Another one bites the dust. Great Plains Media's WZIM has flipped from classic hits to Fox Sports "The Ticket." This leaves the Bloomington-Normal market with 3 non-music fm's (WRPW 92.9 is conservative talk and 93.7 is WJBC-AM's simulcast). Additionally, it leaves the market with no classic rock or classic hits station, although Peoria's 93.3 "The Drive" (Classic Hits) and 95.5 "GLO" (Classic Rock) are audible in Bloomington, especially in a car.
The station will broadcast the play by play of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Indianapolis Colts games. Although I consider myself somewhat of a sports fan this flip is an example of the recent trend of attrition among FM music stations. I find it somewhat disappointing.
The station's new website is up and running:
http://www.995theticket.com/#!page__home|mainPage
The flip is the second within a week in Bloomington-Normal. On April 1, Connoisseur's WVMG "Magic 100.7" flipped to WWHX "Hits 100.7." Where will I get my Christmas Fix in Bloomington-Normal come mid November??????? :)
Friday, April 6, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
WVMG-100.7 Bloomington-Normal (Hits 100.7)
In a usually quiet Bloomington-Normal radio market and after almost seven years of being on the air, Connoissuer's WVMG (100.7) flipped from AC "Magic 100.7" to what appears to be rhythmic leaning top-40 "Hits 100.7." The station appears to be going after a younger crowd in Bloomington-Normal in an attempt to take shares away from Townsquare Media's AC leaning heritage Top 40, 101.5 WBNQ.
Although it is unclear as to when the change took place, it had to be within the last few days. The former format's website is still active and there is no information on Connoisseur's website:http://connoisseurmedia.com/press/category/press-releases/.
The flip comes days after Floyd Evans was named as Market Manager of the radio group's Bloomington-Normal cluster, which also includes 97.9 WBBE (Bob FM-Adult Hits) and 96.7 WIHN (rock).
Although it is unclear as to when the change took place, it had to be within the last few days. The former format's website is still active and there is no information on Connoisseur's website:http://connoisseurmedia.com/press/category/press-releases/.
The flip comes days after Floyd Evans was named as Market Manager of the radio group's Bloomington-Normal cluster, which also includes 97.9 WBBE (Bob FM-Adult Hits) and 96.7 WIHN (rock).
Sunday, February 26, 2012
WHMS 97.5/Champaign-Urbana, IL
Call Letters: WHMS-FM
City: Champaign-Urbana, IL (Arbitron Market #212)
Owner: D.W.S., Inc.
Format: Adult Contemporary
Frequency: 97.5
Website: http://www.whms.com/
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The Champaign-Urbana, IL area is best known for housing the main campus of the University of Illinois, one of the finest major universities in the U.S. The university boasts some of the finest schools in the country including engineering, law, and medicine. The "U of I" is also known for its rich athletic history, particularly in men's basketball and football. Every season, thousands of rabid fans clad in orange and blue flock to the imposing Assembly Hall and Memorial Stadium to cheer on their Fighting Illini.
The flagship FM station of the Fighting Illini, WHMS "Lite Rock 97.5," has deep roots in the community and ties to the university. It also has a very talented air lineup and plays a great variety of light rock from the 60's to today.
The station first came onto the air in the late 1940's as WDWS-FM, a simulcast of sister station WDWS-AM. During the 1960's, however, the FCC began to limit AM simulcasting to only 50% of the time. To adjust, the station began to broadcast an automated easy listening format during the hours that it didn't simulcast WDWS-AM. The station gradually moved away from easy listening in the late 1980's and gradually to light rock in the early 90's.
Over the years, WHMS has evolved to become a long time favorite of listeners in east-central Illinois and (with sister station WDWS) has achieved multiple Illinois Broadcasters Association "Silver Dome" Award for its broadcasting prowess. In 2009, the station won the best local newscast award for its newscast of a 2008 fire that destroyed the Metropolitan Building in downtown Champaign. A year earlier, the station won the same award for a story about FutureGen, a company that was slated to locate nearby Mattoon, IL but never did. Fighting Illini Broadcaster Brian Barnhart has also won multiple Silver Dome awards, including his 2007 broadcast of the Fighting Illini football team upsetting then top-ranked Ohio State
Listeners start their day with station General Manager Mike Haile ("Mike in the Morning"). The weekday morning show features the station's usual music fare consisting of a wide variety of lite rock from the 60's to today. The morning show also offers the usual news, sports, and weather updates as well as friendly banter between Haile, News Director Carol Vorel, Weatherman Greg Soulje, Brian Barnhart, and others.
