The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 57

Geologist keeps 'em rocking with laughter, E6 Books E2, Travel E3, Puzzles E4 Sunday News Journal July 24, 1983 E1 TuiEiEHg mm trends Stations seek that winning combination Who listens to what Cumes: number in Wilmington turning on a station at least once in a week. Age groups: percentage tuned at least 15 minutes in a week. Cume estimates Adults 18-34 Adults 25-49 Average ahare, Metro Wilmington 1. WSTW-FM .11.6 2. WKSZ-FM ...7.6 3.

WJBR-FM 7.3 4. WIOQ-FM ....7.3 5. WMGK-FM 6.1 6. WMMR-FM ..5.8 7. WAMS-AM 5.2 8.

WDEL-AM ...4.7 9. WDSD-FM ...4.7 10. WUSL-FM ...3.8 Average ahare, Metro Wilmington 1. WSTW-FM 16.4 2. WMMR-FM .15.1 3.

WIOQ-FM ....9.5 4. WYSP-FM 7.3 5. WUSL-FM ...6.9 6. WMGK-FM ..6.3 7. WDAS-FM ...4.7 8.

WJBR-FM 4.4 8. WCAU-FM ...4.4 8. WKSZ-FM ...4.4 Audience over 12, in hundreda 1. WSTW-FM 1,103 2. WMMR-FM 902 3.

WDEL-AM 775 4. WJBR-FM ...751 5. WCAU-FM ..705 6. WYSP-FM 637 7. WMGK-FM 474 8.

WIOQ-FM ...471 9. WILM-AM ...456 10. WAMS-AM 440 By GARY MULLINAX Staff reporter Radio listeners might remember a station that called itself "US 1." But they'll have to go way back about two years, which is long indeed in the whiz-bang history of contemporary radio. The station, WUSL-FM in Philadelphia, used to play soft pop by Barry Manilow and others of that ilk. Then it went twangy.

Country singers like Ronnie Milsap and Crystal Gayle found a home there. Last October the station shifted to its third format since July 4, 1981. And not only was the music new. The station even changed its name. Suddenly, US 1 became Power 99.

The music got funky, the DJs got hip. And WUSL began to shoot up in the ratings which is what all the maneuvering was about in the first place. An increase of a single ratings point can mean as much a $1 million in additional advertising revenue for stations in Philadelphia, and as much as $150,000 in the smaller Wilmington market. Listeners in the Wilmington metropolitan area are affected by changes in the stations of both cities. Wilmington-area listeners are tuned to Philadelphia stations about 60 percent of the time, although Wilmington's WSTW-FM, WDEL-AM and WJBR-FM are the top three stations in overall ratings here.

"We're a commercial entity," said Charlie Kendall, program manager for Philadelphia's WMMR-FM. "We're here to play music that attracts an audience, and through that to sell Ratings are why WSTW, a Contemporary Hit station in Wilmington, has done extensive market research to determine how the Wilmington audience differs from that in Philadelphia, "In Philadelphia, the rock tends to be heavy," says WSTW Operations Manager Pete Booker. "We play up-tempo music, but not so much guitar-dominated rock. And the audience here has a preference for older music. We'll play songs from the Beatles on." It seems to work.

WSTW is at or near the top of the Wilmington ratings race in most categories. WSTW's Contemporary Hit radio and other variations of Top 40 are increasingly popular, even though Top 40 was once declared dead. "A whole generation grew up without hearing Top 40 and was starved for it," says Vince Benedict Jr, vice president and general manager at WCAU-FM, where the classic Top 40 style rabid DJs, heavy rotation of a few hit songs goes by the tag Hot Hits. The format has made WCAU-FM one of the most successful stations in the area. KYW-AM is the only station to which more people in Philadelphia turn at least once during a given week.

But they probably don't stay tuned long to either station, since the same songs are played over and over on WCAU-FM and the same news is read over and over on KYW. Other stations retain a more loyal following. While teens are likely to stop by WCAU-FM, those trying KYW are probably older than 35. Indeed, no station can get all of the audience, so each tries to dominate a portion. See STATIONS E6 Lawrence.

