[BC] The end of small town radio

[Scott Bailey]

Kevin,

I have come to the conclusion that you are anti-automation. You have the right to your opinion, and I respect your opinion.

One thing that I want to make a correction here is that WMRO is not automated 24/7. On Sunday Morning, the station changes format and is live all day. WMRO drops the Hot AC format for "Live", In studio preachers, "Two Live church services".  At 12 noon, I have a "Live D.J., know as the "Ole Mail Man", Wayne Akins, that play Southern & Bluegrass Gospel, and he takes request "Live". I do a "Live" Southern Gospel show after the Ole Mail Man's show ends. The community, especially the elderly love WMRO on Sundays. We get overload with tons of calls for Gospel Music Request, friends stop by to see us, etc.

I wished we could do this all week, but it would not be successful. It was tried before us and failed. We are in the heart of the Bible Belt and since the my Dad and I put the station back on the air in February of 1994, Sundays have always been Live Gospel. It's a Bailey Family Tradition with the station. We don't go back to Citadel's Format until way after dark, when we are on night power.

I'm hoping to add a Sunday Bluegrass show. I talked to a retired gentleman that did a Bluegrass Show at the old WAMG-AM (now WYXE-AM) back when the station was classic country, and before the Spanish Church bought it.

During the week, we have live news, traffic, and up to date weather in the satellite breaks. A Satellite Music Format can sound "Live" if done right. My phone is always available to the public to call me for information. WMRO is not what you think. It's live during the week, it just the music and D.J, is in Dallas. The 4 to 5 minute breaks are Live and Local. Back when we did live remotes, we did them with the satellite network. We used the spot break windows to go live from location.

If we have bad weather coming, I kill that network and go live with weather reports.

Kevin, I think you have received the wrong idea of WMRO and even WHIN, which are both Citadel Media Affiliates. Both stations do live programming. Neither station can afford to hire somebody to sit in the control room on his butt and play CDs. It just doesn't work that way with a suburban AM station anymore.

Kevin, times have changed and a smart AM Station owner must use tools to get the job done without blowing money out the door.

--
Scott Bailey
WMRO Radio, Gallatin, TN
  
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Kevin Raper <kj4hyd at gmail.com>
>
> Scott Bailey wrote:
> We are not after a teen demo, we are after a young, female adult demo, with 
males secondary. Kids in high school, as far as audience wise, mean nothing to 
> us.
> 
> Then WHY were you complaining that the Kids are no longer listening to 
> your station?
> 
> >  The Hot AC target demo is 25-45 female. 
> 
> No matter what Demo you are after, you will NEVER get that Demo while 
> you are running that Automation 24/7.
> 
> If you go to the Citadel Media Site, click under formats, you can read about 
> the music format.
> 
> I don't care what a generic consultant says who is a Thousand Miles from 
> your market and only concerned about selling his Format to a National 
> Audience, You are NOT a Nashville FM, and your 1 KW AM signal will never 
> compete with them, so don't even try. Do something the Nashville 
> stations CAN NOT DO, and Super-Serve your local community. Why try to be 
> something they can get on a better signal on a better station? 
> Automation is fine for "Hopeless" Dayparts, such as your 3 Watts of 
> Night Power, but NOBODY is going to want to listen to your computer on 
> AM, when they can listen to their own computer on an iPod and hear only 
> their favorite music, instead of the stuff a programmer a Thousand Miles 
> away picked out.
> 
> > Hot AC is a step above your typical AC format.
> 
> I know the format well, I was a personality on a Live & Local Full 
> Service Hot AC station for a number of Years. That AM did OK for itself 
> before it was sold and went Automated Talk. It has not made a Dime since!
> 
> > we are playing these artist, as they have hits on the Hot AC charts.
> >   
> 
> No, the NETWORK is playing those artists...and the listeners know it. 
> You HAVE to give them a reason to tune in and Advertise on WMRO, and you 
> are not doing that.
> 
> -- 
> 73,
> Kevin Raper
> KJ4HYD
> CE WCKI WQIZ
> 
> 
>