Some thoughts about the coming change of call letters from WJJL to WEBR and the expected change in format. I agree with an earlier posting that the new owner wants to start fresh. WJJL is so associated with Niagara Falls. Plus, the old owners created such a train-wreck that I don’t blame the incoming group for wanting to change the branding. Yes, using WEBR is cool for only us radio geeks. Yet, they are heritage call letters. IMHO, WBEN and WKBW were kingpins in the 1960s. But I would argue WEBR was number three back then, ahead of WGR. WGR overtook WEBR in the early ‘70s, updating its music under Larry Anderson, rebranding itself GR55 and becoming the Sabres station. WEBR tried to rebrand itself as “970ldies.” But by then it was too late. FM was taking hold. And the station was sold to Western New York Public Broadcasting. That’s when WEBR enjoyed a rebirth as “Newsradio970.” For a time in the late ‘70s, WEBR was the top rated public station in the country with its all news format. Throughout the ‘80s, WEBR had a small but very influential audience of serious news consumers. Unfortunately, the cost of presenting an all-news format became prohibitive, and WNYPBA became a more traditional NPR station under the call letters WNED-AM. Still, it’s been just over 25 years, so I’m sure there are more than a few people who remember the WEBR calls. From what I’ve read here, the upcoming format will be the Great American Song Book. That’s not oldies, so I wouldn’t necessarily say the new WEBR will be taking on WECK. Sure, their audiences represent the older demographic, and some songs do cross over. But I think they’re distinct formats. And I do know some young people who are into Sinatra, Bennett and Como. So, I think the audience will be more than octogenarians. Will it be huge? No. It’s still a crappy AM signal. But with am FM translator and streaming, it’ll be interesting to see what happens, especially if WEBR sings a legendary broadcaster or two, as Buddy did.
