D.C. Radio Stations Reshuffle Formats, But Classical Stays On

WRC TV, Washington, D.C. & AP ^ | January 22, 2007 | NBC 4.com

[GAB-1955]

WASHINGTON -- Classical music lovers in the D.C. area could breathe a sigh of relief Monday: The format will not disappear from the airwaves as previously feared.

The company that owned the region's only classical station, WGMS-FM, had been in talks to sell it to Daniel Snyder, the owner of the Washington Redskins, who was expected to make it into an outlet for sports programming. ...

As Salt Lake City-based Bonneville International Corp. and public radio WETA-FM were announcing the deal at 3 p.m., a disc jockey on WGMS informed listeners that the station was signing off. Bonneville's new station, called George 104, immediately began broadcasting its mix of "'70s, '80s and whatever we want."

Meanwhile, WETA, which had dropped the classical format in 2005 for all news and public affairs programming, was to go back to classical at 8 p.m. Monday. Bonneville has agreed to donate its 15,000-disc classical library to WETA...

[GAB-1955]

Meanwhile, the granola crunchy NPR fans are furious that they can only hear ONE NPR station in the Washington, D.C. Area, WAMU. Some of them are also angry that once-funny blue-state humorist Garrison Keilor's "Prairie Home Companion" has gone, as well as the most boring folk music program I have even heard, Mary Cliff's "Traditions." On the WETA blog, http://weta.org/fm/blog/, they scream their anger. Well, not only are these programs redundant, they're expensive, and WETA can rely on the fans of classical music to support the station. I love it. The only NPR nonsense I hear is the hourly newscast. Good bye, taxpayer-supported radio! More music from Dead White Men!

[unkus]

Granola crunching NPR fans unhappy makes me HAPPY.

[Romanov]

Yes, and now I can preset 90.1 on my radio dial again.

[Fairview]

I'm just furious that Mary Cliff was on so long, boring me to death and inserting little political jabs into her remarks about the music. Geez, I got sick of hearing sixties protest songs and old Woodie Guthrie commie songs. Garrison Keilor was good many years ago, but that was many years ago. If we can now hear classical music on the dial, I'm okay with it (but I'll miss Renee Cheney's lovely mellow voice telling me what I'm about to hear).

[cmsgop]

I hope Bonn does somthing fun in Seattle as well.

[bobby.223]

speaking of radio, a week or so ago drudge had a story up about a national radio host and a prostitute. anybody hear anymore about the story or who was involved?

[unkus]

I haven't heard anything.

[Thrownatbirth]

Thank God.

I would occasionally listen on the car radio to that depressing, monotone liberal drone until someone used the word "progressive" one too many times. Then I would angrily change the station button with my foot.

[GAB-1955]

It doesn't matter if you have talent, or an interesting voice, as long as you're "progressive!" I will miss the WGMS announcers, who were a fine bunch, and Viva La Voce, the opera station. I won't miss the rest.

Mary Cliff should have been fired years ago for not caring about the listeners. Bring back Dick Cerri!

[Criminal Number 18F]

We have commercial classical radio in Boston. One of the few nice things about living in a metacenter of moonbattery.

Even better, they play baroque music quite heavily.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[agrarianlady]

Well, it's more of a wash.

107.1 FM and 1500 AM (WTOP) went to 103.5 FM (which used to be WGMS). (They said it was because 103.5 was a better frequency, but it's much worse for us than 107.1 here west of Washington D.C).

WGMS then went to 104.1. (Used to be Z104 which was a ratings dud).

107.1 FM is now Washington Post radio. (It's nasty).

So now WGMS is taking over the 90.9 slot. So we lose the whiny voices on 90.9 but are still stuck with them at 107.1.

P.S. I am VERY happy we'll still have a WGMS. It's a wonderful station, especially at Christmas time.

[navyguy]

You folks ever heard Dick Gordon on NPR?

I'm not even sure he's actually male. He is, by FAR, the biggest a## kisser I have EVER heard, anywhere. He is the very definition of weak kneed, ultra liberal, touchy feely radio. Utterly sickening.

[Borges]

Eisenstein does not belong anywhere near the company of Goebbels.

[Felis_irritable]

Waitaminute. *One* classical music station in DC? And it's on and off and on? I'm shocked and dismayed. We have that many classical stations in South Texas, and we're, you know, the land of the uneducated knuckle draggers etc.

Mrs Felis and I scare the cats regularly with a medicinal dose of Bach, or her favorite, what's his name.

[billorites]

[PUGACHEV]

"I'm just furious that Mary Cliff was on so long..."

I had no idea Mary Cliff was still around. What a long time ago it was; I remember listening to her in 1966, when I was only 16. She had an hour-long program of "underground" music: The Ultimate Spinach, Country Joe McDonald, The Doors, The Electric Flag, Terry Reilly & so on. I'd record her program on reel to reel tape, which was really the only way you could record something back then. That world is long since gone; times change, but it's too bad that sometimes people don't.

[xeno]

Tuned into WETA 90.9 and I liked what I heard. Will miss the WGMS personalities.

I listened to this new George 104 format for at bit today because I have 104.1 preset on my car radio. Jack (102.7) is much better.

The Granola Crunchers still also have the leftist WPFW.

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[raccoonradio]

On left (nickname courtesy of Laura Ingraham): "Stale Air"
host Terry Gross-Me-Out.