I’ve always had an ear for small town radio stations.
Perhaps it’s because I come from a small town and have always worked in them. In addition, I’ve made my career working for community newspapers, which concentrate on local news. Local sports, local obits, local meetings and everything in between is what we deliver to the readers.
It’s the same way with small-town radio stations. Growing up in the small, Middle Georgia town of Monticello, I listened to WJGA out of nearby Jackson. Monticello was actually too small for its own radio station, but WJGA gave the community coverage and it made us feel somewhat “big time” since the station in Jackson would cover Monticello and Jasper County as well.
Admittedly, some of my friends would poke fun at me for listening to the station.
“Why are you listening to that?” they would ask. “Turn it.”
I’m not going to pretend I didn’t also listen to the big stations in Atlanta. 96 Rock, Power 99, 94Q, Z93 and the like were all part of my listening habits. However, I always enjoyed the smaller station in nearby Jackson as well.
Today in Winder, the tradition of “small town radio” is alive and well. “Community radio” is also a good term for what WIMO in Winder does. I’ve listened to WIMO since I moved here more than a decade ago.
WIMO general manager Scott Pinner is doing big things with the “small town” station. Like small town newspapers, Pinner’s focus is local, local, local. From local news coverage to local high school football and athletics to local racing, WIMO is on the scene covering it live.
Covering high school football on Friday night has long been a staple of broadcasting formatting for local stations. WIMO is carrying on that tradition and taking it several steps further with extended pre-game and post-game coverage. With two local high schools, one game is aired live with the other being streamed lived on WIMO’s website. Yes, even small town radio stations are in the Internet age in a big-time way.
All football games are rebroadcast on Sunday afternoons as well for those who might not have been able to listen on Friday nights. It’s quite an impressive effort Pinner and his radio crew have undertaken in making WIMO a viable asset for the community.
WIMO also recently moved into the downtown area and is located across from the Barrow County Courthouse.
Of course, some of my old favorites of WIMO are still there, like the Ludlow Porch Show. In addition, various local talk shows are also aired which focus on news and sports.
In our ever advancing technological world, one thing I hope never goes away (in addition to community newspapers, of course) is small town radio stations. They have too much history, too much tradition and too much to offer local listeners.
Fortunately, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Here in Winder and Barrow County, we have plenty to listen to at the 1300 spot on the AM dial.
I’ll sign off for now as I hear the music for Ludlow Porch starting to cue up. The “Funseekers” are waiting.
Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal. He can be reached at: cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
