WARM Gone?

[amfmxm]

The AM's that still do well in the U.S. are the handful that have signals that are essentially as good (or better) than the FM's that serve a particular market. Think of WLW, KYW, WHP.

Although Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is admittedly a peculiar market, topographically, WARM still fits that description. The signal, when operating at full power and with a clean audio chain--something that hasn't been the case for about 15 years or so--is one of the best signals in the market, behind only the Class B FMs. In other words, when it's running right, it's a perfectly good--and perfectly competitive--signal.

WARM's slow and grueling death was nothing short of a conscious but wrong-headed decision by someone (or several someones) at Citadel convinced that "AM is dead."

I disagree with those on this board who believe that WARM can't be "resurrected." WARM's basic capability is too great to dismiss. Yes, it will take an "extreme makeover" physically--a few hundred grand, perhaps. And that would have to be followed by some bright programming & marketing decisions (not evident, thus far, from Citadel--but, hey, it could happen).

But this particular property is one worth the bother.

 

[BaltimoreJack]

There are plenty of niche formats that could probably gain a smattering of listeners. The challenge would be selling enough sponsors on the idea that the smattering was significant and valuable.

Couple that with the crushing overhead that this station would impose, and you're looking at a tall mountain to climb.

To take an earlier number of $500,000 in repairs, it pays to remember that the interest on $500,000 amounts to $30 grand a year (assuming six percent). This would be overhead BEFORE electricity, labor, taxes, sales commissions (assuming...), program fees, telephone, rent, promotion expense, etc. Would Citadel be serving its stockholders by investing a half million of its capital for a (maybe) six percent return?

The biggest problem in any of this is the cost of borrowing money. This is one of the reasons that CC, Citadel, Entercom & others are all in the toilet. The largest percentage of stations they bought during their buying orgy, were properties that the previous owners owned outright, or were not mired in a pile of debt. Larry Wilson, The Dickey Brothers and the Hogans were buying stations and paying credit-card interest rates on their purchases. Citadel's model called for 65% gross profit returns so they could finance their buying. Since all of these companies were working off a very narrow and short view, they figured they could keep flipping the business notes over and over so essentially they would be only "renting" their properties from the banks. Much like the house flippers who would buy a property with no money down on an interest-only loan and then flip the house to a new buyer as the market kept going up. We all know what happened there. That is exactly why Citadel's stock in now in the toilet. Most business notes are for a 7-10 year period. So now they have a lot of debt that they can't flip and it's time to start paying the piper. When Lloyd Roach came up with the original concept of Route 81, it wasn't a bad concept on paper. But in reality, trying to run "live & local" operations with significant staffs and hired managers doesn't work well when you have to borrow a lot of money to make it go. As you mention up top, say somebody comes along and borrows 4 mil to purchase and fix WARM. That's a lot of money to be on the hook for when AM radio in general isn't even in the minds of anyone under 40, and in reality it's now a struggle to get the attention of people 45-65 to turn to AM, So whoever it is has their work cut out for them at the start. And given the current economic climate the banks are going to be itchy from the get-go, and there will be little wiggle room for an owner if the station doesn't make money almost immediately. Even a company like the Christian radio group FLN which is expanding greatly in the NY/PA area won't use AMs to send their message. So while I would wish someone who wanted to make a try and making WARM come alive, I think in the long run it's a fool's errand.

 

[ThomasCarten]

B'Jack --

As I said, above: There's a polka service out there , if you want to call it that.

To which you reminded me: It's called Polka Heaven-24/7 and it's just an internet site. Polka guys can upload shows there but you can't just buy a package to put on the air.

And now I dreamily wonder: Would PH 24/7 like to service a b.c. station as well as an Internet site? Or are there all sorts of individual licensing things that would make it a horrible idea?

 

[jeffwoehrle]

The AM's that still do well in the U.S. are the handful that have signals that are essentially as good (or better) than the FM's that serve a particular market. Think of WLW, KYW, WHP.

Although Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is admittedly a peculiar market, topographically, WARM still fits that description. The signal, when operating at full power and with a clean audio chain--something that hasn't been the case for about 15 years or so--is one of the best signals in the market, behind only the Class B FMs. In other words, when it's running right, it's a perfectly good--and perfectly competitive--signal.

WARM's slow and grueling death was nothing short of a conscious but wrong-headed decision by someone (or several someones) at Citadel convinced that "AM is dead."

