WFBO-lp Flagler Beach is now dark

[GeorgeJ.]

I was told that WFBO-lp was going to go dark & turn in the license on Nov. 5, but they were gone before that. I was going to listen to their stream on this past Monday Nov. 3 to hear some of the last days, but they were already gone...the website had already been taken down too (theblizzard.us).

Apparently, the place just fell apart after John Black & Chris Lash left..the last time I listened to the stream & checked out the website, they were running the Waitt Radio Networks Oldies programming 24/7 with no live local jocks anymore..WFBO didn't have any production facilities, so that may have been a factor...John Black used to do the production at his home studio and dump it onto a flash card and then dump it into the system at the station. Without him, there wouldn't have been a way to do any production for the current sponsors, much less new ones.

That's all too bad. WFBO-lp was the best sounding LP-FM I'd heard and they were really smokin' when John & Chris were running it. A huge loss for the Flagler Beach area; they no longer have any local radio service.

Luckily, we captured some WFBO-LP on video earlier this year for California Aircheck, so that is now a piece of history. Anyone interested in this now deceased little gem of a radio station can find that video on California Aircheck Video #113...WFBO-LP was easily as good as most medium market stations, and some large market stations too. It was interesting to see the one small rack that contained the little bitty baby transmitter, STL and processor (that's on the video too).

Adios WFBO, we'll miss you.

(Didn't notice until after posting that there was a thread in the Florida section already..there's a post there from Chris that mentions the family medical problems that caused him to bail out - and the fact that the FCC never transferred the license)

 

[cceng1]

Actually, if I am not mistaken, it is illegal for an LPFM to utilize satellite fed programming like the Waitt format. I thought that the FCC's philosophy around LPFM was that is was to be "local", or "community" not to be just "another" radio station.

I could be wrong.....but I think I am correct....I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

cw

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

Where was this video thread posted?

I don't think it's ill-legal for an LPFM to use satelitte programming as long as they produce x amount of local programming a day.

 

[radioboy]

While Chris was running the station, they had several live and local jocks/shows. He and Karen
cleaned up as much as they could. But Chris was never the licensee.

The actual licensee of the station chose to ignore several FCC rules and ended up being fined
for offenses more than once.

But I know that Chris did the best he could under the circumstances. I'm sure Karen is his top
priority right now. My wife lost a sister to the same type of cancer last year, so we understand what he
must be going through.

 

[GeorgeJ.]

Actually, if I am not mistaken, it is illegal for an LPFM to utilize satellite fed programming like the Waitt format. I thought that the FCC's philosophy around LPFM was that is was to be "local", or "community" not to be just "another" radio station.

I could be wrong.....but I think I am correct....I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

cw

Waitt Radio Networks does not do Satellite programming.....they provide a daily music log (which the local stations can adjust if they want...WFBO was playing some Oldies that were not provided by Waitt when they were doing live shifts from 6A-4P). Then, like someone doing voicetracks for a Clear channel station, the Waitt jocks would upload tracks done specifically for WFBO and they would go into the program log. When the station was running live jocks, they would delete the Waitt voicetracks and do the breaks live.

So this wasn't Satellite programming they were using in non-local-live hours, it was personalized voicetracking..

I don't know what LP-FMs are required to do as far as local programming, but the tracked programming on WFBO sounded better than probably 99.9% of all LP-FMs out there. And much better than any Satellite Oldies station...

You would have been hardpressed to figure out if they had been live or voicvetracked - it sounded that good.

 

[GeorgeJ.]

Where was this video thread posted?

I don't think it's ill-legal for an LPFM to use satelitte programming as long as they produce x amount of local programming a day.

The WFBO Video is not on the web...it's available on a DVD with other Video Airchecks from California Aircheck (Video #113)

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Earlier this year I looked into the concepts of LPFM and read the rules.

It is the FCC intention that these stations focus on local programming. I never found myself reading the rules and fully understanding the details of "locally originated programming". Hooking up to a network where you are broadcasting material identical in content and time of broadcast as a bunch of other stations does not seem to be acceptable.

The fact that some person or group in another community, another market produces a program which they provide to another LPFM or maybe and NPR station does not mean that YOUR LOCAL COMMITTEE cannot acquire the same program recording and "air the recording locally at the time of their choice." I would expect a well run LPFM that has taken great effort to locate external resources to mix with truly locally produced programming to get an atta-boy from the FCC if the station were reviewed for appropriateness.

I have spent some time listening to LPFMs that are streaming to understand what they do, and some of it is right out of 1938 for style, smoothness and sophistication.

If running programming that has been produced out of town and shipped in is held to be in violation of FCC wishes, all those religious LPFMs are in for a rude awakening.

