1250 AM Madison GA

[AmyMegan]

The FCC just extended a STA request for 1250 AM in Madison GA. They are operating at their sane site at reduced power of 1kw day and 79 watts night. Friend of mine about 15 to 20 miles away said he can't pick up the signal. Anyone know if they are on air ? Or off again ?

 

[GA-SC-NC-TN radioguy]

Not familiar with this situation other than the owner of the station is actually the widow of the owner who owned that station, a FM in Milledgeville and an AM in nearby Eatonton. I don’t know she was involved in operation of the stations while Craig Baker was alive. He died in 2016. WYTH heyday came when it was operated by Annie Lee Small who along with her husband bought the station in 1959. Mrs. Small died in 2008 and she was the real broadcaster in the family having once worked at WSB in the 1940s. Even before FM became dominant, those small AM stations under the signal of WSB had a tougher time attracting as large an audience and thus generated less response for advertisers. You could make a living but no one got wealthy operating one. Thanks to Georgia’s poor soil conductivity, a bunch of AM stations were built in towns really not large enough to support a station and second and third stations were added in places which would make a profitable operation. Good money was made in Athens, Gainesville and Rome but even Rome was very over radioed.

 

[AmyMegan]

1250 WYTH AM was sold in July 2021 to Agape media for 10. The LMS has a file that its notarized and it closed for 10.00. Its still off air though. I had a friend who lives 10 miles out check it every month since Feb 2020 and its been off air for 22 months at least. I think 1430 AM in Eadonton GA is back on air but 1250 in Madison GA is not. I do know someone did turn it in to the FCC and was told we know about this so move on. So they FCC knows and apparently is just fine with the off air status. This person also went fo congress and the FCC still did nothing.

 

[secondchoice]

I saw three posts from you this AM about the same station that is in a county with a population around 12 or 13 thousand. It would require a a superstar sales person to sell basically a daytime AM signal when most the Atlanta FM's are listenable. They are not interfering with anybody. The FCC is trying to "save" AM. If the fees are being paid, do not "load up the van" and make a "raid" on a station station that is not bothering any licensed station during a pandemic. If they were a pirate, sooner or later the FCC would do something (most likely later). If you "need" the frequency PM me and I might be able to help.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Good money was made in Athens, Gainesville and Rome but even Rome was very over radioed.

And places like Macon and Valdosta and even Savanna were tough to make money in unless you were one of the top two or three stations: CHR, R&B or Country.