I disagree with those on this board who believe that WARM can't be "resurrected." WARM's basic capability is too great to dismiss. Yes, it will take an "extreme makeover" physically--a few hundred grand, perhaps. And that would have to be followed by some bright programming & marketing decisions (not evident, thus far, from Citadel--but, hey, it could happen).

But this particular property is one worth the bother.

You mention some stellar AM properties that have built (and maintained) a good name for themselves and the revenue followed. WARM is behind the 8 ball in that regard.

Couple that with the challenge (both technically and economically) of maintaining an absolutely MASSIVE physical plant for the coverage area and you are two strikes down before you start.

I'm not down on AM. I'm down on losing propositions. If Citadel or another operator has extra money, that money would be far better spent maintaining and enhancing their FM properties rather than throwing good money after bad with WARM. In fact, given current economic conditions, I would view it as a serious dereliction of fiscal responsibility to spend a half-million dollars to bring WARM up to spec.

No matter what the reason we arrived at where we are with regard to the financial status of radio groups, it is what it is. Lamenting poor decisions is useful only useful if it reminds folks what NOT to do. In this case, I fear that spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to revive a terminal patient will be viewed in hindsight as just as reckless as some of the moves that brought us to this point.

 

[jlehmann]

I think the stations in WARM's night minima are mainly WEZE and WMBS. Do they really need all of the protection WARM was providing? Dunno. Maybe not. Maybe the 10% skywave from 32W ND or thereabouts would drop out of the 25% RSS calculation. But if that's not the case, and the power has to be limited to the equivalent power at the minima of the licensed night pattern, you're talking about a mere one or two watts at night, which would not be enough to be useful--even on 590!

Are you forgetting about WROW?

 

[Element9]

I think the stations in WARM's night minima are mainly WEZE and WMBS. Do they really need all of the protection WARM was providing? Dunno. Maybe not. Maybe the 10% skywave from 32W ND or thereabouts would drop out of the 25% RSS calculation. But if that's not the case, and the power has to be limited to the equivalent power at the minima of the licensed night pattern, you're talking about a mere one or two watts at night, which would not be enough to be useful--even on 590!

Are you forgetting about WROW?

Yes, the WARM directional pattern protects 590 WROW Albany, NY and WMBS which also tightens its pattern to protect WARM. It appears that WEZE protects both WROW and WARM. RF on the low end tends to cover a lot of ground.

No doubt, "it's the economy," but looking at the other AMs stations in NEPA, you just can't help but think, aside from WILK, they'd kill to have the WARM signal. Maybe Entercom is interested in 590 for WBZU. It's particularly interesting that some of those AMs are making it work to one degree or another with their limited signals, but the Mighty 590 is silent. Very strange the way these things work.

 

[BaltimoreJack]

B'Jack --

As I said, above: There's a polka service out there , if you want to call it that.

To which you reminded me: It's called Polka Heaven-24/7 and it's just an internet site. Polka guys can upload shows there but you can't just buy a package to put on the air.

And now I dreamily wonder: Would PH 24/7 like to service a b.c. station as well as an Internet site? Or are there all sorts of individual licensing things that would make it a horrible idea?

From what I understand there are user limitations, and legal wranglings. I don't know if they could be overcome, but there would be plenty of paperwork & the lawyers would wind up making more money on the deal than anything else! And so it goes......

 

[DanStrassberg]

Are you forgetting about WROW?

No, I was not forgetting WROW! I know it LOOKS as if WARM was designed to protect WROW but I do not believe that is the case. AFAIK, WARM has been on 590 longer than WROW has been on the air (1947, I believe). You will note that WROW's radiation minima are at 90 degrees (toward WEZE) and at 240 degrees (toward WARM). WARM has a tiny lobe at 54 degrees (toward WROW) but that lobe is surrounded by a pair of deep minima that make it appear that WARM was designed to protect WROW. I do not believe that was what happened, however. Rather, when Harry Goldman built WROW right after the end of World war II, he found that he could drop the station neatly between what is now WEZE (it was WEEI back then) and WARM and put a major lobe over the Capital District and another strong lobe down the Hudson Valley, thus covering the market quite well, even with only 1 kw at night. WROW therefore became the major beneficiary of WARM's design, as WARM's skywave toward Albany must be so small that it drops out of WROW's NIF calculation. (Back in those days, however, all co-channel stations had to be included in NIF calculations, but WARM's contribution had to be negligible, because the square of a number less than one is an even smaller number.)

