WSM Trend

[scottwmro]

As much as I hate to tell ya, Green Acres and Petticoat Junction have been replaced with Alternative Rock and Progressive Country that crosses over to the CHR and Hot AC charts. Nobody in thier right minds names their girls, Betty Jo, Bobby Jo, or Billie Jo. It's just not Alternative enough, but I must admit, I do like those old shows, but we can not turn back the hands of time and AM radio headed down the same road. Soon the engineer of the cannonball will hang up his hat for satellite radio and Mr. Drucker will be selling HD radios.

Hi, Scott--

I think my thrust behind this post was misunderstood ... I'm certainly not of the delusion that Hooterville lives on in 2008. I as much as anyone know -- generally speaking (!) -- that music on AM is nearly dead and not coming back. I just had this perception, naive as some might call it, that WSM-AM was and is a different case. That stations like WSM, with its nighttime signal, could still serve a higher purpose ... and still turn a buck or two.

I'm 43, and while teenagers (I have one myself) will never go near the band switch on any radio, I'd think there's still enough life left in a lot of us to keep AM alive - with tunes on a few of 'em - for another decade or two. My parents are in their mid 60s and grew up with AM, and with life expectancies what they are, they'll be around at least 15-20 years. Knock on wood.

Even with most stations practically telling anyone over 35 to shut up, take our Geritol and head to Branson, there's too much historical significance with WSM-AM. Or so I would think.

Or maybe that's the "romantic" in me taking over again.

For lunch, I'll have the #2 Arnold rib plate, with fries and a sweet tea.

--Russell W.
Savannah, Ga.

Well Fellas,

It's really hard to say what will happen to the AM Band in the next 25 years. It just seems to linger on as new technology comes about. All I can say is that AM has more of that "radio feel" that me, you Russell, Romer, Buddy, Pat,Tibbs, Buntin and the others in this market got to experience.
I've sat and staired at a picture of Buddy Sadler at the board at WKDA getting ready for a newscast. The excitment and energy of all the listeners is once had, now gone down the tubes, thanks to our federal government allowing money jerks like Peter Davidson change it to WNVL and put that crap on! One of these days, I think we should invite Mr. Davidson to this board and I want an explanination of why he has distroyed 1240 AM, Nashville!
Nashville still has WSM, and we need to do what we can as the General Public to hold on to it as long as possible, this includes the Opry. If somebody with some sense get ahold of 1240 from Davidson, Bill Barry should put those calls back where they belong, on 1240, and let the Oldies play on.
Nashville is more than just Classic Country Music, Top Rock-n-Roll artist in the 50's through now have recorded here. Thank Goodness we have Lighting 100 to bring some of that out. We may not like some of the music they play, but they do play some good ole progressive rock too, that we all on here remember.
WVOL has now going down hill because of all the talk and fighting on it. I love ya John Heidelburg, and he is a good friend to many of us, but John should examine stations like WDIA in Memphis and follow thier path. Keep Nashville's Classic Soul Station just as alive as WSM's tradition.
It may come a day when nobody will listen to these station's on AM anymore, BUT they can be moved to FM. When National Life bought WLWM in 1968 from Wilber Parrish, they should have simulcasted WLWM and WSM 24/7, up to this day! That SM-95 stuff was for crap. WLWM should have been Country with WSM-AM from day one in 1968 until now. This builds a "safe guard", so when AM dies for good, we still have WSM the way it has always been since 1925!

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

It's really hard to say what will happen to the AM Band in the next 25 years. It just seems to linger on as new technology comes about. All I can say is that AM has more of that "radio feel" that me, you Russell, Romer, Buddy, Pat,Tibbs, Buntin and the others in this market got to experience.
I've sat and staired at a picture of Buddy Sadler at the board at WKDA getting ready for a newscast. The excitment and energy of all the listeners is once had, now gone down the tubes, .............

I don't know that I will be around for the festivities, but in your lifetime a significan event is not too far around the corner: RADIO WILL CELEBRATE IT'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY.

Scott, you know I have been leaning over the edge of the merry-go-round horse to grab my own brass ring. Several years ago I decided to learn how to sail. In the books I read they pointed out that because of other technologies, boat sailing had to some extent ceased to be "leading technology" so they put a lot of emphasis on keeping alive some of the traditions of sailing. All those quaint things they yell to one another as they do a "hard about" routine with the sails.

