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Friday, July 29, 2011

Harrisburg's 92.7 FM Stunting, Goodbye Smooth Jazz

Hall Communications’ 92.7 FM WSJW, Starview, PA (Harrisburg market) began stunting Friday airing covers of "Staiway To Heaven" and cartoon clips.  The station has dropped its Smooth Jazz format, which had been airing since 2004.

The following farewell message is posted on the station website:
If you are visiting Smooth Jazz 92.7 website, you are probably looking for information about what happened to the Smoth Jazz Music normally heard on 92.7.

Smooth Jazz has concluded it's run in the area and a decision to air a new music format has been made. You will be hearing it on this station very soon. To say that this was not an easy decision for management to make would be an understatement. We know that Smooth Jazz 92.7 had many listeners who tuned in frequently to enjoy the music and we appreciate all of them.

There were many factors that contributed to this decision to change format, not the least of which is that listenership for Smooth Jazz in the area never reached predicted levels.

Efforts were made through the years to support and make this format viable but in the end a format change was necessary. On  behalf of Hall Communications and all the Smooth Jazz personalities, we thank you for your support of Smooth Jazz 92.7.
TomZTake: This Class C station is nestled between three metros (Harrisburg, York and Lancaster) and doesn't really penetrate any very well.

32 comments:

  1. They will probably ruin this station just like they ruined the Rose. Trash music, stupid stuff that appeals to 16-year-old callows. Sheesh! The only ADULT station in the area bites the dust. Or it will be a nerve-racking conservative talk format filled with inhuman windbags like Limbaugh and Savage. Anything to make money.

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  2. I'm disappointed that this format will no longer be available. The station had a full lineup that made it an appealing station to listen to, at any point in the week. The only weakness was the lack of signal strength in the Harrisburg area. The next station will have the same weak antenna and the signal will fade in and out as you drive through the east and west shore.

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  3. Agreed!! People cannot appreciate decent music anymore. It's all pop crap with "artists" who cannot even play an instrument. Time to move out of the area I suspect and find somewhere a little more classy.

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  4. Greatly disappointed ! Now there is no jazz station in this area. What's wrong with good music? I guess the next thing will be to eliminate all live jazz and jazz concerts in this area.

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  5. I am so disappointed that such a great station would go off the air & yet as the other guy said the pop crap stays. I quess we'll have to listen to CD's. Nothing else is worthe listening to on the radio. We often go to Phila & once we couldn't get our jazz station we would turn to 106.1 PHila Jazz when they went off we were shocked & said well at least we live in Lanc & still have our Jazz & now it's gone. How will we be informed of jazz concerts who will announce & advertise the Berks Jazz & so on. What a major loss. Thanks for ruining my weekend!

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  6. Folks, it's unfortunate but you have to realize the economic reality of running a business. If you don't have good ratings to show to an advertiser, you can't get them to buy. The listening audience for this wonderful station was not big enough to support those ratings and it became impossible to generate revenues to keep the station in business, so it had to fold and try something different....

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  7. I am so dissapointed that 92.7 is not airing anymore. This is the only JAZZ station I listen to in this area. PA has the worst radio stations, except for 92.7 which is the only classy jazz station. It's so sad not having my station anymore, I enjoy it's music back and forth from work. Other states I have been to have better radio stations than here in PA!!!!!!

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  8. I am shocked and surprized and I didn't even know this was going to happen. I listened to Smooth Jazz 92.7 and Paul Scott since it came on the air back in 2004, even before there were DJs. On Friday when all I heard was Stariway to Heaven, I switched to NPR radio, only Monday morning to do a search on line and find this news. I am disappointed to the MAX!

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  9. Was shocked to find that my favorite station was gone! I was a loyal listener and discovered many new jazz artists by listening to 92.7. My 5 year old son sang the jingle whenever it came on and has an appreciation for jazz now. Smooth Jazz 92.7 will be sorely missed in our home.

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  10. Oh swell, another 'classic rock' station in Harrisburg. Our listening choices have dwindled down to country, Christian or oldies. Would be nice to see someone come in an take over a faltering station and give us back some smooth jazz. I know, fantasy time !

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  11. I listened to smooth jazz for about 90% of my radio listening, including at work. I refuse to listen to this NEW?? format. It is the same leftover junk that 50% of the other stations have. How will that set them apart and get them more listeners? They just lost all the listeners they had. How do they know what the listening audience was?? No one ever called me or included me in a poll. I guess I will go to satellite radio to have choices. Bring it back, please.

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  12. doesn't help in the car--but you can go online to accuradio.com and have numerous choices of smooth jazz and others. I just found it and its playing while I type this comment.

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  13. What a shock and disappointment! SmoothJazz 92.7 was the only local radio station I listened to and was my only exposure to local business ads. I will probably turn exclusively to satellite radio (and therefore will not be hearing local advertisers). Will miss Paul, Justin, David, Michelle and the rest and all the concert news. My favorite memory will be the Dave Brubeck concert sponsored by SmoothJazz at Gettysburg's Majestic Theatre.

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  14. Far too many of this type of rock station on the air now! I am one of the many who will not be listening to 92.7 any longer I'm sure. Any chance of reconsidering??

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  15. I was appalled when I turned to 92.7 yesterday morning and got the clashing wail of junk culture dissonance...ugh..."rock music"...aptly name as it belongs under a rock.

