• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Ways to Hide The Legal I.D.

G

Gregg

The FCC requires radio and TV stations to give their call letters and city of license at or near the top of each hour. But some stations don't really want their listeners to know their city of license if it isn't the big city in the market. I really don't think it matters to most listeners but a station like Z100, licensed to Newark, NJ, uses sound effects to drown out "WHTZ Newark-New York City" in the middle of a bunch of commercials, then to loudly say "Z100, New York" as if that were its real legal I.D. WKTU, which is licensed to Lake Success, a small Long Island village in Nassau County, does the same. Announcers at WPAT were told to turn their heads away from the microphone on the word "Paterson" when saying "Easy 93, WPAT-AM and FM, Paterson, a service of Park Communications." Maybe all those listeners in NYC wouldn't notice that small city in New Jersey.

WRKI Brookfield calls itself "I-95," a major interstate highway going through many large affluent communities in Southern Connecticut, quite a few miles from the city of license. I don't know if it still does the legal I.D. this way, but it used to have the DJ read a weather forecast near the top of the hour, then say "Let's check some temperatures around Connecticut from WRKI. Brookfield 74 degrees, Norwalk 73 and Bridgeport 75." The last two temperatures would be from targetted communities along Long Island Sound but the first temperature was always from Brookfield, yielding the legal I.D. "WRKI Brookfield."

The Harrisburg PA market consists of four sizable cities... Harrisburg, Lancaster, York and Lebanon. Some stations in the market list all these cities if they think they have a chance of hitting listeners in each of them. But for a while, WQXA in York used this slogan for its legal I.D.: "WQXA, York station for the 80s." The idea was if the DJ said it fast, you'd think he was saying "Your Station for The 80s" and never think the station was not broadcasting from your hometown.





Gregg
[email protected]
 
WKLB LOWELL (Boston) throws the "WKLB Lowell Boston, a Greater Media Station" down in the 10 till break, then at the top of the hour WKLB BOSTON.
Me thinks this is pushing the rule a little...

>
 
> But for a
> while, WQXA in York used this slogan for its legal I.D.:
> "WQXA, York station for the 80s." The idea was if the DJ
> said it fast, you'd think he was saying "Your Station for
> The 80s" and never think the station was not broadcasting
> from your hometown.

That would work better if they followed "York" with something beginning with a C or K, such as "York Classic Rock station" or "York Country Leader". That way they could say "York" as "your", and it would still be legal because they could claim they were actually saying "York Lassic Rock station" or "York Untry Leader"!
<P ID="signature">______________
noiboc.jpg
</P>
 
> WRKI Brookfield calls itself "I-95," a major interstate
> highway going through many large affluent communities in
> Southern Connecticut, quite a few miles from the city of
> license. I don't know if it still does the legal I.D. this
> way, but it used to have the DJ read a weather forecast near
> the top of the hour, then say "Let's check some temperatures
> around Connecticut from WRKI. Brookfield 74 degrees,
> Norwalk 73 and Bridgeport 75." The last two temperatures
> would be from targetted communities along Long Island Sound
> but the first temperature was always from Brookfield,
> yielding the legal I.D. "WRKI Brookfield."

I did the same thing back in 1978 at a station I programmed. Details in <a target="_blank" href=http://www.radio-info.com/mods/board.php?Post=256989&Board=usa>this post</a> from last September.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
I don't know if you are correct about WPAT. My father is a casual listener and when I was about seven or eight in the mid-sixties he talked with me about WPAT and mentioned, that they are in Patterson, NJ and that is what the PAT stands for. He knew it and he was a very average radio listener.

Why would they hide Patterson in the id if their call letters are W-PAT? I think if they wanted to hide Patterson, they would change their calls to something like WPNY or something with NY in it.