"It doesn't have to worry about ratings." WIFI's new direction? Toward a mix of New Music and the dance-oriented Urban Contemporary sound of WUSL, and toward a heavier emphasis on "hits," which is how they do it on WCAU-FM, another successful station. Indeed, such changes are often inspired by "format envy." WUSL's switch, for instance, came after its operators noticed that Urban WDAS-FM led Philadelphia stations in ratings last summer. "They were sitting there with a big bunch of listeners and nobody was trying to take anything from them," says Bruce Holberg, WUSL president and general manager. Ratings are why WWSH-FM in Philadelphia switched in the space of nine months from a placid Beautiful Music format to the soft pop and rock of Adult Contemporary to what is called Contemporary Hit radio, a version of Top 40 geared more to adults than teens. Staff Dhoto by Ronald Cortes Pete Booker, operations manager of station WSTW-FM DJs: Voices with personality plus jff Top stations in Philadelphia Percentage of people 12 and older who listen to each station at least 15 minutes during a week o( the survey Rank Station and format Arbitron rating 1.

KYW-AM (1060, Philadelphia, News) 8.2 2. WEAZ-FM (101.1, Philadelphia, Beautiful Music) 7.3 3. WUSL-FM (98.9, Philadelphia, Urban Contemporary) 6.5 4. WPEN-AM (950, Philadelphia, Nostalgia) 6.3 5. WMGK-FM 102.9, Philadelphia, Adult Contemporary) 6.0 6.

WCAU-FM (98.1, Philadelphia, Top 40) 5.5 6. WDAS-FM (105.3, Philadelphia, Urban Contemporary) 5.5 8. WCAU-AM (1210, Philadelphia, News) 4.8 9. WIOQ-FM (102.1, Philadelphia, Adult Contemporary) 4.6 9. WYSP-FM (94.1, Philadelphia, Album Oriented Rock) 4.6 11.

WWDB-FM (96.5, Philadelphia, Talk) 4.5 12. WMMR-FM (93.3, Philadelphia, Album Oriented Rock) 4.2 13. WIP-AM(610, Philadelphia, Adult Contemporary) 4.1 14. WKSZ-FM (100.3, Media, Adult Contemporary) 2.7 14. WSNI-FM (104.5, Philadelphia, Adult Contemporary) 2.7 Listeners might be passionately involved with the music they hear on the radio, but most stations will play just about anything to increase their ratings.

Most hire consultants to help carve out a niche for themselves. The consultant's fee of approximately $20,000 to $30,000 for a single campaign is money well spent if the advice works. It was the quest for better ratings that led WIFI-FM in Philadelphia to become "1-92" last March. The station dropped a Top 40 format in favor of more avant-garde, all-new rock music. And the quest for ratings is why the station is "adjusting" that format in the wake of a new Arbitron book that showed it with fewer listeners than before.

(Arbitron is the radio ratings service used in major markets. See its ratings charts accompanying this article.) "A non-commercial college station like Penn's WXPN can play unfamiliar material like we were," says WIFI program director Roy career at Drexel. He hosted a New Music radio program there. "I'd rather not sound like a super-professional DJ. That's less personal.

There's a resurgence in the idea of being a young, active person and making fashion, hair style and music all important again." Toxic has a hyper style on the air, unlike the laid-back DJs of progressive radio in the late 1960s. "That was a good style for when people went to a' Grateful Dead concert and sat on the ground smoking reefers," he said. "This is a different time." Gary Mullinax i Jim Graham photo Music format. II If zZrC w- -ss-N Staff photo by Ronald Cortes jockey from 2 to 7 p.m. on Wilmington's WSTW-FM.

Top stations in metro Wilmington Percentage of people 12 and older who listen to each station at least 15 minutes during a week of the survey Rank Station and format Arbitron rating 1. WSTW-FM (93.7, Wilmington, Contemporary Hit) 9.8 2. WDEL-AM (1 150, Wilmington, Adult Contemporary) 8.6 3. WJBR-FM (99.5, Wilmington, Beautiful Music) 8.0 4. WMMR-FM (93.3, Philadelphia, Album Oriented Rock) 7.9 5.

WIOQ-FM (102.1, Philadelphia, Adult Contemporary) 5.1 6. WYSP-FM (94.1, Philadelphia, Album Oriented Rock) 4 5 7. WCAU-FM (98. 1, Philadelphia, Top 40) 4.3 7. WUSL-FM (98.9, Philadelphia, Urban Contemporary) 4.3 9.

