John LaBarca is Back!

While poking around in Katz Media’s web site, I found an area where they have “news” about format changes and the like.   The newest item in the Bridgeport, CT area is that John LaBarca is back on the air!

http://www.wdjzradio.com/#!__jlb-morning-show

This means very little to most of America, but it does to me – and is a good example of what is wrong with radio and maybe how it will be reborn.

When I moved here in 1998, John LeBarca was the morning guy on WICC-AM, “A Cumulus Station”.   The politics of that station are far to the left of mine – a lot of union thuggery (usually involving Sikorksy Helicopters, which has a plant in the area), but that was the afternoon guys.

John was overweight and had a health scare, and WICC dumped him without any warning – my assumption being that Lew Dickey choked on the thought of having to pay medical bills.   John wound up working for Cox Radio on a pair of sttations closer to New York City, doing morning news rather than morning talk.   A couple months ago, Cox decided it no longer wanted those stations (WSTC-AM and WNLK-AM) and agreed to donate them to Sacred Heart University for a little cash a big receipt for the “donation” of the theoretical value of those 2 stations – putting John back on the street again.

WDJZ-AM is a “Daytimer” AM station [it has to go off when the sun sets] at the upper end of the AM band (1530 kHz) running 5,000 watts.   In general, the higher the frequency, the poorer the signal will be because of the nature of the way AM radio works.  The station had been carrying religious broadcasting, but now has been reborn as brokered time.   Presumably John is buying time on the station and then doing his own ad sales to pay the costs and pay his rent.    The station does stream its programming and I look forward to hearing his voice again, when John in control of his own future.