Out With the Old Radio Station WKLA, In With the New

[XLFD]

WKLA to Officially Move to Thompsonville, WLDN to Officially Move to Ludington

Back in August, Synergy Broadcasting, operators of numerous radio stations in the area, declared in a filing with the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) the intention to move the WKLA-FM franchise from Ludington to Thompsonville, a small community marginally bigger than Custer, situated in the hinterlands between Manistee and Traverse City. 

To take up the vacuum created by moving the area's oldest radio station 70 miles north-northeast, they also declared WLDN, the news talk radio station recently set-up by Synergy officially operating out of Pentwater, would officially move to Ludington.  Here was that filing.

In May 2012, Synergy purchased the franchises of WKLA-AM and FM, along with WKZC-FM and WMLQ-FM (Coast FM). Synergy also operated WWKR-FM (K-Rock) and WLDN-FM, which was a start-up franchise at that point.  WKLA-FM was started in the early 1970s and is the area’s oldest FM radio station.

Synergy owner, Todd Mohr, said at the time that WKLA was technically not going to move, but that this would be a 'technical facility realignment', a switcheroo effectively keeping one Synergy station in the Ludington area.

“WKLA isn’t actually being moved, it will simply be moved to a different frequency on the dial,” Mohr said. “This is part of a technical facility realignment and will not occur for a year or two. WKLA will remain right here in Ludington, reported the Mason County Press. 

Well, the moves have recently been officially recognized by the FCC on December 12, and although WKLA-FM will still have their brick and mortar business behind our Ludington's McDonald's at the Synergy headquarters, they will broadcast out of a tower in Buckley, Michigan, even farther north than Thompsonville, as seen in this FCC document recently updated (and misnamed as Buckeye, Michigan).  Administratively, they may have not moved but their tower sure has, as has their listening area. 

WLDN, on that very same day, officially got licensed in Ludington, moving from Pentwater (WLDN stats).  This is more appropriate, since their tower is at the corner of Inman and Bradshaw Roads in Pere Marquette Township, and a logical move since their call letters now match the City they are in. 

WMOM, now becomes the oldest FM station in the Ludington area, the only one independent of the Synergy Group, and whose offices are located in the city limits, but ironically have their tower in the Pentwater area, inside Mason County.

How do you feel about the loss of WKLA-FM to our area, and do you think WLDN-FM is a good replacement for it?

[Willy]

I haven't listened to WKLA in years because I am usually tuned to Wisconsins talk radio stations.

[Wonder Woman]

It's not like we are losing WKLA, so I don't consider it to no longer be a Ludington radio station.  That being said, local radio has really diminished in recent years.  The Synergy stations don't even have live, local DJs.  The news is basically just a bunch of state stuff....where's the local news? (XLFD---You're at the City Council meetings....are the local radio station news reporters even there?).   WLDN has an alright talk show in the morning, but still lacks a ton of small town, local stuff (and the guy who broadcasts from Manistee a few days a week is terrible!).  Jason Wilder does good on the mornings he works.  I find myself listening more to WMOM than WKLA.  WMOM still doesn't have the content and local news I desire, but it's better than the alternatives.  I like listening to the high school sports broadcasts, but I have a hard time listening to WKLA or WMOM.  I can't stand listening to Bill Downing on WKLA and Todd Hanson and Gary Castonia on WMOM are just as bad for Ludington play by play.  I miss the days of Rod Beckman, George Wilson, etc during the glory days of Ludington radio.  Oh well, times have changed.  Local radio is a dinosaur and will soon be replaced completely by iPods, satellite radio, internet radio, etc.

[XLFD]

Wonder,

To answer your question, I often do see both WMOM and Synergy employees attending some meetings, though not all.  Due to considerations of what is scheduled and their limited personnel resources, they probably have to make the decision to cover it.  As can be seen from the last city council meeting, these congregations are often meticulously choreographed as far as public policy is concerned, so they don't miss much, other than the public's input.

