PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

50,000 watts of Clear Channel Conservativism from WV to OH
by Denise Grollmus Friday, Mar. 26, 2004 at 4:14 PM
dgrollmus@thebeaconjournal.com 330-996-3527

WWVA's tower will move to Stow, but regular programming such as Rush Limbaugh and conservative Christian talk programs will continue with a boost.

WWVA, the voice of... Stow?
Beacon Journal, March 26, 2004

Clear Channel Communications is making power moves in Stow, where the media monolith hopes to relocate the transmission tower for its Wheeling, W.Va., station WWVA (1170-AM), home of the famous Jamboree USA. Clear Channel applied to the Federal Communications Commission in January to put WWVA's 50,000-watt transmission tower in Stow.

The station's signal already reaches cities as far north as Toronto. "We'd just be under a different signal strength here in Wheeling," said Scott Miller, WWVA's general manager. "The call letters and the talk-radio format would remain the same, but I don't know how it will take shape in the Ohio market."

Stow Mayor Karen Fritschel also doesn't know yet how the transmitter's move would affect her city. "We don't know anything about it. We really don't know what's coming," said Fritschel, who wasn't notified about Clear Channel's plans until the press contacted her for comment Thursday morning.

"Our legal department is looking at this. Our understanding is that our zoning regulations would apply." Fritschel said her office has tried to contact Clear Channel, but it has not returned the calls. "I would have liked it better had they contacted the city of Stow and said they were looking into this move before we were contacted by the media," Fritschel said.

Stow will have plenty of time to consider the implications of the move, however. FCC approval takes "an enormous amount of time," said Miller. A spokesperson for the FCC said that moving the transmitter does not necessarily imply a move for the entire station. A spokesperson for Clear Channel said the move may benefit Stow economically. He didn't say how or why.

WWVA has broadcast Jamboree USA, the second-oldest country music program after the Grand Ole Opry, since 1933. Though the station's format changed from country music to talk in 1996, Jamboree USA still airs at 6 p.m. Saturdays. The station's other programming is dedicated to syndicated Clear Channel talk shows such as Rush Limbaugh and conservative Christian talk programs.

The station fell under scrutiny in December, when it eliminated two local talk programs as well as the Wheeling news director's position. Critics of the firings contend that the station's "former commitment to local news has now been violated," according to one Ohio Valley Web site.

www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/living/8281589.htm

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