siilent AM stations

[TheBigA]

Yes, I live in a RED state... one that has a recipe, a formula for a uniquely vibrant definition of RED state. Where is it written that people who live in red states are assumed to, and required to, be in lockstep with their "colorful" neighbors?

No that's not what I meant. My comment was about assigning certain powers to the federal government. The licensing of radio stations is a very large power. How far do you want the power of a federal agency to go? We've had this discussion before. Right now, the FCC has very limited qualifications for licensees. Obviously they need to be US citizens. Obviously they need to have the where-withal to build and operate the station for a period of time. Obviously they need to fulfill the technical rules and regulations. Right now, that's basically it. You meet those qualifications, and you could get a license. For you or I, the main impediment is money. So outline for us exactly what additional qualifications you'd want the feds to possess in order to "keep the riff raff out." And keep in mind, as you outline your qualifications, that in this country we believe in precedent, so if the feds have those powers in the FCC they could also have those same powers at the IRS or other agencies. It's all about how you define the riff raff.

 

[Small Market Guy]

Picking up first on the very last line of the quote: There are STATION licenses and there are OPERATOR licenses.

Let's talk about station licenses then.

What more could the FCC do short of sticking its nose back into content? We just saw this past week what happens when they try to do that.

They can't even get enforcement of technical matters right. How would they get content policing right?

If I had my way, they'd ONLY enforce technical matters. No more EEO crap, no more public file, no more "minority ownership" stuff. Start inspecting transmitter sites. Start enforcing interference standards in consumer electronics that interfere with the AM band. Shut down daytimers that "forget" to power down.

Once they get all of that stuff shored up, we can talk about the stuff that seems to be their primary mission these days.

 

[TheBigA]

If I had my way, they'd ONLY enforce technical matters. No more EEO crap, no more public file, no more "minority ownership" stuff. Start inspecting transmitter sites. Start enforcing interference standards in consumer electronics that interfere with the AM band. Shut down daytimers that "forget" to power down.

With what staff? There are about 15,000 radio stations. That's a lot of personal visits to make. As I said earlier, the Congress just gave them basically a zero appropriation, requiring them to bring in every dollar they spend, from fees and fines. How can they do their job with no money? Sounds familiar.

Maybe you folks haven't been reading the papers or watching the news, but the ongoing mantra in Washington has been to cut back the size of the federal government. That's what the Congress keeps saying. And yet the thing I keep reading here in this thread is about what the federal government needs to do about radio. Those two things simply don't jive. We can't have a smaller federal government when we keep wanting them to do things. We have to find other ways to get things done, because the feds are closing up shop.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

No that's not what I meant. My comment was about assigning certain powers to the federal government. The licensing of radio stations is a very large power. How far do you want the power of a federal agency to go? We've had this discussion before. Right now, the FCC has very limited qualifications for licensees. Obviously they need to be US citizens. Obviously they need to have the where-withal to build and operate the station for a period of time. Obviously they need to fulfill the technical rules and regulations. Right now, that's basically it. You meet those qualifications, and you could get a license. For you or I, the main impediment is money. So outline for us exactly what additional qualifications you'd want the feds to possess in order to "keep the riff raff out." And keep in mind, as you outline your qualifications, that in this country we believe in precedent, so if the feds have those powers in the FCC they could also have those same powers at the IRS or other agencies. It's all about how you define the riff raff.

You are describing the dilemma we face in many lines of business today. How do we keep the riff-raff out of the banking business? We are currently engaged in a gosh-awful national debate over who gets to define the standards for the practice and delivery of medicine in our country. The list goes on-and-on.

Shelby Foote was a key ingredient of Ken Burns series from a couple of decades ago on The Civil War. Mr. Foot pointed out that from the founding of our nation up until the war some 150 years ago, it was common and standard practice to use the term "THESE United States".... a nation that was an example of what we today called a "Balkanized Nation". Following that war, it became commong practice to use the term "THE United States".

It's a thankless task. It is a constantly changing task. It is a task that comes close to being undefinable, but in the end... the care, feeding, encouragement and regulating of broadcasting in Eufala AL and Yuma AZ and Olean NY and Andrews SC can ONLY be done by a national agency.

If in this country we can't come to terms with what constitutes sane use of the radio spectrum, what other nation do we turn to for a shining prototype of how it is done?

Maybe I misread where you were going with that logic when you stopped short. I've lived in nine states, my adult children now live in three other states that I follow, and through the years I had to deal with the politics and insurance regulation in a few other states. This idea that states do a better job than does the national government is deeply embedded American mythology that never quite lives up to its promise.

