Shot In The Dark: Right Of The Dial

August 03, 2006

Right Of The Dial

Air America moves to the New York radio equivalent of Siberia:

Next month, it is switching stations - to a weaker AM station, WWRL (1600 AM).

Al Franken and his lefty colleagues are leaving WLIB (1190 AM) apparently because they couldn't come up with enough cash for the owners, former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton and his son, Pierre.

That's gonna leave a mark. The farther right on the dial a station goes, the less range one gets from a given amount of power - an effect that's multiplied in dense urban environments with many radio stations. WWRL has the kind of wattage that AM1280 the Patriot would kill for in the Twin Cities; at 1600KHz in New York, it'll be even more an also-ran than WLIB was.

Oh, yeah - Air America, those guardians of multiculturalism, have knocked another station serving the Afro-Caribbean community off the air by changing WWRL's format.

Posted by Mitch at August 3, 2006 06:11 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Maybe they could apply for a grant from the CPB.

Posted by: Kermit at August 3, 2006 04:17 PM

Gots ta hand it to ye, Mitch--today you managed to work both a Hüsker Dü title and a (take on a) Replacements title as headings. Now THAT is true Twin Cities creativity!

Should entitle you to a freebie at Greg Norton's restaurant, or a free cold one at Paul Westerberg's favorite watering hole.

Speaking of restaurants: My wife and I dined at Da Afghan in Bloomington recently (which I can recommend w/o qualification). We sat at a table where a plaque announced that The Artist Formerly Known As Prince And Now Known As Prince Again had dined back in 1997.

I asked our waiter if he was there that night. "Sure." And His Purpleness? "What a jerk."

Posted by: Pete (Alois) at August 3, 2006 04:56 PM

Have you seen WWRL's signal range? A large chunk goes out to sea...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1676663/posts?page=57#57

Save the whales!

Posted by: Nancy at August 3, 2006 05:48 PM

Isn't it cute the way it tries to act like a real radio network? Brings tears to my eyes. Say, I've got a General Radiotelephone Operator License & a box of old transistors. Maybe I could give them a hand?
Go, little Air America, you go! (sniff).

Posted by: Terry at August 3, 2006 08:28 PM

"A large chunk goes out to sea... "

Why does that seem so fitting? So appropriate?
I know! That's where most of NYC's garbage goes too!

Posted by: Kermit at August 3, 2006 09:08 PM

Sorry to be off topic, but ditto on Da Afgan! It's one of our long-time favorites. They offer a great cookbook, too.

Something else that's delicious: the irony of Air America having to move farther and farther to the right (of the dial) to find a home.

Posted by: Night Writer at August 4, 2006 10:30 AM