My little "Managers Play Book" for radio says: AM radio is no longer the "leading technology" so decorate the facility.... AND THE SOUND.... with some of the traditions of The Golden Age of radio. Something as unconventional as actually saying with good diction, a LEGAL station break. Maybe a hint of Art-Deco somewhere in the architecture. It has to be done with care and limits. After all, if people really wanted to wallow in radio nostalgia they would be standing in line to buy the Lum n Abner programs at The Cracker Barrel Store. Just enough to season our product and get our staff people to hold their heads up high and perform modern sounds with the same enthusiasm and dignity of the old times.

With the coming Centenial of broadcasting I expect to see a lot of broadcasters dipping their toes in the water for a possible swim in some of these ideas. Maybe it will catch on like a Fall revival at a country Baptist church.

If WSM can't pull it off, maybe the rest of us are trying to swim up stream.

 

[catfishal]

At this point I can't see Gaylord adding anymore news or changing the format of WSM to any type of talk. If you look at Gaylord's corporate website, WSM is in their Opry/Attractions division...which includes WSM, the Opry, the Ryman and the Wildhorse. Gaylord mostly keeps WSM in order to promote the Opry and Ryman and the hotel. A change to news/talk would not work for them in this case. There is a possibility the station could be sold and go talk, but AM news and talk stations are facing the same problem, aging listeners and declining ad revenue.

I think there are some things that could be done:

1. More promotion. I visit Nashville at least once a year and I never see any billboards or TV ads for WSM (Can any locals correct me on this?) I'm sure many younger people and transplants don't even know that WSM still exists if this is the case. Of course this is expensive but it could still payoff even for a music AM.

2. Better website! There is too little content on WSM's website and it is not updated often enough. They should have country music news, games and a higher bitrate live stream like they used to have. They could also have local news on their as well. Jimmy Carter, the entertainment reported has a website but it is not mentioned on wsmonline.com. I found a Myspace page for WSM, http://www.myspace.com/wsmradio , I assume this was put up by the station and not a fan. If this is the case, then it should be linked from the website and mentioned on the air. For us out of towner's they should link to Gaylord's other attractions. Also the design of the webpage is quirky with the hard to use menus at the top of the page. I'm sure they are not budgeted for a fulltime webmaster though.

 

[Journeyman]

Paul,

They payed for some of us to attend a "career changing" class in Brentwood. Most of my fellow attendees there were CFOs, CEOs and upper management types.

When WSM finally cut me loose they offered me the same career counseling thing. I had a job the day after they fired me, so I never attended. They called two weeks later, urged me to attend again. When I said I already had a job, they sounded kind of, well, disappointed!

 

[romer979fm]

That SM-95 stuff was for crap.

I'd comment...but that statement tells everything anyone here needs to know.

 

[courier37027]

I think old SM95 airchecks and replays would beat 106.7 The Fan in ratings.

 

[scottwmro]

To Chris Romer,

I'm sorry Chris, but it is just in my opinion that WSM-FM should have follow the footsteps of WSM-AM and Gaylord should have not sold it. As the younger generations come along, WSM-FM could have helped kept the Opry alive. I'm very fearful that the Opry will die. Some of the talent on it these days stinks. The artist that I heard in the late 60's, 70's, 80's & early 90's was some of the best.

Country music is starting to sound more pop/rock/chr, or whatever you want to call it. Not all of it, but a good portion of it. The Opry should be on WSM-FM as well as WSM-AM for now. I don't know what idiots have kept the Opry being on WSM-FM (maybe it was sold out ballgames) but for years the Opry always came first on WSM-AM, and it should have been that way on WSM-FM. When National Life bought WLWM-FM and calls were change to WSM-FM, there should have been a simulcast with both AM & FM from day one.

This is just my opinion, so what the hell do I know, all I can say is AM is dying, and I don't care of how much promotion you put into it like some of you other fellas have suggested, it simply won't work. I not trying to down your ideas, they are great, but the are so many more choices nowdays than AM.

 

[BigTimeEngineer]

That SM-95 stuff was for crap...Country... WSM the way it has always been since 1925!