WDSD-FM (94.7, Dover, Country) 4. 1 10. WAMS-AM 1380, Wilmington, Country) 3.9 11. WKSZ-FM (100.3, Media, Adult Contemporary) 3.8 11. WMGK-FM (102.9, Philadelphia, Adult Contemporary) 3 8 13.

WILM-AM (1450, Wilmington, News) 3.4 14. WEAZ-FM (101.1, Philadelphia, Beautiful Music) 2.5 14. WDAS-FM (105.3, Philadelphia, Urban Contemporary) 2.5 Katie Hill, 26, is a disc complex north of Wilmington. "I've been to the beach a couple of times. I go home every other weekend because I have a horse there." Hill, whose favorite performers are John Denver and Toto, said the horse will be moved here soon.

She's not sure what the future holds. But she does know she'll make a move if she begins to stagnate. "Listeners know if you're not smiling or bored. Then they get bored too." Like Hill, Mel Toxic never sounds bored. He's the 2-6 p.m.

DJ on WIFI-FM in Philadelphia. His sta People used to kid Katie Hill about her husky, authoritative voice. The kidding stopped when that voice got her a job on the radio. Hill, 26, with thick reddish hair to her shoulders, the disc jockey from 2 to 7 p.m. on Wilmington's WSTW-FM.

She got her first radio job in Martinsburg, W.Va., four years ago because the owner liked the way she sounded. "My voice had always been a curse," said Hill, whose addition to WSTW is part of its change from purely automated to a live presence. "I was ribbed about it in high school. People would ask if I had a cold. I once told my mother I would pay to have my voice changed.

Now it pays the rent. 'if I had gotten it changed, I would probably still be a hostess at the Meadowview Room of the Sheraton Inn in Fredericksburg, Va." That's what she was doing when the man from Martinsville took a fancy to the way she talked. After two years there, she moved to a station back in Fredericksburg. Now she's adjusting to life and work in Wilmington. The job seems to be going, fine she's never had the luxury of working at a station with state-of-the-art equipment like that in WSTW's refurbished studios.

Adjustment to life outside of working hours is taking a bit longer. "Wilmington is about four times bigger than where I came from," said Hill, who lives in an apartment Mel Toxic, Ik Downstate carries a variety of choices tion went to a New Music format in March. Toxic is still excited that WIFI is breaking more new ground than anyone else, even though it has backed off a bit after poor ratings. "Radio was in a rut for a while," says Toxic, a lanky 21-year-old with short hair on top and a few wisps over his collar in back. "They were playing the same artists.

I mean, it's 1983! We're a little late, but we're here." Toxic he often goes by the name Melvaneous and his real name is John Jurgaitis is taking a break midway through his college .1 When a person in downstate Delaware wants to listen to the radio, he can choose among stations from all over. In Kent County, for instance, the top stations in overall ratings include WDSD-FM, WDOV-AM and WKEN-AM in Dover, WSTW-FM in Wilmington, WYSP-FM in Philadelphia and WXYV-FM in Baltimore. They have plenty of formats to choose from, too. Kent listeners can get country music from WDSD, soft pop and talk from WDOV and WKEN, contemporary hits from WSTW and black-oriented music from WXYV. The Dover AM stations, like certain AM stations in most markets, are particularly strong during morning drive time.

"Then listeners drift to the type of music they like," says Tom Miles, WDSD general manager. Until the late 1960s, Sussex County stations tended to go with block programming music for adults in the morning, a religious hour, a country block, some rock for the kids. Now each station has its own identity and formats have proliferated. Country is a hot Sussex format. WAFL-FM in Milford and WJWL-AM in Georgetown both play country music.

In addition, country is beamed in from outside: Dover's WDSD and Baltimore's WPOC-FM and WCAO-AM are other Country stations heard in Sussex. For rock, listeners can turn to WWTR-FM in Bethany Beach, WKHI-FM in Ocean City, or WSEA-FM in Georgetown. WSEA was the center of some controversy recently after the departure of disc jockey Chris Knight. The newest station is WYUS-AM, sister station of WAFL in Milford. Country music used to be simulcast over both stations, but the AM outlet now programs Nostalgia.

"There was a void after WBOC in Salisbury dropped its Beautiful Music format," says Dennis Haz-zard, program director for both stations. "Our new station sounds a lot like WPEN in Philadelphia." Gary Mullinax 21, a DJ on WIFI-FM in Philadelphia, enjoys his station's New.