Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Gainesville Radio: “Talk” Segues To Online

Jake Fuller
Party 99.5 has been dropping the bass on Gainesville for a month, but some listeners are still adjusting to the loss of conservative talk radio to electronic dance music.

At midnight May 31, The Star 99.5 WBXY-FM switched to an electronic dance music format, sending “Talk of the Town,” a local political talk show, to the Internet. The show went off the air and online after JVC Broadcasting of Long Island, N.Y., bought five Gainesville-area FM stations.

According to  alligator.org, Jake Fuller and Ward Scott, co-hosts of “Talk of the Town,” can now be heard on www.alachuatalks.com or by tuning in to the station through the Live365 app on mobile devices.

“We don’t want any dead air time,” Scott said. “We want to be out there somehow with our voice in the community. If it comes from the Internet, then so be it.”

Ward Scott
But Fuller said the transition has been a challenge, especially for attracting advertisers.

Because most of the political show’s listeners are older voters in the community, Fuller said it has been difficult for fans to adjust to the new technology.

Despite the obstacles, Fuller said he still believes in talk radio.

“We’ve done a pretty good job at getting local issues out,” Fuller said. “We’ve filled in a lot of gaps as far as information goes for the public.”

Although Fuller and Scott said there are things they miss about the radio format, having the show online has lifted Federal Communications Commission restrictions, creating a freer working environment.

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