WFMB/Springfield, IL

Call Letters:   WFMB-FM
City:              Springfield, IL
Owner:          Neuhoff Communications
Format:         Country
Frequency:    104.5
Website:        http://www.wfmb.com/
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Springfield, Illinois is best known for a rich political history. The Illinois capitol boasts being the hometown of sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln. The city of 117,000 houses President Lincoln's presidential library, tomb, and home. Springfield is also home to one of, if not my favorite, country music stations, WFMB-FM.

Tracing its roots back to 1965, the station has been a Springfield legend for almost a half century. Today, the station's slogan is "new country and all time favorites."  And by all time favorites, we are not talking about an overplayed song from the 90's.  The station has obviously not forgotten about its country roots.

So, what is the secret to the long term success of the station? "I think we have a deeper mix of gold to current than most major market stations," says Program Director Dave Marsh. "I feel our staff is pretty darn good and better than some I’ve heard in the larger cities.  Our consistency, longevity with our current staff have been big factors in our consistent standing in the market."

The other constant that has been maintained throughout the last decade is how the station is staffed. "We have a 24/7 live staff and stand alone team for 104.5 WFMB.  That sets us apart from most stations.  We are Live and local, and tapped into most if not all the tools like web (facebook/twitter), mobile, text to super serve our audience." "Our website has been updated to include mobile refinements for viewing on smart phones," added Marsh.

The station boasts almost entirely local and live programming, save for a few syndicated weekend shows such as Bob Kingsley's CT40 on Sunday afternoon/early evening and Rick Jackson's Country Hall of Fame (Sundays 6-9 AM). Mornings begin with the John and Michele Morning Show from 6-10 AM followed by Ashley Blake (10-3PM), who takes care of the all request noon hour (always good for some songs you haven't heard in awhile) and the "New Country Download" at 1PM. Program Director Dave Marsh is at the helm from 3-7PM. Marsh's show "The Ride" kicks off the 5pm hour with a few live renditions of popular country songs. Ed Steele is on from 7PM-Midnight and Peyton Adams takes listeners through the overnight hours.

On Saturday nights the station airs the Saturday Night Roadhouse, a request show that features the station's usual play list, as well as Alternative Country/Texas Country chart acts. 

WFMB features news, market, and ag reports at the top of the hour throughout the mornings and afternoons on weekdays. With sister station WFMB-AM 1450 focusing primarily on local sports, the FM station readily has sports updates available throughout the day.

As Marsh indicated, the station has a vast music library for a mainstream country station. WFMB typically throws in at least one song per hour that older than 2000, sometimes going back as far as George Jones, Merle Haggard, and even Roger Miller. WFMB is also very current in featuring new releases. A recent afternoon playlist obtained from the station's website included:

02:28pm	All Your Life  The Band Perry
02:24pm	This Is Country Music  Brad Paisley
02:14pm	I Don't Want This Night...  Luke Bryan
02:10pm	Ocean Front Property  George Strait
02:08pm	Crazy Girl  Eli Young Band
02:04pm	She Don't Know...  Sammy Kershaw
02:02pm	Storm Warning  Hunter Hayes
01:58pm	When The Sun Goes Down  Kenny Chesney
01:52pm	Why You Wanna  Jana Kramer
01:48pm	Sparks Fly  Taylor Swift

01:38pm	I'm In A Hurry  Alabama
01:34pm	The Trouble With Girls  Scotty Mccreery

The station is a brand name in central Illinois, but would the same approach work in a larger market? " I think a lot of it would work well," said Marsh.  The WFMB PD says that he often gets calls from listeners who say that WFMB's mix is as good or better than their local market. Just last week, Marsh says he had a listener call in who recently moved to Springfield from the St. Louis area. The listener was a loyal fan of one of the St. Louis country stations who "wanted to let us know that she loves us."

With transmitting tower just south of the city and an FCC "B" signal of 43,000 watts (http://www.radio-locator.com/info/WFMB-FM), the station can be heard on a stock car radio about 50-60 miles or so in all directions. It is hit and miss in Bloomington/Normal, but the signal becomes very good as you head a few miles southwest on I-55.  You can also stream the station by clicking on its website or by using the WFMB application available on Android and Blackberry smartphones. The station is also available on the "Tuned-In" application.