 

[cflamfm]

They were live in studio from 6a till 4p M-F. High speed internet Storq the rest of the time with drop ins from the services DJ’s.
The Blizzard was fined twice. A third fine from the FCC was made around June, but for some reason not given. Supposed to be around 65K, yes not a typing error 65K. Now, this might be because a fourth investigation was going on. Mostly for running commercials and not sponsorship announcements, much of before Chris Lash was there. Some think the new AM station in Bunnell made a complaint, but that cannot be verified.
The Board of Halifax Community Christian Church that owns the station was going to go in 3 possible directions programming wise, but could not agree on which and thought with all that was going on it would be better just to shut it down.
They dumped the webcast right after Chris left and set November 4th at 7pm as shutdown. This was the last day of the service from Storq and when all announcements that were paid for were aired.
Chris is back as a GM in the Pittsburg area and John is working at a Country FM just north of Green Bay, WI.

 

[fwillis]

I think the rules stipulate no less than 8 hours a day live and local. They did 10, more than many others. I know of several LPFMs that utilize satellite services like Salem's Solid Gospel or ABC's Timeless Classics. As long as you do the 8 hours, the rest of the music origination is up to the licensee's discretion.You can program a lot of community info and news in the open windows on a satellite operation.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I think the rules stipulate no less than 8 hours a day live and local.

What qualifies as live and local. (Even in traditional commercial radio that is to some extent an unanswered question.)

In my search to understand LPFM, one of the stations I spent some time following was WRFN out in the fringes near Nashville, TN. Liberal to the core, founded by a nucleus of people who admit that they are hippies who published an alternative newspaper in the Viet Nam era. Here is the program I don't know how to classify.

Local union people in Nashville decided they would like to provide an hour of programming each week. There is a labor group in Kansas City that creates a broadcast in K.C. A copy of the K.C. originated program migrates to the Nashville area where the local Labor groups puts a local header on it and puts it on the air.

Can it be classified as part of the "Live and local" requirement?

Pretty thin claim. Not on their station, but try this one. Religion based LPFM. Grand old Senior Pastor of a really vibrant church has done a daily live broadcast for years. He semi-retires, spends most of his time at his cabin at the lake 80 miles away, but continues the broadcast recorded at the cabin and the program is delivered down the Internet. He talks about daily events at the church each day. Is he "Live and Local"?

Is an automation machine at the station, voice-tracked by a station staff member programming two or three days at a sitting considered "Live and Local"?

Does all this discussion change anything about how many hours were live and local at WFBO?

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I've been going nuts going to LPFM and FCC RULES trying to find the source of the information of minimum requirements on local programming.

It is found in the guidelines for application information and how it will be used in mutually exclusive applications. (Who promises best! ?)

73.872

(2) Proposed operating hours. The applicant must pledge to operate at least 12 hours per day.

(3) Local program origination. The applicant must pledge to originate locally at least eight hours of programming per day. For purposes of this criterion, local origination is the production of programming, by the licensee, within ten miles of the coordinates of the proposed transmitting antenna.

8 hours daily produced within ten miles of the antenna. No specification about having to be LIVE.

Anybody find something that replaces this or over rides it?

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

I've been going nuts going to LPFM and FCC RULES trying to find the source of the information of minimum requirements on local programming.

It is found in the guidelines for application information and how it will be used in mutually exclusive applications. (Who promises best! ?)

73.872

(2) Proposed operating hours. The applicant must pledge to operate at least 12 hours per day.

(3) Local program origination. The applicant must pledge to originate locally at least eight hours of programming per day. For purposes of this criterion, local origination is the production of programming, by the licensee, within ten miles of the coordinates of the proposed transmitting antenna.

8 hours daily produced within ten miles of the antenna. No specification about having to be LIVE.

Anybody find something that replaces this or over rides it?

And because the Waitt Radio Announcers vocietracks and the music played came off the local comptuer hard drive, it was completely legal.. the reason more stations dont do it is that they didn't have the budget for it!

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

8 hours daily produced within ten miles of the antenna. No specification about having to be LIVE.

And because the Waitt Radio Announcers vocietracks and the music played came off the local comptuer hard drive, it was completely legal.. the reason more stations dont do it is that they didn't have the budget for it!

The Waitt Radio Announcer originated the voicetracks within 10 miles of the antenna?

Think about this possibility: My programming could be produced 24 hours a day in some village in New England a thousand miles from my LPFM. I stream it in and dump it onto my hard drive at the station, and then 10 seconds later I have a second device taking the sound off that local hard drive and sending it to my transmitter.

Are you prepared to try to convince the FCC that because the audio "lived" on your local hard drive for 10 seconds it has somehow through some miracle of faith become "locally produced"?

So if the Waitt guys get it on the hard drive an HOUR ahead of time, does an hour parked on the hard drive through some miracle of faith become "locally produced"?

Focus on the Family produces a daily program in Colorado and 500 stations FTP that program to their hard drive and then they broadcast it on their religious station. That becomes a "locally produced within 10 miles of the transmitter" program because it camped out on your hard drive for an hour or so?

I have trouble with that logic. But maybe I've been butted in the head by one goat too many on rodeo day.

P.S. Could I save the wear and tear on my hard drive... what if I feed it into my DSP where I delay the signal in the transistor circuits and take it out 500 milliseconds later. Have I turned it into "locally produced programming"?

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

The way I read the rule, it's where the programming comes from at the time it's airing over your antenna/signal...

