Midwest Family management ought to be ashamed of themselves for the unfathomable garbage they pulled on 1550 in general....it is a sick joke that they are resurrecting the old call letters from their old sports format (WHIT). I have to think that somebody is getting paid/bribed specifically to keep this station crappy and pointless.
And while I am whining, please, somebody 'splain to me why ANYONE is p**sing in the wind with any music format on AM in 2009? I will welcome a dressing-down if I am missing something here...
I'm no fan of Mid-West Family (and no, I don't work there, either), but what's the alternative? What would you put on 1550? If you think they're pissing in the wind with oldies, what would going up against two 24/7 sports stations with better signals be?
1550's daytime-only hours and poor signal outside of Madison (it has NO signal to the south, east or west of Madison) basically prevent it from going head-to-head with any of the other Madison stations. So, they have to find a niche format that no-one else is running. Personally, I think oldies is a good idea -- the folks that listen to oldies still listen to AM radio, or radio in general, for that matter. And music on AM with oldies can add to the nostalgia factor. I've listened to 1550 and it doesn't sound bad at all. I like the sound of oldies on AM. But I'm probably not your average radio listener, either.
Back to my question, though -- what would an alternative format for 1550 be? All news? Mid-West is too cheap to invest in that. Even with some sort of satellite-fed news format, what good is it if you don't have someone local dropping in local news and weather? News-talk or talk? The shows that are left after you pick from what's not already on 1310, 1670 or 92.1 are not exactly winners. Look at the ratings for the stations running talk radio's B- and C- team talent. Same story with all-sports. Maybe they could sell it off to a religious broadcaster so they don't have to worry about a competitor getting their hands on it. Personally, I like the oldies.
Of course you are right about this.
In my fit of irrational nostalgia, I conveniently forgot in that moment that the signal was (is?) a dawn-to-dusk. It was really the first of its kind, though, and now the it could not really compete with the existing market, realistically. I do remember the way they made the initial switch, and I admit that colored my over-the-top reaction.
I probably should keep my posting between dawn to dusk myself, judging from my track record here! Oldies it is....
Thank you for the reasoned response to my slobbering outburst.