    This is truly a loss for Harrisburg radio...I alternated among three stations: 580 conservative talk radio, 92.7 for a change of pace from 91.7 WRTI Philadelphia, which is now the only one left...a magnificent station that must be preserved.

    It's pathetic that marketers are foced to mine ratings among the dolts, slobs and deadheads instead of afficianados of beautiful music....bad humbug

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  16. Greed wins out in this small instance. Why can't it be about the music instead of the profits? Why can't they downsize before selling out? From my limited perspective, there seems to have been other options before destroying something good. Does everything we do have to be motivated by profits?

    Sigh, another average classic rock station playing the same old music. With smooth jazz 92.7, we were at least treated to new music and variety. This is very sad, and I cannot support the new 92.7 on moral grounds alone.

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  17. We are very upset with the change of smooth jazz to crappy rock. I LOVED my smooth jazz in the morning when i wake up, but now I'm changing the station. I don't understand why would you choose to change the music genre for money. That just seems wrong. Thanks for robbing the county of good music. Goodbye smooth jazz 92.7 you will be dearly missed

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  18. I completely agree with all the comments against this "new station" that have been made. I'm 27 years old and I know that many of my friends also listen to smooth jazz. It looks like all I have left in York is 90.7. Hopefully we wont loose this station too. So Sad :(

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  19. Quemiline
    I am 32 years old and I have been a jazz fan since my early twenty's. this is the only station sf listen to since I moved to york in 06. I really enjoyed the music and I'm really going to miss it. it seems like we are losing jazz music station. the same thing happened in the Baltimore area few years ago. something needs to happen before the fall of jazz radio stations

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  20. I agree with everyone's posted comments...so now we have still another "classic rock" station to listen to. Isn't there enough already? I thought music was about variety. If they would have let the listeners know that the threat of changing "formats" was looming, I'm sure they would have received the support needed to stay the Jazz station we all loved.

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  21. It really is a shame that money forced out a great era of music from our locale. How truley pathetic it is that we are forced to degrate ourselves to what the mass media says we need to listen to. All we have now is WRTI (Temple) and online streaming. I used to listen to this station and tell my kids that there are other great music choices out there and we should relish in the fact that we live in an area that plays that kind of music. NOW WHAT?? Will miss your sounds late at night smooth jazz.

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  22. The ONLY radio station that I have listened to ever since it came on the air here in Central PA was Smooth Jazz 92.7. The first song that I was introduced to--and absolutely loved it--was "24/7" by Paul Brown. Great guitar stuff! I am tremendously disappointed that we've lost Smooth Jazz 92.7. The music on there now is crap. I'm changing the channel--to my CD player.

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  23. Our family is very upset by this decision...our 9 year old freaked out as he LOVES Smooth Jazz music...we cannot stand the new station and we listen to all kinds of music as well. This area stinks...it is NOT diverse...how do you teach that to your children but the society does not live it...definitely time to move.

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  24. I enjoyed listening to Smooth Jazz 92.7 onmy way to work every morning, there are days when I was having one of those mornings that when just the right jazz song with ease my tension. I don't like the station that you are playing now. I hope you bring Smooth Jazz back. That was the only station that had decent music to listen to in this area. That was really a bad move on your part....??????

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  25. During the Jazz & Wine event on Front Street held in Harrisburg recently - I approached a well known 'personality' of this station to ask WHY? the signal became so weak and that it also drifts 'in and out'. He responded as if He was not aware of this. Prior to my asking Him this question - I reviewed this issue with many attending the event - avid 92.7 listeners - they acknowledged this fact.
    I concluded - this Guy not only knew the signal was being manipulated to the negative but could not tell the truth of what was transpiring. This made Him another P.O.S. - feeling We (the ones that make or break a business) do not need nor have the right to know "What's happening"!
    Greed & arrogance makes me sick!
    I just hope that 'JERK' has difficulty paying his mortgage.

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  26. Bring back Smooth Jazz. You will not gain any listeners from the smooth jazz listeners. This area is so homogenized and only offers the same thing in music. You have lost a listener 92.7.

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  27. Very disappointed in the lose of a GOOD radio station in this area. Rock and CW are fine but that is all you get around here...too bad the public in this area cannot appreciate a little diversity.

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  28. there's already 2 stations in this area playing the new 92.7 format.thank god i can get wrti in my town.

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  29. Terribly disappointed. Will miss the old format, genre, and personalities and will likely not be listening to the new station.

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  30. Terribly disappointed also and can't believe that there were not enough listeners to keep it on the air. Really, it's hard to believe......what happened to Paul Scott? Will he start another similar station?

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  31. I am so upset that 92.7 dropped the smooth jazz format. I'm going to miss it very much. It was a positive influence on my family including the KIDZ. We had a chance to teach the youngsters that there are other genres of positive music and now it's gone. What a shame and with no good notification of it's demise. Can we get together and start our own smooth jazz show? Perhaps a segment on another station? I'm really sad.

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  32. This is disappointing. Will it affect the Berks Jazz Fest, the biggest jazz fest on the east coast? I live in Delaware and I am surprised. The Phiily and Baltimore stations suffered the same fate. Classic rock is everywhere and they all play the same songs. Nobody appreciates their fans like jazz musicians. Michael Tozzi started ijazzglobal.com. Listen to it! It is like satellite radio. All jazz and no commercials. I love it.!

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