Local Radio still lives.. (was: LaPierre on the loose...on the beach?)

[Bill O'Neill]

> Let's move on to real important Broadcasting stuff like late
> pattern changes, inaccuracies in the FCC Database and the
> death of local radio.
>
> Roger
>
> Over & Out

Great name for a law firm, "Over & Out."  Local radio is still very much alive
at WIPS (1250 Ticonderoga).  Been spending a little bit of time there the past
month getting acquainted with things both technical and creative
production-wise.  Great to work with old friend, Chris Ingram again (he's PD).
He was a news reporter at WCAP over 20 years ago while I was jocking.  We havn't
changed a bit <cough, wheeze, hack>.

Great set-up with live jocks, audio vault (CoolEditPro). They run a full-service
mix with all of the AP audio bells and whistles. Net and local top, net bottom,
business hourly. Mornings also feature indigenous info stuff metros could sniff
at but meets a great need, e.g., agriculture reports, fishing, etc.  The music
mix provides for a load of flexibility for the jocks with a predominantly
70s/80s classic rock sound not expected on AM.

Fun to tweak the "sound" to meet the needs of the many elements going out.
Decent footprint for a kW.  Good dial position.  No trouble hitting the second
and third rim of towns from the center.  Interesting characteristic is Lake
Champlain (and the NY/VT border) slices the pattern in half.  So, the intent is
to try to serve the Champlain Valley and its intricacies and indiosyncracies.
There's an added emphasis on developing VT local news as a balance.

Just a small piece of the radio world, but, if we remember anything from radio
kindergarten, it's "one listener at a time."

Bill O'Neill