THE CENTRAL FLORIDA RADIO AND TELEVISION LIST By Marc Manis Well, here it is again, ladies and germs...the third annual Central Florida Radio and Television station roster. As in the past, I will list all the broadcast stations in the greater Orlando area, with a brief bio on each. The observations and opinions expressed herein are entirely those of the writer. He is quite open to corrections and suggestions, but his attitudes will not be changed without his approval! ********** TELEVISION WESH-TV (Daytona Beach) Channel 2; NBC; H & C Communications Co. Once regarded as an outsider with a fuzzy signal, Channel 2 has, over the years, established itself firmly in the market. H & C's commitment is underscored with two brand-new, state-of-the-art facilities in both Daytona Beach, its city of license, and in Orlando. Their local news has moved up to a solid number two in the ratings. Of course, having NBC's winning prime-time lineup doesn't hurt either! WESH is heavily involved in community efforts. Their air personalities are a familiar sight at Central Florida art festivals and fund raisers. (At press time, WESH is in the process of being purchased by Young Broadcasting Inc.) WCPX-TV Channel 6; CBS; First Media Corporation. Formerly WDBO-TV. First Media purchased Channel 6, its first and only television property (they owned 11 radios at the time), in 1986 for a dizzying $200 million, and it's all been downhill from there. With a pinched wallet and little knowledge of what makes TV tick, Worst Greedia...er, First Media has dragged the station down to third place in local news (fourth at 11 PM, behind Arsenio on Channel 35). The firing of a popular weatherman in 1988 (and his replacement by a blonde weatherbimbo), the cancellation of the 5:30 PM news for sitcoms, the lack of a satellite truck, the replacement of CBS News Nightwatch by the Home Shopping Network---all these things and more have virtually decimated 6's news image. During the weekend overnight hours, they run "Used Car Video Classifieds," a repeating parade of used car dealers peddling their clunkers. And that's not all, folks. WCPX remains one of only two CBS affiliates in the top 30 markets that has not gone stereo. (NOTE: If the writer's critique of Channel 6 seems a little more harsh than what is accorded other stations, it's because he had given their Engineering Department nine loyal years when they laid him off for "fiscal" reasons.) WFTV Channel 9, ABC; Cox Communications. Formerly WLOF-TV. Until 1984, WFTV was the area's only locally-owned television corporation. Its purchase by SFN for a then (and now)-scandalous $125 million made millionaires out of a lot of locals who owned blocks of stock in the station. SFN's sale of WFTV to Cox (ten months later) for $185 million, paid down a small part of SFN's leveraged-buyout induced debt. Nevertheless, Channel 9 rightfully calls itself "Central Florida's News Leader," with solid number-one ratings around the clock. Recently, despite the downturn in the TV biz (and massive layoffs, one of which caught the writer during a vacation-relief stint last year), they launched the area's only local morning newscasts at 8 AM and noon. WFTV moved to a new $20 million facility in 1990. Their old building, located in a rather scruffy part of Orlando, is now a homeless shelter. Wonder what station they watch over there? Moreover, are there any laid-off employees living there? WKCF (Clermont) Channel 18, Independent, Press Broadcasting Co. WKCF made its debut in 1988 on channel 68, broadcasting with 2.2 megawatts ERP from a tower located between Daytona and Orlando. Last October, they switched to channel 18, with an ERP of 5 megawatts (in stereo) from a 1500-foot stick in O'Town's antenna farm. Needless to say, they've arrived! TV-18 is the flagship of the Orlando Magic NBA basketball club. They are known for their catchy logo, their extensive movie library (including a show at midnight called "Bad Science Fiction and Horror"), and promos featuring average people in location shots calling out "I'm on T-V AYYYYYYYYYYYYT-TEEN!!!" WMFE-TV Channel 24, PBS, Community Communications of Orlando. Nothing out of the ordinary here...just your garden-variety public television station. They are about to complete construction on a new facility, housing both themselves and their sister FM station, WMFE-FM (90.7 mHz), in January 1992. Since 1965, Channel 24 has been satisfying the needs of PBS fans, but has been accused of pre-empting some shows that offend Central Florida's dominant religious right. They recently displayed their mettle by announcing their plans to air "Tongues Untied," a part of the "P.O.V." ("Point Of View") series, which displayed graphic scenes of black male homosexual love-making. In spite of the Thumpers' threats to withdraw their support, WMFE stood its ground and aired