Dan Snyder, Bonneville set to eliminate DC classical station.

[CBHagman]

Word has come today that Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, is set to purchase WGMS, the Washington area's very last classical music station.

I should tell you that as soon as Bonneville took over WGMS in the first place, its signal was given to talk station WTOP, and WGMS was difficult to receive even right in the D.C. area. I complained to WGMS but was assured that a stronger signal would be following later. :eyes:

Age discrimination, greed, the basic system of broadcasting, and of course Bonneville's contempt for the local community set this into motion, as far as I can tell.

Note: See the Godfather-like reference below. Jeesh!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/07/AR2006120701693.html


Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has reached a preliminary agreement to buy classical music station WGMS-FM in a deal that would expand his budding sports-talk radio empire and likely be the swan song for the area's only classical outlet.

Snyder and the owner of WGMS, Bonneville International Corp., have established a price for the sale but had not formalized the deal as of yesterday, people close to the negotiations said. They said, however, that an agreement could be wrapped up within days.


"They made an offer that can't refuse," said one executive involved in the negotiations. He requested anonymity because the sale was pending. "If someone wanted to buy your house and was willing to pay 50 percent more than it was worth, you'd do it," he said.

Neither side would disclose the proposed sale price or discuss potential programming changes.

[CBHagman]

1. Just called "Bonneville" and "WGMS"

They're already both answering as Radio Zebra and announcing the new ESPN radio station. So much for the deal being "tentative." :eyes: The bastards certainly don't let any grass grow beneath their greedy little feet, do they?

Alias Bonneville: 202-895-5000
Alias WGMS: 301-562-5800

On edit: Note the "values" bit on the Bonneville website. "Values-driven," my tuchis.

http://www.bonnint.com/

[CBHagman]

2. Wikipedia on Bonneville International.

I found this really interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonneville_International

Bonneville prides itself on "values-oriented programming," and community involvement which was advocated by the company's first president, Arch L. Madsen. According to Bonneville International's website, their values reflect an understanding that "families are the basic unit of society...and that strong families build strong communities."

Given that they've just gotten rid of the last local classical station in an area with a rich cultural diversity but very limited local radio, I'd say that fondness for community Bonneville supposedly has is just a big, fat lie.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

3. I'm sick about this...

WGMS was my least favorite classical station in the area when we had 3. And now the pigs are going to take that away from us. I wonder if there's any hope of WJHU Baltimore getting a stronger signal.

I'm going to tell Snyder that stomping on the only classical music station is not going to make the Redskins any classier. As of this day, the Redskins are dead for me. I will not support them in any way whatsoever.

The Redskins were alive back when the players were out there getting involved in the community. Even crusty old Jack Kent Cooke was involved in philanthropical efforts. The Snyder team is just another faceless corporation. It's a disgrace to our nation's capitol.
And they don't even play that well.

[CBHagman]

4. I know. It's a new, meaner era.

I felt real loathing when I saw Snyder's picture in the paper with this story, and I was half ready to ask my pastor, who's a big Redskins fan, if I would receive absolution for all of the nasty thoughts and words coursing through my mind...

And WETA has been no help at all. They gradually pared away their classical programming and of course were roundly criticized by their erstwhile supporters. I even dropped my membership over it, and I had joined WETA as soon as I moved to the area. They still bother me for contributions at home, though, both online and by mail. :grr:

[fortyfeetunder]

5. Dan doesn't know a good thing he's got

Maybe if the football team listened to more classical music, then they'd get their rhythm together :sarcasm:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. Sigh! Another blow for the cultural illiteracy of America

I was made aware of the growing cultural discontinuity again last Friday when a group from my church went caroling at a Salvation Army-owned residence for the elderly.

The ages of the carolers ranged from about five to eighty-five, but it was striking that the elementary school kids didn't know the basic Christmas carols, other than the "safe" secular ones like "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman."

Of course, the schools are shy about teaching religious carols these days, but it feels as if the parents have slipped up on this one.

(Another, unrelated bit of cultural discontinuity: At Thanksgiving, we brought out some slides that were taken on our family's trip to Europe in 1967. The nieces and nephews were struck by how "formal" my brothers and I looked. I guess I did look a little formal, at my mother's insistence, but my brothers were wearing long pants and shirts. Pants with belts. Shirts with buttons. That was what looked formal to the youngsters, who always dress as if they just came in from the basketball court.)

Anyway, if I ever won Powerball, I'd found a school with low or free tuition--it would have to be a LARGE jackpot :-) -- that emphasized the arts, especially music performance, along with good literature, lots of history, geography, science, at least two foreign languages, good manners, and community service. One of my church friends thinks our cathedral should have a European-style choir school, and that might not be a bad idea.

[CBHagman]

7. If I ever win a contest, I might join you in that effort.

The good manners part is especially attractive. I am embracing my inner old fogy these days, what with flip-flops and yards of flesh on display in company offices. It doesn't look cool, it just looks as though people have given up caring.


But getting back to this business regarding Bonneville taking Dan Snyder's money and running, do give some love to Marc Fisher for his coverage of the bad behavior and the reaction of classical music supporters, including the WGMS staff.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101196.html

Why is Bonneville, the Utah-based company that owns WGMS (and its sister station, Washington Post Radio), so willing to part with a format that makes big money, scores consistently high ratings and is the most listened-to classical station in the nation? Easy answer: bigger money. Snyder offered Bonneville, which is owned by the Mormon Church, about 50 percent more than what WGMS is valued at, according to local radio executives.

Despite the station's $10 million in annual advertising revenues, the company's commitment to the classics was shaky well before Snyder opened his checkbook. In January, WGMS was bounced from its longtime position at 103.5 FM to make room for all-news WTOP's move from AM to FM and for the creation of this newspaper's experiment in radio news. The classical outlet's new location, at 104.1 FM, suffers from such a weak signal that many listeners saw the writing on the wall.