WMGX Portland to Flip Formats

[John Francini]

Sigh.

Another fine station that's going to try to 'bury' its call letters for
the sake of a stupid marketing-led name.

I absolutely hate that. I know and remember radio stations by their  
legal
name--the call letters--not some stupid "Frank", "Mike", "Coast", or
other drivel that will last for only a few months or years.

Will WMGX-93.1 change its calls to WCST-FM 93.1 or something along  
those lines,
so that their *legal id* matches their pseudonym?  (I haven't checked to
see if there's already a WCST; just tossing it out there for discussion
purposes.)

This is also a nascent trend on TV as well, with Boston's channel 4  
trying
to 'hide' their *legal name*, WBZ-TV Channel 4, under the "CBS 4 Boston"
alias. No amount of on-air monkeyshines will change the fact that,  
unless
the FCC decides to drop call letters, their name is WBZ-TV 4.

---------------

This doesn't even get into the fact that WMGX's new sound is just  
another
consultant-derived 'me too' format.

John




On 9 Mar 2006, at 11:50, chuckigo@maine.rr.com wrote:

> so, my boss said it was okay to share the following.  read.  digest.
> discuss.
>
> and yes, rather odd it's written in the past tense.  for those within
> range, you'll be able to hear the change at 1400, local.
>
> - -Chuck Igo
>
> ----------------------
>
> New FM Radio Station Signs On  in  Portland, Maine
>
> Portland, Maine-	There’s a New Coast in Maine!  It’s the all-
> new Coast 93.1 FM radio…#1 for the 80’s, 90’s and Now!  On Thursday
> March 9, 2006 at 2:00PM, after thirty years of broadcasting, WMGX
> Radio signed off the air and the new Coast 93.1 was launched.
>
> Coast 93.1 is a fresh radio station, with an exciting, upbeat sound
> that will energize Portland listeners.  The music mix will feature
> 80’s icons such as, Madonna, Prince Duran Duran, and from the 90’s
> Smashmouth, Sugar Ray, Sheryl Crow plus hot, new artists like Kelly
> Clarkson, Green Day and Fall Out Boy.
>
> In order to highlight the music, Maine’s Coast 93.1 will debut without
> radio personalities.  President and General Manager Cary Pahigian
> explained, “The Coast 93.1 music mix is very unique.   We think
> showcasing the music as much as possible in the next few weeks is very
> important. We are also excited to announce that the popular morning
> show, featuring Tim, Jaime and Eva, will return.  This has been a very
> successful morning show for 10 years running and their personalities
> are a great fit for Coast 93.1.”
>
> Mr. Pahigian continued, “Coast 93.1 will be targeting listeners who
> love music from the 80’s, the 90’s and today.  We undertook an
> extensive research study and found there to be a significant void for
> this type of music in Portland. Coast 93.1 will be an entertaining
> station that is fresh, high energy and promises wall to wall music.”
>
> Portland Radio Group, the largest radio operator in Maine, is Coast
> 93.1, Newsradio 560 WGAN, Today’s Country 101.9 WPOR, Oldies 100.9
> WYNZ, Imus in the Morning 970 WZAN, and Music of Your Life 1400/1490
> The Bay.
>
>