Richmond Radio: Old Grafitti 7-1-03 thru 9-3-03

Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2003 - 8:42 am:

Here is the first post of july.

Now for a prediction: Hot Talk 98.9 will be on in a year, once the station owners get everyone lined up for it and unlike ESPN 100.3 and the good majority of AM talkers (AM 1140 aside), the night will be easy to get in as well.

Posted on Saturday, July 05, 2003 - 11:49 am:

Actually,when ABS brought WSVS,the current tower had already been built and they had been doing country with Live jocks as "Power Country 104.7" out of Crewe.When ABS brought it they sent KHK MD Rick Campbell down as acting PD.Since there was no automation in Crewe,he closed the jock mic,kept the jocks as board-ops,ran wall to wall music with imagers(done by Rick)saying "your country favorites are on the way,--104.7)while the Bear Studios and STL was being built at the Arboritum.After they moved to Richmond,Hank Matthews became PD,(one'SVS jock,who was really horrible,made the move but didn't last)WSVS-FM had been directional 50kw until going 100kw in the mid 80's.After the ABS sale,they simulcasted on the AM until 'FLO's owners brought it a short time later('FLO never had anything to do with the FM).The Bear(and the Buzz) were using a Scott Studio set up running some live and some V/T shifts.I worked for ABS/SFX at that time so I know the facts.(When 104.7 moved to the Arboritum,all the inherited 'SVS spots had to be recut by the K95 and newly hired Bear jocks because the original Crewe spots sounded really amateurish and hokey.I could hear the irritation in the Richmond voices who had to recut all these hokey spots)

Posted on Saturday, July 05, 2003 - 2:28 pm:

Hey, if you guys have the time, come out to this.....

The Bopst Show 1st year Anniversary Dance Party

The Bopst Show, airing Thursdays and Fridays from 5-8 PM on WVNZ 1320 AM, is celebrating its first year of broadcasting existence in Richmond, Virginia, with a special show Friday July 18th at Alley Katz (4 Walnut Alley). Local bands, Bio Ritmo and The Rah Bras will be performing and Chris Bopst will be spinning tunes throughout the night. Doors open at 10PM and tickets are 6 Dollars.

Posted on Sunday, July 06, 2003 - 7:25 am:

Well folks the new ratings book is out and something I thought would never happen has indeed happened. Y101 has a 4.0 in this ratings book and is in the top 10. Again ladies and gentlemen, CC takes a gamble, and looses big. If i were these guys in texas, I would look at either bringing back Heritage rock, or maybe oldies to 102.1. Q94 is self destucting as well in this book. How knew that changing to a alternative format on 102.1 and ditching oldies for ubran on 106.5 could have such opposite reactions here in town.
I predict that the X will go down in disgrace. They will be gone within the next year and a half.
This is what happens, as we learned in 1996, what happens when someone trys to compete with modern rock, one goes down like the titanic. God bless

Thor is Thor (Thor)

Posted on Monday, July 07, 2003 - 11:28 am:

Thor welcomes Lurking back to the board. Thor respects your opinion and even respects your age. Thor has spoken, Thor is brave, Thor is wise, Thor is hungry.

Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 8:56 am:

As somebody who was employed at AAA I can tell you that the decision to cancel the copter was not based on what WRVA did or didn't do.Those decisions are actually based in Philadelphia,and the marketing people there felt they had to have a different approach to sell thier products in the travel and insurance areas(AAA Mid-Atlantic has a full service travel agency and insurance company available to members and non-members,although AAA member get discounts for services).AAA still buys time on CC stations(including WRVA).I am aware of Mr Bloomquist's comments,but it didn't have any effect on AAA's marketing decisions.The marketing office bases thier decision on economic factors.There were some comments made to the paper by the local AAA PR department regarding WRVA's changes,but the PR department has absolutly nothing to do with the marketing decisions made in Philadelphia.The Richmond PR department's usual function is promote safety and automotive issues.I do know the local PR department had some affinity for the "old" WRVA,and that's probably what motivated the local office comments.

Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 4:15 pm:

Yes, another reason for being proud of our old treasure, WRVA: The signature talker of its "edgy" foray into the Hate Right (as opposed to merely the Rush Limbaugh Right), Michael Savage, was fired by MSNBC for going on a tirade against gays so absurd that even his own production staff was yelling, "Whoa!" off camera. And, thanks to you, Mr. Bloomquist, for bringing this jerk's show to our fair city and dedicating three evening hours to him on the former pride of our city. Way to go!

On another note, in a fascinating twist, it was actually a Don & Mike listener who trolled the big idiot into taking the bait. Details at dcrtv.com. Radio gods, indeed!

Posted on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 11:18 am:

Chaser, i hate to break your bubble but he was on the way to getting canned, his ratings make the ESPN radio ratings here look decent, LOL. TY bloomquist, for allowing this guy instead of LIONEL, who is right winged without the issues of sticking his foot in his mouth.
I wonder if savage enjoyed shoving his foot in his mouth.

Posted on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 11:38 am:

Really, Dan? I had heard Savage boosted MSNBC's ratings for that timeslot somewhat, which I suppose isn't saying a hell of a lot when it's for 5pm Saturday and "National Geographic Explorer" reruns are probably a lot cheaper to run. Noticing WRVA's ratings rise here, he has to be getting some run here too; that can't all be explained by Michael Graham's "War Room," can it? My point with Bloomquist is that he was/is whoring a formerly great radio station by airing this puke. Rush, I can understand. We're a Republican market. Glenn Beck, fine. Paul Harvey, good day. But Savage? Ugh. FWIW, he's off in Boston, Detroit, LA and a couple other markets indefintely, to say nothing of his contract problems at KSFO and WABC. He's an embarassment.

