BREAKING NEWS! WCBM PULLS AHEAD OF WBAL RADIO!

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September 17, 6:48 PM

by Brenda Carl, Baltimore Media Examiner

 

Some call it the mighty 1090, but  how the mighty have fallen.

The latest radio ratings trends are out from Radio & Records and show that WCBM (AM 680) has now moved ahead of WBAL (AM 1090) in the battle for listeners on the AM DIAL.

This according to DCRTV http://www.dcrtv.com/  as well as the publication, Radio & Records.

Several factors to consider here:  Rush Limbaugh, is back on WCBM after spending several years up the dial on WBAL.  The  Baltimore Orioles are no longer heard on WBAL Radio, but on WHFS Radio, and other places.  Personalities have come and gone on WBAL Radio over the past couple of years, and although they boast a newsroom of 13 full-timers, WCBM is competing against them with 2 full-timers and one part time news anchor.

WCBM and WBAL have a similar history in the city, both are heritage stations with a proven track record of providing news, weather, sports, and traffic reports over the years.  But WCBM, being the underdog the last couple of years, is pulling ahead as WBAL slips behind. 

Who could forget the Morning Mayor, Lee Case, on WCBM back in the 1970's? And the voice of Galen Fromm, always reassuring, yet authoritative, delivering news, and the latest school closings on snow days, on WBAL Radio?

I can remember  the daily drive to college with my Dad in a Pinto back in the 70's and punching those radio buttons to hear first, 600 WCAO, then to 680 WCBM, and then to 1090 WBAL to get a running news report on the ride to school.  Back then, you could also enjoy music on the AM dial, but the main thing the AM radio provided was; a companion. A voice with you in the car. A voice next to you in the kitchen as you did dishes. A voice bringing you the baseball game on hot summer nights as you sat on your front porch, the warmth from the summer sun still rising in the darkness.  A voice on a chilly winter day, telling school kids they had the day off, due to snow.  A voice bringing you sad news, bad news, and sometimes even good news.  But it was, and still is, a friend, the person who you wish was with you, someone you know will always be there, when you flip the switch on.   Its not the same as television news, where looks matter more than content.

So what do you think has turned things around in WCBM's favor?  Is it a permanent change?  What can WCBM do to sustain and keep the increase in listeners?  Does AM radio still matter in this day and age?

To the folks who work for two local stations, I can say, AM radio does matter, a great deal.

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