AM RADIO STATIONS 

A BAND ON THE RUN

by JOEL JACKSON

If you're like most American radio listeners, your dial has turned upside-down in the past decade.  The FM band is now clearly on top, and AM has been described as a "band on the run.'

Broadcasting magazine recently reported that where AM commanded 70 percent of the radio audience in 1973, that same share today has gone to the FM stations.  The publication noted that if the audience change continues as its present rate, there will be zero AM listeners by the mid-1990s, though a leveling off in FM's growth appears to be occurring. 

According to Arbitron surveys, only people over 55 prefer AM to FM overall.  Most people agree that FM's higher music fidelity has been most to thank or blame for the switchover.  In 1961, FM stereo was born, enhancing that advantage.  In the early 1970s, broadcasters began discovering that not only classical and symphonic music listeners appreciated that difference.  You started hearing rock and country on FM.  In a strange twist, since AM stations got more attention from advertisers at that time, FM stations started picking up listeners because they played fewer commercials.  

Many AM stations today are fighting for their very existence and are searching for new ways to revive the oldest radio band.  Most AM stations that have stayed close to the top of the audience figures combine trusted air personalities with reliable news operations.  The program director of one such station, WLW-Cincinnati's Randy Michaels, calls music a conduit, rather than a format for these outlets. 

Locally, WCAW and WCHS fit that full-service mold, each with its own musical niche in the background of the overall station image.  AM also has become the one for a number of specialized music formats.  In Charleston, WTIP has a longstanding reputation for nostalgic music, today delivered via satellite.  Likewise, WKAZ brings urban contemporary music to an area where that format might not be strong enough to support an FM station.

In other parts of the country, AM stations have experimented with such formats as "Car Radio' in Los Angeles, featuring traffic reports and other information important to commuters, and "The Game Zone' in San Francisco, in which a five-hour period of the day is devoted only to audience-participation contests.  WLS in Chicago broadcasts an hour long talk show on sex each night except Sundays when the show lasts three hours.

A tactic other AM stations have found successful is turning to the highly profitable world of religious broadcasting. In many cases, the ratings are not as important to advertisers on these outlets as the long periods of time that can be sold to them to completely deliver their messages.  While WXIT once played rock and WSCW once played country, both are thriving today without particularly high audience figures, thanks to preachers who always pay their bills on time.  

New technology also is being developed to help AM compete.  WQBE-AM now broadcasts in stereo, which some say sounds better than the FM counterpart.  Most new cars include AM stereo receivers, thus starting down a long road toward parity with FM.  Other technological improvements being worked on include ways to boost the high frequencies on AM signals, and a new type of broadcast tower that would deliver a stronger, more concentrated signal to a station's local area. 

Charleston radio in 1986 .....

While no radio ratings were taken by Arbitron in the Charleston metro area last fall, a survey was done of the larger Charleston-Huntington area of dominant influence.  Interpreted, that means the area covered by the local TV stations. 

According to the survey, WAMX in Huntington was the most-listened-to station in the market, with an average of 16,000 listeners over 12 years old.  Next rated were Charleston's WQBE, with an average audience of 12,100; WTCR in Huntington with 10,900; and FM-105, serving both cities, with 9,500.  

Among other Charleston stations, Super 102 and V-100 almost tied, with 6,800 and 6,400 listeners respectively. WCAW led all AM stations in the market, with 4,500.  The Sunday morning jazz show on FM-105 has a new host, station all-night man J.W.  The former host of "Private Collection,' Gary Robertson, has moved on to Dallas.  Jazz fans should be drawn to the tube Saturday night, when WPBY-TV (Channel 33) broadcasts the finale of the 17th annual Marshall University Jazz Festival.  The two-hour special will begin at 8 p.m. 

This was Joel Jackson's last column for the Charleston Gazette.  He accepted a sales position with FM-105 and WKAZ radio.
 

from the CHARLESTON GAZETTE
published February 7, 1986