FCC Wants to reduce the power of WLW-AM

Didn't See This Coming

Wow, who would have thunk the FCC would start hacking away at established successful AM stations while also giving lip service to "re-vitalizing" the AM dial?

Could it be that WLW has fallen into disfavor with the NAB or otherwise practiced the "wrong politics"?

The "powers that be" can get very treacherous at times.

Thank you Mr. Bucket for this startling news.

So i sent a shout out to Leland Conway and staff at 84 WHAS radio in Louisville,Ky and asked had they heard about WLW-AM being asked to reduce power  and had they been asked to do this as well? The answer to both questions was YES... Here is the email response to my shoutout.

Hi, Barry.



Yes, we are aware of a proposal being discussed to force Class 1A clear channel stations, such as WHAS and WLW, to reduce their broadcast coverage areas.



We certainly hope that does not happen, as many listeners in distant and rural areas depend on these big radio stations for news, entertainment, and emergency information, such as weather warnings.



Interestingly, Kentucky has one of the lowest rates of broadband Internet availability among all states in the U.S. So, streaming is not an option for many people. They depend on over-the-air radio.



Thanks for writing, and for listening to NewsRadio 840 WHAS.



Kelly Carls

Director of AM Programming

National News/Talk Brand Coordinator

iHeartMedia

o 502.479.2091

Reaching a quarter billion consumers every month

Radio/Digital/Outdoor/Mobile/Social/Events





From: 84 WHAS [mailto:whas@whas.com]
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2016 10:43 AM
To: Carls, Kelly
Subject: Barry sent you a Shoutout from WHAS-AM!



You have received a Shoutout from Barry (barry.sallade@gmail.com) The message is: Hi Leland and the staff at WHAS. Have you read the story about the FCC asking WLW-AM to reduce their power? I was wondering if the FCC asked your station this as well since you're considered a clear channel station (note:not the company Clear Channel) the designation of 50,000 watt stations is considered clear channel or Class A. What are your thoughts, there is a petition to the fcc to not reduce wlw's power. Thanks Barry in E. Ky

This email was sent by: Clear Channel Louisville, KY
4000 Radio Dr Ste. 1 Louisville, KY, 40218, US


Since this seems to work well for communicating with WHAS Radio i am going to ask for details, be back in a bit.

Ok so i asked another question, hoping for an answer



Thank You Kelly,

Can you give me details? What is the reasoning behind forcing Class 1A stations to reduce power?
You mentioned broadband, here in Perry County (Hazard,Ky) and surrounding counties in Eastern Ky there has been a promise from government officials to bring broadband internet service to the area via Fiber Optics as a way to help revitalize the dying economy in the region.

My take on it has nothing to do with broadband but rather the FCC plans for "revitalizing the AM band" although i feel the recent fix offered now is not viable in all areas of the United States, putting AM on 250 watt FM translators won't really work in metropolitan areas where the FM band is already congested.

I feel it might end with AM going to the wayside while the FCC pushes everyone to FM to eventually switching to an all digital format in the same way that Europe has done with AM and Shortwave radio stations. All of this has come to light recently but the one thing not addressed by the FCC is how they will clean up the noise caused by dirty electronic devices that cause interference to the AM Band.

Thanks
Barry Sallade

Here is a list of all the clear channel AM stations in America and a few abroad as well.
Most of the American 50,000 watt AM's will be required to make changes to their signals according to this Document.

LIST OF CLASS 1A 50,000 watt AM