Could it be true that figures much like Eminem and P Diddy are the new Messiah in today's society? This seems to be the case in my hometown. For over 50 years, our hometown radio station WEYE 104.3 (and WMCH 1260AM) has been the regional leader in "solid gospel" music, mainly because they were the only radio station that offered such format. Many Christians throughout the Tri-Cities area absoulutely adored WEYE and never listened to anything else, until now. A while back, the radio station went up for sale because of a lack of profit. An evil, Indiana businessman, named Alan Sneed, bought the much beloved station. What does he do to it? He turns into a rap/hip-hop format. How disgraceful! This 50 year old tradition is now down the drain. In response to criticism he said (according the Kingsport Times-News), "I program this station, and it's a format that's hot, and the area needs to acknowledge that." Well, thank you Mr. Sneed for telling us what's "hot" and what's not. Us hicks down in ol' Tennessee can't decide for ourselves what we like and don't like; we appreciate your lack of concern for the community's interest! The local Christian community is fighting back! A petition has been going around the Church Hill/Kingsport area that has generated over 5000 signatures in support of the old format. Another petition has started in Johnson City. We need to fight back and say that such a format is indeed profitable. It has been going strong for 50 years and only recently suffered financial problems (probably just poor management). Maybe the radio station should switch to a listener supported station like many Christian contemporary stations are. Even though I didn't listen to this station unless riding in the car with my mom, I still feel that an injustice has been done against my stomping grounds. All Christians, especially the ones in the Tri-Cities, should be outraged and fight against such evil forces that are at battle with us and all that we stand for.Click here to read the Kingsport Times-News article (free registration required); and here to read the Rogersville Review article.READY TO GET INVOLVED?
Call WMCH Radio 1260AM at (423) 357-5601
Call the leader of the petition, Genesis Bookstore, at (423) 357-1332
Call the new "Hot 104.3" consumer line at (423) 723-6104
You don't know Alan Sneed. How dare you question his faith or anyones faith. That is up to God. "He who is without sin shall cast the first stone".
ReplyDeleteI am a christain, but it doesn't matter what music you listen too. I love the new station and I think it should stay the way it is.
ReplyDeleteCheryl Ellis
Rogersville Tn
email:cheryljeffkaitlyn@yahoo.com
eminem is a fake rapper...alan must be a fake 2...most ppl in the society are fake so...FEAR THE LORD...
ReplyDeleteYou're a tool! You fear life. It's a radio station get over it and yourself.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you supported WEYE's format all these years and that you're upset that the station has went away. However, you have absolutely no justification whatsoever to call Alan Sneed "evil" for taking WEYE a different direction. Have you ever worked in radio before? Have you ever sold for a radio station? You must understand that many religious-formatted stations have a very small, yet devoted audience. If the station is commercial, it makes it that much more difficult to sell such a format to an advertiser. Advertisers want maximum return on their investment, and unfortunately, a Southern Gospel station does not provide many clients with such a return.
ReplyDeleteYou must understand that 99.9% of the time, a station doesn't just switch formats without justification. They switch because the format is either not working or it's not their mission to operate a certain format (i.e. Salem Communications exclusively runs conservative talk, relgious, country, and CCM stations and Radio One specializes in urban formats, etc.). The company was struggling and had to sell off one of their properties. They either weren't getting enough advertisers to bring in the revenue to pay the bills and the staff, not getting enough financial support from the listeners, or both. These factors do come into play.
Do I think rhythmic CHR was a wise choice for 104.3, given it's coverage area? Absolutely not. However, a format change was inevitable no matter which direction they went. Alan Sneed is a business man who wants the station he bought to succeed. Obviously, "Solid Gospel" wasn't bringing in the proper revenue to do that. Besides, if you want to blame anyone for not securing the gospel format, you should look at the former owners of the station. They could very well have sold the station to a Christian radio company and secured the format. Don't blame Sneed and HVBC for flipping to a format that makes them a more competitive commodity in the market.
Remember...formats come and go and life goes on. I can tell you first hand that once a radio company decides to flip formats and the listeners protest, said company is not going to go back to the same format simply to please the small sample of listeners that show up for a protest or sign a form. WCBS-FM in New York is a great example of this.
There are TONS of religious and Southern gospel stations in the Tri-Cities area. Just let it go, listen to another station, and enjoy life.
Let me first say that I did not listen to former format of WEYE, but I strongly supported it and countless others that I know did listen to it (including my parents everywhere I went). Personally, I enjoy Christian rock, comtemporary Christian, etc. I fully understand that "solid gospel" is probably not financially pleasing in the human sense of the word, but other reasons disturb me. It bothers me that a 50-year-old tradition in Church Hill has ended (sure sister-station WMCH is still there but AM just cannot reach much of an audience); its always sad to see the old pass away. Another thing that bothers me is what the radio station switched to: the urban/hip-hip format. That was such a drastic change...two totally opposite audiences. Another thing...yes, it was probably not my best moment to call Alan Sneed "evil," but he certainly wasn't nice about the matter. Did he consult the audience and the community about a possible format switch? No, he didn't. When the Kingsport Times-News confronted the operations manager about the complaints about the change, he just basically slapped the devoted audience in the face by saying that "it's a format that's hot, and the area needs to acknowledge that." I really do believe that we can decide for ourselves what is "hot" and what isn't. It is just so sad that money has got in the way of the message of my Lord and Savior; it is sad that money would ever get in the way. I personally think that the owner should have adopted a listener supported format for the gospel genre since that has proved very helpful for countless other Christian radion stations.
ReplyDeleteThe New Hot 104.3 Has listener support! We need to deal with that. My kids listen all the time. I can't stop them.
ReplyDeleteJust because your kids listen to 104.3 doesn't mean that you have to support it. By the way, I am really starting to think that all these anonymous comments are coming from one person.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Alan Sneed a good ole boy reared in Chattanooga, TN?
ReplyDeleteMaybe so, I really have no idea if he was raised in Chattanooga. All I know is that the Times-News said that he was from Indiana. Maybe people are scared of me or something? Only one person (besides myself) has left their name in the comments section. I won't bite, promise.
ReplyDeleteWEYE was there only a few short years, NOT 50 years! WMCH-AM has been there for that long, but WEYE 104.3 was only a gospel station for probably less than 5 years! I live in the Tri-Cities and listen to gospel music, and I don't like that they changed it, but you cant operate a radio station if you aren't making enough money to pay for it.
ReplyDeleteI thought we worship Jesus, not the music?? Hmm....
ReplyDelete