Hudson Valley gets another talk station

[Jason D Bereza <bereza82@juno.com>]

This morning, WGHQ/920 in Kingston abruptly switched from standards (ABC
Stardust network) to a mostly syndicated talk format. Featured hosts
include G. Gordon Liddy, Bob Grant, and Tom Leykis.

Though the lineup doesn't sound bad (not as good as fellow new talker and
Rush/Laura affiliate News Talk 13, WEOK/WALL), the big debate is that the
Hudson Valley may be overtalked. WKIP and cooperative stations WHUC in
Hudson and WELV in Ellenville have been barely getting anything with
their second rate talk format (mostly WOR network talkers), and the
ratings proof for WEOK/WALL won't be in until January.

Now only two stations with any bit of reach in the Mid-Hudson area,
Beacon's WBNR and Catskill's WCKL, are left doing standards. Does this
mean that the dying out of the format is reaching north, or that tons of
talk stations is a fad (remember that WBNR and sister WLNA in Peekskill
were talk a while back)? Will the switch of WGHQ send a message to the
chronically moribound (and allegedly telephoneless) WHVW to end its
unique but ratingless 78rpm laden oldies format for standards? Does this
spell doom for standards stations in New England (seeing that
Providence's WLKW recently did a standards-to-talk switch)? 

Jason Bereza
Hudson Valley Radio Guide: http://www.frontiernet.net/~bereza/hvrg.htm
___________________________________________________________________
Get the Internet just the way you want it.
Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.