< Announcers at WPAT were told
> to turn their heads away from the microphone on the word
> "Paterson" when saying "Easy 93, WPAT-AM and FM, Paterson, a
> service of Park Communications." Maybe all those listeners
> in NYC wouldn't notice that small city in New Jersey.
> <P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
 
FCC rules state that every hour we have to tell you who we are.
(sfx: door bell)
Hi, we're Red...WCAT-FM Carlisle, Harrisburg. New country and the legends.

At least they had fun with it.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
Since the Harrisburg market is mentioned quite a few times in this thread, anyone remember when WHTF 92.7 used their city-of-license as their moniker? "Starview 92.7" and of course Starview is their C.O.L. which made for a very easy legal I.D. as you can imagine.
 
> The FCC requires radio and TV stations to give their call
> letters and city of license at or near the top of each hour.
> But some stations don't really want their listeners to know
> their city of license if it isn't the big city in the
> market. I really don't think it matters to most listeners
> but a station like Z100, licensed to Newark, NJ, uses sound
> effects to drown out "WHTZ Newark-New York City" in the
> middle of a bunch of commercials, then to loudly say "Z100,
> New York" as if that were its real legal I.D. WKTU, which
> is licensed to Lake Success, a small Long Island village in
> Nassau County, does the same. Announcers at WPAT were told
> to turn their heads away from the microphone on the word
> "Paterson" when saying "Easy 93, WPAT-AM and FM, Paterson, a
> service of Park Communications." Maybe all those listeners
> in NYC wouldn't notice that small city in New Jersey.
>
> WRKI Brookfield calls itself "I-95," a major interstate
> highway going through many large affluent communities in
> Southern Connecticut, quite a few miles from the city of
> license. I don't know if it still does the legal I.D. this
> way, but it used to have the DJ read a weather forecast near
> the top of the hour, then say "Let's check some temperatures
> around Connecticut from WRKI. Brookfield 74 degrees,
> Norwalk 73 and Bridgeport 75." The last two temperatures
> would be from targetted communities along Long Island Sound
> but the first temperature was always from Brookfield,
> yielding the legal I.D. "WRKI Brookfield."
>
> The Harrisburg PA market consists of four sizable cities...
> Harrisburg, Lancaster, York and Lebanon. Some stations in
> the market list all these cities if they think they have a
> chance of hitting listeners in each of them. But for a
> while, WQXA in York used this slogan for its legal I.D.:
> "WQXA, York station for the 80s." The idea was if the DJ
> said it fast, you'd think he was saying "Your Station for
> The 80s" and never think the station was not broadcasting
> from your hometown.
>
>
>
>
>
> Gregg
> [email protected]
>

KZZP in Phoenix says it VERY fast. So fast that I barely ever catch it when I get the chance to listen. "KZZP Mesa-Phoenix" buried under commercials.

WEXT Sturtevant, WI used to say "WEXT Sturtevant-Racine-Kenosha" very clearly. Then when they became "The Wolf" targeting Milwaukee they just said "WEXT Sturtevant-Milwaukee USA" now they say "WEXT Sturtevant" very faint and fast and then very loud MILWAUKEE USA A Product Of NextMedia.

WOJO Chicago (Spanish) put a really loud sound effect and in plain non hispanic accent English "WOJO Evenston-Chicago" under the sound effect bed. This was in the mid 90s. Not sure about now.

When they were still B98-5, WBBO Ocean Acres,NJ would say "WBBO Ocean Acres Millenium Radio Group LLC" VERY fast near the top of the hour. Once Press bought the station it was just "WBBO Ocean Acres" very fast. Not sure about now since they flipped to a simmulcast with WHTG since I last heard the station.
<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
My favorite hidden leagl ID is for WGTZ in Eaton,OH "Z93 is WGTZ Eaton Dayton Springfield Alive"


> WKLB LOWELL (Boston) throws the "WKLB Lowell Boston, a
> Greater Media Station" down in the 10 till break, then at
> the top of the hour WKLB BOSTON.
> Me thinks this is pushing the rule a little...
>
> >
>
 
Boston area country station WKLB, licensed to Lowell, would have "Lowell" said quickly or kinda hidden. It almost sounded like "WKLB--ohh-Boston", but really it was "WKLB (...lowell) Boston"

For awhile it seemed like WROR was giving short shrift to their actual COL,
Framingham. Emphasized the Boston of course.