it. Many major-market PBS stations didn't do it, fearing similar backlash. Way to go, 24!! WOFL Channel 35, Independent/FOX, Meredith Corporation. Formerly WSWB-TV. O'Town's oldest indie, Channel 35 first debuted as WSWB-TV (Sun World Broadcasting) in the early '70s, but an economic downturn, coupled with the owner's conviction on racketeering and tax evasion, caused its carrier to be dropped for a while. It reappeared on Central Florida TV screens as WOFL in 1979. Since its rebirth, "Fox-35" has been doing rather well. Their Fox network lineup has bode well for them, particularly on Sunday nights. As mentioned earlier, their airing of Arsenio Hall at 11PM has given the net affiliates' local news a headache or two. WOFL built a new facility in 1986. An in-house production company has also been well-received in the business community. WBSF Channel 43 (Melbourne); Home Shopping Club; Blackstar of Florida. Formerly WMOD-TV, WKNA-TV. Born in 1982 with a weak, out-of-town signal, Channel 43 tried valiantly but unsuccessfully to compete as an independent. Press Broadcasting realized this early, waved the white flag and sold the station to Blackstar, a minority-owned subsidiary of the Home Shopping Club. (Press later went on to Orlando to start WKCF-Channel 68, now channel 18). Except for the occasional community service or religious program, it's 24 hours of show-and-sell. WTGL Channel 52 (Cocoa); Religious; Good Life Broadcasting of Florida. At the same time Channel 43 hit the air, so did TV-52. In fact, they share the same feedline, the same transmitting antenna (one of the first such shared facilities in the country)---and the same fuzzy off-air signal on Orlando TV sets. Fortunately for both of them, the local cable outlet carries them. WTGL is owned and operated by Clearwater, Florida-based Christian Television Network, and a significant part of their programming is carried off satellite from CTN. Many local evangelists and ministries have established a beachhead at TV-52, which recently shut down its Cocoa studio and moved to Orlando. They haven't yet gone stereo, but if you send your love offerings to the...oh, never mind. WACX Channel 55 (Leesburg); Religious; Sharp Communications Inc. Formerly WIYE-TV. It all started, as Ted Baxter would put it, on a small cable company's public access channel in Leesburg, a tiny community about forty miles from Orlando. Claud and Freda Bowers began a TV ministry that would eventually give way to a five megawatt signal from an antenna some 1750 feet in the air--a signal so potent that many Orlando viewers don't even need a loop antenna on their TV's UHF terminals to get it clearly. Good thing, too--the local cable company doesn't carry Channel 55 except for a few hours in the early morning. Like TV-52, WACX is your standard Christian television outlet. No surprises here. *********** RADIO-AM WGTO (Pine Hills); 540 KHz; Unistar Radio Network. Florida Media Inc. The lowest frequency on the AM dial, 50 kW full-time. No problem hearing this one, right? Wrong, millivolt mouth. A new six-tower directional array generates such a weird pattern that there are many spots in the area where WGTO can't be heard, period. WGTO was originally located in, and licensed to, Cypress Gardens, the famous Florida tourist attraction. For years, the station broadcast a country format, but the rise in FM blew them away, and they went religious. Then, in 1990, the station was purchased by a group of investors, moved to Orlando, and programmed oldies. (If I hear them play "L'il 'GTO" one more time, I'm gonna...) WGTO recently dumped most of its live on-air jocks in favor of bird-droppings from Unistar. They did, however, retain veteran local personality Perry Moore in the morning. As a stand-alone AM, WGTO is not without its woes, but like Pee Wee Herman, it seems to be holding its own. WDBO; 580 KHz; ABC Radio Network. New City Communications. Orlando's oldest station, news/talk WDBO was born in the Rollins College Physics lab in 1924, and has been flying high ever since. It was once co-owned with WDBO-TV (now WCPX-TV) channel 6, and is still paired with WWKA (92.3 mHz), better known as country K92-FM. WDBO repeatedly pulls big numbers thanks to syndicated hosts like Bruce Williams and Rush Limburger...er, Limbaugh. Flagship for the UF Gators AND the FSU Seminoles is major draw. Morning man Jim Turner is market longevity leader (twenty years). WWNZ; 740 KHz; CBS Radio Network. Paxson Communications, Inc. Formerly WKIS, WORZ. Flagship for the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team, "TalkRadio 740-WNZ" upgraded last year to a new 50 kW directional signal. They are best noted for their liberal-leaning local talkshow hosts, Clive Thomas and Jim Philips--a sharp contrast to what is usually heard on Orlando's play-it-safe, conservative airwaves. Other talk