Posted by chicagomedia.org on October 20, 2008 at 10:16:38:
In Reply to: Nine FM taken off the air, will simulcast WCPT posted by chicagomedia.org on October 17, 2008 at 16:08:46:
This is a difficult letter to write to our most loyal listeners. Over four
years ago, our local company invested millions of dollars in purchasing the
three FM frequencies that make-up 9FM. We gave Chicago radio listeners a
choice in music that they did not have and over those years, we believe we
did succeed - succeeded in building a wonderful listening experience.
However, the competitive landscape has been changing with radio stations
that broadcast from the big downtown buildings. We found ourselves with new
stations that suddenly adopted music that was not all that different from
what we play. Although we think that we do it better than the other guys
do, the simple fact is that there are so many music stations in Chicago, we
simply cannot compete effectively for the ad dollars.
At the same time, we put a new Progressive Talk radio station on the air, on
a daytime-only AM station. In the midst of an historical political,
cultural and economic climate, our little daytime-only station has been
alone, spreading a message against two full-time Conservative Talk radio
stations. It is simply not fair to the hundreds of thousands of listeners
who have to wait until 7:00 in the morning for Chicago's only Progressive
Talk radio voice to sign-on, while at the same time, there are over thirty
FM music stations broadcasting to the Chicagoland area.
Thus, we have made the decision to move WCPT-AM' s programming to the three
stations that have been the home to 9FM. Everyone from the programming,
promotions and sales staffs fought the good fight, but given the state of
the competition on both the AM and the FM dial we feel that Chicago needs
more alternatives to the voices from the Conservative spectrum. It is never
easy to say goodbye. However, the one thing that remains constant in radio
is change and it would not surprise us if at some point down the road, there
will be another, "We Play Anything" radio station for the Chicago area.
Until that time, we invite you to listen to Progressive Talk radio on the
former 9FM radio stations from 5:00 am until 9:00 pm. And if you have been a
fan of the "Dance Factory" show, we invite you to continue to listen to that
program on 92.5-FM, 92.7-FM and 99.9-FM seven nights a week as you have in
the past. We are proud of what we have accomplished and want to thank you
for listening.
All the best,
The Staff of 9FM
For Chicago's Progressive Talk...please visit www.chicagoprogressivetalk.com
For Dance Factory...please visit www.dancefactoryfm.com
For Mighty House...please visit www.mightyhouse.net
For Open Road Radio...please visit www.openroadradio.com
(Nine FM email newsletter)