The New Sound Of WLNG

[Mark Watson]

Back in the Fall, WLNG (92.1) Sag Harbor NY, a station known for it's deep
playlist (frequently mentioned coming out of a song: one of one of 10,000
golden oldies and a million memories), huge library of vintage jingles,
along with hyper-local news (with police logs reports and obituaries
included), lost pet reports and frequent remote broadcasts from businesses,
carnivals, parades, Christmas Tree lightings and blood drives and beloved by
radio geeks and local residents alike was sold by the estate of longtime
owner Robert King to Bark Out Loud Dogs Media, husband and wife Bill Evans
(WABC-TV Meteorologist) and Sandra Foschi, who runs a physical therapy
business. They paid $3.9 million for the station, of which only $700,000 was
for the actual license, transmitter site and equipment.  The rest was for
the waterfront property the studios occupy. At the time of the sale, Ms.
Foschi said that there wouldn't be any major changes made. 

 

The sale was approved and completed just before Christmas, and the day after
Christmas, changes started to take place. The majority of the jingles are
gone, the twice an hour sports updates gone as is the vintage news sounder,
replaced by the announcer starting the news cold out of a spot or song. They
dumped NBC News Radio for ABC, and news airs at :50 past the hour.
Obituaries and police log also gone from the now 2 to 3 minute drive time
news briefs. Lost pet announcements appear to have vanished too, along with
the word oldies, as they now have a positioner "Ninety Two-One LNG, the East
End's Best Music". Also some dead segues between songs now common, and a few
album cuts (I heard Doors and Bob Seger album cuts) and album/long versions
of top 40 hits making their way onto the playlist, which seems to be leaning
more towards the 70's and 80's, but still a fair amount of 60's and an
occasional 50's hit being heard. The reverb still there as of now. It also
sounds like the evening jock's show is now voice tracked, no references to
time checks or weather. 

 

For as dated sounding and as some outside the world of radio geeks would
think, hokey sounding, it's had plenty of advertisers for years and a
devoted following in their listening area and in recent years beyond Sag
Harbor, thanks to streaming. It was a fun station to listen to prior to the
changes being made. It appears the new owners are taking WLNG out of the
20th century. Will that scare away the advertisers and loyal audience? Time
will tell.

 

Mark Watson