New formats in Huntingon

[EZ103.3FM]

Paul Swann announced during his sports show on WVHU AM Monday (3/30) that 2 of the Clear Channel stations would be changing formats effective on 4/6, the opening day of the baseball season. WTCR-AM 1420 will be leaving its 'Americana Newgrass' format and WIRO AM 1230 will end its simulcast of WVHU AM 800. The stations will become 'Fox Sports 1230 and 1420' and will carry Cincinnati Reds games and all sports programming. The shows will include the Dan Patrick Show, the Jim Rome show and Into the NIght with Tony Bruno. I believe he said some Reds games would be on 4 CC stations; the 2 Fox Sports stations plus WVHU AM and WZZW AM 1600 in Milton. Apparently some daytime games will not be on 800 AM so they don't have to pre-empt Rush and Hannity.

[Bar Rat]

Did anyone actually believe that "newgrass" would fly? I mean, really. That was a creation of management to try to save their station history.

They tried all sports on 1420 once before and it was yanked in favor of Joy. And we all know how much of a joke that was, but one particular sales manager had to have it and sucked up enough to keep it around for years longer than it should have been.

[Mr. Jones]

I'm surprised it took this long for Fox Sports to take hold. So it'll be a "battle" of the do-nothing ESPN 930 on the strong signal versus the upstart on the shit signals.

Let's get it on?

[Hoosier Daddy]

Gosh! Let's spin the wheel and figure out which canned satellite-fed talk/sports/religion/whatever formats we'll mix and match to plug in to our stable of rimshot, one-lung, pea-shooter AM stations, each with a scalding, market-tilting 0.000001% in the last 12 Arbitron books. Sports! -- on, what, five different AM signals now?!?!?!?!?! My heart is overwhelmed yet giddy with anticipation!

[Big Media]

My heart is overwhelmed yet giddy with anticipation!

I bet Paul Swann jizzed his pants when Judy gave him the news.

[Mike]

Ending the simulcast of 800 on 1230 is a huge mistake. That loses them the most affluent area of the Tri-State after dusk, and inside buildings during the day.

That is, unless they are going to finally get rid of KISS and put talk on 107.1. I still think that KISS is a poor idea that needlessly competes with KEE, lacks the signal to get into the area where most of the people who would listen to it are (Marshall University/Huntington) and ultimately costs them money.

[Bar Rat]

My heart is overwhelmed yet giddy with anticipation!

I bet Paul Swann jizzed his pants when Judy gave him the news.

The jizz came when he realized he could dump the Reds during the day.

[Hoosier Daddy]

... lacks the signal to get into the area where most of the people who would listen to it are (Marshall University/Huntington) and ultimately costs them money.

I dunno, Mike. From what I've been reading in the Ironton Tribune lately, it seems like Tigertown has a bumper crop of just-out-of-Detroit, inner-city, drug dealing thug hoodlums that should be a solid P1 for KISS programming.

[Arp2]

From what I've been reading in the Ironton Tribune lately, it seems like Tigertown has a bumper crop of just-out-of-Detroit, inner-city, drug dealing thug hoodlums that should be a solid P1 for KISS programming.

Interesting...so which was the chicken, and which was the egg?

[Hoosier Daddy]

That element of society was always a part of Ironton. "The Projos" -- Ironton's multi-block government housing project -- had a certain percentage of inner-city hoodlums there all along. When the good-paying jobs in the steel mills and chemical plants went away, you saw a huge uptick in drugs and crime in the area (think Youngstown or Lima on a smaller scale), and it seems like this element has grown like a cancer not only in Ironton but in parts of Huntington and Portsmouth as well.

You can add all the arguments about the coarsening of society and the breakdown of the family and the welfare state ... they all apply here. Unfortunately, there are some really nice people and some beautiful homes in Ironton, along with some tattered remnants of hometown pride that was really strong a generation ago. I grew up in the area, and it's sad to see how it all rotted away.

To answer your question:

Chicken -> The hoodlums, but in much smaller numbers than now.
Egg -> KISS 107.1 FM

[The Interpreter]

Reports are that Mr. Roten is not pleased, and is trying to incite his three listeners who may not be happy with him no longer being on WIRO as of next week to email him so he can forward the emails to the "powers that be." He apparently is telling his listeners that this came down from corporate, a company "that runs 2000 radio stations."

[Mike]

Reports are that Mr. Roten is not pleased, and is trying to incite his three listeners who may not be happy with him no longer being on WIRO as of next week to email him so he can forward the emails to the "powers that be." He apparently is telling his listeners that this came down from corporate, a company "that runs 2000 radio stations."

It is a very stupid move. Roten may be an idiot but he's right on this one. WVHU/WIRO just came off the best book they've ever had and they are going to take away it's ability to cover Ashland/Ironton/Russell/Flatwoods day and night? Sports talk won't even get a .5 rating.