As for Lionel, I wouldn't say he's right-winged. He's anything but the typical WRVA fare, which is bascially paid GOP advertising, for better or worse. Instead, Lionel's more of an extreme civil libertarian. He's a member of both the ACLU and the NRA, that kind of thing. But I don't care about any of that.

What I do care is that he's intelligent and funny and listeners to/cares for his callers. And he's a joy to listen to at night. The anti-Savage, IOW.

Mark (Mark)

Posted on Friday, July 11, 2003 - 4:51 pm:

Hey Dan, like the line-up. Me & Radio X would kill everyone in evenings! WE WOULD RUN NIGHT-TIME RADIO!

Posted on Friday, July 11, 2003 - 7:35 pm:

Just in case you haven't heard, the new calls for the new 1480 are WTOX. Sort of narrows down what the format might be I would say.

Posted on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 9:19 am:

Not sure what 1480 will be, maybe either talk or oldies, but if you judge the name. definitly not spanish or a foreign station format.
Not sure if people realize at WRVA now, but they are more than just the 50,000 watt voice of the south, but the signal at night can be heard up and down the east coast, and one time when i was 15, picked it up in the middle of kansas on a saturday night. Yes it's the second most powerful station wattage wise in the area, Kiss 104.7 with the 100,000 watts being the strongest. But signal reach, WRVA kills kiss hands down. New catch phrase for WRVA's talk format from 9am-10pm, the right wing block of talk. Heck with Beck, Rush, Grahamm, and Savage, you just well call it that.
One last thing, according to vartv.com, there is a likeyhood that 98.9 will be on in 6-8 months and that the country format that was on there in orange county will probably go in the move. God bless

Posted on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 11:15 am:

Dan, I stand to be corrected, but isn't WRVQ the most powerful with a Grandfathered 200kw at 107m HAAT? I realize that WKJS is 100kw but is 299m HAAT. I believe KJS is directional too and RVQ is not.

Posted on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 1:07 pm:

Well, if it's WTOX, I'd venture that we're looking at talk---or a radio station devoted to toxic waste, but that's mainly what radio talk is. So I'd say talk.

Which would mean.........what? What happens to WLEE? (Which is now "Talk Radio 990"---no more "Hot Talk.") It would be nice if one of the stations gave back a little to the community it claims to represent and put a local voice on the air for something other than a stupid food/wine show and an hour of garbled sports talk. BTW, I heard Jeff Beck do a report on WCVE at about 8:15 yesterday morning.

And, I'm flipping channels, and John Bernier is playing hole-side reporter of the Virginia Open. If a guy makes a put, the tower commentator should jump in with "John said it would be like that!"

Frank_Dreben (Frank_Dreben)

Posted on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 1:56 pm:

Q is the most powerful at 200KW, one of only a handful of stations with that much power.

So what's the big change coming to B103 Monday morning? They say listen at 7AM. It seems that Eric and Tara are gone. Is this Wicker moving in?

Posted on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 9:40 pm:

OK, to get the record straight...Q IS using a 200kw flame thrower...Kiss is using a 100kw flame thrower. Kiss is not directional...Mark and myself ruling the nights? HECK YEAH! About transmitters...What was 'RXL using before moving to their current tower in '96? Somebody told me they were using Q's 351' stick with 140kw's. How about 106.5? Have they used the same stick since they went commercial in '88? What did they use before hand?

About WTOX...It will be a race between 98.9 and 1480 as to who will take the "hot talk" genre. 990 will go news, and if 1480 takes the hot talk, 98.9 is going oldies or classic rock. What would 98.9 use as a stick? Could they use the 700' former Star 107 tower?

Frank_Dreben (Frank_Dreben)

Posted on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 11:45 pm:

XL was on a tower the same size as the other two at their Basie Road site now. They did have 140KW ERP, and I think it was around 300 ft. They had to drop their ERP when they got the 750 ft tower, but it's better coverage because of the height. They most definitely were never on Q's tower; they used to be competitors before CC bought everyone. Also, Q and XL's site were (still are??) primary and secondary EBS (EAS now...) entry points so they had to be separate locations.

Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 12:48 am:

RE: 106.5.The station that since 1988 has been WVMX,WVGO,WRCL,and now WBTJ was originally non commercial WRFK,o&o'd by the Union Theological Seminary and they operated from a self supporting tower on Wilkinson Road from the late 50's until they were sold in 1988.(There a cell phone company in that building now).Intresting side note,WRFK was a totally donated station.The Wilkinson Rd Building and tower were the original WRNL studios(Roger Mudd worked in that building)which they gave to the Seminary when they moved out to Bethlehem Rd(which was demolished in 1982 when WRNL & WRXL moved into thier current home on Basie Rd around the corner).The transmitter and 106.5 frequency was the original WLEE-FM.The FCC was shoving FM assigments down AM stations throats to promote use of the band at that time.WLEE simulcasted on 106.5 and 1480 until then head honcho Harvey Hudson talked then owner Thomas Tinsley into donating the frequency to the seminary saying "FM will never make it".I heard an Urban legend that when WRVQ came on in 1972 to challenge the then Top 40 supremacy of 1480/WLEE,Nationwide,then WLEE's owners,tried investigating getting an FM on the air to compete with Q94,but they could find nothing that could match WRVQ's 200Kw Coverage area.It was during those inquiries they found out Hudson had pissed away thier original FM way back when.And,allegedlly,the Nationwide honchoes wanted Hudson's head on a Platter.And,oh yes,when WRFK went off the air in 1988,the programming and staff of that station went to the new sign-on WCVE-FM where the non-commercial programming continues to this day at 88.9.

Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 12:55 am:

My prediction it will be either Jeff Wicker or some sattelite syndication on B103 Monday Morning.My money's on Wicker because he worked for Cox several years ago in Toledo,Ohio,which means there is relationship with Cox already there.If they do something of sattelite,my guess it will be either Bob and Sheri(this would be a different Sheri,not midday girl Sheri Blanks) or Danny "Partidge" Boneduce.But,I've been wrong before.

Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 7:43 am:

Excellent chronology on 106.5. However you left out one set of calls. WBZU between WVGO and WRCL back in 1966, remember? Also, According to the FCC, WKJS IS directional. http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=WKJS

Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 11:18 pm:

RxR: By "hot talk," do you mean the political crud 990 is currently running, or the Stern/D&M/Junkies type of "hot talk"? I'm guessing the former, but I'm hoping for the latter.

1140 has the market on political talk here; all 990 does is run the second-strings.

Thor is Thor (Thor)

Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 11:35 pm:

Thor has better facts then Mr Ency. Thor knows a little something about the old 106.5. Thor knows that in the Mid 60's the honchos at Nationwide dontated the Frequency to the Seminary because the Nationwide President a Guy name Clark, said:" FM will never amount to anything". No one was upset with Harvey, how could you be. So get it right Mr Encyc or maybe you are more like "Style" Magazine always right some of the time. Thor has spoken, Thor is wise, Thor is brave, Thor wears depends on really long trips.

Posted on Monday, July 14, 2003 - 5:46 pm:

More shameless, or what some of you might consider shameful, self promotion......

You are cordially invited to......

The Bopst Show 1st Year Anniversary Dance Party

The Bopst Show, airing Thursdays and Fridays from 5-8 PM on WVNZ 1320 AM, is celebrating its first year of broadcasting existence in Richmond, Virginia, with a special show Friday July 18th at Alley Katz (10 Walnut Alley). Local bands, Bio Ritmo and The Rah Bras will be performing and Chris Bopst(me) will be spinning tunes throughout the night. Doors open at 10PM and tickets are 6 Dollars.

Tell all your friends and enemies.

For more information on Richmond, Virginia's premiere Salsa explosion, Bio Ritmo, go to: www.bioritmo.com.
For more information on Richmond, Virginia's Dada Pop Specialists, Rah Bras, go to: www.lovitt.com/artists/rahbras.html.

Hope to see you there,
Chris Bopst

Weekly Column posted each & every Thursday on http://www.richmond.com

Also, don't forget......
RPG, Hindu Affiliate & the premiere of American Grizzly
Friday July 25th
at
Alley Katz 10 Walnut Alley

Posted on Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 9:48 am:

Turns out that eric and tara did not get terminated from B103. Well if i had to choose a replacement gig for morning drive i would not only bring in wicker, but from 9-1 bring in jaime and danny live from LA. yes it's aimed at adults, but when i was living in california, i listened to them on KYSR, their home station out of LA. This after listening to howard on KSLX, which is the hot talker in LA. So if 98.9 can't get howard, i suggest this line up:
5-9: Dan and Chaser...
9-1: Jaime and Danny (Live LA feed)
1-3: filler
3-7: Don and Mike
7-10: Radio x and mark
10-1: LIONEL!!!
1-5: Thor

Posted on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 4:59 pm:

We REALLY need this in Richmond radio!

from dcrtv.com

- In his 1 PM chat on Friday, Washington Post columnist Bob Levey unloaded both barrels at WJFK-FM afternoon duo Don and Mike. "They are goons. Their show is for retarded three-year-olds," he said. And, D&M returned the "favor" in the 3 PM hour of their same day show. Apparently, Levey and D&M have been spatting, on and off, for almost 20 years. By the way, Levey was D&M's radio competition on Friday - he was subbing for Paul Berry at 4 PM on WTNT. A D&M call to Levey's show resulted in a hang-up.....

Imagine the possibilities: R-TD political columnist Ross MacKenzie lashed into WHUH morning deejays Dan & Chaser yesterday morning, calling them "no-class retrogrades with an affinity for French fries, which demonstrates their traitorous ways." D&C, mere amateurs who somehow got the job just by chatting on a fanboy board frequented by 12 people, if that, fired back on this morning's show, calling MacKenzie a "drunken piece of slime who'd have an affair with his sister if it meant growing a strand of hair back."

I can see the possibilities.

Posted on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 3:39 am:

Chaser, then I would have Thor as our producer, reason being is that you and I could become the most controversial thing in Richmond Radio since Howard Stern, and we need a producer with the kiss my *** attitude, who else would be better to pick then Thor. She could be like the pit bull always on the attack.

Thor is Thor (Thor)

Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 8:33 am:

Thor appreciates the offer of these wonderful radio gigs. If Thor had to choose she would choose the 1a-5a gig, Thor kisses no ones's A** especially yours Danny boy. The problem is no one can afford the well endowed Thor, she makes too much money now selling worm farms on line. Thor would rather have worms than work for Dan. Thor has spoken, Thor is wise, Thor is brave, Thor will hock on your burger.

Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 11:59 am:

Richmond market embargoed by Arbitron? Anybody know the skinny on that?

Also, Thor is a woman? I should have guessed.

Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 3:33 pm:

Anyone?

Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 6:40 pm:

Bopst, I'm guessing because it's proprietary information. When sources publish the numbers without permission, I suppose the subscribers in the market apparently can embargo any non-Arbitron release of the info. I guess it's sort of like how a few stations every now and then will run an audio stream of Don & Mike. But you can bet Infinity puts a stop to it once they find out.

From Radio & Records:
Note: This market has been placed under embargo. In select cases, an Arbitron subscriber has asked that a market's ratings be "embargoed" from public view, most likely because a nonsubscriber is using those numbers without permission or license. R&R is a licensee of Arbitron rating and is only permitted to publish those numbers which are not under embargo. We will begin publishing ratings for that market as soon as the embargo is lifted.

