[HCRA] Death of an AM station

[Jim Mullen]

Hey folks,

Last month's guest speaker, Donna Halper, wrote the following article for
the Boston Globe this week. Thought all of us would be interested in her
story of AM and the rise and fall of a small AM station in Quincy. Sort of
reminds us of a few local stations that have gone the same way. WSPR, WREB,
WMAS gone or a shadow of their former self.

See you this Friday at the meeting - finish up those projects!

Jim, KK1W

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 From today's Boston Globe:

A farewell message to WJDA

By Donna L. Halper  |  February 26, 2006  Section:  Globe South, page 3

Most people don't think about a radio station changing format until,
suddenly, it happens. One day, you turn on your favorite station and it's
not there anymore. It's playing programs you don't recognize, or maybe has a
different name.

It's all part of a process that starts when the station is sold. The old
owner departs, and the new owner takes over. People who worked there for
years lose their jobs. Perhaps a small group of fans who liked the old
station will try to save it. They'll write letters and sign petitions. But
the FCC won't step in, and the changes will proceed, whether the public
approves or not. And for those who loved the old station and can't
understand why it's gone, there is a genuine feeling of loss.

That is what's about to happen to WJDA in Quincy. And already a number of
people wish it weren't so.

I've been a radio consultant for more than 25 years, and I've seen my share
of format changes. In our conglomerate world where five big corporations
dominate much of broadcasting, it's getting harder and harder for
independent local owners to survive, particularly those who have only AM
stations. And yet, when I read the news that WJDA was being sold, it made me
sad because this wasn't some abstract station in a distant city. This was
our local station, the voice of Quincy for so many years. And soon that
voice would be silenced.

When WJDA first went on the air, in mid-September of 1947, AM radio was
still dominant and local radio really mattered. Quincy had not had its own
radio station since the late 1920s, when Harry Sawyer operated little WRES
from his Wollaston Radio Electric Shop. WNAC (today WRKO) tried to maintain
a presence in Quincy during the 1930s, but an occasional show with Quincy
performers was not the same as having a local station. So the arrival of
WJDA was met with great enthusiasm. For Quincy's many radio fans, the wait
was finally over.

WJDA immediately made a name for itself. It was live and it was local, and
it was devoted to covering Quincy. The owner was Jim Asher, and he loved
radio (the station's call letters were his initials, for James Dudley
Asher). He did a show called ''Breakfast With JDA," and under his
leadership, the station prospered. When he died in June of 1973, his son Jay
continued the family tradition.

WJDA may have been a suburban station, yet it won a number of awards, and
several of its personalities, notably Ken Coleman and Don Kent, went on to
successful careers in Boston. Over the years, such names as Herb Fontaine,
Roy Lind, and Win Bettinson entertained and informed audiences of all ages. 
And proving it could adapt to changing times, the station even began
offering some programming in Chinese for the city's growing Asian
population.

But gradually, AM lost its influence. Soon, young people were listening to
FM and then to satellite and iPods. The AM audience grew older. By the
1990s, many AM stations were being sold to owners who didn't seem to believe
there was much future for live and local broadcasting. In Boston, AM was
still a force, as heritage stations like WBZ remained on top, but in smaller
markets, the live and local AM went the way of the dinosaur. More and more
AM stations were broadcasting only syndicated programming or using a
satellite service. Even WJDA had to cut back on live programming, although
it continued to have some.

And then, one day, we learned that WJDA was being sold. The new owners
announced plans to turn it into a religious station, even though that format
was already well represented by other stations. They also said after so many
years of representing our city, WJDA was leaving. Once again, Quincy would
have no station of its own, no local news staff, no friendly announcers.

In our modern world of instant communication, with so many choices of media,
it may be difficult for young adults to understand what AM radio meant to
people. Back in WJDA's heyday, people got to know the on-air personalities,
most of whom lived in the community. Even the sponsors became familiar, and
listeners could sing their jingle or recite their slogan. Radio was a
personal medium, keeping the community informed and entertained. When there
was a crisis, you would turn your radio on, and the voice you heard was
reassuring. Perhaps you had a transistor radio that you took to the beach,
or perhaps you listened while you were doing your homework, much to your
parents' dismay. But you couldn't imagine a day without listening -- you
might miss something important.

And maybe that is why many of us will miss WJDA-- we knew we could depend on
it. We knew it would be there. And then everything changed.

Because I still love radio, I hope that Quincy will somehow get another
station. And it will be live and local, and it will ignore the doomsayers
who think AM is dead or people don't care about radio. And somewhere, a new
generation of listeners will emerge and they will love their little radio
station.

But that's in the future. For now, I can only thank the Asher family for
what they did, and mourn the loss of one more local station. Goodbye, WJDA. 
It won't be the same without you.

Donna L. Halper is a radio consultant and media historian. She teaches at
Emerson College and is the author of three books and many articles about
broadcasting.