For the ten-thousandth time, WSM (AM) has not been country since 1925. Gaylord perpetuating that myth is one thing. But, Scott, you saying it like it's the gospel is simply wrong.

When WSM was A/C and SM-95 was soft hits, they were two great radio stations. Their respective ratings and superb staffs speak for themselves. I need not defend their legacies any further.

The only "stuff" that can be construed as "crap" would be your misinformed statements of self-defined "fact".

 

[firepoint525]

To Chris Romer,

I'm sorry Chris, but it is just in my opinion that WSM-FM should have follow the footsteps of WSM-AM and Gaylord should have not sold it. As the younger generations come along, WSM-FM could have helped kept the Opry alive. I'm very fearful that the Opry will die. Some of the talent on it these days stinks. The artist that I heard in the late 60's, 70's, 80's & early 90's was some of the best.

Country music is starting to sound more pop/rock/chr, or whatever you want to call it. Not all of it, but a good portion of it. The Opry should be on WSM-FM as well as WSM-AM for now. I don't know what idiots have kept the Opry being on WSM-FM (maybe it was sold out ballgames) but for years the Opry always came first on WSM-AM, and it should have been that way on WSM-FM. When National Life bought WLWM-FM and calls were change to WSM-FM, there should have been a simulcast with both AM & FM from day one.

This is just my opinion, so what the hell do I know, all I can say is AM is dying, and I don't care of how much promotion you put into it like some of you other fellas have suggested, it simply won't work. I not trying to down your ideas, they are great, but the are so many more choices nowdays than AM.

Weren't there laws back in the day that required FM radio to generate its own programming, separate from AM, rather than merely simulcasting with AM? I believe it was required for FM to generate its own programming for X hours a day. This is how FM came to stand on its own in years gone by.

The problem with the music is that it all sounds the same nowadays. I read somewhere that radio stations' playlists now overlap each other 80% of the time! That basically means that almost all radio is now playing all the same songs, regardless of their respective formats! You often must listen to a station for at least 10-15 minutes to determine what their format is, because you can't make that determination based on just one song! The rock, AC, CHR, and country stations are now playing almost all the same music, regardless of what they may tell you what their format is, or how they position themselves!

 

[firepoint525]

That SM-95 stuff was for crap...Country... WSM the way it has always been since 1925!

For the ten-thousandth time, WSM (AM) has not been country since 1925. Gaylord perpetuating that myth is one thing. But, Scott, you saying it like it's the gospel is simply wrong.
When WSM was A/C and SM-95 was soft hits, they were two great radio stations. Their respective ratings and superb staffs speak for themselves. I need not defend their legacies any further.
The only "stuff" that can be construed as "crap" would be your misinformed statements of self-defined "fact".

This revisionist history bothers me, too. One look at the old WSM surveys on the Yahoo groups nashradio page would tell you that. And I wasn't even living here in middle Tennessee back in those days.

Back during the days (2002) when WSM flirted with changing their format, and going all sports, some out-of-towner posted on channel 4's Speaker's Corner board at the time that WSM got its call letters from Bill Monroe's initials, William Smith Monroe. Well, I remembered that Bill Monroe was born sometime around 1913, and WSM signed on in 1925, so I thought it was extremely unlikely that a radio station, even in the very early days of radio, would name itself after a 12-year-old! Furthermore, this person posted his erroneous information on WSMV's Speaker's Corner board, apparently unaware that there is no longer any ownership connection between WSMV-TV and WSM radio! :

 

[olebud]

WSM - Owned by The National Life and Accident Insurance Company. "We Shield Millions" = WSM.

Weren't there laws back in the day that required FM radio to generate its own programming, separate from AM, rather than merely simulcasting with AM? I believe it was required for FM to generate its own programming for X hours a day. This is how FM came to stand on its own in years gone by.

Not sure if this is same time you're talking about or not, but station I was with in Houston in mid to late 70s had to seperate the AM and FM stations with each having it's own staff and programming.

 

[w9wi]

apparently unaware that there is no longer any ownership connection between WSMV-TV and WSM radio! :

Oh, believe me, there are a LOT of people who don't realize there's no ownership connection between 650, 95.5, and channel 4. When I talk to a viewer it's more likely than not they'll call the TV station "WSM". Often, even viewers who weren't born yet when the stations split will call the TV WSM.

