Everyone knows by now that 1350 WOAM and 94.3 WPMJ have gone off the air. But they deserve a requiem nonetheless.
Although their music was syndicated, 1350 AM had no small amount of local programming. Every morning, there was Breakfast with Royce [Elliott] and Roger [Monroe]. They had a lot of special guests, and of course a lot of humor. And during the summer, they carried the Peoria Chiefs baseball games. I’ll never forget hearing them win the Midwest League championship — an unbelievable come-from-behind win in the ninth inning (naturally, they were still a Cardinals affiliate then). They carried other local sports as well.
I didn’t listen to 94.3 very much, as it was all syndicated oldies music. Occasionally I’d turn it on for a song or two. It took on the oldies format after 93.3 jettisoned their “Big Oldies” moniker. Frankly, I won’t miss this station much, but I will definitely miss 1350. It had a definite local feel to it, without being talk radio. It had a lot of variety, and I’ll miss that.
On a positive note, the paper reports that station owner Bob Kelly “said he would continue to run the Kelly Communications Co. despite the stations being off the air with the hope of eventually bringing the stations back online. ‘I’m going to work full-time on getting financing.’”
So maybe 1350 will be back again someday. Hope so.
This is our chance, Ceej. Let’s you and me and maybe a couple other rich Peoria bloggers buy WOAM. We could do the morning show ourselves. We could hire Jonathan Ahl and Dave Dahl and bring them back to Peoria to handle news duties.
Whadaya say?
I’m in for sports reporting and the 4-8 shift. Two man show. Details at the meeting. Necessary capital on my end may be spotty. My IOU is good, though.
Sounds good to me. Let’s buy the station with a loan we can’t afford, then have the government bail us out. It’ll be a win-win!
WEFT…. seriously… bring that format here.
Mahkno — Do you think there would be enough community support (read: $$$) to support community radio in this area? It ain’t cheap to run a radio station — even a low-powered one.
If the content is good.
WCBU seems to do good (NPR-Classical). WGLT does well enough (NPR-Jazz/Blues). I don’t know how solvent WEFT is but I really like their format. The idea of DJs being DJs and playing anything.. I mean virtually anything (for that shows format) cause WEFT sure got away with it, sure would be appealing. If the station could reach Normal IL, there would be a sizable collegiate audience to support it.
I wonder if WEFT could rebroadcast here like TV stations sometimes do?
I would love to see a community (unaffiliated) station.
Now that Dave Ransburg is at loose ends, maybe he’ll want to invest.
”
What makes WEFT different from all commercial stations and most public radio stations is that we are owned by the community that we serve. Members of WEFT’s Board of Directors are elected by our membership, the Associates, and current Board members. Our programming is selected by the Programming Committee, whose members are elected by the Board and the Associates.
The biggest difference is our relationship with our listeners and our community, a relationship spelled out in our mission statement.
Our Mission Statement tells why Prairie Air exists in the first place, why this particular group of people have come together to make radio. Everything that happens at the station – making a policy decision, evaluating the content of a particular program, or deciding whether or not a specific person is doing their job – is measured against the Mission Statement.
Accessible means that WEFT will strive to make the airwaves available for use by the entire community. This means WEFT will provide the equipment and training necessary for anyone who shows the creativity, initiative, and capability to produce or participate in a radio program.
Responsive means that WEFT will strive to represent those who are under-served and under-represented by other media in our community. This is evident by a quick look at our program guide, which includes programming for women, gays and lesbians, Native Americans, Latino/a’s and others.
We also offer programming that, while not directed at any specific community, is very different from the fare offered elsewhere on the dial: world beat, heavy metal, techno, youth-produced programs, experimental rock, bluegrass, folk, and many other genres.
Diversity is an important area towards which WEFT strives in its programming. WEFT is responsible for providing the community with a forum to voice opinions as well as provide a wide spectrum of music and unique entertainment.
These points define what we aspire to do for our community as well as our volunteers. WEFT makes it possible for members of the general public to broadcast their own programs over their own radio station.”
Wouldn’t there be enough enthusiasts out there to make something like this work for Peoria?
I had no idea this station even existed……Verrrry interesting.