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January 27, 2023 8:29 am  #1


2 W.N.Y. Radio Stns. Are Now One & Are Throwbacks To A Different Era

The guy who owns WEBR (the old WJJL) in Niagara Falls has now taken over Lockport's WLVL. Both AM stations don't have much of a range in the GTA but both have been around for decades. And both sound like it. As the linked article points out, the stations will now be joined at the hip. 

What interests me about them (and I'm certainly not the target audience of either of them) is how old school they are. While WEBR plays big band "Music of Your Life" classics, WLVL still insists on doing shows like "Dial A Deal," and "Tradio," which involve listeners calling in to buy or sell household items someone else might need. 

This goes way back to the 50s, and I thought almost no one was doing it anymore. But the new owner insists it's quite popular and they'd hear about it if they ever tried to drop either segment. A real blast from the industry's past, with two very local stations serving their very small but devoted audience. 

'Sister' radio stations link listeners across Niagara County

 

January 27, 2023 12:22 pm  #2


Re: 2 W.N.Y. Radio Stns. Are Now One & Are Throwbacks To A Different Era

I remember a guy calling into a similar type buy and sell segment I had to do live on a Maritime station back in the 70's, cold call, the guy said he was looking for a blow job. I was cueing up a record and didn't quite hear him fully, only hearing job, I told him try Canada Manpower and went onto the next caller. I didn't know the  reality until later after meeting with the PD who said I impressed him with my comeback and gave me a 15$ a week raise.    We still had to do the Swapshop segments cold tho  after that until the day I left to come to Ontario. 

 

January 27, 2023 12:34 pm  #3


Re: 2 W.N.Y. Radio Stns. Are Now One & Are Throwbacks To A Different Era

What a great story! I remember as a kid being on a Christmas vacation with my family in Miami, and of course, I was listening to the radio there. They had a similar segment and a child called in (why they let him on, I'll never know.) He listed a few items he wanted to offer up and then said, "And I'd like to sell my g-d mother!" 

The host quickly cut him off and made a comment about not letting kids near a phone. All these years later and I still remember that moment!,

I never had to do one of those kinds of shows, thankfully, but I often wondered how the on-air folks felt about it. They must have been the torture of the day/week and I can only imagine most of them dreaded it every time it came up.

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January 29, 2023 10:56 am  #4


Re: 2 W.N.Y. Radio Stns. Are Now One & Are Throwbacks To A Different Era

WMIC 660 AM from Sandusky Michigan still does a Swap Shop every weekday at 1:00 pm. I've heard calls from the Sarnia area on the show.

Don't know if it continues today, but up until recently CFOS 560 Owen Sound did a Dial a Deal show in the early afternoon.

In my opinion these locally owned 'small town' AM stations are a pleasure to listen to and one of the few bright spots on the AM (and probably FM) band. 

 

January 29, 2023 11:22 am  #5


Re: 2 W.N.Y. Radio Stns. Are Now One & Are Throwbacks To A Different Era

I was in Owen Sound just before Christmas and they had the segment on that day  . https://www.google.com/search?client=avast-a-1&q=cfos+dial+a+deal&oq=cfos+&aqs=avast.5.69i57j0l7.4700j0j15&ie=UTF-8

 

January 29, 2023 4:40 pm  #6


Re: 2 W.N.Y. Radio Stns. Are Now One & Are Throwbacks To A Different Era

The late, great John Michael of CJRN/CKTB fame used to do this kind of segment and you could tell he wasn't crazy about it. But it was a hit with listeners so it continued for many years. And that led to one of his most famous outtakes/highlights. A guy with a very thick accent called up and told the host he wanted to sell some "used plyuse."

Michael asked him to repeat it. "Used plyuse," came the thickly accented response. 

"I'm not sure what you're saying," he asked again. "Are you saying "Used plywood?" No, said the guy and then gave the same answer. 

John Michael was a very sharp guy and decided to ride this for the rest of the show, which devolved into hilarious segments asking listeners what they thought the caller actually had for sale. "What is 'used plyuse'?" he wondered.

Years later, he concluded that the guy was trying to say "used pliers," but right up until the end he wasn't sure. But he would replay the segment on his anniversary shows for years and it was always funny. 

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