“WNAX was such an important part of life” for rural residents, says Kratz, a Yankton resident for 54 years and co-author of “WNAX 570 Radio 1922-2007,” tells the Argus-Leader. “It was their only window on the world.”
Begun in 1922 and owned by D.B. Gurney, the radio station has survived World War 2, the Great Depression, the advent of television and now the Internet.
Despite gloomy predictions of its demise with the introduction of any new technology, radio has not stopped evolving. It has moved through the decades fromwax and wire recorders, to records such as 78s and then 33s to 45s, to reel-to-reel tapes, then to cassettes, cartridges, CDs and now to computers, says Jerry Oster, news director.
It’s true people don’t get their news the way they used to, Oster says. “The technology has changed. But we’re still telling stories — that hasn’t changed.”
Rather than broadcasting, now it’s really “narrow casting,” Oster says. “You find an audience you can serve and superserve them.”
WNAX, “The Voice of the Midwest,” is a news-talk station owned by Saga Communications. It’s the flagship station for South Dakota State University football and men’s and women’s basketball and also features live coverage of Minnesota Twins and Vikings games. “Ag markets, news, weather, we try to provide things listeners depend on and are looking for,” says Oster.
The station’s strategy for helping listeners access the station incorporates digital and social media efforts such as Twitter, Facebook, streaming and a website. But loyalty is fostered by reliability, familiarity and authenticity generated by the human element of the equation.
“It comes down to being local,” says Dee Davis, an announcer from 12-2 p.m. on the AM side and 3-7 p.m. on the FM side, WNAX-FM 104.1 (The Wolf!).
“People on the air are people you see in the grocery store,” she says.
“You don’t get that local feel with satellite radio.”
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