 

[PaulO]

apparently unaware that there is no longer any ownership connection between WSMV-TV and WSM radio! :

Oh, believe me, there are a LOT of people who don't realize there's no ownership connection between 650, 95.5, and channel 4. When I talk to a viewer it's more likely than not they'll call the TV station "WSM". Often, even viewers who weren't born yet when the stations split will call the TV WSM.


I've also know people that refer to channel 5 as WLAC which it hasn't been since the end of 1975.

 

[firepoint525]

I was aware that WSM stood for "we shield millions." Either that, or we serve millions! Maybe, I'm thinking about McDonald's now! ;D :

I was thinking the law requiring separate programming for AM and FM was even earlier than the mid-to-late '70s. This was how we got "progressive" formats on FM way back when. Even so, I remember AMs and FMs that simulcasted virtually all their programming, and some that still do! And I'm 44 now.

 

[davideduardo]

I was thinking the law requiring separate programming for AM and FM was even earlier than the mid-to-late '70s.

1967. End of simulcasting.

This was how we got "progressive" formats on FM way back when.

By the mid to lat 70's, most free form progressive formats had been killed by the Abrams Superstars format.

Even so, I remember AMs and FMs that simulcasted virtually all their programming, and some that still do! And I'm 44 now.

In the later 80's the early deregulation rule changes allowed some simulcasting, and by the 90's it was allowed again, prticularly because there were so many losing AMs that would otherwise have gone off the air.

 

[romer979fm]

when I worked at Opryland in 1973-74-75...(also co-owned by National Life)
we would customize fly swatters with "we swat millions". wildly funny.
I'm seriously planing a book about working three summers at the park: you name it...I saw it. literally.
A serious Ralph Emery melt-down temper tantrum was one of my favorite events.
A young female working security wouldn't let Ralph into the Opry House...'cause she wasn't from Nashville and
had no clue as to who he was.

as for confusing/attaching call letters...just like at WSMV...Buddy and I work in the CC newsroom area
which includes WLAC: not a day goes by without multiple calls for channel 5.
even though the calls changed from WLAC-TV to WTVF in 1975. lotsa folks still associate the WLAC-TV
calls with channel 5...including ma bell at directory assistance. i
I've also had a few calls over the years at WSIX looking for WSIX-TV channel 8

 

[Evangelist]

How nice to see the calls for Channel 5 continue.

I took my share of those calls myself. Even family members who are natives of this area thought I worked at 5, despite numerous efforts to educate them.

One time, an older man wanted to talk to Larry Brinton. I suggested he call Channel 5 and he insisted we were still one in the same. I told him we had separate ownership, were in separate locations and had nothing to do with each other. He then asked if I couldn't just "run a message across the hall" to Larry.

The old guy who would call and want to talk to Lelan Statom was always fun. Or the younger-sounding man who said we "filmed" his kid at a shopping center in Smyrna that morning and wanted to know if it would be on that evening. I went through the spiel about calling Channel 5, etc.

Guy: But Channel 5 is WLAC-TV!

Me: Sir, Channel 5 is WTVF.

Guy: Didn't nobody tell me.

I gave him Channel 5's number--had the switchboard and newsroom numbers memorized because of the inevitable calls.

 

[scottwmro]

That SM-95 stuff was for crap...Country... WSM the way it has always been since 1925!

For the ten-thousandth time, WSM (AM) has not been country since 1925. Gaylord perpetuating that myth is one thing. But, Scott, you saying it like it's the gospel is simply wrong.

When WSM was A/C and SM-95 was soft hits, they were two great radio stations. Their respective ratings and superb staffs speak for themselves. I need not defend their legacies any further.

The only "stuff" that can be construed as "crap" would be your misinformed statements of self-defined "fact".

I realize that, and yes I do remember when WSM-AM was AC during the day and country at night, and I recall WSM-FM was some sort of AC/MOR, and in the late 70's/early 80's there was Chris with Jazz on Sunday Nights on WSM-FM. I recall listening to Chris during his last Jazz show on WSM-FM, and then monments later...."Thank God I'm A Coutry Boy" as Nashville 95.5 steped up to the country plate on WSM-FM.