shows include Tom Snyder, Alan Combes and Barry Farber. Sister station is WHVE (104.1 mHz), known as "104.1-THE WAVE." WOMX-AM; 950 KHz; Nationwide Communications, Inc. Formerly WBJW-AM, WCOT, WLOF. Once O'Town's premier AM rocker (WLOF), it's now a mere simulcaster to sister station WOMX-FM, known as MIX 105.1. What a waste of electricity. There is hope, though. At press time, an Hispanic broadcasting group has made an offer for the station. WHOO; 990 KHz; TK Communications Inc. Formerly WMMA, WHOO-AM. At one time, this 50 kW blowtorch was the country giant of Central Florida. But increased FM competition and a market record station sale ($13.5 million) has thrown the owers, er, owners into the penny-pinch mode. WHOO brokers blocks of time to anyone who flashes cash. Gospel in morning drive, Caribbean/Reggae on the weekends for the area's growing West Indian population, the odd (often VERY odd) religious program, even French language broadcasts--this is just a sampling of what you'll hear. During unsold periods, WHOO simulcasts AOR sister station WHTQ (96.5 mHz), known as Q96-FM. Quite a departure from its C & W salad days, when yours truly did nights there (1979-81). WONQ; 1140 KHz; 11-Q Radio, Inc. Orlando's oldest Spanish station, "Once-Q" is planning to move from its present daytime-only assignment to a full-time 1030 kHz slot, increasing power to 10 kW in the process. Hasta la vista, WBZ. WAJL (Pine Castle/Sky Lake); 1190 KHz; Allalujah Ministries, Inc. Formerly WWLD, WREM, WHHL, WDZY. Awright---three guesses, and the first two don't count. Here's a hint: the call stands for "We Acclaim Jesus Lord." Figure out the format yet? You're right...satanic heavy-metal! But seriously folks, these people have established themselves well as Central Florida's contemporary Christian radio station, playing many upbeat inspirational selections by up and coming artists. They started, in 1977, on 1440 kHz with a full-time signal, but a purchase offer, coupled with a desire to eliminate the need to broadcast at night on the subsistant AM band, led them to become "The Almighty's 1190". Their presence here, since 1987, has provided stability to a frequency that has seen just about every format in the book, including "visitor information radio" aimed at tourists (that one lasted four months). WHBS (Eatonville); 1270 KHz; CBS Hispanic Radio Network; Vision Broadcasting Co. Formerly WHIY, WORL, WBZS. WHBS (Hispanic Broadcasting System) arrived last September, and not a moment too soon. The station was on the brink of extinction when its Vision Broadcasting decided to broker the facility full-time from its present owers (spelling intentional), who bought what was then black-urban WORL for $1.6 million in 1987. Since that time, the station carried the Business Radio Network and ethnic programming before going Spanish. Known as Cosmos 1270, WHBS has carved out an important niche in Central Florida's growing Hispanic market, particularly with its extensive sports programming (they carried the 1991 World Series) and news commitment (they simulcast WESH-TV Channel 2's 6 PM news in Spanish). WPRD (Winter Park); 1440 KHz; CNN Headline News; Metroplex Broadcasting Co. Formerly WAJL; WBJW-AM; WNBE; WABR. Before joining CNN in March of this year, WPRD was "The Imagination Station," programming exclusively for kids. The parent company tried unsuccessfully to establish a satellite network, but had only one other outlet (KKDS in Salt Lake City) when it pulled the plug. In addition to CNN, WPRD also sells block programming to outside interests, including the Sun Radio Network and Caribbean broadcasters. WUNA (Ocoee); 1480 KHz; WVCF, Inc. Formerly WVCF. For the longest time a small-town G-d station, this 1-kW peanut-whistle is now Hispanic, with a smattering of religion. Will they make it? Stay tuned. WTLN (Apopka); 1520 KHz; Alton Rainbow Broadcasting Co. Until recently, this daytimer's sole purpose was to simulcast its FM sister, religious WTLN-FM (95.3 mHz). Now known as "1520-The Word," they are now going separate with Southern gospel music. WXTO (Winter Garden); 1600 KHz; Champion Broadcasting Inc. Formerly WXXO, WOKB. For the most part, "El Super Equis" is Hispanic, but it also brokers time to other interests. It had, until recently, simulcasted its broadcast day on WXXU in Cocoa (1300 kHz), but economic straits have caused them shut that station down. ******** RADIO-FM WUCF; 89.9 MHz; The Board of Regents, University of Central Florida. Formerly WFTU. WUCF is your typical student-programmed college station, but it wasn't always like that. In 1984, an autocratic station manager (who, unlike the students, was a paid university employee) pulled all rock from WUCF and programmed big band and classical music, so as to attract corporate underwriters. This move backfired, and, inspired by student protests, the