The rumors had been swirling since December, but today WETA-FM officially announced that it will abandon its two-year old foray into news and talk radio in favor of returning to a classical music format. The move is unusual, though, in that the decision by the public station was made in conjunction with commercial WGMS-FM. The latter station, known as “Washington’s Classical Station,” will give up its format in favor of news and talk, effectively creating a local radio format switcheroo — a move which both stations see as advantageous. The change is effective as of 8 p.m. this evening. The Post reports:
As part of the agreement between WETA and WGMS’s owner Bonneville International, WGMS (103.9 and 104.1) will give WETA its familiar call letters, which once stood for “Washington’s Good Music Station.” WETA’s Hagerstown repeater station, WETH-FM, will be renamed WGMS-FM, pending approval from federal regulators. Arlington-based WETA will continue to be known by its current call letters.
In addition, WETA and Bonneville have agreed to cross-promote each other’s stations. WETA, for example, will air announcements for Bonneville’s all-news WTOP AM-FM and WTWP AM-FM, the news and talk station produced in conjunction with the Washington Post’s newsroom.
The agreement between Bonneville and WETA also calls for WGMS to donate its extensive library of classical music recordings to WETA. In turn, WETA has hired the WGMS program director, Jim Allison, to become its program director. He will replace WETA’s current program director, Maxie Jackson. WGMS said it would lay off 10 of its employees as a result of the format change.
It’s a fascinating deal, especially in light of WETA’s argument that it will be serving the public interest more by broadcasting classical music. Surely classical music fans are breathing a sigh of relief, and are perhaps even better off, since WETA’s broadcast signal is much stronger and wider than WGMS. But on the otherhand, has anything really changed since 2005, when declining ratings forced WETA to make the switch from classical to news? And wither The Intersection, one of our favorite local chat shows, hosted by Rebecca Roberts? WETA has cancelled production, but could it (or should it) find a home over at 104.1? Tell us what you think about the latest news in the comments.