Thor is Thor (Thor)

Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 11:04 pm:

Thor does not think the market is embargoed, try going to www.rronline.com and then ratings, Thor just did that and had no problem. Yes Bopst unfortunate for you that Thor is a woman, Thor would not go out with you if she was a man. Thor's men don't wear silly A$% looking hats in their photos like you sir bopst. Thor has spoken, Thor is brave, Thor is wise, Thor wears baseball caps in the nude.

Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 10:32 am:

Well, I haven't talked on here for a bit, so let me speak...If 1480 is really getting the WTOX calls, this narrows down the possibilities. Since 990 and 1340 are hot talkers owned by the same company, I could expect 990 to go AP news like they did in the mid 90's, and 1340 will give a rimshot Spanish voice to Richmond. If my prediction proves true, 98.9 will go oldies. My question is this: Will 98.9 file as a class A or B in Mid-lo? Also, why is WCVE one of the most borrrrrrrring NPR stations in Virginia? What prevents these folks for airing an hour or two of Talk of the Nation? Why does Charlottesville have an NPR talker (Radio IQ) when an area five times its size is void of one? Why does Harrisonburg have a 24-hour PBS station when WCVE is on the air for 18 hours?

Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 10:46 am:

I've heard quite a lot about the Buzz when it was on 104.7. Sadly, I moved here in 1997, so I never heard "104-7 the Buzz". Did it ever simulcast with 106.5? What was the programming like? What did the logo look like? Are there any airchecks floating around for the Buzz when it was at 106.5 or 104.7? Why was (106.5 and 104.7) shut down? Who were the jocks on there? What made "104-7 the Buzz" different than 102.1 the X and Y 101 today? Though I moved here in '97, I didn't start listening to the Buzz until the summer of '98. Thanks for reading

Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 6:40 pm:

1. RadioX: I'd love more NPR talk. Diane Rehm's show would fill 10-12 a lot better than "Performance Today" or whatever they call that hour of classical music.

2. RadioX: I was in college in DC most of the time period you're talking about, but iirc 104.7 the Buzz was a standard-issue mid-90s alterna-rocker. A poor man's WHFS circa that time period. Typical hour block would play some combination of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, STP, Wheezer, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, The Toadies, Jane's Addiction, etc. TV Commercials were cut-ins of the "Plush" and "Black Hole Sun" videos with an announcer's voice. I honestly don't know if there was a bit of difference between 104.7 and what it became on 106.5---but those days are obviously rather blurry.

3. To anyone: Any idea which local station will carry Skins' games this season?

Urbanguy (Urbanguy)

Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 10:40 pm:

Radio One's Magic 105.7 will carry the Skins .

Posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 8:32 am:

Cool. Thanks.

I liked an ad that ran on 105.7 last year during Skins games. IIRC it was for Car America, or some place like that, and was "Hail to the Redskins" except with kind of a hip-hop, jazzy, R&B twist. Real neat.

Posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 2:41 pm:

Go Redskins.......

but

what about this?
Effective immediately, 29 continuously measured markets and 35 markets measured semi-annually are subject to embargo; prohibiting VARTV and other news organizations from publishing ratings data until two surveys after its release. Therefore, spring 2003 data for embargoed markets will be available during the release of the fall 2003 ratings. Among the markets now embargoed for quarterly ratings data: Baltimore; Harrisburg; Nassau-Suffolk; Pittsburgh; Providence; and Richmond and York, PA. Cleveland is once again on the embargo list, and Norfolk and Lansing-East Lansing, MI also return. Meanwhile, Wilmington, DE and Trenton, NJ are among the markets measured semi-annually now on the embargo list. "If we feel it's in the best interests of our clients, we will embargo a market," Arbitron's Jess Benbow tells R&R. Markets with an embargo on Arbitrends data include Allentown; Buffalo; Greensboro; Greenville, NC; Johnson City; Kansas City; Little Rock; Madison; Memphis; Portland, OR; Puerto Rico; Reno, NV; Rochester, NY; Sacramento; Seattle; Spokane; Syracuse; Wichita and Wilkes Barre. (Source: Radio & Records) ..... (7/21/03)

Posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 3:12 pm:

Bopst, it's embargoed. Thor was looking at last month's ratings. They were embargoed as of July.

Hey, whatever. I'm not the one paying for the service. I don't need ratings to know WRVA now blows chunks.

Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 1:54 pm:

OK guys
1. About the buzz 104.7. It was as described a small market WHFS. Given that at the time, the 104.7 spot on the dail had a 6,000W signal out of crewe, it is amazing it went as well as it did.
2. WCVE is horrible when it comes to radio to say the least. I would have taken chaser's route and canned performance today. I resent the show because it keeps airing the same stuff over and over again.
3. Ratings Embargo. Well I presume it had to happen. Guess Thor can stick her head back in the wa-wa store in chester as a clerk. Heck, when a local DJ got axed because of the X coming to town, Thor was on a WaWa trip, so i guess someone has to throw it back in her face!
4. GO REDSKINS!!!!

Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 3:17 pm:

Thanks for the blurry memories about the Buzz...I didn't know they had TV commercials...Hopefully I can one day come across some Buzz memorabilia or a sound check. At the time I was living in NOVA, so I do know what HFS sounded like in the mid 90's. Now, what about the early days at WVGO? I think for a while it was known as FM 106, then became "WVGO" When did it sign off? Wasn't Mike Hsu and Jenny Deel on WVGO?

Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 6:57 pm:

Oops Dan! I think you're mistaken. If my memory serves me correctly, 104.7 was 100kw back when it was WSVS-FM. I remember them having a contest to guess the date of the power-up. That was late 70s or early 80s. Before that they were 50kw. If I am wrong, please accept my appologies.