rock rolled again. WMFE-FM; 90.7 MHz; Community Communications of Orlando. Born in 1980, FM-90.7 is your typical National Public Radio affiliate. In addition, they have a strong commitment to local news coverage despite ever-present budget straits. Co-owned with WMFE-TV Channel 24, they are in the process of building a new facility at their present location. WPRK (Winter Park); 91.5 MHz; Rollins College. Another student signal in the market, WPRK is almost totally student programmed. There is, in addition, a tremendous dose of highbrow classical music to satisfy the taste of Winter "Pahhhk's" affluent power elite. WWKA; 92.3 MHz; New City Communications, Inc. Formerly WDBO-FM. In 1983, Katz Broadcasting (which later became New City) shocked O'town by dropping the market-leading beautiful music format of WDBO-FM and going country. At that time, the C & W audience was in the firm grip of WHOO AM-FM, and many industry experts questioned Katz's wisdom. But the strategy worked. Since then, Arbitron after Arbitron shows K92-FM as no less than fifth in the market, 12-plus overall, and number one during most books. The WHOO stations, on the other hand, are now a memory. K92-FM is co-owned with AM market leader WDBO (580 KHz). WWLV (Daytona Beach); 94.5 MHz; Root Communications, Inc. Formerly WNDB-FM. Although located in Daytona, Love 94.5 caters to Orlando via a 1500-foot tower located midway between the two cities. As the name suggests, they lean toward soft rock. Most recently, they have started to trend lower, having acquired the PD and others from kiddie-rock WXXL (XL 106.7 FM). Root also owns co-located full-service WNDB (1150 kHz). WTLN-FM (Apopka); 95.3 MHz; Alton Rainbow Broadcasting Co. Central Florida's only commercial Christian FM, WTLN-FM has operated on a tight budget from the get-go in 1964. All together now: "How tight IS it?" It is SOOOOOOOO tight, that only this past year did WTLN-FM begin broadcasting in stereo . They also, only recently, went 24 hours, so Central Florida's late night religion addicts now have a place to turn to hear fire-breathing evangelists go thump in the night. More new developments: the WTLN stations moved to a new building last year, and recently began programming separately from its sister AM, daytimer WTLN-AM (1520 kHz), which now airs Southern gospel music. WHTQ; 96.5 MHz; TK Communications, Inc. Formerly WHOO-FM. Known as Q96-FM, album rock WHTQ was born in 1987, shortly before TK bought it and WHOO (990 kHz) for a market-record $13.5 million. They've been bending pennies in half ever since. Although successfully giving crosstown AOR competitor WDIZ (100.3 mHz) a run for the money, high jock turnover has given WHTQ the acronym "We Hire Talent Quarterly." It wasn't always this way. As WHOO-FM, they were the first Orlando-based country FM, and were trucking along well before K92-FM came around and slashed its tires. Before that, they were playing beautiful music (yours truly did morning drive there in 1979-80). WPCV (Winter Haven); 97.5 MHz; Hall Communications, Inc. Formerly WHFL. Hall made a valiant effort to market 97-Country as a viable Orlando station a few years ago, building a thousand-foot tower about thirty miles south of O-Town and opening a local office. But WPCV was no match for country blowtorch K92-FM, and the Orlando facility was closed. They are co-located, in Winter Haven, with WONN-AM (1230 kHz), which at last glance was feeding on bird droppings. WMMO; 98.9 MHz; Granum Broadcasting, Inc. Formerly WEZO-FM. It's probably one of the greatest success stories in Orlando radio--and, for that matter, the radio business in general. WMMO hit the airwaves in August, 1990, as a brand-new signal dedicated to the proposition that the listener wants to hearmusic--no contests, no hype, with the titles of songs back-announced. The plan worked. Playing soft rock and roll, 98.9 FM was rated third in the market in its first-ever ARB, and has hovered around there ever since. Their format is even being syndicated around the country! WMMO is unique from a technical aspect, too; it boasts the nation's only indoor transmitting antenna. It's located atop the SunBank Building in downtown O'Town, about 500 feet above ground, inside one of the structure's four fiberglass turrets. WDIZ; 100.3 MHz; Shamrock Broadcasting Co. Formerly WKIS-FM. Central Florida's most notable AOR for the past twenty years, "Rock 100" recently shot itself in the foot big time when it fired low-trending but popular morning jocks Baxter and Mark and started simulcasting Ron and Ron of Tampa's WYNF. While they may have saved themselves a ton of money in salaries (B & M were pulling down six figs apiece), the PR fallout over the move has been devastating. There has not been this much protest over a chowder-headed personnel move since...well, since Channel 6 fired their