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.
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