If you like a great mix of new and old country and an overall good sounding station, I suggest giving WFMB a listen.

New(?) Station-LP in Decatur, IL

Perhaps it has been awhile, but I passed through Decatur, IL today and found everything pretty much the same on the radio dial, except that there is a new (to me at least) low power fm on 98.1. I believe the translator in Decatur used to sit at 98.3 and was used as translator for sister station,  Top-40 WYDS 93.1 "The Party." Those calls were W252AR-FM.

The new calls are W251BN. Per http://www.radio-locator.com/, the station transmits at a power of 250 watts with a transmitter height off the ground of 168 meters.

98.1 bills itself as "Magic 98.1" and the station's slogan is "Today's R & B and Old School. " The station is part of the Cromwell Radio Group and you can visit the Decatur radio group's website at www.decaturradio.com/ and Magic 98's website at http://www.magic98.net/.  The station can also be found on HD radio as 93.1-HD2.

Greetings/Featured station: WFAJ-FM

For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of music radio. At age 5, while other kids were asking for toys for Christmas, I wanted a record player. My Christmas wish came true and WFAJ-FM was born soonafter. With studios, corporate headquarters, and transmitter in my bedroom, I couldn't tell you the wattage or the HAAT (height above average terrain for non-geeks), or even the dial setting of those legendary calls...but for a few years they were a huge part of a quirky little kid's life.

WFAJ featured sports (mainly the local high school scores of the week)and weather (a quick glance out the studio window). Most importantly, the station prided itself on providing listeners with the best mix of music. WFAJ encouraged listener call-in requests (usually relatives and family friends disguising their voice).  A busy little guy took on the roles of DJ, Music Director, and Program Director. I'm still not quite sure who handled accounts....

 As I became older and figured out that WFAJ wasn't really broadc..well I won't say it-let's just say that it was more disheartening than the whole Santa Claus thing. But my love of radio continued. I would spend hours scanning the dial for "new" stations. I even convinced my dad to hook the outside antenna up to my stereo so that I could pick up the big city stations out of St. Louis more clearly (and maybe even a few far away surprises if the atmosphere was right).

So, you are probably thinking the story ends with my becoming a morning DJ, programmer, or radio exec? Life, however, has taken me elsewhere.  Aside from the many hours of programming and manning the legendary WFAJ, my sole radio experience consists of a one morning co-host stint at age 6 at a small station in southern Illinois. I have continued, however, to love radio and everything involved-music selection, personalities, local sports-everything that used to go into making each particular station unique.

Today, radio has changed in many aspects. With the rise of internet and satellite radio, there are simply more alternatives. Recent changes in the economy have also led to less local programming and more syndication/voicetracking. While I understand and appreciate the reasons behind these changes, it is still difficult for me to take. I mean, you are talking to someone who, as a kid,(as much as I liked Casey Kasem and the show) didn't even want to hear American Top-40 when he traveled through new territory. I wanted to hear the live and local programming of that particular region and still do (my wife thinks I'm nuts).

Even as technology has taken away from radio, it has also given-at least to enthusiasts. The internet has provided a means for all of us "radio geeks" to discuss and debate radio issues and topics. It has also essentially enabled me to own that magic machine I dreamed about as a kid that would pick up any radio station in the US. My ipad's 3 or 4 radio apps essentially accomplish this. On those rare quiet Saturday or Sunday afternoons when the wife and kid are napping, don't be surprised to hear me streaming a station from South Dakota.

I hope to channel (no pun intended) my interest in radio to other enthusiasts of live radio programming, dx'ing, or just about any other aspect of terrestrial radio. I also plan on highlighting the stations that I enjoy listening to, including local stations that I can pick up in my car or home, as well as some stations that I have found while traveling or streaming online.  Stations that, in the age of automation and narrow playlists, dare to set themselves apart from others in their city or their format.  It would only be fitting if the first featured station were the station most near and dear to my heart-WFAJ.

I am not an expert in the field by any means and I realize that my tastes and preferences are just that. Take this blog for what it is and what it is intended to be: an Illinois lawyer and radio enthusiast's tribute to the industry that has forever shaped him and continues to be his favorite hobby.