Pittsburgh Radio: Format Change Still Irks WJAS Listeners

Many listeners last month were dismayed when WJAS 1320 AM ditched its long-standing format featuring standard music and a warm talk-host lineup, including local icons Jack Bogut and Bill Cardille.

“It was like we lost our friend or something. It was just terrible,” said Pearl Wasick, 83, a former listener from Arlington. “We surely, surely miss them.”

When Frank Iorio purchased WJAS from Pittsburgh’s Renda Broadcasting Corp. earlier this year, he told The Post-Gazette he considered three options. The first was to go talk. The second was to keep it the same. The third was to “freshen up” the music.

At the time, he said, the first option would have created a format around local talent. Then, another choice arose.

“I never thought I could get Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity, those major names. So when Clear Channel approached me and said, ‘Would you be interested in picking up this format?’ I said, ‘My god, of course I would,’ ” said Iorio, who owns six other radio stations.

The Post-Gazette published 14 letters to the editor about format change at WJAS, all critical, and received at least a dozen more. The online version of the initial story prompted 158 comments, with many more spinoffs on blog sites. The vociferous tone was noteworthy.

Iorio described the decision as “purely financial” and said that even a drop in ratings numbers is offset by the chance to attract a more lucrative advertising client.

In the case of WJAS, a 7,000-watt station by day, 3,000 by night, the flip meant “we turned a sleepy little AM station that had no revenue to where we are actually being talked about.”

With WJAS turning to conservative talk, many fans of Jim Quinn and Rose Tennent were vocal in the hope that the “War Room” would be picked up. They were dropped by Clear Channel-owned WPGB-FM last fall.

Indeed, the team had many discussions with WJAS personnel and, according to Mr. Iorio, had almost reached an agreement.

In late August, however, Mr. Quinn posted on Twitter that they would not be joining the station because the agreement “precluded our ability to live-stream to our audience.”

“[Mr. Iorio] DID offer to stream it live on iHeart Radio, Clear Channel’s online platform. However, I desired to stream it exclusively on Warroom.com.”

Mr. Iorio said the offer to the Quinn and Rose show is off the table even though he’s aware the station might be better off with them. But there’s more than ratings to consider: “I am not naive enough enough to think I’m going to be a ratings success.

“I’m not going to beat KDKA or 3WS. I’m not looking for ratings; I’m looking for a niche.”