weatherman! WVRI (Cocoa Beach); 101.1 MHz; Capitol Broadcasting Company. Formerly WSTF, WCKS. Diabetics beware---Variety 101's CHR programming is so sweet and pure, you'd best keep your insulin nearby. Don't get me wrong. WVRI is one the buttons on my car radio. One can always count on them for the hit music of the "60's, 70's, 80's and 90's." It's just that their programming and personalities are so safe, friendly and unthreatening, I could have sworn they fitted their transmitting antenna with a condom. WCKS, which gained notoriety during the 60's and 70's as Cocoa Beach rocker CK-101, was purchased by Capitol in 1984. They rode the docket 80-90 train into Orlando aboard a new 1500-foot tower (along with three other stations), and immediately dumped CK's rock format, callsign and moniker in favor of Star 101. In the process, they went with a safe music schedule, stripped their air personalities of all flavor and wit, and became the "station that YOU are building." This year, they kept the format but changed call letters and nickname. Sorry. I like the old CoKe better. WJHM (Daytona Beach); 101.9 MHz; Beasley Broadcasting Inc. Formerly WORZ, WCFI, WDOQ, WQXQ, WMFJ-FM. As you may have guessed by its many previous calls, these folks have been around (and ON) the block a little. You could tune to 101.9 mHz and, if you didn't like what you heard, all you had to do was wait about, oh, five minutes, and the format would change. The Beasley Boys brought this ridiculous merry-go-round to a halt when they bought the Daytona-based station in 1988 and filled what had been a gaping hole in the Central Florida radio landscape--a need for a black-urban FM. Not surprisingly, 102-Jamz is now one of the most listened-to stations in the market, thanks in part to its willingness to do the unexpected. When their morning man joked about shooting police dogs , there was such an uproar in the community that 102-Jamz appeased them by buying them a new police dog. They named him Jammer. WLOQ (Winter Park); 103.1 MHz; Gross Communications Company. It's the weakest commercial signal in the market, but that hasn't stopped WLOQ from carving out an important niche for itself by programming to Central Florida's modern jazz lovers. They regularly sponsor local concerts, thus building a very loyal following. Their fresh sound is a welcome island in an ocean of idiocy. It's also where yours truly hangs his headphones on the weekends. WHVE (Cocoa Beach); 104.1 MHz; Paxson Communications Inc. Formerly WZTU, WSSP, WRKT-FM, WKPE. Originally on Florida's Space Coast, these folks Docket 80-90'ed into Orlando in 1985 as WSSP-Whisper 104, then the area's only beautiful music outlet. They were quite well received, as O'Town's last beautiful music station, WDBO-FM, changed to country K92-FM in 1983, and had been sadly missed by the area's Poly-Grippers. But as the area's population trended down in age, they could no longer whisper. Last year, rocker WZTU-U104 was born, but the Paxson people decided to make some cosmetic changes, and the station was re-christened "104-1 THE WAVE." WZTU is co-owned with talk radio WWNZ (740 kHz). WOMX-FM; 105.1 MHz; Nationwide Communications. Formerly WBJW. MIX 105.1 promotes itself as "the 50-50 mix of yesterday and today." Sounds like a good excuse to play whatever the hell they want and call it a format. Before getting mixed up, they were WBJW, better known as BJ-105, and were one of the Southeast's premier rockers. Then, a couple of years ago, Nationwide moved to the side of the older baby boomers and started catering to a blend of oldies and newsies. Since then, it's tolerable but bland. MIX 105.1 is simulcast on WOMX-AM (950 kHz). WOCL (Deland); 105.9 MHz; American Media, Inc. Formerly WELE. Better known as "Cool 105.9," these folks have made their mark among Central Florida's oldies fans. Highly successful, they own the format here. Their killer signal (100 kW ERP at 1750 feet) has been heard in north Florida and southern Georgia. WXXL (Leesburg); 106.7 MHz; Tucker Broadcasting Inc. Formerly WHLY, WCAT, WHLY, WLBE-FM. Central Florida's kiddie rocker, also known as XL-106.7, is very popular with the 90210 crowd. This station seems to want to push the envelope of irritation with insipid DJ's and noxious chatter. It was, at one time, the home of the abysmal Bubba the Love Sponge. Enough said. WMGF (Mount Dora); 107.7 MHz; Metroplex Communications. Formerly WJYO, WORJ. Known as "Magic 107.7 FM," WMGF caters to adult music tastes. It's the station you hear on more telephone on-hold systems in O'Town than anyone else--a tribute to its safe nature. ******** Well, that's it for this go-round. Please feel free to contact me on CIS if you've any comments, corrections or compliments. Better yet, let's see some lists from other markets! Marc Manis Mancom, Incorporated CIS # 70402,1426 Marc Manis