DC's WGMS Drops Classical Programming After 60 Years

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Classical Music Moving to WETA 90.9 FM

WETA to Resume Classical Music Broadcast

WETA brings back classical, WGMS dumps long-running format

DCRTV

The Washington Business Journal says:

WGMS, which until now had the distinction of being the radio station with the longest-running music format in the nation, becomes George 104, switching to a format it describes as an alternative between Top 40 radio and urban stations.

It happened this afternoon at 3 p.m. The call letters are the same for now, but they will change. The new format is a "greatest hits of the 70s, 80s, and 90s" affair. They've been playing Madonna, Heart, and so forth. I have to admit that I consider the currently playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Give Me Three Steps" a classic, although in a different way.

I wasn't listening at when the format change occurred. but I have WGMS on a Radio Shack DX-398 now. This radio displays the RDS information. As I write, WGMS's RDS scrolls "CLASSICAL WGMS -- 104.1" slowly.

Classical programming will move down the dial (or across the keypad, if you want to be smart about it) to WETA. WETA is still broadcasting NPR right now, and its format change will occur at 8 p.m.

WTOP reports:

As part of the agreement, Bonneville will donate the WGMS 15,000 disc music library to WETA.

"This is a wonderful gift for public broadcasting and classical music lovers in the Washington community," said Sharon Rockefeller, President and CEO of WETA.

"We thank Bonneville for its generosity in donating its classical musical catalog to WETA. We are proud to carry forward the tradition of WGMS, and we are committed to creating a new classical music era in Washington through our on-air programming and community involvement."

I'm sorry to see it happen. WGMS used to distribute posters every year for Beethoven's birthday. I have one from 1973 and one from 1975.

How many commercial classical stations does this leave?

Goodbye, old friend.

[LiberalEsto]

1. Noooooooooooo!

I just discovered WGMS a few months ago. Weren't 103.9 and 104.1 some kind of rock stations before they became classical. I seem to recall my kids listening to them a few years ag.

[Davis_X_Machina]

2. Maine has a network of four...

...running up the coast from Kennebunk to the Bar Harbor area.
WCRB in Boston changed frequencies, but is still on.

[regnaD kciN]

3. Lucky Maine...

Up here in the other Washington, we have a grand total of one: KING-FM 98.1. Fortunately, it's owned by a consortium of the Seattle Symphony and Opera, so it's not likely to switch to a more profitable format. On the downside, if an idiot gets hired as program director (as happened a couple of years ago) and starts "fine-tuning" the format by firing half the staff and trying to use the station as a P.R. front for a mail-order music store, there's no alternative to which one can turn. (Said idiot finally got fired, but the damage he created remains.)

[bikebloke]

4. Anther radio station bites the dust.

DC's radio stations have become so bland with corporate ownership, that when I listened to radio it was more and more often WGMS. What do they replace it with, yet another oldies mix. And when I tune into WETA, it's always chatter.