THOUGHTS ON THE COLUMBUS BA NETWORK EVOLUTION

[Bill Harmonic]

Two thing in this business (and life) are black and white. Everything changes and everything ends. Plain and simple! Smooth jazz on 104.3 has been on in Columbus since November 30th 1995 (11 and a half years) with 103.5 in the format over nine years now. The format has made it through two owners with bad signals and very little promotion/marketing to last that long. The glass is half full to do what they have done! They have tried to do it differently than the current direction and for the most part have succeeded but their changes have a great deal to do with what I stated above along with the format itself changing. There are many diffferent ways to fix the format but the current environment in this market will probably not allow that to happen. That's probably why the format (outside the major markets with their signals and marketing bucks) will hopefully morph into something that will come back stronger but that might have to wait until the internet and satellite providers are on equal footing with terrestrial radio in delivery options. Smooth Jazz in Columbus might have had low ratings but when sold properly, it made money. The music was never designed to be cookie cutter and some wonderful air talent graced the airwaves (Gary Wolter, Lee Randall, Chuck Francis, Trisha Moore, Mike Roebuck, Kate Hayes, Susan Castle and many more). It's now on to another stage in it's history, which will evolve in the future or end completely at some point. This area had a very neat jazz station in WBBY (103.9) that was shut down by the FCC on December 31st 1990. It won't be like that again but hopefully will work into something that will bring back the spirit of the original format. That happened when 104.3 signed on five years later and believe the evolution will contine.