I picked up a free copy of the Herald Citizen at Bojangles so that I would have something different…read moreto read during lunch instead of poking on my phone (and getting my phone all greasy). Interesting local news with the year end wrap up. Some politics, a lot of local stuff (there's a steakhouse closing and a distillery opening, but not the same location), and several locals sounding off with letters to the editor (I agree and also oppose the bonds). Useful and free. Why not be a fan? [Review 12654 overall, 2446 of 2019.]

Very professional and thorough. Technical knowledge is superior and they came in on budget. Would…read moreuse for any AVL needs.

The strong signal is worth one star. The commitment to the local community is worth another. Though…read moreeven those areas are subject to debate as the coverage in many parts of Charlotte is spotty due to other stations and a lot of the local content like the traffic and local news in the morning sound shipped from outside. Overall this old warhorse is turning into a nag that might as well be shipped off to the glue factory. The weekday mix while pleasant seems to have an overall blandness that short circuits the overall effect. And while the performances of the artists have a nice sheen and are very professional too many of the selections are blase without anything really interesting to say. And then about every 4th song a overplayed classic rock track gets ripped out. For a station that for years had specialty shows that did a wonderful job of showcasing the depths of the classic rock/aor history it is quite boring to tune in and to just be given what the commercial stations offer. In regards to evening/weekend specialty programming the blues and beach offerings are great when they stick to mining the stronger most time tested material but lose stature when delving into more recent material. To be honest I have always thought the over emphasis on the beach and shag on weekends turns away twice as many potential listeners as it attracts. Plus it gets tiring hearing what in many cases amounts to infomercials for Dr Phil Goode's or Reverend Kyle's next gig over at the VFW. But also those cats are bringing in a large share of the on air fundraising so I guess they can do what they well please. Now the 321 blues crew to their overall credit are much more professional in their decorum. Also even though they are Monday through Thursday 7-10 each night they never have seemed to oversaturate the airwaves, it is a programming staple and really the Marquee property of the station. What is needed is more variety in programming. Once upon a Time there were divergent options such as collegiate pop, electronica/techno, aor, new age, jam band, aor, big band, acid jazz, 80s retro and various other genres being offered and all had unique fan bases under the wsge umbrella. Now it feels like the musical offerings are much more stringent and narrow. The canned syndicated material like world Cafe is what it is, engaging filler. But even there the offerings seem truncated compared to the distant past. Fund drive time is always a big comedown. Not so much from the specialty programming because those guys and their audience come to the forefront and put their money where their mouths are. But during the meat of the weekday grind it is actually painful to listen to the pleading. In the end they still get my ears, but not my money and to be honest if they were to go away tomorrow I for one would lament their passing but overall really would not too worked up over the matter.

Good selection of music, especially love the weekend beach music!!!read more

WGNC 1450 AM - 101.1 FM is a radio station in Gastonia, NC where my first radio experience…read morehappened. I was in high school and one if my friends had a brother who had an on air gig at this little AM radio station on a hill. Back in the day (I never use that phrase) if you didn't graduate from a broadcasting school, heck I still hadn't graduated from high school, the only way you could be on the radio was to get a license. I got sponsored by the chief engineer and after a few months of hard study and some hands-on I got my "3rd class radio-telephone operators license with broadcast endorsement" it was a mouth full. It was actually required for announcers who had to record meter readings or who operated low power radio broadcast stations From 1963 to 1978 an additional simple technical written test added "Broadcast Endorsement" to the "Third Phone" that allowed announcers to be the sole operators at some limited power stations. A 1st class was what the actual engineers needed. The FCC issued 1st and 2nd class licenses in 1927 then in 1953 a 3rd class was added. Hey, it was kinda a big deal, especially for a 15 year old but fast forward to today and all you need to do to get on the air is show up. Anyway, after I got my 3rd phone I got my first shot of being on the radio with a Saturday afternoon 4 hour show spinning rock n' roll, Wooohooo! The first "big" on-air phrase that I was known for, was my opening greeting, ready? .... "Welcome to your Saturday on wonderful whacky WIG-NACK in the mill village of the south, Gastonia, North Carolina". :-) Well it sounded better when I said it, and I did get a call from the station owner "Mr. McAwain" once that needed me to explain that phrase LOL I also got a call from the owner, and by call I mean "come to Jesus talking to" about my poor judgement of playing a song that he thought was a Vietnam protest. Well the song was "War" and he was correct. Those kind of exchanges were a harbinger of many, many more over the decades to come at the different radio gigs I had, But I digress. Back to WIG-NACK, it was founded by Mr. McSwain and his son in 1939 and is a 1,000 watt AM transmitter and 220 watt FM. The station has had many formats over the years, country, pop, rock, etc. but us currently a news-sport-talk station. They carry syndicated programs with Glenn Beck and Dave Ramsey and a lot of high school sports and even some MLB & NFL with local hosts in different day parts. If you were so inclined you could listen live on TuneIn or stream at their website: https://www.wgncradio.com/ I must admit I tune into all the old stations, where I worked, from time to time, the ones that are still on the air of course, just out of neustalgia and because I can. Bottom line: I decided to write this WGNCreview after recognizing Marconi yesterday and even though National Radio Day isn't until August 20th every day is a good day for some good ol' radio.