At 7:45, the morning host reads the "quiz question" of the day (one of my personal favorites), where listeners are stumped by Haile offering an obscure fact, ie "Who was the first female duo to have a number one album on both the country and pop charts." The first correct answer usually receives a free pizza from Monicals, movie tickets, etc. Haile says that he has written over six thousand questions and "loves the challenge of writing them." Listeners must enjoy the challenge as well, as in all of my years trying, I have never been able to get through once the lines open.
Haile, who has a very distinctive radio voice, offers a Paul Harvey-esqe sort of way of interacting with listeners-transitioning gradually from dialogue to a commercial and speaking about products and services without the listener even realizing that they are in fact listening to a commercial.
Haile has been in the Champaign-Urbana radio market for over thirty years. Initially employed with WKIO, he was hired by Stevie Jay in the summer of 2000 as the Assistant General Manager of WHMS/WDWS and morning show host of WHMS. After coming from Southern California, Haile admits that he only planned on staying in the area for two years. "Well, two has turned into almost thirty four years," said Haile. "The community was very nice to me from the day I arrived. The people, the opportunities, the living environment, the philanthropic attitude of the community......I could go on and on. I was very fortunate to land here. I am so thankful to this community for everything that they have done for me and my family."
The GM is also quick to give praise to his supporting cast. "Brian's (Barnhart's) sportcasting abilities are truly remarkable. Football, Basketball, Baseball, play by play, interviews, etc. He is so prepared before each game. Listeners would be amazed at the hours of preparation he does before each and every game. I am so lucky to have him on our morning show each day. He is so well read and can converse on virtually any subject. He delivers great punch lines for me every day! He is so good on the air."
"I am very proud of our news department", Haile added. "Carol Vorel our news director has assembled a terrific team. They work very hard at delivering on listener expectations."
So, how has this light rock station continued its success in such a young college community? "Lots of market research", said Haile. "Our format is designed for east-central Illinois. I'm not sure if you could pick it up and move it somewhere else." Haile also credits the station's close ties with the University of Illinois as well. "Our on air product investment in the University of Illinois meets the expectations of our audience. We deliver a product that listeners are looking for." Finally, Haile credits the presence of the University of Illinois and Parkland College in his market as great resources for talent both on and off air. In addition, Haile states that Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, Southern Illinois University, and Lakeland College have also been terrific resources.
In addition to Haile's morning show, the station's on air lineup includes Alli Adams from 10 AM-3PM and Lee Marcus from 3-7PM. Marcus' show features the "5 at 5," where 5 songs that represent a particular year (or theme) are played in succession at 5pm. One of the few syndicated shows that WHMS features is the nationally renowned "Delilah" show airing Sunday-Friday at 7PM.
The station celebrates the weekend by playing even more older favorites all weekend long. In addition, an all 80's show is aired on Saturday nights at 7PM.
A recent Saturday afternoon hourly log of the station's play list indicates how vast the station's music library is:
"Human" by The Human League
"Against All Odds" by Phil Collins
"MacArthur Park" by Donna Summers
"Please Don't Leave Me" by Pink
"When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge
"Manic Monday" by The Bangles
"Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran
"Brighter Than the Sun" by Colbie Caillat
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John (with Kiki Dee)
Yes, you really don't know what you will hear next on WHMS, but I suggest checking out the station if you like a wide variety of music, great radio personalities, and quality NCAA sports broadcasts. With a 50,000 watt "stick" just south of Champaign, WHMS can be heard about 50 miles or so in all directions. If you are outside of the listening range, the station also streams online at http://www.whms.com/. Smartphone users can also utilize the "TuneIn Radio" application to stream WHMS.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
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:
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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.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
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.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
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.
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.
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