 

[NoMoreLurking]

For a reading on Citadel's knowledge of and devotion to their properties, how about this quote from the article in Friday's Standard-Speaker:

http://www.standardspeaker.com/arti...k.20090417.d.pg1.hz17_warm_s1.2454605_bus.txt

"Officials at Citadel Broadcasting, the station’s parent company, in New York and Las Vegas said they weren’t aware that the station (WARM) had gone silent.

“You would have to call those at the station in Scranton,” Citadel Chief Operating Officer Judy Ellis said."


[Link added by Radio-Info as a courtesy]

 

[TheBigA]

So much for the theory that it was a corporate directive. Obviously not.

 

[Element9]

So much for the theory that it was a corporate directive. Obviously not.

Feh! Nice quote from Ms. Ellis. What a dame. Don't kid yourself. CitaDeath GMs are under enormous pressure. Same for Emmis, CC, Cumulus, Entercom and the rest of the sorry lot. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown," but that's why the GMs and RVPs get the big bucks, even after a 20% pay cut. The CitaDeath GM in NEPA probably looked at the expense of getting WARM back on the air, took a look at the cluster's monthly bottom line and nixxed the expediture. He may have figured feeding his family and paying his mortgage and reaching his numbers were more important than spending money on an AM station. If this isn't indicative of the state of radio and media in general in America these days, I don't know what is.

 

[amfmxm]

You mention some stellar AM properties that have built (and maintained) a good name for themselves and the revenue followed. WARM is behind the 8 ball in that regard.

Couple that with the challenge (both technically and economically) of maintaining an absolutely MASSIVE physical plant for the coverage area and you are two strikes down before you start.

I'm not down on AM. I'm down on losing propositions. If Citadel or another operator has extra money, that money would be far better spent maintaining and enhancing their FM properties rather than throwing good money after bad with WARM. In fact, given current economic conditions, I would view it as a serious dereliction of fiscal responsibility to spend a half-million dollars to bring WARM up to spec.

No matter what the reason we arrived at where we are with regard to the financial status of radio groups, it is what it is. Lamenting poor decisions is useful only useful if it reminds folks what NOT to do. In this case, I fear that spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to revive a terminal patient will be viewed in hindsight as just as reckless as some of the moves that brought us to this point.

Jeff, here's another way to look at it. An "out of the box" exercise, if you will.

Right now, WARM is the equivalent of a CP. Just an empty spot on the dial. But, because of its licensed frequency & day/night power, an empty spot with enormous capability. If it helps to put it in perspective, think of it as the equivalent of a B-1 FM channel allocation (not quite a full Class B, but better than an A).

If that B-1 channel--in that precise spot (let's say, a COL of either Old Forge or Pittston) smack in the middle of America's 70th largest radio market--was included in the upcoming FCC (September) auction, what would the required minimum bid for the channel be? (There is no actual parallel--the closest being a Class A for a town 15 miles outside Bakersfield--market #74--at $200,000). That's where the bidding starts. In previous actions, B-1 channels in much smaller markets have netted more than $1,000,000--for the privilege of applying for a CP.

Or... on the open market... would do you think Citadel could actually get for WARM? Maybe not their reported asking price of $3.5 million, but maybe... $2 million? $1.5 million?

So spending $500,000 to get WARM back up to speed--actually back up to "nearly new" technical condition--would be a bargain.

A great bargain.

 

[BaltimoreJack]

For a reading on Citadel's knowledge of and devotion to their properties, how about this quote from the article in Friday's Standard-Speaker:

http://www.standardspeaker.com/arti...k.20090417.d.pg1.hz17_warm_s1.2454605_bus.txt

"Officials at Citadel Broadcasting, the station’s parent company, in New York and Las Vegas said they weren’t aware that the station (WARM) had gone silent.

“You would have to call those at the station in Scranton,” Citadel Chief Operating Officer Judy Ellis said."


