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What's going on in South Bend?

A

Apollo7979

I just noticed a couple of job postings for a new South Bend station called "News/talk 95.3."

What's this mean for WAOR? Are they moving somewhere else on the dial or going away for good?
 
95.3 is moving to 95.7, and in turn Power is going away. They are also moving Bob and Tom from WRBR to the new talk format on 95.3. They are looking for a new morning show on The Bear. I have seen the job postings on the IBA website and All Access. This is all to happen the first part of May.
 
kwlz993 said:
95.3 is moving to 95.7, and in turn Power is going away. They are also moving Bob and Tom from WRBR to the new talk format on 95.3. They are looking for a new morning show on The Bear. I have seen the job postings on the IBA website and All Access. This is all to happen the first part of May.
Click to expand...

It seems strange that they'd want to move the market's heritage rocker to a weaker signal, but I can understand why they'd want to place news/talk on the stronger of the two.

Any word on the fate of any of the other Federated properties?
 
This seems to be the main thing for the time being. They are looking for a PD for B100, and they are moving the WLEG studio in Elkhart to Goshen, but no format change. I do not know if WTRC is also moving or not. For the time being, Planet Radio is the focus of many changes. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.
 
And there is now an All Access job posting for an OM at Schurz Communications in South Bend. It states the current person was promoted within the company. I don't live there, but while reading this thread was curious if that had any connection to your discussion.
 
I caught the promos on WAOR saying it was happening on May 10. I figured it was just an April Fool's Day prank and somebody had forgotten to take the spots out of the system.
As for Bob & Tom moving, I guess it makes more sense for them to be on a classic rock station. As for The Bear, could they be bringing in Free Beer & Hot Wings or (really really really going out on a limb here) could they be bringing in local boy(he's from Warsaw) done good Bubba The Love Sponge. No matter what they do it will be interesting.
 
Jim Roberts was the OM at Schurz in South Bend. He got "promoted" to GSM over their 5 radio stations. I don't know how much of a "promotion" that really is....seems kind of a sideways move to me.

Jim has been at Schurz for a long time and has been PD of WNSN for probably 10 years or more.
 
U2CCU said:
Jim Roberts was the OM at Schurz in South Bend. He got "promoted" to GSM over their 5 radio stations. I don't know how much of a "promotion" that really is....seems kind of a sideways move to me.

Jim has been at Schurz for a long time and has been PD of WNSN for probably 10 years or more.
Click to expand...

To go from PD to GSM is definitely a promotion. Google the salary comparisons of the two positions and you'll see.
 
elkiewheels said:
I caught the promos on WAOR saying it was happening on May 10. I figured it was just an April Fool's Day prank and somebody had forgotten to take the spots out of the system.
As for Bob & Tom moving, I guess it makes more sense for them to be on a classic rock station. As for The Bear, could they be bringing in Free Beer & Hot Wings or (really really really going out on a limb here) could they be bringing in local boy(he's from Warsaw) done good Bubba The Love Sponge. No matter what they do it will be interesting.
Click to expand...

The Free Beer & Hot Wings show is already aired on WIRX Rock 107.1 out of St. Joseph Michigan. Although that station comes in clear in most of the South Bend market, it is not considered a South Bend station so I suppose that show could be on The Bear.

I don't think they will air the Free Beer & Hot Wings show. Moving Bob and Tom to WAOR could give WRBR the opportunity to have a music-focused morning show that would allow WRBR to compete better with WZOW 97.7 which has been playing new rock like the bear since they were taken off the simulcast with 102.3. As far as I can tell WZOW has no DJs and I'm sure the Bear is concerned if Bob & Tom are driving listeners directly to WZOW. Bob & Tom are a better fit on WAOR anyways.

Someone mentioned 95.3 going FM Talk. WSJM from Berrien county can already be heard in South Bend on 94.9 FM. I'm not sure how many FM talk stations the South Bend area can handle.
 
When is the WLEG move going to happen and where in Goshen will it move to? This would definitely impact the staff over there--especially Mark McGill who works at both studios (AM-Froggy/PM and Weekend afternoons for Hippie Radio). Any news on a 7PM -12 AM
 
PS-With Michiana News Channel 95.3 starting, what programs are they going to pick up. Since Fed Med is making radical changes, how will this affect 1290 WNIL spirited talk and the Bear?
 
According to the South Bend Tribune, Michiana's News Channel 95.3 will be anchored by Gary Seiber in the mornings with Rush and Glen Beck moving over from WSBT(960). Power 95.7 goes night night with WAOR moving to that frequency. Bob & Tom will make the move over to WAOR after WRBR finds a new morning show. Can't really remember something this big happening in South Bend radio since the commercials aired announcing the arrival of The Hawk on Sunny 101.5 back in what seems like either 1989 or 1990.
 
Moving WAOR to 95.7 will be the final nail in the coffin for Classic Rock in South Bend. 95.7 is based out of Nappanee and is a rimshot signal at best in South Bend. Forget about picking it up in Niles (it's original city) at all. WHY would Fed Med do this? South Bend will be left with NO Classic Rock station because you can't pick up 95.7 in any buildings, just in your car. I live near Michigan City, Indiana and would listen to WAOR all the time, no longer....our local FM is 95.9.

So, with this in mind.... Artistic Media, here's your chance:...reclaim your Classic Rock format on 97.7FM since your signal penetrates the South Bend market better than 95.7FM does.....just a thought....and possibly a good money maker since WAOR will no longer be a player in the market.
 
WSBT has already released their lineup

6-9 JT in the morning
9-12 Gallagher
12-3 Dave Ramsey
3-5 New local talk show
5-7 Sportsbeat

This almost doubles the amount of local programming during the day. Kudos to WSBT for fighting back with a ton of live and local programming!
 
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