I know of one station in Vermont that would give their calls and COL but then would name about 6 or 7 other cities/towns in the area (and I know, the
requirement is calls and city of license, then whatever they want):
"WORK Barre-Montpelier-Northfield-Marshfield-Williamstown" etc
 
speaking of Z100 nyc, i remember when they would id WHTZ-Newark, NEW YORK in such a way that it sounded like they were saying WHTZ - New York, NEW YORK.

at least they don't have to say seacaucus. lol<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
>
> The Harrisburg PA market consists of four sizable cities...
> Harrisburg, Lancaster, York and Lebanon. Some stations in
> the market list all these cities if they think they have a
> chance of hitting listeners in each of them. But for a
> while, WQXA in York used this slogan for its legal I.D.:
> "WQXA, York station for the 80s." The idea was if the DJ
> said it fast, you'd think he was saying "Your Station for
> The 80s" and never think the station was not broadcasting
> from your hometown.
>

I'm sorry Gregg,

The Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle Metro Survey Area (MSA) Market (#79)does not include York or Lancaster. It includes Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon and Perry Counties. Total Survey Area (TSA) also includes Schuylkill, Snyder and York Counties.

The York (MSA) Market (#103)includes Adams and York Counties. Total Survey Area also includes Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and Lebanon Counties.

The Lancaster Market (#112) includes only Lancaster County. Total Survey Area also includes Lebanon and York Counties.

AM and FM reception is good in Central PA and signals cross market boundaries. This is why you can pick up Rush on multiple stations, although Rush is exclusive on one station in any market.

Major advertisers buy Arbitron numbers and out of market listeners don't count.
 
All time best, no longer used was WGTZ Eaton-Dayton-and Springfield Alive. (sounds like "eatin'"). WBYR, Van Wert, OH (Ft.Wayne IN market) at the outset buried the ID in the weather (it's 65 degrees with WBYR, Van Wert 68, and in Angola it's 64.)<P ID="signature">______________
I'll get back to you when I think of a cute quote</P>
 
My favorite is still the old Eighties Channel...

"wxxy-fmhighlandparkwyxxmorris" (said just like that and really fast) in a break and them "The Eighties Channel 103.1, WXXY-FM Chicago" at the top of the hour.

-A<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
Why?

It's cool to read these and some are really creative. But does it really make any difference in how a listener perceives a station or in diary mentions? I've always wondered as well, why stations feel compelled to change their legal call letters to match their station name - i.e. WFXZ for "Foxy 107."

For an event that, in much of today's radio, occurs once an hour and can be tucked away between commercials, why is this important?

PD's, consultants? Enlighten me!

Nick Gerard
 
Re: Why?

> It's cool to read these and some are really creative. But
> does it really make any difference in how a listener
> perceives a station or in diary mentions? I've always
> wondered as well, why stations feel compelled to change
> their legal call letters to match their station name - i.e.
> WFXZ for "Foxy 107."

Well, not <u>all</u> of them do. KCBS-FM/Los Angeles, for example, took on those calls in the early 1990s when they were positioning themselves as "CBS-FM", then kept the calls through all their years as "Arrow" and still have them as "Jack".

> For an event that, in much of today's radio, occurs once an
> hour and can be tucked away between commercials, why is this
> important?
>
> PD's, consultants? Enlighten me!

My guess is to ensure the picking up of the odd listener who actually notices the calls and logs them in their Arbitron diary. If the calls match the imaging, they are likely to write them down correctly.