[Link added by Radio-Info as a courtesy]

Citadel GMs don't go to the toilet without the approval of Judy Ellis. Unless you have met that little 4 foot package of teeth & dynamite you won't know what I'm talking about. I have. All of the nastiest dictators on the planet combined don't have the internal strength that little woman posesses. I'm rather surprised that her statement was actually believed. She's not going on the record about a station being shut down. She's going to leave little Napoleon in NEPA to twist slowly in the wind while he takes all the heat. There's not a chance that Judy or Farid is going to make an on-record comment about WARM unless it's absolutely necessary and then they'll let a $500 per-billable-hour lawyer do the talking for her. C'mon people are you THAT trusting? Citadel said pull the plug. Napoleon said yes Mistress Judy...May I please have some more??

 

[lfcsuuite100]

I stated in an earlier post that the memories we have of the Mighty 590 have been memories for a long long long long long long time. I mentioned to a group of friends about WARM's demise and they all to a person said the same thing... "Was WARM still on the air?" The sad fact is many people don't listen to the radio at all any more. I recently changed my cell phone to Sprint unlimited. I get radio, tv, mp3 player, NFL mobile, music library, etc... all right on my cell phone. And while the speaker isn't stereo quality, it is loud enough to play in the car with the sun roof open.....

AM's might work in other markets, but this area just does not have the money in the business community to buy advertising to support all the radio stations around. It is the FM's that carry the groups. WILK for most of it's success before going on the FM band didn't break even for the longest time... KRZ and Froggy carried Entercom. I often wonder as a business owner why these groups have kept these non profitable ventures going over time. I think, stress think, that it was the Starbuck's concept.... own as much as possible so nobody else can. That may have been fine when the FM's were taking in a good deal of ad revenue, but in today's market revenue is declining and if there is no money coming in how can anyone expect to stay in business. Even WILK and ESPN radio have opted to simulcast on FM, though ESPN's signal is worse than most AM's...

I am saddened by WARM's unceremonious swan song, but other than those of us here on the board many people didn't even know WARM was still on the air, even when they had something going out on the signal. :'(

 

[Nairda]

This was sent to me by a good friend. It pretty well describes the state of radio in general today. Pretty sad!

http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2009/04/silent-radio.html

 

[BaltimoreJack]

I stated in an earlier post that the memories we have of the Mighty 590 have been memories for a long long long long long long time. I mentioned to a group of friends about WARM's demise and they all to a person said the same thing... "Was WARM still on the air?" The sad fact is many people don't listen to the radio at all any more. I recently changed my cell phone to Sprint unlimited. I get radio, tv, mp3 player, NFL mobile, music library, etc... all right on my cell phone. And while the speaker isn't stereo quality, it is loud enough to play in the car with the sun roof open.....

AM's might work in other markets, but this area just does not have the money in the business community to buy advertising to support all the radio stations around. It is the FM's that carry the groups. WILK for most of it's success before going on the FM band didn't break even for the longest time... KRZ and Froggy carried Entercom. I often wonder as a business owner why these groups have kept these non profitable ventures going over time. I think, stress think, that it was the Starbuck's concept.... own as much as possible so nobody else can. That may have been fine when the FM's were taking in a good deal of ad revenue, but in today's market revenue is declining and if there is no money coming in how can anyone expect to stay in business. Even WILK and ESPN radio have opted to simulcast on FM, though ESPN's signal is worse than most AM's...

I am saddened by WARM's unceremonious swan song, but other than those of us here on the board many people didn't even know WARM was still on the air, even when they had something going out on the signal. :'(

AM radio isn't dead. But if you look at the stations that have hung on to still be powerful in their markets, they have been market leaders who successfully made the necessary transitions withtin an ever-changing market and continued to stay in the top 3-4 overall positions of their respective markets. Also, they tended to have a large dominant signal.
WBZ, WJR, WABC, KDKA, KYW, WGY, WGN, WCCO, WLW and a few others come to mind. These are all 50 gallon non-directional AMs that you could receive from a toaster. Regional AMs like WBAL, WHP, WNBF, KSO, KSL and more like them are still strong because they successfully reacted when their "cheese" got moved. They had owners who used some sense to keep them strong, and to do what makes all the difference...THEY KEPT THE REVENUE COMING. The 3R's kids...Remember, Revenue Rules! WARM had been treated with derision by it's various owners for a long time. As noted above, most area people didn't care about WARM and haven't cared about it for years. I'm not saying that isn't sad. It is. I hate to see a great heritage name be forgotten. But the times have changed. And the truth is, people have changed dramatically since WARM really mattered. But it's too late now. The curtain has wrung down on WARM. Even the best show on Broadway eventually closes.