 

[TheBigA]

It is a task that comes close to being undefinable, but in the end... the care, feeding, encouragement and regulating of broadcasting in Eufala AL and Yuma AZ and Olean NY and Andrews SC can ONLY be done by a national agency.

I'm sorry in advance if this comes out the wrong way.

One of the constant themes in my posts on this board has been that this agency has continually done a terrible job of "caring, feeding, encouraging, and regulating" broadcasting. It's not unique to any particular decade, party, or Commissioner. They've all screwed up. And the area where they have done the worst job is in "encouraging" broadcasters to do the right thing. My grandfather wasn't unique when he told me "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." If we've known this for all these years, why do we still assume we can? As I said earlier in this thread, the FCC has stated as part of its mission statement to encourage more minority ownership. So how have they done this? They formed a blue ribbon committee, and they talk about it. And after ten years, what has this committee accomplished? Nothing. And we wonder why broadcasting is in the state it's in. The absolute last thing I want to do is charge the FCC with becoming more selective in who owns broadcasting. The first thing they'll do is appoint a committee. And the result will be zebra.

 

[KeyTimes950]

There was a time, not so long ago, when I would have a problem lining up AM pre-sets and have plenty of FM spaces left after picking my pre-sets. That is no longer the case, not in Pittsburgh, anyway. That certainly contributes in my mind to what has happened to that band. But let me talk about the stations that have disappeared from the AM band in the region around Pittsburgh ...
Keymarket probably is the biggest AM killer around here, having put WASP off the air in Brownsville (1130), the station that originally was WESA in Charleroi (940), Connellsville's WCVI (1340) and Steubenville's WSTV (which I think also was 1340). Finances probably had a lot to do with the decision, given Keymarket's inability to keep FM 98.3 in its stable (LMA'd to K-Love).
Finances probably are a factor for Birach, too, as well as a desire to utilize signals elsewhere. Birach surely would like to kill off WWCS (540) in Canonsburg, one suspects, to bolster a station in the Washington, DC, area, but hasn't and now the station that used to be a dumping place for Mexican music from Michigan is running Fox Sports Radio instead. Birach also has killed off the station once known as WJAC (850) in Johnstown.
The Johnstown area also has lost WNCC (950) in Barnesboro and the station once known as WEND (1580) in Ebensburg. A Portage full-timer wound up being a Wilkinsburg daytimer. A Windber station also went off the air.
And Jeannette, PA, lost AM 1530, the frequency once known as WBCW, as Broadcast Communications Inc. sought a better signal on AM 770 for what it now calls WKFB.
Other stations might as well be dead. The station once known as WAMO (860) and its former Gospel music sibling at AM 1510 are now simulcasts for a Catholic FM where dead air is used for inspirational moments.

However, I would submit that AM still has some life even in Southwestern Pennsylvania. A new owner is coming for the Beaver County AMs from within that staff's ranks. Butler still has two strong AMs tied in to WLER-FM 97.7. Washington lost WKZV (formerly WKEG) at 1110 but still has WJPA/AM-FM. And Armstrong County's Family-Life Media-Com now runs two AMs, a religious-oriented news-talk WTYM-1380 in Kittanning and (though still licensed to Evangel Heights Assembly of God) ministry-inclined WAVL-910 in Apollo.

 

[TheBigA]

The station once known as WAMO (860) and its former Gospel music sibling at AM 1510 are now simulcasts for a Catholic FM where dead air is used for inspirational moments.

LMAO...say amen.

 

[Small Market Guy]

With what staff? There are about 15,000 radio stations. That's a lot of personal visits to make.

I know. Which is why they need to prioritize and those things should be at the top of the list. "Surveys" of newsrooms and regulations that lead to stations having to advertise for positions that are already filled shouldn't even be in the discussion.

 

[ok walters]

Okay, so let's assume that there is no money for enforcement. The posters on this board could easily assemble a list of the most egregious violators, so I would wager that the FCC has a pretty good idea of who those people are as well. It is just like the cop knowing where to set up radar for the best results - it is not rocket science. Visit the first 250 on the list and likely write fines at 90% of them, some of which will be paid and some of which will not, leading to revenue for more enforcement and reduction in poorly run stations as the licenses expire and aren't renewed due to outstanding fines. Then the word gets out that the FCC is visiting and many will clean up their act to stay alive, but most will not and the long overdue carnage will continue. Many stations will also be sold as well, and any fines will be paid to get the licenses transferred.

With the current large crop of beat down stations nationwide, any enforcement action would be self funding at least for a few years and most importantly until the band is cleaned up.