Thor is Thor (Thor)

Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 7:50 pm:

Thor asks everyone to write down this date, July 30, 2003. This is the day Thor admits she was wrong about the Embargo. Thor is woman enough to admit her mistakes. Thor wonders about you there Spurrier lover, Thor doubts you could admit the same. Thor knows why the market was embargoed. Little Bopst Boy was telling people he actually had ratings, Thor knows better and contacted Arbitron. Thor has spoken, Thor is wise, Thor is brave, Thor is eating pancakes right now.

Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 8:00 am:

Radio you may be right about that, there might be a way to check it out and if I am wrong, then hey, my mistake not yours.
The world has ended, Thor admitted to being worng LOL.
X, the history of WVGO, goes back to a station called WRFK, which was our NPR station before WCVE. When WRFK went off the air, it came back as WVMX, playing modern rock of the 80's. When they changed up to WVGO at first, it was oldies, until 96.5 the Duck, killed them. Then came WVGO, the adult alternative station which had several morning shows, later before howard, Mike Hsu was a part of the mike dave and meg show. WVGO went off the air in summer of 1996, as the Buzz came in and took over, which would die in 1998 in a shift to oldies, then in 2001 shift to 106,5 the beat.

Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 9:46 am:

Doing my research, here's what I found out about WSVS-FM and WKIK/WBZU:

1949-1986: 582' 50KW Directional, "pointed" towards the WNW

1986- : 981' 100kw "directional", "pointed" towards the SE.

about 106.5: In the beginning, WLEE-FM was on 102.9, with 1kw at 350'. In the mid-1950's, WLEE "donated" the FM to WRFK, Which operated 102.9 from 1957-1958. In 1958, WRFK recieved a donated 50KW transmitter and moved to 106.5. Their airtime schedule from 1958-1970

MON-SAT 1pm-12am
SUN 10am-1pm

In 1970, WRFK began NPR programming, and was on the air from 6am-12am everyday. While I'm unsure if WRFK ever broadcasted 24 hours, by 1985, the financially strapped Union Theo. Seminary was talking of selling WRFK. Listeners protested until the FCC made a rare move to grant WCVE-FM a "temporary" frequency on 101.1. While I'm not quite sure of the transmitter/stick combo, from June of 1988 until midnight on Nov 1 1989, WCVE-FM was on 101.1. At exactly 12AM on Nov. 1, WCVE switched frequencies.

Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 11:19 am:

Thor is wrong. Tell me something I didn�t already know. I wish I had the power to have a market embargoed, but, hey, despite my raging ego, I am not too foolish to believe that I have any semblance of that type of power.

Radio X

Where did you find all that information on Richmond radio? Did you have that info stored in your head or is there a site that stores it for you?

Oh, and by the way, GO SKINS!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 12:25 pm:

It's all in the head, Bopst. I'm building a site for folks to enjoy my "wealth" of knowledge (Hahahahahaha). I have a few holes in my information, (mostly about 104.7 and 105.7), but I could tell you quite a lot of info about RIC Radio, ranging from WRMV-FM to more modern stuff.

Oh, and by the way, GO SKINS!!!!!!

Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 1:40 pm:

Impressive, to say the least. I can't wait for that site to go up.

Oh, and by the way, GO SKINS!!!!!!

Robwitham (Robwitham)

Posted on Friday, August 01, 2003 - 9:50 pm:

FYI, regarding 105.7----I worked at Hoffman when the switch to that frequency was made. WCDX, if they went from 92.7 (their original signal) to 92.1 out of Mechanicsville rather than Chester, could upgrade to 25KW. WDYL agreed to leave 92.1 when 105.7 was found to be open in the market. November 18, 1995 was the day we switched off 92.1 over to 105.7....for a couple of weeks afterward we broadcast a message loop on 92.1, then vacated, and Power 93 became Power 92 not long afterward.

Then, 101.1 (WSMJ Smooth Jazz at the time), wanted to upgrade to 6 kw, so did WDYL. Putting 105.7 in Richmond and 101.1 in Chester would allow both signals to upgrade from 3KW, so that switch was made after I left the company, in 1998.

105.7 became The River, 101.1 was Contemporary Christian until July 15, 1999, when WDYL went dark until it returned later that year under new ownership.

Hope this helps!

Thor is Thor (Thor)

Posted on Sunday, August 03, 2003 - 4:01 pm:

Up next, Thor would like to hear a history of the bopst show. Go ahead Chris. Thor has spoken, Thor is wise Thor is brave (she has to be to read what's coming) Thor is eating.

Posted on Monday, August 04, 2003 - 7:23 am:

OK since WTOX might just go talk, we have to wonder does 98.9 go hot talk or maybe oldies. Maybe a AAA format who knows.

Posted on Monday, August 04, 2003 - 8:47 am:

Latvian reggae, perhaps?

On the 100.3 front, I tuned in at about midnight last night, and guess what was on? Old standards music. Beginning of the end for ESPN100.3?

Posted on Monday, August 04, 2003 - 11:49 am:

Ms. Thor,

All you need to know about my show, The Bopst Show, can be found at 2 places.

1. My weekly column on http://www.richmond.com

2. Right here on this site. The discussion is called, you guessed it, The Bopst Show on the discussion group page.

The lord knows I have gone to great lengths to explain and promote what I have been doing for the last year. No need to bore the rest of you with what you know already.

On other topics....
Do you really think ESPN will fade away? I thought ESPN was as sure a bet as any.

Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 11:51 am:

Well, vartv's got the latest (I assume) ratings, despite the embargo. Among the newsworthy: WRVA's up to No. 2 all by itself, which must be a combination of a war, a better afternoon drive host, and a publicity whore syndicated troll latenights. Q94 has reached unheard of depths.

Also, Gary Criswell is out at WLEE and in at Rich-TV. Not made for his own radio show apparently, but I hope that doesn't mean WLEE's extensive high school football focus is gone, too. Criswell doesn't have a voice for radio, but he's one of the few people I observe in Richmond radio who care about our city/region.

Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - 8:58 am:

Well ESPN is back for now...LOL for how long who knows. Whenever there is a bad storm it takes forver to get the station back on. Do i think that it might switch, yes probably.
The X and Y are rounding out the top 10 now and Q is in the drain. Again it seems like there is a new war in town, and the hey day of the Q is gone. Funny, 106.5 102.1 98.1 and 101.1 all are leading the Q out of town

Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - 10:16 am:

vartv reports big changes at Radio One Richmond.

Frank_Dreben (Frank_Dreben)

Posted on Friday, August 08, 2003 - 8:32 am:

I think Q has screwed up by playing more "urban" music. Which seems to me to be lose-lose. They don't play enough for the serious fans of the music, they'll listen to 106.5 or 92.1, and it's enough to make the ones like me that don't like it tune out. And then there's Surf... Can't stand listening to him do the morning show, he was fine in any other slot.
So now I listen mostly to 107.3 and the "good" Billy.

Posted on Monday, August 11, 2003 - 9:18 am:

Thanks Robwitham...Dan, 100.3 as we all know, is a station with a poor signal. However, we all know that it can still make OK ratings... When WSOJ "J 100.3 the Flava" was on the air, ratings were anywhere between a 1.5 and a 3.7....So, we all know that both the Petersburg stations can get ratings, the question is, what format will do well?

Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 7:20 am:

RadioX, I have done some thinking about that and figured that oldies 100.3 would work if there is a second frequency available. Some stations have secondary frequency's notable in this state with WROX 96.1 out of norfolk, which has a signal for downtown norfolk on 106.1. With the shake up at radio richmond, possibly making 1480 the talk station and 990 oldies, it would give richmond a FM oldies station where the signal won't die out at night.
Question for the board.....Is the X and Y101 really going to keep up the lead on the Q, or will Q come back....just a random thought.

Urbanguy (Urbanguy)

Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 6:10 pm:

WWBT reports that Eric E. "Rick" Stanley of Bee Bop Boogie and Blues Review fame (Magic105.7)
died today of cancer. He will be missed.

Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 10:06 am:

Eric was a great DJ who will be sorely missed on the local airwaves. A true public servent.

Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 2:22 pm:

ESPN Richmond was a stillbirth. AAA on 107.3? Oldies on 100.3? Talk on 1480? Hmmmmmm....Mr. Bopst, do you know anything on the fate of 1320? will you be broadcasting on a different R.R. station if WVNZ changes formats? Do you do anything else at R.R. besides your show?

Does anybody know what RadioOne Y 101 sounded like? Different DJs? Different Liners? was the music any better?

By the way, I never thought that the X would beat Q or B in the ratings! I guess someone besides me listens to the X.

Interesting note: Orlando is in an Alternative War as are we. CC's WJRR segued from Rock to Alt. around the same time as XL 102. They are fighting against Infinity's WOCL "O-Rock". As Bopst said before, the X and Y battles are about as funny as Coke and Pepsi. Coke comes out with a new flavor, Pepsi makes the same flavor. We ought to brace ourselves for a long battle, and right now, neither X nor Y has blinked.

Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 3:26 pm:

That's awful about E.E. Stanley.

RadioX: It's interesting to note that ESPNRichmond isn't off the air yet. Maybe they were having technical problems a couple Sunday nights ago, when I posted. Anyway, the best (and worst)of them have screw-ups; yesterday, 910 was stuck on the Premiere Radio Network feed during what should have been commercial blocks in the Jim Rome Show. ("Notice to affiliates: The Jim Rome Show begins at six minutes past the hour. . . . ") Then again, CC Richmond demonstrates precious little interest in putting out a quality product---especially during the nights and weekends, when hourly FOXSportsRadio updates routinely butt into O's games or ESPN Radio MLB/NBA playoff games or CBS Radio NFL games or whathaveyou.

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 4:59 am:

That is sad about Eric E Stanley, who was a great legend in Richmond radio. God bless you Mr Stanley and may angels send thee to thy rest.
We have now between the X 102.1 and Y101 the great alternative rock showdown. I admit for not giving the X a chance, but now i see a possible actual knock down fight here folks. espeically if the ratings for both stations continue to beat out B103 and Q94 while the ratings of X and Y continue to slowly increase. Here is to a good old fashion radio war between the two and may the best station win. As I tend to admit things in here, the X wins out at my house as the station of choice.
If I were to be main quad, I would be at the fcc begging for new licence to upgrade my two fm stations, or get secondary frequency's put in. When one or the other is done for 100.3 and 107.3, keep 107 the way it is. Let 100.3 go oldies. Chris, yes I love the AAA format, but with X and Y duking it out, a third station alternative rocker would be killed.
CC can run a urban station and possibly a alternative rocker, but a talk, again, I have said get rid of Dr laura. LIONEL or Tom Leykis should replace her, then go to that overnight guy art bell. coast to coast. Think about it, you have people who talk news stuff all day, why are you doing love advice instead of LIONEL?? Forgot this is cheap channel though, they can't run a news talk station.
Chaser go to www.clearchannelsucks.com i found it one day on msn.
GO SKINS!!!!! and please let them play better than last weekend

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 4:59 am:

Rutabega (Rutabega)

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 12:41 pm:

Why are all the contributors to this board "wanna be's" and "has beens"?

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 1:47 pm:

Rutabaga....
Does that mean that you are the proverbial feces? By all means, enlighten the populace.

Well, well, well��

With 1320 going Hispanic and the new 1340 broadcast range not going to cover downtown, I�m moving my show to WCLM 1450 AM starting Thursday October 2nd running the same hours as I have been (Thursdays & Fridays 5-8 PM). I�m taking the month of September off. Radio Richmond wants to maintain their adherence to �the music of your life� format and without reaching downtown Richmond, they don�t have a place for me. Oh well, Mike introduced me to Preston & a deal was made so that I can keep on doing what I love. Any comments, suggestions or advice anyone can give me concerning 1450? Sure, I�d love to be on an FM station, but, as we all know, I could never do what I do on any of the local FM stations. Am I wrong?

