WVOM 103.9 Howland/Bangor off the air, mini rant about Blueberry web sites

[Maine-i-ac]

WVOM has been of the air since at least 9 a.m. and it's now 2:40 p.m.. OK, these things can't be helped. BUT, there sits their web site http://wvomfm.com/. In this world of the internet and social media, sits the perfect opportunity to let the listeners know what's going on. I mean at least minimal info such as "we're off the air, should return around X:XX, we'll update you more later". Now in all honesty, they do Ric Tyler's facebook page for a lot of their show interaction. However, I'm not a big fan of facebook or Ric's friend.

I say all that to say this. I've been chawin' on this awhile. Blueberry's websites are for the most part a waste of bandwidth. The only thing that is really local on WVOM's is the "question of the day". Click on their "news" link. Yeah, the famous "coming soon!" Heck, I've waited less time between Pink Floyd albums. The biography section dates back to the CC days.

The money may not be there to support a full time IT person for Blueberry, but in this day and age of instant news and with most every one streaming, I'd be embarrassed to have this web site.

As for me, I'll catch the national shows if I choose to on line. Oh yeah, "Mancow" is back from his break on KKAT, Salt Lake City.

 

[musicman75]

Got to agree you on Blueberry, websites are Joke, never changed, updated etc. As far as I know, when CC owned those stations they didn't have an in house IT person either, but those sites at least the augusta ones were updated locally with promotions, remotes etc. Over all Blueberry as a station owner is kind of a Joke, money and budgets can make stations sound better for sure, but there are plenty of small staff groups in this state that aren't making a ton of money that don't sound nearly as bad as the blueberry stations, take Atlantic Coast, Mountain Wireless or gleason as examples. Mountain Wireless has 4 stations, 4 different formats, live or local vt on all of them at some point. Blueberry has 15 stations, with 7 formats, only 5 of those formats/stations have any kind of local staff. Blueberry currently has 4 class B stations with obvious trasmitter issues, when was the last time WLKE, WQSS, WMCM were actually at full power ? Not to mention WLKE and WMCM aren't even in stereo, does this save money on power bills ? Then there is the fact that WKSQ, bleeds over onto 94.3 so much that my car picks it up on scan. I'm not an engineer but these issues are obvious just by listening, must by part of the reason none of those stations showed up much in the rating. Is easier just to let those stations sound like shit, and have no billing, instead of buying some software and getting a sales person or two into these areas to sell the stations. Nassua does this with frank, the wolf and w bach.

 

[special ed]

"WVOM has been of the air since at least 9 a.m. and it's now 2:40 p.m.. OK, these things can't be helped. BUT"


Of course it can be helped! They simply choose not spend money on bulletproof operations. Or anything close to it. There may not be much left over after paying the loan and the skeleton crew left.

As to the website, how much money do you think that brings in? Even stations with good sites don't derive much cash from it. I can't fault them for not having a great web presence when basic infrastructure is not up to par.

 

[Maine-i-ac]

OK, Special Ed, I partially agree with you. First, the transmitter.

Of course it can be helped! They simply choose not spend money on bulletproof operations. Or anything close to it. There may not be much left over after paying the loan and the skeleton crew left.

I guess I'm willing to give them a little room on that. When money is tight, well, if we can drag the transmitter along on parts approved by the war department, going off the air once in awhile is what happens. If that is the original transmitter when WSNV debuted, it's got to be at least 25 years old now.

As to the website, how much money do you think that brings in? Even stations with good sites don't derive much cash from it. I can't fault them for not having a great web presence when basic infrastructure is not up to par.

I would much rather see no web presence (or bare bones info, like the schedule) if they can't keep up with it at all. It's great to see what they must have wanted when they developed their web site, but when it doesn't come to fruition over 2 years down the road, it's time to take out the links.

 

[Mainedude2007]

I have my own opinions on the fruit company but as for web presence, atleast they have one. The Citadel/Cumulus in Presque Isle have nothing. No streaming, no website, nothing. And that's a nationwide owner. Maybe things will change now that Cumulus is in town but I wonder if Citadel even told Lew & Co. that they had stations north of Bangor. Citadel might not even know they exist.

 

[DougD]

The political and ideological differences aside, I've found that there is no comparison between the overall quality of what Blueberry does with WVOM and what Stephen King does with WZON. It's like night and day. Not only are there the long, long silences caused by technical glitches; there are significant differences in what the two competing stations offer. The only time WVOM bothers with local news is Ric Tyler's rip-and-read during the AM drive; at TOH the rest of the day it's 2 minutes of Fox News followed by three minutes of commercials. What a waste. WZON has a news staff of at least five people.

Blueberry has also eviscerated Maine's oldest radio station, WAEI (former WABI), but that's another (sad) story.

King needs to get his company's act together and either buy or build a fourth station in order to expend WZON's coverage area west and south of Bangor. WVOM does have the competitive advantage in that respect.

End of rant.