 

[Small Market Guy]

Okay, so let's assume that there is no money for enforcement. The posters on this board could easily assemble a list of the most egregious violators, so I would wager that the FCC has a pretty good idea of who those people are as well. It is just like the cop knowing where to set up radar for the best results - it is not rocket science. Visit the first 250 on the list and likely write fines at 90% of them, some of which will be paid and some of which will not, leading to revenue for more enforcement and reduction in poorly run stations as the licenses expire and aren't renewed due to outstanding fines. Then the word gets out that the FCC is visiting and many will clean up their act to stay alive, but most will not and the long overdue carnage will continue. Many stations will also be sold as well, and any fines will be paid to get the licenses transferred.

With the current large crop of beat down stations nationwide, any enforcement action would be self funding at least for a few years and most importantly until the band is cleaned up.

I'm not even talking about raising revenue by enforcement. I mean they can't even do that right, they have no place even considering anything else.

 

[TheBigA]

I'm not even talking about raising revenue by enforcement. I mean they can't even do that right, they have no place even considering anything else.

The only thing they've done in the last ten or so years IS consider things. Let's think about reversing the cross ownership ban. OK, we thought about it, so we'll let it stand. Same with everything else they've thought about. Let's think about giving FM translators to AM licensees. They thought about it, and then moved on. That's been the pattern of the last ten or so years. Maybe I should be happy, because if they actually DID some of the things they've thought about, we'd be in worse shape.

 

[Small Market Guy]

The only thing they've done in the last ten or so years IS consider things. Let's think about reversing the cross ownership ban. OK, we thought about it, so we'll let it stand. Same with everything else they've thought about. Let's think about giving FM translators to AM licensees. They thought about it, and then moved on. That's been the pattern of the last ten or so years. Maybe I should be happy, because if they actually DID some of the things they've thought about, we'd be in worse shape.

Some of the things they've considered are downright scary. I'd rather they not even pretend to be interested.

 

[firepoint525]

The AM stations here in Tennessee that have REALLY struggled have been the ones that were either situated between two larger cities, like WCTA in Alamo (between Dyersburg and Jackson) and the late WQSV of Ashland City (between Nashville and Clarksville), or those that were not in county-seat towns, like the long-gone WPFD of Fairview. There is a thread on the Tennessee statewide board about WCTA.

On the other hand, one that went off the air, that I believe should have stayed on, was the dearly-departed WFUL of Fulton, KY. They served both Fulton and Hickman Counties of Kentucky, and were the only AM station in either county, as far as I know. They were live and local, at least in the mornings, back when I lived close enough to listen to them, and they carried high school and University of Kentucky sports. They were 1000 watts, and could be heard (daytime, of course) from as much as 50 miles away. Their mistake was that they did absolutely NOTHING to reach out to younger listeners. They never had a Facebook page, and as far as I know, they never even had a website. Their entry in the broadcasting yearbook had them targeting listeners 40 and above.

However, another one that I had written off for dead, but appears to be thriving, is WHDM of McKenzie, which is not a county-seat town. Only 500 watts at most. Very weak signal. They were off the air for a couple of years in the mid-'90s, but returned under new ownership. Yes, they are primarily satellite-fed now, but they have an FM translator, which apparently helps them with visibility in the community. They are jointly owned with other stations, so it is possible that those other stations may be propping them up.

 

[Thomps2525]

I agree with Fred Leonard: There are too many AM stations in this country. Many struggle just to get a 0.1 share of the audience. Here in Los Angeles, even the once-great KFI has seen steadily declining ratings for two years. After finding that most kids listen to Radio Disney on XM or online or on mobile apps, and not on AM, Disney on September 26 will cease broadcasting on 22 of its 23 stations, keeping only KDIS to originate the national programming feed. And today this appeared at LARadio.com: "After learning that BMW’s new electric model – the i3 – will not include an AM radio due to the engine’s causing interference with AM reception, the NAB’s Gordon Smith wrote a letter to BMW asking the company to reconsider the move and re-engineer the system to accommodate AM, as some other manufacturers have."

Any predictions for the future of AM radio? Fewer stations? Fewer stations and stronger signals? Obsolescence?

 

[DavidEduardo]

Any predictions for the future of AM radio? Fewer stations? Fewer stations and stronger signals? Obsolescence?

The stations with huge signals will survive a while longer.

The marginally adequate signals will go to niche formats when those exist. In LA, there are niche formats for everything from Farsi to Vietnamese as well as various religious options. Keep in mind that these formats don't sell on numbers, so if they don't show in Nielsen up or get very low numbers it does not affect them at all.

The daytimers and totally inadequate signals which don't get translators will close.

As a supporting fact, in the top 100 markets there are only about 170 AMs that even cover 80% of the market day and night. Some of those markets do not even have one such station, while others have several. But a band that only has a couple of viable signals per metro can not survive for long.

Over time, the niche formats will go to streaming, and those stations will die, also.