Dan�
My dream station would be an alternative to the alternative. Again, my dream station would be run by local DJ�s playing all types of music not just boring agro, white boy commercial hits exclusively. Gospel, hip-hop, jazz, punk, funk, dance, folk, electronic, classical, etc. all on one station would be a true alternative. The x and the y aren�t anything even remotely related to what I think a great station could, would or should be other than their massive respective broadcast ranges. They, the x & the y, are certainly pro, but essentially, they are Coke & Pepsi. As I have said before, is it impossible to think that there is some corner of the market for this type of station?

Oh, and by the way, GO SKINS!!!!!!!

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 2:34 pm:

I don't know Rutabega. Would you like to troll on our board?

Dan, I'll check out the site. Sounds good.

Bopst, congratulations on holding on to your show.

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 5:35 pm:

Congrats on the new gig Bopst! On the plus side you will have about 930 watts more than you did with the old one. Also, if memory serves me, WCLM had Web Streaming at one time and perhaps you could persuade them to bring that back. Keep up the good work. Trust me, your perseverance will pay off in time.

Posted on Monday, August 18, 2003 - 8:12 am:

Congrats Bopst for hanging on to the show. I'm saddened that you couldn't hold on to a decent spot at R.R.. I checked your show out a few weeks ago, and sadly, you're right, no FM would want your show

Oh well, as we all know, all the good stuff in radio got started on the small-time AM stations.

As for X and Y, are there any examples where two alterna-rockers coexisted in a medium-sized market for sometime? 98 Rock, 'HFS, and DC 101 all kinda' coexist, but that's a huge market. I think that X and Y will fight to the death, but whoever survives will win big ratings wise.

Posted on Monday, August 18, 2003 - 12:11 pm:

Just an off note...do you think the reason why news at WNVZ failed because of poor coverage?

Posted on Monday, August 18, 2003 - 1:10 pm:

I think that's it in a nut shell.

Posted on Monday, August 18, 2003 - 1:35 pm:

Wait, maybe that's not the whole reason, but it certainly didn't help matters.

Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 9:29 pm:

Randall Bloomquist's horrible reign of terror is over! From dcrtv.com:
Randall Bloomquist joins ABC's news talk WMAL as operations director. He comes from Clear Channel's Richmond cluster, where he was AM operations director. He oversaw news talk WRVA, sports talk WRNL, and the Virginia News Network. Before that, he was news and program director at WBT radio in Charlotte. Bloomquist grew up in Severna Park and is a graduate of the University Of Maryland. He's worked for trade pub Radio And Records, and has written for the Washington Post, Washington Times, City Paper, Adweek, and Regardie's. Bloomquist starts on 9/2.

Who's the corporate lackey next in line here?

Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - 6:05 am:

WMAL? Jackson Weaver will turn over in his grave. What was ABC thinking of? Might just as well write the obit for a once great DC station. He will probably turn it to Disney.

Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - 7:15 pm:

No, I'm sure Bloomquist will be quite happy with WMAL---as he'd say, "good old conservative talk." Somehow needs to pry Savage from WTNT, then the circle would be complete.

Jimherring (Jimherring)

Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2003 - 1:15 pm:

Regarding the earlier post about WBZU (104.7 AND 106.5), I have the aircheck of the station first going on the air. The original lineup on 104.7 was:

6 AM - 10 AM: JJ Quest
10 AM - 3:00 PM: Mike (jailbird) Scott
3:00 - 7:00 PM: Slater
7:00 - 12:00 MID: Rebecca Wilde
12:00 MID - 6:00 AM: Jim Herring

The station was originally set-up to combat 106.5 WVGO. Unfortunately, the best station ever in Richmond (in my opinion) WVGO decided to react instead of stay the course. WVGO was bought by Ken Brown and ABS radio (owners of 104.7 The Buzz) and, for a very short time, the Buzz was simulcast on both 104.7 AND 106.5 (the best signal in Richmond). The first song simulcast on BOTH stations was Alice In Chains "Over Now" at 3:00 PM.

Jimherring (Jimherring)

Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2003 - 1:35 pm:

By the way, I don't know who stated that the Buzz was just 6,000W but it was anything but. It was either 50,000 or 100,000 and heard in about 80% of the state. Killer signal area but, unfortunatey, bad penetration in some areas even in Richmond (Broad and 64 near the Hyatt, etc.).

Posted on Friday, August 22, 2003 - 7:50 am:

Thanks for the info, Jim...I didn't know that the Buzz had a 24-hour DJ schedule! Learn something new every day...by the way, I collect airchecks (in case folks don't know), I would kill for the aircheck you have, Jim. We'll have to work out a trade or something...

Now wasn't Slater and Jim both at WVGO? or did they start out at the Buzz, and when ABS took over WVGO, did they fire all the old voices and just give the Buzz jocks double duty?

WBZU was 100,000 watts at 104.7. While the signal in Richmond was not grade A, I picked it up when I lived in Fredericksburg before WGRX signed on, and the signal was listenable in the northern part of the RDU Triangle.

When WBZU was on 106.5, they operated from their current stick in W. Midlo., right?

Posted on Friday, August 22, 2003 - 8:14 am:

Jim, welcome to the board from the poster who was Internet Listener from the old days of the public posting days. I made that mistake about the wattage and yes we can both agree, Mike Scott was and still is a jailbird. I miss the old WVGO days, and I can remember Will Robinson doing the Flashback cafe at noon, playing great 80's stuff that today is sadly ignored by the masses these days.
I think the stick for WVGO has always been on the W Mildo area, but I could be wrong. AS of now though, it has moved i would assume to the CC studio's on Basie Road.