You just gave me an idea: Next station I program in L.A., I'm going to use the call letters rather than an imaging positioner. It'd stand out from virtually every FM in the market ...

<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
Re: Why?

> > I've always wondered as well, why stations feel compelled to change
> > their legal call letters to match their station name -
> i.e.
> > WFXZ for "Foxy 107."
>
> Well, not all of them do. KCBS-FM/Los Angeles, for example,
> took on those calls in the early 1990s when they were
> positioning themselves as "CBS-FM", then kept the calls
> through all their years as "Arrow" and still have them as
> "Jack".
>

ORRR... how about changing your positioner to still match the calls when you flip formats...

KHTK in Sacramento did this, the calls originally obtained for the positioner Hot TalK, but when they flopped to an all Sports station as Sports 1140, they changed the positioner to Home of The Kings and kept the calls.
 
> My favorite is still the old Eighties Channel...
>
> "wxxy-fmhighlandparkwyxxmorris" (said just like that and
> really fast) in a break and them "The Eighties Channel
> 103.1, WXXY-FM Chicago" at the top of the hour.
>
> -A
>

Big City also did this to their "Y-107" Country Quadcast in the NYC suburbs.....At the top of the hour they would very quickly say "WYNY Briarcliff Manor, WWXY Hampton Bays, WWYY Belvidere, WWZY Long Branch" and always end with a very loud and clear "WYNY New York"<P ID="signature">______________
V

NOT NEW YORK....
NOT PHILADELPHIA....
PROUD TO BE NEW JERSEY....</P>
 
Re: Why?

>
> KHTK in Sacramento did this, the calls originally obtained
> for the positioner Hot TalK, but when they flopped to an all
> Sports station as Sports 1140, they changed the positioner
> to Home of The Kings and kept the calls.
>

LOL - that's reminiscent of what some stations did in the days of sequentially issued calls, when they came up with slogans to match their ID's. I have a late 1920's listing and some are great:

WDOD, Chattanooga: "Wonderful Dynamo of Dixie"
WCAU, Philadelphia: "Where Cheer Awaits U"
KFRC, San Francisco: "Keep Forever Radiating Cheer"

...and my favorite:

WCBQ, Nashville: "We Can't Be Quiet"

I once knew a guy who worked at WOTW in Nashua, NH. I asked if the calls had significance and he said "yeah, 'Wish Our Transmitter Worked'"

Nick Gerard
 
Re: Why?

> >
> > KHTK in Sacramento did this, the calls originally obtained
>
> > for the positioner Hot TalK, but when they flopped to an
> all
> > Sports station as Sports 1140, they changed the positioner
>
> > to Home of The Kings and kept the calls.
> >

I was there in 2000-2001 when KHTK was still a hot talker (and already carried the Kings w/ the unbearable Grant Napier on the mic). . . They used "Home of The Kings" then, too, at least during games and Napier's show.

>
> LOL - that's reminiscent of what some stations did in the
> days of sequentially issued calls, when they came up with
> slogans to match their ID's. I have a late 1920's listing
> and some are great:
>
> WDOD, Chattanooga: "Wonderful Dynamo of Dixie"
> WCAU, Philadelphia: "Where Cheer Awaits U"
> KFRC, San Francisco: "Keep Forever Radiating Cheer"
>
> ...and my favorite:
>
> WCBQ, Nashville: "We Can't Be Quiet"
>
> I once knew a guy who worked at WOTW in Nashua, NH. I asked
> if the calls had significance and he said "yeah, 'Wish Our
> Transmitter Worked'"
>
> Nick Gerard
>

My favorite is KGNO, Dodge City, KS, which had 3 nifty ones, "Kansas Grows No Oranges", "Kansas Grows No Onions", and "Kan't Get No Other"(because they were the first station anywhere near there). I think the latter is the only one they used on the air, though.

Local gospel AM WURL-760, Moody, AL uses "Where You Are Loved", which is a solid semi-sequential slogan.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom