Great locally owned Alabama Stations.

[ChrisWright]

Zach - you asked about K98 (WVOK) in Oxford.  Yes, they are locally owned and now managed by the son of the owners, Joe and Geraldine Woodard.  They operate with a full local staff and stay very involved in the community.  The facilities are nicer than some of the stations in Birmingham.  I remember a time when I was working there that Clear Channel tried to buy them out and when Joe refused to sell they threatened to put him out of business.  He replied that it was "hard to starve a cockroach."  I'm pretty sure that Clear Channel will go out of business before he does.

A couple of people that honed their skills there before moving on are Rick Burgess (Rick and Bubba) and Justin Brown (WDJC) plus myself.  I can think of at least 3 others that made it to Birmingham before changing careers.  The staff they have now includes 3 on-air people that have been there for over a decade each.  How many stations can say that?  Most stations today don't even have 3 live personalities.

[TALLRED]

Another station is WQLT 107.3 "Q107" in Florence.  They are locally owned by Big River Broadcasting, and still have live local personalities, even in the overnight hours (and will even take requests during the overnight hours too)!  The format is mostly 60's through today (yes, I have heard them play an ELO song, followed by a Nickelback song).  They know how to pull it off.  Their sister station WXFL Kix 96.1 isn't bad either.

Is 900 WATV in Birmingham still locally owned?  They seem like they have done very well through the years, and are a great service to their audience...

-Travis

[StrayKats]

You have to include 1300 WTLS in the mix.  They were Alabama Broadcaster of the Year a few years ago.  Granted, their programming list is peculiar, if not creative.  They do have several national talk shows, and Finebaum in the afternoon, but every weekday morning they have a local (emphasis on LOCAL) community and county-oriented talk show, which is repeated each night at 6 PM if not interrupted by local sports programming (of which there is a great deal).  And, all 80s music overnight and much of the weekend.  Michael Butler and crew work their butts off.

I think WTBF AM Troy deserves a shout out as well.  Indeed they feature a lot of national talk programming but the opportunities they have provided in the past and present to students and future broadcasters is noteworthy.  And they still are and always will be the voice of Pike County.

[stereolane]

Another station is WQLT 107.3 "Q107" in Florence.  They are locally owned by Big River Broadcasting, and still have live local personalities, even in the overnight hours (and will even take requests during the overnight hours too)!  The format is mostly 60's through today (yes, I have heard them play an ELO song, followed by a Nickelback song).  They know how to pull it off.  Their sister station WXFL Kix 96.1 isn't bad either.

Is 900 WATV in Birmingham still locally owned?  They seem like they have done very well through the years, and are a great service to their audience...

-Travis

[musiconradio.com]

I looks like there is alot of wonderful variety in radio. Next time someone complains about radio being stale and boring, send them to this thread. There is alternatives to big radio.

In fact it would be nice to see a board listing stations like this in each state.

To qualify:
You must be locally owned
involved with your community
must be available to your community.

Hey, just a thought, one could wish.

[jwgreek8606]

Don't Forget WOOF FM.  It's still owned by the Simpson family.

[Zach]

Zach - you asked about K98 (WVOK) in Oxford.  Yes, they are locally owned and now managed by the son of the owners, Joe and Geraldine Woodard.  They operate with a full local staff and stay very involved in the community.  The facilities are nicer than some of the stations in Birmingham.  I remember a time when I was working there that Clear Channel tried to buy them out and when Joe refused to sell they threatened to put him out of business.  He replied that it was "hard to starve a cockroach."  I'm pretty sure that Clear Channel will go out of business before he does.

A couple of people that honed their skills there before moving on are Rick Burgess (Rick and Bubba) and Justin Brown (WDJC) plus myself.  I can think of at least 3 others that made it to Birmingham before changing careers.  The staff they have now includes 3 on-air people that have been there for over a decade each.  How many stations can say that?  Most stations today don't even have 3 live personalities.

That cockroach line is full of awesome.

Is one of Rick Burgess' relatives there now?  I saw a Burgess name while going through the station's website and wonder if they're related.

[Zach]

Is 900 WATV in Birmingham still locally owned?  They seem like they have done very well through the years, and are a great service to their audience...

Still locally owned and according to their website they have a few local hosts beyond the usual block of religious/gospel programming from local churches on Sunday.

I was surprised to see the variety and local hosts, because I always remember them as a nearly 24-hour relay of some satellite oldies/R&B type feed.  But that was eons ago back when they still had a tower on Finley Blvd and broadcast in stereo.

Hmm… there's even a "WATV is looking for air talent" banner at the bottom of the home page. I hope that means they're growing!

Going back to S Alabama, does anyone know about WHOD in Jackson?  They appear to still host the usual community show and swap shop along with local sports and Alabama football, with Rick and Bubba in the morning.

I guess we can't expect to find 100% local anymore.  Even WHEP here in Foley has syndicated talk most of the day including Finebaum, Laura Ingraham and… some other folks.  They don't put a schedule on their website so I never know what airs when.

[ChrisWright]

-----Is one of Rick Burgess' relatives there now?  I saw a Burgess name while going through the station's website and wonder if they're related.-----

No, Jock Burgess is unrelated... at least as far as I am aware.  Great guy, though.  He's one of the "new guys" there, even though he's been there longer than a typical personality at many stations.

[rtech]

Is 900 WATV in Birmingham still locally owned?  They seem like they have done very well through the years, and are a great service to their audience...

Still locally owned and according to their website they have a few local hosts beyond the usual block of religious/gospel programming from local churches on Sunday.

WATV is owned by Sheridan Broadcasting out of Pittsburgh.  It was sold to them several years ago.  Up until that time, it was owned by Birmingham Ebony (Shelly Stewart and Erskine Faush) who were both Birmingham radio legends.