Services like Dial Global, Jones and ABC.. everything originates elsewhere as it airs on YOUR station, but Waitt Radio (Dial Global) and other pre-recorded features ORIGINATE from YOUR computer as they eminate from your antenna.

 

[Poledo]

Back when LPFM was new, I read on this board that the Calvary Chapel stations were simply downloading the programming from the satellite and time shifting it one hour to meet the local origination requirements. Some of the stations were throwing in a local church service on Sunday morning, but that was it.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Thank you, Poledo. I had been "scratching my head" for several months now since I began my observation of LPFM and what potential is being met and what can be done with this class of service.

Having operated a religious station a number of years ago, I had trouble comprehending how 80% or so of LPFMs could be doing religious programming and meet the criterial of the LPFM rules as I read them.

Now I get the picture.

I don't like the picture.

What a corruption of the intent of the LPFM concept.

 

[jackandcoke]

Thank you, Poledo. I had been "scratching my head" for several months now since I began my observation of LPFM and what potential is being met and what can be done with this class of service.

Having operated a religious station a number of years ago, I had trouble comprehending how 80% or so of LPFMs could be doing religious programming and meet the criterial of the LPFM rules as I read them.

Now I get the picture.

I don't like the picture.

What a corruption of the intent of the LPFM concept.

FWIW, the entire concept of "local origination" is hard to get one's mind around. While most of us might consider a local announcer playing Country records to be "local," Tim McGraw & Taylor Swift aren't actually there in the studio. Even if the announcer interjects local news & weather & community event info between songs, 99% of the "content" is recorded elsewhere--and, therefore, no more "local" than some preacher from California. Unless, of course, the station in question is licensed to Nashville...

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

Thank you, Poledo. I had been "scratching my head" for several months now since I began my observation of LPFM and what potential is being met and what can be done with this class of service.

Having operated a religious station a number of years ago, I had trouble comprehending how 80% or so of LPFMs could be doing religious programming and meet the criterial of the LPFM rules as I read them.

Now I get the picture.

I don't like the picture.

What a corruption of the intent of the LPFM concept.

FWIW, the entire concept of "local origination" is hard to get one's mind around. While most of us might consider a local announcer playing Country records to be "local," Tim McGraw & Taylor Swift aren't actually there in the studio. Even if the announcer interjects local news & weather & community event info between songs, 99% of the "content" is recorded elsewhere--and, therefore, no more "local" than some preacher from California. Unless, of course, the station in question is licensed to Nashville...

Interesting assesment....

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

FWIW, the entire concept of "local origination" is hard to get one's mind around. While most of us might consider a local announcer playing Country records to be "local," Tim McGraw & Taylor Swift aren't actually there in the studio. Even if the announcer interjects local news & weather & community event info between songs, 99% of the "content" is recorded elsewhere--and, therefore, no more "local" than some preacher from California. Unless, of course, the station in question is licensed to Nashville...

I have thought long and hard about this topic of "local content".

First I conclude listeners probably do not want 100% local in most cases. Most communities don't have that much pure talent, and it is almost impossible to generate enough revenue to adequately fund the expanse of 100% local.

The Bible often uses what are called 'parables' for teaching a lesson. So, for radio, let's consider the parable of "WHOLE MILK". For health reasons most of us do not buy WHOLE MILK. We buy a lot of 2%, quite a bit of 1% and quite a bit of Skim Milk. So, what is whole milk? Is it 100% butter fat? No, natural milk straight from the cow varies by breed of the cow and how we feed them. My memory from days on the farm from back just before dirt was invented that WHOLE MILK is typically somewhere around 4% butter fat.

Even the greatest fans of "LOCAL RADIO" probably do not want to hear Walt who drives the refuse truck singing while picking his guitar followed by Luis down at the Tacoria singing to a Mariachi band followed by Adolph the tune up technician at the Mercedes shop reciting a poem from the days of Faust. That would be like trying to sell milk that is 100% butterfat.

Back when small town radio was the bench-mark of what many of us call local radio, we sometimes had a national recorded religious program sponsored by the local First Baptist Church. We sometimes had a program recorded at the State cow-college about good farming practices and to this day those stations are going to carry Saturday afternoon play-by-play of the state university football game. And yet we classified most of those stations as having done a good job of LOCAL PROGRAMMING. We can have 1%, 2%, 4% butter fat, a.k.a. syndicated content in our programming and it remains palatable.

These LPFMs that take in content from the satellite around the clock and time shift it one-hour remind me of my mother's effort to make home-made cottage cheese. You take whole milk, you let it sit in warm conditions (park it on the hard drive?) until the bacteria cause the milk to begin to turn solid and then you drain it. Listening to one of LPFMs reminds me of trying to take that would-be cottage cheese just before the draining stage and try to drink it. ;D

It took me 30 to 35 years absence from the farm and milking the cows before I could bring myself to each cottage cheese.

 

[amfmxm]

Which is probaby the reason (actually, among many) that the FCC makes very little effort to police this rule. The commission basically got out of trying to dictate programming about 30 years ago, and it's fairly easy to understand why.