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WKZV, just when are they on, anyway?

F

FreddyE1977

Guest
Seems to me their schedule has of late become extremely erratic.
They used to sign off every day at 6PM or at sundown, whichever was later.

Lately though I have heard them cue up The Star Spangled Banner and shut it down
at 3PM. The other day they went from a Willie Nelson song to station ID to off the air
(no anthem) at 3:46PM. It seems often they aren't on the air at all on Sundays, and I don't think
they were on Christmas Day either.

More problems with the transmitter? Too much late-day interference from WBT?
Cutting the power bill? Gerbil got tired? Need more AA batteries? Lone staff member
had a doctors appointment at 4PM? What the heck is going on here anyway?
 
What I suspect you're seeing here is a station slowly slipping into oblivion, like WZUM -- running out
of parts, people, and time.

One day, the 1968 Collins transmitter will give up the ghost, there won't be enough money to repair
or replace it, and the station will vanish for good.

I hope I'm wrong. I have a fondness for these little daytimers.

C.
 
You can make money without ratings, even with a daytimer, if you are (a) integrated into the business
community, (b) committed to LOCAL spot sales, and, (c) clever and full of hustle. On the other side of
the ledger you can hear 50,000-watt WWNL 1080 running a bunch of infomercials and third-tier shows
I've never heard of. I grant you it's tougher than before, but just compare that to, say, what WMBS is
doing every day in the face of constant competition from Keymarket and the big Pittsburgh stations. It
doesn't hurt that WMBS has been under the same ownership since 1937.

C.
 
AGREED. I Have a 4 point bullet point taped above my phone at work
1. See yourself
2. Sell your medium
3. sell your station
4. Sell the ratings , price
With daytime's and am's this is paramount. I can tell from what I hear on 620/94.1 770/97.5 and 103.1 this practice goes on daily! As for 1110 and all the defunct 1340's I would say not
 
cingram said:
You can make money without ratings, even with a daytimer, if you are (a) integrated into the business
community, (b) committed to LOCAL spot sales, and, (c) clever and full of hustle. On the other side of
the ledger you can hear 50,000-watt WWNL 1080 running a bunch of infomercials and third-tier shows
I've never heard of. I grant you it's tougher than before, but just compare that to, say, what WMBS is
doing every day in the face of constant competition from Keymarket and the big Pittsburgh stations. It
doesn't hurt that WMBS has been under the same ownership since 1937.

C.
Click to expand...

Wilkins Communications, which owns WWNL, has somewhere between 20 and 30 stations that do the same thing. For as much as the mega ownership groups are blamed for the demise of AM, owners like these guys and Birach are just as responsible.
 
Parttimer said:
Wilkins Communications, which owns WWNL, has somewhere between 20 and 30 stations that do the same thing. For as much as the mega ownership groups are blamed for the demise of AM, owners like these guys and Birach are just as responsible.
Click to expand...

Say what you will, but I haven't seen Wilkins or Birach tearing down the towers and surrendering the
license(s), at least not yet.

C.
 
The only advertising I ever hear on WKZV is the hourly Gospel tune
sponsored by Dean's Water. Can't imagine they are getting by on that.
I was never a huge country fan but listening to this stuff from the 60's, 70's and 80's sure takes me back.

I have to agree with the previous poster though, when even listeners who are
seeking you out can't figure out when you're on the air, the death throes are
well underway.
 
I believe Dean's Water is a tradeout deal. I don't think there's even as much as a paid religious show
on the station.

On a positive note, the Saturday classic-country show from sign-on to 2 p.m. (hosted by Randy Allen,
who sounds like an old radio hand, but from where I don't know) sounds quite good and professional.

C.
 
[Note: content removed per TOS.]
Click to expand...

Helen's not exactly rich, but she does have other financial interests, I'm told. And I believe this is a tax write-off. But the tax rules change every year, and one of these years, they'll change to her disadvantage.

Before Mike died, he had told me that he wanted to try and get brokered programming to run on the weekends. However, I don't think he knew how to go about doing it. You're talking about a very old-school broadcaster set in his ways and not exactly computer-savvy.
 
cingram said:
I believe Dean's Water is a tradeout deal. I don't think there's even as much as a paid religious show
on the station.

On a positive note, the Saturday classic-country show from sign-on to 2 p.m. (hosted by Randy Allen,
who sounds like an old radio hand, but from where I don't know) sounds quite good and professional.

C.
Click to expand...

Dean's IS a trade-out deal.
 
kenhawk1160 said:
Before Mike died, he had told me that he wanted to try and get brokered programming to run on the weekends. However, I don't think he knew how to go about doing it. You're talking about a very old-school broadcaster set in his ways and not exactly computer-savvy.
Click to expand...

Mike's passing away seemed to be the beginning of the erratic hours. This is particularly apparent on
Saturdays, when the station signs off at 2 p.m. They may not be on the air on Sundays at all. There
is no FCC requirement for Sunday operation.

C.
 
I sent a news tip to the Post-Gazette to see if they'd be willing to follow up on it. I informed the Trib and the Washington Observer-Reporter as well. There's so much history behind that station, and though it's been long-ignored, that should end now.

I'm very sad to see this little station die, but I'm sure it's all for the best.

There's going to be a lot of stories told.
 
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