Posted on Friday, August 22, 2003 - 10:08 am:

Suprisingly, 106.5 is still in W. Midlo

Posted on Friday, August 22, 2003 - 10:55 am:

Anybody else read Ray McAllister's scathing assessment of Bloomquist�s tenure on WRVA in the Metro section of today�s Dispatch?
Here are some of my favorite lines.

�The hatred this man (Bloomquist) engendered is hard to overstate.�

�Bloomquist was the face of evil�

�Enter Clear Channel, the San Antonio, Texas, conglomerate that never saw a bottom line it couldn�t approve. Positions were slashed at its half-dozen stations here. Longtime Richmond voices were stilled.�

�Bloomquist, the hatchet man for Clear Channel� AM radio stations, is surely the most hated man in the history of Richmond radio. Is there even a No. 2?�

Posted on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 7:57 am:

What station is going to be going out of the Richmond Radio landscape soon? What are your thoughts? My rating of format stablility goes from a 1 (bad) to a 5 (good)

92.1 4, but falling fast
93.1 2
94.5 4. Face it, Q is the only real game in town. A major market w/o a Top-40 is a joke.
95.3 5
96.5 5
96.9 2. Does anyone listen to this?
98.1 5
99.3 1. Radio One is shooting itself in the foot by having this as Hip Hop. Change it to Christian Contemporary.
100.3 1. As soon as their contract for ESPN Radio is up, this format is gone.
100.5 3. HaHaHaHa. This station makes an OK amount of money for not being in the RIC Ratings.
101.1 3. See 102.1
102.1 2. X and Y will battle it out to the death. There won't be any "coexistance". Y has brand loyalty, and the X throws free stuff at everyone. I would say this time next year, there will be a clear winner in this category.
103.7 5.
104.7 4
105.7 3
106.5 5. The Beat is in, and the Power has been turned off.
107.3 2/3. This competes with 93.1 as MainQuad's "Cash Cow".
93.1

Posted on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 11:38 am:

I actually do listen to 96.9 a little---it's one of the presets in my car. So is 106.9 from Norfolk, for that matter. 96.9 shifted slightly about a year or two ago, from "classic hits" (way heavy on Elton John) to "classic rock" (but not quite as predictable as the Planet, IMHO). The vartv synopsis of 96.9 is about right, I think---not a DC station, not a Richmond station. They used to call themselves "Richmond's other classic rock station," IIRC. Funny, but not the way to market a winner. I think they do okay in Fredericksburg.

Re: 100.3, it's really too bad it has such signal limitations. ESPN puts out a better product than FOXSports, and judging by the local "sportscenter" updates, it appears the station really does care about the Richmond area---unlike 910, which basically serves as a second-level pawn.

Posted on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 3:50 pm:

I would agree with you on 100.3. I would not say the signal limits it too much. If anything, the bleeding from 100.1 and (to a point) 100.5 have some effect. If we remember, J 100.3 earned ok ratings. Its just that sports is what I call a "class B" format. Class B's are the more specialized formats (Like smooth jazz, all-news, easy listening...etc...etc...) They USUALLY don't earn the same ratings as your class A's (Top 40, Rock, AC...etc...etc...)

As for 96.9, (and all the Free-Lance Star stations), They feature a decent play list, good jocks, and a professional sound. The only thing I don't like about 96.9 is it's POS automation.

Posted on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 6:21 pm:

RadioX: Oh, I agree; sports radio is a niche. I thought 4M made a wise choice _not_ going sports radio, but at the same time, I think an FM station with a good signal going with ESPN Radio and a local interest (especially if it picked up a local team, especially a state college football team) could gain traction and split the ratings pie enough that CC would be forced to do something productive with 910, other than sitting back and running the network feed (other than four hours in the afternoon, when it's often local only in the sense the show originates from Basie Road). Basically, I'm awaiting someone to put up a challenge sufficient that CC acknowledges other options exist. Probably unrealistic, I know.

[To be productive, I'll suggest 910 drop the one-guy know-it-all afternoon drive format and incorporate more of a general-interest, guys ensemble show in the vein of the Sports Junkies or D&M or, yes, O&A but not as vulgar. Something to create a buzz.]

Posted on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 8:28 pm:

OK gang, going to go down the dial like X did and throw in my input for most of them if not all of them, please be patient
92.1- My how the mighty art fallen! Most of us on here can remember a few years back when Power 92 was number 1 in Richmond, now it's in the bottom part of the top 10.
94.5- How does Baise RD feel LOL. It was not long ago that Q actually had listeners to a morning show that was as good as the one on the sister station down the hall, now the whole station has sunk quicker than a person in quicksand
95.3- K95 will ALWAYS be the only country station in town to a lot of folks. You can try to imitate it, but you can never duplicate it.
96.5- Hands down, after JB&B which my gf loves (why is beyond me!) it's a kick ••• station, Dick Hungate has been a part of Richmond radio since i was a kid. The other shows are weak, but hungate is always worth listening into
96.9- When and if the planet gets borning and you are north of town, tune it, good station
98.1- One of the two reasons why CC should be happy with FM here, other reason being 106.5. It will stay the same.
99.3- After the switch from Urban Oldies to Hip Hop, it died fast. It needs to go either christian or oldies to come back.
100.3- Get a second frequency folks so you can reach the area. Once you drive enough west or north you get either 100.1 or 100.5.
100.5- On the nights when 100.3 has been off the air, i have picked it up, and i do like it. Puts out a good signal, given that it is aminly goochland county.
101.1- See 102.1
102.1- Well, we have the hottest radio war since the 70's war between WLEE and WGOE. Loser will change up format a little but expect this to last a while longer than expected, especially when you are beating Q94 and B103.