The Knoxville News-Sentinel from Knoxville, Tennessee • A7

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KN-GCI0581591-03 the station from the late through the late Armstrong, a former state repre- sentative, has since revitalized the sta- tion and re-branded the call sign. But he forgotten the roots. Coming out of a year rampant with racial tensions, WJBE is continuing to its role as only Black- owned radio station by telling the sto- ries and sharing the songs that matter most to its listeners across AM and FM airwaves. Without WJBE, station manager Gene Thomas Jr. said, these stories might never be told by Knoxville media outlets outside of Black History Month.

Historically, that includes Knox News, which is now taking steps to make sto- ries that impact diverse communities a part of everyday coverage. James Brown and a for Armstrong had the opportunity to in- teract with Brown when he came through the former of WJBE, which originally was located in the downtown Farragut Hotel. one thing that he emphasized was that jobs to be in the Armstrong said. was out in the He was a very, very good business Brown also emphasized the impor- tance of dressing the part, he said, mak- ing it clear salesmen should always wear ties. his movie showed a lot of negative parts, there was a lot of posi- tive things that James Brown did and a lot of things that he Armstrong said.

one was putting radio here in During his time at WJBE, Armstrong picked up a for learning all about the ability for communications to impact a community. When the time came in 2012 for Armstrong to bring back the familiar WJBE letters, he knew the station needed to be more than a jukebox for the latest hits. was no Black in Knoxville When Armstrong started his version of WJBE, he brought Thomas on board. Thomas had years of experience in mul- tiple forms of communication and shared similar sentiments about the lack of Black media sources in Knox- ville. had one (station) when I moved here, then all of a sudden it dis- Thomas said.

for years, there was no Black radio. There was no media outlet for the African-American community to turn to and that would fo- cus on the African-American communi- vision was enough for Thomas to leave the radio station he was working at and move straight to WJBE literally. Armstrong picked him up from his other job, and they brought furniture over to the WJBE Providing been Not only is Thomas the station man- ager, but he also hosts his own show. He comes into the on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue around 6:30 a.m.

to work on production and write news scripts. He goes on air, goes home around lunchtime and comes back to the later in the day to pick up a va- cant shift caused by COVID-19 cut- backs. just provide (listeners) been missing, and somebody talking to them about going on in the Thomas said. Black local leaders are always wel- come to join WJBE after public meetings to explain how issues might impact the listeners. important to the Thomas said.

important that able to see their own representa- tives Black music tells community stories also important for the Black com- munity to hear Black music, whether its jazz, or modern hip-hop. No matter the genre, Thomas said, songs help ex- press the Black experience in America. all telling the same stories over and over about the communi- he said. about the heart of the community. about the character of the community.

about the culture that we all grew up in from education to to relationships. Those songs just resonate to Thomas remembers back when Chris Blue released his on sin- gle. The station played the song every day nearly every hour. When Blue went on to perform at the Tennessee Theatre, everybody in the crowd sang along to cover songs word- for-word. But when it came time for Blue to perform his own single, Thomas said, it seemed like only Black people were left singing.

what we mean to the Black he said. so, when (Black radio) was missing, then Chris music get on. cele- brated on national television, but in his hometown, his music is not being Armstrong believes in the power of music to change a situation. having a bad day and you hear a good song, it can change the di- he said. sun will come Showcasing local talent But you have to win to have a spot on WJBE.

Friday nights are an opportunity for local artists to have their songs played. invite those local artists on to have their shine one hour in our pro- gramming a Thomas said. just create somewhat of an kind of stage to say, listen, going to see what the community thinks about you and your So, a neat Again, Armstrong said, WJBE pro- vides outlets for the Black community that other stations might not times before COVID, it would be crazy, especially on a Thomas said. have a station full of folks in here. But still a family, community station.

Anybody can drive by and just come in and be able to look in the studio. just regular folks just trying to provide a service for the An for businesses One of the biggest services WJBE provides happens between the music and the news. look at ourselves as an economic engine for a lot of the businesses in Knoxville, both minority and Armstrong said. important to be able to communicate your products, your goods and your services out The power of the commercial is in- credibly important, especially during a pandemic when small businesses are struggling. Thomas said the on the air during COVID-19 has de- creased ads from $25 during a popular program like Steve Harvey Morn- ing to $10 each time the ad is played.

For $100, a business can get 10 spots guaranteed. However, given the rough times, the station is likely to play the ad another 10 times on the house, Thomas said. Hair Fashions has taken ad- vantage of the radio ability to reach potential customers. People have visited his barbershop in the past, refer- encing the commercials they heard on air. a plus for the black community to have an outlet that you can go and advertise on and that you know that you are getting information out to your owner Gary Gamble said.

A among radio stations Remaining a Black-owned station is of a Armstrong said. The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters called upon Con- gress in June for a bill that would rein- state a tax incentive to promote minor- ity stations. In a news release, the association stated that less than 180 of the roughly 11,000 radio stations have Black ownership. have been able to hang on and stay within a niche and be independent from all the other national Arm- strong said. is done here lo- cally.

Our interest is the While the station uses national pro- grams from celebrities like Steve Har- vey, Keith Sweat and D.L. Hughley to space, there are plenty of local programs from Bob Booker, Tony Basilio and local faith leaders. station has a strong faith-based Armstrong said. been hard enough to get one Black-owned station in Knoxville, he said. The more outlets the Black commu- nity has to express itself, the better it will be for the entire city, Thomas said.

But, for now, the radio station is fo- cused on the new era of WJBE being the Best Tune in to WJBE at 99.7 FM and 1040 AM. WJBE Continued from Page 1A.