Drove thru Waynesboro the other day and tuned in to WWON and was surprised to hear network programming. Has this station drifted from the live and local theme? I checked out the website when I got home and didn't see Chris Lash on the line up. Anyone know what happened?
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WWON in the Radio-Info Spotlight
- Thread starter jetfli
- Start date
I'll check with Chris.
Mr. Lash was banned from Radio Info a few months ago. I was employed at the station, and it was LMA'd. However those people walked out of the deal a week ago, hanging the Lashes. I believe that is why your hearing network programming, while they scramble to get things back up and running.
1250WTAE said:
I just heard back from Chris...he told me how they gave you the sack right after the deal. I just hope things aren't too far gone for them to be ruined after all this.
knoxbob said:
That's just a shame. They worked hard to bring that station back.
Another concern.. Just hope all can be saved... Great operation under their tenure.. Ralph Turpen is doing a great job at 1540/WBNL in Boonville, Indiana with local over cardboard.. He has 250 day and 1 watt night, but has one of the highest stream numbers on the internet in Indiana.. www.radio1540.net .... Give him a listen.. He does afternoons..
Mr. Lash
What is the status of your translator? Is that going to be a full time commercial station? Any timeline? (probably not seeing that it's the FCC)
What is the status of your translator? Is that going to be a full time commercial station? Any timeline? (probably not seeing that it's the FCC)
1250WTAE said:
What does that mean, then? Are they just not going to bother putting it on the air? IIRC, there's no other local station in town and a translator can't originate its own programming.
Caveat emptor.
My thoughts exactly! $150,000 for a daytime-only AM station? I'm no expert on the price of radio stations these days, but that seems steep to me!
The first station I ever worked for was WHDM in McKenzie in the early '90s. It was (at that time) a 500-watter daytime-only operation that signed off no later than 6:00 p.m., even in the summer months when they could have stayed on the air later. At that time, they did not carry network news (even though they still had ABC radio network programmed into the board), only local "news," which was actually "community events calendar"-type stuff! Since this was the time of the first Persian Gulf War, the lack of real "hard" news was a sticking point with me! They also still didn't even have a CD player yet, even though record companies were phasing out 45s by that time. And we couldn't even play anything published, or even co-published, by ASCAP, because they owed ASCAP money! They went dark around 1995, and returned to the air in 1997. I saw a listing in the Broadcasting magazine in 1996 in which they had sold for just $27,000! I thought, the building alone is worth that! (A former coworker at my then-station told me that they had sold about a year earlier for "$1.00 plus assumption of all debt"!)
They have now been an all-satellite operation since at least 1997. They have gone through several formats since then. There is apparently never anyone in the building anymore, even during "normal business hours." I once tried to stop by and visit, but no one was there! I can't imagine what is the appeal of this station to the local McKenzie listening community anymore. I believe they carry Titans football, but you can already get that on other stations listenable from McKenzie. They have a presence on the web, at http://www.whdmradio.com but I didn't see anything "local" on their website. It appeared to be a mirror site from the satellite company whose programming they are carrying.
An interesting learning experience for me, for my first broadcasting experience. Since I never had to "backtime" into a network news broadcast, I didn't learn until I started working at my second station that the times listed on 45s and CDs were often very inaccurate!
Update on the website above, there is local news on there, but it appears to be a local insert on an otherwise "national" site.
The first station I ever worked for was WHDM in McKenzie in the early '90s. It was (at that time) a 500-watter daytime-only operation that signed off no later than 6:00 p.m., even in the summer months when they could have stayed on the air later. At that time, they did not carry network news (even though they still had ABC radio network programmed into the board), only local "news," which was actually "community events calendar"-type stuff! Since this was the time of the first Persian Gulf War, the lack of real "hard" news was a sticking point with me! They also still didn't even have a CD player yet, even though record companies were phasing out 45s by that time. And we couldn't even play anything published, or even co-published, by ASCAP, because they owed ASCAP money! They went dark around 1995, and returned to the air in 1997. I saw a listing in the Broadcasting magazine in 1996 in which they had sold for just $27,000! I thought, the building alone is worth that! (A former coworker at my then-station told me that they had sold about a year earlier for "$1.00 plus assumption of all debt"!)
They have now been an all-satellite operation since at least 1997. They have gone through several formats since then. There is apparently never anyone in the building anymore, even during "normal business hours." I once tried to stop by and visit, but no one was there! I can't imagine what is the appeal of this station to the local McKenzie listening community anymore. I believe they carry Titans football, but you can already get that on other stations listenable from McKenzie. They have a presence on the web, at http://www.whdmradio.com but I didn't see anything "local" on their website. It appeared to be a mirror site from the satellite company whose programming they are carrying.
An interesting learning experience for me, for my first broadcasting experience. Since I never had to "backtime" into a network news broadcast, I didn't learn until I started working at my second station that the times listed on 45s and CDs were often very inaccurate!
Update on the website above, there is local news on there, but it appears to be a local insert on an otherwise "national" site.
It may not be the case now, but radio stations are bought and sold based on revenue. With nightime power, WWON is hardly a daytimer, and turns a 40 to 50% profit per month as is. Local sports dominate the station at night.
The property and building are appraised at $125,000.
Hardly a risk, unless your lazy!!
It will be sold by weeks end.
The property and building are appraised at $125,000.
Hardly a risk, unless your lazy!!
It will be sold by weeks end.
1250WTAE said:
That's still the case, TAE...usually anywhere from 9 to 12 times cash flow, depending on market size. I agree with you...it could really provide a nice living for a hands-on owner who runs it very local and in a smart manner. I didn't know real estate was included in the transaction.
A 1200 square foot, two story building in downtown Waynesboro. Best looking building on the square. 4.9 acres at the tower site.
Station is on track to do $100,000 plus this year. Do the match. Their letting it go for less than what its worth. Or according to the Lashes, returning to run it again.
They really got screwed by the former LMA party. People said they had 30 years in the business. I worked with them for a short time, and they had about 6 months of experience IMHO.
Station is on track to do $100,000 plus this year. Do the match. Their letting it go for less than what its worth. Or according to the Lashes, returning to run it again.
They really got screwed by the former LMA party. People said they had 30 years in the business. I worked with them for a short time, and they had about 6 months of experience IMHO.
I admire WTAE's defending of the station. It may not be a bad deal. Certainly it's not expensive. However, you're not going to get filthy rich. It would really help if you were from the area or at least somewhere near Tennessee, because for many, it would be a real adjustment. There's not much to do anywhere nearby. I'm very entrepreneurial, and if you want to do your own thing and enjoy yourself, this may be a good gig. But if you have less experience and see this as a way to get in to station ownership earlier than expected, it may make more financial sense to keep working for someone else. I'm sure there are a lot of AEs in Nashville, Memphis, even Knoxville, who can make $100k a year with much lower expenses, no compliance, and no risk.
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