Shots Across The Bow

The Day the Music Died.

Ok, it's not quite that bad; nobody actually died, but it's bad enough. WOKI, aka 100.3 The River, is going silent at the end of this month as operations are taken over by Citadel Broadcasting of Las Vegas, NV.

Why is this such a bad thing?

I wrote a brief review of The River back in April, singling them out as one of the strongest stations in Knoxville, musically speaking. The River introduced new artists to Knoxville, artists like Norah Jones, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and most recently Jason Mraz. They brought these artists to town for concerts big and small, many of them free. They also supported local artists like Jagstar and Scott Miller, giving them airplay and exposure as they ventured out of the regional market into the national spotlight. Along with some classic rock, they played new tracks from classic artists like Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty. They played the blues regularly, the only big radio station in Knoxville to do so. In short, they carved out a unique niche in the Knoxville music, building a station that was more about the music than the marketing. The River was gaining market share throughout it's run, and was doing so without pandering to its audience with teenaged Russian lesbian pop singers or foul mouthed shock jock DJ's.

And of course, we can't have that in radio now, can we?

Citadel hasn't said yet what format they're going to use on the station, but based on their other programming, it'll be a lukewarm rehash of the same tired crap that fills the radio dial from top to bottom.

Well, we still have WDVX, and there's internet radio at work, but for my morning drive to work, I'll just listen to a CD or an audio book.

No need to turn on the radio; we've heard it all before.

Posted by Rich at July 15, 2003 12:29 PM | TrackBack