 

[Element9]

And the truth is, people have changed dramatically since WARM really mattered. But it's too late now. The curtain has wrung down on WARM. Even the best show on Broadway eventually closes.

"Broadway..." That's a damn fine analogy, boss. Sadly. BTW, KSL is a big 50 gallon signal too. But your point is well-made. Maybe even too well-made, considering the first line in the quote above. People have changed dramatically. Hell, FM may not be all that relevant in a few years. I shudder to think, but it's entirely possible. Got kids? Relatives? Nieces and nephews? Ever observe their listening (or lack of listening) habits? Damn scary, I'll tell ya! And it's all the fault of Sesame Street. I'm only half kidding on that. Instant gratification. "I want it now!" And guess what, they're gettin' it now, on iPods, phones and mp3 players.

Man, radio looks more fugged-up every day. The companies that invested big money to get bigger, faster and buy everything in their way? Did they get it wrong. They bet on a bull market and the bears came out in full force. It's said, "Timing is everything." They timed it wrong. 'Course, 9-11 and two wars at a billion dollars a month off the books didn't help matters, but this isn't a political rant, so leave that for another board and another thread.

Think these radio companies will ever get out from under this? I don't. I used to. I hoped they had some reserve juice. They don't. They're writing down values left and right. The government is printing money like mad and the next sequence of events probably is inflation; interest rates soaring. Then who's gonna buy these TARPs (Troubled Asset RADIO Properties) from Citadel, Clear Channel-Bain, Cumulus and Emmis? Damned if I know. If I won the lottery (fat friggin' chance, that) much as I love radio, both AM and FM, I wouldn't buy a radio station. Just wouldn't do it. Oh, I'd be tempted, but I'd have an accountant that would water-board me if I went that way.

Look for more cutbacks, more lousy voice-tracking, Ryan Friggin Seacrest everywhere. More Delilah types and Johnny Tesh. Good lord, it'll be repulsive to anybody under 30. And more stations will be left to wither on the vine like WARM.

The posters who want to bury WARM make good points here. It pains me to say they're right. Where's the revenue gonna come from? Sh*t, there ain't no revenue to re-build phasors and ground systems and transmitters for AM stations with less than a 1 share... maybe even a 3 share. That revenue already is earmarked to pay the banks, lenders and cover the interest calls. Wait til June rolls around and CitaDeath has to pony up more dough. It's gonna be the Black Plague of Broadcasting. And if they can't come up with the scratch, they're cooked... done like a dinner in a microwave.

Sorry about the gloom and doom, but I called this little mess we're in now years ago (I wasn't the only one) and what I know not from MBA school but real life on the street, it's not gonna get better anytime soon. Wish I was wrong. Really, I do. Hell, when real money people like Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger get it wrong, we're in real hot water. Say goodnite, Gracie.

 

[jeffwoehrle]

... It is the FM's that carry the groups. WILK for most of it's success before going on the FM band didn't break even for the longest time... KRZ and Froggy carried Entercom. I often wonder as a business owner why these groups have kept these non profitable ventures going over time. I think, stress think, that it was the Starbuck's concept.... own as much as possible so nobody else can. ...

Exactly. Owning it all also explains Citadel's sky-high asking price for WARM. Whatever greater fool may buy it, it still means more boots on the ground pounding on doors to grab a share of available revenue. Revenue that is getting pretty hard to come by. Much better to NOT have anyone buy it unless you can get sufficient money from it to compensate for the added competition...until its new owners let it go dark.

 

[jeffwoehrle]

You mention some stellar AM properties that have built (and maintained) a good name for themselves and the revenue followed. WARM is behind the 8 ball in that regard.

Couple that with the challenge (both technically and economically) of maintaining an absolutely MASSIVE physical plant for the coverage area and you are two strikes down before you start.

I'm not down on AM. I'm down on losing propositions. If Citadel or another operator has extra money, that money would be far better spent maintaining and enhancing their FM properties rather than throwing good money after bad with WARM. In fact, given current economic conditions, I would view it as a serious dereliction of fiscal responsibility to spend a half-million dollars to bring WARM up to spec.

No matter what the reason we arrived at where we are with regard to the financial status of radio groups, it is what it is. Lamenting poor decisions is useful only useful if it reminds folks what NOT to do. In this case, I fear that spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to revive a terminal patient will be viewed in hindsight as just as reckless as some of the moves that brought us to this point.