I forgot all about the simucast rules of the 60's and 70's, but still even with those rules in place, they could have at least simulcasted the Opry.

If WSM & Gaylord felt so compled to change WSM-AM's format, I would like to see WSM-AM become a full News, Weather & Sports station, (Daytime Only) and then switch at night to Classic Country with Eddie Stubbs, Bill Cody, and of course the Opry on the wk-end nights.

Over the years, I've always found myself going to WSM-AM for breaking news and weather. I know an "all news" format is expensive, but this would be the best (daytime wise) for WSM. They would kick WLAC's tale, which is NOT a full service news station, despite what they say.

WSM-AM could fill a void that I think Nashville needs and it would keep AM going longer! Like I said, I still find myself going to WSM-AM for breaking news and weather, and they will interupt the Opry for breaking bad weather moving in. That's one of the reasons why I ALWAYS keep a pre-set in my car to WSM-AM!

 

[w9wi]

I was thinking the law requiring separate programming for AM and FM was even earlier than the mid-to-late '70s.

1967. End of simulcasting.

Even so, I remember AMs and FMs that simulcasted virtually all their programming, and some that still do! And I'm 44 now.

In the later 80's the early deregulation rule changes allowed some simulcasting, and by the 90's it was allowed again, prticularly because there were so many losing AMs that would otherwise have gone off the air.

Didn't the ban on simulcasting have an exception for smaller stations? I seem to recall simulcasting was legal if your city-of-license was smaller than 25,000.

It probably would have been a good thing to keep the ban and get rid of those losing AMs...

=========================================

Y'know, the other amusing (and frustrating) thing is when people call us (channel 4) and ask for Lelan Statom or Lisa Patton or want to complain about something they saw on American Idol.

=========================================

I think AM 650 has severely limited its options by holding out with the country as long as it has. IMHO, their options:

• Change nothing. Stick with the classic country. I suppose as long as it's breaking even there's no urgent need to change.
• Sell to a group that will be charged with preserving the station's heritage. The Country Music Hall of Fame; the CMA; the Convention & Visitors Bureau; the Chamber of Commerce; some combination of the above. Again, as long as it's breaking even these groups might find having a classic country WSM around furthers their economic interests. I'd bet it would be awfully tough to make the numbers work.
• Sell to Cumulus, who moves the WTN format to AM 650. If the station had been sold to Cumulus along with the FM then this would have probably already happened. Today it might be more difficult, as it's more obvious that AM's technical limitations apply to talk formats just as they apply to music.

I'd love to see an all-news format ala WBBM 780 Chicago. But that's awfully expensive and this market isn't big enough to support it.

 

[firepoint525]

when I worked at Opryland in 1973-74-75...(also co-owned by National Life)
we would customize fly swatters with "we swat millions". wildly funny.
I'm seriously planing a book about working three summers at the park: you name it...I saw it. literally.
A serious Ralph Emery melt-down temper tantrum was one of my favorite events.
A young female working security wouldn't let Ralph into the Opry House...'cause she wasn't from Nashville and
had no clue as to who he was.

as for confusing/attaching call letters...just like at WSMV...Buddy and I work in the CC newsroom area
which includes WLAC: not a day goes by without multiple calls for channel 5.
even though the calls changed from WLAC-TV to WTVF in 1975. lotsa folks still associate the WLAC-TV
calls with channel 5...including ma bell at directory assistance. i
I've also had a few calls over the years at WSIX looking for WSIX-TV channel 8

Part of the problem there is that the phone company never updates their information. They still have radio and TV stations listed under call letters, formats, and slogans they dropped years ago! (I remember Squeegie, back when he was on 104.5, and they had a music format, discussing with their traffic reporter about getting calls for Fox 17, and during that conversation, he mentioned that 104.5 had itself been "Fox," but even then, that had been years earlier! :)

The other part of the problem is that people assume that everyone in radio and TV knows everyone else in radio and TV, even those working for competing stations. (Ownership rules being what they are, I can almost understand this.) We may be a small fraternity, compared to the city as a whole, but we ain't that small!

And finally, there are those who just simply hold on to nostalgia, and won't let go of the past. As far as I know, all the local TV stations have had their current call letters since well before I moved here, and I've been here since 1992!