WWV

["Strassberg, Dan (Cahners)" <ednstrassberg@cahners.com>]

Rumor has it that NIST had to abandon a proposed format change for WWV. In
an attempt to make the station more commercially successful (as WWV--all the
time, all the time), station management had proposed an all-request format:
call in any time and request any time; WWV would play it immediately--no
waiting. However, the format change ran up against the realities of
automation; WWV is 100% voicetracked. Management also rejected the
substitute idea of having listeners call a phone-in line to tape their
requests, which the station would then play "when the time was right."

Rumor also has it that NIST had no intention of adding Eddie Fischer's
recording of Any Time, David Rose's recording of 4:20 AM, or Hoerst
Jankowski's recording of Three O'Clock in the Morning to WWV's playlist.
People inside NIST said that management felt that these 1950's-era titles
were no longer timely. Apparently, there was a bit more enthusiasm for
Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight and Frank Sinatra's recording of In the
Wee Small Hours (of the Morning), which management allegedly termed
"timeless."

With the format change no longer an option, it appears that WWV will
continue playing America's all-time favorites uninterrupted.

Dan Strassberg, Senior Technical Editor, EDN Magazine,
Reed Electronics Group,
275 Washington St, Newton, MA 02458-1630, USA
1-617-558-4205, Fax 1-617-928-4205, ALTERNATE Fax 1-617-558-4470,
ednstrassberg@cahners.com, www.edn.com