Jeff, here's another way to look at it. An "out of the box" exercise, if you will.

Right now, WARM is the equivalent of a CP. Just an empty spot on the dial. But, because of its licensed frequency & day/night power, an empty spot with enormous capability. If it helps to put it in perspective, think of it as the equivalent of a B-1 FM channel allocation (not quite a full Class B, but better than an A).

If that B-1 channel--in that precise spot (let's say, a COL of either Old Forge or Pittston) smack in the middle of America's 70th largest radio market--was included in the upcoming FCC (September) auction, what would the required minimum bid for the channel be? (There is no actual parallel--the closest being a Class A for a town 15 miles outside Bakersfield--market #74--at $200,000). That's where the bidding starts. In previous actions, B-1 channels in much smaller markets have netted more than $1,000,000--for the privilege of applying for a CP.

Or... on the open market... would do you think Citadel could actually get for WARM? Maybe not their reported asking price of $3.5 million, but maybe... $2 million? $1.5 million?

So spending $500,000 to get WARM back up to speed--actually back up to "nearly new" technical condition--would be a bargain.

A great bargain.

I might take the bargain if the AM was omni @ 5 kW. Directional arrays are a PITA for many reasons, not the least of which is the hardware requirements. An FM is simple...find a tall spot, mount some bays and let 'er blow.

 

[BaltimoreJack]

And the truth is, people have changed dramatically since WARM really mattered. But it's too late now. The curtain has wrung down on WARM. Even the best show on Broadway eventually closes.

Hell, FM may not be all that relevant in a few years. I shudder to think, but it's entirely possible.

The posters who want to bury WARM make good points here. It pains me to say they're right. Say goodnite, Gracie.

Several years ago at the request of a teacher friend of mine I spent a day with a few classes of 10th & 11th grade english students to talk about radio. I'm not sure if they learned anything from me, I sure learned a LOT from them. Out of approximately 100 kids, only about a dozen of them admitted they listened to ANY kind of radio. They weren't just trying to break my geesters because I was in radio. Radio...any kind..was irrelevant to them. They were on the computer, into their I-Pods and phone connections. Most of them paid little attention to TV as well. They saw conventional TV & Radio as "old people's" communication. While the sample was small the indicies were pretty strong that when these kids got to be 25, radio was going to take up zero per cent of their lives. If you spend time really looking into radio's overall numbers, you will see a serious trend that the radio audience is aging. Right now, it's fair to say many adults over 40 don't even know what AM radio is. How long will it be before they hold the same opinion of FM radio. In the early 1970's a man named Alvin Toffler wrote an important book titled Future Shock. The prediction in the book was spot on. Toffler claimed that the discovery and implementation of new technology would speed up so fast that we wouldn't be able to keep up with it. Our lives would be seriously effected by it all. Future Shock is here. In essence, radio will very soon be in the same situation as newspapers. Thought of as old & out-moded and will no longer be a viable commodity in the general market. That doesn't mean it will all die and go away, but just like some AMs continue to do well in some markets, some newspapers still do the same. But overall, newspapers are about to go the way of the De Soto. And the newspapers that a dieing are not rinky-dink operations. The long-running Rocky Mountain News is already dead. In the ICU ward are great heritage papers like The Boston Globe, The Chicago Trib, The LA Times, The Baltimore Sun, The New York Daily News and many others. Are you as concerned about that as you are about WARM? You ought to be. Just a couple years ago Sam Zell spent billions to buy the Chicago Trib group. Today almost all the properties are near bankrupt. Is he a schlock operator? No. Tough, and bottom line? Yes. But he didn't get his wealth by investing in duds. The collapse of the great newspapers came almost overnight. People never saw it coming. But it's here, and soon many traditional newspapers will be gone. Don't be fooled..we may love radio, but time & technology is marching on. Radio as we know it will be passing away sooner than we realize. And this is coming from someone who loves the business and made it his's life's career. In the interest of full disclosure, I am no longer in radio or any other business. I am retired. Radio's death will he hastend by greedy operators who took an amazingly short view of the industry in orden to make a (hopefully) quick profit. In that sense they failed miserably. In the end the only people who will really make money from operations like Citadel, CC, Cumulus and the like will be lawyers and lenders. So once again, remember the good times that WARM gave us, but stop beating the dead horse. The old girl's tired. Let her rest.