Re: WGST - The Changes Are Starting?
STF said:
Typically I'd be against trading local talk for syndicated talk, but since the Kimmer Show was unlistenable I don't mind that move. I think Denny might've deserved more time although I doubt it would have mattered.
There is a historical perspective to the WSB/WGST fight. WSB was put on the air by the Atlanta Journal and I believe WGST was put on the air by the Constitution which later sold it to Georgia Tech. WSB got on the air days before WGST as I recall.
The Constitution later got a radio station WCON which was 5000 watts day and night on 550. When the Journal and Constitution were merged, Cox took WCON TV on Channel 2 and Channel 8 which was WSB TV became a public TV station. WCON went dark with the 550 frequency quickly picked up by Charlie Smithgall who owned WGGA in Gainesville, GA then operating on 1240. WDUN was born in 1949 on 1240 when WGGA moved to 550 then with 5KW day and 500 watts night. In the 1980s, WDUN bought 550 and sold it's 1240 to WGGA.
WGST has always been the underdog to WSB even back in the heyday of AM radio. A lot had to do with programming but a lot too had to do with the fact that all the way back to the 1930s, WSB has always had the upper hand with signal being the only AM that fully covers the market 24/7. As Atlanta grew more and more people moved outside the nighttime and more importantly morning time signals of 790, 590, 920, 1380 and the Class 4s on 1340 took the heat first. Most of the other AMs then signed off at sunset. So you had 590, 750, 790, 1340 and 1380...the only full time AMs in Atlanta way up into the 1970s. That's pretty incredible when you think about it and the FM dial was sparesly population too.
WSB also had the prestige of being the hometown station you could hear all across America at night back when that meant something. It was pretty neat to be in Washington DC on a vacation and you could switch to 750 and hear the hometown station loud and clear. Plus...up into the 1950s.....WSB daytime signal could be heard throughout the South. I recall in 1976 driving with my parents from Sylvester, GA all the way to Knoxville TN listening to WSB...in the daytime. AM radios were much better then too.
WGST improved its daytime signal by buying 640 but learned what most of us in this business come to realize.....a radio station's success, or at least 90% is determined by what happens from 6-9AM M-F. WGST's 1KW on 640 doesn't cut it in a large market like Atlanta where AMs have a tough time any way due to soil conductivity being the worst in the nation. Add that to the fact that the only reason 640 can be used at night is because Ronald Reagan's FCC told broadcasters they could ignore the 50KW Cuban Clear Channel on 640. This happened when Reagan built Radio Marti to beam toward Cuba. Castro retaliated with Russian help by flooding the AM dial with interference. Things finally settled down but the 50KW in Havana Cuba is still there and soaking WGST's nighttime signal and all other 640 AMs operating on the east coast.
The sad part about WGST, I suppose, is they used to be a good #2 to WSB but probably no longer. Also, WSB got it's act together. I remember into the 1980s, WSB had a hard time shaking its old time image. One of the best billboards I've seen in radio was a row of mics. WGST had a very modern looking mic and WSB was depicted using an old RCA ribbon mic. That pretty much summed up the difference. WSB woke up although I cringe every time I hear Michael Savage on the station.
I've always been amazed that Rush Limbaugh didn't do better. You would think in the Atlanta market he would be strong but maybe Bill Maher is right, Americans are a lot more liberal (at least privately) than most people think.
