the evil empire (cheap channel) does with it's signals...I just know that the new version of Kiss-fm at 101.7 and 8.5 kw won't be near the same. In looking over the pics you posted of the old Power-102 (now that was a real Radio Station)...sad to know that Kevin Mcminn was killed in a car wreck several years ago...Zeke Terry is the production manager for Flinn in Memphis...Steve Taylor (Mr. Microphone) is in Kennett with the Pollack group...Christie Matthews programs the number one station in the market, KDXY-FM and even more sad...Phil Jamison is the ONLY person left in the eab building we worked with back then. Thanks for the memories and hope all is well with you and KUAR in Little Rock....btw: I hear your news reports on KASU here in town ....good work! Dennis Rogers ...former Program Director of Power-102. May 101.9 rest in peace...indeed!
 
Great post. Love the airchecks on your page too.

This makes me miss radio. Too bad radio is a different animal today from the way it was back then.
 
That was one of the best 100kw signals in the state.... You could hear it dang near to Cape Girardeau and probably a little further than that truth be told. I don't know what it is like these days, but they used to attract business from all over the place... up around Naylor and Poplar Bluff, all the way over to Batesville. It won't be the same driving through that area and not hearing it at 101.9....

I'll be interested to see the coverage on this 101.7 regardless.
 
On the Memphis run, I'd start picking 101.9 up around Herculaneum, which is about 25 miles south of St. Louis.
 
On my daily dental lab route today, I heard the 'new' 101.7 in Wynne (42 miles South of Jonesboogie)...but, just South of Wynne their signal broke up and gradually went away...101.9 was strong from about Harrisburg all the way to Marianna! On the drive back North later in the day 101.7 was having technical trouble and was off air around 1 pm and again around 1:45 pm...after that they were coming in strong in Paragould (about 23 miles away)...with only 10.5 kw they have already lost a portion of the former signal. I also remember the old days when you could listen to that signal in Pine Bluff and KFIN-FM in LIttle Rock...but, no more. Dennis Rogers
 
I worked nights there for far too many years to list, in it's heyday, I'd get calls from St. Louis, to Memphis and over to Little Rock on a continuious basis. I'll miss it, but once it was sold from the Patteson's, it never really was the same.
 
I worked there in the early 90's between Dennis Rogers and Doug Miller from 1-3p. Nice shift! It was one heck of a signal and it was fun working for a station that didn't mind a little on air bragging when it came to the size of the stick! Jonesboro has been a very productive small market that has sent some folks to much bigger markets and great careers. Although, I didn't spend a great deal of time at Power 102, I do think back on it with good memories and respect for the signal.
 
Puleeeeeze....let's do forget Superhits-102....Zeke, you remember we were 'tweaking' that format about every three or 4 weeks...I liked it best when we took out all the dance and r & b and just played 'rockin' top-40....kinda' shortened the playlist, though...dr
 
When I was in Jonesboro (ASU '84 to '87) it was before the "Superhits" era, and was a satellite AC calling itself "J-102" (I presume the J stood for "Joke" - well, except for Sunday night Demento ... a much better 'joke' ;-)). 

And short stick is right; KJBR was pumping 100 kW out of the KBTM tower on Aggie Road.  A real nightmare on the A-State campus for anyone with a cheap tuner.  

Of course, going live with Superhits happened AFTER I graduated.  I never understood why Jonesboro left the vital college/younger audience on the table for so long ... if you wanted to listen to rock & roll, you had to turn to the Memphis stations, or to 93.1 out of Batesville (and for a time 107.1/Paragould - I still have a "QZ-107" car tag I picked up back in the day). 

I suppose the statute of limitations is long lapsed, so here goes: didn't KBTM/KJBR run unattended overnights in the '80s (back when it was still a big no-no)?  As I understood it, the night operator flipped a switch before leaving, switching the transmitter remote control point to a rack of boxes in the CE's closet. 

While all this was going on, I was merrily jamming out on KASU, playing all the Jim Nabors and Mantovani one could stomach.   ;D

Ahhhh, those were the days!    Back to lurk mode. 

--Russell
 
Let me submit my condolences to the former 101.9 . It's a crime that such a large signal gets blown up as a move in to a larger market. I live in St. Louis, and a similar situation will likely happen to KPNT. Currently, "The Point" is licensed to Ste. Genevieve, MO. The frequency became a St. Louis rimshot move-in in 1987, placing its tower in Hillsboro. At 100 kW, it covers St. Louis and blankets southeastern MO. In the car I pulled the signal as far west as Springfield, MO competing with KMCK Siloam Springs. Eventually the signal will change its COL to Collinsville, IL putting a stronger signal into St. Louis but with a diminished signal outside of the area.

The first time I pulled in 101.9 was in August 1993, with the purchase of an Onkyo T-407 tuner. What made me smile was the opening commercial disclaimer for a club: "Attention members and guests." That phrase is an easy indicator of a station in Arkansas, pertaining to the varying liquor laws in the state. Before the internet era, picking up radio from AR was a treat--it has been a place where I have enjoyed since I was a kid.
 
It is sad knowing that 101.9 is no longer in Jonesboro. And what a monster signal they had! I've heard them as far east as Jackson, TN. I tried picking up 101.7 when I was in Forrest City recently and it wasn't an easy job to do.
 
I've heard 'JBR a few times in Lincoln County tropo enhanced, although KNOE-FM Monroe LA was/is more often heard here. I've yet to pull in the new "Memphis" station on 101.9.
 
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