The importance of local talk radio

[Scott Fybush]

Kevin Vahey wrote:
> Scott
> 
> Wouldn't it be more prudent to flip WWKB with WGR?
> 
> Of for that matter flip WBEN with WGR.

Nope. They've got their two strongest formats (sports and conservative 
talk/local news) on their two best signals. I wouldn't change a thing if 
I were in their shoes.

WGR is, in many ways, the WEEI of the market - but its signal on 550 
covers the market much better than WEEI's 850 does in Boston.

> Years ago I was shocked that in WNY WKBW had trouble competing with
> tiny WYSL (1400) and then WYSL morphed into WPHD. KB didn't have an FM
> option so it slowly died.

There were a lot of markets where top-40 thrived on pipsqueak AM signals 
- KRIZ on 1230 in Phoenix, WYSL on 1400 in Buffalo, WOLF on 1490 in 
Syracuse, WBBF on 950 (1 kW DA-2) here in Rochester, to name a few. 
Their content was so strong, the listeners would find it in spite of the 
miserable signals. (And, oftentimes, the old-line broadcasting companies 
that owned the bigger signals didn't want to put that loud rock'n'roll 
on their AMs.)

s