WSPA(AM) no more

[Braswell]

Re: WRGC

Well, that's a pretty thorough history...clearly you know a great deal about the station.

Here's what I know. I've known Art Sutton for years, and have a fairly good handle on how he operates. To be sure, his stations are not perfect, but, as a whole, are a great deal better than many small-market operations. Georgia-Carolina is fairly demanding with their employees, but do pay them a decent wage. No, nobody's getting rich (not even Art...not with the debt service), but most are paid better than average. The days of most any small-market station being able to run fully live are over, unless the station has been under the same ownership for years and years (in other words, paid for), and even that is not true in every case.

Inside Art Sutton beats the heart of a true broadcaster...one that's wishes small-market radio could be like it was 40 years ago. Unforunately, the business base (those that will advertise on local radio) in most small towns has shrunk, while the number of available signals has doubled or tripled. The only way that most of us can keep the doors open, and keep some people employed, is to use automation. I've used satellite and I've done local V/T. Being all local is nice, but it takes a tremendous amount of time, effort, energy and expense. Smart operators (like Art) use the satellite as a tool, while striving to inject local, community oriented news, sports and information. No, it's not ideal, but it's about the only choice.

Art was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and he has had his financial downturns, as have we all. Through hard work, Art was able to take one success (with good credit and a whole lot of luck), and build it into a pretty darn good little group.

As for WRGC, to be sure, Art has had employee problems. I think he kept a good many of the former Childress employees on, which was probably a mistake. From my experiences, those that have worked for the former owner, have a real problem making the transition to what the new folks want to do. Beyond that, there have surely been other staffing difficulties, which there've always been at most stations...large or small. It is my understanding, however, that WRGC has just achieved the highest ratings it's seen in 15 years, and that the business is solid, too.

No, it's not perfect, but it's a whole better than it might otherwise be.<P ID="signature">______________
Jay Braswell - Moderator
Atlanta/North Florida/South Carolina/Georgia Boards</P>

 

[MtnRadioDude]

Re: WRGC

Truth be told...I was there when the Childress family still had control of the station. And yeah, anything is better than what was under that--it was an environment that was...overall...resistant to change.

And in that sense, WRGC has always had a credibility problem. Most people are like "AM Radio? What's that?". While others, in my case, got a good sense of the station while listening to it on their way to church on a Sunday morning (not the best time to be listening to that station anyway...it's laughable). Others attach a redneck, hokey image to the station that goes back to its roots in 1957.

I am not saying that working under Art Sutton was bad. According to what I was told, when the station changed hands, it was a good time...especially for the employees that were part of the switch. They welcomed the change. However, the big thing that got to the people that I spoke with (that, again, no longer work for the company) was that they needed a couple more people on staff and needed major equipment upgrades--things that just didn't happen, and the staff was just stretched too thin, and marketing of the promotions that they did have at the station usually got rather chilly responses because businesses just weren't interested in them (the promotions, not the station).

Now, some of this might be dismissed as a "bitter employee" seeking their revenge by sullying the company that they used to work for. But...believe me...it's not the case. The people I spoke with left on good terms with the company (as evidenced by where they said they were working now)...and you'd be absolutely amazed at who you can bump in to at the Sylva Wal-Mart, and how willing some of them are to talk about their experiences. And they got pretty detailed.

And--as far as the history of that station--much of it is Jackson County history. Seriously. Started on 1480 in 1957 as a 5k daytimer...moved to 680 in the 70s to 1kw with 250w nighttime coverage...and also switched calls WMSJ to WRGC sometime later...it is county history. Not only that, there are a lot of people still in that area that used to work for that station, so you hear the history and all those wonderful interesting stories behind the scenes.

 

[thebroker]

Re: WRGC

Perhaps it is due to the fact that WRGC was the first radio station I remember hearing as a child, but despite any issues it either has or appears to have, I still consider it as a standard by which I measure good radio.

I grew up listening to Uncle Jimmy's warm "It's Gettin' Up Time", and long for those days. However, I have listened as much as practical since Art bought the station. I am a very firm believer in what Art does...I've never heard any of his stations which weren't community-focused. As a former owner, I understand firsthand that you simply cannot run a local small-town station these days without the bird. However, Art amazes me with the amount of local content he STILL includes. For example, I was in town on Monday, and heard wall-to-wall team coverage of the 4th of July celebration. This, to me, was local radio at it's best. I got a warm/fuzzy feeling just listening.

Folks, we all know that former radio station employees can tell stories. That just goes with the territory. In our age of cookie-cutter radio though, I think we need to salute the folks, like Art, who still strive to make it as local as practical.

 

[MtnRadioDude]

Re: WRGC

As I have noticed in my other jobs, there is a difference in knowing a person really well and working for them. They might be the shining example to follow in business on the outside, but working for them can be a bitch.