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WQXI-AM sale closed: flipping imminent

RoddyFreeman said:
Sylvan Meyer
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Nope, doesn't ring a bell with me. Again likely a place-holder inserted by Smithgall to complete the listing for the Broadcasting Yearbook and not a reflection of actual operations.

I'll make you a wager; compare some of the names in the WATY listing with those for the same time period for WDUN in Gainesville; bet they are the same.
 
Mike_Rafone said:
Nope, doesn't ring a bell with me. Again likely a place-holder inserted by Smithgall to complete the listing for the Broadcasting Yearbook and not a reflection of actual operations.

I'll make you a wager; compare some of the names in the WATY listing with those for the same time period for WDUN in Gainesville; bet they are the same.
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He was the editor of The Times of Gainesville from 1950 to 1969. He passed away in 2001.

Sylvan Meyer obit: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/21/us/sylvan-h-meyer-editor-79.html
 
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MediaMan said:
Correct, you are. Station always cited North Atlanta as city of license. The link below takes you to the FCC notecards on WCNN. Note the first application for the station was filed in 1959 and it was for 1150. Smithgall was one of the early morning announcers on WSB building his own station in Gainesville, WGGA, in 1941. He later bought a weekly newspaper there and converted it into a daily, the Gainesville Times. When WCON(AM) in Atlanta surrendered its license on 550, he filed to move WGGA from 1240 to 550. WDUN then moved to 1240 from 1400. Smithgall later owned WRGA AM/FM in Rome and an AM/FM in Gadsden, AL plus a few cable systems including the one in Rome and another at Chattanooga.

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/p...ortletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=66677&.pdf
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Looks like 680 didn't actually go on the air until 1968 after the call letters changed and Ring Radio Corp. was formed.
 
This thread has been a very interesting read. My apologies to any offended by my briefly taking things north.
 
jabba17 said:
Looks like 680 didn't actually go on the air until 1968 after the call letters changed and Ring Radio Corp. was formed.
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Not sure. I've never seen a listing for a station not yet on the air in the Broadcasting Yearbook unless it said CP.
 
RoddyFreeman said:
Not sure. I've never seen a listing for a station not yet on the air in the Broadcasting Yearbook unless it said CP.
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680 is a strange case. The calls were applied for but not granted when, to my best estimate, the 1965 Broadcasting Yearbook was "put to bed". Then the CP had a modification application which was granted late in the same year, with a completion date of early 1966. There is no evidence that the directional was ever built, and whenever it went on the air it appears to have been non-directional.
 
DavidEduardo said:


680 is a strange case. The calls were applied for but not granted when, to my best estimate, the 1965 Broadcasting Yearbook was "put to bed". Then the CP had a modification application which was granted late in the same year, with a completion date of early 1966. There is no evidence that the directional was ever built, and whenever it went on the air it appears to have been non-directional.
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You're probably right, but they apparently fooled the Broadcasting Yearbook, also.
 
In the 69 Yearbook (oldest one I have), its listed as WRNG on Peachtree Rd. in North Atlanta.
 
That would be accurate, since you could get them in Athens in 1966 even with WPTF in SC nearby. That was in the daytime only, of course. After the sun went down they wre lost …
 
Mike_Rafone said:
That would be accurate, since you could get them in Athens in 1966 even with WPTF in SC nearby. That was in the daytime only, of course. After the sun went down they wre lost …
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The GRHOF used to have on their site an aircheck of Boortz signing off WRNG, from 1979, shortly before they got their DA-N license and the array in Ptree Corners.
 
kf4rca said:
Note that WPTF is in NC (Raleigh), not SC.
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You are quite correct. I misspoke. My intent was to comment on the interference that covered the WRNG signal after sundown to the east of Atlanta.

My apologies.
 
Back to Korean Radio WQXI

Don't know if you noticed but the existing Korean stations on 1040 and 1080 have gone dark. Maybe one will resurface as an oldies station. We can only hope.
 
kf4rca said:
Don't know if you noticed but the existing Korean stations on 1040 and 1080 have gone dark. Maybe one will resurface as an oldies station. We can only hope.
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I believe the man who purchased 790 had been leasing 1040. Last time I picked them up, 1080 was Spanish.
 
Wikipedia reports WFTD 1080 dropped Spanish in July 2007 and went Korean. But the most recent format was Vietnamese music and talk. To us Anglophones it all sounds the same. I just recall there being two Asian broadcasters side by side.
 
Strange listening to the new WQXI. That was a flip that I never saw coming. WQXI was once a market icon. They EVEN bought (and later sold) a TV station (WQXI TV11). I wonder if the entire AM band will one day become narrow-casters.
 
kf4rca said:
Strange listening to the new WQXI. That was a flip that I never saw coming. WQXI was once a market icon. They EVEN bought (and later sold) a TV station (WQXI TV11). I wonder if the entire AM band will one day become narrow-casters.
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IIRC WQXI was owned by Jefferson Pilot. Pre 80-90 there were several insurance companies that owned broadcasting properties. National Life owned WSM AM, FM and Channel 4 in Nashville. Not to be outdone Life and Casualty of Tennessee owned WLAC AM, FM and Channel 5 in Nashville. Nationwide Insurance Co. owned a bunch of stations. Insurance Companies use to look for stable investments with positive cash flows. They also tended to look a little longer for return on investment than today’s companies. Insurance Companies could be thought of as “deep pocket” investors that tended to look years or decades ahead.


Not knowing the cash flow inner workings of the old Jefferson Pilot, I would not be too sure that 790’s profit paid (or would be allow to pay for) for Channel 11.

But you are correct to state that the old WQXI / 790 made a whole lot of money. They could afford pay Gary McKee $17,000 (TAKEHOME!!) every two weeks.*


*http://radiotvtalk.blog.ajc.com/2014/05/02/catching-up-with-gary-mckee-former-94q-host/
 
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