I have appeared on WLDN once (for a general interview earlier this year) and WMOM three times (once to talk about 2012's City Proposal on term limits, twice during my 2011 candidacy to debate Kaye Holman), and I like the on-air personnel at both that I've met.  I respect WMOM from running a full-service radio station from downtown Ludington and believe their acquisition of WKLA castoffs of personnel (including Beckman) and local sports makes them the choice of those interested in local events. 

I also respect Synergy from the viewpoint that they are able to operate multiple radio stations out of their Wallace Road office, and when you listen to their product on the radio for music or news talk, you can't tell they are being run that way. 

Synergy's business model probably brings more money in than WMOM's, because they can operate stations in Ocean County or way up in Thompsonville from the same place, which cuts off a lot of overhead while still keeping ad revenues stable.  But their lack of actual presence in both communities, and the dilution of resources used to seek news from all communities it covers, make them almost incapable of being taken seriously as a 'local' radio station, even here in Ludington. 

[Jane]

people still listen to the radio stations!!??  ipod/pad and Sirius/XM are the only way for me. Once in a while I'll listen to Dave Ramseyon 106.9 if down towards muskegon but usually even listen to that on iheart radio.

[Dave]

I can relate, I've been a Sirius subscriber for 7 years now I think.. its rare that I listen to terrestrial radio at all, usually only when I'm riding somewhere with my parents or with someone else. Its so nice being able to drive anywhere and stay on one station if I so desire to do that.

[AQUAMAN]

Back in the old days, we only had one AM radio station we could receive, WKLA, 1450, started by Karl L. Ashbacker, a local entrepreneur. If you wanted local news and local information, it was our only source. In between, for most of the broadcast, there was old time music of big bands, then much later some oldies of recent. If you wanted modern R&R you could get WLS from Chicago later in the day and evening, on good weather days. Since the merger and buy out of WKLA in recent years, it had only become a oldies syndicated station, one I still liked, but, it appears, now lost?

[XLFD]

Indications are that WLDN will cover some of the bases that WKLA did in their Synergy days, but it is always nice to have a locally based radio station, even in these days of satellite radio and music-on- demand, because sometimes you're looking for more than music or regional/national talk radio

[AQUAMAN]

Speaking of WLS, 89 AM, Chicago, I just heard the famous Larry Lujack radio announcer just passed away at age 73 in NM. Sad loss, he was an icon in radio in the 60's & 70's. The flavor of listening to a local radio station like WKLA, was the special slant the announcers had on the local scene and the local people that make it up. An example would be that of Big George, he knew the locals and the local scene well, and did an exceptional job of giving us that personal touch of flavor to our home town. That will now be lost forever to the status-quo of listening to the AP hourly report that is heard on every station. Syndicated stations/segments are not personalized in any way, just sterilized news for the masses.

[XLFD]

I checked back in on this move and found the probable coverage area for the new as-licensed WKLA-FM to-be:

 

On a good day you should be able to still hear WKLA-FM in northeastern Mason County

 

[Fred]

My Grandfather helped put together WKLA AM with Mr. Ashbauker all thoes years ago to me it is sad to see WKLA leave Ludington.  I spent a lot of my summers there and each morning we would listen to the local news weather music obituary report and of course the birthay roll call.  What has happened to local radio in the last 2 decades is very sad, when I graduated from Specs Howard in 1985 Northern Michigan Radio was a great place to start your career a chance to do all the jobs and cut your teeth.  Now Northern Michigan Radio is either a network of stations simulcasting or stations that get everything off the bird. 

[XLFD]

That's one reason why I have a bit of an affinity towards WMOM, the only radio station inside the city limits.  They follow the traditional mold of what WKLA used to do, including providing coverage to local high school sports/local news and an eclectic line-up of musical programming. 

The station networks of the Synergy Group fail to generate such an intimate local feel, even though they are technically managed admirably, and are well-worth listening to when one wants to listen to radio.  Like newspapers, radios have formidable competition from the internet.

[Willy]

It was a smart move by WLKA. Traverse City area has a far larger listening audience both in the summer and winter. Also they can earn more money for the air time they sell.